The Book of Amos – Chapter 6:1-14 – Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

[Aired January 11, 2025]

In 1983, Cyndi Lauper released her song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” It is a catchy pop song that, despite its light-hearted nature, highlights the many emotional challenges women face. Most men delight in the unique blend of a young woman’s intelligence and playful spirit, which brings a sense of joy and peace into their lives for the hopeful greater unity of spirit. A woman’s emotions can prettily billow, wane and disappear, and suddenly reappear like the aurora borealis and leave her fleshy male counterpart’s mind pixilated by both the ‘silly dove’ and Solomon’s Shulamite creation.

Hos 7:11  Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

Israel, like Ahola and Aholibah, and children just want to have fun. Men delight in God-designed, breezy, light-hearted, and pretty girls; they are irresistible. But when a foundation of wisdom and intelligence is absent, she is just another self-validating silly dove, ‘innocently’ flashing abuse of her heaven-sent jewels of mind and body.

Son 1:10  Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

Son 7:1  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

Eze 16:38  And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
Eze 16:39  And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

Women directly symbolise churches, and particularly the most frivolous churches, the today’s world of 40,000-50,000 splinter harlot Christian churches of Babylon. They all, in seeking their own pleasures and speaking their own words, ‘just want to have fun’, and thus ‘are at ease in Zion’.

“Ease” – H 7600 

1. at ease, quiet, secure 

a. at ease, secure 

b. at ease, careless, wanton, arrogant subset. 

2. security, pride, arrogance

Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath [Christ’s commands], from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The strange paradox all Christians face is the vast difference between seeing the sensual joys of the world, the pretty things that particularly women and churches are drawn to, compared to their vaguely seen faith and belief that Solomon’s Shulamite and the Bride are brightly given to see in her Husband; it is that earthquake-like spiritual sensuality that arousingly overwhelms us to desire more.

Son 2:5  Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

Looking back on our time in Babylon, the Elect of God saw that we were sensually at ease, eating, drinking, and doing our own business, overflowing our barns in that Great City full of temporary, genuinely fulfilling, yet corruptible delights. All is vanity, saith the Preacher (Ecc 1:2).

Luk 12:16  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Luk 12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
Luk 12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Luk 12:21  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself [AT EASE IN ZION], and is not rich toward God.

With those deliberations above, we could pretty much stop here since they broadly identify the Lord’s indictment against us spiritually. Nonetheless, we will continue to tease out other arousing spiritual nuances to increase our lovesickness for Christ’s spirit on the subjects.

Significations:

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

Amo 6:1  Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! 
Amo 6:2  Pass ye unto Calneh [City of Babylon], and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath [Syria] the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? [… ‘bigger barns’ containing personal dogma and not Christ’s doctrines] 

Israel is named ‘chief of the nations’ and doted on the Assyrian, Philistinian, and Babylonian paramours’ affections. She just had to submit to the outwardly appealing sensualities of her neighbours. So, too, is our nature to this very day. It takes an Elect of God to be ‘instant in prayer’ continually to combat the lusts of the flesh and the eyes that substantiates our pride, the most damning aspect of those three sins that firmly nails the idol to our heart. Why? To gain pride, we have first “accused” some other person or aspect of our thinking to “excuse” ourselves for eating our own bread and drinking our own water; we are thus prideful. (Isa 4:1).

Alarmingly outwardly, on this very day in 2025, the physical representation of modern Israel in lockstep with Gentile Christianity who, clandestinely rules over the kings of the Earth, is at ‘ease’, hell-bent on enlarging her borders, if possible, all the way to the Euphrates River since she thinks that she is untouchable as the Lord’s elect. It will be very interesting to see just how far our Lord lets her go before utterly burning her with fire.

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

Amo 6:3  Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 
Amo 6:4  That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 
Amo 6:5  That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; 
Amo 6:6  That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 

It is the Lord’s very Elect who have learnt to see that they came out of that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth and caused violence against her Lord in murdering practically his every word. What a pompous old harlot we were, lying back richly at ease upon our more comfortably designed doctrines with our self-anointed thighs exposed, pretending not to notice the leers of eager payees—only to strip them naked of mineral and land-mass wealth while impudently thinking spiritually that we, as the Lord’s genuine Elect, cannot be touched; which is partly true, if we only acknowledge our sins, and with a broken and contrite spirit put our hearts to vigilant disease to speed our journey out of Babylon.

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Isa 47:4  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.

What a poetic indictment verse 5 above is outwardly upon Zion, for which we tremble to the soles of our feet for its spiritual connections! The West, driven by the “Lady of Kingdoms”, is in steep decline and, thankfully, likewise spiritually in us!

In glorious Ad nauseum, our uneasy alertness to being at ease in Zion is typified in Babylon by the ‘saved now’ lie. To me, it was very recently epitomised by a very good Babylonian friend who picked my spiritual brain on what was going to happen to him in the Lake of Fire. All he wanted to know was if he, too, would be saved. I left that meeting disheartened since he had a genuine interest in knowing the truth, but once he understood that everyone would be saved, he was greatly ‘at ease’, willing to suffer whatever the intensity of the Lord’s judgment. I couldn’t help but think, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”—I cast my pearls before a swine.

Mat 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 3:11  I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Unquenchable fire denotes the timeframe of appropriate anguish for the strength of that ‘froward’ person’s obstinance.

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

Froward H6141 – 1. twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse, perverted, twist.

Mike quote: “If we are of the mindset that God created His weak, carnal-minded creatures knowing He would send most of them away into an ever-burning lake of fire to be tormented with excruciating pain for all eternity, as most Christian denominations, as well as the Jewish and the Muslim religions, believe, then that is exactly how the Lord will present Himself to you when you are being judged. Yes, the Lord has “cut Rahab and wounded the dragon”, but when our eyes are opened to see the meaning of the Hebrew word ‘olam’ and the Greek word ‘aion’ we are then given to understand that nowhere in all of scripture is anyone ever once threatened with eternal torment. Such a thought has never once entered the Lord’s mind. His judgments are always corrective and redemptive in their purpose and in their implementation. God’s judgments correct us and teach us His righteousness.” [end].

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

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Amo 6:7  Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. 
Amo 6:8  The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. 

The Elect of God, today, are the ones who ‘first go captive’ before the Gentile Christians in lockstep with the “they go captive”, the entire world of humanity in the Lake of Fire. In there, they will receive their ‘banquet’ of God’s fiery word that will utterly reverse their every lie held secret. The excellency of Jacob represents our works substantiated by a dying Old Covenant, and the death of Old Jerusalem within.

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

The “might fill all things” for the spiritual mind is seen as he will fill all things—in their time and God-ordained order; the “might” is our hope of the First Resurrection, even as we who are hopefully Elect, ‘might’ in this age influence our sanctified unconverted physical families, that they, too, might be filled with a banquet of earthshattering truth, and be more elegantly named Seraphim instead of “vipers” (Isa 6:2 & 6).

Amo 6:9  And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 

We know that “ten” means the complete number of mankind since Adam, who all will assuredly die physically in this life, and equally, a judgment of spiritual death of their innate lies in the Lake of Fire. Of course, some will not see a physical death since those few Elect will be alive at His coming.

Mat 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Amo 6:10  And a man’s uncle [beloved brother] shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. 
Amo 6:11  For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. 

The mention of an ‘uncle’ denotes the permeation of either righteous or unrighteousness in a family, indeed, every family, meaning the world, for their time and order of understanding of our Lord’s word and typified by both the righteous and unrighteous leading personalities of King David’s household. Such is everyone’s “ease in Zion”, whether that ease is in strong delusion or our peace in knowing “the” Christ.

1Ch 27:32  Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons:
1Ch 27:33  And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion:
1Ch 27:34  And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king’s army was Joab.

The burning of our bones to ashes signifies the whole destruction of our old selves, which helps us hold our tongues from uttering perverse things against the word of God. It is the utter destruction of the great wicked house attempting to be justified by our horn of works with no clefts or hiding places left for the contradiction of Christ’s commands.

Amo 6:12  Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: 

No, it is not wise for a rider to run his horse upon slabs of rock, particularly when shod with iron shoes, since they lose grip, and both horse and rider fall. Not only that, but on pebbly rock, it is easy for stones to lodge in the horse’s frog, a triangular shape on the underside of a horse’s hoof, and extends midway from the heels toward the toe, covering around 25% of the bottom of the hoof. A stone lodged there, instantly causes lameness. Neither will a ploughman consider ploughing on slabs of rock or a boulder-filled field, all symbolising Judah and the Priests of God’s treachery while at ease in Zion as long as life is good, utterly deluded that theirs and our formally similar living were full of rottenness and death in our speech while sermonising lies for the laity—banqueting of falsehoods while judgment isn’t swift to be served causing us to rejoice in our unwitting delusion.

Ecc 8:11  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Amo 6:13  Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 

Rejoicing in the flesh, whose short-term glory as is the beauty of a young woman, is guaranteed to deteriorate. With such self-indulgence to sustain beauty, men are eternally glad, but it is like ploughing on a slab of rock, as all older women will testify. Such determination to sustain youthful beauty is relying on the horn, the power of the beast, fruitlessly maintaining our position on the throne of God, unwittingly stating that we are god (Rev13. 17:1-18).

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Psa 18:3  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Amo 6:14  But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath [kham-awth] unto the river of the wilderness. 

Although Israel was afflicted by the Assyrians and carried into Babylon, there is no greater nation that the Lord will raise up against Gentile Christianity and the world than the Lord’s Elect, who will afflict all those alive not included in the First Resurrection, preventing them from entering in.

Hemath is the principal city of upper Syria and means ‘fortress’ or ‘wall’, typifying the seemingly impregnable walls of those nations that Israel didn’t have the courage to conquer. There are several rivers of the wilderness that powerfully connect Israel’s boundaries—the Nile, the river Jordan dividing the wilderness to Israel’s east, the Phishon on the southern extremity of the Euphrates River, now and since Israel’s forty years of wilderness wanderings have disappeared. However, recent evidence strongly indicates its existence in keeping with Biblical references; and, of course, the mighty Euphrates itself, the location of Israel’s most insidious state of being ‘at ease’—in dreadful irony, now in Babylon! Even though the four rivers of the Euphrates generated incredible physical richness at this crossroads of commerce, they represent a covert mockery of Israel’s famine of her Lord’s word, soundly affirming her wilderness of sin mirroring us today, formally saying that we are rich and increased in goods, but are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, [at ease in Zion] I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

The Lord’s Elect are most grateful that he is giving them his white robes of righteousness this very day, from the riches of the mighty river running out of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

From “that day”, which is this day, today, if we hear his voice, Christ’s people are, in the positive sense, blessedly ‘at ease in Zion’.

The Book of Joel – Chapter 3:17-21

[Study Aired October 19^th 24]

In last week’s study, we reasserted that God’s word is the foundation and conclusion of all things. In our past lives in Babylon, we engaged in every conceivable Epicurean pleasure, both physically and doctrinally, with the wealth represented as mammon, meaning money, that our self-righteousness always lavishly afforded.

The concept of Mammon, which signifies money and wealth, represents our work, both good and evil. If I am unable to recognise that the Creator of all things is responsible for my bad work, then I will not be trusted with good work. If I fail to give God credit for my evil works, then He will not entrust me with greater responsibilities. If I cannot attribute my unrighteous mammon (evil works) to God as their creator, then I will not receive the righteous mammon (good works). We cannot serve two masters – God must give us the ability, by His will, to choose between righteous mammon and unrighteous mammon. We will either love one or despise the other.

Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

By juxtaposing good with evil, we can discern the truth. As a former friend of Epicurean delights in Babylon, an Elect of God is given the unique ability to see both the dark and light of a subject, filtered through the immutable truth of Christ’s word. This contrast enlightens us and helps us discern the truth.

Judah, the Priests of God, effectively robbed Israel of her representative ‘spiritual’ wealth by not righteously and, in season, preaching the word of God.

What compensation can we possibly give our Creator in return for him choosing us? Plumb nothing! He requires our espousal dues quite the opposite of what Old Israel gave her mouldy best. The fruit Christ requires is the spiritual fruit from the womb of his Wife, her single-eyed heartfelt focus on Him!

1Co 9:18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. (NKJV)

However, Paul was also clearly teaching the Corinthians that other Churches were paying his wages.

2Co 11:7 Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? 
2Co 11:8  I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you (NKJV)

The word that Paul uses in 2 Cor 11:8 for “wages” is the same Greek word used in Luk 3:14.

Luk 3:14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” [G3800] (NKJV)

G3800
– Original: ὀψώνιον
– Transliteration: Opsonion
– Phonetic: op-so’-nee-on
– Definition:
1. a soldier’s pay, allowance 
a. that part of the soldier’s support given in place of pay [i.e. rations our food, particularly spiritual food] and the money in which he is paid 
2. metaph. wages: hire or pay of sin

Wages are what we earn for doing work for others. It is wrong and sinful not to pay someone who works for us. We all know this from our physical lives. We all go to work and expect to get paid for what we do. God’s ministers are no different. However, as Paul explains, he preaches the gospel free of charge so as not to abuse this authority and hinder babes in Christ from coming to the truth. James is quite bold towards the rich in his admonition and doles out some harsh words to those who conscionably pay wages and don’t do it.

Jas 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
Jas 5:4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. (NKJV). (Abridged from other Elders all speaking the same thing who likewise think it not stealing ~ how can a Christ steal from himself?).

In light of this, God asks: What will be our answer to him, our “recompense,” our compensation to him unwittingly to us, spiritually seen in one of the two resurrections? Well, the following verses in Matthew 22, and particularly verse 12, prophecy us as dumbstruck to Christ for our requital, our payment to him. We, the created at the hands of the supreme creator, have nothing personally or by our works that can ever “recompense” Him!

Jer 2:23  How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley [for our cause, the Vally of Jehoshaphat], know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 
Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind [of every Grecian/Epecurean] at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month [equal to the men of Sodom-like unrestrained passion to know the Angels of the Lord’s new doctrines] they shall find her.

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man [you and I – hopefully not] which had not on a wedding garment: 
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them [the tares] is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [at your preordained timely death]; and the reapers are the angels [Christ’s Christs {plural}].
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels [His Christs], and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

It is the only “few [who] are chosen” who are to be the Elect, the Bride of Christ, who will be first to “shine forth as the sun.” So, we had better “hear” while it is yet called “today” and know who was addressing us. We, like our good friend, Job, ostentatiously have many Epicurean words and doctrines in this life to express, but to listen closely to that ‘still small voice’ of God is often far from us.

Job 32:17  I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion.
Job 32:18  For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. [scarcely]
Job 32:19  Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Job 32:20  I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Job 32:21  Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
Job 32:22  For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.

Significations of Joel 3:17 – 21:

Consequently,

Joe 3:17  So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. 

That is to say, your corruptible flesh assuredly contains NOTHING of any worth to me! That all will come to know the glory of God. Thus, no strangers will ever pass through her since the old corruptible Jerusalem of the flesh is gone, trodden down, first under the feet of his Elect, and thoroughly in the Lake of Fire by every man since Adam to the end of the One Thousand Year reign under the rod of iron.

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates [of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Lord’s Wife]  were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it [As are a husband and wife one in each other].
Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Joe 3:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 

Notice that the water of Christ’s word gives life to the valley of Shittim from whence the dense and beautifully grained hardwood of the acacia tree, known as Shittim wood, was used in the Temple of God.

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

Our former Babylonian selves used to trumpet to each other and any poor, deluded soul who would innocently listen that the New Jerusalem would physically replace the one being destroyed this very day in the Middle East, together with her worldwide collective of Jews who say that they are Jews and are not. That Mount of Olives and Jerusalem would cleave in two, and the entire world would come to Christ through the physical Jews and the river of water flowing out of it to water the hungry world devoid of knowing Christ. That strong delusion, in part, comes from outwardly believing the following verses in Zechariah:

Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 

Accordingly, the Epicurean ideologies of Egypt, Tyre, Greece, Sodom, and Old Jerusalem, all represented as Babylon, and her lying doctrines that promised tremendous physical wealth and AI knowledge integrated with the human mind will be violently ground to powder. The spiritual children of Judah, the ‘Lord’s Christs’ will in Him, take vengeance upon their Joeseph-like brothers and sisters, who spilt spiritual blood represented by them magically twisting their husband’s word to substantiate their Sodom-like lusts.

Gen 50:15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

Joe 3:19  Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 

Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Joe 3:20  But Judah [meaning, first, the Lord’s Elect, and following, the world] shall dwell for ever, and [the New Heavenly…] Jerusalem from generation to generation. 
Joe 3:21  For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. 

The cleansing of the world’s blood is upon their timely death at the end of the One Thousand Year Rule.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was, therefore, necessary that the patterns of things [We are the pattern, the fleshy representation of God being recreated in his image] in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

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 [no more flesh]
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.

“… for the LORD dwelleth in Zion”, the Heavenly Jerusalem, his wife, and she, in Him as one with their children, the world collectively in the Father forever more.

Amen.

Oba 1:17 But on mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness,
And shall possess the house of Jacob their possessions

[Study Aired September 11, 2024]

Oba 1:17  But upon mountH2022 ZionH6726 shall beH1961 deliverance,H6413 and there shall beH1961 holiness;H6944 and the houseH1004 of JacobH3290 shall possessH3423 (H8804 Qal)(H853) their possessions.H4180 

H2022 – Har, hill, mountain, hill country, mount, a shortened form of H2042, Harar, mountain, hill, hill country, mount, from an unused root meaning to loom up

H6726 – Tseeyone, Zion = parched place, the same (regularly) as H6725, Tseeyoon, signpost, monument, market, (Used three times in OT) from the same as H6723, Tsiyah, dryness, drought, desert, from an unused root meaning to parch

H1961 – Hayah, to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out, to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come into being, to arise, appear, come, become like, to be instituted, be established, be in existence, abide, remain, continue, to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated, to accompany, be with, be done, be brought about, be finished, be gone, a primitive root

H6413 – Peleytah, escape, deliverance, escaped remnant, from H6412, Paleet, refugee, fugitive, escaped one, from a primitive root H6403, Palat, to escape, save, deliver, slip away, bring into security, cause to escape, cast forth, be delivered, bring to safety

H1961 – see above

H6944 – Kodesh, apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness, set-apartness, separateness, from a primitive root H6942, Kadash, to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate, be set apart, be consecrated, be hallowed, consecrated, tabooed, show oneself sacred or majestic, be honoured, be treated as sacred, set apart as sacred, dedicate, observe as holy, keep sacred, honour as sacred, hallow, set apart, devote, regard/treat as sacred/hallowed, keep oneself apart/separate, cause himself to be hallowed (of God), be observed as holy, consecrate oneself

H1004 – Bayith, house, dwelling habitation, shelter or abode, place, receptacle, home, household, family, family of descendants, household affairs, inwards, temple, on the inside, within, probably from a primitive root H1129, Banah, to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue, build a house (ie, establish a family), to be built/rebuilt, established

H3290 – Ya`akob, Jacob = heel holder or supplanter, from a primitive root H6117, Aqab, to supplant, circumvent, take by the heel, follow at the heel, assail insidiously, overreach, overreach, attack at the heel, hold back

H3423 – Yarash, (Qal) to take possession of, inherit, impoverish, be an heir, come to poverty, be poor, a primitive root

H853 – Ayth, sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative, contracted from H226, Oth, sign, signal, distinguishing mark, banner, remembrance, miraculous sign, omen, warning, token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof, probably from a primitive root H225, Ooth, to consent, agree (Used four times in OT)

H4180 – Mowrash, possession, (Used 3 times in OT) from a primitive root H3423, Yarash, to seize, dispossess, take possession of, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir, come to poverty, be poor, be dispossessed, be impoverished, devour, cause to possess or inherit, cause others to possess or inherit, destroy, bring to ruin

—

Oba 1:17  But on mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness, And shall possess the house of Jacob their possessions (Interlinear version)

In this study we will look at the two Hebrew words [Zion and Deliverance] and how they are used in the New Testament

[1] Zion H6726 and the corresponding Greek word G4622 Sion

[2] Deliverance H6413 and the corresponding Greek word G859 Forgiveness

Zion H6726 means a mountain of Jerusalem and the corresponding Greek word is Sion G4622.

Here is how it appears first in the New Testament

Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of a beast of burden

This prophecy spoken of is linked to Zechariah 9:9 and also referenced in Isaiah

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass

Isa 12:5  Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
Isa 12:6  Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

The words of Jesus Christ are then said to be a stone of stumbling in Zion, to the outward Jews. This is true even today because to the orthodox Jew, the New Testament is not considered Holy Scripture.

Rom 9:32  wherefore? because—not by faith, but as by works of law; for they did stumble at the stone of stumbling,
Rom 9:33  according as it hath been written, ‘Lo, I place in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; and every one who is believing thereon shall not be ashamed.

A few chapters later Paul writes about the mystery of Israel’s salvation:

Rom 11:25  Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Rom 11:26  And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob

The Deliverer who will “come from Zion” is Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world:

1Jn 4:14  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son [Jesus Christ] to be the Savior of the world.

Deliverance H6413 Peletah, is from the root word H6403 paw-lat meaning “to escape”.

The corresponding Greek word is G859 aphesis meaning freedom, to pardon, or deliverance. It comes from the root word G575 meaning “off” or separation, departure.

Mat 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from/separation [G575] their sins.

The same word for deliverance used in Obadiah 1:17 is the same word used by Joseph. We are given to see there is only one truly sovereign will: the will of God the Father.

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 [H6413].
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.

Spiritually, deliverance means forgiveness. Here are the words of Christ, who went into the synagogue on sabbath and stood up and read from Isaiah 61:1

Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised

The holy spirit of God the Father is on Jesus Christ, his son, and we are witnesses to this truth, when we preach the good news of the gospel of Christ, the one true saviour and redeemer of our sins

Luk 24:47  And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name [JESUS CHRIST] among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

It is the blood of Christ that is the new testament

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

Jesus Christ was the rock of offence, the stumbling block in Zion, because he was crucified

Act 5:30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Act 5:31  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit [of God the Father], whom God hath given to them that obey him.

The only thing that distinguishes us from the [Jews that seeked to kill him] is obedience. When we are obedient to the word of God, we are able to say not my will be done, but your will be done:

1Pe 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him [JESUS CHRIST] who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Because of Jesus Christ’s excellent example (the love he had for his Father), we understand that love means to be obedient

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we obey his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Finally, Mount Zion appears twice more in the New Testament where it is referred to as the heavenly Jerusalem, a kingdom which cannot be moved

Heb 12:22  But ye are come to mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels

Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb [Jesus Christ our Saviour] stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

When we have our Father’s name written on our forehead  we simply follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God

Following the Lamb wherever he goes enables us to became able ministers of the new covenant (written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God) knowing that we are not sufficient to think any thing of ourselves.  This is how we are delivered from the many lies and false doctrines of Babylon.

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1Co 4:6   that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written

2Co 12:5  Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
2Co 12:6  For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ [the son], which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God [the Spirit of God the Father].
Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us

Following the Lamb wherever he goes means our hope is firmly placed in His words, not our own:

2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away [The Mosaic Law] was glorious, much more that which remaineth [The mind of Christ] is glorious.
2Co 3:12  Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ

We use great plainness of speech when we speak the words of Christ. Amen

[Study aired August 8, 2019]

Psa 126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 
Psa 126:2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 
Psa 126:3  The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 
Psa 126:4  Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 
Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

This week, as with every day in the Church (Col 1:24), we were blessed to learn together with our family in Christ in various degrees and manners how the Lord is making a way for us to bear our much promised tribulation in the Lord together (Act 14:22). 

