The Fowl of The Air

[Study Aired April 12, 2026]

What is signified by “the fowls of the air?”

This study concerns the prophecy of Matthew 24, specifically verse 28:

Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

I take this title from the Lord’s words in Mark 4:

Mar 4:4  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

What is Christ telling us when He makes this statement concerning such an obvious truth about what eagles do?

We’re going to answer that question in this study. The spiritual significance of flesh being consumed by the fowls of the air will take up most of our Bible study because our carnal-minded flesh is just naturally and by default subject to all the lies, false doctrines and deceptions with which “the prince of the powers of the air” (Eph 2:2) has deceived the whole world (Rev 12:9).

Christ’s first words to His disciples makes this clear:

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.

When you read the Bible, you see the words in front of you and think of the temple that they were standing in front of and how huge the stones are. They are huge stones, and it is a wonder how they actually got those stones there. What’s in your mind is the physical, but, I am telling you as Christ tells you later in this chapter, “Let him that reads understand.” When you hear ‘There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” this is not talking about the stones of the temple to you or me as God’s elect. This is talking about what’s in our lives. If we don’t see these spiritual truths behind these physical letters, then we are not getting anything out of what Christ says later in this chapter.

Let me go back to make this point.

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone [Christ] shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

These are the stones in the temple that we need to be thinking of.

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 (age- Greek: aion)?

I want you to notice that this is not addressed to the multitudes. The Matthew 24 prophecy, according to the gospel of Mark, was addressed privately to just four of the Lord’s apostles:

Mar 13:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Mar 13:4  Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Mar 13:5  And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
Mar 13:6  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

This prophecy was originally addressed to but four of the apostles and notice that in Mark’s account the first words out of Christ’s mouth is a warning against the work of ‘eagles eating carcasses’ and function of ‘the birds of the air.’ What you are about to hear is something that a few people got to hear at the time it was first revealed. What is being said here, once again, is talking about the end of my age and your age, not the end of someone else’s age. It has to be applied personally and inwardly.

Mat 24:4-5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

If you think Christ was speaking to these four disciples about events 2,000 years in the future then please explain this verse to me:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

There are many people who come in Jesus Christ’s name and who teach about Jesus Christ and who do many wonderful works in the name of Jesus Christ, but they don’t have one bit of use for the words of Jesus Christ.

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

This is who Jesus Christ is talking about here. He’s not talking about the occasional person who claims to be ‘Jesus Christ’ like Sun Yung Moon. He’s talking about “many” people, and many means the majority. Most people will come in Christ’s name, saying that He is Christ and will deceive most people; in other words, the Christian religion. Let’s just call things what they are.

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.

Once again, let me say it again so we can stay focused: Christ intended for us to apply all of this inwardly. Realize that this is talking to all of us including me. I, Mike Vinson, have been deceived; Mike Vinson was taken into the Babylonian system of the Christian religion that claims to know Christ and does many wonderful works in his name. Mike Vinson was deceived, he was one of the many deceived, and if you don’t see that these words also apply to you, then you are probably going to go to church every Sunday thinking you are not deceived.

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.
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.

“They shall deliver you up… and shall kill you.” Why would “all nations” hate a dead man? It is after you begin to die to the flesh that you begin to be hated. They will ‘deliver you up to be afflicted’ and will kill you. That’s good! That’s the best thing that happens to you when you begin to die.

Mat 24:10-11 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Who is he talking about here? Heathen people? No, the many people who are deceived thinking they know Christ. That’s what we are talking about. Christ is talking about people who have been called, who have accepted him, who come in His name, do many wonderful works and deceive people. At that point, many are offended and betray one another and hate one another.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

This is many coming in Christ’s name, saying they are following Christ, using Christ’s name, claiming they love Christ’s name and doctrine and they deceive many, most, the majority. That’s the litmus test right there, because God is love. While you can talk love all day, it is hard to live love, it is hard to turn the other cheek. You can’t do it. It takes Jesus Christ in you to do it. This is what separates the called from the chosen, this verse:

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Nobody is saved right now. We are in the process of being converted, but being converted is not saved. “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” When they are resurrected, they are saved. You are converted, you are living a good Christian life, but read Ezekiel 3, and it will come right out and tell you, no matter how good a life you live, if you turn your back on it at the end, all your good works account for nothing. No matter how evil you have been, if you turn from your evil works, all your evil works count for nothing. It is what you do at the end that counts. The workers that came in at the last hour received their wages before the people who had been there working all day, doing the same works as the other people.

If you have the love of Christ, you are not the least bit perturbed at what God does. All things are of God to you. He could give the house away, and you would say “Amen, Father!”

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
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:)

What does Matthew 24:14 mean to you? Does it mean that the churches of Babylon have to get the gospel preached in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America and the whole world? That’s been done for years. The gospel has been preached in all the continents of all the world for many years. If you still think that nations and kingdoms of Matthew 24 are outward nations, then you are apt to also think of the abomination of desolation is also outward and it will take place in some outward temple in some outward nation. That is how the whole world thinks of this prophecy. The churches of this world teach that Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation are both speaking of ‘end time events.’ They teach that all these things are yet future and are ‘out there’ somewhere in Europe or in the middle east. Most Christian ministers teach that the abomination of desolation will occur in a future temple yet to be built in Jerusalem. If indeed that is what you believe, then you don’t understand verse 15 at all:

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:)

“Whoso reads, let him understand” reveals that very few will understand what “the abomination that maketh desolate” means. “Whoso readeth let him understand” is telling us that only those who are “given ears that hear, and eyes that see” will understand. It is all to be understood as a message to the spirit within those who are given the spirit. God is spirit, and all that we see and touch is His way of getting through to us what is going on in the powers and principalities we are really wrestling against. These verses tell us about how the Lord communicates with His spirit within us:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [spiritual 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.

The Greek actually reads “comparing spiritual with spiritual.” The word ‘things’ is added by the translators.

What did Christ tell us about His words:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth [G2227: ‘zoopoieo’, to make alive]. ; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life [G2222: ‘Zoe’, life].

With the understanding that the Lord’s words “are spirit” let’s ask, “What does the holy place mean?” “The holy place” is you; it is your heart and your mind; that is ‘the holy place.’ We are very clearly informed that spiritually speaking, which is what Christ tells us His Words are, “you are the temple of God.” The holy place is “the holy of holies” in the second room of the temple. It is the last room into which only the high priest was permitted to enter, and that was only once in the year on the day of atonement:

Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year [On the day of atonement, Lev 16:16-17], not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Paul repeats this revolutionary Truth three chapters later in this same epistle and then again in his second epistle to this church:

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

What is ‘the abomination of desolation?’ It is “the beast… the man of sin [you and me] the son of perdition [our dying old man] who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God [“which temple ye are”], showing himself that he is God.” “The abomination that makes desolate” is you and me ruling in our own lives; it is our ‘beast’ within, empowered by the great red dragon, (Rev 13:2) having you and me for lunch, eating the dust that we are. That is the abomination of desolation. If you are given to see that “ye are the temple of God” and that you are also the man of sin sitting on God’s own throne within His own dwelling place, His own temple, then you can also see clearly that when Christ speaks of the gospel of the kingdom being preached in all the nations, this is also an inward statement speaking of all the powers and principalities within you, and within me, within each of us. Then you will see that beast, that man of sin, sitting on the throne in your heart, doing what he wants and never having lost a battle:

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Once you see the inward application of scripture, then you finally have a handle on who “the man of sin” is.

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?

What Paul told these Thessalonians when he was with them was the same thing he told the Corinthians when he was with them… “Know you not that ye are the temple of God…” (1Co 3:15-16)

Now we can finally understand that what Christ taught His disciples in Matthew 13 was preparing them to understand His prophecy in Matthew 24:

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Continuing on in Matthew 13 where Christ is explaining how we are to understand His words in Matthew 24 and everywhere else:

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see [spiritually], and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear [spiritually], and have not heard them.
Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and [spiritually] understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one [“the fowls of the air”, (Mar 4:4)], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

What is he talking about here? How does this have an inward application? Let’s let Christ finish what He is telling us here in Matthew 13 so we can apply the principles He is giving us here to what He tells us later in Matthew 24:

Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

‘He that received seed into stony places, receives it with joy, yet has no root in himself’ and does not ‘endure to the end’ when persecution comes because of the word, and he also who received the seed among the thorns is choked by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and becomes unfruitful. What Christ is telling us here in Matthew 13 is just confirming what Christ had already taught us in:

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

“Few there be that find it” here in Matthew 7 is the same message Christ is giving to us in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 where He tells us that it is not given to the multitudes of Christians who come to Him to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto [the multitudes] in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you [the “few… that find it”] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them is it not given. [the “many there be which go in… the broad way”]

With this knowledge that few are given to understand Christ’s spiritual words let’s return to His words in Matthew 24:

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:)
Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
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.
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.

If this is not to be applied internally and spiritually, then how can it have any application for that time? Where was the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation 2,000 years ago? Why would Christ say, ‘Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days’? It should be clear to all of us that Christ does not think any less of a pregnant woman nor a suckling child than He thinks of you and me.

If you don’t see this internally and spiritually, then you will never understand the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation says “the time is at hand [to] read, hear and keep the saying of the prophecy of 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.

Both Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation prophesy about a ‘great tribulation’ and ‘earthquakes’ and all kinds of trials and plagues. Both tell us that these prophecies “are at hand” and both tell us these things will be fulfilled in “this generation… for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3 is exactly what Christ says here in Matthew 24:

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.

Once you accept that everything Christ prophesied came to pass in that generation, and that ‘His Words do not pass away’ but continue to be fulfilled in every generation since those words were first spoken… once you are given to accept that as a truth, not to be negotiated, then you will understand why Jesus Christ says so many times in the book of Revelation, ‘I am he that is, was and will be.’ Once you get a handle on the ‘is, was and will be,’ nature of Christ’s Words, then the word of God opens up to you in a way that it will never be understood otherwise.

‘But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened’ (Mat 24:22). How does that apply generation by generation? Right here it is:

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

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

That’s the days being shortened so the elect can “bear it.” If Jesus Christ is not in us, if He Himself is not living in us daily, and the days are not being shortened so we can bear it in our flesh, nobody would make it, no flesh would be saved alive.

Right at this juncture in your walk, when you are beginning to see that you are in Babylon:

Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Don’t believe it! All this talk about a secret rapture is a bunch of lies.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs [G4592: ‘semeion’] and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

That Greek word ‘semeion’, translated as ‘signs’ here in Matthew 24:24 is the same Greek word translated as ‘miracles’ in Revelation 13:

Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles [G4592: ‘semeion’] which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Spiritual gifts are not a synonym for the love of God or the fruits of the spirit. Spiritual gifts do not signify a mature son of God. The immature disciples of Christ were given to cast out demons and heal the sick long before they were even converted:

Luk 10:9  And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, this day, before that the cock shall crow thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Here is a Biblical Truth which is understood by very few. Paul tells us the church at Corinth “came behind in no gift”, and yet he tells them they are “yet carnal… babes in Christ”:

1Co 1:4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Skipping ahead to chapter three:

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?

God’s elect mature sons know the difference between gifts of the spirit and fruits of the spirit. You cannot and will not have “the fruits of the spirit” if Christ is not living His life in you. You will not and cannot, love your enemy without Christ being in you.

We will pause this study on “the fowls of the air” at this point and finish it in our next study.

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The Spiritual Significance of Numbers in Scripture – Number 5

Grace Through Faith

[Study Aired January 11, 2025]

Beginning in Genesis the number five is connected to grace through faith. It was through faith that Joseph waited for his dreams to be fulfilled, and when they were he showed great favor to his full brother by the same mother, Benjamin:

Gen 45:22  To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

Signifying the fruits of the work of grace, Joseph presented five of his brothers to Pharaoh:

Gen 47:2  And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

Those five brothers in this story signify Christ presenting those His Father has given Him to His Father.

Signifying the grace and mercy we have been given and which we, as “the temple of God”, will in time extend to the whole world (Rom 11:30-32), nearly every measurement of the temple was a multiple of five.

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

There were three entrances to the tabernacle. Three signifies the process of us as we are being judged. The first part was the gate of the court which was twenty cubits wide and five cubits high hung upon four pillars:

Exo 27:16  And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

Exo 38:18  And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

The second was the door of the tabernacle:

Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
Exo 26:37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

The length of the court of the tabernacle was a hundred cubits:

Exo 27:9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits [5×20] long for one side:

The width (breadth) of the court was fifty cubits:

Exo 27:12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [5×10]: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten [5×2].

The measurements of the wings of the cherubim are “five cubits”:

1Ki 6:24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

2Ch 3:12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

The height of the chapiters placed on the tops of the pillars before Solomon’s temple were five cubits each:

1Ki 7:16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

The lavers in which the Levites washed themselves and the offerings were ten in total with five on either side of the temple:

1Ki 7:38  Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths [5 times 8]: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.
1Ki 7:39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

The candlesticks “before the oracle” were five on the right and five on the left:

1Ki 7:49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

The implements of the temple were in fives:

2Ch 4:6 He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they [the Levites who were not priests] washed in them; but the sea was for the priests [only] to wash in. [‘We have a sea as well as an altar, in which they that serve the tabernacle have no right to wash.]

