Jer 1:1-10 I Have This Day Set Thee Over The Nations and Over The Kingdoms

[Study Aired November 22, 2020]

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The title of this study, taken from our tenth verse, is first true in “this present time” within if we are given that gift. If we are granted the “gift… in this present time” (Eph 2:8 and Rom 8:18) to rule over the nations that are within us, then, and only then, will we also be given to rule the outward physical nations of this world (Rev 2:27).

To demonstrate and display the Lord’s enduring mercy, the holy spirit has seen fit to tell us when each prophet gave his prophecy.  Doing this demonstrates that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will regardless of which king is on the throne and regardless of what we do. The reason for letting us know when the prophets prophesied is to let us know that both the good and the evil kings of Israel and Judah are all within our own flesh and are serving as nothing more than instruments in His hand to cause His glory to be declared throughout the world, just as He did with the wicked Pharaoh, who was oppressing His people:

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

The Lord spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah beginning in the reign of Uzziah and ending in the reign of Hezekiah:

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.
Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Let’s take note of the Lord’s longsuffering mercy. King Solomon’s reign was approximately 1,000 years before Christ. King Solomon was granted great wisdom, yet he apostatized and married hundreds of wives out of the nations around him. The reign of Uzziah was nine wicked Jewish kings later and approximately 200 years after King Solomon’s reign. Some were less wicked than others, but there were ‘none that did good, no not one.’

Psa 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Jeremiah informs us that his prophecy begins “in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. What we are not told right here in Jeremiah is that one of the most evil kings ever to rule over Judah, King Manasseh, was the father of King Amon (2Ki 21:18). His reign was the longest of any king of Judah, spanning 55 years between the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Manasseh, according to both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, was the king who had the prophet Isaiah “sawn asunder”.

The so-called ‘faith chapter’, chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews, alludes to just such an event:

Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Here is a short summary of King Manasseh’s reign:

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.
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.
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:
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.

He is considered by many to be the most wicked of all the kings of Judah, and yet his rule endured 55 years, signifying the great mercy, grace and faith the Lord has shown toward us.

Both Manasseh and Amon, his son, were extremely evil kings. King Amon was assassinated by his own servants. It was the assassination of King Amon, after only two years on the throne, which occasioned the ascent of King Josiah to the throne of Judah. The story of King Amon’s ascension to the throne includes the great mercy the Lord extended to his father, wicked king Manasseh:

2Ki 21:16  Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
2Ki 21:17  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2Ki 21:18  And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
2Ki 21:19  Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
2Ki 21:20  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.
2Ki 21:21  And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
2Ki 21:22  And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
2Ki 21:23  And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
2Ki 21:24  And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Jeremiah’s prophecy began in the thirteenth year of King Josiah’s reign. So, 55 years of King Manasseh, and two years of King Amon’s reign, plus 13 years into the reign of Josiah, gives us 70 years since the time the prophecy of Isaiah ends. That is as long as the Babylonian captivity and is a precursor to that event.

It is very instructive to note what very few know or acknowledge is that the Lord brought Judah’s most wicked king, King Manasseh, to repentance, typifying the great mercy being shed upon all of us. His sins are all we hear about him. I can remember how shocked and surprised I was when I first had my eyes opened to these words several years back:

2Ch 33:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2Ch 33:2  But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ch 33:3  For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Ch 33:4  Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
2Ch 33:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Ch 33:6  And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ch 33:7  And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Ch 33:8  Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
2Ch 33:9  So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

However, the Lord dragged King Manasseh to repentance:

2Ch 33:10  And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, [all his rebellious lying false doctrines] and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction [in Babylon], he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
2Ch 33:14  Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
2Ch 33:15  And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
2Ch 33:16  And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, [In type he began to be crucified with Christ and to die daily in His service] and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
2Ch 33:17  Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

Like their fathers before them, Judah wanted to serve God, but they wanted to do so on their own terms. Their terms permitted what the Lord did not permit. Their terms permitted them to fit in with the nations around them by keeping the traditions of those nations and claiming to do so to the Lord. This what our Lord thinks of such an arrangement:

Deu 12:29  When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deu 12:30  Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Deu 12:31  Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Deu 12:32  What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Mankind, typified by Judah, was of that same nature even after the crushing and repentance of King Manasseh:

2Ch 33:18  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
2Ch 33:19  His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
2Ch 33:20  So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

King Manasseh, like King Nebuchadnezzar many years later, led the Lord’s people into great evil. Yet the Lord, in His mercy, typifying and signifying His mercy towards each of us, saw fit to bring both these extremely wicked men to repentance before they died.

So the king who initiated so much apostasy within Judah, and the Gentile King who was used to punish the Lord’s people for their sins, both come to see themselves as the “chief of sinners”, and they both serve as “types of us” if we are granted repentance in “this present time” (Rom 8:18):

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV).

This all places Jeremiah’s prophecy about 640 years before Christ.

Jeremiah’s prophecy continued from the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign, through the reign of Jehoiakim “unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive into Babylon in the fifth month” of Zedekiah’s 11^th year.

It is interesting to note that most of the prophets are raised up by the Lord within the last 100 years of the Jewish nation. This fact typifies how “knowledge… [is] increased… in [our] last days”:

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

In giving such a witness to His people, and at the same time hardening their hearts, the Lord is giving Himself the occasion He is seeking to bring physical Israel to an end as a nation, both within us and outwardly. Judah and Jerusalem are now a type and a shadow of “Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth”:

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

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.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The “faithful city” becoming a murderous harlot in Isaiah 1:21 is “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth… drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Such is the atmosphere of the people who claim the Lord’s name in the time of this prophecy of Jeremiah, 70 years after the end of the prophecy of Isaiah.

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The fact this “carrying away of Jerusalem captive” was in “the eleventh year of Zedekiah” indicates the confusion and chaos of the Lord’s nation of that time (you can check out this link for the significance of the number eleven: The Number Eleven). The fact that it took place in “the fifth month” indicates that sending each of us off into Babylon as captives of that false lying system is actually a work of the Lord’s chastening grace (here is the link for the number five: The Number Five). It is while we are rebelling against Him and His ways, and while we are enslaved in Babylon, that we are made aware that the Lord’s grace “chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live godly lives in this present age.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This is how we are to be conduct our lives when we come out of Babylon:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuō, ‘chastening’] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Our next verses demonstrate that the Lord knows whom He has chosen as His firstfruits “while we are yet sinners”:

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

These words are in complete accord with the scriptures which Jeremiah knew so well:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

While we are admonished against laying our hands on a novice, because he will tend in his immaturity to become puffed up, nevertheless, when the holy spirit humbles some of us in our youth, then we are to acknowledge Christ in that person:

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

While instructing Timothy to be careful about ordaining a novice, this is what Paul tells us of Timothy himself in the very next chapter:

1Ti 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

It should be obvious that being “a novice” has more to do with being new to the doctrines of Christ and being new to the Word, than it does with one’s age, because we are also told this about Timothy’s background and his history:

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

However, our flesh just naturally resists the Lord’s calling:

Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Moses’ flesh had this same reaction to the Lord’s calling, but for a different reason:

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

To which the Lord responded:

Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

It was not the devil who makes us to be dumb, deaf, blind or seeing. In whatever condition we find ourselves, it is all a work of the Lord’s hand after the counsel of His own will:

Act 4:25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
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  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:

Truth is truth regardless of the messenger of that Truth. If the Lord lays His hand upon us, nothing we can do will stop Him from using us, because He is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). If we are “the called according to His purpose” then everything we experience, good or evil, will be made by our Lord to work together for our good (Rom 8:28). For that reason, we should…

Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

These words are true within, and they will be true outwardly as well if we are given a part in that “blessed and holy first resurrection. At “this present time” (Rom 8:18) the kingdom of God is within us only and so, too, are all the enemies of His kingdom which is within us.

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.

Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

How are we to do war with the nations of the enemies of the Lord’s people within us?

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Our commission to “revenge all disobedience” will be given to us only after our own obedience has been fulfilled. In other words, it will not be in “this present time”, and it will only be given us if we are the first to do warfare with and overcome all the enemies of “the kingdom of God [which] is [at the] present time… within [us]”.

Here are those inward enemies, and here are the weapons of our warfare in this age:

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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.
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood” is not meant to be understood as denying that we are to “crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts [and] put off the old man”:

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Col 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

What we are being told is that if we fail to realize there is a spiritual realm which controls the natural realm, then we are vastly unaware of and vastly underestimating our enemy.

Paul listed four of our spiritual enemies:

1)  Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…

This is the Greek word with its definition from which this English word ‘principalities’ is translated:

G746
ἀρχή
archē
ar-khay’
From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): – beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.

Our “chief” enemy is not our flesh, as much as it is he whom our flesh unwittingly worships. When we worship ourselves and tell ourselves that we, with our free will, have chosen to love and obey the Lord, we are in spiritual reality worshipping “the dragon, that old serpent the devil and Satan”:

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

Rev 13:4  And they [“all men, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”, Rev 13:16] 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?

