Matthew 22:1–22 The Parable of the Wedding Feast

[Study Aired September 29, 2025]

We shall look at the parable of the wedding feast as our main topic for today. In addition, we shall review the question posed by the Pharisees and the Herodians about whether they should pay tribute to Caesar. 

To make it easier to understand today’s study, we need to know what the wedding feast means spiritually. We know from the word of the Lord that by the things that are made, we are able to understand the Lord’s eternal power and Godhead. 

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

One of the significant activities of a wedding feast is the lunch or the dinner where the guests are able to eat to their satisfaction. So the whole wedding feast is about eating. In the scriptures we are going to review today, we are told that the oxen and the fatlings are killed and ready for dinner. 

Mat 22:4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 

What this dinner is about is that we are going to eat. Spiritually, this means that we are going to know Christ. So, the wedding feast is about we, His elect, seeing Christ as He is. The word of the Lord says that when we see Him as He is, we shall be like Him. That is what the wedding feast is about. We shall be like Christ because we shall know Him as He is.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The question is, “When does this wedding feast of Christ and His bride begin?” It starts right at the first resurrection, when the Lord’s elect are raised from death with an incorruptible body.

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

The story of Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah depicts this marriage feast. 

Gen 24:64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 
Gen 24:65  and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 
Gen 24:66  And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 
Gen 24:67  Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

When Rebekah saw Isaac, she dismantled from the camel. This means that in the first resurrection, we shall put away this fleshly body (camel which is perishable) and put on a resurrected body (imperishable) just like Christ. Rebekah taking the veil means that we shall see the Lord as He is. 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  

With this in mind, let’s turn our attention to the details of the parable of the wedding feast.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Mat 22:1  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 
Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 
Mat 22:3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 

Jesus answering and speaking to them refers to the chief priests and the Pharisees in the previous chapter, who represent our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon. They are the many who are not given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. That is why Jesus speaks to them in parables.

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

The king who is having a marriage for His son is God, the Father. The son is Jesus Christ, and the marriage is between Jesus Christ and His elect. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.  

The servants in verse 3 signify Moses and the prophets who were sent to the house of Israel. Those bidden to the wedding therefore in verse 3 represent the house of Israel. As indicated in verse 3, not all those invited to the wedding would come. The children of Israel refused to become the Lord’s bride. 

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

Mat 22:4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 

This category of servants are identified by their message, which is to tell them who are bidden that the dinner is ready as the oxen and fatlings have been killed. The oxen represent our Lord Jesus Christ and His elect. A fatling in the Bible means a young animal, such as a calf, lamb, or kid, that has been deliberately fattened for slaughter, typically for sacrifice or a special feast. The Lord’s fatlings therefore also signify the Lord Jesus and His elect. Our Lord Jesus had to physically die at a young age to deliver us from our sins and to become the source of salvation for us, His elect, and the world. Our death as His elect is a spiritual one as we die daily to the flesh. Our death to the flesh is what makes us ready as the Lord’s bride for the marriage feast.    

Rom 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

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.

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

Based on this message of the cross, this category of servants sent by the Lord represents the Lord’s elect in every generation after John the Baptist. 

Mat 22:5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 

Making light the message of the servants sent means neglecting or paying no attention to the word of the Lord. Here in verse 5, we are given a reason why they did not pay heed to the Lord’s words – one went to his farm and another to his merchandise. This implies that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, are what rob us of becoming part of the marriage feast. This is what our Lord Jesus has to say about this:

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  

In the parable of the great banquet which talks about this same wedding feast of Christ and His bride, we are given more reasons why many refuse to attend this feast. 

Luk 14:16  Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 
Luk 14:17  And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 
Luk 14:18  And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 
Luk 14:19  And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 
Luk 14:20  And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 
Luk 14:21  So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 
Luk 14:22  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
Luk 14:23  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 
Luk 14:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

The excuses given for not attending the great banquet were as follows; I have bought a piece of ground, I have bought five oxen, and I have married a wife. Going to see the piece of ground bought means focusing on the cares of this world at the expense of the Lord. Those who own oxen in the Bible days were wealthy people. Therefore the one who bought five oxen, and as a result refused to go to the wedding feast, stands for those who feel they are spiritually rich but are not. The negative aspect of the number five means famine which brings poverty. 

Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 

This implies that the one who bought five oxen are those who consider themselves as spiritually rich but are spiritually poor. They therefore cannot inherit the kingdom of Heaven. 

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

The one who had just married a wife symbolizes those who are made worse by the church system of this world (the harlot), making them unfit for the marriage feast. 

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

At a certain point in our walk with Christ, we taught we were married to Christ. However, we did not know that we had been deceived by the whore, just as Jacob was deceived to marry Leah. That is why the Lord wants us to leave Babylon or the church system of this world, who, to the natural man, is the bride of Christ, but to the Lord’s elect, she is a whore.

Eze 16:32  But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! 
Eze 16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.  

Mat 22:6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 

We were all guilty of the blood of the prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ at a stage of our walk in the church system of this world or Babylon. This is what the Lord had to say about this:

Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 

Mat 22:7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 

The city here in verse 7 is the same as the harlot woman who is Babylon. The murderers refer to all in Babylon of which we were part, during our sojourn in the churches of this world. As indicated earlier, we were responsible for the blood of all the prophets. 

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

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

In this age, it is Babylon within us, His elect, which is being destroyed through the fiery trials we are enduring. In the fullness of time, Babylon will be destroyed outwardly for all to see.  

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. 

Mat 22:8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 
Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 

Our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon, are not worthy of attending the marriage feast of Christ and His bride. We, His elect, were also not worthy to be at this marriage feast at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. However, through the mercies of the Lord, He has made us worthy to attend this marriage feast. The highways represent all those who have escaped from the city of the harlot woman or Babylon. As we are aware, the Lord is urging His elect, to leave Babylon.

Jdg 20:32  And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.  

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. 

We, His elect, are those on the highways who have escaped from the city of Babylon. We are therefore, the Lord’s bride and are going to be part of this marriage feast of Christ and His bride. 

Mat 22:10  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 
Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

As indicated, those on the highways represent the Lord’s elect who have escaped from the city Babylon. However, leaving Babylon does not mean we are perfected. The fact that there are both good and bad on the highways invited means that we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling to be on the good side.  This implies that we can be the Lord’s elect and yet miss out on wearing the appropriate wedding garment for the wedding feast. We know from the word of the Lord that on a positive note, a garment represent righteousness. The appropriate wedding garment to put on therefore is the righteousness of Christ which is attained through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. Without the righteousness of Christ, we shall be disqualified from attending this wedding feast of Christ. The verses below show us how we can be disqualified from this wedding feast: 

Heb 10:26  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remained no more sacrifice for sins, 
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  

We are, however, encouraged by the Lord to keep our confidence of making it to the wedding feast. This is because He who has started preparing us for this wedding feast will see to its completion. 

Heb 10:35  Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 
Heb 10:36  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 
Heb 10:37  For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 
Heb 10:38  but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 
Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 

In verse 13, the man without the appropriate garment for the wedding feast is cast into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The outer darkness is a condition where we are not given the light of Christ to understand His words. The weeping and gnashing of teeth speak of the sorrow we experience when we realize that we have missed the blessing, just like Esau.  

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen. 

Right from the beginning of creation to date, the Lord has been calling many to come and work in His vineyard. However, it is the few who came after Christ who are chosen to receive everlasting life first. The few who are given everlasting life means that they are given to know Christ first in this age. This is what the parable of the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard seeks to illustrate. 

Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 
Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.  

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mat 22:15  Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 
Mat 22:16  And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 
Mat 22:17  Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 
Mat 22:18  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 

After failing to ensnare our Lord Jesus Christ through His conduct, the Pharisees in league with the Herodians attempted to trap Jesus in His speaking. The Herodians were not a religious sect. They were political foes of the Pharisees, differing on the best way to navigate Jewish life between their Jewish faith and Hellenistic cultural influences, which they often chose to compromise with. The Pharisees coming together with the Herodians to entrap Jesus is to highlight the fact that all humanity including His elect, were involved in the murder of our Lord Jesus Christ. At a certain stage of our walk, we were just like the Pharisees and the Herodians trying to kill Jesus and His elect. 

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 

In verse 16, we see some of the qualities of our Lord Jesus when He lived here on earth. He was true, taught the way of God in truth and was no respecter of persons. As He is, so are we. When people see us, they must see us as genuine in our conduct as we teach the way of the Lord in truth. We must not be respecter of persons. 

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 
Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Another characteristic of our Lord Jesus Christ while He walked here on earth was His ability to discern the intent of people who come to Him as if they want to know the truth. In verse 17 and 18, the Pharisees and the Herodians asked Jesus a question about paying tribute to Caesar, but the Lord was able to see their inward wicked motive. If Jesus says that the Jews should not pay tribute to Caesar, it makes Jesus a rebel to Rome. Saying that the Jews should pay, makes Him a traitor to the Jews. Jesus made it clear their intent by exposing them as hypocrites.    

As He is, so are we. We are sometimes approached by our brothers and sisters in Babylon about our understanding of the word of the Lord. On the surface, it seems as if they want to know the truth. However, they really want to entrap us by our words. May the Lord help us to discern the motives of such people  who come to entrap us by our words. 

Pro 6:2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Pro 6:5  Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 

Mat 22:19  Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 
Mat 22:20  And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 
Mat 22:21  They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. 
Mat 22:22  When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. 

Jesus’ response that we should render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and unto God the things that are God’s, shows us how we are to live in this world as His elect. Being God’s children, we must not interfere with politics. However, we are to submit to our governments as we pay our taxes and obey the rules of the government. On the other hand, we must render to the Lord what is due Him in this life. This implies offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord. We do this by not conforming to the standards of this world, as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds daily. 

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.   

