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The Color Red – Part 2

Both Adams Are Red

[Study Aired November 16, 2025]

We have seen how the name ‘Adam’ is the same as the word ‘adam’ and that both mean earthy, of the ground and red. We have demonstrated that this word ‘adam’, whether speaking of mankind, the earth, the ground or the color red, are all to be recognized spiritually as that part of the man of God which is rejected of God and is in rebellion to the laws of God. Above all we have seen that this is not to be applied only ‘without’/outwardly and in the lives of others, but it is first and foremost to be understood as signifying what is within the lives of every believer at his appointed time to be dominated by our ‘red’ flesh and later to be dominate that ‘red’, carnal-minded old man. The negative application of the color red is that which first dominates us in the flesh. The positive application of the color red, is the domination of the flesh by the spirit. Both are typified by red.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

There is also the much less discussed but equally important, positive application of the color red. It is the same root ‘adam,’ but it is called ‘admoniy’. This word also is used to describe both God’s rejected anointed and God’s elect anointed:

Gen 25:25  And the first came out red [admoniy – H132], all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

1Sa 16:12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy [red – admoniy – H132], and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Why are both the lost and the saved pictured as red? It is because ultimately no one is lost. It is because all men must endure that which is temporal before any will come to that which is eonian, leading to that which is immortal. Red, then, is the best of the temporal man of God, that which is earthy and first and red, is also therefore necessarily connected with that which is to become immortal.

Crimson and Scarlet in Scripture

There are other words in God’s Word which have this same ‘red’ concept but are not derived from the word Adam. That is what we will cover in today’s study.

The two other words which convey the color red are crimson and scarlet.

2Ch 2:7  Send me [King Solomon] now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson [H3758: karmiyl – red], and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

2Ch 2:14  The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson [H3758: karmiyl]; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

2Ch 3:14  And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson [H3758: karmiyl], and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

Here is Strong’s definition of the word ‘karmiyl’ iin these three verses:

H3758

כַּרְמִיל

karmı̂yl

kar-mele’

Probably of foreign origin; carmine, a deep red: – crimson.

‘Karmiyl’ is “deep red: -crimson”

Total KJV occurrences: 3

Isaiah speaks of the color red, but he uses two more words we have not seen before in this study of the color red:

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet [H8144: shaniy], they shall be as white as snow; though they be red [H119, ‘adam’] like crimson [H8438: tola ], they shall be as wool.

Here is Strong’s definition of ‘shaniy’, the word translated ‘scarlet’ in Isaiah 1:18:

H8144

שָׁנִי

shânı̂y

shaw-nee’

Of uncertain derivation; crimson, properly the insect or its color, also stuff dyed with it: – crimson, scarlet (thread).

Total KJV occurrences: 42

Here is the first entry in scripture for this word ‘shaniy’:

Gen 38:28  And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet [H8144, ‘shaniy’] thread, saying, This came out first.

Here is Strong’s definition for ‘tola,’ the word translated ‘crimson’ in Isaiah 1:18:

H8438
tola  to le a h  to la ath  to la ath
to-law’, to- lay- aw’, (3, 4) to- lah’- ath

From H3216; a maggot (as voracious); specifically (often with ellipsis of H8144) the crimson grub, but used only (in this connection) of the color from it , and cloths dyed therewith: – crimson, scarlet, worm.

Look at how it is used by King David:

Psa 22:6  But I am a worm [tola, red grub], and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

Here is a “man after God’s own heart”, the man who is to replace God’s rejected anointed King Saul, who recognizes that he is nothing more than a little red grub “despised of the people.”

This should remind us all of another inwardly applied scripture:

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. [A ‘tola’, a red grub]

The color red should remind us all that we are all Adam, and all that is in Adam is in us by right of birth. It should remind us that we are all in Babylon before we “come out of her:”

Jer 4:30  And when thou [God’s rejected anointed – Babylon] art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson [H8144: shaniy – same word translated ‘scarlet’ in Isaiah 1:18], though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

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

It takes nothing less than the resurrection from among the dead to change this ‘red’ Adamic nature within us all. Only then can we become ‘ruddy’ as God’s new accepted kings and priests. The flesh is always before the spirit:

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Christ had to come in the flesh before He could come in us in spirit.

Gen 38:21  Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:22  And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:23  And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Gen 38:24  And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
Gen 38:25  When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
Gen 38:26  And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
Gen 38:27  And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Gen 38:28  And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
Gen 38:29  And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
Gen 38:30  And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

Pharez, breach; “Pharez, division; rupture,” according to Hitchcock’s dictionary of names, came out first and thus became the father of Christ “according to the flesh.” Here is that part of Christ’s genealogy in Luke:

Luk 3:33  Which was [the son] of Aminadab, which was [the son] of Aram, which was [the son] of Esrom, which was [the son] of Phares, which was [the son] of Juda,

What does the scarlet thread on the hand of Zarah mean? What it means is that Zarah typifies the second Adam. It typifies Christ after the spirit:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [after the flesh].

That is never first which is spiritual. Pharez was first and was the physical father of Christ, but the promise of the spirit came “afterward”:

Gen 38:30  And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Zarah was “afterward that which is spiritual.” Why did Zarah put forth his hand first? He did so to tell us that Christ was first with His Father. He did so to tell us that even though both Pharez and Zarah are born of Judah, who was born of Adam, nevertheless even the first Adam also was “of God.” It is all right here in 2Corinthians 5, only two verses after telling us that we are to “know no man [including Christ] after the flesh” we have this verse:

2Co 5:18  And all things [both Adams – Adam after the flesh and Adam after the spirit] are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

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

‘Adam’ means “earthy, red.” The “last Adam” also has a “scarlet thread” around his hand signifying the beauty and health of God’s elect in Christ, who was here before the first Adam. In spite of His preeminence, He, too, was “out of the ground:”

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Zarah, too, was “out of the ground.” Zarah does not mean “division or rupture” as Pharez means. According to Hitchcock’s Dictionary of names, Zarah means:

“East; rising, brightness.” And who is the brightest of them all?

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

As much as the Adversary wants us to believe otherwise, God truly brought and is bringing us our savior “of our own brothers,” out of the red earth, “out of the ground.”

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16  According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17  And the LORD said unto me, They have well [spoken that] which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19  And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

Zarah’s “scarlet thread” foreshadows all of this. Of all of God’s creation, Christ alone was spirit first, and is truly “the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The same message is to be seen in the “line of scarlet thread” of Rahab the harlot who saved the spies in Jericho:

Jos 2:17  And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
Jos 2:18  Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.

Jos 6:25  And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

That “line of scarlet thread” served the same purpose for Rahab and her family as the “blood on the two side posts and the upper door posts” of the houses of the Israelites during the first Passover in Egypt:

Exo 12:7  And they shall take of the blood [of the Passover lamb], and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

Exo 12:13  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

The salvation and deliverance of  Israel from Egypt by ‘the blood of the Lamb’ on the doorposts, and the salvation of Rahab and her family by the red thread in the window, both signify how the blood of Christ cleanses us from our sins.

Red Blood Both Stains and ‘Washes White’:

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isa 63:1  Who [is] this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this [that is] glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Isa 63:2  Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

What Makes Scarlet and Crimson Sins White?

Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

It is the shed red blood of Christ’s physical body which was sacrificed by His Father for our sins and to bring salvation to all men. Life comes only “through death”, through the death of the flesh of our old man, just as life came to Christ through the death of His corruptible flesh and blood:

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

‘Adam’ means ‘red’, and the blood of every son of Adam is red blood.

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death [The pouring out of His red blood], to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

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

The shedding of Christ’s blood signifies the dying of our own old man when Christ is living His life within us. “[We] die daily” and we are “crucified with Christ” daily as a “living sacrifice”:

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

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

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

Christ was mocked in a Scarlet Robe.

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Why a scarlet robe? Because scarlet is the color of earthly royalty and rulers. Look at the colors of this ruler:

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.

Who is riding this “scarlet colored beast?”

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

Jer 4:30  And [when] thou [art] spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

The great harlot is “clothed… with crimson”, yet crimson is also one of the colors of the veil of the temple:

2Ch 3:14  And he made the vail [of] blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

So both the lost and the saved are pictured as red because no one is lost ultimately, and because all men must endure that which is temporal before any will become that which is eonian, leading to that which is immortal. Red, then, is the best of the temporal man of God, that which is earthy, natural and first, and red is also therefore necessarily connected with that which is to become immortal.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

In conclusion we have seen both the positive and the negative applications of the color red which is used of the holy spirit to connect the spiritual with its “out of the ground” origins.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

So the color red signifies our earthly origins. Our next study will be the color blue which signifies the goal of earthly beginnings. Blues signifies our heavenly destination.

[Next study in this series is here.]

]]> The Color Red – Part 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-color-red-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-color-red-part-1 Fri, 14 Nov 2025 20:31:28 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=34599 Audio Download

The Color Red – Part 1

Introduction to the Spiritual Significance of Colors

[Study Aired November 14, 2025]

A simple prism demonstrates that every shade in the spectrum of colors is to be found in a single ray of sunlight. What this tells us, according to Romans 1:20, is that every shade of color is to be found in Christ and His Father of whom are all things:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

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!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Colors, like every word of scripture, carry a spiritual meaning with them. Light signifies truth and knowledge. Darkness is the absence of truth and knowledge. Each color in the entire spectrum of light carries with it equally important truths, understanding and knowledge, and they are all within the old man Adam within all of us.

It so happens that like the three-sided prism, there are only three primary colors. Those three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. It is out of these three colors, and combinations of these three colors, that all other colors come. What does the number three tell us? It tells us that colors, like all else in God’s Word, reveal that there is a process of judgment taking place within the plan of God (read The Spiritual Significance of The Number Three).

Today we will see that the primary color red signifies that 1) mankind is of the ground, 2) red signifies God’s rejected anointed, 3) red is symbolic of an incurable disease, 4) it signifies the color of the Adversary himself and finally, 5) in its positive application, red indicates the health and beauty of God’s chosen elect.

1) Red As Mankind, The Ground of The Earth

The first color mentioned in scripture is the color ‘red. Adam, man, was taken out of the ‘adamah,’ the ground:

Gen 2:4  These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth [H776: ‘erets’] when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Gen 2:5  And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground [H127: adamah].
Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man [H120: adam] of the dust of the ground [H127: adamah], and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man [H120: adam] became a living soul.

Adam, the first man, who was also named ‘Adam’, Strong’s #121. According to Hitchcock’s dictionary of names, Adam’s name means “earthy; red.” The word ‘man’ [Strong’s #H120] is also ‘adam.’

Gen 2:19  And out of the ground [H127: adamah] the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam [Strong’s #121 – adam] to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Here now is Strong’s definition of ‘Adam:”

H121
‘a da m
aw- dawm’
The same as H120; Adam, the name of the first man, also of a place in Palestine: – Adam.

The first entry in scripture for the word ‘adam’, signifying mankind is found in:

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man [Strong’s #120] in our image, after our likeness: and let them [mankind] have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So “Adam” [Strong’s #H121] is the same as the “man” [Strong’s #H120]. Both mean “earthy, red“, and both mean “man.”

2) Red Signifies The Rejected Twin Brother of God’s Elect

This is very instructive inasmuch as the color red is also associated with the very best the flesh has to offer:

Gen 25:25  And the first came out red [Hebrew: admoniy – Strong’s #132 – red or reddish], all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau [H6215: ‘Esav’].
Gen 25:26  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Gen 25:27  And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Esau “was… a man of the fields” tells us who Esau is spiritually. It is Christ Himself who gives us the spiritual meaning of the word ‘field’:

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one [Esau signfies Abraham’s rejected anointed seed in this world, physical Israel, Gal 4:24-25];

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.

Jacob “a plain man dwelling in tents” tells us who Jacob is spiritually:

Heb 11:9  By faith he [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [G4633: ‘skene’ tents] with Isaac and Jacob [Esau, Jacob’s twin, signified by “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”, is omitted], the heirs with him of the same promise:

This is Strong’s definition for this Hebrew word, ‘skene’:

G463
σκηνη
ske ne
skay- nay’
Apparently akin to G4632 and G4639; a tent or cloth hut (literally or figuratively): – habitation, tabernacle.

In this story Isaac signifies our ‘old man’, our flesh, which is attached to the things of the flesh:

Gen 25:28  And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jacob signifies the Lord’s elect:

Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

God’s elect are not elect because they are righteous; they are God’s elect in spite of their lack of righteousness. Jacob was a scoundrel who effectively stole both Esau’s birthright and blessing. The fact that Isaac loved Esau, and the fact that Esau was the first-born twin brother of God’s typical elect Jacob, tells us that Esau is just an earlier type of God’s rejected anointed, King Saul. It is always God’s rejected anointed who want God’s anointed dead. Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son, mocked Isaac (Gen 21:9), Esau, Isaac’s firstborn, wanted Jacob dead (Gen 27:41). Saul wanted David dead (1Sa 18:11), and the established church wanted Christ dead (Joh 19:6).

The three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are types of us. They typify the three stages of our spiritual progress. Abraham signifies the beginning of our calling (Gen 12:1), as “carnal… babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4). As we begin to know Christ Esau’s wild venison appeals to us more than Jacob’s domesticated lambs and goats, when we are in our intermediate ‘Isaac’ stage of spiritual growth. It is in this stage of our experience that we sell our birthright for a bowl of “pottage.”

Gen 25:29  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [H122: ‘adom’, red] pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom [H123: ‘Edom’ red].
Gen 25:31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen 25:32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

 Here is Strong’s definition for Esau’s new name, Edom:

H123
‘e do m  ‘e do m
ed- ome’, ed- ome’
From H122; red (see Gen 25:25); Edom, the elder twin- brother of Jacob; hence the region (Idumaea) occupied by him: – Edom, Edomites, Idumea.

H122
‘adom’
aw- dome’
From H119; rosy: – red, ruddy.

‘Adom’, the color red, signifies the spiritual weakness of our flesh:


Gen 25:34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles [herbs without meat]; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Here is the spiritual significance of the color red. Red is “man, Adam, earthy, red.” Our birthright is spiritual, blue as we will see, and we just naturally think less of the things of the spirit, and we are all at first willing to sell our spiritual birthright for mere physical red herbs devoid of spiritual meat. This is all by design, and this story signifies what the Lord is working within every man at his appointed time:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil [within each of us because we must all live by every world of God (Mat 4:4).

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity [H120, ‘adam’, mankind] to humble them by it.

We are all Esau before we become Jacob. As we will see below, red is also the beauty of God’s elect. This is the New Testament reality of this Old Testament parable:

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [first] and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh [water] is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Water signifies the flesh (Rev 17:15), and spirit is spirit. “Flesh is flesh and… spirit is spirit.”

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

If the Lord gives us to desire the things of the spirit, then we will, by circumstances beyond our control, end up going to Haran (Babylon – spiritually called Egypt) to serve and from Babylon we will be given a wife, and we will from Babylon become the wife of Christ.

Gen 24:1  And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Gen 24:2  And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
Gen 24:3  And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: [“The Canaanites” signify the uncalled world]
Gen 24:4  But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred [Haran, of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians], and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

This was the experience of both Jacob and his son Joseph, and also Moses. They each lived lives of service, and they were given their wives outside of Canaan. They all first lived years of servitude before they were given their wives. This, of course, signifies us as the wife of Christ.

 3) Red is indicative of an incurable deadly disease:

Lev 13:19  And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish [#125 – adamdam], and it be shewed to the priest;
Lev 13:20  And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

Lev 13:49  And if the plague be greenish or reddish [#125 – adamdam] in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

Lev 14:37  And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish [#125 – adamdam], which in sight are lower than the wall;
Lev 14:38  Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:
Lev 14:39  And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, [if] the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
Lev 14:40  Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague [is], and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
Lev 14:41  And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
Lev 14:42  And they shall take other stones, and put [them] in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.
Lev 14:43  And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
Lev 14:44  Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, [if] the plague be spread in the house, it [is] a fretting leprosy in the house: it [is] unclean.
Lev 14:45  And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

God’s Word is all a parable. Here is the New Testament interpretation and application of this Old Testament parable:

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, [concerning] him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6  Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

4) Red symbolizes the beast within all men:

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

5) There is another example of the spiritual significance of the color red. Red also signifies the work of the Adversary who robs us of our peace when we first profess to know Christ:

Rev 6:4  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him [of God] that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

6) Red signifies the adversary himself:

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.

7) The positive application of the color red:

Red also represents the beauty and health of the spirit of God’s elect:

1Sa 16:10  Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
1Sa 16:11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
1Sa 16:12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he.
1Sa 16:13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Here is the New Testament Spiritual application of this Old Testament parable:

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Summary:

So the negative applications of  red – adamah – adam – edom – are:

 1) of the ground and identifying with this earth, (Gen 2:7)

2) Red is symbolic of a religious man who signifies the rejected seed of Abraham. Red represents a religious man who cannot come out of this Babylon, and yet is that part of Abraham’s seed which is closest to its twin brother.

Ishmael was Abraham’s seed born of an Egyptian bondwoman. Ishmael does not typify that which would deceive the very elect if possible. It is Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, who sold his birthright for red pottage, who so despises God’s elect and yet he has great appeal to our flesh.

3) Red symbolizes that facet of our experience which is called an incurable deadly disease (Lev 13-Lev 14- The laws governing leprosy).

4) Red is also the color used of God to symbolize the “scarlet colored beast” which all men first are (Rev 17:4).

5) Red signifies the work of the Adversary who the Lord sends to take away our peace in this world as He drags us to Himself (Rev 6:4)

6) The adversary himself is called “a great red dragon” in Revelation 12:4.

7) The positive application of the color red is the beauty and health of God’s elect, “ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance… anointed in the midst of [their] brothers” (1Sa 16:12-13).

We will pause our study of the color red at this point. In our next study we will see many of the scriptures which demonstrate how the holy spirit uses the color red to show us that red signifies both our old and our new man inasmuch as our new man comes out of our old man just as both the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the Tree Of Life both come “out of the ground”:

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

[Here is the link for the next study in this series.]

]]> Matthew 12:25–50 Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/matthew-1225-50-blasphemy-against-the-holy-spirit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=matthew-1225-50-blasphemy-against-the-holy-spirit Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:41:31 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=33300 Audio Download

Matthew 12:25–50 Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

[Study Aired June 9, 2025]

In our study today, we are going to look at the consequence of a kingdom divided against itself, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, how we are known by our fruits, what Jonah being in the whale for three days implies spiritually, the return of an unclean spirit, and finally, what Jesus’ mother and brothers represent spiritually. 

A Kingdom Divided Against Itself

Mat 12:25  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 
Mat 12:26  And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 
Mat 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 

These verses were preceded by Jesus healing a man possessed with the devil, such that he was deaf and dumb. The Pharisees attributed the casting out of the devil from the man to Jesus being possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, explained why their assertion was false in the verses above.

Physically, when a kingdom or a city is divided against itself, or Satan is divided against itself, the obvious result is its implosion or collapse. Spiritually, a kingdom or a city refers to a church. When a church is divided against itself, the end result is that the people constituting the kingdom will surely end up not receiving the promise of God. How is a church divided against itself? It is when the worshipers do not speak the same thing.

1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 

It is therefore imperative that as the Lord’s elect we speak the same thing as admonished by the Lord. 

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 
Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

As we can see in the churches of this world or Babylon, everyone speaks something different, because they are deprived of the truth. No wonder there are several denominations of the churches of this world. In the Book of Revelation, we are told that the number of false doctrines propagated by these false apostles parading in the churches of this world is 200 million. These false doctrines are what divide the churches of this world.

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

In verse 27, the Lord asked the Pharisees by what power their followers cast out demons if they believe He uses the power of Beelzebub to drive out demons. He went further to tell the Pharisees that their own followers are the ones who will judge them. These Pharisees represent us when we were in the churches of this world. Our works are signified by our followers. The Lord saying that their followers will judge them means that our works are what is being used to judge us. The various denominations of the church system of this world therefore attest to the fact that they are not one, as the Lord enjoins us to be of the same mind. Therefore, they do not know the way of peace.

Isa 59:8  The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. 

Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 

As we have indicated in previous studies, being possessed by devils means our hearts and minds are filled with false doctrines. 

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

In verse 28, the Lord is saying that casting out devils by the Spirit of God shows that the kingdom of God is come unto us. While the presence of demons and evil spirits were acknowledged in the Old Testament, there were no accounts of any prophet or figure of God possessing the power to cast out demons as seen in the New Testament with Jesus and His disciples. In other words, it is Christ coming into our lives that we are given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, and as a result, the false doctrines in our heavens are cast out or destroyed. 

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

Although men of God in the Old Testament spoke through the spirit of God, they were not given to understand what they were saying. Their works were for our benefit as the Lord’s elect. 

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

Jesus casting out devils in verse 28, is the coming of Christ with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness into our lives to expose the lies of the evil one, for the establishment of the kingdom of the Lord within us. In another dispensation, this kingdom shall be made manifest, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. 

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

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

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

Mat 12:29  Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 
Mat 12:30  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.   

In verse 29, the Lord is showing us that He is the strong man, who defeated the evil one to set us free from our captivity under the devil’s rule. As He is, so are we. If we are to bind the works of the devil in our lives, then we must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. This means that we must put on the whole armour which the Lord has provided for us.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 

Verse 30 is indicating that we are either on the Lord’s side or the side of the devil. That is to say, we are either gathering or scattering the Lord’s flock. Gathering together the Lord’s flock is speaking the same thing with the same mind concerning the truth. Scattering the Lord’s flock is speaking false doctrines.

Jer 23:1  Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 
Jer 23:2  Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 
Jer 23:3  And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 
Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Speaking Against the Holy Spirit

Mat 12:31  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 

When we were in the churches of this world or Babylon, we believed that there is an unpardonable sin, that is, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In other words, those who speak against the Holy spirit will never be forgiven and therefore miss out on “Heaven.” However, here in Matthew, these verses above do not say that there is an unpardonable sin. It rather says that those who sin or blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come. In Mark, we are given further information that says that those who sin against the Holy Spirit will be judged in the lake of fire age. 

Mar 3:28  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 
Mar 3:29  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mar 3:30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 

This age ends with the coming of Jesus with His elect to establish His kingdom here on earth. The world to come is the age where the kingdom of God is established here on earth during the thousand-year rulership of the Lord and His Christ. This thousand-year reign ends with the release of Satan and the rebellion of the human race against the Lord and His Christ, to usher in another age of the lake of fire. 

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

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

What this implies is that those who sin against the Holy Spirit, that is, to ascribe the work of the Lord to the devil or an unclean spirit, will surely not be given repentance in this age or the age to come. They will, however, be forgiven in the lake of fire age when they are judged. We know from the word of the Lord that judgment causes us to learn righteousness. All humanity, including the devil and His cohorts, will learn righteousness in the lake-of-fire age. That is when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  

The question is, “What does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?” We blaspheme against the Holy Spirit when we teach contrary to the word of the Lord, which is spirit. The fact that we, His elect, shall not be hurt by the second death of the lake of fire which means that we are granted repentance in this age. It is the people of this world and our brothers and sisters in Babylon who shall suffer the pains of the lake of fire. This scenario is illustrated by the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown in the burning fiery furnace but were not hurt by the fire.       

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 
Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

Mat 12:33  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 
Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

Every good tree brings forth good fruit, and every corrupt tree produces evil fruit. What this implies is that those who are the sons of the kingdom, that is, His elect, live their lives pleasing the Lord. On the other hand, those whose father is the devil, do not do things that are pleasing to the Lord. In summary, our works will show whether we are children of God or children of the devil. 

Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

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

Vipers are serpents; and serpents represent the tail as follows:

Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. 

Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 

The tail is a symbol of false prophets. Thus, Jesus calling the Pharisees a generation of vipers, means that they were false prophets who were deceiving the people who came to them unsuspecting. As shown earlier, these Pharisees represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon and are therefore false prophets. Because these false prophets are of their father the devil, it is impossible for them to speak the truth and therefore, out of the abundance of the false doctrines in their hearts and minds, their mouths speak these false doctrines. On the other hand, a good man is a child of the Lord and out of his heart and mind comes the truth of the word of the Lord. 

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

Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 

Giving account of whatever we have done with our lives on the day of judgment entails the false doctrines we have propagated. If our hearts and minds are filled with the truth of the word of the Lord, we shall speak the truth and be justified. On the other hand, if our hearts and minds are filled with the false doctrines of the devil, whatever comes out of our mouths shall reflect the false doctrines within. Therefore, by what we speak, we are either justified or condemned. 

Rom 14:12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 

The Sign of Jonah

Mat 12:38  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 
Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 
Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

As indicated, the scribes and the Pharisees represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon, of which we were part at a certain stage of our walk with Christ.  The scribes and Pharisees asking of a sign from Jesus shows us a key characteristic of our lives when we were in the churches of Babylon – our obsession with signs and wonders as proof that the Lord is with us. It is instructive to note that Jesus referred to the scribes and Pharisees as an evil and adulterous generation in verse 39. The use of “evil” signifies that our works in the churches of this world or Babylon were not pleasing to the Lord and that we were doing the works of our father, the devil. 

Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 

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

The Lord calling us “adulterous” shows that we were serving another Jesus. 

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

The Lord telling the scribes and the Pharisees that there shall be no sign given to this generation implies that knowing Christ is no longer dependent on physical signs and wonders as we see the churches of Babylon validating the presence of the Lord in their midst with signs and wonders. This is the warning that Jesus gave us regarding signs and wonders:

Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

The Lord wants us to rather focus on the sign of the prophet Jonah who was in the belly of the whale for three days and nights. Jesus showed us how to understand the word of the Lord by referring to Jonah’s three days and nights experience in the belly of a whale as representing Him in the heart of the earth for three days and nights. Here Jesus was foretelling the people of His death and burial in the tomb.  

