Matthew 27:1-10, John 18:28

[Study Aired February 22, 2022]

Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.
Mark 14:72 And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luke 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. 
Matt 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Matt 27:2 And when they had bound him, 
John 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: 
Matt 27:2 and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
John 18:28 and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
Matt 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Matt 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
Matt 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Matt 27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
Matt 27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
Matt 27:8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
Matt 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy (Zechariah) the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 
Matt 27:10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. 

In our last study, Peter denied that he knew Christ three times before the cock crowed two times.

Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.

Mark 14:72 And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Luke 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. 

This represents our time in Babylon thinking we are living with Christ in us. We are still of our father the devil, and we still care for the things of the world and deny Christ’s doctrines. The parable of the sower explains our position.

Matt 13:18-23 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

At this stage of our walk, the first two parts of this parable are fulfilled in us. The third part, receiving the seed in good ground, is yet to come. We must experience the upcoming events in our lives to become the “good ground”.

Matt 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Matt 27:2 And when they had bound him, 
John 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: 
Matt 27:2 and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
John 18:28 and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

The elders of the Jews have passed judgment but are unable to fulfill the sentence of death without the governor’s approval. This will be covered in a future study. Tonight’s study will focus on Judas.

Matt 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Matt 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
Matt 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Judas was given the ability to see he had made a mistake. This of course was done so the scriptures could be fulfilled. Though he recognized his mistake, Judas was unable to fully repent of his sin. Judas represents our old man who must be put to death.

Deut 27:24 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Just as Judas, our old man is cursed and can only take reward to slay an innocent person. We are all guilty of passing false judgment on Christ until He causes us to die to our old ways. We are given the truth in Babylon, but it is polluted with the lies of our father, the devil. We must repent and come out of Babylon. Here is an FAQ from the website that gives clarity of our repentance.

 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/need-to-repent-and-for-what/

“Hi Mike, My question is: God tells us to come out of Babylon, so why do we have to repent, and what must we repent of? 

H____

Hi H____,

Thank you for your question. Babylon the great is “the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.”

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

This entire book is addressed to “he that has an ear” in the seven churches.” We are told so seven times in chapters 2-3:

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

This is a book of signs and symbols:

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

The signifying of the number seven is the complete church system. So these words are being sent to every Christian on earth of all time.

You ask: “God tells us to come out of Babylon, so why do we have to repent, and what must we repent of?”

Read the second and third chapters of Revelation, and you will know what we are to repent, if you have been given eyes to see and ears to hear. What you will read in the second and third chapters is what makes God’s own people the great harlot of Revelation 17 and 18. It is in God’s own church that we “lose our first love, allow the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews when they don’t even know what is a Jew, but are the synagogue of Satan.

It is in the orthodox Christian church that Satan has his “seat”, or as the Greek has it, his ‘throne’. It is in the church that we have the “doctrine of Baalam who seduced Israel to commit fornication, and to “eat things offered to idols.”

>In the church is “that prophetess Jezebel who does the exact same things Balaam does. Jezebel “teach[es] and to seduce[s] my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” The “depths of Satan” are right in the middle of God’s own people according to this warning. If God has granted you “eyes to see and ears to hear”, then you will know that God’s orthodox church “has a name that it lives, but in reality it is dead”.

To sum it all up, God’s church does indeed do and accomplish many wonderful works, all of which are named right alongside all of these sins. When it is all said and done, God’s orthodox Christian church is neither cold nor hot. God prefers that we be either cold or hot, consequently He has spued His own church out of His mouth.

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
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:

These are the works in God’s church for which we must all repent. If we can’t even see that this is our state, then as Christ told the church in His day, “they that are well do not need a physician.”

“Why do we have to repent, and what must we repent of?” The first thing we need to repent of is our blinded condition. However, only those who have been “given… eyes to see” can even see their blind condition. I pray that you can see your blindness and can see and hear what the spirit says to the churches:

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.

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 2:17 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 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star. Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

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

Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

These are great and precious promises made to “he that overcomes.” The orthodox Christian church is the largest religion on the face of the earth. They all have physical eyes and physical ears. Nevertheless, there are few indeed who have ears to “hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.” I hope you are just such a person, and that this has answered your question “why do we have to repent, and what must we repent of?”

Mike”

Here are the final verses of tonight’s study.

Matt 27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
Matt 27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
Matt 27:8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
Matt 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy (Zechariah) the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 
Matt 27:10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. 

Just as the chief priests bought the potter’s field to bury strangers, today’s chief priests, you and me in our appointed times, have done the same. Babylon is full of “dead strangers” having no truth in them.

Jer 4:21-31 The Whole Land Shall be Desolate – Yet Will I Not Make a Full End

[Study Aired March 7, 2021]

Jer 4:21  How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jer 4:22  For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Jer 4:23  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:24  I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25  I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26  I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
Jer 4:27  For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
Jer 4:28  For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
Jer 4:29  The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jer 4:30  And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
Jer 4:31  For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

Jer 4:21  How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Outwardly Jeremiah is a prophecy of the impending Babylonian invasion and conquering of Judah and Jerusalem for rejecting their God and rebelling against His ways. “How long shall I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet” can be taken to be speaking of the standard and trumpet of the watchmen, warning the Lord’s people of their coming judgment. The standard and trumpet can also apply to the standard of the invading Babylonians and their trumpets which call their troops to begin the invasion and destruction of the Lord’s people for their sins and transgressions against their own Lord. Both scenarios bring about the same intended end – the judgment of the Lord’s rebellious people.

Jer 4:22  For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

This is the condition of humankind by nature. No man yet ever had to be instructed in how to lie, cheat or steal. Simply being placed into the proper situation to be tempted to lie, we of ourselves all succumb under enough pressure to do so. It is so easy to rationalize how it is much better to lie than to tell the truth. The same applies to cheating and stealing. In our self-righteousness we have no trouble at all telling ourselves that it is much better to cheat than to fail. Stealing is just as easy for our old man. He simply tells himself how much good he can do for himself and perhaps even for others if He just takes a little unearned substance or undeserved credit for how the Lord works. Because lightning does not immediately descend from heaven and strike us dead for our sins and transgressions, it very soon gets to the point that we do not even bother to rationalize our sins.

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

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily” we just shamelessly pursue and satisfy our own deceitful lusts. As Jeremiah reveals just a few chapters later:

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The great motivational speakers of this world universally tell us to “follow your heart” while Christ warns us against being so foolish as to do so. Our heart is deceitful and wicked, and our Lord “searches” our hearts.

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

An unrepentant, lascivious, stubborn heart is the meaning of our next verse:

Jer 4:23  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

The ‘earth’ is clearly a reference to the Lord’s own chosen people who have turned away from Him to commit spiritual fornication with the ways of our flesh. The twenty-second chapter of Jeremiah is addressed specifically to the king and the people of Judah, the Lord’s own people:

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

Then the Lord, speaking to this same audience says:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

“The earth… was without form and void” is just another way of saying “the earth… and the heavens… have no light” because they have no knowledge of their God. They have turned their back on Him and have committed spiritual fornication against Him.

The Lord has been very merciful and has not speedily executed His sentence against all the evil we have committed against Him. We have heaped up to ourselves the Lord’s wrath against the day of His wrath.

Yes, it is true:

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

This is also true:

Ecc 11:9  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes:  but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

The Lord does not change. He is still the same in the New Testament. The longer we refuse to repent, the more fuel we are storing up for His fiery judgments within us.

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

That is the message of this prophecy of Jeremiah:

Jer 4:24  I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25  I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26  I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

It is the mountains and hills, the very foundations of all the false doctrines within us, which tremble at the Lord’s presence and at the knowledge of His mind and His doctrines. The ‘man and the birds of the heavens’ of verse 25 are also the symbols of our old man and all his false doctrines, respectively. We, and all our lying false doctrines, flee at the presence of the Lord and His Truth. His Truth is called “fire in [the] mouth” of His prophets (Jer 5:14), and the fire consumes our old man and his entire kingdom.