Heb 13:10  We have an altar [the golden altar of incense within the first holy place], whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

The candlesticks which give light to all who are within the temple of God are in multiples of five:

2Ch 4:7 And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

The tables at which the priests within the temple dined and the basins out of which they were fed were in multiples of the number five:

2Ch 4:8 He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.

The measurements of the “molten sea”, used only for the cleansing of the priests, signifying the cleansing of all those “who first trusted in Christ” (Eph 1:11-12; Rev 15:2), were all multiples of five:

1Ki 7:23  And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits [5×6] did compass it round about.

While this molten sea was literally filled with water for the cleansing of the priests, that same ‘molten sea’ becomes ‘a sea of glass mingled with fire’ in Revelation 15:

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

Both water and fire cleanse us, but the fire follows the water:

Num 31:23  Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

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.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

This all relates to the Lord’s “nation of kings and priests… who first trusted in Christ [who] will rule with Him a thousand years.” It will be “though [our] mercy they [the rest of the world] shall receive mercy” (Rom 11:30-31).

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

What we are being told is that “Ye are the temple of God” and “by grace are ye saved through faith.” The ‘mingled with fire’ is the chastening work of grace experienced by “every son He receives” (Heb 12:6).  The grace of God chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live Godly lives in this present age (Tit 2:11-12). That chastening grace is the significance of the number five.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [G165: ‘aion’, age];

Understanding what grace does gives us a much deeper understanding of what this verse is saying:

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, [chastening] grace did much more abound:

We are self-righteous stubborn sinners, but God’s chastening overcomes us.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

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

That is the positive significance of the number 5. It is only “by [chastening] grace… through faith” that anyone comes to Christ, and both the grace and the faith are a gift from God.

What we are told is that the whole world is God’s “offspring” and that He will not lose a single soul:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

These are Paul’s words to the pagan Athenians:

Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

All men of all time will be saved “by grace… through faith”:

Gal 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. [hypocrisy]
Gal 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before [them] all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Gal 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

The wise and foolish virgins were five each:

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

The five foolish virgins are a negative application of the number five.

The holy anointing oil was of five parts, four spices and “and a hin of olive oil.” The four spices were measured in shekels which were divisible by five:

Exo 30:22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 30:23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred  shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much,  even two hundred and fifty  shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
Exo 30:24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
Exo 30:25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

The title ‘Christ’ (G5547) means ‘anointed.’ Christ was His Father’s anointed, meaning He had been given His Father’s spirit without measure:

Joh 3:34  For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

It was “the spirit [without] measure” that kept Christ from ever sinning. We have been “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”:

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

We have been given an “unction of the spirit” which gives us the ability to discern those who are “not… of us”, but Christ alone is referred to when we are told that ‘God gave not His spirit by measure unto Him’.

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1Jn 2:20  But ye have an unction [G5545: ‘krismah’, anointed] from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

This word translated as ‘unction’ here in 1 John 2:20 appears only three times in the New Testament, and the other two times are in verse 27 of this same chapter where it is twice translated as ‘anointing.’

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing [G5545: ‘krismah’] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing [G5545: ‘krismah’] teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

The Lord’s spirit is signified by ‘the holy anointing oil.’

The incense was of five parts, the fifth being salt, translated as “tempered together.”

Exo 30:34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, [1] stacte, and [2] onycha, and [3] galbanum; these sweet spices with [4] pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
Exo 30:35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, [5 – salt] tempered together [Heb: salt- malach-4414], pure and holy:
Exo 30:36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
Exo 30:37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
Exo 30:38 Whosoever shall make like unto that [another Jesus], to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

David’s faith is signified by the “five smooth stones” which he “took out of the brook”, and he put them in his shepherd’s bag:

1Sa 17:38  And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
1Sa 17:39  And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
1Sa 17:40  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41  And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

The smoothness of the five stones signifies the trial of our faith by God’s chastening grace and the “washing of water by the Word”:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

We are lacking five things at the time the Lord chooses us as his wife:

Eze 16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born [1] thy navel was not cut, [2] neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; [3] thou wast not salted [4414: malach] at all, [4] nor swaddled at all.
Eze 16:5 [5] None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. [The day we first come to Christ, while still in Babylon]

The children of Israel came out of Egypt “harnessed” which the CLV translates as “in five sections.”

Exo 13:18  But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed [H2571: ‘chomesh’] out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 13:18  Hence Elohim caused the people to turn about by the wilderness road of the Sea of Weeds. Deployed in five sections, the sons of Israel ascended from the land of Egypt. (CLV)

Some of the literal versions translate this Hebrew word H2571 ‘chomesh’ as “in the fifth generation” (ABP; CAB).

The ERR and the ECB both say ‘in ranks of five” for the word ‘chomesh’.

Exo 13:18  But God led Elohim turned the people about around , through the way of the wilderness of the Red Reed sea: and the children sons of Israel Yisra El went up harnessed ascended in ranks of five out of the land of Egypt Misrayim . (ERR)

Exo 13:18  and Elohim turns the people around, through the way of the wilderness of the Reed sea: and the sons of Yisra El ascend in ranks of five from the land of Misrayim. (ECB)

The stone cut out of the mountain without hands became a kingdom that destroyed and replaced the fifth kingdom of iron mixed with clay to become a new fifth kingdom which filled the whole earth:

Dan 2:32  This image’s [1] head was of fine gold, his [2] breast and his arms of silver, his [3] belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33  [4] His legs of iron, [5] his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Dan 2:34  Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

These five kingdoms of men signify the object of Christ’s grace which is working with His elect in this age, and will come to all “in Adam” at the great white throne. The significance of the number five is the grace and faith which the Lord has gifted to those “whom He wills.”

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.

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

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

Psa 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

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

God’s temple is covered with the number five. The anointing oil is all measured in increments of five, and the components in the incense are described in multiples of five. We are the Lord’s temple, where the Lord dwells.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

The anointing oil separates to the Lord that which must be separated to Him. Nothing else can do so.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The sweet smelling incense keeps the Lord’s people connected to their heavenly Father through our prayers and supplications with gratitude:

Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

The Lord is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”, and we will do well to “declare His works with rejoicing.”

The Spiritual Significance of the Color Green – Part 3

Exo 15:23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
Exo 15:24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

This bitter water will kill you. The false doctrines of the world will kill you. Israel is green. They are being worked with by God. They knew this water was killing them and cried out for God’s intervention.

Exo 15:25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

What did He prove about them? He proved they didn’t have any faith. To ‘prove’ someone is to show what they are. God already knows what we are. He is proving us to ourselves.

Lev 27:30  And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.

The tree which the Lord showed Moses, which made the waters sweet, signifies Christ as our healer and deliverer. If you are beginning to get the picture here, you can now see trees can signify men. It is we who should give shade to those babes in Christ who cannot yet stay long in the Sun. We don’t just dump all the meat of God’s word on an immature Christian. Everything we are and have is the Lord’s, and the Lord teaches us as we are able to hear it.

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

Deu 21:22  And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Deu 21:23  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

These scriptures are telling us that we are guilty of the death of Christ. It is through the curse of Christ hanging on the tree that we are purified.

It does seem contradictory that someone who has done nothing worthy of death is accursed of God. It is through dying, rotting flesh that life comes. It seems to be the exact opposite of what would be true, but that’s the way God has ordained it.

Deu 24:20  When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

The olive trees were beaten to make the olives drop for harvest, but some were to be left on the trees for the needy.

What is that verse telling us? It is saying that all we have is of God, and we give our lives in service to God, but in so doing we serve our fellow man. You serve God when you serve your brother.

Jdg 9:8  The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

This parable is being put forth by the only remaining son of Gideon, who was also called Jerubbaal and who had judged Israel and delivered them from the Midianites.

Israel had been vasty outnumbered by the Midianites, but God led 300 of Gideon’s men to conquer a huge number of Midianites when He put such fear into them at the sound of Gideon’s men blowing their horns that they thought they were under attack in the night and ended up killing each other. The spoil of gold became Gideon’s, which made him a wealthy man. As polygamy was allowed under the old covenant, Gideon ended up with 70 sons.

One of these sons was born to Gideon by a concubine. That son was named Abimelech, and Abimelech decided that he wanted to be king of Israel and he declared himself king. He talked his mother and family into ‘campaigning’ for his kingship. Afterward he killed all his brothers except for the youngest, Jotham, who hid himself and gave us this parable as a warning to his overly ambitious brother, Abimelech:

Jdg 9:8  The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
Jdg 9:9  But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

This verse tells us what God means by the ‘green olive tree’ (Psa 52:8, Jer 11:16). This olive tree signifies men who honor God and man with their fruit and their oil, signifying their fidelity to the Lord’s words and His doctrines.

Jdg 9:10  And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:11  But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Figs taste good. In the old days they were like eating candy.

Jdg 9:12  Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:13  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

How does wine cheer God? Does God need wine to be cheered up? Christ said the cup of wine represented the new testament. God does not need to be cheered up, nevertheless it does please Him when we are obedient to His words and His doctrines, and He expresses that pleasure with the words “wine, which cheers God and man”.

Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Finally, the trees come to the bramble, and it takes them up on it.

Jdg 9:14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

The bramble represents Abimelech who wanted to be king over Israel. He was a lowly briar which thought to rule over the cedars of Lebanon. What was the fire that destroyed the trees?

The ‘fire’ signified a civil war in Shechem. Abimelech’s own people turned on him and killed him. That’s the definition of fire in this particular story. Fire burns every tree and bramble in its way.

What you should see in all of this is that trees are men. Different trees represent different stages in our growth. Even in the new testament this is made known to us.

Mar 8:22  And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. [We all first come to Christ spiritually blind.]
Mar 8:23  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mar 8:25  After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. [God makes us to understand His word and His will more clearly as we mature in our knowledge of Him.]

We are told how to judge a person…by their fruits, signifying their actions. Christ is not talking about literal trees.

Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them [false prophets] by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Trees as Types of God’s Elect

Jer 11:19  But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Time after time we are told what these trees stand for. Trees planted by the water are a type of God’s elect.

Psa 52:8  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

What are cedar trees? What are palm trees? They are righteous men. This doesn’t mean they are necessarily spiritually good, but they are good men. We have Job as an example.

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Job was a righteous man. He was a cedar of Lebanon, but he didn’t have the fruits of the spirit.

God doesn’t always use unrighteous men to deceive the world; He uses righteous men – good people, respectable, honorable men of whom the whole world speaks well. Billy Graham and the Pope are both cedars of Lebanon, but they don’t have one bit of the holy spirit. They are not fruit trees.

Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
Jer 17:8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

This is a tree planted by waters, a good tree yielding fruit. Let’s see what trees have to do with the temple of God. What is the temple of God? The body of Christ as a church corporately and each member individually.

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

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

With that in mind, let’s read:

1Ki 6:23  And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

Remember this not the tabernacle but the temple.

The side posts, the pillars of the tabernacle, are God’s elect. The only pillars were at the door of the tabernacle and the door of the holy of holies. The cherubim acted as the channel to get to God. What is that telling us? Christ said no one comes to God but by Him. As the christ of Christ, we are used as that channel by which God saves all mankind. That’s how important our function is (Rom 11:31).

Trees in The Temple of God

1Ki 6:31  And for the entering of the oracle [the door of the holy of holies] he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.

What does Revelation tell us about olive trees?

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

The two witnesses are the two olive trees. This is not just two men but God’s people down through the ages through whom all mankind must come. The two doors of the temple are olive trees. The light which poured forth out of the candlestick is God’s word poured out. We must want to share these truths with others or we are not getting it at all.

1Ki 6:32  The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

Cherubim and palm trees are on the door that leads to God. Cherubim represent the elect. How do we know? They tell us in Revelation 5.

Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Palm trees are the same thing; those who bring mankind to Christ.

1Ki 6:33  So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

The door of the temple is not the same as the doors of the oracle. The doors of the oracle lead to the holy of holies.

1Ki 6:34  And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

Fir trees are not fruit trees, but they can still by used by God when they have been cut down and cut up.

1Ki 6:35  And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

Cherubim and palm trees are on both doors that lead to God. That gold fitted upon the carved work is beaten so thin it only needs to be rubbed on.

1Ki 6:36  And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

2Ch 3:5  And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.

Fine gold, palm trees and chains were on the ceiling of God’s house.

Men as Trees

Eze 20:45  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 20:46  Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
Eze 20:47  And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

Who is God talking to when he is talking to a forest? He is talking to men. This is a negative application of trees, but it shows trees are men in symbol. This tree needs to be burned up.

Eze 20:48  And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
Eze 20:49  Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Yes, it’s a parable – trees are men.

Dan 4:9  O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Dan 4:10  Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
Dan 4:12  The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
Dan 4:13  I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
Dan 4:14  He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
Dan 4:15  Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
Dan 4:16  Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

This particular tree of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel is explaining to him that Nebuchadnezzar will lose his mind for seven years and be sent to the field to eat grass like an ox. Yet after that time, he will return and get back his kingdom.

