Rev 13:6-9 Part 2, Whose Names are not Written in the Book of Life

[Study Aired January 19, 2025]

Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Introduction

Let’s begin this study by once again reminding ourselves that this entire prophecy begins with these words:

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

“Blessed is he that reads… hears, and keeps the things written therein” includes the words of today’s study as well as “every [other] word… of the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Rev 22:7). Unless there are qualifying statements like this:

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.

The reason ‘overcomers’ do not experience the second death is that they are the first to die daily with Christ (1Co 15:31). The overcomers of this age are the first who are being crucified with Him (Gal 2:20), and we are the first to be presenting our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1) in this present time (Rom 8:18). In other words, God’s elect are the first to be judged now, in this present time and are therefore granted to be raised in “the resurrection of life… the blessed and holy first resurrection”, at the beginning of the thousand-year reign:

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

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us [because we are dying daily first, Eph 1:12], what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? [At a later judgment, the great white throne judgment of Rev 20:11-15]

There are great benefits to being chosen to be the first to suffer and die with Christ in this present age:

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 [who are in the first resurrection] 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 [the promise] of our inheritance until [in hope of (Rom 8:23-24)] the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

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 [being “sealed with that holy spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13)], even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. [“To wit… the blessed and holy first resurrection”]
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope [in a promise]: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

It is our faith in that promise of being “to the praise of His glory” in the first resurrection which will see us through the hardest trials which the Lord will send our way:

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the [trials of the] world, even our faith.

 The “lake of fire [which] is the second death” is the great white throne judgment at which all of mankind who are not being judged in this age will come up in what Christ called “the resurrection of judgment” (Joh 5:29):

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened [Psa 139:16] and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [Those upon whom judgment “first began” in “this present time”] was cast into the lake of fire.

“Things present and things to come… all are yours” certainly includes this composite beast we have before us here in Revelation 13. We, in Adam, are all of mankind, and therefore we are this beast with seven heads and ten horns. The reason the fourth beast is not described as any particular beast on earth in Daniel, is because, as it is not revealed until here in Revelation, that fourth beast in us is the son of “our father the devil, the great red dragon”, who also has “seven heads and ten horns.” This connection was not revealed to Daniel, but it is revealed to us here in the revelation of Jesus Christ, within us. All Daniel could see was the four physical nations signified by the four beasts. He was not given to see the spiritual application of these four nations to all of mankind as children of the great red dragon:

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 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.

As Joseph has instructed us, these visions in Daniel 2 and 7, and now here in Revelation 13, are all one and the same vision, and the Lord is “showing us what He is about to do” in our lives, just as he showed Pharaoh.

Gen 41:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
Gen 41:19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Gen 41:20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
Gen 41:21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they [were] still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
Gen 41:22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
Gen 41:23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, [and] blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
Gen 41:24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told [this] unto the magicians; but [there was] none that could declare [it] to me.
Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Those are the same words by which the holy spirit introduced this prophecy to us:

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:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Truly the book of Genesis is hidden in the book of Revelation, and the book of Revelation is revealed in the book of Genesis. It would be just as true to say that the book of Genesis is revealed in the book of Revelation, and the book of Revelation is hidden in the book of Genesis.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Whose names are written in “the book of life of the Lamb”

Why is this not simply called “the book of life”? There is a very good reason why we are discussing “the book of life of the Lamb” instead of simply “the book of life”. They are one and the same book, but “the book of the life of the Lamb” insinuates that “as He is, so are we in this world”, and our lives are the same as “the life of the Lamb… a living sacrifice… for His body’s sake which is the church”.

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.

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.

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:

Rev 13:8 (EDT) And will worship him all those dwelling on the earth, of which not has been written the name in the scroll of the life of the lamb of that having been killed, from a casting down of a world.

Rev 13:8 (YLT) And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;

Both the Emphatic Diaglott and Young’s literal translation call this “the scroll of the life of the Lamb…” In other words, this is the scroll or the book which details the life of the Lamb and the life of all who are in the Lamb. This is the revealing of the life of Jesus Christ and the revelation of Jesus Christ in the lives of all who “read, hear and keep the things which are written therein”.

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:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Exactly who was “slain from the foundation of the world”? Is not that a crucial part of “the life of the Lamb”? Well, of course Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. But was Christ’s Christ, who He has sent as His Father sent Him; were they also slain from the foundation of the world?

First, let’s just ask if we are really “slain” as Christ was slain? What do the scriptures teach us? Here is how we are told to view ourselves, and our lives:

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

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

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

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

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

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

Those are but a few of the verses of God’s Word which tell us that we are to count ourselves as dead to this world, and alive in the spirit to God. But when were we “crucified with Christ” as far as God is concerned? Here is when that was done:

1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

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

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

There it is in 2Timothy 1:9: We were “in Christ Jesus before the world began”. If that is true, then we, too, were “slain before the foundation of the world… in Christ Jesus”. So the truth is this verse is again confirmed to be true:

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.

Summary

In summary we must remember that this is all leading up to the revealing of what is the seventh trumpet, and what is the day of God’s wrath against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness in our lives. All of the first six trumpets are followed immediately by the revelation of exactly what are the details of each of those first six trumpets. But this seventh trumpet, while first alluded to in Revelation 10:7, and while we are told that the seventh angel sounds his trumpet in chapter 11, the revelation of what this seventh trumpet is will not be revealed until chapter 16, where we are finally given the details of what is the effect of God’s wrath upon all of our sins in our lives.

In today’s study, as part of this long introduction to the detail of this seventh trumpet, we first saw that “he that hath an ear” is just Biblical, spiritual language for those “few chosen” who have been granted eyes that see and ears that hear “the mysteries of the kingdom of God”. “He that hath an ear” are the few who are blessed to be given to understand this revelation of Jesus Christ and to understand that this revelation of Jesus Christ is to be read, heard and kept by all who are “the Christ… the sent” of Christ and who are given to “keep the things which are written therein”.

We have seen that the beast who opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, His name and His tabernacle is first all of us, for this one simple reason which is contained in these four sections of scripture:

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

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

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;

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

We also saw that because of the truth of these four sections of scripture, it is absolutely essential and it is incumbent upon us to recognize that while we blaspheme God, His name, His tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven, that it must also be equally essential and incumbent upon us to recognize that we must be the ones who bear God’s name, by the way we live our lives in this world; that we are the temple of God, and that it is we who dwell in the heavens.

Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

We have seen that it is we who first make war with the saints, and we first must overcome them, just as Saul of Tarsus first “persecuted the church” and was himself first “a blasphemer”. We saw that we are first given complete power to rule over all the kindreds, tongues and nations which, as all the beasts which represent all the nations of Daniel 7, all just typify our flesh, which causes us to worship the dragon, who gives us our power by simply serving our flesh. Obedience to our true father is the worship both Christ and the devil really want, and obedience to the flesh is what is meant by the statement “the man of sin sitting in the temple of God showing himself that he is God”

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Once again, because “all thing are ours”, we are made to understand that after we have come to see ourselves as this beast and the man of sin, that we then must recognize that we must also become those saints against whom our beast was waging war, and we must acknowledge that we must live by every one of these words of God and do all these things.

Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Finally, we have seen that we first worship the beast and “sin against our God”, causing our names to be blotted out of God’s book of the life of the Lamb.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Then we saw that our names are reinstated and “written in the book of the life of the lamb”. Having our name reinstated is accomplished only when we are caused by God to repent, and watch as God, “through righteousness” and obedience, takes us back to himself after having blotted our name out of His book because of our sins against Him.

Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

We saw that this is an all-inclusive indictment against all men because “all have sinned”.

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

Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

We saw that since “all have sinned” and since God will “blot out of His book whosoever has sinned against Him”, it is obvious that all men are first in God’s book, are then blotted out due to their sins, which God “makes them” to commit, and then He visits us all, judges our sins in His wrath and places our names back into the book of the life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

We have seen that this is accomplished only by Christ living His life in us, and living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and living in us “the book of the life of the Lamb”, which Lamb we are in Christ.

We have demonstrated with the scriptures that this is the doctrine of all of scripture, and that this is the doctrine of “the sum of God’s Word” (Psa 119:160), as it is so stated in Isaiah 63…

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

… and in Jeremiah 33, even after we have all “sinned against God”, here is what eventually happens to all.

Jer 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

This simply complements, and does not contradict, what God told Moses in Exodus:

Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

In our next study we will see why a second beast must arise “out of the earth” demanding that we worship the first beast that came “out of the sea”, and with the Lord’s mind we will see how these two successive beasts differ and what they signify about how the Lord is working with us. We will cover these verses of Revelation 13:

Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

Rev 13:3-5 Part 2, Deadly Wound is Healed Forty and Two Months

[Study Aired January 12, 2025]

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

In this study we will seek to understand the spiritual significance of “forty and two months” which signifies the duration of the healing of our deadly wound and the rebellious actions of our beastly seven-headed beast.

We have established in our studies of the first two verses of this chapter that “the beast” is mankind:

Rev 13:18  This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is man’s [G444: anthropos, mankind’s] number, and his number is 666.

Every man who has ever lived has had this mark, name and number of this beast from birth:

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.

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Lest we misunderstand the fact that this mark is on every man who has ever lived, the holy spirit has seen fit to qualify the meaning of the word ‘all’ with the phrase “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”. There has never been a person who was not in one of those categories. “All” of Anthropos, “all” of mankind is marked with this number ‘six’, signifying his incompleted status, because mankind was created on the sixth day along with all the other beasts of the field.

Notice how the Hebrew clarifies how wicked flesh is not the end product of the Creator:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them.
Gen 1:28 And blessing them is the Elohim. And saying to them is the Elohim, “Be fruitful and increase and fill the earth, and subdue it. And sway over the fish of the sea, and over the flyer of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over all life moving on the land.
Gen 1:29 And saying is the Elohim, “Behold, I give to you all herbage seeding seed, which is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree which has in it the fruit of a tree seeding seed. For you it is coming to be for food.
Gen 1:30 And for all land life, and for every flyer of the heavens, and for every moving animal on the land, which has in it a living soul, all green herbage is for food. And coming is it to be so.
Gen 1:31 And seeing is the Elohim all that He had made, and, behold, it is very good. And coming is it to be evening and coming to be morning, the sixth day.

The verbs ‘creating’ and ‘creates’ are both in the Hebrew Qal stem, signifying that these “earthen vessels… of clay” have not yet “entered into His rest” on the seventh day, the number which signifies completion. We are very plainly told that God’s work is completed only on the seventh day:

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The fourth chapter of Hebrews tells us that we, too, are not complete until we have “entered into His rest [and] ceased from [our] own works”:

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that [“believeth” vs 3] is entered [aorist tense] into his rest, he also hath ceased [aorist tense] from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour [aorist tense] therefore to enter [aorist tense] into that rest, lest any man fall [aorist tense] after the same example of unbelief.

In these verses we are admonished both to “fear lest we come short of His rest” (vs 1), and to “labor to enter into that rest” (vs 11).

The point being made in both Genesis 2:2 and here in Hebrews 4:1-11 is that the creation process is not completed on the sixth day. Only “he that believes hath entered into His rest… on the seventh day”.

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

All of mankind will in time be completed, but it is not given to the multitudes who believe on Christ in this age to “abide in His Word” and become “disciples indeed” (Joh 8:30-43, Mat 13:10-15).

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.[received a deadly wound on “one of {their, our} heads”]
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him [signifying the multitudes of Christians of today],If ye continue [G3306: ‘meno’, abide, vs 35] in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  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 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth [G3306: ‘meno’, abide, continue] not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth [G3306: ‘meno, ‘abide, continue (vs 31)]ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed [vs 39]; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father [You ‘Jews that believe on Me but do not abide in My Word “are of your father the devil”, vs 44].
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children [vs 37], ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  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.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word [“It is not given to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 13:10-15)].
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Jews and Christians who “believe on [Christ]” (Joh 8:30-31) have received a “deadly wound” to one of their “seven heads”, and they call themselves His disciples. When these very same Jews and Christians believe on Christ and yet want to kill Him, they are not “disciples indeed”, and do not abide in His Word. These are the multitudes of Jews and Christians who believe on Christ but their “deadly wound is healed.” It is only those who are given the gift of looking behind themselves (Rev 1:10-12) and seeing themselves as “chief of sinners” (1Ti 1:15), and who can confess to being spiritually blind and spiritually having inflicted the wounds of the cross upon their own savior, who have that “deadly wound” re-inflicted upon all seven of the heads of the beast within every one of us who are granted to abide in His Word in this present age.

When we first come to Christ as immature spiritual “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), that is the spiritual significance of “one of his heads as if it were wounded to death.”

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes [G3516: nepios’, toddler] in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

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

What is “forty and two months”?

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

We have already seen that “forty and two months” is the same as “times, a time and half a time”, or “1260 days”. As Joseph told the Pharaoh, “The dream is one.”

Gen 41:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
Gen 41:19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Gen 41:20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
Gen 41:21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they [were] still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
Gen 41:22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
Gen 41:23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
Gen 41:24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told [this] unto the magicians; but [there was] none that could declare [it] to me.
Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

In this dream which so troubled Pharaoh, seven cows and seven ears of corn both have the same significance. Both are used to signify seven years of plenty followed by seven years of severe drought. The Lord gave Joseph complete faith in his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph did not appear before Pharaoh in fear of his life. Joseph knew that the Lord had made him to know the meaning of the symbols in Pharaoh’s dream. Just two years earlier Joseph had interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh’s butler and his baker, and his interpretation proved true within three days:

Gen 40:12  And Joseph said unto him [Pharaoh’s butler], This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
Gen 40:13  Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

Gen 40:16  When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
Gen 40:17  And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
Gen 40:18  And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Gen 40:19  Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
Gen 40:20  And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen 40:21  And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Gen 40:22  But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Gen 40:23  Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

Even the butler’s forgetting Joseph was a work of the Lord for Joseph’s good. It was through the interpreting of Pharaoh’s dream that the Lord made Pharaoh to know that Joseph was the savior of his nation and, in type, the savior of the world:

Gen 41:1  And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

The same spiritual principles revealed in this story of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams apply to our understanding of the book of Revelation. The same principles Joseph was given to apply to Pharaoh’s dreams are at work throughout scripture and here in the book of Revelation. Whether it is a certain number of years, a certain number of months or a certain number of days, “the dream [or vision] is one [and] God is showing us “things which must shortly come to pass” (Rev 1:1), and “what He is about to do” in our lives (Gen 41:25).

Pharaoh’s butler forgot Joseph, and that was no doubt a trial of Joseph’s faith for two long years in that prison. But the Lord had a way of reminding the butler of what Joseph had done for him, and it was through the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dream that Joseph was taken from prison and placed upon the throne of Egypt. It is in the process of Joseph’s interpreting Pharaoh’s dream that we are blessed to learn the principle of “the dream is one”:

Gen 41:17  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:18  And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
Gen 41:19  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Gen 41:20  And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
Gen 41:21  And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
Gen 41:22  And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
Gen 41:23  And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
Gen 41:24  And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

The cows and the corn both “signified” the same thing, and “God hath shown Pharaoh what He is about to do” is exactly how the book of Revelation is introduced to us:

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:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand [For “what… God… is about to do” (Gen 41:25)].

When we are “given a mouth speaking great things and blaspheming” while we are signified as “the Gentiles” we “tread the court of the temple underfoot”, and we “continue [to do so for] forty and two months”. Likewise after we have blasphemed Christ and His temple forty and two months, if we are granted repentance, then we become those against whom the beast does his blaspheming, and as God’s two witnesses we “prophesy [against that blasphemous beast] a thousand two hundred and threescore days”.

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. [The same period of time as “a thousand two hundred and sixty days” of the next verse]
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. [The same period of time as “forty and two months”]

How do we blaspheme?

This verse tells us that our beast is “given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies”.

Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…

If this beast is us, then it is we who are given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. But is that true of God’s elect? Do God’s elect really blaspheme?

One way to answer that question is to refer to the four verses we mention so often in these studies. If there is any truth to these four verses, then the answer to our question is yes, God’s elect are indeed blasphemers before they repent of doing so. Here are four verses which prove that God’s elect are blasphemers of God, before they repent and are changed in heart, and begin the process of dying daily and having Christ increase as their old man is destroyed daily by decreasing daily.

1)  Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

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

3) 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;

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

“All things come alike to all… there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked… Man shall… live… by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God… for all things are yours… the world, life, death, things present and things to come, all are yours.”

Are you and I beasts by nature? What say the scriptures?

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.

Is it “written in this book” that this beast that we all are is “given… a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies”?  Of course that is exactly what is written here:

Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…

There it all is. “All things are ours.” We are a beast with “mouth[s] that speak great things and blaspheme” our God. That should and does answer that question for all spiritually honest people. But do we have any scriptural examples of God’s very elect blaspheming? You be the judge. Here is what the scriptures reveal about this subject. It is generally agreed that the apostle Paul is the most prolific writer of the New Testament, and he is certainly one of God’s very elect, and this is what he has to say about his own past:

1Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15 This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

How did Paul blaspheme God? He persecuted God’s elect; he supervised the stoning of Stephen, and went on to do even more damage to the body of Christ by going outside of Israel to Damascus to persecute the body of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There is not one word of 1Ti 1:12-16 which does not apply to you and to me if we are in Christ. Here is how Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul, blasphemed. This is what is in your flesh and in my flesh. This is how we first feel about the truth of God’s Word:

Act 7:58 And cast him [Stephen, God’s elect] out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Act 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Act 22:6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

So by Christ’s own words we are “Jesus of Nazareth” who is “hated of all men”, and is persecuted by blasphemers. But if any of those four verses quoted above are true, then we must all be signified by Saul of Tarsus before we can become, “Jesus of Nazareth” and we must all be blasphemers before we can be those who glorify God for bringing us out of darkness into the light of His Truth, that “All things come alike to all; all things present and to come are ours, and it is we who keep the things written in this book”, including this 5th verse of Revelation 13.

Summary

Let’s review what we have seen as revealed in God’s Words here in Revelation 13:3-5.

We were reminded of these three things:

1) “Blessed is he that reads, hears, and keeps the things which are written” in these three verses as well as all the other “prophecies of this book” (Rev 1:3 and 22:7).
2) This chapter, the previous chapter, and the next two chapters, are all part of a long introduction to the revelation of what is the seventh trumpet, which is revealed in Revelation 16, as the pouring out of the seven last plagues upon all of our “ungodliness and unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18).
3) The last thing we need to remember is that it is the working of the Lord Himself to give the beast within us a deadly wound, and it is also the working of the Lord via evil spirits, to heal that deadly wound, and to cause us to “worship the beast”.

We have seen that the beast of this chapter is us as the first Adam, with seven symbolic heads and ten symbolic horns.

We have learned that this beast, according to Ecc 3:18, is all mankind who are “in Adam”, including you and me.

We have learned that we, as this beast, receive a deadly wound when we are first dragged to Christ by God’s own working. We also saw that, like ancient Israel, we received our deadly wound to our beast within by crying out to God for deliverance and being carried out of Egypt “on eagles’ wings. We have learned that Israel typifies us as we cry out to God to be delivered from the sins of this world (1Co 10:6 and 11).

We saw how this wound is inflicted, and what we saw was that it is inflicted and can only be inflicted by the words of fire out of the mouth of Christ and His Christ. What we learned is that these fiery words are also known in scripture as a sharp two-edged sword, and we saw that later in this same 13th chapter we are told that this wound was inflicted “by a sword”.

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

We have seen that Christ taught that it is only via obedience to God that we become His children:

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

We also saw that it is by doing the deeds of “our father the devil” that we worship the dragon and become his children.

Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We have seen that none of us can hear Christ’s Words when we first are given them in parables which signify the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God within us.

We have seen again the dual application of forty and two months, as the time we spend, first blaspheming God and treading down the court without the temple, before we become the Lord’s two witnesses who bear witness against our old man for this same “forty and two months” period of time.

Finally, we have seen that like the apostle Paul, you and I are one and all, first blasphemers of God’s elect and of His Words which are in the mouths of God’s elect, before we become His witnesses of these things. We “live by every word…”

Next week, Lord willing, we will see that the works of Saul of Tarsus against the body of Christ of his day, is a type of the treatment which we receive from the Christian world of today who “cannot hear Christ’s words”. We will learn what it means to blaspheme God, His name and His tabernacle. We will learn how it is scripturally possible to be overcome by the beast in war, worship the beast, not have our names written in the book of life, and still be able to say that we are God’s elect.

Here are next week’s verses:

Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Rev 12:10-13 – Part 2 – Now Is Come The Kingdom

[Study Aired Dec 22, 2024]

Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

True to its “is, was and will be” nature, in this verse we again see ourselves both as those who “dwell in the heavens” as well as those who were once “inhabiters of the earth and of the sea… unbelievers, abiding in God’s wrath”. Paul makes clear that both parts of this verse are ours in Eph 2.

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.
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:

… the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

By whom does the Lord try and tempt mankind?

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.
Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
Jas 1:14  but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. (ASV)

“Enticed” by whom? Who incites man to lust after the things which the Lord has forbidden? We need not guess.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3  But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
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.

By whom did the Lord try Job?

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
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.
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.

“Put forth Thine hand” shows us that Satan is nothing more or less than a tool of our Lord to “create evil”, and to “work all things after the counsel of His own will.” Satan could not touch Job without the Lord’s direction to do so. Do we think this is an exception to the rule? It is not. This is the rule of Him “of whom are all things”, all the good and all the evil.

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

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and [there is] none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Who was “the Lord’s” instrument to tempt King David? It is in “the sum of God’s word [that we will find the] Truth”. When we add up “the sum of God’s word” in these two verses we find that the Lord used the same adversary to tempt King David that He used to tempt Adam and Eve and Job.

2Sa 24:1  And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

1Ch 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

The result of this provocation was that 70,000 men died as “the anger of the Lord” was poured out on Israel through the agency of Satan, who, as “an evil angel, was sent among them” to tempt King David to number Israel.

Who was sent to tempt our Lord?

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

If we are “as He is in this world” would not we also be tempted by “the tempter… the devil?

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.

How are the seven last plagues of God’s fierce wrath administered upon us all in our own time? Is it not the same for all? Here are the verses that answer both of those questions respectively:

Psa 78:49  He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

What does “All things come alike to all” mean? What that means is that “there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked”, that is what that means. That “one event” includes the seven last plagues of God’s wrath being pour out on the wicked and on the righteous alike, in the day when we are all “made wicked for the day of evil” which comes to us all alike, and in the day when mankind will live by those words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God.

Satan comes to us with great wrath, but as we have seen in Job, Satan is nothing more than “thy hand”, and like all of us, Satan has no wrath except as it is given Him from God:

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.

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

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

Let’s summarize what we have seen here: “the Lord Himself tempts no man…” Satan is specifically called “the tempter”, is called “God’s hand”, and God ‘casts the fierceness of His anger, wrath and indignation and trouble, by sending evil angels among us’. What does it all mean? What it all means is “… the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”. That is why this chapter is placed between the introduction of the seventh trumpet in Rev 11, and the revelation that the seven plagues of the seventh trumpet fill up the wrath of God against our ungodliness and unrighteousness in chapter 16.

… because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The scriptures reveal that the time of our trials really is nothing more than “a small moment” and “a little wrath”. I know from experience that what God calls “a small moment” seems like an eternity when it is being endured, but as the example of our Lord demonstrates, it is only after God has forsaken us for that “small moment” that we will be raised up to sit with Him in the heavens as He has been raised to sit with His Father in His throne in the heavens.

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

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

Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

Have you and I ever lived these “words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God [in this] revelation of Jesus Christ”?

Who among us has not felt defrauded, lied to, played for a fool and robbed of the fruit of our efforts by men who at best were deceived and in many cases were proven charlatans. And who among us has not to some degree been embittered when we discovered that all our lives have been wasted by a woman who is nothing more than a great harlot, who despises her true Husband and despises His words. Here is what Satan does in us to “the woman” at that moment, with the power he gives to the beast in the horns upon that beast:

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

What we are being told here is that this woman who is bringing forth this manchild here in chapter 12, is the same harlot woman we discover here in chapter 17. Do you doubt that God’s “man child” comes out of “the woman which… is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth”? Here is the scripture which tells us from whence come the Lord’s people. Speaking of this same woman, we read this:

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.

As redundant as it is to do so, we must remind ourselves that the only way to avoid death is to first die, the only way to see is to first be blind, and the only way to be healed of our sickness is to first be sick.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

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

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

In like manner, if there is anything we should be learning about living by every word of God, all things being ours, and keeping the things written in this prophecy, is that the only way to come out of Babylon, is to be in Babylon. The only way to avoid partaking of her sins is to confess that we ourselves have been the chief of sinners, and the only way to avoid receiving of her plagues is to fulfill within ourselves the seven plagues of the seven angels.

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

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

It is because the spirit of Babylon is still in us that we, as the ten horns on the beast, turn on the woman and “burn her with the fiery” words of God of which we, as carnal babes in Christ, have only recently become aware.

It is we who persecute the woman who brought forth the man child, and we do so as we are coming out of her, because the ten horns that burn her with fire are us as “carnal… babes in Christ” who, in our immaturity, are bitter toward a woman who has deceived us and has taken advantage of our ignorance.

Where do the beast and his ten horns get their power?

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?

By giving the beast his power, it can rightly be said “when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child”.

Summary

We have seen that this twelfth chapter, as well as chapters 13, 14 and 15, are all introductory and preparatory chapters to the revelation of the seven plagues of the seventh trumpet, which was first mentioned in chapter 10.

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

We have seen once again that when “the mystery of God is finished” we will finally realize that “all things come alike to all, that all things are ours, things present and things to come”, and that it is we who are instructed to “keep the things written in this book”. So we have seen that we are first the woman who brings forth this man child before we are made to become this man child who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

We have seen that “all the nations” within us must be subdued to the mind and thoughts of our Lord, before we will be found worthy to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection. We must “bring every thought into subjection to God” before we will be entrusted to rule the nations of this outward world or judge angels in the lake of fire.

We saw that our “strength and salvation” comes through our recognition that Christ died for our own sins, and through our testimony to that effect, and our willingness to die to the things of this world to obtain life in the next age.

We have seen that the “war in heaven” of this chapter is the same “warfare” spoken of by the apostle Paul in 2Co 10:4-5, and the “casting down of the accuser of our brothers” is nothing more or less than “the casting down of imaginations and every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” spoken of by Paul in these same verses.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

That is the “casting down of the accuser of our brothers.”

We saw the three different verses in the New Testament which specifically speak of “our Lord and His Christ”, and we saw that we are our Lord’s Christ, and the salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ is NOW. It is in down payment form through “the spirit of promise”, but nevertheless the salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God is ours here and now.

We saw that the strength we are given gives us power and dominion over the power of the dragon who gives our beast his power over us with all his sinful desires within us. We have seen that sin no longer has dominion over us, because God, through Christ in us, no longer imputes sin to us because we have “suffered in the flesh” with Him.

We have seen that the short time given the dragon to persecute the woman is the time he spends trying us, because we saw where Job reveals that Satan is nothing more or less than God’s own hand, to create the wicked man for the day of evil.

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now [Lord], 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.

We also saw that the wrath given to Satan to persecute the woman is the same wrath God gives Satan to pour out “the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels” among us because “these things are all ours”.

Psa 78:49  He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

Finally we saw that the dragon’s persecution of the woman is accomplished through us, as the ten horns who agree to give their power to the beast we are at that time and upon which the ten horns are found. We do this at the time we, as carnal babes in Christ, are coming out of Babylon, because we are not yet mature enough to appreciate the fact that all the lies and all the hypocrites of Babylon are nothing less than an integral part of “His wonderful works to the children of men”.

Next week, Lord willing we will finish this twelfth chapter and we will see what it means for this woman to be in the wilderness, and we will learn how the dragon goes about “casting water as a flood out of His mouth, to cause the woman to be carried away of the waters.” We will also see how the earth can help the woman by swallowing up the flood, and we will see what happens when the dragon is “wroth with the woman”.

Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 39:1–29 Prophesy Against Gog, Part 2

[Study Aired December 9, 2024]

Introduction

Our study Today is a continuation of the study last week, where we turned our attention to Gog, who is described as a leader  of a great army, whose kingdom is called Magog, whom the Lord is going to use to attack the people of Israel who had come back to their land from captivity and are living peacefully and unsuspectingly at the time. In that study, we came to the conclusion that Gog represents Satan, who will deceive the whole world as he gathers them together to battle the Lord and His elect. However, a fire shall come from God out of heaven to destroy all humanity. That is when death shall be destroyed.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Today’s study focuses on how the Lord shall destroy the weapons of Gog and His army as they fall on the mountain of the Lord. It also shows us the Lord’s promise to show mercy to His elect as He gathers them together from the nations to pour out His spirit on them and restores unto them the joy of their salvation.

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

The Lord is Against Gog

Eze 39:1  Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 
Eze 39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 

As indicated in the previous study, Gog represents Satan, whom the Lord has fashioned as the waster to destroy. 

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

Gog, being the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, is significant. Meshech means drawing out and Tubal signifies thou shall be brought. The devil’s role is to draw out or bring out sin in our lives. As we can remember, before the devil showed up, Adam and Eve did not know their state as a sinful being. That is what it means to be naked and not know it. However, the devil coming to the scene exposed their nakedness.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 
Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 
Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

In verse 1, the Lord is telling us that He is against the adversary, the devil. Being against the devil means our Lord opposes or resists the devil. As the Lord’s representatives here on earth, we are therefore called to resist the devil and we can only do it when we first submit to Christ our Lord. 

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

In verse 2, we are told that the Lord will turn Gog around and lead him. He will bring him from the far north and have him attack the mountains of Israel. The Lord turning Gog around and leading him signify that the Lord controls all that the devil does. As we are aware, in this world, we go through an experience of evil orchestrated by the devil. However, all that the devil does is in accordance with the counsel of the Lord’s will. The fact that the devil is caused to attack the Lord’s elect, represented here as the mountains of Israel, means that we are in a spiritual warfare against the devil and his cohorts in this life. This is described as follows:

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

The ultimate onslaught of the devil against us and our Lord is when Satan is released from his prison after a symbolic thousand-year reign of the Lord and His elect, to deceive the people of the whole world to attack us and our Lord. This will cause the Lord to destroy all flesh or human beings living with His fire from heaven. That is how death shall be destroyed.

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Eze 39:3  And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 
Eze 39:4  Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Eze 39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 

The bow with the arrows represent the false doctrines spewed by the adversary.  

Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

Isa 7:24  With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

Verse 3 is therefore telling us that the false doctrines of the enemy, the devil, shall cease. In verse 4, we are told that the devil shall fall upon the mountains of Israel together with his bands and people with him. The mountain of Israel in this case represent the lake of fire where the carnality of the devil and the people whom the devil has deceived shall be destroyed. 

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

This is the supper of our great king Jesus where the devil, together with all who have been deceived by him, shall be judged resulting in the destruction of anything related to the flesh or the carnality that is in man and the devil. As indicated in verse 5, being in this lake of fire is like being in an open field where there is no shelter from the fowls of the air who destroy everything of the flesh. 

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.   

Eze 32:4  Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 

Eze 39:6  And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 39:7  So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 

The fire being sent by the Lord in verse 6 is the Lord’s judgment of the old man. Magog here represents the people of this world who have lived carelessly and do not care about the Lord. They shall be judged by the Lord, and it is through this judgment in the lake of fire that they shall come to know the Lord. In verse 7, we are reminded that it is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man that His holy name shall be made known to us, His elect. The judgment of the Lord ensures that we do not pollute His holy name anymore. Verse 7 also makes us aware that all the heathen shall be saved as they come to know the Lord. 

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

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. 
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. 

Verse 8 is assuring us that what the Lord has said regarding the salvation of all men shall come to pass.

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

Eze 39:9  And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. 

As indicated in previous studies, cities represent churches. There are basically two cities in the Bible – Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her children, that is Babylon, or the New Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn. The cities of Israel in this case represent the New Jerusalem which is the assembly of the Lord’s elect. 

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

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Verses 9 and 10 are telling us that the people who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth to set fire and burn all the tools of the devil and his cohorts for a period of seven years. The shields or bucklers, bows and arrows, the hand staves and the spears all refer to the false doctrines of the devil and his false messengers. Burning these weapons of the enemy with fire means that it is through the truth of the word of the Lord that these weapons of the devil are destroyed. It is instructive to note that this destruction of the weapons of the enemy takes seven years. What this implies is that this destruction of the enemy’s weapons is accomplished over the complete period of our lives here on earth after we have come into the church of the Lord’s elect.

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

In verse 9, we are informed that we shall take no wood out of the field and shall not cut down any wood in the forest because all the woods have been burnt together with the weapons of the devil. Wood, hay and stubble signify our works resulting from the lies of our father the devil at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. What this means is that our works of wood, hay and stubble shall be destroyed by the fire of the Lord’s words such that the devil shall not have anything in us, just as the devil did not have anything in our Lord Jesus.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Joh 14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 

The Burying of the Gog and His Companions

Eze 39:11  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. 
Eze 39:12  And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 
Eze 39:13  Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 

To understand what we are being told here in these verses, we need to know that our old man or flesh is influenced by the devil or Gog. 

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? 

From the verse above, we can see that the destruction of the beast (our flesh or the old man) in our lives also destroys the influence of the devil or the dragon in our lives. When the devil cannot influence us through our flesh, then we can say that the devil is technically dead to us. In verse 11, the dying of Gog and his army therefore represents the death of our flesh or old man. 

It is worth noting that in verse 12, we are told that the burying of Gog and his army shall take a period of seven months. This seven month is the complete period starting from the time we entered the New Jerusalem or the body of Christ until we give our last breath. During this period, we die daily to the flesh, and therefore we are burying the dead during this period. In verse 12, we are also told that this burying of the dead is what cleanses our land. We must remember that the land represents our bodies, and therefore as we die daily, we are becoming cleansed.  

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

In verse 13, we are told that all the people of the land shall bury Gog and his army. The people of the land refers to the people of this world who are not part of the elect or the house of Israel. Verse 13 therefore implies that all humanity shall overcome the flesh during the lake of fire age. It is through the death of our old man or flesh that the Lord is glorified.  

Eze 39:14  And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 
Eze 39:15  And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 
Eze 39:16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 

In verse 14 we are informed that people shall be chosen to go through the land to ensure that people are buried and therefore make the land clean. This is another way of saying that the Lord has given to the body His apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to help us understand the evil experience (judgment) the Lord is taking us through to put to death our flesh. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 

In verse 15, we are told that when those chosen to pass through the land to bury the dead see a man’s bone, they mark it and ensure that it is buried. As indicated in previous studies, bones signify our flesh. 

Gen 2:23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be named woman because she was taken from man.” 

Verse 15 is therefore telling us that when we see any fleshly act, we are to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh. It is through this that we cleanse our bodies as we offer them as living sacrifice to the Lord. 

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

The Supper of the Great God

Eze 39:17  And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 
Eze 39:18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 
Eze 39:19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 
Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. 

In these verses, the Lord is showing us what we go through as our flesh becomes meat to the fowls of the air. It is called the supper of the great God in the Book of Revelation. This is what the fowls in verse 17 mean.  

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 

Mat 13:19  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.

The fowls in verse 17 refer to the devil or the wicked one. When we were in the physical churches of this world, we did not understand the word of the Lord and therefore the devil comes and takes away that which we hear from us. This is how the fowls eat our flesh. The beast of the field in verse 17 signifies our old man or flesh. When we are dominated by our flesh, then the beast of the field is feeding on our flesh. This will happen to all humanity.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

The Lord’s Judgment

Eze 39:21  And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 
Eze 39:22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. 
Eze 39:23  And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 
Eze 39:24  According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 

Here in verse 21, we are being shown that the glory of the Lord is revealed through His judgment. In Exodus 24:17, we see that the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire. This devouring fire is His judgment, and therefore verse 21 is telling us that the people of the world shall see the Lord’s glory only when they are judged.   

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

It is through the Lord’s judgment that the house of Israel, which represents the Lord’s elect, shall know who the Lord is. This glory that will be set among the heathen or the people of the world will open their eyes to see that the Lord’s people had to experience the Lord’s judgment first because they went astray from Him. As a result, the Lord hid His face from us and gave us into the hands of the enemies as we went astray through false doctrines represented in verse 23 by all falling by the sword.  In verse 24, we are informed that our judgment is according to our uncleanness and the transgressions we have done. During the judgment of the Lord in our lives, it is as if our Lord has departed from us, that is, hid His face from us.

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.  

The Lord will Restore Israel

Eze 39:25  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 
Eze 39:26  After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 

The Lord bringing again the captivity of Jacob means that the Lord will deliver His elect from Babylon or the physical churches of this world where we have been enslaved to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. 

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

Here in verse 25, we are told that our deliverance from Babylon is because of the Lord’s mercy toward us. This mercy which we are receiving now as the Lord’s elect is because of the unbelief of our brothers and sisters in Babylon. In the fullness of time, the mercy we are receiving shall be extended to all humanity. 

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 verse 25, the Lord has promised that this mercy we are receiving entails  being jealous for His holy name. Being jealous means that the Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries. This means that anything that opposes the work of the Lord in our lives shall be destroyed. 

Nah 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

As verse 26 indicates, the Lord is assuring us that we shall dwell safely in the New Jerusalem or the assembly of His people such that none can make us afraid. The Lord is also telling us that we shall forget our shame of playing the harlot when we trespassed against the Lord during our time in Babylon or the physical churches of this world. We can see from verse 26 that it is by dwelling in the land that we are safe and therefore are not afraid. This implies that our assembly is where the Lord’s protection is. In other words, our protection is in the city of the living God or the New Jerusalem which is the secret place of the most high where we abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 

Eze 39:27  When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 
Eze 39:28  Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them anymore there. 
Eze 39:29  Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. 

Verse 27 is telling us what the Lord is doing in our lives. That is, He is gathering His elect from the nations of this world and sanctifying them in the sight of the people of this world. Our coming together is therefore not man’s work but the Lord that is bringing us to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 

As shown in verse 28, it is this gathering together that we are given to know the Lord. Our gathering together is what is opening our eyes to see that we must of necessity be taken captive in Babylon, before the Lord comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to deliver us from captivity and to show us the truth of His word. The Lord is not leaving any of His elect out as He gathers us together for such a time as this. It is not because we were doing what pleases the Lord but that He has chosen us in Him before the world began. 

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

It is reassuring to note that the Lord is saying that He will not hide His face from us again in verse 29. The Lord has also poured upon us His spirit so that we are endued with power to live a life that is pleasing to Him. 

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

May His name be praised for His wonderful work towards us. Amen!!

Rev 12:1-6 – Part 3 The Woman and The Manchild – The Spiritual Significance of Ten Horns

[Study Aired Dec 8, 2024]

We paused our last study at the point of searching out the spiritual significance of the ten horns on the seven heads of the great red dragon;

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.

We will begin our search with what the scriptures reveal to be the meaning of the word ‘Horn’ or ‘horns’:

Here are a couple of examples of how this word is used in scripture:

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Mic 4:13  Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

Every cattle farmer is well aware of how a cow with horns dominates dehorned or polled cattle. The Lord promises to make the horn of His elect a horn of iron, which is just another way of promising them that they will rule the nations of this world with a rod of iron:

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.

As with every word of scripture, there is also a negative application which is applied to the things of our vain flesh, in which “is no good thing”.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.

Here is an example of how this word ‘horn’ is used in relation to our flesh:

Psa 75:4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
Psa 75:5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

One of the main reasons why “the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God” and one reason why “he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned” is that “spiritual discernment” means that every Word of God reflects what is our Lord, and it so happens our Lord is the Creator of both light and darkness, and while it is beyond the mind of the sons of the great red dragon to understand, the truth remains that it is God who “creates evil… Yes even the wicked for the day of evil” within us, and He does not deny that Truth.

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

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

This simply is not given to the natural-minded “carnal… babe in Christ” to receive or understand (1Co 3:1-4). This is demonstrated for us by the dual purpose our Lord fulfilled in the “pillar of fire” on the shores of the Red Sea.

Exo 14:20  And it [the pillar of fire] came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [the Egyptians], but it gave light by night to these [God’s people, Israel]: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

This is the very nature of Christ and His Words which makes all spiritual matters “a cloud and darkness” to the natural man. This is the very nature of these words ‘horn’ and ‘ten’ which we are just now considering. It is this dual application of all scripture which keeps our natural man from seeing what we are being told about this dragon and all of his sons. The word ‘horn’ as it relates to this dragon and his son, the beast, tells us that He is indeed the powerful “prince of the power of the air”, and therefore this dragon has “seven crowns upon his heads”.

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.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course [Greek: aion] of this world [Greek: kosmos], according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

What then is the number ‘ten’ in spiritual terms? Ten is demonstrated to signify the perfection of our flesh in its lawlessness. That is why there are ten commandments in what is called “the letter… for the lawless and disobedient.”

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Since “the law is not made for a righteous man”, its “lawful use” is therefore to make us aware of its promise of a Savior who, like Moses, was prophesied to come during a “time of reformation” of the “carnal ordinances” which were the law.

Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

Act 28:23  And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into [his] lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

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

There were ten plagues on Egypt, Laban deceived Jacob ten times, Joseph was sold into Egypt by his ten brothers, there were ten rebellions against God by Israel in the wilderness, and Job’s comforters, reproached him ten times.

Gen 31:7  And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

Job 19:3  These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.

As always there is a flip side to any negative, and the flip side of the number ten is the contrast of the minds of spiritual men to the minds of natural men.

Dan 1:20  And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king [Nebuchadnezzar] enquired of them [Daniel and his three friends], he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

Let’s put these two verses describing the dragon and his sons side by side and analyze them in light of what those words mean and not just what they say.

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.

The great red dragon has been given seven heads with seven crowns upon his seven heads. He also has ten horns. Now let’s contrast the description of this “great red dragon” with the description of his sons (Joh 8:44).

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.

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

Satan did not become the adversary. That is what he was “from the beginning”. None of us are born “understanding Christ’s speech.” We are all born spiritually deaf and blind. Here is Paul quoting Isaiah in relation to how we come into this world.

Act 28:26  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Christ here is telling us that all those who “cannot hear Christ’s word are of their father the devil.” Understanding and hearing Christ’s Word is what we are talking about at this very moment, as we discuss these two words ‘ten’ and ‘horns’. That is why this book of scripture is called “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is not primarily revealing the events surrounding His return to rule this physical earth as much as it is discussing the destruction of these ten horns within us as a type and a sign of “the man of sin” within us.

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:

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

As hard as it is to believe, the Truth is that part of this “revelation of Jesus Christ” requires “that man of sin be revealed” within each of us, “the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” It is this “man of sin” who withstands Christ at His coming, and it is this “man of sin” who is portrayed by these ten horns who make war with and are destroyed by Christ at His coming. These ten horns are on one beast. They are the symbol for the nations and principalities within us who withstand the word of God when it comes to us.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

These “ten horns… have one mind… give their power and strength to the beast [and they] make war with the Lamb.” It is obvious that these ten horns are all that is within us which cannot accept the words of Christ and His doctrines. Like the “ten commandments” which were on “tables of stone” and whose glory was fading and passing, these ten horns are ten kings or ruling doctrines within us which are also fading and passing away, as they are destroyed by the brightness of the coming of the doctrine of Christ.

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, [the ten commandments] written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
2Co 3:12  Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

There is only one time in scripture that we are told that “Moses’ face did shine.” What was in his hand that caused his face to shine?

Exo 34:29  And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

So these ten horns which oppose the doctrine of Christ in us are the letter of God’s Word which keeps us blinded to the things of the spirit. They are the symbol and sign of the mind of the natural man who cannot understand the things of the spirit.”

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit [words of Christ (Joh 6:63)] and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (the Word of God)
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the [ten] princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Whereas the great red dragon has “seven crowns upon his heads”, the beast is said to have “the name of blasphemy… on his heads.” Does this mean that the dragon does not have the name of blasphemy on his seven heads? Absolutely not. The fact they are not mentioned does not mean this dragon is not blasphemous. That is exactly why any “son of the devil” has “the name of blasphemy” on his “seven heads”. He has the name of blasphemy because that is his father’s name.

All of the devil’s sons “speak as a dragon” every time they mention any of the dragon’s doctrines.

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

“Two horns like a lamb [but] speaking as a dragon” demonstrates the fact that those who are deceived are unaware that they are not following the true ‘Lamb’ who they think they are following. They are speaking blasphemy “as a dragon”, because they “are of their father the devil” who “was a liar from the beginning.”

So even though it is not mentioned in this verse, we have established that the dragon is also a blasphemer, because the beast, who has “the name of blasphemy” written on his seven heads may appear to the undiscerning to be “a lamb”, but with his doctrines he “speaks as a dragon”. Who, among the dragon’s sons, for example, does not believe he has free will.

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

So the differences between these two descriptions of the dragon and his children are that the dragon has seven crowns on his seven heads, but the beast is said to have ten crowns upon his ten horns. Both father and son have seven heads and ten horns, but while the father is said to have seven crowns on his seven heads with no mention of “the name of blasphemy” on his seven heads, the son is said to have ten crowns on his ten horns with no mention of seven crowns on his seven heads. Instead of crowns, it is “the name of blasphemy” which is emphasized as being on the seven heads of the beast.

So why aren’t the seven crowns said to be on the seven heads of the beast? It is because the blasphemous name on the heads [is] our flesh’s and our father the devil’s hatred for anything Godly, and it is the verification that we “are of our father the devil.”

Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Crowns represent authority and power. Where does this beast get the power and authority which are behind these ten crowns on his ten horns? Here is why this is worded as it is. Here is why there are ten crowns on the ten horns of the beast, while there are seven crowns on the seven heads of the great red dragon.

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

The Greek word translated “seat” here is “thronos”, and is better translated as ‘throne’. It is those who are on thrones who wear crowns, and the beast we are wears ten crowns upon ten horns, demonstrating that we all must first worship this beast we are before we are brought to worship the slain Lamb, who is also the Lion of The Tribe of Judah, and the King of Kings. When we bow down to the beast that is within us, we are all, in effect bowing down to and worshiping the great red dragon.

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?

As hard as it may be to accept, the truth of this revelation is that we are to keep Revelation 13:4.

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

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

These ten horns “are the loftiness of our doctrines and the power of our carnality”, to borrow a quote from an email I received this week on this very subject. That is exactly what these ten crowns on ten horns are all about. The reason the crowns are on the heads of the dragon is because the doctrines of the dragon are what rule him. The reason why the crowns are on the horns of the beast is because horns signify power, and “the beast gets his power and his throne and great authority [directly] from the dragon.”

What is “a thousand two hundred and three score days” in the wilderness?

As we saw in our discussion of the time the court without the temple is given to be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles and the time given to the witness of the two witnesses, both times are the same time:

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 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

It is no accident that these two phrases describe the same period of time. It is a period of three and one half years. This same period of time is also described in this same chapter in these terms:

Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

As Joseph told the Pharaoh, “The dream is one”, and that is true here as well. We all “keep the things written in this prophecy.” We all spend a symbolic three and one half years “treading the holy city under foot” before we spend the exact same symbolic amount of time witnessing against those who tread the holy city under foot. It takes both halves of this period to complete the revelation of Jesus Christ within us. In other words it takes being and “keeping the things written” concerning the first Adam in this revelation, as an essential and integral part of this complete revelation. Three and one half is the number which symbolizes half of the revelation of Jesus Christ. It symbolizes the time we spend both “breathing out threats against our Lord and His disciples”, as well as the time we spend bearing witness to the truths of our Lord and His disciples. It is knowing what three and one half means that brings us to understand that “There is one event to all men”, and it is knowing the meaning of three and one half, that brings us to understand why we are told that “All things are ours, life and death, things present and things to come, and we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.” Three and one half, whether it is expressed in three days and a half, 1260 days, forty and two months, time, times, and half a time, as three and one half years, “the dream is one”, and are all “the same”.

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

The the symbolism of “three and one half” is that ‘three and one half” is only half of the whole revelation of Jesus Christ. Three and a half signifies “life and death, things present and things to come” which we are living as the walking dead in our old man until we are given life eternal in our new man.

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

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;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

“You are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” is the second half of the revelation of Jesus Christ. “You are Christ’s and Christ is God’s” is the second half of the ministry of Christ’s “week” of Christ “confirming the covenant with many”:

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Seven is complete. It is through His body that confirmation will be completed.

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Mankind is not complete on the sixth day. We must enter into Christ our rest before God’s work is completed, and that work is “ended… on the seventh day.” It is ended at the end of two sets of “three and one half”. We will all spend a symbolic “forty and two months treading the holy city under foot” as we rebel against our Lord ten times, in the wilderness. We will do this even as we are being nourished of God in the wilderness on bread which “is not the true bread”, before we bring forth a manchild within us who will bear witness to the truths of our Lord for this same period of one thousand two hundred and three score days.

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 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Both “forty and two months” and “a thousand two hundred and three-score days are the same period of time. Combined they complete ”the confirmation of the covenant”.

Summary

1) We have seen when this chapter is to be fulfilled:

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

What we saw once again is that this revelation is, was and always will be being fulfilled in all who are being given to see and hear and keep the things of the spirit, “the things which are written therein… the words of this prophecy.”

2) We have seen what the sun and the twelve stars and the woman symbolize. What we saw is that Jacob and Rachel, the physical parents of Joseph, are signified in Joseph’s dream as the sun and the moon bowing down to Joseph. If we see Joseph as a type of Christ in us and us in Christ, then we can see that the sun and the moon symbolize our old father and mother while we are of our father the devil and of our mother, the bondwoman, Babylon the great. The twelve stars in the woman’s crown tell us that we are all conceived of the same mother, just as both the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as the tree of life, both come “out of the ground.” Cain and Abel are both of the same mother, Eve, and Jacob and Esau are both of the same mother, Rebekah. The spiritual message in this revelation is that God’s people all “come out of… Babylon the great, the mother of harlots”.

3) We have seen that the “great red dragon” is none other than our father the devil, that old serpent who deceives the whole word, to whom we are first introduced in the second chapter of Genesis, He is also called Satan. Once again we have many titles for the same thing, and once again, we are all first of our father the devil, before our man of sin is destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ into our hearts and minds.

4) We saw what is the spiritual significance of a third part of the stars of heaven following the tail of the great red dragon, and what we saw is that “one third” doesn’t mean ‘one third’ any more than seven thousand means seven thousand.

Rom 11:4  But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Just as seven signifies a complete complement, the number ‘three’, or the fraction ‘one third’, signifies the process of judgment we are enduring as we are: ‘crucified with Christ, as we die daily and as the great red dragon is being cast out of our heavens’.

5) We have seen that the manchild who rules with a rod of iron, is Christ’s Christ, who, in Him, are dead and buried with Him and raised up with Christ to rule the nations within with a rod of iron before the redemption of the purchased possession.

6) We have seen how, according to Ephesians 2:6, the manchild, who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, is caught up to God and to His throne within us even now while we are still in these vessels of clay. Even now we are “seated with Him in the heavens”.

7) We have seen what takes place while we are the woman “in the wilderness”, and what we saw was that we rebel against our Lord ten times even as we are being nourished of Him with a “bread from heaven” which is “not the true bread from heaven”. We also saw that this time of nourishment on bread that is not the true bread is “a time, and times, and half a time”, which just happens to be the same period of time we spend as God’s witnesses to what is the true bread from heaven. Both are said to be one thousand two hundred and sixty days, or three and one half years, and together they make a complete revelation which is ended on the seventh day.

8) We saw that there are seven crowns on the seven heads of the great red dragon, because his doctrines, which make him who he is, just like our doctrines, are all in our mind and in our hearts. We have also seen that the crowns of the beast are on his ten horns because the beast receives his power, his throne, and great authority over our lives from the doctrines of the great red dragon, and by worshiping our own idols we are in spiritual reality worshiping the dragon who gives our beast within his power and his throne.

9) Finally, we saw that “a thousand two hundred and sixty days” is also called “a time, times and half a time” in verse 14 which refers to this same period of time in which the woman is nourished of God while she is “in the wilderness” where she rebels against her own Savior for that symbolic period of three and one half years. What we learned is that any time the number three and one half is mentioned, the spiritual significance of that number is that we are all natural before we become spiritual, and the natural half of our walk is integral to and the prerequisite of the spiritual part of our walk.

Next study, if the Lord wills, we will discover that there is war in the heavens, and that the great red dragon can be and is cast out of our heavens, and is brought into subjection to the power of the son of God within us.

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev 12:1-6 Part 2, The Woman and The Manchild – The Heir With Christ

[Study Aired Dec 6, 2024]

We paused our last study after demonstrating that “the manchild” brought forth by the woman who fled into the wilderness from the face of the dragon is the same as the son of the freewoman of Galatians 4, who is also a “joint heir with Christ” in the coming kingdom of God which will bear rule over all the kingdoms of this world:

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

We continue with the goal of demonstrating that being an heir with Christ refers only to the inheritance of the kingdom during the thousand-year reign, with the subsequent added blessing of “judging angels” at the great white throne judgment which follows that inherited kingdom reign.

Our Savior is “the heir” of the throne of King David, the king of Israel, and in Him we, too, are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ of that kingdom rulershship, if we suffer with Him”.

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.

It is this suffering with Him “that we may be glorified together” with Him, which this seventh trumpet is all about. It is dying with Christ daily, as God’s wrath is being poured out upon our sinful flesh, until the day that we give up on this life and are “crucified with him”.

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

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.

Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

None of which is meant to imply we have the fullness of the spirit while we are still in corruptible flesh and blood, but it all does imply that if we are suffering with Christ, we have “ceased from sin” in the sense “sin no longer has dominion over us”, and we are not now “abiding in wrath”.

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

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

Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

The inference is that being ‘under the law’ signifies the fact that sin still dominates our lives, and we are not yet under grace.

Who is this “great red dragon”?

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.

This verse confirms Christ’s statement that we are all first “of our father the devil.” Here is who we are in the next chapter:

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.

Truly we are first “of [our] father the devil, with our seven heads and our ten horns and the name of blasphemy upon those seven heads, even though we profess Christ:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  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 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

You Are of Your Father the Devil

Joh 8:39  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.
Joh 8:40  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.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye [“Jews which believe on Me”, Vs 30] cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye [“Jews which believe on Me”, vs 30] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

This “great red dragon” is none other than “that old serpent the devil, and Satan”, as we are told in this very chapter.

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

As is the case throughout scripture, there are many symbols which all signify the same thing. “The dream is one” we are told about Pharaoh’s dreams of cows and corn, both of which were speaking of one thing, a period of abundance followed by an impending famine. Likewise this “great red dragon” is “that old serpent… our [first] father the devil.” He has always been on the same page with our first mother, the bondwoman.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

As blasphemous and evil as is this old serpent, the devil, he is an integral part of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

Why just a third part of the stars of heaven?

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.

“A third part of the stars of heaven” has nothing to do with the percentage of the stars of heaven. What it is telling us, as is always the case when we encounter the number ‘three’, is the process of judgment being carried out as we “keep the things written… in the words of this prophecy” (Rev 1:3, Rev 22:7).

We have covered the dragon “standing before the woman… to devour her child as soon as it was born” in our discussion of verse two. We saw the shadow of this in the story of Joseph, and we can also see its shadow in the story of Cain and Abel.

Gen 4:1  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 4:10  And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11  And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

Cain, as Adam’s first son, typifies our first Adam, as “a man from the Lord.” Being a tiller of the ground, his offering is “of the fruit of the ground” and not a blood offering “of the firstlings of the flock.” Thus Cain’s offering typifies our efforts to improve this doomed world apart from the blood of Christ. In killing his brother who was favored by the Lord, Cain demonstrates that he is truly “of his father the devil… a murderer from the beginning.”

Who “rules the nations”?

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.

It is generally understood that this manchild is the church and not Christ Himself. What is certainly not generally understood, is the degree to which Christ identifies with you and me as being He himself. We have already seen how He calls us by His own titles. He tells us that He is the light of the world and then He tells us ”ye are the light of the world.”

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

We are told that Christ is the bread from heaven, and we are told that we are one loaf.

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

As Christ suffered for the church, we, too, are expected to do the same.

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:

Young’s Literal Translation, has the article ‘the’ before the word ‘Christ’, as we see in the King James elsewhere, as the holy spirit refers to us as “the Christ.”

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

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

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Here, in no uncertain terms, is this manchild who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron:

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.

That is this manchild. It is “he that overcomes and keeps Christ’s works unto the end.” That is no small task, but it is possible “through Christ.”

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

Christ considers this manchild to be “as He [Himself] is in this world”.

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.

How are we “caught up to God and to His throne”?

If we really are this manchild, then we should be able to demonstrate that we, too, are “caught up to God and to His throne as soon as we are born” of Christ. Is there any such verse of scripture? As a matter of fact there is just such a verse of scripture, which, along with this verse here in Revelation 12, confirms the truth of this statement that the dragon is intent upon devouring this manchild “as soon as he is born.” Here is this truth as it is inspired to be revealed to us:

Eph 2:6 and He raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies [or heavenly realms] in Christ Jesus, (ALT)

Here is Rotherham’s version of this verse:

Eph 2:6 And raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies, in Christ: (REV)

As is always the case, we are “in the wilderness” before we are “caught up to God and to His throne”.

What takes place while we are “in the wilderness”?

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.

Our “resurrection in newness of life” is our birth out of this woman, and it is at this point that the great red dragon stands poised to devour us. It is at this same point that we, in Christ, are “caught up to God and to His throne” while our mother goes into the wilderness to be nourished by God, just as rebellious Israel was nourished of God in the wilderness for forty years as she rebelled against him “ten times”.

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

With what are we nourish while we are being tried in the wilderness? We are nourished with a “bread from heaven” which does not impart life and which is “not the true bread from heaven”.

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

However, this “bread from heaven, even though it is from “the Lord”, is “not the true bread” which will give us life.

Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

While we are in the wilderness we think we are eating “bread from heaven”. After all, the Lord Himself said it was so. But it was “Not… the true bread from heaven”, and it could not give life.

Why does the dragon have seven crowns on seven heads while the beast has ten crowns on ten horns?

This is a detail we need to understand, so the first thing we need to do is to establish what the spiritual significance of the two words ‘horns’ and ’10’ are. What does the word ‘horns’ signify in scripture? What does the number ’10’ signify in scripture? To answer these questions we must, as always, remember that Christ is “the Word” of God (Joh 1:1), and “The words I speak to you are spirit” (Joh 6:63), meaning they are not seen or heard by anyone without the spirit of God.

Those who are given that spirit are given to see and hear “the things of the spirit”, which are foolishness to the natural man who cannot understand spiritual matters and who does not know that all scripture is spiritual in nature.

1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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

So this entire book of Revelation is being taught us by the holy spirit which “teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” It concerns “the things freely given us of God… which the natural man cannot receive or know because they are foolishness to him.”

What do ‘horns’ signify spiritually? Their positive spiritual meaning is the strength and power of the spirit of God. Notice how this relates to the Lamb Himself and to His elect:

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

We will pause here having demonstrated that both the beast and the Lamb are presented to us with “seven horns”, and we will resume our study by demonstrating the spiritual significance of the words ‘seven’ and ‘horns’.

[Study Aired May 16, 2021]

Jer 9:1  Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jer 9:2  Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
Jer 9:3  And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
Jer 9:4  Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
Jer 9:5  And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Jer 9:6  Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
Jer 9:7  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
Jer 9:8  Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
Jer 9:9  Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 9:10  For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
Jer 9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
Jer 9:12  Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

Jeremiah is the author of two books in the Bible, and both deal with the judgment of the Lord upon His people. There are fifty-two chapters of this prophecy of Jeremiah, and the other book written by this prophet is the book of Lamentations, which gives Jeremiah the title of ‘The weeping prophet’. We are just beginning the ninth chapter of this fifty-two-chapter prophecy. As we progress in this account of our judgment, those who are being judged in this present time will identify with all the rebellions and transgressions revealed to be in our flesh within the pages of this prophecy of our judgment in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). The description of the seven last plagues in Revelation 16 is a condensed version of the books of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations.

Being given a part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” is the benefit and reward of enduring the seven last plagues of the Lord’s judgment upon the kingdom of the beast within each of us in “this present time”:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

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

Four times in Psalms 107 the Lord beseeches each of us to be grateful for being given eyes that see and ears that hear the details of our own judgment, which is now upon the Lord’s elect.

Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:15  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD  for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

“His goodness” referred to here is the mercy He displays in the chastening He bestows upon us in the verses preceding these four verses.

This prophecy of Jeremiah demonstrates that the Lord chastens and scourges every son He receives (Heb 12:6).

For that reason, the weeping prophet continues his lamentation:

Jer 9:1  Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jer 9:2  Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

“Oh… that I might weep day and night for the daughter of my people” is the same spirit expressed by the apostle Paul when he said:

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

In bewailing the condition of the Lord’s people and saying “Oh… that I might leave my people and go from them! For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men” Jeremiah is essentially saying:

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

“All nations… and the kings of the earth” are all the idols of our hearts which separate us from our Lord. These include our closest associates and friends:

Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Receiving double according to our wicked works is known as:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

To what is the word “here” referring? What exactly is the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus? The preceding verses are what the word “here” references:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

It is the “worship of the beast and his image, and… the mark of his name which ”lets [restrains]” the coming of Christ  within us:

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [restrains] will let [restrain], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy  with the brightness of his coming:

“Now you know” refers to the previous verses which speak of “the man of sin… the son of perdition” being revealed within the temple of God, which temple is the dominion of our hearts and minds:

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

What had Paul told these Thessalonians when he was with them? Paul’s gospel was consistent wherever he traveled and preached. He had told these Thessalonians the same exact same thing about the subject of the temple of God that he had told the Corinthian church about “the temple of God”, which was:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy,  which temple ye are.
1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The human body is the temple of God, and yet, by the Lord’s own design, it is first the temple where Satan’s throne is located:

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

There it is. “Satan [first] dwells… among [us]. We “hold fast [Christ’s] name” even while we dwell where Satan’s throne is, which ‘throne’ is the dominion which first is given to Satan over our hearts and minds.

For that reason, Jeremiah continues revealing our own judgment:

Jer 9:3  And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.

My own ‘process from evil to evil was from the blasphemous ‘God is love, sinners will burn in hell’ doctrine of mainstream Protestant Pentecostalism to the self-righteous, under-the-law doctrines of the ‘Armstrong-centric’ Worldwide Church of God, and from that insidious self-righteous harlot to the even more insidious and self-destructive greasy grace of the Concordant conferences. Every time we think we are making a step in the right direction in hindsight we look behind us and realize that we must:

Jer 9:4  Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
Jer 9:5  And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

“They… will not speak the Truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies and weary themselves to commit iniquity” is accomplished through the greasy-grace doctrine being peddled by all the ecumenical seeking Christian denominations, both Protestant and Catholic, who subscribe to the mantra of “Agreement in the essentials; tolerance in the non-essentials; but love in all things.” Being the whores they all are, they will tell you what are “the essentials” and what are “the nonessentials”, and they will even tell you what their definition of the word ‘love’ is. Rest assured it is not in agreement with the scriptures which define love thusly:

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

While in the grip of the great harlot she must keep us from knowing that the love of God is defined as ‘keeping His commandments’ because His commandments belie her lying mantra of “Agreement in the essentials, tolerance in the non-essentials, and love in all things”.

It is impossible to love God and keep these commandments and remain faithful to the great whore and her daughters and their lying doctrines.

This is what Christ had to say about the ‘non-essentials’ of the Word of God.

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

What part of this commandment to “live by every Word of God” is “non-essential”???

Here is another commandment which the apostle Paul “beseeches [us]” to keep and obey:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that  [1] ye all speak the same thing, and that [2] there be no divisions among you; but that [3] ye be perfectly joined together  in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

This commandment to be of “the same mind” is part of “every Word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.” It is repeated three other times in the New Testament:

Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

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

Php 4:2  I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

Christ is not a legal ‘organization’ of men. Christ, like His Word, is a living spiritual organism which is:

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living, and potent, and sharper, above every two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division both of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and discernible of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

“The Word of God” has discerned that “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” tell us we need denominations among us, while the voice of the True Shepherd commands us “that there be no divisions among you”. When the Lord’s flock is encouraged to do the exact opposite of what the Lord Himself commands us to do, then this is what Christ Himself commands us:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow,  but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Here is a defense of the indefensible mantra of the ‘great harlot and her daughters’… “Unity in the essentials, tolerance in the non-essentials, love in all things” taken from this site which claims to be the best on the internet on the subject of Christian denominations:

https://www.christianvalour.com/christian-denominations-guide/#whatgetsyououtoftheclub

“What Gets You Out of The Club?

“How do we decide what is a legit Christian denomination, and what is not? After all, anyone can call themselves a Christian.

It comes down to a few core beliefs which are considered clear and fundamental teachings, according to the Bible, by the majority of Christian denominations.

Belief in Jesus, as I described above is one. The other is the doctrine of the trinity.

You may have heard the term before.

The word ‘trinity’ is not in the Bible.

However, the trinitarian view of God best describes the Bible’s words regarding the relationship between the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Generally speaking, it is the Bible’s teaching that there are three personal, unique persons, that make up the One Godhead.

They are God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

Three persons – one God.

To deny that any one of them is God is to deny the Bible’s clear teaching about God.

This is what Christians have taught and believed since the very beginning of Christianity.

This is the universally understood nature of the Christian God that is common to all Christian denominations.

So we can say, based on what we’ve discussed, that a group or person is definitely not Christian if they:

1. Deny the trinity, especially if they…
2. Deny Christ’s Deity (and humanity) or they…
3. Deny God’s sovereignty, and finally if they…
4. Distort the Bible’s teaching in any way that, logically leads to a denial of 1, 2 or 3

These are not the only things, but they are super important. No true Christian group would deny any of these teachings.

So the next big question is, if all Christians believe in Jesus, and the Bible teaches us about him, why are there so many denominations?

To understand better the differences between Christian Denominations we need to understand a little bit of Christian history.” (End quote)

“No true Christian [denomination] would deny any of these teachings” is true because ‘denominations’ have no place in the body of Christ:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

No, Christ is not divided, but those who believe in a trinitarian God are divided multiple thousands of times, witnessing against themselves that they do not know the Christ of scripture who taught:

Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

If the God head were indeed a trinity, then Jesus Christ Himself just slapped His so-called “equal” in the face by leaving him completely out of the picture in that statement.

The Catholic Encyclopedia confesses to changing the text of Matthew 28:19 from “in My name” to:

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Here are all the verses in the New Testament which mention the baptismal formula that was originally used by all the apostles. Not once is the holy spirit mentioned as being anything other than the gift of God, and that appears in the very first entry:

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Act 8:16 For as yet he was fallen upon none of them:  only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Act 10:48 And he [Peter] commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Act 22:16 And now why tarriest you? arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Rom 6:3 Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? [Posing this question implies that the baptismal formula of Acts was “In the name of the Lord Jesus” – Act 19:5]

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

In Acts 22:16 the apostle Paul poses the question, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” He did not tell these Ephesians to ‘call on the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’! What this demonstrates is that there is ONLY one name under heaven whereby we can be saved:

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

It is through the holy spirit of God that we are instructed: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the NAME of Jesus Christ” (Act 2:38).

Yes, the scriptures clearly reveal that “the holy spirit” is not a person at all but is simply “the holy spirit of God”:

Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

If there were a trinity should not Eph 4:30 read ‘And grieve not God, the holy spirit’ instead of “the holy spirit of God”? The fact is that the ‘holy spirit’ is never once referred to as a person. Using the pronoun ‘he’ does not make the holy spirit a person any more than referring to sin with the pronouns ‘his and him’ makes sin a person:

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,  whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

If the holy spirit is equal with God, then why is he not coming to us of his own accord. Why must “the Father… send” him?

Yes, it is true, the apostles were physically baptizing disciples in the first few decades of the church. They simply had not yet been shown that the true and only baptism is:

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

We fail to realize that the apostles had to grow in the knowledge of the Lord just as any of us do. The sum of the Lord’s words reveals that the apostles were still offering blood offerings in the temple at Jerusalem decades after the ultimate sacrifice had been made:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

It was “the holy spirit which made that decision that the Gentiles need not keep the law:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

Where were Christ and His Father at this time? The answer, of course is that Christ comes to us through the holy spirit, and “the holy spirit [is the spirit] of God” (Eph 4:30)!

The apostles were physically baptizing and still living under the law of Moses for the Jews because that was “the present Truth” for them at that time, as we are told there in Acts 15:28.

2Pe 1:12  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

The lie of a trinitarian God is an evil spirit sent to deceive mankind and keep them from coming to know Christ. This lie is the basis and foundation for many other false doctrines. Without the doctrine of a trinitarian God, there could be no trinitarian man with a mortal body of flesh and an immortal soul and an immortal spirit. Without an immortal soul, there could be no Godless eternal hell, or the most heinous and demonic doctrine of eternal torment in literal flames of fire. Yet many Christians will give up the pagan holiday of Christmas before they will relinquish their lying, monstrous, demonic doctrine of eternal hell fire.

I tell the true story of seeing a church marquee which read “God is love” and right under that statement the words “Sinners will burn in hell”.

All the false doctrines of the great harlot are the home of our old man. They are a lying habitation which must be burned up which brings us to the verse from which we took the title of today’s study:

Jer 9:6  Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

Ezekiel calls the false doctrines of the great harlot “briers and thorns and scorpions”:

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

It requires His loving chastening grace to judge us and burn all these lies out of each of us (Tit 2:11-12, and Heb 12:6):

Jer 9:7  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

“How shall I do for the daughter of My people?” Isaiah answers this question in no uncertain terms:

Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
Isa 1:24  Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
Isa 1:25  And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Like any loving Father, our Lord chastens and scourges us to forsake the kingdom of our old man:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching (Greek: ‘paideuo’, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

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.

That is what is required by the Lord’s design, because without the seven last plagues of the Lord’s wrath being poured out upon the kingdom of our old man, we are simply what we are made to be, which is:

Jer 9:8  Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
Jer 9:9  Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

“An arrow shot out” is a false doctrine which will tell you that “God is love” and in the same breath the moment you turn your back that same lying spirit is condemning you to eternal torment in literal flames of literal fire… “God is love… sinners will burn in hell.”

Jer 9:10  For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
Jer 9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

“Jerusalem… a den of dragons” is what is also said of those who are in Babylon:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Not one minister in Babylon can understand that he must come out of his connection to this lying daughter of the “great red dragon”, as the next two verses of Revelation 18 demonstrate:

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,  Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Christ has chosen the weak, base and despised of this earth to give His wisdom and understanding:

Jer 9:12  Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

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.
1Co 1:30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

“Who is the wise man that may understand this…that…may declare it?” Daniel answers this question for us:

Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Contrast the closing of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament with the closing of the book of Revelation in the New Testament:

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

The ends of the ages have come upon us:

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

That is our study for today, and here are the verses for our next study:

Jer 9:13  And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
Jer 9:14  But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
Jer 9:15  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Jer 9:16  I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Jer 9:17  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
Jer 9:18  And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
Jer 9:19  For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
Jer 9:20  Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
Jer 9:21  For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
Jer 9:22  Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
Jer 9:23  Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Jer 9:24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Jer 9:25  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;

Jer 9:26  Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

[Study Aired June 11, 2020]

“We ought to give the more earnest heed” as the body of Christ to what it is God has called us.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; [Mat 13:16]

As believers, we are God’s workmanship being created in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10, 1Jn 4:17) who are doing a work (Php 2:13) that requires that we not only believe (Joh 6:28-29), as many are convinced that there is a God and believe (Jas 2:19, Rev 12:9, 2Co 4:4), but also understand that our belief must be accompanied with much tribulation in order to enter into the kingdom (Act 14:22). We enter into the kingdom by dying daily, which is another way of saying, “Nevertheless not my will, not my lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and pride of life will, but your will be done” (Luk 22:42, 1Jn 2:16-17).

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. [Tit 3:8]

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

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

Jas 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world [within and without]: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

[We can believe in God, but until the devil is cast out, his influence and control of our hearts will prevent us from being a tree that brings forth fruit unto perfection (Luk 8:14). We cannot do the works of God to the glory of God until Christ casts Satan out of our heavens (how that is being accomplished in the church – Luk 10:18, 2Th 2:8, Mat 24:27) 

Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

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

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be]

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

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.

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

We are dying daily in this earnest relationship that we have with our Father and Christ (Eph 1:14) and are not neglecting so great a salvation by stirring up His spirit within us (Heb 2:3, 2Ti 1:6-7) as we use the “gifts” “administrations” and “operations” spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:4-27 in order “to give the more earnest heed” as the body of Christ who are bringing “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God”, to others in hope that this gospel message “should shine unto them”. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood and should not be (Joh 21:22) but against powers and principalities of which Christ is much higher (Eph 1:21) and can give us dominion over through the brightness of His coming into our heavens. Christ is winning that wrestling match within us (Eph 6:12, Gen 32:24).

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God’s will is being accomplished in the lives of those who have been called to lose their life, so they can “abideth for ever”. Many people believe they are losing their life for Christ, but unless we are losing our life “for my sake”, for Christ’s body’s sake, our labor is yet in vain (Psa 127:1). If we love our body and not the things of this world, it will be demonstrated by our obedience to God’s commandments. Very few have been called to a lifetime of obediently saying, “Not my will but your will be done,” and that obedience and trust in God is learned through suffering and accompanied with this promise for those whom Christ is setting free from sin in this life (Joh 8:36). “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.”

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

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

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

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Whatever became Christ should also become his body as well, so in the first verse we read how it became Christ who through suffering that the captain of our salvation would bring many sons unto glory (Heb 2:10). Those kinds of first fruit sons (Jas 1:18) who are first brought to glory are the kings and priests (1Pe 2:9) whom Christ is sanctifying in this life (Joh 17:17) so that they can be a body that is fitly framed together to the glory of God. They will be saviors who will come up on mount Zion in the first resurrection and who will be instrumental in saving the world by the same sanctification process that we as brethren are blessed to go through first in this life (Eph 1:12). “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

In this study we’ll look at how Christ’s suffering and the body of Christ’s sufferings are interconnected from the foundation of the world and how the living sacrifice, which we are (Rom 12:1), is just as much for the world’s sake as was the living sacrifice of Christ when He was in this earthen vessel where the treasure of His life is now residing within the church.

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 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Lev 14:5  And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: [Rom 6:11, Heb 10:10, Gal 2:20]
Lev 14:6  As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7  And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. (Joh 17:15-16)

Col 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, who is Christ in you, the hope of glory;

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.

The captain of our salvation became “perfect through suffering“, through taking part of the same flesh we have (Heb 4:15), and it was needful for Christ to be in flesh, typified in God’s word as “the shadow of the valley of death” (Psa 23:4). Through this experience of living in ‘death valley’ “he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

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 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The devil’s function in this life is to control the hearts and minds of those who are in flesh and not yet of God (Joh 8:44-47, Rom 8:9), and only by the grace and faith of Christ (Eph 2:8-9) have we come to learn that we can overcome [falling seven times (Pro 24:16)] the very persistent adversary the Lord has given us to overcome through Christ (1Jn 4:4).

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

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.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Forgetting what is behind us and pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ is how we are going to overcome the enemy (Php 3:13-15). Not letting our past control us because of past offences, for what we may have gloried, or for what we may be deeply ashamed: this is what Christ is able to give us the power to overcome. In fact that is how he is “bringing many sons unto glory” starting with the weak of the world to demonstrate that no one throughout history can overcome except through Christ, “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things.” He can and will make His strength perfect through those who have been predetermined from the foundation of the world to have this happen.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

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

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

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. [Gal2:20]

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” [Heb 2:14, Col 1:24, Col 1:27].

God’s elect have been called in this age to learn that through Christ we can and will overcome the things “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things” (Eph 1:11) that Christ made to demonstrate His power in those few at first who were called and chosen to overcome the bondage in which flesh naturally has us walking “who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” unless the son of man sets us free (Joh 8:36).

That bondage is the subject at hand in this section of Hebrews and how through Christ who is working “in the midst of the church” is giving us the power to overcome “the power of death, that is, the devil“, who we can and will overcome. Notice it is in the midst of the church, and it is through Christ, that we can endure the suffering we go through in order to go on to perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32). Prophecy tells us, through the mouth of Christ himself, that it is “in the midst of the church” where true overcoming is occurring through Christ and nowhere else (Mat 16:4). No sign is given to this evil and adulterous generation out of which we are called but the symbolic sign of Jonas that points to the church, to those who come to know the power of the resurrection in this life and overcome the devil by hearing the voice of the true shepherd and being led by our Lord (Rom 8:14-16), and this is all happening “in the midst of the church” (Mat 12:40, Jer 22:29) and is the reason we “sing praises unto thee” (Psa 107:31).

Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

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

Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Christ is in us as our hope of glory who gives us the victory over sin, and its wages which are death (Rom 6:23), and as the bride of Christ we are more than conquerors through Him (Rom 8:31-39). We become that witness that is given to this evil generation without, once we are given to see the evil generation within us that is guilty of all and must be destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

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

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 

We declare Christ’s name “unto my brethren” when we are amongst those who are being sanctified by the one who is doing that sanctification through the church (1Co 6:14, Eph 2:6, Joh 17:17-18, Eph 3:10). When Christ does these great works through each of us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Php 2:13), a great and dynamic witness unfolds that moves us or quickens us (Joh 6:63) and gives us the boldness (Eph 6:19, Act 4:31) to “declare thy name unto my brethren” thy name meaning thy words, and thy works which is the true gospel of Jesus Christ that we are not ashamed of because it is the power of God (Rom 1:16) and the reason “I sing unto thee“. That singing is part of our spiritual worship and praise unto God when it is spiritual songs that are acknowledging the wonderful works that God is doing unto the children of men “in the midst of the church” (Col 3:16).

1Co 6:14  And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together [Eph 1:14, Rom 8:18-19], and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

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,

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Act 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

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

Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
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;

Christ was the first to put His absolute trust in our Father, and God’s elect are the first to “trust in him” (Eph 1:12) being like Christ (1Jn 4:17) who was the forerunner who trusted God and was fashioned through the suffering that he endured for our sakes (Php 2:7, 2Co 4:15). That fashioning experience was at the hand of our Father who said it pleased Him to bruise Christ knowing that bruising was the essential part of His ministry. It is why “he also himself likewise took part of the same“, the same flesh and blood experience so that while on this earth, by the power God gave him, “he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil“. The devil is not literally destroyed, but the works that he does and the attempt to corrupt Christ and His Christ is what is being destroyed, the gates of hell not prevailing, witnessing of His great power working in the lives of those who are being saved today (Mat 16:18). Satan’s ultimate destruction will be in the lake of fire that will bring about the new creation in him (Rev 20:10).

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

Christ put off His flesh and was given the power to lay down his life and learned obedience by the thing that he suffered (Joh 10:18, Heb 5:8) and now by the power of the holy spirit we are partaking of the same afflictions of Christ filling up what is behind of his afflictions so that “through death”, through dying daily (1Co 15:31), we can through Christ in us “destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” It is “I and the children which God hath given me” who are accomplishing this act of overcoming in this age and the certainty of our being able to overcome through him “I and the children which God hath given me” is declared by Christ himself (Joh 18:9, Joh 10:28).

Joh 18:9  That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Christ did not just partake of just any fleshly experience, but rather His experience was tailored and written in a book for the rest of humanity, just as the elect’s experience is for the sake of the rest of God’s creation (1Pe 4:18, 1Jn 4:17). Christ was deeply bruised for all of us, and the church was prophesied to experience that same bruising for the revealing of many hearts (We have been called to identify and experience what Christ experienced – Isa 53:3-10, 1Jn 4:17, Luk2:35).

His experience was in the midst of the ‘earth, earth, earth’ and was such so that He could identify with the church, His body (Eph 5:29), that is likened unto the great fish that swallowed Jonah and was directed by our great Creator so we can fill up what is behind of His affliction. We learn through this experience of residing in corruptible flesh that we must be bound to the altar (Psa 118:27) or carried about in the great fish which typifies our lack of free moral agency. God’s elect experience what we are going through as a kind of first fruits in the church, so that we can learn to be fishers of men (Mat 4:19), toward all those who are dragged to Christ in this age (Joh 6:44) and ultimately toward the whole sea of humanity who God will deliver through the church (1Co 15:22).

We are being blessed to bring all our thoughts into subjection to God through Christ (2Co 10:5), all the smaller and greater creatures inside of us into subjection unto Christ now [the nations within], so that one day we can be instrumental in ruling and reigning over the nations without who will be saved through the knowledge God will bring to them through the church (Oba 1:21, Eph 1:11, Act 17:28, 1Ti 4:16). We are learning today that God does the dragging and converting and is teaching us to “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Each man in his appointed time will hear Christ and His Christ (1Jn 4:6).

These verses are a prophecy of Christ and His body:

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? [Luk 11:51] for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed [Gal 4:27], he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

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.

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

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.

Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

We are learning that we have a deliverer through Christ who understands our weaknesses and is able to make His strength perfect through them, provided we are granted to suffer with him in this age (2Ti 2:12, Php 1:29, Act 14:22). It it through that suffering that we will learn to no longer lean unto our own understanding as we grow in our trust of the living God who is able to deliver us from this body of death to which we have to spend our life in bondage (2Co 1:9-10). That bondage is perfectly understood by our Father and Christ, who is the mediator as we cry out (1Ti 2:5, Heb 5:7) and come boldly before the throne of God to obtain help in time of need (Rom 8:22-24, Heb 4:16).

It is “all their lifetime” and it was all Christ’s lifetime that He had to overcome and endure until the end in order to be saved (Mat 24:13). Christ did not save himself (Mat 27:40, Joh 5:30). The Father saved him, and now He can and will save us by the same power by which He was saved by God (Mat 20:23, Joh 11:25, Php 3:10).

2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
2Co 1:10  Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

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

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

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish off chapter two of Hebrews as we look at our connection to Christ in the flesh which must mature into a relationship of not knowing Him after the flesh if we are going to go unto perfection to effectively become “the ministry of reconciliation” to which we have been called.

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

​Hi Mike,​

One last thing… 

​Re:  the woman (or man):  you will not be clean again until…

​T​his doesn’t seem to be the devil as God said in the bible he doesn’t help angels but the descendents of Abraham (or was it Israel?).  Anyway​,​ whoever she/he is but sinful and need major cleansing so much so they are (it seems) cleansed until they pass.

And re: King Saul

​God said one (or more) demonic spirits bothered him…they “came and went” as they choose, from him.  So…it seems He was not the devil or Satan but was perhaps allowed to be attacked this way.

May God Bless You in all ways.

T____​

Hi T____,

​Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

​I am excited to see you are trusting the Lord to do what He wills because He knows what is best for you and for all of mankind.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them 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.

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:

​The words “firstborn among many” is referring to those who​m​ “He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son”, as the very next verse in Ephesians 1 confirms:

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.

​Those who are predestined to be to the praise of His glory are not those who are cast into the lake of fire and experience the second death. It is only those who experience death first and “who first trusted in Christ” that are “to the praise of his glory”.

​But you would think that the blindest person in the world could see that the word “first” clearly intimates and demands that there is a second death and a second resurrection and a second group who will also “trust in Christ” at a later date. But that is not possible for a person whom the Lord Himself has blinded to see​ at this time.

​As for the evil spirit that troubled King Saul, it does not matter whether that spirit was Satan himself or one of his legions. Just as Christ identifies with us, so “the god of this world” identifies with his own:

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

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

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

This is that “glorious gospel”:

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

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
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.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

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

​What you may not realize is that through Christ, “in the dispensation of the fulness of times [the Father] might gather together in One, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are one earth, even in Him”​ (Eph 1:10)​

Notice the context of that verse:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

​Lest we somehow miss what is being said to us here, let’s add another ‘precept’ to make it a little clearer:

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

​”All things” is defined for us in the previous verses:

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

​”All things” which will be “reconciled… unto Himself” include all “that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be throne, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.​” That certainly includes the “powers and principalities… the rulers of the darkness of this world… [the] spiritual wickedness in high places”​ [Greek:​ the heavens], against whom we strive:

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

​And so it should be because Satan really is nothing more or less than a tool in the Lord’s hand, as the verses to which you allude demonstrate:

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

​Satan and his legions are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone/the second death/the white throne judgment, to be judged and reconciled to God along with all of mankind:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. [Greek: the ages of the ages]
Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

​I hope you find all these verses to be positive and uplifting. 

Your brother in Christ, Mike

“That Old Serpent”

Part 7

April 30, 2014

As we concluded the last part of this series I made a statement saying, “Lightning is representative of God’s instant power and revealing …”

After reading a few verses, I also made this statement, “Satan falling as lightning from heaven reveals to us just how SWIFT the work of the Lord is in bringing down the idols of our hearts, in the day of the Lord.”

In this study, we are going to start with the premise of this statement and examine Ezekiel 28 with this in mind.

“Pride”

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Most often, and due to a lack of spiritual understanding, most Christian clergy associate Ezekiel 28 with satan and not with mankind. Only vaguely do they associate Ezekiel 28 with the prince and king of Tyre but certainly more with satan. Let us examine scripture, and then examine ourselves, to see if this is so with us.

Tyre is the focus in several different places in scripture and is in particular a place where pride and self glory were abundant. Tyre is geographically in a place which allowed it to be in wonderful trade routes with those around it, therefore creating a great wealth for the city.

As we examine Tyre, we should be seeing ourselves being referenced because the city of Tyre is in us all, at one point or another.

Here are a few references to the city of Tyre which give us a good bit of context to what we are about to read in Ezekiel 28 about ourselves and the city of Tyre within us spiritually speaking.

Isaiah 23 1-18:

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
Isa 23:2  Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Isa 23:3  And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Isa 23:15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
Isa 23:16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Isa 23:17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
Isa 23:18  And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Jeremiah 25:22 and 27:1-11:

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

Jer 25:22  And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,

Jer 27:1  In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 27:2  Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
Jer 27:3  And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
Jer 27:4  And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
Jer 27:5  I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
Jer 27:6  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

Ezekiel 26, 28:

Eze 26:1  And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 26:2  Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
Eze 26:3  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.

Eze 28:19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Joel 3:4-8:

Joe 3:4  Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
Joe 3:5  Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
Joe 3:6  The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

Amos 1:9-10:

Amo 1:9  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
Amo 1:10  But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

I listed all of these verses and read from them for us to get a scriptural feel for just who it is the Lord is addressing when He speaks about the prince or the king of Tyrus in Ezekiel 28.

Why you might ask?

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

(YLT)  and those things became types of us, for our not passionately desiring evil things, as also these did desire.

It may seem like a bit of overkill to have just used so much time to read what we did, but the Lord has witnessed to us in many books of the bible just who it is He is dealing with in Ezekiel.

See, we are all “in Adam” thus we all die. Likewise, we are all “in Christ” and are given to be made alive at the appointed time of the Father.

So, what does this have to do with the orthodox Christian doctrines concerning Ezekiel 28, the old serpent and the body of Christ?

As I mentioned in the previous study, Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28 are used as a basis to show satan as a fallen arch-angel who was put in his place by God, but what we really are reading about is how the old man in us all will be done away with and put away from the midst of God.

Eze 28:1  The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 28:2  Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou ART A MAN and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Eze 28:3  Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Eze 28:4  With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
Eze 28:5  By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
Eze 28:6  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

Ezekiel 28:2 clearly says the Lord is addressing a man. The man/prince that is being addressed is a type of us all. We read what the Lord is telling us in verse 2 as being addressed to a “prince” but then we are also being addressed as a king a few verses later.

“The Witness”

Eze 28:8  They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
Eze 28:9  Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
Eze 28:10  Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 28:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 28:12  Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

A king is simply a progression of being a prince. What we are being told here clearly tells us that man is being addressed and not some arch-angel.

What confuses the masses is that what we are about to read speaks about being in the garden of Eden and there were only three in the garden with the Lord, satan, Adam and Eve.

What we are being told, what we are being witnesses to, with two being the number of witness, is that this prince and king resides in us all and that is how “thou were in the Garden of Eden, the Garden of God”.

We have been shown in the natural what a witness consists of. It may seem like a strange comparison, but the Lord gave Eve to Adam as a helper but they also witnessed His work together and later go off to start physical humanity as a set of two brought together as one flesh.

Physically speaking we are given two eyes to see from, two ears to hear from, two nostrils and olfactory bulbs to project to the cerebral hemispheres, two sides of one brain, two legs to stand on, two arms to balance ourselves and to use to live with.

We have two feet, two hands and two sets of fingers and toes so we MUST be given some insight into the Lord’s mind by how He created us.

In our creation, the Lord created us with balance to show us His great balancing act because in all things we MUST BE balanced or WE FALL or FELL at what we are doing.

We are marvellously created beings, yet there is much more to the children of the Lord than what appears on the surface, just as there is much more to Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14.

Eze 28:13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Eze 28:14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Eze 28:16  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Eze 28:18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Eze 28:19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

How then can the prince and king of Tyre be told “thou hast been in Eden”?

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

And just what are the stones being spoken about? Mike Vinson has a great study on these stones and the surrounding verses, so please read up on it at: http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/up-and-down-among-the-stones-of-fire/

The stones are our works.

1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

What is also confused in most of the churches of Babylon is that verse 28:14 mentions Cherub (H3742), other places called cherubims, and this they connect to the idea of satan being this arch-angel that has fallen from grace. That is the furthest thing from the Truth.

cherubims, 63 , (H3742)

Gen_3:24, Exo_25:18-20 (4), Exo_25:22, Exo_26:1, Exo_26:31, Exo_36:8, Exo_36:35, Exo_37:7-9 (4), Num_7:89, 1Sa_4:4, 2Sa_6:2, 1Ki_6:23, 1Ki_6:25, 1Ki_6:27-29 (4), 1Ki_6:32 (2), 1Ki_6:35, 1Ki_7:29, 1Ki_7:36, 1Ki_8:6-7 (3), 2Ki_19:15, 1Ch_13:6, 1Ch_28:18, 2Ch_3:7, 2Ch_3:10-11 (2), 2Ch_3:13-14 (2), 2Ch_5:7-8 (3), Psa_99:1 (2), Isa_37:16, Eze_10:1-3 (3), Eze_10:6-9 (5), Eze_10:15-16 (3), Eze_10:18-20 (3), Eze_11:22, Eze_41:18, Eze_41:20, Eze_41:25

I mentioned two’s specifically earlier to bring out this very point because two always represent a witness to something. Just as the prince of Tyre progresses in type to a king, so too do the “cherub” throughout scripture.

The cherub start off in Eden “guarding the way of the tree of life.” They simply represent beasts which are around the throne of God, and they end up having three sets of two wings, six wings.

Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev 4:7  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

We see them earlier in Ezekiel with only four wings:

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Eze 1:5  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
Eze 1:6  And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

When we first start off with our walk in Christ, we have been found of our first love, but then we leave our first love because our deadly wound is healed.

As the Lord works with us, we progress and press on to maturity and that is witnessed to us in the growth of addition wings as we make our ways further into the heavens.

The old serpent simply writhes around on his belly eating dust, and we all are that dust. He is singular in his mind to be a waster to destroy, a liar and murderer, because that it what he was created to be and do.

However, we are being created in the image of God and we have dual roles that we fulfill. First, we start off “in Adam,” the first man. Then, we progress slowly toward the new man. As the new man arises in our hearts and minds, the mind of Christ once again makes of TWAIN, ONE.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

We were NEVER created perfect in our ways. The Hebrew word for perfect here is “whole” and gives the true meaning of what we are being told. We were created “whole”, we were made as we were supposed to be made, and at the end of each cycle of “making all of creation,” the Lord said it is “good”, not “perfect”.

We have, from the beginning, an uncircumcised heart, even when we think we serve the Lord. However, we DO NOT initially serve him in Spirit and Truth so we will “die the death of the uncircumcised” first man Adam in us all.

Eze 28:10  Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

The revealing of the son of perdition who sits in the temple of God is a wonderful thing for the new man coming into the hearts and minds of His body.

Eze 28:17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

First though, we must live out being thrown out of “Eden”. We must recognize why it is we are guilty just as Adam our father in the flesh was. Eve came from Adam and we come from the union of them both.

The job of the old serpent is to traduce the Truth with lies and cause us to doubt and fall into unbelief of the promise that Christ Jesus will finish in us what He has started.

Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 have nothing to do with this supposed arch-angel going bad, and everything to do with the adversary being cast from the heavens of our minds just as quick as God’s judgment is on the old man in us all. That is the true meaning of “satan being cast as lightning from heaven.”

Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Luk 10:21  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Luk 10:22  All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
Luk 10:23  And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
Luk 10:24  For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

I hope this study has been used to shed “Light” on this false doctrine and has been used to open up the heavens of your minds to who it is that is, was and will be cast from it.

Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
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.

We are to submit ourselves to God and draw nigh to Him. When we do this then we are able to resist the traducer, his false doctrines and his power of death over us because the one in US now is STRONGER than the one who is in the world.