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: 

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

We all continue to experience many diverse temptations and trials in life which are “common to man” and are also “accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1Pe 5:9). The difference being as God’s elect, as the body of Christ, we are described in these type and shadow words as “the captivity of Zion” who are first learning to trust that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

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

It is impossible for the natural man to understand how you could have the word “confirming” in the same sentence that says “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”, but with the mind of Christ we are blessed to learn to trust God through our afflictions and persecutions as we discussed last week, and our much tribulation we come to see as all working together for the good for the body of Christ who have God’s love being shed abroad in their hearts giving them the hope that needed in this age to accomplish His will.

Rom 8:28  And we know [the world in us does not know or those who are blind to God’s sovereignty don’t know, but Christ in us does know Col_1:27] that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Eph 2:7).

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:

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

These verses in Psalm 137:1-9 describe for us what spiritual captivity is, using the physical nation of Israel who is a type of the Israel of God (Gal 6:14-16), and it is very instructive to notice the last two verses of this Psalm as we discuss “when the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion” and what that means for us today as the body of Christ. It pleases God to bruise Babylon within us who is likened unto a daughter and her “little ones”, her children which represent false doctrines wrapped around the idol of our hearts that are dashed “against the stones”, against Christ and His Christ, where God says nothing should enter into the kingdom within us today to defile that holy place (1Co 4:6, Rev 21:27). It pleases God for this reason to bruise the body of Christ so we can be sanctified and drink the cup, which is required and only possible to drink through Christ, in order that we may be found as “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life”.

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 
Psa 137:4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? 
Psa 137:5  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 
Psa 137:6  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. 
Psa 137:7  Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 
Psa 137:8  O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 
Psa 137:9  Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. 

Gal 6:14  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 
Gal 6:15  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 
Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another [nothing shall enter into the kingdom within us today to defile that holy place].

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

We will look at this very encouraging section of scripture which I pray will serve to remind us of how “all things” are working “of him” “of whom are all things” (Rom 11:36, 1Co 8:6, Rom 8:26-28), and He has given us to know that “we know” “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose“; a purpose likened to coming out of captivity by having the scales removed from our eyes which God alone can cause to fall away from our eyes (Act 9:18). We need not fear the captivity the Lord has designed for each of us, but should rather rejoice and sing songs of praise to the One who says we can do this, we can endure all things through Christ who strengthens us (Php 4:13, Heb 12:12).

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 
Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 
Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 
Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 
Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Psa 126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 

Psa_126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again^H7725 the captivity^H7870 of Zion, we were like them that dream.

This is the only time this Strong’s number [captivity H7870] is used in the bible showing us that the ‘restoration’ of the house can only come about by being “turned again”, and it is speaking first of the elect, who are “the captivity” or the ‘property’ of our Lord. It is a hope-filled message as we look at (Isa 52:8) where the same Strong’s number translated “turned again” H7725 is here translated as “bring again”.

Captivity H7870 Definition: restoration; Origin: By permutation from H7725; a return (of property): – captivity. (speaking of Zion Isa 52:8)

Isa 52:8  Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring againH7725 Zion. 

It is when the Lord is working with us as his workmanship that we experience this miracle of being spiritually healed as we begin to see that ‘the-dream-is-one’ principle applies to God’s elect and to His word which becomes very singular in the heart of His children (2Co 11:3). God’s word bears witness just as these dreams did to Pharaoh to which Joseph bore witness and that we bear witness (Gen 41:32, Rom 8:16). 

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

Gen 41:32  And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

“We were like them that dream” also reminds us that it is in the night that the Lord works with us (Psa 16:7, 1Th 5:6-9), meaning while we are in this darkened flesh which is likened to night, we are blessed to be judged by our Lord and consider ourselves “of the day” even at night. Day and night are the same to Him, but it is the light of Christ, our hope of glory within, who is our dream and the one who gives us the vision to continue on in this life, in this shadow of the valley of death (1Pe 4:17).

Psa 16:7  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 

1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 
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. 
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Psa 126:2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 

We just looked at the hope-filled verse 8 of Isaiah chapter 52 above, and the very next verse describes the fruit of that turning back or repentance God causes in the lives of those with whom He is working. This is the reason “our mouth [is] filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing” (Rom 2:4) as we heard said amongst “the heathen” within us, symbolized by the gentile spirit, The LORD hath done great things for them, spoken of in (Col1:27). It also brings to mind this zealous spirit and the rejoicing which comes when we are finally blessed to be brought to our safe haven, Jesus Christ (2Co 7:11, Psa 107:30).

Isa 52:9  Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

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: 

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

Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. [and again the breaking forth into joy and singing together after we are turned from sin (Psa 107:31). Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!]

Psa 126:3  The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 

What are those “great things“, but “his wonderful works to the children of men”, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men?”.

All men will praise him one day for that healing word that He will send forth through the elect, who will bring about that healing through judgement (Rev 22:2, 1Co 6:3-4). We will be glad then just as our Father is glad now to receive us as His sons in this age through the chastening and scourging process we all must endure together through this life (Heb 12:6).

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

God is going to drive away our captivity by putting us into captivity (Rev 2:10). Being released from that captivity and being put in it are both works of His hands which are needful and necessary for the new creation to be formed within us (Isa 45:7). The captivity, as we discussed, is the captivity of sinful flesh into which all men ever born come. It is the veil that must be ripped, and that is done through the church or in the temple of God and to the glory of God in this age for God’s children (Heb 10:20). Unless we are granted to repent (Rom 2:4) we will die in our sins and need to have that veil ripped later in the second resurrection (Luk 13:3-4).

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

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

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

Luk 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 
Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 

The significance of these “streams“H650 in light of our “captivity” is that it is God, “He“, who will deal with leviathan within us.

H650 (verse 4 of the psalm) “streams”: 19 entries in KVJ: rivers (10), brooks (1), stream/s (2), channels (3), mighty (1) in Job_12:21, scales (1) in  Job_41:15 

Job 12:15  Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 
Job 12:16  With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. 
Job 12:17  He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 
Job 12:18  He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 
Job 12:19  He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 
Job 12:20  He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 
Job 12:21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty^H650. 
Job 12:22  He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. 
Job 12:23  He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. 
Job 12:24  He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 
Job 12:25  They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. 

Job 41:11  Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. 
Job 41:12  I will not conceal his [“leviathan” of verse 1] parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. 
Job 41:13  Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle? 
Job 41:14  Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. 
Job 41:15  His scales^H4043 [“armed”]^H650 are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. 

The significance of these streams “in the south“^H5045 is that they represents that parched land which is the marred vessel God has promised to make anew through a process that will take a lifetime of overcoming (Jer 18:4, Rev 2:7).

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

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

H5045 “south”: 112 entries in KVJ:   From an unused root meaning to be parched; the south (from its drought); specifically the negeb [Nekeb] or southern district of Judah occasionally Egypt (as south to Palestine): – south (country side -ward). 

Eze 47:7  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Eze 47:8  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
Eze 47:19  And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.

Jos 20:1  The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, 
Jos 20:2  Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
Jos 20:7  And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. 

So there is a correlation being made in God’s word showing us that the south is a parched land at first, and it is where God purposed to create “cities of refuge” which ties into our theme in this study looking at whom these words are speaking “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion”. We are hidden in the Lord, and He is our “cities of refuge” where we are raised together (Col 3:3, Eph 2:6).

Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

These last two verses discuss the sowing and reaping process which is so hard on our flesh but so good for our spirits. God does not hide the fact that our journey will be hard, but He also gives us great hope in the promises to which we hold fast, knowing that they are given to us as an anchor for our souls (2Pe 1:4, Heb 6:19).  

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 
Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 

Those who go into captivity can be likened to a mother giving birth “bearing precious seed” that we are promised will come to fruition (Joh 16:21). We will “come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves” just as Joseph prophesied to his family, and if we are blessed to bear that seed of Christ today and endure to the end, we will also bear witness to all others in the great white-throne judgment that we were among those first fruits or feast of ingathering group that God purposed to reap in advance of all the world and for the benefit and blessing of all others, just as Joseph was to his own family and all of Egypt.

Joh 16:20  Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 
Joh 16:21  A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 
Joh 16:22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 
Joh 16:23  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 
Joh 16:24  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

Psa 102:1 A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
Psa 102:2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
Psa 102:3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
Psa 102:4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
Psa 102:5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

Christ is pouring out our complaints^H7879 that we cast upon him so that he can go before our Father as a mediator for all our fleshly and spiritual concerns. Those utterances that we make are a result of the affliction, and the much tribulation that bring about the overwhelmed^H5848 feeling that we experience as God’s children in this age from time to time, as God works these Psalm 107 events in our life for our spiritual growth (Heb 5:7, Psa 107:28-30).

H7879 śı̂yach see’-akh
From H7878; a contemplation; by implication an utterance: – babbling, communication, complaint, meditation, prayer, talk.

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Christ is our mediator today, and while he was in sinful flesh that needed to learn obedience by the things which He suffered as a Son, he set the example of what we can expect to go through as His body, the church, today (1Jn 4:17, Eph 5:30, Col 1:24).

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death [the flesh], and was heard in that he feared^G2124;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

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.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

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:

G2124 eulabeia yoo-lab’-i-ah
From G2126; properly caution, that is, (religiously) reverence (piety); by implication dread (concretely): – fear (-ed).

Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth^H2730 at my word.

Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
Isa 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble^H2730 at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake (Mat 10:22), said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

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

If we are being judged in this age, our flesh will be trembling at the prospect that we may not enter into his kingdom because of sin that can potentially rule over us, knowing no man can make war with the beast. Our hope of glory is that Christ, as our high priest and mediator, will grant us the grace and faith needed to open the seals (Rev 5:4-5) which is about what this prophecy in this particular Psalm is speaking – “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion”, and so we ought to make every effort to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” as Christ has commanded us. We are being saved and being made perfect through that judgment (the seals being opened and poured out), and it is that certain process in which we rejoice always even as we acknowledge that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God who is working this process within us, through Christ, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. These verses in the book of Revelation give us a snap-shot of that process of how it is that “thou shalt arise” as we live by these words inwardly and know that they will also have their outward fulfillment one day.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Luk 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

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?

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

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Rev 5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heb 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. [type and shadow event of Eph 2:6]
Rev 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted^G1719, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

These following verses explain to us the admonitions that God has set out for us so that our continually carnal flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom, can fear and tremble at His word; and by His power alone, by the grace and faith granted, we can acknowledge that we are more than conquerors through Christ, just as He acknowledged His overcoming was all a result of the Father working in His life (Rev 22:14-17, 1Co 6:9-12, Gal 5:18-25, Eph 6:5-7, 1Jn 4:18).

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth^G5399 him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Act 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

We are not to fear men or what they can do to our flesh, and unless the Lord grows his love within us that is shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5), that perfect love of God which rules over the fear of men and all flesh (1Jn 4:18), without that love, we will walk in a negative way as Peter did claiming he loved Christ but did not realize that he did not have the inner spiritual strength that God alone provides so that we can follow through and having done all stand. Christ tells us to fear God and work righteousness and that is the narrow way of our calling, to be stedfast in our service to God proving all things and not letting anything or anyone get in the way of His purpose for us, not being easily provoked by the lies of Babylon that try to creep within Christ’s body. God willing, we will be more than conquerors through him and be granted to realize that nothing can separate us from his love, simply because he is showing mercy to us in this age, as expressed in this Psalm with these words: “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion”.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Mat 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

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:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Psa 102:1 A Prayer of the afflicted^H6041, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.

H6041 ‛ânı̂y aw-nee’
From H6031; depressed, in mind or circumstances (practically the same as H6035 subjectively and H6041 objectively): – afflicted, humble`, lowly`, needy, poor.

If we are not afflicted, we will not be overwhelmed, and if we are not overwhelmed and brought to our wits’ end, we will not cry out to the Lord with our “complaint before the LORD” and be brought to our desired haven. That is the humbling process that we are all part of, if we are being worked with in this age. If God is going to “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee” it will be proceeded by a life in Christ that has been humbled and brought to see that we are the chief of sinners and bring nothing to the throne of God as this story illustrates.

Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

It is not any prayer that is heard and acted upon by our Father in heaven but rather one that has been formed by the circumstances that God creates so that we cry out and come boldly before the throne of grace in our time of need which He prepares our hearts to go through.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Psa 102:2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

“In the day” is mentioned twice in this verse, and that is a witness in itself which tells us that in the day of the Lord, God will not hide his face from us, but will rather make us the apple of his eye and answer us speedily as He does this quick work in our very temporal life that is a vapour unto him (2Co 4:18).

Zec 2:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. [Isa 33:14]
Zec 2:6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
Zec 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Zec 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Zec 2:9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them [the nations within that God is going to destroy so we can be comfortable in the fire], and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.

Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Jacob’s “trouble” is the “day of the Lord”, and it is a day of darkness and judgment, and it is the day that God brings us to see that we are ‘the man’. We are the “The Pharisee [who] stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” It takes this “day” for God’s people to be humbled and abased under His mighty hand, and then he will “incline thine ear unto me”.

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

There is the recipe for our overcoming the accusers of the brethren, the adversary who cannot at this time be humble and contrite in his spirit, and as it is worded we see that there is a process involved “that he may exalt you in due time”. When that time comes, we know what we are in our flesh, and we can go before God as the publican with a sober and vigilant spirit (as discussed in the last study, it is when we are pressing, and sober and vigilant that God is in the process of cleansing us) that says to God “be merciful to me a sinner”. Only God can get us to that frame of mind through those fiery trials that we ought to think as not being strange now, knowing that they serve that purpose of bringing us to the Lord’s altar so that we can be “justified”.

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Psa 102:3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
Psa 102:4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
Psa 102:5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

These next three verses should serve to help us see the need for the body of Christ to be armed with the mind of Christ, readied to go through the next fiery trial, not thinking it strange that our flesh needs to be humbled and crushed as Christ’s flesh was.

Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

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.

If we are blessed to have that mind of Christ which was not easily provoked, knowing he would be hated of all men for the words of God that he cherished, we will be able to help others by comforting them “by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”.

2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2Co 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
2Co 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
2Co 1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

Our days “are consumed as smoke” which references the idea that our life is a vapour, but more importantly it is a vapour in God’s hand that has become a living sacrifice, a sweet smelling vapour of incense that is offered up to God through Christ.

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

Psa 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

Our bones are burned, whereas Christ’s bones are preserved, because He is our new foundation which is of what the physical skeletal system of Christ is a parable. Our new creation is formed in Christ and we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Everything else is burned without the camp as we become a completely new creation through Christ.

Joh 19:36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Lev 9:11 And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Mary’s heart was “smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.” as these verses reveal.

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.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Mary is a type of the church, and we are therefore pierced and fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ (Col 1:24), which is another way of saying we are pierced as the stripes of the nation are put upon us as well (Isa 53:5, 2Ti 2:12, 1Jn 4:17).

When we knew Christ after the flesh we rejoiced with the bridegroom and did not fast, but when Christ went away and sent the holy spirit we became a new creation that would now be “withered like grass” and “forget to eat my bread” just as Christ prophesied of His church who was predestinated to go through these trials and much affliction in this life that would spiritually leave us “By reason of the voice of my groaning [have our/my] my bones cleave to my skin”

Mat 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

The “then shall they fast” part of this verse explains this prophecy for us “By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin” and is really a full circle of what we began talking about in our study how Christ and his body are made perfect through this process “By reason of the voice of my groaning”.

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death [the flesh that is “withered like grass” even as “my bones cleave to my skin” Psa 22:17, 1Co 4:9], and was heard in that he feared^G2124;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Psa 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

1Co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the second part of our study entitled “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion” where we will see more evidence in God’s word of the humbling process that God puts his people through so that ultimately we can learn of His mercy and extend that mercy “unto all generations”:

Psa 102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
Psa 102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
Psa 102:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
Psa 102:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
Psa 102:10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
Psa 102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
Psa 102:12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 63 Discussion

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Isa 14:28-32 None Shall Be Alone In His Appointed Times

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Isa 14:29  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Isa 14:30  And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Isa 14:31  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Isa 14:32  What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

So far in this 14th chapter of Isaiah we have learned of the Lord's judgment against Babylon and Assyria, and in this study, which will finish this 14th chapter, we will learn how the Lord is judging "Palestina". Palestina is a nation which lived among Israel and was in the promised land with Israel, just as the Canaanites were. Israel fought against and conquered most of the Canaanite nations, but the Lord used Palestina as a special thorn in Israel's side. 'Palestina' is just another way of saying the Philistines. The first two nations mentioned in this chapter are the northern nations of Assyria and Babylon, both of whom were used by the Lord to carry away and enslave His people who had turned their backs upon Him and His laws, preferring to serve the laws and gods of their neighbors.

The Lord Himself had brought the Philistines into the promised land some time before he brought Israel up out of Egypt and into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua.

Amo 9:7  Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

The point being made here in Amos 9:7 is that God had put Israel's enemies in place before He brought them up out of Egypt. Even the Amorites had been placed in the promised land by the Lord for an appointed time:

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. [Until "the fourth generation"]

All through the period of the judges, the various Canaanite tribes and the Philistines fought against Israel. Samson married a Philistine woman and was later seduced by Delilah, a Philistine prostitute. Many years later David killed the giant, Goliath, a Philistine.

The Canaanites had occupied the promised land before the Philistines came to the promised land from Caphtor, which is believed by some commentaries to be the island of Crete and by others to be the delta area of Egypt. One thing is Biblically indisputable, the Philistines are the descendants of Ham through Mizraim, who all the commentaries agree is Egypt.

Gen 10:6  And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 1Ch 1:11  AndMizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

1Ch 1:11  And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
1Ch 1:12  And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.

Again, the spiritual point being made in letting us know that the Lord had placed all these nations in place until their iniquities were fulfilled, is:

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

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The promised land is not the land of the "the redemption of the purchased possession". Rather, it is our lives this side of the grave where we live in marred vessels of clay and "are sealed with the holy spirit of promise, until the redemption of the purchased possession".

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

The promised land is filled with all kinds of fiery trials and wars in our heavens, with names like: Zidonians, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites, and the ever-present Philistines, who gave their name 'Palestina' to the land of promise.

We have nothing to fear because the Lord has already overcome all of Palestina, and all we have to do is work out our own salvation because it is He who is working in us both to will, to fight and to do the fighting for us:

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

Here are the eleven sons of Canaan who, along with the Philistines, add up to twelve nations which occupied the land of promise when Israel arrived from Egypt.

1Ch 1:13  And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,
1Ch 1:14  The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
1Ch 1:15  And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
1Ch 1:16  And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.

Their fate was revealed to Isaiah...

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

The death of a king appears to be the occasion the Lord uses for increased revelation of what the Lord is working in His people. The last time we saw this phrase was in Isaiah.

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

These words mean so much more to us than they did to Isaiah and the nation of Israel of his day because we now know that it is we who must be dying daily to be growing in Christ, and we now know where Christ's throne and His temple are now located:

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

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

We have even been given to know where all these battles in the land of Israel take place, because we have been made to know who God's Israel is and where His kingdom is:

Who is "the Israel of God"? Here are those who make up the Lord's Israel:

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

Where is this kingdom which is comprised of those who "conform to this rule"? There is but one "kingdom of God", and there is but one "Israel of God", and this is where that kingdom is now located:

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.

There are many battles for the promised land and the kingdom of God, and all those battles against all the giants and Canaanites and Philestines within that kingdom are still being fought, and the outcome of those battles has already been determined, as the prophet Isaiah informs us:

Isa 14:29  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Palestina is our inward enemies within "the kingdom of God... within" each of us. When the Lord told Ahab of the penalty his house must pay for the death of Naboth and the seizure of Naboth's vineyard, Ahab humbled himself and fasted before the Lord. There was no real repentance at all, and Jezebel was still the queen. Ahab's house included this Philistine queen, Jezebel. So his house, along with the Philistines and the Assyrians, was one and all "the serpent's root", and could bring forth nothing but the fruit of the serpent's ways.

Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful toward Ahab and decreed that because Ahab had humbled himself, the loss of his throne would not be in his day, but in the days of Ahab's son, Jehoram.

1Ki 21:29  Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

2Ki 3:1  Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said unto him [Elijah], Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
1Ki 19:17  And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

The Lord has stretched out His arm in judgment, and His judgment will not be restrained. Even when He does show mercy, His judgment is still coming upon us and upon all of our enemies.

Those inward enemies do not willingly relinquish their dominion over us. When we are being judged, there are times of reprieve, as when the Lord caused Babylon to go to war with and absorb the kingdom of Assyria. At that time the conflict between Nineveh and Babylon gave King Ahaz a slight reprieve along with all the inhabitants of Palestina who had not yet been carried away into the bondage of Assyria or Babylon. This reprieve is really nothing but our journey through the churches of Babylon to which both Ahab and Ahaziah were already seeking and whose gods they were already serving. The first son of Ahab to inherit the throne was 'Ahaziah', and his was a very short reign, and he was succeeded by his brother, Jehoram. But just as Ahab's kingdom was to be destroyed by Jehu, and just as the house of Ahaz, king of Judah, was subjected by the king of Assyria and later completely destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar, we, too, will die daily along with all the children of Palestina who are yet in our kingdom. "None will be alone in his appointed time":

Isa 14:30  And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Isa 14:31  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

"Thy root" refers to "the serpent's root", of verse 29:

Isa 14:29  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

It is "the firstborn of the poor" who will inherit the kingdom instead of either God's adulterous apostate wife or "whole Palestina". Both are to be judged and completely destroyed. The "poor" of verse 31 are the firstborn of the "poor in spirit" whom Christ has decreed will inherit the kingdom of God's Israel:

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah himself tells us the same thing as Christ says. It is "the poor" who will become the house and the place of rest for our Lord:

Isa 66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Isaiah 66:1-2 is the answer to the rhetorical question in our last verse for this study:

Isa 14:32  What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

There it is again: "...the poor of His people shall trust in it." What the poor of His people trust in is the product of His judgments of which they are privileged to partake on this side of the grave.

This is that product:

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.

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 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will begin to learn who the symbols of our fiercest enemies are and what will become of those enemies:

Isa 15:1  The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
Isa 15:2  He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
Isa 15:3  In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
Isa 15:4  And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
Isa 15:5  My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
Isa 15:6  For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
Isa 15:7  Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
Isa 15:8  For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.
Isa 15:9  For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 37 Discussion

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Isa 8:1​-4 Samaria [Israel] Shall Be Taken Away Before The King o​f Assyria

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Remembering that the king of Assyria is a Chaldean king, and is therefore the same as the king of Babylon, and understanding that Babylon symbolizes all religions sitting upon all the kingdoms of this world, in deception and in opposition to the Words of God (Rev 12: 9 and 17:15), we will continue our study of the long process of the fiery judgment which is now upon us as the Lord's house (Luk 20:9 and 1Pe 4:17).

Chapter seven closed with this thrice repeated warning concerning "that day", the day of the judgment of the kingdom of God within us,​ which is in need of being cleansed and is now being judged:

Isa 7:23  And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver coins, shall be for briers and thorns.
Isa 7:24  [Men] shall come there with arrows and with bow, because all the land shall be briers and thorns.
Isa 7:25  And all the hills that were dug with the mattock, thou shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep. (ACV)

Chapter 8 continues that same message of warning but with these words:

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

Here is how the LITV renders these two verses of scripture:

Isa 8:1  And Jehovah said to me, Take a big tablet and write in it with a man's pen: Make haste to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!
Isa 8:2  And I took faithful witnesses to record for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

In its outward, literal application this is a prophecy of the coming invasion of Judah and Jerusalem by the king of Babylon. In chapter 7 the prophecy tells us that a child will be born whose name is to be Immanuel, and the prophecy is that "before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings."

Isa 7:13  And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

It is true that the prophecy of Immanuel in chapter 7 concerns Samaria in league with Damascus, but Samaria is the capital of the northern king​dom of Israel and is therefore still addressed to the Lord's own people. Lord willing, it is addressed to you and me.

In this chapter 8 is the prophecy of the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. It is still the prophecy of our own judgment, which is reiterated with a witnessed recording of a prophecy which says "Make hast to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!"​

But chapter 8 concerning Mahershalalhashbaz is not a separate prophecy from the prophecy of Immanuel in chapter seven. These two prophecies are actually one prophecy which uses two separate symbols, just as Pharaoh's two dreams used two separate symbols which we are told were actually one dream with one prophetic message.

In the same manner in this second prophecy of the Lord's judgment of His people​,​ Isaiah is instructed by the Lord to gather witnesses and record a second prophecy of the same impending judgment and destruction of Damascus and Samaria, followed by the judgment and destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then we are told:

Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Is not this the exact same message we were given in the prophecy of the birth of Immanuel and the judgment of Israel?​

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest [Damascus and Samaria] shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Outwardly this 7th chapter is addressed to King Ahaz, the king of the southern kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. Ahaz was not counted as a 'good king', and he therefore typifies our own God-condemning Job, and our own self-righteous, self-justifying King Saul.

Other than that, what is the difference between Isaiah 7:16 concerning the immaturity of Immanuel and this verse in Isaiah 8 concerning Mahershalalhashbaz?

Let's compare these two verses side by side:

Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest [Damascus and Samaria] shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Isa 8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

The answer is, there is no difference, because both prophecies are the same prophecy, just as Pharaoh's two dreams were one dream:

Gen 41:1  And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Gen 41:2  And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
Gen 41:3  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
Gen 41:4  And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Gen 41:5  And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
Gen 41:6  And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
Gen 41:7  And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
Gen 41:8  And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

What do these two very different dreams mean?

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Pharaoh's two dreams had just one message, and the two prophecies of Isaiah 7 and 8 are also just one message foretelling our own judgment.

Who does Isaiah symbolize? Who does Isaiah's wife, "the prophetess",​ symbolize? Why are we told that Isaiah "went in unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son?" Why are we told the name of Isaiah's son?

We will jump ahead a few verses and get the answer to this last question here in this same chapter:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

That is the reason we are given for why we are told the names of Isaiah's sons names. So Mahershalalhashbaz is a sign of "Make haste to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!" Mahershalalhashbaz, along with all of Isaiah's children, "are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in mount Zion." Mount Zion, of course, is simply the highest, most prominent point in Jerusalem and was also known​ as "the city of David", ancient Israel's most prominent king. There is, as we will see, great spiritual significance in Isaiah's revelation of the function of his children in spiritual 'Israel' and in mount Zion.

Isaiah, as the Lord's prophet,​ is speaking for and represents Christ Himself, and Isaiah's wife therefore symbolizes Christ's wife. Therefore their children are the spiritual symbols of the children of Christ and His wife the church. Speaking plainly, Isaiah's children typify the witness of each of us as Christ's Christ, His elect,​ who speak for Him in this age.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 

Now let's go back to the meaning of the name 'Mahershalalhashbaz'.

Here is how Strong's renders the meaning of this name:

H4122
מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז
mahêr shâlâl châsh baz
mah-hare' shaw-lawl' khawsh baz
From H4118 and H7998 and H2363 and H957; hasting (as he (the enemy) to the) booty, swift (to the) prey; Maher-Shalal Chash-Baz; the symbolical name of the son of Isaiah: - Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Total KJV occurrences: 2

We have seen that:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

What does this verse have to do with us? Notice for whom these prophecies are directed​. Isaiah's children "are for signs and wonders [only] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwells in Mount Zion".

What does all of that mean? Where is spiritual 'Zion'? According to the scriptures, who do Isaiah's sons symbolize? What are the signs and wonders Isaiah's sons will declare in Israel? Here is the Biblical spiritual answer to all of these questions:

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them [you and me] brethren,
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Those symbolized by Isaiah's sons are to "declare thy name unto [their] brothers in the midst of the church, and... sing praise unto [Him]".

In Hebrews 12 we are given more details about these symbolic children which God has given Isaiah, as a type of Christ's children, His Christ:

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

What do these verses have to do with Isaiah's sons? Notice these words: "Ye are come to mount Sion." Now remember what we were just told about Isaiah's sons:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

Now we know who Isaiah's sons symbolize. Now we understand that the signs and wonders they proclaim are only for those who dwell with the Lord in mount Zion. They are, in this age, only for "the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven".

And​ where are we at this very moment?

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

Every prophet of the Old Testament speaks only the words they have been given to speak by Christ. They are all speaking for Christ who we are told is "the Word".

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

In the sense that Isaiah is speaking for Christ,​ he is a type of Christ. So Isaiah's children typify the children of Christ. Therefore it is Christ's children who are for signs and wonders in Israel,​ and it is only the Lord's Israel who will be given eyes that see and ears that hear those "signs and wonders" because we are told, "I will declare thy name unto my brothers in the midst of the church... the children which God has given me.​"

What are the signs and wonders to be declared to the Lord's Israel?

Psa 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psa 22:28  For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

Who is given the charge of this proclamation?

Psa 22:30  A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Psa 22:31  They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

This is confirmed by Peter:

1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Who are these who are "accounted to the Lord for a generation"?

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

All these verses confirm what we just read about the children God gave to Isaiah, and who it is who "should show forth the praises of Him who has called [us]".

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them [you and me] brethren,
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

The greatest sign or wonder or demonstration of the power of God that will ever be shown in any generation of mankind will be to know and to hear those who "show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light​."

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

The apostle Paul explains this to us:

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

How few are those who are given to realize that "the demonstration [of the "signs and wonders in Israel"] of the spirit and of power" is the word spoken by Isaiah's symbolic children of "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory? Who knew that the Isaiah's children symbolize those who would "sing praise unto thee... [and] declare [His] name unto [their] brothers in the midst of the church"?

Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

That is why we:

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

As "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" we are commissioned to proclaim both the judgment of Israel and Damascus, those more outward enemies of the Lord's people who are far easier to recognize than all the self-​righteous, inward sins and rebellions within the Lord'​s own people. The prophecy of Mahershalalhashbaz actually misleads us into thinking that our judgment has been postponed, when in reality it is at hand:

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

"​The riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria", and we have been granted to hear the wonderful gospel of the death and resurrection of the Son of God for our sins, and yet we will still have to be made to see that we ourselves are but "carnal babes in Christ" who are yet only capable of receiving the milk of the word and not strong meat because we are "yet carnal" (1Co 3:1-4).

And that is exactly what we will see, Lord willing in our next study into the depth of the thorough purging process of our judgment:

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
Isa 8:7  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Ours is a long and thorough judgment​, but when it is accomplished we will rejoice in the wisdom of our Judge:

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.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 18 Discussion

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Isa 4:1-3 In That Day Seven Women Shall Say We Will Eat Our Own Bread and Wear Our Own Apparel

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
Isa 4:2  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
Isa 4:3  And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

"In that day" seven women will take hold of one man wanting to provide their own bread and clothe themselves in their own apparel, but they want to claim Christ's name to take away their reproach. But these "seven women" are immediately contrasted "in that day" with "the branch of the Lord", which is called "the fruit of the earth... excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel."

As we have learned earlier in these studies here in the book of Isaiah, the phrase "that day", unless otherwise qualified, refers to "the day of the Lord". We are told "the day of the Lord" is the day of His judgment upon the kingdom of our old man in its inward application, and it is God's judgment upon the nations of this world in its outward dispensational application. The number of times "the day of the Lord" is mentioned in the scriptures indicates just how central to scriptures this "day of the Lord" is. It also tells us just how expedient to the understanding of God's elect is "the day of the Lord".

But the words "And in that day" here in Isaiah 4:1 also serve to connect what is being said here to what was being said in the previous chapter. Chapter three, as we saw, tells us of all the things that must be taken away from us before we can enter into the temple and into the presence of the Lord.

Here is what chapter three told us had to be taken away and burned up before we can enter into the Lord's presence:

Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
Isa 3:19  The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
Isa 3:20  The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
Isa 3:21  The rings, and nose jewels,
Isa 3:22  The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
Isa 3:23  The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
Isa 3:24  And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 
Isa 3:25  Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
Isa 3:26  And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

"The day of the Lord" is that part of our lives when the Lord begins to show us that there are many things in our lives which we must relinquish and eliminate from within our hearts and minds. Our old man has a godless, hate-filled carnal mind, and that mind must be burned out of us on a daily basis from the time of the commencement of that work until the day we die. The judgment which is now upon the house of God does not stop judging any sins within our lives until we draw our last physical breath:

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.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

If we do not consider ourselves to be "the house of God", if we deny that we are the house of God, then none of this has any personal application. On the other hand, if we know that we are "the house of God" then we know that it is we who must be the first to be judged and to "live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Mat 4:4), including all the words concerning "that day... the day of the Lord".

I remember about 20 years ago when I read those verses of 1 Peter and for the first time in my life having the eyes of my understanding enlightened (Eph 1:18) to understand what I was reading.  I had been taught that sometime in the future there was coming a day of judgment and that we would all have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that very few people would avoid being cast into the lake of fire. Now my eyes were opened to see those words "the time is come that [the fiery trials of] judgment must begin at the house of God". I was finally given to know that for those who are Christ, who are 'the Lord's Christ', we are being judged at this very moment, and it is we who are having His wrath poured out upon the kingdom of our old man now, in this age. The day of judgment is called "the day of wrath" many times in scripture:

Job 21:30  That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

Pro 11:4  Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Eze 7:19  They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

Zep 1:18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Zep 2:2  Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

There it is in Romans 2:5, "the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God", which makes it clear that the day of wrath and the day of judgment are one and the same, and that it is we who must first endure the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our old man, just as God's judgment and His wrath against Job's self-righteous, God-condemning spirit preceded the judgment of Job's "miserable comforters" (Job 40:1-8). That is why we are called "the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb":

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Rev 14:4  These [144,000] are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

It is "the great day of His wrath" which, in His time, will manifest who are these "firstfruits unto God and the Lamb":

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?

"The great day of His wrath is come" with the opening of the seals of the revelation of Jesus Christ, including the seventh seal:

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

This "seventh seal" is the sounding of the "seven trumpets", and the seven trumpets parallel and culminate in the seventh trumpet which is the seven vials (bowls) which "fill up the wrath of God" and which must be fulfilled in our lives before any man can "enter into the temple of God in heaven":

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

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

"That day"

The day of judgment, the day of the Lord, the day of destruction, and the day of the Lord's wrath are one and all the same day. They are the day which is so often mentioned that they are all referred to simply as "that day". We have already seen this phrase, 'that day', referring to "the day of the Lord... the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God" three times in Isaiah chapter two:

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 

Isa 2:17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 

Isa 2:20  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

Here are several more verses which add to what we can expect at that time. They also demonstrate that the phrase "that day" refers to "the day of the the Lord":

Isa 27:1  In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea [in the flesh of all mankind Rev 13:1].

Isa 27:13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown [Rev 8:1-2], and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria [Psa 107:27], and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. ["The Israel of God" - Gal 6:16 (GWB)]

Isa 29:18  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. [Mat 13:1-15; Joh 9:39-41]

Isa 31:7  For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. [Eze 16:17)

Jer 4:9  And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. [Jer 48:41 and Luk 21:26]

Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Jer 30:7  Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it [1Co 3:15].