Hos 14:5  I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hos 14:6  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

These verses in Hosea show a positive application to trees.

Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees [men who don’t produce good fruit]: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

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

When you hear a minister saying to go fight for your country, he is not bringing forth good fruit. He can’t because he is a corrupt tree.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

You don’t know them by their lofty sermons or their miracles, but rather by how they adhere to the doctrines of Christ.

Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

The Tree of Life

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Those cherubim represent God’s elect as we have reiterated before. These are those who love God’s mind, who are impressed with God’s mind and love it.

Listen to all these scriptures that talk about the tree of life.

Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom [Christ], and the man that getteth understanding.
Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her [wisdom – Christ].

Christ is her [wisdom] because He is God’s wife as well as His Son, and we are Christ’s wife as well as his sons.

Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Talking about men again who are olive trees and a tree of life to those who are brought to God through those men.

Pro 15:4  A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Watch what comes out of your mouth! Don’t let it be perverse.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

If you see that through your mercy people will obtain mercy, this will be understood by you. It is impossible for the natural man to understand how a tree can be in the midst and on either side and that the cherubim are in the midst of the throne and also round about it. We are in Him, He is in us and He is in His Father – that’s what is being said.

The fruit of righteousness is the tree of life, and Christ is the tree of life. It’s talking about the fruit of righteousness in our lives.

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

Conclusion of Green – Both Negative and Positive

Green is associated with a process which involves the work of the Spirit on the flesh, a dying vessel of clay. Green is associated with death because it is the combination of yellow and blue. Yellow is leprosy which consumes human flesh. Blue is associated with things of the spirit, in the heavens.

Green is not intended to be anything but green. Like yellow, it can’t inherit the kingdom of God. Green is positive inasmuch as it brings us to the blue. Green is negative as it is associated with the flesh which cannot enter the kingdom of God.

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.

On the positive side, green identifies with those who have the seal of God in their foreheads. Green typifies God’s elect, green typifies the tree of life, and all who are ‘in Him’ as saviors of mankind.

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

Green is shade from the burning sun, green is spiritual growth – God working in mankind.

Colors in Scripture – Blue, Part 1

[Study Aired November 21, 2025]

If the color red or scarlet symbolizes the first Adam being of the earth, blue symbolizes  the last Adam, “the Christ,” coming to be in the heavens.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy [signified by the color red]: the second man is the Lord from heaven [signified by the color blue].
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.

Our study today will deal with the spiritual significance of the process of spiritually going from scarlet to blue; from red to blue. That journey is a trying and bruising experience signified by the color purple, which is the color found between red and blue in the colors of the Lord’s dwelling place. Purple is the color of bruised flesh, signifying the “much… great tribulation” we are all destined to endure before we will be granted to enter into the Lord’s tabernacle:

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.

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

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

God’s people all “come out of [Babylon]”:

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her [Out of Babylon], my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Being delivered from a ‘scarlet, red’ beast and the great whore, Babylon the Great, who is also “arrayed in… scarlet color” (Rev 17:3-4), all in whom the mind of Christ dwells are provoked to offer up their own bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Rom 12:1):

Exo 25:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
Exo 25:3  And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
Exo 25:4  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exo 25:8  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

The ”gold and silver and brass and blue and purple and scarlet…” all signify the sacrifice of our entire body and life to the Lord’s service:

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Christ is hated in this world. He is hated and dead in the streets of Babylon. Nevertheless, He has a “sanctuary” where He can dwell in peace in the hearts and minds of His elect, and that is where we go for consolation and comfort in times of trouble:

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

1Th 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

The phrase “blue and purple and scarlet” is found 19 times in scripture. All 19 are in the book of Exodus dealing with the tabernacle and the priesthood which operated within the tabernacle. In this context, the color blue is mentioned as part of eight different facets of the temple and the priesthood.

1) The Tabernacle is Blue, Purple, and Scarlet

Exo 26:1  Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

Look at what holds the curtains of the tabernacle together:

Exo 26:4  And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of [another] curtain, in the coupling of the second.

Blue signifies the things of the spirit, and it is Christ in us which holds us together in His spirit and in His love.

There were ten curtains that surrounded the tabernacle:

Exo 26:2  The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.
Exo 26:3  The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and [other] five curtains [shall be] coupled one to another.

These ten curtains signify the fact that Christ is in us dwelling in “earthen vessels”:

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Christ in us”, (Col 1:27)] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_ten/

One more curtain was to cover the tabernacle. That totals 11 curtains, which signify the dissolution of the flesh.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers-in-scripture-11/

2) Blue and Gold are What Connect the Curtains of the Tabernacle

If a cubit is 18 inches (45.27centimeters), then 28 cubits is 42 feet in length (12.8 meters), and four cubits would be six feet in breadth (1.83 meters). Therefore, we have ten curtains 42 feet long and six feet high which surround the tabernacle. These curtains are held together with blue loops connected one to the other with fifty “taches of gold”, fifty gold knobs.

Exo 26:4  And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
Exo 26:5  Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
Exo 26:6  And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.

What is this telling those with eyes to see and ears to hear?

King James Version

1Co 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ.
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many.

Rotherham’s Emphasized Version

1Co 12:11 But, all these, energiseth the one and the same Spirit, distributing unto each one, peculiarly, even as it is disposed.
1Co 12:12 For, just as, the body, is one, and yet hath many members, but, all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so, also, the Christ;
1Co 12:13 For, even to one Spirit, we all, into one body, have been immersed, – whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free, – and, all, of one Spirit, have been caused to drink.
1Co 12:14 For, the body also, is not one member, but many:

3) The Vail Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was Also Blue, and Purple, and Scarlet.

Exo 26:30  And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
Exo 26:31  And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exo 26:32  And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks [shall be of] gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
Exo 26:33  And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 

The cherubims woven into the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies were “of blue and purple and scarlet”.

4) The “Door of the Tent” was Blue, and Purple, and Scarlet

The door is to be of “blue and purple and scarlet.” All three colors and the significance of all three colors are part of the process of entering through the veil into the presence of God.

Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.

Now just as the spirit does in the book of Revelation, notice how the spirit begins in the holy of holies and “looks behind” to see what it took to get there:

Exo 26:34  And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
Exo 26:35  And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
Exo 26:37  And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, [and] their hooks [shall be of] gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

John had to turn to see what was behind him before he realized that he had been granted to enter into the temple in heaven and to see the things of the spirit:

Rev 1:10 I came to be, in Spirit, in the Lord’s Day, and heard, behind me, a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 saying – What thou seest, write in a scroll, and send unto the Seven Assemblies, – unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum,- and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned round, to see the Voice which was speaking with me, and, having turned, I saw Seven Lamps of gold;

The fact that the cherbims of blue and purple and scarlet are on both curtains, the curtain of the door to the holy place, and the curtain of the holy of holies signifies that our purple bruising continues as long as we are in these “earthen vessels”.

5) The Vail into the Holy of Holies Hangs on Four Pillars, the Door of the Tent Hangs on Five Pillars. Both are Blue, Purple, and Scarlet.

Exo 26:31  And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exo 26:32  And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks [shall be of] gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
Exo 26:37  And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, [and] their hooks [shall be of] gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

The cherubim in the blue and purple and scarlet veil are hanging on four pillars through which all who come into the holy of holies must pass. The cherubim in blue, purple and scarlet also hang on five pillars at the entry of the holy place. What, or rather, who are these pillars and cherubims through which we come to our Creator? It is always best to let the scriptures answer our questions:

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.
Rev 3:13  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Yes, the pillars in the temple signify the Lord’s elect “saviors” (Oba 1:21) through whom all men will come to the Lord (1Co 15:22).

Doesn’t Paul tell us that we are the temple of God?

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

How are we the temple and yet pillars in the temple? Here is how that is accomplished:

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

We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. In the same way we are in the temple, and the temple is in us.

Rev 3:13  He that hath [been given, (Mat 13:10-15)] an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches [His temple].

Now let’s ask, “Who are the cherubims?” As always it is best to let the scriptures tell us who these four creatures are. In fact the creatures themselves tell us who they are:

Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts [The cherubims of Ezekiel one and Ezekiel 10] and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

This is the exact same promise made to the overcomers of the seven churches in Revelation one:

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The four beasts in the middle of and round about the throne of God and the overcomers of the seven churches are both “redeemed to God by the blood of Christ out of every kindred tongue and people and nation” and both are “made kings and priests unto God.” It is obvious that the overcomers of the seven churches, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, the one hundred and forty and four thousand are all different symbols of those who will sit on thrones judging this world and then judge angels in the lake of fire:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

6) “The Gate of the Court” of the Temple Has a Curtain of Blue, Purple and Scarlet Hanging on Four Pillars.

All who come into the holy place must first come through the “gate of the court.” This, too, is blue, purple and scarlet.

Exo 27:16  And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

“Pillars in the temple” are just one more symbol of the Lord’s elect overcomers through whom all men of all time will be redeemed to our Lord:

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

7) The Garments of the Priesthood are Gold, Blue, Purple, and Scarlet

Exo 28:1  And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
Exo 28:2  And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
Exo 28:3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Exo 28:4  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Exo 28:5  And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
Exo 28:6  And they shall make the ephod [of] gold, [of] blue, and [of] purple, [of] scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
Exo 28:7  It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and [so] it shall be joined together.
Exo 28:8  And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

The Lord’s priests’ clothing had to be of linen because linen does not cause sweat:

Eze 44:18  They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

Why does Ezekiel tell us “they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat?” He tells us that our own spiritual clothing does not cause us to sweat because we are not the ones who are performing the good works in which He has before ordained that we should walk.

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 [our] 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.

Our clothes do not cause sweat because it is God who is performing that which He has ordained for us:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

The clothes of the Lord’s elect kings and priests were blue, purple and scarlet clothing “for glory and for beauty.” The only “glory and… beauty” the Lord sees in anyone “is the righteousness of saints.” Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on what is in our hearts.

1Sa 16:6  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him.
1Sa 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

The only “glory and… beauty” which the Lord sees is “the righteousness of saints”, and that righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, which beautifies and glorifies His bride:

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen [“For glory and beauty”, (Exo 28:2)], clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The righteousness of Christ’s bride is “granted… to her.” A ‘grant’ is a gift :

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 [our] works, lest any man should boast.

8) Gold, Blue, Purple, and Scarlet are Used by Those Who Teach Others

“Cunning workmen…[who] devise curious works… in gold and silver and brass…  blue, and purple, and scarlet… and any manner of cunning work,” are those whom God is using to teach others to help in the building of the temple of God:

Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Exo 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Exo 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Gold, silver and precious stones all signify the Lord’s Word and His doctrines which we all twist and abuse and wrap around the idols of our hearts while we serve Babylon:

Eze 16:10  I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
Eze 16:11  I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12  And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

Eze 16:16  And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

These verses demonstrate that gold, silver, and raiment of fine linen signify the Lord’s Words and His doctrines. The fine linen signifies the righteousness of Christ imputed to His saints.

That being the case, Bezeleel’s many gifts and his ability to teach others signify what the Lord is doing through His beautiful, glorious bride whom He has filled with His spirit for the purpose of  teaching others:

Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

Those they teach and the materials with which they work are both the result of God’s work in the heart’s of His people to build up His house. It is all just another way of showing all of us the unveiling of Jesus Christ which is “the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
1Co 14:4  He that speaketh in an [unknown] tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

How does he edify the church? He does so by working with “gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet” among other things which are used to build up and edify the temple of God by those who God has “filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work…”

Conclusion of the Significance of Blue and Purple and Scarlet

Blue and purple and scarlet signify those in whom God’s Spirit is working the process of going from scarlet to blue, from the first to the last Adam:

Exo 36:8  And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam [red – earthy – of the ground] was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit [blue – heavenly – of the spirit].

Purple is just the combining of the blue and the scarlet. Purple signifies the bruising that is experienced in going from scarlet to blue.

[Here is the link to the next study in this series.]

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Matthew 17:1–27 The Transfiguration

Today’s study is about the transfiguration, the healing of the boy with a demon,  Jesus foretelling of His death and resurrection, and finally, the payment of the temple tax. 

The Transfiguration

Mat 17:1  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 

It was after six days that Jesus took Peter, James and John to a high mountain. The word “apart” in verse 1, according to Strong’s Dictionary, means pertaining to self, that is, one’s own. By implication, it means private or separate. Verse 1 therefore shows us that Jesus took them to the high mountain where they were alone. 

Mat 17:1  Six days later Jesus took Peter and the brothers James and John with him. They went up on a very high mountain where they could be alone. (CEV)

In the Bible, six days is the time that we must work while we live in this tent of flesh. It represents our struggle here on earth.

Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

As our Commanding Officer, the Lord wants us to see the reward awaiting us after our struggles here on earth so that we shall be motivated to fight a good fight. That was why He took Peter, James and John to a high mountain. The fact that He choose three disciples is to let us know that it is when we become spiritually mature through the Lord’s judgment that we are given to appreciate what awaits us after our struggles here on earth. It is instructive to note that these three disciples were taken to a high mountain. Positively, a high mountain represents the assembly of the Lord’s elect as shown in the following verses:

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.    

