Pit – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

Rev 9-1-2 Part 2 Of The Fifth Trumpet

Mike Vinson — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 09:16:03 +0000

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Rev 9-1-2 Part 2 Of The Fifth Trumpet

[Study Aired August 4, 2024]

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Here are the last two paragraphs of our last study:

If you search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, you will find it seven times in the King James Version, and all seven are found only in the book of Revelation. The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation.

We will pause our study here, and we will examine the verses which contain the words “bottomless pit” in our next study. It is very revealing to discover that the Greek, G5421, ‘phrear’ translated ‘pit’ appears in only two of these seven entries containing the phrase ‘bottomless pit’

That is what we will do in this study. We will examine the seven verses containing the phrase ‘the bottomless pit’, and Lord willing we will come away knowing what the scriptures reveal to be this bottomless pit.

Here are those seven entries:

The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation:

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [G12. ‘abussos’, deep] pit [G5421, ‘phrear’ pit, well].

2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [G12, ‘abussos’, deep] pit [G5421, ‘phrear’, pit or well]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [G5421, ‘phrear’ pit or well], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

3) Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, [Single Greek word, G12, ‘abussos’, deep] whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [ Hebrew- Destroyer- Strong’s number 11], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

4) Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit [G12, ‘abussos’, deep] shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

5) Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [G12, ‘abussos’, deep], and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

6) Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [G12, ‘abussos’, deep] and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

7) Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [G12, ‘abussos’, deep], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

What do we see here with these seven verses containing the words ‘bottomless pit?’ What we see when we go to our concordance, is that the Greek word for ‘pit’, [G5421, ‘phrear’ pit, well] appears only two times in these seven verses. Here once again are the only two times this word, G5421, ‘phrear’, pit, well] appears in this entire “revelation of Jesus Christ”, and it is used in conjunction with the word ‘abussos’ both times.

Let’s examine each of these entries and let the scriptures tell us what this phrase signifies. The first two entries are these first two verses of this ninth chapter of Revelation:

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ Greek, abussos] pit [ Greek, phrear].

2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [ abussos] pit [ phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [ phrear].

The Greek word for ‘pit’ in these two verses is ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421. This Greek word is also found a total of seven times in the New Testament. Of those seven entries, four of them are found right here in verses one and two of Rev 9. They are all emboldened above. It appears a fifth time translated as ‘pit’ in Luk 14.

Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit [G5421, ‘phrear’], and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The remaining two entries are found in…

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [phrear] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well [G5421, phrear], and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

What is so interesting and revealing is that when we go to our concordance, we discover that the Greek word ‘abussos’ (Strong’s number 12, translated “bottomless pit”) appears more than seven times. This word ‘abussos’ appears nine times in scripture, and it is those two extra times where the meaning of “the bottomless pit” is made clear. Here is the first of those two very revealing entries.

Luk 8:31 And they [ the demons named legion] besought him [ Christ] that he would not command them to go out into the deep [ G12, ‘abussos’, the sea].

Before we get to the last remaining verse where the word abussos is found in the New Testament, let’s take note of what this verse in Luk 8:31 shows us about the world of demons. This verse reveals to us that demons and all false spirits much prefer to be enthroned in God’s church rather than to be sent out into the deep sea of all the uncalled masses of mankind. What newsman wants to be stuck with reporting on the lives of Chinese peasants, when he could be at the United Nations reporting on the lives of the leaders of this world. Like all of us, demons want to be where the action is, the action is where God’s people are being deceived. Demons seek rest in dry places on ‘the earth’, God’s people (Jer 22:29), which have been pushed up out of the sea. Demons really prefer to be in God’s very temple and sitting on the very throne of Christ, where Christ will give them “no rest”:/p

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

Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God [“dry places” sought by evil spirits], and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Now let’s look at the only entry for this word abussos which we have not yet considered. It is this entry which will reveal to us where the ‘bottomless pit’ is located.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [ from above]:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [ abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Christ has just informed us that both ‘heaven’ and “the deep”, the ‘abussos’, are within us… “even in thy heart and in thy mouth…”

Now notice how this Greek word ‘abussos’ or ‘deep’ is translated when we go back to the Old Testament and read the verse from where Rom 10:7 is quoted:

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

When we read in Rev 20 that Satan is cast into the ‘abussos’ and is imprisoned with a great chain, he doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. He is simply restrained and is under ‘house arrest’ until the time appointed to be released from the ‘abussos’ and be commissioned to go forth and deceive the nations again. According to Deu 30, both the abussos and heaven are “very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.”

What does this great furnace signify?

7) The seventh symbol is the smoke of “a great furnace.” What is this great furnace? It happens to be “a furnace of both iron and earth,” as we will see. Both are types of the image of the first man Adam. It is in this “great furnace” that the fire of God’s Word does its purifying work of burning out all that will burn, and it is in this “great furnace” that God’s words are being purified and lived out. Here is the simple Biblical definition of this “great furnace.”

Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

“When the sun went down and it was dark” signifies the “darkening of the sun and the air.” It is then that we enter into that “great furnace” that “a horror of great darkness, falls upon” us all because we begin to see with “a burning lamp” that we are mere slaves in Egypt and we begin to cry out to the Lord for deliverance:

Exo 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

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

It is during this time in our “experience of evil” when this ‘great furnace’ generates the smoke which darkens the sun and the air and keeps us in bondage to “that nation whom we shall serve”. But at the predestined, appointed and due time, “when the iniquity of the Amorites” is filled up within us, “at the time appointed of the Father”, we will no longer be in bondage to the elements of this world, and we will come out of Egypt and do so “with great substance”.

It is no coincidence that “a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, are the symbols of both the third and fifth trumpets of the revelation of Jesus Christ:

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Here is the “iron furnace” from which “smoke darkens the Sun and the air” through which we all must pass before we can become the children of light and the sons of God.

Deu 4:20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

Iron is the symbol of the legs and feet of the great image of Nebuchadnezzar, which image was destroyed by the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands. The mystery of the bottomless pit, is no mystery at all when we know what the furnace is, out of which the smoke that darkens the sun and the air, comes. Great heat and a fiery combustion in a “furnace of iron” must precede the spiritual process of purification. The whole orthodox Christian world recognizes that Egypt symbolizes the world within us, and it is only through that “furnace of iron” and being made to “cry out to the Lord” that we are delivered from that world within.

Here is what a furnace accomplishes in our lives.

Pro 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

Now notice where God’s fiery words are said to be purified.

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

We are that “furnace of earth” and every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God will be purified within us even as it purifies us through the seven seals, trumpets and vials of His wrath. Here is this same message in the parable of the sower and the tares.

Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [ one];
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. [G65, ‘aion’, age]
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

We are the furnace of iron through which Egypt is burned up and destroyed. We are the furnace for the gold through which God tries our hearts. We are the furnace in which those tares are burned up. And we are the great furnace which produces “smoke, by reason of the pit”, the “smoke of a great furnace [which] darkens the sun and the air” which are also within us.

What is the air?

9) Finally, the ninth and last symbol of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet is the air that is also darkened by the smoke of the pit. What scripturally is the air? I wondered for many years what this verse meant:

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.

Meeting the Lord in the air sounded fine. But shouldn’t we go somewhere and do something after that? “So shall we ever be with the Lord,” just sounded a bit anticlimactic, and indeed, if we dwelt with the Lord in the literal ‘air’ that really would be anticlimactic.

There are two words translated as ‘air’ in the New Testament. The word here in Rev 9 is the Greek word ‘aer’, Strong’s number G109. The other, far more common word is ‘ouranos’, G3772, heavens].

Here is how that word ‘ouranos’ is used by our Lord.

Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
Luk 13:19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air [ ouranos, heavens] lodged in the branches of it.

To understand the true Biblical meaning of “the air” and the air being darkened by the smoke from the bottomless pit, we must as always, place line upon line and precept upon precept.

With that principle in mind let’s look at Eph 2:2, and notice that the Greek word ‘aer’ is translated into our English word ‘air’ in this verse.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [G109, ‘aer’, air], the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

So now we know that whether the Greek word behind the English word ‘air’ is the word ‘aer’ or the word ‘ouranos’, it does not matter, because “the wicked one” is, at this time, in both the ‘aer’ and the ‘ouranos.’ We know that to be true because of this verse and many others which confirm this to be so.

Eph 6:12 for it is not ours to wrestle with blood and flesh, but with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world- mights of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials [ Greek, epouranios, the heavens].

