Gins – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:45:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cropped-headerlogo-32x32.png Gins – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com 32 32 The Book of Amos – Chapter 3:1-15 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-amos-chapter-31-15/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-amos-chapter-31-15 Sat, 30 Nov 2024 05:17:58 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=31475 Audio Download

nbsp;

The Book of Amos – Chapter 3:1-15: Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”
Amo 3:7

[Aired November 30, 2024]

Although this study and much of the Book of Amos focuses on Israel and, specifically, the Priests directly indicting us, highlighting our guilt and punishment, it is all integral to the Feast of Trumpets and the trumpet blasts in Revelation. Thus, a degree of repetition will be reflected during these studies.

Humanity innately desires an easy life that monetary riches enable. With money, we can make ourselves look more appealing than nature has provided; it vainly authorises greater intelligence and access to the world’s best academic institutions. Monetary riches engender personal wealth on all levels of one’s presentation to the world unchallenged while remaining semiconsciously yet unashamedly naked.

Ecc 10:19  A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

In succession with those riches, our Lord intentionally created sexual awareness to be part of our daily lives, intrinsically. Even though it is a subliminally and constantly present spontaneity of mind, outwardly, we, and even the most debauched, thankfully, practice social sobriety. Accordingly, the Bible is about the marriage of the Lamb of God to the pinnacle of his creation in the Bride who is first to be blessed to see the spiritual implications of every Old Covenant Law. Consequently, the Bible is equally about two women; one a whore and the other the Bride of Christ, as it is about two men, the old and new Adam in Christ, who, paradoxically to the churches of the world, are one representation of the Bride in transition.

Without the Law in Christ’s commandments, we would never know the spirit of the Law. Amos and all the Bible’s prophets’ prophecies are deeply connected to our sexuality and broken covenant and the most profound aspect of indicting guilt for a guaranteed punishment. Incomprehensibly to Cain (Gen 4:13… “my punishment is greater than I can bear”) and the world who see us as masochists, we have learnt to glorify God for our chastisement and send each other gifts in the form of prayers, psalms, and encouragement for the torment He has given us (Rev 11:10). That response is us joyfully ascending into heaven in a cloud while our old enemies left in the old Adam below, mournfully look upward; a chasm impossible to traverse.

Rom 7:7-25  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

There, in the last sentence of that scripture, is our realisation for our acknowledgment of the subtlety of spiritual transgressions. As seen in the previous study in Amos chapter two under the Old Covenant, we could lust all we liked physically of mind and not transgress God’s Commandments so long as we didn’t physically engage sexually. However, now and in light of the New Covenant (subtlety juxtaposed in John 8:1-11) in our study of physical Judah and Israel, we are aroused most gloriously in righteous spiritual spontaneity by the lyrics of the song only the 144,000 in Revelations 14:1-5  are learning today!

Rom 7:8  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence [meaning, inordinate ‘desire, carving, longing’ in the lust of the mind and spirit insidiously for what is now forbiden]. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I [learned to] died [daily].
Rom 7:10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Rom 7:11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the [spiritual] commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
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 [spiritual] mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the [disappearing] flesh the law of sin.

Significations:

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Amo 3:1  Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family [the twelve tribes inclusive of Judah] which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 
Amo 3:2  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 

Just wow! Don’t those first verses make you shiver? Our Lord addresses his Bride, the few, nonetheless the ‘whole family’ he will drag out of Babylon and sobering us with the stark reality of his will that it is “you only [primarily meaning his Bride] have I known of all the families of the earth“! The ‘kicker’ (colloquially ‘usually unpleasant’) for the spiritually immature is that he “will punish you for all your iniquities“! Now, that is too much for our former Gentile Christian selves to stomach and attracts a jolly good spiritual stoning for the consternation it unsettles the Babylonian within.

With the taste of wording common to the Body of Christ, ‘no person will ever see eternal life without the wrath of God through chastisement in his life at God’s appointed time’. This process of chastening brings salvation and teaches us righteousness (Isa 26:9).

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love [hidden chastisement]: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return [to God].

Not returning to Egypt and going into Assyria and Babylon is part of our journey towards becoming Christ (Jer 29:3-23).

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared [in their order of salvation] to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching
[chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [Not all sins are transgression, but are highly apt to lead into transgression. Christ must increase as we decrease the flesh subject to corruption];

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.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged [Hebrew: “krinō”], we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [Hebrew: “katakrinō” = a later judgement] with the world [to the later “great white throne… judgment”].

Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

It is only the Elect who are being chastened since Christ and the foundation of the world. All of the Gentile Christian Church are bastards in their own time and order.

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

It is only the Elect who can hear and live in the fire of his word. The Lord’s Elect, “they that have done good [in] this present time” (Rom 8:18), are being judged in ‘this present time’ and will not need to come up “unto the resurrection of judgment”. “When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world… unto the resurrection of judgment.” Nevertheless, even those who are condemned to the resurrection of judgment are still being judged by God, and when His judgments are in the earth men will learn righteousness, even those in the lake of fire, the second death, the Great White Throne Judgment:

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

It is only by the Lord’s sovereign will that some few are given to be judged in “this present time”. If we are blessed to be part of “the house of God [in] this present time”, then we will also be given to believe these words of the apostle Paul concerning this the greatest of all honours:

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

Jer 24:5  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
Jer 24:6  For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Jer 24:7  And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jer 24:8  And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9  And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Jer 24:10  And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The answer to all of the following rhetorical verses is profoundly yes.

Amo 3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 

That verse makes a subtle connection with marriage. Every spirit-led Elect of God coming out of Babylon and married to an unbeliever, like Lot coming out of Sodom with his wife looking back, immaturely experiences initial ‘bitterness’ for their spouse’s seeming ridiculous blindness in not realising that it is God that blinds all people, including the incipient Elect.

2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

1Co 7:12  But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
1Co 7:13  And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

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?

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles [In the Lake of Fire].

And, for the time being,

Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street [in this age unless he is asked about his faith].

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? 

The Lord assuredly will roar as a lion out of Zion when we haven’t fed the spiritually hungry, just as the wolf feeds her young in the evening (Gen 49:27).

Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [lure for the unfortunate bird we are] is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 

It is every person since and inclusive of Adam conceived to the end of the One Thousand Year rule who is the bird taken in the snare of our whorish mother, Babylon the Great. Even righteous Gideon bowed to femineity and unconsciously emasculated himself and Israel (Deu 23:1).

Ecc 7:26  And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Jdg 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah [female fawn]: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Jdg 8:28  Thus was Midian [Effectively the Ammorites] subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

Gideon’s subduing the Midianites is akin to what some Babylonian Christian girls do today, supposedly for Jesus, by deliberately luring unbelieving young men, justifying sex ‘for Jesus’, deludedly thinking that they have done their duty in saving them. Gideon’s action is a classic act of not trusting in God’s strength over appeasing the downright alluring girls next door who, with exposed thighs, are ‘delightfully’ ensnaring (Ecc 9:12. Prov 7:6-27).

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? 

Those rhetorical questions asked by our Lord through Amos lead us back to the theme of an earthquake, symbolised by a mighty trumpet blast corresponding to a force of 10 on the Richter scale. The Lord’s Elect, as seen in Isa 42:1, are blessed to have their earth shake their self-styled temple to powder and are wonderfully “afraid” to give Christ all glory. That verse of Amos 3:6 is one of the most profound statements emanating from God’s throne that affects everything we think and do; “shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” However, we all inwardly sigh for it being one of the greatest delusions and “gin” (Amos 3:5) to our family and friends for the ‘snare’ it is and them, as we once were, beguiled by the chief ‘birder’, Satan to oppose themselves stubbornly parroting that God allows sin by our will.

2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

For Babylon’s churches, there is no greater enigmatic demonstration of Trumpet blasts than the Seven Trumpets of Revelations. These Trumpets herald the Elect’s swift understanding that the Trumpets, Vials, Woes and associated plagues are different versions of the same great tribulation first to come upon them and, ultimately, all mankind in his order.

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.
Ecc 9:3  This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

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

Everyone will hear Christ’s voice in his God-given time and order to hear. Understanding Jesus’s “loud voice” on the “great day of the feast” today is the greatest Trumpet blast the Elect will ever hear. The expression, “for three transgressions and four,” adds up to seven and represents the Seventh Trumpet expressed eight times (judgement) in Amos. The rest of humanity, hearing it, will assuredly hear it without understanding at the end of the One Thousand Year rule in death by fire, be that death his fiery word or both in a literal fire, before being instantly resurrected to hear it all again in the Resurrection to Judgment and the Last Great Day, the Eighth Day following the Feast of Tabernacles. Hence, every generation hears that trumpet blast.

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:10  I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Joh 7:37  On the last day, the great day of the feast, [of Tabernacles] Jesus got up and said in a loud voice, If any man is in need of drink let him come to me and I will give it to him.