Isa 56:7  Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. 

What we are therefore being told in verse 1 is that it is in the assembly of the Lord’s elect that we are given a revelation of who Christ is and what He has in store for us.

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 
Mat 17:3  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 

The Lord being transfigured before the disciples was not to show to the disciples that He is the son of God. This is because, just before this transfiguration, it has been revealed to Peter by God that Jesus is indeed the son of God. It was rather to show to the disciples that we, His elect, shall be transfigured after our walk here on earth when the Lord shall come with His angels as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.  

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

In verse 3, Moses and Elijah appeared talking to Jesus. In the account of Luke, we were given additional information of what they were talking about as follows:

Luk 9:30  Suddenly, both Moses and Elijah were talking with him. 
Luk 9:31 They appeared in heavenly glory and were discussing Jesus’ approaching death and what he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. (GW)

Moses and Elijah being two, represent us, His elect, as witnesses of Christ. Their appearance in heavenly glory is to attest to the fact that we shall also be changed in the fullness of time as indicated earlier. Talking to Jesus about His impending death, which was to be achieved through suffering, is to make us aware that if we are to be glorified, then we must take up our cross and follow Jesus. 

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

To take up our cross to follow Jesus signifies our willingness to endure suffering or hardship for the sake of knowing Christ. That was not what we heard when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon, where we were taught that coming to know Christ results in the end of our suffering – a false doctrine from the pit of hell. 

2Ti 2:3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 

Mat 17:4  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mat 17:5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Peter telling Jesus that it is good for them to be on the mountain and that if the Lord is willing, they will build him a tabernacle and also build a tabernacle each for Moses and for Elijah shows us that at that time, Peter and the rest of the disciples were not converted. They depict our walk in the churches of this world at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. Peter’s statement of building three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah shows us that it is not about our good works of the flesh, that is, of building tabernacles for the Lord that matters, but being able to hear Jesus is what matters as we see in the next verse. When we are babies in Christ, our emphasis is on works instead of resting in Christ. It is through rest that we hear the voice of the Lord. This is clearly shown in Psalm 46:10 which enjoins us to be still or to be at rest in order to hear His voice, and it is through hearing His voice that we come to know Him. 

Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

The fact that the disciples wanted to build a tabernacle for Jesus implies that the disciples were focusing on making permanent the tent of His flesh and therefore preventing Jesus from going through suffering and to die for us. They did not have a clue that Jesus was groaning to be clothed with His house which is from heaven, just as we are also groaning now to be clothed with the heavenly tabernacle so that we are not found naked.

2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 
2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 
2Co 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 

It is also instructive to note that Moses and Elijah represent the law of Moses. Peter’s request to building a tabernacle for each of them means that he wanted to practice the law of Moses even as he had come to know Christ. This is not possible, as the coming of Christ, which is heralded by faith, ends the practice of the law of Moses in our lives. That was why there was a voice out of the cloud which overshadowed them, saying that we must pay attention to Christ’s reformative voice, which is being echoed by His elect (the cloud) in this age. 

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Mat 17:6  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 
Mat 17:7  And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 
Mat 17:8  And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 

To fall on one’s face is a symbol of our coming to appreciate who Christ is to us. This invokes our spontaneous worship. 

Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

1Ki 18:39  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

Rev 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

It is important to note that the disciples were sore afraid when they heard the voice from the cloud. This reminds us of the first time that ‘afraid’ was used in the Bible. It was when Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord when he came into the garden of Eden looking for them. That was when Adam became afraid because of sin. 

Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

As we have indicated earlier, the disciples here represent our lives in the churches of this world. The disciples being afraid therefore is an indication that they were sinful. This is what happened to us. When Christ came to us with His words, we were parading in the corridors of the churches of this world in our sinful state. We were therefore afraid because of our sins. However, the Lord touched us and commanded us to arise from the ashes of sin and told us not to be afraid. That was the beginning of our deliverance from fear. 

Luk 1:70  As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Luk 1:71  That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 
Luk 1:72  To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luk 1:73  The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 
Luk 1:74  That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 
Luk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 

The verses above show us that our deliverance from our enemies, which represent our flesh which is empowered by the devil, is what makes us to serve the Lord without fear or being afraid. 

In verse 8, the disciples did not see Moses and Elijah again, but only Jesus. This indicates that when Christ comes to us, we are no longer under the law of sin and death or the law of Moses. We are now operating under a new law of the spirit of life, which sets us free from the law of sin and death. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Mat 17:9  And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 

To understand what is being said here, we need to know why Jesus referred to Himself as the son of man. The term has dual meaning – His humanity status and His role as the Messiah. Jesus referring to Himself as the son of man is to emphasize His earthly nature and therefore reminds us that He was just like us in His walk here on earth. In Daniel 7:13-14, the “Son of Man” is a figure who receives an everlasting kingdom and dominion from God. This is connected to the Jewish concept of the Messiah, the promised savior. Jesus referring to Himself as the son of man was also to emphasize his status as the Messiah.

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

In verse 9 therefore, Jesus charging His disciples to tell no man about this transfiguration experience until He has risen from death is to let us know that it is when we come from death to life in Christ that we are given to understand we shall also be transformed in the fullness of time. During our time in the churches of this world, we were not given to understand our being changed within a twinkling of an eye at the last trump. All we knew was the false doctrine of being raptured.

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

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Mat 17:10  And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 
Mat 17:11  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 
Mat 17:12  But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 
Mat 17:13  Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. 

Elijah lived during a time when the Israelites had turned away from God and were worshipping Baal, a Canaanite god. Elijah boldly challenged this idolatry, calling the people to repent and to return to the Lord. His work was therefore to pave the way for the Lord’s children to be reconciled to the Lord. That is why Elijah must come first to prepare for the Lord’s arrival in our lives.

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:  

It is important to note that Elijah’s work in the Bible is the same as John the Baptist. That is to say that Elijah or John the Baptist’s work was to prepare us for Christ coming into our lives when we were in the churches of this world. Therefore, spiritually, Elijah is the same as John the Baptist. 

Joh 1:19  And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 
Joh 1:20  And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 
Joh 1:21  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 
Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

Mat 17:14  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 
Mat 17:15  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 

It was when Jesus came to the multitude that He encountered the lunatic who was possessed by the devil and therefore had no control of his actions. As we have learned from previous studies, the multitudes signify our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. We were part of this multitude at a certain stage of our walk. In Luke’s account of this episode, he mentioned categorically that the man was possessed with a spirit as follows:

Luk 9:37  And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. 
Luk 9:38  And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. 
Luk 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. 

Being possessed by a spirit spiritually signifies being filled with false doctrines. That was our situation during our time in the churches of this world. It is instructive to note that the lunatic often fell into fire and also into water. We know from the word of the Lord that both fire and water represent the word of the Lord. What we are therefore being told in verse 15 is that when we are possessed by false doctrines, we are not able to walk according to the word of the Lord. We often stumble and fall. The lunatic experience portrays our situation when we were in the churches of this world, where we were inundated with false doctrines. We often fell short of the word of the Lord (the fire and the water).

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. 
Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 

Mat 17:16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 
Mat 17:17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 
Mat 17:18  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

The disciples were not able to heal the lunatic although they had walked with Christ for some time. This was because at that time they had no understanding of the truth of the word of the Lord or mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord. It is the truth that destroys the lies or the false doctrines in our heavens. 

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

The hail signifies the truth that destroys the lies of the serpent or false doctrines. When we were in the churches of this world, our situation was just like the disciples. Although we had started our walk with Christ, we were not able to cast out of our heavens, the false doctrines of the enemy. We were therefore the faithless and perverse generation, just like the disciples. Jesus rebuking the devil and the devil departing from out of the man symbolizes the coming of Christ into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. It is His brightness which destroys the false doctrines in our hearts and minds.

Mat 17:19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 
Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

Here in these verses, Jesus revealed to the disciples that it was because of their unbelief that they could not cast out the devil. This shows that during our walk in the churches of this world, our walk was characterized by unbelief. At that time, we did not have faith. The Lord is revealing to us here in verse 20 that it is not the size of our faith that matters, but our simple faith in Him that does the work. We must remember that it is Christ’s faith that we all operate with. We do not have our own faith. When Christ’s faith is at work, everything is made possible.

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.  

Now, let’s come to the statement Jesus made in verse 21 about the fact that the devil is cast out only through prayer and fasting. Prayer is our communion with the Lord, and it is a two-way affair. We speak to Him in prayer, and He speaks to us with His words. Therefore, without prayer, it is impossible for us to cast out false doctrines from our heavens. Spiritual fasting involves loosing the bands of wickedness, undoing the heavy burden and setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke. 

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

In a nutshell, spiritual fasting is being set free from our own flesh. When our flesh is dying, then it means that we are being judged, and being judged means that we are given the ability to hear the Lord’s voice in the midst of the fire. It is this voice that dispels the false doctrines in our heavens.   

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

Mat 17:22  And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: 
Mat 17:23  And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. 

It is when we begin to know who Christ is in the spirit that we are given to know about the suffering that Jesus endured resulting in the destruction of His flesh. Being raised the third day means that Jesus went through the process of spiritual maturity through judgment and is the first man to be resurrected after death. His resurrection was what made Him perfect. 

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 

As He is, so are we. We are also going through this process of spiritual maturity through judgment as our flesh or old man is gradually being destroyed. This destruction of our flesh is what guarantees the fact that we shall be perfected when we are raised from the dead during the first resurrection. 

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

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

The Temple Tax

Mat 17:24  And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 
Mat 17:25  He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 
Mat 17:26  Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 

These Bible verses are what the Lord used to start opening my understanding of the scriptures when I was in Babylon. The temple tax was an annual half-shekel tax imposed on Jewish males over the age of 20 to support the upkeep and maintenance of the temple in Jerusalem. When we were in the churches of this world, the tithes we were paying were spiritually equivalent to this temple tax. Jesus telling Peter that the sons of the kings of this earth are exempt from paying temple tax and that it is only strangers who are required to pay is to let us know that as sons of our King Jesus Christ, we are not required to pay tithes. The fact that our brothers and sisters of the churches of this world pay tithes means that they are strangers or are in bondage and that we, His elect, are free.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Mat 17:27  Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. 

As indicated in previous studies, fishes represent mankind. Therefore, the first fish that is caught represents the Lord’s elect. In our mouth is the precious word of the Lord that is able to solve every problem that we shall encounter in our walk here on earth. The piece of money that was found in the mouth of the fish therefore signifies the word of the Lord in our mouth. 

Rom 10:8  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 

In the fullness of time, we shall give to them that receive tribute money (the leaders of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world), the word in our mouth, for the rebuilding of their temples in the lake of fire age. 

Summary

In summary, it is worth noting that when Peter and the disciples became converted, this transfiguration experience had a significant impact on their lives. This is what Peter said about this experience:

2Pe 1:16  For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 
2Pe 1:18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 

Jesus was also motivated by the reward while He was here on earth.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Just like Peter, we must be motivated by the reward ahead of us as we pay attention to the light of Christ that is shining in this dark world, until Christ rises in our hearts. Amen!!

Rev 16:4-9 Part 1, The Third and Fourth Vials

[Study Aired March 16, 2025]

Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.
Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

We concluded our last study with these very revealing and revolutionary verses of scripture:

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

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

Adding the writings of Paul to the doctrines of Peter, it becomes clear that ‘judgment must begin at… he… which is… a Jew… inwardly’.

For all those who struggle to understand how Gentile Christians can possibly call themselves the true spiritual ‘Jew’, Romans 2:28-29 makes that case as clearly and concisely as it can be stated. Some disdainfully refer to such a doctrine as ‘replacement theology’. If Roman’s 2:28-29 is ‘replacement theology’ then Peter and Paul were the original replacement theologians. These are Peter’s own words at the Jerusalem conference:

Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them [Gentile Christians] the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Notice that Peter did not say, “They shall be saved even as we are.” The holy spirit inspired him to tell us that Jewish Christians “shall be saved, even as they [Gentiles, are saved]”.

“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly… but he is a Jew which is one inwardly” is one of “the first principles of the oracles of God”, a truth which we can all read and see with our own eyes. Nevertheless we “hold [this truth] in unrighteousness” and deny that “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly” while these seven plagues are being poured out upon us. This blind rebellion against the words of God is what turns “the rivers and fountains of waters” of God’s Word into blood.

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

“This generation” is the generation reading these words in every generation.

That blood we are given to drink is the blood of Christ which is now on our own hands, even as we profess that we “believe on Him” and serve him when in fact we do not:

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Like Saul of Tarsus, we are those who “kill you thinking we do God’s service”, before we become Paul the apostle who truly does service to God by “dying daily” to the things of this age.