May the Lord be merciful to us as He makes us ready for this marriage feast. Amen!!

Gospels In Harmony – The Parable of the Ten Pounds

What is the Measure of Our Faith?

[Study Aired March 16, 2021]

Luk 19:11-27 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Luk 19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

The apostles and disciples of Christ all thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. They did not understand that the kingdom is within, among other things yet to be revealed to them. They were told in Daniel the kingdom would be established, and Christ has told them that the kingdom is within.

Dan 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Luk 17:20-25 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: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

In the next verses Christ explains why their thoughts are incorrect.

Luk 19:12-13 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Once again Christ explains with a parable. The nobleman is Christ. The far country is the flesh flesh. The ten servants are the called, the chosen, and those that endure until the end. Ten = Completeness of the flesh. Here is the link for the study of the number ten.

Christ has come to the world and as the parable says has returned to his kingdom. This is speaking of his ascension. Even in the book of Acts the disciples think the kingdom is eminent.

Act 1:6-11 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

This also explains the meaning of “Occupy till I come”. 

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The ten servants are given ten pounds representing the faith we are given. We will go over this in later verses.

Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Christ is hated by the world, and the citizens of the world hate him.

Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

Now we will see how the money given to the servants ties in with the measure of faith we are given.

Luk 19:15-19 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

Upon Christ’s return, this is once we receive the spirit, we are asked to give an account.

Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Luk 19:20-23 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

The fear this steward had was because of his lack of faith. This type of fear is shared by those in Babylon today. They call him Lord but do not do the things He says. This last steward represents the called and chosen but not being able to do what Christ says. The other two stewards represent the called, chosen, and faithful until the end. The citizens represent the many called. We are all first the steward lacking faith until Christ gives us His faith if we are chosen to receive it.

Mar 4:37-40 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

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.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Here are the last verses in our study.

Luk 19:24-27 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Those that stood by complained that the one who had the most would get more. This is what is promised to the elect of God. The elect will receive the prize of the high calling, the crown of life.

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The point of this parable is for Christ to tell us what is coming and what is expected of His disciples. Christ is come in the flesh (a far country) and His servants, the called, chosen and faithful to the end, are charged with working out their own salvation (occupying till I come) with the measure of faith (increase in pounds) they have been given. The servant with ten pounds increase represents the completion of the flesh. Another with five pounds increase represents grace through faith. Finally the one who buried the pound given him in the earth and had no increase represents the affairs of this world.

These examples show us that we must give an account upon His return. Christ, being represented by an austere man, is our judge. The increase we achieve is not of ourselves. This increase is given to us by Christ through our trials and tribulations we endure. Christ is here now in His elect and will return in the age to come in order to set up His kingdom on earth. The elect are being prepared for that age and the age to follow and will become kings and priests to those who have not received any measure of faith.

I will end this study with a Proverb.

Pro 4:1-27 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Lord willing, our measure of faith will increase five-fold and then ten-fold, and we will not be given to have our faith stored in the earth. This will be accomplished through the trial of our faith.

1Pe 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 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: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

A study with Matthew 24 Part 5 Verses 32-43

[Study Aired January 13, 2020]

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 
Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. [Mat 24:36] 
Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. [Rev 16:15]

This section of Matthew chapter 24, along with every other section of this prophecy, is telling us what is happening to this generation that shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled, said this way: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

The “This generation” is speaking of those who are predestined to be judged first in this life (1Pe 4:17, Eph 1:12 , Joh 15:16, Rom 8:28-30), and that judgment is expressed through parables that hide Gods purpose and meaning from those who are not meant to understand these things that are hidden from the world at this time by God’s design (Mat 13:10-11).

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? 

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

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [1Jn 4:17, Eph 1:4]
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. [Psa 8:4 , Luk 19:44]

We can rejoice in knowing that Christ is associating “This generation that shall not pass” to a fig tree and his branch that is yet tender and putting forth leaves (Mat 24:32), making the point clear that this is an event happening to a small elect group who have been called to this blessing (Luk 12:32). The next comparative parable starting in verse 37 (Mat 24:37) that demonstrates God is dealing with a little flock at first declares: “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be“. Then for added confirmation this is talking about believing and blinded Christians, two women grinding at the mill are spoken of starting in verse 40 (Mat 24:40), one is taken the other is left; meaning one is caught unawares, that being the one who is taken, and the other being left representing the small remnant whom God has blessed and given eyes to see and ears to hear how this generation is to keep the sayings of this prophecy in every age, so that we are always ready and about our Father’s business as Christ was (1Th 5:4).

(The world is seeking Christ with blind hearts (2Ti 3:7) not knowing that He is found and understood by being about our Father’s business (Luk 2:49), a business that can only be accomplished within those who have God’s holy spirit within them (Rom 8:9) as Christ accomplishes that work within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:13). That is why we are able to read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy today in this generation (Rev 1:3), with eyes that God has mercifully enlightened to see the truth (Mat 13:11).

2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

Luk 2:49  And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? 

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

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. 

We are told to “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” of Matthew 24:42, a verse that corresponds with Matthew 24:36). We are told to “know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up” in Matthew 24:43, a verse that corresponds with Revelation 16:15.

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

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 

Let’s now look at this second-to-last section of verses of this chapter of Matthew 24 keeping in mind, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

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. [Hab 2:2-4]

The “yet tender” and “putteth forth leaves” time of this fig tree’s growth tells us “that summer is nigh“, and this parable as we will see is connected to the generation that “shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled“. The growth of that fig tree is given to those who are of that generation who are having their faith tried in the fire so that they can grow and go unto maturity in the Lord.

When we know that we are in sinful flesh (Psa 51:5), we will want to cover ourselves by dying daily (Rev 16:15 , 1Co 15:31), and when we understand the need for the sacrifice of Christ in our lives, for the need for a physician to heal us spiritually (Mar 2:17, Joh 9:39) “when ye shall see all these things“, it will be with the mindset that we will see the need to purchase gold tried in the fire so we can have eyes that see and ears that hear (Rev 3:18). It is when we are assured “that it is near, even at the doors“(Rom 8:16), meaning Christ our hope of glory is within (Col 1:27, 1Jn 4:2) and the holy spirit is working in us (Php 2:13), that we can fill up what is behind of His afflictions for his body’s sake which is the church, through this process of being spiritually healed by Christ’s word (Col 1:24 , Joh 17:17).

Adam and Eve covered themselves with the leaves of a “fig tree” that is symbolic of their own works of discerning good and evil without the burnt offering of Christ, symbolized by the skin of the lamb that was given to them for a covering (Gen 3:7 , Gen 3:21). 

The “fig tree” can be symbolic of both Israel of old (2Ki 18:31, Psa 105:33, Isa 36:16, Jer 5:17, Hos 9:10, Amo 4:9), and as it is in this parable, the “fig tree” (Mat 24:32) representing the new man in Christ, “the Israel of God” (Luk 13:6-9, Gal 6:16) who is covered by works of righteousness that are now attributed solely to Christ as he or she knows “that summer is nigh” and have been blessed to pray that their flight is not in the winter or during the sabbath where symbolically we are being told no spiritual work can be accomplished (Mat 24:20). Because we can see all these things for what these parables mean we can “know that it is near, even at the doors“. What is near? “That summer is nigh“, and that summer represents the life of Christ within us that can bring forth that growth, that tender branch that brings forth leaves for the healing of the nations within me today (Rev 22:2).

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

“All these things” must be fulfilled in this generation with which Christ is working, and what must be fulfilled is the tearing down of the old temple within us (Mat 24:2) and the building up of the new temple that can only occur by being given a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1) which replaces the old heaven and earth that “shall pass away“. It passes away by the new creation being formed through the keeping of the sayings of the prophesy (Rev 1:3), which statement reveals the process of judgment that comes about that tears down the old temple, through reading, hearing, (Mat 13:16) and keeping (Joh 8:31-32) the saying of Christ, the words that “shall not pass away“. 

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” is just another way of showing us that “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” through His eternal words which will not pass away (Joh 6:68).

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 
Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Very specifically, Christ tells us of His return, both inwardly and dispensationally, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels^G32 of heaven, but my Father only.” 

Inwardly we know God is the one who gives the increase (1Co 3:6) which comes at a time He has predetermined for us (1Pe 1:20, Eph 1:4, Eph 2:10), and so we are warned not to be presumptuous in regard to our labour in the Lord where we journey to a far city, Jerusalem above (Eph 2:6), and labour together for the meat that shall not perish (Joh 6:27), experiencing growth that comes about through Christ working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure of watering and planting, which all precedes the increase given from our Father in heaven (Jas 4:13-15).

Right after Christ declares “that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only“, He continues on with this parable pointing to the building of the ark which is the symbolic event of old representing how we must be working out our own salvation today, knowing that it is Christ who is working this work within us, even as we move with fear to the saving of our own and others’ spiritual houses (Heb 11:7, 2Pe 1:1)

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

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. [Psa 40:10, Isa 56:1, Rom 10:10]

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 

We were all “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark“, which is a reminder that Noe, who represents Christ, has entered into our temple, represented by “the ark“. When this initially happened, we “knew not until the flood came, and took them (us) all away“, which is what God’s word does to the many beasts within us that need to be brought into subjection two by two by the grace and faith of Christ (Gen 7:9 , Eph 2:8). 

The flood that represents Christ’s words coming into our life systematically takes away all the false doctrines within God’s elect as we are baptized with the fire of His word that cleanses and sanctifies us in this age (Joh 17:17). That word is sweet in our mouth but bitter in our belly (Rom 6:3 , Rev 10:9, Eze 3:3). The world is not experiencing this fiery baptism by God’s word today [the bitter in the belly part] but will experience the water baptism of John during the rule and reign of Christ, and then the spiritual baptism of fire in the lake of fire at the end of the age where the rest of the world will learn it is a bitter thing “that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts”  (Mat 3:11, Rev 19:20 , Jer 2:19). We are admonished therefore in Revelation 2:24-25) to hold fast to God’s word until He comes.

