Rev 16:17-21  The 7^th Vial, Part 3

[Study Aired April 6, 2025]

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Those few who have not been “conformed to this world, and have been transformed in their minds by proving what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God”, will “not bring judgment upon themselves by that which they have proven.” Those who are weak in the faith will “be conformed to this world” and will not take the time to prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, and will continue to be offended by the sum of God’s Word, and will abuse Roman 14:5-6 and verse 22 as an excuse to not even consider our Lord’s example of how we are to live our lives concerning the observing of day, months, times and years.

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Rom 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

When these verses are perverted into a doctrine which teaches that those who eat strong meat should give up that strong meat, and give up following the example Christ has given us concerning this very subject, that is a double mind which will inevitably cause a brother to be “made weak… to stumble and be offended… because of the Word.” This perversion of these verses of Romans 14 will cause us all to give up that fiery way of life, which brings upon us the hatred of all men, and we will exchange their strong meat for the herbs of the weaker infirm brother who esteems one day above another and cannot eat all things because he does not want to offend a weaker brother.

Should we offend a weaker brother by expecting him to eat strong meat? Absolutely not! But should we take Romans 14 and use it to contradict and nullify Galatians 4?

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child [is “weak in the faith”], differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

“Carnal… babes in Christ” cannot eat the meat of the word, and we are commanded to “receive them but not to allow them to dispute our strong meat.

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Who are these brothers who are “weak in the faith”? Here is who they are. They are not really deep into the Word of God or the things of the spirit. They do not have and will not take the time to “study to show themselves approved unto God.” They are ‘too busy’ to have time to fellowship, and they care about the events of their daily lives (the pride of life) more than they do about the body of Christ. They would much rather identify themselves with certain men whose teachings are more to their liking. Here are the “weak in the faith”.

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

Those who are given to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”, will find it very instructive that the word “child”, “the heir, as long as he is a child“, in Galatians 4:1, and the word “babe”, “I could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ”, is the same Greek word, ‘nepios’. It is babes in Christ who are weak and infirm in the faith, and whose weakness we are commanded to “bear with”.

Rom 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2 Let every one of us please [his] neighbour for [his] good to edification.
Rom 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Paul did not break his epistles up into chapters. The weak of this first verse of this 15th chapter is “He that is weak in the faith” in the first verse of chapter 14. It is Paul to declares this brother in Christ to be “weak and infirm” and in need of our patient forbearance and Christ-like example, not our apostasy, or our enabling of his weakness and his sickness, and his spiritually damning, immature diet of milk and herbs. It is “he that is weak in the faith” who simply cannot as yet “eat all things.” This is especially true of following the example of Christ who “esteemed every day alike”. It is the perversion of the message of Romans 14 which Galatians 4 burns out of us if we are given to follow in Christ’s footsteps:

Joh 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

This does not say ‘They supposed He had broken the sabbath’, it says “He not only had broken the sabbath, but said God was His Father.” Both were true, and both are written for our admonition that we “should follow His [foot]steps.”

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:

Anyone who uses part of God’s Word to exclude and nullify other parts of the Word,  will also very likely continue to ignore the example Christ has given us to “follow [in His] steps.” Truth is not found in any one chapter of God’s Word. It is found in its sum, and the sum of God’s word tells us that Christ and His apostles were foresaken of and hated of all men because, among other things, they “esteemed every day alike.” Following Christ’s example will bring upon us what it brought upon Christ. Christ put what He saw His Father doing above what He saw men doing. If we honor Christ in this same way, we will be honoring God above men, as we are instructed.

Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
Joh 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Here is the example the Father set for Christ to follow concerning the subject of esteeming of one day above another:

Joh 5:17 But Jesus replied, “My Father never stops working, so why should I?” (NLT)

It is the traditions of men which are the last strings keeping us tethered to Babylon. The law of Moses and the law which the Gentiles are unto themselves, are both laws for the lawless and not for a righteous man.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

It is “the lawless and disobedient” who esteem one day above another, and who judge those who do not esteem one day above another. The strong in the faith are to bear with the weak until they are no longer carnal babes in Christ. Those to whom it is given to “follow Christ’s steps” will honor Christ by doing what He did, just as He did what He saw His Father doing. Those who are strong in the faith do not enable the weak and infirm to remain weak and sick, and they most assuredly do not give up spiritual strength and health to become weak and sickly.

Rom 14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. (GNB)

Rom 14:1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. (RSV)

Our discussions must revolve around the word of God, and our conclusions must be based on that alone, or we will not long  “be of one mind”, which is what we are repeatedly commanded to be, beginning right here in the book of Romans.

Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

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

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

“Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” is intended to help us deal with “carnal… babes in Christ” by being pitiful and courteous to them. It is meant as an admonition to avoid disputing with babes about their own personal opinions concerning any topic with which they are not yet informed. The tradition of eating only herbs, and the tradition of esteeming one day above another, are but two examples of things we are told we are not to argue about. These verses were never intended to keep us from “being of one mind”, being likeminded, and speaking the same thing with one mouth in one spirit.”

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Romans 14 certainly is not designed to take away mature spiritual “strong meat” from those who are given to receive “the things of the spirit… things hard to be uttered.”

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The weak brothers who “for the time” ought to be beyond the milk of God’s Word will never get past that immature stage as long as Romans 14 is used as a means of contradicting and nullifying all five of the New Testament verses which admonish us all to “be of one mind.” The masses of the churches raised up by the apostles themselves rejected the strong meat which belongs to them that are of full age, “All they in Asia” forsook the apostle Paul and the Galatians apparently considered him to be their enemy.

Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Gal 4:12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I [am]; for I [am] as ye [are]: ye have not injured me at all.
Gal 4:13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
Gal 4:14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Gal 4:15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
Gal 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Those who “forsook’ the apostle Paul were no doubt “famous in the congregation [and were] men of renown”, but they never came to know the seven plagues of the seven angels, and will not enter into the temple of God until they have fulfilled those seven plagues.

Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

There can be no doubt that both the apostles Paul and John honored Christ, just as Christ honored His Father by refusing the traditions of men who esteemed one day above another. The masses of the churches which were raised up by the apostles were clearly “observing days, months, times, and years”, and had clearly lost their first love for the apostle of the Lord. The story of King David’s son Amnon is the story of us “leaving our first love.

2Sa 13:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her [ was] greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 

Amnon signifies  us when we leave our first love and become lukewarm. Our Lord asks of us “Where is the blessedness you spake of” at the beginning? Has Christ and His example become our enemy? What became of all the churches Paul had raised up in Asia? Did they forsake the apostle?

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
2Ti 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

“The Lord stood with me” because the Lord is His word. When we follow Christ and His Word, the Lord stands with us also. What did Jesus do? What example has He left for us concerning this subject which caused the Galatians to consider Paul their enemy?

Mat 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

That is “our example that we should follow in His steps”, and remain “of one mind and one spirit.” Until that is done within us, this seventh vial is yet to begin to be fulfilled and “the great city… Great Babylon” still has its tentacles in our heavens and in our earth.

Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

There are many “islands and mountains” to be vanquished from within us all, before all of the influences of that great city are burned out of us. Mountains are kings, which kings will beg for the mountains to fall when this, the great day of God’s wrath is come. As is the nature of our flesh, we will blaspheme God because of the plague of this hail, because it is an “exceeding great plague of hail”, and what does spiritual ‘hail’ do?

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

That is why after the pouring out of the seventh vial, we are told:

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

“It is done” is both the death throes of our man of sin, and the victory shout of our new man within. It is all accomplished “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound.”

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

Christ, His doctrines, His example, and His Words, are the hail, the water, and the purifying fire with which He will try us, cleanse us, and sweep away all “the refuge of lies” of the great harlot, Babylon. We can now begin to enter into the temple in heaven, which is now being cleansed of all the pollutions of that great city, which we can now look back behind us and witness her judgment. The Seventh Trumpet has begun to sound, and the seventh vial has brought each of us to our wits’ end, and we have all experienced a great earthquake. Babylon the great is now being judged within each of the Lord’s elect who are now being judged in this present time:

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?

The judgment of Babylon the Great within each of us is the subject of the next two chapters of this, ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ which we are to ”read, hear, and keep.” Revelation 17 and 18 are nothing more or less than a summary of the judgments of these seven plagues of the seven angels upon “mystery Babylon the Great” within us. “It is done… it is come to pass”, and that is why we are shown these things by “one of the angels which had the seven plagues”.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will begin to cover the judgment of the influence of this great whore over our lives in these verses of chapter 17:

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

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/ezekiel-351-15-prophecy-against-mount-seir/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ezekiel-351-15-prophecy-against-mount-seir Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:01:56 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=31126 Audio Download

Ezekiel 35:1-15 – Prophecy Against Mount Seir

[Study Aired October 28, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study is about what the Lord has spoken regarding the destruction of Mount Seir. To understand this prophecy against Mount Seir, we need to know what Mount Seir represents. In the Bible, Mount Seir is the same as “Seir”. It refers to the mountainous region that the Lord gave to Esau. This is recorded in Deuteronomy 2:22 as follows:

Deu 2:22  As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

In view of Seir belonging to the descendants of Esau who was the elder brother of Jacob, the Lord forbad the Israelites from invading the Seir region.

Deu 2:2  And the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deu 2:3  Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
Deu 2:4  And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
Deu 2:5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

During the time of King Hezekiah, some men from the tribe of Simeon attacked the Amalekites who were living in Seir. After defeating the Amalekites, they dwelt there permanently.

1Ch 4:41  And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks.
1Ch 4:42  And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.
1Ch 4:43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.

Over time, Edom became a threat to Judah and therefore the Lord allowed Judah to attack the Edomites or Seir.

2Ch 25:11  And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.
2Ch 25:12 And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

In Today’s study about the prophecy against Mount Seir, the Lord is speaking to us about the destruction of Seir or the Edomites. We need to understand that the Edomites represent our flesh as we see that Esau is the elder brother of Jacob, a symbol of the elect. In other words, we are fleshly related to the Edomites and therefore Mount Seir signifies our flesh or old man.

In our walk in the churches of this world, which is symbolized by the Israelites’ forty-year journey through the wilderness, we did not see our flesh as a serious threat to our walk with the Lord and therefore we did not engage our flesh in any fight in accordance with the Lord’s command to the people of Israel, not to meddle with the Edomites. In spite of that, we did win some victories over the flesh as we were able to stop some of the overt sins that we were committing, just as some of the Israelites in King Hezekiah’s time defeated the Amalekites living in Mount Seir and stayed there.