The single most common phrase in scripture, containing the word ‘air’ in both the Old and the New Testaments, is the phrase “the fowls of the air.” Here is the first appearance of this phrase “fowls of the air” from both the Old and the New Testaments respectively.

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

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Here now is what Christ tells us “the fowls of the air” signify. It is found in His interpretation of the symbols which He used in the parable of the sower. Notice what Christ says happens to the “seed that falls by the way side.” Here is the part of that parable which mentions the fowls of the air.

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, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Who does Christ say the fowl of the air symbolize?

Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

By Christ’s own words “the wicked one” is signified by the fowls of the air.

But what is the air itself? To whom has the “air” of this present world been given? Here are those who have been given the power of the air at this time.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

The last vial of the seven last plagues, is not poured out into our earth. Instead it is poured out “into the air”.

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [ and] so great.

It is in the air, the realm of the spirit, that the most permanent changes are affected. It is in the air that we are ever with our Lord, because, as we have seen, “the four winds of the heavens” are nothing less than the air in motion, so that the air and the wind are both the symbols of the spirit world. That world, at this stage of our walk, is darkened by the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.

Summary

We have seen that the symbols of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet are:

2) The second symbol is a star that falls from heaven to the earth and is given the key to the bottomless pit. Once again, we saw that this star is a spirit from heaven which darkens our understanding of spiritual matters and darkens our sun and air.

3) The third symbol is the heaven from which the star falls, and we have shown in depth that the heavens are the hearts and minds of the people of God, where every word of all the sayings of this prophecy must be read, heard and kept.

4) The fourth symbol is the earth to which the star from heaven falls, and we have demonstrated that wherever we see the word ‘earth’, we are talking about the people of God who are called but not necessarily chosen.

5) The fifth symbol is the key to the bottomless pit, and we saw that this key is the means by which the smoke that darkens the sun and the air is released out into our heavens. This ‘key’ is given us to keep us from receiving the “key of knowledge” before we are able to receive that life saving knowledge.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

A ‘key’ both locks away, and reveals what is locked away. When the “key of knowledge” is taken from us, that is signified by giving us the key to the bottomless pit which will serve to darken our sun and our air.

6) The sixth is the bottomless pit itself., and we saw that the bottomless pit is simply the sea of our flesh, and the flesh of mankind as the first deceived and rebellious Adam who cannot hear the words of Truth. We saw that the imprisoning of Satan in that bottomless pit is nothing more that restraining him within us during the thousand years, with a rod of iron. We all have our own “rod of iron experience” as we rebel against the things of the spirit as “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4).

7) The seventh symbol is the smoke of a great furnace, which we saw was the fiery trials that are even now coming upon the house of God, as we are being brought out of Egypt, which is called “the furnace of fire” within us. We saw that this furnace of fire is a necessary part of our walk if we are counted worthy of being judged now instead of being judged at the great white throne (Rev 20:11-15).

8) The eighth symbol is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit. The darkened sun is that time of our lives where we prefer lies over truth and the word that has been planted has been snatched away by the wicked one.

9) Finally, the ninth symbol is the air which is also darkened by the smoke of the pit, and we saw that the air typifies the struggles we must endure in the realm of the spirit. We saw that it is mentioned last simply because it is that spiritual struggle “against the powers and principalities of the heavens” which follows our struggles upon the earth. Each struggle is a matter of life and death, but we saw that our Father prepares our hearts for every trial into which He leads us.

Next week, Lord willing, we will examine more of the symbols connected with this fifth Trumpet which is also called ‘the first woe’ which we are commanded to read, hear and keep.

Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Exo 21:20-36 Laws Governing Personal Injuries and Restitution

Ato Barnes — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:32:21 +0000

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3vwfo2khz7hbpvk/20220822-Study_AtoB-PersonalInjuryRestitution.m4a?raw=1

Exo 21:20-36 Laws Governing Personal Injuries and Restitution

[Study Aired August 22, 2022]

Exo 21:20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.
Exo 21:21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
Exo 21:22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
Exo 21:23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,
Exo 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Exo 21:26 “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye.
Exo 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
Exo 21:28 “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.
Exo 21:29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
Exo 21:30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
Exo 21:31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.
Exo 21:32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Exo 21:33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
Exo 21:34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
Exo 21:35 “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share.
Exo 21:36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

The second part of Exodus chapter 21 continues with the laws of Moses. In this case, the law deals with personal injuries and restitution. As we have indicated in the previous study, the focus of our study is on the spiritual implication of these laws – not the letter which kills.

2Co 3:6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

When Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria, He told her that the time is coming and that the time has come that those who worship the Lord, will serve Him in truth and in spirit. We are the generation that seek the Lord in truth and in spirit.

Joh 4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Our study today, therefore, is geared towards understanding the spiritual implication of the laws on personal injuries and restitution. Behind these supposedly carnal laws, the Lord has hidden deep spiritual truths which are only revealed to those called and chosen – the elect. With this in mind, let’s explore what the spirit is saying to the church regarding these laws.

In the previous study we realized that the slave of the master represents us, the elect. The master signifies Christ. Since our Lord has purchased us with His blood, we are His slaves.

Gal 3:13 Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from the Law. In that way, the Law could not punish us. Christ did this by carrying the load and by being punished instead of us. It is written, “Anyone who hangs on a cross is hated and punished.”
Gal 3:14 Because of the price Christ Jesus paid, the good things that came to Abraham might come to the people who are not Jews. And by putting our trust in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit He has promised. (NLV)

Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

In the Bible a rod signifies judgment. This is made clear in the following verses:

Lam 3:1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

1Co 4:21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

Pro 10:13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

Pro 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

In verse 20 therefore, the man who strikes his slave with the rod is Christ who comes to judge us. However, His judgment does not result in our physical death as this will mean that the Lord is guilty and needs to be punished according to verse 20. We know that the Lord was presented as faultless before God to atone for our sins and therefore was never and will never be found guilty. What verse 20 means is that the Lord’s discipline or correction never leads to our physical death. In using His rod against us, the Lord always makes a way of escape for us to be able to bear his discipline.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

In verse 21, when the slave survives the discipline of his master, the master is not guilty for the slave belongs to him. What verse 21 implies is that the master has the right to discipline his slave as he belongs to him. Our Lord is our master who owns us and therefore has the right to judge us to conform to His righteousness.

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

Exo 21:22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.

When we fight one another, it is the body of Christ that suffers as her children are born prematurely. This means that those who come out of the church are not matured but carnal. The pregnant woman affected here in verse 22 is Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children that come out prematurely. This Jerusalem is Babylon. This is made clear in the following verses as the pregnant woman represents Babylon.

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

As shown in verse 22, the one responsible for hurting the pregnant woman needs to be judged by the woman’s husband who is Christ. We have all hurt our brothers and sisters by our false doctrines, etc. and therefore hurt the church when we were in Babylon, and so we deserve to be judged by the Lord.

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

What we need to know is that when we hurt each other in the body, we are hurting the church. It is insightful to note that the judgment for hurting the church is imposed by the judges. The judges here represent the elect. From another perspective, what we are being told in verse 22 is that in the fullness of time, the elect (judges) will judge Babylon and the rest of the world together with our Lord Jesus who is the husband.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Exo 21:23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,

When we hate our brothers and sisters, then we are murderers. Hating one another means hating the church. What this means is that we are spiritually causing harm to the church of the Lord. We also cause harm to the church by teaching false doctrines which we all have at a certain period of our walk with Christ. We therefore must pay life for life as stated in verse 23. In other words, we must all die to the old man as we are appointed to death.

1Co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Exo 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

As we have indicated in the previous study, Jesus came to raise the bar in terms of the interpretation of the law of Moses. This is what He had to say about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth:

Mat 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
Mat 5:39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Mat 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Mat 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

What these verses mean is that the physical laws have been transformed into spiritual laws by our Lord, the Reformer. Therefore, we are not to resist evil that comes from outside. That is, we are not to worry about evil that comes against us in this life. However, we are to resist evil from within and this is not done by ourselves. Christ in us is the one that resists the devil on our behalf.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Exo 21:26 “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye.

We know that since Christ purchased all humanity with His blood, all humanity are His slaves. The man in verse 21 is Christ. It is He who has made people blind spiritually by striking them in the eyes. The fact that in such cases the slaves go free means that in this life, those who have been made blind are not being judged by the Lord. It is only the elect who are being judged in this life, that is, they are not free to go as others.