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

Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 

The elect of God and those who say they are spiritual Jews and are not (Rev 3:9) are represented by these two groups mentioned in this verses that simply tell us: “then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left“. 

That “synagogue of Satan” of (Rev 3:9) is initially within us and can only be destroyed by the brightness of Christ coming into our lives (2Th 2:8) so that we are not taken or “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph 4:14).

“Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” reminds us that while we are “in the field“, which  represents the world (Mat 13:38), a work is being accomplished by God “grinding at the mill” within two folds, one that God has predestined to “be taken” [Joh 10:16] and “the other left“[Luk 12:32].

Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

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

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. [Mat 24:36]
Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. [Rev 16:15]

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

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 

These last two verses of our study tonight focus on the urgency of staying spiritually awake and praying always that we may be counted worthy to escape those things that are going to come upon the earth (Luk 21:36, Hab 2:2-4).

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 

The angels^G32 or ‘messengers’ of God “know not what hour your Lord doth come“, as it is declared in Matthew 24:36.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels^G32 of heaven, but my Father only. 

The lesson of urgency cannot be any brighter than it is in this last verse of our study tonight: “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up“. The confirming words of this scripture in the book of Revelation tells us the same thing (Rev 16:15) and describes that generation that “shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled“.

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 

The “goodman of the house” is none other than Jesus Christ, our hope of glory within, who is the author and finisher of our faith (Php 1:6, Heb 10:35 , Heb 11:26), who knows how to bind all the powers and principalities within us “except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mar 3:27), so that we can and will overcome through him (Mar 3:27 , Eph 6:12, Eph 1:21). He is the reason we can be more than conquerors and be convinced we are truly “This generation [that] shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled“.

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

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 
Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 
Heb 10:37  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

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. 

Mar 3:27  No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 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 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. 

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 61 Discussion

1 file(s) 7.03 MB

Download

Isa 14: 24-27 I Will Break The Assyrian In My Land, And Upon My Mountains Tread Him Under Foot

Isa 14:24  The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
Isa 14:26  This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
Isa 14:27  For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

As we learned earlier in this prophecy, the Assyrians and the Babylonians are the same Chaldean peoples. The Assyrians were the earlier of the two empires with its capital of Nineveh.

Isa 23:13  Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

1Ki 11:29  And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
1Ki 11:30  And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
1Ki 11:31  And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
1Ki 11:32  (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. [Hasting to the booty, swift to the prey]
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Later the king of Assyria also conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and took its king, Manasseh, captive to Assyria:

2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

Manasseh was one of the worst kings of Judah, but like King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel, Manasseh humbled himself while in Assyrian captivity in Babylon, and the Lord had great mercy on Manasseh and returned him to the throne of Judah.

2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

During the days of the king of Assyria,​ Babylon was but one of the cities of the Assyrian empire. When Assyria conquered Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Assyria sent many men from Babylon to occupy the cities of Israel because Babylon, at that time,​ was subject to the king of Assyria:

2Ki 17:24  And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

But after God had used Assyria to punish His own people,​ He then used the Babylonians to destroy the king of Assyria and to usurp rulership over all the cities and kingdoms of the Chaldeans:

Isa 10:12  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

It is this verse of Isa 10:12 to which our study today refers:

Isa 14:24  The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

What Christ and His Father had "sworn... [and] thought... and [had] purposed", and what they purpose to this very day, is to "punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks". This 'king of Assyria is but an earlier symbol of the king of Babylon, who is just an earlier symbol of the second beast of Revelation 13.

Both of these kings defy their Creator. Let's look at what each of these men ha​s said in their heart in defiance of their Creator:

Here is the boasting of the king of Assyria:

2Ki 18:31  Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
2Ki 18:32  Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.
2Ki 18:33  Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
2Ki 18:34  Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
2Ki 18:35  Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?

Here is the boasting of the king of Babylon:

Dan 4:30  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

And this is the what the beast within every man does:

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.
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Is this not exactly what the kings of Assyria and Babylon do? Of course it is. Just as the king of Babylon, a Chaldean, followed the king of Assyria, who was also a Chaldean, so also here in their final manifestation we again have two appearances of the same beast within all men. But instead of being called 'the king of Babylon' here in his final Biblical manifestation he is called "another beast coming up out of the earth":

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

This second beast "comes up out of the earth", as contrasted with the first beast which "came up out of the sea":

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
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?

Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was the "head of gold" on the doomed image of which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and then forgotten. No doubt the Babylonian empire was superior to the Assyrian empire simply because Babylon conquered Nineveh and the Assyrians. The truth is that both were the same Chaldean peoples, as Isaiah demonstrates many times.

Here are but a few of many examples how both Assyria and Babylon are called 'Chaldeans':

Isa 23:13  Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

Isa 43:14  Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

So it is with the two beasts of Revelation 13. The 'sea' is as much a part of the '​earth' as Assyria is a part of the Chaldeans, as these verses demonstrate:

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

Now that we know that the Assyrians and the Babylonians are one and the same very religious Chaldean peoples,​ we can understand why these verses concerning the king of Assyria are here with this parable against the king of Babylon, and we will also understand why the Lord tells us He will "break the Assyrian in [the Lord's] own land, and upon [His] mountains.

Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

But there is one more little nugget we can glean from the judgment of the Lord upon "Babylon the Great" (Rev 17: 5). That nugget is given to us in the last two verses of our study. After addressing both the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria in this 14th chapter of Isaiah, the very next verse tells  us this:

Isa 14:26  This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
Isa 14:27  For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

What we are being told here is what we are really being told everywhere we read about the judgment of Babylon. Babylon is not judged in a vacuum. The Truth is that the judgment of Babylon is the judgment of the whole world, as we were just told: "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations".

So once again Babylon is not just the Christian world, rather Babylon is "the whole earth... all nations", and all the "kings of the world" over whom "Babylon the great" has been given dominion for so long.

Notice what happened to Nebuchadnezzar,​ the king of Babylon which has been written for our sakes:

Dan 4:1  Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 4:2  I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
Dan 4:3  How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
Dan 4:4  I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
Dan 4:5  I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Dan 4:6  Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Dan 4:7  Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
Dan 4:8  But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
Dan 4:9  O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Dan 4:10  Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
Dan 4:11  The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
Dan 4:12  The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

We know that the kingdom of Babylon did not rule over the entire physical planet, but it did rule over everything of any consequence at that time, including eventually, Egypt.

Jer 46:24  The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
Jer 46:25  The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
Jer 46:26  And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.

What is said of Babylon in scripture symbolizes what is being said of the whole world:

Isa 14:26  This ["parable against Babylon" -​ Isa 14:4] is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

This universal application of the judgment of the king of Babylon here in Isaiah is the same message being given to us in Revelation 17 and 18. Look at how universal the influence of Babylon The Great is stated to be. Babylon's dominion is over "the kings of the earth":

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

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

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

Cities like Jerusalem, Babylon, Tyre, Sidon, etc. in scripture are always addressed as women. Women in scripture, are always the Biblical symbol of both true and false religion. It is religion which is "that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth". This particular woman,​ who reigns over the kings of the earth,​ has a special hatred for the Lord's elect. The fact is that all religions of men harbor deep-​seated enmity against Christ and His doctrine. They one and all hate the doctrine of Christ mainly because Christ's doctrine teaches us that none of us are free to do as we please:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

That was the same conclusion the Lord delivered to Nebuchadnezzar when Daniel interpreted his dream about the tree that nourished the whole earth:

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

That is the same message Christ gave to Pilate when Pilate thought Christ's life was in his hands:

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

And finally that is also the same message Christ has for us concerning the affairs of this earth since the time of His death and resurrection:

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

These verses are telling us that even the thoughts and actions of all whose religion is contrary to the doctrine of Christ are actually as much a work of Christ through the power given Him by His Father as Joseph's brothers selling him into Egyptian slavery and the Jews delivering Christ up to Pilate to be crucified​. It was all nothing more or less than "what [His] hand and [His] counsel determined before to be done".

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

It wa​s the religious leaders who delivered Christ up to be crucified,​ and it will always be that same "great city" which will again deliver Christ up to be crucified again:

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.

Physical Jerusalem typifies "the great city" which still wants to destroy those who follow the Lord:

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

When the Lord's hypocritical people were removed from Jerusalem, they were taken to Babylon:

2Ki 24:15  And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2Ki 24:16  And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Babylonian captivity produced a spirit of true repentance in just a very few of those who knew what the Lord had done to Jerusalem. It was only a small minority of the Lord's people who came out of Babylon to rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and our Lord tells us it is and always will be that way, until the end:

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

What this chapter is revealing to all with eyes that see and ears that hear, is that God's calling is to all men everywhere, and it is this whole world which makes up "Babylon the great,​ the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth."

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

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

So the king of Assyria and the king of Babylon are both just earlier manifestations of this great city which is also called "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth". It is of this system that all who have been​ given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God are commanded:

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.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will learn that even our most personal weaknesses and faults must be destroyed and burned up before we can come back to the kingdom of God.

Those weaknesses and faults are symbolized as the nations which are​ closest to us. Israel's most intimate enemy was the Philistines, and these are our verses for our next study which will bring us to the end of this chapter:

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Isa 14:29  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Isa 14:30  And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Isa 14:31  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Isa 14:32  What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 59 Discussion

1 file(s) 40.98 MB

Download

Isa 14:12-15 How [We] Are Fallen From Heaven

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Yes, it is true. The Bible teaches that we all "fall from heaven". It also teaches that we 'fall from grace'.