We can see that the Israelites did not confront the Edomites during their journey in the wilderness. It was when they were in the land of Canaan that they started to engage Mount Seir or the Edomites. Being in Canaan therefore represents becoming part of the assembly of the Lord’s elect.

In the fulness of time therefore, when we have left Babylon and are in the assembly of the Lord’s elect or the church of the firstborn, as our eyes are being enlightened and our ears are hearing, we come to see clearly that our enemy or the present danger is our old man or flesh. That is when the Lord comes to judge our old man or flesh with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to destroy it so that we can walk in victory.

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

Today’s study focuses on the destruction of Mount Seir as part of the Lord’s promise to His elect to deal with our old man or flesh to grant us the grace to be overcomers. As we can see in Today’s study, the destruction of Mount Seir or the Edomites is through the Lord’s judgement. The study therefore emphasizes the need for our old man or flesh to be judged so that we can learn righteousness. It is through the Lord’s judgement that we come to know Him intimately.

Eze 35:4  I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

As the Lord’s elect, we shall have complete victory over the flesh or the Edomites as we see David, a symbol of the elect, destroy every male in Edom.

1Ki 11:15  For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;
1Ki 11:16 (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom: )

In 1 Kings 11:16, we can see that David and the people of Israel stayed for six months in Edom as they put to death every male. The number six is the number of man. The six months therefore show us that it takes a lifetime here on earth (six months) to have complete victory over the flesh.

Mount Seir or Edom Shall Be Judged

Eze 35:1  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 35:2  Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 
Eze 35:3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. 

As indicated in the previous studies, the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel signifies the Lord coming to His elect with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. What this means is that the Lord coming to His elect is to judge them for the destruction of their flesh. The coming of the Lord is also to illuminate His words (His brightness) so that we can understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

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

As we have indicated in the introductory section of this study, Mount Seir refers to the Edomites who were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Mount Seir therefore represents our old man or flesh. Here in verse 3, the Lord is showing us that He is against our old man or flesh. The coming of the Lord to us with His words is therefore to show us that our flesh is destined to be destroyed through His judgement. The Lord stretching His hand against Seir to make it most desolate in verse 3 is therefore the Lord coming with His judgement to destroy the beast within us or our old man or flesh.

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

It is through the destruction of our flesh that we learn righteousness.

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

Eze 35:4  I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 

The judgement of the Lord not only destroys our flesh, but also ruins the cities within us. In the Bible, cities represent churches. For example, the city of New Jerusalem represent the assembly of the Lord’s elect. However, Jerusalem which is and is in bondage with her children symbolizes the physical churches of this world or Babylon.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

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

Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

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

The cities laying waste in verse 4 therefore means that Babylon within us shall be destroyed and “thou shall be desolate” signifies the judgement of our old man or flesh which shall result in his destruction.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Eze 35:5  Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: 
Eze 35:6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 

The Edomites or Mount Seir hated the people of Israel. This enmity started even when Esau and Jacob were in the womb of Rebekah. The people of Israel were therefore perpetual enemies to Mount Seir or the Edomites.

Gen 25:21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Our flesh, signified by Mount Seir, is always against the formation of Christ within us. This formation of Christ within us is the new man after the image of Christ. The two nations in Genesis 25:23 therefore represent our flesh and the new man within the Lord’s elect. As indicated, our new man shall be stronger and dominates our flesh.

Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Shedding the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in verse 5 means putting the Lord’s elect to death through false doctrines, signified here by the force of the sword. We are therefore guilty of the death of the Lord and of His saints during our time in Babylon. This is because the water (the false doctrines) we were drinking in Babylon makes us hate the Lord’s elect and as Apostle John said, everyone who hates his or her brother or sister is a murderer.

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

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

The force of the sword in verse 5 refers to the negative aspect of sword, which are words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary which makes us hate our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.   

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

The period that we are put to death through false doctrines is referred to in verse 4 as the time of the calamity of the Edomites or the time that their iniquity had an end.  This time is the period of our walk in the physical churches of this world or Babylon.

As a result of the enmity of the flesh against our new man, the Lord is saying in verse 6 that He is preparing Mount Seir unto blood or to be pursued by blood. That is to say that the Lord is preparing our flesh to be put to death.

In verse 6, we are also told that since the Edomites or Mount Seir had not hated blood, blood shall surely pursue them. That is another way of saying that if we take the sword, we shall surely perish or die by the sword.

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Eze 35:7  Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. 
Eze 35:8 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. 

The Lord turning mount Seir into a barren wasteland implies that our old man or flesh shall be destroyed through the Lord’s judgement such that he will not resurrect to harm us again. Everyone who comes and goes from mount Seir in verse 7 refers to us who are dominated by the flesh during our time in Babylon. The Lord cutting off those who come and go from mount Seir signifies the destruction of our flesh or old man when He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness.

The mountains, hills and in the valleys all represent places of worship. Here in verse 8, the Lord is telling us that our places of worship are filled with people who are spiritually dead as a result of being slain with the sword which signifies being put to death through false doctrines. As we can see, the rivers in verse 8 represent false doctrines. Therefore, the rivers which are filled with the slain means that the false doctrines we imbibe cause us to become spiritually dead.

Eze 35:9  I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

Making the Edomites a perpetual desolation means making the destruction of our flesh permanent. The other part of the sentence in verse 9 which states that their cities shall not return, emphasis the permanency of the destruction of our flesh and all his accessories including the assemblies or churches of this world (cities) which end up strengthening our flesh.

Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Eze 35:10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: 

The two nations or countries referred to verse 10 are Judah and Samaria which represent the people of Israel, that is, the Lord’s elect in Babylon. Verse 10 therefore shows us the enmity that the Edomites had against the people of Israel. This verse is portraying to us the flesh’s desire to dominate or possess us as the Lord’s elect and therefore we are always in a struggle against our flesh. However, as the Lord’s elect, we are assured of victory over our flesh.

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

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Gen 25:21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Gen 25:24  And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
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.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

In Genesis 25:26, Jacob taking hold of Esau’s heel means that as the Lord’s elect, symbolized by Jacob, we shall overcome or possess our flesh. It is insightful to note that in verse 10, the Lord is telling us that He is there with the people of Israel in spite of the hatred which was driving the Edomites to possess Judah and Samaria. In a similar vein, the Lord has been with us throughout our walk with Him even when we were dominated by our flesh.

Isa 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Eze 35:11  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 

The Lord doing according to the anger and the hatred of the Edomites against the Lord’s people is similar to the Lord telling us that He will answer us according to the idols in our hearts. In other words, we reap what we have sown.

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Eze 14:6  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

In verse 11, we are also told that the Lord will make Himself known among us as our flesh or old man is being judged. This implies that it is through the Lord’s judgement that we come to know Him as He unveils to us the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Eze 35:12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
Eze 35:13  Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.  

Verse 12 continues to make us aware that it is through the Lord’s judgement that we come to know Him. The blasphemies of the Edomites refers to our old man or flesh thinking Himself as God and occupying the temple of the Lord in our hearts and mind. Our inability to walk in the spirit but succumb to the flesh makes our old man or flesh think that the Lord has given us over to him to dominate us permanently. In other words, our old man thinks that the Lord has laid us waste and therefore we are given to follow His dictates all through our lives. In this sense, our flesh is always boasting against the Lord (verse 13).

Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

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

The Lord hearing the boast of our flesh in verse 13 means that He is doing something about it. At the acceptable year of the Lord, He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to deliver us from our flesh.

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

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Eze 35:14  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. 

Verse 14 is saying that the whole earth would rejoice when the Lord turns mount Seir or the Edomites into a wasteland. This is speaking about the salvation of all men during the lake of fire age when all humanity shall rejoice as they are judged, resulting in the death of their old man.

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Eze 35:15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

The inheritance of the house of Israel is the reward we shall receive when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. In Revelation chapter 2 and 3, we are given details of this reward. Our reward is also referred to as the crown of righteousness, the crown of life or the crown of glory.

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

This inheritance is dependent on overcoming the flesh or our old man. This means that when we are dominated by the flesh, then our inheritance is desolate. In other words, we have lost our inheritance. In verse 15, we can see that our flesh rejoices when we are under his control or domination. Here the Lord is telling us that He will make our flesh or old man desolate just as at a time in our lives, our inheritance was desolate. Mount Seir and Idumea all refer to our flesh. It is the destruction of our flesh through the Lord’s judgement that we come to know the Lord. In other words, we come to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

We thank the Lord for His wonderful work of salvation in our lives. May His name be praised. Amen!!

Ezekiel 6:1–14 The Judgment Against Idolatry

[Study Aired February 26, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the promise of destruction of the people of Israel for their idolatry, together with the destruction of their idols. The second part focuses on the return of a remnant of the people of Israel to God as they shall exhibit true repentance and reformation. The third part gives direction to Ezekiel to lament on the iniquities and the calamities that have befallen the people of Israel.

Before we go into the details of the study, we need to understand what idolatry entails and how it applies to us. Idolatry means worshiping someone or something other than God. In other words, anything that engages our focus in this life and therefore diverts our attention from the Lord constitutes idolatry. All of us at some point in our lives were worshiping idols before the Lord came to deliver us. It is the truth of the Lord’s words which has the power to help us focus on Christ. However, in our time in Babylon we exchanged the truth of the word of the Lord for the lies of the devil, which became the idols of our hearts in the sense that they diverted our attention from Christ. 

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Many of the Israelites were uncomfortable with the idea of an invisible god. They preferred a god that could be represented in some solid, tangible and visible form. In many of the churches of this world, there are many statues of Jesus; His hanging on the cross, etc. These are all forms of idolatry. Aaron building the golden calf was therefore not meant to displace God, but to make the Lord more tangible to the Israelites. Flesh always begets flesh. In our carnal state, we always want something that is tangible or fleshy. However, a sign of maturity is believing even though we have not seen. This was what the Lord told Thomas when he doubted that the Lord had risen. 

Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 
Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 
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.

Our life in Babylon was characterized by worshiping what we see as tangible. That is why Babylon is dependent on evidential proofs of the spiritual reality portrayed in signs and wonders and gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, tongues, etc. As we are aware, it is children who are always looking for gifts from parents. As we mature, we become less dependent on gifts. The fact that many come with signs and wonders must alert us to be wary since these signs and wonders are all rudimentary, as our brother Paul warned us. In his letter to the Corinthians, he told them that it is only love (obedience to the Lord’s words) that will endure. In other words, a mature person is the one who obeys or trembles at the Lord’s words. Other gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, prophecies, signs and wonders, are all elementary and as we mature, they become less and less significant. 

1Co 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 
1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 
1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

What we must understand as we mature in the things of God is that we serve a living God who is hiding Himself in this dispensation and it is only as we worship Him in spirit that we come to appreciate the spiritual reality of His existence, love, care and His wonderful plan of salvation for us. 

Isa 45:15  Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. 
Isa 45:16  They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 
Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 

One of the typical examples of idolatry in the Bible was when the Israelites worshiped a golden calf that they had made at the foot of Mount Sinai where they had camped to receive the Law from the Lord.

Exo 32:1  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 
Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 
Exo 32:5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. 
Exo 32:6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 
Exo 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

In verse 1, Aaron negatively represents our leaders in Babylon who put a stumbling block of iniquity – idols of the heart – before us and cause us to become worse than before we have started our walk with the Lord.

The idols of the heart, which are represented here as the molten calf, come at a cost. In other words, we exchange the gold we have received of the Lord’s words with false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. This gold of the Lord’s words we have received is the truth of the word of the Lord, and is accompanied by our fiery trials which cause us to learn righteousness. Thus, exchanging the gold we have received for a molten calf or idols of the heart also means our rejection of the fiery trials we must go through in favor of the smooth words in Babylon which exclude our fiery trials. We all at a certain point in our walk with Christ worshiped or bowed down to the molten calf (idols of the heart) instead of Christ’s words. 

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: 
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 
Isa 30:11  Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 
Isa 30:12  Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 
Isa 30:13  Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 

As we go through today’s study, we shall learn more about our idolatrous state when we were in Babylon and how the Lord is gradually delivering us to become His remnant. 

The Mountains Shall be Judged

Eze 6:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 6:2  Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 

The reason for the mountains of Israel to be the target of Ezekiel’s prophecy was because almost all the mountains or high places of Israel had become places of idol worship. Worshiping idols in high places was how the Moabites worshiped, as shown in the following verses:

Isa 16:11  Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
Isa 16:12  And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. 

These mountains in Israel used to be the mountains of the Lord. However, over time, the Israelites were influenced by the Moabites’ form of worship of idols on these mountains.

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.  

Num 33:51  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 
Num 33:52  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: 

Lev 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

The mountains used to be New Jerusalem but in the time of Ezekiel, the holy mountains had been defiled and therefore represent Babylon. When Christ first came to us, we were like the New Jerusalem, but we took the Lord’s words (gold and silver) and turned them into the wisdom and traditions of men when we were in Babylon.

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 

The Lord speaking to the mountains and the hills is the Lord speaking to us, His elect, about the fact that we are to face judgment.

Mic 6:1  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 
Mic 6:2  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 
Mic 6:3  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

The mountain signifies the house of the Lord, which is the same as His temple, which we are. Thus, the judgment of the Lord regarding the mountains refers to our judgment since we are the temple of the Lord. 

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 
Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

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. 

Eze 6:3  And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 

Here in verse 3, the Lord mentioned the mountains, the hills, the rivers and the valleys to hear the word of the Lord. The valleys had all become places where idolatry was committed as shown in the following verse:

Isa 57:5  Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?

The rivers mentioned in verse 3 refer to the false doctrines of Babylon which have become idols of our hearts and prevent us from knowing Christ. When the Lord comes to us with His judgment, He not only destroys our old man but our rivers and valleys.

Eze 6:4  And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 
Eze 6:5  And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.

When the Lord comes with His judgment, He cleanses our temple (our bodies) by destroying everything within us, such as our altars and images, so that Christ can come and sit on the throne of our hearts and mind. 

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 
Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

The slain men in verse 5 is the same as the dead carcasses before their idols in verse 6. They refer to the death of our old man through the fire of the Lord’s words. The bones which were to be scattered round about our altars signify our flesh or our old man as seen in the following verse:

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  

An altar is where we offer sacrifices to the Lord. It is from our heart and mind that we offer a sacrifice of praise to the Lord and offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.  The altar therefore signifies our hearts and minds which must be cleansed through the Lord’s judgment. The bones to be scattered round about our altars as a result of the Lord’s judgment means that it is through the Lord’s judgment that we come to see how our flesh has dominated our heart and mind such that we cannot offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices.

Exo 20:24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.   

Psa 86:12  I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 

Eze 6:6  In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 
Eze 6:7  And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

It is through the Lord’s judgment that our cities and altars are laid waste, the high places made desolate, our idols broken, our images cut down and our works abolished. Cities either represent the church of the first born or Babylon. In this case, it refers to Babylon. This implies that Babylon within us shall be destroyed. Babylon within us is that which makes us want to worship Jesus but at our own terms. It is therefore destined to be destroyed.

Jer 21:9  He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
Jer 21:10  For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

As we have indicated earlier, the altars signify our hearts and minds where we offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices. However, if our hearts and minds are dominated by the flesh, then our altars become our high places and therefore need to be destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. As shown in verse 6, the Lord shall make our altars and high places desolate. Our idols represent our false doctrines which prevent us from serving the Lord. Through the Lord’s judgment of our old man, our idols of the heart are destroyed.

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

Our images represent another Jesus that we worship when we were in Babylon, which must be destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. Our works which must also be destroyed relate to all that we do outside of Christ. 

Exo 23:24  Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Gen 31:19  And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

Ecc 1:14  I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

In verse 7, the slain falling in our midst means that the death of our old man is all within us. Just as the kingdom of the Lord is within us, the enemy who fights against the building of the kingdom of the Lord is also within, and that is our old man which must be destroyed. As we see the old man within us die daily, we come to know who the Lord is as indicated in verse 7. 

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. 

The Remnant

Eze 6:8  Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 
Eze 6:9  And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 
Eze 6:10  And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 

The remnant represents the Lord’s elect, who, although they shall go through the Lord’s judgment, they shall learn righteousness and shall hate themselves for the evil they had committed in serving another Jesus (verse 9). The fact that the remnant will escape the sword does not mean that they would not be judged by the Lord. However, as the Lord’s elect, we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear, and the Lord will, in all that we go through, provide a way of escape so that we bear the Lord’s judgment. The remnant escaping the sword therefore means that the Lord will provide a way of escape for us so that we can bear the judgment of the sword.

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.

It is through the Lord’s judgment that we come to know Him as explained in verse 10. Knowing Him in verse 10 means that we are assured that the Lord will perfect His work in us through His judgment. In other words, what He has started in us, He will surely bring to completion.

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: 

The Lord will Surely Judge Us

Eze 6:11  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 
Eze 6:12  He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. 

Here in verse 11, we are told of the use of three of the Lord’s four sore judgments against the house of Israel which represents us. Three of the four sore judgments mentioned are sword, famine and pestilence. The negative aspect of sword refers to words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary. 

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

These negative words spoken is one of the tools the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect. 

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

Famine as one of the four sore judgments of the Lord means absence of the truth of the word of the Lord which makes us worse off as we wander from sea to sea. 

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
Amo 8:13  In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 

Through famine, we come to see who we truly are – that is, we are beasts before the Lord. Thus, our proud old man is brought low when the Lord comes to us as we come to cherish the truth of the word of the Lord.

Psa 73:21  Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 
Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 
Psa 73:23  Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 
Psa 73:24  Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

Pestilence comes from the Hebrew word “deber” which means murrain or plague. Murrain means destruction, and the only place the word was used in the Bible was in the fifth plague in Egypt when there was widespread destruction of the cattle of the Egyptians.

Exo 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 
Exo 9:2  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, 
Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

As we learned in the previous study, the root word for the word “murrain” means ‘God speaking.’ Thus, it is the Lord’s fiery words at work in us which shall cause a grievous murrain of our old man, that is, our old man shall be completely destroyed. 

In verse 12, we are made aware of how the Lord uses His four sore judgments to cause us to know Him. The Lord uses pestilence when we have gotten far away from Him. For example, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, the Lord used pestilence to get their attention. The Lord’s use of pestilence means that the people of Israel were given over to the devil, which in this case was represented by Pharoah who caused the people of Israel to be under great affliction.  

Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Exo 1:8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in the  morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 

When the Lord got the people of Israel’s attention, He came to help them as the people drew closer to the Lord. Today, the Lord still uses pestilence to get our attention when we have drifted far from Him. For example, in the Corinthian church, Paul gave the man who slept with his father’s wife over to the devil so that he may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Unfortunately, as we come out of the world and draw near to the Lord, we end up in Babylon and therefore the Lord uses the sword and famine to get us out of Babylon as He prepares us to be part of the heavenly assembly or the church of the firstborn. 

Eze 6:13  Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. 
Eze 6:14  So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

In verse 13 and 14, we are given to know the end result of our judgment – that is, to know who the Lord really is!!  What a blessing therefore, to be judged in this age so that we can know Christ!!

May His name be praised!! Amen!!

Zec 14:1-8  “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee”

[Study Aired August 31, 2023]

The “day of the LORD” is something that happens in stages, and this particular chapter of Zechariah makes that very clear. The terminology in verse one, “divided in the midst of you“, then the gathering process of the nations in the second verse, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle“, then the LORD going forth to “fight against those nations” is another process that takes time of verse three (Zec 14:1-3). These are stages that will unfold during the thousand-year reign of the saints and that God’s elect are experiencing themselves in this life as Christ did (Rev 20:6 another process Luk 13:32, Heb 5:8).

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

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.

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

After these first three verses, the moving of mountains is mentioned in verse four, which indicates a process of faith (Mat 17:20), followed by people reacting to the judgments of God that are in the earth in verse five as “ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains.“

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Finally, in verse eight, we read of the process of judgment that is being executed in the earth by the elect with these words: “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.“

It takes all these above mentioned processes unfolding in the life of God’s people to accomplish the day of the Lord within so that the body of Christ can execute God’s judgments without “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.”

The day of the Lord, or the day of God’s visitation (Luk 19:44) is realized when God determines it for every man, and because the elect are judged first (1Pe 4:17) we are then commissioned to execute those judgements on all God’s creation who are being reserved for that event  (2Pe 3:7, Jud 1:6, 1Co 6:3).

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.

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Here are the first eight verses for this study that will look at:

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 
Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

————–

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Dispensationally these opening verses are talking about Jerusalem below (Isa 1:21, Rev 11:8, Psa 137:6, Jerusalem above Gal 4:26, Luk 13:32) and demonstrate the increased spiritual warfare that will be taking place in the world prior to Christ’s return (2Ti 3:13, 2Ti 3:1). Jerusalem below represents the harlot system that the beast (“all nations“) are against (Rev 17:16). The inward application of these first two verses applies to God’s people in this dispensation of grace as these words of Christ unfold within us.

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

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

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 

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.

What God will do against Jerusalem, that is likened unto a whore which connects her with Mystery Babylon and  the daughters of this harlot church (Rev 17:5),  is explained in these terms, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” These are the four verses in the book of Revelation that  talk about the “whore” being revealed for who she is and how God is going to punish her in stages “and half of the city shall go forth into captivity“: (Rev 17:1, Rev 17:15-16, Rev 19:2). 

Rev 17:1   And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.

Rev 17:15   And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Rev 19:2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand [spiritual fornication within the 40,000 plus divided churches of Babylon (1Co 1:13)].

Again, this is to be understood inwardly for God’s elect today as we ‘come out of her my people’ and strive, with the faith of Christ, to be of one mind (1Pe 4:17, 2Co 6:17, Php 1:27). Outwardly, it is speaking of the time leading up to when the saints will judge the world with a rod of iron, having endured His complete judgment (Rev 15:8) until the end of our lives in order to be saved (Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15, Mat 24:13).

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 

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 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

This judgment is coming forth from the elect who are going to give her double [meaning the true witness [2] of God’s word that is going to burn as with fire (Jer 5:14, Rev 17:16)] and these verses (Rev 16:19, Rev 18:7, Rev 2:23) correlate with this verse: Zec 14:2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women [the churches of Babylon] ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”  The church of Thyatira really captures the thought that we can do many wonderful works in Babylon and still be given a spirit that despises God’s goodness which is leading us to repentance (Rom 2:4). Thyatira’s spirit will be alive and well during the thousand-year reign of the saints, all to demonstrate that we cannot come out of that Babylonian mindset unless the Lord builds that spiritual house within us with God’s spirit (Psa 127:1, Rom 8:9).

Rev 16:19   And the great city was divided into three parts [process of judgment], and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [Zechariah’s^H2148 name means “Jah has remembered“]

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Rev 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;
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.
Rev 2:21  And I gave her 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.
Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death [her children represent false doctrines]; 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.

Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 

The mount of Olives is typical of mount Zion where the elect are raised after having fulfilled their symbolic three-and-a-half-year ministry of witnessing to all “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” where the whore sits (Rev 11:3-4). Verse three tells us the Lord will go forth and do spiritual battle “against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” Verse four reveals who He is going to use to engage in that battle (Oba 1:21). Christ’s feet standing on the mount of Olives is telling us Christ is our head and leader in the day of this great spiritual battle against all “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues“, first within ourselves and then against all nations throughout the symbolic period of time called the thousand-year reign (Eph 6:12, Rev 20:6). We read the expression “as when he fought in the day of battle” that refers to when we were God’s witnesses of these things battling against the powers and principalities at that time in our lives and becoming more than conquerors through Christ and His Christ (Rom 8:37-39, Rev 12:6-8).

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 
Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 

The mount of Olives is “before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” We have all directions being given to us for a reason [north, south, east and west], demonstrating the elect, represented by the mount of Olives, are in perfect subjection to our sovereign God as spirit beings going where we are led by God’s spirit (Rom 8:14, Joh 3:8). The elect have experienced judgment in our heavens already, likened to lightning as from the east to the west, which is how the man of perdition is destroyed within us in this age by the brightness of His coming from the east to the west (Mat 24:27, 2Th 2:8). The mount of Olives, which represents the elect, has been blessed to cleave to Christ in this life – “the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west” from the east unto the west (Psa 19:4-6), The great valley between Jerusalem below and the mount of Olives represents the great gulf there is between mankind and the body of Christ (Luk 16:26). Our mission with Christ can now be accomplished having had His life formed in us through the things we have suffered in this life (Col 1:24, 2Ti 2:12). 

Psa 19:4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 
Psa 19:5  Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 
Psa 19:6  His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

That mission is to be sent as Christ was sent (Joh 20:21, Joh 3:17) to fill the fleshly world, represented by the south, with His judgment which comes from the north (Isa 26:9). This dividing of the mountain (“half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south“) refers back to verse 1, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee” (Zec 14:1). The most mountainous power that controls flesh is the law of sin in our members (Rom 7:23, 1Jn 2:16), and the carnal law of Moses or the Gentiles, who are a law unto themselves (Heb 7:16, 1Ti 1:8-10) deludes us into thinking that we can be righteous before God by adhering to those laws in the letter or by being a law unto ourselves. It is that massive self-righteous mountain that has to be divided by Christ in every man’s life, each man in his own order (Rom 7:6, Rom 2:14, 1Co 15:23-25). It is in the day of the Lord that God puts an end to that strong delusion, and our overcoming through Christ brings forth the spiritual spoils of war in our midst – “and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.” The spoils represent the nations at this time that are being ruled over with a rod of iron [inheritance of the saints], and the spoils of war are also experienced today as we become more than conquerors through Christ, being nourished by the giants in our land Christ slays in us (Num 14:9). In time the world will not just learn righteousness but adhere to the words of Christ and continue in them after they have become tried words in the lake of fire (1Pe 1:7).

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

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:

Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

God’s judgments in the earth will initially produce a healthy fear of God to which these verses are alluding (Rev 6:14-17). “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal (Azal = “proximity: he has reserved” – from H680: to lay aside, reserve, withdraw, withhold” – 2Pe 3:7, Psa 37:28). When God’s elect are resurrected, there is going to be a great fear that will come over the earth (Rev 11:11, Luk 21:26). What the world is fleeing from is Christ and the elect “and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” It is “like as ye fled from before the earthquake” to give another clue as to the condition of men’s hearts at this time when Babylon is about to fall, found in Revelation 11:13.

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.

Psa 37:28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 

Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven [Rev 14:8].

This transition period when the world sees Christ and His bride will produce a mindset in humanity that is described in these terms by God, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark.” God’s glory can be seen and understood with a veil over our eyes like the day Moses came down from mount Sinai (Exo 34:29-30), but not have any effect on the heart as the Israelites typified for our sakes (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11). The elect have had the veil removed through Christ and saw the sun of righteousness in His full strength as resurrected saints during their reign under Christ, however the world still have a veil over their eyes (2Co 3:14). It is written this way  “and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” It is “like as ye fled from before the earthquake” and “But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” The “evening time” when there shall be light typifies the salvation of all mankind, when everyone will be enlightened (Eph 1:18-23) to know God and Jesus Christ in their hearts and minds (Joh 17:3).

Exo 34:30  And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 

Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 

Luk 21:26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

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

Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

The living waters going out from Jerusalem are going out from the church and represent the word of God which is going to fill the world as the oceans are filled with water (Hab 2:14). These living waters of (Hab 2:14) are contrasted with the wine of the harlot churches of this world who have caused spiritual drunkenness and nakedness in the next verse of Habakkuk (Hab 2:15). 

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Hab 2:15  Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

The former^{H6931 [former, ancient, eastern, old]} sea that needs to be washed is all the false doctrines that have been propagated throughout the history of mankind, and the hinder^{H314 [behind, following, subsequent, western, hinder; generally late or last}] sea represents the current state of all the “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” with their various belief systems. Those waters go forth “in summer and in winter shall it be” is speaking of the effectiveness of that preaching of the word. There will be seasons of overcoming for the world of the wood, hay and stubble that would happen in the summer^{H7019=summer, summer-fruit}, but there will also be a resistance to the word going forth that falls on unconverted hearts that are likened unto winter^{H2779=cold, winter, winterhouse, youth} mentioned in other scriptures as well. As we are blessed to know, God’s word will ultimately not return void in the great white throne judgment, the latter rain (Mat 24:20, Isa 55:11, Jas 5:7). 

Pro 20:4  The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold^{H2779 winter}; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

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

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

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the last part of this chapter [Zec 14:9-21]:

Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 
Zec 14:10  All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. 
Zec 14:11  And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Zec 14:12  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 
Zec 14:13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
Zec 14:14  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 
Zec 14:15  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. 
Zec 14:16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 
Zec 14:18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 
Zec 14:19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 
Zec 14:20  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Zec 14:21  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

Song of Solomon, Part 5 – The Bride Adores Her Beloved – Son 2:8-17

“Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”  (Act 2:28)

[Study Aired November 26, 2022]

Let’s be reminded, and consider by all accounts, how close we are to the literal “time of the end” (Dan 8:17). If this climax from years of impassioned learning results in reviewing and mechanically overlaying that education on the Song of Solomon and stimulates us with possibly the same dull, perfunctory kiss goodnight somewhat common with our earthly marriages, we are tolerably poor, blind, and naked in our desire for Christ.

To maximise the physical and resultant spiritual, the individual must focus on delicate details of every breath and interactive responses that amplify sensory spiritual delights. To mitigate the worldly internal narrative of “let’s get it over and done with” without deeply feeling every nuance of our Husband’s and our sensory reactions does not display a Shulamite love. All husbands are sensitive to Leah’s “weak eyes” and the disdain of Queen Vashti for his wife’s lack-lustre desire against being aroused. To resist luxuriating deeply in our spouse’s every sensory reaction is what Israel did to Christ, His first wife, in the wilderness.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

With our Lord’s expected blessings, let’s continue the Song of Solomon 2:8-17.

Son 2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
Son 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. 
Son 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 
Son 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 
Son 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land;
Son 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 
Son 2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Son 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Son 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. 
Son 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Mountains, both negatively and positively, figure very strongly in scripture. We know they represent our self-righteousness, nations, trials by the kings that ruled over us or the Lord’s righteousness depicted as the Mount of the Lord.

In the prior studies, our Lord’s word and spirit are signified by His voice and breath. In the last sentence of Song of Solomon S 2:8, the embodiment of the Song has him “leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills”. That expression of unbridled joy is the nature of the New Jerusalem above. That same joy David, and most of Israel, experienced when he returned the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. David’s first wife, Michal, typifies the Lord’s first wife in the wilderness, displaying resounding dispassion for the unity of spirit. Michal despised David’s leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills of Jerusalem (2Sa 6:16-23), and her spirit brought forth rotten fruit; Michal remained barren until death. Likewise, if our dispassion for our Lord’s conjugal rights and His leaping upon our mountains and skipping upon our hills is met with indifference, we will remain barren of His righteousness.

The New Jerusalem, the city of peace, represents the Shulamite. She is now one mountain of the Lord, Mt Zion within. He has broken the dividing walls of the covenant that she represents by Mt Sinai and Old Jerusalem. She is imminently the New Heavenly Jerusalem.

Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

Jerusalem, like no other city in the world, has greater significance for mankind, particularly the Bride. It is built upon seven hills or mounts,  three to the east and four to the west and is represented as primarily being built upon the Mount of Olives, divided into two hills, the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives, by the valley of Kidron.

The seven ‘mounts’ are the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, Mount of Corruption or Offence, the original Mount Zion or Temple Mount (Sion), a hill with more recent buildings called Western Hill or, in modern times, the New Mt Zion, Mount Ophel and Anotonia. The Elect of God is familiar with the spiritual meanings of the individual numbers, and their additions typify Jerusalem outwardly and within. As a symbol of the entire world, she is deeply divided geographically and particularly spiritually.

The number of hills or mounts on which Jerusalem is built and their meanings all point to ours and the world’s judgement.

Witness – the Temple Mount and Mount of Olives.
The process of spiritual completion of the process of judgment. Anything to do with three has to do with a process. The number three signifies our process of spiritual progression toward maturity.
The whole of anything and tribulation.

The additions of 3 and 4:

Completion and Judgment with Jerusalem being named in scripture as Sodom, Egypt and Babylon. [Jer 29:10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.] 

Negatively, “betwixt” the depths of her two primary hills emanates the most profound scent of dissolute arousal (as opposed to myrrh in Song of Solomon 1:3 [betwixt her breasts]) from our old mother with her contorted emotions of lust and hate in government and the doctrine of death that has shaken and will shake the world to its core. The old Mount of Olives symbolises the world divided into the North, South, East and West, with its seven hills representing Babylon, the seven continents of the world. The Bride has been chosen to come out of those former ways, and she looks forward to her Lord’s feet standing, skipping [H1801 – leaping] for joy on her Mount, cleaved in two from which will flow spiritual purity from her heart.

The Bride is the New Jerusalem above, the mother of us all within. She has been through her judgments, and in a heightened state of spiritual arousal, awaits her Lord’s feet touching down in her heart. Effectively, her Lord has already touched down on her with her spiritual sisters within; out of her will flow the living waters which will heal the earth.

Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 

With its seven mountains, Jerusalem is prophesied to be completed for judgment, and Solomon poetically envisioned her as his Bride. The Bride is about to have her Lord’s feet touch down on her, and she will rule with Him on the seventh day and then judge with him on the eighth day, resulting in all the hills and mountains of her inherited children being laid flat. It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to note the paradox that her full figure of physical femininity will be laid flat in the Kingdom, shadowing a monarchy of neither male nor female since all will be one spirit in God. What counts is the lasting spiritual meaning to which the mountains of her physical femininity point.

Zec 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 
Zec 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 

Isa 2:1  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 
Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

For the Bride, the mountains and sea of flesh with its self-glorification, trials and dark depths of filth, are gone. The Bride’s fearful trembling in the presence of her Lord is changed into an unreserved trembling of delight for what he is about to imbue in her, the full measure of his spirit. Although the Song of Solomon’s imagery is earthy and sounds indelicate, her Lord now leaps upon her seven mountains that feature Jerusalem, the curvacious and beautiful new city she is. She trembles, and her heart beats beneath her mountains to the rhythm of His feet skipping.

Eze 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 
Eze 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 

Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Psa 114:1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; 
Psa 114:2 Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. 
Psa 114:3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. 
Psa 114:4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. 
Psa 114:5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? 
Psa 114:6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? 
Psa 114:7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; 
Psa 114:8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

The Bride’s heightened anticipation seems to flood her mind with an apparent disorder of poetic consummative events. If we were to accurately map any person’s pattern of thinking and present it on a computer screen, we would see a jumble of intersecting and divergent thoughts with no connection to the primary aim of the task at hand. Such is the Bride’s mind’s immense flexibility to track multiple arousals seemingly without order.

Son 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

As a stag in a forest with an exceptionally keen sense of awareness of his surroundings sees a hunter long before the threat sees him, the Bride likens her Lord’s indulgent watchfulness upon her to the fixed gaze of a majestic stag with its two eyes as “one eye” of spiritual devotion for her. Perhaps, and with sensual delight, she is modestly aware of her Lord’s gaze upon her beauty, which sets mutually fiery arousals in motion.

A derivative of a lattice (H2762) is H2760 and is related to initiating a thing and roasting. That same initiating of fiery arousals in the negative is a harlot’s machinations that roast her suitor upon his adulteries with a fiery dart through his liver (Prov 7:23).

King David is a classic example of furtively looking through a symbolic lattice at Bathsheba bathing on a nearby rooftop; he, too, became unrighteously aroused and entangled in a snare of dreadful consequences, roasting in the fiery coals for our intense learning.

In a positive sense, the Shulamite and her Lord are immensely passionate about each other. She has been spiritually diligent in her submission to her Lord. She has been spiritually roasted by the fiery word of God and is about to eat the yield of that furnace in the wedding supper with her Lord in the Kingdom.

H2760 – Lattice.
– Original: חרך
– Transliteration: Charak
– Phonetic: khaw-rak’
– Definition:
(Qal) to set in motion, start
(CLBL) to roast
– Origin: a primitive root
– TWOT entry: 741,742
– Part(s) of speech: Verb

– Strong’s: A primitive root; to braid (that is to entangle or snare) or catch (game) in a net: – roast. 

Total KJV Occurrences: 1 
roasteth, 1
Pro 12:27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. 

Son 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Son 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

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

The Lord comforts his Bride, remembering that the fiery trials of desolate wintery flesh are gone along with the flood of death the Dragon sent after her (Rev 12:7-17). The early rains and latter rains for her spiritual growth have done their work, and she is the fruit of His labour within her.

The beauty of His personally designed and measured Bride is portrayed as the New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

She is the epitome of righteous beauty and fruitfulness, clothed with the sun, her Lord, with her sisters in Babylon under her feet (Rev 12:1). Her Lord will take her away to be one in Him forever.

Son 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land;
Son 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

The Bride is the first fruits of her Lord, whom he planned for himself. Birds symbolise good or evil spirits. She is the peaceful spirit, and her righteous spirit sings a new song that pleases all in their land. She envisions her Lord coming at midnight, and with her lamp trimmed, she comes away with him. They both enjoy the beautiful first fruits that her Lord has bountifully grown within her. The following verses speak of the Bride.

Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Zep 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 
Zep 3:15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God

The Bride continues with her adoration. Her Lord’s word has blessed her with deep, abiding peace, the assurance of her inheritance.

Son 2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

Her Lord is the dove, the spirit of peace. He is the rock of her salvation who has hidden her in Him; he resides in the cleft of the Mount of Olives of her heart, the New Jerusalem and mother of us all. Only her Lord and she know their secret love for each other hidden from Babylon.

A paradox is that the valley of Kidron dividing the Mount was in the negative, a dark and deathly place where the eternal (age-lasting) flames of Gehenna burnt trash, dead animals and criminals. It was a place where dogs prowled and hateful birds (the vultures) squabbled. It depicts Old Jerusalem, Babylon, the depths of the whore’s filthy heart full of evil spirits. Beneath the cleft in the rock of her dividing two hills is her heart, which still rules the world today. The following verses speak of that same great city out of which we have nearly finished the “come out of her, my people” command.

Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Son 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. 

Foxes burrow under stone walls and cause them to subside; they represent opposition to the Lord’s work and seem inconsequential (little) lies and false doctrines; they hinder the work of God within and undermine the Temple’s wall. Likewise, the hollow of one’s hand scoops and undermines another’s work.

Fox H7776
– Original: שׁעל שׁוּעל
– Transliteration: Shuw`al
– Phonetic: shoo-awl’
– Definition: 
fox, a burrower 
fox
perhaps also jackal

Fox: From the root H8168
– Original: שׁעל
– Transliteration: Sho`al
– Phonetic: sho’-al
– Definition:
hollow hand, hollow of hand, handful
hollow hand, hollow of hand
handful
– Origin: from an unused root meaning to hollow out
– TWOT entry: 2432a
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: From an unused root meaning to hollow out; the palm; by extension a handful: – handful hollow of the band. [misspelt. Hand?]

Both foxes, and people, are famous for spreading the most destructive pest of grapevines called Phylloxera. Phylloxera (Daktulsphaira vitifoliae) are very small aphid-like insects regarded as the world’s worst grapevine pest. They feed on the roots of grapevines and are found in most of the world’s grape-growing regions. These pests are easily transplanted in infested rootstock and undermine our supposedly fruitful vine of developing righteousness.

In the opening verses of the Song of Solomon, we discussed the nature of truthful kisses that create immense arousal for the word of God that dramatically increases the desire for more arousal in a beautiful loop of joy that we don’t wish to stop. Kisses “fasten” or seal a passionate relationship (H5390 and its root H5401 & H5400; H2388; H2836).

Perfunctory kisses can be an enemy and are like the little foxes that undermine authentic love and the walls of our Temple. They are often vaguely conscious lies whose intention is deceptive ‘love’ to keep marital connectivity at a distance.

Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Nehemiah was hindered by Sanballat’s undermining of the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

Neh 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 
Neh 4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
Neh 4:3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 
Neh 4:4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 
Neh 4:5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. 
Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Herod was likened to a fox since he, too, attempted to undermine Christ’s work and determination to follow through with the building of His Bride’s Temple.

Luk 13:31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. 
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. 
Luk 13:33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Son 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. 
Son 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether^H1336.

The Bride is the collective of sisters within that make her the Lily. Her Lord pastured his little flock within herself in Him. They delight in the epitome of all loves, only eclipsed by the love of the Father.

Christ and his wife are in a short space where a husband cheers up his wife for a (figurative) year before going to war with judgment on the eighth day of creation. The entirety of humanity in the Lake of Fire will individually come from their torturous shadows and thick gloom that will flee away at “daybreak”. In the meantime, the Shulamite turns to her Husband for more of his kisses that are better than wine. Her heart beats to the rhythm and music of the hooves of a roe or hart upon her mount, below the cleft of the completed New Jerusalem above, the soon-to-be mother of all humanity.

Bether H1336
– Original: בּתר
– Transliteration: Bether
– Phonetic: beh’-ther
– Definition: Bether = cleft 
a mountainous region in Palestine, site unknown
– Origin: the same as H1335
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Masculine 
– Strong’s: the same as H1335; Bether a (craggy) place in Palestine: – Bether.

Total KJV Occurrences: 1 
Bether, 1
Son_2:17

The Bride has been a sacrifice, filled up from behind in the steps of her beloved Husband. The stunningly beautiful New Jerusalem descended from above in consummative spiritual femininity retains her “mounts” of that splendid city. The derivative of Bether H1336 is H1334 & H1335, and means, 1. part, piece. a. of the parts of an animal cut in half for a sacrifice. 1. to cut in two. a. (Qal) to cut in two. b. (Piel) to cut in two.

The Bride, being one in her Husband, out from her God-given heart beneath her famous mounts saves her brothers and sisters, and we remember the frequent quote,

Zec 14:8 And on that day living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them flowing to the sea on the east and half to the sea on the west: in summer and in winter it will be so. 
Zec 14:9 And the Lord will be King over all the earth: in that day there will be one Lord and his name one.

Next week, Lord willing, we continue with the Bride’s seeming interposed poetic arousals in chapter three.

Jdg 9:41-57 But There was a Strong Tower Within the City

[Study Aired May 24, 2021]

Jdg 9:41  And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. 
Jdg 9:42  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 
Jdg 9:43  And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. 
Jdg 9:44  And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. 
Jdg 9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. 
Jdg 9:46  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. 
Jdg 9:47  And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 
Jdg 9:48  And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. 
Jdg 9:49  And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. 
Jdg 9:50  Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 
Jdg 9:51  But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. 
Jdg 9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 
Jdg 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull. 
Jdg 9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 
Jdg 9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. 
Jdg 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 
Jdg 9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. 

At the end of the previous review, there was fighting between Abimelech and the men of Shechem who were led by Gaal. Abimelech overpowered the men of Shechem, and as they fled, many were wounded before they reached the gates of the city as predicted by Jotham, the son of Gideon. This situation came about as a result of God sending an evil spirit which caused an enmity between the men of Shechem and Abimelech, and it is one of the ways God uses to bring about His judgments. In this case, it is the use of a sword where every man’s sword is against his brother or neighbor. The sword here includes wars, bitter words, false doctrines, evil deeds against people by wicked men such as Abimelech, etc.

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

1Sa 14:20  And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Eze 38:21  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Zec 8:10  For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

Today’s review focuses on how Abimelech was finally put to death. As we stated in the last two previous reviews, Abimelech represents our old man, and so what we are going to learn is about how our old man is put to death.

Jdg 9:41  And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. 

According to Strong, Arumah means height and Shechem stands for ridge. A ridge is a mountain range. In our previous review, we established the fact that a mountain signifies a place of worship. Therefore Shechem represents a place of worship, but in this case, they were worshiping another Jesus. That is Babylon. So verse 41 here is suggesting that during our time in Babylon, our old man (Abimelech) was puffed up with pride because of our good works. However, as the scriptures say, pride always comes before a fall (judgment). We were all like Gaal who was thrust out of his high grounds (pride) in Shechem when our Lord came to us with judgment.

Jer 49:16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

Psa 73:6  Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Pro 11:2  When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Jdg 9:42  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 

Our old man (Abimelech) can only hear people in the field.  As our Lord Jesus said in the parable of the weeds, the field is the world. So what this verse is saying is that even at the time that Christ came to us (the morrow) to take us out of Babylon (Shechem), we were still carnal and could only hear what is of the world (those in the field). It takes time for us to hear what the spirit is saying!!

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
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.

Jdg 9:43  And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.
Jdg 9:44  And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. 

The fact that Abimelech divided his people into three companies to engage the people coming out of the city is to let us know that our fiery trials are meted out to us by the Lord in stages. In other words, our judgment is a gradual process, and it is not done all at once lest we faint.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

This verse also states that Abimelech and his people laid in wait in the field. That is to let us know that our old man (Abimelech) is a man of the field just like Esau who was also described as a man of the field. What this means is that our old man is carnal or worldly, and therefore we can only progress in our spiritual walk if our old man dies. The death of the old man is the birth of the new man after the image of Christ.

Gen 25:27  When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

A positive application of the city of Shechem is that it served as a protection for those who dwelt in it.  To leave the city to go into the field is to become vulnerable to the dictates of the world which strengthens our old man to overcome us, causing us to become spiritually dead as we see that Abimelech smote all that came out of the city. In our case, the city where we dwell is the New Jerusalem. To leave the fellowship of the brethren as a result of pressures of putting food on the table for our family, disagreements, a rebuke from leadership or by a member, etc. is to leave the confines of the New Jerusalem to go to the field of the world, which makes us vulnerable to being overcome by the flesh.

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

Jdg 9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. 

In order to explain this verse, we need to understand what fighting the city all that day and sowing the city with salt mean. Spiritually, a day can mean a thousand years, as Peter taught us in the scriptures as follows:

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.

In other words, a day spiritually is the period of our lives where we are dominated by the flesh (1000 years). Since we represent the city, Abimelech fighting against the city all that day signifies that this fight against our old man (Abimelech) is for a long period of time in our lives. However, if we are destined to overcome, the old man will surely be crucified. On the other hand, if we are not predestined to overcome, the old man will overcome us and sow our bodies with salt. That is what happens to those who remain in Babylon.

Sowing a city with salt was a ritual of spreading salt on conquered cities to symbolize a curse on anyone who dared to rebuild it. It was a widespread practice in the ancient times near the East. This means that for those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, the old man will overcome them, and there will not be opportunity here on earth for the new man to rebuild the city of God in their lives.

Jdg 9:46  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. 
Jdg 9:47  And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

What the men of Shechem heard was what happened in the previous verse where Abimelech defeated the people in the city and sowed the city with salt. This is similar to saying that who is like the beast? Who can wage war with the beast?

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

The men of Shechem went to the citadel of their god Berith for protection. Berith means covenant. When we are talking about covenant, then we are dealing with the law of sin and death. So what is being said here is that in Babylon, we come under the law of sin and death just like the Israelites. We think we are worshiping our Lord Jesus, but actually we are worshiping another Jesus by observing the law or the letter which kills. We therefore put so much confidence in the law which then becomes our fortress. However, Jude said that the very thing we think we know, or that we naturally have confidence in, which is the law, we end up corrupting ourselves by or putting ourselves under severe bondage to the old man!!

Jud 1:10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

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

Jdg 9:48  And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. 
Jdg 9:49  And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

What happened to the men of Shechem in the tower is happening to us now through God’s judgment.  Every branch within us that is not bearing fruit is being cut down through the use of a sword (axe). Here Abimelech represents wicked men being used by God as a sword or axe to cut the branch or wood, hay or stubble within us and then using them as fuel to burn all our false doctrines which have become our stronghold or tower of refuge. In other words, our own wickedness are being used to correct us.

Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

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

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

As stated in 1 Corinthians 1:13, every man’s work will be revealed and burned with the fire of the word of God. This is happening to us now but will surely be carried out for every human being that ever lived or will live, but each in his own order.

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Here in this story, we can see that Abimelech is raging like a bull and lifted up, thinking he is invincible and can do anything he wants. That is what happens to our old man. There were times we were swayed uncontrollably by our old man, and we wondered whether we could ever live a righteous life that pleases God.  It was as if our old man had become stronger, and we were at his mercy. However, when we see this beast raging within, we should know that its death is near as this story will unfold later. What Abimelech did to the men of Shechem was the end game for his own death.

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.

The fact that a thousand men and women died as a result of the fire set by Abimelech to burn everybody in the tower is significant. The number 1,000 is equal to 10x10x10. Ten means the fullness of the flesh. So here we are being told that the purpose of our judgment is the death of our flesh or our old man. As our old man is dying, our new man after the image of Christ is being born, and it is through this new man that we become righteous.

Another point we must note here is that this judgment also applies externally. Verses 48 and 49 speak of the judgment of Babylon (all religions) as depicted by the death of the men and women of Shechem by the fire set by Abimelech. As we indicated in the previous review, we mentioned that the men of Shechem represents Babylon the great. Another confirmation of this is in the 49^th verse which indicates that both men and women numbering one thousand died in the tower burnt by Abimelech. As you are aware, the scriptures use the word “men” to refer to all individuals, and so everybody will be tried of his or her works as shown in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. The use of the word “women” refers to the churches or Babylon. This means that both individuals and Babylon will be judged. As stated in the previous review, the judgment of this great whore is gradually getting within sight.

Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Jdg 9:50  Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

According to Strong, the name Thebez means whiteness. On a positive note, the color white signifies the elect who are being purified to become white. So the city Thebez in this context represents the New Jerusalem or heavenly Jerusalem which is the general assembly and the church of the first born.

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

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.

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

The fact that Abimelech encamped against Thebez and took it means that as elect we shall fall, but God has assured us that when we fall seven times, we shall rise!! We need to fall so that we can be purged through judgment to become white.

Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Jdg 9:51  But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.

As we said, the city here is the New Jerusalem, and within this city is a strong tower which is Christ.

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

So we run into this strong tower, which is Christ, and we are safe. Verse 51 says that the men and women went up to the very top of the tower. As we are being given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, we are gradually going up the steps to the very top of this tower in Christ which symbolizes the heavenly places as spoken of by the word of God as follows:

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

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

What we are saying here of being raised up and sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus is the same as the dream Jacob had when he was in Bethel in which he saw a ladder reaching the heavens with angels ascending and descending. The angels are the elect who are here on earth but are also sitting in the heavenly places with Christ. Jesus Christ is this ladder, or in this context, the strong tower which connects the earth to the heavens, and so it is through Jesus that we are able to get to the heavenly places.

Gen 28:10  And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
Gen 28:11  And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Gen 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
Gen 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Gen 28:18  And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
Gen 28:19  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Jdg 9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 

The fact that we are in Christ or in this strong tower does not mean that the battle against the old man or the flesh is over. We are cautioned by the Lord through Peter that our adversary is still relentless in his pursuit of us to put us to death spiritually.

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.

Here in this verse, the enemy (Abimelech) is trying hard to burn down the door of our tower with fire. As we have said, the tower is Christ, and Christ is the word. So the gate of this tower is the entrance to the word of God. This is what the word of God says about the entrance to the word of God:

Psa 119:130  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

So the gate to this tower, which is the word of God, is the light or understanding God gives us as we come to the word. So verse 52 here is telling us about one of the key strategies of the enemy. He comes to destroy this light or understanding with his fire.  We must understand that there is fire in the scriptures, which is the word of God that destroys all that offends in the kingdom of God as shown by this statement from the scriptures:

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

There is also fire which comes from our idol worship (now idols of the heart) which burns our sons and daughters. This fire sends us into outer darkness making it difficult for the glorious light of the gospel to penetrate our minds and hearts. This fire by Abimelech to destroy the door to this strong tower is therefore the false doctrines and the idols of the heart which dim or block the light of the glorious gospel which is the entrance to the understanding of the word of God.