We know that it takes the spirit to help us understand that the three days and nights that Jonah spent in the belly of the whale is about Jesus being buried in the grave. This implies that what the Lord is telling us is that His signs and wonders are now perceived in the spirit. In other words, Jesus’ spiritual work of taking us from the miry clay and establishing us on the rock is what He is doing in this age, and it is those who worship Him in spirit and truth who appreciate the great miracles He is performing in our lives.

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

Does it mean that Jesus is no longer performing physical miracles? The answer is absolutely, no!! Everything the Lord does is miraculous – how we are fed and clothed every day is a miracle. However, when we focus on physical evidence of His daily miraculous acts, we miss out on the spiritual reality of the Lord in this age, because God is spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Mat 12:41  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  

The preaching of Jonas brought repentance to the people of Nineveh, a gentile city. In likewise manner, the queen of Sheba (the queen of the South), a gentile, came to hear of the wisdom of Solomon and was overwhelmed. However, Jesus, who is the son of God and therefore greater than both Jonas and Solomon, is here with us to reconcile men to God and this generation does not pay attention to His voice. As indicated, this generation, representing the churches of Babylon are not paying heed to His voice.  The fact that both Nineveh and the queen of Sheba shall rise up in the judgment of this generation attests to the fact that the churches of this world shall be judged. However, they shall be the last on the line to be saved.

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

Return of an Unclean Spirit

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

As we indicated earlier in the study, a person possessed by an unclean spirit is one whose heart and mind is filled with false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. When we did not know Christ and were just like the people of this world, we were spiritually possessed by an unclean spirit. When Christ initially came to us, the unclean spirit went out from us as the truth of His words started cleansing the false doctrines in our hearts and mind. 

As we entered the churches of this world, thinking we were going to know Christ through His words, we were rather fed with the complete false doctrines of another Jesus, signified by the seven unclean spirits, thus making us worse off than when we were before. 

2Pe 2:17  These (the false prophets in the churches of this world) are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

In verse 45, the Lord told us that what happened to the man with the unclean spirit is what is happening to this wicked generation. As we have indicated earlier, this wicked generation refers to our walk in the churches of this world or Babylon and all those fellowshiping in the churches of this world. The reference to this wicked generation therefore attests to our deplorable state when we were in the churches of this world thinking we were righteous. Just like the Galatians who were bewitched, we were also bewitched by seven more wicked spirits during our sojourn in Babylon.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

Mat 12:46  While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 
Mat 12:47  Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 
Mat 12:48  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 
Mat 12:49  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 
Mat 12:50  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. 

These verses show us that on a positive note, our mother and brethren are those who do the will of Jesus Christ, that is, the Lord’s elect. We know that ‘mother’ represents a church, and therefore, Jesus pointing to His disciples as His earthly mother and brothers when talking to the Scribes and Pharisees, who represent the church system of this world or Babylon, is to let us know that we, His elect, are the church of the New Jerusalem or the firstborn which is different from the church system of this world which is in bondage with her children.

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.   

We cannot thank the Lord enough for dragging us out of Babylon and making us His sons and daughters. May His name be praised. Amen!!

]]> Rev 14:13-20 Part 2, The Angel Thrust in His Sickle into The Earth https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-1413-20-part-2-the-angel-thrust-in-his-sickle-into-the-earth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-1413-20-part-2-the-angel-thrust-in-his-sickle-into-the-earth Sun, 23 Feb 2025 06:02:02 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=32152 Study Audio Download

Rev 14:13-20 Part 2, The Angel Thrust in His Sickle into The Earth

[Study Aired February 23, 2025]

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We ended our last study quoting this very profound verse of scripture:

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

If Christ has sent us “as My Father has sent me”, then we need to know what Christ’s Father sent Him to accomplish. So why did the Father send Christ and what was Christ expected to accomplish for His Father?

Here is the answer to that all important question:

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

In this study we will point out the similarities between this 14th chapter and chapter 7. Chapter 7 and chapter 14 both begin with the revelation of “144,000” firstfruits who are distinguished from a great multitude which no man could number:

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

In the ninth verse we encounter another group “of all nations and kindreds and tongues” which is so large that “no man could number” them.

In Revelation 14 the first thing we see is this same 144,000 who are in this chapter identified as “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
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.

The ‘firstfruits’ signify those who are the first to be raised to life and rule with Christ in His kingdom for 1000 years. That is why Christ likens all of His parables to “the kingdom of heaven”.

Mat 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mat 13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Mat 13:45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

Mat 13:47  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

These 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and The Lamb” are signified in Christ’s parables by the lost sheep that was found and celebrated, more than and before the ninety and nine sheep “which needed no repentance.” The 144,000 firstfruits are signified by the prodigal son who was repentant, and was also celebrated before the elder son who needed no repentance. The 144,000 firstfruits unto God and the Lamb are signified by the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard who were hired at the last hour and got paid first with the same wages as those who had worked all day. Each of these parables contains the same two groups. Those two groups are 1) the first, and 2) the last:

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. [To be in “the resurrection of life, the blessed and holy… first resurrection”, Joh 5:27-29, Rev 20:6]

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy [and will be given life last]: the second man [who is raised from the dead first] is the Lord from heaven.

In this 14th chapter these two separate groups are both in the process of being judged. Both judgments are signified by the work of three angels. The first three angels judge the 144,000, and we are informed in the order they are presented to us… the first angel proclaims “the hour of His judgment is come” (1Pe 4:17), the second angel proclaims that “Babylon is fallen is fallen”…

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.

The next two verses tell us who this group signifies:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The second three angels mention none of these things which all apply only to those who are being judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), before the thousand-year reign while the beast and the false prophet are given to control the earth. We are specifically told that the process of the judgment of the first three angels is “the patience and faith of the saints who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus:

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 judgment of the first three angels concludes with this very encouraging proclamation:

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

There we have it. Those who are judged in this process of judgment, which is what the number three signifies: Numbers Three in Scripture

Numbers in Scripture: Three The Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment

The second ‘three angels’ are introduced in an entirely different way:

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

First we are told that John sees a white cloud. Then we see “the Son of Man seated on the cloud wearing a golden crown “and in His hand a sharp sickle.”

The next verse, verse 15, introduces us to the first of the second three angels of this 14th chapter. This first angel tells “the Son of Man” to “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Notice that this first angel and the second angel both “came out of the temple”. This second angel, just like The Son of Man sitting on the cloud, also has “a sharp sickle.” Then the third angel with power over fire comes out from the altar and tells the second angel which came out of the temple with a sharp sickle that he, too, must thrust in his sharp sickle and reap:

Rev 14:18  And another angel [the third angel] came out from the altar, which had power over [the lake of] fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

It is easily demonstrated that both the cloud and the temple signify the 144,000 firstfruits who are resurrected at the beginning of the thousand years and who reign the earth with Christ for a thousand years:

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

Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [the typical saints], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven [“By them He judges the people” Job 36:31] with power and great glory.

Now we understand that the cloud upon which the Son of man sits is His “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), and we understand that the temple out of which the first two angels come signifies our hearts and minds where the Lord dwells (1Co 3:15-16). What does the altar out of which this third angel comes signify? The altar always signifies the cross of Christ where we lay down the life of our old man and upon which we are crucified with our Lord “for His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).

Is “the Son of Man” on this white cloud the Savior of this world? Of course He is. Nevertheless Christ Himself tells us that He is sending us into this world just as His Father sent Him to save this world. Putting John 3:17 together with John 20:21 makes 1 John 4:17 mean a lot more to us:

1Jn 4:14  And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1Jn 4:15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is [vs 14, sent to be the savior of the world], so are we in this world.

Did Christ send us into this world to be saviors of sinners? What do the scriptures say?

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

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

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

“Mount Zion” is a symbol for God’s elect, and God’s elect are His agents for bringing mercy and life to all men. Let’s read it again:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Remember this verse quoted above:

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Here in Revelation 14:17 is “a man that is… the angel.”

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [ and] six hundred furlongs.

The first two angels “come out of the temple which is in heaven.” The third angel comes out from the altar with the power over fire.  The phrases ‘out of’ the temple and ‘out from’ the altar, are both translated from the single Greek word ‘ek’, G1537. It is properly translated as either ‘out from’ or ‘out of’.’ Both the temple and the altar signify the Lord’s elect who are being crucified with Him daily. We have demonstrated over and over that “ye are the temple of God.” We have demonstrated that these angels are redeemed, resurrected men who are also reapers:

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil [via his ministers with two horns like a Lamb, but speaking as a dragon]; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

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

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

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

It is “the church” who dies with Christ for the sins of the world who also shows these things to “all men”, just as Christ showed them to John.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [“These things” of Rev 22:8]

We will pause here and continue in our next study to see the differences in these two sets of three angels, and we will also take note of all they have in common.

]]> Rev 10-5-11- Part 1- In The Days Of The Voice Of The Seventh Angel https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-10-5-11-part-1-in-the-days-of-the-voice-of-the-seventh-angel/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-10-5-11-part-1-in-the-days-of-the-voice-of-the-seventh-angel Sun, 15 Sep 2024 04:01:14 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30569 Audio Download

Rev 10:5-11 Part 1 – In The Days of The Voice of The Seventh Angel

[Study Aired Sept 15, 2024]

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Introduction

The first thing we will do today is to review last week’s study. After that, our attention will be focused on the statement that “There should be time no longer”, in verse 6 and the meaning of “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets”, in verse seven.

Several of the verses in this week’s study were a necessary part of last week’s study, so since we did not have the time to summarize last week’s study, we need to comment on the symbols of those verses as a review of what we learned last week, and as an introduction to our study of what “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel” means.

A review of the seven symbols of Rev 10:1-4

Here is a brief overview of the seven symbols we discussed in our last study:

1) The mighty angel

Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one? We saw that this angel with His feet on our sea and our earth, speaking as a lion roars, is Christ as the Lord of our lives, who is subduing and putting under His feet our every thought to Himself, at the expense of and making a prey of, the life of our old man.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church

That is a principle which governs the relationship between these two men throughout scripture:

Joh 3:30  He [Christ] must increase, but I [our old man] must decrease.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming [“The eyes of our understanding being enlightened”, Eph 1:18]:

2) The little book

What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two? We saw that this “little book” is contained within the book given to the slain Lamb, the lion of the tribe of Judah, in chapter 5, by the man on the throne. This is the same book which is written within and without with “lamentations,  mourning, and woe”, upon the kingdom of our old man because it is the revelation of Christ in His Christ within us, who must enter the kingdom through “much tribulation.”

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.

There is a principle revealed to us in the story of Joseph, which tells us that when the Lord gives us something twice, it is simply a second witness to a single truth. The details may differ, but the meaning is the same, and the time is imminent.

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

The “book in the hand” in Ezekiel 3 and the book in the hand of the mighty angel in Rev 10, are one book. That is why both men are told to “Eat this book”. Christ told us in John 6 to “eat My flesh”. We are also told in the same sixth chapter of John that His flesh is His words, which are “the bread of life.”

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

In this same chapter, what does Christ say gives us life? Here is the answer:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.(ASV)

So when Christ says “I will give my flesh for the life of the world”, what He is really saying, contradictory as it may sound to the natural man is, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life”. “Eat this bread”, and “eat this book”, is one and the same thing. Again, the book in Rev 5 which the man on the throne gives to the Lamb, had this “little book… sealed” within it, detailing through the seals, trumpets, and vials, the trials and tribulations of “Christ in us” (Col 1:27).

Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

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.

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

So the “little book” is sweet in our mouth, but it is bitter in our bellies. Christ is “the book of the life of the Lamb”, and our lives are the life of Christ in us. Our lives are the “little book” which we are told to eat, just as Christ told us to “eat my flesh… the true bread of life.” It is “out of the books” that we are “judged according to our works”.

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

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.

All of Christ’s words are good for us, and we will live by them all. But our lives are not sinless as was Christ’s life, and we will be judged out of those things which were written in the lesser books, according to how Christ has worked in us as the “little book”, as the Lord’s Christ, the Christ of Christ, the anointed of Christ.

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

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

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

3) His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth

Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

We saw that whatever is under one’s feet is subjected to that person. Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth.

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

As such He is our King over our lives and over all we do.

Eph 1:22  And [The Father] hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

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

4) What are “the sea and the earth”?

We saw that “the sea and the earth” are those realms below the heavens. As such they are the realm of the temporal, and the realm of death. The earth is pushed up our of the sea, but both the sea and the earth are still below the heavens, and both oppose heavenly things and are the enemies of Christ.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

5) The mighty angel cries with a loud voice, as a lion roars

Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

A lion roars only when he has taken his prey. The “roar of the lion” and having “the sea and the earth under His feet” are both compatible with Christ’s destruction of His enemy, “the body of this death”. Our salvation comes only through the death and destruction of our old man. Christ is roaring as a lion against our old man as He destroys and devours him:

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey,when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

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

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God [and we all have], him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Lam 2:5  The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up [apostate] Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.

Lam 3:10  He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
Lam 3:11  He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

6) The connection between the little book and the seven thunders

What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written?

We saw that this little book is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices. We also saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book is Christ and His Words in us, if John is the symbol of us and Christ in us, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are to become His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the work of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ.

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

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

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

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

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

7) Seal up the seven thunders

What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? What exactly is thunder? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

We saw that ‘thunder’ symbolizes the wrath of God, on all that withstands His Word and His Work.

Psa 18:7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

We saw that the Lord withholds nothing good from His elect.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God

We also saw that it is just after telling us that the thunder of God’s wrath will destroy all that is contrary to His Words within us, we are told that “the secret things belong to God”.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things [The seven thunders] belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed [as we are prepared to receive them] belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Compare these words of Deu 29 with these words of Rev 10.

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is “the secret things” which belong to God, concerning that which lies ahead of us which we are not, at this moment, able to bear.

Joh 16:4  But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Joh 16:5  But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
Joh 16:6  But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

1Co 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].

We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to “prepare our hearts” before we are faced with any trial.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

It is only after we have been prepared, that we, with John, are given ears to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for our trial which lies before us. But it is always sealed up, and we only hear it when the Lord has prepared out hearts to receive it:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come [and has prepared your heart to bear The Truth], he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come [as we are made able to bear it].

Mar 4:33  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
Mar 4:34  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

It is “not written” because it is a tailor-made trial for each of us alone at that moment. “The secret things belong to God who alone does knows what we will do tomorrow, but we do not know because “The secret things [of our trials and tests] belong to God… because we have forsaken the covenant of our fathers…  [so] seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not” because:

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We will pause here and continue our study on Rev, 10:5-11 Part 2 in our next study.

]]> Rev 10:1-4, Part 2 – Seven Thunders Utter Their Voices https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-101-4-part-2-seven-thunders-utter-their-voices/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-101-4-part-2-seven-thunders-utter-their-voices Sun, 08 Sep 2024 04:01:36 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30483 Audio Download

Rev 10:1-4, Part 2 – Seven Thunders Utter Their Voices

[Study Aired Sept 8, 2024]

 

We were in the process of seeking the scriptural meaning of the seven symbols of these four verses:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

By way of reminder and review, those seven symbols were:

1)  Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

2)  What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

3)  Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

4)  What is “the sea and the earth”?

5)  Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

6)  What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?

7)  Then we will also need to ask ourselves, What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”?

We had gotten down to:

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

The dry land is pushed up out of the sea.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.

The gathering together of “the waters” is revealed as that which covers the earth and out of which the beast and the dry land appear:

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

The sea, “the waters under the heavens”, is revealed to be the masses of mankind upon whom the great harlot of Babylon sits as the mother of all religions which have rejected their Creator. Those nations are all dominated by false harlot religions know as “Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots and abominations of the earth”.

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

Revelation 17:15 reaffirms the meaning of the waters of ‘the sea’:

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

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

“The  dry land” which is pushed up out of the sea when “the waters under the heavens are gathered together” is called earth and is revealed to signify the people of God who have turned their backs on their own Creator, and who refuse to hear the word of their Creator.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.

Jeremiah uses that very moniker to address the Lord’s rebellious, carnal minded people:

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

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

God’s dominion over the sea and the earth is revealed to us only through His wrath upon all unrighteousness. His feet being upon the sea and the earth is in accord with His “crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”. It is because the great day of His wrath has arrived that we are told:

Pro 19:12  The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass.

A lion roars when he has taken his prey:

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid; shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

The Lord has both the sea and the earth “under His feet”, and He wants the world to know it.

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

The sea and the earth both are the enemies of God, and are both “the body of this death”. We are by nature that world of “the sea and the earth”, and if He is in us, He will rejoice and “roar” because of His dominion over the sea and the earth, which is “the body of this death” which we call our flesh and which flesh, by nature, “serves the law of sin”.

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so], whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Christ, as “the lion of the tribe of Judah…, devours his enemy”, our ‘old man’, even as “He redeems us from the hand of [that] enemy… the body of this death.”

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Hos 13:4  Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for [there is] no saviour beside me.

Hos 13:7  Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe [them]:
Hos 13:8  I will meet them as a bear [that is] bereaved [of her whelps], and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them [our old man] like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, [he] will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written?

What is this all about? Why are the seven thunders “sealed up and not written”? God has taken His “very elect” into His confidence to a very great extent and has seen fit to reveal to them all “the mysteries of the kingdom of God”. Yet he plainly tells us that there are some things which He has not taken us into His confidence to reveal to us.

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God shows us what He is doing in us only after He has prepared us to receive it (Psa 10:17). It is a process which involves every word that proceeds out of His mouth, and preparing our hearts to endure our trials is a process which is common to all men.

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

Deu 29:2  And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
Deu 29:3  The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:
Deu 29:4  Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Witnessing great miracles obviously is not what is required to change one’s heart and turn it toward God. Those things which do change our hearts are His thunders and His wrath upon our sins, and they are revealed only as we can receive them. “Seal them up and write them not” does not mean they will never be revealed, for those are the same words the Lord told Daniel:

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

So, Moses concludes this prophecy in Deu 29 with the words we quoted earlier:

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The connection between John hearing seven thunders just before being told not to write what he heard is the same as why Daniel was told to “shut up the words and seal the book, even unto the time of the end” In other words, ‘even unto the appointed time’, when we will then be prepared in our hearts to accept what we cannot at this time accept, just as Christ told His disciples:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, [‘seven thunders’] but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

 7) What then are the seven thunders which John is told to seal up and write them not?

These “secrets things” are not revealed and are “sealed up and not uttered”, until the Lord prepares our hearts to receive them. The Lord has given us to know the outcome of His plan and of His purpose in all things. He has given us the overview of all He is doing. So, what are “the secret things [which] belong to God”? Here is what the scriptures reveal that we do not know:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

The Lord has taken us into His confidence and has revealed exactly what He is in the process of accomplishing, but it is in His great mercy that He has not revealed to us the details of our daily judgment. It is our complete detailed daily judgment which is signified by “seven trumpets”, and it is in the Lord’s mercy that He does not let us know what tomorrow holds for us.

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mar 13:34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Mar 13:35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

But “the things which are revealed” are written and uttered to only very few.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

So, the multitudes who come to Christ to hear his parables still, to this very day, think they have eyes that see when in reality “they see not”. They think they have ears that hear, and they believe they can read, but the Truth remains “neither do they understand”. But to His elect He says, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them it is not given.” Yet we are told that John himself was to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write them not” because the Lord knows our frame and He knows that ‘He has many things to tell us which we cannot receive’ until after He has prepared out hearts to do so. He know that it is much better that He uses each daily trial to prepare our heart to endure the next trial.

What is the significance of telling us that there is something that is not revealed? Was not John told to write down all he had seen?

Rev 1:19  Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

It was in obedience to this commandment that John begins to write what the seven thunders had uttered. John no doubt thought that this too, would edify and exhort and comfort those who were given to “read, hear and keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3). After all, we have already been told “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the three trumpets which are yet to sound.”

Our next trumpet is the seventh trumpet, and the seventh trumpet is “the seven last plagues of God’s wrath” which are poured out upon the inhabiters of the earth. What could be in these seven thunders, which is not to be revealed nor written down? The answer to this question can be understood only when we know what is meant by “thunders” and when we notice that John himself heard the voices of the seven thunders, and was about to write them down when he was told not to do so. If we are given to understand who John typifies, and if we know what the number 7 typifies, and if we know what thunder signifies, then we will understand why John was told to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write it not.”

The number 7 signifies completion of whatever is under discussion. Here is an in depth study on the Spiritual Significance of the Number Seven

We must also understand the spiritual significance of the word ‘thunder’, and we must understand the spiritual significance and symbolism of John himself, and we must know what is not revealed, before we can understand why John himself could hear these seven thunders but was not permitted to write down what he had heard.

What is the spiritual significance of the word ‘thunder’?

The first time this word appears in scripture tells us of its spiritual significance.

Exo 9:23  And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Exo 9:27  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD [is] righteous, and I and my people [are] wicked.
Exo 9:28  Intreat the LORD (for [it is] enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
Exo 9:29  And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.

That is the fruit of God’s thunder in our lives. That is the fruit of God’s wrath upon our sins:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Vengeance belongs only to the Lord, and His vengeance and His wrath produce righteousness, while our wrath, “the wrath of man”, fails in that regard:

Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

This very apostle, John, and his brother, James, were called “sons of thunder” by our Lord.

Mar 3:17  And James the [son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

The reason for this name is revealed in this incident, which is recorded for our edification:

Luk 9:53  And they [the Samaritans] did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

So, thunder signifies God’s wrath, and these seven thunders signify the complete wrath of God, and John was given to hear what those seven thunders uttered, but he was told to seal it up and write it not. So now we need to remember who John signifies and symbolizes.

Who, spiritually, is John?

John makes clear who he is, and who he symbolizes in the first two verses of this book:

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

There it is. John is the symbol of all who “bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all thing that he saw.” Now let’s see who else has this testimony, and bares record of these words.

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

And this revelation that John himself is signified by the angel that shows him all these things is repeated in chapter 22:

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

Who is it who shows us all these things?

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand).

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.

Reading and understanding is the same as reading and hearing. It is given to only a few to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in the words of this prophecy.”

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

This book is a “two edged sword”, and if we “keep the things written therein,” then we must acknowledge that this means “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, the good with the evil.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Lam 3:38  Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Lam 3:39  Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

How does the Lord humble us?

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

Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

“Job… did not… sin” in attributing “receiving evil… at the hand of God”. Yet the churches of Babylon are blinded to this simple Truth.

We, though, are given eyes which see, and knowing all of this it becomes clear that John, the Lord’s servant who was used of God to convey the message of His judgments upon the kingdom of our old man, signifies, and is the symbol of those who know and understand and live the truth of this verse of scripture:

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

John is the symbol of God’s elect, who know their experience is the same as all men, but in God’s grace, “according to His own will” (Eph 1:11) His elect have that experience first. Nevertheless, even His elect must wait until the Lord prepares their hearts to receive the revelation of the full extent of the work of His judgments within our lives:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

There are a few scriptures which tell us that which God has not revealed. Here is the most explicit verse on that subject:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

It is in love and mercy, that we are not given to know the secrets that God knows concerning the details of our future struggles. God does not withhold from us anything that is for our good.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

But he does not take us into His confidence to the extent of revealing to us more of the details of our judgment then we are prepared to accept or receive.

Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

It is only given to a few to receive a gospel which, right up front, asks you to be willing to be “hated of all men… crucified with Christ… and [acknowledge that we are all] children of wrath.” But even those few to whom it is given to receive this calling must have their hearts prepared before they can receive and keep the things which are written in the book of this prophecy.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

Jer 12:3  But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

Before our hearts are ‘tried toward God’, we are first prepared as sheep for the slaughter.

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

It is in God’s great mercy that the details of our suffering on “the morrow”, “the voices of the seven thunders”, are not made known in advance, and it is in His mercy that we are not told what the seven thunders of God’s wrath utter. John, as the symbol of our election, hears the thunders when his heart is prepared to receive their judgments.

Here are the words that immediately precede that verse in Deu 29, which informs us that the secret, “sealed up” things belong to God.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what [meaneth] the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and [whom] he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things [the “seven thunders” of His judgments] belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Summary

Let’s review what we have seen in the scriptures telling us the spiritual significance of the symbols of these first four verses of Revelation 10:

1) Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

We have seen that is angel with His feet on our sea and our earth, is Christ as the Lord of our lives, who has subdued our every thought to Himself.

2) What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

We have seen that this “little book” is the revelation of the judgment of Christ in His Christ. Christ is “the book of the life of the Lamb,” and our lives are the books out of which we are “judged according to our works.” (Rev 20:12)

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

We saw that whatever is under one’s feet is subjected to that person. Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth. As such He is our King over our lives and over all we do.

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

We have seen that “the sea and the earth” are that realm which is below the heavens. As such they are the realm of the temporal, and the realm of death. Both are the enemies of Christ.

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

A lion roars only when he has taken his prey. The “roar of the lion” and having “the sea and the earth under His feet” are both compatible with Christ’s destruction of His enemy “the body of this death”, the kingdom of our old man.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? 

We have seen that this little book, which is “bitter in [our] belly” is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices, signifying the dregs of the Lord’s wrath. We also saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book is Christ and His Words in us, if John is the symbol of Christ in us, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are to become His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the judgment of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ.

7) What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is that which we “cannot bear now” (Joh 16:12), and  which we are not, at this moment, able to bear. We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to prepare our hearts before we are faced with any trial. It is only after we have been prepared, that  we are given to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for what next lies before us.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will continue in chapter 10, which deals with “the days of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound… and the finishing of the mystery of God.”

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

 

]]> Rev 10:1-4 – Part 1 A Mighty Angel and a Little Book https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-101-4-a-mighty-angel-and-a-little-book-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-101-4-a-mighty-angel-and-a-little-book-part-1 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 20:32:59 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30472 Audio Download

Rev 10:1-4 – A Mighty Angel and a Little Book-Part 1

[Study Aired Sept 6, 2024]

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Introduction

There are seven symbols which we need to consider in this study of the first four verses of Rev 10. They are:

1)  Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

2)  What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

3)  Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

4)  What is “the sea and the earth”?

5)  Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

6)  What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?

7)  Then we will also need to ask ourselves, What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”?

“Keeping” ignorance, and remaining uninformed, is not that great of a challenge, as I am sure we will all agree. But what do the scriptures reveal concerning the Lord’s ‘thunder’ that we are not given to know? Again we must come to see what the scriptures reveal as being unrevealed and sealed up concerning these “seven thunders”.

We must always supply the verses of God’s word which shed the light on what these symbols mean. Anything else is just personal speculation. If on the other hand the scriptures tell us what these symbols mean then we, with Paul, are speaking “in demonstration of the spirit behind the words of God.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit [Joh 6:63] and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of [the spirit filled words of] God.

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

Since we are told to “seal up those things the seven thunders uttered, and write them not,” we need to remind ourselves once again, that we are admonished to “read… hear… and keep the thing written therein, for the time is at hand”.

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

If we “read… hear… and keep those thing which are written therein” then we must agree that we do not know what the seven thunders uttered. Likewise we must also read, hear, and keep the scripturally revealed meaning of each symbol of this book. Therefore…

1) Who do the scriptures reveal to be this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Where else in scripture has this “angel” been described in these same terms?

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that [was] over their heads [was] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [was] the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw  [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

“The appearance of a man” in Ezekiel and the “mighty angel” of Rev 10 both have “a rainbow and the appearance of fire” in common. Who is this? The answer is… “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord”.

Now look at what Dan 10 and Rev 1 have in common when describing Christ.

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins [were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6  His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

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.
Rev 1:14  His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass;

The appearance of a rainbow, girded with gold, face as the sun, eyes as lamps of fire, feet as brass in a furnace, are all parts of the description of “the Son of Man”. They are all describing Christ, and Christ is a messenger sent from God. Christ is “God’s angel… the Cloud” who led Israel out of Egypt.

2) What is this “little book”?

What does the Word of God reveal about this little book? Would it not be most instructive if we could know what was written in this “little book”?  We dare not “think above what is written” (1Co 4:6), so we will let the demonstration of the spirit and power of the Word of God tell us what this little book is all about:

Eze 2:1  And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Eze 2:2  And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
Eze 2:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, [even] unto this very day.
Eze 2:4  For [they are] impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 2:5  And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
Eze 2:7  And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they [are] most rebellious.
Eze 2:8  But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand [was] sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book [was] therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Here in Ezekiel this book is called “a roll of a book”, and we are told “it was written within and without with lamentations, and mourning, and woe”. So we have a general idea of what is written in this little book in the hand of this mighty angel. It might seem to our old man that it would be nice if it were written within and without with “smooth things”, but that simply is not the Truth. Instead it is full of “lamentations, mourning, and woe”. But how can we know that this is the same book as the one mentioned in Rev 10:2? Can we really know that this book in the hand of the angel of Rev 10:2 is the same as this book here in Ezekiel 2? Yes, indeed, we can know this because of all the things these two descriptions of this one book have in common, as demonstrated by the instructions given to Ezekiel concerning this same book in Ezekiel 3, the very next chapter:

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Why are both Ezekiel and John, told to “eat this roll… eat it up”? What does that mean? Did not Christ also tell us to “eat my body and drink my blood”?

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

These verses here in Joh 6 make clear that eating the bread from heaven is the same as eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood. Both are required to give us life. But Christ, in this same chapter, also informs us that it is His words which are the light and the life.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. (ASV)

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Let’s review what we are being told. Christ tells us we must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life (Joh 6:54). He tells us that He is the true bread which came down from heaven. He tells us that He is the light of the world. Christ tells us that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood “dwell in Christ, and Christ in them.” Finally, Christ tells us that we will be “witnesses of these things”:

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.

Now let’s compare all of this to what Ezekiel is told in Eze 2 and 3, and what John is told in Rev 10. When we do this, we find that it is the very same message. That one message is that God’s Word must be within us before we can witness for Him and before we can have life. Both Ezekiel and John are told to “eat this book… it will be sweet in your mouth… I send you to the house of Israel… you must prophesy before many…” Applying the “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”, key to the kingdom of heaven within us, we see that “It will be bitter in your belly is added here in Revelation,” but even that is explained in Ezekiel’s experience with Israel, as described in Ezekiel 3.

Eze 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went [to witness] in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

It is obvious that ‘eating this book’, eating the true bread from heaven and eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ is all one and the same nourishing spiritual diet which strengthens and equips us to “be witnesses unto Christ”. This “little book” is obviously the words of Christ, and when we eat this book, His words are living in and nourishing us. This little book is Christ’s testimony in our lives that we have “eaten His flesh and we have drunk of His blood in the New Testament”. Whoever eats this book is eating Christ’ flesh and drinking Christ’s blood, and Christ says that He “will raise him up at the last day.” This is a “little book” because we are ‘little’ christs.

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.

Today is that “day of judgment”. (1Pe 4:17). Let’s demonstrate this truth with scripture.

To whom is this little book addressed?

Who are those who will be raised up in the last day? We have already established in our study of the first chapter of Revelation that this little book, along with all the book of Revelation and all of scripture, is addressed only to those who can “read, hear, and keep the things written therein” and who can understand that “the time is at hand” to do so. Both Ezekiel and Christ tell us that God’s Words, including His words in this little book, are addressed only to “lost sheep of the house of Israel”.

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But who is Israel? Here is who the scriptures teach is an Israelite, and here is who the scriptures teach is a Jew:

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

And here are two different versions of Gal 6:15-16.

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)

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

So this little book is addressed to those to whom all scripture is addressed. It is addressed to “the Israel of God” to whom it is given to understand that God “has made of both [Israelites and Gentiles] one new man” who can eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus, and eat this book, and “read, hear, and keep the things written therein, [understanding that] the time is at hand” to do so.

Now let’s go back to see what else Ezekiel 3 reveals to us concerning the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which utter their voices at the time this book is introduced to us.

Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat [it]; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
Eze 3:5For thou [art] not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;

Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Eze 3:6  Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
Eze 3:7  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel [are] impudent and hardhearted.
Eze 3:8  Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

Here is this same message in the book of Revelation:

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

What is that mystery? We are not left to speculate:

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:

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Rev 16:9  And men [men who knew God, men of Israel, you and me] were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

 This is our flesh. Were it not for God’s mercy, we would be there with the majority. Remember Job, and remember King David. We are “that man”.

Eze 3:9  As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
Eze 3:10  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
Eze 3:11  And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Eze 3:12  Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [saying], Blessed [be] the glory of the LORD from his place.
Eze 3:13  [I heard] also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
Eze 3:14  So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
Eze 3:15  Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Eze 3:16  And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Eze 3:18  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:19  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Eze 3:20  Again, When a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:21  Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Mar 6:11  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Eze 3:22  And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
Eze 3:23  Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
Eze 3:24  Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
Eze 3:25  But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they [are] a rebellious house.

Here is that same message in the book of Revelation:

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And in the book of Galatians:

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

Back to the book of Ezekiel:

Eze 3:27  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they [are] a rebellious house.

“Get thee to them of the captivity” is those who are in Babylon the great. It is each of us who have crucified Christ and His elect, and who have refused their testimony. Who has been “hard hearted” but God’s very own elect?

Isa 42:19  Who [is] blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger [that] I sent? who [is] blind as [he that is] perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

None of us accept “their testimony” when we first hear it. We are all first blind. Which is exactly what Christ taught:

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.

So “their faces [and] their foreheads” in Ezekiel 3 are the faces and foreheads of the symbolic two hundred million false doctrines within us, which proceed out of the smoke of the bottomless pit to “darken the sun and the air” which are within us. These words are directed to us. They are not addressed to those who cannot “read, hear, or keep the things which are written therein” and who do not even believe that “the time is at hand” to do so.

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,

Both the sea and the earth are pictured as being under the feet of Christ. What is the meaning of being under His feet? The scriptures demonstrate that the concept, and the message of having anything under one’s feet, is the concept of having been given the dominion over that which is placed under the feet.

Jdg 4:10  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

1Ki 5:3  Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

Est 8:3  And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet:

Dan 7:19  Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth [were of] iron, and his nails [of] brass; [which] devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Nah 1:3  The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet.

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under [him, it is] manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,

Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing [that is] not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

So the meaning of the sea and the earth being under Christ’s feet is this:

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

When we are given to understand the truth of Mat 28:18, then we will begin to know that it also applies to us.

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.

Is Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Is He given power over all the powers and principalities and false doctrine in the heavens? We are, too.

 Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Eph 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but, against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world- holders, of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.(REV)

When we see that Christ’s feet are on the sea and on the earth, then we will know that God’s sovereignty extends to everything in the sea and on the earth. When we are granted to truly believe that Christ has both the sea and the earth under His feet, then we will also realize that we really can, through Christ, “do all things”, and we too can conquer everything in both the sea and earth, because Christ’s feet are our feet, and we really are Jesus of Nazareth who is persecuted and despised of all men.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

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

1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

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

We will pause at this point and resume our study with the question…

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

]]> Rev 9:3-6 – Part 4 of The Fifth Trumpet https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-93-6-part-4-of-the-fifth-trumpet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-93-6-part-4-of-the-fifth-trumpet Sun, 11 Aug 2024 09:15:53 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30413 Audio Download

Rev 9:3-6 – Part 4 of The Fifth Trumpet

[Study Aired August 11, 2024]

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 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

We resume our study on the meaning of the sixth of the nine symbols we find here in this fifth trumpet. We will never understand what the holy spirit is telling us in the symbols of this fifth trumpet until we are given the scriptural meaning attached to each symbol. This is not guesswork and we dare not “speak above that which is written” (1Co 4:6), nor take away from the words of the prophecy of this book:

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Here again is that list of holy spirit inspired symbols of what comes out of the bottomless pit:

1) Our first symbol is smoke. 2) The second is locusts. 3) The third is the earth itself. 4) The fourth symbol is the power as the scorpions of the earth. 5) the fifth is the grass, any green thing, and trees of the earth. 6) the sixth is those men who have not the seal of God. 7)  The seventh symbol is those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 8) The eighth symbol is “they shall be tormented five months. 9) Our final symbol is “they shall seek death and shall not find it”.

We  have given the scriptural meaning assigned to each of the first five symbols describing the affect of the smoke of the pit upon the earth, the darkening of the sun and the air by reason of that smoke, and we are now seeking to know what the holy spirit proclaims to be the significance of the 6th symbol which is “those men who have not the seal of God” being the target of the scorpions that come out of the smoke of the pit and hurt men with the sting they inflict of the those who are in the earth:

Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

6) The sixth symbol is “those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” Who these men signify is revealed to us in the ninth chapter of Ezekiel. As is always the case, our challenge is to constantly remember that these men and all these events are within us, and each of us are required to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and keep the things written therein.”

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.

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

What that means is that an integral part of this revelation of Jesus Christ, requires that we are all King Saul who persecutes David, before we can become King David, and we are all Saul of Tarsus who persecutes God’s church, before we can become the apostle Paul who fills up in his body what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ.

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:

Our understanding of this prophecy of Rev 9 is greatly enhanced by reading the prophecy of Ezekiel 9. This is what is taking place within those who have the mark of God upon their foreheads. This is what happens to those ‘men’ within us who are not yet “sighing and crying for all the abominations that be done in the midst of Jerusalem” which is above, and is also within us.

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 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.
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.

Those who are destroyed by the destroying weapon are each and every one of us who have at our own appointed time accepted all the doctrines of all the men who have twisted and distorted the word of God down throughout the years of our time spent living our lives according to all of those false, lying Babylonian doctrines, signified by “the abominations that be done therein” in this verse:

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.

This prophecy here in Ezekiel and the prophecy of the book of Revelation are both addressed to the Lord’s own people. Ancient Israel was but the type of the Lord’s elect. This prophecy of the book of Revelation is addressed to the seven churches of Asia, signifying the complete Christian Church. In both cases, typical Israel, and the true spiritual “Israel of God” are both being judged for forsaking their own Lord.

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 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

It is each of us as the Lord’s own apostate people who are “those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

7) What is meant by “their foreheads.”

7) The seventh symbol is “those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” That “destroying weapon” of Ezekiel 9 is both “the fire” of “the sword of the spirit” which will “try every man’s works of what sort they are” and as “a flaming sword” it will burn up all that will burn, and it will purify all that is in need of being purified.

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.

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

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.

This seal which is not in the foreheads is that same Words of God which are in the hearts and minds, and mouths of those who do have the seal of God. Those who have that seal at first did not have that seal  or ‘mark’. It is when we do not have the mark of the Lord in our foreheads that the Lord’s words are burning us up, with all the false doctrines of  apostate men and the apostate kingdoms and principalities that are all within us. That word is Christ, and Christ is in our forehead because our forehead is the symbol of the heavens of our hearts and minds.

Eph 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but, against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world- holders, of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. (REV)

“The spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens” is also where we find the mark of the beast under which we all labor before we receive the mark of God in our foreheads. The great whore’s forehead is what keeps her from being ashamed:

Jer 3:3  Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

We have covered the symbol of the forehead in Rev 7:3 where the 144,000 are said to be “sealed in their foreheads.”

Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

The spiritual significance of ‘the forehead’ is the heavens of our hearts and minds which is either being purified or is defiled with the false doctrines of Babylon and all the fruits of those lies and false doctrines:

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

8) What is the significance of five months of torment?

8) The eighth symbol is “they shall be tormented five months… as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man.”

Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

These are words which we are to read, hear and keep (Rev 1:3). It is each of us who symbolically are “tormented five months… as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man.”  Why are we said to be “tormented five months.” Why are we not tormented four months? Or why are we not tormented six months? Why are we told that we are tormented five months? As is usually the case, the number itself is never the point, just as the words themselves are never the point. The point of being tormented five months is that we are brought to our wits’ end in the faith of Jesus Christ, and in faith of Jesus Christ we are brought through God’s chastening grace and we learn to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811, ‘paideuo’, chastening]us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Chastening “grace through faith” is the significance of the number five.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [3811, ‘paideuo’], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

We have a series on the web site about The Spiritual Significance of Numbers in Scripture which deals, in depth, with the spiritual significance of most of the major numbers mentioned in scripture. Read that series of studies for an in depth study of this number 5, as well as all the other numbers mentioned in scripture. We will give but a few verses in this study but there are many more in this study on the number 5:

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_five/

For the sake of this study, and to understand why we are tormented for five months instead of 6 months or 4 months or any other number, let’s take note of these verses which give us an idea of the spiritual significance of this number five.

Notice how Joseph, an Old Testament type of Christ, favored and showed great grace to his full brother, Benjamin.

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

Benjamin is not guilty of selling his brother into slavery, and while we are all Joseph’s ten brothers before we become Benjamin, nevertheless Benjamin here is a type of God’s elect who, like Joseph did in type, partake of the Lord’s chastening grace in this present age:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811, ‘paideuo’, to chasten] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [G3811, ‘paideuo’, to chasten], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Another verse revealing the spiritual significance of this number five is:

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.

“Raiment” in scripture, in its positive application, signifies “the righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:8). Raiment is our spiritual clothing. In its negative application ‘raiment’ also signifies the unrighteousness of saints:

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua [the Lord’s high priest, vrs 1] was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Zec 3:5  And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with [clean white linen, Rev 19:8] garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

The priests were to be clothed only with linen which does not cause sweat:

Eze 44:15  But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
Eze 44:16  They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
Eze 44:17  And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
Eze 44:18  They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

Our ‘raiment’ is what covers us. As priests of Christ clean white linen clothes covers our sins. Clean white linen raiment is a type of “Christ in [us] the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). What clothes are covering each of us? White linen robes are said to be the righteousness of the saints.

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

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Benjamin was given five changes of raiment. In type, Benjamin was given five times as much of Christ as any of his brothers. Both the food and the raiment joseph bestowed on his brother, Benjamin, are types of Christ and His Word. Benjamin was given five times more food than his brothers were given even though they were also Abraham’s seed. Joseph had not been stingy toward his ten brothers who had sold him into Egyptian slavery. Like the workers in the vineyard who had been hired first, Joseph’s ten elder brothers, who had been born first, were shown loving grace, but it was not given to them first, nor was it given in the abundance which was shown to Benjamin. Like the workers who came in at the 11th hour, Benjamin was singled out for special attention. The number five has everything to do with God’s people. There were five wise and five foolish virgins, and they are all God’s people. But like Benjamin, the five wise virgins typify those who are given grace through faith first and most abundantly. In Mat 25 we are given the parable of the talents. The most favored servant was given “five talents.”

Mat 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

It is in God’s great grace and through Christ’s own faith that we are all brought through the chastening torment, of ‘fiery scorpions’ to Christ. Five months has nothing at all to do with five literal  months any more than five messes had anything to do with Benjamin’s appetite, or five changes of raiment had to do with Benjamin’s need for clothing. ‘Five months’ signifies the fact that God is “in this present time” (Rom 8:18) bringing His elect to their wits’ end through the symbolic torment of the symbolic “sting of a scorpion”. It takes a symbolic five months of being stung by scorpions to bring us “to [our] wits end”, before the Lord can then “bring [us] to our desired haven”:

9) Why cannot those who are tormented die as they wish?

9) Our final symbol is “they shall seek death and shall not find it.” What does that mean? Once again we can turn to Joseph’s brothers to show us the meaning of wanting to die but not being granted that wish. While we are not told Joseph’s brothers wanted to die we are told they feared dying all the years they were in Egypt while their father, Jacob, renamed Israel was still alive. Jacob signifies our own old man who has to die before we are delivered from the fear of 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.
Gen 50:21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

It is not until after we want to die that we are granted the privilege of dying daily with Christ and being crucified with Him and being buried with Him in baptism. Only after we are tormented and “brought to our wits’ end,” through “the stinging of scorpions” are we found worthy to die with Christ and live in newness of a resurrected life.

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

We are one and all “brought to our wits’ end” at some point. That is the point at which the holy spirit takes over the throne of our heart and the man of sin begins to be destroyed with the brightness of His coming (2Th 2:8). But even then “judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17). Each storm we endure prepares us for the next trial as we “endure to the end… are being crucified with Christ… and dying daily.” (Mat 10:22; Gal 2:20; 1Co 15:31)

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

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

The stings of these scorpions are what bring us to despair of life and desire to die. It is in God’s mercy that we are granted that ability in spirit and we are able finally, only after five months of torment, to be baptized into Christ’s death and be raised with Him from among the spiritually dead, to walk in newness of life. A dead man is not tormented by scorpions, and those who “are [ being] crucified with Christ, are dying daily” with Him on His cross and no longer experience the hopelessness of being brought to their wits’ end. A person who is dying with Christ we now see a purpose in suffering and we rejoice in our trials:

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.

But it is a peaceful dying in which we rejoice in our trials, and rejoice that we have been counted worthy to suffer with Him because we know that we will also reign with Him.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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.

The inability to die begins to subside after the symbolic five months when we are granted a new mind which rejoices in being crucified with Christ, and can now begin to fill up what is behind of His afflictions in our own flesh for the sake of the church, which has rejected this straight and narrow way for the ‘smooth things’ like a rapture and never knowing God’s wrath upon our own sins and blasphemies.

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:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
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:

Summary

1) Our first symbol was smoke, and we were reminded that smoke symbolizes that which darkens our sun and air, as do the desires of our flesh, and all the false doctrines which are so appealing to our flesh.

2) The second symbol was locusts, which come out of the smoke, and we saw that these locusts were used to destroy all that Egypt has produced within us. We saw that these locusts devour our substance and bring us into spiritual poverty and despair.

3) The third symbol is the earth. As we have seen so many times before, the ‘earth’ is God’s people who are living in rebellion against the ever present truths of God’s Word.
4) The fourth symbol is the power of these locusts to hurt those who dwell on the earth, with power as the scorpions of the earth have power. It is our own rebellious ways which chasten us, and it is our own sins and false doctrines which bring spiritual torments and spiritual bitterness and despair upon us.

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that [ it is] an evil [ thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

5) The fifth symbol of this fifth trumpet is the grass, any green thing and trees which these locusts with the power of scorpions cannot hurt.  What we saw was that obedience to God’s doctrines and to His words removes the wrath of God upon us. The overcomers are this “grass, trees and any green thing” which cannot be hurt by these scorpion- like locusts which darken our sun and air and torment us as scorpions of the earth have power to “sting and torment”. Overcomers are not innately overcomers. Overcomers are those who were innately rebellious but were, by the grace of God, given to repent and do the things the Lord tells us to do. (Luk 6:46; Rom 9:15-16; Rev 15:2)

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

6) The sixth symbol is those men who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. As unpopular as it is to have to say, we are all “the children of wrath” before we begin to “believe the Son.” So we are all hurt of these stinging locusts before we are granted  immunity from their power to sting and to hurt us.

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

Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

7)  The seventh symbol is their foreheads. We saw that both the mark of God, in the foreheads of those that sigh and cry for the abominations in Jerusalem of Ezekiel 9 and in the foreheads of the 144.00 of Rev 7, is the same mark. We also saw that the mark of the beast is also in the forehead, and that we all have ‘the mark of the beast… a whore’s forehead’ in our hearts and minds before we are given the thoughts and mind of  God “in our foreheads.”

Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deu 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
Deu 11:17  And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
Deu 11:18  Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

It is the words and thoughts of our Lord which are His mark “as frontlets between our eyes” and as a “mark in our foreheads.”

8) The eighth symbol is “they shall be tormented five months.” We saw in this symbol that this torment lasts five months simply because it is connected with God’s chastening and scourging grace that is the stings of these locusts which drive us to our wits’ end and make us want to die to the things of this world.

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

9) Our final symbol is “they shall seek death and shall not find it.” We saw that this really is the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that Christ Himself was “weary even unto death,” and that according to Psa 107, we too, will be made “weary unto death.” But we will have to wait a symbolic five months before we are brought to the point that we are granted to be crucified with Him and in that way be relieved of that five months of torment:

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

We saw that once we relinquish this life and all of its false values, our own crucifixion with Christ (Gal2:20), and our “dying daily” with Christ (1Co 15:31) can actually come to be one of rejoicing in the certainty of our glorification with Him.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial [dying daily] 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.

The mind of Christ can discern the things of the spirit which the natural mind cannot discern:

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.

Dying daily “by little and by little” (Deu 7:22) cannot be accepted by the natural mind as anything to “rejoice [in] inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings”. Neither is the natural man given the faith of Christ to “have respect unto the recompence of the reward as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt and better than the pleasures of sin for a season”.

Next week, Lord willing, we will learn more about the identity, the power, and the king of these locusts which come out of the bottomless pit and darken the sun and air.

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 9:8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [ was] to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11  And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [ is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [ his] name Apollyon.

 

]]> Rev 8:6-7 The First Trumpet/The Earth, Trees and Green Grass, Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-86-7-the-first-trumpet-the-earth-trees-and-green-grass/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-86-7-the-first-trumpet-the-earth-trees-and-green-grass Sun, 07 Jul 2024 04:51:10 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30193 (Audio not available)

Rev 8:6-7 Part 2 – The First Trumpet/The Earth, Trees and Green Grass

[Study Aired July 7, 2024]

Rev 8:6  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Notice how this first trump parallels the first plague:

Rev 16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Rev 16:2  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Take note that both the first trumpet and the first plague deal with the Lord’s wrath “upon the earth” (Rev 6:17). Both are part of the opening of the seventh seal (Rev 6:12).

We concluded our last study of the spiritual significance of the “fire mingled with blood” which was cast upon the earth by recounting the story of the Lord’s merciful gaze catching Peter’s eye as Peter was in the very process of cursing and denying His Lord, and doing exactly what he had just affirmed he would never do:

Mar 14:27  And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mar 14:28  But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mar 14:29  But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
Mar 14:30  And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, [even] in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mar 14:31  But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

We all know that Christ was right, and Peter was wrong, and that before the cock crowed Peter was looking Christ in the eye, cursing the air blue, and denying that He had ever known Christ.

Luk 22:60  And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” That is what “fire mingled with blood” signifies. You and I are all Peter, and we all have denied our Lord after thinking that, with our own strength, we can overcome any such temptation.

We can delude ourselves that “we will not drink” of such a cup as that cup, but through bitter “fire mingled with blood” we will “drink of that [very] cup.”

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

Mat 20:22  But Jesus answered and said [to James and John], Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

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. [We will all drink of the cup]
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. [“mingled with blood”]

“Every man” means there are no exceptions to this “hail and fire mingled with blood” which is “cast into the earth.” Christ Himself drank of this cup. Who then are we to think that “Yet will not I” as Peter told our Lord? No, Christ did not deny His calling to die on the cross, but His flesh “sweat as it were… blood” resisting being murdered at the early age of thirty three, and He told His disciples that He would drink of this cup of the wrath of God upon His own “body… made sin (2Co 5:21) made of a woman, made under the law.” (Gal 4:4)

Mat 26:38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Mat 26:39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Luk 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, [“made sin”]

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

What cup did Christ drink? His Father forsook His body which was “made of a woman, made under the law… in the flesh.” He drank of the same cup that He commanded His disciples to all drink. It was “the cup of His blood”, and He wants us all to know that it was for our sins against Him and His Father, that He died for us.

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

So, too, will we all “drink indeed of Christ’s cup” and be required to relinquish these temporal, corruptible bodies of flesh and blood.

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

Whose flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God? It is the same people who drink of this cup of the Lord’s wrath, against our own denying of Him and His words. Who is that? It begins with His own disciples and His own people.

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

It is you and I who are “mad because of the sword that God will send among us.” It is all the nations within us which the kingdom of God within us will overcome, that are mad at the work which the Lord is doing in our lives. The beast within and the man of sin within do not relinquish the throne of God within without a mighty fight and a great earthquake and a great “war in the heavens.” (Rev 12)

Jeremiah is a type of Christ. To whom was Christ sent?

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

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

To which nations was Jeremiah sent?

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name [My own disciples, My own elect], and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

That is right. Both Jeremiah and Christ, were sent to “all the inhabitants of the earth”, and we must all drink of the wine of the wrath of this cup. While Jeremiah 25 says “Take this cup of My hand”, this same cup is later revealed to be in the hand of Babylon the great. It is the same cup which deals with our denying of our Lord, and of His words, and our selling out to the doctrines of Babylon, and of Babylon’s shepherds.

Jer 50:6  My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Jer 50:7  All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
Jer 50:8  Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
Jer 50:9  For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.

“He goats before the flock” are leaders who lead. We are called to lead other “lost sheep… out of the midst of Babylon.”

Who is it that comes from the north?

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

These verses are another prophecy of the seven trumpet judgments we are now considering. “Out of the north” is Bible-speak for the judgment of God, and ‘a whirlwind’ speaks of God’s wrath upon our sinful flesh. Here, once again, it is God Himself who comes “out of the north”. Later we will be told that the Lord sends evil “out of the north”.

Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Those who have been given to receive it, know that even the evil that is in this world, is a part of what God is working after the counsel of His own will.

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

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:

Flesh is corruption. Even the flesh of Christ is still corrupt flesh. As such it “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, and so all men must “drink of that cup” and must relinquish these temporal bodies of sinful flesh and blood.” We will all do so in the end, but God’s elect must do so now in down payment form and in a spiritual sense, while still in these “vessels of clay.”

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

Christ drank of the same cup from which we must all drink, and we drink of the same cup which He drank. “He was in all ways tempted as we are yet without sin.”

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

Christ’s words are “the New Testament.” If those words are within us, then that is what will come out of our mouths.

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.

It was Christ’s words that made the leaders and people of Israel hate him. It was His words that got Him killed, and His Truths are no more popular today than they were in His day. “My words are in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” These words are not for this world to hear and understand. His words are the ‘fire that is mingled with Christ’s blood’ that is intended to devour the flesh of God’s own elect, to whom “it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God… within us” (Mat 13:10-17, Luk 17:20-21).

What is the earth?

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Do we dare to think that the flesh of others is wood and ours is not? No, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ that you and I are to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:3). We have seen in depth that “the earth” is the flesh and blood bodies of God’s own people while they are yet in Babylon.

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

It is upon our own “earth” that this “hail and fire mingled with blood” is cast to burn up a third part of our trees and all of our grass. Why only a third of the trees but all of the grass? In order to answer this question we must first find out what the scriptures reveal is trees and what is grass?

What are ‘trees’ in scripture?

Here is the first mention of trees in scripture.

Gen 1:11  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Notice that it is “the earth” that brings forth the grass, the herbs, and the trees… whose seed is in itself upon the earth.” So all of this is within our earth, and is brought forth by our earth. All trees have “seed in itself”, but not all trees are fruit trees.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

This verse is actually a prophecy of the coming of Christ into this earth in a body that is of this earth. “Out of the ground… the Tree of Life also…” Christ is that tree of life.

In scripture the holy spirit reveals that there are only two kinds of trees. There are trees that bear fruit and trees that are not fruit bearing trees. Israel, God’s people, are likened to an olive tree.

This verse is a very general prophecy of the seven trumpet judgments we are now discussing. As God’s olive tree, we bear “goodly fruit”, but we all “leave our first love… and provoke our Lord to anger.” Through the chastening grace of our Lord we repent and overcome these sins, but even then we continue to be purged by the judgments of God in our lives.

Here is another example of how the spirit uses this word ‘tree.’

Luk 3:9  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Luk 6:44  For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

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.

Not every tree is a fruit tree. Some are very tall and proud trees that can be used by God only if they are cut down and cut up into beams and boards to build and to furnish the house of God.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

That is why all of our trees are not, at first, burned up. Any fire that is burning the grass of a field that borders a forest, will burn up all the grass and will burn up all the dead trees, and depending on how close a healthy tree is to a dead tree, and depending upon how long the forest has gone without rain, a fire will generally burn some, but not all of the trees of a forest.

What then, is a tree in scripture? Here is what they are, and this is how we all see the great men of Babylon and of this world, to whom we all first look for direction in this life.

Dan 4:20  The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
Dan 4:21  Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
Dan 4:22  It is thou, O king [Nebuchadnezzar], that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

As we have shown in depth, so many times, these are words which we each individually live (Mat 4:4). All of God’s Word is about only two men and only those two men. You and I live the lives of both of those men. We are all first the first Adam, and then we will all, in our own time, become the second man Adam.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

We are all “the first man Adam”, before we are made to be “the Lord from heaven.” As the first Adam, we are all King Nebuchadnezzar, “a tree whose height reaches to heaven, under which the beasts of the earth dwell and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven have their habitations.” That is why the grass all burns up while only a third of our trees burn up. We all have kingdoms and nations within us, and they are all filled with the “fowls of the heavens.” It is these “fowls of the heavens” which require six more trumpets to complete their judgment within us.

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

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

The fowls of the heavens take the death of Christ and cause us to “understand it not” and teach us the false and lying doctrine of a substitutionary death and atonement which makes this verse of scripture of no effect:

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:

Substitutionary death teaches us that Christ did everything for us on His cross and there is no need for us to be “crucified with Him” (Gal 2:20), nor to “die daily” (1Co 15:31), nor to “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). The false, damnable doctrine of ‘substitutionary atonement’ leads us to believe there is nothing “behind of His afflictions”, because they do not understand the true gospel which teaches:

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.

It is the fowls of the air making their habitations in the branches of our trees, that teach us that grace is a noun only, with no use ever as an active verb, to chasten us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

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

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [paideuo], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Those are just two examples of what is in the branches of our trees, and why we are being told that all of our grass is burned up while two thirds of our trees with their branches filled with the fowls of the heavens, remain within us for the moment. In the end this is what will happen to us all:

Dan 4:23  And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and [let] his portion [be] with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
Dan 4:24  This [is] the interpretation, O king, and this [is] the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
Dan 4:25  That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Here we are in Daniel, right back to the meaning of the number seven. Here again it is telling us that our submission to the sovereignty of God must be made complete, before we will ever be of any use to our heavenly Father.

What is the grass that our earth brings forth?

What do the scriptures reveal grass to symbolize? Grass is what we are when the Word of God first comes to us.

Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

As we have seen in 1 Corinthians 3, we as grass are still very carnal babes in Christ at this early stage in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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

Yes, as “babes in Christ” we “are yet carnal.” So what is the grass upon which “the doctrine of Christ drops as rain” in scripture?

Psa 103:15  As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

Isa 40:6  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

Isa 51:12  I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth [aorist tense], and the flower thereof falleth away [aorist tense]:

“All flesh is grass,” and all of our fleshly desires are being burned up by the hail and fire mingled with blood which the Lord casts into our earth. Great strides against the flesh, are immediately evident, even as babes in Christ. We overcome bad habits and addictions, and we are willing to lay our lives down for our brothers, and to fight to the death for our Lord, long before we grow to the point of being willing to go to the cross with our Lord.

What is this “burning up of all the grass,” telling us about the revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives? It is telling us that the first thing that we all come to see is that the desires of our flesh must be subdued, and we actually get this done long before our much taller trees, with all the doctrines of Babylon making their habitations in our branches, are burned up. These are “two edged words” which “shall never pass away.” This has been the negative application of the words ‘trees and grass,” as symbols of that which comes out of the earth, and symbolizes the things of “the first man Adam,” who is to be replaced by “the second man which is the Lord from heaven.”

Later in this same prophecy we will see the positive application of these symbols as those who have the seal of God.

Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Summary

We have covered in this study these six symbols, 1) hail, 2) fire, 3) blood, 4) the earth, 5) the third part of the trees burned up, and 6) all green grass, was burnt up.

We saw that the hail in particular, symbolizes that part of God’s Word which destroys the doctrinal lies which are all the doctrines of Babylon.

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

When “the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water [is] taken away from Jerusalem and Judah,” all that is left is “the refuge of lies” of which we are told:

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

We saw that ‘fire symbolizes the Word of God, and that if we speak the Words of God, then that Word becomes fire in our mouths to judge the world within, in which we live.

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.

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

It is for the express purpose of blinding the eyes of those who are not “given to understand”, that the symbols of water and fire are both used to accomplish the same purpose of “sweep[ing] away the refuge of lies by “devour[ing] their enemies” with “words in your mouth fire… devour[ing] them”.

We saw that blood is the blood of Christ, of which we are all guilty, and that “fire mingled with blood” is God’s fiery Word which proclaims us all as those who have denied our Lord after affirming that we would never ever commit such a dastardly act. The only man that will hurt any of God’s elect is the man of sin, sitting within us all, upon the throne of God within us all. This is the enemy that would hurt us and this is also the enemy that is destroyed by the fire that proceeds out of our mouths.

We have seen again that we ourselves are the earth into which the hail and fire mingled with blood, is cast, to cleanse us of that with which we have been defiled.

Finally, we saw that the grass of the earth represents our flesh and all of its sinful lusts, while the trees of the earth in this chapter symbolize the great men within us whose branches are full of the false doctrines which are symbolized by the fowls of the air which have taken up their habitations in the branches of our trees.

It is the fact that these things are above the grass of our fields, that cause all the grass to be burned up, while only a third of our fowl filled trees are, at this point burned up.

Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to watch the process of our judgment, as we see a huge burning mountain of which we are to “read, hear, and keep” within ourselves. What we will learn is that this mountain is burning up and in doing so helps to purify another third within us.

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

]]> Revelation 7:1-3 – Part 3, Four Corners of the Earth https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/revelation-71-3-part-3-four-corners-of-the-earth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=revelation-71-3-part-3-four-corners-of-the-earth Sun, 26 May 2024 03:21:49 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=29999 (Audio not available)

Rev 7:1-3 – Part 3, Four Corners of the Earth

[Study Aired November 18, 2009]
[Updated May 25, 2024]

Rev 7:1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Introduction

We are in chapter 7 of the book of Revelation. Christ has opened six of the seven seals which have the contents of this book closed and hidden from the multitudes who come to Christ. Before we get into the contents of the seventh seal, which consists of much of our judgment being spiritually revealed to us through seven trumpet judgments, the seventh trumpet judgment is the pouring out of the seven last plagues of God’s wrath upon the kingdom of our old man which has been dominated by a great spiritual whore. The Lord knows our frame, and He knows that it is at this point we need to be told that He has chosen us to be His “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb (Rev 14:4) and that through our mercy (Rom 11:30-31), “a great multitude which no man can number… all in Adam” will be dragged to Himself:

Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

This is how we closed our last study:

Comparing the spiritual significance of the things of the Old Testament, with the spiritual significance of the things of the New Testament, we will demonstrate the spiritual meaning of ‘the earth’ and the scriptural meaning of “the four winds of the earth.”

Here is what we are told about the four horses of Zechariah 1:

Zec 1:10  And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These [all four horsemen] are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the [whole] earth.

This is what we are told about the four chariots of Zechariah 6:

Zec 6:5  And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

There are four horsemen in chapter 1, and there are four chariots in chapter 6. In chapter 1 we are told that all four horsemen “are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.” The fact there are ‘four’ tells those who know the meaning of that number that it is ‘the whole earth’ in which they are walking to and fro.

Now look at what is said of the bay horses of chapter 6:

Zec 6:7  And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

This seventh verse of chapter 6 concerning the bay horses tells us that these bay horses are doing the same thing all four horses do in chapter 1:

Zec 1:10  And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

Applying the principles of ‘the dream is one’ (Gen 41:25-26), the principle of “line upon line and precept upon precept” (Isa 28:9-10), and the principle of “the sum of thy Word is Truth” (Psa 119:160 ASV), we can understand that Zechariah 1:10 does not contradict Zechariah 6:7, but Zechariah 6:7 rather complements Zechariah 1:10. The message of the sum of both chapters and the message of Revelation 7:1 is that the Lord has sent His “four winds [spirits] of the earth (Rev 7:1)… into all the earth” (Rom 10:18) working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28) to the intent that “the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men” (Dan 4:17). What is so powerfully wonderful about the message here in Revelation 7 is that “the four winds of the earth” are working the Lord’s work of dragging all men of all time, the whole of humanity, to Himself:

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Last week we saw that the spiritual significance of the number four is concerned with the whole of any subject, and we saw that the spiritual significance of the four angels is that the work which they do with ‘the four winds of the earth’ affects the entirety of mankind, both the extremely small number of 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and The Lamb” (Rev 14:4), as well as all the rest of  mankind, who later in this 7th chapter are referred to as “a great multitude which no man could number” (Rev 7:9). Today we will see what the scriptures reveal to be the spiritual meaning of “the four corners of the earth” and “the four winds of the earth.” As always we will do so with a view toward how every word we read and hear can and must be kept and observed inwardly by each of us.

What is the spiritual significance of “the earth?”

What is the scriptural opposite of ‘heaven?” No, it is not hell. The opposite of ‘heaven’ in the scriptures is ‘the earth.’ Notice how the spirit contrasts these two and uses them as a symbol of all that is:

Isa 37:16  O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Isa 44:23  Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Jer 23:24  Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

We saw earlier concerning the “great earthquake” mentioned in Revelation 6:12 that the “earth” is Bible-speak for God’s own people who live in rebellion against Him and His Word. Here are the verses we used to make that point.

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

Jer 22:5  But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

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

So the ‘earth’ is all of us as “Jews who believe in Christ, [who see ourselves as] Abraham’s children, but we are seeking to kill Christ… because His words have no place in us” (Joh 8:30-44). “In Adam” (1Co 15:22), the son of God (Luk 3:38), all “in Adam” (1Co 15:22) become “the earth”, all of mankind in rebellion against his Creator.

The Earth is the Potter’s “Vessel of Clay”

We are reading of “the four corners of the earth” here in chapter 7, and because we will be seeing the word ‘earth’ mentioned throughout this revelation of Jesus Christ, we need to take a much closer look at this word. The word ‘earth’ appears more in this one book than in any other New Testament book. The Greek word translated ‘earth’ is the word ‘ge‘ from which we get our English word ‘geography.’ In the entire new Testament, this word ‘ge‘ appears 243 times. Of those 243 entries, eighty entries, or basically one third of those entries are in this one book; the book of Revelation.

A proper, scriptural understanding of what the ‘earth’ is, is pivotal to understanding this revelation of Jesus Christ. Here are just a few of the verses in this revelation of Jesus Christ, which we are yet to cover, which mention the earth:

Rev 8:5  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

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

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Rev 9:3  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 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Those are only seven entries from the next two chapters where this Greek word ‘ge‘ appears in this revelation of Jesus Christ. The only time this word ‘ge‘ appears here where it is not translated into the English with the word ‘earth’ is in this verse:

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

“The earth” is “all the world.”

“Comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1Co 2:13)

In 1 Corinthians 2:13 we are told how the holy spirit teaches us so that the princes of this world cannot see the things we see:

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

We are all natural “vessels of clay” before we begin to be given “the mind of Christ”:

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16  For who hath known [aorist tense – we are coming to know] the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have [present tense – we are in this time being given] the mind of Christ [by “the spirit teaching us [how to] compare spiritual things with spiritual”].

God’s dealings with “the earth” are central to this revelation of Jesus Christ. So we definitely need to establish firmly how the holy spirit uses this word ‘earth’, and once again, what we will see is that when “the holy spirit teaches us comparing spiritual with spiritual” using the word ‘earth’, then that word ‘earth’, through the spirit, no longer refers to the physical earth, but becomes the spiritual type of our earthy bodies in which Christ now spiritually dwells. The same holds true when we read about “the Lamb of God, the bride the Lamb’s wife, the firstfruits unto God and The Lamb.” Every word we speak has a primary physical meaning, and yet the holy spirit bequeaths to those whom He chooses the ability to give each of those words a spiritual meaning which can then be compared to other spiritual words to establish through the sum of God’s Word, line upon line and precept upon precept, that the message of ‘the dream is one’ consistent message even though both cows and corn are used to bring us that one single message.

Let’s see just how true this is. The first two verses of all scripture tells those whom “the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1Co 2:13) what God is doing with mankind, both in mankind’s heaven and in mankind’s earth.

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

To the natural man who has no understanding of the ‘is, was and will be’ nature of these words of Christ (Rev 1:8), whose words will never pass away (Mat 24:34-35), these words of the first two verses of scripture are nothing more than a history lesson. To the man who knows that all of Christ’s words “are spirit and life” (Joh 6:63), these words are also spirit and they tell him much more than the simple physical Truth of how “the things which are seen” (1Co 4:18, Heb 11:3) came to be and why the Lord made them in a physical realm first. To the man to whom the Lord has chosen to “teach comparing spiritual things with spiritual”, these first two verses of Genesis tell us what God is, was and will be doing in ‘the earth.’

To the man with spiritual discernment, all of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are merely a spiritual shadow of what God is doing with His ‘earth’ and His ‘heaven’ in which He has placed His ‘earth.’ The first day is merely God showing man that there is such a thing as light and darkness, that there is good and evil and that He, and He alone, is the Creator of both (Isa 45:7, Pro 16:1, Pro 16:4)

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The second day shows us that God has placed a great expanse between our old earthy man and our new heavenly man. He is showing us that the doctrines of the earthy man are not as high as the doctrines and understanding of the heavenly (Isa 55:9, 1Co 15:46-49).

Gen 1:6  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Gen 1:8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

The third day, like the first day, shows us that while the sea is of the earth, God separates the dry earth from the seas of the earth, and He reveals that the earth brings forth herbs and the fruits that come of the earth for man to eat. God calls that which is just above the waters of the sea, ‘earth.’ However He does not give strong meat to us before we are able to bear it, so while we are yet only on the ‘earth’, He feeds us only with herbs and the fruits of the earth (Heb 5:12-15, Rom 14:1-2, 1Co 3:1-4):

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

The perception of what is light and what is darkness is greatly increased on the fourth day. Our understanding is now far superior to the mere “knowledge of good and evil” of the light and darkness of the first day. We now understand that our ‘light’ comes from “the Sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2) in the true ‘heavens”, and we now understand that even the darkness is really just a “lesser light”, and there are “signs and seasons, days and years” to be endured in what God is doing when He “gives us light upon the earth to rule the day and the night.”

Gen 1:14  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
Gen 1:17  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Comparing spiritual things with spiritual we see that God’s work in the earth is far greater on the fifth day when He causes the sea, out of which the dry land came, and out of which we all come (“the dry land”), to bring forth many and various types of life, over which He later commands us to gain and exert dominion. On the fifth day we also learn that the seas and the earth and the heavens are all very intimately connected, and that the sea waters and the heavens both bring forth an abundant variation of life each in its own realm. It is on this fifth day that we learn that the fowl which are created to fly above the earth in the heavens can and do “multiply in the earth.” In other words, we begin to see that there is a ‘heavens’ of our earth, which is a mere “figure of the true” heavens, which is where Christ dwells and from whence He rules our hearts and minds.

Gen 1:20  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Gen 1:23  And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

It is on the sixth day that God reveals to us His crowning but not yet completed achievement. It is really just a marred prototype of that to which He intends to give the true dominion of all the creatures He has placed upon the earth and in the seas and in the heavens of the earth. It is also on this day that the strong meat is created which will later be given to nourish those who will be given to receive it. Strong meat will not be given to mankind until after the baptism of the flood of Noah, but strong meat is created as “the beasts of the earth” right along with the ultimate ‘beast of the field’ which God calls ‘Adam’, meaning mankind.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men [H120: adam], that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Gen 1:24  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
Gen 1:25  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27  So God created [Qal stem: is making] man in his own image, in the image of God created [creating] he him; male and female created [Creates] he them.
Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Gen 1:29  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 1:30  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

So the days of creation are a spiritual type of what God is doing with His incompleted, unfinished ‘earth’, which is a spiritual type of our physical bodies. As is always the case, that which is used to typify what is said to be “very good” in Genesis 1 rebels and begins a life of opposition to God in Genesis 3. This use of one symbol, in this case ‘Adam’ (1Co 15:45-50), for both good and evil is continued throughout scripture for all the holy spirit [is] teaching comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1Co 2:13). For example, Pharaoh is a spiritual type of the Father giving the kingdom over to Joseph, who is a spiritual type of Christ, in Genesis 41 to Genesis 50, while in the very next chapter of scripture, Exodus 1, Pharaoh becomes a spiritual type of the ‘seed of the serpent… the man of sin’ who seeks to destroy God’s elect by destroying all of the first born males of Israel. Likewise the ‘earth’ in Genesis 1 typifies the “many called” out of the waters of the sea, who later revert to becoming a part of the sea when it is revealed they “cannot receive” Christ’s Word.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them [the multitudes (vs 2)]  in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them [His disciples], Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Christ affirms this statement in:

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

In passing, the Hebrew word here translated ‘replenish’ in verse 28 is ‘male‘ pronounced ‘maw-lay’ and means ‘to fill.’ It does not mean to refill as some teach in support of their false gap theory doctrine. God is in the process of making mankind to rule over all the beasts and creeping things and the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air. He will be finished with this work when all of mankind, spiritually typified by “a great multitude which no man could number” (Rev 7:9), has entered with Him into His rest on their own spiritual ‘seventh day.’

Gen 2:1  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

It is in the New Testament where we learn that the work of God really is ended on the seventh day, and only after mankind has entered into His rest and has, with and in Christ, “ceased from his own works as Christ did from His.”

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

These words of Hebrews 4:10-11 are just one more example of how the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Now, for the sake of this study, let us ask of what was mankind made? Many people teach and believe that Adam was made an “immortal soul”, a phrase which appears nowhere in scripture. Most Christians believe that mankind is really a spirit which God has placed into a body of clay. Is there any basis in scripture for such a doctrine? What material does God Himself tell us He used to make mankind? What did He use to make Adam? Here are the plain words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God concerning Adam’s composition:

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

Man is not “the breath of life.” Mankind was not made of ‘the breath of life.’ “The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground.” So Adam is “of the dust of the ground.” What happens to Adam when he dies? Is Adam an immortal spirit which needs no resurrection and which goes to his reward the moment of his death, as all of Babylonian Christendom and all Pagan religions teach? What did Adam’s Maker tell Him concerning Adam’s composition and Adam’s fate without benefit of a resurrection from among the dead? What did Adam’s Maker tell him was Adam’s place after his death and until his resurrection from among the dead? Here is what the One who ought to know had to say to Adam concerning Adam’s makeup, and of what sort it was, and what would be the fruit of His transgression:

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Is that not astounding? Here is our Maker telling us what the wages of our sins are, and He fails to even mention the eternal flames of hell. Instead our Maker tells us that we are “dust … of the ground”, of the earth and we will return to dust, and later we are told that if there were no resurrection, then those who have “fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ?” Does that not sound like there is hope in Christ, beyond this life? Indeed there is, and it is not even in this life that most men will be saved, because Christ’s Words have no place in the lives of most who believe on Him in this life (Joh 8:37). The reason for this has nothing to do with mankind’s fabled “free will.” The reason most of mankind will be saved after this life is “because they cannot hear Christ’s Words” now.

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

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

Here is how the Lord likens giving His Words and His doctrines to His people:

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

Here is how God explains His dealings with all who are “in Adam.”

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it].
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7  At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

So mankind is “of the earth, earthy,” and that is why Jeremiah 22:29 reads “Oh earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord.” Let’s look at a few more verses which make clear that the word ‘earth’ is spiritual language for mankind in the first Adam. Here are some examples.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [At the resurrection].

Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

Jas 5:5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

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.

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

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

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

How true are the words of Jeremiah, “Oh earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” It is only those who are given ears to hear who can “hear the word of the Lord.”

Here, in conclusion, is the function of “the earth” which is in us all:

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves,  and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

This same earthy sentiment is repeated at the end of the New Testament.

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.

We will pause here for now and look more closely the spiritual meaning of “the four winds of the earth” in our next study.

We have seen that the four horsemen of Zechariah 1 and 6 help us to understand that the four horsemen of Revelation 6 are one and all spiritual types of those things the Lord is doing with the whole of mankind. They one and all ask to do so and they are commissioned to “walk to and fro through the whole earth, working all things after the counsel of God’s will, which ‘will’, as this seventh chapter of Revelation reveals, is the salvation of “all… in Adam” (1Co 15:22). We did not get to the spiritual meaning of “the four winds of the earth”, but, Lord willing, we will do so in our next study.

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