1Pe 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
1Pe 4:19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Exo 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

When our teeth are knocked out, we are not able to eat. What this means is that we are not able to assimilate (take in) the word of God. Verse 27 is therefore the same as verse 26 in terms of the effect produced by the actions of striking the eye and knocking out the tooth of a slave. In other words, it is the Lord who causes us not to understand the word of the Lord. For those who are not given to understand the word of the Lord, they are not being judged in this life and therefore are free.

Exo 21:28 “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.

An ox is a beast. We know from the word of the Lord that in our carnal state, we are the beast.

Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.

Since we are the beast, we are the ones that have gored our brother or sister to death and therefore must be put to death by stoning. A stone can represent the church or the house of God as follows:

Gen 28:22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Being stoned to death therefore means the death of our old man or flesh by what every joint supplies from the body of Christ. In other words, the words of the elect are what kills our old man.

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

As stated in verse 28, while we are being judged, we are not to eat the flesh of the ox who killed a man or woman. Our Lord Jesus’ flesh represents the word of the Lord. That is why we are admonished to eat His flesh.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Our flesh, however, represents false doctrines and man’s words of wisdom. The admonition not to eat the flesh of the ox, the murderer in verse 28, therefore means that we should not take in false doctrines or man’s wisdom as we are being judged in this life. Verse 28 also says that the owner of the ox shall not be liable for the murder of the man or woman. That is another way of saying the following:

Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Exo 21:29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.

We are the ox that was accustomed to goring in the past and had been warned by the Lord through His words. However, our Lord had not constrained us at that time because our sins had not run their full course yet. As a result, we are guilty of killing a man or woman and therefore ought to be put to death together with our Master Lord Jesus, our owner. As He is, so are we. He died because of our sins, and so we ought to die also for the church.

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.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

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

Exo 21:30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
Exo 21:31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.

Jesus paid the ransom for our sins by giving His life for our sakes to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Exo 21:32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Again, as a brute beast (ox), the Lord came to our aid and paid the price of thirty shekels of silver for our sake. It is insightful to note that Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver which is about the price the master pays for the goring of a slave by His ox. What this means is that Jesus paid the price for our sins with His own life.

Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Mat 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

It is also worth noting that in addition to the master laying down his life, the ox must be put to death for goring a slave. That is why we are going through fiery trials with the purpose of putting to death our old man or the flesh.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Exo 21:33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
Exo 21:34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

The pit in verse 33 refers to a snare or trap, and the man who opens the pit without covering it is the enemy – Satan. As indicated in Psalm 40:2, the horrible pit we fall into is the same as the miry clay. The clay here represents the deeds of the flesh, and the adjective miry refers to the uncontrollable nature of the deeds of the flesh when Christ is not formed in our hearts. At our appointed time, we have all as a beast (ox or donkey) fallen into the snare or the trap of the fowler or the enemy, resulting in our spiritual death. In other words, we had all fallen victim of the uncontrollable deeds of the flesh which lead to death.

Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

Psa 30:9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

Psa 35:7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

Psa 55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Psa 57:6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah

The pit also stands for the false doctrines we imbibed when we were in Babylon. This is revealed in the following scriptures:

Pro 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

Pro 23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

What we need to understand is that even though it is the devil who sets a trap for us to be ensnared into sin, the ultimate responsibility of who dug the pit or trap rests on the Lord as all things are working according to the counsel of His will. That being the case, the Lord being the owner of the pit must make restoration by making payment to the owner of the ox, who is God as stated in verse 34. That is why Jesus had to die to pay for our sins as we fell victims of the deeds of the flesh.

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:

It is interesting to note that the beast which fell into the pit and died is the property of the Lord. It is the same as the earth being without form and void, but the Lord’s spirit hovering over it. He never leaves us alone. Even though we were dead spiritually, because we are His, He is able to bring us out of the snare of the fowler.

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.

Psa 124:1 A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
Psa 124:2 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
Psa 124:3 Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
Psa 124:4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Psa 124:5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Psa 124:6 Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Psa 124:7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Psa 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Exo 21:35 When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share.

At a certain time of our walk with Christ, we ended up killing our brothers and sisters as we strove with them by hating them. We were therefore responsible for the physical death of the prophets the Lord sent, together with the spiritual death of many. Since both oxen belong to the Lord, we are therefore sold as live oxen (slaves) to the Lord. As indicated, in our spiritually dead state, we still belong to the Lord.

Exo 21:36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

We are the ox that had been accustomed to goring in the past. The Lord did not constrain us as He wanted our sins to run their full course so that we come to see that we are the worst sinners. In our spiritually poor state, God came to ransom us by repaying ox for ox. That is, He offered Jesus, a type of an ox to die on our behalf.

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

May the Lord continue to show mercy to us as He delivers us from the uncovered pit of the flesh. Amen!!

Book of Jeremiah – Jer 41:1-18 They Departed to go Into Egypt

Mike Vinson — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 04:52:12 +0000

Jer 41:1-18 They Departed to go Into Egypt

[Study Aired June 5, 2022]

Jer 41:1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
Jer 41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Jer 41:3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.
Jer 41:4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
Jer 41:5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
Jer 41:6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Jer 41:7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
Jer 41:8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
Jer 41:9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.
Jer 41:10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
Jer 41:11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
Jer 41:12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
Jer 41:13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
Jer 41:14 So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
Jer 41:15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
Jer 41:16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
Jer 41:17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
Jer 41:18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

Our study this week will graphically demonstrate that we first refuse to obey the Lord, and we first refuse to do the things He says to do. Instead of humbly obeying every word He speaks, we serve Him in the way we want to serve Him. When we do that, if we are the Lord’s elect, He causes everything we do to work against us, and He begins to bring us to our wits’ end (Psa 107:27). If we are not His elect, then He ‘answers us according to the idols of our hearts’, and we are deceived into believing He is blessing us (Eze 14:1-9).

Beginning with the story of Cain and Abel, the Lord demonstrates for us that “[our] sins will [always] find [us] out”:

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

In this chapter Jeremiah, who typifies each of us, is dealing with those in Judah who refused the Lord’s commandment to ‘come under the yoke of the princes of Babylon’. This chapter is the fulfilling of this earlier prophecy of Jeremiah:

Jer 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

“Them that are carried away captive” signify those of us to whom the Lord gives eyes to see and ears to hear that He made us to err so He could judge us for our self-righteous ways and our rebellion against Him. Those who were carried away captive are called “good figs” to whom:

Jer 24:7 …I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

They are even likened to the firstfruits of the fig tree:

Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

This chapter of Jeremiah is all about these “evil figs” of Jeremiah 24:

Jer 24:8 …the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

If we are never given to see that we have been deceived by the Lord in that we have been carried away captive of Babylon, then the Lord will make us think of ourselves as “perfect and upright… fearing God and eschewing evil” as Job was made think of himself:

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

This is the reality of what Job was:

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job had indeed “spoken… twice” in his own defense before God with these self-righteous, iniquitous words as He reproved and condemned God for what the Lord had done to him:

Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Job was forced to acknowledge it was God Himself who was Job’s enemy while Job was making these self-righteous pronouncements:

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Now the Lord reveals to Job his most insidious sin. That sin is his own self-righteousness, which caused Job to condemn God to make himself righteous. The lesson for all of us is that being self-righteous is as natural for every one of us as breathing:

Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Here is just how righteous Job thought of himself before the Lord uncovered to him his self-righteousness:

Job 29:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 29:2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; [as a typical “carnal… babe in Christ”, 1Co 3:1-4)
Job 29:3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
Job 29:4 As I was in the days of my youth [“Carnal babe in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4)), when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

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?

Job 29:5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
Job 29:6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; [before my judgment began and the Lord began to chasten me:

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Every good parent provides all the needs of their “carnal babes” who are still on milk. However, every good parent also “chastens and scourges every child [they] receive” when they become old enough to benefit from that chastening:

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

Job is enduring the chastening, but as of chapter 29, he is not yet receiving its instructions. At this point he is wallowing in his self-righteous pride and crediting himself with all the good works the Lord gave him to perform, all of which he claims as his own:

Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
Job 29:8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
Job 29:9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
Job 29:10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
Job 29:11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
Job 29:13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
Job 29:14  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Job 29:15  I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Job 29:16  I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
Job 29:18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
Job 29:19  My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.
Job 29:20  My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.
Job 29:21  Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.
Job 29:22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
Job 29:23 And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
Job 29:24  If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.
Job 29:25  I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

Job 29 is a perfect description of the minds of all these Jews who would not go forth to the princes of Babylon. It was especially true of their leader Johanan the son of Kereah after he had warned Gedaliah against trusting the man who eventually slew him. Johanan’s rescue of those who were captured by Ishmael made him feel even more self-righteous and even less in need of the word of the Lord from Jeremiah.

Here is that story. It is repetition of the story of our own self-righteous old man who is carried away to Babylon because he also refused to submit to the princes of Babylon, because he was set up for failure by the Lord Himself:

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

Both the good figs and the evil figs refused to submit to the princes of Babylon, and both are judged for that rebellion. The good figs are judged first and are brought back to their land first.

Here we have “ten men”, ten being the number which signifies the zenith of our flesh, and we have Ishmael besides these ten men. This gives us eleven men altogether, and eleven signifies the ruin and disintegration of our flesh when it is brought to its zenith:

Here is a link to the study on the number ten.
Link to the number eleven.

This is a story about the ruin of the flesh and the ruin of the kingdom of the beast:

Jer 41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Jer 41:3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

The one thing Ishmael had in common with ‘the residue of Jerusalem which remained in the land’ (Jer 24:8) was that they had no intention of being obedient to the words of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah telling them to submit to the princes of the Chaldeans. In other words, both are “evil figs”, and both are in total rebellion against the Lord.

Our last study ended with this warning to Gedaliah from Johanan:

Jer 40:13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
Jer 40:14 And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
Jer 40:15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?
Jer 40:16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

This entire event is a commentary on how the Lord deals with us when we refuse to do the things Christ tells us to do. The Jews who would not go out to the princes of Babylon are self-willed, self-righteous types of us. Gedaliah typifies our self-righteous old man who is approved and placed over us by the Lord’s “friend”, Nebuchadnezzar. Ishmael is “of the seed royal” and signifies our envious first born beast who sees himself more deserving of leading the Lord’s people. Johanan and all the people with him signify our iniquity and our self-righteous old man who will not go forth to the princes of Babylon, and who now feel superior to all others because the Lord gave him the honor of destroying Ishmael’s plans to take the Lord’s people by force and make them his servants and slaves.

This account of our rebellious, self-righteous experience of evil continues to unfold:

Jer 41:4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
Jer 41:5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

These 80 men are just another iteration of our self-righteous beast which ‘comes up out of the earth’. Being eighty (10 x 8) he signifies “the eighth [who] is of the seven and goes into perdition”:

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Link to the study on the number eight.

These 80 men signifies our rebellious, self-righteous old man who is very conscientious to serve the Lord in his own way. There is no temple at which to do sacrifice, so these men are either unaware that the temple has been destroyed or else they are coming to Mizpah thinking that the priests will be there with Gedaliah to perform their services without a temple. Regardless of what else they are thinking, the fact that they “had cut themselves” demonstrates their self-righteous rebellion against this commandment of the Lord:

Deu 14:1 You are the children of the LORD your God. So when someone dies, don’t mourn by cutting yourselves or shaving bald spots on your head.
Deu 14:2 You are people who are holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the people who live on earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his own special possession.

This entire story of the rebellious remnant of Judah, is one demonstration after the other that “the wages of sin is death”:

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

Jer 41:6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Jer 41:7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
Jer 41:8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

Here we have another “ten men” which tells those with ears to hear that, regardless of their ‘shaven beards, torn clothing, cutting themselves and carrying offerings and incense’, these men signify our self-righteous old man who would not submit to the princes of Babylon.

Jer 41:5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

Ishmael’s willingness to spare those who had “treasures in the field” signifies his self-serving nature which shows a respect of persons depending on what they can do for him. Being “of the seed royal” he demonstrates that He is at this time nothing more than the envious, self-serving son of the prince of the power of the air:

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Jer 41:9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

This reference to the fear which King Asa had for Baasha, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, hearkens back to an earlier time of conflict between two of the Lord’s own rebellious wives, Aholah, representing the northern kingdom of Israel with its capitol of Samaria, and Aholibah, representing Jerusalem and Judah (Eze 23:4). This story of the death of Gedaliah at the hands of “Ishmael… of the seed royal” is simply a continuation of the Lord’s message to us concerning how our stubborn, self-righteous old man will never know the peace of Christ.

1Ki 15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
1Ki 15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1Ki 15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
1Ki 15:19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
1Ki 15:20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
1Ki 15:21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
1Ki 15:22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah [Where King Asa had dug this pit for fear of King Baasha of Israel].

Here in Jeremiah 41 this chastening of the Lord’s rebellious people by His own rebellious people continues:

Jer 41:10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

According to the previous chapter, Jeremiah was among those whom Ishmael carried away from Mizpah “to go over to the Ammonites:

Jer 40:6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

Ishmael, “of the seed royal”, thinks that his royal flesh entitles him to everything his flesh wants, and his flesh wants to enslave everything and everyone to himself because he, not Gedaliah, and certainly not any of the captains of the people, is of the fleshly “seed royal”.

Jer 41:11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
Jer 41:12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

These “waters of Gibeon” are once again a place where God’s own people were at war with one another shortly after King Saul’s death, while King David was consolidating the kingdom:

2Sa 2:12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
2Sa 2:13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
2Sa 2:14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
2Sa 2:15 Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
2Sa 2:16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
2Sa 2:17 And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

Even as a remnant we continue in our self-destructive ways of self-righteous rebellion against the commandments of the Lord, and we remain under the Lord’s wrath:

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

Jer 41:13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
Jer 41:14 So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
Jer 41:15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.

The escape of Ishmael signifies that our old man remains with us as we continue to present his flesh as a living sacrifice daily to the Lord (Rom 12:1), to die daily (1Co 15:31) and be crucified daily with Christ (Gal 2:20).

Jer 41:16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
Jer 41:17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
Jer 41:18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

Johanan has already decided “to go to enter into Egypt”, but, as we will see in our next study, he and all those with him want to appear to seek the Lord in their spiritually weak state. The story of the rebellion of the people and the ten spies should have taught Israel that they were never even think about returning to Egypt, and they were never to depend on Egypt for anything as their experience should have taught them:

Num 13:25 And they [the twelve spies] returned from searching of the land after forty days.
Num 13:26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
Num 13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Num 13:28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
Num 13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
Num 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. [Php 4:13 “I can do all thing through Christ…”]
Num 13:31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
Num 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
Num 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

An evil report of the land was nothing less than a condemnation by the Lord Himself, who had brought them to this point, to give them the land, signifying giving us our salvation. Caleb stilled the people and assured them that with the God who slew the firstborn of Egypt and dried up the Red Sea and destroyed the army of Pharaoh on their side “we are well able to overcome it”. The ten spies are ‘ten’ because the number ‘ten’ signifies our fearful unbelieving flesh. These men are saying once again that the Lord had brought them thus far just to kill them in the wilderness, and they wanted to make them a captain of their own choosing and return to Egypt:

Num 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
Num 14:2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
Num 14:3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
Num 14:4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

This is not a fifty-fifty split in the congregation, rather “all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron”, and wanted to replace them with a captain of their choosing. Two chapters later will reveal that their choice of a captain would be someone ‘of the seed royal’ in a sense, inasmuch as Korah was a Levite and was a first cousin to Moses and Aaron. Every time we rebel against the Lord and refuse those whom He places as our leaders, we become our own worst enemy.

To shorten this story a bit, just before “all the congregation” stoned Caleb and Joshua “the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, and the Lord threatened to destroy them all. Moses intercedes and the Lord tells him to tell the people that because they did not believe that He would give them the land, that therefore that generation would all die while wandering for forty years in the wilderness:

Num 14:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Num 14:28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
Num 14:29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Num 14:30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

‘Joshua’ means ‘Savior’, and Caleb means ‘a dog’:

yehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛
yeh-ho-shoo’-ah, yeh-ho-shoo’-ah
From H3068 and H3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (that is, Joshua), the Jewish leader: – Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare H1954, H3442.

H3612
כָּלֵב
kâlêb
kaw-labe’
– Original: כּלב
– Transliteration: Kaleb
– Phonetic: kaw-labe’
– Definition: Caleb = dog

the Godly son of Jephunneh and the faithful spy who reported the promisedland favourably and urged its capture

son of hezron and grandson of Pharez and great grandson of Judah and the father of Hur and grandfather of Caleb the spy

The only people to enter the promised land of the generation that came up out of Egypt were a savior and a dog, Christ and His Christ.

Num 14:31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
Num 14:32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
Num 14:33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
Num 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Num 14:35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
Num 14:36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
Num 14:37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
Num 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

Upon seeing the Lord’s glory in the tabernacle and hearing the Lord’s verdict of wandering forty years in the wilderness, the people repent and decide to go in and take the land even after being told they would never enter into the promised land. As we will see in our next study, it never pays to ignore the Lord’s commandments, but our self-righteous, rebellious old man is simply not given to be able to be obedient. We ask for the Lord’s direction, but we are not capable of following His instructions.

This is the state of the old man in every one of us. We are one and all made subject to the law of sin which is by the design of the “one law giver”, in our members:

Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The Lord wants us to know who placed “the law of sin… in… [our] members”:

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

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

We are saved by our hope in Christ (Rom 8:23), and it is a very certain hope:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

What comforting words for all who are given faith in the hope we have in being the workmanship of Christ (Eph 2:10), and not depending upon ourselves for anything.

The Book of Jeremiah – Jer 4:21-31 The Whole Land Shall be Desolate – Yet Will I not Make a Full End

Mike Vinson — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 19:13:35 +0000

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nk6gtr602c2d0zj/20210307-Study_Mike-Vinso.m4a?raw=1

Jer 4:21-31 The Whole Land Shall be Desolate – Yet Will I Not Make a Full End

[Study Aired March 7, 2021]

Jer 4:21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jer 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
Jer 4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
Jer 4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
Jer 4:29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jer 4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
Jer 4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

Jer 4:21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Outwardly Jeremiah is a prophecy of the impending Babylonian invasion and conquering of Judah and Jerusalem for rejecting their God and rebelling against His ways. “How long shall I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet” can be taken to be speaking of the standard and trumpet of the watchmen, warning the Lord’s people of their coming judgment. The standard and trumpet can also apply to the standard of the invading Babylonians and their trumpets which call their troops to begin the invasion and destruction of the Lord’s people for their sins and transgressions against their own Lord. Both scenarios bring about the same intended end – the judgment of the Lord’s rebellious people.

Jer 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

This is the condition of humankind by nature. No man yet ever had to be instructed in how to lie, cheat or steal. Simply being placed into the proper situation to be tempted to lie, we of ourselves all succumb under enough pressure to do so. It is so easy to rationalize how it is much better to lie than to tell the truth. The same applies to cheating and stealing. In our self-righteousness we have no trouble at all telling ourselves that it is much better to cheat than to fail. Stealing is just as easy for our old man. He simply tells himself how much good he can do for himself and perhaps even for others if He just takes a little unearned substance or undeserved credit for how the Lord works. Because lightning does not immediately descend from heaven and strike us dead for our sins and transgressions, it very soon gets to the point that we do not even bother to rationalize our sins.

Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily” we just shamelessly pursue and satisfy our own deceitful lusts. As Jeremiah reveals just a few chapters later:

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The great motivational speakers of this world universally tell us to “follow your heart” while Christ warns us against being so foolish as to do so. Our heart is deceitful and wicked, and our Lord “searches” our hearts.

Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

An unrepentant, lascivious, stubborn heart is the meaning of our next verse:

Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

The ‘earth’ is clearly a reference to the Lord’s own chosen people who have turned away from Him to commit spiritual fornication with the ways of our flesh. The twenty-second chapter of Jeremiah is addressed specifically to the king and the people of Judah, the Lord’s own people:

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

Then the Lord, speaking to this same audience says:

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

“The earth… was without form and void” is just another way of saying “the earth… and the heavens… have no light” because they have no knowledge of their God. They have turned their back on Him and have committed spiritual fornication against Him.

The Lord has been very merciful and has not speedily executed His sentence against all the evil we have committed against Him. We have heaped up to ourselves the Lord’s wrath against the day of His wrath.

Yes, it is true:

Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

This is also true:

Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

The Lord does not change. He is still the same in the New Testament. The longer we refuse to repent, the more fuel we are storing up for His fiery judgments within us.

Rom 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

That is the message of this prophecy of Jeremiah:

Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

It is the mountains and hills, the very foundations of all the false doctrines within us, which tremble at the Lord’s presence and at the knowledge of His mind and His doctrines. The ‘man and the birds of the heavens’ of verse 25 are also the symbols of our old man and all his false doctrines, respectively. We, and all our lying false doctrines, flee at the presence of the Lord and His Truth. His Truth is called “fire in [the] mouth” of His prophets (Jer 5:14), and the fire consumes our old man and his entire kingdom.

Outwardly “at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger” refers to the coming of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to destroy and burn down the cities of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for rejecting their own God.

We happen to be living at a time when this prophecy is being fulfilled both inwardly and outwardly for the very same reason. We have all rejected the Lord’s words inwardly, and this world has rejected them and is rejecting them outwardly and reaping the fruits of that rejection.

Jer 4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

The land shall be desolate, yet the Lord will not make a full end because He has promised in the previous chapter:

Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

One of a city and two of a family is indeed a mere remnant in “this present time” (Rom 8:18) but the Lord will use that ‘remnant’, which has been accumulating for the past two thousand years, as the “saviors” of all the rest of mankind who have ever lived:

Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Thankfully there will be a remnant who will fulfill:

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

Isa 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Before we can become saviors we, too, must first be judged for our sins:

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

The “earth” is the Lord’s own people, so these words are first for us:

Jer 4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

The Lord has made all things for Himself, yes even the wicked man within us for the day of evil within us. That ‘day of evil’ begins when we are born:

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

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

Our heavens above are black, and our experience is evil because of the nature of our earthy composition. In scripture the opposite of ‘heaven’ is not ‘hell’. In scriptural terms the opposite of the heavens is “the earth” from which we are made:

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Contrary to what the great whore and her daughters teach, we are not spirits having a natural experience. Rather we are natural, dust and clay, earthy creatures having a spiritual experience, as the scriptures plainly state:

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

This is 1 Corinthians 15. It is known as ‘the resurrection chapter’, and this is all being said in hope of a resurrection.

However, our earth has a heavens in which the fowls of our heavens fly:

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

We may be totally unaware of it being so, but the fact is that our earth is ruled by the clouds of its heavens:

Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:28  Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Job 36:29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [by the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
Job 36:32  With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

This is how we are being judged by our own heavens:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;

The English words ‘bottomless pit’ are translated from the Greek words ‘abussos’ G12, ‘deep, sea… bottomless’, and G5421, ‘phrear’, pit, well.

Here is Strong’s definition of this Greek word ‘abussos’:

G12
ἄβυσσος
abussos
ab’-us-sos

From G1 (as a negative particle) and a variation of G1037; depthless, that is, (specifically), (infernal) “abyss”: – deep, (bottomless) pit.

Total KJV occurrences: 9

We must always “try the spirit” of Strong’s definitions with how the holy spirit uses a word. So here is how the holy spirit uses this Greek word ‘abussos’ in the New Testament:

G12
ἄβυσσος
abussos
Total KJV Occurrences: 9
bottomless, 7
Rev_9:1-2 (2), Rev_9:11, Rev_17:7-8 (2), Rev_20:1, Rev_20:3
deep, 2
Luk_8:31, Rom_10:7

This word is translated as bottomless only two times, not seven times as stated here. This word ‘bottomless’ is only found in the book of Revelation. The other two appearances of this Greek word ‘abussos’ outside of the book of Revelation are:

Luk 8:31 And they [the demons in the Gadarene demoniac] besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [Greek: G12 abussos, the sea of Galilee].

Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [Greek: G12, abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

According to Romans 10:7, those in the ‘abussos’ are spiritually dead, as Christ Himself asserted:

Mat 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Whether the adversary is hedged out (Job 1:10 and Mar 12:1) or is given to attack the Lord’s elect, it is the Lord’s elect the adversary wants most. The adversary knew this demoniac was about to be delivered, and they did not want to return to the uncalled who are the ‘sea’ of mankind (Mat 18:6, Rev 13:1)

Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. [“Seeking whom he may devour” (1Pe 5:8)].

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

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Mar 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

Satan’s domain is in the ‘sea’ of unconverted mankind, but he is keen to expand his dominion into the chosen of God at any opportunity. That is the function of “the adversary… the tempter”.

Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth 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 [Greek: ‘thronos’ – throne, his kingdom], and great authority.

Satan’s most prized target whom He seeks to devour is the “manchild” (Rev 12:3-4), the Lord’s elect.

Luk 22:28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
Luk 22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child [you and me] as soon as it was born.