Our flesh is indeed our enemy, but we need to acknowledge that it is only when we are deceived by “the god of this world” that our flesh continues to dominate our lives even as we think we are serving the Lord and doing many wonderful works in His name:

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

When the Lord turns us over to Satan for the destruction of our flesh, as the book of Job demonstrates, we are helpless against that “principality”.

2) Against powers:

This is the Greek word translated as ‘powers’:

G1849
ἐξουσία
exousia
ex-oo-see’-ah
From G1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: – authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

It is the Lord’s hand which has “formed the crooked serpent, the devil. He did not fall from perfection, and there is no “great controversy” between the Lord and the serpent He created to be “the destroyer”:

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

In the book of Job, Satan did exactly what the Lord sent him to do to Job. He could do nothing more, and He could do nothing less:

Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Both our flesh and its ‘god’…, “the god of this world”, were “made to be taken and destroyed”:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Satan’s power, against which we struggle, is given him of God. There is no power but of God:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Our flesh is born under unbelief, under the power of our father the devil, under the Lord’s wrath:

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

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The false doctrine which teaches that Satan was created in spiritual perfection and that he chose to go bad, is a lie. The Truth is… “He was a murderer from the beginning” because the Lord’s own hand had formed him to be a “crooked serpent… the waster to destroy”.

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Satan is “the god of this world” only because the Lord has given Him that power, and “the powers that be are ordained of God”, even “the basest of men”:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

3) Against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

We all begin life as unbelievers in total darkness with the wrath of God abiding upon us, as we saw earlier in:

Joh 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

“He that believes not” is in darkness, and the great red dragon, that old serpent the devil, is the god of all unbelievers whether or not they acknowledge him as such. We are all in the bondage and in the darkness of this world by default. We are powerless against our darkened flesh, and only the Lord can deliver us from this hopeless position and our corrupt composition:

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

4) Against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The word ‘places’ is in italics because it is not in the Greek. The Greek simply reads “…spiritual wickedness in the heavens”. The Greek word translated as “high places” in this verse is:

G2032
ἐπουράνιος
epouranios
ep-oo-ran’-ee-os
From G1909 and G3772; above the sky: – celestial, (in) heaven (-ly), high.

As we have seen, “the kingdom of God is within [us] to such an extent that we are told that we are being made to sit with Christ in the heavens:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places [G2032, epouranios] in Christ Jesus:

Both the “raised us up together [and the] made us sit together” are in the aorist tense, meaning that a process is taking place which is purifying our heavens where we are being seated with Christ. It is few ‘Christians’ indeed who recognize that “the heavens” are in need of being purified as the scriptures teach with these words… “spiritual wickedness in high places”, and as we are plainly told in:

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

We are the “heaven itself” into which Christ is entering and purifying us as His heavenly tabernacle… His heavenly “temple of God”:

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

The battle before us is not a carnal battle, and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. All powers in heaven and on earth are the creations of our Lord for the purpose of working out His plan to “reconcile all things unto Himself.”

There is no “great controversy” between God and the devil. The devil, just as we are, is nothing more than “clay in the Potter’s hand”, doing exactly what ‘the Lord’s hand and His counsel determined before to be done.’

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
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.

Col 1:16  For by him [Christ, verse 18] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

It is through “the Lord and His Christ” that Christ, who is both Lord and Christ, will bring about the “reconciling of all things unto Himself”, because it was Christ Himself who was sent into the world “that the world through Him might be saved”, and it is Christ Himself who tells us:

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

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

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

It is with the goal of reconciling all of mankind to God that Jeremiah, as a type of who we are as “the Lord’s Christ”, is told:

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The prophet Jeremiah did this in type and in shadow. We, as the Christ of Christ, do these things both inwardly, now “in this present time” (Rom 8:18), and we will do these things outwardly in the thousand-year reign and in the great white throne judgment reigning over all men of all time:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father [Jer 1:10].

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.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

That is our study for today. Next week we will learn how urgent our testimony is to this world, both within and outwardly, through these words:

Jer 1:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
Jer 1:12  Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15  For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16  And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Jer 1:17  Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

Isa 49:1-7 Thou Art My Servant, Israel, in Whom I Will be Glorified - Discussion

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Isa 49:1-7 Thou Are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I Will Be Glorified.

[Study Aired November 3, 2019]

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isa 49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isa 49:7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

The effect of this study will be to demonstrate the depth the Truth of this verse of scripture:

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.

We will begin with another demonstration of the sovereignty of God over “all things” (Eph 1:11).

Once our eyes are opened, we wonder how we could ever have been so blind. That is especially true when it comes to the subject of the sovereignty of God and acknowledging that sovereignty “in all of [our] ways”. When we are granted to accept the Truth that He is working “all things” we wonder how it is possible that we did not see this plain Truth:

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
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:

Here is yet another declaration that the Lord knows every man before he is even born. If we have been given ears to hear, and eyes that see, then we will see and hear that the scriptures consistently teach everything that happens has been determined to take place exactly as the Lord has already determined long in advance.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

That being true, it follows that what the spirit leads Isaiah says of himself is also true of all men of all time. We are the ‘people’ and the ‘isles’ to whom this verse is addressed:

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

This very same statement is made of Jacob and Esau, of Pharaoh, of Samson, of Jeremiah, of King David, and of every wicked man who has ever been born:

Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; )
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

The story of Samson demonstrates that God knew in advance exactly what He intended to do through Samson as a type of Christ and His anointed:

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

In telling us the Lord knew Isaiah before he was born, Isaiah is simply agreeing with what the holy spirit had already told both kings David and Solomon many years earlier:

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

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

“Even the wicked for the day of evil”, along with the stories of Jacob and Esau and the wicked Pharaoh of Romans 9, makes very clear that the Lord knows all men before they are even born.

The Lord knew Jeremiah before He was born:

Jer 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Is Jeremiah telling us that he alone was known of the Lord before he was born, or is he not giving us a principle which is in line with all the rest of scripture, which informs us that “even [all] the wicked… are made by God… for the day of evil” in the lives of every wicked man.

In college my first-year Bible professor asked the class, “Did God know in advance that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?” Without hesitation my answer was, “Yes, of course He did. God knows the beginning from the end.” I was shocked and somewhat humiliated when my teacher literally shouted back at me… “No, He did not! He could have known, but He chose not to know, because He has given us all free will, and though He could indeed know, He has chosen not to know what we will choose to do in this life.” I was the student, and my professor was the teacher, and he obviously had asked that question for the very purpose of squashing any opposition to the church’s doctrine of “free moral agency”. At that moment I did not know all the verses I have just quoted to you, so I was in no position to defend my answer, and my professor was adamant in his assertion that God has given us a will that is free from His sovereign will. He went on to explain that God’s sovereignty was only over the overall outcome of mankind’s actions and not over the minute details in the day-to-day lives of every man on earth. It was clear that my professor had given this subject much thought because he also brought up the stories of Jacob and Esau, Pharaoh, and even Isaiah and Jeremiah, and explained to the class: “In light of these stories, it is obvious that God has chosen to know in advance what these few men would do in their lives, but they are the exception and not the rule because we all know He has given us free will.”

So, that was my own doctrine for many years until the Lord opened my eyes to all the verses I have just shared with you.

Here are just a few more of the literally dozens of verses which helped to deliver me from the false doctrine of mankind’s fabled ‘free will’:

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

Pro 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

And as quoted earlier:

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
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:

Knowing that God is "working all things after the counsel of His own will", we can now know for certain that when He speaks of knowing Isaiah before He is born and using Isaiah’s ‘mouth like a sharp sword’ that these words also apply to all the rest of those to whom He has, “made known the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself.”

Let’s compare Isaiah 49:1 to two verses which say the same about us in the New Testament. One is in Timothy and the other in Titus.

Here again is:

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

Here are Timothy and Titus:

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

We have been told by some who have left our fellowship that these words are speaking only of an indefinite few, but they cannot possibly be referring to each of us personally, because God does not know in advance what each of us will choose to do, nor whether we will obey the Lord or not. However, the very purpose of reminding us about the stories of Jacob and Esau and Pharaoh (Rom 9:11-18) tell us plainly that the Lord does indeed know us personally before we are ever born, and He does know “while we are in our mother’s womb, having done neither good nor evil” exactly what we will do because He has “the days ordained for [us]… written in His book before there are any of them” (Psa 139:16 ASV).

In this prophecy of Isaiah we are told the Lord knew Cyrus hundreds of years before he was born (44:28), and He knew Isaiah before He was born (Isa 49:1)

Isaiah continues telling us what the Lord does with each of us:

Isa 49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

As He always does, the Lord says the same thing twice. Both words, ‘sword’ and ‘arrow’, in this case “a polished shaft in His quiver”, are types of all in whose mouths are the Words of God, as demonstrated in these verses:

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

The dream is one, and in Bible-speak ‘arrows’ are the same as a ‘sword’.

Psa 21:12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

Psa 38:2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

Psa 45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

All these words are the Lord’s words, and Christ Himself is the Word of God:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

That being true, this prophecy of Isaiah is actually the words of Christ. Christ is “the light of men”, and He tells us that if He is living within us then we, too, are “the light of the world”:

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

What applies to Isaiah, or any other prophet, king, priest or any other servant of the Lord, applies to all of the Lord’s people, meaning to you and to me as part of the Lord’s body.