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

What the scriptures do not teach is the fall of man in the garden of Eden. Our 'falling from heaven' here in Isaiah 14 and our 'falling from grace' in Galatians 5 are both experienced only after we have been shown the Lord's grace, and this "king of Babylon" is the picture of us having been shown the Lord's grace. Like Job, we take credit for our works after coming to Him and after receiving His grace.

Our first verse today is the oft-quoted verse which supposedly turns what we are clearly told is a "parable about the king of Babylon" into a false doctrine about the fall of Satan from his exalted heavenly position down into the fabled flames of an eternal hell, where most humans are predestined by God to spend endless ages in excruciating torment in literal flames of fire.

Here is that verse which has been so sadly twisted and distorted by those whose only goal is to control the laity of the churches which still teach this heinous and monstrous false doctrine of a place of eternal torment.

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

But to whom is this entire proverb addressed? Is this not said to be a "proverb"? Are we not commanded neither to add to nor take away from the Lord's words?

This is what is the stated subject of this parable.

Isa 14:3  And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Deu 12:32  What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

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

Because we tremble at those words (Isa 66:2), we want to be very careful to speak only "that which is written" (1Co 4:6), and not "add unto these things". We will take a very close look at the words in this 12th verse of Isaiah 14.

So who or what then is this "Lucifer"? Note that the translators have capitalized this word 'lucifer' as if it were another person, rather than an attribute assumed to himself by the king of Babylon. Capitalizing the word  'lucifer' in itself leads some to conclude that this word is a name instead of something this king thinks of himself, which is exactly what we are told is true of the king of Babylon in the very next two verses:

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

If we insist that the words 'O Lucifer' are bringing Satan into this narrative, then all of a sudden we are making this parable about Satan instead of "the king of Babylon", who we are specifically told by Babylon is the subject of this parable.

Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

If we make this parable about Satan, and if we make the king of Babylon anything more than the seed of the serpent, then we are robbing the Word of God of any personal application.

Here is what e-sword reveals is the meaning of this word 'lucifer':

H1966
הֵילֵל
hêylêl
hay-lale'
From H1984 (in the sense of brightness); the morning star: - lucifer.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

This is the only entry in the Old Testament for this Hebrew word 'heylel', but we are told it is "from H1984" which is "a primitive root" which means:

H1984
הָלַל
hâlal
haw-lal'
A primitive root; to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color);to shine; hence to make a show; to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively to celebrate; also to stultify: - (make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool (-ish, -ly), glory, give [light], be (make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, [sing, be worthy of] praise, rage, renowned, shine.

This word appears 166 times in the Old Testament, and here is the breakdown of how that word is translated in the King James:

H1984
הלל
hâlal
Total KJV Occurrences: 166
praise, 92
1Ch_23:4-5 (2), 1Ch_23:30, 1Ch_25:3, 1Ch_29:13, 2Ch_8:14, 2Ch_20:19, 2Ch_20:21, 2Ch_23:13, 2Ch_29:30, 2Ch_31:2, Ezr_3:10, Neh_12:24, Psa_22:22-23 (2), Psa_22:26, Psa_35:18, Psa_56:4, Psa_56:10 (2), Psa_63:5, Psa_69:30, Psa_69:34, Psa_74:21, Psa_102:18, Psa_104:35, Psa_105:45, Psa_106:1, Psa_106:48, Psa_107:32, Psa_109:30, Psa_113:1 (5), Psa_113:9, Psa_116:17-19 (3), Psa_117:1-2 (2), Psa_119:164, Psa_119:175, Psa_135:1 (3), Psa_135:3, Psa_135:21, Psa_145:2, Psa_146:1-2 (3), Psa_146:10, Psa_147:1, Psa_147:12, Psa_147:20, Psa_148:1-5 (9), Psa_148:7, Psa_148:13-14 (2), Psa_149:1, Psa_149:3, Psa_149:9, Psa_150:1-6 (13), Pro_27:2, Pro_28:4, Pro_31:31, Isa_62:9, Jer_20:13, Jer_31:7, Joe_2:26
praised, 19
Jdg_16:24, 2Sa_14:25, 2Sa_22:4, 1Ch_16:25, 1Ch_16:36, 1Ch_23:5, 2Ch_5:13, 2Ch_7:6, 2Ch_30:21, Ezr_3:11, Neh_5:13, Psa_18:3, Psa_48:1, Psa_96:4, Psa_145:3 (2), Pro_31:30, Son_6:9, Isa_64:11
glory, 12
1Ch_16:10, Psa_63:11, Psa_64:10, Psa_105:3, Psa_106:5, Isa_41:16, Isa_45:25, Jer_4:2, Jer_9:23-24 (4)
mad, 8
1Sa_21:13, Psa_102:8, Ecc_2:2, Ecc_7:7, Isa_44:25, Jer_25:16, Jer_50:38, Jer_51:7
boast, 6
1Ki_20:11, Psa_34:2, Psa_44:8, Psa_97:6-7 (2), Pro_27:1
praising, 4
2Ch_5:13, 2Ch_23:12, Ezr_3:11, Psa_84:4
boasteth, 3
Psa_10:3, Pro_25:14 (2)
commended, 2
Gen_12:14-15 (2), Pro_12:8
foolish, 2
Psa_5:5, Psa_73:3
fools, 2
Job_12:17, Psa_75:4
rage, 2
Jer_46:9, Nah_2:4
shined, 2
Job_29:3, Job_31:26
sing, 2
2Ch_23:13, 2Ch_29:30
boastest, 1
Psa_52:1
celebrate, 1
Isa_38:18
foolishly, 1
Psa_75:4
gloriest, 1
Jer_49:4 (2)
glorieth, 1
Jer_9:24
marriage, 1
Psa_78:63
praises, 1
2Ch_29:30
praiseth, 1
Pro_31:28
renowned, 1
Eze_26:17
shine, 1
Job_41:17-18 (2)

So the primitive root of the Hebrew word 'heylel' which is found only here in Isaiah 14:12 is the Hebrew word 'halal'.

H1984
הלל
hâlal
Total KJV Occurrences: 166
praise, 92
1Ch_23:4-5 (2), 1Ch_23:30, 1Ch_25:3, 1Ch_29:13, 2Ch_8:14, 2Ch_20:19, 2Ch_20:21, 2Ch_23:13, 2Ch_29:30, 2Ch_31:2, Ezr_3:10, Neh_12:24, Psa_22:22-23 (2), Psa_22:26, Psa_35:18, Psa_56:4, Psa_56:10 (2), Psa_63:5, Psa_69:30, Psa_69:34, Psa_74:21, Psa_102:18, Psa_104:35, Psa_105:45, Psa_106:1, Psa_106:48, Psa_107:32, Psa_109:30, Psa_113:1 (5), Psa_113:9, Psa_116:17-19 (3), Psa_117:1-2 (2), Psa_119:164, Psa_119:175, Psa_135:1 (3), Psa_135:3, Psa_135:21, Psa_145:2, Psa_146:1-2 (3), Psa_146:10, Psa_147:1, Psa_147:12, Psa_147:20, Psa_148:1-5 (9), Psa_148:7, Psa_148:13-14 (2), Psa_149:1, Psa_149:3, Psa_149:9, Psa_150:1-6 (13), Pro_27:2, Pro_28:4, Pro_31:31, Isa_62:9, Jer_20:13, Jer_31:7, Joe_2:26
praised, 19
Jdg_16:24, 2Sa_14:25, 2Sa_22:4, 1Ch_16:25, 1Ch_16:36, 1Ch_23:5, 2Ch_5:13, 2Ch_7:6, 2Ch_30:21, Ezr_3:11, Neh_5:13, Psa_18:3, Psa_48:1, Psa_96:4, Psa_145:3 (2), Pro_31:30, Son_6:9, Isa_64:11
glory, 12
1Ch_16:10, Psa_63:11, Psa_64:10, Psa_105:3, Psa_106:5, Isa_41:16, Isa_45:25, Jer_4:2, Jer_9:23-24 (4)
mad, 8
1Sa_21:13, Psa_102:8, Ecc_2:2, Ecc_7:7, Isa_44:25, Jer_25:16, Jer_50:38, Jer_51:7
boast, 6
1Ki_20:11, Psa_34:2, Psa_44:8, Psa_97:6-7 (2), Pro_27:1

This is what the Lord admonishes all men:

Pro 27:2  Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

When we simply remember this is a proverb in which God's elect are speaking all these words against the dead "king of Babylon"...

Isa 14:3  And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

...and we remember that Nebuchadnezzar built a golden image for himself, and demanded that all men worship his image (Daniel 3), that he spent seven years eating grass like an ox for taking God's glory and praise to himself (Dan 4), then it makes perfect sense that God's elect would remind us that it was the king of Babylon who has "said in [his] heart" that he is "like unto God".  Now it makes perfect sense that God's elect would speak of him according to the idols of his heart:

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [sheol - the grave], to the sides of the pit.

Knowing the meaning of the root of the Hebrew word 'heylel', we could paraphrase verse 12 in these words:

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O you who demand the praise of others and who praises himself with his own mouth and his own lips, you who call yourself 'son of the morning'! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

The words 'O Lucifer, son of the morning' are not a statement of fact, rather that is what the king of Babylon, without and within, vainly thinks of himself, and God's elect are speaking this proverb to him in his grave repeating to him his own exalted thoughts of himself as the next verses demonstrate:

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

These words against the dead king of Babylon of verse 12 are spoken for our benefit because of what the now dead king of Babylon, without, in an historical sense, and within, spiritually, "has said in [his] heart". Here is Isaiah 14 in the spiritual words of the New Testament:

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.

"The king of Babylon" of Isaiah 14 is an Old Testament 'tupos', a type of this "man of sin... the son of perdition", and as the very next verses inform us, this "man of sin" meets the same fate as the king of Babylon:

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.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [withholds] will let [withhold], 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:

These verses of Isaiah 14 have nothing to do with the verses in the New Testament which the churches of this world have forced upon this proverb against the king of Babylon, who is an Old Testament type of "the man of sin, the son of perdition" who sits upon the throne of God within our hearts and minds, the very temple of God.

For the purpose of demonstrating the attempt to turn a man into a spirit being, here are those New Testament verses which are now manifested to have nothing at all to do with either the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 or with the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:

Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, 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.
Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Here Christ informs His disciples that casting devils out of people is the same as casting Satan out of heaven. So in the sense that the beast within us gets his power and his throne from the dragon, and in the sense that we are all "of [our] father the devil" before we become the children of God, in that sense the man of sin within us is indeed cast out of heaven, but this has nothing to do with a supposed fallen arch-angel called 'Lucifer', but rather refers to "a man... [who] goes down to the grave".

The fact is that the first word of Isa 14:13, the word, 'for...', meaning 'because' you, a mere man, have said in your heart...." connects the words, "O Lucifer, the son of the morning" in verse 12, with the the words of verses 13-15, which tell us just how stuck on ourselves we are.

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [sheol - the grave], to the sides of the pit.

Verses 13-15 tell us that all of this is in our vain imagination. We will not exalt our throne above the stars of God. We do not sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. We do not ascend above the heights of the clouds, and we certainly are not "like the Most High". Rather we are:

Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

This entire parable is about a mere man who has been "brought down to hell". The Hebrew word is 'sheol'- the grave. It is "the king of Babylon who is brought down "to the sides of the pit", to the sides of the grave. Nowhere do the scriptures ever teach that Satan goes down to the grave.

What we are told about Satan's fate is that "age lasting fire [is] prepared for the devil and his angels", and we are told "the great dragon... and his angels [are] cast out [of heaven] into the earth":

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

In the end, the devil is cast into the lake of fire, but again this is not the grave into which 'Lucifer... the king of Babylon" descends here in Isaiah 14.

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. [The ages of the ages]

Next week, Lord willing, we will find out what is the message for us, concerning this parable against the dead "king of Babylon" in this 14th chapter of Isaiah.

Here are the verses for our next study:

Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Isa 14:18  All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19  But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Isa 14:20  Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
Isa 14:21  Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
Isa 14:22  For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
Isa 14:23  I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

I will go line by line through this letter and give God’s Word and contrast God’s Word with the carnal minded reasoning of your friend. Your friend, as I myself once did and all carnal minds do, fails to see the difference between the ability to choose based upon the causes he himself admits to in this letter, and ‘free’ will, without the influence of any outside cause. No one in his right mind would deny that your friend can choose to drink either orange drink or Pepsi. But for your friend to deny that God is the cause of that choice and already knows what that choice is before he ever makes that choice is blasphemous. God does know, because God is the great Causer of all things which you, or I or your friend will ever do. The same is true for every other person who lives, has lived or who ever will live.

If any of us has an uncaused ‘free’ will then why are we told:

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

According to the carnal reasoning of your friend, this scripture is a lie. According to the false teaching of your friend, which also happens to also be the same doctrine of all orthodox Christian denominations, the truth is that “The preparations of the heart and the answer of the tongue is [ actually from our free will].”

Again consider the Truth contrasted with the teaching of your friend and orthodox Christian teaching:

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

Your friend and all orthodox Christianity denies this truth. Here is how they would rewrite God’s Word. “The Lord has created all things good and man’s free will has created evil men forcing upon God a ‘day of evil.'” This lie of the Dragon and the beast which is within your friend and within all orthodox Christianity, denies the Truth of this next scripture also:

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me [ where is anything about man’s fabled ‘free’ will in these verses?]:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else [ Where is this ‘free’ will?].
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

In other words:

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first [“first,” not ‘only’] trusted in Christ.

Orthodox Christianity teaches us just the opposite. ‘Evil,’ we are lied to, ‘is the result of your own choices.’

In the National Cathedral, immediately following the bombing of the World Trade Towers, Dr. Billy Graham, a man many Christians consider to be one of the most prominent spiritual men of our day, proclaimed before all the world that Isa 45:7 was a lie. “God does not create evil!” proclaimed Dr. Graham. I for one choose to believe God’s Word over the words of Dr. Graham and over the words of all orthodox Christian ministers. But I choose so for the same reason they choose not to believe those words of God. You and your friend and I and all of orthodox Christianity, believe what we believe because “the preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” It is definitely not from some unscriptural ‘free’ human will. Man’s will is so easily influenced because we were created so weak and carnal. Yes, that is how we were created “in the Potter’s hand.”

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen [“In the Potter’s hand] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [ Creator] conceive me.
Jer 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Your friend and all of orthodox Christianity would answer, ‘Absolutely not!’ to the Great Potter. ‘What are you saying? Are you saying we are nothing but a puppet on a string?’ is their constant retort to this question by a Potter who informs them that they are deliberately marred in His hand. But what says the Great Potter to man’s beastly claim to some fabled ‘free will?’ Is man indeed a ‘puppet on a string?’ No, the Great Potter gives man no such dignity as a puppet: “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

Dr. Billy Graham, Hank Hanagraff, Pastor Adrian Rogers, Pat Roberston, Paul Crouch and all of God’s widely acclaimed ‘great men of God’ need to get with God and inform Him of their ‘free will,’ which God just seems to have forgotten about in all these and all other scriptures that appear in His Word on this subject.

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Again orthodox Christianity argues with their own Creator that ‘It IS in man himself to choose what steps he will take. It IS in man to freely decide whether to obey God.’ What happened to that orthodox Christian teaching of man’s ‘free will’ here in this verse? Where is the scripture for such a doctrine? Is it to be found in these Words of Truth?

Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

No, it is not in those verses either. So where is the scripture for the doctrine of the free will of man? Surely here is a verse which proves beyond any doubt that God has given man a free will:

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

And what are we told the people “chose” to do?

Jos 24:16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

Is this not surely a Biblical example of the exercise of man’s ‘free will?’ The entire orthodox Christian world point to this verse and proclaims that that is exactly what it proves. But what do the scriptures say about Israel’s choice?; “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.” Here is the Truth once again straight from the Word of God concerning this subject of man’s will to do good and to obey God:

Jos 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Why can they not serve the Lord? The answer is always consistently the same:

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Why is it that man cannot choose to serve God? Did not Israel just do so? It surely appears that Israel chose to serve the Lord. But what really happened? What was the Truth of Israel’s choice to serve God? Here is the truth from the Word of God:

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Deu 31:28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

“You will do evil… after my death you will corrupt yourselves?” What became of Israel’s self proclaimed ‘free will choice,’ “God forbid that we should forsake the LORD…?”

Though orthodox Christianity is unaware of this truth, our Creator is well aware that He has not given them “such a heart, that they would fear me.” “To them it is not given…”:

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

How can God say “It is not given to them to understand,” when in reality, according to orthodox Christianity, that choice is not God’s choice to be making. “Not given to them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven?” Where is room for so much as the thought of ‘free will’ in a statement such as that?

Getting back to your friend’s “free will” to drink orange juice instead of Pepsi, let’s look at some others who, like your friend, thought that their thoughts were their own free, uncaused thoughts. These men certainly did not think that their thoughts that were caused by the Great Cause of all things. Yes, even our choices of what we will eat and drink, just as the ideas of these men, are caused thoughts. “He works all things after the counsel of His Own will.”

The men I refer to are the brothers of Joseph. The thoughts they entertained were these:

Gen 37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

Joseph’s brothers would never have admitted at this point that their evil thoughts and desire to slay their brother was “of the Lord.” This is not a discussion about whether to drink some sheep’s milk or some grape juice. This is a discussion about whether to take the life of their own brother. Ruben and Judah finally convince the other nine brothers to make some money on the sale of Joseph instead of killing him. Thus they spared his life. But whose idea really is this entire scenario? Your friend and the entire orthodox Christian World, along with its icon, the great Dr. Billy Graham, have a beast sitting on the throne of God. God’s throne is in the hearts and minds of His people. But as their rhetoric belies, a beastly ‘man of sin,’ who “receives his power and great authority from the Dragon,” sits on God’s throne in “God’s temple, whose temple ye are” and denies that God “works all things after the counsel of His Own will.” Nevertheless, the Word of “God is true and every man is a liar.”

Here now is that word for all who can receive it:

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God:

This revelation followed many months of tormenting his own brothers for their own good. Joseph’s brothers were compelled to “worship at his feet” and were “tormented in the presence of the Lamb:”

Gen 42:6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
Gen 42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
Gen 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
Gen 42:11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
Gen 42:12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
Gen 42:14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
Gen 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
Gen 42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
Gen 42:17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
Gen 42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
Gen 42:19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
Gen 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Gen 42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

Joseph’s brothers typify today’s orthodox Christians, who to this day despise those who are favored by the Father because they bring to their Father the evil report of their brothers who are taking advantage of their Father’s flock:

Gen 37:2 Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Their “evil report” had to do with something that occurred while they were “feeding the flock.” The word translated ‘report’ denotes ‘slander’. Joseph’s brothers were no doubt slandering their father. So it is today. Those given the charge of the welfare of God’s flock have “an evil report.” It falls the lot of today’s Josephs to bring to their Father their evil report. When this is accomplished, the Father sets his elect apart from all of His other sons with a “coat of many colors.” This coat is required clothing for all those who “come out from among” their Babylonish brothers with their bad report concerning the keeping of the Father’s flock.

This coat represents the fact that God favors those who are faithful to His word. These are those who admit that “God is the savior of all men [ even those who wanted to slay Him, but] specially [ at this time] of those who believe [ and are faithful to His Word- I Tim. 4:10]. These are those who give freely the word to others and do not abuse the flock of their Father. And these are those who, regardless of the consequences, bring to their Father the evil report of their brothers who are abusing the Father’s flock. If we refuse to wear this garment and endure the hatred of those who have not been given this garment, then we are denying Christ and He will also deny us before the Father. It was Joseph’s garments that made him so despised by his own brothers. But it was more than that. Those garments represent the fact that God Himself favors His elect and intends for His elect to rule over their brothers who are “called but are not chosen.”

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Gen 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. [ The more revelation God gives His elect, the more they are hated by their brothers who see no need for an elect to be chosen from among the called]
Gen 37:6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7 For, behold, we [ the called and the chosen] were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Gen 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Gen 37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Gen 37:11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Christ relates this same story and condenses it all to one short verse:

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Joseph’s brothers represent the many called but not chosen Christians. Like the Corinthians they are more into the gifts than the Giver.

1Co 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes [ our] brother,
1Co 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [ not chosen] to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Yet what does Paul confess to these “sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints” Corinthians?

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?

These “Carnal… babes in Christ.. neither yet now are able to bear…” the Truth that “many are called but [ only] a few are chosen.” They believe that salvation lies in denominational affiliation:

1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul [ Protestant]; and another, I am of Apollos [ Catholic]; are ye not carnal?

The very thought of a God who “works all things after the counsel of His own will” is especially offensive to these carnal Christians who think that it is their free will that will decide whether they follow Paul or Apollos. The Truth of course is that even if they do join a denomination and decide to “kill you thinking they do God a service,” they do so only because “It was not you but God who sent me here,” as Joseph reveals to us all.

O. K. Now for your friend’s letter.

J____ wrote:

Hello,

I am having a debate with a fellow that sent me this email. Hoping you can help me out by writing something in response. I greatly appreciate it! Here it is.

Hos 6:7 (NASB) But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

According to God, Adam broke the Covenant.

Which God knew in advance Adam would do because He “made him subject to vanity, not willingl y [ on Adam’s part] but by reason of Him [ God], who subjected the same in hope [ of a resurrection in which “all will confess that Jesus is Christ to the glory of God”].

Jesus brought a new one.

What is evident from Scripture is that God lives NOT in our restrictive chronological timeline, but He lives outside of time and can see my birth and life and death at a glance.

Adam did not surprise God by sinning, I accept that.

So you admit that God knew in advance exactly what Adam would do and was in reality “working all things after the counsel of His Own will?”

Remember, sin is not an invention of God or man. Sin as we know is an ancient word describing how we miss the mark as it were. Sin is nothing more than a failure to obey. Sin is not choosing to obey and follow after righteousness. Adam chose not to obey. Because he could.

Adam, as with all who are in him could choose nothing else. The very meaning of the “first man Adam… is of the earth earthy,” meaning that Adam was marred in the Potter’s hand with an earthy, carnal corruptible mind. He and Eve committed every sin known to man before they ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1Jn 2:16 For all [ sin] 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.

It was Eve’s natural carnal mind that she had been given by her Creator, that caused her to listen to the lies of the serpent and to exercise the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” before she ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not become naked after that. Eating of that tree simply made them aware of their already, from the hand of their Creator, naked sinful condition:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I [ the first Adam] was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [ Creator] conceive me.

Can’t you accept, that your incredible statement about us having no free will is just wrong? It is totally wrong. If we had no free will then we are not responsible for sin and God would need to apologize to the people of Soddom and Gommorah and re- instate those destroyed cities. He would need to apologize to those who never entered Noah’s ark.

And what do you make of this scripture? Has God given you the eyes to see this verse of scripture?

Eze 16:55 When thy [ Jerusalem] sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

You do not believe that Sodom will be “returned to her former estate” along with Jerusalem and her daughters? Do you? So who now should your friend believe? Should he believe your carnal, unscriptural reasonings, or should he believe God’s plain statements of truth that Sodom and Her daughters will be returned to their former estate when Jerusalem and her daughters are returned to their former estate? Who do these verses say was the greatest sinner? Was it Sodom or was it Jerusalem? Are you still so sure that “God needs to apologize to Sodom?” Could J____ possibly be right and could John have a better solution than your idea of God apologizing to Sodom? Could it possibly be true that Christ…

1Jn 2:2 … Is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world [ including the sins of Sodom and her much more evil sister Jerusalem?].

Could it be that you are right and we, as Joseph’s brothers, are not responsible for our sins? Could it be that God sent us into sin, that “many people might be saved alive” as you will see in the resurrection of Sodom and Samaria along with their much more wicked sister Jerusalem? Could it be that God is true and every man is a liar?

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ NOT exclusively] of those that believe.
1Ti 4:11 These things command and teach.

Do you “command and teach that “God is the savior of all men?”

If we have no free- will then we need to empty every prison and apologize to the prisoners as they leave. We need to exhume all those who have been executed for crimes and give them a pretty funeral. If we have no freewill, then Hitler was just a poor unfortunate soul.

You obviously see no personal reason for Paul’s telling us:

Rom 9:11 (For the children [ Jacob and Esau] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated [“While he was in his mother’s womb, having done neither good nor evil”].

You don’t believe that do you? You think that Esau was evil because of his own decisions. You believe that both Esau and Joseph’s brothers and Pharaoh, and King Saul and King Ahab and Judas and Hitler could somehow have chosen of their own free will to thwart the predestination of Him “who works all things after the counsel of His Own will?”

We all have a free will. If we had no free- will we wouldn’t be having this debate. Everything you say, I would agree with and vise versa. There would be no war, no strange political notions, no splits in marriage and no splits in the church. Even a game of chess would be desperately boring with inevitable outcomes.

So then you don’t believe this verse of scripture either do you?

Pro 16:33 The lot [ Or chess game] is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

You just do not like Bible verses like that do you? Why don’t you show J____ a verse which says that the outcome of such things as “lots cast into the lap” and the outcome of chess games are beyond the scope of God’s concerns? Where exactly now is that verse of scripture? There seem to be a plethora of Bible verses which tell us that God works all things after the counsel of His own will, that He is aware of every sparrow that falls to the ground, that the very hairs of our heads are numbered by God, but you want us to believe that He cannot or else has chosen not to know what I will choose to do tomorrow because that would be an infringement upon my fabled “free will.”

You confuse God’s ability to see the beginning from the end – and His foreknowledge of everything!

And with our ability to choose and take various paths within the timeline we inhabit.

It is not J____ who is confused. It is you, who refuses to kick the beast of your fabled free will off of the throne of God in your heart. So long as you can continue to convince yourself that God’s ability to see the beginning from the end, and everything in between, is something less than Him “working all things [ good and evil] after the counsel of His own will,” that beastly ‘man of sin rests comfortably where Christ should be as the sovereign in the affairs of men. But you refuse to give up that idol of your heart. To you God just sort of works around our ‘free will.’ It wasn’t really God who sent Joseph as a slave into Egypt. It was really Joseph’s brothers’ ‘free will.’ But God was able to somehow work around their evil free will. Why is it that if indeed we have this ‘free uncaused and uninfluenced will’ that not one person out of all the billions who have ever lived on earth, has ever freely chosen to serve and obey God?

Why is it, that there are many people I know, who were once addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, criminals; all coming from the sewer who are now praising God and are the pillars of their church and community? They had the free will to attend a meeting. They had the free- will to sit through the preaching. They had the free- will to stick their hand up when the call for salvation came at the end of the night. They had the free- will to choose to follow Jesus.

I have also been at meetings where a person is reduced to tears, but still won’t accept the Saviour.

So then you don’t believe these words of our Savior do you? You believe that He was lying when He made these statements don’t you?

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [ Greek- drag] him…
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

You don’t agree with Christ do you? The only reason we are saved is really because of our own free will choice to accept Christ as our Savior. So in reality Christ did not choose us we chose Him. Christ has it all backwards doesn’t He? The truth be known Christ can do nothing with out the assistance of our own free will? Is that right? Is that really the way it is accomplished? We choose Christ He does not choose us, unless we first choose Him with our own free will?

A very old friend of mine used to be a miner. He was also the local secretary for the Communist Party. If you think eastern block people can be staunch communists, then you want to meet the old commies from Scotland. They are brutally loyal to the cause.

Anyway, he got saved. Started preaching eventually and became quite an evangelist. He had for years been asking his own old dad if he would accept Jesus as saviour and Lord. His dad always said no. One day, Dan was walking up the street with his dad. God spoke to Dan. He told Dan to ask his dad again if he would accept Jesus as saviour.

Dan obeyed the Lord’s request. He said, Dad, The Lord has asked me just now to ask you, if you will accept Jesus as Lord and saviour?”

His dad replied, emphatically, “NO.”

Immediately, his dad dropped down dead on the spot.

Dan used to always tell that story and the moral of it was, “you can ignore my requests, but you can’t ignore God’s”

God had willed that Dan’s old dad should go to heaven and be with the saviour, but Dan’s old dad refused God, and will now be paying the price for that refusal.

I’m having trouble finding one verse of scripture for which you do not have a carnal anecdote and reason to refuse to believe. This story tells me that you have virtually no use for this verse of God’s word:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die [ did you freely choose to be “in Adam?”], even so in Christ shall all [ including Dan’s old dad] be made alive.
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ not exclusively] of those that believe.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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.

I guess that story about Dan’s dad just nullifies all these verses of scripture. I guess that in reality Christ’s propitiatory death only covers our sins if we of our own free will choose Christ in this life. J___ will have to decide whether to believe you or all these plain statements of God’s Word.

The point is, he had the choice. He had the choice! God has given us the freedom to choose.

How does your assertion here stack up against these words of our Lord?

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

God’s spirit “drags us to him.” Where is ‘free will’ in that verse of God’s Word?
So, if as you assert so emphatically “God has given us the freedom to choose,” then it really was Joseph’s brothers who came up with the idea and executed the plan of sending Joseph into Egypt. They had a choice? And that choice was free of any outside influence? Is that what you are asking J____ and me to believe? Should we believe you or should we believe this:

Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God:

and again:

Gen 50:20 But as for you [ Joseph’s brothers], ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ the very evil that Joseph’s brothers thought was their idea] unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Right now I choose to submit this reply to you. Then I’m going to stand up and go to the kitchen. Then to the fridge. Then I will pour myself and my son a drink of orange juice. I might change my mind when I get there and have Pepsi instead. I just can’t say, because my freedom to choose might be swayed by whatever looks the best when I get there.

“Your freedom might be swayed by whatever looks the best when you get there?” That sounds a whole lot like Joseph’s brothers to me. This is quite an admission on your part. “My freedom might be swayed by whatever looks the best when I get there.” You don’t sound all that ‘free’ to me. You admit that you can be “swayed by whatever looks good when you get there?” Could God possibly be involved in any of that swaying? Is He even capable of such a thing? Take a look at this verse:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood [ our own free will], but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is what is in heaven that sways the will of every man who has ever lived. But you don’t believe that simply because “to you it is not given to see the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” God himself has deceived you into believing the false doctrine of “free will.”

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

You don’t believe that, do you? So then of course you won’t believe this verse either:

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Did Saul choose these moves of God? Or was Saul, like Pharaoh, “raised up for this very reason?”

Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Where was Pharaoh’s ‘free will?’ What could king Saul have done to resist the will of God?

Then I might watch the highlights of the Formula 1 in Melbourne on TV.

Psa 119:45 (King James Version) And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
1Pe 2:16 (New American Standard Bible) Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

So true freedom is being a “bondslave of God.” How does this verse stack up to freely deciding to “watching the highlights of Formula 1 in Melbourne?”

We have the right to be bondslaves of God, if we choose.

I have a free will!

I’m just going to have to decide; will I believe you, or will I believe Christ?

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me drag him…
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.

It’s a clear choice. I will indeed make a choice. But my choice will be no more of “flesh and blood” than will yours. No, though it appears otherwise, just as it did to Joseph’s brothers who thought their evil thoughts were of their own free will, the truth remains:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

You need to read After The Counsel of His Own Will. It may open your blinded eyes to the way God actually “works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11). It is obvious that the beast is securely on the throne of your heart at the time of the writing of this e- mail. God’s word tells me that this lie you believe is just that:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

I hope that all these verses of scripture of which you are obviously unaware will give you pause and cause you to understand that the “vessel of clay [ Adam and all who are in him] that was in the Potter’s hand was marred.” It didn’t choose to be marred. It was marred while “in the Potter’s hand.”
I hope this is of some value to you and that you come to see that the multitudes who came to hear Christ thought they were getting the truth from Christ, when in reality He was speaking to them in parables to keep them from ever, in this age, being able to see and understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

That is just one more verse shooting down the ability of these people to resist the will of God which was “I speak to them in parables because it is not given to them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest [ not] thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand [ is there not] power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

I pray that God will give you eyes to see and ears to hear his Word. Many who believe they are hearing God’s voice are blinded by His parables. While that is my prayer on your behalf the Truth remains:

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

That ‘destruction,’ will endure until “Thy sisters Sodom and Samaria are restored to their former estate.”
I believe those words. Do you?

Mike

Hello Mike,

I’m not trying to be a pain in the neck, but I really want to understand a few things, and I honor your wisdom in these matters.

I have been reading about the 7 laws of Noah and have found that according to scripture, the “Ten Commandments” applied to the 12 tribes of Israel/Jacob and the “Laws of Noah” pertained to the rest of humanity. If this be true, why do most gentiles appear to drift towards the 10 and not the 7. Matter of fact, I have been a believer for about 5 years, and I have never heard of the 7 prior to about 4 days ago.

I am not attempting to be “legalistic” but these “laws” are mentioned in the bible and I want to know the relevance to all of God’s inspired to us.

Take care Mike, If you have any insight in this matter please drop me a line.

Thanks,

K____

Hi K____,

It is good to hear from you again.

I have long been aware of the covenant that God made with Noah. I well remember what a shock it was for me, a sabbath keeping, holy day keeping, clean and unclean meats observer (back when I was in the WWCG), being shown that God had told Noah that he could eat “anything that moved.”

Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Now Paul had said that what was said to Abraham before the law could not be disannulled by the law:

Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

The Noahic covenant was much more than 430 years before the law of Moses. Following the principle Paul reveals in Galatians 3:17 “The law which was [1000 years?] after cannot disannul [this] covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ.”

The Truth be known, the law of Moses never did ‘disannul’ the Noahic covenant. God still has and still honors that covenant. He “will never again destroy the earth with water.” “Every moving thing that lives” is still “meat for you.”

It was only Israel that was affected by the law of Moses. That entire experience was “as types of us.” The entire history and economy of Israel was not for their benefit. Rather, it “happened to them, and they are written for our admonition…”

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

With all of this in mind, now read the next two verses of Galatians 3:

Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added [“Added” to what? To the already existing Noahic covenant] because of transgressions [of the already existing yet unrevealed ‘law of the spirit’.], till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Now to be honest with you, I am not familiar with “the seven laws of Noah.” If you have some information on these seven laws, I would love to see it.

The answer as to why the whole Gentile Christian world is drawn to the law of Moses instead of the Noahic covenant is given by Christ Himself in Matthew 13. When the disciples asked Christ why he spoke in parables, He told them that the purpose was “lest they [the multitudes who come to see and to hear Christ] should be converted and I should heal them.”

In other words God, contrary to what we are told by orthodox Christianity, is not at this time trying to save this world. The reason the Gentile world “drifts toward the 10” is because the 10 “are not for a righteous man, but for the lawless…”

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.

God has no intention of saving this world at this time. On the contrary, he has deliberately blinded the world to His Word.

Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Joh 12:39 Therefore they [God’s people] could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Joh 12:40 He [God] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

What better way to blind those who think they have God’s Truth than to have them all believe that this “Law… not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless” is the true “law of the spirit.” It is not! Read The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit.

I hope I have answered your question and that this is of some help to you.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Had a question on my mind for a couple days. In Proverbs, Solomon, as well as Jesus himself, I notice refer to wisdom as her? Have you ever noticed this? Any significance to this?

Thanks,
J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

In proverbs Solomon as well as Jesus himself I notice refer[ence] to wisdom as her? Have you ever noticed this? Any significance to this?

Yes, indeed I have noticed this, and yes, there is great spiritual significance to the fact that wisdom is referred to in the feminine gender . Let’s just look at a verse in Proverbs and where Christ mentions wisdom in the New Testament in the feminine gender:

Pro 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

Luk 7:35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

“Wisdom has builded her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars”. Who is “she [who] has hewn out here seven pillars”? To answer that question we need to notice that “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth…”

Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

So wisdom is a ‘she’, and it was “by wisdom” that the earth was founded. Who is this ‘wisdom’?

What else are we told of this ‘wisdom’? Let’s add this bit of knowledge to our understanding of whom we refer when we speak of ‘wisdom’. It is in Pro 3, in the verses which immediately precede verse 19 where we are told that, “The Lord by wisdom has founded the earth”. Here is more information about who is ‘wisdom’.

Pro 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Pro 3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Pro 3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Pro 3:16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Pro 3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Pro 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

“She is a tree of life”. That is who ‘wisdom’ is.

The most basic knowledge of Biblical symbolism reveals that any reference to the female gender in scripture points us to the head of that gender. The head of the woman is the man, the head of the man is Christ, and “the head of Christ is God”. Now which of these is ‘wisdom’?

‘Wisdom’ certainly is not the woman, because her head is the man. Wisdom is certainly not the man because his head is Christ. But since God “by wisdom founded the earth”, and since wisdom “is a tree of life unto them that lay hold upon her”, and since “the head of Christ is God”, then it only follows that it was by Christ that the earth was founded, and it is Christ who is a tree of life to those who lay hold on Him, and it is Christ, who was with God “from the beginning”. It is only Christ that can be this ‘wisdom’, because it is Christ who we are told, was used of God to create all things,

Col 1:16 For by him [Christ, wisdom] 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.

Look at how closely these verses agree with the characteristics of wisdom described in Pro 8:

Pro 8:23 I [wisdom] was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
Pro 8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Pro 8:25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
Pro 8:26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
Pro 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
Pro 8:30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
Pro 8:32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
Pro 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
Pro 8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

“Hearken to me… whoso finds me finds life”. Who is life?

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

So this all points to the fact that just as “the man is the head of the woman”, in the same way “the head of Christ is God”. So the Truth of this verse is confirmed in 1Co 11:3, “The head of Christ is God”. In other words Christ is not only the Son of God, He is also God’s wife, through whom He has produced all of His creation, and by whom we understand the godhead.

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

“The things that are made”, refers to the creation of mankind as male and female in the garden of Eden.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

It does not refer to the three forms of water, nor does it refer to the three parts of an egg. Three is the number of the process of judgment, and the three forms of water and the three parts of an egg reveal much about the process by which we are judged and brought to God. They have nothing to do with “His eternal power and Godhead”. Read this for a deeper understanding of the spiritual significance of the number three:

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers-in-scripture-three-the-process-of-spiritual-completion-through-judgment

So what do “the things that are made” reveal concerning “his eternal power and godhead”? Who exactly is the head who relates to “His eternal power and Godhead”?

Eve was said to be a woman because ‘woman’ means ‘out of man’, and Eve came out from Adam, the man.

Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
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.

There it is. That is the order which God the Father has established through Christ at creation. That is what makes the Godhead “clearly seen”. It is laid out for us in no uncertain terms in 1Co 11. Adam is the head of the woman because the woman “was taken out of Man”.

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.

1Co 11:8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
1Co 11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

If man is the head of the woman because “she was taken out of Man”, then it follows that God is the head of Christ because Christ came out of God the Father. The Father is not of Christ, but Christ is of the Father. Neither was the Father created for Christ, but Christ for the Father. Is that really what the scriptures teach?

Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou [the Father] gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

So “the head of Christ is God”, just as “the head of the woman is the man”. What this all tells those with eyes that see and ears that hear is that God created Christ, and through Christ He created mankind.

Mankind may be confused about the Godhead, but Christ has never been confused. He did not say ‘The Godhead is a mystery which you cannot understand’. To the contrary Christ said “My Father is greater than I”, and I am “the beginning of the creation of God”.

Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

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;

So it was Christ who created Adam at what the scriptures call “the foundation of the world”.

Luk 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Abel was, of course, the son of Adam. But Christ tells us that He Himself is “the beginning of the creation of God”. So then it was through Christ that God created Adam, and it was through Adam that Christ created all of mankind, and all of mankind is said to be “in Adam”.

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

So Christ is headed up by God, and He submits to God as His head. Man is headed up by Christ, and in His time, will acknowledge that Christ is his head, just as the woman is headed up by the man, and in time submits to her husband.

In Isaiah, Christ can identify with Israel in the female gender as He identifies with Israel in Hos 1 as His son coming out of Egypt. Christ calls Israel both His wife and His son.

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.

Hos 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

I hope this all serves to help you to see and to understand that it is the fact that “the head of Christ is God” that wisdom is spiritually referred to in the feminine, submissive gender.

Your brother in Christ, who is also, Lord willing His submissive bride.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

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

Mike

Dear Mike,

Actually this question is not from me. Instead it is from one of my friends and co- brothers in the church.

He said that, during the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, he spoke most of the time to his disciples, the proof are the four gospels, and only on a few occasions did he speak to the people. In Mat 28:18-20, He said go and preach the gospel and baptize them in the name of Son, the Father and Holy Spirit. To whom is this great commission commanded; to His Disciples or including us today? Additionally, How can we categorize ourselves today as disciples or what; for obeying God?

The other question is that Jesus said in his word that we are to praise God in SPIRIT and TRUTH – we know how to praise God in Spirit but IN TRUTH – what does this mean, and HOW do we worship God ‘in truth?’

Thanks and God Bless you.

M____

Hi M____,

Christ did indeed give His disciple more training then He gave the multitudes. The entire ‘sermon on the mount’ was given to “His disciples”. If Christ had not spent more time in private with His disciples than He spent with the multitudes, then the disciples would have had no more understanding then the multitudes. But Christ expounded his parables to his disciples. He never expounded them to the multitudes. If He had explained them to the multitudes, then they would have understood what He was saying and that would have defeated the purpose for teaching in parables. Christ was not and Christ is not at this time trying to save this world!

Mat 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
Mat 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables,

The disciples wanted to know why He was speaking to the multitudes only in parables.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Ninety nine out of one hundred Christians will tell you that the answer to this question is that “Christ taught in parables so even a child could understand what He was saying.” According to Christ’s own answer to his disciples, this orthodox answer to this question could not be more diametrically opposed to the True reason why Christ spoke to the multitudes in parables. I am going to quote Christ’s answer to this question by His disciples, but before I do I want to point out the scriptural fact that “without a parable spoke He not unto the multitudes.” It is right here in this very 13th Chapter where His disciples ask Him why He taught the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Did you catch that? Christ’s parables contained within them “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” So what is the purpose for the parables? Is it really, as all orthodox Christianity teaches “To make the truth so simple that even a child can understand the truth of the gospel?” Is that the purpose for Christ’s parables? You have a choice to make here. You can believe this orthodox answer to this very simple question and everything will go along smoothly for you. Everyone in your church will love you and you will be accepted by “the multitudes,” and “all men everywhere will speak well of you.” On the other hand, if you believe Christ’s answer to this question then “you shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.” If you can receive the Truth, here it is straight from the mouth of Him who says “I am the Truth:”

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because [ here is the purpose for parable] it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

There it is! Parables are used to keep the multitudes of church goers from understanding “the mysteries [ Gk. – secrets] of the kingdom of heaven.” Does that answer sound anything like ‘Therefore speak I to them in parables because I want to make the meaning so clear that even a child can understand?’

No, of course not. Christ even had to explain the parables to His disciples in private or they would never have understood them.

Mat 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the [ meaning of the] parable…

The word ‘multitude’ is translated from the Greek word ochlos, and it appears 136 times in the gospels alone. Though it is never shown by Hollywood, Christ was constantly thronged by multitudes of people. He taught them only in parables because He did not want them to understand the secrets hidden in those parables.

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Your next question is:

… Jesus said in his word [ to] praise God in SPIRIT and TRUTH – we know how to praise God in Spirit, but IN TRUTH? – What [ does] this mean and HOW [ do we worship God in truth]?

If you know how to worship God in ‘spirit’, then you know how to worship him in Truth. But if you do not know how to worship Him in Truth then you might want to examine how it is that you consider yourself as “worshiping God in spirit….” Here is why I say that:

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

Speaking in unknown tongues does not prove one is worshiping in spirit. Casting out demons, does not prove that one is worshiping in spirit. Experiencing healings and “many wonderful works” does not mean that one is worshiping in spirit. Look at this statement of our Lord:

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits [ Not ‘by their gifts’] ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The Corinthian church “came behind in no gift.”

1Co 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And yet Paul tells these very same brothers in Christ:

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

When one says ‘I am a Catholic or a protestant’, He is saying “I am of…” Consequently “… ye are yet carnal.” We are not to be divided.

Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

The churches of orthodoxy may claim to be all ‘members of one body’, but neither Paul, nor Cephas (Peter) knew anything of denominationalism. Their letters were in perfect harmony and circulated freely among all the churches:

2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

So now, when one who is wants to worship God “in spirit AND in Truth” dares to be faithful to that Truth and stands up for that Truth and quotes the very words of that Truth…:

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.

The ministers of all orthodox Christian denominations, denounce such a one and call him ‘divisive’ and say that it is he, the one who is worshiping God in spirit and in Truth, who is “unlearned and unstable [ and is] wresting the scriptures.” Orthodox Christianity cannot receive Christ’s words because they cannot receive Christ!

Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Nothing has changed in 2000 years. Those who cannot receive the words of Christ, those of whom Christ avers: “My word has no place in you” still want to kill those who are faithful to His word.

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

Just like Paul with the Corinthians, Jesus tells us that “those Jews which believed in Him” were “Abraham’s seed,” and in the same breath says “ If you were Abraham’s children…”

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

It is the same today. It is still “those [ who say they are “inward Jews” and are not] who seek to kill those who remain faithful to God’s Word which tells us to ‘Love thine enemies,’ and ‘All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.’

When you are living your life according to the words of Christ, to the point that you love your enemies, because you accept the scriptural fact that nothing happens without God causing it to happen, then your worship toward God will be “in spirit and in Truth.” Anything else, anything less, is not ‘in Truth.’ Orthodox Christianity refuses to give God His unashamed position as The Great Sovereign in all the affairs of all men! God is not sovereign just over all good. God is sovereign over “all things.” God does not ‘allow’ anything. God “worketh all things,” and He works all things after the counsel of His OWN will.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [ things].
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

There are literally hundreds such scriptures in God’s Word. Be sure to read After The Counsel of His Own Will for dozens more scriptures on the sovereignty of God.

The beast within us all cannot give up his ‘free will’ throne for the sovereignty of God. Neither can he receive the words of Christ that require that we love our enemies. When we do the things Christ requires of us, then we will realize that it is He in us doing the works. He will do it before we even realize it!

Joh 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Only with the mind of Christ in us are we capable of “worshiping in spirit and in Truth.” If we have that mind, then we do the doctrine.

I hope you are edified and encouraged by what I have written.

Mike

Mike,
Do you think the story of the Garden of Eden is a literal story or a parable?
J____

Hi J___,
Thank you for your question. You ask:

Do you think the story of the Garden of Eden is a literal story or a parable?

The answer is that like every parable or type and shadow of scripture, the creation story is both literal and a parable.
In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Christ makes this statement:

Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

“There was a certain rich man” is the exact same phrase used in the first parable of this very same chapter.

Luk 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that both stories are parables because we are told in Mat 13:

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

But the only way a parable can mean anything to anyone is to know that there really is a literal rich man somewhere and a real poor man somewhere and a real steward, etc. All of these things have to be obviously real for the parable to have any significance or substance to it.
So it is with the story of creation. If Adam and Eve were not real people, then Adam did not really live to be 930 years old at all.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

If those words are not really true, then neither are the words concerning Noah and the flood and the number of years Noah lived.

Gen 9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Now if Noah and the flood were not real, why would we believe Abraham really existed, or King David or Jesus Christ?

Act 2:29 Men [ and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

That is what is taking place in your heart and mind as you pose this question. There is a battle taking place in your “heavens” over whether God’s Word is true or whether it is all simply a parable which never really happened. The Adversary is roaming about “seeking whom he may devour” with his lies and false doctrines.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Satan devours only those “he may”. He devours only those who are given him to devour. I hope this all helps to give you the ability to believe the truth of these words:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things [ actually] happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

“All these things [ really did] happen to them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition…” The word ensamples is translated from the Greek word ‘tupos’, or types. It is not that different in its function from the word ‘parable’. Both are used to convey a lesson, and both are based on reality. The only difference is that while the story of a parable is not necessarily real, the principles involved are real. There really was a rich man, there really was a poor man, and there really was a valley of the sons of Hinnom, called ‘Gehenna’. It was not called ‘hell’. In a type or a shadow, both the principles involved and the story itself are true, and really did happen.

Heb 8:5 Who [ Old Testament priests] serve unto the example [ Greek – tupos] and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike