“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly”

(Pro 31:1-11)

[Study Aired July 2, 2026]

Pro 31:1  The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
Pro 31:2  What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Pro 31:3  Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Pro 31:4  It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Pro 31:5  Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Pro 31:6  Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Pro 31:7  Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Pro 31:8  Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Pro 31:9  Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Pro 31:10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

This last chapter of the book of proverbs starts off by contrasting the wine of Babylon that we were drunken on at first (Pro 31:4-5 , Rev 17:5-6), to then speak about the strong drink of God’s word which the elect are blessed to be able to partake of (Pro 31:6-7) in this age (Heb 5:14 , Heb 13:10).

Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Heb 5:14  But strong meat [strong drink] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

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

These first few verses we will look at set the stage for what is required in the life of God’s children in order to bring forth the spiritual exploits that He has ordained for Christ’s wife from the foundation of the world (Eph 2:8-10 , Tit 3:7-8). Those exploits or spiritual works are discussed in the remainder of this chapter, in (Pro 31:12-31).

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.

Tit 3:7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works (Pro 30:12-31). These things are good and profitable unto men.

Judgement is upon the body of Christ today (1Pe 4:17), and judgement in biblical parlance is found happening “in the gates”. The last verse of this 31st chapter of proverbs makes clear to us that God’s elect is His workmanship, and that it is God who is giving the increase to Christ’s bride (1Co 3:6) as He works in her both to will and to do of His good pleasure, which happens “in the gates” of our hearts and minds (Pro 31:31 , Php 2:12-13).

Pro 31:31  Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

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.

There is no greater honour that could be bestowed on anyone in this life than to be that wife, ordained and chosen by God the Father for His Son Jesus Christ (Joh 6:44). The ‘Proverbs 31 Woman’, as Christians have named this chapter, represents the spiritual fruit produced in the lives of those who are the Sons of God in this age, by the grace and faith of Christ (1Jn 3:1-2).

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace^G5485 and truth.

Luk 1:28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured ^G5487,(Eph 1:6) the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luk 1:29  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Luk 1:30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour^G5485 with God.

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted ^G5487 G2248 in the beloved.

Pro 31:1  The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

God’s elect belong to Him, and so we read of “Lemuel”^H3927 whose name means “for God” or “belonging to God” (1Co 6:19-20 , 1Pe 1:16-20).

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?(1Co 3:16-19)
1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1Pe 1:17  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (Heb 11:7)
1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:(Heb 10:29)
1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

“the prophecy that his mother taught him” represents the words  of encouragement that God’s elect are blessed to hold fast to in this age (Rev 1:3 , Rev 20:6 , Rev 2:25 , Rev 3:3) and are given from Jerusalem above the “mother” of us all (Gal 4:26 , Eph 3:10).

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

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Rev 2:25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Pro 31:2  What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Pro 31:3  Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

The admonition is for the elect, being called 1) “my son” and 2) “the son of my womb” and 3) “the son of my vows”, and describes what are “thy ways to that which destroyeth kings” in the verses that follow (Pro 31:4-11), reminding us of how king Solomon’s judgement (‘son’ mentioned 3 times) was eventually perverted by giving his strength unto women, “Give not thy strength unto women”, that represent the churches and false doctrines of this world.

This is an admonition for God’s elect reminding us that just because we are anointed and called “sons of my womb”, which represents the church, and just because we have tasted of the heavenly things of God’s word as “the son of my vows”(Heb 6:4-6), does not mean that we cannot be rejected if we cease from fearing God and stop keeping His commandments (Rom 11:21-22).

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:(Rom 2:4) otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

All Israel will be saved and God has called us to not be ignorant of that truth so that we don’t start to take on a superiority complex against a world that He tells us this, “that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”(Eze 16:55).

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.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:(Oba 1:21 , 1Jn 4:17 , Joh 20:21 , Joh 3:17)

Pro 31:4  It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Pro 31:5  Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

The wine in this instance represents the defiled word of God in Babylon where there is no stay of bread or water (Isa 3:1). That is the drink that Lemuel is being told to avoid, which is given from the aforementioned woman [Babylon] who he is not to give his strength to (Pro 31:3 , Heb 13:10 , 1Jn 4:6).

Pro 31:3  Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

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

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Babylon does have “wine” or another spirit or gospel, and there is also strong delusion in Babylon that could be likened here unto “strong drink” (Isa 28:7 , 2Co 11:4 , 2Th 2:11).

Isa 28:7  But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Christ warns us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees that only requires a little in order for the whole lump to be leavened, “Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted” (Deu 29:6 , Gal 5:9).

Deu 29:6  Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

Forgetting the law, and perverting the judgement of any of the afflicted is forgetting the law of Christ which tells us we are to bear each other’s burdens and afflictions by stirring up the spirit of God within us and not neglecting so great a salvation (Gal 6:2-3 , Luk 17:10 , Heb 2:3). If we are preoccupied with anything (Mat 24:48-50) other than doing the will of God (Luk 2:49), we will begin to “forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted”.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Pro 31:6  Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Pro 31:7  Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

God’s elect are dying daily and this proverb reveals the spiritual benefit of His word upon our bodies that are blessed to be ready to die daily unto the Lord (1Co 15:31). With the mind of Christ we are as our Saviour, who was a man acquainted with sorrow and suffering (Isa 53:3 , 1Jn 4:17). Christ was sorrowful near unto death and the “strong drink” that he received before dying was symbolized by the ointment that was poured out on him prior to his death (Mat 26:38 , Mat 26:12). The strong drink and the ointment symbolizes the same thing, the word of God that quickens us (Joh 6:63) and gives us the strength we need in our time of need (1Jn 2:27).

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

We drink the word of God that we can now rightly divide having been given eyes that see and ears that hear, and this helps us forget our poverty when we were in Babylon with no stay of bread or water, “forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more”. Every joint supplies this drink that helps us bear our cross and remember our misery no more (Eph 4:16).

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.

Pro 31:8  Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Pro 31:9  Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

The dumb represent the speechless, “Open thy mouth for the dumb”, those who are appointed to destruction as all of our old men within are for defiling the temple of God which we are (1Co 3:16-18). When we are granted to have a ready heart to receive the words of God, we will “Open thy mouth” in love and concern for others, as we receive His word that will make it possible for us to bring healing to the spiritually dumb (1Ti 4:14-16).

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 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

1Ti 4:14  Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

God tells us that a seed must fall into the ground and die (Joh 12:24) in order for life to spring forth from us. It is via the judgments of God’s word, that if we are given a hunger and thirst, that this will be accomplished in the elect. If we are blessed to “open thy mouth” and receive His word (Rev 1:3), then we can be sent to heal others through the healing we have received, which makes it possible for us to “judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” (1Ti 4:16).

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.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Pro 31:10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

The only “virtuous woman” to be found is the one that is being dragged to Christ in this age (Joh 6:44). Our Father sees the bride of Christ as being “far above rubies”^{H4480 H6443} in “her price” and God places great value on His workmanship that will be used to save the entire world (Mat 11:11 , Luk 12:7 , Oba 1:21).

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luk 12:7  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

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.

Christ is not fretting about the outcome of any of the elect of which none will be lost. That is what this last verse we are looking at today is telling us, “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil^H7998”. We are Christ’s inheritance, and he has no need of another woman, another spirit, another gospel. This wife that the Father has provided for Christ is His inheritance in the saints that we will share with Him spoken of in (Eph 1:18-23).

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

1 Samuel 19:1–24 Saul Tried to Kill David

[Study Aired May 25, 2026]

In today’s study, we shall look at four attempts from Saul to assassinate David. However, in all these attempts, He was delivered from them, through the intervention by Jonathan’s mediation, Michal, his wife, and Samuel’s protection, and by his own agility. 

The fact that there were four attempts on David’s life in this chapter, shows us the whole of the devil’s scheme to destroy us in our walk with the Lord. However, as the word of the Lord reminds us, no weapon formed or fashioned against us shall prosper.

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

Jonathan’s Intervention in Saving David’s Life 

1Sa 19:1  And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 

Saul, in this context, represents the leaders of the church system of this world or Babylon. Jonathan, on the other hand, signifies our time as the Lord’s elect  in Babylon and Saul’s servants symbolize our brothers and sisters in Babylon. David on the other hand, stands for the Lord’s elect who have just left Babylon. With this in mind, it becomes easier to understand the spiritual significance of verse 1. What we are being told is that the message of the leaders of the church system of this world kills as we see Saul telling his son Jonathan and servants to kill David. In other words, their message is what puts us to death, spiritually.  

As we are aware, the church system of this world focuses on the physical interpretation of the word of the Lord or the letter, which kills. This ministration of death is what the law of Moses represents. 

2Co 3:6  who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 
2Co 3:7  Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 
2Co 3:8  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 

Apart from the fact that the letter kills, the false doctrines propagated by these leaders of the church system of this world also kills. That is to say that the false doctrines from Babylon end up killing the hearers spiritually. 

2Pe 2:1  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 

1Sa 19:2  But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: 
1Sa 19:3  And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee. 

Jonathan delighted much in David is Jonathan loving David. It demonstrates the love that binds us together as the Lord’s elect. This is the love that Jesus prayed that we should have for one another as it shows that we are really His disciples. 

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 
Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.   

Jonathan telling David that Saul was seeking to kill him refers to when we come to realize in Babylon that the church system will only put us to death spiritually. That is what expedites our exit from Babylon. In other words, knowing that our continued fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world represented by Saul will cause us to be spiritually dead, demands that we leave Babylon.    

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. 

Jonathan pleading with David to abide in a secret place and hide himself is the need to abide under the shadow of the Almighty, where we are hidden in Christ, such that we are delivered from the devil’s traps (the snare of the fowler) and from deadly plagues (noisome pestilence) of false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition, spewed from the pulpits of Babylon. 

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  

The question is, “How do we abide in the secret place of the most high under the shadow of the Almighty?”  Here in Psalm 91, we are given three clues as to what it means to abide in the secret place of the most high. In verse 4 of Psalm 91, we are told that truth shall be our shield and buckler. This implies that a key to abiding in the secret place of the most high is being given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The second clue from Psalm 91 is as follows:

Psa 91:9  Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  

Making the Most high our habitation involves the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth to destroy our old man or the man of sin who sits in our temple, claiming himself to be God. The destruction of the man of sin is the judgment or the suffering marked out for us, which makes us abide in the secret place of the Lord.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

The third sign that we are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is as follows:

Psa 91:14  Because he (the elect) hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 

Our love towards the Lord is demonstrated by our obedience. Through our obedience, we are being protected under the secret place of the Most High – our hiding place.

In verse 3 of the study, Jonathan wanted to talk with his father Saul in the field to reconcile him with David. As indicated, Jonathan represents our walk as the Lord’s elect in Babylon. At that time of our walk, we did not have a clue that what was happening to us (David) is of the Lord, as He wants us to leave Babylon. We thought that the church system of which we belonged to, would come to understand our views of the scriptures. We therefore did not have a clue that the solution was to leave Babylon.  

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. 

1Sa 19:4  And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 
1Sa 19:5  For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 
1Sa 19:6  And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. 
1Sa 19:7  And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. 

As we can see from these verses, Jonathan was able to reconcile his father with David. This is to show us that our exit from Babylon is a process. We may be physically detached from the churches of this world, but yet retain its false doctrines which bind us to Babylon. At that time, both Jonathan and David did not know that Saul’s enmity against David was all of the Lord and that He was seeking for an occasion to judge David. 

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

1Sa 19:8  And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. 

As long as we are living, we have to contend with our flesh regularly. Here in verse 8, we see David battling the Philistines and through the mercy of the Lord, he came out victorious. The Philistines fleeing from David is to let us know that there are times of relief in our lives, where our flesh is under control. There are other times, too, that we have to rise up and fight our flesh which is influenced by the devil, with the full confidence that we shall be victorious in the final analysis, as we see David’s victory over the Philistines.

Ecc 3:8  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

1Sa 19:9  And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 
1Sa 19:10  And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. 

When a brother or sister becomes disobedient to the Lord and falls away, such a person is possessed by an evil spirit from the Lord, which troubles him or her. Just as the words of the Lord are spirit, false doctrines are also spirit from the devil. Therefore, Saul being troubled by an evil spirit from the Lord, means that those who fall away are troubled by the false doctrines in their hearts and minds. 

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 
1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

As we are aware, a spear or a sword in the positive sense represents the word of the Lord. However, the javelin or spear in the hand of Saul signifies false doctrines which come out of the smoke from his bottomless pit or his heart and mind, which darkens the sun and the air. That is to say that the javelin thrown at David in verse 10 signifies the false doctrines which darkens our understanding of the word of truth and makes us spiritually dead. 

David fleeing from Saul’s presence signifies our exit from Babylon. As we can see, David’s continued stay with Saul would have resulted in his death through the spear of Saul. It signifies that our continued stay in Babylon or the church system of this world would have resulted in our spiritual death through false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. 

Michal’s Intervention in Saving David’s Life

1Sa 19:11  Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, tomorrow thou shalt be slain. 
1Sa 19:12  So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 

After escaping from Saul’s house, David went to Michal, his wife. Michal, in this case, represents the church system of this world or Babylon because of her affiliation to her father Saul. Usually, when we leave one Babylonian church, we end up with another Babylonian church thinking that would be better. However, the churches of this world or Babylon are the same in terms of their harlotry inclination and therefore are not faithful to Christ. 

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.    

Michal telling David to escape with his life that night or risk being killed means that during our walk in the churches of this world, the Lord sometimes spoke to us through the churches to prepare our exit from it. As we are aware, the Lord even spoke through a donkey (a beast) to stop Balaam from his trip. 

Num 22:27  And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. 
Num 22:28  And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?   

Michal helping David to escape by letting David down through a window implies that our escape from Babylon is a life or death matter and not through a conventional farewell through the door. We escape like a bird out of the snare of the fowler. It is also important to note that Michal helping David to escape also means that we are pushed out of the church system or Babylon by the church.  

Psa 124:7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 
Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.  

1Sa 19:13  And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 
1Sa 19:14  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 
1Sa 19:15  And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 
1Sa 19:16  And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster. 
1Sa 19:17  And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

As indicated, Michal represents the church system of this world which is in bondage with her children through deception. We can see here in these verses that Michal was involved in deception as a way to preserve the life of David. This is to show us that the Lord uses both good and evil to achieve His purpose in our lives. 

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 

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

A typical example of how the Lord uses both good and evil to achieve His purposes is the story of how king Ahab was drawn to battle to die by a lying spirit proclaiming that Ahab would win the war. 

1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 

Saul Pursuing David to Ramah

1Sa 19:18  So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 

David fleeing and coming to Samuel at Ramah signifies our escape from the churches of this world, as we come to the church of the New Jerusalem or the Lord’s elect. The name Ramah means ‘height’ and Naioth denotes ‘dwelling’. David coming to Naioth in Ramah symbolizes the beginning of our spiritual elevation or height as we dwell with our brothers and sisters in the Lord in unity. When we come to the assembly of the firstborn or the Lord’s elect, we are helped by what every joint supplies, to escape from the flood of false doctrines spewed by the devil through the false teachers and apostles parading in the corridors of the church system of this world.  

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, 
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 

1Sa 19:19  And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 
1Sa 19:20  And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
1Sa 19:21  And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 

These messengers sent by Saul represents false brethren who are secretly brought in to spy out our liberty in Christ with the purpose of bringing us into bondage, that is, kill us spiritually. 

Gal 2:4  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 
Gal 2:5  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 

The fact that these false messengers were sent three times by Saul to take David indicates the process of spiritual maturity that we must all go through as the Lord’s elect, resulting in our spiritual maturity, when we come to the church of the first born or the New Jerusalem. 

As we can see, these false messengers prophesied under the unction of the Holy Spirit when they came into the body, although their orientation was not to seek after the prize of the higher calling of God. We have seen how some have come into our fellowship being gifted with prophesying, but yet were easily offended, when they were challenged of their heretical teachings. Saul sending these messengers three times, means that their coming and going out of the body is all part of the process of our spiritual maturity through suffering (the significance of the number three).

Gal 1:6  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 
Gal 1:7  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 
Gal 1:8  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 

1Sa 19:22  Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. 
1Sa 19:23  And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 
1Sa 19:24  And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? 

Saul ending up in Naioth in Ramah in pursuit of David and the messengers he sent earlier to take down David are all the same in spiritual significance – the coming of false brethren into our midst to spy on our liberty in Christ with the purpose of bringing us into bondage, that is, killing us spiritually. However, in the case of Saul, we are given further information that he stripped off his clothes and prophesied as he lay naked throughout the day and night. 

Saul stripping off his clothes and lying naked signifies that as the body of Christ, we shall come to know the sinful motives of these false brethren who come in our midst, just as all things are naked and opened to the eyes of the Lord.   

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 

May we continue in Him having the full assurance that He who has started this good work in us shall see to its completion. Amen! 

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

[Study Aired May 4, 2026]

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

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

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

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

Introducing Goliath

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

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

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How David Entered the Battle Field

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1Co 1:5  That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 

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

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Samuel 8:1–22 Israel Demands a King

[Study Aired February 23, 2026]

Introduction

Today’s study highlights Israel’s rejection of the Lord as their king and their desire to have an earthly monarch. The study also exposes the corruption of the leadership of Israel, represented by Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abiah at that time. Part of the study is devoted to the warnings of the Lord through Samuel that a king will burden the nation, seizing sons for war, daughters for service, and taking the best fields. 

Finally, the study ends with the Lord requesting Samuel to accept the demands of the people of Israel for a king so that they may be like other nations.

Israel Demands a King

1Sa 8:1  And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 
1Sa 8:2  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. 
1Sa 8:3  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. 

Under the law of Moses, becoming the Lord’s elect was through the Levites tribe. In other words, priesthood was only through the Levite tribe. Election was therefore through one’s pedigree. As we are aware, the church system still operates under the law of Moses, and it is when faith comes that we are set free from the law, resulting in our exit from Babylon.

Deu 18:5  For the LORD thy God hath chosen him (Levi) out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever. 
Deu 18:6  And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose; 
Deu 18:7  Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD. 

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

On a positive note, the fact that we do not have control over the family we are born into, means that serving the Lord is determined by the Lord and not by our own will or initiative as we were told when we were in Babylon.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

One of the significant features of the church system of this world or Babylon which we see every day is how their leaders want their children to lead the churches when they are gone. Samuel’s sons becoming the judges of Israel after Samuel shows us that Israel at that time represents Babylon or the church system of this world. Samuel’s sons not walking in Samuel’s ways therefore means that they were false apostles transforming themselves as angels of light. The names of Samuel’s sons attest to this. Joel means ‘Jehovah is God’ and Abiah stands for ‘Jehovah is my father.’ These sons of Samuel were therefore presenting themselves as their father Samuel (who represents Christ), but do not walk in the Lord’s ways.

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

In verse 2, these sins of the sons of Samuel were itemized. They turned aside to lucre, which is dishonest gain. The Lord has warned us against the love of money which is the root of all evil. Many of the leaders of the church system of this world today have become rich through excessive demands for money from their church members.

Jer 6:13  “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
Jer 6:14  They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. (ESV)
Jer 6:15  Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD.

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Another item mentioned, revealing the sins of the leadership of the church system of this world or Babylon is taking bribes. That is to say that the leadership are dishonestly persuaded to favor those who come to them with gifts or money. In the church of the Lord’s elect, there should not be any favoritism. 

The third item mentioned, regarding the sins of Samuel’s sons is perverted judgment. As shown in Deuteronomy 16:19, we are shown that perverted judgment comes about through favoritism and taking gifts which influence our ability to judge fairly and also having no respect for persons.

Deu 16:19  Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 

We can see that all these sins are prevalent in the church system of this world which effectively pervert the words of the Lord’s elect or the righteous. 

1Sa 8:4  Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 
1Sa 8:5  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 
1Sa 8:6  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 

The Israelites requesting for a king was because of the lifestyle of the sons of Samuel, who were not walking in the way of the Lord like their father Samuel. Samuel here signifies the Lord’s elect and the children of Israel desiring the leadership of Samuel is to let us know that what creation is actually looking for is the Lord’s elect to come and rule over them.

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

As we can see in the Book of Acts, Paul appointed elders in every fellowship that he visited. This indicates that the governance of the church of the Lord’s elect is through plural leadership. However, the people of Israel requesting for a king to judge them just like other nations of the world shows us the shift from plural leadership to singular rule in the churches of this world which will expose the decadence of the church system of this world.

Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Tit 1:5  For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Samuel was displeased at the request by the elders of Israel because he knew it was not in accordance with the Lord’s established governance system of His church. He therefore went to seek the face of the Lord concerning the matter. That is to show us that when we are uncertain about any matter, we should seek answers from the Lord through prayer.  

Php 4:6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

1Sa 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 
1Sa 8:8  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 
1Sa 8:9  Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 

In seeking the Lord for what Samuel must do, the Lord told him that he must hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to him. The Lord is always ready to answer us when we call on His name. In Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord told Jeremiah that not only will He answer us but will go further to show us great and mighty things which we have not even imagined. Here in verses 7-9 of today’s study, the Lord was revealing to Samuel that although asking for a king is a rebellion against Him, it is part of His plan for Israel. 

Jer 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 

All our rebellion against the Lord is part of His plan for us so that He will have the occasion He is seeking to come and judge us for the destruction of our flesh. This is clearly shown in the example of Samson asking for a wife of the Philistines which was part of the Lord’s plan for him. 

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

In verse 8, the Lord told Samuel that Israel has rebelled against Him since they left Egypt to date as they served other gods instead of Christ. The Israelites who left Egypt and came into the wilderness and later settled on the promised land represents the church system of this world. This is what the Lord says about them when they were in the wilderness:

Psa 95:8  Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 
Psa 95:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 
Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. 

The church system of this world or Babylon has always rebelled against the Lord. As we shall see later in the study, the king that the Israelites require will make their relationship with Christ even worse. 

In verse 9, the Lord told Samuel that he should let Israel know the consequences of their action of wanting a king just like the other nations. The Lord always warns us about our actions to give Him the occasion that He is waiting for, to come and judge us.

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

Samuel’s Warning Against Setting up Kings

1Sa 8:10  And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 
1Sa 8:11  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

As indicated, the Israelites in this study represent the church system of this world or Babylon. What the Israelites requested is what is prevailing in the Babylon to date. The king taking their sons and appointing them for himself is portrayed in the story of Daniel as follows:

Dan 1:1  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 
Dan 1:2  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
Dan 1:3  And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; 
Dan 1:4  Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 
Dan 1:5  And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. 
Dan 1:6  Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 

Here in these verses of Daniel, we see that the king wanted the children of Israel of the king’s seed and the princes to be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. The king’s seed and the princes represent us, His elect, who were taken captives when we were in the churches of this world where we were taught all the false doctrines of Babylon. We ended up serving the pastors, instead of the living God. 

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

1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1Sa 8:12  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 

To plow His ground and reap his harvest means that we become laborers for the pastors, who use us for their benefit. In Babylon, the pastors have dominion over the Lord’s flock and are not ready to serve for the benefit of others.

1Pe 5:1  So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 
1Pe 5:2  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 
1Pe 5:3  not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.  

1Sa 8:13  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 
1Sa 8:14  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 
1Sa 8:15  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 

The daughters becoming cooks and bakers means that the church system eats its own bread and food. The bread and food that the churches prepare in this case represent the false doctrines emanating from the hearts and minds of their leaders. 

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

The king taking the fields, vineyards and olive yards to give to his servants implies that we become spiritually impoverished during our time in the churches of this world. Verse 15 shows us one of the ways we become spiritually impoverished. The king taking the tenth of our seed and our vineyard and giving to his officers and to his servants means that one of the ways we become spiritually impoverished is through tithing. However, in our eyes, we think that we are spiritually enriched in Jesus.

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. 

1Sa 8:16  And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 
1Sa 8:17  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 
1Sa 8:18  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.  

The three young Hebrew men – Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, together with Daniel are examples of how as the goodliest young men (the Lord’s elect), we are put to work by our leaders or shepherds, during our time in the churches of this world. 

Dan 1:6  Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 
Dan 1:7  Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

Eze 34:7  Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

When we look at the church system today, we see many of our brothers and sisters in Babylon complaining about their leaders but still continue to worship there. This is to show us how true the words of the Lord is when He said here in verse 18 that you shall cry out in that day because of your king, but the Lord will not hear you in that day. However, if we are the Lord’s elect, then in the fullness of time, the Lord will come to our aid and force our escape from Babylon. 

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

The Lord Grants Israel’s Request

1Sa 8:19  Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 
1Sa 8:20  That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

Being like other nations means living like the people of this world who are ruled by their flesh and have no part in the commonwealth of the Lord’s people. The Israelites desiring to become like other nations therefore means that they become worse off. This is what the Lord says when we do not glorify Him as God and as a result, we become vain in our thinking as we desire to become like the people of this world:

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  

1Sa 8:21  And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 
1Sa 8:22  And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. 

It is important to note that after Samuel heard from the Lord regarding the Lord’s position on the matter, Samuel told the Lord exactly what the Lord has told him. This means that in the study of the Lord’s word, we must always have a witness from another scripture to confirm what we are being told. That is one of the principles of understanding the word of the Lord. 

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

For example, in Isaiah 26:8 we are told that the Lord’s judgment leads to righteousness. This is confirmed in 1 Peter 5:1-2 which says that our suffering or the Lord’s judgment, leads to righteousness.

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.   

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

In verse 22, the Lord also told Samuel to hearken to His voice to make the people of Israel a king. The Lord demands our obedience if we are to be His children.  We demonstrate our love to the Lord through our obedience. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

May the Lord grant us the grace to demonstrate our love to Him through our obedience. Amen!!

1 Samuel 3:1–21 The Lord Calls Samuel

[Study Aired January 19, 2026]

The study for today highlights the call of Samuel by the Lord. It also touches on the Lord’s pronouncement of judgment on Eli’s house. Finally, it shows us how Samuel was growing spiritually as the Lord continues to reveal Himself to him through His word.

The Lord Calls Samuel

1Sa 3:1  And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 

As indicated in the previous study, Samuel ministering before Eli is the same as him ministering before the Lord. This is because whatever we do for any of the Lord’s elect, we have done it for the Lord. It implies that as we minister to one another, we are ministering to the Lord.

Mat 25:37  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 
Mat 25:38  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
Mat 25:39  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 
Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

Samuel being referred to as a child means that he was not mature in the things of the Lord. In today’s jargon, we will say that Samuel was a baby in Christ. We may be ministering to the Lord and yet are babies. This is what it means to be babies in Christ:

Heb 5:12  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 
Heb 5:13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. (ESV)

In verse 1, we can see that Samuel’s immaturity in the Lord is because he had not been exposed so much to the word of the Lord since the Lord’s words were rare during Samuel’s early stages of life. In other words, there was famine of the word of the Lord. Samuel’s early walk with the Lord is the same as our early walk with Christ in the sense that we also experienced famine of the word of the Lord since the church system of this world or Babylon, with which we started our walk is starved of the word of the Lord. 

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. 
Amo 8:13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.  

Apart from the word of the Lord being rare in Samuel’s childhood days, there was also no open vision. According to Strong’s Dictionary, vision in this sense means revelation, and open here can mean to increase or grow. What this implies is that during our time in the churches of this world, there was no increase in revelation of Christ. In other words, what we knew about Christ when we entered Babylon had not increased. Actually, we became worse off due to the false doctrines which we imbibed. 

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

If we are to grow in grace, then our knowledge of Christ or His words, must increase. Fortunately, in our time, knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom has increased tremendously as we get closer to the end of this age. This was prophesied by Daniel as follows:

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

As indicated here in Daniel 12:4, this knowledge, which will increase at the time of the end, does not pertain only to the word of the Lord. In the field of science and other areas, there have been major breakthroughs in knowledge resulting in the use of artificial intelligence to solve many problems that we were grappling with for many centuries. All of these show us that the end of this age is almost here with us. Indeed, the time is at hand!!

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

1Sa 3:2  And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 
1Sa 3:3  And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 

The eyes of Eli becoming dim represent the fading glory of the law of Moses which makes it difficult for us to see the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death, when we were in Babylon. 

2Co 3:7  Now if the ministry of death (the law of Moses), carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end
2Co 3:8  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 

2Co 3:12  Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 
2Co 3:13  not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 
2Co 3:14  But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 
2Co 3:15  Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 
2Co 3:16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 

As shown in verse 3, the lamp of the Lord had not yet gone out in the temple of the Lord as Samuel laid down to sleep. Samuel, in this case, represents the Lord’s elect during our time in the church system of this world. The lamp of God signifies the word of the Lord. 

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 

Therefore, what verse 3 is suggesting is that even though we, as the Lord’s elect, were spiritually becoming more bankrupt (laid down to sleep), in our hearts and minds (the temple of God), the word of the Lord had not fully gone out of us. It is this word in our hearts and minds that makes us answer to the Lord’s call in our spiritually dead state.

Job 14:15  You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.

1Sa 3:4  That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 
1Sa 3:5  And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 
1Sa 3:6  And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
1Sa 3:7  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.  

In verse 4, the Lord calling Samuel signifies the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

This coming of Christ to us during our time in Babylon is usually not something spectacular like what happened to Paul when He was going to Damascus to arrest the Lord’s elect. Usually, the Lord comes to us through His elect who speak to us the truth of the Lord’s word. However, just like Samuel, we mistake the voice of the Lord through His elect and think that it is the voice of our pastors of the churches of this world. If we are given to realize the voice of the shepherd through His elect, that is when we are given to say that blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

As stated in verse 7, the reason we were not able to hear the voice of the Lord is because during our time in Babylon, we did not know the Lord yet because we have not yet been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. We were part of the multitude that came to hear Jesus but heard parables which we did not understand. 

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

Most of us experienced the call of the Lord several times before we began to pay attention to Him. For example, Abraham, our father in faith, had to be called twice before he responded to the Lord’s call. The Lord appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia and also in Haran before Abraham moved to the promised land. Calling Abraham twice signifies that the Lord always leaves a witness of His relentless pursuit of His elect. As His elect, nothing shall separate us from the love of the Lord.

Act 7:1  Then said the high priest, Are these things so? 
Act 7:2  And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 
Act 7:3  And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. 
Act 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.   

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1Sa 3:8  And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 
1Sa 3:9  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
1Sa 3:10  And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

The calling of Samuel three times by the Lord and Samuel still thinking that it was Eli calling is to show us that Samuel had not gone through the process of becoming spiritually mature through the Lord’s judgment (the significance of three). It means Samuel was still a baby in Christ. That was our situation when we were in the church system of this world before the Lord came to us to begin the process of our exit from Babylon.

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.

The fact that Eli, who represents the fading glory of the law of Moses, was able to instruct Samuel about how to engage the Lord in a conversation means that the law of Moses was needful at a certain point in our walk with Christ, when we were in the church system of this world.  

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

It is through the law that we come to know that of our own, we can do nothing. It is this knowledge which serves as the basis of our relationship with Christ as we begin to walk by faith in Him or His word.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

In verse 4, Samuel finally answered the Lord’s call. It was at the fourth call by the Lord that Samuel was able to respond appropriately. The number four means the whole of the matter under discussion. Therefore, Samuel responding to the Lord’s fourth call implies that as His elect, the Lord will use the whole of His communication arsenal to get our attention at the right time. 

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 

This is what the Lord is doing in this age. He is standing at our door and knocking and it is only the Lord’s elect that are hearing Him, just like Samuel and not Eli, who also represents the leaders of the church system of this world. Therefore, the door is being opened to us to come and dine with the Lord. 

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

The Judgment of the House of Eli

1Sa 3:11  And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 
1Sa 3:12  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  

It is only the Lord’s elect who are aware that the church system of this world or Babylon shall be destroyed in the fullness of time. What the Lord will do, which will tingle the ears of the people of this world, is the destruction of Babylon. Babylon within each of us must be destroyed first before we can be set free to worship the Lord in truth and in spirit. In verses 11 and 12, the Lord was telling Samuel what He was going to do regarding the church system of this world. 

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 
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. 
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

On the other hand, there is also the physical or outward destruction of the church system of this world or Babylon through the judgment of the Lord in the fullness of time.  

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: 

1Sa 3:14  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. 

According to Brown-Driver-Briggs Dictionary, the word “forever” in verse 14 means as far as, until, up to, etc. Therefore, it means that the iniquity of Eli’s house which represents the church system of this world or Babylon will not be cleansed by the sacrificial blood of Christ in this age. 

1Sa 3:15  And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 
1Sa 3:16  Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 
1Sa 3:17  And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 
1Sa 3:18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good. 

Samuel fearing to tell Eli the vision is to remind us that our communion with the Lord should not be proclaimed at the house-tops – it is private. Unlike Samuel, who represents the Lord’s elect, our brothers and sisters in the church system, especially their leaders will always talk about how the Lord is always communicating with them. Many times you will hear them saying, “the Lord told me …”, when the Lord has not said anything.

Eze 22:27  Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 
Eze 22:28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. (ESV)

Jer 23:16  Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 
Jer 23:17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” (ESV)

When the Lord wants us to share what He has shown us by way of vision, dream, etc., He will create the circumstance which will make us share what He has shown us, just like the case of Samuel. 

Eli’s response did not show any remorse, after Samuel told him everything about the evil the Lord would bring to his house. Compare this with the behavior of the people of Nineveh when they realized that the Lord would destroy them in forty days. They put on sackcloth and repented of their evil ways. The Lord therefore did not destroy them. As indicated earlier, Eli’s house will not be given the opportunity to repent and be cleansed by the blood of Christ. This means that the church system of this world will not repent in this age and therefore will not be cleansed in this age by the blood of Christ.

Jon 3:4  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 
Jon 3:5  So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
Jon 3:6  For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 
Jon 3:7  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water: 
Jon 3:8  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 
Jon 3:9  Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 
Jon 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. 

Samuel Continued to Grow in the Lord

1Sa 3:19  And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 
1Sa 3:20  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 
1Sa 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. 

Just like Samuel, the Lord is with us, and therefore we must feed on the word of the Lord to grow. It is very instructive to note that the Lord did not let any of His words fall to the ground. This means that the Lord will surely fulfill every promise He has made to us. 

Psa 138:8  The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. 

The Lord establishing Samuel as a prophet of the Lord in the eyes of the people of Israel in verse 20 is to let us know that the unbelief of the house of Eli or the church system of this world or Babylon has resulted in the Lord showing mercy to His elect in this age. This implies that in the fullness of time, through the mercy we have obtained, the whole of humanity shall also obtain mercy.  

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

As we are aware, Samuel later became like a ruler to the Lord’s people as He was consulted in all key issues pertaining to Israel. For example, when the people of Israel wanted a king, it was to Samuel they referred the matter. This is all to show us that our obedience to the Lord is preparing us to rule over the kingdoms of this world at the end of this age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. 

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 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. 

It is important to note in verse 21 that the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. Our eyes being opened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven is the same as the Lord revealing Himself to us, just like the case of Samuel. It is therefore not through signs and wonders that we perform or the size of our followers that authenticate the fact that we know Christ. 

We cannot therefore thank the Lord enough for favoring us in this age to know Him through His word. May His name be praised. Amen!

Matthew 23:1–39 The Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

[Study Aired October 13, 2025]

Today’s study is about Jesus exposing the hypocrisy of the leaders of the church system of this world or Babylon, symbolized by the scribes and the Pharisees. Before we can understand today’s study, we need to know the use of the word “woe” in the Bible. A woe in the Bible can have various meanings depending on the context. It can mean an expression of deep sorrow, pain, or a state of great misery and trouble. It can also mean a solemn declaration of God’s judgment against those who persist in sin or hypocrisy. A woe can indicate a lament over one’s own pitiful state, as seen in Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness.  

Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts [here Isaiah is lamenting over his spiritual poverty].

Rev 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! [This is talking about our judgment]

In today’s study, Jesus pronouncing seven “woes” against the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and spiritual blindness serves as a divine pronouncement of their judgment. As we are aware, the number seven spiritually means complete. Therefore, the seven woes show us the complete judgment of the Lord on our old man or flesh for our deeds during our time in the church system of this world. It also shows our spiritual poverty during our time in Babylon.

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

Mat 23:1  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 
Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 

Here we see Jesus speaking to both the multitude and His disciples. As we have indicated in this study of the Book of Matthew, the multitude represents us in the churches of this world, and the disciples signify the Lord’s elect. We must first be part of the church system of this world before we are given to become the Lord’s elect. The Scribes and the Pharisees sitting in Moses’ seat means that in this age, it is the church system of this world or Babylon who are the custodians of the law of Moses. This implies that the church system preaches only the law of Moses, and therefore, they are not given to know Christ. In other words, the church system of this world does not have the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. 

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

We know that the law of Moses only serves to make us aware of our sinful state. That is why we must first be in Babylon so that we know our sins through the law. Knowing our sins is a prerequisite to knowing Christ and His words. It is when we begin to see our spiritual poverty that the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to open our understanding to know Him. 

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 
Rom 7:8  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 
Rom 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 

Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 
Mat 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.   

During our time in the churches of this world, the Lord required us to be obedient to the law of Moses which is taught in Babylon. This is because it is through our disobedience that we can know our sinful state. It is in Babylon that we saw the works of the leaders which reflect our state. That is, we worshiped the Lord with our mouth but our hearts were far away from Him.

Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 

In Matthew 15:9, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men is the same as teaching the law of Moses. 

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 

As shown in verse 4, these commandments of men are like heavy burdens which are grievous to be borne because we do not have what it takes to obey them – not even the leaders of the church system of this world or Babylon. This heavy burden we bore during our time in the churches of this world is depicted by the people of Israel’s reaction to Rehoboam, Solomon’s son who succeeded him as king. Rehoboam’s insistence on increasing the burden on the people of Israel was what brought about the separation of the northern kingdom from Judah. We can therefore deduce that this heavy burden that we bore when we were in the churches of this world was what accelerated our exit from Babylon.   

1Ki 12:1  And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
1Ki 12:2  And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 
1Ki 12:3  That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 
1Ki 12:4  Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 

1Ki 12:12  So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 
1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; 
1Ki 12:14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 

1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 

1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 

Mat 23:5  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 
Mat 23:6  And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 
Mat 23:7  And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 
Mat 23:8  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 

In these verses, the Lord is warning us, His disciples, of the Nicolaitan system in the churches of this world. The word “Nicolaitans” is found in the following verses of scripture:

Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

It means conquerors of the people or victory over the laity. These scribes and Pharisees were lording over the Lord’s people, and this nicolaitan doctrine is what prevails in the church system of this world where the pastors rule over the Lord’s people. The Lord has warned His disciples of this tendency as follows:

Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 
Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 
Mat 20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

As indicated in verses 5-7, these scribes and pharisees, who represent the leaders of Babylon, want their works to be seen by everybody. This runs contrary to what the Lord wants His elect to do.

Mat 6:3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.  

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 

Mat 23:9  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 
Mat 23:10  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 
Mat 23:11  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 
Mat 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 

We are called to serve and not lord over the Lord’s people as we see in the churches of this world or Babylon, where the pastors reign as kings over the Lord’s people. 

Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 

1Pe 4:10  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 

In verse 12, the Lord is warning us to humble ourselves before Him and men and we shall be exalted. On the other hand, if we exalt ourselves, we shall be abased. The story of Nebuchadnezzar is a reminder of how the Lord brings us down if we exalt ourselves.

Dan 4:28  All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 
Dan 4:29  At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 
Dan 4:30  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 
Dan 4:31  While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 
Dan 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.   

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 
Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 

We were the scribes and pharisees during our time in the churches of this world. The question is, “How do the scribes and Pharisees shut up the kingdom of heaven against men?” When we preach the doctrines of men or false doctrines, we are shutting up the kingdom of heaven. As indicated earlier, the doctrines of men are just like the law of Moses, which only requires obedience from our end, but does not provide the way to obedience. This implies that those who preach the law of Moses cannot live according to what they preach and therefore cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. If those leading the way cannot enter, then the followers are made worse off.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

As indicated in the introductory portion of this study, woe can mean a lament over our pitiful state of being worse off. The Lord’s use of woe to the scribes and pharisees shows our worsened state as we become entangled with the pollution of this world during our time in Babylon.

The next question is, “How do we devour widows houses?” It is when our message makes them worse off. The widows here represent the church system of this world or Babylon, who is without her husband Christ. As indicated in 2 Peter 2:17 above, it is in Babylon that we are made worse off, using prayer as a smoke screen to deceive many. Receiving greater damnation means that we shall be judged severely.

2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Compassing the sea and land to make one proselyte means putting in significant resources and effort to win a convert. We can see everywhere around us, many Christian TV stations and so-called mega pastors, travelling all over the world in the name of the gospel. In the final analysis, these converts become worse off than when they started in the faith.      

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

The Lord predicted how these men of God (scribes and Pharisees) will make His people worse off through the prophet Joel as follows:

Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 
Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 
Joe 2:4  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Joe 2:5  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 
Joe 2:6  Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 
Joe 2:7  They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Joe 2:8  Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 
Joe 2:9  They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 

Mat 23:16  Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 
Mat 23:17  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 
Mat 23:18  And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 
Mat 23:19  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 

In verse 16, Jesus is referring to the scribes and the Pharisees as blind guides. This sums up what the leaders of the church system of this world are – they are blind guides. In other words, being blind, their eyes are not opened to perceive the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. We know that our bodies are the temple of the Lord. These scribes and Pharisees, who represent our lifestyle when we were in the churches of this world,  focus on the gold of the temple instead of the temple. This implies that many consider financial gain as a form of godliness instead of the cleansing of our hearts and minds (the temple).   

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 

In verses 17-19, Jesus is showing us that we are indeed fools and blind to consider the gold of the temple (riches) more than the temple (the sanctification of our hearts and minds). The parable of the rich fool demonstrate the point that Jesus was making.

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 
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, and is not rich toward God. 

Mat 23:20  Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 
Mat 23:21  And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 
Mat 23:22  And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 

Verses 20 to 22 show us the importance of our body as living sacrifice to the Lord. The altar is within the temple, and the temple and the heavens all refer to our hearts and minds, where the throne of the Lord is. The sanctification of our hearts and minds is the work of the Lord who uses judgment as His cleansing tool. We can therefore see that the work of the Lord in our lives pertains to building of our temple or hearts and mind. This building of our temple is the cleansing of our hearts and minds. To ignore our temple, the center of the Lord’s work, and to focus on anything else means that we have been blinded and as a result, we have become fools.

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:   

Mat 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 
Mat 23:24  Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 

These verses show us that the church system in Jesus days is not different from what the churches are doing today. Obsession with tithing was what drove the leaders in churches in Jesus days and it is the same as today.

Ecc 1:9  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 

Here three things are mentioned as being of greater significance than tithing – judgment, mercy, and faith. Judgment is the means the Lord uses to take us out of the miry clay and to establish us on the rock which is Christ. It is through the suffering we go through that the Lord is able to destroy our flesh, or old man, who is the source of sin in our lives. The importance therefore of judgment is without question. It is the process the Lord uses to prepare us as His bride as we learn righteousness. As the church system in Jesus’ days ignored the issue of judgment, so is the church system of this world today. We can therefore see why the Lord called the scribes and the pharisees blind guides. This is because they do not have a clue as to how the Lord prepares us to be like Him. The same is today. The church system or Babylon today is ignorant of the Lord’s judgment, and therefore they are as blind as their fathers. We were also blind until the Lord came to us to open our eyes to see and ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

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.

The church system in Jesus’ days and today do not understand the extent of the Lord’s mercy. The Jews thought they were the only people to whom the Lord will show mercy. The church today also thinks the same way in the sense that the Lord will show mercy to them but will not show mercy to all but burn them forever in the lake of fire. That is not the Lord we serve, who will show mercy to all in the fullness of time.  

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

The third item of importance is faith. Our walk with Christ is a walk of faith, and it is through faith that we receive a good report and are able to overcome. It is through faith that we might obtain a better resurrection (first resurrection).

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 

The biblical phrase “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel” in Matthew 23:24 means to focus on trivial rules and external appearances while ignoring weightier matters that leads to salvation, such as, judgment, mercy and faith.

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 

When our focus is on outward godliness, we miss out on the power of the Lord to cleanse us from within. As a result, we become worse off. The Lord does not see as we men see, in the sense that He focuses on the inward while men pay attention to the outward. The whole of the church system of this world pay attention to the outward. No wonder during our time in the churches of this world, we were filled with all sorts of evil.  

2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 

1Sa 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 

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

These scribes and Pharisees claimed innocence of the shedding of the blood of the prophets, but want to kill Jesus. The word of the Lord says that what we do to any of His messengers, we have done it to the Lord. This implies that the church system of this world is guilty for shedding the blood of Jesus and the prophets. We, His elect, were part of the church system at a certain stage of our walk and therefore were equally guilty.

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  

Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 
Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 
Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 

The first time that the word vipers was used in the Bible, it referred to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to John the Baptist to be baptized. That was when John the Baptist asked them if it is because they want to flee from the wrath of God that they have come to be baptized. 

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?

This shows that vipers represent the Lord’s people who think they can escape from the wrath of the Lord or His judgment. This is confirmed in verse 33 where Jesus referred to them as generation of vipers who think they can escape from His judgment. Jesus also referred to them as serpents. Since the serpent represent the devil, it shows us that when we were in the churches of this world, our father was the devil. In verse 33 therefore, the Lord was revealing to us our state when we were in the churches of this world – we were deceived to believe that we have escaped the Lord’s judgement and were not aware that our father was the devil.   

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil (being of our father the devil), speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

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

As indicated in the previous verses, we were guilty of the blood of the prophets including our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore cannot escape the Lord’s judgment. Every generation of the Lord’s elect is guilty of the blood of Jesus and the prophets and must go through the Lord’s judgment.

Lament over Jerusalem

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 

Jerusalem in verse 37 represents the church system of this world or Babylon, of which we were part before the Lord came to rescue us. 

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. 

As we are aware, hating a brother or sister means murder. We were therefore guilty of killing the Lord’s prophets sent to us as we rejected their message and considered them dead in the street of Jerusalem.

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

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. 

Verse 37 is showing us that while we were in the churches of the world, the Lord wanted to gather us together as His elect, but He gave us a spirit of rebellion so that we were not willing. In verse 38, we are given a reason why we were not willing. Our house must become desolate before the Lord steps in to deliver us. In other words, we must come to see our spiritual poverty before the Lord comes to intervene in our circumstance.  

Mat 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

Here in this verse, the Lord is showing us how He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His judgment, that is, through His elect. Recognizing His elect as coming in the name of the Lord is therefore an indication that we have indeed, seen the Lord. Jesus told Thomas that anyone who has seen Him, has seen the Father. Since we are His Christ, anyone who recognize us as messengers of Christ has also seen Christ. 

Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 

May the Lord continue to uphold us in Him as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

Rev 17:1-7 The Judgment of the Great Whore, Part 2

[Study Aired April 13, 2025]

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

We closed our last study taking notice that the revelation of the great whore was given to John by ‘one of the seven angels which had the seven last plagues’:

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

We cannot show anyone the judgment of the great whore until we ‘look behind ourselves’ (Rev 1:12) to see what Christ has worked in our own lives. Then we can be used by Him to show our brothers and fellow servants what is Lord is doing in our lives:

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

Look at who it is who “have the testimony of Jesus”:

Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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

If you and I have been granted to be a part of the body of Christ, then it is we who have the testimony of Jesus.

We know that ‘the battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev 16:14), the great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be (Mat 24:21), the great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon our earth (Rev 16:18), the dividing of that great city Babylon within us and the great hailstorm within us’ (Rev 16:21), are all the “great and marvelous” work of God which, through His work of fire and brimstone, wipes away all the lies of Babylon which until this time have held us in their bondage.

This is how the holy spirit describes this great whore to us:

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

“In the spirit” signifies that everything John is seeing is of spiritual significance. In other words “the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” This is not a literal whore, and she is not seated on a literal beast. This “whore” signifies what the Lord’s people had become spiritually:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot [“whore” (Rev 17:1-3)]! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

The “whore” signifies the Lord’s own apostate people who have always committed fornication with the nations about them:

Eze 16:13  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14  And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15  But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

It was “In the spirit into the wilderness” that the Lord Himself fought with the beasts of His own flesh:

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Mar 1:12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

 “The Tempter did all in his power to persuade Christ to deny His own linage, His own calling and His own inheritance. To avoid having to give up all that is in this world and become the savior of us all, Christ was offered by the Tempter to become the physical ruler of all the nations of this world.

Mar 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Mar 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
Mar 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying [to Christ], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Mar 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

This scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns signifies the exact same beast we came to know in our studies of Revelation 13:

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

The “beast” of Mark 1:13, where Jesus was in the wilderness tempted by the devil with wild beasts, the ‘beast’ of Revelation 13:1 who comes up out of the sea; the beast of Revelation 11:7 who arises out of the bottomless pit, and this ‘beast’ here in Revelation 17:1, supporting and being ridden by this “Great Whore”, are all the same ‘beast’ (G2342, ‘therion’, “A wild animal, a wild beast”). This is who we all are before being transformed of “the same lump” into a “new man… another vessel as it seemed good to the Potter to make it” (Jer 18:1-6). At that point we become another ‘beast’ (G2226, ‘zoon’, “a living thing that is an animal”). This is the word used to describe the animals which were offered as sacrifices to God as opposed to wild beasts.

The only added detail here in Revelation 17, besides being a ‘therion’, a wild beast, is the fact that we, like our father the devil and Satan, are “scarlet colored”… having seven heads and ten horns”:

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Like our spiritual father the devil, at this time, while in the darkness and deception of Babylon, we, too, are signified as a ‘wild beast’, a ‘therion’, with ‘seven heads and ten horns.’

In this sad state we are merely “the natural man” who has not been given eyes that see or ears that can hear the things of the spirit:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

At this ‘carnal babe in Christ’ state of our being, spiritual thoughts are “foolishness” to us:

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

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

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

Babylon seems so very innocuous. In fact she appears as a downright righteous woman who is decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. In chapter 18 we are told that she is full of “gold silver and precious stones.”

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,

‘Gold, silver, and precious stones’ are the very symbols used by the holy spirit to signify the materials with which we are to build upon the foundation of Christ and the apostles and prophets:

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [the fiery Word of God]; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Babylon appeals to our flesh in every possible way. She is very generous and is filled with many wonderful works which immediately appeal to men. Babylon is first and foremost a harlot whose greatest joy is to please men, and not her true and ultimate husband, our Lord. She “has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.” That ‘cup’ opposes everything found in the cup Christ gave to His apostles on the night of His apprehension by the Jews. The cup of Christ calls for us to be hated of all men (Mat 10:22), to deny our flesh, and to die daily to the desires of our flesh (1Co 15:31), to be “crucified with Him” (Gal 2:20), to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1), and to fill up in our bodies what is behind and lacking of His afflictions for His body’s sake, which is the church (Col 1:24).

The cup in the hand of this harlot teaches us that Christ did all of that for us and all we need is to reach out and accept His suffering in our stead. It is a damnable doctrine known as substitutionary atonement, and it comes right out of the throne of the beast in the bottomless pit.

It is designed to deceive and seduce us all at our appointed time. She is much too subtle for any man to resist by himself or by his own wisdom. It requires knowing the word of God, and trying the spirits of Babylon to see her as she is here described:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The blood of Jesus and the blood of the saints are what causes the drunken stupor of the harlot we all are. These words are “written therein” and are kept by us all in our own time. We do not martyr Christians as the apostle Paul martyred Stephen. Our drunkenness on their blood is detected in the hatred we have for the doctrines of Christ, and our hatred for the example He has left us to follow.

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

Mat 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Christ tells us that His blood is “My blood of the New Testament.” The New Covenant is the Words of Christ. If we hate Christ’s Words, then we hate the words which tell us of the example He has set for us to follow, and if we hate those words, we hate those who bring us His Words. As a matter of fact, we are told that when we reject those who come to us with the words of Christ, we are rejecting Christ himself (Luk 10:16):

Mat 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Mat 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Luk 10:16  He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me.(ASV)

Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Joh 13:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” When we are given to follow Christ, we are given to follow Him 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.

Those who seek to know God and His Son with their “whole heart”, always ask, “What did Jesus do” in each and every situation encountered in any situation. The flesh asks, “What is permissible?” while the spirit is whole hearted in its service and inquires “What is commendable, what did Jesus do?”

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Ask yourself what did Christ say and where Christ go in every move of your life. When we are given to see His steps, then we should “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.” If the Lord gives us the strength to do that, then we will never be ashamed, and His blood will cover the blood of His saints which is on our own hands.

Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation [‘This generation’ reading these words (Mat 24:15)].

Next week, Lord willing, we will review the origins and the fate of the beast within us when we look into the spiritual meaning of these words:

Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:9 And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

Audio Download

The Book of Zephaniah – Zep 2:1-15

[Aired April 12, 2025]

Zephaniah’s name means ‘Jehovah has treasured and stored’, and when the ‘natural man’ reads the first verse of Chapter Two, he is already disillusioned since he is not given the understanding that God’s spirit discerns spirit that same spirit in his Elect — Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 
1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Of course, all of Orthodox Christianity, represented as greater Israel, perceives Christ in a limited way—ranging from slight understanding to total blindness. Consequently, the “we” above in 1 Corinthians 2:15 is naturally seen as meaning themselves, not knowing they represent the elder woman, a church, serving the younger woman, the New Covenant Elect of God. So, in the opening verse of Zephaniah, they see a “nation not desired”, meaning some other Christian orthodoxy not preaching what they preach, particularly a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or other religious ideology.

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 [That event is the Resurrection to Judgment, the Lake of Fire for Zionist Christianity and all other religious ideologies – the world!].
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 

Thus, like the other Minor Prophets, Zephaniah persists with grim preaching that challenges the Babylonian cheerful message of peace and prosperity, emphasising their straightforward act of simply believing in Jesus, who has taken away their sins, where judgment is a dirty word belonging to some marauding Christian cult.

Significations:

Judgment on Judah’s Enemies

Zep 2:1  Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 

While speaking of a horrendous earthquake of the likes never experienced by mankind demolishing “that Great City” we perceive as Babylon, its most profound shaking is spiritually seen as the “we“ in 1 Corinthians 2:16 — we are initially that Great City “not desired”, a spiritually veritable whore — (Orthodox Christianity likely offended by the insult). That is a shocking statement to the spiritually discerning Elect, who formerly stood proud of his accomplishments, which he “gathered together” in Orthodox Christianity, doing endless, genuinely good physical works. With dead eyes, aware of the outward meaning of Matthew 7:21-23 — “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”, his spiritual understanding crippled, semi-consciously pricked that there is more to its meaning, yet never coming to the understanding of the truth (2 Tim 3:1-7).

Not being desired by your loved one is agonising, especially if love once flourished. That was the emotion Old Israel should have felt, but since she was a whore, her impudence ruled self-righteously. Even exile in Babylon, with its unexpected riches, amplified her brazen disrespect for her Husband’s chastising love. As we are well acquainted, she represents us for a spiritual earthquake of glorious magnitude — and the reason for this belaboured introduction dissecting the joints and marrow of being “not desired”.

The most dynamic Biblical account of someone “not desired” is Christ, a husband rejected by his Gomer-like first wife, Old Israel, and worse in their time and order, even the Elect of God. Since one event happens to all men, humanity since Adam, she, too, has likewise scorned and thus hated him.

Isa 53:2  For he [Jesus Christ] shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

The Bible is based on mankind becoming God through the evil experience of battling the flesh, in contrast to the peace of living in and by Christ’s spirit. Two women represent mankind, who signify churches beginning with Old Israel in the wilderness and the New Covenant church after the cross. By Christ’s design, the first, His wife, became a Gomer-like whore (Hos 1:2-4). Their marriage dissolved in His death on the cross. The second was initiated by Christ dragging His hand-picked disciples (and others) to represent His New Covenant Bride, a literal remnant He calls His “Elect.”

The most graphic example of those two women representing the two Covenants is modelled by the young and beautiful women, Aholah and Aholibah, in Ezekiel 23. To present their whoredoms, we shall read part of that chapter, and I highly recommend that you read the entire account.

Eze 23:1  The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 
Eze 23:2  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: [Meaning mother Israel]
Eze 23:3  And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 
Eze 23:4  And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister [the obvious younger]: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah [Representing greater Israel, the world], and Jerusalem Aholibah [Judah, the Priests of God out of whom come a remnant spiritual Elect]. 
Eze 23:5  And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 
Eze 23:6  Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. 
Eze 23:7  Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. 
Eze 23:8  Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 
Eze 23:9  Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. 
Eze 23:10  These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
Eze 23:11  And when her sister Aholibah [… the incipient Priests, the spiritual Elect of God today] saw this, she [the younger] was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, [the Elder, Israel, the world since she should have known better!] and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. 

Zephaniah’s point covertly points to where the Bride of Christ is extracted: from Israel, and specifically Old Jerusalem as Judah, the treacherous priests of God! That is a mighty earthquake that shakes a very few Elect to their core for the realisation, generating heart-thumping excitement for its spiritual understanding when we understand that we are the nation not desired! The extension of the grim reality is that one event happens to all humanity, first starting with our undesirable filthy clothing, while greater Israel, being in their ignorance, remains blind and undesirable until the Resurrection to Judgement — for a harrowing moment, a symbolic seventeen years (Gen 47:28) is their turn to mistakenly perceive themselves as the ones who are “not desired”. Out of their own mouths, being judged, deluded into believing that they, with Satan stoking the coals of fire, will burn in hell forever.  

We initially are a captive, beautiful woman desired by her Lord, enslaved in Egypt, first to become the Lord’s enemy who is designed to become undesirable for the much later Elect of God to see that they, spiritually, are her!

Deu 21:10  When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 
Deu 21:11  And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; 
Deu 21:12  Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 
Deu 21:13  And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her Husband, and she shall be thy wife. 

The greatly favoured Lord’s first wife, Old Israel, was beautiful, but her feet didn’t remain in her Husband’s house; ‘a girl just wanting to have fun’ she became bored and thus undesirable to her husband as Hosea’s wife, Gomer, was to him and signifies us before being dragged out of Babylon. She typifies all women becoming wives whose inherent nature is having a heart of snares and nets and hands like bands (Ecc 7:26) when the promise of the good life with children is evident. Once satiated, his stability becomes unexciting and is exaggerated by her inevitable hormonal changes, causing her to look back melancholically for her first love—yet not necessarily desiring her Husband’s ‘light bread’ (Num 21:5).

Pro 31:30  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Num 21:5  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth [does not desire] this light bread. 

Only Christ, our Husband, can reverse our loathing of His word and transform it into a desire for Him in the dead of night; our blindness cries out that we cannot see.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 

Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth. 

What makes the Elect so ravishing to Christ is their response of genuine “desire” to receive judgment, the overriding theme of all the Minor Prophets. It all is part of the “decree of the watchers”—the Elect of God, given to see, “watch” for her enemy coming within and being instant in prayer, calls upon her husband to rescue her by his spirit and strength and burn off her spiritual chaff.

Dan 4:16  Let his [Nebuchadnezzar’s, representing our…] heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven [Fulness of…] times pass over him. 
Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it [We] the basest of men. 
Dan 4:18  This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar [The Elect of God], declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom [Babylon—Orthodox Christianity; the World] are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

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. 

Additionally, what more is this “decree”, meaning statute, ordinance or something prescribed, in Zephaniah 2:2 speaking of? Any earthly authority’s decree grabs our attention; however, like the wayward whore we were, the decrees of our Husband, Christ, were often received similarly to how all earthbound wives regard with contempt the notion that any man, particularly a husband, should command authority over them. An outstanding ‘decree’ is found in Psalm 2:7:

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen [We, in our time and order] rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth [Us!] set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 
Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision [… is something “not desired”]. 
Psa 2:5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 
Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king [Christ, our Husband] upon my holy hill of Zion. 
Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 
Psa 2:8  [The very Elect…] Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen [The world of humanity] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [humanity] for thy possession. 
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you [Beginning at the Altar, the Temple, the Elect of God]. 
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they [The Elect and humanity] refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.) 

Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings [The Elect]: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 
Psa 2:11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Consequently, we, the basest of men, have a decree [To be a watchman] to judge ourselves so that our blood and the blood of the Earth’s inhabitants are not laid upon us. 

Eze 33:6  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. 

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

Nebuchadnezzar’s (Daniel 4) supreme rulership and God-given demise represent our beastly nature, the earthquake realisation that we are the man of purdition sitting on God’s throne, effectively stating that we are god — being dashed to pieces like a potter’s vessel, like chaff before the summer breeze for the stunning realisation, now instructed to judge ourselves by Christ’s decrees and serve him in fear, and rejoycing with trembling.

Zep 2:4  For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 
Zep 2:5  Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. 

All those aforementioned ethnicities are heathen nations dwelling spiritually within whom Israel deemed unnecessary to utterly remove from their physical land and paid severe hardships in consequence. Today, 2025, the crypto Judeans, emblematic of Orthodox Christianity, enslaved to the Old Covenant, are attempting to fix what the God of the Old Covenant ‘decreed’ to rid their land of all unrighteousness, mercilessly slashing and burning every ‘Gazian’ son of Haggar the bondwoman, utterly unaware that they are in bed with her — an earthquake of unimaginable proportions soon to be realised in the Resurrection to Judgment. 

1Sa 15:1  Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 
1Sa 15:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 
1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 

Without spiritual discernment, the duality of meaning is too convoluted to understand that in the next verse of Zephaniah, they all become food for the Elect of God, “the remnant”, as an inheritance.

Zep 2:6  And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. 
Zep 2:7  And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;[spiritual Judah] they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity [In the Resurrection to Judgment]. 
Zep 2:8  I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people [The Elect], and magnified themselves against their border. 

The “reproach of Moab” is what the Lord’s Elect experience today through taunts, insults, and mockery from emblematic Christian Moabites, most painfully felt by their wives, husbands, and children’s defamation who have not yet been dragged to Christ.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 
Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

Zep 2:9  Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people [The Elect] shall spoil them, and the remnant [The Elect] of my people shall possess them. 
Zep 2:10  This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. 

The tables have turned for us. The former “not desired” of the Lord has been scourged, and the beasts have been driven out before us from our Temple. It is all humanity since Adam’s turn because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Elect of God. We see these things through the holy spirit, who gives all understanding.

Joh 16:4  But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you [… a glorious paradox now known!]. 

Zep 2:11  The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. 
Zep 2:12  Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. 

The mention, almost as a side note, that the Ethiopians, too, will not escape, denotes a people who by all accounts, never attacked Israel, so, in theirs and our thinking, why should Christ’s sword slay relatively innocent people? A violently contentious parallel can be juxtaposed with Anthony Fauci and all the pundits of safe and effective vaccines most likely never in this life, including the One-Thousand Year reign with the rod of iron, and to the world’s bitter chagrin, never being judged. A phenomenal earthquake result coming upon billions of people is that Fauci is no different to them and us, having killed Christ. So, in the short term, it seems grossly unfair that a perceived innocent and gentle people (the rich man – Luk 18:9-14)) should be lumped in with the likes of Fauci. The reason for the Lord’s actions is that all flesh incurs the wrath of God simply by being “evil flesh”, regardless of how innocent a Christian he thinks he is.

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

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

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. 

Zep 2:13  And he will stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. 

A striking parallel can be drawn between Zephaniah 2:13 and the King of the South pushing at the King of the North in Daniel 11. In these apparent ‘end times’, and as we once did, the Babylonian Christians are feverishly straining their eyes to see who the Great Whore and Beast are, not knowing that judgment comes upon us who are pushing at Christ, the spiritual King of the North who swiftly responds out of the North with the sword of His word. Paradoxically, the act of our Lord striking us with His word, ‘passes over’ His Elect by the nature of sanctification—being set apart; dedicated to Christ.

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Dan 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 
Dan 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 
Dan 11:42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

When our Lord has struck those we perceive as innocent—being women, children, and the flocks that support our livelihoods, representing our self-righteous little sins that seem un-noteworthy—our Old Jerusalem within becomes a desolation in which the genuinely innocent word of God can dwell within the ‘lintels and windows’ of a receptive mind to his spirit. Being sanctified, the formerly unclean food represented by cormorants and bitterns, and taking up poisonous serpents has no effect on us since those symbols in the New Covenant point to unclean doctrines, which the entire Old Covenant primarily exhibits. Hence, in the next verse of Zephaniah, we live in that peace that the Old Covenant could never deliver, with its suffering progressively being pushed out to the thresholds of our hearts — and eventually entirely. The shittim wood from which the Ark, containing the Old Covenant was constructed is overlaid with corruptible gold, just like the altar made of cedar from that once glorious Covenant, is now made naked, its “cedar work uncovered” in Christ.

Jas 5:2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 
Jas 5:3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Zep 2:14  And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. 

Consequently, the Elect of God ecstatically rejoices upon seeing from where they have come, having lived carelessly in Babylonian doctrines with the startling realisation that she was The Great Whore, that Great City, the “I am”, proudly in direct opposition to God, the original “I am” (Exo 3:14), she, with bare thighs sitting on God’s throne in his stead — a most humiliating sight indeed! (Isa 47:1-3)

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. 

Zep 2:15  This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. 

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 
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. 

In the not-too-distant future, Lord willing, even now, hopefully, we, the two men dressed in sackcloth, will witness the world in opposition to Judeao Christianity, The Great Whore (representing us!), send each other gifts and endlessly lampoon her—hiss and wagging their fingers in gleeful derision, precisely and unwittingly as our non-believing families and Babylonian friends do to us this very day, all the way to our hopeful, First Resurrection (Rev 11:1-14).

Rev 17:1-6 The Judgment of the Great Whore, Part 1

 [Study Aired April 11, 2025]

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Introduction

As we saw in our previous studies, all these seals, trumpets and plagues occur within us, within our lives for the purpose of dragging us out of the darkness and the lies of the doctrines of the great harlot, and into the light of the truth in the doctrines of Christ:

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

This judgment of the seven last plagues is poured out upon us while we are still spiritually in “Babylon the Great”, and before we are given to begin to enter into the house of God:

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. [Greek: aorist tense – ‘begin to be fulfilled’]

We know this is true because the seventh plague is poured out on us while we are yet in darkness and yet in the clutches of Babylon the Great:

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
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.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The seven last plagues “fill up the wrath of God” upon the doctrines of Babylon which dominate our minds, for the purpose of doing what nothing to this time in our lives has accomplished. That is why they are said to be “great and marvelous”.

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.

The seventh plague signifies the sum of all that fills up God’s wrath against all the sins and false doctrines that still hold us within Babylon. Here is how that plague is described. Here is what must happen in the lives of all who will be dragged out of Babylon and ripped away from all that this world has to offer in the attempts of the adversary to keep his king, the beast within us all, upon Christ’s throne, the throne of our heats.

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
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.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Wait just one minute! Weren’t we told that these seven last plagues “fill up the wrath of God”?

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

Psa 9:1 <To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.> I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Yes, there it is. The seven last plagues “fill up the wrath of God” through our wholehearted service which “shows forth all thy [great and] marvelous works.” Wholehearted service to God endures “all thy [great and] marvelous works.” Enduring the judgment of our rebellious, self-righteous carnal mind is the fruit of being brought to realize that “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17):

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 [no longer partake of her sins], and that ye receive not of her plagues. [Do not continue to receive 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 [The “fire and brimstone” of Rev 14:10-12].
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. [Exactly what we said while we were in Babylon]:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest [You and I have said], 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 [and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb (Rev 14:6-12)], 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.

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

Our “comfort”  is not because of some fabled ‘rapture’ out of this world to avoid the judgments of God. Rather, our comfort is… “for [because] she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”

The fact that it is the seventh plague, the last plague, which “gives to Babylon the wine of the fierceness of God’s wrath” explains to us that these next two chapters, chapters 17-18, are nothing less than the details of what must take place within us as these plagues are being poured out upon us while we were still in the clutches of the darkness of Babylon, all the while thinking of ourselves 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:

The church of Laodicea also happens to be the seventh, the last of the seven churches, and she signifies the mind of the harlot who says, “I have done no wickedness”:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness [While in reality she is “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked”].

It is while we are in this complacent, self-righteous Laodicean mindset that we are still enmeshed and submerged in our most insidious and tenacious darkness. We have works and labour and patience, and we have not put up with them which are evil. We have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and we have found them liars: We have borne, and had patience, and for Christ’s name’s sake, we have labored and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, we have all left our first love have those who lord it over the Lord’s flock (the Nicolaitans), we have Jezebel teaching us to rebel against the Lord’s ways, we say we are Jews and we are not, and we want nothing of His judgments in our lives (Rev 3:1-4).

At this point we all cry out, “My Lord, what more do you want of me? I have refused them that are evil, I have borne and had patience and for your name’s sake I have labored and have not fainted. I have tried them which say they are apostles and are not and I have found them to be liars. My end works are better than those I stated with. I hate the Nicolaitans. How have I left my first love? Where is the throne of Satan in my life? What more is there of this world that I must give up?”

We are completely unaware that it is even possible to have accomplished all of what is listed here in Revelation 2 and 3 and still come to a place where we are spiritually “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” How is that possible? It is possible because we have “become entangled again with the yoke of bondage”, we have left our first love, we have become lukewarm, and say in our heart that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, when in reality we are spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked, we deny that it is even so.

Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

So here we are in this 17th chapter. The shortcomings of the seven churches are burned out of us via the seven last plagues of chapter 16. The seventh plague was the judgment of great Babylon within us:

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

This 17^th chapter and the 18^th chapter will reveal to us just how the Lord accomplishes the judgment of this great harlot with whom we have committed spiritual fornication and have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication:

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Do we dare think that we have never been a part of the “many waters” upon whom this great whore has been sitting for so long? Who could better show us what it was like to endure and experience the seven last plagues than those who have already endured and experienced the seven last plagues which is exactly who this angel signifies:

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

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

Something had to take place which would shake us up to such a degree as to bring us to realize that there is something which has not yet been burned out of us. There is something which has blinded us from seeing ourselves as “carnal… babes in Christ”, a spiritual state, which simply does not yet permit us to receive the strong meat of God’s Word. There is something still within us which resents even being told that we are “weak in the faith”, still “in need of milk and herbs, and not strong meat.” We are “drunk with the wine of her fornication”, and we can’t even recognize the alcoholics we have become. There is still more to be accomplished in us, even after so much has been done. Remember, this entire prophecy is addressed to the “seven churches which are in Asia.” These seven churches, with all their shortcomings, are ‘Babylon the great’ with which we are now dealing in this 17th chapter. These are not two separate churches. The seven churches of Revelation 2-3 are “all they in Asia” who have forsaken the Lord’s apostles and have followed “false apostles”:

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

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

“All they [of] Asia” signify the complete church, with all of its strengths, as well as all of its faults and shortcomings, and the “great city” and “great harlot” of Revelation 17-18 is that very same “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” harlot church, as the seven churches of Asia:

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:

Satan’s throne in the church in Pergamos is the same as “the throne of the beast” in Revelation 16. The beast is given his throne by the great red dragon. When we are bowing down to and worshiping the beast, we are also bowing to and worshiping the dragon who gives the beast his power and his throne and his great authority.

Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat [Greek: thronos, throne] is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat [G2362: ‘thronos’, “throne”] of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

So the seven churches are one and all “Babylon the Great”, and her candlestick will be removed if she fails to repent. But this is “Mystery Babylon the Great”. She is not easily detected by the world within us, and to make certain Babylon is given to “overcome the saints” within us, she performs “many wonderful works” (Mat 7:22), performs miracles (Rev 13:14), and we are even told that she is filled with “gold, silver and precious stones”, which are the very symbols of the materials with which we are to build upon Christ in 1Corinthians 3. Therefore we do not see the depth of her tentacles within our way of life, until it is “revealed by fire”.

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
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.

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, 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.

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,

It is while we are still in Babylon that we begin building with the proper materials, but until we become wholehearted in our walk, we are really doing nothing more than adding to the gold, silver and precious stones in Babylon. We see nothing for which to repent, and we are simply adding to her great accomplishments within us up to this point.

Jer 3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart [when the seven plagues of the seven angels have been poured out upon us].

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. [That is the purpose and the fruit of the seven last plagues]

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

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat [the enduring of the seven last plagues] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

It is “envying, strife and divisions” (1Co 3:3) stemming from the inability to receive the strong meat of God’s word, which obstructs us from remaining “of one mind, and of one spirit.” Doctrinal divisions and denominations are symptoms of a carnal mind, and are not the fruit of searching for God with a whole heart, and trembling at His commandment to “defer to your leaders… [and seek] safety in a multitude of counselors”:

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)

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

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

Rev 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,

Now let’s look at the first example of this “gold, silver and precious stones” which are to be found in such great abundance in Babylon, as it is described in the first of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2.

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: [Teachers  of egregious false doctrines]
Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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. [Christ dwells in us (1Co 3:15-16)]

We all produce many wonderful works; we labor hard in the Lord’s service; we develop patience, and we refuse to put up with those who are evil in our midst. We have even tried those who say they are sent by God, and we have found out that they are not sent by God, but are just liars who deny the Truth of God’s Word. We hate the Nicolaitans, who lord it over the Lord’s flock. Our patience is twice noted, our labors in the service of our Lord is twice noted, and we are commended for “not fainting.” In the face of all of these “many wonderful works”, we are still told that we are guilty of “leaving our first Love.” In spite of all that has already been accomplished, we have not yet been granted to follow Him in everything and to go everywhere He goes. We are warned that if we do not repent, our candlestick will be removed.

Let’s compare the description of all of what is taking place in the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, with the last three vials of Revelation 16, which fill up the wrath of God on the darkness that is still in us even after we have come so far.

Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat [Greek: thronos, throne] of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
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.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

This seventh and last vial, which fills up the wrath of God upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness, is the judgment of those influences of “great Babylon” which, even at this late date, still afflicted us. We have seen the scriptural meaning of the word ‘darkness’. We know that great Babylon carried away God’s physical Old Testament people. In the New Testament “Babylon the Great” is a spiritual harlot:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

This spiritual ‘Babylon the great’ is a spiritual “whore” who is committing spiritual fornication with all the kings of the whole earth, and she is nourished by the spiritual “waters of the [spiritual] Euphrates river”, which we are told are “being [spiritually] dried up”. There is no difference between the “drying up” of the waters which nourish Babylon and “the great hail stones which sweep away the refuge of the lies” of Babylon. Both are instruments of God to expose and to judge spiritual Babylon’s “wretched, poor, blind and naked condition within us, and her judgment and destruction within us.

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.

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

We are plainly told that the frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, beast and false prophet, are all false, evil, lying spirits, and we know that ‘Christ’s words are also spirit’ (Joh 6:63). We know that these spirits coming out of the mouths of the dragon, beast and false prophet are false words and false doctrines which gather all the kings in our earth to “the …  battle of the great day of God Almighty”. We know this  because we at one time believed all the lies of this great whore:

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

We will pause remembering that the angels showing the judgment of this great whore to John signifies all those who have come out of her and repented of having committed fornication with her.

Eph 3:3  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [‘He revealed to me the mystery’]
Eph 3:4  Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) [“The revelation of Jesus Christ…” (Rev 1:1)]
Eph 3:5  Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph 3:6  That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Eph 3:7  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church [By the seven angels] the manifold wisdom of God,

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 16:17-21  The 7^th Vial, Part 3

[Study Aired April 6, 2025]

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
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.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Those few who have not been “conformed to this world, and have been transformed in their minds by proving what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God”, will “not bring judgment upon themselves by that which they have proven.” Those who are weak in the faith will “be conformed to this world” and will not take the time to prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, and will continue to be offended by the sum of God’s Word, and will abuse Roman 14:5-6 and verse 22 as an excuse to not even consider our Lord’s example of how we are to live our lives concerning the observing of day, months, times and years.

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Rom 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

When these verses are perverted into a doctrine which teaches that those who eat strong meat should give up that strong meat, and give up following the example Christ has given us concerning this very subject, that is a double mind which will inevitably cause a brother to be “made weak… to stumble and be offended… because of the Word.” This perversion of these verses of Romans 14 will cause us all to give up that fiery way of life, which brings upon us the hatred of all men, and we will exchange their strong meat for the herbs of the weaker infirm brother who esteems one day above another and cannot eat all things because he does not want to offend a weaker brother.

Should we offend a weaker brother by expecting him to eat strong meat? Absolutely not! But should we take Romans 14 and use it to contradict and nullify Galatians 4?

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child [is “weak in the faith”], differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

“Carnal… babes in Christ” cannot eat the meat of the word, and we are commanded to “receive them but not to allow them to dispute our strong meat.

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Who are these brothers who are “weak in the faith”? Here is who they are. They are not really deep into the Word of God or the things of the spirit. They do not have and will not take the time to “study to show themselves approved unto God.” They are ‘too busy’ to have time to fellowship, and they care about the events of their daily lives (the pride of life) more than they do about the body of Christ. They would much rather identify themselves with certain men whose teachings are more to their liking. Here are the “weak in the faith”.

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

Those who are given to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”, will find it very instructive that the word “child”, “the heir, as long as he is a child“, in Galatians 4:1, and the word “babe”, “I could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ”, is the same Greek word, ‘nepios’. It is babes in Christ who are weak and infirm in the faith, and whose weakness we are commanded to “bear with”.

Rom 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2 Let every one of us please [his] neighbour for [his] good to edification.
Rom 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Paul did not break his epistles up into chapters. The weak of this first verse of this 15th chapter is “He that is weak in the faith” in the first verse of chapter 14. It is Paul to declares this brother in Christ to be “weak and infirm” and in need of our patient forbearance and Christ-like example, not our apostasy, or our enabling of his weakness and his sickness, and his spiritually damning, immature diet of milk and herbs. It is “he that is weak in the faith” who simply cannot as yet “eat all things.” This is especially true of following the example of Christ who “esteemed every day alike”. It is the perversion of the message of Romans 14 which Galatians 4 burns out of us if we are given to follow in Christ’s footsteps:

Joh 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

This does not say ‘They supposed He had broken the sabbath’, it says “He not only had broken the sabbath, but said God was His Father.” Both were true, and both are written for our admonition that we “should follow His [foot]steps.”

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:

Anyone who uses part of God’s Word to exclude and nullify other parts of the Word,  will also very likely continue to ignore the example Christ has given us to “follow [in His] steps.” Truth is not found in any one chapter of God’s Word. It is found in its sum, and the sum of God’s word tells us that Christ and His apostles were foresaken of and hated of all men because, among other things, they “esteemed every day alike.” Following Christ’s example will bring upon us what it brought upon Christ. Christ put what He saw His Father doing above what He saw men doing. If we honor Christ in this same way, we will be honoring God above men, as we are instructed.

Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
Joh 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Here is the example the Father set for Christ to follow concerning the subject of esteeming of one day above another:

Joh 5:17 But Jesus replied, “My Father never stops working, so why should I?” (NLT)

It is the traditions of men which are the last strings keeping us tethered to Babylon. The law of Moses and the law which the Gentiles are unto themselves, are both laws for the lawless and not for a righteous man.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

It is “the lawless and disobedient” who esteem one day above another, and who judge those who do not esteem one day above another. The strong in the faith are to bear with the weak until they are no longer carnal babes in Christ. Those to whom it is given to “follow Christ’s steps” will honor Christ by doing what He did, just as He did what He saw His Father doing. Those who are strong in the faith do not enable the weak and infirm to remain weak and sick, and they most assuredly do not give up spiritual strength and health to become weak and sickly.

Rom 14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. (GNB)

Rom 14:1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. (RSV)

Our discussions must revolve around the word of God, and our conclusions must be based on that alone, or we will not long  “be of one mind”, which is what we are repeatedly commanded to be, beginning right here in the book of Romans.

Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

“Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” is intended to help us deal with “carnal… babes in Christ” by being pitiful and courteous to them. It is meant as an admonition to avoid disputing with babes about their own personal opinions concerning any topic with which they are not yet informed. The tradition of eating only herbs, and the tradition of esteeming one day above another, are but two examples of things we are told we are not to argue about. These verses were never intended to keep us from “being of one mind”, being likeminded, and speaking the same thing with one mouth in one spirit.”

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Romans 14 certainly is not designed to take away mature spiritual “strong meat” from those who are given to receive “the things of the spirit… things hard to be uttered.”

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The weak brothers who “for the time” ought to be beyond the milk of God’s Word will never get past that immature stage as long as Romans 14 is used as a means of contradicting and nullifying all five of the New Testament verses which admonish us all to “be of one mind.” The masses of the churches raised up by the apostles themselves rejected the strong meat which belongs to them that are of full age, “All they in Asia” forsook the apostle Paul and the Galatians apparently considered him to be their enemy.

Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Gal 4:12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I [am]; for I [am] as ye [are]: ye have not injured me at all.
Gal 4:13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
Gal 4:14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Gal 4:15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
Gal 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Those who “forsook’ the apostle Paul were no doubt “famous in the congregation [and were] men of renown”, but they never came to know the seven plagues of the seven angels, and will not enter into the temple of God until they have fulfilled those seven plagues.

Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

There can be no doubt that both the apostles Paul and John honored Christ, just as Christ honored His Father by refusing the traditions of men who esteemed one day above another. The masses of the churches which were raised up by the apostles were clearly “observing days, months, times, and years”, and had clearly lost their first love for the apostle of the Lord. The story of King David’s son Amnon is the story of us “leaving our first love.

2Sa 13:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her [ was] greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 

Amnon signifies  us when we leave our first love and become lukewarm. Our Lord asks of us “Where is the blessedness you spake of” at the beginning? Has Christ and His example become our enemy? What became of all the churches Paul had raised up in Asia? Did they forsake the apostle?

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
2Ti 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

“The Lord stood with me” because the Lord is His word. When we follow Christ and His Word, the Lord stands with us also. What did Jesus do? What example has He left for us concerning this subject which caused the Galatians to consider Paul their enemy?

Mat 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

That is “our example that we should follow in His steps”, and remain “of one mind and one spirit.” Until that is done within us, this seventh vial is yet to begin to be fulfilled and “the great city… Great Babylon” still has its tentacles in our heavens and in our earth.

Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

There are many “islands and mountains” to be vanquished from within us all, before all of the influences of that great city are burned out of us. Mountains are kings, which kings will beg for the mountains to fall when this, the great day of God’s wrath is come. As is the nature of our flesh, we will blaspheme God because of the plague of this hail, because it is an “exceeding great plague of hail”, and what does spiritual ‘hail’ do?

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

That is why after the pouring out of the seventh vial, we are told:

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

“It is done” is both the death throes of our man of sin, and the victory shout of our new man within. It is all accomplished “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound.”

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

Christ, His doctrines, His example, and His Words, are the hail, the water, and the purifying fire with which He will try us, cleanse us, and sweep away all “the refuge of lies” of the great harlot, Babylon. We can now begin to enter into the temple in heaven, which is now being cleansed of all the pollutions of that great city, which we can now look back behind us and witness her judgment. The Seventh Trumpet has begun to sound, and the seventh vial has brought each of us to our wits’ end, and we have all experienced a great earthquake. Babylon the great is now being judged within each of the Lord’s elect who are now being judged in this present time:

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?

The judgment of Babylon the Great within each of us is the subject of the next two chapters of this, ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ which we are to ”read, hear, and keep.” Revelation 17 and 18 are nothing more or less than a summary of the judgments of these seven plagues of the seven angels upon “mystery Babylon the Great” within us. “It is done… it is come to pass”, and that is why we are shown these things by “one of the angels which had the seven plagues”.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will begin to cover the judgment of the influence of this great whore over our lives in these verses of chapter 17:

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

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