Now let's see what we can learn from the verses which contain the phrase:

"The day of the Lord"

I have broken this down by the books in which the phrase "the day of the Lord" appears, and it first appears here in the book we are studying. And it happens that the first verse where the phrase "the day of the Lord" appears is in the verse immediately after the first entry for the phrase "that day" and "that day" is referring specifically to "the day of the Lord". I want to draw our attention to how frequently, even thousands of years ago, when speaking of "the day of the Lord" we are told, "the day of the Lord is at hand". I have underlined every time we see those words:

Isaiah

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 
Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

Isa 13:6  Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Isa 34:8  For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Jeremiah

Jer 46:10  For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. [Rev 6:9-11]

Lamentations

Lam 2:22  Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD'S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed. [Jer 11:11; Rev 15:8]

Ezekiel

Eze 13:5  Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

Eze 30:3  For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev1:3]

Joel

Joe 1:15  Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]

Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? [Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.]

Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]

Amos

Amo 5:18  Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. [Isa 26:9]

Amo 5:20  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? [Isa 26:9]

Obadiah

Oba 1:15  For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee [Edom - Babylon]: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3; Gal 6:7]

Zephaniah

Zep 1:7  Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]
Zep 1:8  And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. [Rev 3:17-18]

Zep 1:14  The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. [Mat 24:32-34; Rev 1:3]

Zep 1:18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Zep 2:2  Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
Zep 2:3  Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

1 Corinthians

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.

2 Corinthians

2Co 1:14  As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 Thessalonians

1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 Peter

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

This is what we now know about "the day of the Lord:

"The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night... the elements shall melt with fervent heat... the destruction of the flesh... thy spoil shall be divided... the day of the Lord's wrath... the day of the Lord's anger... the day of the Lord's sacrifice... the day of the Lord is darkness and not light... the day of the Lord is great and terrible, who can abide it... As destruction from the Almighty it shall come...  the time of the heathen... make up the hedge... stand in the day of battle... my terrors round about... the day of the Lord's vengeance, [and a much repeated phrase is:] the day of the Lord is at hand".

That is how the Lord is at this very moment purging the rebels and burning out everything within us which must be "taken away" from within His temple, His house.

Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
Isa 3:19  The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
Isa 3:20  The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
Isa 3:21  The rings, and nose jewels,
Isa 3:22  The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
Isa 3:23  The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
Isa 3:24  And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
Isa 3:25  Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
Isa 3:26  And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

All these things which must be taken out of the Lord's temple are either different kinds of jewelry or different pieces of clothing. The jewels of silver and gold, typify the Lord's words which we twisted and wrested and have placed upon our false doctrines. Our clothing is the righteousness of saints, and in this case it is the unrighteousness of our sins.

The pronouns 'her', in "her gates", and 'she', in "she being desolate", are referring to the "seven women" of the very next verse of scripture:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. 

These "seven women" are the same as the "seven churches" [Rev 1:4 and 20]. The number 'seven' in scripture always signifies the completeness of the subject under consideration. In this case it is the complete church, which has become a harlot, by giving herself and her precious jewels to her lovers. 'Women' in scripture signify the church, whether faithful or promiscuous [Eph 5:22-33 and 2Co 11:2]. The number 'seven' signifies the complete church. The 'bread' these women want to eat signifies their own false doctrines, and wearing their 'own apparel' signifies these seven women wanting to ignore the way of life Christ lived, and the example He left for us, so they can live as they see fit and commit adultery against their own husband so they can fit in with the world in which they live.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

They certainly do not want to follow the example Christ set of ignoring the days, months, times and years of His day (Mat 12:1-5 and Joh 5:17-18). That is simply asking too much of these seven women, yet they want to claim they are the wife of Christ even as they insist upon being unfaithful to Him by using His gold and His silver to bind them to their lovers.

But a remnant will escape, and they will stand in sharp contrast to those who cannot separate themselves from Babylon.

Isa 4:2  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 

In sharp contrast to these 'seven women' who will not accept the bread or the apparel of their true husband is "the branch of the Lord" which is being birthed through the judgment of these 'seven women' within us. These "seven women" who refuse Christ's bread and apparel are the church with Christ's name, which hates his bread and His apparel outwardly in this world.  We have all been right there in Babylon, and Lord willing, we are now "dying daily" (1Co 15:31) to her false doctrines, and we are now "coming out of her" (Rev 18:4).

"The Branch" is often capitalized in the King James Bible, and it should be here inasmuch as it refers to Christ and by extension to His Christ which is "beautiful and glorious... the fruit of the earth... excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel". This is what Christ tells us of His purpose in calling 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. 

Those are they who have "come out of" these 'seven women'. These "seven women" are "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth" (Rev 18:4).

Let's take the time to notice how hard it is for the translators to understand the principle of "the dream is one" as it relates to "The branch [and] the branch of the Lord":

Psa 80:15  And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

Isa 4:2  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Isa 60:21  Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Jer 33:15  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

Eze 8:17  Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Zec 3:8  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 
Zec 6:12  And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

How glorious that we have been given to be "the branch" of "The Branch" and to be used of The Branch to "build the temple of the Lord".

As always, this phrase, too, has a negative application:

Isa 25:5  Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

"The branch of the terrible ones" will be destroyed and never be rebuilt:

Isa 25:2  For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. 
Isa 25:3  Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
Isa 25:4  For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

It has all been written in advance. "The Branch", and all who are in Him, will "be beautiful and glorious", and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Isa 4:3  And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

"Jerusalem" is where God has chosen to place His name and to dwell.

1Ki 11:36  And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. 

Zec 8:3  Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

But Christ and Paul both tell us that 'Jerusalem' is not any longer to be understood as being a physical location in which God places His name, but rather Jerusalem is now to be understood as a realm of the spirit, and both Israel and its capital are now to be understood as being 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. 

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. [The spiritual Jew, Rom 2:28-29]
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

From "the time of reformation" onward, the physical is no longer the true Jew, Jerusalem or Israel:

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

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom [Israel] of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom [Israel] 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.

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

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

"Even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem" makes it obvious that Isaiah was familiar with these verses of scripture:

Psa 139:15  My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
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.

God also has a "book of life", and only the true spiritual Jew and the true spiritual Israelite are written in that book, because:

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

But our election comes only through fiery judgment and through drinking the same cup of which Christ drank:

Mat 20:23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Minutes become hours when we are being sorely tried and judged, but "he that endures to the end shall be saved [and] inherit the kingdom of God" and all the glory that comes with being in and with Christ and His Father on His Father's throne. Our days have already been written "in [God's] book...when as yet there was none of them", and this is the rewards of those who are faithful to the end:

Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 

This is the wonderful Truth of our calling:

Isa 4:2  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Zec 4:9  The hands of Zerubbabel [a type of Christ] have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

The Lord Will Smite With A Scab The Crown of The Head of The Daughters of Zion

Isa 3:16  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
Isa 3:17  Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
Isa 3:19  The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
Isa 3:20  The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

In our last study we were given the contrast between what could be expected by the righteous and by the wicked:

Isa 3:10  Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Isa 3:11  Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

God has determined that His people will all first be spiritual daughters of spiritual harlots, who will lead His people astray and away from Him, before they become true to Him via the fiery trials which He ordained for us all before we were born and before any of our days were lived. He has every life written out for every person before any of us ever come to this earth:

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.

But a harlot is not faithful to her husband, and no harlot is subject to her husband’s leadership. If she were, she would not be a harlot. Yet it is out of this great harlot system, symbolized by both Egypt and Babylon, that God’s people must come. It is out of that system we are all delivered.

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

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Rev 18:21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

We are the Lord’s ‘Zion’, but first we are a harlot who will not submit to Him or His laws. And that is what we are being told in today’s study:

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

The first thing to know about this harlot we all are, is that we do not realize what our spiritual condition is. At first we actually have ourselves convinced that we are without need of anything and without sin:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

An adulterous woman always justifies her adultery. But that does not make her actions any the less unfaithful:

Pro 7:21  With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
Pro 7:22  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Pro 7:23  Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

Spiritual adultery is typified by physical adultery for the very reason that it is so appealing to our flesh. “Her much fair speech” tells us that Christ died for our sins so we can continue in our sins. “Her much fair speech” appeals to our natural sheepish instinct to be accepted of our friends and families rather than to refuse to fight for God, family and country physically and take up our cross and fight for God, family and country spiritually. It is her “much fair speech” which tells us we are not following Christ if we do not keep the days, months, times and years of the traditions of men (Gal 4:9-19 and Col 2:8-17). It is the promises of much physical wealth if we tithe to her which is part of her “much fair speech” to which we have all yielded. It is her promise of being accepted of our families and communities which are “the flattering of her lips [and her] walking and mincing as she goes and making a tinkling with her feet”, because our “walk”, in scriptural terms, is our way of life. The doctrines of this adulterous harlot are ashamed of the doctrines of Christ. Her doctrines have us taking great pride in the very things that bring us to shame.

The apostle Paul warns us of the pull of the shameful doctrines of the “haughty daughters of Zion [who] walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes” in these words:

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: 
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

The false doctrines of the harlot daughters of Zion are labeled “the enemies of the cross of Christ”. That is the perfect description of the damning doctrine of “the substitutionary atonement”, which teaches that Christ died in our stead so you and I need not die. The teaching is that Christ did everything for us, and all we need to do is to accept His sacrifice in our stead. To teach that Christ must also die daily within us (1Co 15:31), that we, too, must die to this world, is twisted into salvation by our own works. It matters not that the scriptures tell us that the works of those in whom Christ dwells are to be accounted only as “His workmanship… not of [our] works”.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The false doctrine of “the substitutionary atonement of Christ” is a very alluring ‘tinkling… ornament’ indeed, but it is a lie which will rob us of our very salvation in this age, as these verses of scripture demonstrate:

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

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
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 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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.

We are just naturally repulsed by the doctrine of the cross of Christ in our own lives. It is ordained by God that we will first be a friend of this world, and we will first want to fit in with this world. That is what we all first do. In time though, we must be brought to see just how unfaithful we are by doing so because:

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

The revelation of Jesus Christ puts this same message in these terms:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

We “know not that [we] are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”. Like Adam and Eve we are blind to our own nakedness until the time comes to be given eyes to see our own naked condition:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

But we are not at first interested in “gold tried in the fire [or] white raiment”, simply because we still don’t think we need anything. At this time we still believe that we are righteous in and of ourselves. Like self-righteous Job we think we have our own integrity, and we are not about to humble ourselves and confess that we are ‘wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked’. At this point we are still clinging to what we suppose to be our own righteousness:

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Just as the Lord dealt with Job, so He deals with his wayward wife:

“Their secret parts” means ‘their nakedness’. Nakedness is a spiritual word for the sins we commit as a result of believing the lies of the adversary and the great harlot and her daughters.

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

2Ch 28:19  For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.

Eze 23:29  And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

‘Smiting with a scab the crown of the head’ is the beginning of the revelation of our nakedness. It is chastening from our own Lord, and it is not accomplished at the snap of the fingers.  Being smitten “with a scab [on] the crown of the head” is just “the beginning of [the] sorrows” which are the predestined chastening of the kingdom of our rebellious old man who has  become “one flesh” with the great harlot and her daughters:

1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

Becoming disenchanted with the harlot with whom we have become “one flesh” is not something we do without first being put through the fiery trials which are necessary to bring us to want to become free of her hold upon us. As always we must endure the judgment of that permissive way of life. That experience is likened to fire throughout scripture:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shallbe 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.

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.

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

“The day [which] shall [make] manifest… every man’s work… by fire” is the same ‘day’ spoken of in our next verse:

Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 

“That day” is the day of judgment which is even now upon those who are being judged in this age. “The day” and “that day” are spoken of throughout scripture referring to the time of the judgment of the kingdom of our old man inwardly and of the kingdoms of this world dispensationally and outwardly. That is the nature of the Word of God which speaks of things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17). The “tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon” all draw our attention to the harlot and not to her husband whom she despises.

Speaking earlier to these very same “daughters of Zion”, addressing them as ‘Judah and Jerusalem’, Isaiah said this:

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.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

The Hebrew word ‘saharon‘ appears only three times in the Old Testament. Isaiah 3:18 is the only place ‘saharon‘ is translated “round tires”. The words “like the moon” are added by the translators.

H7720
שׂהרן
śahărôn
Total KJV Occurrences: 3
ornaments, 2
Jdg_8:21, Jdg_8:26
round tires, 1
Isa_3:18

Here are the two other entries of this Hebrew word ‘saharon‘ as they appear in Judges 8:

Jdg 8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments [H7720: saharon] that were on their camels’ necks.

Jdg 8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments [H7720: saharon], and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

Bravery

There is nothing ‘brave’ about these ‘ornaments’ which deceive and distract us. The Hebrew word ‘tiphara‘, which is translated ‘bravery’, appears 50 times in the Old Testament.

Here are the various ways this word is translated in the King James Version:

H8597
תּפארת  /  תּפארה
tiph’ârâh  /  tiph’ereth
Total KJV Occurrences: 50
glory, 22
1Ch_22:5, 1Ch_29:11, Psa_78:61, Psa_89:17, Pro_4:9, Pro_16:31, Pro_17:6, Pro_19:11, Pro_20:29, Isa_10:12 (2), Isa_20:5, Isa_46:13, Isa_60:7, Isa_60:19, Isa_62:3, Isa_63:15, Jer_13:11, Jer_13:18, Eze_24:25, Zec_12:7 (2)
beauty, 10
Exo_28:2, Exo_28:40, 2Ch_3:6, Psa_96:6, Isa_13:19, Isa_28:1, Isa_28:4-5 (2), Isa_44:13, Lam_2:1
beautiful, 6
Isa_52:1 (2), Isa_64:11, Jer_13:20, Jer_48:17, Eze_16:12, Eze_23:42
honour, 4
Deu_26:19, Jdg_4:9, Jer_33:8-9 (2)
fair, 3
Eze_16:17, Eze_16:39, Eze_23:26
glorious, 3
1Ch_29:13, Isa_63:12, Isa_63:14
bravery, 1
Isa_3:18
comely, 1
Isa_4:2

The words ‘glory’ and ‘glorious’ account for half of these entries and similar words account for all the rest, except for the word ‘bravery’ here in Isa 3:18. ‘Glory’ is the way it should be translated here in Isa 3:18. When we are told, “the Lord will take away the [‘tipharah‘ – glory] of their tinkling ornaments”, what we are being told is that God will manifest just how shameful these doctrines of this harlot are. These ornaments are symbols of all the lies which a harlot “with her much fair speech… [uses to] cause [us] to yield, [and] with the flattering of her lips [to] force [us]” to ignore the words of Truth (Pro 7:21). These ornaments are the “smooth things” we demand to hear from this harlot while we are under her spell.

This is what takes place within us, and this is what takes place outwardly in this world:

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: 
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

We are by nature “children who will not hear the law of the Lord”. Being “one flesh” with the harlot we naturally espouse her lies with the same zeal with which she expresses her lies. We do so because we “know not that [we] are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev 3:17).  We believe the lies she has told us, and therefore we are in total opposition to Christ and His doctrines. We willingly change, ‘Love thine enemies’ to ‘Fight for God, family, and country’. We just naturally change “You shall not do so unto the Lord your God” to ‘Christmas and Easter are not pagan because we keep them in honor to Christ’. We defend every type of perversion because the laws of the land dictate that we must, and we are more than willing to change “We ought to obey God rather than men” to ‘We ought to obey men rather than God’. Like the brazen harlot we are, we insist on keeping Christ’s name even as we continue to wear our lying harlot’s attire with all of its lying ornaments,  and we insist on eating our own lying food, rather than the truth of the ‘bread’ of the Word of God.

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Our last two verses list even more of the lying ornaments which we just naturally prefer over the glory of the truth and the nourishment of the food and the covering of the garments of righteousness, which we are given by our Lord.

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Our last two verses are in contrast with “the fine linen [which] is the righteousness of saints”:

Chains

The Hebrew word translated ‘chains’ is ‘netiyphah’, and it actually means:

H5188
נְטִיפָה
neṭı̂yphâh
net-ee-faw’
From H5197; a pendant for the ears (especially of pearls): – chain, collar.

It is from the word:

H5197
נָטַף
nâṭaph
naw-taf’
A primitive root; to ooze, that is, distil gradually; by implication to fall in drops; figuratively to speak by inspiration: – drop (-ping), prophesy (-et).

So the Hebrew word ‘netiyphah‘, is much more accurately translated as ‘a pendant for the ears’, instead of ‘chains’. But what is interesting is that the root of this Hebrew word, which means ‘pendant for the ear’, means to ‘drop… words’, in the form of prophecy.

Here is where ‘nataph‘, the root of the word ‘netiphah‘, appears in the Old Testament:

H5197
נטף
nâṭaph
Total KJV Occurrences: 20
drop, 7
Pro_5:3, Son_4:11, Eze_20:46, Eze_21:2, Joe_3:18, Amo_7:16, Amo_9:13
dropped, 5
Jdg_5:4 (2), Job_29:22, Psa_68:8, Son_5:5
prophesy, 5
Mic_2:5-6 (4), Mic_2:11, Zec_13:3
dropping, 1
Son_5:13
drops, 1
Job_36:27
prophet, 1
Mic_2:11

Here are just one of these verses which is representative of every one of these 20 listed verses:

Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop [H5197: nataph] as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Pro 5:5  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

That is how the words of a harlot ‘drop’, and this, in contrast, is what Christ and His bride think of the words which ‘drop’ from each others’ mouths:

Son 4:11  Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

The words of the harlot and the words of Christ both seem like “honeycomb”, depending upon whom we are given ears to hear.

One more verse will demonstrate what is the root meaning of this Hebrew word which means ‘ a  pendant for the ears’. In this verse is both ‘nataph‘ and its root word ‘naba‘:

Amo 7:16  Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy [H5012, ‘naba’, to prophesy] not against Israel, and drop [H5197, nataph] not thy word against the house of Isaac.

If we are given pendants for the ears of a harlot, her lies will “drop as honey comb” on our ears, bringing us death. If we are given pendants for the ears that hear the truths of Christ, then His words too, will “drop as honeycomb” upon our ears, bringing us life.

Bracelets

The Hebrew word for bracelets is:

H8285
שֵׁרָה
shêrâh
shay-raw’
From H8324 in its original sense of pressing; a wrist band (as compact or clasping): – bracelet.

So the symbol agrees with the translation, but when we look at the root, we are again given a much deeper understanding of the spiritual significance of the Hebrew word ‘sherah‘. The root from which this Hebrew word ‘sherah‘ comes is:

H8324
שָׁרַר
shârar
shaw-rar’
A primitive root; to be hostile (only active participle an opponent): – enemy.

Here are the entries for this root word for ‘bracelets’:

H8324
שׁרר
shârar
Total KJV Occurrences: 5
enemies, 5
Psa_5:8, Psa_27:11, Psa_54:5, Psa_56:2, Psa_59:10

It appears five times, and it is translated consistently as ‘enemies’. As with every word, both ‘sherah‘ and its root ‘sharar‘ have both a positive and a negative application.

This verse is typical of all five verses where this word is used:

Psa 5:8  Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies [H8324: sharar]; make thy way straight before my face.
Psa 5:9  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

When the Lord is leading us” in [His] righteousness”, we are the enemy of the kingdom of our old man. But when our inward parts are “very wickedness, [our] throat is an open sepulcher”, and we are the enemy of the kingdom of God within us:

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 

All of the ornaments we wear declare our spiritual state. If we use God’s ornaments to serve and honor the “idols of [our] hearts”, then God will answer us according to those idols (Eze 14:1-0). But if we come to Him and we come to His word with a broken and contrite heart, then He will give us pendants for ears that hear, and bracelets that will be Christ in us working His righteous works through our hands.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Mufflers

The Hebrew word for ‘mufflers’ is:

H7479
רַעֲלָה
ra‛ălâh
rah-al-aw’
Feminine of H7478; a long veil (as fluttering): – muffler.

Isaiah 3:19 is the only verse in all scripture where this word appears, but it is the feminine form of:

H7478
רַעַל
ra‛al
rah’-al
From H7477; a reeling (from intoxication): – trembling.

H7477
רָעַל
râ‛al
raw-al’
A primitive root; to reel, that is, (figuratively) to brandish: – terribly shake.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

These three words appear just one time each in scripture, but they all carry the meaning of fluttering, reeling, trembling, shaking terribly.

The destruction of Nineveh typifies the destruction of the kingdom of our old man. Nineveh is used of God to destroy the kingdom of our old man while we are living the life of a harlot in rebellion against Christ, our true husband. But Nineveh typifies the ten horns and the ten kings on the head of the seven-headed beast we all are before we are destroyed. As these ten kings, we fight against our Lord at His coming, and it is through the “terrible shaking” and the destruction of the kingdom of our old man that the kingdom of Christ and His Father are birthed within us:

Isa 2:19  And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 

Isa 2:21  To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 

The destruction of the kingdom of our old man is a shaking which is the worst shaking of our life. We cannot enter into the temple in heaven until we have experienced that great earthquake. It will never be equaled because it signals the end of that kingdom within us, just as the kingdoms of this world will also come to their end:

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14  The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

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

That is the result of the coming of Christ to take away “the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers” of the idols and doctrines of our rebellious old man (Isa 3:19)

Bonnets

“Bonnets” are head coverings, and like ‘pendants for the ears’, they have both a negative and a positive application.

Here is the Hebrew word translated ‘bonnets’ here in Isa 3:20:

H6287
פְּאֵר
pe’êr
peh-ayr’
From H6286; an embellishment, that is, fancy head dress: – beauty, bonnet, goodly, ornament, tire.

Here are the entries for this word in the Old Testament:

H6287
פּאר
pe’êr
Total KJV Occurrences: 7
bonnets, 2
Isa_3:20, Eze_44:18
beauty, 1
Isa_61:3
goodly, 1
Exo_39:28
ornaments, 1
Isa_61:10
tire, 1
Eze_24:17
tires, 1
Eze_24:23

‘Tires’ and ‘bonnets’ are both headdresses. The only entry which is not translated as some sort of headdress is the word ‘beauty’ in Isa 61:3. More about Isa 61:3 later.

Here are an examples of the positive application of this Hebrew word ‘peer‘:

Exo 39:27  And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
Exo 39:28  And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly [H6287: peer] bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,

Eze 44:18  They [Aaron and his sons] shall have linen bonnets [H6287: peer] upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

“Anything that causes sweat” is anything that gives any credit to our flesh for anything. And that includes our sins.

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

We are not even capable of sinning against God without “[His] hand and [His] counsel… working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

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.

The “fine linen [which] is the righteousness of saints”, does not “cause to sweat” because it is Christ’s faith and His righteousness, which works within us, and neither our faith nor our works are attributed to us or to our flesh:

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. [“It is God which” causes us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”, verse 12]

Rev 19:8  And to her [the bride of Christ, us – 2Co 11:2] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

It was interesting to discover that an oft quoted verse of scripture is apparently not translated as accurately as it could be. As I pointed out earlier, the only time the Hebrew word ‘peer‘ H6287 is contrasted with ashes in this verse of Isaiah 61:

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty [H6287: peer – fancy or glorious head dress] for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Ornaments of the legs,

The Hebrew word for ‘ornaments of the legs’ is:

H6807
צְעָדָה
tse‛âdâh
tseh-aw-daw’
Feminine of H6806; a march; (concretely) an (ornamental) ankle chain: – going, ornament of the legs.

It is with our feet and our legs that we walk. Our walk is either in the service of our flesh, and therefore in the service of the adversary, or else it is in the service of Christ and His Father.

Here are the only three entries in scripture for this Hebrew word:

H6807
צעדה
tse‛âdâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 3
going, 2
2Sa_5:24, 1Ch_14:15
ornaments of the legs, 1
Isa_3:20

The two other places in scripture where this word is used, 2Sa 5:24, and 1Ch 14:15, are both telling the same story about David doing battle with the Philistines. The Philistines typify us in Babylon. We are in the land of promise without being baptized in either the Red Sea or the Jordan, and we are there without the benefit of being circumcised. David typifies Christ, “the Son of David” within us, battling against our old man and his kingdom.

Notice how this word translated “ornaments of the legs” is used in these two accounts of David warring against the Philistines:

2Sa 5:23  And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
2Sa 5:24  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going [H6807: tse‛âdâh] in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
2Sa 5:25  And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

When our ‘goings’ are obedient to the Lord’s words, we, too, can ‘smite the Philistines”, and when they are not obedient, God will take away our ‘goings’.

As always, while it is a different Hebrew word in this verse, the message is always the same. Whether we are obedient or disobedient is actually a work of God within us:

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

The tablets

To deal with this symbol of “the tablets” as one of the many things the Lord is taking away from us as we “fall into the ground and die”, I am compelled to show you this entire verse with all the Strong’s numbers.

Isa 3:20  The bonnets,^H6287 and the ornaments of the legs,^H6807 and the headbands,^H7196 and the tablets,^{H1004 H5315} and the earrings,^H3908

Notice there are two numbers after the phase “and the tablets”. That phrase “the tablets” is another instance of a translation which is out of line with how these Hebrew words are generally translated.

The first number is 1004, and it has nothing to do with ‘tablets’, as we define that word in modern English.

Here is Strong’s definition of that word:

H1004
בַּיִת
bayith
bah’-yith
Probably from H1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.): – court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, X great as would contain, hangings. home[born], [winter]house (-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, + within (-out).
Total KJV occurrences: 2053

As you can see this word is very common throughout the Old Testament, and it is generally translated as ‘house’.  That is a far cry from the modern English word ‘tablets’. 

When we look at the root of this word, it means “to build”, and it is used to speak of building a family as well as a house. In fact the word ‘house’ in the Old Testament often refers to a family, as in “the house of David… the house of Saul”, etc.

Here is a verse in which this word ‘bayith‘ is translated two different ways in the same verse:

  1Ch 10:10  And they put his armour in the house [H1004: bayith] of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple [H1004: bayith] of Dagon.

Now let’s look at the definition of the second Hebrew word which has been translated with this single English word ‘tablets’:

H5315
נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh
neh’-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): – any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Total KJV occurrences: 753

As you can see this, too, is a very common word, and it is most commonly translated as ‘soul’, as in:

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [H5315: nephesh].

Putting these two Hebrew words together, what we are really being told is that God is taking away from our rebellious old man his very life and the clay house in which he dwells. All of it is in complete accord with these two sections of scripture:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

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

There is no hope extended for our rebellious old man or for our physical bodies of flesh and blood. Millions of sermons to the contrary will not change the Truth of those two verses of scripture. That which is flesh is flesh, and that which is spirit is spirit, and while we are indeed sown a natural body, we are raised a spiritual body:

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered [Nicodemus], 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.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

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.

The earrings 

The word translated ‘earrings’ here in Isa 3:20 is the Hebrew word:

H3908
לַחַשׁ
lachash
lakh’-ash
From H3907; properly a whisper, that is, by implication (in a good sense) a private prayer, (in a bad one) an incantation; concretely an amulet: – charmed, earring, enchantment, orator, prayer.

Here is an example of this word ‘lachash’ in a good sense:

Isa 26:16  LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer [H3908: lachash] when thy chastening was upon them.

Our verse we are ending with is an example of the negative application of this word ‘lachash‘. “The Lord will take away… the errings… [the incantations or the prayers we pray in opposition to our Lord while we are in Babylon.

Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away…
Isa 3:20  The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings [the incantations],

In short, the Lord is burning out all the wood, hay and stubble, and in doing so, He is bringing forth a new man who will, in the end, be in a glorified spiritual body.

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 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

Psa 68:24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
Psa 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Psa 68:26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
Psa 68:27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
Psa 68:28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Psa 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
Psa 68:30 Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.
Psa 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psa 68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
Psa 68:33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
Psa 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
Psa 68:35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

Psa 68:24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

What a blessing and miracle to confess that we have seen the goings of God; “even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.” That is what happens when we know “at that day” we are in Christ, and Christ is in the Father. That is what it means to be “in the sanctuary” where we are being sanctified together as the body of Christ.

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

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

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

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Our discipleship is witnessed through this unity discussed in the following scriptures and is unfolding for the express purpose of doing this “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” This unity of spirit is happening not just so the world will believe that the Father has sent Christ but also that the Father has dragged us to the Son and is sending us into the world as he sent Christ to do even greater works than Christ.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

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.

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

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

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

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

The greater works as we know now have to do with giving spiritual healing to the ears and eyes of those who Christ has already prayed for “Neither pray I for these alone” and we are simply trusting and waiting on the Lord to unfold these wonderful works through the Church that He alone gives the increase to in the order and time that He has ordained (1Co 3:6, 1Co 15:23).

These greater works that we see today (Mat 13:16) are being expressed in type and shadow in our first verse this evening with these words “They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.“

Psa 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Psa 68:26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.

“The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after” reminds us that there is an order to this sanctuary where all thing are done decently and in order, and within that order God reveals to us that voice or word of God represented by “the singers went before” which is first or preeminent as Christ the Word is in all things.

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

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.

That order is in His ministry as well, where we defer to our elders and teachers as instructed in God’s word, being persuaded by the fruit being borne in the life of our teachers that they are being used of God to bring forth living waters for the body of Christ through Christ who supplies all our need.

1Ti 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1Ti 5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Heb 13:17 Be persuaded by your leaders, and be deferring to them, for they are vigilant for the sake of your souls, as having to render an account, that they may be doing this with joy, and not with groaning, for this is disadvantageous for you.”(CLV)

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

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,
Eph 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

The elect are represented by all that is spoken of in this verse and the players on instruments and the damsels playing timbrels are spoken of to remind us that it takes the many members of Christ’s body to make us a “whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth”.

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.

We are Christ’s instrument given to this world, the elect are that instrument spoken of over and over in the Psalms that is played by the chief musician who is Christ in us fulfilling God’s purpose within us, both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Psa 76:1 To the chief Musician on NeginothH5058, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

H5058
נגינת   נגינה
negı̂ynâh negı̂ynath
neg-ee-naw’, neg-ee-nath’

From H5059; properly instrumental music; by implication a stringed instrument; by extension a poem set to music; specifically an epigram: – stringed instrument, musick, Neginoth [plural], song.

• instruments, 2

Isa 38:20; Hab 3:19

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

We bless God because we have those living waters springing forth “from the fountain of Israel”, Jesus Christ, and we rest in the Lord knowing that he is able to manifest what the body of Christ needs and knows what we need before we even ask Him.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Psa 68:27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler , the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

This next verse carries on with the same theme of order, and as we learn to ascribe strength unto God we will be able to see and be convinced of that order more and more and where it is that he is making His strenght perfect.

God uses “little Benjamin with their ruler” and “the princes of Judah and their council” and ” the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali” to reveal something to us about the order in which He is workingHis great work for all of humanity according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11).

Benjamin is a type of the elect being the youngest brother of the twelve and is called “The beloved of the Lord” in (Deu 33:12, Gen 43:29).

Princes come out of ZebulunH2074 and NaphtaliH5321 and are princes by the grace of God, signifying in type and shadow that we are given our inheritance in Christ, our ‘habitation’ which we are gaining dominion over within and through Christ as we ‘wrestle’ through the night with our Lord.

H2074
זבוּלן   זבלוּן   זבוּלוּן
zebûlûn zebûlûn zebûlûn
zeb-oo-loon’, zeb-oo-loon’, zeb-oo-loon’From H2082; habitation; Zebulon, a son of Jacob; also his territory and tribe: – Zebulun.

H5321
נפתּלי
naphtâlı̂y
naf-taw-lee’

From H6617; my wrestling; Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory: – Naphtali.

Deu 33:12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

Gen 43:29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

“The princes of Judah and their council” are a shadow of the elect of God who are used to bring forth His counsel which is all being accomplished according to His will (Eph 1:11).

As these verses below demonstrate, Judah and Benjamin witness (2) to the elect body of Christ who are being fashioned and formed in advance of the rest of the world and are spoken of in scripture as being blessed with that extra portion. None of these types and shadows will make sense unless we are given to believe that he is not a Jew which is one outwardly.

Gen 43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

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

Psa 68:28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Psa 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.

With the foundational order in the temple of God that God is fashioning or has “wrought for us”, we hear another way of saying “Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God”.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Because God is doing this foundational work today in the elect in Jerusalem, which is above where we are raised in heavenly places, it is laying the way for all nations to come and learn what true worship is, where kings will bring presents unto God, which ‘presents’ represent the spiritual life of worshipping God in “spirit and in truth”.

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

Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

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

Psa 68:30 Rebuke the company of spearmen [see Rotherham version], the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.

God will continue to use the body of Christ throughout the millenium to condition the earth to one day receive the living waters of God’s spirit and so we read the underlined process of how rebuking:

• the company of spearmen [“the wild beasts of the reeds”-Rotherham = Egypt]
• the multitude of bulls [bulls of Bashan Psa 22], and
• the calves of the people [golden calf Exo 32:35]

…leads to ‘submit himself with pieces of silver’:

“till every one submit himself with pieces of silver:”

This verse is speaking to the truth that all men will be saved as God leads us unto repentance represented by “pieces of silver” (1Co 15:22). In order for this to happen the “people that delight in war” must be “scattered” which is spoken of in the very first verse of this Psalm and in the book of Numbers (Psa 68:1, Num 10:35).

Psa 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psa 68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
Psa 68:33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
Psa 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.

We are that voice of God that is being sent out, we are those princes that “come out of Egypt” and “Ethiopia” who stretch forth our hands unto God. We are praising God now for we can clearly see by His grace and faith given that God’s “excellency is over Israel” and “his strength is in the clouds”.

Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Princes come out of a place where they were held captive and the captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia is spoken of in Ezekiel 16. We understand that spiritually we are all first Sodom and Egypt, and we must live by every word of God and go by the way of Samaria, which represents our Gentile hearts as does Ethiopia which we must come out of by growing and maturing and progressing through.

Eze 16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

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

Joh 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.

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.

God rides upon”the heavens of heavens” and is sovereign over all His creation that is being brought unto perfection by working in the heavens of all men whose heavens are found to have both light and darkness.

[For more detail, see the article on the three heavens: What Are The Three Heavens?]

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Psa 68:35 O God, thou art terrible(H3372) out of thy holy places(H4720): the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

This last verse which will conclude our study speaks of yaw-ray’ or the reverence that God is going to bring to everyman to have on earth, using his elect, “thy holy places” (1Co 6:19). There is an ‘is, was and will be’ application to these verses, and our focus on this particular verse is how God will give “strength and power unto his people” which will come forth from “thy holy places” which is where “the God of Israel” is giving His strength and making His power known and perfected within His people! “Blessed be God“.

H3372
ירא
yârê’
yaw-ray’A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: – affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Psa 102:16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.

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

Deu 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

With God’s blessing upon Noah, who is a type of the elect, we see in shadow and type what God is going to do and is doing in earnest today through the church; and because it is His blessing and His decree that says these things will be so we ought to always “Ascribe ye strength unto God: [as] his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.“