The Overview of the Plan of God, Part 8A

Last Great Day:  I Will Put Hooks Into Your Jaws – Ezekiel 38

[Study Aired October 3, 2025]

Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Introduction

Here is how we concluded our last study on the overview of the plan of God:

“It is those in whom Christ dwells in this present age, who are “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, and who therefore alone possess “the double portion… right of the firstborn.”

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

“I hope this has demonstrated from the scriptures that the judging of this world and judging angels is not the right of any but the “firstborn, firstfruits” unto God and the Lamb:

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

“We will stop at this point for today, and, Lord willing, in our next study, we will demonstrate with the Old Testament types what is the rebellious spiritual condition of those who inhabit this earth during the thousand year reign and the “little season” which follows that reign.” (End Quote)

Continuing with our overview of the plan of God, I want to remind you that we have demonstrated that the destruction of Gog and Magog of Revelation 20 verses 7-9 is the destruction of all the nations of this world. Contrary to what is widely taught in the churches of this world, the destruction of ‘Gog and Magog’ is not the destruction of a minority of mankind. Rather it is the destruction of all of “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.” What that means is that after the “little season” of rebellion that follows the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ, God will  destroy all flesh, and thereby He will “destroy… death.”

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. [“The nations in the four quarters of the earth”]

How is it possible for “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” to attempt to revolt against “the camp of the saints” after being converted by, and ruled by God’s elect for over a thousand years? If indeed it were the purpose of God to convert the nations during the thousand year reign of God’s elect over the nations of this world, then Christ and His elect failed miserably. On the other hand, if the very purpose of the thousand-year reign was to gradually build up resentment against the rule of God’s elect for the very purpose of turning them over to Satan, so Satan could convince mankind to revolt against the elect of God, thereby giving God the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, then verses 7-9 of Revelation 20 reveal to us that Christ and His elect were very successful at what they were given to do.

What these three verses tell us is that at the end of the thousand-year reign there will not be even one converted person. The thousand-year reign will have the same end product of the Lord leading Israel out of Egypt. After being delivered from Egyptian slavery, Israel spent the next forty years rebelling against Christ’s leadership as “The Cloud” that led them during that entire time. Caleb and Joshua, who were of that old generation, signify the ‘remnant’ which the Lord has in every generation. Not one soul in that generation was converted, and they all had to die in the wilderness. In type it was only the “new man”, the young, who entered into the promised land. The thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ will produce the same thing Christ’s calling and leading His disciples for three and one half years produced. Not one soul was converted, but it did give Christ the occasion He was seeking against the old man within His disciples. That old man was dethroned on the day of Pentecost, where Christ, at His own predestined time, began to convert the hearts and minds of His disciples, through His Father’s omnipresent spirit, coming to dwell within those who were predestined to be judged in this age. What Revelation 20:7-9 reveals is that there will be no converted people during the time of the thousand year reign simply because bringing men to salvation is the very opposite of the purpose for that  reign and the last great day. The last great day is the day of the last rebellion of mankind in which all flesh is destroyed leading to the destruction of death in the lake of fire which is the second judgment and the second death. Let us read it once more:

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. [“The nations in the four quarters of the earth”]

Is there anything said concerning the thousand-year reign which would lead any rational person to believe that this time of being ruled by Christ and His elect with a rod of iron has at any time produced universal repentance and a great revival? Here is what we are told about this time of reigning over carnal minded humans by Christ and His elect:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [Until the thousand years are expired, (Rev 20:7)]

Zec 14:16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Zec 14:18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. [“Rod of iron”]

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Mic 4:4  But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Mic 4:5  For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

When the thousand years are expired Satan will deceive the nations into beating their plowshares into swords:

Joe 3:9  Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: [“Against the camp of the saints”]
Joe 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.  

Here is the Old Testament type of this little season that follows the last great day. It was a terrifying day for Joseph’s brothers, and out of this terrifying experience came the peace they had been seeking all along. That peace could not come until the ‘old man’, typified by the death of Jacob, renamed Israel, had died:

Gen 50:15  And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

Joseph’s brothers were being ruled by him from the time they came down into Egypt to live in the land of Goshen, but they were not at one with him. Rather they spent the next 17 years fearing for their lives. That torment did not end until their “old man”, typified by their father Israel, died, and only then were they delivered from that life of torment and fear for their lives. Contrary to the false doctrines we have all been taught, God’s elect are no more interested in converting the people who live through the time of the thousand years of their reigning, then Christ was attempting to convert Israel while He led them about in the wilderness for forty years after bringing them out of Egypt. Instead of converting that generation God Himself caused them all to die in the wilderness: [Babylon is “in the wilderness”, (Rev 17:3)]

Num 26:65  For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

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

Instead of bringing the holy spirit to all men during the thousand-year reign of God’s elect, the very purpose for these last two steps in God’s work with “the first man Adam” is to give mankind a thousand years to progressively build up great resentment to being ruled by a rod of iron, and then to turn Satan loose upon such a willingly rebellious populace:

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

It is all done for the very purpose of providing God with the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, and through that destruction of all flesh He will destroy death. God always gives Himself a good reason, what the scriptures call an “occasion”, to do what He has already predestined to be done. This principle is found throughout the scriptures. “The sins of the Amorites [being] fulfilled” is one example, but it is best stated in the story of Samson where we read:

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

The Lord knew in advance exactly what He was doing with Samson and how He would use Samson to deliver Israel from the dominion of the Philistines.

The Lord also had a predetermined time for the iniquity of the Amorites to be fulfilled:

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

“The Philistines” typify our own flesh, which has dominion over us all until Christ comes into our hearts. The same is true for the thousand-year reign of Christ and His saints. That thousand years was never intended to be a time of repentance and conversion. Rather Christ’s rulership over “the kingdoms of this world” is designed to be a time when Satan is imprisoned and is not permitted to deceive the nations.

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 [“with a rod of iron”] for ever and ever.

The elect of God rule the entire earth during this time with the very same “rod of iron” with which God ruled Israel for forty years in the wilderness where Israel, typical of each of us, rebelled against the Lord’s governors and a few thousand people died:

Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Num 16:36  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:37  Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Num 16:38  The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Num 16:39  And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Num 16:40  To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Num 16:43  And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

This no-nonsense time of being ruled with a rod of iron is immediately followed by the “little season”, a short period which is predestined to be a time when the nations are given over to Satan to the point that they will rebel against the elect of God, and will “compass the camp of the saints”, convinced by the adversary that they can destroy their immortal rulers. It is at that very moment that “the iniquity of [mankind will be] full” and “fire [will come] down from God out of heaven” and will devour them, bringing all flesh, and therefore all death, to its merciful end.

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.

This cataclysmic event is immediately followed by the second resurrection which is also called the “great white throne… judgment”:

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 [in the first resurrection was not] found written in the book of life [and] was cast into the lake of fire.

There are only two resurrections mentioned in all scripture, and all men of all time are in one of those two resurrections. The first resurrection is that of the “firstborn” (Heb 12:23), and the second resurrection is for all others. I want to thank our brother, Larry Groenewald, for pointing out in our discussions of his (Genesis Study #75 – 12/11/14) that the double portion goes only to the firstborn, and that the spiritual application of that double portion is to both rule this earth in this physical realm with Christ during the thousand-year reign, and then to judge angels in the lake of fire, in the spiritual realm, following the destruction of all flesh. The apostle Paul was referring to the right of the double portion which is given only to the firstborn when he told the Corinthians this:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels?  how much more things that pertain to this life?

“Judging the world… pertains to this life”. Judging angels pertains to the realm of the spirit and does not pertain to this life is this present time:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:29  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:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

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

We will pause at this point and continue our study on the spiritual significance of the  last great day in our next study.

Click here for the next study in this series.

[Study Aired April 4, 2021]

Jer 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Jer 6:17  Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
Jer 6:18  Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jer 6:19  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
Jer 6:20  To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
Jer 6:21  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
Jer 6:22  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
Jer 6:23  They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
Jer 6:24  We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Jer 6:25  Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
Jer 6:26  O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
Jer 6:27  I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
Jer 6:28  They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
Jer 6:29  The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Jer 6:30  Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

It was in our last study that we learned we are not to “abhor an Edomite for he is [our] brother”. Neither are we to “abhor an Egyptian because [we] were strangers in his land”:

Deu 23:7  Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

The point being made in these admonitions is that we are all of our brother, Edom, before we “come out of [Edom]”, and we were all of Egypt, the world, before we came out of the world and into Edom. Why were we ever in the world or in Edom to begin with? The fact is we are all first in the world, and then we are all in Edom because that is where the Lord Himself placed us for that time:

Ecc 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

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

Knowing that to be the Truth, why would we ever want to abhor an Edomite or an Egyptian? The only reason to hate others is the fact that the Lord has made us all first self-righteous, sinful flesh and blood.

Who exactly is “the wicked” whom the Lord has made for Himself? It is “every one [who] is given to covetousness… everyone [who] deals falsely”:

Jer 6:13  For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

There are no exceptions, and to help us see that fact, this statement is repeated just two chapters later:

Jer 8:10  Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

The New Testament tells us the same thing:

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

We all acknowledge that we are sinners, and we certainly should, but we continue in our sinful, rebellious ways, and that must be burned out of us through “fiery trials” (1Co 3:13, 1Pe 4:12).

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.

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

Our ‘fiery trials’ are not “some strange thing”.  They are “common to [all] men”:

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

Yet as part of being “made… wicked for [our own] day of evil”, this is what we do:

Jer 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

This is the positive use of the word ‘old’, and it refers to “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jud 1:3) and our “first love” which we have left at this time in our experience (Rev 2:4).

Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

These verses, along with many others, indicate that the apostasy of the church was complete before the death of the apostles, and because of our “earthy” composition, we just naturally have no interest in going back to our “first love”. Our actions speak for us… “we will not walk therein… we will not listen.” Like King Saul we will do the easy part of what the Lord tells us to do, but we will not do the parts that will make us unpopular with “the people” (1Sa 15:20-21).

Jer 6:17  Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

King Saul is a type of us. He listened to the people, but he would not listen to or tremble at the word of God. He did what was easy to do, but he sought the approval of men more than the approval of God. All these words will in time apply to all men, but in “this present time” (Rom 8:18) they are not being sent to people without eyes that see and ears that hear. All these admonitions are being addressed at this present time to those who are blessed with eyes that see and ears that can hear (Mat 13:9-15):

Jer 6:18  Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

“Them” and “what is among them” is speaking of what is within you and me. What is among us is revealed to us in the second and third chapters of Revelation where ‘them’ is again each of us. It is in those two chapters at the very beginning of the book which reveals Jesus Christ within us, where we are shown that the Lord has ordained that to have Himself revealed within us, we must first acknowledge we have had within each of us “them which say they are apostles, and are not“ (Rev 2:2). We must acknowledge that we have lost our first love (Rev 2:4), and we have among us Nicolaitans who love to lord it over the Lord’s flock (Rev 2:6). We have within us and among us those who say they are spiritual Jews, when, in reality, they are the synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9). We hold fast to the name of Christ, and at the same time we dwell where Satan’s throne is when Christ should be on the throne of our hearts and minds (Rev 2:13).

We serve the Lord, and at the same time we suffer false prophetesses to teach false doctrines which reveal “the depths of Satan as [we] speak” (Rev 2:24). We must acknowledge that we are spiritually dead and are clothed in defiled garments. We learn there are among us those who want to take away the crown of life we have been promised if we endure to the end (Rev 3:11). Finally, we must acknowledge that we are lukewarm Christians whom the Lord will spue out of His mouth if we continue self-righteously thinking that we are “rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing” when in reality, as lukewarm Christians, we “are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev 3:17).

In other words, it is as Christ had said earlier:

Luk 5:30  But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
Luk 5:31  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Luk 5:32  I came not to call the [self] righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Such is what we are when we are carried away into the captivity of Babylon. It is you and I who are in this whorish church out of which we must come to be the first to be judged. It is only those who are being judged in “this present time” who will be in the blessed and holy first resurrection and rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years and then be used by Christ to bring salvation to all men of all time (Rev 20:1-15).

In ‘this present time’ it is only the few elect who have been given eyes that see and ears that hear these words and understand that we must expect to have to suffer in this present time. There is no judgment without suffering, and there is no judging without acknowledging our sins and transgressions, and for that reason:

Jer 6:19  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

Yes, that is exactly what each of us have done if indeed “judgment is upon the house of God” within us (1Pe 4:17).

Reaping “the fruit of [our own] thoughts” in this age is not a bad thing. It is really the best thing that can happen to any man. We have established beyond any doubt that no one gets to the tree of life without going through the fiery sword which turns every way guarding the way of the tree of life (Gen 3:24). We have shown that ‘fire will try the works of every man’ (1Co 3:13-15) and that ‘no one can enter into Christ until the seven plagues of the seven angels had been poured out in our lives’ (Rev 15:8).

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

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

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.

Since there is no way around the fiery sword guarding the Tree of Life, and since every man’s works are being tried by that fiery sword and no one is able to enter into the temple in heaven until the seven plagues of the Lord’s wrath are fulfilled in the life of every man, the Lord poses this question:

Jer 6:20  To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

This verse is not denying that ‘cane is sweet’. Neither is the Lord denying that we sacrifice many wonderful works to Him. What He is telling us is that those very works are themselves filthy rags in His sight when we think they are our own works:

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

We will all reap what we have sown (Gal 6:7). Forgiveness mollifies but does not nullify judgment. The Lord’s words “cannot be broken”, and He will perform them:

Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

We are the Lord’s witnesses, and as such this is our witness:

Jer 6:19  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

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

Isa 51:16  And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

Isa 59:21  As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

As the Lord’s witnesses to His words, we are modern day Isaiah and Jeremiah, and these words apply to each of us:

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

These are the Lord’s words to us. His word first devours our own old man and his entire kingdom of false doctrines for the ages:

Jer 6:21  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

The ‘stumbling blocks” are the truths of our Lord’s doctrines.  The ‘fathers, sons, neighbor and his friend’ are all parts of the kingdom of our old man who was “made to be taken and destroyed”:

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

Just as Moses himself was an Egyptian before he became the Lord’s vessel for delivering His people, Israel, we, too, are ‘Pharaoh’ before we become Moses with the commission of being “saviors in Zion”:

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

The destruction of our carnal-minded and rebellious old man is the fruit of our judgment in this age. It is for us as John the Baptist told his disciples:

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

Paul said the same of his own old man:

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

“Dying daily” is a ‘daily’ process. It is the process of being judged, and it continues for as long as we are in these “earthy… vessels of clay”. However, the process of being judged is taking place only in those who are made aware that the Lord came to judge our sins:

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 [You remain spiritually blind].

Just like these blind Pharisees of John 9, we all at first believe Christ came only to ‘die for us’ and to ‘forgive our sins’. The doctrine of “reading, hearing, and keeping” (Rev 1:3) the judgments of the seals, trumpets and vials is utter heresy in the eyes of most Christians. Yet it is right here for all who have been given eyes to see:

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

The ninth chapter of John tells us the story of the healing of a man who was born blind from birth. Christ gave the man his sight but did not immediately reveal Himself to this man, and because this man refused to denounce his Healer as a sinner, he was cast out of the synagogue. Being blind from birth typifies mankind as a whole because:

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.

Therefore, those who do not discern that they are being judged for their sins are blinded to the fact they are reaping what they have sown. They are groaning and travailing, yet they are not being judged in this present time. They suffer the pains of being judged, but they are not aware of the necessity of acknowledging their sins and for that reason they do not benefit from the groaning and travailing of the birth process they are enduring:

Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

“[The Lord] hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.” What we are being told here is the same thing Paul tells us in:

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

As a type of the Lord’s elect, Job reveals that “even we ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit” live for many months unaware that we are reaping what we have sown.

Our false doctrines teach us that we can come just as we are, but they say little of being judged for what we are (Jer 3:13). Our false doctrines teach us that the Lord did not make us wicked for our own day of evil (Pro 16:4). Our false doctrines teach us that we need not suffer or die because Christ suffered and died in our place. It is all lies and falsehoods.

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15  And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

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

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;

As long as the Lord blinds us with these lying spirits, we “groan and travail” but without the benefits of being judged, because we are not given to understand and “receive the things of the spirit” (1Co 2:14-15).

Jer 6:22  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

This nation which will take us away into captivity is “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, [and] Babylon… the mother of harlots and abominations of the world”:

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

These verses in Jeremiah 6 and Ezekiel 9, along with all the stories of all the invasions of Israel and Judah which came out of the north, reveal that ‘the north’ symbolizes the Lord’s impending judgment:

Eze 9:1  He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
Eze 9:2  And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Eze 9:5  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Eze 9:6  Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Eze 9:7  And he [the Lord] said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

The ‘old and young’ typify our oldest and our youngest false doctrines all of which must be destroyed and burned out of us “with the brightness of His coming”:

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:

It is our rebellious, stubborn, carnal-minded old man who will be given no quarter and who “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” because he is just an incomplete phase of the life cycle of the completed spiritual body we were originally designed to become. It is this unfinished part of our experience which must be destroyed like the cocoon of a butterfly or the shell out of which a bird hatches. Our judgment is the Lord’s brooding over us as a hen broods over her fertilized eggs, heating them with such precision that the egg is miraculously transformed into a bird which through a great struggle is strengthened to fly in the heavens of the earth. Our daily judgment is the dying of the caterpillar which is dissolved, and through that dissolution and then through the great struggling of breaking out of that cocoon, miraculously emerges as a beautiful butterfly which, like the bird, is strengthened to mount up to the heavens.

When this struggle is taking place, it appears completely hopeless and impossible that life can come out of death, and yet that is exactly what happens. The egg and the caterpillar are both destroyed and replaced by a creature which is far superior to its original form.

While we watch this process taking place, this is how we feel:

Eze 9:8  And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! Wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
Eze 9:9  Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
Eze 9:10  And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
Eze 9:11  And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

The prophecy of Jeremiah 6 and Ezekiel 9 are identical inasmuch as they both reveal the mind of the Lord towards the self-centered, self-destructive nature of our old man and the unrelenting resolution of the Lord to destroy that phase of our experience. Outwardly both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are speaking of the invading armies of physical Babylon, and those ‘armies’ in both prophecies typify all the false doctrines which carry us away into that ‘city’, the religions of that great whore who, through her false, lying doctrines, rules over all the kings of our earth. This is what those doctrines do to us:

Jer 6:23  They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

The “daughter of Zion” is the Lord’s elect who have come to understand that they must be the first to endure the judgments of God as they are so vividly described in Revelation 14:7-12. These ‘horsemen’ who come against the “daughter of Zion” are so thick upon the earth that they are likened to locusts which are so numerous that they darken the air and blot out the light of the sun. They symbolize all the false doctrines of Babylon. These locusts are also “like unto horses prepared for battle… against thee, O daughter of Zion”, and they are given the number of two hundred million:

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Rev 9:7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Nevertheless, the fruit of those false, lying doctrines is known, and if we are blessed to be judged in this present time, we will be put through fiery trials which will bring us to acknowledge that lying false doctrines carried us away into Babylon where we have sinned and transgressed against our Lord. That is the meaning of our next verses:

Jer 6:24  We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Jer 6:25  Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
Jer 6:26  O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

The only way we can come to see that the pains we endure are birthing pains is when we are brought to repentance for our sins and we are looking behind ourselves at what the Lord has worked and is working in our lives:

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

At this point we may be completely unaware of what is taking place, but the fact is we are on our way out of Babylon. The fiery words of Christ have shined upon all the false doctrines in our lives, and we have no choice but to acknowledge that our self-righteous Babylonian life has been a life of rebellion against our Lord and His doctrines. The Lord is dragging us out of Babylon, and He will not be denied:

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

This “double… cup” is our “groaning and travailing in pain” judgment, and we are blessed above all men if it takes place in “this present time”:

Isa 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

All men will “receive of the Lord’s hand double for all [their] sins”, but those who do so in “this present time” are the “blessed and holy” of the Lord:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature [meaning all mankind of all time] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
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?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

At this point we are accepting the fact that even our wicked man was made by the Lord for our own day of evil, and that even the blindness in which we lived for so long was itself orchestrated by the Lord using the lying adversary as “[His] hand”:

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

Job 2:4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Once we come to see that Satan’s “power” and Satan’s “hand” is nothing less than an instrument in the hand of the Lord to accomplish His purpose of making us to err from His ways to give Him the occasion He is seeking to judge our flesh as unfit and unable to inherit the kingdom of God, we can begin to enjoy and rejoice in the peace which that knowledge gives us:

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

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

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Once the Lord reveals to us that He is giving us double for our sins and is judging us through His fiery trials and through the seven vials or His wrath upon the kingdom of our rebellious, stubborn old man, He then sends us to do what His father sent Him to accomplish:

Jer 6:27  I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

That is what the Lord told Isaiah also:

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Christ has chosen us to be His ambassadors. He is sending us “as [His] Father sent [Him].”

Joh 20:19  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:20  And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Now let us look closely at what the Lord is sending us to proclaim:

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,  Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land [our old man] be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

“The holy seed [is] the substance” of all the Lord is doing, and what the Lord is doing is showing us our sins and the worthlessness of our vessels of clay. Our calling is to proclaim what the Lord has shown us about ourselves. What the Lord has revealed to any who are given to enter His temple is:

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

When we put our own ways ahead of the Lord’s ways and when we turn our back on our fellow body members, “[our] own flesh”, we need not fast and seek the Lord because it will all be in vain.

Jeremiah, as just one more type of who we are, is given the very same commission the Lord gave Isaiah.

I will include verse 27 with these last three verses of this chapter:

Jer 6:27  I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
Jer 6:28  They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
Jer 6:29  The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Jer 6:30  Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

It is our reprobate, rebellious old man whom the Lord has rejected. Any of the good works we do, if we think we did them, then they become in that moment “filthy rags” before our Lord:

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isa 64:7  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand [Isa 63:17 “…You made us err from your ways…”].

We can do “many wonderful works” for our fellow man, we can even give ourselves to be burned and endure great trials and tribulations in this present time, but if we do not obey the words of our Lord and remain faithful to His doctrines, and if we ‘turn our back to our own flesh’ He will still tell us, “Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [ye self-righteous].
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

1Co 13:3  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

The word ‘charity’ here in 1Corinthians 13:3 is translated from the Greek word:

G26
ἀγάπη
agapē
ag-ah’-pay
From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: – (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.
Total KJV occurrences: 116

Notice what this word works in our lives if we truly ‘agape’ our Lord:

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.

The love of God is the keeping of His commandments and doing the things He says to do. Christ poses this question to all of us:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

In summary of this study, we are told that through His judgments we will all receive double at the Lord’s hand for our sins, and if we are blessed to be judged in this present time, then we will be used by the Lord to drag others to Him by proclaiming His judgments to others. If we “love God” we will be obedient to that commission and endure the rejection of this world “for His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).

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.

That is our study for today. We will be in chapter seven next week. Here are our verses for our next study:

Jer 7:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2  Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
Jer 7:3  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5  For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
Jer 7:9  Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer 7:10  And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
Jer 7:11  Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
Jer 7:12  But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
Jer 7:13  And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Jer 7:14  Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
Jer 7:15  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Jer 7:16  Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
Jer 7:17  Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

(Key verses: Genesis 49:22-26)

God declares the end from the beginning, and as such, He also works all things in between according to a perfect plan and purpose which nothing and no creature can alter. Everything works 100% according to His counsel and pleasure:

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

The theme of the last days brings these truths to light, even as it is in our last days when God’s work from the beginning is unveiled to us through His judgment (Ecc 3:1-11). This is when the revelation of Jesus is given to us through the process of spiritual conversion (Joe 2:28-31; Mat 13:30; Mat 24:1-51; Act 2:14-21; Rom 2:5; 1Pe 1:13; Rev 1:1-18):

Joe 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joe 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

It is indeed fitting that it is also in the final section of the book of Genesis that we see how this theme of the last days is brought to us through the words of Jacob before he died, after living in Egypt for the last seventeen years of his life. It was the time to tell his sons “which shall befall [them] in the last days”:

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

These sons of Jacob are all spiritual types of “the Israel of God”, His elected few, who are being judged in this age (Gal 6:16):

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 [Greek: aiōn = age] are come.

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?

In previous discussions we already touched on Jacob’s words to Reuben (meaning “behold a son”), Simeon (“to hear”), Levi (“joined”), Judah (“praise”), Zebulun (“habitation”), Issachar (“reward”), Dan (“judge”), Gad (“a troop”), Asher (“blessed”) and Naphtali (“wrestlings”). In this discussion we want to look at a few aspects in the lives of Joseph and his offspring. Of all Jacob’s sons, Joseph’s story is the best known as he was the firstborn son from Jacob’s favourite wife, Rachel. Rachel had to endure the pain and humiliation of seeing how the other women in Jacob’s life bore him ten sons altogether. Joseph and his brother Benjamin were the last two sons born to Jacob via Rachel. What a lesson it is for us to be like the husbandman to wait for the precious fruit of the earth:

Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

This is also what the meaning in the name of Joseph wants to emphasize. Joseph’s name means “the Lord will add” or “increase”. Here are the final words of Jacob to Joseph:

Gen 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
Gen 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Gen 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Gen 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
Gen 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Joseph’s life presents one of the clearest pictures in the scriptures of what the elect of God are enduring in this life to learn how we indeed will possess our souls through longsuffering and patience (Luk 21:19). Let us take each of these verses which contain these words of Jacob and briefly discuss how they apply to us.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough [Hebrew: “bên” = son], even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches [Hebrew: “bath” = daughter] run over the wall…”

The Hebrew word “bên” (translated “bough” in that verse) means “son”, and the Hebrew word “bath” (translated “branches”) means “daughter”. These two words have the same root in the Hebrew, namely “bânâh” which relates to the building of an offspring – whether sons or daughters:

Psa 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psa 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Psa 127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

We know that Joseph is a type of Christ, as his whole life pictures the favour and work of God in Jesus Christ whom God established as His Son and through whom a huge spiritual offspring will be brought forth (Psa 2:7; Mic 5:2; Mat 3:17; Joh 1:14; Joh 5:26; Joh 14:13; Act 13:33; 1Co 15:22-28; Col 1:15; Heb 1:5). In this sense, Jesus was also given the role which the wife plays into a relationship. The reference to this female role through the Hebrew word “bath” also relates to the few whom Father has ordained to be set apart in this age to bear much fruit for Him through Jesus (Joh 6:44):

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The apostle Paul also gives this spiritual relationship between the Father and the Son, which reflects in the relationships between Christ and the church, and the husband and wife in earthly terms, for our understanding (Rom 1:20):

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

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

It is the church, the branches of the vine, who “run[s] over the wall” to be used by God to bring in the rest of humanity through His judgment in the lake of fire (Neh 9:27; Oba 1:21; Luk 22:29; Col 1:28; Rev 20:14-15):

Act 1:7 And he [Jesus] said unto them [His disciples], It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

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

Of all the sons of Jacob, Joseph was indeed the most fruitful and blessed, although he was taken through the most difficult journey of all Jacob’s sons. This confirms such an important spiritual lesson in the lives of God’s elect that it is indeed through much tribulation that God’s elect will be qualified to be in the blessed and holy first resurrection and to be the saviours of the world (Rev 20:4-15):

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.

The fruits of the spirit cannot be achieved by a wishy-washy name-it-and-claim-it attitude which so many are caused to believe. To find the fiery trials of God something to complain and murmur about is indeed strange to those who are called to suffer with Christ, as they know that is how God’s elect will be brought to rulership (Php 1:29):

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

This is what Joseph’s life teaches us. It is Christ in us who supplies everything we need to be fruitful to the glory of the Father (Php 4:13; Col 1:24-29):

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

“…The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him…”

These words spoken by Jacob to Joseph indeed were fulfilled throughout His life. As it happened to Joseph, we ourselves can testify how the calling of God can be seen from a very early age in our lives. Joseph did not ask for the coat of many colours, but his father gave it to him, which caused Joseph to be the target for his envious brothers:

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

We know that all things we have were given to us by God, and as such, He is the One who sets us up to experience the things which will form us. It is within our “last days” that we are enabled to “read”, “hear” and see how we live and “keep” the testimony of Jesus in our lives (Mat 4:4; Rev 1:1-3). It is indeed through words and actions that the condition of one’s heart is expressed and revealed (Psa 11:2):

Psa 64:3 Who [the wicked/the enemy] whet [Hebrew: “shânan” – point/pierce/teach] their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words.

Jer 9:3 And they [treacherous men] 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.

Arrows, in this sense, equal words, and in spiritual terms, this is what archers do – we speak and act according to what the heart determines, whether for good or evil. The elect of God knows the words of truth through the Archer, Jesus Christ (Isa 49:1-3; Joh 1:1-5):

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him [Thomas], I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:10 Believest thou [Philip] not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The elect also know that they indeed “in times past” were the target of the arrows of evil, including the false teachings and deceptive words coming from the mouth of false prophets (1Jn 4:1-6; 2Pe 2:1-3):

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.

When we say we know the truth, as Jesus said His true church would know, we are indeed wearing our coat with many colours, and we become the target of the hatred and vileness from those who deny the true Jesus. Because Caleb and Joshua were given a different spirit to see the heavenly perspective of the promised land, their report was rejected by the moaning and complaining majority who rather accepted the reports of the other ten spies who only saw the difficulties in the promised land. These ten spies are representatives of our flesh who only focus on the perspectives of the natural mind (1Co 2:14):

Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7 And they spoke to all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
Num 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows with milk and honey.
Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

The fear of the Lord negates the fear for men. Caleb and Joshua feared God and spoke the words of truth, and they became the target of hatred and belittling. In our time of being belittled and being cast down by men, God’s glory appears:

Num 14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

As it happened in the hearts of Caleb and Joshua, we know that God sees the intent of the heart where the archers shoot their arrows (1Sa 16:7; Jer 17:10; 2Co 10:7). This also needs patience as our intentions will only become clear at the appointed time:

1Ti 5:24 Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
1Ti 5:25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

This is also revealed for us in the life of king Amaziah of Judah. Amaziah did the right things initially, even “that which is right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart” which was only revealed much later in his reign of 29 years in Judah (2Ki 14:1-4):

2Ch 25:1 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ch 25:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

After Amaziah and the army of Judah conquered the Edomites, he fell in love with the idols in Edom’s temples and built his own sanctuaries filled with these idols. This caused him not to be able to listen to wise counsel, and he followed his own understanding of things which led to his death. Naturally we do not know the depths of the deceit of our own hearts, and therefore the truth of God’s multitude of counsellors is such a vital aspect to help us being faithful until the end (Mat 18:15-17; Rev 17:14):

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

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

The life of Joseph also proves that the motives of our hearts will be challenged until the end. After living with Joseph in Egypt for seventeen years with their father, the brothers of Joseph could still not accept that Joseph’s heart and his motives were totally different from theirs. This came out after Jacob’s death:

Gen 50:15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Gen 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

“…[Joseph’s] bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)…”

Nevertheless, through all of Joseph’s trials and the false accusations from his family and those who opposed him in Egypt, Joseph always kept strong and committed to the truth. Joseph’s heart was taught to serve and do good to them who hated him, and God’s hands strengthened his hands in all of this. It is when we are emptied of our strongholds and high thoughts of self, that God’s mind becomes our strong tower and powerful mountain:

Psa 61:3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Pro 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

When we are given the servant’s heart to understand it is more blessed to give than to receive, we shoot powerful arrows of truth and love, and we do not miss the mark of being a true shepherd in God’s flock (Jdg 20:16; Mat 20:25-28; Joh 10:1-18). It is then when we witness how the Lord fights for us we can then see how our enemies, even the spiritual wolves, turn on themselves, and the fear of God will come on them (Mat 7:15-20):

Psa 64:7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
Psa 64:8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
Psa 64:9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
Psa 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

God’s arrows are His words which are the “demonstration of the spirit and of power” of God (1Co 2:4). It is His word which destroys all arguments against the truth as we progressively learn how to use His powerful arrows within our spiritual warfare (Isa 5:28):

Psa 120:1 A Song of degrees. In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
Psa 120:2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
Psa 120:3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
Psa 120:4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

“…Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb…”

Joseph was given “one portion above [his] brethren” by Jacob when Joseph brought his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh to Jacob for his blessing:

Gen 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Gen 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

In physical terms Joseph was given this double portion of the firstborn through his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as both of them became independent tribes with a full inheritance according to all the sons of Jacob:

Gen 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.

“…The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.”

This is what Moses had to say about the offspring of Joseph through the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh also indicating the fulfillment of the double portion of rulership over the earth and the heaven for God’s elect:

Deu 33:13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
Deu 33:14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
Deu 33:15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
Deu 33:16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
Deu 33:17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

We know Manasseh was the firstborn of Joseph, which represents the fleshly man, while Ephraim was the second born, representing the spirit man, Jesus Christ (1Co 15:45-49). Ephraim was blessed above Manasseh by Jacob, as also confirmed in Moses’ blessing (Gen 48:5-21). Ephraim’s name means “God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Gen 41:52). The sons of Ephraim indeed were “mighty men of valor, famous throughout the house of their fathers” (1Ch 12:30). However, one of the prominent judges of Israel, namely Gideon, came from the tribe of Manasseh. This double portion indeed relates to the “blessings of the deep that lies under” and the “blessings of heaven above” respectively. This blessing of Joseph is the type of the blessing of God’s elect in rulership over the physical eon (even during the so-called “thousand-year reign” on earth) and their ultimate rulership in the spiritual eon, even the lake of fire (Rev 20:4-15):

1Co 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

[The author may be reached for questions or comments at glgroenewald@gmail.com]

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Till The Seven Plagues Are Fulfilled
The Scapegoat
The Teaching of Rain and Archers
Who Knows The Truth?
Rev 17:12-18

(Key verses: Gen 27:14-41)

In our last discussions on the theme of sonship in Genesis, the focus was slowly shifting away from Isaac, the son of Abraham, to Jacob. In his old age Isaac was losing his vision physically, but spiritually he also could not distinguish the true elected son, namely Jacob. Isaac attached himself to Esau instead and became progressively more dependent on his earthly desires and senses. Spiritual maturity is measured by how we have grown (“because of use”) to distinguish truthfully between right and wrong, good and evil, the called and the chosen. This all-important discernment is restricted by God through His extremely strong and powerful work called delusion, which is now witnessed in Isaac (2Co 10:7; 2Co 11:14-15; 2Th 2:11):

Heb 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, even those who because of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

From the lives of Abraham, Isaac and now Jacob we learn that spiritual sonship also is indeed an ongoing progressive work of the Father through Jesus Christ which He bestows on a few to be overcomers over their own flesh first (Joh 16:33; Rom 12:21; 1Jn 5:4; 1Jn 5:10-13; Rev 2:7; Rev 2:11; Rev 2:17; Rev 17:14). These sons of God are those who are being judged in this age, but they will be used by God to rule in the thousand year reign on earth, but also to be the judges of those who will come up in the second resurrection (1Pe 4:17; Rev 20). This is what the double portion of the firstborn son spiritually means which was in shadow introduced under the law of Moses (Deu 21:15-17):

2Co 5:10 (Darby) For we must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of the Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body, according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Before the sons of God can see and appreciate their double portion, they must first mature in disobedience and sin (their spiritual Amorites must be “full”), and then be the first to be judged and experience the wrath of God before obtaining spiritual salvation in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:22-23; 1Th 5:9; Heb 9:27; 1Jn 2:17). This is also seen in Abraham and his offspring through Isaac and Jacob. This offspring of Abraham will be held in bondage and must first serve under their fleshly masters until the time is fulfilled by God:

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

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

It is important to note that the elect must also be counted with the transgressors because they live by all the words of God, the good ones, but also the evil words:

Luk 22:37 For I [Jesus] say unto you [His disciples], that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
Luk 22:38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

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.

Jesus, the Head of the body, did not commit any transgressions while here on earth or at any stage of His existence, but His body on earth is a body of sin, even His church, and they do transgress. This is how Jesus also fulfils the trespass offering in us by dying as a transgressor (Lev 5:1-19; Psa 51:5; Mat 26:51-52; Luk 22:37-38; Rom 6:6; 2Co 5:21; Eph 5:30):

Rom 4:25 (Diaglott-NT) who was delivered up on account of the offences of us, and was raised up on account of the justification of us.

Gal 4:3 So we [the sons of God] also, when we were children [“of the wicked”], were held in bondage under the principles of the world;
Gal 4:4 but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, come of woman, come under law,
Gal 4:5 that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship.
Gal 4:6 But because ye are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Darby)

In our last discussion, we also touched on the negative application of this double portion which indeed also applies to the sons of God “when” in “times past” they walked according to “the course” or “the principles” of this world “even as others” in the world. This evil applies to both our outward earthly “members” (the land) and to our mind (our thoughts which is our heavens or “the air”). This also relates to the will in us and the actions we take:

Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

Eph 2:1 And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience;
Eph 2:3 among whom we also had our way of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (MKJV)

Jer 16:18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

Although it is a very humbling and extremely painful “double” which the elect of God is ordained to go through, God’s judgment on our old man is indeed a very great comfort when we afterward “may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Mal 3:3):

Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

God is a God of great mercy as He deals righteously in His wrath on those sins in us when we actually were ignorantly glorifying in ourselves being in deep deception and delusion (Isa 26:9; 2Co 1:3; 2Th 2:11; Jas 2:13). This wrath of God links with the receiving of the “double” out of the hand of God when we receive the punishment and judgment for sin, even as Babylon has her ways in the sons of God “in times past” before her fall is witnessed in us:

Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

When these “Amorites” are fulfilled, the sons of God are getting the clear instruction to come out of the great harlot to first receive the “double” and drink the bitter cup out of God’s hand (Psa 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 24:1-7; Jer 25:28-29; 1Pe 4:17). This is when our will is brought to submit to God’s will, and our actions follow His commandments:

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

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The phrase “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” tells us that the intensity of the tribulations brought upon the elect has no equal. The higher the rank in an army, the more intense is the training. The sons of God are constantly under close scrutiny from God because much is required of them as they will receive the better portion:

Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

This bitter and painful “double” applies to every aspect of our lives – from the visible flesh right down to the invisible depths of the bottomless pit of our carnal minds. Our flesh and outward lifestyle is brought to judgment through physical afflictions, but also our carnal mind when it is exposed by the brightness of His Word which is used to bring the refining fire (2Co 11:18-33; 2Co 12:7; 2Th 2:1-8):

Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

This is why the life of Jacob is given to us to see how we are guilty of all, before we are brought to receive God’s reward. Jacob himself was at this stage “living in tents” and was seemingly still untested in the many trials in the outside world (Gen 25:27; Luk 15:11-32). His own evil heart also needed exposure. What will come after this event in the life of Jacob typifies how God will cause us to leave our own comfort zones to be exposed to the evil inside our own heart, which reflects in the outside world (1Jn 2:16). This also reminds us of the prodigal son who was the younger brother of the two sons, who had to go through his wanderings under “the course of this world” before he could understand or appreciate his father’s true love and inheritance. The younger son, a type of God’s elect, wanted his portion of the inheritance, which was how he was set up to receive the “double” punishment also. It is in his return and repentance that this son was given back the inheritance to the dismay of the elder brother, who was in the field when he heard the music and dancing (Isa 30:15):

Luk 15:21 And the [prodigal] son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Luk 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

We can only see the true condition of our own hearts through the painful trials God mercifully brings to us, because without these tribulations no son of God will become an overcomer and be ruling in God’s kingdom (Deu 8:2; Jer 17:9; 2Th 2:3-4):

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.

Like all of us, Jacob started off by walking according to the ways of the world and tricked his own brother out of his birthright, and now will deceive his own father to get the blessing of the firstborn with the help and instructions from his mother, Rebekah:

Gen 27:14 And he [Jacob] went, and fetched, and brought them [the two good kids of the goats] to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
Gen 27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
Gen 27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
Gen 27:17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Rebekah (her name means “ensnarer”) made sure that all angles were covered and all details were correctly followed in the preparation of the meal. This was meticulously done to deceive Isaac into believing that Jacob was Esau whom Isaac was awaiting to bring to him his favoured venison meal. Jacob even introduced himself as Esau to Isaac, but the plot thickened with each of the questions Isaac put to Jacob:

Gen 27:18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
Gen 27:19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
Gen 27:20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.
Gen 27:21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
Gen 27:22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
Gen 27:23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
Gen 27:24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
Gen 27:25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
Gen 27:26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
Gen 27:27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
Gen 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn [Hebrew: “dâgân” = grain/wheat] and wine:
Gen 27:29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

The very earthly senses Isaac depended on have failed him! Flesh is not a trustworthy ally and will always disappoint bitterly, as it falls far short of perfection. Dependence on our physical senses indicates our reliance on the limited and unstable information available to our natural mind which relates spiritually to our deep-seated affection and association to spiritual Babylon. Isaac will soon find out what his reliance on his physical senses brought about, even as the blessing was given to the true elect of God. Even as the sons of God “in times past” dealt treacherously, they will eventually learn through their “double” or “many stripes” to not resist evil, as evil is one of God’s instruments to form and shape His sons:

Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

To not resist evil is what Esau could not do as the news of God’s election is never good for the rejected:

Gen 27:30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
Gen 27:31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
Gen 27:32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
Gen 27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

Esau, like all who are the rejected, will never in this life accept God’s choices which are never according to human standards and liking:

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.

The sons of God learn in this life that everything God does is good and perfect for His purposes, and everything has its precise time and place according to the will of God (Gen 1:31; Ecc 3:1; Eph 1:11). It is all done for the sakes of God’s elect (Joh 12:28-32; 2Co 4:15):

Gen 27:34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
Gen 27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
Gen 27:36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

The flesh cannot accept this and will always rebel against God’s ways. But the spirit of God is the Lord over all flesh, as Christ is the true firstborn and Lord of all (Act 10:36: Col 1:15-18):

Gen 27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
Gen 27:38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
Gen 27:39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
Gen 27:40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Gen 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand [Isaac’s death]; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

In verses 28 and 39 we also see the positive and negative applications of what dew and fat spiritually represent. Jacob was given the dew of heaven and the fat coupled with plenty of corn and wine, typifying how God’s elect treasure the Word of God through which “people [will] serve thee, and nations bow down to thee.” This will later manifest in Jacob’s life, typifying the portions of the sons of God:

Jer 31:11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Jer 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Jer 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Jer 31:14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.

Esau’s portions of fat and dew was to be an adversary to his brother when his heart is to be ruled with hatred and murder:

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

The flesh is the enemy of the spirit of God, and even in these twins of Isaac and Rebekah, this hatred is typified:

Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Rev 18:1-4 Babylon’s Hold
Rev 18:5-9 Our Lament
The Seven Last Plagues
The Spiritual Significance of The Trespass Offering
Babylon Is For Our Good

The “Double Portion of [The Inheritance Is] The Right of The Firstborn”

Gen 43:33 And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. And the men marveled at one another.
Gen 43:34 And one took portions to them from before him. But Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Introduction

I want to share with you all an exchange between Larry Groenewald and others and  me as the introduction to today’s study on the overview of the plan of God. This is a discussion of Larry’s study on Thursday, December 11th, 2014.

Those verses I quoted above are three verses which were sent to Larry in response to the discussion we had after Larry’s study that Thursday in His series on Foundations In Genesis.

This is an e-mail from Larry concerning the law of the right of the firstborn:
Larry writes:

“As we know the double portion is bestowed on the firstborn according to these verses:

Deu 21:15-17  If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:  16  Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:  17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Jesus, being the firstborn or “the beginning of the creation of God”, is the Beloved of the Father and He was given the rights of the firstborn, which includes the “double portion”:

Heb 1:2-10  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;  4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.  5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?  6  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.  7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.  8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.  9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.  10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

This double portion relates therefore to Jesus’ rulership over the physical creation or fleshly eon, and the spiritual creation or spiritual eon (Eph 1:9-10). Jesus confirms this honour given to Him with these words:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Rev 1:11a  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…

In Christ the elect or “uihosthesia” has been given this same authority to have dominion over all:”

End of Larry’s e-mail, to which I responded:

“I am so grateful to be able to share with you in this further revelation of who we are in Christ. I feel at this moment I am truly Benjamin who is simply receiving five times more from Christ, while bringing virtually nothing to the table.

I was thrilled on Thursday to receive the revelation the Lord gave you concerning the law of the double-portion birthright of the spiritual firstborn. It had that ring of Truth to it that made me say to myself, “yes, that is what that means!”, and these verses came to mind:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Now in this thread you have fleshed this out even further for me when you made this statement:

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

This double portion relates therefore to Jesus’ rulership over the physical creation or fleshly eon, and the spiritual creation or spiritual eon (Eph 1:9-10). Jesus confirms this honour given to Him with these words:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Rev 1:11a  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…

I am just so very grateful to see this so clearly!

“The world” in 1Co 6:2 is the word ‘kosmos‘ and it means this physical world, “the beginning… the first man Adam”. It is not the word ‘aion‘ which is also translated as ‘world’ at times in the King James Version and in many other versions. The statement “How much more things that pertain to this life” proves that the “angels” of verse three do not “pertain to this life” and are spirit messengers, and Paul is referring specifically to the great white-throne judgment where God’s elect, as a small “lake of fire”, will be “judging angels” in an age that does not pertain to this life in vessels of clay.

You gave us:

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:

Yes, indeed, Benjamin’s “five times as much” portion of food, his “three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment”, more than his ten brothers received, are all types of the double portion that “is the right of the [spiritually] firstborn”. The word “both” in Eph 1:10 includes both portions of that “double portion” which is “the right of the [spiritually] firstborn”.

Gen 45:22  To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

The double portion law of the right of inheritance applies only to the spiritually “firstborn”, typified by Isaac, who was not the “firstborn of the hated” physically, but who was “the firstborn of the hated” spiritually.

The fact that Hagar was the physically hated wife whose son was the physically hated firstborn, is to this day, used by the Muslim religion to justify their claim to “the double portion… right of the firstborn” as it relates to the promises made to Abraham. Christians, who are equally lacking in spiritual understanding, cannot understand how the apostle Paul equates Isaac’s and Rebecka’s descendants with Hagar in Galatians 4. The inability of the Galatians to understand how spiritual matters conflict with the letter of the Word was a great concern to the apostle Paul, and should be a great concern to us:

Gal 4:20  I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
Gal 4:21  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Physical Israel is merely the Old Testament type of the true Israel of God, but spiritually physical Israel is nothing more than Hagar and her “son of the bondwoman”.

Exo 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

That statement simply is not true, physically, but it is true spiritually. Esau, Edom, was physically born before Jacob, whose name was changed by God to ‘Israel’. Jacob was Esau’s twin brother. Esau was the physical heir of the “right of the firstborn… the double portion”, but Jacob typifies those who have supplanted the physical firstborn, and has not become the type of those who are the spiritual ‘firstborn’.

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

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

1Co 6:2-3 tells us what the Biblical phrase, “double portion” includes. It includes the gift of ruling from heaven with Him who is the first and the last. The double portion includes being granted power over both the first, physical world and the last spiritual world. The right of the firstborn is given only to those who have the right of the double portion of the firstborn. We are told specifically that the special blessing of that “double portion” power over the heavens and over the earth is reserved only for those who are given the honor of being in that first resurrection, which precedes the millennial reign of Christ and His “firstfruits”.

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

They alone will reign with Christ over this world. Ruling over this world is the first portion of their “double portion”. It is with this part of our inheritance that the holy day overview of the plan of God for His physical creation is concerned. This holy day overview concerns itself only with the three harvests of the flesh of this world, and a harvest is the cutting down of each of those three harvests. They are 1) Christ the firstfruits, the spring barley harvest, 2) they that are Christ’s at His coming, the feast of firstfruits, at  the summer wheat harvest, and 3) “then cometh the end… of the year”, the fall grape harvest. Those are the three harvests with which the holy days seasons are concerned:

2Ch 8:13  Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

The “last great day” has nothing to do with the second portion of our double portion, except that the “little season”, which is typified by “the last great day”, must take place to provide God the occasion He is seeking against all flesh “in the four quarters of the earth”. Only then, after the “thousand years” (the feast of tabernacles) and after the “little season” (the last great day) which follows the thousand years of our judging of this physical realm, which is the first part of our “double portion”, will we inherit with Christ the second part of our “double portion… right of the firstborn”. This is the part of our inheritance which has been “hid with Christ in God” which yet affects “every man” who has ever lived:

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: 

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 
Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

This “mystery, even the hidden wisdom,” is not “ordained before the world unto [the] glory” of all others. Rather it was “ordained before the world unto our glory”. Truly there is no end to the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the knowledge of our God!

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

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,”

[End of e-mail.]

This study of the overview of the plan of God for all mankind concerns itself with who we are as “the Christ… the firstfruits unto… the Lamb”, who are the instruments through whom Christ is working to fulfill His Father’s purpose of redeeming back from death His entire creation “in Adam”.

1Co 15:22  For, just as, in the Adam, all die, so, also, in the Christ, shall all be made alive. (REV)

We concluded our last study having demonstrated that there are just two resurrections, and only two times of judgment. The first time of judgment is now in this physical realm for God’s elect. Our judgment follows our spiritual death to this physical life (Joh 12:24, 1Co 15:31, Gal 2:20). Our judgment which “begins at the house of God”, and in which we are even now living, is followed by the first resurrection at the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ. The second time of judgment is after the millennium and the “little season” which follows the millennium. The second time of judgment is in the lake of fire, and that judgment is followed by the destruction of death which is the very purpose for the lake of fire.

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

If we are very attentive to our Lord’s words, we will notice that we were just informed that the destruction of all flesh, is not itself the destruction of death. The destruction of death is accomplished only within the lake of fire where Satan himself, and the carnal minds of all men, are 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.

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [who, at this time are only those in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”] was cast into the lake of fire.

Christ tells us this:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

What this tells us is that everything that takes place on the earth, takes place only because it has previously been determined “in the heavens”:

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

Mat 18:18 Verily, I am saying to you, Whatsoever you should be binding on the earth shall be those things having been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever you should be loosing on the earth shall be those loose in heaven. (CLV)

But earlier He had told us this:

Luk 22:29  And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

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

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

A kingdom is not a kingdom without a king, and we are called “kings and priests unto God”:

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Over what are we “kings and priests”? Here again is the answer to that question:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

It is obvious that these ‘angels’ do not “pertain to this life” in this physical realm. Those who are raised up to life to be cast into the lake of fire will in time be ‘sent into the [spirit] world’ to bring Christ to “the spirits of … men” (Heb 12:23), but they have no portion in working with God’s elect whose “double portion” also pertains to this life in this present physical realm, as well as spirits in ‘the lake of fire’ spiritual realm.

What Is Death, and How Is It Destroyed?

It is important that we understand that the destruction of physical death is not the destruction of spiritual death, and that we understand that the destruction of physical death is but a shadow of the destruction of spiritual death.

Notice that it is after the destruction of all flesh “in the four quarters of the earth”, that “death and hell are cast into the lake of fire…” Consider how the subject of death is dealt with in these verses of scripture:

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life [“the Christ” of Christ in the first resurrection], and some to shame and everlasting contempt [all who are not yet in Christ after the rebellion during the “little season” which typifies “the last great day”, the final harvest of all flesh].
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise [“the firstborn… the firstfruits… the Christ”] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired [typified by the feast of tabernacles], Satan shall be loosed out of his prison [typified by “a little season” vs 3],
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.

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

Mat 9:24  He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Christ speaks of physical death, as if it were only “taking of rest in sleep”. On the other hand, He speaks of our lives in sin as death even as we are physically alive:

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

What this demonstrates is that the destruction of all physical flesh, is not yet the destruction of death. The final destruction of death is accomplished only by bringing all men to God, in “the lake of fire”, which follows the “little season” of the rebellion against the “rod of iron”, rulership of God’s elect. The final destruction of death is accomplished only when he “who has the power of death… the great red dragon… that old serpent the devil, and Satan”, is destroyed in that same “lake of fire”:

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 [true spiritual death of the rebellious carnal mind of Satan within all flesh] he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Here is how “the devil” is destroyed:

Rev 20:10  And [when the thousand years and the little season of rebellion are expired, vs 3 and 7] 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 “lake of fire” is where “the ungodly and the sinner appear”:

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?

As this ‘lake of fire’, we are also the saviors of those who are being saved in this era, and in this realm of the spirit. It is through us that death will finally be destroyed because “as He is so are we in this world”.

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

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.

It is of utmost significance that this “great white throne” judgment of “the dead small and great” is revealed to us immediately after the destruction of “all the nations in the four quarters of the earth”. This is not called a ‘black throne’ judgment. It is a white throne judgment, and this is what takes place at any judgment over which Christ presides:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

The “condemnation” spoken of here is the later judgment, which is the later chastening in the very same ‘fire’ which is even now judging the present “house of God”, as these verses demonstrate:

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

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. 

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

1Pe 4:17  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?

There it is for those who are granted to see it. Judgment is a fiery trial, and the judgment which is now on the house of God is the daily dying and the daily crucifixion with Christ which is the “fiery trial being endured by all in whose flesh He now has come:

1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [of “His body, which is the church”, Eph 5:30, and Col 1:24] is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh  is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 

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

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

It is those in whom Christ dwells while yet in this age, who are “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, and who therefore alone possess “the double portion… right of the firstborn”.

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

I hope this study has demonstrated from the scriptures that the judging of this world is not the right of any but the firstborn, “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb (Rev 14:4).”

We will stop at this point for today, and, Lord willing in our next study, we will demonstrate, with the Old Testament types, what is the rebellious spiritual condition of those who inhabit this earth during the millennium and the “little season” which follows the millennium.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]

Hello Mike,

I hope you are well and the family. I have a question concerning Lev 12:1-8. I have been thinking about it all day, but can find no satisfactory answer. What is the spiritual significance that the woman that conceives has twice as long days being unclean (14 days) for a female as opposed to 7 days for a man child, and 33 days to continue in “blood of purification” as opposed to 66 days for a female child. I have tried it in light of New Testament but it is hidden from my eyes!

Thank you for all your service,
A____

Hi A____,

Thank you for your question concerning the doubling of time required for the birth of a maidchild over that of a manchild.
Here are the verses in question:

Lev 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 12:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
Lev 12:5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

I did not answer this immediately because I needed to study that a bit myself.
I noticed that the cleansing of “an issue” of a man and a woman in chapter 15 is the same for both.
Here is the cleansing of a man:

Lev 15:13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
Lev 15:14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:
Lev 15:15 And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue.

This is the cleansing of a woman:

Lev 15:28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
Lev 15:29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 15:30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.

So it is not the event or the process of cleansing that differs to cleanse a man or a maid. Rather it is the the time needed to cleanse the maidchild, being double that of the manchild at birth. It is the birth of a manchild, and the birth of a maid child that require a differentiation.
Notice that the maidchild requires the exact same treatment as the manchild, both must offer the exact same offering in order to be cleansed:

Lev 12:6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:
Lev 12:7 Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.

So there is nothing in the symbols of this message which do not in every way accord with this principle concerning all mankind:

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.

The experience for the manchild and the maidchild is exactly the same. “There is one event” to both. But the time for the cleansing from the birth of the maidchild is double that of the manchild’s cleansing. So what we need to do is find in scripture who receives double for the time of their cleansing and we will have our answer.
I have never been asked this question before, but I do know who the woman represents, I know who the man child represents, and I even see where there is a doubling for those who are part of the cleansing of what is not this ‘manchild’.
In Rev 12 we are told that a woman brings forth a manchild who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. We are also told that there is a dragon on hand who shows little interest in the woman, but desperately wants to “devour her child as soon as it was born”.

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

We know from Isaiah and Hosea that God considers his wife that brings forth this manchild to be a harlot.

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

Hos 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

‘Jerusalem’ murdered her own son, Christ.

Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

So the manchild is the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb, and this manchild is caught up to the throne of God.

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

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

But the woman who brings Him forth is found to be “in the wilderness”, where she is “nourished of God” just as Israel was nourished of God in the wilderness as they rebelled against God “ten times” in forty years.

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;
Num 14:35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

So Israel, God’s own harlot wife, brings forth our Lord and His Christ. This is who the scriptures refer to as a “manchild”. This “manchild” is cleansed in 33 days. This number, being two threes indicates the process of judging as our study of the number three demonstrates. “If we judge ourselves we will not be judged and will not be condemned with the world”.

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

Whether we judge ourselves now or whether we are judged with the world, we still must be judged. So what is the advantage of “not being condemned with the world”? Well, let’s consider these verses and see if we have the answer to our question of the spiritual significance of the doubling of the time involved in the cleansing of the maidchild verses the cleansing of the “manchild”.

Exo 22:9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
Jer 16:18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
Jer 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
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.

As always we too, receive double for our works. That is not to say that there is no advantage to being in the first resurrection. Not being “condemned with the world” has its advantages inasmuch as unrepentant Babylon receives double the time needed to cleanse the manchild with the same purifying fire.

Lev 12:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
Lev 12:5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

We are cleansed by God’s word, which is represented by Christ’s flesh and blood, which is a shadow of God’s word.

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

As God grants us to die daily, we are seeing the body of Christ (the manchild) resist sin unto the shedding of blood.

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

Physical blood is common to all men.

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

The one event shared unto all men of (Ecc 9:2) must include being cleansed, and overcoming by the blood of the Lamb, but every man in his order.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

This distinction of order is revealed in the parable being shown in Lev 12:1-5. It’s interesting to note how the churches of Babylon want Christ’s blood to do all the work, which it does, but they are not given to see the rest of the body’s part in this process.

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:
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.

As such I’m reminded again how Babylon has had the whole stay of water and bread (blood and flesh of Christ), taken away from them because they’ve not been given to see that Christ’s body is not nourished with just the head alone, but with the many members as well.

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

It seems there is every reason to strive of the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ.
Let me know what you think.
Your brother in the Christ,

Mike