It is very instructive that several of these trumpets are said to affect “the third part”, whereas there is no such language in the description of the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God”, bringing this process of judgment to its conclusion. The trumpets describe this ongoing process of judgment, while the seven last plagues describe the filling up in our lives of these judgments of God.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound [his trumpet], the mystery of God should be finished [the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God”], as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

There is no mention of “a third” of anything because this is what “finishes… the mystery of God.”

In the third trumpet “the third part of the rivers and fountains of water… become… bitter” and many men die, but in the third vial we are “judged thus” to have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and we are given blood to drink, and again we are told “true and righteous are your judgments.” No mention of “a third part” of anything in the pouring out of the vials.

The bitterness of the star, which makes the rivers and fountains of waters ‘wormwood’, is the same perversion of God’s Word which we drink as blood in the third vial which is also dealing with our rivers and fountains of waters of God’s Word which we hold at this time in our walk “in unrighteousness”:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God [the seven last plagues] is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

These plagues are God’s chastening judgments upon our own “ungodliness and unrighteousness”:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ’paideuo’, chastening] us [with the seven last plagues] that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

It behooves us to “read, hear, and keep the things written herein” because we are told:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

So those who teach that these seven plagues are not God’s chastening judgments, but are designed simply to harden hearts for destruction in the lake of fire, will be judged out of their own mouths, and will find themselves in that very position because they refuse to acknowledge that “all things are ours”, and that we “must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, especially the “great and marvelous” words of this 16th chapter of Revelation.

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;

Anyone who denies that these ‘seven last plagues’ are to be experienced by the Lord’s elect are denying The Truth of 1Co 3:21-22 and The Truth of these words:

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

According to those who believe that they need not experience these seven last plagues of the wrath of God Revelation 15:8, they think that verse should read “No man [except those who were raptured, or those who “need no repentance”, or those who ‘never blasphemed the name of God’] was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.’

These seven last plagues come straight out of the mouth of God:

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.

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.

“The time is [always] at hand [for us] to keep… these seven last plagues… which are written in this book”, generation by generation. These plagues are part of the “one event [which is] to all men” (Ecc 9:2), as is the fourth vial also.

The fourth plague and the fourth trumpet as well as all seven trumpets and all seven vials must be “fulfilled” in our lives (Rev 15:8):

Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

At this point the fourth vial or bowl is poured out upon the sun. With what is the fourth trumpet concerned?

Rev 8:12  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Again we see that the trumpets involve “the third part” whereas the vials “fill up the wrath of God” upon our sins and rebellions while we blaspheme the name of God. While we just naturally assume those who blaspheme the name of God do so knowingly, the scriptures actually reveal that we do so unknowingly.

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

So how do the scriptures reveal that we will all unknowingly blaspheme the name of God within our lives? Here is how we all blaspheme the name of God, before we come to even know we are doing so:

Rom 2:17  Behold, thou art called a [spiritual] Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20  An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Rom 2:21  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Romans 2 is addressed to Gentile Romans converts who Paul considers to be his spiritual “brethren”. This epistle is not written to people who don’t even know God and His Son. The church at Rome was not raised up by the apostle Paul. The church at Rome long preceded Paul’s ministry and without a doubt included the Jews who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the church first received the holy spirit as recorded in Acts 2:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

This book is addressed to those in Rome who claim to know Christ, and that certainly included many Gentiles because Paul addresses this book specifically to the Gentiles in Rome:

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.

Paul is not accusing Caesar or his subjects of blaspheming the name of God in Romans 2. He is speaking to those who consider themselves to be God’s own people, who teach others not to steal, commit adultery and commit sacrilege, while they are doing the very things they have condemned in the lives of others. In other words, these words are all addressed to you and to me. It is we who have blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles, and we continue to do so all the time we spend in the churches of Babylon, truly believing all the lying false doctrines of Babylon even as God judges us for all of our rebellious hypocrisy. That is how we are guilty of the blood of all the prophets including the blood of Christ. Even so this is how merciful our Lord is towards us while we are killing Him and His Christ:

Luk 23:33  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

When the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled in our walk, we will repent of our blasphemous lives. We will have read, heard, and kept all these things written in this book, and then we will be cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire. Only the priests of God can stand on that sea with the harps of God, and through the fire mingled with that glass, they are given to enter into the temple of God which temple is us in Christ and Christ within us. In that day we will understand the meaning of this verse:

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

That, too, is the mystery of God declared to us by His servants the prophets. It simply adds to our understanding of the same mystery spoken of by Paul in Colossians 1:

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

What John calls seals, trumpets, and vials, Paul simply refers to as “much tribulation” and “all your tribulations”, which he equates with “the righteous judgment of God”:

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.

2Th 1:3  We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith [“of Jesus”, Rev 14:12] groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

This statement in Acts 14:22 is made immediately after telling us that Paul had just been stoned and left for dead, but he had been raised up to continue his testimony. This is an example of what is meant by the “sea of glass mingled with fire.” Those who are granted to stand on that sea, with the harps of God, have already endured the seven last plagues. Christ has entered into His temple and has taken the dominion of their hearts and minds, and they will not be deterred by a mere stoning to death.

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

Summary

In this study we have seen that it is the pouring out of the seven last plagues of the seven angels which is essential to bring us to see our need for being cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire.  The fire that is mingled with that glass is the judgments of the Word of God upon all the blasphemous sins that are within us, even as we claim to be doing God a service. That fire brings on us the fulfilling in our lives of the seven plagues of the seven angels. They must begin to be fulfilled before we can be cleansed and stand on the settled ‘sea of glass mingled with fire’ and before we can enter into the temple of God.

We also saw that the destruction of the man of sin of 2Thessalonians 2, “with the brightness of [the] coming [of Christ]”, is the same event as the pouring out of these seven plagues. Both result in the same thing; “the mystery of God should be finished”. That mystery is “Christ in you”, and we saw that “the mystery of God… as He has declared to His servants the prophets, commences where “the mystery of iniquity… the man of sin” holding the dominion in our body, ends and the dominion of the mind of Christ begins to dominate our lives.

We have seen that these seven vials are God’s judgments upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness, which “fill up the wrath of God”, while the seven trumpets which precede the seven last plagues, and which perfectly parallel the seven vials, are characterized by the phrase “the third part”, signifying the process of judgment is ongoing and God’s wrath is not “filled up” in the trumpets as it is in the vials.

We have seen how we have perverted the truths of God’s “rivers and fountains of waters”, His own word, which we have twisted and perverted into deadly lies which we used to kill the prophets of God who have been sent to us with His Truth. In this way we have been made to drink the blood of our own Savior and His Christ, thus being guilty of that blood.

Mar 10:38  But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mar 10:39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

We have seen that we have all blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles for the plague of heat, which as “the Sun” of the fiery Truth of God’s Word, is poured out upon our old man and his doctrines. We saw that we do this by holding Truth in unrighteousness, even as we think we were serving God:

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

We have seen that the mystery of God within us actually begins in the opening of the seals and should be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the pouring out of the seven last plagues, when he begins to sound. In other words, “He that has begun a good work in us, will perform it until the day of Christ.”

Php 1:3  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Php 1:4  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Php 1:5  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: [The finishing of the mystery of God].

In our next study, Lord willing, we will see that the bottomless pit and “the seat of the beast are one and the same within us.

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Rev 15:5-8   No Man Was Able to Enter Into The Temple

[Study Aired March 9, 2025]

Rev 15:5  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Introduction

As we continue our study of this 15^th chapter let’s keep in mind that the ‘signs’ of this chapter are called “great and marvelous” because they signify what must be endured by those who stand on a “sea of glass mingled with fire”. These are not your average “carnal babes in Christ” of 1^st Corinthians three:

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?

‘Carnal-minded babes in Christ’ are divided into over 40,000 differing and conflicting denominations of men who are led about by men who look like a lamb but speak as a dragon.  ‘Carnal babes in Christ’ take great pride in which denomination of men they follow. Every denomination of Christendom is led by some man who appears outwardly as an “angel of light”, [but] inwardly they are “false apostles” and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”  Those who are given to endure the “great and marvelous… signs” of this 15^th chapter have gotten the victory over the beast (the man of sin within), and over his image (all the denominations of men), and over his mark (keeping all the traditions and false doctrines of these divided ‘carnal babes in Christ’), and over the number (6) of his name (the inability to “abide in Christ’s words” (‘name’= Ecc 7:1; Joh 8:30-31), demonstrating their immature and incomplete spiritual status.

Just as it was in the days of our Lord, the carnal and immature will always outnumber and hate those who are given to abide in His doctrine and follow in His steps. The signs of this 15^th chapter signify the chosen few who are granted to endure the chastening wrath of God upon the kingdom of their old man within “in this present time” (Rom 8:18). In doing so we are “hated of all men” (Mat 22:10) counted as “cursed of God” just as Job’s three miserable comforters thought of him and as our Lord was mocked of those who passed by.

Job 22:5  Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
Job 22:6  For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
Job 22:7  Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
Job 22:8  But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
Job 22:9  Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Job 22:10  Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

That is just a part of the judgments of this seventh trumpet. The judgments of this seventh trumpet consist of seven plagues which are poured out upon the Lord’s elect in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. This chapter reveals what the “fire and brimstone” and “the patience and faith of the saints” of the previous chapter consists of.

This is just another way of telling us what the wrath of God consists of:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out [of seven ‘vials’] without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

 It consists of these seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God” upon the kingdom of our self-righteous old man:

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

It is the fact that we are being judged in this present time by this “great and marvellous… sign… these seven last plagues…” this “great tribulation… (Mat 24:21), a manifest token of our salvation” that will make us worthy to be given a part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”:

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. [Seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God]
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.

2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

The seven last plagues certainly include “all your persecutions and tribulations that [we] endure”. Our persecutions and our tribulations are a token of the righteous judgment of God.

In this same 24^th chapter of Matthew , Christ tells us this was all fulfilled in that generation:

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.

In these last four verses of this chapter, we will learn the spiritual significance of the word ‘opened’. In doing so we will find that when there is an “open heaven” there is an exponential increase in our understanding of spiritual or heavenly matters.

We will also learn that ‘clothing’ in scripture always alludes to our way of life, be it a life of obedience to God and the love and righteousness of Christ and His ‘linen, clean and white’, or a life of rebellion against God and His doctrines and the filthy garments of that way of life.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

We will also discover that there is a very strong connection between the four beasts which are said to be in and around the throne of God and these seven angels of this revelation of Jesus Christ.

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

Finally, we will be reminded of the meaning of the word ‘glory’ as it relates to “the glory of God”, and we will be reminded why we are told that “no man was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

Rev 15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

This “temple of the tabernacle of testimony” is mentioned three times in the Old Testament in the King James Version, and it always refers to what is far more commonly called “the tabernacle of the congregation.” Here are those references:

Exo 38:21  This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

Num 1:50  But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

Num 1:53  But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.

Here is one example of the far more common phrase, “the tabernacle of the congregation”, speaking of the same tabernacle.

Exo 27:21  In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

“Aaron and his sons” is Bible-speak for God’s elect who “have an altar whereof they that serve the tabernacle have no right to eat”:

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

“They… that serve the tabernacle” are the Levites, and while the Levites are separated to “serve the tabernacle” they are not separated to ‘eat the holy things within the tabernacle’.

Lev 7:5  And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.
Lev 7:6  Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.

It is the stark contrast between the Levites who are the priests, the sons of Aaron, as opposed to the Levites, who are not priests, but who are commanded to “keep the charge of the tabernacle”, which demonstrates the spiritual meaning of “Many are called but few are chosen”.

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

Only the priests, the sons of Aaron, are able to enter into the tabernacle to do the service “within the vail” of the tabernacle.

Num 18:1  And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
Num 18:2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee [shall minister] before the tabernacle of witness.
Num 18:3  And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
Num 18:4  And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
Num 18:5  And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
Num 18:6  And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you [they are] given [as] a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 18:7  Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

“You and your sons” is Biblical symbolism for Christ our high priest and His elect. So when we read, “the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened”, what we are being told is that it is now being shown to us what Christ is doing in His temple to prepare it for His residence.

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened [Your heavens and the temple in your heavens being opened]; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

It is given only to Christ’s elect “as a gift of sevice”, to minister “within the vail” of the tabernacle. Numbers 18:1-7 are all summed up in this one verse in the New Testament:

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

That is why these seven angels who have the seven vials, or bowls which “fill up the wrath of God”, are said to “come out of the temple”:

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

The Levites who are not the sons of Aaron were never to so much as touch “the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar.” If the priest permitted that to happen, it would cost the lives of both the Levite who was not Aaron’s son and the priest who permitted it. The fact these seven angels “come out of the temple”, tells us that these angels are symbols of those who are given the service of the priests. These seven angels are the symbols of the sons of Aaron who signify Christ’s elect, who alone are given the priesthood “as a service of gift… to minister before God… within the vail” of the temple.

Num 18:3  And they [the Levites who were not the sons of Aaron] shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

What these verses of Numbers 18 tell us is that only the chosen elect of Christ are given to handle the word and doctrines of God, which are symbolized by “the vessels of the sanctuary.” The Truth in the hands of anyone else becomes a curse upon them, because they are not equipped or authorized or worthy to be the stewards of the Word of God.