Let’s read this verse again with that in mind:

Isa 49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

Therefore, it really is our mouths which are also “like a sharp sword” with which our old man is being made to decrease daily and to die daily:

Joh 3:30 He must increase [Christ in us], but I [our old man within us] must decrease.

1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I [our old man] die daily.

As His “sharp sword” we are “hidden… in the shadow of His hand”, and as His “polished shaft” we are His arrows “hidden in His quiver”.

The “shadow of the Lord’s hand” and “His quiver” are again one and the same thing. “The dream is one” (Gen 41:25-26), and “hidden in the shadow of His hand… [and] hidden in His quiver” are both symbols of how the Lord will supernaturally protect His elect as He protected Joseph, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Daniel, the three Hebrew children, and Mordecai and Esther, and many others, including you and me.

A few examples:

Psa 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Psa 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psa 64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

Now notice carefully how the Lord identifies Isaiah with His people, His own special nation:

Isa 49:3 And said unto me [Isaiah], Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

I want to read these first three verses as one statement again, so we get the full force of how the Lord views each of us:

Isa 49:1 LISTEN, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isa 49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Those words about “my mother’s womb” sound very personal. What is the Lord telling us by going from speaking personally to Isaiah to then referring to Isaiah as ‘Israel’ in the very same breath? It should be crystal clear that while the Lord knows us as different parts of His own body and knows the number of the hairs of our heads, at the same time He considers us to be part of His “kingdom of God… within [us]” (Luk 17:20-21) and an integral part of His “one body… the church” (Col 1:24).

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.

1Co 12:12 For, even as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ, (YLT)

Col 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly [the church], (YLT)

The holy spirit uses the same method in referring to us as “the commonwealth of Israel” in:

Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Israel is the Lord’s special people above all the people of this world:

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

Notice the ease with which Isaiah apparently returns to speaking of himself:

Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

Look at what we just read… “Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain…” Who is speaking here??? It certainly appears to be Isaiah speaking. He goes on to say, “My judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.”

Now what takes place when God judges us? Isaiah has already told us what the fruit of all of the Lord’s judgments is. Whether in this present time (Rom 8:18) or in the great white throne judgment, this is the fruit of all of His judgments:

Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
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.

However, Isaiah thinks his efforts to bring the Lord’s people to Himself have been a waste of time… “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain…” Indeed it seems that way to all whom the Lord has ever chosen to work with His people. Moses certainly felt that way when the Lord tried His people, and they so quickly forgot all the miracles the Lord had previously performed before their own eyes:

Exo 17:1 AND all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Exo 17:2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
Exo 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
Exo 17:4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

Num 11:14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

Jeremiah felt the same way Isaiah felt. He, too, felt that all he had done for the Lord was in vain, and had been nothing more than a waste of time:

Jer 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jer 20:8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.

Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah, all types of us, believed their efforts in the Lord’s service were in vain, and yet the Lord used Moses to lead Israel to the promised land. Jeremiah felt all he did in the Lord’s service was in vain, yet this is what the Lord used Jeremiah to accomplish:

Jer 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Compare these words which appear to be addressed to Jeremiah to these words which addressed to Isaiah:

Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

Though physical Israel “be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength”. Again, I must ask us all to look at what we just read… “Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain…” Who is speaking here??? It certainly appears to be Isaiah speaking. He goes on to say… “My judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God”. But neither Isaiah, nor anyone in the Old Testament will be “glorious” with Christ in the “blessed and holy first resurrection” because Christ told us:

Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Moses all felt that they had fallen short, and if we have eyes to see and ears that hear, we will know that these men are one and all “types of us” as we are serving the Lord while in Babylon:

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV)

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained. (CVL)

These Old Testament men are all “types of us”. All their struggles in the Lord’s service “befell them typically… [and] it was written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” ‘The ends of the ages’ did not come upon anyone in the Old Testament. “The ends of the ages’ have come upon us… in this present time” (Rom 8:18).

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.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

It is the manifested sons of God who Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the entire nation of Israel typify in the Old Testament. Because Christ identifies with His people, both in type and as the antitype of the manifested sons of God, He tells Isaiah:

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isa 49:7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

“The Holy One of Israel” is Christ. “The light of the Gentiles” is Christ, but as we have seen, it is Christ Himself who also sees us as Himself and tells us that “as ye have [or have not] done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, ye have done it [or not done it] unto me… as my Father has sent me, even so send I you”, the persecuted in Christ are Christ, and “as He is so are we in this world” (Mat 25:31-45; Joh 20:21; Act 22:8; 1Jo 4:17 respectively).

Here again are Isaiah 49:6-7 and Jeremiah 1:10:

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isa 49:7 Thus saith the LORD , the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Who will be “a light to the Gentiles” but Christ and His Christ. The phrase “light to the Gentiles” is found four other times in scripture. Reading the three appearances in the New Testament demonstrates the principle of “As He is so are we in this world” (1Jo 4:17). Notice that Luke applies these words to Christ and Paul appropriates these words to Barnabas and to himself.

Let’s look at all four entries:

Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

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.
Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

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 26:23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

They one and all refer to Christ, but because we are also Saviors (Oba 1:21) and we are “Jesus of Nazareth (Act 22:8), and because Christ has sent us as His Father sent Him (Joh 29:21) and because we are as He is in this world (1Jo 4:17), being given “for a light to the Gentiles”, is also speaking of and to the Lord’s Christ through whom the Father will be made to become “all in all”:

Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

This is the anti-type who will fulfill Isaiah 49:6-7 and Jeremiah 1:10:

Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

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.

That is our study for today. I hope you have been granted to see that Christ’s Israel is Christ, His body is Himself and His Words are Himself. He is in the process of bringing all men of all time to know this great Truth.

Here are our verses for next week:

Isa 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
Isa 49:9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
Isa 49:10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
Isa 49:11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
Isa 49:12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Isa 49:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isa 49:14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isa 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isa 49:17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Video Links

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.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Introduction

Is it true that we are to read, hear and keep “the sayings of the prophecy of this book”? Is it true that “the time is at hand” to do so? If we should “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book”, then that has been the case for the past 2000 years. If for the past two thousand years God’s elect have been ‘keeping the sayings of the prophecy of this book’, then it follows that there is also a present application for the words of these five verses which are the subject of our study today. In other words, being in that “holy city the New Jerusalem”, being ‘seated with Christ on His Father’s throne’ in the heavens has been taking place in the lives of God’s elect for the past 2000 years, and ‘the gates of hell (Greek – Hades, the unseen, the grave) have never prevailed against it.’

Eph 2:6 In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. (GNB)
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.

It is Christ who is building His church, and He has been doing so all along. So God has been gathering and harvesting his elect out of every generation since Christ, and in each of those generations, God’s holy city has been growing, and those who have entered into that city have done so through its gates, and they have all been abiding by the admonitions we find in our study today.

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.

What are we being told in this verse? Here is why God’s elect let the unjust be unjust, the filthy be filthy and the righteous be righteous and the holy, holy, and this is why God’s elect have no interest in attempting to “save this world for Christ”.

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

When is “the last day” when Christ raises up those who His Father drags to Himself? The ‘last day’ is of necessity ‘the end of the world’. So what Christ is speaking of here in Joh 6:44 is the very question the apostles were asking which provoked the prophecy of our Lord which we find in Mat 24.
How is it possible that the elect of God have been living by these words, and at the same time living by the commission to preach the gospel in all the world?

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Did not Paul and Barnabas, and then Paul and Silas, go throughout the Roman Empire preaching the gospel? Yes, Paul and his companions preached the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. There was no internet at that time. There were no televisions or radios. There were not even any printing presses, and yet the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached throughout the Roman world before the death of the apostles.

Act 24:5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:

The book of Acts tells us how this was accomplished, and from chapter one to chapter 28 there is not one example of any of the apostles attempting to make the unjust just, or to make the filthy clean. Whether it was Simon the sorcerer, who attempted to purchase the gift of the holy spirit, or Elymas the false prophet, the unjust and filthy were left as such.

Act 8:12 But when they [ the Samaritan converts] believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Act 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Act 8:21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Act 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
Act 8:23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Act 8:24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
Act 8:25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

It is instructive that we are not told that Peter asked God to remove Simon’s gall of bitterness nor his bond of iniquity. Peter simply let the unjust and filthy be unjust and filthy.
Here is another example of living out these words.

Act 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

What Those Within and Those Without The New Jerusalemwe are being told is that ‘No man can come to God except the Father drag him’. So once gain, we are not told that Elymas repented or was converted. Paul let the unjust and filthy be unjust and filthy.
Cornelius, on the other hand, exemplifies those who are righteous and are left to be righteous. It was because the holy spirit had been working in the life of Cornelius that Cornelius sent to Joppa for Peter.

Act 10:1 Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
Act 10:2 a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
Act 10:3 He saw in a vision openly, as it were about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, Cornelius.
Act 10:4 And he, fastening his eyes upon him, and being affrighted, said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God.
Act 10:5 And now send men to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is surnamed Peter:
Act 10:6 he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side.
Act 10:7 And when the angel that spake unto him was departed, he called two of his household- servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
Act 10:8 and having rehearsed all things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

So too, it was the holy spirit who prepared the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch to be instructed by Philip.

Act 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
Act 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Act 8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Act 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Act 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Act 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Act 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Act 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Act 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Philip “heard him read the prophet Isaiah”. The holy spirit had already prepared this man to receive the gospel of Jesus.
So the apostles let the righteous, be righteous still: and he that was holy, was acknowledged as holy.
Except for the necessity of answering their persecutors for standing up for the word, the apostles never preached the gospel to one person who had not come to hear the word of God. Paul always went into synagogues where the holy spirit had already prepared the hearts of the Gentile proselytes to receive the gospel of the kingdom of God. With very few exceptions, the Jews in those synagogues did not accept the testimony of Jesus Christ. The only exception to this is the account of Paul’s witness to the people of Athens on Mars Hill, but even here he was simply taking advantage of any opportunity to witness for Christ and His Father, “the unknown God”, without forcing that witness on anyone. The unjust remained unjust, the filthy, filthy, the righteous remained righteous, and the holy remained holy. Like their example, our Lord forced Himself and His doctrine upon no one. His life of good works drew people to Him.

Mat 12:14 Then [ after healing a man’s withered hand on the sabbath] the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
Mat 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
Mat 12:16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
Mat 12:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Mat 12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
Mat 12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
Mat 12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

‘Israel’ in scripture, is both within us as “the kingdom of God”, and it is also those with whom the holy spirit is working as His body. That is why we are admonished by our Lord Himself:

Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

So both Christ and His disciples were never found preaching on a street corner, or ever attempting to preach the gospel to any who had not been prepared by the holy spirit to receive the gospel. That is the message to us to let the filthy remain filthy and let the righteous be righteous. “The righteous” will receive our witness, and the filthy will reject us. This is true within each of us when, at our first encounter with this radical Truth we refuse the witness of God’s Word through His elect. But it is also true within “His body, which is the church” throughout the generations which have followed Christ and His original apostles. We truly are “the Israel of God”, and we will not have gone over all the ‘cities’, meaning those being called and chosen, within ourselves as individuals, and within the body as a whole, of “the Israel of God”, until the Son of Man be come. For that reason these words are applicable in every generation:

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

This is just one more verse which makes the immanency of Christ’s return something we are all experiencing “in our own order” (1Co 15:23). This has been taking place within the lives of God’s elect in every generation since Christ.

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This “appearing the second time” is future only for those who do not yet know Christ, and who are not yet “the heaven itself”, which is being purified and cleansed by the “sharp twoedged sword… out of [ Christ’s] mouth, and by the presence of the Christ whose “eyes are as a flame of fire”, and whose “countenance is as the Sun shines in His strength”.

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Here now are the heavens in which Christ presently dwells:

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

If one must first die and then “after this the judgment” is true, then it is necessary that we truly are being “crucified with Christ” and are being “risen with Him in newness of life”.

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If we “reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin”, then we are of necessity “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” living His life within us, and the reason we are told “he will come the second time without sin” is because:

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Is Christ really “the first”? What is “the first”. What say the scriptures?

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Is it blasphemous to agree with Christ that He is “the first and the last”? Who is “the first man Adam”? That is you and me. We are all, by our first birth, in “the first man Adam”.

1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam [“the first man Adam”] all die, even so in Christ [“by man… the last Adam”] shall all be made alive.

What is this “first man Adam”? Is he an essential part of our salvation? What does our Lord answer?

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

What does “born of water” mean?

Mar 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost [ Greek – pneuma, spirit].

What was John’s baptism? John’s baptism was “unto repentance”, and yet it was still repentance under the law.

Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

The law was an unbearable yoke which “neither we nor our fathers could keep”. Those under that law, cannot enter into Christ and His rest. Christ “had broken the sabbath” and considered it nothing more than a “carnal commandment” in need of being changed.

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Heb 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Christ is “the righteousness of God without the law” of Moses because Christ brought a new covenant based upon better promises, than those that were given under the law of Moses which was designed “for the lawless”.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

“Sound doctrine” is “the law of Christ”, and “the law of Christ” is far harder to keep than was the law of Moses. In Truth the law of Jesus cannot be kept at all by the natural man. Our Savior was guilty of none of these sins, and yet we are plainly told He was “made of a woman, made under the law”.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Both “made of a woman”, and “made under the law”, both tell us that Christ was not perfected while in the flesh which was “the same” flesh as the children.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Was Christ perfected in the flesh? Was He “good” while in a body of flesh? Perhaps His standards are just higher than the standards of those who deny these words of our Lord, and who teach that Christ’s flesh was perfected, and His flesh was good.
What is “flesh”? Flesh, according to scripture is corruption.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Christ’s flesh did not see corruption because it was not the same as ours, the same as “the children”, Christ’s flesh did not see corruption simply because He was raised from the dead before His flesh had time to “see corruption”. He was raised up in a spiritual body which could become flesh if needed, as a testimony to His resurrection.

Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

“A spirit hath not flesh” does not say ‘A spirit cannot materialize into flesh’. A spirit definitely can and does, at times, materialize into flesh, as Christ does here in Luk 24:39, solely because of their lack of faith. Nevertheless all resurrected bodies are not natural flesh bodies, but are “spiritual bodies”.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Who does “inherit the kingdom of God”? Here is our Lord’s answer to that question”

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

I was recently asked if the gospel of Christ has become “a matter of dos and don’ts”. While we are free from the law of Moses, we have now become the slaves of Christ and of His law.

Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

“Do the will of My Father”, and ‘Do not call me Lord if you are not doing what I say’. Is there anything we are not to do, according to the gospel of Christ?

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

“Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts… not given to wine… no striker… not greedy of filthy lucre, etc. It appears that we are expected to do what our Lord says to do, and we are also expected not to do the things He says not to do.
Does this accord with this revelation of Jesus Christ and those who are in this “city of God, the New Jerusalem? Yes, it just happens to accord perfectly:

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

It appears that “doing His commandments” is required before anyone will “have right to the tree of life, and… enter in through the gates into the city”. What are those gates? They are the very same thing that stand before God in His tabernacle and in His temple. Here are the gates to that city:

Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it [ the vail separating the holy place from the holy of holies] upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

Even the door to the holy place is lined with these pillars, and the priests could not get into the tabernacle or into the temple without going through these “pillars”.

Exo 26:37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

So there are nine pillars; five at the door of the tabernacle, and four at the door of the holy of holies, through which all men must pass to get to the Father on His throne.
Now what is promised to those who overcome this flesh while they are still in it?

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

Where are these “pillars in the temple of my God”? They are in “the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem”. There “is no temple therein” simply because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it”

Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

So the city itself, having God and the Lamb in it, is the temple, and the nine pillars which once signified judgment are now replaced with a more mature symbol of the process being accomplished in God’s elect. That more mature symbol is the 12 gates through which all who enter into the presence of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb must come. Let’s read it again”

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The nine pillars through which all men came into the presence of God have been replaced with 12 gates, and it is “through the gates” that all men must enter “into the city” in which we find “the Lord God Almighty … the Lamb… the river of life… the tree of life, and all of those who have been found worthy to eat of that tree of life, and drink of the waters of the river of life. Those who have “the name of God and the name of the city of… God… New Jerusalem, written upon him”.
And what is the simple truth concerning all who do not yet know Christ, and who do not believe that entering into that city is somehow connected to “doing His commandments”? Here is what the scriptures think of all flesh, who without Christ, will not be “raised a spiritual body”. Here is what Our Lord thinks of all who have not yet come to know Him and His Father.

Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

There are no “gray areas” with Christ and His Father. Whatever is not Truth is a lie. What we are seldom given to understand is that our sins are not our sins, but rather are the work of God in deceiving us and keeping us in darkness until our own order and in our own appointed time. What this means is that the law of Moses is but a “shadow of good things to come” and is not itself either grace or Truth.” These are not easy things to point out, but they must be pointed out if we are to understand what will be the fate of all the billions of humanity who came before Christ.
Christ makes this clear when He reveals that when He told Moses that the manna was “bread from heaven”, in reality the manna was simply a type and a shadow of the true bread from heaven.

Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Had the Lord told Moses that the manna Israel ate in the wilderness was “bread from heaven”? The answer is, yes, the Lord had told Moses that the manna was “bread from heaven”. But just as the entire law itself was in reality nothing more than a type and shadow of the true “law of Christ”, so this “bread from heaven” called “manna” was also nothing more than a type and a shadow of the true bread from heaven, and the entire history and economy of ancient Israel was all done and was all recorded “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come”.

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 are come.
Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

But whenever it is ever pointed out that God Himself has deceived the prophets of His own people, and that it was He who cause Joseph’s brothers to sell Joseph into Egypt for the purpose of saving the whole world, and whenever it is ever pointed out the the scriptures say that God make wicked men for the day of evil in the lives of us all when we are all wicked men, those very men themselves will, by God’s own design, reject that Truth and think of themselves as the defenders of God’s honor, even as they disobey Christ and His Father, and turn against and persecute those who show them these Truths.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
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.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

“You sold me into Egypt… don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here… it was not you but God that sent me here”. That is simply more that the natural man is given to receive. How did ‘I am the true bread from heaven’, go over with the Jews?

Joh 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

If you are not granted to believe God, then you need to get another religion. Christ tells us He is the true “bread from heaven”. Either we are granted the faith to believe that and the holy remain holy, or we are not given that faith, and the filthy remain filthy.

Joh 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [ Greek, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Being “taught of God” is done through the “body of Christ which is the church”.

Act 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Act 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Act 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Act 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Act 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

To “All men… in the heavens, is made known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God”. All who are not granted to understand these “deep things of the spirit”, are outside the gates of this “city of our God”, and until they are brought to know Christ and His Father they will not enter the city.

Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

While this may sound like rather harsh language concerning the great men of God of the Old Testament, like Joseph’s brothers, their Old Testament mindset is of the Lord and not of themselves. The law was until John, but grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ, and all the men of God of the Old Testament will simply have to be granted to see and understand that truth before they will be granted to “enter in through the gates into that city.
In the end ‘death will be destroyed’ and at that point there will be no more “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, or anyone who loves and makes a lie”.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

After our conference in Texas, two weeks from today, Lord willing we will finish the last six verses of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us. Here are those last six verses:

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
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.
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Hi Mike,

I truly enjoy your site and have read with great interest the majority of it. One thing I still struggle with is figuring out what is the right time to read something as literal vs. spiritual. Of course all God’s words are ultimately spiritual, which I am sure will ultimately explain my question. In the FAQ regarding slavery, you answer the question about flesh/ literal slavery in 1 Peter using Rev 2:26,27 and seem to be saying God will break up and rule the literal nations of the earth. But I thought the “nations” of Revelation were inside of us? What am I not understanding here?
P____

Hi P____,
Thank you for your question. You say:

In the FAQ regarding slavery you answer the question about flesh/ literal slavery in 1 Peter using Rev 2:26,27 and seem to be saying God will break up and rule the literal nations of the earth. But I thought the “nations” of Revelation were inside of us? What am I not understanding here?

To answer your question directly, you have taken the statement I have made that “the nations are within us”, and without realizing it have subconsciously added the word ‘only’ to that statement. I think you are very much aware that I realize there are outward kingdoms which must be ruled over during the millennium by the overcomers of this age.
The phrase “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” is found in the Old Testament many times. Do any of us deduce from that statement that God is only “the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”? Of course we do not. Neither do I maintain that since the invisible things of God are understood by the things that are made, that therefore there are no “things that are made” and there are no outward kingdoms to be ruled over during the millennium.
So what you are struggling to understand is exactly the same thing I struggled with for so many years. Like you, I simply could not conceive of how it is that “all things are ours”, and “the invisible things of God are understood by the things that are made… work together for good… after the counsel of Gods own will”.

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

Now my flesh likes the fact that 1Co 3:22 tells me that “life is mine”, but “the world, death, and all things present and all things to come” are not all that appealing to my flesh. They are, in fact, very disturbing to the natural man who witnesses so much sin in “the world”. After all, I am very much aware that it is the sin and evil which are this world which leads to death:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I will again affirm to you that 1Co 3:21-22 is for those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear, speaking primarily to those chosen few – spiritually and inwardly. That is how they are intended to be understood by all who are given to see and to understand “the things of the spirit”. But that gift is given to very few people in this age.

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

If you read this web page at all, you are aware that Mat 13 reveals that Christ spoke in parables to the multitudes who came to Him to be healed and fed for the specific purpose of keeping them from understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Why is it that the multitudes of Christians to this very day cannot see the truth in those verses? The answer is in verse 14:

Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

So it is to this very day that millions of Christians read Mat 13 verses 9-11 and still teach that Christ spoke in parables to make His message simple and clear.
“Hearing they hear, and do not understand, and seeing they see and do not perceive… the things of the spirit”. So when I say “the nations are within us”, I am speaking to those who are given to see and to receive the Truth of these verses:

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

“The things of the spirit of God… are spiritually discerned”. But how are spiritual matters expressed?

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.[ Worth repeating!]

“The holy spirit teaches… comparing spiritual with spiritual”, so that is why I say to my readers “the nations are [ spiritually] within you”. In saying that, I am recognizing the simple truth of our Lord that “the words I speak to you are spirit” and “cannot be received by the natural man” and are “not words that man’s wisdom teaches” and “are foolishness to the natural mam… because they are spiritually discerned”.
Does “spiritually discerned” mean they have no outward fulfillment of application? Absolutely not! It is contended by many that the outward fulfillment of Mat 24:15 had already been fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, many years earlier, long before Christ made this statement.

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

“Whoso readeth let him understand” is a warning to those who are given to understand “the things of the spirit” that this is not intended to be understood only literally. “The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”, for those who are given to receive it, is speaking of the holy place within the temple which we all are spiritually and individually, as is revealed to us in very clear language:

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.

Now we know what Christ meant by “whoso readeth, let him understand”.
So you were right when you said:

Of course all God’s words are ultimately spiritual, which I am sure will ultimately explain my question.

As those who are given to see and hear the things of the spirit, we are concerned primarily with the things of the spirit. That is our concern. We do not concern ourselves with the outward fulfillment of prophecy, except to acknowledge that the outward application serves to blind us from seeing the nations within us, “the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, and the mighty men” within us who will all be shaken by the great earthquake which will bring us to see the man of sin within us and to witness his destruction at the brightness of the coming of the spiritual knowledge of the revelation of Jesus Christ, within us.

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?

A perfect example of how this principle is working to this very day, is the fact that no one is able to see that we are all told at both the beginning and the end of the book of Revelation that this is a book that we are all to keep:

Rev 1:3 Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

I hope this helps you to see that for the spiritually minded, all of Christ’s Words are primarily spiritual in their application. How much is physical? As much as is needed to blind and distract those who are not given to see or discern spiritual matters.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh [ the physical application] profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, are are life. (ASV)
1Co 2:12 But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words.
1Co 2:14 Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. (ASV)

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I searched your site and did not come up with a satisfactory answer to my question.
What is the “the hope that is in you” in the following verse and what would be the second witness?

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Thanks,
W____

Hi W____,
Thank you for your question.
You ask:

What is the “the hope that is in you” in the following verse and what would be the second witness?

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

The scriptures speak of many different kinds of hope, but they are one and all dependent upon, and they are all mentions as being dependent upon us being given life in which to receive any of the blessing of the many different kinds of hope mentioned in scripture.
We read of:
1) The hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers.

Act 26:6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:

2) The hope of Israel…

Act 28:20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

3) The hope of the glory of God.

Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

4) The hope of righteousness by faith.

Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

5) The hope of His calling.

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

6) The hope of the gospel.

Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

7) The hope of glory.

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

8) The hope of salvation.

1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

9) The hope of eternal life.

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So the phrase “hope of…” appears ten times in the King James Version. Each time it is mentioned gives us another reason to have hope. “The promise made to the fathers… the hope of Israel… the hope of the glory of God… the hope of righteousness by faith… the hope of His calling… the hope of the gospel… and the hope of salvation”, are all centered around, and rest upon “the hope of eternal life. So it is instructive that “the hope of eternal life”, is mentioned twice in the epistle to Titus.
You asked for a second witness, so I have hope that you will be satisfied with what is given here. The reason for the hope that is in you should be that all of these verses are ultimately referring to “the hope of salvation”, which means deliverance from sin and death, and replacing the fear and slavery of sin and death with the confidence and “the hope of eternal life” in our Lord Jesus Christ. But that blessing would not be fully within us if this hope of salvation and deliverance from sin and death were not extended to all of our friends, our families, even our enemies and all of mankind, as indeed it is:

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ but not exclusively] of those that believe.
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Look at what Christ told the Sadducees who did not believe there is a resurrection:

Mat 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Mat 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Mat 22:25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
Mat 22:26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Mat 22:27 And last of all the woman died also.
Mat 22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

Christ’s crisp and clear logic in answer to these men who claimed to believe the scriptures, yet refused to believe in a resurrection, was stunning to these Sadducees, and it is stunning to this very day to all who profess to believe the scriptures, but who also believe that angels can marry humans:

Mat 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

But Christ’s answer is centered around “the reason for the hope that is in us”.

Mat 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

The scriptures are clear that “the dead know not anything, and that without a resurrection, those who are asleep in Christ are perished”.

Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith [ is] vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

So what did Christ mean when He said?:

Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Is Christ denying that we need to hope for a resurrection? Is Christ teaching that Abraham, Issac and Jacob have immortal souls, and are at this moment in heaven? Absolutely not! The resurrection to abundant life is “from among the dead”, and it is this resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all who have died, which is the reason for the hope that is within us, and it is “as touching the resurrection of the dead” that Christ made the statement that “God is not the God of the dead but of the living”. That “blessed and holy first resurrection” (Rev 20:6) is the hope of our calling.

Php 3:11 if somehow I should be attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead.

Here is how Luke words Christ’s answer to the Sadducees who did not believe in a resurrection. This verse demonstrates that life in a resurrected Christ is the hope of all men.

Luk 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

That is why Paul tells us that “without a resurrection, they that are asleep in Christ are perished”, and still Christ can affirm “The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth… Lazarus is asleep…” It is because “all live unto Him” and from God’s perspective, all who are dead are simply asleep, including but not limited to, “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”.
So the ultimate reason for the hope which is in us is the promise of a life free from sin through a resurrection from among the dead, at the time of an event which in scripture is called “the redemption of the purchased possession”, which is also known as the “blessed and holy… 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.

All of this being said, there is even more of a reason of the joy that is in us. It is still of utmost importance that we understand that “in earnest” or in down payment form, we are actually “free from sin” by being “crucified with, and resurrected with Christ” even now, and we are now “made to sit together with Him in the heavens”.

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [ in the likeness] of [ his] resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

“For he that is dead is freed from sin” ( Rom 6:7). Are we really “free from sin,” while we are yet in these bodies of clay? The answer is yes, we are! It is simply undeniable.

Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Does “free from sin” mean we are no longer sin, or does it simply mean that sin is no longer our master? Here is what the scriptures teach:

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind [ the same hope]: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

“He that hath suffered in the flesh… as Christ hath suffered”, is declared to “have ceased from sin”. Here is what that means in practice in this life:

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

If that is not “a reason for the joy that is in you”, then nothing will give you joy. Being the master of your flesh instead of being its slave is nothing less than peace of mind. Living a life that is not dominated by sin in the flesh and experiencing “no condemnation”, is peace of mind, and peace of mind while yet in these “vessels of clay” is the greatest blessing that can be bestowed upon any man. It is a very good reason for the hope that is in you”.
I hope these verses of scripture are used of our Lord to give you “a reason of the hope that is in you…”
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,

I recently read your response to a brother reference his question about receiving the mark of the beast:

… if there comes a time that our currency is transferred from paper to some form of implant to the right hand or forehead would you suggest I receive or reject it?

I see and agree with your response in that nothing outside of a man can defile us, but only that which comes from within. I agree that if our government does go to a cashless society and places chips in us in order to replace the current monetary system will have no affect on our endurance as a Christian until the end.
I am, however, concerned if this possible chip implantation comes with the requirement of us pledging allegiance with what may be called a new world order containing a new world church which welcomes all faiths and religions as valid but different roads to the same end (salvation). If this chip does come with these and other attachments, then would you advise refusing acceptance of the chip?
Thank you for taking the time.
Your brother,
S____

Hi S____,

It is good to hear from you.
Yes, if such a scenario would ever came to pass, it would be impossible for a Christian to pledge allegiance to anything but to God.
When I was 18 years old, I was drafted and was slated to go into the military. I told my draft board that I could not in good conscience kill my fellow man. The draft board suggested that I go in as a conscientious objector and serve as a medic or some other way that would not require me using a weapon. When I found that I would still be required to pledge allegiance to the United States, and I discovered that I was actually government property for the time of my service, I knew that I could have no other God before my God, and I simply refused to be drafted. I was applying for admission to college and I did get a ministerial students deferral, but I honestly thought I was on my way to prison before that was granted. Nevertheless I didn’t even consider going to Canada or in any way attempting to avoid prison. I was willing to go to prison if that was what had to be done to obey the first commandment, and to have but one master, Christ. I am bought with a price and I do not belong to anyone but the one who bought me.

1Co 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Having said all of that, it is still the beastly, man of sin within, who sits in the temple of God declaring himself to be God and demanding our worship. It is through worship of that beast that all men, including all saints, are first defiled, and then cleansed through the fire that is the Word of God cleansing the temple which we are.

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.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [ the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
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?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [ and] two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

“They worshipped the beast”. There it is for all the world to see, but it is not given to the world to see that even the saints worship the beast and are overcome by the beast, before it is given to to them overcome him, his name, his number and his image. Concentrate on the worst enemy you will ever come to know. It is not anyone outside of yourself. Your worst enemy in the world is you and mine is me. That is what is meant by “They worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
The beast, the dragon, the false prophet and great Babylon are all within us. They are all implanted much deeper than a microchip, and our allegiance to that system is an integral part of our marred condition.
But through Christ coming into us and dethroning them all, we can overcome them all and stand on that transparent “sea of glass mingled with fire”, and be cleansed to become worthy through that cleansing fire to enter into the temple of God, which is us in Christ and Christ in us.

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

All things are ours. Things present and things to come (1Co 3:21-22). We will “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book… and the things written therein” (Rev 1:3 and 22:6-8) We will “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and that includes all of this book of Revelation (Mat 4:4 and Rev 1:1).
I hope this has helped you to see that the implant we are afflicted with, and the one the scriptures tells us will overcome the saints, is far harder to detect or resist than even the scenario you paint in this e- mail.
Nevertheless we are straightly commanded to “Have no other God’s before Me” so the answer to your question is, Yes, we are to refuse to obey men whenever they require us to disobey God.

Act 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

There is a very good reason why we are told “Many are called but few are chosen”.<<br />
I pray that you and I are granted to be among those chosen few.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

I agree with most of your long letter about free will. It was well written. Could you send me your thoughts on Isa 65:20 and the new heaven and new earth of Rev 21. I read of death in Isaiah but not Revelation 21. Do you have any idea why that is? Oh, by the way, I said I agree with most of your message, when in reality, I really don’t recall anything I disagree with. PLEASE RETURN MY EMAIL; NOT TOO MANY DO. God Bless!

Dear Reader,

Thank you for your words of encouragement. .

You ask about ‘Why death is mentioned in the ‘new heavens and the new earth,’ of Isa 65:20, but Rev 21, speaking of this same “a new heaven and a new earth,” says, “there was no more death.”

Let’s just quote both scriptures, and analyze them in the light of the rest of the scriptures:

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Notice what I have emboldened. John mentions the

1. ‘new heavens and the new earth,’ he states that
2. “there was no more sea.”
   He mentions the
3. ‘new Jerusalem,’
4. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and he says
5. “There shall be no more death… for [Greek – gar, ‘because‘]
6. the former things are passed away.”

Now notice how similar Isaiah is to this passage in Revelation:

Isa 65:17 For, behold,

1) I create new heavens and a new earth: and

6) the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold,

3) I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isa 65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and

4) the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isa 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

You will notice that Numbers 2 and 5 seem to be missing from Isaiah’s prophecy. This is only the case if we are looking at the letters of these verses. Number two in Revelation is “and there was no more sea.” Those who teach against ‘spiritualizing’ scripture will tell you that this means that after the millennium the earth will become one great land mass with no oceans. After all it is right there: “There was no more sea.” To these folks, when Revelation 13 tells them that “a beast came up out of the sea,” it apparently means that a seven-headed beast came up out of the sea.

Almost all who deny the spiritual application of the scriptures would agree that Revelation 13:1 “I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast come up out of the sea” is a symbol for something. Yet these same individuals would spiritually assassinate you for believing that ‘there was no more sea’ is also a symbol. However, it is a symbol, as is the entire book of Revelation:

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and sign ified it by his angel unto his servant John:

The above verse is the truth of how this book is written. It is not a book that is to be taken in “letter.” Rather this entire book is “SIGNified.” That is, it is a book of ‘signs’ and symbols which can only be understood in the light of the rest of the scriptures which interpret these signs. Be sure to read The Key Meaning of Words in Scripture.

If you insist that ‘there was no more sea’ means what it says, then you must believe that…

Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth…

… is also a literal statement, and that…

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…

… is also a literal statement.

I could take any verse of this book, especially the last three verses of this 13th chapter…:

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

… and I could make the same point. John is not telling us that a seven-headed beast will rise up out of the Mediterranean Sea. Neither is he telling us that a barn-yard animal called a ‘lamb… having seven horns and seven eyes’ is standing in the middle of those around the throne of God. Yet when it comes to the “mark of the beast”, we are always led to believe that the only spiritual lesson in these words is the warning that you should physically resist receiving this physical ‘mark in your right hand and in your forehead.’

The apostle John was well aware that “your body IS the temple of God.”

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

He was also well aware that this is the only temple in which God dwells.

Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Paul tells us that the “man of sin’ sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God’:

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

So where is this man of sin sitting? He is sitting in the temple of God. What is the ‘temple of God?’ “Your body IS the temple of God.”

The number of the beast is 666. What does this number represent? “It is the number of a man.”

The indefinite article ‘a’ is not in the Greek. The Concordant Version correctly reads :”… It is the number of mankind…”

Are you ‘a man’ as the KJV translates this verse? Are you part of ‘mankind’ as the Concordant Version reads? Then you have the mark of the beast. Yes, you do. You and I were one and all born with this mark. Who are we told receives this mark?

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

So each of us being born in the first Adam, are all born with the “mark of mankind.” That mark is “signified” by the trice repeated number 6 or 666. Man then IS the ‘beast.’ Is that a truly scriptural statement? You be the judge:

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

The worst enemy any man faces is the one he sees in the mirror every morning. The Lord Himself tells us this:

Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Mat 15:15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
Mat 15:16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
Mat 15:17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Mat 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Nothing coming from without defiles any man. The Biblical ‘mark of the beast’ is within defiling us all. Those who stand on the ‘sea of glass mingled with fire’ are not those who never had the mark of the beast. They are rather “them that had gotten the victory over his mark.’

Those who ‘get the victory over the beast’ are those who experience the beast, experience his deadly wound with the sword of the word of God, experience the healing of that wound as they backslide right back to becoming a healthy beast worshiping the ‘image of the beast.’ This ‘image’ of the first beast is said to be created by none other than the “second beast, coming up out of the earth, the orthodox, incorporated, organized church, with “two horns like a lamb [appearing as an angel of light (2Co 11:14)], but speaking [its doctrines] as a dragon” (Rev 13:11)

The ‘earth’ in scripture is always that part of mankind that is pushed up out of the sea of mankind, and is but inches closer to God than are those of ‘the sea.’ Nevertheless they are those who are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1Co 1:2) who “are yet carnal.”

1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

This seems like a contradiction to most Christians. Can we be “sanctified of Christ, called to be saints” and yet be “carnal?”

The answer straight from the mouth of Christ is a powerful, “Yes!” Not only can we be “yet carnal,” but just as these “carnal” Corinthians, who “came behind in no [spiritual] gift” (1Co 1:7), we can receive the ‘gifts of the Spirit” and never have even known the ‘Giver’ of the gifts.

Here are the scriptures. First Paul:

1Co 1:7 So that ye [carnal Corinthian Christians] come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And now Christ:

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits [Not their gifts]. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit [“The fruit of the spirit is love…]; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Verses 20-23 are not the words of desperate liars. Rather they are the words of those who prefer the gifts over the Giver. They are the words of those who prefer their own way to the way of the cross.

These are not called simply ‘enemies of Christ.’ Not at all. No, they actually “profess Christ” and at the same time are “enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

These are those professing Christians who teach that Christ did it all for you on the cross. While they would never come right out and say it, their doctrine constantly insinuates that if you are suffering in any way, it is because you are not serving God as you ought. ‘If you are in the perfect will of God you will never be sick or suffer any financial difficulties.’ That is the teaching of those who are the “enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Here is the Truth of the ‘cross of Christ:’

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Who today teaches, like Paul, that there is anything “behind of the afflictions of Christ?” Those who do not see anything “behind of the afflictions of Christ” are the same ones who are called “enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Php 3:18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

All those who teach that ‘grace through faith means that Christ did everything for you on the cross, and there is nothing that He wants you to do now but accept His free gift of life,’ are “enemies of the cross of Christ.” This is most of the Christian world. Many times they contradict themselves and admit that you need to live a righteous life as a Christian, but it is few indeed who teach that Christ must ‘work’ in us at “filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ.”

To these people, this Pauline teaching robs both the cross and grace of their power. To these Christians I am the “enemy of the cross of Christ” for even suggesting that Christ died to the flesh daily and died on the cross SO THAT He could do the the same IN me, so that I, too, could die to the flesh daily and present my body a living sacrifice to Him. This teaching they contend “robs grace of its power, robs the cross of its efficacy and turns salvation by grace right back into salvation by works.” They simply have not been given the eyes to see nor the ears to hear that though it is all done through “Christ in us,” the Truth is that ‘grace… faith… and works’ are all “His achievement.”

“For in grace through faith are you saved, and this [faith] not out of you; it is God’s approach present, not of [our] works, lest anyone should be boasting. For His achievement [“His workmanship” – KJV] we are being created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them” (Eph 2:8-10).

I know, dear reader, that you probably think that I have forgotten what your question was. Well, I have not. We now come to the scripture that answers your question. If you do not see this need for ‘dying to self’ and replacing self will with the will of Christ, I will have no success in explaining Isaiah 65:20 to you. Here is the scripture that explains how we are to live our lives now as well as how those in the new heavens and the new earth are to live their lives:

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

In spite of all the twisting by the newer translations to make this verse read “[my] faith IN the Son of God,” instead of the “faith of [that is, Christ’s faith which He gives me] the Son of God,” the Truth is still the Truth, and we contribute virtually nothing toward our own salvation. Even the ‘faith’ is a “gift of God.” It is “the faith of the Son of God.”

With all of this in mind, let’s go back to Isaiah 65:20.

Isa 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die [to self through fiery trials of this life.  This is a positive statement] an hundred years old; but the sinner [who has not yet died to self in the ‘lake of fire] being an hundred years old shall be accursed [this is not a positive statement].

There is only one ‘new heavens and new earth.’ It comes down from God out of heaven after the millennium. It is then, and not until then, that “the fulness of the Gentiles comes in”. Sodom returning to God as resurrected spiritual bodies at the great white throne judgment symbolizes the fullness of the Gentiles.

To understand the scriptures on this subject, be sure to read Are People Being Saved During the Millennium?

Just click on this title and read the scriptures revealing what the ‘lake of fire’ is and when those who are “cast into the lake of fire” are raised to that fate. This is an eye opening revelation right from the Word of God.

Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate [this is at the white throne judgment, after the millennium], then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Many who teach universal reconciliation use this scripture to prove that even Sodom will be saved. However, even they do not notice the “when?… then!…” part of this verse.

When eschatology is not the subject, as in the book of Revelation, we sometimes make it the point. When eschatology is the point of a scripture (“when?… then!) we some times ignore it. The subject of Ezekiel 16 is the salvation of ‘Judah and Jerusalem’ who have committed sins that are greater than her sisters ‘Sodom and Samaria.’ In spite of this fact, God declares that He is yet going to honor His promise to redeem His people ‘Israel… according to the flesh.’ Nevertheless, this will be done on His timetable, and He tells us that His time for the salvation of Israel is “when Sodom and her daughters” are saved.

Before I get bombarded with e-mails accusing me of saying there is no eschatology in Revelation, let me point out that I did not say that. What I did say is, “Eschatology is not the subject… of the book of Revelation.” The subject of the book of Revelation is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” While that is accomplished in a process of opening seven seals, the seals and their order is not the subject.

The subject is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and since it is addressed to “him that hath an ear” in “the seven churches”, it is therefore Jesus Christ in us that is the subject of this book. Eschatology is a distant second to this, the main theme, of this book.

Now since “Judah and Jerusalem” are the subject of both Ezekiel 16 and Isaiah 65:20, it should be clear that this is one and the same event being discussed in these two scriptures. This is the time of the day of the ‘second resurrection,’ the “great white throne judgment” and the “lake of fire.”

While this is certainly not the “better resurrection” of Hebrews 11, neither is it the negative thing the Christian religion has made it out to be. After all, “Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire.” The “lake of fire” is nothing less than the “destruction of death” mentioned by Paul in 1Corinthians 15.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

How is this accomplished? Who is it that will “judge this world?

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?

Are “the saints” then the distributors of this “lake of fire?” What say the scriptures?

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Yes, it was the three Hebrew children who were, in type, right at home with “one like unto the son of God” in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. Now since “our God is a consuming fire” and since “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him” why would not those who are in Christ be represented by a “lake (not an ‘ocean because “many are called but few are chosen’) of fire?”

Lake of Fire Revealed In Genesis

Those in that lake of fire are typified by Joseph’s brothers. They were ‘tormented’ in Joseph’s presence.

Gen 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye [are] spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
Gen 42:11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true [honest] men, thy servants are no spies.
Gen 42:12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
Gen 42:14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
Gen 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
Gen 42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether [there be any] truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
Gen 42:17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
Gen 42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
Gen 42:19 If ye be true [honest] men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
Gen 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Gen 42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

This is just the beginning of the torment of Joseph’s brothers, not because Joseph wanted to torment them so long, but because they could never believe that Joseph was not like them and would not seek revenge as soon as Jacob died.

Joseph never bothered to correct this view of himself until after the death of his father. In other words:

Psa 18:26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Did Christ bother to correct this evil man? No, that is neither the time nor the way in which Christ operates. Here are His own words:

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

What Is The ‘Fire?’

What exactly is this fire? It is the same fire in every case.

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

This ‘fire’ comes to some “predestined… few” while they are yet in this body of flesh. These are those referred to by Christ when He said:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die [to self and to the flesh], it abideth alone: but if it die [to self and the flesh], it bringeth forth much fruit.

Christ spoke of this “blessed and holy” few when he said:

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

Paul spoke of these few also:

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.

Peter spoke of this same group of overcomers in every generation since 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:
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.

The Sinner

And what of the rest of mankind?

There will be everything from Joseph Stalin, who killed millions of his own people, to aborted babies cast into the lake of fire. Here Christ reveals the principle on which they will all be judged:

Luk 12:46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion [as a messenger of Satan in the lake of fire] with the unbelievers.
Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not [himself], neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

This is just Christ’s way of repeating the message of Isaiah 65:20:

Isa 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the [repentant] child shall die [to self] an hundred years old; but the [unrepentant] sinner being an hundred years old [and still not ‘dead to self’] shall be accursed.

What and When is Judgment Day?

We are led to believe that ‘judgment’ is a negative experience. Indeed it is negative for the flesh, but it is always positive for the spirit:

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

This verse echoes the teaching Paul had just given these Corinthian brothers concerning judgment:

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.

When does this take place? It is at different times for different groups. There are two scriptural groups for two separate judgments. Those who are ‘chosen’ out of the ‘called’ are being judged even as we speak. All others will be judged at the ‘great white throne judgment.’

Here are the scriptures:

First Christ:

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone [called but not judged in this present time] shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall [judged in this present time], it will grind him to powder.

Now Paul:

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves [now], we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are [now] judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [to the great white throne judgment] with the world.

“When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord” is just as true of the white throne judgment as it is of our “chastening of the Lord” at this time. Judgment is good!

Here is Paul again:

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

Finally, here is Peter:

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?

If God is gracious enough to us that we are in the first resurrection, it will be because He has seen fit to “first begin at us” with judgment. However, judgment always follows death. It is not visa-versa.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Those who receive these words in a natural sense are not being ‘judged… now.’ “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God…”

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die [now while yet in the flesh], it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

So, if you are wondering what judgment day will be like if you are the chosen of Christ, wonder no longer. You are in that day.

It is a day of being “crushed to powder by that rejected stone.” It is a day of “falling into the ground and dying to bring forth much fruit.” It is a day that will burn and purify the “gold, silver and precious stones.”

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 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

We may suffer now, but the reward that awaits us is beyond our wildest dreams. “When his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

I hope I have been of some service,

Mike

Hi Mike,

I just pulled up your site and found the revelation series. Did you have any particular study in mind or should I start from the beginning and catch up?

Thanks,

D____
Hi D____,

By all means start at the very beginning. The key to understanding any scripture in found in the first few verses of Revelation one. Verse one tells us that all these words reveal the Christ, and are really God’s Words, which He gave to Jesus to give to John. This verse tells us that these words are ‘signified’ to John. What the word ‘signified’ can and does mean is that this is a book of signs or signals and symbols.

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

Who scripturally is “Jesus Christ”? Here are Christ’s own words in answer to that very question.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

If Act 22:8 is true, then this book is the revealing of Christ within each of us, and that is exactly what we are told is to be the case.

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.

Then verse three nails this point down by telling us that this book is to be “read, heard and kept” by all to whom it is given to read and hear it in its signified spiritual meaning, as the holy spirit reveals it to us “comparing spiritual things with spiritual”. This revelation is not given to just anyone with physical eyes and ears. If it were, then these verses would not be true or necessary.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak [ the things given us to understand], not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

When Rev 1:1 and 1:3 are seen for what they are telling us and we put them together with the fact that Jesus, in Mat 13, tells His disciples that He taught the multitudes in parables “because it was given to the disciples, but not to the multitudes to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God”, then it becomes clear that the entire Bible is written in a way that is designed and “signified” to Christ’s disciples to whom it is given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

“The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” all concern Christ as the king of that kingdom. Both He and His kingdom are said to be within us.

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

So there can be no doubt that this book about “the revelation of Jesus Christ” will never be understood by the most educated of Christian scholars, simply because “to them it is not given” to see that the kingdom of God and the revelation of Jesus Christ”, are both within each of His elect. There is not one person in one thousand to whom it has been given to understand that this is a book that is to be lived out and “kept” by those to whom it is given to do so.

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.

Please join us at 11 A. M. Eastern Time every Sunday morning on Ustream, but also go back and get caught up on the entire revelation of Jesus Christ, and discover all the Old Testament scriptures upon which every single symbol of this book is based, and discover the meaning of all the symbols of this book.
May God bless your desire to get to better know Him and His Son. This is life eternal.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

That is what this revelation of Jesus Christ produces within us. We come to know Him as we never have before.

Your brother in Christ.
Mike

Hey, Mike,

I would like to ask if you can clarify Rev 1:7 where it says every eye shall see Him. I’m struggling with it because I was told that Jesus’s return is only to his chosen. Those are the only eyes that will see him and that the other unsaved people have already seen Christ with their eyes already through us. Is this correct? I understand about the cloud receiving him out of their sight, but it was drilled in me that, just like in Acts believers received him out their sight, that only believers will be able to see him at his return? Let me know, Mike, when you get a chance.

Y____

Hi Y____,
You ask about when Rev 1:7 will be fulfilled. Let’s look at that verse:

Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Of course there is a “will be” application to this verse, which will be fulfilled in the lake of fire. But the answer you and I need is to be found just four verses earlier:

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.

Now if we have forgotten those instructions just four verses later, then hopes of understanding this book are very slim to non- existent. Christ comes to us via His “great cloud of witnesses”. Every eye within you (within you and me) shall see him when he comes.

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.
Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

The lightning of verse 24 is “the brightness of His coming” mentioned in these verses:

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Paul had told these Thessalonians the same thing he had told the Corinthians:

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.

This is what Paul is referring to when he said this:

2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

While the whole world takes “as that the day of Christ is at hand” to be a warning against those who say Christ is about to return, or that He has already returned physically,  the Truth is that Paul is simply saying that when Christ finally does come into our lives, we will know it without a doubt, because the man of sin within us will then be deposed by the brightness of His coming. It is the apostle Paul who said this:

Php 4:5  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

If “the Lord is at hand”, then surely “the day of Christ is at hand”, and His coming is like lightning which lights up our heavens and causes “that wicked one [within us] sitting in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, to be revealed” for what he really is, “the son of perdition who the Lord will destroy with the brightness of His coming” in the “the day of Christ”.

Verse 7, “He who now restrains will restrain until he is taken out of the way” is what Christ referred to when He said,

Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

The apostles all endured this bitter and painful time when they forsook our Lord and denied Him, and we all do the very same thing in our own time and place.

That is the inward application of Rev 1:7. Everything that seems to be plural and outward is actually just a part of “the kingdom of God within you” which is in the process of destroying the nations within you and becoming a mountain which will “fill the whole earth” within you.

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.

That is the inward application which should be our emphasis at this time. We are all spiritually the “them also who pierced Him” of Rev 1:7, and we certainly do see Christ, when He comes to us, and we know Him, and we know His voice.

Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?

Seeing Christ and His Father and knowing His voice, has nothing at all to do with doing so physically. It is a spiritual experience with spiritual eyes and ears.

Those who physically and historically and outwardly killed Christ will not see him until after the thousand year reign, when they will be raised up and cast into the lake of fire, to be purified as a spirit along with “the devil and his angels”.

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Those who want to see Christ at the beginning of the millennium will not do so if they cannot even understand that Christ is in us, and that he who sees us has seen Christ.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

No one knows how Christ appeared physically, except to say that “He had no form or comeliness… that we should desire Him.”

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Right here we are plainly told that those who do not know Christ, and who are not part of that blessed and holy first resurrection, will think that He has “no beauty that we should desire Him”. But Christ is the most handsome man who has ever been to those who know Him and are His bride. Those are the ones who will see and know Christ at His coming at the beginning of the millennium. All others will only see Christ in us as their rulers “with a rod of iron.”

I hope this has helped you to see that “seeing Christ” is a spiritual matter. As Christ told Philip, we have to know and “see” Christ before we can know and see His Father. But when we do come to know and see Christ, we also know and see His Father.

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,

It’s been awhile since I’ve written. I hope you and your family are doing well. I’m doing quite well myself and am continuing to enjoy your ministry. I had a question pop into my head as I was driving from work today. What is your opinion of the oft- used term, “personal Savior” as in “accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” Is it scriptural?

Thank you, Brother,
D____

Hi D____,

It is always good to hear from you. We are doing just fine here in Flowery Branch, and I am glad to know you are doing well and are enjoying the iswasandwillbe. com site.
You ask if the phrase ‘personal savior’ is scriptural? Yes, it certainly is. God is not at this time working with large groups of men, but He is the personal Savior of a few scattered sheep. Being our personal Savior is not a Biblical phrase, but it certainly is the Biblical meaning of these verses:

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 [ personally].
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [ that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [ personally]
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 [ personally], the hope of glory:
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice [ personally].
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am [ personally] known of mine.
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you [ personally], which was also in Christ Jesus:

None of these verses deny that there is also a corporate body with many members, but that corporate body of Christ is a group of individuals who all, individually, have been given the same “mind of Christ.” This corporate body cannot say or act as if is it has no need for the rest of the body, nevertheless, every part of this body personally knows the voice of the true shepherd.

1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is [ the] Chris t.
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [ we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [ we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1Co 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17 If the whole body [ were] an eye, where [ were] the hearing? If the whole [ were] hearing, where [ were] the smelling?
1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
1Co 12:19 And if they were all one member, where [ were] the body?
1Co 12:20 But now [ are they] many members, yet but one body.
1Co 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
1Co 12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
1Co 12:23 And those [ members] of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely [ parts] have more abundant comeliness.
1Co 12:24 For our comely [ parts] have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that [ part] which lacked:
1Co 12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but [ that] the members should have the same care one for another.
1Co 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

And while we function as a spiritual body, is not God interested in each of us in particular?

Luk 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

I hope these verses all serve to demonstrate that Christ knows and loves each of us personally, and yet we are all a corporate body which shows the same personal and individual care for each of its members.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike