1 Samuel 17:1–30 David and Goliath, Part 1

[Study Aired May 4, 2026]

Chapter 17 of first Samuel emphasizes the victory of David over Goliath, demonstrating the triumph of faith over fear. It also shows us that the battle is indeed the Lord’s. 

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 

The chapter is divided into two parts. The first part, which is the study today, highlights how David came to the battle field where Goliath was defying the armies of Israel. The second part of the study will focus on how David won the victory over Goliath and his army. 

Introducing Goliath

1Sa 17:1  Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 
1Sa 17:2  And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 
1Sa 17:3  And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 

The verses above demonstrate how we are in conflict with our flesh as long as we live. As we have indicated in previous studies, the Philistines represent our flesh and this conflict with our flesh is what is spoken of in the word of the Lord as follows:

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
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. 
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.  

In verse 1, we are told where the Philistines were gathered – from Shochoh to Azekah. The names of where the Philistines were gathered show us some of the characteristics of our flesh. Shochoh means ‘hedge’; which can mean limiting an action. This implies that our flesh signified by the Philistines, is limited in terms of its ability to derail the Lord’s elect from the prize. Azekah means ’tilled.’ The Philistines’ residence stretching to Azekah implies that the carnal mind of  the flesh, powered by the devil, can dominate those in whom the Lord is preparing their hearts and minds. Our Lord Jesus warned us that when an unclean spirit leaves a man, he comes with seven more spirits to reside in the man whose heart and mind is garnished. That is why we must test the spirit to see if what is said is of the Lord or from the carnal mind of the flesh. 

Mat 12:43  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. 

The fact that the Philistines were in Ephesdammim, which means the boundary of blood drops suggests that in our fight against the flesh, we do not have to resist to the point of shedding blood. 

Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 

Saul and the men of Israel were camped by the valley of Elah. In the scriptures, valleys represent places where we are tried and tested, just before the Lord elevates us spiritually.  

Psa 84:6  Who passing through the valley of Baca (Baca means weeping) make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. 
Psa 84:7  They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 

Hos 2:15  And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor (Achor means troubled) for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 

The fact that in verse 3, the Philistines were on a mountain, while the Israelites, too, were on a mountain with a valley between them signifies that we must be full of the flesh before we are judged or taken through bitter experience, resulting in our elevation to become part of the children of Israel which denotes the Lord’s elect. 

1Sa 17:4  And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 
1Sa 17:5  And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 
1Sa 17:6  And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 
1Sa 17:7  And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 

Goliath’s stature, protective armor and weapons of warfare typify the formidable opposition of our flesh. Goliath means exile and Gath signifies wine press. This shows us that the work of the Lord is to exile or cast out the flesh of the elect through judgment (winepress) in this age.

In verse 4, one of the notable features of Goliath was his height of approximately six cubits. The number six is the number of man, and therefore this shows us that Goliath represents our flesh. Height in the negative context denote pride. One of the notable characteristics of our flesh is its pride in lifting ourselves or not submitting to the Lord. 

Eze 31:10  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 

Eze 31:14  To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.   

In verse 5, Goliath’s body armor weighed 5,000 shekels of brass. Brass or copper on a negative note describes our carnal state in Christ which must be purified with a furnace of fire. What this implies is that the carnal mind of the flesh is what protects it from the truth of the word of the Lord. The number 5,000 signifies our carnal state in Christ such that we cannot understand the mysteries of the kingdom. 

Mat 14:21  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

Mat 16:9  Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 

If we are called and chosen by the Lord, then in the fullness of time, the stronger man (Jesus Christ) will grant us victory over the carnal mind of our flesh as He disarms the flesh. 

Luk 11:22  But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 

Goliath’s weapon is the spear which spiritually is the same as the sword. 

1Sa 13:22  So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

In the negative sense, the sword or the spear represents false doctrines. This is supported by the fact that Goliath’s spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron. The number six hundred is composed of six and two tens (600 =6x10x10). Six is the number of man, and the two tens represent a witness to the fullness of the flesh. This implies that the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition is what is spewed by our flesh. 

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

It is through false doctrines that the devil empowers our flesh and therefore, deceives the whole world.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  

It is also instructive to note that there is one who bears Goliath’s shield before him. The person bearing his shield represents the false teachers and apostles parading in the corridors of the church system of this world. These false messengers come as angels of light, spewing false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition to strengthen the flesh.

Mat 15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 

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.    

1Sa 17:8  And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 
1Sa 17:9  If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 
1Sa 17:10  And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 
1Sa 17:11  When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 

As indicated, Goliath represents the formidable opposition of our flesh. Since creation until the time of Christ, no man was able to overcome the flesh except Jesus. Jesus is the first overcomer. 

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. 

Goliath throwing a challenge that the Israelites should choose a man to fight him and that whoever wins becomes the Lord is to let us know how our flesh makes his boast through the false doctrine that no man can overcome him.

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? 

Saul and the people of Israel becoming dismayed and greatly afraid in verse 11, shows that as long as we remain in the church system of this world or Babylon, we are not going to overcome the flesh. This is due to the false doctrine that no man is able to make war with the beast or our flesh. 

How David Entered the Battle Field

1Sa 17:12  Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. 
1Sa 17:13  And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 
1Sa 17:14  And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 
1Sa 17:15  But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

In the previous study, David was anointed with the spirit of the Lord coming on him. This serves as the beginning of the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. 

Col 3:10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 

The fact that David was the eighth son affirms his new beginning or the new man in him, since the number eight represents new beginning or the new man. David therefore signifies the Lord’s elect.   

The number three denotes the process of spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment. The fact that three of the eldest sons of Jesse went to battle the Philistines implies that it is through judgment that we overcome the old man or the flesh. 

In verse 15, David going from Saul, who symbolizes the church system of this world, to take care of his father’s sheep means that we must leave Babylon to become part of the church of the new Jerusalem or the first born.  

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, 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. 

1Sa 17:16  And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 

The number forty signifies the periods of trial and testing in our lives. Goliath presenting himself for forty days to the Israelites without any challenge shows how when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon, we were not given to enter the rest of the Lord since we were always erring in our hearts and had not known the Lord’s way of overcoming the flesh. 

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. 

1Sa 17:17  And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 
1Sa 17:18  And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 
1Sa 17:19  Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

The fact that David was sent by his father Jesse to send food to his brothers and the captains of thousands, in the camp of the Israelites, signifies that there is lack of food or the word of the Lord in Babylon. 

Eze 4:16  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 
Eze 4:17  That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. 

As indicated earlier, valleys represent places where we are tried and tested, just before the Lord elevates us spiritually. Saul and all the men of Israel in the valley of Elah fighting the Philistines in verse 19 implies that they were being tried and tested. As we shall see later, none of the men of Israel or Saul was able to confront Goliath in the valley. This suggests that when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon, we were tried and tested, and found lacking the ability to overcome the flesh. 

1Sa 17:20  And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 
1Sa 17:21  For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 
1Sa 17:22  And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 
1Sa 17:23  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 
1Sa 17:24  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.  

As we have shown earlier, David represents the Lord’s elect. The fact that David was not part of Saul’s army facing the Philistines is to show us that David had left Babylon. In verse 24, all the men of Israel fled from Goliath and were afraid. This demonstrates how our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world are not given to overcome the flesh in this age. On the other hand, David was not afraid when he heard the words of Goliath. It shows us that it is only the Lord’s elect who are favored to overcome the flesh in this age. 

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

1Sa 17:25  And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 
1Sa 17:26  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 
1Sa 17:27  And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 

Verse 25 shows us the reward for overcoming the flesh in this age. The king enriching the one who kills Goliath signifies being enriched in Christ as we overcome in this age. This is a continuous process as long as we live in the flesh.

1Co 1:5  That in everything 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: 

The king giving his daughter to the one who overcomes Goliath symbolizes the overcomers becoming the bride of Christ. 

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, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

The third reward for overcoming in verse 25 is that the king will not require his father’s house to pay taxes. As we overcome and are being enriched in Christ, we come to realize that we are free from the burden of the law of Moses which includes tithing, which is equivalent to paying tax. 

Mat 17:24  When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 
Mat 17:25  He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 
Mat 17:26  And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.” (ESV)

David enquiring about the reward for overcoming Goliath in verse 26 indicates that David, as a symbol of the Lord’s elect, had respect for the reward. As we are aware, the Lord Jesus was motivated by the joy that was set before Him or the reward. Similarly, Moses also had respect for the reward. As the Lord’s elect, we must be motivated to overcome in this age by the reward set before us. 

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.

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

1Sa 17:28  And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 
1Sa 17:29  And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 
1Sa 17:30  And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

It is important to note that in verse 28, David’s brother, Eliab, was angry with David’s enquiry about the reward for defeating Goliath. Eliab represents our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world or Babylon, whose anger is kindled against us when we question their beliefs about the future reward. Just as Eliab did not think that David had changed inwardly and was pointing to David’s pride and naughtiness of heart, our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world do not consider us as inwardly changed from our former way of life. They consider us as dead in the street of the church system of this world or Jerusalem (Sodom and Egypt).

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 

As David turned from his brother Eliab to someone ready to provide him with answers about the reward in verse 30, we must turn to those who are willing to help us understand the joy that is set before us.

Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  

May the Lord grant us the grace to have respect for the reward. Amen!!

Audio Download Part 2

Chastisement vs Trial of Faith

[Study Aired August 26 and September 2, 2025]

Introduction

The distinction between “chastisement” and “the trial of faith” represents more than theological vocabulary—it reflects exact biblical terminology rooted in Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, as demonstrated in these contrasting passages:

“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

“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” (1 Peter 1:7)

When examined closely, Scripture reveals that chastisement and trial arise from different premises and serve distinct purposes. Chastisement assumes deficiency requiring correction and formation, while trial assumes genuineness requiring proof and refinement. Together they reveal how God works with His people in discipline, testing, and growth toward holiness.

Scripture maintains this distinction through carefully chosen words. The Old Testament employs musar (H4148) for chastisement—embracing both instruction and correction—while using nasah (H5254), bachar (H977), and tsaraph (H6884) for testing that proves authenticity. The New Testament continues this framework with paideia (G3809) for discipline and dokimion (G1383), peirasmos (G3986), and dokimazo (G1381) for trials.

Musar: The Hebrew Foundation for Discipline

The Hebrew word musar (מוּסָר, H4148), derived from yasar (“to chastise, instruct”), appears fifty times in the Old Testament. Strong’s defines it as “chastisement; figuratively, reproof, warning, instruction, restraint.” The Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon emphasizes “discipline of the moral nature, chastening, correction.” Far from describing punishment alone, musar encompasses the whole range of instructive training, from gentle instruction to firm reproof.

Proverbs uses musar thirty times, showing its foundational role in wisdom instruction:

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction (musar H4148); to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction (musar H4148) of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: (Here is the reason for this chastisement), To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. (Here is what this chastisement causes) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (musar H4148)” (Proverbs 1:1-7)

Musar is constructive, shaping the young in wisdom, justice, and discernment. The Jubilee 2000 translation renders these verses with “chastening” throughout: “The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel; to know wisdom and chastening (musar H4148); to understand prudent words; to receive the chastening (musar H4148) of prudence, justice, judgment, and equity… The fear of the LORD the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and chastening” (Proverbs 1:1-7, Jubilee 2000). This translation choice highlights how musar encompasses both gentle instruction and firm correction within a single concept.

Later Proverbs exhorts: “Take fast hold of instruction (musar H4148); let her not go: keep her; (Why?) for she is thy life” (Proverbs 4:13). This molding role shows that chastisement includes both preventive instruction and corrective discipline.

Beyond Proverbs, musar appears in covenantal contexts. Jeremiah laments: “In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction (musar H4148)” (Jeremiah 2:30). Here musar describes God’s national discipline of Israel, which they stubbornly refused. Similarly, Deuteronomy recalls: “And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement (musar H4148) of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm” (Deuteronomy 11:2). God’s chastisement was instructive training for the entire nation, molding them through lived experience to fear and obey Him.

This pattern follows the model of earthly fathers training their children: “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law” (Psalm 94:12). The New Testament bridges this connection: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:5-6). Here the writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, bridging Old Testament musar to New Testament paideia, showing that our heavenly Father’s discipline mirrors the loving correction of earthly fathers but with perfect wisdom and eternal purpose.

Thus musar serves as the Old Testament foundation for understanding chastisement as discipline given in love for the purpose of shaping character and deepening relationship with God.

Hebrew Words for Testing: Nasah, Bachar, and Tsaraph

In contrast, Scripture employs different words to describe testing that proves authenticity.

Nasah (נָסָה, H5254) occurs thirty-six times and means “to test, try, prove.” It is used of God’s command to Abraham: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt (nasah) Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Abraham’s faith had already been demonstrated through years of obedience, and this command was not correcting a deficiency but confirming his trust. The Lord’s verdict makes this plain: “Now I know that thou fearest God” (vs 12). Paul echoes this principle: “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” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Bachar (בָּחַר, H977), appearing 164 times, usually means “to choose,” but in testing contexts emphasizes examination for approval. Israel’s experience demonstrates this principle when God declared: “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen (bachar H977) thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). This heavenly choice occurred through testing, not despite it. God’s selection of Israel was validated through their trials in Egyptian bondage and Babylonian captivity, proving their covenant relationship rather than establishing it. The furnace of affliction served as God’s testing ground where He examined and approved His people, demonstrating that His bachar presupposed existing covenant status requiring authentication, not worthless material needing transformation. The imagery parallels precious metals proven valuable through fire.

Tsaraph (צָרַף, H6884) occurs thirty-five times and means “to refine, smelt, test.” In Zechariah 13:9 it appears alongside bachan: “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine (tsaraph H6884) them as silver is refined, and will try (bachan H974) them as gold is tried (bachan H974).” This prophecy addresses the faithful remnant of Israel—those who will call upon God’s name and receive His answer. The context reveals God’s commitment to preserve and purify His covenant people, not to punish them for unfaithfulness. The pairing of these terms shows that refining (removing impurities) and testing (close examination) together describe God’s work of proving the authenticity of His people. Refining presupposes valuable metal that requires purification of impurities, not correction of deficiency. It is a process of purification and proof, not punishment.

Musar assumes something is lacking and aims to build it up, while nasah, bachar, bachan, and tsaraph assume something valuable is present and aim to bring it to light.

Paideia: The New Testament Language of Chastening

The New Testament employs the word paideia (παιδεία, G3809), derived from pais (“child”), to describe chastening. Thayer’s lexicon defines it as “the whole training and education of children,” encompassing commands, admonitions, reproof, and correction. This comprehensive term bridges the gap between Old Testament musar and New Testament Christian experience, maintaining the same foundational concept of formative discipline.

Scripture demonstrates paideia in three distinct but related contexts. In parental training, Paul instructs fathers: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (paideia G3809) and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Here paideia encompasses the full scope of Christian child-rearing, from gentle instruction to firm correction, all conducted within the framework of godly wisdom.

In scriptural instruction, Paul declares: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction (paideia G3809) in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Scripture itself serves as paideia, shaping us through absolute truth applied to every aspect of life. This training produces completeness and readiness for service.

Most significantly, paideia describes God’s fatherly discipline of His children. Hebrews 12:5-11 provides the definitive New Testament treatment of this concept, beginning with the foundational principle: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening (paideia G3809) of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth (paideuo G3811), and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (vv. 5-6). The writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, directly connecting New Testament paideia to Old Testament musar.

The passage continues by establishing the legitimacy of heavenly discipline: “If ye endure chastening (paideia G3809), God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth (paideuo G3811) not? But if ye be without chastisement (paideia G3809), whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (vv. 7-8). God’s fatherly discipline becomes the very proof of authentic sonship. Its absence, not its presence, would indicate a lack of genuine relationship with God.

The writer then contrasts earthly and heavenly discipline: “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected (paideutes G3810) us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened (paideuo G3811) us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (vv. 9-10). Human parents discipline imperfectly and temporarily, but our heavenly Father’s training is perfect in wisdom and eternal in purpose—conforming us to His own holiness.

The ultimate goal of paideia becomes clear: “Now no chastening (paideia G3809) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (vs 11). Like Old Testament musar, New Testament paideia produces character transformation and spiritual maturity. The “peaceable fruit of righteousness” represents the harvest of holiness that God’s loving discipline cultivates within believers.

This pattern extends throughout the New Testament. Paul reminds the Corinthians: “But when we are judged, we are chastened (paideuo G3811) of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). Heavenly discipline serves as gracious prevention, keeping us from age-abiding judgment. Similarly, Christ Himself declares: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (paideuo G3811): be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19). His chastening flows from love and calls for responsive obedience.

Thus paideia serves as the New Testament counterpart to Old Testament musar, describing God’s loving discipline that shapes His children toward holiness. Both terms assume relationship, both work through instruction and correction, and both aim at character formation that reflects God’s own nature.

Greek Words for Testing: Dokimion, Peirasmos, and Dokimazo

The New Testament preserves a distinct vocabulary for testing that parallels the Old Testament distinction, employing precise Greek terms that emphasize proof rather than correction.

Dokimion (δοκίμιον, G1383), found only in James 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:7, describes the testing of faith with metallurgical precision. The word comes from the practice of assaying precious metals, referring to the proof certificate that demonstrates authenticity after examination. James addresses believers scattered by persecution: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: Knowing this, that the trying (dokimion G1383) of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). These trials were not corrections for spiritual deficiency but authentication of genuine faith already present. Our response—counting it “all joy”—demonstrates confidence in their faith’s authenticity, not fear of displeasure.

Peter writes to believers facing intense persecution, using identical imagery: “That the trial (dokimion G1383) 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” (1 Peter 1:7). The comparison to gold assumes existing value requiring authentication. Peter’s readers were not wayward believers needing correction, but faithful saints whose genuine faith needed public vindication through suffering. Their trials would result in “praise and honour and glory”—the language of commendation, not correction.

Peirasmos (πειρασμός, G3986), appearing twenty-one times, carries a dual significance depending on its source and intent. When originating from God or circumstances under His sovereignty, it describes beneficial testing for spiritual growth. James distinguishes this clearly: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (peirasmos G3986): for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12). This testing leads to reward, indicating proof rather than punishment.

However, when peirasmos stems from evil sources, it becomes temptation to sin: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13-14). The same Greek word describes entirely different experiences based on origin and purpose. Godly testing proves faithfulness, while temptation seeks to produce unfaithfulness.

Paul illustrates this principle when describing the Macedonian churches: “How that in a great trial (peirasmos G3986) of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Their severe circumstances tested and revealed their authentic generosity, producing fruit that exceeded expectations. Similarly, Paul encourages all believers: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience (dokime G1382); and experience, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). The progression leads to dokime—proven character that breeds confident hope.

Dokimazo (δοκιμάζω, G1381), occurring twenty-three times, consistently means “to test, prove, examine for approval.” Unlike chastisement vocabulary, dokimazo never implies correction but always examination for validation. Paul exhorts believers to “prove (dokimazo G1381) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). This proving assumes the believer’s capacity to discern and prove God’s will, not their need for correction of wrong thinking.

The apostle uses the same term when describing pastoral ministry: “But as we were allowed (dokimazo G1381) of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth (dokimazo G1381) our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). God’s ongoing examination of apostolic hearts seeks to validate their faithfulness, not expose their unfaithfulness. The testing confirms their fitness for ministry rather than correcting ministerial defects.

Together, dokimion, peirasmos, and dokimazo form the New Testament’s vocabulary of authentication and proof. Where paideia presumes deficiency requiring formation, these testing words presume genuineness requiring demonstration.

Illustrative Examples in Scripture

This linguistic distinction finds powerful confirmation in biblical narratives, where the circumstances, responses, and outcomes clearly differentiate between testing and chastisement.

Daniel: Faithfulness Under Fire

Daniel’s experience demonstrates trial that validates existing righteousness. His enemies specifically sought to find fault with his character: “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Daniel 6:4). This establishes Daniel’s proven integrity before any trial began—the testing would validate existing righteousness, not correct deficiency.

When the decree was established forbidding prayer to anyone but the king, Daniel faced a deliberate choice between safety and faithfulness: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel could have avoided the lions’ den by compromising his devotion, but he chose faithfulness over safety, demonstrating unwavering commitment to God regardless of consequences.

His response after deliverance reveals the nature of his trial: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt” (Daniel 6:22). The trial validated his innocence and faithfulness, producing no correction but rather royal recognition of God’s power and Daniel’s integrity

Samson: The Correction of Unfaithfulness

By contrast, Samson’s downfall illustrates chastisement in response to covenant breaking. Scripture reveals a deeper dimension to Samson’s story: “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” (Judges 14:4). The word “occasion” means “reason” or cause for action. God had an occasion against the Philistines for their oppression of Israel, but He also had an occasion against Samson for marrying outside his people, violating the covenant separation.

His strength depended upon his Nazirite vow: “If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man” (Judges 16:17). When he revealed this secret to Delilah, “she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him” (vs 19).

His subsequent blindness and captivity were direct consequences of covenant violation, intended to humble and restore him to dependence upon God. The chastisement achieved its purpose: “And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30). His final act demonstrates repentance and renewed dependence upon the Lord, showing how chastisement works to restore broken relationship while accomplishing God’s purposes against His enemies.

Israel: National Chastisement for Covenant Breaking

Israel’s history provides extensive examples of national chastisement following covenant warnings. Moses established this pattern in Deuteronomy: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:15). These consequences were not arbitrary punishments but corrective measures designed to restore covenant faithfulness.

The prophets consistently interpreted national calamities as chastisement for unfaithfulness. Jeremiah lamented: “The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries” (Lamentations 2:17). Yet even in judgment, the purpose remained redemptive: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22).

These examples establish a consistent biblical pattern: the righteous experience trials that prove their faith, while the unfaithful experience chastisement that corrects and restores them. Daniel faced testing that validated existing righteousness, expecting and receiving vindication. Samson and Israel faced chastisement that addressed covenant breaking, requiring and producing repentance.

Christ: The Fulfillment of Both Chastisement and Trial

This distinction between chastisement and trial finds its ultimate resolution and perfect expression in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As the sinless Son of God who took upon Himself complete humanity, Christ experienced both the testing that proves genuineness and the formative discipline that shapes perfect obedience—not because He needed correction, but because He chose to identify fully with our human condition while remaining without sin.

Christ’s Testing: Proving Perfect Faithfulness

Christ’s wilderness testing exemplifies dokimion—the proving of already-perfect faithfulness under extreme trial. After His baptism and divine commendation, “Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil” (Luke 4:1-2). The Spirit’s leading indicates divine purpose in this testing, not correction of deficiency but validation of His identity and mission.

Each temptation sought to prove His allegiance and identity: “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread” (Luke 4:3). Satan’s challenges were not designed to expose weakness but to test the reality of Christ’s Sonship and commitment to the Father’s will. His responses—consistently grounded in Scripture—demonstrated unwavering faithfulness: “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). The testing validated what was already true: His perfect dependence upon the Father and absolute commitment to fulfilling His mission.

Similarly, Gethsemane represents the ultimate trial of faith. His anguished prayer, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39), reveals the intensity of His struggle while demonstrating perfect submission. This was not correction of wayward will but the proving of perfect obedience under the most severe testing imaginable. The writer to the Hebrews confirms: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). His testing equipped Him to be our sympathetic High Priest precisely because it proved His faithfulness under every form of human trial.

Christ’s Formative Suffering: Learning Perfect Obedience

Yet Christ also experienced what can only be described as formative discipline—not corrective chastisement for sin, but the shaping of perfect human obedience through suffering. The profound statement in Hebrews requires careful examination: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). How can the sinless Son “learn” obedience?

The answer lies in the mystery of the Incarnation. As eternal Son, Christ’s obedience was perfect and unchanging. As incarnate Son, experiencing human nature with all its limitations and vulnerabilities, Christ learned obedience in the experiential sense—not gaining knowledge He lacked, but experiencing in His humanity the full cost and weight of perfect submission to the Father’s will. Isaiah prophesied this aspect of His experience: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

Paul captures this progressive nature of His human experience: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Each step of His earthly journey involved deeper levels of experiential obedience, culminating in the ultimate test of Calvary. His suffering was formative in the sense that it developed the full range of human obedience necessary to be our perfect representative.

The Perfect Integration

In Christ, both realities meet without contradiction. His trials proved what was already true—His perfect faithfulness to the Father. His sufferings formed what needed experiential development—complete identification with human obedience under the most extreme circumstances. He endured testing that vindicated His righteousness while experiencing formative suffering that equipped Him for His mediatorial role.

This integration enables Him to minister to believers experiencing either chastisement or trial. To those under heavenly discipline for correction, He offers the sympathy of One who “learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” To those under trials that test their faith, He provides the encouragement of One who was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” His experience encompasses both categories while transcending their typical application to sinful humanity.

Christ’s example demonstrates that chastisement and trial are not contradictory but complementary aspects of spiritual development. Through Him we understand that both correction and testing serve God’s gracious purposes in conforming us to His image.

Application for Believers

Understanding the distinction between chastisement and trial provides crucial guidance for navigating the hardships of Christian life. Rather than viewing all suffering as either punishment or testing, we can respond appropriately to God’s specific work in each situation, leading to greater spiritual maturity and deeper fellowship with Him.

Discerning Chastisement: When God Corrects

Chastisement typically follows the Spirit’s conviction of specific sin or spiritual deficiency. Paul provides clear guidance: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). The sequence is telling: self-examination can prevent divine chastisement, but when we fail to judge ourselves, God’s loving discipline follows.

The psalmist models the proper heart attitude for receiving correction: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). When the Holy Spirit brings conviction—whether through Scripture, circumstances, or godly counsel—we should welcome chastisement as evidence of our sonship. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6).

The proper response to chastisement involves humble acknowledgment of the area needing correction, genuine repentance, and active cooperation with God’s formative work. David demonstrates this pattern after Nathan’s confrontation: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight… Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:4, 10). Chastisement received with humility and repentance produces the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” that God desires.

Recognizing Trials: When God Tests

Trials, by contrast, often come without specific conviction of sin and may actually intensify during seasons of faithful obedience. James provides the framework: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). The emphasis on joy and the expected outcome of spiritual completeness distinguish trials from corrective chastisement.

Peter offers similar counsel to believers facing persecution: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Trials are “not strange” for faithful believers but rather normal experiences that authenticate our participation in Christ’s sufferings.

Paul reinforces this perspective when describing his own trials: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 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” (Romans 5:3-5). The progression from tribulation to proven character to confident hope shows trials building upon existing faith rather than correcting deficient faith.

Practical Guidelines for Response

When facing hardship, several questions can help discern the nature of our experience: Has the Holy Spirit brought specific conviction of sin or spiritual deficiency? Are we walking in known obedience to God’s revealed will? Does the difficulty seem connected to our faithfulness rather than our failures? Are we experiencing peace and hope despite the pain, or primarily guilt and condemnation?

If we sense specific conviction and our conscience bears witness to areas needing correction, we should receive the hardship as chastisement, responding with humility, repentance, and cooperation with God’s corrective work. The goal is restoration of fellowship and growth in holiness.

If we’re walking in faithful obedience and sense no specific conviction, we can receive the difficulty as a trial, responding with faith, perseverance, and confident expectation of vindication. The goal is proof of our faith’s authenticity and deeper experiential knowledge of God’s sustaining grace.

The Community of Faith

The church plays a vital role in helping believers discern and respond appropriately to both experiences. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). When chastisement is needed, the church can provide loving correction and support during restoration.

Similarly, during trials, the community offers encouragement and practical support: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Fellow believers can provide perspective, prayer, and practical assistance that help prove faith’s authenticity through corporate faithfulness.

The Ultimate Perspective

Whether through correction or through testing, God’s purposes remain consistently good. Paul’s magnificent declaration encompasses both experiences: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29). Both chastisement and trial serve the ultimate goal of Christlikeness.

This perspective transforms our response to all hardship. Instead of questioning God’s love during chastisement or His justice during trials, we can rest in His sovereign purpose to conform us to Christ’s image. We can receive correction with gratitude for His fatherly care and endure testing with confidence in His faithful character.

The mature believer learns to cooperate with both forms of divine working, knowing that each serves God’s gracious design. Through chastisement we grow in holiness, and through trials we grow in proven faith. Both lead to greater spiritual maturity, deeper fellowship with Christ, and ultimately, eternal glory in His presence.

Conclusion

Understanding the distinction between chastisement and trial provides essential insight into God’s varied workings with His people. Scripture’s precise terminology reveals that chastisement assumes deficiency requiring correction, while trial assumes genuineness requiring proof. Both serve God’s gracious purposes but through different means and toward different immediate goals.

The Hebrew words musar, nasah, bachar, bachan, and tsaraph, along with the Greek terms paideia, dokimion, peirasmos, and dokimazo, establish this distinction across both testaments. Biblical narratives confirm these patterns, showing righteous figures like Daniel and faithful Israel experiencing testing that validated their covenant relationship, while unfaithful ones like Samson and rebellious Israel faced chastisement that corrected their course.

Christ perfectly fulfills both categories—enduring testing that proved His perfect faithfulness while experiencing formative suffering that equipped Him for His mediatorial role. Through Him, believers can understand and respond appropriately to both forms of divine working in their lives.

Whether we face the corrective discipline of chastisement or the authenticating fire of trials, we can rest in God’s unchanging purpose to conform us to Christ’s image. Both paths lead to greater holiness, deeper fellowship with our heavenly Father, and ultimately, eternal glory in His presence. The mature believer learns to cooperate with both forms of sacred working, knowing that each serves God’s gracious design toward complete transformation into the likeness of His Son.

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24)

Rev 8:8-9 Part 1, The Second Trumpet a Burning Mountain Cast into the Sea

[Study Aired July 12, 2024]

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Compare these two verses describing the second trumpet judgment upon the kingdom of our old man, to this verse concerning the second vial which is poured out on the kingdom of our old man:

Rev 16:3  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Both the trumpet and the vial turn the sea to blood. The trumpet judgment kills a third of those in the sea. “Every living soul died in the sea” when the second vial is poured out on the kingdom of our old man. It is for our admonition that the holy spirit has used the seven vials to complement and fill up the judgment of the seven trumpets, demonstrating that both are the revelation of the great day of His wrath upon the kingdom of our old man.

Introduction

This second trumpet has within it six more symbols of the things we are to read, hear and keep (Rev 1:3): 1) A great mountain. 2) This ‘mountain’ is burning with ‘fire.’ 3) This ‘mountain’ burning with ‘fire’ is cast into the ‘sea.’ 4) This causes the ‘sea’ to “become as blood.” 5) When the ‘sea’ “becomes as blood” this causes a third part of the creatures which were living in the sea to die, and finally 6) The third part of the ships that were in the sea were destroyed when this mountain burning with fire is cast into the sea.

What is this “great mountain?”

This “great mountain burning with fire” is the kingdom of God within those in whom it dwells.

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

That is the fourth chapter of Micah. Micah four is concerned only with “the last days.” Before “the last days” we are a mountain of a different type. Jeremiah quotes Micah, and Micah repeats what Jeremiah quoted from an earlier chapter of Micah.

Jer 26:18  Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

Here is this same verse in Micah:

Mic 3:12  Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

The plowing and the burning of that great mountain are one and the same thing. We must be broken up and crushed to powder, and our works must be “burned up” before we can bring forth the fruit of the spirit.

As is always the case when dealing with words which we are told are “a two edged sword” (Heb 4:12, Rev 1:6), this “great mountain” has within us a “two-edged” meaning, which is demonstrated by the way the holy spirit uses the phrase “a great mountain” in scripture.

Dan 2:31  Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
Dan 2:32  This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33  His legs of iron, 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.

This  Babylonian image has a Babylonian “head of gold” which even today, ‘rides upon’ and heads up all the kingdoms of men (Rev 17:1-5). However, “a stone… cut out without hands” hits the image on its feet and destroys the image, and the stone “becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.”

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.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Control of this world is the ultimate and primary meaning of “a great mountain.” At this time Babylon the Great, holds the reins of the hearts and minds of mankind. In the end of this prophecy, “all in Adam” will become part of a “great mountain”, which is nothing less than “the kingdom of God [which] is within you.”

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

Just as “the stone cut out without hands” had to destroy the entire image before it could “become a great mountain and fill the whole earth”, so also is the image itself a type of an evil “great mountain” which is being replaced by the stone that was cut out without hands. Here is the negative application of “a great mountain.”

Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

This brings us to the next symbol in this prophecy:

What is a great mountain burning with fire?

Here are a few verses which give us the spiritual significance  of this “great mountain burning with fire. When we know what this “great mountain” signifies, then we can understand what we must “read, hear and keep” of this great mountain and of its burning.

Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Here it is just the burning bush. Just a few months later this same mountain itself is “burning with fire.”

Deu 4:11  And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

The mountain of God will burn with fire all that will burn up within it. Anything that can be devoured by its flames will be destroyed.

Jer 34:2  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

Here is this same thought in New Testament words:

Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [G165: aion].
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Remember what  Micah and Jeremiah said about “the end of this world?”

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

When at long last “the mountain of the house of the Lord [begins to be] established” within our hearts and minds, that is when our fiery trials will begin.

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.

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

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?

These seven trumpets signal and signify “the beginning of sorrows”. We were told in Revelation 6 that these trumpets culminate in “the great day of His wrath”, and the holy spirit poses the question… “Who shall be able to stand?”

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

That is when all men will begin to hate us and to separate us from their company and cast out our name as evil. That is when “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [“within you”] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” We just read Matthew 24:6-8, and now we will read the following verses:

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

“This gospel of the kingdom” of God is the “mountain of fire” which cast into our earth preceding “the great day of His wrath”. “The mountain of the house of the Lord” is His words and His doctrines reigning supreme upon our hearts and in our minds. That is what is signified by “a great mountain burning with fire [which] was cast into the sea” of our deceived and rebellious carnal mind, burning out all the false doctrines of Babylon’s harlot daughters. It is truly “an experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13), but it is working a good work within the kingdom of God within us because Christ tells us:

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Peter also warns us:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the [great mountain burning with] fiery trial[s] which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

This ‘fiery mountain’ is within each of us, and we will be covering this very same event again when we get to chapter 16.

Rev 16:3  And the second angel poured out his vial [“a great mountain burning with fire was cast”] upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The seven vials “fill up” and finish the process which the seven trumpets begin. The second trumpet kills only “a third” of what lives in our ‘sea.’ The second trumpet kills “all that is in the sea”:

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

The number three or the fraction “the third part” signifies that a process in taking place. In scripture that process is usually the process of judgment:

Numbers in Scripture – Three, the Process

The second trumpet and the second vial both turn the ‘sea’ into blood and kill those in the ‘sea’.

Christ had already foretold of this plague within us in these words:

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Yes, most in this age will not be in that kingdom, but those who are will have lived by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, including having been cast into outer darkness and having wept bitterly and experienced the gnashing of teeth. The story of Peter signifies how this experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13) is first lived in us just as it was first lived in Christ when He Himself sweat great drops of blood.

Luk 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Luk 22:60  And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

We have no idea how weak we are without our Lord’s strength being supernaturally given to us at the very moment we need it. Our Lord Himself was strengthened by an angel.

Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

Peter had no idea that he was still in Babylon. He thought he had “come out of Babylon” three and a half years earlier. Babylon must be “utterly broken… and burned with fire,” and completely destroyed from within each of us. That is “a great mountain burning with fire.”

Jer 51:58  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

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.

The meaning of the word ‘fire’ does not change from chapter to chapter or from book to book. The ‘fire’ is always “My words…” (Jer 5:14). Those words are a “two-edged sword”, and as such they will always have both a positive and a negative application. What that means is that “a great mountain burning with fire” is a mountain that is burning up the kingdom and the ‘mountain’ of our old man and replacing it. Let’s go back to Daniel 2 and notice that the fiery Word of God destroys the image of the beast and his kingdom while the kingdom of God is being built up in “the whole earth”.

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.

The “stone cut out without hands” which becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth and the “mountain burning with fire” which signifies Christ and His Word and His kingdom, are one and the same. The “mountain burning with fire” is God’s Word, Christ in us, burning up everything that will burn, and as it does so, it is establishing and manifesting that “great mountain of the house of God” which cannot be burned up, and that which is being purified by the fiery words of our Lord. Here are the words of the King of that “great mountain [which will] fill the whole earth.“

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

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

Being saved is being purified, and “he himself shall be saved… by fire.” We all endure the fire, gnash our teeth, have sweat as great drops of blood, weep bitterly, and gnaw our tongues for pain. We all “keep the things written therein, and “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” but we do not all do so at the same time. There are two resurrections: “the resurrection to life”, having “judgment [now] on the house of God” and “the resurrection of judgment”, having missed out on the “blessed and holy… first resurrection and being consigned to the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death”:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: ‘Krisis’, judgment].

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.

Our next logical question is

Why is a great mountain burning with fire cast into the sea?

What is “the sea” in scripture? “The sea” is Bible-speak for all flesh of all men before the spirit of God even begins to work within us.

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

This is where all the false doctrines of Babylon flourish. They are sold to those who are in ‘the sea’ which is our very unstable and vulnerable flesh. “The sea” signifies the rebellious, carnal flesh of all men of all time. ‘The sea signifies the place where the beast within us originates:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

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;

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Here are two great Biblical types of the organizations of men which keep mankind deceived while thinking they are serving God. The first is Babylon, and this is what we read about Babylon:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

The “many waters” on which the whore sits are the “waters” of “the sea”.

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

“All who have ships in the sea” and “As many as trade by sea” are all the denominational ministers, who use their denominations and organizations to sell their smooth things and their lies to the masses that make up the sea of mankind. The words of Christ mean nothing when they are compared to the doctrines of men. What sells is all that matters to them, and Christ’s true words have never done anything less than making those who are faithful to His Words to be “hated of all men.”

The second of the two great Biblical types of the organizations of men which do business with their ships in the ‘sea’ of humanity to keep mankind deceived while thinking they are serving God is Tyre. Both Tyre and Babylon are described as being situated on the waters:

Jer 51:12  Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
Jer 51:13  O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

Eze 27:3  And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

We will pause at this point and begin our next study with an examination of how Tyre also signifies the universal influence of religion upon the ‘sea’ which signifies all of mankind.

Revelation 8:1-6 – The Seven Angels Prepare to Sound Seven Trumpets, Part 1

[Study Aired June 23, 2024]

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Rev 8:5  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast [it] into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Introduction

If we condense these first six verses into only the first and sixth verses, it becomes clear that the seventh seal on this revelation of Jesus Christ, is the seven trumpets which include the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God” in the seventh trumpet:

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.

Every seal we have seen the Lamb open to us has served to keep the message of this book very well hidden from the world within every man because the world is interested only in clairvoyance and in knowing what lies ahead in the physical future for this world. No one wants to hear how any of this revelation of Jesus Christ is to be “read, heard and kept” personally at this very moment:

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

This is the seventh seal because it completes the sealing of this book away from the eyes of all who have no interest in “reading, hearing and keeping the things written therein…” No one who comes to this prophecy hoping to become a clairvoyant, or someone who passes these days for a prophet, believes that “the time is at hand… to keep the sayings of the prophecy…” of this seventh seal, which is these seven trumpet judgments.

Let’s read the first and sixth verses only.

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Rev 8:6  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Now if we are given to apply verse 3 of chapter 1, then we should be able to understand that whatever is the reality behind the symbols of this chapter, we will know that this is not for some future generation, but “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” in this seventh seal and these seven trumpets are words we are to personally “read, hear and keep because the time is at hand” to do so.

Nevertheless we must ask and answer the question:

How many of these seven trumpets are we to keep?

I tell the story of a beloved brother who became so frustrated with me when I posed that question to him, that he literally screamed at me, “Only the ones the Bible says we are to keep!” However, that is not what the Bible says. The only Biblical answer we have to that question is this: “Keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand.” Then we also have this somber warning right at the end of this prophecy, concerning how many of these seven trumpets we are to keep:

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Here again, as is always the case whether in Matthew 24, Revelation 1, or Revelation 22, or any of the epistles written by any of the apostles or any of the New Testament writers, the emphasis is always on the fact that “I come quickly… this generation will not pass till all these things be fulfilled… the Lord is at hand… and the time is at hand.” The subject is always the same. The subject is “the things written therein,” the good and the bad, are to be kept. As despised as they are, all these words are part of the sum of God’s Word on this subject of how many of the words that proceed out of the mouth of God are for each of us personally:

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.

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;

We dare not add to or take away from our part in “the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth [all] the sayings of [all] the prophecy of this book.

If there were any hint that parts of this prophecy were not to be kept by the reader, then the somber warning of verses 18-20 of chapter 22 would have no place in this book. Nevertheless verses 18-20 of chapter 22 are instead in complete accord with Revelation 1:3 and Revelation 22:7, and we dare not add to or take away from there. All who read and understand the things written therein will “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, and this seventh seal with all seven of its trumpets is to be lived out in our lives.

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

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

Now let us clarify what “Man shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” means. Christ tells us that we can do the works of the Father by simply believing and doing “the things I say.” Notice how He answers those who asked Him how they can work the works of God:

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

“This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent”, means that we are to believe what He says and do the things He says to do. Therefore if Christ tells us there are only two resurrections and that all men of all time will arise from among the dead in one of those two resurrections, then we ought to believe what He is telling us:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto [1] the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto [2] the resurrection of damnation [G2920: krino, judgment, the “great white throne… judgment”].

If the Lord tells us the first resurrection is at the beginning of His thousand-year reign then, if we believe truly that we must “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, we must accept that these words are true:

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 [“of life” (Joh 5:29)].

Finally, if the Lord tells those who are being judged in this present time the second death will have no power over them, then, if we believe that we must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God then we ought to accept this promise as being true for us:

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.

Here we are plainly informed that those who are judged in “this present time” will be raised in the first resurrection, “the resurrection of life”, and they will rule with the Lord over the kingdoms of this world for a thousand years, and they will never be hurt of the second death. This is the second time this promise has been made to those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear the things of the spirit. Here is the first time this promise is made to those who can hear:

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh [“in this present time” (Rom 8:18)] shall not be hurt of the second death.

You and I will do well to believe those words, and pray that we are granted to be judged in this present time:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

The phrase “Man shall… live by every word of God” must never be twisted into meaning that because we are told that Christ “emptied himself” of His divinity to become dying flesh (Php 2:7 ACV), that therefore you and I must also empty ourselves of our non-existent divinity to become dying flesh. In like manner, the fact that the words “lake of fire… is the second death” have proceeded from the mouth of God (Rev 20:14), does not necessitate that those who are granted to be judged in this present time and who are given to have a part in the first resurrection must also “be hurt of the second death.” To the contrary, ‘living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ means that we are obliged to believe that ‘the second death/lake of fire will not hurt us and has no power over us.

It is Christ Himself who tells us to “keep the things which are written therein”, so let’s take these words verse by verse and see what is written therein which we are to “read, heard, do and keep.”

What is the spiritual significance of half an hour of silence in heaven?

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

The Greek word for ‘silence’ is ‘sige’, and it appears only one other time in the New Testament. That one other time gives us the sense of this statement that is made at the beginning of the sounding of the seven trumpets, which is the opening of the seventh seal.

Act 21:40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

This is the account of the apprehension of the apostle Paul at the hands of the same Jews who had killed our Lord just a few years earlier. Now Paul finds himself in the shoes of our Lord and in the shoes of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, of whose unlawful death ‘Saul of Tarsus’ had been the overseer.

Act 7:58  And cast him [Stephen] out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

‘Saul’ of course is the one whose name is later changed to Paul, and who is now about to give his own witness for Christ, just as Stephen had done when Paul was Saul and had conducted Stephen’s stoning. So Paul knows what is about to happen, and now as he stands to give his own testimony, he waits until everyone is completely still. Until everyone is completely attentive, until “there was made a great silence”, and then Paul, who used to be a Christ-hating Saul, begins telling those Jews in Jerusalem all that God had put him through that has brought him to this day where he is being tried to see if he is as faithful a messenger, as faithful a witness, and “an angel” of God as was Stephen, whose life Saul was so instrumental in taking.

Act 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him [ Stephen], saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

There has to be a period of silence before a defendant such as Stephen can begin to speak in his own defense.

The “silence in heaven for the space of half an hour” signifies the time we are granted to give our undivided attention to the angel who is about to show us these things. This “half hour” of silence signifies the gravity of what lies ahead of us if we are given the grace to be called and chosen and to remain faithful to the words of our Lord to the very end of these seven trumpet judgments, which include the seven last plagues of the seventh trump. Saul of Tarsus had three days of total blindness in which to be “silent in heaven” and prepare to receive the words of Ananias, which were given to prepare ‘Paul’, as he later came to be known, for the trumpet judgments which yet lay before him.

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

These are words just as much for us as they are for Paul.

Here is what Paul tells the Jews who had found him in the temple and had stirred up the people to go about to kill him just as they had killed Stephen a few years earlier.

Act 22:1  Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Act 22:2  (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
Act 22:3  I am verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Act 22:4  And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5  As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6  And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Act 22:9  And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
Act 22:11  And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
Act 22:12  And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
Act 22:13  Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Act 22:14  And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
Act 22:15  For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
Act 22:16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Act 22:17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Act 22:18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
Act 22:19  And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Act 22:20  And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
Act 22:21  And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Act 22:22  And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

Paul had said nothing about these Jews that he himself had not already lived and that he himself had not already done and had kept. He had persecuted the church, and in so doing had persecuted Jesus Himself. ” I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.” God’s elect do not seek to escape God’s judgments but rather to rejoice in them.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD [ for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!

They understood him to be condemning them for their actions, when the simple truth is that it was their own words, and it is our own words and deeds that condemn us.

Job 9:20  If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Isa 59:12  For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;

Tit 3:11  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Now Paul and all who are given the grace to be faithful to the end find themselves right back in the position of facing the seven trumpet judgments, which are an important part of “all things which are appointed for us to do”, which are the testimony of all who remain faithful to the end. All of God’s true witnesses will find themselves to be spiritually dead in the streets of spiritual “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children.”

Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Who are “Judah and Jerusalem” in a spiritual sense?

Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Who are these seven angels who sound these seven trumpets?

Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

As the Lord used Isaiah to warn His people what lay ahead in Isaiah’s day, and as He had used Stephen to witness for Him when the New Testament church was first formed, now it is Paul’s turn to be the messenger, witness and an angel of the gospel of our Lord “in the streets of that great city wherein our Lord was crucified.” That is how God spreads His message to us all. We have all heard the word of our Lord via one of His “angels”, the complete complement of whom are said to be “seven angels before the throne of God.”

Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

Christ uses us just as His father used Him. Christ was His Father’s ultimate messenger or angel. Yes, I am aware of Hebrews 1.

Heb 1:5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

The answer to that question is, it was the angel of the Lord which brought Israel up out of Egypt to whom the Father said ‘Thou are my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” Here is the scripture:

Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, [even] to Horeb.
Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed.
Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here [am] I.
Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground.
Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I [am] the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

We know this is Christ because Christ tells us that no one had ever seen the form of the Father, nor had anyone ever heard the Father’s voice:

Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Yahweh, the Hebrew word for “the LORD” in all caps in the KJV, was Christ, simply because many Old Testament men and women “heard His voice and saw His shape.”

So Christ is the ultimate archangel, and the angel of the LORD who brought Israel up out of Egypt. We in turn are Christ’s angels who are sent to the seven churches, whom we have shown to be the whole church. Here are Christ’s own words on this subject:

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

These seven angels we are told blow the trumpets and also pour out the vials of God’s wrath.

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.

These are the same seven angels to whom this whole prophecy is addressed:

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

We are first told that this whole prophecy is addressed “to the seven churches. To this it is added that it is all addressed to the seven angels of the seven churches.

Rev 1:19  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Christ, we are told, is seated with His Father in the heavens. Being with Christ and “in his right hand” and seated with Him in the heavens, we, too, are these seven angels who are sent by Christ to the seven churches. As such we are “before the throne of God in heaven.”

Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

Are any of these “seven angels” different from those messengers sent to the seven churches, with this revelation of Jesus Christ to be “read, heard and kept” (Rev 1:3)? Who are these seven angels, and what are these angels? Here is what they are:

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

These angels of these seven churches are men, and these men are angels. Who are these angels? We need not speculate. The scriptures are clear for those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear. Here are who the scriptures reveal these angels to signify. They themselves tell us plainly who they are, but we must pay close attention to whom the Lord uses to tell us the things which are in this prophecy. It is all right here before our eyes if we have eyes that see and ears that hear.

So let’s take note of who it is that reveals to us the judgment of the great harlot of Revelation 17 and 18. Here is what we are told.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Through whom do the scriptures tell us God will always work to show us what He is doing?

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

God reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Who are the prophets? Here is what the scriptures teach:

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

Think of a prophet in any other way and you will miss the message of what the word of God and the word of the true prophets of God are all about. God’s prophets and God’s prophecies are all for the purpose of edification, exhortation and comfort from men of God to others who are God’s people. In other words, a prophet is someone who exhorts you to “keep the things that are written therein… and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Now with this in mind let go to chapter 19, the first chapter after the revelation of the judgment of the great harlot by “one of the seven angels which had the seven vials”, and we will learn who are these seven angels we see throughout this “book of the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Here is who that angel tells us he is:

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.

If we are fellow servants and brothers in Christ, and if we have the spirit of prophecy and a desire to share the testimony of Jesus Christ, then these seven angels are you and me! Can we be sure that such a fantastic thing is the case? Yes, we can because this same message is repeated in chapter 22, right at the end of this 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.

This angel is “those who keep the sayings of this book.” One of those sayings is that we will all make the mistake of tending to give too much credit to the messenger and not enough credit to the message which says “See that you do it not… worship God.” Here instead, is what you and I are to be doing.

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

We have no commission to make anyone read, hear or keep the things written in this prophecy, but we are to have “the testimony of Jesus Christ which is the spirit of prophecy”, and we are to be ready to give an answer to anyone whom the Lord places before us. We are to be His witnesses of these things:

Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Isa 44:8  Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, [there is] no God; I know not [any].

Luk 24:44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

The way we are to witness of these things is to “keep the things which are written therein… the sayings of this prophecy, because as He is so are we in this world,” and Christ was dying daily in this life and was being judged in this present time and was never cast into the lake of fire [which] is the second death”.

Next week, Lord willing, we will discuss the spiritual significance of the golden censor, the golden altar, the fire of the altar and that ‘fire’ being cast into the earth.

[Study Aired April 27, 2024]

In this, the third book and study in Hosea, the Lord is reviewing the marriage template. He commanded Hosea to take a known harlot to be his wife to precisely mirror Christ’s wife reflecting Israel’s whorish behaviour to him and her coming chastisement and ultimate redemption.

The remaining eleven chapters detail our Lord’s indictments of Israel, beginning with accusations, judgment, her unrepentance and its consequences, her punishment, His love through chastisement, and His bringing to the minds of Israel and Judah His loving intentions since their conception for a brilliant future. In the meantime, Israel pushes to the back of their minds the many prophets’ consistency in speaking of the same impending doom of exile.

Israel’s entire saga from Egypt to exile was preordained before creation, overwhelmingly primarily for the Elect of God, His Bride, and not her 1,000 sisters remaining in Babylon (the world). The incredible violence Israel inflicted on her neighbours, both ordained by God and upon her own idols of her heart as her neighbors chastised her, is the precise pattern the Elect of God today have spiritually experienced and are now spiritually fleeing Babylon, to which they were exiled over 2,500 years ago.

All of Deuteronomy 28 details God’s warning against Israel for the unwitting inevitability of them not keeping the commandments of God with incredibly sore trials, and it is well worth a review. Since that chapter is 68 verses long, it is left up to the student of Christ to do his own review. However, the last five verses of Deuteronomy 28 for this study in Hosea portray Israel’s looming exile and slavery. Unforeseen by her, imminent slavery will be a harrowing affair until they settle down in Babylon and fully engage the idol of their heart to deem Babylon infinitely richer than the Promised Land they left!

Following is what was prophesied to happen if they failed to keep their espoused dues, and is now about to become reality.

Deu 28:64  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 
Deu 28:65  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
Deu 28:66  And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 
Deu 28:67  In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 
Deu 28:68  And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Israel being sold into Egypt is a metaphor for Babylon, the world, which represents Egypt, Sodom, Syria, and Old Jerusalem as one. Since Egypt represents the world, it is the kingdom of the old man of carnally-minded people – we originally are symbolised as Egypt. We first get enslaved to Egypt, and after a long process of rebellion, we end up enslaved happily in Babylon, where the food and lifestyle are unsurpassed, and we believe the delusion that we are saved. The burden of the Egyptians is bondage from which the spirit of Christ will set His Bride free today; her day of judgment.

Verse 67 covertly states that His Elect, languishing in Babylon, yearns to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. Hence, the time frame seems tediously slow since “In the morning you shall say, Oh, that it were evening! And at evening you shall say, Oh, that it was morning, for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you [the Elect only] shall see.” 

In Hosea chapter 3, he very briefly summarizes what the Lord has commanded him to do regarding marrying a known whore and what will result from that marriage. Our Lord always has a stupendous and glorious outcome for our obedience to His commands.

Hosea Redeems, His Wife

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 
Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 
Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

Returning to verse one:

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 

A wife “beloved of her friend” H7453 denotes (1. friend, companion, fellow, another person a. friend, intimate b. fellow, fellow citizen, another person (weaker sense). From H7462 – 1. to pasture, tend, graze, feed a. (Qal) 1. to tend, pasture 1a b. to shepherd 1a c. of ruler, teacher), and is clearly identified as previous adulterous connections with many paramours and the inevitability of ‘loving’ her immersion in flagons of doctrinal lies.

Gomer is “beloved of friend, yet an adulteress,” which suggests that she is well-liked by the community and no doubt quite lovely to look upon, but “yet an adulteress.” That description speaks volumes to the Elect of God and depicts their sorrowful, unwitting state while in Babylon’s churches, spiritually flirting lewdly as a two-fold child of hell (Mat 23:15) for every man and woman’s salacious attention.

Isa 3:16  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 

Isa 3:17  Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

The Gomer within us is “according to the love of the Lord towards the children of Israel” and our former sexual (spiritual) lustful search for the flagons and intoxication of unwitting doctrinal lies. Our Lord’s love for us is to initially send us into Babylon to drink the fullness of her vile cup until we fall and indifferently display our secret parts and spew her brew.

Because of every conceivable sin against Christ’s commands, and for this cause, particularly whoredoms and every other sexual abomination sullying marriage, the Lord says,

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 

Notice Hosea ‘buys’ Gomer in that he “bought her”, the hire of a whore, for fifteen pieces of silver. The “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4) we served in Babylon we hired for half the price of Judas’s pay for betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard. The number 10 denotes Gomer’s completeness of corruptible flesh, and 5 for the coming faithfulness of ‘the Christ’ to bring us into a full marital relationship with Him, our Husband. The number 15 can also be viewed as 3×5, equalling the spiritual progression of the Bride of Christ from her filth and chastisement for grace through faith, represented by silver’s symbolised redemptive process. 

Silver, from H3700, means to 1. to long for, yearn for, long after a. (Qal) to long for b. (Niphal) 1. to long for (deeply) 2. being longed for ~ and this perfectly fits Hosea’s speaking “comfortably” through his ‘allurements’ to Gomer in his pleading, typifying our Lord’s same pleading for us to be faithful to his espousals.

A one-and-a-half “homer [H2563] of barley” represents Christ (Definition: 1. cement, mortar, clay a. mortar, cement b. clay c. mire) and symbolises the mire of our powerful ‘glue’ (cement; mortar) that unwaveringly espouses us to him having taken us out of the “mire” of our Babylonish whoredoms to be one in him, the “barley” and first of the first fruits as a wave sheaf (Lev 23:9-14). One-and-a-half is precisely half the number of Christ’s three years of ministry that we mirror in our progressive learning not to play the harlot.

Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod [Priestly garment], and without teraphim [Idols]: 

In fact, the children of Israel have lived without a king ever since they went into exile, and to this very day, for the entirety of that time, His Bride alone knows Him as her King of kings and High Priest.

England’s royalty is a God-given utter sham with absolutely no connection to Christ, even though they implicitly state otherwise that they are the direct descendants of King David and thus an up lineage to Christ. They believe it to the point of having a large stone, called “The Stone of Destiny” or the “Stone of Scone” (Google it), deludedly the very one Jacob dreamed his Genesis 28:10-22 dream upon and set beneath the ancient coronation seat where all her kings and queens are crowned.  The Stone of Destiny

The fabled stone must have taken Jacob some time to chisel into shape such an unlikely singular ‘pillow.’ Equally preposterous is the accompanying story about the prophet Jeremiah escorting Zedekiah’s daughter to England in an effort to substantiate the connection of Britain’s royalty with King David:

“Some of the earliest Danite settlements in the Isles were in Ireland. As these colonies became more developed, ruling clans of Danite kings arose. Eventually, however, these kings were superseded in Ireland by a Milesian line of kings made up of royalty from the Jewish line of Zarah (I Chron. 2:4, 6). As will be brought out below, this royal line developed when Danite and Judah-Zarahite refugees settled parts of ancient Greece prior to Israel’s enslavement while in Egypt. This Milesian line eventually made its way to Ireland. Jeremiah’s mission was to join the Davidic throne to the “Irish” throne through the marriage of Tephi, Zedekiah’s daughter, to an heir of the Milesian line—a prince named Eochaidh. This is how Jeremiah was to plant a “tender one” in what would eventually become a “high mountain”—the Israelite birthright kingdom of Great Britain.” [End quote] 

From –   The Prophet Jeremiah’s Mysterious Royal Commission

It all is part of the immensely grand and strong delusion and foundation of British-Israelism and Zionism to similarly “cement” Judeo-Christianity in whoredom with her 40,000 + splinter sects to sustain monetary and government hegemony for world domination. The entire swindle is, at this moment, seemingly in the process of utter decay as the Beast in Revelation 17:1-18 turns upon the multinational conglomerate.

Gen 28:11  And he [Jacob] lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 

Notice that Jacob took an unknown number of stones (Plural) for his “pillows”, which he probably covered with material or hides. This suggests he used them to support his body from the unyielding earth. These stones were not a singular great block, as seen beneath England’s coronation throne! 

It appears that the stratagem of the early British monarchy to hold the empire together typically involved the lockstep of church and state, and no better foundation is there than God’s word. So, some enterprising monarchists hit upon the substantiating brilliance of including Jeremiah 33:14-26 to ratify the Empire. Please read it all for yourself, yet I will only include the following verses.

Jer 33:17  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel [For the monarchists’ identity, Britain]; 
Jer 33:18  Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 

Regarding verse 18, Britain never offered burnt offerings continually and neither did Israel after they went into exile dispersed among the nations.

Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

The children of Israel did figuratively return to Old Jerusalem by never leaving Babylon and continuing to eat their own bread and drink their own water unwittingly as the Great Whore of Revelation. Its correct spiritual parallel means the remnant, a small flock of the Lord’s Elect, are the ones who return to seek their Christ, their God and are represented as King David in these very “latter days” today, since the cross. Our Lord abides in His Elect, His Temple in this age to perform His good word spiritually within.

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

Jer 29:10  For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 
Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 
Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 
Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 
Jer 29:15  Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 

May our Lord continue to bless his raised-up prophets in Babylon today and keep all his commandments.

Zec 10:1-12  “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1Co 3:6)

[Study Aired August 3, 2023]

Zec 10:1  Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 
Zec 10:2  For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. 
Zec 10:3  Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 
Zec 10:4  Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 
Zec 10:5  And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. 
Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. 
Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. 
Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 
Zec 10:9  And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 
Zec 10:10  I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 
Zec 10:11  And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 
Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD. 

In our last study of Zechariah, we talked about “the burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus” and saw how the word burden^H4853 represents the effect God’s word will have on the hearts and minds of those who are learning of God’s judgments in their earth (Isa 26:9-10, Jer 22:29).

H4853 Burden maśśâ’ mas-saw’

From H5375; a burden; specifically tribute, or (abstractly) porterage; figuratively an utterance, chiefly a doom, especially singing; mental, desire: – burden, carry away, prophecy, X they set, song, tribute.

These verses (Isa 26:9-10, Jer 22:29) show us there is a process of judgment upon mankind, that has a ‘beginning of sorrows’, just as we read of in Matthew 24:8, and an ‘ending of sorrows’ that will happen for most people in the lake of fire when every tear will be wiped away (Rev 21:4). It is only those in this dispensation of grace who come to see the man of perdition on the throne of our own hearts, typified by the abomination of desolation [“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:)“], who will spend the rest of their earthly existence fleeing “into the mountains” which represent the strength of Christ to whom we look in each other as the body of Christ (Psa 121:1-2, 1Co 11:1, Psa 119:114).

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 
Isa 26:10  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 
Jer 22:30  Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. 

Psa 119:114  Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. 

Hearing the word of God, and even being judged by God, does not preclude that that person or nation will change their ways, and it certainly does not mean they have become a new creation through Christ (2Co 5:17). It is the mystery of iniquity that is hidden from the world and already at work spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-9 that prevents or withholds this spiritual change from happening.

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: 
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

We all at first naturally confuse the victory God gives us over physical sins of the flesh via miraculous physical healings in our life and equate it as being Christ’s righteousness being revealed in the new creation (Mat 7:22). In reality, it is a shadow of the righteousness of Christ and at the same time strong delusion for those who don’t see it as such. Christ’s miracles never changed the heart of anyone, and were miracles that demonstrated a shadow of the greater works that the body of Christ would be given to do with God’s spirit within us, even greater works than what Christ did seeing these new works were going to bring about spiritual healing (Joh 14:12, Rom 8:9)

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

It is God’s elect who will administer His judgments throughout the earth when “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Chapter nine reveals the powerful way in which Babylon will fall in one symbolic hour (Rev 18:10, Rev 18:17-19) via the rod of iron God will use to humble the nations through the elect (Rev 11:15, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15). 

Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

That humbling of the nations does not bring about conversion but will leave an undeniable witness of how God can overthrow the weak and beggarly elements under which we all initially held in bondage. Only by the grace of God we do not go back to them as typified by Israel wanting to go back to the bondage of the pleasures of sin for a season in Egypt even after the Lord overthrew their enemies, who typify their bondage and slavery to sin (Heb 11:25, Exo 15:1-16). The loosing or binding of Satan, in other words, is all a work of the Lord to show us how we cannot overcome unless the son of God sets us free (Rev 20:7, Joh 8:36). 

The ability to judge the nations is given to those who have suffered and been judged in this age (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17), and the hope-filled message at the end of chapter nine reveals the reward and blessing that comes upon those who are blessed to endure until the end (Zec 9:14-17, Mat 24:13)

Zec 9:14  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 
Zec 9:15  The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
Zec 9:16  And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 
Zec 9:17  For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

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

The latter rain is what we will be looking at in this tenth chapter of Zechariah, which represents the word of God, the “corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids” that with which the elect will fill the world, saturating the unconverted masses with the truth of the true gospel of Christ. We will be leaving an example for the ages to come that all the planting and watering in the world, even with Christ and His Christ on this earth, does not bring about any spiritual increase, which is always given by God at the exact appointed time that it was purposed to be so. The elect takes on that role which Christ had when He was in His flesh, bringing forth the word of truth, performing miracles, but not converting anyone (1Co 3:6-9, 1Jn 4:17).

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Zec 10:1  Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Zec 10:2  For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

The true latter rain God brings through His great cloud of witness to the world during the thousand-year reign of the saints spoken of in the first verse of our study (Jas 5:7-8, Heb 12:1), is contrasted with the “diviners” of Babylon who have spoken vanity (Mar 7:7) and told “false dreams” in the second verse (Jer 23:32), whose comfort is in vain (2Pe 2:17-19, Jud 1:16) leaving the flocks to go “their way as a flock” being troubled because there was no stay of bread or water (Isa 3:1) but only a negative empty cloud of witness, from those who were no shepherds at all but false apostles (Jud 1:12, 2Co 11:13-15). 

Jer 23:32  Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying dreams, saith Jehovah, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them; neither do they profit this people at all, saith Jehovah.

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

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. 

Now a new thing is happening. Babylon has fallen, and the latter rain is being given through the elect via “the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” The field (Mat 13:38) is the world, and what the world produces via the word of God starts off as grass [God’s word received in immature ears] that will feed the beasts of the earth which men are in God’s eyes (Ecc 3:18). 

God uses Elijah as a type of the elect to show us how it is through our fervent prayers God will “give them the showers of rain” in due season (Jas 5:16-20). Elijah prayed twice, the first time asking that it not rain for three and a half years, the same length of time as the two witnesses’ ministry, who represent the body of Christ. These witness to the world but don’t convert the masses who can’t yet receive the true gospel message and be washed by it. Our ministry in Christ is primarily for the body of Christ today and is not for converting the masses, although we are to do good to all men, especially the household of faith who are being sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word in this age. During the thousand-year reign of the saints, God’s children are now known and seen and heard, and even looked to as saviors (Oba 1:21, Rev 3:9).  Again this is all just another witness of how that witness will not bring about any spiritual increase until God grants it in the lake of fire.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

The second time Elijah prayed (“And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit”) typifies the time when the world will begin to bring forth spiritual fruit. The planting and watering come from the body of Christ [our fervent prayers], but the increase comes from the Father, or it does not, all according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11).

The word of God is not a joyful burden to the world, but as we saw in chapter nine of Zechariah, God’s word in the unconverted heart is “the burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus”, also described as “the burden of Jehovah” in Jeremiah 23:33-34. If we see God’s word as a burden, then we must not have Christ in us bearing that burden, and with such a heart we bring a curse upon ourselves by not being given to recognize that the word is not a burden but rather “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16, Rev 19:1).

Jer 23:33  And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? then shalt thou say unto them, What burden! I will cast you off, saith Jehovah. 
Jer 23:34  And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house. 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

Rev 19:1  After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 

Zec 10:3  Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
Zec 10:4  Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 
Zec 10:5  And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

God will use the elect who are typified by Judah, who is likened to a “goodly horse in the battle” as the means by which His wrath will be shown to the nations. “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats.” The only reason the elect can accomplish this is because we have been judged and made ready to be kings and priest because of the day of our judgment or visitation we have gone endured, “for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah” (1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 4:12, 2Ti 2:12, Jer 5:14).

Out of the church, typified by Judah, comes forth the zeal of the Lord described in these terms, “Out of him came forth the corner^H6438, out of him the nail^H3489, out of him the battle^H4421 bow,^H7198 out of him every^H3605 oppressor^H5065 together.^H3162”

The Corner

The church will have every angle covered with Christ as the chief cornerstone of their lives, and all our accusers will be made silent in Christ (Eph 2:20, Rom 8:1-2, 1Ti 1:9).

H6438 corner pinnâh pin-naw’

Feminine of H6434; an angle; by implication a pinnacle; figuratively a chieftain: – bulwark, chief, corner, stay, tower.

The Nail

The word “nail”^H3489 is the same word that describes the “pins“^H3489 which are used in the construction of the temple (Num 3:37, Num 4:32, Deu 23:13). When the temple of God is fastened together properly, each joint supplying what is needed in love, the body or temple is strong (Eph 4:16). The nail or the pin represents the word of God that must destroy the man of sin within us and protect the body of Christ, figuratively killing everything that breathes (Jdg 4:21).

Num 3:37  And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins^H3489, and their cords [Ecc 4:12, Joh 2:15-17, Heb 12:6].

Num 4:32  And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins^H3489, and their cords [Ecc 4:12], with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

Deu 23:13  And thou shalt have a paddle^H3489 upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Jdg 4:21  Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail^H3489 of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

The Battle Bow

The battle bow, as we saw with our last study, is the instrument God uses to execute His judgments in the earth (Zec 9:13). We are stretched [bow^H7198] of the Lord to do a battle, feeling like we are really involved in the fight, and we are involved as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, acknowledging that it is the Lord working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, which is to win the battle (Php 2:12-13, 1Sa 17:47).

Zec 9:13  When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

H7198 Bow qesheth keh’-sheth

From H7185 in the original sense (of H6983) of bending; a bow, for shooting (hence figuratively strength) or the iris: –  X arch (-er), + arrow, bow ([-man, -shot]).

Every^H3605 Oppressor^H5065 Together^H3162

This phrase “every oppressor together” is another way of saying the entire united body of Christ that is likened unto Gideon’s army will oppress the enemy together, overcoming through the strength that this unity brings, as a threefold cord. That process of judgment represented by the ‘three’ in a “threefold cord” cleanses the temple as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior (Rom 12:5, 2Pe 3:18).

H3605 every kôl    kole, kole

From H3634; properly the whole; hence all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense): – (in) all (manner, [ye]), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, [no-] thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso (-ever).

H5065 Oppressor nâgaś naw-gas’

A primitive root; to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army); by implication to tax, harass, tyrannize: – distress, driver, exact (-or), oppress (-or), X raiser of taxes, taskmaster.

H3162 Together yachad yakh’-ad

From H3161; properly a unit, that is, (adverbially) unitedly: – alike, at all (once), both, likewise, only, (al-) together, withal.

Verse five then goes on to describe what this united front in the Lord can accomplish, “And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.” Notice it is they and them who are doing the battle together, and because the Lord is with them, the enemy they come up against will be confounded, “and the riders on horses shall be confounded.” So verse three talks about the positive “goodly horses” that will come up in battle against the negative “riders on horses” of verse five who shall be confounded.

Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.

In this verse God declares that all the world will be saved. The house of Judah which is strengthened represents the elect who will be used to save the house of Joseph, symbolism that is shown in this verse where Joseph is represented as Judah [the elect] who is talking to “the house of Joseph” which can represent the world (Gen 45:5). 

Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 

Joseph brought them again to place them in a place where they could grow and mature, having mercy upon them, “for I have mercy upon them.” It would take time, but eventually the conscience of the brothers of Joseph (the world) will be washed, which typifies how God is greater than our hearts (1Jn 3:20), our sin which does so easily beset us (Heb 12:1, 1Jn 2:1). Joseph was used by Pharaoh, who is a type of God the Father, in the same way the elect will be used to show mercy to the world, wiping away all the tears of the world and extending great mercy to them as it had already been extended to God’s elect first. “For I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them” (Rom 11:27-32)

Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. 

Being the son of Joseph and the one who was blessed by Jacob (Gen 48:19), Ephraim represents the elect who have been blessed to live by the faith of Christ [Joseph], which is why it says “Ephraim shall be like a mighty man” (Php 4:13). Our hearts rejoice “as through wine” as the word of God quickens us (Joh 6:63) and “their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD” represents the rest of the world that will come to know these wonderful works God has performed to the sons of man. They will rejoice as they come to understand that our being saved first, as a kind of first fruits, will ultimately result in their being saved in the great white throne judgment (Oba 1:21).

Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 
Zec 10:9  And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 

Speaking now of Ephraim’s children who represent the inheritance of the saints,  (Gen 22:17-18, Gal 3:16) the following verses discuss the captivity all humanity must go into before they come out of it, “I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: [2Sa 14:14, Oba 1:21] and they shall increase as they have increased [now they shall spiritually increase as our children (Gal 4:27)]. And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.”

Gen 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

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

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.

It was in the “far countries” of Babylon into which we first go that we are gathered out of by the grace of God “and they shall live with their children, and turn again.” This is where we remember the Lord, symbolized by this moment with the prodigal son in Luke 15:17.

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

Zec 10:10  I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 

Again, we see the process of judgment that must happen in order to be saved in this next verse: “I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.” Both the elect and the rest of the world will go through this process, each man in his own order.

In this verse we learn how the world goes into “the land of Egypt” and are gathered “out of Assyria“, both symbols of Babylon out of which God’s people are called first. Then we are brought into “the land of Gilead^H1568 and Lebanon^H3844” and are told God will not be “found for them.” These places, Gilead and Lebanon, represent our yet self-righteous carnal stage in our walk when we are “East of the Jordan” and not yet understanding that we must be baptized into His death (Rom 6:3) dying daily, as the temple of God (1Co 3:16). We may be heirs of the inheritance, but we are not ready to rule at this stage, and only if God permits will that be the case (Gal 4:1-2, Heb 6:3). 

H1568 gil‛âd ghil-awd’  

BDB =  “rocky region”

Strong’s = Probably from H1567; Gilad, a region East of the Jordan; also the name of three Israelites: – Gilead, Gileadite.

H3844 lebânôn leb-aw-nohn’ 

BDB = “whiteness”

Strong’s = From H3825; (the) white mountain (from its snow); Lebanon, a mountain range in Palestine: – Lebanon.

Zec 10:11  And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 
Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

In order for us to go onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32), we must experience all these things inwardly: “And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.“

How we will accomplish this transformation of no longer being conformed to this world (Rom 12:2) but to the mind of Christ is then revealed to be by the strength of the Lord, “I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.”  

It takes the ‘Apollos and Paul’ in us, meaning a witness of Christ working in us as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, to then be given the increase that comes from God, as He wills these things and does these things in the lives of the peculiar and zealous body of Christ (1Co 3:6-7, Tit 2:14, 1Pe 2:9).

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. 

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

1Pe 2:9   But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

[Study Aired June 15, 2023]

Zec 3:1  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 
Zec 3:2  And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 
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. 
Zec 3:5  And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. 
Zec 3:6  And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 
Zec 3:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. 
Zec 3:8  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 
Zec 3:9  For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 
Zec 3:10  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. 

God’s elect are called kings and priests in  Revelation 1:6 and 5:10, and we have one high priest Jesus Christ who is “the LORD of hosts” spoken of in three verses in this study (Zec 3:7, Zec 3:9-10). 

Zec 3:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. 

Zec 3:9  For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Zec 3:10  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

In the first verse we read of “Joshua the high priest” who represents God’s elect who are called unto this high calling to be as our Lord and high priest (1Pe 2:9, 1Jn 4:17, Php 3:13-14, Heb 3:1-2).

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

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.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. [to be like our LORD, as a king and a priest (Rev 1:6, Rev 5:10)]

Heb 3:1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Heb 3:2  Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 

[Moses’ faithfulness in all his house represents how Christ in us as our hope of glory (Col 1:27) can and will be the author and finisher of our faith (Php 1:6, Heb 11:1-2, Heb 11:6), building the house (Psa 127:1) and creating within us a mind that has respect unto the recompence of the reward (Heb 11:26, Heb 10:35)]

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

This third chapter of Zechariah reassures God’s people how  “the LORD of hosts” will prepare the bride of Christ who is primarily represented in this chapter as “Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD“.

Zec 2:11  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts (Zec 3:10) hath sent me unto thee.
Zec 2:12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 
Zec 2:13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. 

Zec 3:1  And he shewed me [speaking of the angel speaking on behalf of the Lord of hosts (Zec 2:1-4, Zec 4:1)] Joshua the high priest [who typifies the elect] standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 

The last three verses of the second chapter of Zechariah are a prophesy of that time when the world will come to know those who are blessed to come in the name of the LORD (Psa 118:26), bringing the message from the LORD to, “Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” His holy habitation is the body of Christ the church who will bring God’s true gospel message into the world “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph 3:10).

Psa 118:26  Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

Prior to these events being made possible, the bride needs to be made ready (Rev 19:7, Php 2:12-14) which is what this third chapter of Zechariah is all about, and concludes in the last verse (Zec 3:10) with a prophetic message that is also spoken of in the last three verses of chapter two (Zec 2:11-13).

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.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 

Zec 3:10  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

Zec 2:11  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 
Zec 2:12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 
Zec 2:13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Christ’s body is not wrestling against flesh and blood but rather against “Satan standing at his right hand to resist him” and it is because of Christ who works within the angel of the LORD as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27) that we can overcome the wicked one and endure unto the end (Eph 6:12-13, 1Jn 2:13-14).

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Zec 3:2   And the LORD said unto Satan [via the messenger “the angel of the Lord”], The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 

It is the LORD who is working in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure in this age, and in order to overcome the devil he must be rebuked of the LORD (Jud 1:9), which was demonstrated for us by Christ when He prayed for Peter that his faith fail not, knowing Satan wanted to sift him like wheat (Luk 22:31). This measure of faith given to us by God through Christ is the gift that Romans 3:27 makes it possible for us to endure the trials and temptations which we are assured we must go through in this life (Luk 22:31-32, 1Pe 1:7, 1Pe 4:12).

Jud 1:9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 

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: 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

As mentioned, it is the LORD who is working in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure in this age and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom inwardly in the earnest of this relationship and outwardly at the last trump (Luk 12:32, Luk 17:21, Rev 11:15). In order for that to happen the devil must be rebuked so we can be scarcely saved through Christ, “The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem (Mat 22:14) rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (1Pe 4:18, Jud 1:23). God’s elect are that brand that is “plucked out of the fire” as the few who are “chosen” in this age represented by Joshua the high priest.

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 

Jud 1:23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Zec 3:3)

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 

God has given Satan the power to make the elect his target, seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8), and yet because of our relationship with Christ we are able to resist him and grow through those divers temptations that come our way (Jas 4:7, Jas 1:2-4). 

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Christ sets us free from sin as he pulls us out of the fire and He works this deliverance through the body of Christ (Joh 8:36, Jud 1:23-25, 1Pe_4:18).

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

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 

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.

The filthy garments on Joshua represent our iniquities, which is our natural self righteous state, the way that seems right unto a man (Eze 3:20-21, Eze 18:20, Eze 18:24, Eze 33:13, Pro 14:12). God causes these sins to pass from us through Christ whose life in us is represented by the statement “I will clothe thee with change of raiment“. The righteousness of the saints is Christ’s righteousness that we pray we will be found in when He returns (Rev 19:8, Php 3:9).

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted (Eph 2:8) that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: “I will clothe thee with change of raiment” (Rom 3:27) 

“Those who stood before him” represent the body of Christ who is used to wash or “take away the filthy garments from him” which is what we do for each other as many members or joints of the same body of Christ that supply that washing or feeding of the word that cleanses and nourishes us (Eph 4:16). We are saviours toward each other right now, able to forgive and wash each other with the life of Christ within us (Col 3:13).

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 (1Co 3:6). 

Col 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Zec 3:5   And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

Having done all we stand ready (Eph 6:13), and are committed to feeding and clothing the flock being helpers of each other’s joy (1Co 9:16, 2Co 1:24). Putting the mitre upon his head symbolizes the crown of righteousness that we don’t let any carnal man take from us, but that we assist each other in holding fast to in this life, as we are clothed by each other with the righteousness of Christ that empowers us to go where our flesh does not want to go (Rev 3:11, Joh 21:18). 

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

1Co 9:16  For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 

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

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 

Joh 21:18  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 

Zec 3:6  And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 

Zec 3:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by  

It is the angel of the Lord who represents the body of Christ the church (Col 1:24) who ‘charges us’ or ‘testifies to us’ or “protestedH5749 unto Joshua” what “the LORD of hosts” has to say, and if we are granted to read, and hear and keep what is told us “If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge” (Rev 1:3) then “thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by”. This blessing of judging God’s house and keeping his courts is speaking of the inheritance of the saints which is typified by these verses (Zec 2:12-13).

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. 

Zec 2:12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again [1Jn 4:17].

Zec 2:13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. 

Zec 3:8  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 

This is still the angel of the Lord speaking on behalf of “the LORD of hosts” to Joshua, and “thy fellows that sit before thee… men wonderedH4159 at” represent the body of Christ who are a special people “men of symbol (LITV)” or “men to serve as signs (Rotherham)” (2Co 12:12) who are reflecting the life of Christ that we are connected to as a branch to a vine (Joh 15:5). 

H4159  môphêth

1. wonder, sign, miracle, portent 
2. wonder (as a special display of God’s power) 
3. sign, token (of future event) 

Total KJV Occurrences: 36

“The BRANCH” represents Christ’s life in the body of Christ that only God can bring forth fruit in, seeing He is the one that gives the growth and increase to this branch (1Co_3:6 , Rom_11:16-21)]. 

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

Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 

Rom 11:18  Boast not (Rom_3:27) against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 

Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith (Rom_3:27). Be not highminded, but fear: 

Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 

[God spared not the natural branches, and those who are granted to have the life of Christ in them today are spoken of as “The BRANCH” that is not bearing the burden of Christ in love if we don’t fully acknowledge the work that God is doing in the body of Christ as His workmanship (Eph_2:10) that we are (1Co_4:6-17)]

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 (Rom_3:27). 

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. 

1Co 4:7  For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? (1Co_11:18-19)

Zec 3:9  For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 

The stone “I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes” represents ‘Peter’ or the church that is built upon the rock Jesus Christ (Mat_16:17-19) and it is still the angel of the Lord who is telling us what “the LORD of hosts” is going to do, which is described for us in detail in (Rev_3:12) revealing to us that God already knows who it is that is going to move with fear in this age and “hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” of the previous verse (Rev_3:11)].

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art PeterG4074 – piece of rock , and upon this rockG4073 –  a mass of rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Mat 16:19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 

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 [“I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day” the day of the Lord], 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. 

Zec 3:10  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. 

The world during the thousand year reign of the saints will be called to learn of Christ’s righteousness (Isa_26:9) “under the vine and under the fig tree” meaning under the rule of the saints represented by “the fig tree”, the church, the Israel of God that is under the head of the church Jesus Christ represented by “the vine”. (1Ki_4:25 , Joe_2:22)

1Ki 4:25  And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 

Joe 2:22  Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 

May “the LORD of hosts” continue to give us eyes to see and ears to hear  (Mat_13:16) his voice through the body of Christ, that is our humble prayer: “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD”.

Acts 13:28-52  It is Necessary That the Word First Be Spoken to Babylon

[Study Aired April 30, 2023]

Act 13:28  And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
Act 13:29  And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
Act 13:30  But God raised him from the dead:
Act 13:31  And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
Act 13:32  And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
Act 13:33  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Act 13:34  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
Act 13:35  Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Act 13:36  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
Act 13:37  But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
Act 13:38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Act 13:39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Act 13:40  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
Act 13:41  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
Act 13:42  And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
Act 13:43  Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Act 13:44  And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Act 13:45  But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Act 13:48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Act 13:49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
Act 13:50  But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
Act 13:51  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Act 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

In our last study, Paul and Barnabas had just arrived in Pisidian Antioch and had entered the local synagogue where they were invited to speak:

Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

These verses demonstrate the veracity of James’ statement when he concluded that the Jews were still under the law in chapter 15:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

The consensus of the apostles and elders was that the Gentiles were not under the law of Moses, but the Jews were still expected to keep the law of Moses which… “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” The apostles themselves were still very much attached to the temple in Jerusalem and were still tithing to the Levites, circumcising, and offering blood sacrifices. They were still observing all the Jewish holy days and all the laws concerning the eating of only clean meats and zealously keeping all the laws of Moses.

Act 21:20  And when they heard it [What the Lord was doing among the Gentiles through Paul’s
ministry], they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

The point being, they did not yet see the synagogue as a great harlot from whom they must separate themselves. The apostles themselves, at this point and throughout the book of Acts, considered Judaism and the law of Moses to be the same as the law of Christ. Hence “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues ever sabbath day” was a very positive thing in the eyes of James and all the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

The reformation had to start somewhere, and this first journey will help us to see the beginning of “the reformation”:

Heb 9:10  Which stood [the temple and all of its Mosaic rituals] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

When we closed our last study, Paul was in the process of reviewing the history of his nation to those in the synagogue there in Antioch in Pisidia. He began his review from the time the Lord had brought Israel up out of the bondage of Egyptian slavery. He reviewed how the Lord had brought Israel through the wilderness, had displaced seven nations in the promised land, how Israel had lived for four hundred and fifty years under the judges, had then been given a king named ‘Saul’ for forty years, and then the Lord had replaced King Saul with King David, who is a physical ancestor of Christ.

This is where Paul was in our last study:

Act 13:23  Of this man’s seed [King David] hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Act 13:24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act 13:25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
Act 13:26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Act 13:27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Notice that everywhere Paul and Barnabas travel, they assume that the people in the synagogues are already familiar with the story of the miraculous events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. They knew that John’s father was a priest serving in the temple, who had been struck with being dumb until John was born and named. They were familiar with the preaching of John the Baptist and the fact that John had proclaimed that Jesus was “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world”:

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Joh 1:36  And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

His life, His ministry, His miracles and the death and His resurrection had already become common knowledge among all the Jews in all the synagogues. However, it was not necessarily believed by the Jews, and the true significance of the death and resurrection of Christ was certainly not yet realized except by a very few.

Paul continues with his sermon in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch:

Act 13:28  And though they found no cause of death in him [Christ], yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
Act 13:29  And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
Act 13:30  But God raised him from the dead:
Act 13:31  And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

Verse 31 is a confirmation of Peter’s testimony at the house of Cornelius, that Christ, after His resurrection, had not revealed Himself to the whole nation of Israel but only to faithful witnesses:

Act 10:39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Act 10:40  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Act 10:41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

Both Peter and Paul and Barnabas mention Christ knowing that their audience was already familiar with what had happened in Jerusalem, resulting in the crucifixion and death of Christ, following three-and one-half years of healing multitudes of people of all their afflictions:

Mat 4:24  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Luk 4:40  Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

Luk 6:17  And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

Christ was the celebrity of His day because everyone had heard of Him.

Act 13:32  And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
Act 13:33  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Here is the section of the Psalm to which Paul refers:

Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

This is the understanding of these verses which many Jewish Rabbis have until this very day:

“Abraham ibn Ezra, [A Spanish Rabbi, 1089- 1167 A.D.] who lived in both Muslim and Christian lands, offers both a messianic and a non-messianic interpretation of the [second] psalm!

The response to Christianity is evident in Rashi’s commentary on the psalm, one of his only two explicit glosses against Christians in this commentary:” (End Quote)

Notice what this widely respected Rabbi confesses:

“Our rabbis [traditionally] interpreted the subject of the chapter as a reference to the King Messiah. However, according to its basic meaning and for a refutation of the Christians it is correct to interpret it as a reference to David himself.

“Rashi [French rabbi, 1040- 1105 A.D.] interprets the psalm’s first part^[60] by appeal to the historical context about David provided in 2 Samuel. Most later commentators living in Christian lands follow Rashi in interpreting the psalm in light of David’s biographical details, though some turn up polemical heat.

“Radak’s Screed – Among the polemicists, Radak (An acronym for Rabbi David Kimchi, 1160-1235), who lived in Narbonne in Provence during a time of increasing Christian missionizing,^[61] was especially combative. Radak first follows Rashi in interpreting Psalm 2 in relation to David’s anointing and understands 2:7 as a metaphor:

“The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son’”—and my (David’s) kingship derives from that. Therefore, no one can dispute it, for YHWH has taken me as a son….^[62]

Radak then explains his preference for this interpretation, as opposed to the Sages’ [Gamaliel] traditional messianic interpretation:

“Some explicate this in reference to Gog and Magog, and the “anointed one” is the Royal Messiah… But it makes more sense to me that David said it about himself, as we explained [above, in the verse-by-verse commentary].

In sharp departure from previous commentators, Radak concludes his gloss on Psalm 2 with a long coda or screed (approximately 400 words)^[63] against the literal reading of v. 7 as describing God having an actual son:

“The Christians interpret it [Psa 2:7] concerning Jesus, and [it is] the verse that is their main proof, and is the basis for their error—it is a stumbling block for them—is: “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son.’”

“Radak continues by attempting to refute the Christian reading by using logic:

“If they say to you that he [Jesus] was the son of God, say to them: It is inappropriate to use the term “son of God” concerning a being of flesh and blood, because a son must be of the same species as the father. Surely you cannot say that this horse is the son of Reuben! If so, anyone to whom God says, “You are my son,” has to be of his same species, and has to be a God just like him. Similarly it says: “I fathered you this day”—the one born has to be of the same species of the one who gives birth.

“Thus Radak argues that Jesus cannot have a human aspect to him since his father is divine.

“Further say to them that you cannot have a father and son both as a godhead, for a godhead is indivisible, for it is not a corporeal entity that can be divided into parts. Rather God is total unity—he cannot be made larger or made smaller or divided.

“In sharp departure from previous commentators, Radak concludes his gloss on Psalm 2 with a long coda or screed (approximately 400 words)^[63] against the literal reading of v. 7 as describing God having an actual son:

“Here Radak follows the Maimonidean principal of God’s unity, one of the bases for the claim that people can only have negative knowledge of God (i.e., humans can know what God isn’t, not what God is). He continues with a related point:

“And if they say: It makes no sense to call something that is not divine the son of God, say to them: We can only speak of God, may He be blessed, through metaphorical language—after all, it says of Him: “the mouth of the LORD,” “the eyes of the LORD,” “the ears of the LORD,” etc. It is well known that these are metaphorical.

“Similarly, we should understand as metaphorical “son of God” and “sons of God.” Whoever fulfills someone’s commandments and acts as his proper emissary is called “son”—just as the son heeds what his father commands.

“And so too a person, because of the heavenly spirit within him, when he performs the command of God on account of the wise spirit that guides him, [God] calls him “son.” And that is why [the psalm] says: “You are my son, today I have given birth to you.”

“Radak then moves to the son’s apparent lack of omnipotence in the psalm:

“Further say to them: Concerning the deity—when you say the father says to son (v. 8): “Ask it of Me, and I will make the nations your domain”—why would the son ask this of his father—is he not a deity just like him, with the strength to subdue the nations to the ends of the earth as well! Moreover, [this implies that] before asking this question the nations were not yet his inheritance — does this suggest that that he was a weak deity beforehand and only later gained strength? That makes no sense of a deity!

“Feeling that he has the Christians on the defensive, Radak goes on to coach his readers on how to respond were Christians to invoke Jesus’s unique role as a deity who became enfleshed:

“And if they say to you: this is referring to the enfleshed deity—after the deity took a human form [as the earthly Jesus], and He told the one of flesh to ask Him [God the father] to give him nations as his inheritance—this cannot be, for the enfleshed one [Jesus] never had a kingdom and no authority over any of the nations.

“Finally, Radak addresses Christian faith:

“And if they say to you: We must accept this as a matter of faith—most of the nations, whether Jews or Moslems, do not accept him on faith.

“After his exhaustive argument, Radak summarizes his strategic point:

“I just instructed you what you should answer them concerning this psalm; you should add your own answers along this line. And if they ask you what the psalm means, you should choose to explicate it in one of these two ways: concerning David, or [the future] the King Messiah, as I explained to you [above]”. (End Quote, Author’s emphasis).

Cited from: Psalm 2 – Is the Messiah the Son of God?

This is the Babylonian doctrine of Paul’s day. This is the mindset Paul and Barnabas were dealing with. If John’s witness to whom Christ was, had not been so well known… if Christ’s death and resurrection had not been so well documented, and if all His miracles and all the miracles of His apostles had not been accomplished and displayed in such miraculous and undeniable ways, the gospel of Jesus Christ would never have been accepted by anyone, especially anyone in Judaism. The works of the risen Christ were done in a way that the public was made aware of the veracity of His resurrection. Losing your prisoners on two occasions after publicizing their capture is very hard to deny or hide.

The arrest and imprisonment of all the apostles was public knowledge as was their supernatural deliverance, and their brazen return to the temple to teach the people.

Act 5:18  And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Act 5:19  But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Act 5:20  Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

Their most respected rabbi, Gamaliel, advised the priests and elders against doing any harm to the apostles. There was no denying or hiding what Christ was doing.

Peter’s apprehension by Herod after the slaying of the apostle James, the son of Zebedee, and then his miraculous deliverance from prison, happened during the days of unleavened bread while there were Jews in Jerusalem from all over the known world, and King Herod had made a big showing of his power to stifle this Jesus movement by killing the apostle James, and now King Herod wanted everyone to know that the apostle Peter was next, and yet Peter was not available for this very public trial before the Sanhedrin.

It was so humiliating that Herod had the guards all slain and then left town for Caesarea where he died being eaten by worms. This was all known by everyone because it all happened during the days of unleavened bread, and so many pilgrims were in Jerusalem and heard about and saw what happened. Christ was showing the whole world at that time that He was very much alive and working His own will in the kingdoms of men.

Saul of Tarsus had even had a very active part in the efforts of the chief priests and the elders in Jerusalem to destroy this new and growing movement, and now the Lord had converted the most zealous Jew on earth who had been intent on stomping out this perceived heresy.

All that zeal was now being used by the Lord to proclaim His gospel to this dark and dying world. Saul had been given the inspiration to pronounce blindness upon the false prophet Elymas in Paphos, in the presence of the governor of the island of Cyprus, and the governor had become a believer. At that time Saul’s name, meaning ‘asked of’ or ‘desired of’, reflected what Saul had done in requesting letters from the high priest at Jerusalem to go outside of Israel seeking to destroy the followers of Christ.

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

His name is then changed to Paul, which means ‘small’ or ‘little’. It may or may not reflect his physical stature, but it certainly reflected how he now thought of himself as ‘chief of sinners’:

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

The Lord has now prepared a knowledgeable soldier to do battle for Himself, so here we go:

Act 13:34  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

The phrase “the sure mercies of David” is quoted from:

Isa 55:3  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Act 13:35  Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

“Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” is quoted from:

Psa 16:10  For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. (ASV)

The word ‘corruption’ is translated from the Greek word, ‘shacath’ H7845, and it is defined as “a pit” and Strong’s tells us that it can refer to corruption or to the other Hebrew word, ‘sheol’ which is defined specifically as the grave, or “the world of the dead”.

H7845
שַׁחַת
shachath
shakh’-ath

From H7743; a pit (especially as a trap); figuratively destruction: – corruption, destruction, ditch, grave, pit.

The Jewish Rabbis teach that the words of Psalms 16:10 apply to King David, even though, as Peter also pointed out on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Act 13:36  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
Act 13:37  But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

As we demonstrated earlier, nothing in the history of mankind was more affirmed and proven by the facts than was the death and resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ.

Act 13:38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Act 13:39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

From what could not the law of Moses give us justification? From all the sins worthy of death, which were prescribed by the law of Moses, that law could not justify – sins like murder, adultery, apostasy and blasphemy.

This statement by Paul was music to the ears of many Jewish proselytes because, as Peter told all the elders at the Jerusalem conference:

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.

Paul continued his discourse in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch:

Act 13:40  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
Act 13:41  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

These words are quoted from:

Hab 1:5  Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

The context, as always, leads you to the conclusion that Habakkuk is prophesying about the coming Babylonian captivity:

Hab 1:6  For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

The holy spirit, through Paul, reveals that these words of Habakkuk are primarily referring to the work Christ is doing within us, giving them a far deeper meaning than being outwardly conquered by a foreign nation.

Act 13:42  And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

The Gentile proselytes loved those words… “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard…” The Gentile proselytes loved the words “…ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (vs 39).  The Gentiles are on the verge of coming out from under the law of Moses, and the Jews want them to stay right where they are and to be circumcised “after the manner of Moses”.

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Act 13:43  Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Act 13:44  And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Act 13:45  But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

The detractors were saying all those things we just read about how a Jew should answer a Christian. They were “contradicting and blaspheming” every word of Paul and Barnabas. We need not go back over how the Jews until this very day are blinded to the spiritual meaning of their own scriptures. It is they, and all those who are still under the law, to whom the scriptures are a stumbling block:

Rom 11:9  And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

1Co 1:23  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

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.

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

The proclamation that Christ was “to be a light to the Gentiles” is repeated by the prophet Simeon when Christ’s parents brought Him up to Jerusalem as a baby to be dedicated to the Lord according to the law of Moses:

Luk 2:22  And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
Luk 2:23  (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
Luk 2:24  And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Luk 2:25  And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Luk 2:26  And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luk 2:27  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Luk 2:28  Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Luk 2:29  Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
Luk 2:30  For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luk 2:31  Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luk 2:32  A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Luk 2:33  And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

Simeon was quoting a prophecy concerning Christ in Isaiah:

Isa 42:1  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 42:2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Isa 42:4  He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Isa 42:5  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isa 42:6  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 42:7  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Isa 42:8  I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isa 42:9  Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Act 13:48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Act 13:49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
Act 13:50  But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

Popularity for Christ and His Christ in this present time is fleeting. “The whole city” can come together all excited to hear what you have to say on one day, and the very next day they can all turn on you and expel you out of their coasts. We will see this in an even more striking way when the apostle Paul and Barnabas go to the city of Lystra in a future study.

Act 14:18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

There it is! Their own disciples wanted to worship them in verse 18, and then stoned Paul in verse 19. Christ has given us specific instructions about how to respond to being rejected:

Mat 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Act 13:51  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.

However, knowing the Lord had foretold them to expect such a reception, the apostles were not at all discouraged:

Act 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

That is part of our joy until this very day:

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

[Study Aired March 23, 2023]

In last week’s study we looked at the life of Hezekiah, who represents the elect who are scarcely saved in this life (1Pe 4:18-19). Manasseh, his son, is prophesied as one of “thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, [and] shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (2Ki 20:18). Physically, Manasseh was not a eunuch but spiritually he was, being cut off in type and shadow from the heritage that is found in Christ to which Hezekiah, in type and shadow, scarcely attained.

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? 

Hezekiah’s seemingly casual resolve and acceptance of what Isaiah is telling him in 2 Kings 20:18 with this statement “Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken” (2Ki 20:19) typifies for us how God brings us to a place of maturity where we more fully understand and accept the severity and goodness of God even as it applies to those who are sacrificed for us, even they of our own household as Manasseh typified. Understanding the severity and goodness of God happens when we come to believe that He is working all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11) – the light and the darkness, the peace and the evil – as will be demonstrated in this section of Kings (2Ki 21:1-12).

Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God:(1Co 3:14-15) on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness (Rom 2:4, 1Pe 4:17): otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 

[It would be better to have not known what we know, and come up receiving fewer stripes than come up having gone back into the world like Titus and Crescens and Demas having tasted of the heavenly gifts (2Pe 2:20-21, 2Ti 4:10, Heb 6:4). That scenario is hard for our flesh to understand seeing God caused every different scenario to His glory, and we naturally contend with Him until we are humbled enough under His mighty hand by the destruction of the man of sin within us (2Th 2:3-6). Once he is revealed by the brightness of Christ’s coming which burns him up, then we see more clearly how we are the clay and He is the master potter who can do what He wants with His creation that has no free moral agency, including how He designates the order of resurrections and the degree to which we remain hardened in our hearts or delivered from that hardness of heart in this life (Rom 9:11-20)].

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Rom 9:25  As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

In this section of Kings, there is a key verse (2Ki 21:14) which brings into focus who represents the beloved elect who come up in the first resurrection being shown mercy first, and who it is that represents those who will be judged in the great white throne judgment or lake of fire (Rev 20:10). In both cases it is very clear that both groups have to endure the wrath of God that is upon all unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18, Col 3:6). The remnant, spoken of in 2 Kings 21:14, represents the elect who are delivered into the hand of their enemies in order to purify them in this life as expressed with this verse (Rev 2:9-10).

2Ki 21:14  And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; (ASV)

2Ki 21:14  There will still be a few of my people left. But I will leave those people. I will give them to their enemies. Their enemies will take them prisoners—they will be like the valuable things soldiers take in war. (ERV)

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:[Rom 5:5, Rom 8:28] behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

On the other hand, Manasseh represents the world’s later repentance that comes in the lake of fire, and interestingly we only read of this repentance of Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33:10-19 and not in the book of kings that we will look at next week in (2Ki 21:17-18). Interestingly, that repentance spoken of in Chronicles is brought about after having been bound with chains of bronze and hooks which is typical of Satan, the god of this world, who was cast “into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season”  (Rev 20:1-3, Rev 20:10). Manasseh’s repentance, just as Satan’s, will come after having been bound and then brought to repentance in the lake of fire.

2Ch 33:10  The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 
2Ch 33:11  Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

2Ki 21:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 
2Ki 21:2  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 
2Ki 21:3  For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

If we contrast what Christ was doing at twelve years old with Manasseh, it paints a picture of two zealous children going in very different directions, one who was zealous to be about His Father’s business (Luk 2:48), and the other who was zealous to undo everything good his father had accomplished in Israel (2Ki 21:3). This contrast of spirits is shown on a larger scale when Christ goes to the Father so the spirit of God can be given on Pentecost to begin a process of liberation (Joh 16:7, 2Co 3:17), as opposed to Satan who is bound for a period of time and when released goes out to deceive all the nations of the world to come up against the camp of the saints (Rev 20:8).

The lesson for God’s children is that we must be obedient children (Mat 18:3-5) who are about our Father’s work, unlike the insolent little rebel-rouser that Manasseh was, who “did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel” (2Ki 21:2). That is just the natural foundation (12) of all flesh unless the Lord shows mercy to that child by bringing him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (1Co 2:14, Eph 6:4). 

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. 

Eph 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

Manasseh typifies those who had the truth in their midst but were never given to be grafted into it as Hezekiah typified having happened. Consequently the fruit of Manasseh’s life was described as follows: “For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them“.

Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

[Christ in us resists the proud of heart (Jas 4:6), and if we are blessed to be crushed and humbled under his mighty hand (“gives grace”), we will in turn be able to be received, and receive those who are of a kindred spirit (Mat 18:2-3, 1Co 14:32)]

Mat 18:2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

1Co 14:32  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Hephzibah’s, the mother of Manasseh, name means “my delight (is) in her“, taken from the root H2656 that means pleasure or desire. She represents Babylon and the pleasures of sin for a season (Heb 11:25) that Manasseh would seek out for the entirety of his reign as the king of Judah (55 years). His repentance at the end of his life was typical of one who suffered loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire, in the lake of fire (1Co 3:15). The fifty five year reign was a negative witness of grace that had no effect on the flesh of Manasseh who did not learn the lessons of grace that Hezekiah had typically learned in this life being a type of the elect who experienced that process of grace through faith in his life (Eph 2:8) (extended life of 15 years (3×5) 2Ki 20:2-6).

H2657 chephtsı̂y bâhh khef-tsee’ baw

From H2656 with suffixes; my delight (is) in her; Cheptsibah, a fanciful name for Palestine: – Hephzi-bah.  Total KJV occurrences: 2

H2656 chêphets khay’-fets

From H2654; pleasure; hence (abstractly) desire; concretely a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind): – acceptable, delight (-some), desire, things desired, matter, pleasant (-ure), purpose, willingly. Total KJV occurrences: 39

2Ki 21:4  And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. 
2Ki 21:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

The altars Manasseh built in the house of the LORD typify and witness against what would be in our heavens, “the host of heavens” being the temple of God, if we are not walking in the spirit and only serving our flesh (Gal 5:16-17). These sins of Manasseh being committed in the temple of God are specific to idols of the heart, represented by actual physical idols Hezekiah had earlier destroyed only to have his son set up again. The lesson for us is to be persistent to overcome sin and keep the temple of God undefiled (1Co 3:16-17), which Manasseh, who is a type of the man of sin, was not able to do (1Ti 6:12, Joh 2:15).

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. 

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 

Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers'(Psa 69:9) money, and overthrew the tables; “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (Php 2:12-13)

2Ki 21:6  And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 
2Ki 21:7  And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: 

These verses in (2Ki 21:6-7) explain why we will be hated by all men for God’s name sake (Mat 10:22), as we stedfastly reject all of the actions of Manasseh by the grace through faith process we are going through that God has made possible for us in Christ, and that takes a lifetime of overcoming and enduring to the end (Mat 24:13).

We reject what all these events typify for us:

he made his son pass through the fire [teaching false doctrines – eternal hell fire – immortal soul – transubstantiation etc…],
and observed times [days, months, times, and years],
and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards [not looking to the Lord for guidance but leaning to our own flesh or on those who are bound by evil spirits being convinced that they are some great authority within themselves (Luk 18:9, Act 8:9, 2Co 11:13-15)]
he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger [walking in the flesh and not in the spirit as we ought (Gal 5:16)]
he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house [worshipping the beast, by thinking we have free moral agency, which is idolatry unto God] 
a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house [that we set up every time we put our thoughts, our lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes or pride of life, before God’s will (Rev 13:11-15)]” (Luk 22:42, 1Jn 4:17)].

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 
Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

All these things mentioned that defile the house of God or temple of God (2Ki 21:5-7), all within our sinful flesh, can be overcome as God humbles and receives us as His children (Tit 3:3, Heb 12:6). In our appointed time, or our former conversation of (Eph 2:2), we defiled the temple and now must have our old man destroyed and die daily as the Lord makes His abode on the throne of our hearts, dealing with us as sons and future rulers (2Th 2:8, 2Ti 2:12). 

Tit 3:3  For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 

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

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 

That establishing of His name forever within the body of Christ is the promise being spoken of here to Christ and to His Christ “of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son [typifying Christ and His Christ], in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever” (Mat 16:18). That name can’t be put there unless our heart is changed so we have a hunger and thirst to keep His words (Eze 36:26, Joh 14:23, Mat 5:6)

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

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.

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. [“In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever“]

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

2Ki 21:8  Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. 
2Ki 21:9  But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. 

Without God’s chastening grace by which we are received of him (Heb 12:6) we will not “observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them”. This section of kings is now talking to the whole unconverted world represented by “Israel“, who are seduced by Manasseh, who represents that man of sin on the throne of our hearts who has not yet been judged and destroyed by the brightness of his coming, and therefore “they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel“.(2Ti 3:1-5, 2Ti 3:13-14)

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

2Ki 21:10  And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, 
2Ki 21:11  Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
2Ki 21:12  Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

God would not be a just God if he did not judge us for our sins and iniquities regardless of how we feel about the circumstances that He has created that caused us to err, and so these things, our struggles in our flesh and mind, happen so that “I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth” as we overcome the god this world through Christ (Isa 63:17, Rom 9:17, Rom 9:20).

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

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?  

We were not meant to heed the warning of the prophet until God determined that time, and so “the LORD spake by his servants the prophets” for the elect’s sake who read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy (Rev 1:3). We now apply these prophesies to the destruction of our old man of sin within and are blessed to understand their relevance for us today. 

We can either be given to hear with spiritual ears and eyes God willing, or be blinded in our ears and eyes to what these words mean [God’s severity and goodness], “Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle“. If God is working with us in this age then the tingling of both our ears [witness of Christ, both our ears] is going to lead to a deep sighing and crying for the abominations being fulfilled in the earth along with a contrite and broken spirit that will bring us unto repentance for those things He shows in us that are against Him (Rom 6:21, Eze 9:4, 1Jn 2:1, Jas 5:16). If we don’t see ourselves as “Manasseh king of Judah [who] hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols“, then we won’t have any need of a spiritual physician (Luk 5:31), and to die daily, not agreeing with Paul’s words and Nathan’s words to David that we are the chief of sinners and the man!(1Ti 1:15, 2Sa 12:7). 

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

2Sa 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 

Would that God would grant us the strength and faith of Christ to endure the cross as we bear each other’s burden in this life (Gal 6:2), showing mercy and compassion toward each other as He has done toward us (Rom 9:15)!

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 

[Study Aired February 9, 2023]

2Ki 18:13  Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. 
2Ki 18:14  And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 
2Ki 18:15  And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. 
2Ki 18:16  At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. 
2Ki 18:17  And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field. 
2Ki 18:18  And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.

Last week we were introduced to King Hezekiah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David his father had done” who had faith in the Lord, the God of Israel, “so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah who were before him.“

In this study we are looking at 2 Kings 18:13-18, which is focused on “Sennacherib king of Assyria” who came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them, putting Hezekiah in a position where he sought peace with Sennacherib by giving him gold and silver from the temple of God, which actions only emboldened Sennacherib to further want to overtake the nation of Judah in war. Hezekiah turned to the Lord for deliverance with a humble and contrite heart that sought and hoped in the Lord in times of trouble. 

In this section of the study we will also look at how Hezekiah, who as a type of the elect  comes to learn that you cannot make concessions with this world and expect that your trials will somehow be circumvented as a result of those actions.

Hezekiah’s lapse in good judgment regarding giving of the temple’s silver and gold to Sennacherib brought a curse on the nation of Judah and demonstrates for us that regardless of how zealous we are for the LORD, as Hezekiah was, we still make mistakes and fall seven times in this life (Pro 24:16). No matter who we are, we come short of the glory of God until God is glorified in us through the spirit He gives to those who can then obey Him (Rom 3:23, 2Co 3:18, Act 5:32). The obedience is accomplished by Christ, and the giving of the holy spirit from God is what makes it possible for us to fulfill His will (Php 2:12-13).

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him [Rom 5:5]. 

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

God must help us remember that the greatest enemy we have is within ourselves, comprised of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, everything that is found in the world that we are not to love, either in ourselves or in this perverse generation in which we live. We love our neighbor as ourselves, but we don’t love the world that is going to pass and is passing first within the body of Christ (1Co 10:11)  which is being judged now (1Pe 4:17). We are in the world but not of it (Joh 17:15), and while we are in these earthen marred vessels, we are told to do good to all men, especially to them of the household of faith  (1Jn 2:16, Php 2:15, Gal 6:10). 

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [1Jn 2:16] are come.

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.

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Thanks be to God that all these things within us (1Jn 2:16) that make up the ‘wretched man that I am’ (Rom 7:24) can be subdued and overcome through Christ little and by little as we stay in the light as He is in the light and have fellowship with one another (1Jn 1:7, Heb 10:25). The effect of this relationship or communion (1Co 10:16) that we have is that, in time, our ways will please the LORD more and more as we go from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) and he will make those enemies to be at peace within us through the dominion we have over them (Rom 6:14, Pro 16:7, Rom 6:14).

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Christ had outward enemies His whole life (Mat 2:12) and especially at the end of His life (Luk 24:7), so the outward application of having your enemies be at peace with you of Proverb 16:7 is not contradicted by the statement ‘you shall be hated by all men’ (Mat 10:22); it’s just that if our ways please God, He will stay the hand of the enemy to His glory, softening our enemies’ hearts as he did Pharaoh so they are at peace with us, until such a time God allows that hatred of man to be manifested outwardly as was the case with Christ and His body. All events work according to the counsel of His own will, including the strength He gives us to endure the attacks of the adversary. Another example of peace that is no peace at all is the thousand-year reign that ends in worldwide rebellion against the camp of the saints (Act 4:27-28, Rev 20:8).

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

2Ki 18:13 now in the fourteenth year of king (strengthened by Jehovah)Hezekiah did (the destroyed thorn)Sennacherib king of (plain)Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of (praised)Judah, and took them. [PNBkjv]
2Ki 18:14  Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said, “I have done wrong. Leave me {alone}. Then I will pay anything you want. [ERV]

God uses king Sennacherib to teach Hezekiah a deep lesson about how to make war against our enemies, of which Sennacherib is one, and as his name suggests, “the destroyed thorn” he typifies for God’s elect today is a thorn in our flesh who is going to be destroyed to the glory of God through Hezekiah, “strengthened by Jehovah.”

It is in Hezekiah’s fourteenth year of rule that this siege takes place against Judah which was used to bring Hezekiah to see that God is faithful to His elect of whom Hezekiah is a type. Fourteen is a number associated with the generations of Christ (Mat 1:17) as well as the passover (Lev 23:5). and this story typifies for the elect how we come to see that our strength is found in trusting in Christ who is our passover lamb (1Co 5:7). We are of the generation who have no confidence in the flesh, and our strength comes from being buried into Christ’s death (Num 29:13, 15, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32). Hezekiah is a type of the elect who is going to learn this truth of God’s faithfulness in battle beginning in the fourteenth year of his reign.

At this point in the story, Hezekiah is in a weakened position and tries to appease his enemy by giving the king of Assyria “three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” These actions of Hezekiah remind us that we are not to cast our pearls before swine and hope beyond hope that we can conquer our enemies within us by these physical means of silver and gold that point to a negative example of the process of judgment [300 silver – 30 talents of gold] that will be of no effect on the unbelieving Sennacherib. Hezekiah’s actions were like trying to pay off the school bully in hopes that his heart would change and he would just go away. Of course, the leopard cannot change his spots and king Sennacherib does not go away (Jer 13:23).

Jer 13:23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

So not only did Hezekiah waste that silver and gold, but then Sennacherib turns around and tramples on Hezekiah just like the proverb says our enemies will do when we trust in ourselves to figure out how to make war against the beast within us (Mat 7:6, Rev 13:4). Thankfully, and by the grace of God, after these events Hezekiah was brought to his senses and zealously turned to the Lord to overcome his enemies (Rom 8:28-29, 2Co 7:11). 

Mat 7:6 give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 

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? 

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

2Ki 18:15  And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. 
2Ki 18:16  At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

This situation with Hezekiah is akin to our lack of fidelity with the word of God when we first come into the knowledge of the truth, and we are so ready to give “all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house” thinking this will surely appease those who are against us. Eventually and little by little we become more wise and able to know how to walk “in the midst of wolves” being  “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Mat 10:16).

There is a parallel with Peter zealously cutting off the ear of the servant Malchus (Joh 18:10), and this story with Hezekiah who “cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid“, symbolizing how such actions take away access to (‘cutting off’) the door [Christ]. The pillar without the gold is like a pillar of salt that does not have the savour of Christ’s righteousness (gold). Hezekiah was flagrantly using the gold and silver to bribe his enemy instead of trusting that God would deliver him. This proverb comes to mind (Pro 23:23):

Pro 23:23  Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

2Ki 18:17 and the king of (plain)Assyria sent (release the dragon)Tartan and (chief eunuch)Rabsaris and (chief cup bearer)Rabshakeh from (man’s walk)Lachish to king (strengthened by Jehovah)Hezekiah with a great host against (founded in peace)Jerusalem. And they went up and came to (founded in peace)Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field. [PNBkjv]

It is going to be in our most severe trials of life that God will reveal where we have been placing our hope, and this event of the king of Assyria sending “Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem” is typical of what God’s elect must go through (1Co 3:13-15, Heb 12:7). 

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

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

God uses Satan as His sword (Psa 17:13) to accomplish His purpose, trying our faith, which is what the process of judgment produces in the lives of those who are granted to endure that judgment until the end, resulting in tried faith that is precious to God (1Pe 1:6-7, Php 4:13, Mat 24:11-14, Rev 2:10, Psa 116:15). 

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:

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

The three men who the king of Assyria sends up against Hezekiah represent that process of judgment [3] that is upon the body of Christ today (1Pe 4:17) [1-Tartan and 2-Rabsaris and 3-Rabshakeh] and the only way we can endure that judgment until the end is to be “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1Pe 1:5 1Co 10:11)”. 

Tartan as we read earlier means “release the dragon” and is a type of the events that happen to “the whole world” who will be attacked by Satan by way of “three unclean spirits like frogs” (Rev 16:13) that will not overcome the elect who are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in “the last time” (1Pe 1:5).

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The ‘last time’ for us may be the season we draw our last breath or when we are changed in a moment and the twinkling of an eye in the first resurrection, Lord willing. Having “done all” by the faith of Christ, we will be able to withstand these attacks of the devil (Mat 24:24) prior to being changed into spirit beings in that blessed and holy first resurrection. Verse 15 of  Revelation 16:1-15 and verse 13 of Ephesians 6:13 are saying the same thing to us regarding being made ready of the Lord as the bride of Christ (Rev 19:7-9).

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.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, [“keepeth his garments“] that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, [“the last time“] and having done all, to stand.

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, [“keepeth his garments“] clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Rabsaris is the second man mentioned, and his name means “chief eunuch” meaning Satan comes up against the church with the chief rulers who have no spiritual seed or truth in them that can produce life [spiritual eunuchs] (Act 4:27-28). 

Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done [Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28].

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:

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The last man mentioned is Rabshakeh, which means “chief cupbearer” symbolizing Mystery Babylon who bears a cup that is full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication of Revelation 17:4:

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

When these three men come up against Hezekiah, or against Jerusalem, we are told “they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.“

This location is significant as it symbolizes the place where a narrow escape against the powers and principalities of this world will be granted to the body of Christ, seeing it is connected to the prophecy of the birth of Christ (Isa 7:3-14).  Being as we are as He is in this world (1Jn 4:17), it is also a prophecy of the first resurrection (our birth), that blessed event given to the remnant who will be scarcely saved by His power.

Isa 7:3  Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
Isa 7:4  And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
Isa 7:5  Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
Isa 7:6  Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
Isa 7:7  Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
Isa 7:8  For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
Isa 7:9  And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 
Isa 7:10  Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 
Isa 7:11  Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
Isa 7:12  But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
Isa 7:13  And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 
Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The physical waters that flow into the beloved city are symbolic of how the man of perdition that sits upon the throne of God on our hearts is destroyed by the brightness of His coming from east to west with living waters (2Th 2:8, Mat 24:27), from Gihon to the west side of the city of David (1Co 10:13, Luk 12:32, 1Pe 4:18, Isa 7:3-15,  2Ch 32:30). 

Easton’s Bible Dictionary: A water-course or channel (Job 38:25). The “conduit of the upper pool” (Isa 7:3) was formed by Hezekiah for the purpose of conveying the waters from the upper pool in the valley of Gihon to the west side of the city of David (2Ki 18:17;  2Ki 20:20; 2Ch 32:30).

Gihon, H1521 = bursting forth
one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden
a spring near Jerusalem where the anointing and proclaiming of Solomon as king took place

Strong’s: From H1518; stream; Gichon a river of Paradise; also a valley (or pool) near Jerusalem: – Gihon. 

Total KJV Occurrences: 6 
Gihon, 6
Gen_2:13; 1Ki_1:33; 1Ki_1:38; 1Ki_1:45; 2Ch_32:30; 2Ch_33:14

David H1732 = beloved
youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel

Strong’s: From the same as H1730; loving; David the youngest son of Jesse: – David.

Total KJV Occurrences: 1074 

This section of Kings we are studying encourages us to hope in what God has promised He will do in the body of Christ with those living waters He is giving us (Rom 5:5), showing us that we are more than conquerors through Christ, who is our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), and there is no weapon which has been formed that can overtake the elect (Isa 54:16-17), although the devil will be given to try to do so (Mat 24:24), as demonstrated in the type and shadow attacks that took place on Jerusalem in the days of king Hezekiah. This is all written to remind us that we will be more than conquerors through those many diverse temptations and much tribulation the Lord has promised us (Jas 1:2-5, Act 14:22).

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.

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:

Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing [2Th 1:4].

2Ki 18:18  And when they had called to the king, there came out to them (god establishes)Eliakim the son of (Jehovah’s portion)Hilkiah, which was over the household, and (grown)Shebna the scribe, and (Jehovah is his brother)Joah the son of (collector)Asaph the recorder.

This last verse we’ll look at speaks to the witness God’s elect will give to this world. When these three men Tartan (release the dragon) and Rabsaris (chief eunuch) and Rabshakeh (chief cupbearer) come up against Jerusalem, they call for king Hezekiah, and three men are sent out to give a report on behalf of the king.

Those three men’s names represent something significant for us as well, in the positive use of the process of judgment: 

When God judges us, “Eliakim–god establishes“, it is for the purpose of perfecting us on the third day and establishing and settling us so that, no matter what storms come our way, we will be able to stand (1Pe 5:10, Mat 7:25).

The second is “Shebna the scribe–grown” reminding us that it is through the process of judgment that we grow as God gives the increase or growth in our life (1Co 3:6). 

The third one is “Joah–Jehovah is his brother“, that reminds us that Christ is our brother and high priest who watches over us through our entire life of judgment of which he is the author and finisher of (Php 1:6).

Next week, Lord willing, will look at the third part of the chapter (2Ki 18:19-37), which is focused on how Sennacherib used Rabshakeh, who was a field commander, to send messages to Hezekiah and his foot soldiers to undermine their confidence in what Hezekiah could do in war against Assyria with the God of Israel as his helper and hope.

The question “In what are you placing your hope” is revealed to God’s elect by reflecting on this story of a king who, through the tribulation of his life, was made strong in battle bringing him to eventually see that the battle is the Lord’s (1Sa 17:47). This story is yet another demonstration of how faithful our Lord is to see us through every trial in this life and every tribulation we must go through (1Co 10:13) in order to inherit the kingdom of God (Act 14:22).

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

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, [“we must go through“] that ye may be able to bear it.

Act 14:22  Confirming^G1991 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.

–Confirming^G1991  Episterizo
to establish besides, strengthen more
to render more firm, confirm
– Strong’s: From G1909 and G4741; to support further that is reestablish: – confirm strengthen.

Total KJV Occurrences: 4 
confirmed, 1
 Act_15:32

confirming, 2
Act_14:22; Act_15:41

strengthening, 1
Act_18:23