Here is Strong’s definition of the Greek word ‘phrear’:

G5421
φρέαρ
phrear
freh’-ar

Of uncertain derivation; a hole in the ground (dug for obtaining or holding water or other purposes), that is, a cistern or well; figuratively an abyss (as a prison): – well, pit.
Total KJV occurrences: 7

This is where this word appears in the Greek manuscripts:

G5421
φρέαρ
phrear

Total KJV Occurrences: 7
pit, 5
Luk_14:5, Rev_9:1-2 (4)
well, 2
Joh_4:11-12 (2)

In John 4 the Samaritan woman tells Christ:

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [G5421: phrear, the pit] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

It is interesting to notice that the first two times the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears, it is translated from two Greek words, the words ‘abussos‘ and ‘phrear’. The Greek word ‘abussos’ is translated as ‘bottomless’ and is found only in these two verses. Where the word ‘bottomless’ appears in the KJV outside these two verses, it is simply being added by the translators, and does not appear in any Greek manuscript.

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [G12: abussos] pit [G5421: phrear].
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [G12: abussos] pit [G5421: phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [G5421: phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [G5421: phrear].

Revelation 9:1-2 is the only time those two words are found together. All the rest of the other five appearances of the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ is simply the Greek word ‘phrear’ – pit.

In scripture the word ‘deep’ often means the ‘sea’:

Luk 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [sea].

A better translation of Revelation 9:1-2 would be to replace the phrase ‘bottomless pit’ with the words ‘deep pit’. The sea is the ‘deep pit’ of dying flesh out of which all the Lord’s people are called. That is why Christ says that if we come to Him, we “pass from death unto life”:

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

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

All of Satan’s attempts to destroy “the man child”, the Lord’s elect, are used by the Lord to chasten and scourge every son He receives, just as he was sent by the Lord to try Job and chasten him for his self-righteousness. Job was chastened of the Lord as a type of those whom the Lord loves in this present time:

Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

This typifies how the Lord deals with us if we are His “very elect”:

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

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

This is what the Lord is doing in this prophecy.

Jer 4:29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jer 4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

“The whole city” is all our false doctrines within our Babylonian world where we are being carried away as a captive for our sins which already align with the doctrines of Babylon. Nevertheless, in our darkened and deceived minds we do not recognize our own deceived and blinded condition.

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.

Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

The generation which entered into the promised land came out of the generation whose “carcases fell in the wilderness”. We cannot and must not tell ourselves we are the generation that entered into the promised land, but we have nothing in common either with those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Rather, we must remember that “all things are [ours]”, both life and death. Then, and only then, can we understand that it is our own old man who is typified by those whose carcasses died in the wilderness:

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

Heb 3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

“The world” is “the wilderness”, and that is where we find the Lord’s adulterous wife within each of us as we “read… hear… and keep the things written in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:3):

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

This is the same woman who flees into the wilderness in:

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Notice, “her child was caught up unto God and to His throne”:

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

The woman herself “fled into the wilderness”, where she is nourished of God for “a thousand two hundred and threescore days”. 1260 days is the same as the forty and two months, 42 x 30=1260, during which the beast rules in our lives.

Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

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?
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 [1260 days].

Here is the birth of this manchild:

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.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Our judgment is the death of our old man, and it is “through death” we are given life:

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

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

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: [“We are…His flesh and…His bone” Eph 5:30]

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

Likewise, it is through the death of the harlot Babylon that we become the faithful bride of Christ:

Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins [Rev 18:6].

Isa 61:7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

The great whore of Revelation 17-18 is backslidden Israel, and the salvation within us comes to us only through her death:

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

It is our birth in Christ which in time destroys our mother Babylon. In that sense Rachel typified Babylon when she died while giving birth to Benjamin, who in the story of Joseph typifies the Lord’s elect:

Gen 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

This is how our study ends:

Jer 4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

It is only through the curse of death that our blessings all come. Here is the New Testament interpretation of this verse of Jeremiah:

Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

The death of our mother Babylon is the birth of Christ within us, the “man child” turning every curse into a blessing for them who love God and are the called according to his purpose:

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things [even the curses] work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

That concludes our study, and it concludes this fourth chapter of Jeremiah. Here are our verses for our next study:

Jer 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
Jer 5:2 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Jer 5:3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
Jer 5:4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
Jer 5:5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

Jer 5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
Jer 5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
Jer 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.
Jer 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S.
Jer 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
Jer 5:12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
Jer 5:13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

Study of the Book of Esther – Est 9:20-32 The Feast of Purim Inaugurated

Ato Barnes — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 00:38:26 +0000

Est 9:20-32 The Feast of Purim Inaugurated

[Study Posted December 12, 2020]

Est 9:20 And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Est 9:21 obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year,
Est 9:22 as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
Est 9:23 So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
Est 9:24 For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them.
Est 9:25 But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
Est 9:26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them,
Est 9:27 the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year,
Est 9:28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
Est 9:29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim.
Est 9:30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,
Est 9:31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting.
Est 9:32 The command of Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

The first part of Esther chapter 9 talks about how the Jews stood for their lives and defeated their enemies. As a result, they had rest, ended up feasting, had a day of gladness and sent food portions one to another. The decree to destroy the Jews, which Haman initiated, signifies the law of sin and death, and the King’s new decree to nullify the first decree represents the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death. Based on the law of sin and death, the Jews representing the elect were to be destroyed, killed and caused to perish on the thirteenth day of the month of the twelfth month called Adar. This is the Law of Moses which the Israelites operated under until the coming of Jesus, who brought the law of the spirit of life. We all operated under the Law of Moses until Christ came into our lives. The last part of the Book of Esther Chapter 9 deals with how the Jews celebrated their liberation from their enemies. This celebration became the Feast of Purim.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Est 9:20 And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Est 9:21 obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year,

As indicated in the last review, Mordecai here represents our Lord Jesus, and it is His words which have been sent all over the world enjoining us to keep what has been written. As we obey, it will result in our spiritual progression (represented by the fourteenth day). This spiritual progression is achieved through the process of spiritual completion through judgment. The judgment here is signified by grace through faith (representing the fifteenth day; Number 15 =3×5). The grace here is the chastening work of the Lord in our lives, and it is only through faith that we can endure this work. The letters obligated the Jews to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar. This month Adar is the twelve month. The number 12 represents the number of Christ. What this means is that we can only keep or obey the Law of the spirit of Life when we are in Christ. What does it mean to be in Christ? The story we are dealing with gives us hints as to how to be in Christ.

It was only after defeating the enemies on the thirteenth day (the day of rebellion) that they were asked to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days. What this means is that to be in Christ is when Christ starts coming into our lives with the breath of his mouth (his words) which destroys the enemy within that causes us to rebel against God. That is when we can keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar representing the feast of Christ.

Est 9:22 as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

The word of God when applied to our lives bring about relief from our enemies within and without. This is when our mourning as a result of the trials we face is turned into dancing and our sackcloth into gladness, resulting in the days of feasting and gladness, days of sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. As stated in the last review, the sending of gifts of food is about His elect sharing the words of the Lord with each other resulting in the building up of the body through love. That is what Paul was alluding to when he said that the body of the elect is fitted and compacted together by what every joint supplies. The sending of the gifts of food to one another and the gifts to the poor are all the same. The poor here represents the elect who are poor in spirit.

Psa 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
Psa 30:12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

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

Est 9:23 So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

The acceptance of what Mordecai had written signifies that as elect, we have to be doers of Lord Jesus’ words (represented by Mordecai).

Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Jas 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
Jas 1:24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
Jas 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

The result of obedience is what grants us the victory over the enemy’s (Haman’s) conspiracies as shown in the next verses.

Est 9:24 For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them.
Est 9:25 But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
Est 9:26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them,

The use of the word “for” in verse 24 means that the prior verse 23 is the reason for Haman (the enemy within) to be defeated and destroyed. As indicated, verse 23 deals with our obedience to the words of our Lord Jesus. So our only way of defeating the enemy within, who is like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour, is to do what Jesus says. What we need to note in verse 25 is that a lot was cast to determine the day for the destruction of the Jews. Casting lots was a method used by the Jews of the Old Testament and by the Christian disciples prior to Pentecost to determine the will of God. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” So what this means is that our times of rebellion and suffering are all part of the counsel of God, and it is this stage of our walk which hastens the death of the old man, represented by Haman. It is our own wickedness which will correct us, and if we are destined to be part of the blessed first resurrection, then surely the beast within and all his cohorts (signified by Haman and his ten sons) will be put to death.

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

In verse 26, the term “Purim” was used to describe the feasting of the Jews in the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month of Adar. According to Strong’s definition, the term “Purim” means ‘lot’ in apparent reference to Haman casting lots to determine the destruction day of the Jews. What we need to know is that once a lot is cast to make a decision, no one can argue that the decision was the result of human intervention.

This means that we bring nothing to the table regarding our election, our walk with Christ and our ultimate glorification. All is of the Lord!!! So it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. We are all vessels of serious flaws and weaknesses. If we look at ourselves, we will never make it, but when we lift our eyes off the waves of the sea (fleshly desires) we will be able to walk on the sea just as Jesus did. Remember, Peter started walking on the sea, but when he began to look at the waves of the sea, he started sinking, but Jesus came to his aid. We may fall seven times, but let’s not doubt that we can walk on the sea of our flesh just like Jesus. Let’s keep crying to the Lord to save us of this boisterous wind of the sea and He surely will stretch forth his hands to deliver us!!

Mat 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Mat 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Mat 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Est 9:27 the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year,
Est 9:28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

These two days that we as Jews are to observe represents the victory part of our walk where the enemy within is dying daily, and we become witnesses (meaning of the number 2) of Christ in our walk here on earth. In verse 28, it says these days of Purim should never fall into misuse and that the commemoration of these days will not cease. What this implies is that if we are part of God’s elect, then these days of Purim will surely be part of our walk in this life. Our victory is certain!!

Act 1:7 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.
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.

Est 9:29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim.
Est 9:30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,

We can see that Esther and Mordecai here were in a position of rulership and had much authority. This foretells of the rulership of the elect when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

As we said earlier, the letters sent to the Jews denote the word of God which is being sent out to all of God’s elect all over the world. The scriptures are primarily written for the elect (spiritual Jews) and is the gospel of peace and truth as stated in verse 30. It is called the gospel of peace because it is when our eyes are opened and we come to know God and His son Jesus that we are able to rest in Him and have peace. When Jesus approached Jerusalem, getting closer to his death, he wept and told the inhabitants of Jerusalem that if only they know what pertains to their peace but it is hidden from their eyes. Thus, getting peace is knowing Christ through the opening of our eyes to see and ears to hear His words.

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Luk 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Throughout scriptures the word of God is described as truth. This means that apart from the word of God, everything else is false including enticing words of man’s wisdom, commandments of men, traditions of men, etc. It is only when we know the truth that we can be set free. This means that the gospel we preach must be without false doctrine. The following therefore outlines the importance of knowing the truth:

Our relationship with Christ is like a marriage relationship, and this relationship is governed by truth which expresses itself in how much the spouses know each other. If you have false knowledge of a spouse, then you don’t know that spouse, and the probability that the relationship will fall on rocks is great. As the bride of Christ, we need to know the truth about our husband.
It is the truth that liberates. John 8:32 says that “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.
False doctrines lead to departure from the faith.

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (False doctrines);
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

God uses the truth or false doctrine to separate the sheep from the Goat.

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

It is the truth that has the power to change us to become obedient servants (John 15:3).

Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

It is the truth that binds us together as God wants us to have the same mind and speak the same thing. 1Co 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Est 9:31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting.
Est 9:32 The command of Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

The feast of Purim was an occasion to remember their fasts and lamentation under the law of sin and death. The Lord always wants us to know where we had come from to humble us as shown in Isaiah 51, where the Lord reminds us of the rock where we were hewn and the pit where we were digged.

Isa 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

May the Lord help us the grace to be faithful as we continue our journey of knowing Him.

Awesome Hands – Part 128: “That he be not as Korah”

Steven Crook — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 01:02:56 +0000

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Awesome Hands – part 128

"That he be not as Korah"

January 19, 2018

It has been a common thread, in my recent studies, that we are all connected. We should be viewing the world through the eyes of God as He gives us the ability to do so.

I often do not know why the Lord is doing a work in others, and my natural tendencies are to judge them based on what I believe my personal standing with God is. The truth is, on a spiritual level, I am coming up against God in my thoughts a lot of the time.

I often find myself judging a matter based on the individual that is front of me versus the knowledge that God is working a work through them. We often read how God uses people to accomplish this will, and this includes the many people throughout the bible that are not of the household of God at that point in time.

My boss, my neighbor, my friends and my enemies are all examples of people who are used in my life to work the will of God. That vast majority have no clue what is happening in their lives and they chalk it up to the many things in the world that the world offers as reasons of why things happen.

In our study today, we are going to review the story of Korah and the men of renown, and how it is they came up against the people of God.

Memorial unto the children of Israel

While this story is very interesting as a history lesson, it has a very important lesson that we can all apply to our lives today. Our verse for consideration is found in Numbers 16:40.

Num 16:40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

This story is centered around the spirit which has come into the hearts of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The following verses are from the ESV translation:

Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.
Num 16:3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"
Num 16:4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face,
Num 16:5 and he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.
Num 16:6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company;
Num 16:7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"

We aren’t told specifically why these three men stirred up the rest to rise up against Moses and Aaron, except for believing themselves to be as holy, but we do know that the Lord sends spirits to do His bidding. In this case, the spirit told Korah and the others that they were just as good as Moses.

This is the spirit I want to focus on in this study. I also caution everyone to beware of which person or which group you associate yourselves with before you consider how this story applies to you.

There are many times in our lives where we wonder to ourselves why the Lord has worked a work within someone else’s life or why we haven’t been placed in a position we think we should be in. I know this is true of me.

I have been in both Korahs and Moses positions, and I am sure you all can relate too.

The truth is, the Lord uses everyone according to His will. In this story, Korah and the group with Korah, were used to manifest to the children of Israel who was being drawn “near to the Lord”.

Aaron and his sons were all being used of the Lord for the priesthood, and Moses was being used “as a god” to Aaron as we were told earlier in bible. Yet, these all were just men in the flesh playing out various roles.

Jealousy is a very strong emotion as well as envy.

Numbers 16:7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”
Numbers 16:8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:
Numbers 16:9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,
Numbers 16:10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?

Moses poses a serious question to Korah and his gang of men when he asked them why they aren’t okay with their standing in the Lord. Moses didn’t ask them specifically this way, “why aren’t you okay with your standing,” but he asked them in a much stronger way.

Do you count it a small thing to yourself of the work the Lord is doing in your life? I am sure this is something we need to all consider from time to time.

We are all put in the body of Christ, in the kingdom of God and in the world we are in for very specific needs of the Lord.

If we consider ourselves being in these sorts of roles for specific reasons, we will indeed see just how alike we are to the Levites and to the priesthood.

Even though the Lord called and chose Aaron and his sons to be priests, they still had roles to fulfill within the job of being a priest. Likewise, the Levites all had specific things their particular group was responsible for doing.

So, do we count it a small thing the Lord is doing with and in us? If so, listen to Moses speaks to you and me when we think this way.

Numbers 16:11 Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

Indeed, who is Aaron or any other man woman that we grumble against them? Sure, people will given an account to God of how they are used in this life, but that never negates that it is the Lord holding them in His hand and using them as the tool that they have been created to be.

First we grumble, and then we outright disrespect what the Lord is doing in others lives. Once we know in our marrow that God is working in someone’s life, and we assume they are favored while ignoring how it is the Lord favors us, then we make accusations of others thinking they are better than we are.

Numbers 16:12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up.
Numbers 16:13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?
Numbers 16:14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.”
Numbers 16:15 And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

They all knew what the Lord had promised the children of Israel. They knew they were to inherent a land flowing with milk and honey. It had come by way of Moses mouth directly from the Lord. Yet, it is Moses they are murmuring against and angry with.

We don’t often see that Moses becomes angry. It is one of the moments of gravity where we can imagine that he was at the peak of his anger. After all, the holy spirit has seen fit that it be recorded for our history lesson here.

There are certainly times when we see that the Lord is working in a situation which is not pleasant to go through and it indeed angers us.

The difference with us and Moses is that we know that the Lord our God is working all things after the counsel of His own will. We know that the Lord is working it all, yet we are to still to call evil, evil and good, we are to call good.

Jesus Christ came only to do the will of His Father, yet He became angry when the temple of the Lord was turned into a den of thieves.

I see these trials and tests as just that. They are tests for our hearts and minds to show us where we stand. They show us where are thinking is or should be. So, it is appropriate to have righteous anger depending on the situation.

Moses had done nothing wrong according to verse 15, yet these men were coming to him as if he had done some terrible thing to them all.