Outwardly “at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger” refers to the coming of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to destroy and burn down the cities of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for rejecting their own God.

We happen to be living at a time when this prophecy is being fulfilled both inwardly and outwardly for the very same reason. We have all rejected the Lord’s words inwardly, and this world has rejected them and is rejecting them outwardly and reaping the fruits of that rejection.

Jer 4:27  For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

The land shall be desolate, yet the Lord will not make a full end because He has promised in the previous chapter:

Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

One of a city and two of a family is indeed a mere remnant in “this present time” (Rom 8:18) but the Lord will use that ‘remnant’, which has been accumulating for the past two thousand years, as the “saviors” of all the rest of mankind who have ever lived:

Isa 1:9  Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Thankfully there will be a remnant who will fulfill:

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.

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Before we can become saviors we, too, must first be judged for our sins:

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 “earth” is the Lord’s own people, so these words are first for us:

Jer 4:28  For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

The Lord has made all things for Himself, yes even the wicked man within us for the day of evil within us. That ‘day of evil’ begins when we are born:

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

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Our heavens above are black, and our experience is evil because of the nature of our earthy composition. In scripture the opposite of ‘heaven’ is not ‘hell’. In scriptural terms the opposite of the heavens is “the earth” from which we are made:

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

Contrary to what the great whore and her daughters teach, we are not spirits having a natural experience. Rather we are natural, dust and clay, earthy creatures having a spiritual experience, as the scriptures plainly state:

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.

This is 1 Corinthians 15. It is known as ‘the resurrection chapter’, and this is all being said in hope of a resurrection.

However, our earth has a heavens in which the fowls of our heavens fly:

Gen 1:20  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

We may be totally unaware of it being so, but the fact is that our earth is ruled by the clouds of its heavens:

Job 36:27  For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:28  Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [by the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
Job 36:32  With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

This is how we are being judged by our own heavens:

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;

The English words ‘bottomless pit’ are translated from the Greek words ‘abussos’ G12, ‘deep, sea… bottomless’, and G5421, ‘phrear’, pit, well.

Here is Strong’s definition of this Greek word ‘abussos’:

G12
ἄβυσσος
abussos
ab’-us-sos

From G1 (as a negative particle) and a variation of G1037; depthless, that is, (specifically), (infernal) “abyss”: – deep, (bottomless) pit.

Total KJV occurrences: 9

We must always “try the spirit” of Strong’s definitions with how the holy spirit uses a word. So here is how the holy spirit uses this Greek word ‘abussos’ in the New Testament:

G12
ἄβυσσος
abussos
Total KJV Occurrences: 9
bottomless, 7
Rev_9:1-2 (2), Rev_9:11, Rev_17:7-8 (2), Rev_20:1, Rev_20:3
deep, 2
Luk_8:31, Rom_10:7

This word is translated as bottomless only two times, not seven times as stated here. This word ‘bottomless’ is only found in the book of Revelation. The other two appearances of this Greek word ‘abussos’ outside of the book of Revelation are:

Luk 8:31  And they [the demons in the Gadarene demoniac] besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [Greek:  G12 abussos, the sea of Galilee].

Rom 10:7  Or, Who shall descend into the deep [Greek:  G12, abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

According to Romans 10:7, those in the ‘abussos’ are spiritually dead, as Christ Himself asserted:

Mat 8:21  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Whether the adversary is hedged out (Job 1:10 and Mar 12:1) or is given to attack the Lord’s elect, it is the Lord’s elect the adversary wants most. The adversary knew this demoniac was about to be delivered, and they did not want to return to the uncalled who are the ‘sea’ of mankind (Mat 18:6, Rev 13:1)

Job 1:7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. [“Seeking whom he may devour” (1Pe 5:8)].

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

Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Mar 12:1  And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

Satan’s domain is in the ‘sea’ of unconverted mankind, but he is keen to expand his dominion into the chosen of God at any opportunity. That is the function of “the adversary… the tempter”.

Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [Greek: ‘thronos’ – throne, his kingdom], and great authority.

Satan’s most prized target whom He seeks to devour is the “manchild” (Rev 12:3-4), the Lord’s elect.

Luk 22:28  Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Luk 22:29  And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
Luk 22:30  That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

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 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child [you and me] as soon as it was born.

Here is Strong’s definition of the Greek word ‘phrear’:

G5421
φρέαρ
phrear
freh’-ar

Of uncertain derivation; a hole in the ground (dug for obtaining or holding water or other purposes), that is, a cistern or well; figuratively an abyss (as a prison): – well, pit.
Total KJV occurrences: 7

This is where this word appears in the Greek manuscripts:

G5421
φρέαρ
phrear

Total KJV Occurrences: 7
pit, 5
Luk_14:5, Rev_9:1-2 (4)
well, 2
Joh_4:11-12 (2)

In John 4 the Samaritan woman tells Christ:

Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [G5421: phrear, the pit] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

It is interesting to notice that the first two times the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears, it is translated from two Greek words, the words ‘abussos‘ and ‘phrear’. The Greek word ‘abussos’ is translated as ‘bottomless’ and is found only in these two verses. Where the word ‘bottomless’ appears in the KJV outside these two verses, it is simply being added by the translators, and does not appear in any Greek manuscript.

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [G12: abussos] pit [G5421: phrear].
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless [G12:  abussos] pit [G5421: phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [G5421: phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [G5421: phrear].

Revelation 9:1-2 is the only time those two words are found together. All the rest of the other five appearances of the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ is simply the Greek word ‘phrear’ – pit.

In scripture the word ‘deep’ often means the ‘sea’:

Luk 8:31  And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [sea].

A better translation of Revelation 9:1-2 would be to replace the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ with the words ‘deep pit’. The sea is the ‘deep pit’ of dying flesh out of which all the Lord’s people are called. That is why Christ says that if we come to Him, we “pass from death unto life”:

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

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

All of Satan’s attempts to destroy “the man child”, the Lord’s elect, are used by the Lord to chasten and scourge every son He receives, just as he was sent by the Lord to try Job and chasten him for his self-righteousness. Job was chastened of the Lord as a type of those whom the Lord loves in this present time:

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

This typifies how the Lord deals with us if we are His “very elect”:

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

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

This is what the Lord is doing in this prophecy.

Jer 4:29  The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jer 4:30  And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

“The whole city” is all our false doctrines within our Babylonian world where we are being carried away as a captive for our sins which already align with the doctrines of Babylon. Nevertheless, in our darkened and deceived minds we do not recognize our own deceived and blinded condition.

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.

Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

The generation which entered into the promised land came out of the generation whose “carcases fell in the wilderness”. We cannot and must not tell ourselves we are the generation that entered into the promised land, but we have nothing in common either with those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Rather, we must remember that “all things are [ours]”, both life and death. Then, and only then, can we understand that it is our own old man who is typified by those whose carcasses died in the wilderness:

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

“The world” is “the wilderness”, and that is where we find the Lord’s adulterous wife within each of us as we “read… hear… and keep the things written in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:3):

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.

This is the same woman who flees into the wilderness in:

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
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 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Notice, “her child was caught up unto God and to His throne”:

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

The woman herself “fled into the wilderness”, where she is nourished of God for “a thousand two hundred and threescore days”. 1260 days is the same as the forty and two months, 42 x 30=1260, during which the beast rules in our lives.

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months [1260 days].

Here is the birth of this manchild:

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Our judgment is the death of our old man, and it is “through death” we are given life:

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

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

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: [“We are…His flesh and…His bone” Eph 5:30]

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

Likewise, it is through the death of the harlot Babylon that we become the faithful bride of Christ:

Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins [Rev 18:6].

Isa 61:7  For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

The great whore of Revelation 17-18 is backslidden Israel, and the salvation within us comes to us only through her death:

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

It is our birth in Christ which in time destroys our mother Babylon. In that sense Rachel typified Babylon when she died while giving birth to Benjamin, who in the story of Joseph typifies the Lord’s elect:

Gen 35:18  And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

This is how our study ends:

Jer 4:31  For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

It is only through the curse of death that our blessings all come. Here is the New Testament interpretation of this verse of Jeremiah:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

The death of our mother Babylon is the birth of Christ within us, the “man child” turning every curse into a blessing for them who love God and are the called according to his purpose:

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

That concludes our study, and it concludes this fourth chapter of Jeremiah. Here are our verses for our next study:

Jer 5:1  Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
Jer 5:2  And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Jer 5:3  O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
Jer 5:4  Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
Jer 5:5  I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

Jer 5:6  Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
Jer 5:7  How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
Jer 5:8  They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.
Jer 5:9  Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 5:10  Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S.
Jer 5:11  For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
Jer 5:12  They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
Jer 5:13  And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

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Isa 62:1-6 I Have Set Watchmen Upon Your Walls O Jerusalem

[Study Aired July 5, 2020]

Isa 62:1  For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Isa 62:2  And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3  Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isa 62:4  Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Isa 62:5  For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isa 62:6  I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

The first verses that came to my mind in picking the title for today’s study were:

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

“Oversee… [watch] all the [Lord’s] flock… therefore watch” and be the “watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem”. This warning and this commission here in Isaiah has little to do with world affairs. Those who oversee the Lord’s flock are watching out for “men who speak perverse things” and bring to us the necessary “heresies among you”:

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

As I have demonstrated many times, it is typical of Hebrew writers to state the same thing twice using two different items or names to make their point. When we read:

Gen 48:2  And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

It is obvious that ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ are one and the same person.

When Isaiah says:

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

It is again obvious that ‘Sodom’ and ‘Gomorrah’ are speaking of one and same peoples.

Likewise, when we read in the first verse of this chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 62:1  For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

It is again obvious that ‘Zion’ and ‘Jerusalem’ are again the same people of God.

However, there is a process which ‘Zion’ must endure before she is made righteous.  The fact is that the words ‘Sodom’ and ‘Gomorrah’ are also two more names which refer to Zion as the great Harlot which she must acknowledge herself to be, and of which she must repent before her “righteousness goes forth as brightness and [her] salvation… as a lamp that burns.”

The Truth is that the words, “Ye rulers of Sodom; [and] ye people of Gomorrah” in the introduction to this Isaiah prophecy is also addressed to Judah, Jerusalem and Zion, all types of us as the Lord’s special people.

Let’s return to the first chapter of this prophecy and just look at how the Lord addresses us as His own people:

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

“Judah and Jerusalem” typify the Lord’s elect, but notice closely how the Lord’s elect first appear to Him in His perception of what he first made us to be:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Israel, Judah and Jerusalem are all types of the Lord’s chosen people of Zion, as we see here in chapter 62 where we are being shown the glorious end product of our fiery trials, and where we are being made to know what is the “redemption of the purchased possession” and what is meant by “to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ”:

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

Look at how Paul speaks of our own beginnings. Just as the holy spirit revealed that “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me” was required in Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel, Paul, too, was moved of the same single-minded holy spirit to make us to know that we also, being the true “Israel of God” (Gal 5:16), are first, by our Maker’s design, servants of “the prince of the power of the air”. We, too, must first be the sons “of [our] father the devil” (Joh 8:44):

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

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

Joh 8:44  You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He’s a liar and the father of lies. (GWV)

Here we have Christ telling the “Jews that believed on Him” (Joh 8:30-31) they are “of [their] father the devil”. The church of Christ’s day, represents the churches of our day who profess Christ but hate His doctrines. Then we have the apostle Paul, speaking under the inspiration of the same holy spirit, tell us, “We all…were…by nature…the children of wrath even as [all] others.” Then Paul informs us that because God has “predestinated us” to be “to the praise of His glory” that we are now seated with Him in the heavens (Eph 2:6). How is it possible for us to have been “as others, walking according to the… prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience… fulfilling the desires of the flesh… by nature the children of wrath” and yet now be seated “with [Christ] in the heavens” (Eph 2:6)? The answer is that it is all the predestinated work of His own hands fulfilling what He promised to us “before the world began”:

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

“The first man, Adam”, as death-bound, earthy, marred and corruptible as he is, still typifies “the last Adam… a life-giving spirit”:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

We need to notice that it does not say ‘The first man Adam was made a living soul; Jesus Christ was made a quickening’. While that is certainly true, it does not make the point the holy spirit is making, and it doesn’t make the point the holy spirit wants us to understand, which is:

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth [Christ] and they who are sanctified [all mankind] are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Now look at the preceding verse:

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

“Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things” is “not ashamed to call [us His] brothers”. That is how He sees us, and that is how He wants us to see Him. He is not ashamed of us. We are “His workmanship”, His brothers. We are the work of His hands, and He identifies with us:

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Christ made us as we are, and to demonstrate His love for us He emptied Himself of the glory He had with His Father, and took on Himself the seed of Abraham and became subject unto death.

Php 2:7 but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made,
Php 2:8 and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death–death even of a cross, (REV)

It was He who made “the first man Adam”. Of what character and composition are we made by Him?

This is what we are told about what this “first man Adam” is:

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

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

This how Jeremiah makes this same point:

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

“The vessel He made of clay was marred in the Potter’s hand”, because, as Ephesians two explains:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; [in the Potter’s hand]
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature [“In the hands of the Potter”] the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Did any of us vote to be “dead in trespasses and sin”? Of course, we did not ‘vote’ to be “dead in trespasses and sins.” Instead we all “by nature… fulfill the desires of the flesh and the [carnal] mind” whether we wanted to do so or not. We are all “by nature… dead in sins”, and yet the Lord has taken a chosen few in this present time (Rom 8:18) and “made us to sit together in the heavens”.

We have all been led by the great whore and her daughters to believe that “the first man Adam” was a perfected creation of God. We have all been lied to and led to believe that Adam and Eve, of their own free will, rebelled against God and plunged all mankind into a fallen state. Nothing could be further from the truth. “The fall of man” is not a Biblical phrase, nor is it a Biblical doctrine, and yet I have heard a very well known man with an international TV ministry say, “The first thing I am going to do at the resurrection is to walk right up to Adam and punch him in the nose.” This minister and many, many others believe that God Created mankind in a state of perfection from which Adam fell when His listened to his wife who had taken her instructions from the fallen serpent.

The fact is that God, our Creator and Maker, can make us any way He pleases, both in the garden of Eden and right this moment as He continues here in Jeremiah 18 to explain to His adulterous wife, Israel:

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

It is therefore by our Maker’s decree that we are all, as were our original parents, Adam and Eve, “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same in hope”:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

“Subjected… the creature… to vanity… in hope” does not mean that the Lord hopes in vain to save a few of mankind from death and destruction. Remember, what the Lord wants or hopes for is exactly what He gets!

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Does the Lord tell us what He desires for mankind? Yes, He does, and He tells us over and over again:

1Ti 2:4  Who [Christ] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

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

Does “specially of those that believe” mean ‘exclusively of those that believe’? Absolutely not!

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

The Lord tells us that He is in fact using the unbelief of most of mankind for the occasion He is seeking to keep the vast majority of mankind spiritually deaf and spiritually blind, “lest He should heal them and they should be converted.”

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

The Lord revealed to the apostle Paul that He intended to use a very select few as the channel and conduit through which He “will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the Truth.”

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.

In the end, the Lord will “have mercy upon all”, but that mercy of God will come “through your mercy”. In the interim both His elect and the masses of mankind are predestinated to have an experience of evil and misery, groaning and travailing in pain together until now:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

This “experience of evil… given to the sons of humanity” by the Lord Himself, is the same as being “made subject unto vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same in hope” as we read earlier:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

“The bondage of corruption” is these bodies of sinful flesh and blood which are defined in those very terms:

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

Let us go back to the first chapter of Isaiah where we read earlier in this study the Lord tells us that we have “rebelled against Him”:

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

It is in this state of “the bondage of corruption” (Rom 8:21) and rebellion (Isa 1:2) the Lord first begins to speak to us as it was revealed in the first chapter of this prophecy of Isaiah:

Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8  And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 1:9  Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

It is from that sad state in chapter one, having become “a harlot” (Isa 1:21), that the Lord drags us out of that great harlot through ‘falling seven times’ (Pro 24:16), through being tormented day and night in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb (Rev 14:8-12), and by our fulfilling the seven last plagues of the wrath of God (Rev 15:7-8), to the glorious blessing of:

Isa 62:2  And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3  Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

The Lord reveals all these glorious blessings to us because He knows we need to be encouraged, and lifted up and built up in the spirit.

Isa 62:4  Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

‘Hephzibah’ means:

H2657
חֶפְצִי בָּהּ
chephtsı̂y bâhh
khef-tsee’ baw
From H2656 with suffixes; my delight (is) in her; Cheptsibah, a fanciful name for Palestine: – Hephzi-bah.

‘Beulah’ means:

H1166
בָּעַל
bâ‛al
baw-al’
A primitive root; to be master; hence (as denominative from H1167) to marry: – Beulah have dominion (over), be husband, marry (-ried, X wife).

“Beulah… Your land shall be married” tells us this:

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

The marriage union is but a type and shadow of Christ and the church:

Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

As the wife of our Lord, we must call Him our Lord and obey His doctrines:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

If we do what our Lord tells us to do, then we will “know of the doctrine” whether it is of the Lord or of men.

Joh 7:17  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Isa 62:5  For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

This is one more verse which demonstrates that in scripture a son of God is also the bride of Christ, just as Christ is both the son of God, and at the same time submits to His father “as unto the Lord” as his head (Eph 5:22 quoted above) and:

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

“The head of Christ is God” does not reveal a trinity. What it does reveal is that Christ’s Father is also His husband to whom He submits as a wife to her husband.

Joh 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

We are called “the sons of God”:

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

At the same time, we are told we are “espoused to one husband… Christ”.

Like our Lord we are both a son and a wife, and in the spirit that is no contradiction at all.

Isa 62:6  I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

We are “a chaste virgin espoused to one husband” (2Co 11:2), we are “sons of God” (1Jo 3:1-2), we are shepherds and bishops of the Lord’s flock (Act 20:28). We are spiritual soldiers in the Lord’s spiritual army (2Ti 2:4), and we find that we are also “watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem” and are expected to be ever vigilant and sober and diligent to watch over the Lord’s flock as Paul warned the Ephesian elders:

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

“Overseers” are “watchmen” who the Lord has placed “on the walls of Jerusalem… [to oversee His flock. The Lord’s true watchmen] shall never hold their peace day nor night: [If we] make mention of the LORD, [we will] keep not silence”.

We have all fallen to the wiles of men arising and speaking perverse things while in Babylon, but we have also “of [our] own selves [had] men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves”.

There is one reason and one reason only why we ourselves are not taken in by such “men… speaking perverse things”, and that one reason is this:

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
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.

Jacob treated Esau worse than Esau treated Jacob. King David’s sins against Uriah and Bathsheba and against Israel were greater than the sins of King Saul. Yet the Lord had already decided who would and who would not be written in His book. These things are types of us in that we take credit for nothing, and yet we can take great comfort and encouragement knowing what is the mind of God and His love toward us.

That is our study for today. Here are our verses for our next study:

Isa 62:7  And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Isa 62:8  The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
Isa 62:9  But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
Isa 62:10  Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
Isa 62:11  Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Isa 62:12  And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Section 1, Lazarus is Dead

[Study Aired April 27, 2020]

Joh 11:1  Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Joh 11:2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Joh 11:3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Joh 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
Joh 11:6  When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Joh 11:7  Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
Joh 11:8  His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
Joh 11:9  Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
Joh 11:10  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Joh 11:16  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

In this study we are going to look at the names and towns mentioned and see what they represent in our journey into the Kingdom of God.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus,

Lazarus

(BTSCTVM+) Definition: Lazarus = whom God helps (a form of the Hebrew name Eleazar)

1. an inhabitant of Bethany, beloved by Christ and raised from the dead by him 2. a very poor and wretched person to whom Jesus referred in Luke 16:20-25

– Origin: probably of Hebrew origin H499 

Lazarus is the friend of Christ whom He loved. Who does Lazarus represent?

Pro 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Pro 22:11 Love a pure heart and kind words, and the king will be your friend. (ERV) 

Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 
Joh 15:14 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Joh 15:15 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Joh 15:16 These things I command you, that ye love one another. 

All the parables we reviewed in Luke 14-17 in our previous studies prepared us to understand the significance of this story of Lazarus. Lazarus is sick, and we also start out sick within us.

Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Lazarus’ sickness represents the iniquities within us. This sickness causes death.

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

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God helps), of Bethany,

Bethany

BTSCTVM+ Definition: Bethany = house of dates or, house of misery 

1. a village at the Mount of Olives, about two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem, on or near the normal road to Jericho 2. a town or village on the east bank of the Jordan, where John was baptising

– Origin: of Aramaic origin

Hitchcock Definition – the house of song; the house of affliction

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction),

Remember the Kingdom of God is within? Remember these things are for our understanding?

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

Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

We are the house of God and these judgments (afflictions) begin at the house of God.

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

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?

What is affliction?

Ezr 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Lev 23:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

(ERV) Lev 23:26-29 The LORD said to Moses, “The Day of Atonement will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting. You must not eat food, and you must bring an offering as a gift to the LORD. You must not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement. On that day the priests will go before the LORD and perform the ceremony that makes you pure. “Anyone who refuses to fast on this day must be separated from their people. If anyone does any work on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. You must not do any work at all. This is a law that continues forever for you, wherever you live. It will be a special day of rest for you. You must not eat food. You will start this special day of rest on the evening following the ninth day of the month. This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.”

The afflictions are the results of a fast. Mike just did a study of this, and here is the link if you have not reviewed it yet.

Isa 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Isa 58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary

Mary

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Mary or Miriam = their rebellion 

1. Mary the mother of Jesus 2. Mary Magdalene, a women from Magdala 3. Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha 4. Mary of Cleophas the mother of James the less 5. Mary the mother of John Mark, a sister of Barnabas 6. Mary, a Roman Christian who is greeted by Paul in Romans 16:6 

– Origin: of hebrew origin H4813

What does Mary represent?

Psa 107:8-12 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Psa 107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; 
Psa 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Psa 107:12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.

Pro 17:11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha.

Martha 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Martha = she was rebelliousp

1. was the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany

– Origin: probably of Aramaic origin (meaning mistress)

Hitchcock – who becomes bitter; provoking

Pro 5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Pro 5:2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Pro 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

Lam 3:15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
Lam 3:16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
Lam 3:17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
Lam 3:18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
Lam 3:19 Remembering mine, affliction and my misery the wormwood and the gall.

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (their rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Jesus 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Jesus = Jehovah is salvation

1. Jesus, the son of God, the saviour of mankind, God incarnate 2. Jesus Barabbas was the captive robber whom the Jews begged Pilate to release instead of Christ 3. Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor (Act_7:45, Heb_4:8) 4. Jesus, son of Eliezer, one of the ancestors of Christ (Luk_3:29) 5. Jesus, surnamed Justus, a Jewish Christian, an associate with Paul in the preaching of the gospel (Col_4:11) 

– Origin: of hebrew origin H3091
Hitchcock – savior; deliverer

Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isa 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Isa 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Luk 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was.

In the same place he was (Aenon) 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Aenon meaning springs

1. the name of a place near to Salim at which John baptised

– Origin: of hebrew origin, a derivative of G5869
Hitchcock – a cloud; fountain; his eye
Strong’s – H5869
ah’-yin

Probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy a fountain (as the eye of the landscape): – affliction, outward appearance, + before, + think best, colour, conceit, + be content, countenance, + displease, eye ([-brow], [-d], -sight), face, + favour, fountain, furrow [from the margin], X him, + humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), X me, open (-ly), + (not) please, presence, + regard, resemblance, sight, X thee, X them, + think, X us, well, X you (-rselves). 

Joh 10:40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

Joh 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
Pro 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
Pro 8:30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples,

Next study we will finish looking at the names and towns in this story.

Joh 11:1-16 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 

[Study Aired April 28, 2020]

Joh 11:1-16 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples, 

Disciples 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: 

1. a learner, pupil, disciple 

– Origin: from G3129 

Who are Christ’s disciples in the beginning of their walk? 

Joh 6:61-66 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 

Joh 8:31-33 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 

Joh 13:31-38 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. 

Mat 26:69-75 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea again.

Judaea, Judah 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Judah = praised 

1. the son of Jacob by Leah 2. the tribe descended from Judah the son of Jacob 3. the territory occupied by the tribe of Judah 4. the kingdom comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which occupied the southern part of Canaan after the nation split upon the death of Solomon 5. a Levite in Ezra’s time 6. an overseer of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah 7. a Levite musician in the time of Nehemiah 8. a priest in the time of Nehemiah 

– Origin: from H3034 

H3034 praise – Definition: 

1. to throw, shoot, cast 
2. (Qal) to shoot (arrows) b. (Piel) to cast, cast down, throw down 
3. (Hiphil) 
4. to give thanks,, laud, praise 2. to confess, confess (the name of God) d. (Hithpael) 
5. to confess (sin) 2. to give thanks 

– Origin: a primitive root; used only as denominative from H3027) 

Hitchcock – the praise of the Lord; confession 

Gen 29:31-35 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Psa 32:1-5 A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea (praise and confession) again. His disciples (followers but not yet believers) say unto him (the savior and deliverer), Master, 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: 

1. my great one, my honourable sir 2. Rabbi, a title used by the Jews to address their teachers (and also honour them when not addressing them) 

– Origin: of hebrew origin H7227 with pronominal suffix 

Mat 23:10-11 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Christ = anointed 

1. Christ was the messiah, the son of God 2. anointed 

– Origin: from G5548 see G3323 messias and H4899 messiah 

Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea (praise and confession) again. His disciples (followers but not yet believers) say unto him (the savior and deliverer), Master (Christ and his Christ the anointed servants), the Jews of late sought to stone thee (the savior and deliverer); and goest thou thither (the house of misery and affliction) again?

Jews 

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. 

Joh 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. 

Joh 8:39-40 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea (praise and confession) again. His disciples (followers but not yet believers) say unto him (the savior and deliverer), Master (Christ and his Christ the anointed servants), the Jews (the killers of Christ) of late sought to stone thee (the savior and deliverer); and goest thou thither (the house of misery and affliction) again? Jesus (the savior and deliverer) answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition:

1. a certain, a certain one 2. some, some time, a while 

– Origin: an enclitic indefinite pronoun 

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 

Joh 17:1-3 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

Now a certain man (those who do not know Christ and the Father) was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea (praise and confession) again. His disciples (followers but not yet believers) say unto him (the savior and deliverer), Master, the Jews (killers of Christ) of late sought to stone thee (the savior and deliverer); and goest thou thither (the house of misery and affliction) again? Jesus (the savior and deliverer) answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man (those who do know Christ and the Father) walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man (those who do not know Christ and the Father) walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he (the savior and deliverer): and after that he (the savior and deliverer) saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus (whom God Helps) sleepeth; but I (the savior and deliverer) go, that I (the savior and deliverer) may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he (whom God Helps) sleep, he (whom God Helps) shall do well. Howbeit Jesus (the savior and deliverer) spake of his (whom God Helps) death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus (the savior and deliverer) unto them plainly, Lazarus (whom God Helps) is dead. And I (the savior and deliverer) am glad for your sakes that I (the savior and deliverer) was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us (the savior and deliverer) go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us (followers but not yet believers) also go, that we may die with him (the savior and deliverer). 

Thomas Didymus 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Thomas = a twin 

1. one of the apostles 

– Origin: of Aramaic origin, cf G8380 

BTSCTVM+ – Definition: Didymus = two fold or twain 

1. a surname for the apostle Thomas 

– Origin: prolongation from G1364 

Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Now a certain man (those who do not know Christ and the Father) was sick, named Lazarus (whom God Helps), of Bethany (the house of misery and affliction), the town of Mary (their rebellion) and her (their rebellion) sister Martha (the rebellious and bitter one). (It was that Mary (the rebellion) which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his (the savior and deliverer) feet with her (the rebellion) hair, whose brother Lazarus (whom God Helps) was sick.) Therefore his sisters (the rebellious and bitter ones) sent unto him (the savior and deliverer), saying, Lord, behold, he (whom God Helps) whom thou (the savior and deliverer) lovest is sick. When Jesus (the savior and deliverer) heard that, he (the savior and deliverer) said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus (the savior and deliverer) loved Martha (the rebellious and bitter one), and her sister (their rebellion), and Lazarus (whom God Helps). When he (the savior and deliverer) had heard therefore that he (whom God Helps) was sick, he (the savior and deliverer) abode two days still in the same place where he was (eyes being opened and life giving waters). Then after that saith he (the savior and deliverer) to his disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us go into Judaea (praise and confession) again. His disciples (followers but not yet believers) say unto him (the savior and deliverer), Master, the Jews (killers of Christ) of late sought to stone thee (the savior and deliverer); and goest thou thither (the house of misery and affliction) again? Jesus (the savior and deliverer) answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man (those who do know Christ and the Father) walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man (those who do not know Christ and the Father) walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he (the savior and deliverer): and after that he (the savior and deliverer) saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus (whom God Helps) sleepeth; but I (the savior and deliverer) go, that I (the savior and deliverer) may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he (whom God Helps) sleep, he (whom God Helps) shall do well. Howbeit Jesus (the savior and deliverer) spake of his (whom God Helps) death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus (the savior and deliverer) unto them plainly, Lazarus (whom God Helps) is dead. And I (the savior and deliverer) am glad for your sakes that I (the savior and deliverer) was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us (the savior and deliverer) go unto him. Then said Thomas (unstable double minded), which is called Didymus (unstable double minded), unto his fellow disciples (followers but not yet believers), Let us (followers but not yet believers) also go, that we may die with him (the savior and deliverer). 

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-psa-11824-29-the-lord-is-my-strength-and-song-and-is-become-my-salvation-part-5/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-psa-11824-29-the-lord-is-my-strength-and-song-and-is-become-my-salvation-part-5 Fri, 22 Mar 2019 01:46:03 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=18426 Psa 118:24-29 “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation”- Part 5

Psa 118:24  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psa 118:25  Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Psa 118:26  Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Psa 118:28  Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
Psa 118:29  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

There are many scriptures in this Psalm and throughout God’s word that declare that “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation”, and in this particular Psalm we are being encouraged to see the careful and perfectly designed process that God is causing to unfold to save His children as were brought to be convinced that He can “save now” and “bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar“.

We are called to have a blessed assurance of what God has promised He will do through us as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), who are being sacrificed as Christ was for the world (Joh 3:16) laying up a good foundation of works through Christ which will assure our hearts that we are in fact His workmanship in this age, whose good pleasure it is to give us the kingdom .

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.

1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. [Rom 14:23]
1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. [Rom 8:16]

1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come [the times to come (Mat 24:7, Luk 17:28)], that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Tit 3:14  And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

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

Here is a list of some of the words in this Psalm alone which point to the assurance we have in Christ who declares we can and will drink the cup of His suffering which symbolizes our filling “up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” It is those sufferings that help produce the good works which God says are foundational to our calling, and those works are accomplished “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” and that power is represented by  the “horns of the altar” (Mar 10:39, Col 1:24, Zec 4:6).

• I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place
• The LORD is on my side
• The LORD taketh my part
• All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them
• but the LORD helped me.
• The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation
• the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
• Open to me the gates of righteousness
• bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar

The more we confirm these promises of being able to overcome by His power in this age, the better. We are being raised in earnest today (Eph 2:6) by his power (Php 3:10-12, Joh 11:25-26) hopeful we will one day experience the fullness of that resurrection in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52). The fruit which is born as a result of being steadfast and going through much tribulation in this age (2Pe 3:18, Act 14:22) is described in these following verses (Eph 3:16-21).

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection [Joh 11:25-26], and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

[Paul is striving for the mark of the prize of the high calling [the first resurrection] (Php 3:14) and understands that he has been “apprehended of Christ Jesus” for that purpose and is following after him with a steadfast spirit in hopes that he may obtain to that blessed and holy first resurrection knowing this can be accomplished by continuing in the faith and going through much tribulation (Act 14:22). He clearly shows us by what he is saying in these verses above that he understands that boasting is excluded by the law of faith as he strives or follows after that he “may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Rev 20:6, Rom 3:27)]

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

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Verses that speak of giving thanks and praise for the salvation promised:

• O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever
• The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
• The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: [because] the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
• I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation
• Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD

God’s mercy is shown to His elect by binding “the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar” being expressed by Paul with these words [“I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus“]

• Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever
• Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever
• Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever
• O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever

Psa 118:24  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Another way that this verse is expressed is found in Psalm 107:26-32 where we learn what the meaning of “the day which the LORD hath made” is, and how blessed we are to be judged first, today, in this day of the Lord or “day which the LORD hath made“.

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

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

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

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

Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess [for our old man], 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.

Zep 1:15  That day is a day of wrath [against our old man], a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

It takes God’s strong judgment against our flesh to bring us to a place of rejoicing and being glad as expressed in these verses:

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

Tit 2:12  Teaching^G3811 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth^G3811, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

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

We are learning of God’s power through the things which we suffer, not by avoiding the trials, but rather by being perfected through them, and that leads to our rejoicing as we learn through these experiences of judgment and suffering that He is faithful and that we can commit our souls to Him as unto a faithful creator.

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

Psa 118:14  The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Psa 118:15  The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

Psa 118:18  The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
Psa 118:19  Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:

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

Here is Peter’s and Paul’s inspired conclusion in regard to all suffering:

1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit [meaning if the spirit is not in you, you will NOT be raised up until the second resurrection] of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [Rom 8:9]

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

Rom 8:12  Therefore [because of God’s spirit working in our heavens], brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. [Rom 6:11]

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

[Not everyone has this hope today within them:  Col 1:27, Rom 8:25, Rom 8:9, Mat 22:14]

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

Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? [Heb 11:25-27]

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; [type of being dead to sin and alive in Christ  (Rom 6:11)]
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. [type of being saved by hope which we don’t see (Rom 8:24)]

Psa 118:25  Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

“Save now“, judge me now is what we are being told, also expressed this way from King David who is a type of the elect:

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you [Col 1:27, Rom 8:9], except ye be reprobates?

Psa 51:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

The words “O LORD: O LORD” in Psalm 118:25 are uttered twice to remind us of the witness that it is only through Christ our Lord that we can find true “prosperity” which God sends our way. Christ is sent to us, and we are prospered so that we can be sent as He was to bring spiritual prosperity to others.

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

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

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

We can only bless people when we come “in the name of the LORD“, and it is through Christ alone that we can come in obedience to the commandments of God, not just keeping His words but being doers of his word.

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

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

God is sending us forth as the body of Christ for this express purpose of blessing and not cursing and overcoming evil with good as Christ did.

Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Luk 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Rom 12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We bless people as one body coming “out of the house of the LORD” as we witness His discipleship in working together as one body with many members.

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

Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many.

Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Unless the veil is ripped, we won’t see the light about which is being spoken in this verse which the LORD has shown us. The veil is flesh (Heb 10:20, Exo 27:21), and the flesh is the body of Christ (Eph 5:30, Col 1:24) and this veil is torn little by little (Exo 23:30) or from glory to glory (2Co 3:7-18, Psa 84:7) to bring us to understand, declare and be persuaded that “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” and that nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:39).

“God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light”, and He is also the one who binds the “sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar” as explained in Exodus 29:1-46. The last three verses of Exodus 29 reveal that the purpose behind all these sacrifices being offered is to “sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar” which represent to the body of Christ that is being prepared for the world as a living sacrifice (1Co 3:16). The sanctification of the priest is accomplished through the sacrifices being offered that represent our giving our whole life in service to God. The altar represents the cross of Christ which we bear for each other as those whom He has made kings and priests (2Co 1:22, Gal 6:2, Rev 1:6).

Exo 29:44  And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.
Exo 29:45  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
Exo 29:46  And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

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

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

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

God is the one who gives us the power through Christ to “bind the sacrifice“, and it takes the three-fold cord process of maturing through judgment in the church [Christ’s body] to make the bride ready. It is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom in earnest today, and He knows the plans He has for us and where all this sacrifice is leading. So we have great reason to be glad and rejoice today, right NOW! “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.”

Mar 3:27  No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Ecc 4:12  And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
Eph 3:13  Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

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.

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

Psa 118:28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

Let us rejoice, let us be glad, let us not fear, and above all these things let us “give honour to him” as His little sealed remnant who have been blessed to receive of His incredible mercy and kindness in this age.

2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Rom 11:6  And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

We acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives, and the spirit bears witness that we are His children (Rom 8:16) who are blessed to declare “Thou artmy God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee“. God gives us the power through Christ to overcome, and therefore we say “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” for He is the reason we can believe, and he is our helper (Heb 13:6, Psa 54:4) who helps us build up the body of Christ in love (Joh 14:12, Joh 14:26, Eph 4:16).

Psa 118:29  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

A most fitting way to end this Psalm is to give thanks for the undeserved mercy which He has extended to the weak of the world who are first called and chosen to be sanctified and made “meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Those good works could never be accomplished unless we were (being) sanctified by our Lord (Joh 17:17, Joh 16:13) and as we have seen, it is “Aaron and his sons” who are first sanctified, an event which typifies these words: “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7).

 

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/how-should-we-consider-the-dead/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-should-we-consider-the-dead Tue, 07 Aug 2018 15:36:31 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=16901 How Should We Consider the Dead?

It seems to me that although we are not immortal spirits having a physical experience, but rather physical beings having a spiritual experience, nonetheless it seems God treats mankind as if we are spirits having a physical experience, as Matthew 25:41 Christ said of humans, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

If everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, then if most humans (the non-elect) end up in this everlasting lake of fire after death, then don’t most humans fit the definition of the devil and his angels, since God gives them the same punishment and treats humans and evil angels the same?  If everyone will be salted with fire (Mark 9:49–the elect face this fire now as flesh and blood) then really isn’t all humanity really “the devil and his angels?”

Whether humans pre-existed or not is irrelevant, as God treats humans “as if” they pre-existed as the devil and his angels in the end anyway, as the non-elect are raised in spirit bodies and cast into the lake of fire.  What difference will there be between evil humans and evil spirits in the end, since they go to the same place and endure the same fiery redemptive fire?  Do evil spirits get more intense fire perhaps and for longer time, since they have sinned for thousands of years versus a human can only sin for about max 120 years?  Just trying to understand what real difference there is in the end in light of Matthew 25:41.  Hope you understand what I am saying and can shed some more scriptural light on the subject.

Thanks,

B____

Hi, B____​

Luke 20 deals with your thoughts:

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 

From God’s all-sovereign perspective, His plan for the salvation of all men through Christ and His Christ is an already accomplished fact, even though it may yet be thousands of years before it is completed. This scripture guides us in how we should speak of the dead. “Now that the dead are raised…” acknowledges the truth which is taught from Genesis to Revelation, which is:

Gen 2:17  and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it–dying thou dost die.’ (YLT)

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [Hebrew: rûach – wind, breath, spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20  All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31  He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Act 2:32  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

The best way to think and speak is in Biblical terms, and in Biblical terms David is not in heaven, and “God is not the God of the dead but of the living” is to be understood as speaking of the fact that “the dead are raised”.

Yes, we are by birth of our father, the devil (Joh 8:44)​, by virtue of being born into earthy, physical bodies. From God’s perspective, no, there is no difference in the treatment of humans and spirits in the lake of fire. At that time, they will all be spirits. Based on the scripture saying that the last shall be first and the first shall be last, the former humans will exit from their lake of fire condition before those who were already created as spirits (Job 38:4-7).

I hope this gives you a clearer perspective on how we are to refer to the dead.

YbiC, Mike

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/psalms-771-9-in-the-day-of-my-trouble-i-sought-the-lord-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=psalms-771-9-in-the-day-of-my-trouble-i-sought-the-lord-part-1 Sun, 04 Sep 2016 01:52:23 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=12427 Psa 77:1-9 “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord” – Part 1

Psa 77:1 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
Psa 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
Psa 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
Psa 77:4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Psa 77:5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Psa 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
Psa 77:7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
Psa 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
Psa 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

As God’s elect we continue to praise Him (Jeduthun^H3038 – Definition: Jeduthun = praising) throughout this life for and through the process (Asaph^H623 – the name of three Israelites) that is unfolding as He drags us unto perfection which comes on the symbolic third day (Joh 6:44, Luk 13:32).

That process is accompanied with judgment and much tribulation (1Pe 4:17, Act 14:22), and yet with Christ as our head we can learn to rejoice in our trials as we become comfortable in the much needed fire that purifies our walk in the Lord through grace and faith by which all men will be saved (Isa 33:14-15).

In tonight’s first part of our two-part study for this 77th Psalm, we will look at how our flesh will naturally cry out during this process that is filled with growing pains or birth pangs (Joh 16:21, Joh 3:3), and how it is through the troublesome times that the mind of Christ is being formed within His body. We have been called and chosen to witness of His great power today, a power that makes it possible to love not our own life even unto death as we die daily in these troublesome times (Dan 9:25, Rev 11:3, Rev 12:11).

Being still, as we discussed in last week’s study, is akin to lying dead in the street of that great city (Rev 11:8, Rom 6:11) and knowing that our power to edify, exhort and comfort one another through the fire (1Co 14:3, Dan 3:25) is a gift given to those who are given to lie still and know they bring nothing to the altar, which is the cross (Joh 15:5).

God likens the elect unto a ‘candle stick’ and an ‘olive tree’ (Rev 11:4) both of which are completely dependent on fuel to survive (Zec 4:12-14, 1Co 3:6). We are glorifying God when we with ‘Christ in us’ bear each other’s burdens and strengthen each other in this life with that fuel which is His word, which is spirit that is able to quicken us (Php 4:13, Joh 6:63).

Our flesh must be mortified in order for the will of God to be accomplished within us (Rom 8:13). That will is being accomplished through this process ‘which’ is glorifying God ‘is, was and will be’ (Php 2:13, 1Jn 2:15-17, 1Pe 4:16, Php 4:13, Php 2:14 ).

[NOTE: We feel quickened by Christ’s body, both by word and deed, thank you Father.]

Do not grow weary in well doing, brethren, because in due season we will reap if we faint not (Gal 6:9). If we grow weary in the positive sense of the word, we will, as we read in Rev 3:8, not deny Christ by keeping his word, but if we forsake His word that quickens us in the midst of our weariness (stop loving in word and deed) and do not keep under ourselves (1Co 9:27) by remaining sober and vigilant at the end of this age (1Pe 5:8), we will stop being ‘still’ [“Selah”], and we will start to actively beat the manservant with our own dead branches and idols of our hearts instead of prophesying unto one another in a spirit of love which we pray God will continue to increase within each of us (Mat 24:49, 1Co 14:1, 1Co 13:2, Rom 1:16, 1Co 2:5).

God brings us into remembrance after we are brought to our wits’ end that He is faithful, and He has purposed to wash our conscience by pruning those dead branches (Rom 6:2). He is merciful to us in this age in advance of the rest of humanity for dealing with us as sons being received (Psa 107:30, Rom 11:28-30, Heb 12:6).

Our heavenly Father never lets us forget that it is the son of God who has been setting us free all along (Joh 8:36), and that Christ is the author and finisher of our faith who God promises through the vine (Christ) that none will be taken out of His hand (Joh 5:30, Joh 18:9).

Without Christ working within us by the holy spirit as our hope of glory (Col 1:27), we would despise the first part of this Psalm (his chastening grace), and the iniquity that He is allowing to grow worse and worse at the end of this age would cause His love to wax cold. This is all part of God’s predestined purpose to show the world that only ‘Christ can be Christ’ and that our discipleship of love toward one another is only possible because of His love being deepened within us (Mat 24:12).

It is therefore with great rejoicing (Php 4:4) that we should see our high calling as we come to appreciate more deeply every day how blessed we are to have His peace that passes all understanding in this evil age in which we live (Php 4:7).

We can get there and are getting there through Christ and His Christ, and next week God willing we will look at the fruit of going through the suffering in this age that is not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us over and over, both in earnest today and ultimately in putting off this corruptible flesh once and for all (Rom 8:18, 2Co 3:18, 1Co 15:53). But first, let’s look at tonight’s verses and the first half of the Psalm!

Psa 77:1 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
Psa 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

We cry unto the Lord with “my voice” even unto God with “my voice” twice mentioned to witness that God is witnessing through us that He can and does bring us to cry out with strong tears in our flesh (Heb 5:7, Joh 5:30), and then he will “give ear unto me”.

The “day of my trouble” in the second verse is a type of ‘the day of the Lord’. We are seeking the Lord even while our hand^H3027 is outstretched^H5064 (literal translations of “sore^H3027 ran^H5064“– see Rotherham, YLT, CLV or LITV) in the night, and our own souls[^H5315 = nephesh] refuse to be comforted. This happens to demonstrate that it is only God who can soften or harden the heart of Pharaoh within us.

Exo 9:35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Only when the Lord grants that growth will our soul take comfort. To take comfort is to not just know that God is greater than our conscience, and that He loves us while we are yet sinners, and is sovereign over this whole growth process, but to actually experience deliverance which can only come after our flesh is out of the way and He has brought us to our wits’ end. We are quiet or ‘still’ only after the tormenting experiences He allows us to go through.

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

Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Psa 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

Remembering God in our trouble, complaining and being overwhelmed in our spirit is something that we all live, less and less as God gives us victory over our spirits that are so easily overwhelmed except the Lord delivers us (Mat 26:39-44). Christ is not complaining in the garden because He never sinned and has the spirit without measure to hold him up to never fall at any given time through any given trial. He is troubled however, and crying out, and his flesh is feeling overwhelmed^H5848 as it is being put off.

This is the greatest act and demonstration of both our Father’s love for us and Christ’s love being shed abroad in His heart to demonstrate God’s love for all His creation (Joh 3:16). For Jesus in his flesh, that time of prayer concludes after a process typified by three fervent prayers that he made, which leads to Christ being strengthened by the angel and being able to “be comforted” through the most profound mental anguish and physical pain that is soon to follow.

Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Mat 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Mat 26:43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
Mat 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Psa 77:4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

We can take comfort knowing that God has heard our prayers for our family in Christ. He holds our “eyes^H5869 waking^H8109“.

Even in the midst of severe troubles where we can’t even speak being so heavily burdened, God can and will hold us up (Php 4:13). The use of the word “eyes” and ‘eyelid’ [“waking”], brings to mind what it takes to hold us up in this tender and blessed area of Christ’s body.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds[your heart] should be corrupted from the simplicity [singleness]^G572 that is in Christ. [having one mind; being in agreement Php 2:2-5].

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
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.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Psa 77:5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Psa 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

When we go through severe trials, God brings us to meditate on “ancient times”^H5769 where we remember “my song in the night”, and there we are blessed to “commune with mine own heart” which is blessed to find hope in the Lord which comes after this “diligent search“.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him!
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

We are left saying ‘it is well with my soul’ (Act 16:22-26, Psa 42:8).

Psa 77:7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
Psa 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
Psa 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

Easiest verse ever to speak on? The answer is NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! So let’s “Selah” or pause and be blessed by the scriptures that confirm that all these “NO’s” are true:

Will the Lord cast off for ever?

Lam 3:31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
Lam 3:32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

Will he be favourable no more?

2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Is his mercy clean gone for ever?

Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Do his promise fail for evermore?

Jos 21:45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Psa 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his gracious love is everlasting.(ISV)

Has he in anger shut up his tender mercies?

Psa 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Next week, Lord willing, we will see how the much tribulation of our life, which is purposed by God, leads us to remember and think and meditate on the works of the Lord, ultimately leading to our great comfort as we’re brought in remembrance of how he makes a way to take us through every trial for which He prepares us.

1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Isa 43:16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/what-is-the-state-of-the-spirit-that-returns-to-god/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-the-state-of-the-spirit-that-returns-to-god Tue, 26 Aug 2014 20:46:16 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=8346

Hello Mike,

The scripture in Ecc 12: 7 says when  a man dies his body goes back to the ground but his spirit goes back to God. If the dead knows nothing, what is the state of this spirit that is gone back to God?

Thanks for an early reply.

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question.

Here is the verse you reference:

Ecc 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 

You ask: “If the dead knows nothing, what is the state of this spirit that is gone back to God?”

The answer to that question is to be found in Psa 104, where we read this:

Psa 104:24  O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Psa 104:25  So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. 
Psa 104:26  There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Psa 104:27  These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 
Psa 104:28  That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
Psa 104:29  Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 
Psa 104:30  Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

The Hebrew word translated spirit in verse 30 is ‘ruach’, Strong’s number H7307. It happens to be the very same Hebrew word that is translated as ‘breath’ in the previous verse. So what we are really being told is that God takes away our spirit, and we die. We do not go to heaven as a so-called “immortal soul”. We are plainly told that “the soul that sinneth [all men] shall die” (Eze 18:4 and 20). So the state of the spirit of which you inquire is the same state it was in before any of us were created. We are plainly told that “You send forth your spirit, and they are created”. In other words we were not “created” before God ‘sent forth His spirit to give life to our physical created bodies.

This is made doubly clear in Ecc 3 where we read:

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20  All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecc 3:21  Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Solomon tells us clearly “that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast:” Whe Solomon asks “Who knows” he is challenging the pagan idea and doctrine of an immortal soul, and he is revealing that men are no different than a beast as far as the spirit that is within them, and he informs us that “they all go to one place… the dust”.

Once again, because the translators of the King James Version of the scriptures believed in the false doctrine of an immortal soul, they translated the Hebrew word ‘ruach’ in verse 19 as ‘breath’, but they translate the very same Hebrew word ‘ruach’ as spirit when it suits their purpose in verse 21.

I hope all these verses of scripture help you to see that that state of the spirit that returns to God who gave it is the same state of the spirit it was in before God gave it to a physical body to give that body life. I hope you can now agree with the apostle Paul that without a resurrection they that have fallen asleep in Christ have perished because they are not a separate conscious spirit until that time of the resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 

The false doctrine of an immortal soul renders the biblical doctrine of a resurrection of the dead as little less than useless, because death is put on a par with judgment, and there is no further need for judgment after death according to the generally accepted doctrine of both the Protestant and the Catholic churches.

Your brother who lives in hope of the resurrection,

Mike

Mike,

What did Paul mean by this very puzzling statement?

1Co 15:29-30 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?

God has truly revealed so much truth to me through 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, yet when I get to verse 29, I’m immediately confused. What did Paul mean by this? I have learned that true baptism is dying to self in Christ and walking in newness of the life of Christ (I hope I got that right) – regardless, I know the spiritual truth of baptism is not about water.

I would appreciate your inputs. Thanks.

Your brother,

S____

Hi S____,

Thank you for your question about this verse of scripture.

You ask:

What did Paul mean by this very puzzling statement?

1Co 15:29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
1Co 15:30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?

Christ and His apostles used the word ‘dead’ in a far more inclusive way than our natural man does or the society of our natural man.

Here is who Christ and Paul include when they are speaking of “the dead”:

Mat 8:21 And another of the disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead. (ASV)

That is “the dead” being spoken of when the apostle Paul poses the question:

1Co 15:29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
1Co 15:30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?

“The dead” means for the person being baptized. It is not referring to someone who has already died. Paul was simply posing the question ‘Why be baptized for the hope of the dead if the dead rise not at all?’ It is the apostle Paul himself who uses the phrase ‘the dead’ in this way, and it is he who tells us that the cleansing of baptism is accomplished, not by literal water, but “by the Word”.

1Ti 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

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

The words ‘they’ and ‘them’ are not in the Greek in 1Co 15:29. So the question Paul is actually posing is ‘What shall they do that are baptized for the hope of the dead?’ Notice carefully the words which are inserted in 1Co 15:29 when we display Strong’s numbers:

1Co 15:29 ElseG1893 whatG5101 shall they doG4160 which are baptizedG907 forG5228 theG3588 dead,G3498 ifG1487 the deadG3498 riseG1453 notG3756 at all?G3654 whyG5101 are they thenG2532 baptizedG907 forG5228 theG3588 dead?G3498

The words in the King James Version, “are they then”, are all taken from one Greek word, ‘kai’, to which Strong has assigned the number G2532. That Greek word ‘kai’ should have been translated with the single English word ‘then’ instead of the English phrase, “are they then”.

Here is another verse with that same Greek word, ‘kai, G2532’:

Mat 16:22 ThenG2532 PeterG4074 tookG4355 him,G846 and beganG756 to rebukeG2008 him,G846 saying,G3004 Be it farG2436 from thee,G4671 Lord:G2962 thisG5124 shall notG3364 beG2071 unto thee.G4671

“Then G2532 Peter…”. Why is this not translated as “are they then” as in 1Co 15:29? A better question is why are the words “are they” inserted in 1Co 15:29?

I do not know what version you are using, but the words ‘they’ and ‘them’ are not in the Greek, and Paul certainly was not referring to being baptized for people who had already died.

On the other hand, it is not adding one word to the question Paul is posing here to translate this verse as asking ‘why then be baptized for the hope of the dead if the dead rise not at all?’ That is the thought found in all of these verses:

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

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

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

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 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

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

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

Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

It is not adding to the word of God to insert the words ‘hope of’ to that verse, rather than inserting the words “are they”. The words “hope of” clarifies the point being made, and aligns that verse with “the sum of God’s word” instead of muddying the waters and giving rise to the false unscriptural doctrine of being baptized for the dead. This gross mistranslation serves to demonstrate the importance of the principle found in this verse of God’s Word:

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. [“Sum”, not ‘some’] (ASV)

Your brother in Christ,

Mike