Here is an example of how that works:

1Sa 5:1  And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
1Sa 5:2  When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
1Sa 5:3  And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
1Sa 5:4  And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
1Sa 5:5  Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
1Sa 5:6  But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
1Sa 5:7  And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

As we saw in last week’s study, it is the priests and the priests only who were ever to be cleansed in the molten sea between the brazen altar and the temple:

2Ch 4:6  He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests [only] to wash in.

It is upon that sea, which here is called “a sea of glass mingled with fire”, that God’s elect who overcome the mark, name, number and image of the beast, stand with golden harps, singing the victorious song of Moses.

What does “clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles” mean? As we have seen earlier, “the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

Rev 19:8  And to her [Christ’s elect, His bride] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Again, it is affirmed to us that these seven angels are Christ’s own bride, who are “clothed in pure and white linen…”

What does “golden girdle” signify? It signifies Christ and those who are in Him:

Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Here is what we are told of those who are Christ’s at this time:

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

In our study of chapter 16, we will see that these seven angels identify themselves as God’s own elect, “our fellowservants, and of those who keep the sayings of this prophecy…” Because Christ’s offices are so numerous, many types and shadows and symbols are employed; both to hide from the “many called”, and at the same time to reveal all those various offices to the “few… chosen”. “As He is, so are we in this world.” If Christ is girded with a golden girdle and we are “in Him”, then we, too, are “girded with golden girdles.”

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Many symbols are employed to reveal all the various offices we, as Christ’s Christ, must fulfill. Here in chapters 15-16 we are called “seven angels”, but here in verse 7 we are called “one of the four beasts”. In our study of chapter 5 we saw how these four beasts tell us that they, too, are symbols of those who are “redeemed from among men” and “will rule on earth”. How can “one of the four beasts” as a symbol of God’s elect be giving the seven vials to another symbol of God’s elect? That is no more of a mystery than asking how can God’s elect, who are the temple of God, become seven angels who come out of the temple of God? That apparent mystery is explained with these words:

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

“Ye in me, and I in you.” The spirit world is far more fluid than the physical world. “At that day” is this very day which we are now studying. It is “the great day of God’s wrath” (Rev 6:17), when “the mystery of God should be finished” within us. That mystery is “Christ in you the hope of glory… Ye in me and I in you”. If indeed Christ is within us then He can give us, these seven angels, the seven vials and commission us to pour them out on our own “unrighteousness and ungodliness”:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God [the seven last plagues] is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

This is the ‘chastening and scourging love of God which He pours out on every son that He receives.’ This is the work of the grace of God within our lives:

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

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’ chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

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

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

This is not “made manifest” to just anyone. It is only “made manifest to his saints”. If Christ is in us and we are “as He is in this world”, then these “golden girdles” on these seven angels tie us inexorably to Christ, because, as we will see later, these seven angels tell us they are symbols of us (Rev 19:10 and 22:8-9).

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

It is we who are admonished to “read… hear… and keep the sayings of the prophecy of 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.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

It is Christ in us giving these vials to us and pouring out the wrath of God upon the sins, false doctrines and rebellions within us.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. [in his life]

We have covered this verse thoroughly as we dealt with the first four verses of this chapter. “The glory of God” is not just a bright glow. “The glory of God” is the bright light that is His fiery words and doctrines which fly in the face of everything that appeals to our flesh. The smoke from that glory is the by- product of the burning up of all “the wood, hay and stubble” that is the false doctrines and pulls of our flesh which dominate our lives “till the seven plagues of the seven angels is fulfilled” within us.

Ezekiel 47:1–23 The Water that Flows from the Temple

[Study Aired Feb 10, 2025]

Introduction

In today’s study, the Lord showed Ezekiel the water emerging from beneath the threshold of the temple, its depth and rise, together with its healing virtue. The study also focuses on the trees growing along the banks of the river and the fruits they produce on a monthly basis.

After this the focus of the study is turned to the inheritance of the people of Israel and the extent of the land the Lord has apportioned to them. The Lord also gave instructions on how strangers dwelling among the people of Israel should be treated regarding the inheritance of the people of Israel.

This water issuing out of the temple, together with the inheritance of the people of Israel apply to us as we look at the spiritual significance of today’s study.

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. 

The Water flowing from the threshold of the Temple

Eze 47:1  Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 

Being brought unto the door of the house on a positive note implies having the privilege to be given the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. In other words, it means being given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven or being shown the way to become an overcomer as seen in the story of Naaman when he went to the door of the house of Elisha.

2Ki 5:9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
2Ki 5:10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 

Gen 43:19  And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

Gen 43:23  And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

The Lord bringing Ezekiel, a type of the Lord’s elect to the door of the house is therefore to let us know the way to become an overcomer. It was at the door that Ezekiel saw waters coming out of the threshold of the house. This water is the truth of the word of the Lord which is able to save us. The house here is the temple where we gather as the Lord’s elect. It is from our gathering together as the church of the firstborn or Jerusalem above that we see this water or the truth of the word of the Lord right at the very beginning of our walk with the Lord in the spirit.

James 1:21 So get rid of all uncleanness and all that remains of wickedness, and with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. (AMP)

The fact that the water flows from the right side of the house is significant. The right side of the house is the assembly of the elect as shown in the following verses:

Eze 10:3  Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

The cherubims represents the Lord’s elect. This water is therefore what every joint supplies to nourish us to grow up unto him in all things.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

The water flowing eastward is to let us know that this water is available to those whom the sun, which represents Christ is rising in their lives. On a positive note, the south side of the altar where the water is coming out of the temple signifies the truth of the word of the Lord which is able to turn again our captivity in Babylon or the churches of this world.

Psa 126:4  Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 

Jdg 1:15  And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. 

Eze 47:2  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 

It is the Lord who leads us through the north gate and around the outer east gate. The north signifies the Lord’s judgement of our old man or flesh. As indicated, the east refers to the rising of our Lord or the sun within us. We are therefore being told that it is those whom the Lord is establishing His kingdom within them who are being judged. As shown earlier, the right side represents the Lord’s elect. It is the through the Lord’s elect that we are shown the truth of the Lord’s words.

Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Jer 4:6  Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

Eze 47:3  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 

The man having the measuring line is Christ. The man going eastward means the Lord coming to His people to establish His kingdom within them. It is the Lord who brings us through the waters. That means it is the Lord who comes to us with His words. The Lord measuring a thousand cubits (1000 = 10x10x10) of distance is to let us know that it is when our flesh has reached its fulness (significance of the number ten) that our Lord comes to us with His judgement to bring us to spiritual maturity (the significance of the three tens). The water reaching only our ankles signify that at this point of our walk in Christ, we are used only to the milk doctrines of His words, which we are admonished to move on to spiritual maturity through eating the meat of His words.

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 
Heb 6:3  And this will we do, if God permit.

Eze 47:4  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 
Eze 47:5  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 

These verses show us that there are stages in our walk with the Lord in truth and in spirit. These stages are defined by a thousand cubits. As explained earlier, the number one thousand consists of three tens (1000 = 10x10x10). The number ten signifies the fulness of our flesh and the number three is about the process of spiritual maturity through judgement. This implies that we become spiritually mature in our walk with the Lord through the Lord’s judgement, as our eyes and ears are opened to understand more of the truth of His words represented here by the rise in the level of water from the ankle to the knee, to the loins, until we cannot walk in the water but swim in it.

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

Swimming in the water means that all our human endeavor has abated and that we are fully resting in the Lord to carry us along in our walk with Him. Our spiritual maturity is therefore defined by our spiritual insight which causes us to become more obedient to His words as we surrender our lives wholly to our Lord.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

We know from the word of the Lord that we are able to understand the Lord’s eternal power and even the Godhead through the things that are made. This brings to mind what we learnt in Physics class during our schooling days. It is called upthrust or buoyancy and it is defined as an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. This force is what causes us to float in water. The larger the volume of water, the more the upthrust, making it easier to float. This implies that the more we come to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, the more we are given the power to rest in the Lord.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Eze 47:6  And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 
Eze 47:7  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 
Eze 47:8  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 
Eze 47:9  And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. 

The many trees on either side of the bank of the river represent the people of the world who shall be saved by the river that issues out of the temple as the river brings life to wherever it flows. The river flowing into the desert and into the sea, to make the sea fresh is another way of saying that all humanity shall be saved by the word of the Lord since the sea represents the flesh of humanity. Again, the very great multitude of fish also symbolize the people of the world.

Mar 8:24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

1Ch 6:33  Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth.

Mat 4:18  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 

Verses 7 to 9 of Ezekiel 47 therefore show us the salvation of all men through the word of the Lord which shall take place in the lake of fire age.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. 

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.  

Eze 47:10  And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 
Eze 47:11  But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 

In verse 10, the fishers standing upon the brink of the river from Engedi even unto Eneglaim represent the Lord’s elect, who shall be the Lord’s vessels to administer the word of the Lord (the river) to all humanity to usher in the salvation of all men during the lake of fire age. Engedi means the fount of the kid and that of Eneglaim means the fountain of two calves. The reference to Engedi and Eneglaim is therefore to let us know that we shall serve as witnesses of the truth of the word of the Lord represented here as a fountain in dragging all humanity to Christ.

It is instructive to note that the miry places and the marishes in verse 11 shall not be healed. The miry places and the marshes represent clay or earth mixed with water. They signify the false doctrines which comes from our traditions and human wisdom. These false doctrines being given to salt means that they shall be burnt out or destroyed from all humanity, as salt can signify the fire of the word of the Lord, as shown in the following verses:

Mar 9:49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

Deu 29:23  And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

Eze 47:12  And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. 

In verse 12, we are told that the trees shall grow as meat and that they shall bring forth new fruits according to their months as they are nourished by the water that comes forth out of the sanctuary. This is to let us know that in the fulness of time, all humanity shall become like Christ who is the tree of life having the full understanding of the word of the Lord which brings healing to all nations. We find this verse also mentioned in Revelation chapter 22 as we are given additional information of the trees bearing twelve manner of fruits as follows:

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

The trees bearing twelve manner of fruits is the same as saying that all humanity shall be like Christ, as the number twelve is the number of Christ.

Our Inheritance

Eze 47:13  Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 
Eze 47:14  And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. 

In these verses, we are dealing with our inheritance as the Lord’s elect. In a positive sense, we are the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph in this case represents our Lord Jesus Christ. It is our Lord Jesus Christ who has been given a double or two portions for being the firstborn of all creation.

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 

Deu 21:15  If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deu 21:16  Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. 

The Lord has assured us of an inheritance as He lifts His hand in verse 14 to make us overcomers. In view of this inheritance which is the joy that is set before us, we are required to endure to the very end, just as our Lord Jesus Christ endured the cross and is sitting on the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Eze 47:15  And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; 
Eze 47:16  Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. 
Eze 47:17  And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. 

Here in these verses, we are given the characteristics of our inheritance in Christ. Hethlon means a hiding place. Other names mentioned are Zedad which means a mountain side and Hamath which indicates fortress. These names are all to show us about the surety or safety of our inheritance in Christ. This is what the Lord says about our inheritance which is consistent with these names of the northern boundary of Palestine:

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Other names of the cities on the northern border such as Berothah which means wells and Hazar-enan signifying village of fountain are to show us the availability of water which signifies the word of the Lord which will sustain us in Him. This is the river that proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb to nourish us.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

The surety of our inheritance and the word of the Lord to nourish us is what gives us a double-fold hope which is the meaning of Sibraim, a city also on the northern border of Israel’s inheritance.

Eze 47:18  And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. 
Eze 47:19  And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. 
Eze 47:20  The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.

The key cities on the eastern border were Hauran which means cave land and Gilead which indicates a rocky region. The names of these cities are to show us the safety of our inheritance in Christ. The Jordan River serves as the border between Gilead and the land of Israel. Again, this Jordan river on a positive note is the word of the Lord which nourishes us in Him.

The southern border starts from Tamar and continues to the waters of contention or strife at Kadesh. To the people of the world and our brothers and sisters in Babylon, the word of the Lord which nourishes us is contentious or produces strife. That is to say that for those who are dying, the word of God is foolishness but to us, His elect, it is the power of God.

1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 
1Co 1:19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 

The city on the boundary of the western border is Hamath which means fortress. That implies the surety of our inheritance in Christ who is a fortress for us. It is instructive to note that the sea is mentioned as part of each of the borders. This is to remind us of our rule over the flesh of humanity as part of our inheritance. When Joshua was leading the people of Israel in their attack of Jericho, he told the people the following:

Jos 6:16  And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. 

Indeed, the Lord has given us victory over the flesh.

Eze 47:21  So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. 
Eze 47:22  And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 
Eze 47:23  And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD. 

Dividing the land according to the tribes of Israel means the Lord calling His elect from all the nations of the world to inherit His promise.

Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 

In verse 22, we are told that our inheritance is by lot. This implies that it is the Lord who has predetermined us for an inheritance. As we are aware, the Lord has selected His overcomers even before the foundation of this world.

Jos 14:2  By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. 

In modern times, this is what Proverbs 16:33 means: we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. It implies that it is the Lord who has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world to possess an inheritance.

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

In verses 22 and 23, strangers sojourning among the people of Israel are also entitled to an inheritance among the people of Israel. The children born by these foreigners among the people of Israel are regarded as part of the people of Israel. We, who are classified as Gentiles by the people of Israel are now no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. We, His elect, are therefore entitled to an inheritance as we represent the spiritual Jews.

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

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

We thank the Lord for showing mercy to us to be counted as fellow citizens of the household of God. May His name be praised. Amen!!

Ezekiel 43:1–27 The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

[Study Aired January 13, 2025]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study is about the Lord coming with His glory to fill His temple. As we already know, our bodies are the temple of the Lord and therefore today’s review shows us how the Lord comes to take residence in our hearts and minds.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

If we are to understand today’s study, then we need to know what the glory of the Lord means. The first time the glory of the Lord appeared in the Bible was in Exodus chapter 16, when the people of Israel thought that Moses and Aaron had brought them into the wilderness to kill them because of the lack of food and water. They forgot about the Lord’s mighty deliverance from their captivity in Egypt and therefore grumbled against Moses and Aaron who represent the Lord’s elect. It is against this background that the Lord appeared to the people of Israel in the cloud as follows:

Exo 16:10  And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
Exo 16:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

We know from the word of the Lord that the cloud represents the Lord’s elect.

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

We can therefore say that the glory of the Lord appears in His elect.

Exo 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

The fact that the cloud covered mount Sinai for six days is to show us that the cloud represent the Lord’s elect since the number six is the number of man. What we also need to understand is that anytime there is the glory of the Lord in the cloud, there is the speaking of the Lord. This glory of the Lord is therefore being able to hear the voice of the true shepherd or our Lord Jesus Christ from the midst of the fire.

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

From the midst of the fire signifies that seeing the glory of the Lord also means being judged. At the end of the day, this is what the glory of the Lord does to us, His elect:

1Sa 2:8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.

The glory of the Lord is therefore His works in us His elect, first, and later, in another age, the rest of all humanity.

Psa 104:31  The glory of the LORD shall endure forever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

Isa 4:5  And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The works of the Lord is preparing His temple, which is our bodies for Him to dwell in. The study for today which deals with the glory of the Lord filling the temple is therefore about the works of the Lord in making His elect’s hearts and minds habitable for Him to dwell in.

In the Book of Isaiah, the Lord filling His temple is preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness. It is also the same as making straight in the desert a highway for our God. The way in the wilderness and the highway in the desert are His judgement as He comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to us in our spiritual poverty (wilderness or desert). This way in the wilderness or a highway in the desert that the Lord prepares in our hearts and minds for Him to live in, is what the glory of the Lord is about. The glory is therefore His works of preparing us for a place to live in.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today’s study is therefore about how the Lord comes to take residence in our hearts and minds. Specifically, it is about the glory of the Lord as He comes to fill His temple, the measurement of the altar and the offerings.

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

The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

Eze 43:1  Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 
Eze 43:2  And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 
Eze 43:3  And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 
Eze 43:4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 

Verses 1 and 2 show us that the glory of the Lord came from the way of the east. The east is where the sun rises in our lives. This implies the beginning of our walk with the Lord as the sun represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Our walk with the Lord starts with our lives in Babylon or the physical churches of this world before the Lord comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to drag us to Himself. It is instructive to note that the first time the word “east” is used in the Bible, it has to do with the river that flows east towards Assyria (Babylon) with the river becoming the Euphrates. The next use of the word “east” has to do with the judgement we must go through because of our sins in order to assess the tree of life which represents Christ.

Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

As indicated in the introduction portion of this study, the glory of the Lord is His work towards making us His habitation. It is while we are in Babylon that the Lord comes to us with His words and His judgement to cause the rising of the sun, or Christ, in our lives. The Lord’s coming with His brightness is His illumination of His words so that we can unmistakenly hear His voice as the noise of many waters. That is when our earthen vessels shines with His glory (verse 2).

In verse 3, we are reminded that the appearance of this vision is similar to the one Ezekiel had when the Lord came to destroy the city, when he had the vision by the river Chebar. This is to let us know that the vision of the glory of the Lord coming from the way of the east is for the Lord to destroy, in this case, our old man or flesh through His judgement. This destruction also includes the false doctrines, symbolized by the river Chebar, which we believed in when we were in Babylon.

Again, we are prompted to know in verse 4 that the glory of the Lord coming into the house is by way of the east. That is to say that the Lord’s work of coming to dwell in us entails the judgement of our flesh.

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

Eze 43:5  So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. 
Eze 43:6  And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 
Eze 43:7  And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 

The glory of the Lord filling the house in verse 5 is to show us the end result of the works of the Lord in our lives, which is, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

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

When the temple was built by king Solomon and was dedicated, the temple was filled with a cloud as the glory of the Lord occupied the building. As a result, the priests could not minister.

1Ki 8:10  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
1Ki 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

As we have shown earlier, the glory of the Lord comes in a cloud. The cloud filling the temple is the glory of the Lord filling the temple. The fact that the priests could not minister when the Lord takes residence in our hearts and minds, means that we do no work. That is to say that we rest in Him, or cease from our own strivings, as the Lord does His works in us.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

The man standing beside Ezekiel while he hears someone speaking to Him from inside the temple in verse 6 is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His voice that comes out of the temple to assure Ezekiel in verse 7 that it is within the temple, or our hearts and minds that His throne is, and the resting place for His feet. The Lord also assured Ezekiel that no longer will the people of Israel and their kings dishonor His holy name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings.  The people of Israel here represent the Lord’s elect. No longer acting like a harlot means that we shall not be under the sway of the harlot woman who signifies Babylon or the physical churches of this world. The Lord cleansing and establishing His throne in our hearts and minds is the same as we dwelling in the sacred place of the most high and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

In verse 7, we are also told that when the Lord establishes His throne within the people of Israel, they shall not dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings in their high places. The high places represent the place of worship of their gods. The kings here are the kings of the earth or the leaders of Babylon who had led us astray during our sojourn in Babylon with their false doctrines. When the Lord opens our eyes to see and ears to hear, we come to see these messengers as spiritually dead. Adhering to any doctrine of these false messengers means defiling our temple with the dead bodies or carcasses of these kings.

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 (the harlot) fornication.

Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

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

Eze 43:8  In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 
Eze 43:9  Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. 
Eze 43:10  Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. 

Putting their doorway by the Lord’s doorway and their doorpost by the Lord’s doorpost such that there is only a wall that separates the Lord from our brothers and sisters in Babylon in verse 8 means that the entry to serving the Lord is similar for Jerusalem which is above and that which is in bondage. The only difference between them is a wall. This wall or difference is that the worship of the Lord leads to bondage for those who serve under Jerusalem which is in bondage, while that of Jerusalem which is above leads to liberty in Christ.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

As stated in verse 8, the worship which leads to bondage incurs the wrath of the Lord as He comes with His judgement to consume our flesh. We, His elect, start our walk with the Lord incurring the wrath of the Lord and therefore are judged, before we are given the liberty in Christ which serves as a wall separating us from our adulterous way of worship.

Here in verse 9, we are shown that the work of the Lord is to take away our whoredom far from Him and also put away the carcasses of our kings. As we have shown earlier, the carcasses of the kings represent the false doctrines propagated by the false messengers of Christ parading as angels of light. The putting away of these is the requirement for the indwelling of Christ in us.

In verse 10, the Lord told Ezekiel, a symbol of the elect to show the temple to the people of Israel for them to be ashamed of their iniquities. Showing the temple to the Lord’s elect means measuring the temple pattern. It is therefore imperative that we come to see the pattern that was shown Moses on the mount so that we can know how the Lord builds His temple within us.

Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Exo 25:40  And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

Eze 43:11  And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 
Eze 43:12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 

Verse 11 is saying that we have to be ashamed of what we have done in terms of our whorish behavior to our husband Christ before we are given to know how the Lord builds His temple within us. According to verse 11, coming to know how the Lord builds His temple within us entails understanding the design of the temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances – its entire design. It also means knowing about all its rules and regulations. We come to know the rules and regulations of the temple through studying the word of the Lord.

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

In verse 12, we are told that the law of the house is that the whole area on the top of the mountain all around must be holy. This whole area on the top of the mountain all around refers to our hearts and minds which must be cleansed to become holy.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

The Altar of Sacrifice

Eze 43:13  And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. 
Eze 43:14  And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. 
Eze 43:15  So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. 
Eze 43:16  And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 
Eze 43:17  And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east. 

The altar is where our sacrifices are burnt. Spiritually, the altar represents our hearts and minds which are purified through the Lord’s judgement such that we can offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are told that the measurements of the altar are in cubits and that the cubit used in the sanctuary is different from the normal cubit used for everyday measurements. The cubits in the sanctuary is the normal cubit plus a handbreadth. The handbreadth is approximately 4 inches. This is to show us that the standard applied by the Lord to His elect, who represent His temple are higher than the standard applied to Babylon and the world. The verses below show us that the Lord’s standards for us are far higher than that of the world including Babylon.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

The base of the altar was a cubit and a cubit wide. All around the edge of the altar was a rim measuring about one span. The number one signifies unity. Thus, the Lord is enjoining all His elect, to have the mind of Christ.

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

The height of the altar is as follows: from the base on the ground to the lower ledge was two cubits high, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge was four cubits high and a cubit wide.

The two cubits height from the base on the ground to the lower ledge signifies that the Lord is preparing us to serve as His witnesses.

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

The height from the lower ledge to the upper ledge being four cubits and one cubit in width means that it is the whole of the Lord’s elect (the significance of the number four) that the Lord is requiring us to have one mind and therefore serve as His witnesses.

The place where the sacrifices were to be burnt shall be four cubits and there were four horns above it. As indicated the four cubits show us that what is being discussed here pertains to the whole of the Lord’s elect. Horns signify strength as shown in the following verse:

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

The four horns therefore means that the whole of the strength of the Lord’s elect is in our oneness or unity. That is when we can serve as witnesses of Christ.

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

In verse 16, we are told that the altar hearth or fireplace shall be twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide. This implies that it is a square. The number twelve is the number of Christ. The fireplace represents our judgement and therefore what we are being told is that the judgement of the Lord is to make us like Christ. The fact that the altar fireplace is a square is to let us know that no matter where we are coming from in terms of our background, we must all go through the Lord’s judgement to makes us like Christ. In verse 17, the upper ledge being a square affirms to us that we all go through the same experience to become like Christ.

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

The upper ledge was fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. The number fourteen means spiritual progression. The judgement we face is all to help us progress spiritually. It is instructive to note that the steps to the altar faced east. This is to let us know that the rising of the sun or the Lord in our lives is through the Lord’s judgement.

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

The Offerings

Eze 43:18  And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 
Eze 43:19  And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. 
Eze 43:20  And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. 
Eze 43:21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
Eze 43:22  And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 

These verses deal with the cleansing of the altar. As indicated earlier, the altar is our hearts and minds and so these verses show us what the Lord has done for the cleansing of our hearts and minds. In verse 18, we are informed that the altar is for the offering of burnt offerings and the sprinkling of blood. The burnt offerings signifies the destruction of the flesh through fire, and the sprinkling of blood is the blood of Christ which was shed for our sins. The priests from the seed of Zadok, which symbolize the Lord’s elect, are the only ones permitted to approach the Lord and minister to Him. The young bullock for our sin offering represents our Lord Jesus Christ who was offered for our sins. The bullock being young is in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ who was offered at a very young age for our sins.

Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8  Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

2 Corinthians 5:21: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

In Verse 20, Ezekiel was to take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the altar’s four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all the way around the altar. This is to cleanse and purge the altar of sin. The spiritual reality of this verse is shown in the following:

Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

In other words, the purification of our hearts and minds is the heavenly things themselves in Hebrew 11:23 and it is there that the Lord is cleansing us with His blood.

The body of the bullock for the sin offering must be burnt outside the sanctuary. This shows us how our Lord died outside the gate of Jerusalem to sanctify us with His blood. As Christ is, so are we. We must also go forth outside the camp of Babylon to suffer or be judged for the destruction of our flesh, for the sake of Christ.

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
Heb 13:11  For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
Heb 13:12  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Verse 22 tells us of the sacrifice of a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering. Again, the kid of the goats without blemish is our Lord Jesus Christ whose blood cleanses our hearts and minds.

Eze 43:23  When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. 
Eze 43:24  And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 
Eze 43:25  Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 
Eze 43:26  Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 
Eze 43:27  And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD. 

Verses 23 to 26 show us the repetitive nature of the sacrifice as part of the law of Moses. Seven days of these sacrifice means the complete period of our walk in the churches of this world or Babylon, when we were under the law of Moses.

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

The eighth day represents new beginnings where we had left behind the law of Moses and are now operating under the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death (law of Moses). During this period as priests of the Lord, we are to make burnt offerings upon the altar and peace offerings. As stated earlier, the burnt offering results in the destruction of the flesh. However, the peace offering is the only offering in which all three parties partake of the offering; God gets His share, the priest gets his part, and the offerer gets his part to share with “anyone who is clean”. In verse 27, we are informed that it is through the burnt offerings and the peace offerings that we are accepted by the Lord. It is as our flesh proceeds to die through the judgement of the Lord (burnt offering) and we are partaking of the word of the Lord (peace offering) that we are accepted by the Lord.

We thank the Lord for His mercy towards us, to be accepted by the Lord in this age. Amen!!

Ezekiel 42:1-20 The Inner Temple

[Study Aired January 6, 2025]

INTRODUCTION

Today, we are dealing Ezekiel chapter 42 which continues and concludes the measurement of the passageway to the outer and inner courts of the temple, together with the private chambers arranged in three floors. As indicated, these chapters which focus on the measurement of the temple is to makes us aware of how the Lord comes into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to cleanse our hearts and minds for Him to dwell within us. The spirit of His mouth refers to His judgement, and His brightness signifies the illumination of His words for us to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Before the coming of the Lord, our old man or flesh has taken the throne of our hearts and minds claiming to be God that deserve our worship, since we think we make our own decisions. In this world, it is only the Lord who makes decisions and so thinking that we make our own decisions means we are playing the role of God. The decisions we make are caused by the Lord.

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes 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:

The question that we may be asking is that why would the Lord devotes three long chapters of the Bible to describe the temple to Ezekiel? The answer to this question is that the temple serves as the gathering place for His elect. The gathering of the Lord’s children is very important especially as we see the day approaching. The day approaching is the Lord coming with His judgement to His chosen ones and our gathering supplies what is needed to survive the onslaught of the evil one.

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We must also understand that the move of the Lord in this dispensation is the gathering of His people together, which is a prerequisite for the possession of the land, which is our bodies. Possessing our bodies means overcoming the flesh and it is what will qualify us to reign with Christ.

Eze 11:17  Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
Eze 11:18  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Eze 11:20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  

Eze 36:24  For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25  Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

It is important to note that the Lord loves our gathering together more than our individualistic pursuit of the kingdom. That is what it means when the word of the Lord says that the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than the dwellings of Jacob.

Psa 87:2  The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Psa 87:3  Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
Psa 87:4  I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
Psa 87:5  And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
Psa 87:6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.

In the final analysis, as we mature through what every joint supplies, we shall surely become part of the New Jerusalem whose measurement depicts Christ. The number twelve is the number of Christ and the twelve gates, the foundations and the twelve angels are all to tell us that we shall all measure up to the standard of Christ as the Lord has promised.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Today’s study focuses on the description of the chambers near the courts in terms of their situation and structure. It also touches on the uses of these chambers. Finally, the study shows us measurements of the area containing the house and the courts belonging to it.

The Passageway to the Chambers

Eze 42:1  Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north. 

As indicated in the previous studies, the outer court is where everybody comes to worship. Our time in the physical churches of this world or Babylon is represented by worshipping in the outer court. This brings to mind the multitude praying in the outer court while Zacharias, the priest, who represents the elect, was worshipping in the inner temple. It was in the inner temple that he had an encounter with the Lord.

Luk 1:8  And it came to pass, that while he (Zacharias) executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
Luk 1:9  According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Luk 1:10  And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

The north signifies judgement as shown in the following verses:

Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Jer 4:6  Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

This implies that Ezekiel being brought into the outer court towards the way to the north is to tell us that we begin our walk with Christ in the outer court where we give the Lord the occasion for Him to come and judge us. As shown in the introductory section, the key focus of Today’s study is the rooms or chambers which were against the open area and the building on the north. As indicated in verse 13, these rooms represent our hearts and minds where the Lord resides and it is where we receive or eat the holy things which refer to the truth of the word of the Lord.

Eze 42:13  Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.

When the Lord Jesus was referring to the fact that in His Father’s house there are many mansions, the mansions signifies the heart and mind of each of His elect. 

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

The separate place or the open area represents our liberty in Christ and the building towards the north symbolizes the inner temple which is accessed through judgement. Being brought into the room which was against the open area and the building on the north means that the Lord must have His throne in our hearts and minds to give us the liberty in Christ which comes through the Lord’s judgment. This liberty in Christ means we are no longer in bondage to the flesh.

Eze 42:2  Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. 
Eze 42:3 Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. 

The building whose door is towards the north has a length of an hundred cubits and a width of fifty cubits. The fact that the door was towards the north means that we can only access the inner temple or building through the Lord’s judgement of our flesh. The number ‘an hundred’ (100 = 10×10) show us the fulness of the flesh, and ‘fifty’ signifies our liberty in Christ. What these measurements mean is that to have access to the inner temple, which is accessed only by the priests, we must realize that we are the worse sinners as our sins have reached the heavens. That is what gives the Lord the occasion to come and judge us so that we can be liberated from the shackles of our flesh.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

In verse 3, opposite the inner courtyard was an area of twenty cubits wide which was opposite the pavement of the inner courtyard which faces gallery upon gallery in three stories. These galleries are long, covered areas that are open on one or both sides and are used as corridors or walks. What this implies is that it is those who are ready to war against the flesh who are granted access to the chambers in three stories, since the galleries lead to the chambers or rooms on each floor designated for only the priests.

Eze 42:4  And before the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long, and their doors were on the north. 
Eze 42:5  Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 
Eze 42:6  For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. 

Verse 4 is telling us that there is a passageway of ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits in length, leading to the doors facing north. This is telling us that those who are privileged to have access to the chambers or rooms are those whose sins have reached the heavens or become full and therefore are being judged.

Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

As we are aware, it is only the Lord’s elect or priests who are being judged in this age and therefore the rooms are specifically for the priests only. As indicated, these rooms or chambers represent our hearts and minds being a habitation for the Lord.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

In the previous study, we came to know that there were 30 rooms in each floor. The fact that the rooms are arranged in three stories or levels is to show us that we grow in spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgement. The number ‘thirty’ signifies those who have started to rule over their flesh. They are the ones whose hearts and minds are being prepared as a habitation for the Lord. Later, in another age, we shall rule the kingdoms of this world.

Gen 41:46  And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

2Sa 5:4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

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

The three floors with thirty rooms on each level is therefore to make us aware that it is only the Lord’s elect who constitute the temple of the Lord and that as we are being judged, we grow in spiritual maturity from one level to another, and that we are perfected on the third day or floor.

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

It is instructive to note that in verse 5, we are told that the rooms on the third floor are narrower than those on the first and second floor of the building because of the corridors that took more space away from them. The corridors on the third floor having more space is to let us know of the liberty we have in Christ as we grow in maturity. The fact that the rooms on the third floor were narrower compared with the first two floors is let us know that although we have the liberty in Christ, we are not to use our liberty to indulge the flesh.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Verse 6 deals with the structure of the three story buildings. It is not clear from the various versions of the Bible what was being said. All versions say that the rooms in the three stories do not have pillar support like the buildings in the courtyard. The CEV version gives an indication of what supports the three stories.

Eze 42:6  The rooms on the bottom level supported those on the two upper levels, and so these rooms did not have columns like other buildings in the courtyard. (CEV)

As indicated, the rooms represent the Lord’s elect. We can therefore look at the first floor as the work of the apostles which lay the foundation or pillars for us to build on.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Eze 42:7  And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 
Eze 42:8  For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits. 

There was a wall parallel to the rooms and towards the outer court and it had a length of fifty cubits. The wall is that which separates those in the outer courts from the rooms or chambers of the priests. Being fifty cubits in length means that what separates us from our brothers and sisters in Babylon is our liberty in Christ. It is also worth noting that the length of the chambers that were in the outer courts was fifty cubits. This affirms the fact that what separates us from our brethren in Babylon is our liberty in Christ.

Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
Gal 2:3  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
Gal 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

In verse 8, we are also told that the chambers that faced the temple had a length of an hundred cubits. This is to make us aware that the stumbling block to our hearts and minds being made the temple of the Lord is our flesh in his fulness.

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
Isa 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Eze 42:9  And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court. 
Eze 42:10  The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building. 
Eze 42:11 And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.  

The east signifies the beginning of the rise of the sun in our lives. This sun is our Lord Jesus Christ. When we start our walk with Christ, we enter the outer court. From the outer court, on the east end, there is a gate leading to the rooms meant for priests. It is when Christ comes to us while we are worshipping in the outer courts, that we are able to enter the chambers through the east gate. Entering the chamber means that our hearts and minds becoming a habitation for the Lord as the Lord rises in our hearts and minds.

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

Verse 10 shows us that there were rooms parallel to the wall of the courtyard on the south side. They faced the open area and the building. This suggests that the courtyard, which is where we start our walk, is such that unless the Lord intervenes, there is no way we can come into the chambers, that is, the Lord making a habitation in our hearts and minds. This is because the wall of the outer courtyard runs parallel to the chambers.

In verse 11, there was a walkway in front of the open area and the building which was like the one that was in front of the rooms on the north side. These rooms were as long and as wide as the northern rooms. They had the same exits, dimensions, and doors. The walkway being the same as the one in front of the rooms on the northern side means that from whatever direction or background that we are coming from, we must all face the judgement of our old man or flesh as the Lord makes His habitation in us.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Eze 42:12  And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. 

A simpler version of this verse reads:

Eze 42:12  The doors to the south rooms were the same as the doors to the north rooms. There was a doorway at the other end of the walkway that was parallel to the corresponding wall that ran eastward. People entered through that doorway.

The door to the south rooms being the same as the door to the north rooms implies that irrespective of our background, we all share the same experience with our walk with the Lord. The passageway to the chambers being parallel to the wall towards the east is to let us know that this pathway which the Lord takes us through to become His mansions or habitation is separate from our experience with Christ when we first believed. It is this pathway that the Lord constrains us to walk through to become His elect.

The Uses of the Chambers

Eze 42:13  Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. 
Eze 42:14 When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people. 

The verses here show us that the north chambers and the south chambers are holy chambers and they belong to those called and chosen as priests. As we have seen, the north represents judgement and the south means being in the land of trouble and anguish, where we are under the domain of the devil and his cohorts as they feed on our flesh.  This gives the Lord the occasion to come and judge us.

Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Jer 4:6  Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

Isa 30:6  The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

The north and south chambers therefore represent those who are being judged in this age. It is this people that the Lord is making their hearts and minds His temple to live in. It is in our hearts and minds that we imbibe the truth of the word of the Lord, which is represented in verse 13 as the holy things.

In verse 14, we are told that as priests of the Lord, we cannot go back into the outer court which signifies Babylon or the physical churches of this world. The garments that were worn by the priests represent our righteousness.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

It is only when we leave behind our garments, that is, lose our righteousness, that we can become part of the outer court. Becoming part of Babylon is the same as wearing other garments not recommended for the wedding feast with Christ.

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

The Measurement of the Gates

Eze 42:15  Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. 
Eze 42:16  He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 
Eze 42:17  He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 
Eze 42:18  He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. 
Eze 42:19  He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 
Eze 42:20  He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place. 

The East side represents our walk with Christ when He begins to rise within us. The measurement of five hundred reeds on the east side is to let us know that when our sins have reached their fulness because of the dominance of the flesh in our lives, that is when the Lord comes to us with His grace through faith.

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

This grace is the Lord’s chastening which, through the faith the Lord has given us, we are able to endure to the end. The rise of the daystar within us is therefore through the judgement of the Lord.

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

The north side also had the same measurement as the east side. This is to assure us that this grace through faith that we have received involves the judgement of the Lord since the north signifies judgement.

The south side also had the same measurement. Being on the south side means that we are in the land of trouble and anguish where we are under the domain of the devil and his cohorts as they feed on our flesh.

Isa 30:6  The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

It is this situation that we find ourselves in that the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to cleanse our temple for Him to dwell in.

The west is where the sun sets. The west side therefore refers to our maturity in Christ as we come to fear the name of the Lord.

Isa 59:19  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

The west having the same measurement of five hundred reeds as the other sides of the cardinal points means that it is grace through faith that we mature to have the fear of the Lord. As explained, this grace connotes the chastening of the Lord.

The fact that all the sides of the temple area have the same measurement means that the temple area was a square. This implies that from whatever background we come from, our spiritual experience are all the same.

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.

In verse 20, the chapter concludes with the fact that there is a wall surrounding the temple area with the measurement of five hundred reeds in length and five hundred reeds in breadth. This is to remind us that it is when our flesh has reached its fulness that the Lord comes with His grace through faith to deliver us, and to makes our hearts and minds His sanctuary or temple. In verse 20, we are also given the function of the wall. It separates the sanctuary or the holy place from the profane place. What separates us, His elect, from the people of this world, including our brothers and sisters, is the five hundred reeds square wall. What we are being told is that the difference between us, His elect, and all others is this grace through faith that the Lord gives us when He comes to us in our spiritual poverty, when the deeds of our our flesh had peaked. As indicated, this grace is the Lord’s chastening. In other words, it is the Lord’s judgement of our flesh that separates us from all others.

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

May the name of the Lord be praised forever more. Amen!!