For a far more in-depth understanding of the Feast of Trumpets, begin here with other localised links:
https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/revelation-81-6-the-seven-angels-prepare-to-sound-seven-trumpets-part-1/

As is demonstrated in those preceding verses, the Lord says,

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 
Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared [Trumpet and Earthquake], who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy? 

Luk 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others [Everyone who is not given of God to be an Elect] in parables [designed to hide the meanings]; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Amo 3:9  Publish in the palaces at Ashdod [Powerful cities of Egypt, Sodom and Old Jerusalem – Babylon], and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults [confusion] in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. 
Amo 3:10  For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 
Amo 3:11  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 

Today, December 2024, the entire world is living in foreboding fear of nuclear war, but not the Bride. She looks upon worldly, apparently end-time events with immense intrigue since she knows her husband’s mind in blessing her with good and not evil. She glorifies in her Lord identifying her confusion and seeing Satan coming afar off and having her old man within destroyed. She utterly disdains the physical riches of this world and shakes her head for having impudently exposed her beauty validated by a leering world to the point of spiritual adultery.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, 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,
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Amo 3:12  Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 

The Bride of Christ is the ‘two witnesses’ represented as ‘two legs’, the shepherd who testifies in transition in hearing her husband’s voice represented as ‘a piece of an ear’ in the house of Jacob. She is embarrassed by her whoredoms and steps out of bed, and on looking back, is temporarily shocked that she was in bed with her sisters still fornicating with Damascus and, in humiliation, flees as did Joseph from Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39).

Amo 3:13  Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 
Amo 3:14  That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel [house of God]: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. 

Gen 6:1  And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Gen 6:2  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Once our Lord has made us aware of our sins and transgressions and, in symbolic frustration, chastised us multiple times, we hopefully become acutely aware of our tendency to oscillate like Old Israel between physical riches and validating our beauty in bed with Babylon, much like Ohola and Oholibah. When this chastisement ceases, we no longer feel His spirit striving with us. This leads us into a dangerously insidious state as we again begin to act as a law unto ourselves, excusing our behaviour in the absence of His guidance and swift correction (Rom 2:14-18). Consequently, Christ, our horns and altar of his strength to overcome, are cut off, and we fall again to the dust of the earth. Accordingly, we return to a wintery fruitlessness in the summertime when we should spiritually harvest in abundance. Where there isn’t a harvest, our spiritual barns are empty, and we starve of Christ’s word.

Amo 3:15  And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD. 

To that end, and again, the indictment is upon the very Priests of God, his Elect; we shall continue to see in the next chapter our enduring guilt and punishment.

]]>
Studies in Psalms – Psa 140:5-13 “Preserve me From the Violent Man” Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-psa-1405-13-preserve-me-from-the-violent-man-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-psa-1405-13-preserve-me-from-the-violent-man-part-2 Mon, 30 Dec 2019 19:43:29 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=20030 Psalm 140:5-13  “Preserve me from the violent man” Part 2
[Study Aired December 26, 2019}

Psa 140:5  The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah. 
Psa 140:6  I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. 
Psa 140:7  O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. 
Psa 140:8  Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. 
Psa 140:9  As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. 
Psa 140:10  Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 
Psa 140:11  Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 
Psa 140:12  I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. 
Psa 140:13  Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence. 

Last week we took some time laying the groundwork for our reflection on the absolute need for this wrestling match which goes on in our heavens that is not against flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities that Christ is far higher than and that we can overcome through him. We looked at a couple of chapters in the book of Revelation to confirm the words here in Psalm 140 regarding the wicked and violent man who is purposed to “overthrow my goings” within and without.

This week we will look at the remaining verses of this psalm which show us so vividly just how we do overcome that beast within and without, through Christ our hope and joy and crown of rejoicing.

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

1Th 2:19  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

Psa 140:5  The proudH1343 have hidH2934 a snareH6341 for me, and cordsH2256; they have spread a netH7568 by the waysideH3027 H4570; they have setH7896 ginsH4170 for me. Selah. 

God is the one who allows the proud to hide a snare for me, and cords; and a net by the wayside; and they who have “set ginsH4170 for me” is said to be none other than the work of God (Amo 3:3-8) Who knows our every thought and what must happen to each of us in order to continue to overcome the pride of life, as He keeps us abased in His service (Php 2:13) so we can be exalted in due time. Right to the very last breath of our life this is what God expects of Christ’s bride who is bidden to this great wedding (Mat 23:12, Luk 17:10, Luk 14:10).

Amo 3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed? [Christ and his bride]

[Reading on we see what it is that God uses to keep the body of Christ healthy, walking together and in spiritual agreement]

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 ginH4170 is for him? shall one take up a snareH6341 from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

[Christ is the one who puts the ginH4170 in our life and blows the trumpet, the seals the trumpets and the vials in our life so we can enter into the temple (Rev 15:8)]

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?.

[Christ and his Christ are that lion and the prey that is taken is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and our pride filled hearts that he who is in us is greater than (1Jn 4:4). The “bird” that falls in a snare upon the earth is Christ and His Christ, the two doves that are granted to overcome the ginH4170 and the snareH6341 by learning obedience by the things that we suffer in this life (Heb 5:8, Heb 12:6)]

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

[The secret, His secret, God is revealing to Christ’s body today is confirming and assuring us that you are that blessed man that God is humbling today through judgment (2Sa 12:10) that is foreshadowed by the example of the prophets who had to patiently endure so much for our sakes as we will for the world’s sake and for each other today. Through Christ we will be more than conquerors (Rom 8:37) learning the fear of the Lord and being given the power to encourage and comfort each other through prophecy Jas 5:11,  1Co 10:11, 1Pe 1:12, Col 1:24, “who can but prophesy?” Rev 11:3, 1Co 14:3, Joh 13:35].

The proudH1343 have hid a snare for me” within, for the day of evil within me (Isa 63:17, Pro 16:4), and again it is the Lord who made us marred (proud) in His hand (Jer 18:4) for His creative workmanship that was purposed to be humbled, and crushed (Job 40:11-12) and in need of crying out to our safe haven, Jesus Christ (Psa 107:28-30), who can and will redeem us from this corrupt body of sinful flesh (Joh 8:36, 1Co 15:22).

Job 40:11  Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proudH1343, and abase him.
Job 40:12  Look on every one that is proudH1343, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

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.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Our trials, our being “overtaken in a fault” as explained with these descriptive words in this verse of our study “a snareH6341 for me, and cordsH2256; they have setH7896 ginsH4170 for me, is caused of God so we can “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” as we grow in love and faith so we can “cover a multitude of sin” in “the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (1Co 13:4-5, Psa 32:1-2, 1Pe 4:8, Jas 5:19-20). There is a long season in this life when we are snared by sin and can’t make war with the beast, and God has called His people out of sin (Rev 18:4) so we can be trained up to become saviors (Oba 1:21) who will be like Christ (1Jn 4:17) being able to fulfill these verses for others: (Joh 8:36, 1Ti 4:16).

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Pro 6:1  My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Pro 6:2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Pro 6:3  Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Pro 6:4  Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
Pro 6:5  Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

[God causes these snares and gins for our good knowing we must fall seven complete times (Pro 24:16) and God willing we won’t despise his goodness that leads us unto repentance through this process of judgement Rom 2:4, Amo 3:5, Pro 3:11]

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself (Gal 6:1), and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Psa 140:6  I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplicationsH8469, O LORD. 

It is through the fervent prayers of the saints that availeth much (Jas 5:16) that God will “hear the voice of my supplicationsH8469, O LORD“. We are a many-membered body, and if one member suffers, we all suffer with that member and make supplications for each other that avail much (1Co 12:26).

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1Co 12:26  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

God has created the right conditions so we learn to wash each other’s feet with the water of the word which proceeds from our mouth that strengthens us so we can walk circumspectly in this age, redeeming the times in which we live for the days are evil (Eph 5:16, Psa 90:10-14).

Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Isa 63:17, Pro 16:4)

Psa 90:10  The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Psa 90:11  Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
Psa 90:12  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psa 90:13  Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
Psa 90:14  O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Here are some scriptures which bring out this point of how God hears “the voice of my supplications, O LORD” through each other and for each other. Starting with (Col 1:24). We should get a strong sense as we look at these entries below of what is needed in order for our prayers, our supplications, to be effective. As Christ’s body, it can be no different than what it was for what caused Christ to cry out and be heard in that he feared God (Heb 5:7-8, 1Jn 4:17).

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

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.

There is a sense of pleading that comes out in these verses with the word ‘supplications’H8469 in it, a humility that is formed through suffering telling us we need to ask and seek and knock, and beseech our Father that we “may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luk 21:35-36). We must be that importuning widow who persists in prayer (Luk 18:1-8), as Christ who was our example persisted in prayer unto the shedding of blood. It was in His anguish that He prayed more fervently, and it will be in our anguish, in our midnight hours, that our lamps will have been trimmed through anguish, and our fervent prayers will avail much, to the saving of our souls (Luk 22:40-46).

Luk 21:35  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Luk 18:5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

Luk 22:40  And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
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.
Luk 22:45  And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
Luk 22:46  And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

H8469   Total KJV Occurrences: 18

supplications, 17

2Ch_6:21, Job_41:3, Psa_28:2, Psa_28:6, Psa_31:22, Psa_86:6, Psa_130:1-2 (2), Psa_140:6, Psa_143:1, Jer_3:21, Jer_31:9, Dan_9:3, Dan_9:17-18 (2), Dan_9:23, Zec_12:10

intreaties, 1  Pro_18:23

Preserve me from the violent man” is what Christ was accomplishing by praying fervently, and that violent man in this instance was Judas and the mob which came up against Christ. We know Judas represents the man of perdition within us who will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming as an angel strengthens us, that angel representing what we do for each other through this life to strengthen each other in our sojourn in the Lord (Luk 22:43, Php 1:19, Eph 4:16).

Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

Php 1:19  For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Psa 140:7  O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. 
Psa 140:8  Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. 
Psa 140:9  As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. 

These three verses contrast the mind of Christ that God gives his people so He can be “the strength of my salvation” expressed with these words “thou hast covered my head in the day of battle” as opposed to “the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them” which applies to our outward enemies as well as our own iniquities that will chasten us “let the mischief of their own lips cover them” (Jer 2:19).

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.

It is only our Lord who can “grant notthe desires of the wicked” reminding us that the only way we can overcome the beast within us is through Christ who will “further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah“. The mischief of our lips must be purged with the fiery coals of God’s word spoken of in Isaiah representing the fiery trials God’s elect must endure as we are sanctified by that word (1Pe 4:12-13, Joh 17:17) so we cease from sinning (Isa 6:7, 1Pe 4:1).

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.

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

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;

God’s glory is being revealed through our trials, and being partakers of Christ’s suffering is something that we are assured of by our Lord himself, that we will be able to endure and so that gives us great reason to rejoice always and again I say rejoice.

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.

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

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.

Psa 140:10  Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 
Psa 140:11  Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

In order for us to endure to the end, we must see that these verses (Psa 140:10-11) apply to us, to that first marred vessel which must be completely destroyed and made anew as described in Malachi 4:1. These verses in Malachi and Psalms reveal the work God must do in our heavens if we are going to “grow up as calves of the stall” who have received the “healing in his wings” that is granted to those who “fear my name”. Fearing God’s name is just another way of saying obeying His commandments. To do so is only possible by the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts (Mal 4:2, Joh 14:15, Rom 5:5)

Psa 140:12  I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. 
Psa 140:13  Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

We are not blessed to “dwell in thy presence” for just any reason, but rather so we can go on to fulfill the rest of these verses found in Malachi as the body of Christ which will bring healing to all the nations of the world (Mal 4:3-5). That is how “the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor“: it will be through the elect who will have the honour of turning “the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal 4:6).

Is there a chance we won’t fulfill what God has ordained for us to do? Of course there is not, but we know that proclaiming the gospel and being a watchman of the Lord (Eze 3:3-11, Eze 33:3-21) does not preclude that the hearts of the fathers will be turned to the children, and the children to the fathers immediately. Rather, this event of Elijah typifies what God’s people will do during the typical thousand year period (Rev 20:6), making every opportunity possible for people to come to know the Lord, but in the end witnessing to all of God’s creation that only Christ can be Christ (Rom 8:9) and that without true conversion, the end of the prophecy will also need to be fulfilled which says “lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” which is what will happen when Satan is loosed for a little season and Gog and Magog come up against the camp of the saints coming from the four corners of the world (representing the entire unconverted mind of mankind that is still against Christ and His Christ).

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.

This last section of our study reminds us that the way God preserves us from the violent man is to first seek the occasion against our flesh which shows us we are the man (2Sa 12:7), and if God is dealing with us in this age then that judgment which comes upon us will completely destroy that violent man as described in Malachi 4:1, which is the greatest honour and blessing that could ever come upon us in this life, being given the privilege to be among the first who learn to trust God by putting off our flesh (Eph 1:12-14).

2Sa 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Mal 4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. (Isa 63:17, Pro 16:4)

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

]]>