Jer 19:5  They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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

Jdg 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.
Jdg 9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Jdg 9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.

As we just discussed, through Christ who is the strong tower, we are able to climb to the very top of the tower which is being in heavenly places. From the heavenly places’ perspective, we are able to see the enemy (Abimelech) clearly and his antics. Through a woman, that is the church, we are able to put to death Abimelech. It is important to note that Abimelech or our old man died as a result of the millstone thrown by the woman and the sword. A millstone is a circular stone used for grinding grain. We, the elect are the millstone which is being shaped to become circular by the Lord through judgment to be used to break down the word of God (grain) for our consumption or growth. That is what destroys our old man.

The fact that Abimelech did not want to die at the hand of a woman is to let us know that anybody who is dominated by the old man does not consider us as the church of the first born or the New Jerusalem. To the world and Babylon, we are weak and cannot even kill a fly (which is the truth). How much more to put to death our old man whom the whole world including Babylonians consider as fighting a losing battle!!

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?

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Jdg 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 
Jdg 9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. 

What we can learn from verses 56 and 57 is that whatever we sow, we shall reap. We must realize that we always reap more than we sow.

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Verses 56 and 57 are also to assure us of the fulfillment of the word of God both inwardly and outwardly. In other words, He who had begun a good work in our lives will surely see to its completion. This assurance is what our Lord told Zerubbabel. We should not despise what we are now or our small beginning.  We are the Lord’s work in progress, and it is not by our own strength or power but by His spirit. Whatever is like a mountain now in our lives shall be made a plain later, and so let’s not give up as a result of the challenges we are facing now, be it sickness, financial distress, besetting sins, depression, not being loved, etc. The word of God says that the challenges we are facing are not unique to us alone but are common to many believers all over the world. We are all not perfect now just like Zerubbabel but by His chastening grace, we shall all say one day like Zerubbabel, “grace, grace unto it”.

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.
Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
Zec 4:8  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Zec 4:9  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
Zec 4:10  For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

[Author may be contacted at abarnes (at) semfinancial.com]

[Study Aired April 21, 2020]

Luk 17:5  And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
Luk 17:6  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Luk 17:7  But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Luk 17:8  And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
Luk 17:9  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not (I think not).
Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. 

Looking at verses 7-10 first, we see that this process of casting the trees into the sea is not of ourselves. We are only doing what was commanded by the Lord because our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isa 64:7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 

Our faith must only be small as a mustard seed to accomplish much. But faith alone is not enough to endure until the end. We also need much prayer and fasting, no doubts, belief, forgiveness, and love. 

Mat 17:14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
Mat 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
Mat 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

Mat 21:18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
Mat 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
Mat 21:20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
Mat 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

Mar 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Mar 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Mar 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. 

1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
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. [G26 Agape, love] 

As we mature our faith grows. 

2Th 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Th 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 

What is the faith that gives us the ability to cast mountains and trees into the sea?

Gal 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Gal 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
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. 

Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

Jesus Christ is our faith and he is the one casting the trees and the mountains into the sea. 

Pro 13:17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health. 

Pro 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. 

Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Deu 32:3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. 

Back to our parable. 

Luk 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 

What do the trees, the sea and mountains represent? 

Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 

Luk 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit.
Luk 6:44 For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 

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

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

Psa 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. 

Isa 13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 

Trees, the sea and mountains in this parable represent our old man and the doctrines of our father the devil. 

The faith of Christ in us gives us the ability to cast out our old man and the doctrines of the world. Christ is working this out in the elect in this age. He is casting out all these nations within us. Christ does this by judging us. He has given us commandments to follow, and until He begins to work in us, we cannot follow these commandments. When He does begin, however, He will finish His work. Here is the promise of our Lord. 

Deu 6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
Deu 6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Deu 6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Deu 6:10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
Deu 6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
Deu 6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deu 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deu 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
Deu 6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Deu 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
Deu 6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
Deu 6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,
Deu 6:19 To cast out all thine enemies (the trees and mountains) from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

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Isa 54-9-17 – Every Tongue That Shall Rise Against Thee In Judgment Thou Shalt Condemn

[Study Aired February 23, 2020]

Isa 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Isa 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
Isa 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Isa 54:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Isa 54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

In our last study we learned that Christ is called by His Father “a wife of youth” as well as “the Son of God”:

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

This 54^th chapter begins by encouraging Christ’s elect ‘wife’, “Jerusalem above, the mother of us all” (Gal 4:26), the mother whose sons are being freed from the bondage of sin and death, to rejoice because the time is coming when, after so many years of being barren, she will have more children than Babylon “who is in bondage with her children” (Gal 4:25-27).

Referring to these very verses of Isaiah 54, Paul declares that we are the children of both “Jerusalem which is above [and] the children of the freewoman [who] as Isaac was, are the children of promise… the son of the freewoman” (Gal 4:21-31).

Gal 4:21 Tell me those desiring to be under law, do ye not hear the law?
Gal 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one from the servant girl, and one from the freewoman.
Gal 4:23 But in fact, the man from the servant girl was born according to flesh, but the man from the freewoman through promise.
Gal 4:24 Which things are allegorized, for these are two covenants, indeed one from mount Sinai giving birth for bondage, which is Hagar.
Gal 4:25 For Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, which is mother of us all.
Gal 4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren woman not giving birth. Burst forth and shout, thou not suffering birth pains, because many more are the children of the desolate than of her who has the husband. 
Gal 4:28 Now we, brothers, who correspond to Isaac, are children of promise. 
Gal 4:29 But just as then, the man who was born according to flesh persecuted the man according to Spirit, so also now.
Gal 4:30 Nevertheless, what does the scripture say? Send away the servant girl and her son, for the son of the servant girl will, no, not inherit with the son of the freewoman. 
Gal 4:31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant girl, but of the freewoman. (ACV)

This again demonstrates, for all who have been given “eyes that see”, that just as Christ is called “the wife of [His] maker… a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused”, at the same time He is also called “the son of God” (Dan 3:25 and 1Jo 5:20). Because we are informed that “as He is so are we in this world” (1Jo 4:17; 1Jo 5:20; Rev 19:7), we are also called both “the sons of God” and “the Lamb’s… bride:

1Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

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

Verse 5, speaking of Christ as the sacrifice for sins, reads, “Your Maker is your husband.” This statement is preceded by these words in the previous chapter:

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Chapters 53 and 54 are both all about Christ. There in chapter 53 He is referred to with a masculine pronoun, and here in this 54^th chapter He is referred to as, “woman forsaken… a wife of youth.”

Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

What we have here is a very clear statement that Christ is a wife to His “Maker”, the Father, and He is therefore a created being who is not the same as “the Father, of whom are all things”:

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and [besides this “one God, the Father, of whom are all things” there is also] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

This verse is telling us that, like we are, Christ is “of the Father”, and that would indicate that Christ was created just as we were. Is there a ‘second witness’ to the creation of Christ? Yes, as a matter of fact there is just such a statement in:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Here we have Christ Himself telling us that He is “the beginning of the Creation of God, and then we have this:

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

The final verse which demonstrates that Christ is the wife of the Father and the mother of all His creation is this verse in 1^st Corinthians:

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

The head of the woman is the man because the man is the husband of the woman:

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

In the same manner, Christ did nothing of Himself but only what His Father… “the head of Christ”… His husband taught and commanded Him:

Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

It is in the context of Christ as a ‘barren, forsaken, refused wife’ and with the understanding that “as He is so are we in this world” (1Jo 4:17), that we begin our study today with these words:

Isa 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

In this study we are being given a promise from the Lord Himself telling us that the words… “the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused… For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer”… those words, once they are fulfilled in our lives, are all “as the waters of Noah” unto  the Lord, inasmuch as He has “sworn that [He] would not be wroth with [us] nor rebuke [us]”, ever again, after judging us in “this present time” (Rom 8:18).

The Lord is honest and upfront with all to whom He gives His calling to follow in His steps in this age. He does not speak smooth enticing words of deceit. He tells it as it is:

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

Mat 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.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Luk 12:52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
Luk 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

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

It is in speaking of all these very trying experiences that Christ then tells us this of His “very elect”:

Isa 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

Our mountains are departing, and our hills are being removed. Our fiery trials in this life are “as the waters of Noah unto [our Lord]”. However, He goes on to promise and assure us that once this is done, “I… have… sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee… neither will the covenant of my peace be removed…”

Let’s examine the covenant God made with Noah and his seed” concerning “the waters of Noah”?

Gen 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

It is important for us to notice that the Lord nowhere says simply “neither shall all flesh be cut of any more”, period. No, that is not the Lord’s covenant with Noah. His covenant is “neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood”.

If indeed “all flesh… shall [not] be cut off any more by the waters of a flood”, how then is it possible ever to “destroy… death”?

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

The only way death can be destroyed is for the Lord to destroy the source of death, and this is the source of all death:

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

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Is it possible to “destroy… death” without again destroying all flesh? Death was not destroyed at the flood because Noah and his family were spared as types of our baptism while yet in bodies of flesh and blood:

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Did you catch what the spirit is telling us? It is telling us that water baptism, the baptism of John and the Old Testament, does “not put away… the filth of the flesh”, whereas “The answer of a good conscience toward God… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ… does also now save us.” It requires the death and resurrection of Christ to accomplish the Lord’s goal of destroying death and giving every man who has ever lived, or ever will live, “a good conscience toward God” by the miracle of Christ living His life within us. That is the mystery which has been hidden from the ages:

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.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

“The Comforter” is the holy spirit:

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

The Father has given everything He has to Christ, just as Pharaoh gave everything but the power of the throne to Joseph:

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Christ just told us that His Father’s spirit has been given to Him, and He can now give it to whomsoever He wills. Christ certainly did not consider His Father’s spirit to be a person His Father was giving Him.

Now notice what the scriptures do with this situation. Remember Christ told us that the Comforter is the holy spirit:

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

The Greek word translated as ‘comforter’ is:

G875
παράκλητος
paraklētos
par-ak’-lay-tos
An intercessor, consoler: – advocate, comforter.
Total KJV occurrences: 5

Now let’s look at how the King James Version translates this Greek word, ‘parakletos’:

G3875
παράκλητος
paraklētos
Total KJV Occurrences: 5
comforter, 4

Joh_14:16, Joh_15:26 (2), Joh_16:7
advocate, 1
1Jo_2:1

The translators consistently translate this word ‘parakletos’ as comforter four of the five times it appears in the New Testament, but for some strange reason, they translate it as ‘advocate’ in 1John 2:1.

Why would they do that? When we read that verse it will become very clear why they made an exception. Here is:

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Now it is very clear why the translators did not translate the word ‘parakletos’ as comforter in this verse. If they had done so, this verse would have revealed that the comforter is “Jesus Christ the righteous” and not a third person of the God-head. Let’s be consistent and translate 1Jn 2:1 correctly and see how it reads:

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have a comforter with the Father [which “comforter is the holy spirit” (Joh 14:28)], Jesus Christ the righteous:

Now this verse is also much clearer:

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

“The holy spirit” is “the holy spirit of God… the Father, of whom are all things” (1Co 8:6). The Trinity doctrine is debunked as just one more false unbiblical doctrine and yet that doctrine is beyond question in all the churches of the daughters of the great whore.

If we are given to endure the rejection of the great harlot and her daughters and remain faithful to the Lord’s words, we are told:

Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

The Lord has given His bride “great and precious promises”, but contrary to another false doctrine, the doctrine of a physical “bodily resurrection”, the fact is that it is not possible for flesh and blood to inherit life eternal. Here is a verse which makes this point very clear:

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

Contrary to the false doctrine of ‘the fall of man’, a doctrine never once mentioned in all of scripture, flesh and blood is called “corruption”, and it is likened to a “vessel of clay… marred in the hand of The Potter”.

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.

Our “marred” condition is a work of “the Potter’s hand”. In the final analysis, even our sins are all a part of the things He is working to bring about His purpose for first creating mankind in these marred vessels.

Adam could well have asked this same question which we find in:

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

Not in the Garden of Eden nor anywhere in the Old Testament nor anywhere in the New Testament did Christ or any of His apostles ever once threaten Adam or his children with eternal torment for erring from the Lord’s ways which He makes us to do. Instead we are threatened with:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

While it is definitely true that the curses for our sins occupy most of the pages of scripture, it is also true that the Lord incentivizes us to overcome our weaknesses and sins and to strive for the “great and precious promises” He has given us if He gives us to have respect to the recompense of His reward for our repentance and obedience to His commandments.

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Here are just a few of those exceeding great and precious promises by which we are made partakers of His divine nature:

Isa 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Our “children” will be few indeed in this present time, but in time they will be more than the married wife who has so many children in this age.

We are even now being “taught of the Lord” and enjoying His great peace of mind:

Mal 2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

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

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

His exceeding great and precious promises continue to give us peace:

Isa 54:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

We have no “fear of terror” because we are past being brought to our wits’ end, and “as the waters of Noah” covenant, the Lord promises us “you shall have no fear… terror… shall [never again] come near you”. These promises are obviously being made to the firstfruits of Christ through whom all the rest of mankind, as our children, will be shown the same mercy the Lord is presently showering upon us with the blessings such as these here in Isaiah 54:

Isa 54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

The Lord’s plan for mankind requires a “waster to destroy”, so He made Himself one. The ‘waster’ is tasked with destroying our new man and opposing Christ within us. He was given this task in the Garden of Eden with these words from our Lord:

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Because we are merely dust, it is we whom the adversary is given for his lunch, and without the mercy of the Lord that is all we are until the day comes when the Lord says, “Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake…” “The waster” is just a tool in His hand as the book of Job so graphically demonstrates.

It is the Lord who is working virtually everything, including our very thoughts, “after the counsel of His own will”:

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

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

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

So, our trials of life are really a work of the Lord even if He Himself is sending evil spirits to effectuate His plan and purpose for each of us.

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

The story of Job is a perfect example of how the trials given to the Lord’s elect through evil spirits are used by the Lord to try our faith in the fire of His words, and we can all rest in this promise if indeed we are His elect in “this present time”:

Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

While the weapons formed against us may seem insurmountable at times, we can rest in the truth of these words:

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

Paul calls “us… the manifest… sons of God” for whom all men are waiting to be shown the mercy we are even now receiving:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

It is even now that the words of Christ in our mouths condemn every tongue that rises against us in judgment. The final fulfillment of this verse of Isaiah will be in the lake of fire/second death. It is then that these words in Malachi will be fulfilled in their finality:

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

That is our study for today, and these are the verses we will be covering next Sunday, Lord willing. We will be learning more about the covenant the Lord has with His elect and the exceeding great and precious promises of that covenant:

Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 
Isa 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 
Isa 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 
Isa 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. 
Isa 55:5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 
Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Psa 104:6  Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. 
Psa 104:7  At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 
Psa 104:8  They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 

It seems like such a simple statement to accomplish “I will be glad in the Lord”, but we know, as with every part of God’s word, that there is a working and unfolding in the hearts of His children which must happen in order to bring about that gladness or joy in the Lord that we all want to partake of and share with each other in “being affectionately desirous” toward each other as it says in these verses:

1Th 2:8  So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
1Th 2:9  For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
1Th 2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

We are learning that we cannot have His joy in us if our hearts are looking to find our pleasure or joy in the world, and so God’s elect are being dragged out of those things that don’t bring lasting joy, also defined as the pleasures of sin for a season, to be brought to understand His joy, and how we can be “glad in the Lord” through Christ who is our advocate, who will enable us to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life [all that is in the world within us (1Jn 2:1-2, 1Jn 2:15-17)].

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Faith is what we will need to refuse our Father, the devil, typified by Pharaoh (ref. Heb 11:24 below), and there will be no boasting as we come out of the world by faith if we through the grace typified as Moses who chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God”, to endure the trying of our faith, our fiery trials, our much tribulation, our being crushed under the stone so that we can be “meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”. Christ must set us free little by little so that we no longer “enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” as he brings us to have a greater “respect unto the recompense of the reward”.

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. [faith that we continue in, and that becomes tried in the fire]

Luk 20:18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken [faith]; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder [tried faith].

2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
2Ti 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses [faith], when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God [tried faith], than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Heb 12:2)…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. [knowing that same joy which is set before us can be obtained and felt in earnest today is what motivates us through Christ (Php 1:6)]

Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
Deu 7:23  But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee [faith], and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction [tried faith], until they be destroyed.

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all (1Jn 2:15-17), and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. [we must suffer to cease from sinning and that is the process that makes it possible for us to be as He is (1Jn 4:17) and “sit upon twelve thrones” knowing that the enduring to the end and suffering as Christ did is “that which was our duty to do”].

The following are some verses that speak of the joy and gladness that we are able to receive in the Lord as He gets us to that point of being able to rejoice in him even in the midst of diverse temptations (Jas 1:2). I’m hoping these verses will set the stage for the rest of the study that will have us looking at how God creates the conditions in our life through the preparation of our hearts, so that we can receive that precious fruit of the spirit called “joy” that is so integral to our being able to endure through so much tribulation in this life.

Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Joy is connected with repentance and chastening, and that joy is connected with the “glory and honour” that is manifested in our lives after God receives us through chastening and scourging that symbolically “may endure for a night” because we know in reality our trials and the hand of Lord can be on us for many months, or sometimes for half a minute, and in all various manners and degrees to work whatever purpose He is working [like the progressive trials that were put upon Job that typify the process of grace and faith that God’s elect are going through], and again with the end goal of creating within us obedient lives that are able to continue in that obedience and endure unto the end unto his “glory and honour“].

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

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.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (1Jn 2:15-17).

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Isa 13:12  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Isa 13:13  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. [we are ashamed of the sins that God has allowed to manifest in our life (Rom 6:21), but we will not be ashamed of the gospel which is the power of salvation Lord willing (Rom 1:16)].

God is working through this contrast of good and evil with all of His creation (Isa 45:7).

Joh 16:22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you (Joh 8:36).

Psa 4:7  Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
Psa 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Joh 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

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

1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1Ch 16:27  Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

Psa 5:11  But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Psa 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Est 8:6  For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? (this is the reality being expressed in the book of Ester….Mat 24:12, and the answer to being able to “endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people” remains the same Psa 104:15, Php 4:13).

1Ki 8:66  On the eighth day (the new man, represented by the number 8, rejoices) he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

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

Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy [faith], saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven [tried faith].

Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
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 just persons, which need no repentance.

Act 15:3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

Psa 32:11  Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

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

Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Rom 12:15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

What brings us joy is the same thing that brings our Father joy, and that is when we enter into His joy, realizing the power of our relationship with Christ and His body in these weak vessels of clay which have been marred in the Potter’s hand (Jer 18:4). We are becoming something new as a result of the grace and faith that God is causing in our lives, and it is a process to come to that joy as we just read in James. James also goes on to say that we must believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him and serve him (Heb 11:6-7) and that we need to cry out for wisdom and faith to help us overcome in this evil and Godless age that we are living in so that we can be settled in the Lord (Jas 1:5-8)

Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Psa 100:4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (His joy), and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name (His joy).

Psa 100:5  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

1Sa 17:40  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

Jas 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Jas 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

All those verses above which talk about ‘joy’ or ‘rejoicing’ are directly or indirectly a result of our overcoming the giants in the land by the grace and faith (5 smooth stones) which God gives us so that those giants become bread for us (Num 14:9), meaning we are nourished when we are given victory over sin, and we overcome sin at an appointed time, and in doing so we come to recognize that it is the Lord’s work in us to clear the beasts of the field or giants of the field little and little through a process of judgment (3) and not by our might or power but by his spirit that witnesses (2) His might so that we can truly rejoice in what the Lord is able to do through us in our temple (Exo 23:30, Zec 4:6, Joh 2:14). It is that 3+2 relationship that we are blessed to see that helps us understand how we can take down those giants of the land through Christ, our hope of glory within (Col 1:27).

The language at this section of Psalm 104, which we are examining, is very much about the comfort which God gives us in overcoming those giants and how there is always joy in the morning after we endure through suffering. We are learning to be more than conquerors through Christ and His body as the Lord destroys those powers and principalities right on cue in each of our lives, so that we can offer our lives a living sacrifice to each another. That sacrifice that has to be tried in the fire as we die daily to all the double mindedness within us is likened unto a wave of the sea. Our greatest blessing today is to see each other clearly on that sea of glass that He is forming in our lives via the fiery trials that He gives us.

Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

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.

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

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

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.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

What joy we experience when we finally are brought to our wits’ end and ask the Lord for the wisdom we need to overcome in faith, nothing wavering, because the Lord has destroyed those giants of doubt and sin that we all harbour  within until we don’t. The verses we will look at point to God’s sovereignty over that process of maturing us, and we are told to not grow weary in this well-doing work of the Lord that is preparing our hearts to receive “…the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls”.

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

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

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Job 11:12  For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
Job 11:13  If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
Job 11:14  If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
Job 11:15  For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
Job 11:16  Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: