[Study Aired July 28, 2022]

One of the major keys to helping us understand the book of kings, as with all scripture, is knowing that it was written for God’s elect (2Co 4:15), and more specifically in this chapter, how the two main characters, Elijah and Elisha, represent Christ and His Christ.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

With that principle in mind, we can look into this very hope-filled section of scripture which takes us to a very specific time and journey of Elijah and Elisha where we’re shown the transfer of power that was given to Elisha from Elijah, which is typical of these verses amongst others (Luk 24:49, Luk 22:32).

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

It was expedient that Christ, who is typified by Elijah here, had to go away (Joh 16:7) so that the greater works of which Christ spoke could be accomplished through the body of Christ, the promised remnant (Rom 11:5) who have been promised an author and finisher of our faith to whom we confidently look (Php 1:6, 2Co 3:12, Heb 12:2) as He works in us both to will and to do of God’s pleasure (Php 2:12-13) which is to give us the kingdom (Luk 12:32).

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.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

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. 

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

We have God’s kingdom within us now in earnest (Luk 17:20, Eph 1:14, Php 1:20) and are confident that Christ who has all power over our heavens and earth (Mat 28:18) can make the rejoicing bride ready (Rev 19:7) for that much anticipated time when, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” will happen (1Co 15:52). That is just how important this section of scripture should be to us as it is a typical moment in history that points to something that God has promised He will do through the church, not by might nor by power but by his holy spirit (Zec 4:6) that was given in double portion to Elisha which typifies the witness that God’s elect have been given the very faith of  Jesus Christ by which we live (Gal 2:20).

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 [Joh 20:29].

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

Php 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me [Rom 5:8-10].

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

The double portion [2] of God’s spirit given to Elisha represents Christ in us the faithful witness (Rev 1:5), who can do these greater works today within us (Joh 15:5, Col 1:27) as we’re led by the spirit of the Lord  so we can open up the eyes and ears of those who are spiritually blind. These are the greater works that Christ spoke of that His disciples would one day accomplish once the holy spirit was given to them (Joh 16:7, Joh 14:12).

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

2Ki 2:1  And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal^H1537.
2Ki 2:2  And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
2Ki 2:3  And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2Ki 2:4  And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
2Ki 2:5  And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2Ki 2:6  And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
2Ki 2:7  And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
2Ki 2:8  And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 
2Ki 2:9  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 
2Ki 2:10  And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

2Ki 2:1  And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal^H1537.

It is from Gilgal^H1537 where Elijah and Elisha (Christ and His Christ) are seen walking together (vs 1), and this time of walking together represents the time when Christ’s disciples walked with Him on the earth, and when God’s elect knew Christ after the flesh (2Co 5:15-16). It will require Elijah being taken up “into heaven by a whirlwind“, a type of Christ being risen “and rose again” in order to develop a deep and lasting trust between these two prophets (Christ and His Christ).

2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 
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.

Gilgal^H1537 is a reminder to God’s people of what God is going to do for them after Christ is resurrected (Rom 4:17), and so it is through the resurrected Christ that we can now see a whirlwind which typifies God’s spirit that moves our earthly lives in a direction that creates a commitment and trust in him (Joh 6:63). Gilgal is also likened unto “heaven, rolling thing, wheel”, words that remind us of these prophetic verses in Ezekiel 1:15-17 that describe for us how our Father and Christ and our being in Christ (Joh 14:20) empowers us now (Rev 11:3) to interact through God’s holy spirit that makes it possible for these wheel within wheels to function to the glory of God (Php 2:12-13).

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

H1537 
gilgâl  ghil-gawl’  The same as H1536 (with the article as a properly noun); Gilgal, the name of three places in Palestine: – Gilgal. See also H1019.

H1536  gilgâl  ghil-gawl’  A variation of H1534: – wheel.

H1534  galgal  gal-gal’   By reduplication from H1556; a wheel; by analogy a whirlwind; also dust (as whirled): – heaven, rolling thing, wheel.

H1556  gâlal  gaw-lal’   A primitive root; to roll (literally or figuratively): – commit, remove, roll (away, down, together), run down, seek occasion, trust, wallow.

Eze 1:15  Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 
Eze 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 
Eze 1:17  When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

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

2Ki 2:2  And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel^H1008.

Elijah telling Elisha to “Tarry here, I pray thee” is typical of what Christ said to his disciples (Luk 24:49) before he was resurrected and went unto our Father in his house, typified by the name “BethelH1008” where the spirit would be sent on Pentecost and given to those who were added to the church (Act 2:1-3)

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

H1008 bêyth-‘êl bayth-ale’  From H1004 and H410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in Palestine: – Beth-el.

Then Elisha prophecies that because the Lord lives he lives (“And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth” Rom 14:8-9), and as such we are inseparable (“I will not leave thee” Heb 13:5, Rom 8:38-39), as we go down to Bethel with Christ [Elijah in type] which typifies our being raised in heavenly places and being seated with our Lord in God’s house [BethelH1008] having the earnest of God’s spirit today (Eph 2:6).

Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 
Rom 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

2Ki 2:3  And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 
2Ki 2:4  And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho^H3405. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho^H3405.

The prophets that were at Bethel represent that part of us that lacks faith and causes us to question God’s intentions for us in this life, and so we need to be helped in our unbelief (Mar 9:24-25) which is what Elijah who represents Christ is going to do for Elisha, reassuring him of his commitment to not leave or forsake him in the next verse. Elisha was convinced of what God was doing and so he says these words, telling our old man who lacks faith to “hold ye your peace“, which also reminds us of what Christ said to his disciples in turbulent times at sea “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Mat 8:25-26).

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 
Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him [“and there was a great calm”].

This point of not leaving Elijah is twice stated now to remind us that this is the truth of the gospel of God that Christ who is our hope of glory within will not leave us or forsake us and will finish this work of faith to the end which is being typified with these two prophets (Col 1:27, Php 1:6).

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: 

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Elijah telling Elisha that he is going to go to “Jericho^H3405” symbolizes Christ going to the church via the comforter (Joh 16:13), to enable the body of Christ to bring forth fruit that was made possible by the earlier typical statement of Elijah going to “Bethel^H1008” representing Christ going to His Father. Jericho means ‘moon’ and ‘fragrant’, and it is in the church, the temple of the living God, that we become a fragrant-smelling living sacrifice unto God. The moon in the positive sense is being used here as we can reflect the light of Christ in the church just as the moon can reflect the sun of righteousness (2Co 2:15, Eph 5:1-2, Mal 4:2, Eph 3:10).

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 
Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

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,

H3405 yerı̂ychô    yerêchô    yerı̂ychôh  yer-ee-kho’, yer-ay-kho’, yer-ee-kho’

Perhaps from H3394; its month; or else from H7306; fragrant; Jericho or Jerecho, a place in Palestine: – Jericho.

H3394 yârêach yaw-ray’-akh   From the same as H3391; the moon: – moon.

H7306 rûach roo’-akh  A primitive root; properly to blow, that is, breathe; only (literally) to smell or (by implication perceive (figuratively to anticipate, enjoy): – accept, smell, X touch, make of quick understanding

2Ki 2:5  And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2Ki 2:6  And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

Now a third place of destination is mentioned that Elijah was sent “Jordan“. So we see a process of judgment being shown [3 places] which starts in our life when the spirit of God is sent to us on Pentecost made possible by Christ being resurrected to our Father’s house “Bethel“, then Elijah is said to go to “Jericho” representing the body of Christ and the fruit of his spirit in our life, and then to “Jordan^H3383“. The lower region of the Jordan represents the humbled life in Christ that is needed and can only be accomplished through a process of judgment that is upon the house of God today (1Pe 4:17, Mat 23:12).

H3383 yardên yar-dane’ From H3381; a descender; Jarden, the principal river of Palestine: – Jordan. 

H3381 yârad yaw-rad’  A primitive root; to descend (literally to go downwards; or conventionally to a lower region, as the shore, a boundary, the enemy, etc.; or figuratively to fall); causatively to bring down (in all the above applications): –    X abundantly, bring down, carry down, cast down, (cause to) come (-ing) down, fall (down), get down, go (-ing) down (-ward), hang down, X indeed, let down, light (down), put down (off), (cause to, let) run down, sink, subdue, take down.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

Mat 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Once again our doubting-Thomas flesh, represented by this third time pronounced statement made by the sons of the prophets, “And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day?” This is again answered a third time by Elisha telling them, “Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace” which reminds us that two things are always happening in the life of God’s elect; Christ is increasing, and our old man is decreasing via the judgments God brings to us (Joh 3:30). And Elisha continues on with Elijah to Jericho. Like Peter, Elisha has an unction from God and his continuing with Elijah is akin to Peter wanting to continue with Christ because he has the words of eternal life “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (Joh 6:67-68, Joh 8:31-32).

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

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 
Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

2Ki 2:7  And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
2Ki 2:8  And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

We can be living witnesses of God’s power in this world to those whose spiritual growth has not gone beyond “the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit” (Heb 6:1-6). Those who see this witness of growth are represented by the “fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan“. Like John the Baptist, these [50] have a favor given them as John did who had a humility and greatness that Christ spoke of but, because he typifies those who do not have Christ’s spirit within, the least is greater than John (Luk 7:28). This becomes an admonition for God’s elect that we are standing only because of Christ and reminds us that “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1Co 1:26-27).

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 

Elijah taking his mantle and wrapping it together [line upon line, precept upon precept (Isa 28:10)] and smiting the waters so that they were divided hither and thither is symbolic of our rightly dividing the word of God so we can walk on dry ground. Dry ground can be both negative or positive, but in this case the dry ground is good as it symbolizes that we’ve gone beyond the early baptism stage of our walk of Hebrews 6:2 and are moving forward as a result of our waters, our flesh being smitten by the Lord or chastened and scourged so that we can forsake ungodliness and worldly lust (Tit 2:12) and learn of His righteousness because of His judgments in our earth (Isa 26:9) that cause us to move forward on the dry land (Heb 12:6, Rom 8:14-16, Heb 5:8).

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

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. 

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

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

2Ki 2:9  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 
2Ki 2:10  And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

Now both prophets have crossed the Jordan, and at this point Elisha is no different than Moses who in type and shadow cannot enter into the promised land unless the holy spirit is given, which we are told to ask for: “And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me” (Jas 4:2, Luk 11:13).

Jas 4:2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Luk 11:13  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

The promised land is Christ, and again the request of Elisha to “let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me” is comparable to our crying out to God for His spirit, and being given a thirst to ask for those living waters in this age (Mat 5:6, Joh 7:37-38) that make it possible for us to be true overcomers in this life who cross the Jordan and enter into the promised land (Rom 8:8-9). Peter and all of us like Elisha lack faith and will be devoured by the devil unless the Lord prays for us and faith is given, typified by the double portion of the spirit that will be given to Elisha (Luk 22:32).

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

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

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

The spirit bears witness that we are sons of God (Rom 8:16) and Elijah points out that in his flesh he has asked a hard thing wanting a double portion of God’s spirit, but nothing is impossible for God (Luk 1:37), and so the proof given to Elisha that his request has been answered comes in the form of the statement “nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” It is when Christ is taken from us that we ‘go a fishing’ (Joh 21:3), but if God’s spirit is given to us, as was the case in this type and shadow story of Elisha, who represents the elect, then we do not need to see Christ as typified by these words: “if thou see me taken from thee” (Joh 20:29). Elisha did see him taken from him, and those expedient actions were typical of what Christ said of himself so that we can see him in the spirit and “be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Joh 16:7, Joh 14:18).

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 

Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 

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 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 

[Study Aired June 9, 2022]

1Ki 20:22  And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 
1Ki 20:23  And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 
1Ki 20:24  And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
1Ki 20:25  And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. 
1Ki 20:26  And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 
1Ki 20:27  And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 
1Ki 20:28  And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 
1Ki 20:29  And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
1Ki 20:30  But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

In our last study, King Ahab, whose life represents that of God’s elect, was brought into remembrance by circumstances that God created through King Benhadad. How valuable the riches were in the temple that Ahab, which up to this point he had seemingly taken for granted. The lesson for God’s elect is that human nature can take anything for granted, and unless God gives us trials and tribulations, which came to Ahab by way of Benhadad, we would continue in this careless mindset of not holding fast to our crown, which all those riches represent (see vs 3: “Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest” [Rev 3:11).

Rev 3:11  I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

By God’s grace and mercy, Ahab had this laissez-faire spirit burned out of him. What an interesting modern word “laissez-faire” is, which would roughly translate into English as ‘leave the people do as they choose’. King Ahab is us as that carnal babe in Christ, and unless the Lord intervenes we will just do what we think is naturally right in our own eyes and even believe this is for the betterment of all others, letting ‘our brothers’ do as they choose (Pro 14:12, Pro 16:25, 1Co 5:11, Act 20:28).

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

Pro 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

This natural mind was as much a part of Christ as it is in all men, and unless Christ suffered in His flesh and learned obedience by those things which He suffered, losing His life in the process so He could gain it, we would not have a savior and high priest as we do today (Heb 4:15).

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

The feelings of our infirmities (Psa 119:67-71) includes being marred in the hand of the Potter (Jer 18:4) and being subject to a way that seems right to all mankind in this corruptible flesh. Nevertheless, Christ, being in that marred condition and having God’s spirit without measure, (“for God giveth not the Spirit by measure” [Joh 3:34]), always obeyed His Father and said not my will but your will be done — even as He was learning obedience through the things which He suffered (Heb 5:8-9, Mat 16:24, 2Ti 2:12, Luk 22:44).

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;

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Christ denied himself to become our High Priest who can now save us from our natural tendency to deny Him in our flesh (Gal 2:20). Only Christ can be Christ, and He won’t deny Himself the work of saving all those whom the Father has given Him to save as a kind of first fruits unto God (2Ti 2:12-15, Joh 6:39, Jas 1:18, 1Pe 2:9).

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 
2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself [These are the profitable words that’s God children have been called to believe in order to do the work of God in this life].
2Ti 2:14  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 
2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Joh 6:39  And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (1Jn 2:17, Php 2:13)

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

The winnowing process spoken of in Matthew 3:12 applies to our Head, Jesus Christ, as much as it does to His Body as well (Col 1:24), and unless the Lord builds the spiritual house within us which consists of many members that make up His body (Rom 12:5), we will be laboring in vain (Psa 127:1, Col 1:27). We are not laboring in vain however, any more than Christ was, and the reason is clear to God’s elect as to why this is the case: (1Co 15:58, Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5, Php 2:12-13).

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

This particular study is centered around the truth of scripture that tells us God is the God of the mountain as well as the God of the plain or valley, which is another way of reminding us that God’s will is being fulfilled in the lives of His children on earth…

“Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys“ (1Ki 20:28)

…as it is in heaven:

“Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys” (1Ki 20:28)

… and as such we have nothing to fear as we die daily and serve our Lord and His body, of which Body we are told, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven [represented by the hills] and in earth [represented by the plains]” (Mat 28:18, Php 2:12-13).

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

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. [“in heaven and in earth“]

1Ki 20:22  And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 

The day of the Lord can be likened to one year (“for at the return of the year” of this verse), and Ahab is being told, as we are, that we are to prepare ourselves for battle (Psa 90:11-14, Eph 6:13). Ahab’s battle was physical and ours is spiritual in the Lord who gives us the power to “strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest” (Eph 6:12, Php 4:13).

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. 

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. 

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

What we must do to overcome sin after having done all is stand up against “the king of Syria” who “will come up against thee” who typifies Satan (Mat 4:2-3). The preparation for that battle against “the King of Syria” requires that “the prophet” come “to the king of Israel” to alert us of this day of visitation or judgment that is coming, and we are to heed this warning (Eze 2:5, Luk 12:47, 1Th 5:20).

Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 
Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 

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. 

Luk 12:47  And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 

1Th 5:20  Despise not prophesyings.

1Ki 20:23  And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 
1Ki 20:24  And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: 
1Ki 20:25  And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

It is “the servants of the king of Syria” who come to the king of Syria to give him their earthly counsel as opposed to the prophet who came to the king of Israel to let Ahab know for certain what was going to happen (Amo 3:7).

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

Carnal reasoning for taking “the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms” never works! To dismiss the ordained rulers (“the kings”) and replace them with the ‘military commanders’ will not bode well (Pro 14:12).

1Ki 20:24  So do this: Dismiss the kings from their command, and replace them with military commanders. (NET)

Their pagan concepts of who they thought God was were defined with a small ‘g’, “god”. They believed that they had the “home court advantage” against Israel because of their belief that Israel’s ‘god’ only battled well in the mountains and as such was only the god of the mountains.

The lesson for God’s elect is to not lose sight that God can and will fight all our battles, the ones in the plain and the ones in hills, which are symbols for us of how Christ has all power over heaven and earth where He will reign victoriously (Mat 28:18, Isa 33:22).

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

Isa 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

The fleshly carnal mind just naturally wants to compartmentalize God, and this pantheistic approach of the Syrians in defining who they thought Israel’s God was, led to their destruction.

The definition of insanity was once defined as doing the same thing over and over with the same wrong results, which is what we do when we are in the bondage of sin and why we read of Syria’s preparation for war in these terms: “And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.“

I can’t help but think of comparing this story to Gog and Magog (Rev 20:8-9). This battle at the end of the thousand year reign of the saints has the same delusional undertones as that of “the servants of the king of Syria“.

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.

1Ki 20:26  And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
1Ki 20:27  And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.

Verse 26 explains why Benhadad, or anyone who is trying to fight spiritual warfare, will lose if they number the Syrians” (2Sa 24:1, 1Ch 21:1, Jas 1:13), representing our trust in our flesh and our own strength, which is what “Aphek^H663” means. It doesn’t say who numbered Israel, as opposed to declaring “that Benhadad numbered the Syrians“, the point being that the Lord is the one who determines our ranks and how many we need to win the battle (Jdg 7:7, Heb 11:32.

Jdg 7:7  And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men [Rom 2:4] that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

This is all symbolic language telling us that we need to get out of the way and confess our transgressions (300 men – process of judgment) so that God can fight the battle for us through Christ (Gideon) and the body of Christ (Gideon’s army). Our victory comes about by hoping in those things which we don’t see which requires the faith of Christ that is in His body the church, represented by Gideon’s army (Joh 20:29).

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

More contrast is drawn for us in regard to the children of Israel who were numbered, and all present looking “like two little flocks of kids;” who were all present and pitched before the vastly larger Syrian army that “filled the country“. The contrast with “two little flocks of kids” and an army that “filled the country” reminds us that with Christ in us as His little flock who are “all present” as one body (Luk 12:32), we have nothing to fear regarding what any size army symbolizing our trials may come our way such as this one that “filled the country” (Rom 8:35-39, Mat 16:18).

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

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

H663‘ăphêq    ‘ăphı̂yq    af-ake’, af-eek’    From H662 (in the sense of strength); fortress; Aphek (or Aphik), the name of three places in Palestine: – Aphek, Aphik.  Total KJV occurrences: 9

1Ki 20:28  And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

This verse makes it very apparent how easy it is for the Lord to deliver us from our enemies, declared by the ‘man of God’ who comes and prophesies of things to come.

It is the prophets of old who came to Israel, expressed this way by the holy spirit “who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets”, and it is Christ who comes to us as the Comforter who will lead us into all Truth today through the church (Heb 1:1-3, Amo 3:7, 1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11, Joh 14:16-17, Eph 3:10).

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 
Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 
Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you [Col 1:27].

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,

This is exactly what this man of God says for our sakes today: “Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.“

God is showing us through this event in history how He deals with any unbelief within Christ’s body, the church (Col 1:24). Notice it says, “And ye shall know that I am the LORD” — after the Syrians within me are destroyed who would have me believe that God is only God in certain parts of my earth [my life], when in fact He is the “God of the hills” as well as the “God of the valley“.

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: 

1Ki 20:29  And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
1Ki 20:30  But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

Both sides pitching one over against the other for seven days is a physical representation of the flesh being against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh (Gal 5:17) and how there must be a complete readiness of mind before “the battle was joined“. Such a battle symbolizes Christ now entering into the holy of holies which no man, specifically our carnal self, can enter. The carnal, first man Adam, is destroyed in spiritual battle, typified by Syria being overcome in this physical battle (Rev 15:8). The number slain “in one day” was “an hundred thousand footmen” reminds us that this battle represents the destruction of our readied and completely prepared carnal hearts which are deceitful and desperately wicked. But for the grace through faith of Christ, the sin that lies at the doors of our heart would sift us via the destroyer Satan (Gen 4:7, Luk 22:31).

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

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

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him  [Eph 2:8].

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 

Notice the rest fled “to Aphek, into the city” to escape the battle “and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left“, telling us that our sins will find us out and there is no refuge or strength to be found when we go “to Aphek, into the city” which symbolizes our leaning to our own understanding (Num 32:23, Pro 3:3-6).

Num 32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 
Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

The good news for God’s elect is that He is working with us as His workmanship so our old man will be sought out and completely destroyed by Christ as He knocks down our walls within our weakly fortified cities within ourselves in order to destroy our carnal nature as He gives us a new heart (Eze 36:26).

Eze 36:26  I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

This wall that kills 27,000 is a multiple of ten that represents flesh and blood which cannot inherit the kingdom of God and is prevented by the fiery sword which turns every way to keep the tree of life (Gen 3:24). It can also be likened to the shout of the armies of Israel that caused the walls of Jericho to fall, an act of faith typifying that when the body of Christ is of one mind, and all come in the unity of the faith being of one voice, our enemies are conquered (Jos 6:16, Jos 6:20-21, Heb 11:30).

Jos 6:16  And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.

Jos 6:20  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 
Jos 6:21  And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 

Sin is persistent and will always be at the door of our hearts to be overcome, and it will desperately try to hide itself in the inner chamber of our hearts and minds: “And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.” However, the Lord will seek it out and destroy it all, at an appointed time. The appointed time is an ongoing dying-daily process for God’s elect who are being judged today [27,000 – the 2+7 (which adds to 9) (1Pe 4:17)], a judgment that will conclude at our last breath, bringing us unto perfection on the third day, if we are blessed of God to endure until the end (Mat 24:13).

Luk 13:32  And he said to them, Having gone, say to this fox, Behold, I cast out demons and finish cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am fully perfected. 

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the last section of chapter twenty in Kings. Here are the verses:

1Ki 20:31  And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
1Ki 20:32  So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
1Ki 20:33  Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
1Ki 20:34 And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
1Ki 20:35  And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
1Ki 20:36  Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
1Ki 20:37  Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
1Ki 20:38  So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
1Ki 20:39  And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
1Ki 20:40  And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
1Ki 20:41  And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
1Ki 20:42  And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
1Ki 20:43  And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

[Study Aired October 21, 2021]

2Co 10:12  For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Gal 6:14  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

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.
Gal 2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In (Gal 6:11-13) Paul explains the bondage self-righteousness brings to our lives and how there is always some physical action we unwisely use to try to have others measure up to what we think is what God would have us do in our flesh. We are blessed to know now that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

The new creature we become through Christ is completely new (2Co 5:17), and the old creature has to die daily until our last breath [“The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” Gal 6:14, Gal 2:20], and we must endure until the end through Christ, the new creation within us, our hope of glory or obedience (Col 1:27), in order to be saved in this life (Mat 24:13).

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

This section of the book of Kings uses the  symbolism of Cherubims among many other details that describe the temple which we are (1Co 3:16) in order to paint a clear picture for us of how we can go from being the first man Adam, who is a figure or type of the second Adam, Christ, that is being formed within us (Rom 5:14-15, 1Co 15:45).

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Rom 5:14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come [1Co 10:11, 1Pe 1:12, 1Jn 4:17].
Rom 5:15  But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. (Eph 2:8) For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

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.

How Christ is formed in His people, and ultimately through all of God’s creation, is revealed to us in God’s word and made very bright through detailed work in the temple of God that helps us see through the dark glass through which we currently are looking in this flesh (1Co 13:12-13).

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The function of God’s elect who come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Oba 1:21) will be the focus of this study as we consider how and why God dwells among us today as His people in order to finish His workmanship which we are that is being created for the purpose of bringing the rest of God’s creation into a loving relationship with our Father and Christ and one another, so that God can be all in all (Joh 17:3, 1Co 15:28).

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

1Ki 6:23  And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

The two cherubims and the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 are both types of God’s elect who, while in our flesh, represented by “ten cubits high” of the cherubim, are able to fulfill the will of God by being blessed to be raised in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) which is symbolized by the area “within the oracle” or holy of holies where we are given God’s power through Christ to come boldly before His presence. We are to present ourselves a living sacrifice, made possible through His spirit which is the spiritual wind beneath the wings of the symbolic cherubim who can soar into the heavenlies (Rev 11:3).

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

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

The “olive tree” also represents the the elect of God who are symbolized by the two witnesses who were “cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature [first Adam], and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree [second Adam].” God tells the Israel of God, the elect, to not be ignorant of this fact lest we become conceited in our abundance of revelation forgetting “how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?” The honour of being a kind of first fruits or royal priesthood (Jas 1:18, 1Pe 2:9) is something that we should rejoice in (Php 4:4) knowing that the bride will be made ready, having been granted to be arrayed with fine linen which is the righteousness of the saints. This is another way of saying we are granted to be “graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree” which is what our being dragged to Christ accomplishes (Joh 6:44).

Rom 11:24  For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

1Ki 6:24  And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. 

This verse describes the goodness of God that is shown in His plan from the very start until the finishing of it. We continue to learn and have reinforced in our heavens God’s goodness that is expressed through the longsuffering spirit of God (Rom 2:4). God’s favour or goodness is expressed through the witness of two cherubs whose wing span is “five cubits” – five representing the grace of God. That grace and faith is shown first to God’s elect who are represented by the cherub, and their having four wings in total tells us that the whole (4) of God’s creation is going to be saved through God’s elect (Oba 1:21). All “ten cubits” remind us that as in Adam all die (all 10 cubits) so in Christ the second Adam will be made alive as “from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.“

1Ki 6:25  And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

This statement, “And the other cherub  was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size“, reveals to us that Christ is not divided in doctrine, and it is only a true witness when “both the cherubims were of one measure and one size“. The “one measure and one size” is what fulfills our joy in one another as we come to see that we are many members in Christ but one body that is not divided in doctrine (Php 2:2).

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

God gives us the ability to maintain that unity through the power of His holy spirit which makes these following verses possible to fulfill in Christ (Php 2:3-8).

Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Php 2:4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God [1Jn 4:17]:
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

1Ki 6:26  The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

Again two cherubs are mentioned as a witness to the truth that Christ and his Christ identify with flesh, represented by the “ten cubits” (Heb 4:14-16).

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The two cherubim represent God’s elect who, after we have suffered awhile having been stablished, strengthened, and settled (1Pe 5:10-11), can now extend comfort and mercy toward others as God has done unto us through our many trials (Act 14:22, 2Co 1:4-5). It is an ongoing process that shows God’s longsuffering spirit and purpose for God’s elect which is to become more and more like our Lord so we can be used to save humanity by the same process of judgment by which we are being saved (1Pe 4:17-19, 1Jn 4:17), if God grants us to endure until the end (Rom 11:26, Rom 11:31-32).

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1Pe 5:11  To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2Co 1:5  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

1Ki 6:27  And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

We can say with all assuredness that no one in our life can more deeply and continually affect or touch us like the body of  Christ can because it is our body, and no man ever hated his own flesh and bones which we are (Eph 5:29-31). “And their wings touched one another in the midst of the house” is what this closeness and intimacy we have in Christ is telling us. These following verses explain the way we ought to conduct ourselves in the house of God that is the foundation and pillar of truth where we pray love will continue to abound (1Pe 3:8-10, 1Ti 5:1-4, 1Ti 3:15).

Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

1Pe 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be  courteous:
1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
1Pe 3:10  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

1Ti 5:1  Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1Ti 5:2  The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
1Ti 5:3  Honour widows that are widows indeed.
1Ti 5:4  But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

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

God has ordained that it is by this way of life mentioned in these words of life above, that the body would get closer and more intimately aware of all of the details that the bride will need to know as we come to the end of each of our own ages and ultimately when the first resurrection occurs. The world will witness to that unity that He can and has and will be forging in all the saints. We long for that day when our fellow brothers who are now in Adam will partake of this same intimate relationship in our Lord and be freed from the bondage of corruption that is flesh by coming under the wing of Christ (Rom 8:21-23, Luk 13:34).

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

This verse (1Ki 6:27) speaks to the intimacy that we have in Christ starting with the position of where the cherubim are in the house of God: “he set the cherubims within the inner house.” God is the one who sets every member in the body where we belong so that we can all come to the fullness of the unity of faith in time (1Co 12:18, Eph 4:13).

1Co 12:18  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

God’s elect are being stretched and suffer in this life (1Co 9:27, 2Ti 2:12, Luk 2:34-35) so we can touch the walls of humanity’s heart that will one day be covered by the blood of Christ extending mercy to them as it was first extended to us, symbolized by those stretched-out wings (Luk 13:34).

Luk 2:34  And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35  (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. [We are stretched for this reason.]

Luk 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, [“the cherubim which represent the elect“] and ye would not!

These words demonstrate the truth that God’s elect are blessed to have this intimate and close relationship that allows us to come to know our Father and Christ which is what eternal life is: “And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.“

As we keep learning, we don’t come to know our Father and Christ for our sakes only but also for the rest of humanity who cannot at this present time be gathered to him, which is the same as being dragged to him (Joh 6:44), because God has given them a heart that says they “would not!” We can rejoice always in knowing that there is a depth of mercy and love and compassion that God will show to the rest of the world one day and is showing to us now as we are cleansed in this life, justified and glorified in this life, glorified now in earnest and one day in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye in the fullness (1Co 6:11, Rom 8:30-36, 1Co 15:52).

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

1Ki 6:28  And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

Our last verse simply says “And he overlaid the cherubims with gold” which tells us that we are going through a process now of proving all things and holding fast to that gold leaf that God’s word is (1Th 5:21).

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

God will finish this work in the lives of His saints and He and He alone will be glorified in that process of overlaying “the cherubims with gold” and it will be made possible because he has promised to “dwell among the children of Israel” whom He will not forsake.

Gospels In Harmony – The Final Appeal to Unbelievers – Part 1

Matt 26:1-2, Luke 21:37-38, John 12:22-50

[Study Aired September 28, 2021]

Mat 26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
Mat 26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Luk 21:37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.
Luk 21:38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

Joh 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Joh 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36a While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. 
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
Joh 12:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Joh 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Joh 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Joh 12:41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Joh 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
Joh 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

Joh 12:36b These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

Our last several studies Christ spoke many parables to His disciples. The disciples could not understand them, though they thought they did at times, because they had not received the holy spirit. Every parable was spoken to hide the message of God, contrary to what is taught by the churches today, until the spirit is given to those Christ chooses to understand. In this study He tells His last parables before he is taken into custody.

Mat 13:10-17 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 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. 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. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Luk 18:31-34 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

Keep in mind Christ said this to all His disciples, including Judas, who we will see in future studies betrays Christ. So being a disciple is not enough to understand the parables. What else must you be in order to understand the parables?

Psa 31:23-24 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

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

Joh 14:15-18 If ye love me, keep my commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jas 1:19-27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Here are the first verses of today’s study.

Mat 26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
Mat 26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Luk 21:37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.

Christ ends His discussion with the disciples by telling them, “The Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” At this time they were still thinking Christ was there to conquer the world and begin the kingdom of God on earth. As we will see in future studies,this is not the case and all the disciples will betray and deny him. Here is Peter’s denial of Christ, but all the disciples denied him.

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

Continuing with our verses.

Luk 21:38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

Joh 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Joh 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

The people still are desiring to hear the teaching of Christ, and even those outside of the Jewish community want to hear and call for him. Christ answers them, once again, with parables.

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

The corn of wheat represents the mind of the old man. Through the death of the old man and his doctrines much fruit is brought forth. The death of the old man brings forth the fruit of the spirit. This is how the Son of man is glorified.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Eph 5:9-10 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Again Christ says the same thing in different sayings.

Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

By dying to the carnal mind we are given the ability to serve Christ and receive honor from the Father, Christ’s God and our God.

Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

Christ knew what was to come over the next few days, and His soul was troubled, but he would not deny the Father’s will as His disciples are being caused to do. This is the difference between Christ and us. Christ came in the sinful flesh but sinned not.

Heb 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The best we are given to do is to stop walking after the flesh and, as we all know, this is impossible for men to do, and it is Christ in us, Who is without sin, Who is causing us to have a new walk in the spirit.

Rom 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me [the elect] free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

We as His body are filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, which gives us the ability to understand the hidden mysteries of God.

Col 1:24-27 Who [Paul and the elect] now rejoice in my [our] sufferings for you [Christ and His Christ], and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ [our head and master] in my [our] flesh [old man] for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I [we, the elect] am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me [us] for you [and all in the ages to come], to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles [the Greeks (Joh 12:20)]; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I [we] also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me [the elect] mightily.

Continuing our verses, He calls out to the Father.

Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

The Father has glorified His name through Christ and is doing it again through the elect, the body of Christ, the church. We hear this same saying in our heavens if you have ears to hear. Christ now explains the voice:

Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Just as Christ is “lifted up from the earth” so must all men in order to enter into the kingdom, but every man in his proper order. We are told this from the very beginning, but only the elect understand this mystery.

Gen 2:17 Yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be eating from it, for in the day you eat from it, to die shall you be dying.

Mankind does not understand that in order to gain life, one must eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and die. Christ also did the same by entering into the flesh. The people ask Him the next question because of their lack of understanding, and we all ask this question.

Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

Here is what is said in the law.

2Sa 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will sta- blish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Psa 72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abun dance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

Psa 72:17-19 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Eze 37:24-25 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Mic 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

That is what the disciples and all those that were seeking the coming of Christ expected to take place. Their problem is the eyes and ears they are using to discern the scriptures are seeing and hearing with carnal minds. Christ, on the other hand, is giving a message that can only be seen and heard by the spirit.

This ends part one of this study. Here are the verses for our next study.

Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
Joh 12:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Joh 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Joh 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Joh 12:41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Joh 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
Joh 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

[Study Aired December 12, 2019]

“Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume”  2Th 2:8

Psa 139:19  Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 
Psa 139:20  For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 
Psa 139:21  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 
Psa 139:22  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 
Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

As we look back on this Psalm 139 study, we see how the very first verse confirms  for us how God is searching us out with these words: “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me” (Psa 139:1). The same searching out is being told of Adam and Eve, who were flushed out of the garden where they thought they could hide from God, as Adam reasoned this way in his flesh: “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself”. Those words were really a prophecy of what all flesh would naturally do in our marred condition that is enmity against God and not able to obey the voice of our Creator because of our marred, sinful, or naked, condition (Gen 3:9, Isa 63:17, Rom 9:20-21).

The rest of the Psalm elaborates and expands on how God is going to deal with this marred vessel of clay He made this way to demonstrate His power, which is made perfect in weakness, power that is revealed to so very few at first, and shown unto babes because this “seemed good” according to the mind of our Father as confirmed by these verses and stated in this verse in Jeremiah: “so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it”.

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

Mat 11:25  At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Mat 11:26  Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

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.

Job 8:7  Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Ecc 7:8  Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Job 42:12  So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

The word of God, as we’ve discussed, is written in such a way it appears that, not only can we hide from God, but we can also choose to sin of our own volition, outside of any influence from the master Potter who created all things and is before all things and working all things according to the counsel “of his own will”. This way of thinking is the way that seemed good to the vessel of clay and leads to death, as opposed to the “for so it seemed good in thy sight” ways of our Father (Eph 1:11, Pro 14:12, Pro 16:25).

The carnal mind that naturally opposes God is not unpredictably doing what God did not intend it to do in being against the spirit of God, even as God’s spirit was meant to be against the spirit of man, as God had always intended (Gal 5:16, Rom 8:7, Rom 8:13). The carnal mind and all of our actions, as Adam in the garden, has never been hidden from God, not even nearly, and so we started this Psalm by observing how God sees Adam, and by extension how He sees all of His creation made to glorify God as a marred piece of clay IN His hand (Joh 9:3), that consists by Him and is before Him just as all His creation is “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” Col 1:17.

Psalm 139 is a section of scripture that helps us appreciate the grandeur of our great God, who alone can be described with such words as omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, words that help us understand this verse: “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col 1:17).

All of the natural creation that God is before, and all that consists by him, is what is used to reveal the spiritual workmanship He is accomplishing as light comes out of darkness (Rom 1:20, Hos 11:1).

The “any creature” spoken of in Hebrews 4:13 is speaking of all the inward creatures of the sea and on the earth and in the heavens representing everything within the first Adam and everything that God’s omnipotent hand is leading and holding (Gen 2:19), stated this way: “there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” of Psalm 139:10 reminding us God is working all things “after the counsel of his own will” in an arena where “neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Eph 1:11, Heb 4:13).

The third section of this study from last week subtitled “Fear not, thou worm Jacob“, describes how God sees the church, the body of Christ, who are this weak earthen vessel (1Co 1:26) and the first who trusted in Christ (Eph 1:12). We are being fashioned and formed by our loving Father into this new creation that is going through this metamorphosis or process of maturation prophesied in the words: “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD“ (Jer 22:29). That three times hearing of the word “earth” is a symbol of the process of spiritual completion through judgment that God’s elect are experiencing first (1Jn 5:14-15, 1Pe 4:17) as we “grow in grace, and in the knowledge” of Christ (2Pe 3:18 ) in advance of the rest of His creation who are spoken of as “and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold” (Joh 10:16). That other fold does not presently hear the voice of the true shepherd, and within their pasture there is no stay of bread or water, meaning they are not being saved by grace through faith, which is required in order to hear the voice of the true Shepherd, and is a miraculous gift that has been given to the elect in this age (1Jn 4:6 to hear, to see and believe are all saying the same thing Php 1:29, Isa 3:1, Eph 2:8).

Heb 11:6  and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

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

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,

The fourth and final section of our study of Psalm 139 is aptly subtitled “then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume” of (2Th 2:8), as it looks at how we must have a “perfect hatred” toward our old man of sin, “thou worm Jacob”, who has to be brought into subjection day by day as we die daily (1Co 15:31). We learn to keep under our body by mortifying the deeds of the flesh (1Co 9:27, 1Ti 6:12, Rom 8:13) so that we can live the rest of our lives fulfilling the will of God as we come out of Babylon, by not acting out on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life which was the corrupt spiritual fuel of our former conversation or walk that we had while we were in the world.

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Psa 139:19  Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.

The bloody men being spoken about in Exodus 4:25 and 1 Kings 2:9-10 are two characters who were types of God’s elect, and so God is making it very plain to those who have eyes to see that there really is none as blind as His servant, who sees no need to circumcise his son, in Moses’ case, and the other being king David who sees the need to take physical vengeance on all his enemies even to his last breath (Isa 42:19).

Exo 4:25  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

1Ki 2:9  Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
1Ki 2:10  So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

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?

In the positive view of these stories, it is good that Zipporah, who represents the church, circumcised the child, which is a type of being born again; and David, relentlessly wanting vengeance on his enemies until his last breath and even beyond. These accounts reminds us we should fight sin in our members until our last breath and set our spiritual house in order to the glory of God, revealing our convictions by leaving a witness or laying up a testimony that will one day be recalled by others in their day of visitation (1Pe 3:16, 1Pe 2:12).

It is only through the grace of God which destroys our old man of sin, “surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God“, that we can overcome this bloody man who is guilty of the blood of Christ (Mat 27:25, Act 4:26-28). Now we cry out “depart from me therefore, ye bloody men” and understand the way that bloody man within can depart is by not having the sword of God depart from our house (2Sa 12:10, Joh 17:16-17).

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

2Sa 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Psa 139:20  For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 

Everyone who names the name of Christ is to depart from iniquity (2Ti 2:19), even as we are hated by all men for His name’s sake and are thought of as being “strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (Mat 10:22, 1Pe 4:3-4).

It is the spirit of God which bears witness that we are His children in this life, and that spirit convicts us of all which needs to be cleansed from the temple of God which we are, through a lifelong process of driving those beasts out of the temple little by little (Deu 7:22). Our actions also witness to the world around us of the work that God is doing in this age within His children who are being received through the chastening and scourging that the whip Christ used in the temple typifies (Rom 8:16, Joh 2:15).

There is an inward and an outward application to: “For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain“, and that carnal fleshly mind of man is what hates the new creation, a nature that cannot be overcome within (Rev 13:4) except for the grace and faith of Christ that destroys that old man of sin (Eph 2:8).

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? [Who is able to drive him out of the temple that we are?]

It is in the heavens of our hearts and minds that this great spiritual warfare is taking place (Eph 6:12), and where Christ tells us our vain flesh can easily be sifted by Satan and devoured (Luk 22:31, 1Pe 5:8) if not for the faith God gives us through Christ (Luk 22:32, 1Pe 5:9) so we can be more than conquerors through Him in this life (Rom 8:37).

Psa 139:21  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 

We are grieved when our old man rises up against us and are easily beset until we are not (Heb 12:1-2). We hate the sins we commit that are against God, “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee?“, and are grieved for those paths that are not yet made straight because we are not yet prepared by the Lord (Mar 1:3).

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.

Mar 1:3  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Our hope lies in the promise that God knows exactly where Adam-in-us is at all times and that He will prepare a way for us in the wilderness of our hearts and minds, and the bride will be made ready after we go through all we must go through to go unto perfection on the third day (Rev 19:7-8, Joh 11:4, Luk 13:32).

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
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.

Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

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

Psa 139:22  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 

This perfect hatred starts off with the strong desire that God alone can give us to be eaten up for the zeal of the temple (Joh 2:17, 1Co 3:16), and will conclude with the elect going onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32) because of the destruction of the man of sin, who is being destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2Th 2:8), which tells us where and for what reason this “perfect hatred” must be in our heavens that comes from God (Jas 1:17).

Joh 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

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

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:

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

That perfect gift from heaven God gives his children in this age is the ability to go unto perfection on the third day as we drink the cup of suffering daily which Christ enables us to endure (Php 4:13) preparing us to be kings and priests through a life-time of much tribulation (2Ti 2:12, Mat 20:23, Act 14:22).

We “count them mine enemies” that speak things contrary to sound doctrine and that do not demonstrate a pattern of sound words (2Ti 1:13). First and foremost, this man is the man I have to overcome within my own heavens by keeping my body in subjection to Christ, which is done by keeping under myself and holding fast to the words of life we’ve been given (1Co 9:27).

2Ti 1:13  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

It is with that mindset of self-examination (2Co 13:5) that we will be able to be watchmen in the house of God who look well to the flock by looking well to ourselves, always being ready to defend and hold fast to God’s word once it has been established in our own hearts (1Th 5:21).

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2Co 13:6  But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

By not despising the correction that is part of the process every son has to endure in order to be cleansed of sin, we can zealously hold fast to Christ and His body and overcome. It is the trial of our faith that grafts us deeply into the body of Christ so we can be nourished by the vine and provide comfort to others through the comfort we receive through the process of being grafted more deeply into the vine (Rom 2:6-7, Heb 12:5, 2Co 7:11, 2Co 1:4-5).

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7  To them [To them who are going through this process of being judged today (1Pe 4:17)] who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: [Luk_21:19].

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:

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2Co 1:5  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. [Col 1:24]

It is very revealing to see how many times the holy spirit inspired the use of the word “hold fast” or the equivalent thought, reminding us how easily we can walk away from that perfect law of liberty, “Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:2), and forget what we’ve already known. Here are just a few examples to this point.

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: [hold fast].
1Pe 3:16  Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of [hold fast], knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so [hold fast].

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

[1 – wavering at first (Jas 1:6), 2 – precious trial of faith (1Pe 1:7), 3 – sea of glass (Rev 15:2)]

2Th 2:15  Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. [hold fast]

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

My thoughts are not God’s thoughts, and my ways are not God’s ways, says the Lord (Isa 55:8-9), but if He tries me, the Lord will know my thoughts and a conversion will happen that will bring about the mind of Christ which the initial natural man could never understand (1Co 2:14-16).

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 the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

It will be by our being dragged to Christ that we will be purified by the light of God’s word which convicts us of those things that need to be repented, if we are being worked with in this age (Joh 6:44). Nothing and no one can prevent that process from unfolding if it has been written in our books from the foundation of the world to be so (1Jn 1:7, Eph 1:4).

To be led into “the way everlasting” is to overcome the “wicked way in me“, and that is a life-long process of overcoming and dying daily which can only happen by the Lord who can “search me” and “know my heart” and “try me” and “my thoughts” because nothing is hidden from him and all things are before him “and he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” including having preeminence in bringing God’s elect to give an accounting of our sins so that we can become those saviours who will then be used to ask Adam once again, “Where are you” (Gen 3:9), which is another way of saying, “Give me an accounting of your actions” which is exactly what Adam did right after Christ asked him, “Where are you?” (Col 1:17-18, Oba 1:21, Ecc 12:14, Gen 3:10)

It is only by the grace and faith of Christ that this dragging can occur (Joh 6:44), and the reason God does this for His children today is to show us the ways that need to be made straight within us so He can “lead me in the way everlasting.“

The entire construct of God’s word from the old covenant to the new covenant is a work of God’s hand demonstrating His power, His omnipotence and His ability to take that marred vessel of clay and turn it into something new. It is the best of the best who are sacrificed for us, that is what God’s word tells us; John the baptist, for example, of whom the least in the kingdom is greater than him (Mat 11:11).

How humbling to know, and how reassuring at the same time, to see God making His strength perfect through the weak of the world. We could have been anyone else, but God called us to be who we are, called to this blessing (1Pe 3:9) that is fulfilled in the suffering of Christ, the communion into which we are called that nourishes each other so that we can endure unto the end (1Pe 2:21, 1Co 10:16, 2Th 2:14).

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are called His bride (Rev 19:7), His body (Col 1:24), a kind of first fruits, His inheritance in the saints (Jas 1:18), the apple of His eye (Zec 2:8), and many other such things to remind us of how precious these jewels are whom God has predetermined from the foundation of the world (Mal 3:17). These promises have all been stated so we can say with full assurance, “Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; and in thy book they were all written.“

Video Links

Audio Download

Revelation 3:3 – Sardis, Part 2

Updated November 22, 2023]

Introduction

Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

The admonitions to the angel of the church in Sardis, are really to “he that hath an ear” and “he that reads and hears” (Rev 1:3). He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

“The time is always “at hand” for “whoso reads and understands …[that] these sayings must [always] shortly be done” in every generation since Christ. What we need to ask and answer is, “Which sayings made to this church must shortly be done? Must the angel of the church in Sardis ‘shortly… have a name that he lives, but is really dead?’ Must Christ come on the angel of the church in Sardis as a thief? Must this also “shortly be done” in the life of “he that hath an ear?” Must such negative statements all have personal application in the lives of all of God’s elect?”

The answer is, yes, all of God’s elect must “live by EVERY word of God… read, hear, and keep THE things written therein, and keep THE sayings of the prophecy of this book.” God’s Word does not say that ‘man must live by some of the words of God… some of the things written therein… some of the sayings of the prophecy of this book’ but everything written therein.

When the words “You shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”; “In the day you eat thereof you shall surely die;” “proceeded out of the mouth of God,” all men of all ages had to live by and keep those words – “the things written therein.”

We are all “in Adam,” but we do not die because Adam sinned. We die because “all have sinned.” We sin because we are in Adam, not because Adam sinned. Death comes by sin in each of us, and is “passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Adam sinned because he was Adam. He did not sin because he “freely chose” to do so.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Rom 3:23 For [Greek: gar, because] all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

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

Adam’s sin was predestined, and the scriptures tell us this was so:

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

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

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

Yes, death entered by Adam, but you and I are in Adam by nature, and would, by nature, have done exactly what Adam did under the same circumstances. To foolishly say, “The first thing I am going to do at the resurrection, is to walk right up to Adam and punch him in the nose” is to display that you are still taking pride in your yet carnal Adamic nature, and making a proud carnal display of your own total dearth of spiritual understanding. What you are saying in essence is that you intend to punch yourself in the nose. Adam is not responsible for your sins or mine. You and I do not die because of Adam’s sin, we die “for [gar, because] all have sinned” in Adam.

Adam did not die because he ate of the tree. Adam ate of the tree because he was in “dying” flesh:

Gen 2:17 Yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be eating from it, for in the day you eat from it, to die shall you be dying.

Why are any of us “dying”?

Rom 3:23 For [Greek: gar, because] all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

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

That mankind must all “live by every word” is exactly what Christ meant when He made this statement:

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:)

“Let him understand” that all these things are to be fulfilled inwardly in the lifetime of every reader:

Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
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.

The battle of scripture is being waged between two men; our old man and our new man.. That is the message in “the things which are written therein.” That is “the ends of the ages [which] are come upon us.”

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek: tupos – types of us]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [Greek: aion, age] are come.

There is the inspired answer to the disciples question:

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [Greek: aion, age]?

Or as Christ Himself said:

Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
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.

With this is, was and will be, “shall not pass away” character of these words in mind, let us now consider the meaning of the first verse of our study today of what the spirit says to the angel of the church in Sardis, which church is within “he that hath an ear.”

Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Immediately the natural man will say, “All right! Now I have been warned, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.” Now I will be sure never to make that mistake!” Is that the way we are told to approach this book? Is that what “keep the things written therein” means? That is exactly how the whole world comes to this book of “signified” symbols. They come actually believing that they can simply read these words and these admonitions and then somehow avoid having to “keep the things written therein.” The whole world, approaches this book as if it were not a vision of what we see “behind” us. Nevertheless, “He that has ears to hear” never forgets that this entire vision is seen from the perspective of looking behind himself and seeing what God has already accomplished in his or her life.

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

He that has “ears to hear what the spirit is saying to the angels of the churches” is also “he that reads and hears and keeps the things written therein.” That man realizes that when God tells us, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” that by the time he understands why that command was given, it will always be “behind us” after we have already eaten of that tree whose fruit is death. Yes, that is right. We have all “eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” because we have all been “made of a woman, made under the law…” by which law we “know sin.”

Rom 7:7 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.

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

So also, we have all “had a name that we lived, and we were, [in reality, spiritually] dead.” These words mean nothing to a man who thinks he has never been sick and in need of a physician, never been blind and in need of sight, never left the sheepfold and therefore “needs no repentance.” Nevertheless “all these things” have proceeded out of the mouth of God, and will be lived by every man who has ever lived.

Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine [who think of themselves as] just persons, which need no repentance.

I will come on thee as a thief…

It is only a self-righteous Pharisee, looking down on a repentant tax collector, who thinks of himself as a “just person, which needs no repentance.” So with “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” we see and hear these things only because we have already endured them. We have been that self-righteous Pharisee, looking down on God’s repentant publican elect, and looking down on His repentant lost sheep elect, and “the day of the Lord,” the day of His judgment, has come upon us as a thief in the night, and we are now being judged. It was only yesterday that I myself considered the doctrine of universal salvation to be rank heresy and any and all who propounded that doctrine to be heretics. It was at that very point that this happened:

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 [Have you ever been an “ungodly man?”].
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [That is a “two edged sword” statement]
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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 [Greek: stoicheion – same as ‘elements’ in Galatians 4:3] shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up [Are your works being burned up?].

Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements [stoicheion] of the world [under the law]:

2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, [Since our works are being dissolved, we ought to be holy and godly in our “Christ in us” way of life, our ‘conversation.’]
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [stoicheion] shall melt with fervent heat [Have your heavens ever been on fire and been dissolved with fervent heat?]?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account [that] the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Peter is telling us that all Paul’s epistles are like “the other scriptures” which spoke of “these [same] things.” Our old heavens and our old earth, are “reserved unto fire against the day of judgment,” which “day of judgment” Peter has already explained as being within our lives.

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 [It is hard for the natural man to believe that his ungodliness deserves the wrath of God’s indignation]:
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 [That is right, Christ endured “fiery trials” while here on this earth].

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.

Mar 14:33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Mar 14:34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

The flesh has to be left behind, because it has been judged unfit for the kingdom of God, and its judgment is a fiery trial, even for our Lord Himself. “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death… 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.” We, too, must “die daily”, and as His body we endure “the fiery trials” of the day of judgment in our own lives:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

This is the very “day of judgment” to which Peter refers in his next epistle which we quoted above:

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.

Just as Peter has told us, Paul agrees with Peter. All “ungodly men” must be destroyed:

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
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.

We have all been guilty of “defiling the temple of God”, and we must all endure the destruction to which Paul refers here in 1 Corinthians 3 and in 2 Thessalonians:

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [“perdition of an ungodly man” (2Pe 3:7)]
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

How does this “day of the Lord,” this day of judgment come to us all?

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.

Did the risen Lord come to His apostles when they were expecting Him? No, He did not. Did He strike down the apostle Paul when Paul was expecting Him? Of course not. Neither did He come to you or me when we were expecting Him. He came while we were “still in our sins;” still unrepentant, and He dragged us to Himself: He came to each of us when we least expected him, and He destroyed and burned up our old heavens and our old earth with the “fervent heat” of the words of His mouth:

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

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

Christ’s coming is the theme of Matthew 24, and last week we saw and demonstrated that the “wars and rumours of wars; nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places; the abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be: the sun being turned into darkness and the moon turning into blood, and even the gospel being preached in all the world for a witness to all those nations then shall the end come” must all be within because of these two verses:

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.

Here are some of the verses leading up to this statement:

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
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:)

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

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
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 with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The sign of the Son of Man in heaven is preceded by the “great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Only then does the “sign of the Son of Man… in heaven… appear”, while the tribes of the earth are mourning and seeing the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” All of this is solemly pronounced by our Lord, to be fulfilled in “this generation:

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.

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” What this tells us is that these words are not to be understood as literal, passing words. They can only be understood as spiritual words which “shall not pass away,” but shall be applicable in “this generation… who reads and understands… that the holy spirit teaches… the things of the spirit… comparing spiritual with spiritual.”

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

Just as surely as there is a “first Adam” and a “last Adam, there is also a first and a last fulfillment of these prophecies. If Christ does not “come a second time without sin unto salvation,” while we are still in these vessels of clay, causing “all the tribes of the earth [to] mourn” while we are still in these vessels of clay, then Christ lied to us and that generation passed away, and the end has not yet come. On the other hand, if all these words are primarily spirit and are being fulfilled within His elect, then “the ends of the ages” really have come upon us, and Christ’s words “shall never pass away.”

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

Not “will come,” but “are come.” Christ is coming to His elect and is dethroning the man of sin sitting in the temple of God in every generation that reads, hears and keeps the things written therein.” Here is part of what is “written therein” which tells us exactly how this all happens within each of God’s elect:

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

That ‘as God’ beast believes that he has “free will” and it is he who declares that your salvation and mine is dependent, not upon the work of Christ, nor the will of God, but upon your own will. That is part of “the depths of Satan as they speak” doctrines which afflict the angel of the church in Thyatira, and which serve to make the angel of the church in Sardis, spiritually dead. It is this doctrine which serves to keep the beast on the throne in the temple of God “which temple you are.”

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.

The false doctrine of “free will” is one of the single most tenacious (what Ezekiel calls) “idol of the heart.” It is perpetrated by the very leaders of God’s own people, and it takes the coming of Christ as a thief in the night to dethrone that beast with that particular idol of the heart. Notice how Paul speaks of this event within God’s elect:

2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Paul taught the Thessalonians the same doctrine he taught in Corinth. “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you?” Paul knows that we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,” so he tells these Thessalonians that…

2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth [Greek: katecho] that he [the beast within; the “man of sin”] might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For [Greek: gar, because]the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [Greek: katecho, restrains, with holds with lying idols of the heart] 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:
2Th 2:9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Here is Christ speaking of this same event when He was asked about the sign of His coming and the end of this age:

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh [to “take away” the wicked].
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

It is only when we are brought [meaning dragged], by the sovereign work of God’s complete ‘seven spirits’ working in us and “turning us over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord;” that we see ourselves as the prodigal son, the lost sheep, and the woman caught in the very act of adultery. In other words, we must “look behind ourselves to see ourselves as “the chief [first] of sinners,” who must “fill up their sins… for the wrath of God to come upon us to the uttermost”:

1Th 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

Had the apostle Paul ever been guilty of forbidding Christians, Stephen for example, and even intending to forbid Christians in Damascus, to speak to the Gentiles? Of course he had, and God struck Paul down on the road to Damascus and showed him what “he must suffer for Christ’s name’s sake:”

Act 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

All of this is what we all experience as we “keep the things written therein.”

Conclusion

Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

We have seen in this study that we have received and heard a calling to come out of the world, but even as we were coming out, we were wanting to go back.

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.

It is at this point that the angel of the church of Sardis, within us, has not “held fast or repented”, and it is at this point that Christ comes to us “the second time without sin unto salvation” to the carnal Adam who has been called but whose nature had never yet been changed.

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

We all “received and heard” because we, like Israel in Egypt, became weary of our taskmasters in the flesh, and we cried out for deliverance. God was gracious, and we, like the carnal Corinthians, are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, coming behind in no gift.” Just like the Israelites, we have all been ready to stone God’s elect when we come to our first real trial, called the Red Sea. The Red Sea is just a precursor to the giants in the land. We are infants at the Red Sea, and God carries us across on dry land, and destroys all of our enemies. However, as soon as that happens, just like the carnal Corinthians, we go right back to our own carnal ways and follow men instead of God.

That is how we have “received and heard,” and we fail to repent until the Lord does come as a thief. It is only by His coming “the second time without sin,” that we are finally given to see the process that is this battle we are waging with the beast and the man of sin within.

Next study, Lord willing, we will see what is promised to the overcomers in Sardis, and what it means to “not have our name blotted out of the book of life.”

Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Video Links

Audio Download

Rev 2:21-25 The Angel of Thyatira, Part 2

A very simple question which, if occasionally asked, will help to keep us properly focused is: to whom is this prophecy addressed? The answer to that question is: this prophecy is addressed to the angels of the seven churches of Asia (Rev 1:4). The angel which is the object of our study today will serve to demonstrate this Truth:

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;

Then, at the conclusion of the admonition to each and every church, we are told:

Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

So whenever we see any pronoun like ‘thee’ or ‘thou’ or ‘ye’ or ‘you’ anywhere in this prophecy of what the spirit is saying, if that pronoun is not referring to Christ Himself, then it is addressed to the angel of each and every church. So we could inject the words: you, the angel of Thyatira, “have suffered that woman Jezebel to teach and to seduce my servants…” If we do this, our perception of the object and purpose of this entire prophecy will be that much clearer.

Finally, if we constantly remind ourselves of who these “seven angels” are, then we will never forget that these seven angels are, “He that hath an ear”, and he who is admonished to “read, hear, and keep the things written therein.”

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.

In other words, all of these words are addressed to each of us, if we have been given ears to hear what the spirit says to the churches.

Last week we saw that the angel of the church of Thyatira within us, is a very works-oriented spirit, who has not yet entered into Christ’s rest. Here is part of what we covered last week:

Rev 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last [to be] more than the first.
Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

While being so concerned with doing good works, the angel of the church of Thyatira is also very unconcerned about doctrine. This angel is so wrapped up in doing good works that it fails to notice that it is actually facilitating the doctrines of Jezebel and allowing heresies of all sorts to be taught and to seduce us, the children of God, to commit spiritual fornication and spiritual adultery. Instead of being nourished by God’s Word, the angel of the church of Thyatira is spiritually nourished on those false doctrines of Jezebel. Like the angel of the church of Pergamos, the angel of the church of Thyatira is far more concerned with unity than it is with purity.  Remember, these words are addressed to the angels of the churches. Jezebel and her doctrines cause “the angel of the church of Thyatira” within us, to commit spiritual fornication and spiritual adultery by placing unity over purity. This week we will see how the spirit deals with the doctrines of Jezebel, and how the spirit deals with all these false doctrines within us:

Rev 2:21 And I gave her [Jezebel] space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

When we come to see that we are spiritually in bed with Jezebel, we then realize that we have been committing spiritual fornication, and spiritual adultery. We have been believing the lies and false doctrines of Jezebel instead of going to the Word of God and seeing what is really the Truth. At this point judgment begins, and we begin to come out of Babylon, and we begin to search the scriptures and to try the spirit of Jezebel, the doctrines of Balaam, and the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Jezebel is loathe to give up her hold on the angel of the church of Thyatira. “I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not.” While Jezebel still retains her hold on us, turning the grace of God into spiritual lasciviousness and teaching us that unity is more important than spiritual purity, we will experience “great tribulation, except we repent of our spiritually adulterous deeds… This generation will not pass till this [great tribulation] is fulfilled.”

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

There are not two “great tribulations.”  “The time was at hand to read, hear and keep the things written… to the angel of the church in Thyatira” here in Revelation 2, and Christ tells us the exact same thing in Matthew 24 when He says, “These things are all even at the doors… this generation will not pass away till all these things be fulfilled.”

Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
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.

All of Christ’s words are “is, was and will be” words which “shall not pass away.”

Is all or any of this accomplished in a ten-second sinner’s prayer? Absolutely not! Coming out of Babylon continues as we decrease and Christ increases throughout our lives. We have all “committed adultery with Jezebel,” and we all must “decrease as He increases. We must all enter into the kingdom of God through much tribulation,” and we must all “endure to the end.” Getting that woman Jezebel out of our spiritual house is not an instantaneous event, but it is a present and ongoing experience in the lives of the angels of the seven churches and in the lives of those who have ears to hear what the spirit says to the seven angels of those seven churches. It is an ongoing experience for all who are given eyes to see what they are to “read, hear and keep of what is written therein.”

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

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

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 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.

Jezebel was the outwardly legal, yet spiritually illegal, wife of King Ahab of Israel. Jezebel was the daughter of a Zidonian king, whose God was Ashtarte, and Jezebel was bent on destroying all the prophets of God in Israel.

1Ki 16:31  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

1Ki 18:4  For it was [so], when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

It is through the spiritual fornication, through the spiritual adultery and through being in bed with the doctrines of Jezebel, that we, too, “cut off the prophets of the Lord” and refuse to hear their words. It is the doctrines of Balaam and Jezebel which bring the “great tribulation” upon us and which, in turn, bring us all into the darkest days of our lives:

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Only then, when we are at our very lowest point in life, when “the sun is darkened and the moon is giving no light”, does the Son of man appear as a thief in the night, burning out of us all the tares and the wood, hay and stubble of our lives and all the false doctrines of Balaam and Jezebel, which have been guiding our lives. Our lives are “the tribes of the earth.” Our bodies are “the earth”, and it is “the earth” which needs to hear “the word of the Lord,” but refuses to do so until we see the sign of His coming “in [the] heaven” of our hearts and minds.

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 with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
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.

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

As we “read, hear and keep the things which are written… to the angel of the church of Thyatira… the tribes of the earth mourn”, as they face “the great and terrible day of the Lord, being killed with death in bed with Jezebel.” When we are dragged to see and hear what our sad and dark spiritual condition is, then we go through “great tribulation” in “this generation.” It is at this point that “judgment must begin at the house of God.” It is at this point we begin to “come out of Babylon” and begin to “search the scriptures” and begin to “try the spirits” of fornication and adultery in the bed of Jezebel. It is at this point that we try the spirits of the doctrines of Balaam and the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

Balaam taught Israel to commit fornication within the camp of Israel, but Jezebel is more insidious and is married to the king himself, and has virtually taken control of the kingdom of God within us through her spiritual fornications and adulteries; meaning through all of the false doctrines to which we have subscribed while in our blinded, Babylonian condition of total apostasy.

Again, none of this is accomplished in a ten-second sinner’s prayer. We have all “committed adultery with Jezebel” for a very long time before we were given eyes to see that we really have “suffered that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” Christ tells us “blessed are your eyes for you see” (Mat 13:16). Yet it will be a lifetime of overcoming and enduring to the end before we will ever be past the need to struggle against all the false doctrines which are now ‘that woman Jezebel’ within Babylon out of which we, as the repentant angel of the church in Thyatira, are yet coming.

This is the product of that blessing of Matthew 13:16:

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Ours is a calling of separation, and rejection,  and loneliness. It is right here in this same chapter:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

It is in Genesis:

Gen 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

… and it is also in Timothy:

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

… and the disciple is not above his master:

Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Surely these are not words which apply to us as the repentant angel of the church at Thyatira! After all, isn’t that the deal; that if we repent, then we won’t be thrown into a bed with Jezebel and be killed with death, as her children? If you believe that is what is being said here, then you are still afflicted with one of Jezebel’s doctrines which teach that Christ died for you so that you do not have to die. It is called “the doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ.” That false and damning doctrine is alive and well in Babylon, but it is being burned out of the repentant angel of the church of Thyatira.

The answer to both of these questions is in Isaiah 1) Yes, these words do apply to us, and 2) Yes, we must be “killed with death and come to know that Christ is He which searches the reins and hearts and gives to us all according to our works.” Remember verse 3 of chapter 1. We are to “keep the things written therein.” Christ did not die so we could avoid death. Christ died for us so He could live His life of “dying daily” within us. Here are His own words on the false doctrine of “the substitutionary death of Christ.”

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

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against [their] parents, and cause them to be put to death.

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

It is not our faith alone which is so precious in the sight of God, but it is rather “the trial of our faith… tried with fire.” That is what the angel of the church of Thyatira learns when he comes to know that Christ “searches the reins and hearts and gives to every one of us according to our works.”

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

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

Now we come to our last two verses for today’s study:

Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Rev 2:25 But that which ye have [already] hold fast till I come.

It is verses like this which bring us back to Revelation 1:3 so often:

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.

Our natural man demands, “Well, do we have this doctrine or do we not?” To which the answer is and will always be, “You and I and the rest in Thyatira have had this lascivious, spiritually fornicating and adulterating doctrine, and when we come to see its damnable fruits, we become those who ‘have not this doctrine, and have not known the depths of Satan as we speak.'” “Have not known” does not mean that we have never been “the chief of sinners” because we all have been just that. What it does mean is that we have overcome the depths of Satan as we spoke, and we have kept the sayings of this book and lived by every word of God, including the repenting before our candlestick is removed. In like manner the beast causes every man, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in his right hand and in his forehead:

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

This “all” is thrice qualified “small and great, rich and poor, free and bond.” Yet we are told:

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Well, had all men “small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” received his mark, or had they not? Here is the answer to this quandary:

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

These are those who overcame the mark with which every beast is marked. Having overcome that beastly mark entitles them to say that they had not worshiped the beast nor “received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands.”

So it is also with those who “have not known the depth of Satan as they spoke.” We have all been in bed with the lascivious doctrine that it is better to be united in a lie than to be divided by the Truth. That is the very essence of politics, whether ecclesiastical or secular politics, and it is the broad way which attracts the masses and which leads to destruction. When we repent of that damnable doctrine of Jezebel, we can then say we have not known those depths of Satan, and have not received his mark in our hands or our foreheads. What is even better is we can also honestly say that we have indeed “kept the things written therein and lived by every word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God.”

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

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.

I will put upon you none other burden.

For all who know that they will indeed keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book (all the things written therein) this is a very comforting statement which bears witness to another very comforting verse of God’s Word. While our trials always seem like the worst that anyone has ever endured, this is the truth of the matter, along with a very comforting promise:

Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.

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].

Rev 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Which is just another way of saying:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

There is yet a consummation and a “redemption of the purchased possession.”

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.

Conclusion

We have seen that that woman Jezebel has seduced us to believe all of her false doctrines. We have also seen that when we were confronted with those false doctrines, that instead of repenting, we have all been guilty of refusing to repent, thus bring upon ourselves “great tribulation” followed by a time of total spiritual darkness.

Rev 2:21 And I gave her [Jezebel] space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

We have seen that this part of our walk is addressed to the angel of the church of Thyatira within us. We have seen that we are “the earth” upon whom “all these things will come… in this generation.”

We have seen that it is expedient that we all must die in order to gain life. Only then are we able to acknowledge that all these things are of Christ, Who is “searching the reins and hearts” Not for His benefit, but for ours.

Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

We have seen that we all first, by God’s design, willingly accept the seductive doctrines of Jezebel and the depths of Satan before we are given the strength, grace and the knowledge of God’s Word to “know not that doctrine.” Then we saw that God has promised “He will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear.”

Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Rev 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

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 saw that this admonition to “hold fast that you have till I come” is nothing less than Christ’s promise to be with us to the end:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish with the blessing promised to the angel of the church of Thyatira if he repents and overcomes. We will learn what it means to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and we will learn what we have when we are given “the morning star.”

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