Numbers 16:16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.
Numbers 16:17 And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”
Numbers 16:18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
Numbers 16:19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

In the past, I seemed to have just read over this little piece of information. “The glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.” This certainly has escalated. Now, everyone is going to see the communion of the Lord with Moses. This indeed can and does invoke fear in the hearts of some. I say this confidently because now there is a change of heart for some.

Numbers 16:20 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
Numbers 16:21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
Numbers 16:22 And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”

God pulls no punches. He simply sets out to honor Moses request of “do not accept their offering” by killing those who are causing all this ruckus. It isn’t Moses request that does it though. It is the fact that these men have directly challenged what the Lord has decreed is the way things are to be.

After all, how can those that were slaves, being set free by a miraculous act, take it upon themselves to now say they are in charge of what is going to happen from here on out?

Numbers 16:23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 16:24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
Numbers 16:25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
Numbers 16:26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.”
Numbers 16:27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

The Lord is not playing around when He tells us to follow Him and to do His commandments. When we ignore and then challenge the things we know have been instructed to us, we do so at our own peril.

Not only are these men going to die, but their entire households are going to be wiped out from the children of Israel. In other words, their inheritance is gone. There are many scriptures that talk about us as being “houses” or “households”.

The reason being is that the Lord wants us to know this is an all or nothing game. We cannot and will not be caused to ride the fence for very long. We must be either cold or hot for the Lord, but He will not look kindly on human games.

Revelation 3:15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

What happens next is recorded so that we can know what it is when we let our thinking cloud the commandments we know the Lord has given us.

When we chew the cud for too long, by mixing our own carnal reasoning with the commandments the Lord has given us, we are playing a very dangerous game. When we try to reason things out according to the ways of our own hearts, we will be swallowed up “by the earth”, just as these men are.

Anything that remains, will be judged and consumed in fire.

Numbers 16:28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.
Numbers 16:29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.
Numbers 16:30 But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”
Numbers 16:31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart.
Numbers 16:32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.
Numbers 16:33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Numbers 16:34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”
Numbers 16:35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

The message here is loud and clear.

Numbers 16:38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.”
Numbers 16:39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar,
Numbers 16:40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses.

No outsider can do the work the Lord has only given to certain people to do. Does that sound treacherous or inflammatory? Does it sound high and mighty or as if I think of myself more than I should?

If you think that now, then you have missed the point. When we, as the body of Christm have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, as the BRIDE OF GOD, we do not SULK at the role the Lord has given us in His body.

We do not complain about the needs the Lord has for us in our lives, in the world and in our individual environments. We are ALL being raised up as kings and priests and our individual lessons are custom made for us individually, so that we can COLLECTIVELY do the work of the Lord.

Oh, how we do not learn our lessons easily! We seem to need lessons to be beat into us instead of spoken softly.

Numbers 16:41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.”
Numbers 16:42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Numbers 16:43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
Numbers 16:44 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 16:45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.
Numbers 16:46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
Numbers 16:47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
Numbers 16:48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.
Numbers 16:49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.
Numbers 16:50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Our jobs in the body of Christ should come with thanksgiving always.

Before we end this study I want to encourage us all to fully understand what we are doing in this life we now live. When I say we have jobs in the body of Christ, I am of course speaking about the direct body of Christ internally, but I am also speaking externally.

My physical body is made up of many parts, yet I myself am seen as “Steven Crook” to the world. My physical body needs to function wholly, so that I can effectively live my life in the world as a productive citizen of my environment.

So, our role in the body of Christ is not only needed for the body of Christ, but it is needed for us to be lights in this world we live in. We are desperately needed by others just the same as we desperately need Jesus Christ, the Light of OUR WORLDS, to shine in us.

When we fully understand this bit of Truth in the core of our being, we will understand that just being a part of the body of Christ is immensely important for others.

Revelation 20:1-6

Mike Vinson — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:34:32 +0000

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Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [ I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [ is] the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy [ is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Introduction

In this study we will again have it reinforced that it is we who are to “keep the things written therein. What we will see again is that just as “the kingdom of God is within you” (Mat 4:4), so too, are all these Words of God “within us, in our mouth and in our heart”.

Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [ even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

According to the Old Testament prophecy from which Paul is quoting, every word of God which proceeds out of His mouth, is not far from us. It is not hidden way up high, in the physical heavens, or way down low in the physical sea, but it is every word, including the words ‘bottomless pit’ “within you, even in your mouth”. Here is the Old Testament passage from which Paul is teaching.

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

These verses in Deu 30, and Paul’s statement in Rom 10:8 are both saying the same thing this revelation of Jesus Christ within us tells us at both the beginning and the end of this book.

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

It is phrased “do it” in Deu 30:14, and it is phrased “Keep the things written therein” here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, within us. So these are “the things written therein” which we are to “keep” in today’s study.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Here we are told that “an angel comes down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit”. What is this angel? What and where is heaven? What is this “key to the bottomless pit”, and what is this “chain in his hand” and what is this “seal which shuts him up so that he is not able to deceive the nations “till the thousand years be fulfilled.
We have shown that the angels of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us are the messengers to the seven churches, our fellowservants and those who keep the sayings of this prophecy. We have demonstrated what and where heaven is, and in this study we will see that it is through this “messenger… from heaven”, that angel from heaven being Christ, and His Christ, that we are given the “key of knowledge”, enabling us to understand the message of scripture which concerns this thing called “the bottomless pit”.

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

But we still have to also ask, what is this thing called “a thousand years”, and why in the world does God chain Satan in this “bottomless pit… place a seal on him so that he cannot deceive the nations during that period, just to release Satan on an unsuspecting world at the end of this “thousand year reign of God’s elect?? What good did it do for the elect to rule a thousand years just to have the entire world immediately deceived again “when the thousand years are fulfilled”??? Why does God do this?
We will answer all these questions in our study of this twentieth chapter of Revelation.

Differences between Rev 9:1-2 and Rev 20

In our English King James Version, “the bottomless pit” is the exact same phrase we find in chapter nine:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ G12, abussos, deep, the sea], pit. [ G5421, phrear, well, pit]
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [ abussos, deep, the sea] pit; [ G5421, phrear – well, pit] and there arose a smoke out of the pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. [ phrear]

But the fact of the matter is there is no Greek word for ‘pit’ in our verses here in today’s study. The reason is that in today’s study we are concerned only with the fact that Satan dwells within our flesh, the abussos, and what we are discussing is simply “the key of the abussos”, or “the key of the sea”, without the word Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit, which does appear four times in Rev 9:1-3.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ G12, abussos – deep, sea] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [ G12, abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The reason the word ‘pit’ occurs in Rev 9 is that the subject there is not the sea alone, but the depth of the deception proceeding forth out of that “abussos phrear” or ‘deep sea’.

The spiritual significance of “the key…”

This Greek word for ‘key’ appears three times in this revelation of Jesus Christ within us. A key is used to open a door. It is through an open door that we are given the ability to see what is within or what is behind that door.

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [ was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

This word ‘key’ is mentioned twice in reference to this thing called “the bottomless pit, first in Rev 9:1 and again here in today’s study on Rev 20:1. But this word ‘key’ is first used in chapter two when we are told that the overcomers will be given “the key of David”.

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

It is with a key that a door is opened and not closed, and it is with a key that a door is closed so no man can open. As we are hopefully beginning to understand, “the dream is one” principle (Gen 41:25 and 32) demonstrates for us that the “key of David” of Rev 3:7, the keys to the kingdom of God of Mat 16…

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

… and the key to the bottomless pit, are one and all the same one “key” which symbolizes the “key of knowledge” which this key opens up to us. This is the very vital knowledge which will save us from being destroyed.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Having covered this subject of the bottomless pit, back in chapter nine we will simply review what we said in our study on that chapter. Contrary to what many believe, this thing called “the bottomless pit” is not first mentioned in Rev 20, but it is first brought to our attention in Rev 9:1. so let’s review that study.

Where and what is the bottomless pit?

The sixth symbol of the fifth trumpet is the bottomless pit itself. Where and what is this thing called “the bottomless pit?” All of the commentaries think this pit and its smoke is speaking of some great false spiritual leader, and indeed it is. But this great deceiver isn’t even really interested in sitting in a physical temple. What He wants is the real throne of God within the real temple of God. So that is where we will all find him in our own appointed time, sitting on Christ’s throne within each of us, and it is there that this entire revelation is taking place.
Here is Gill’s very typical take on what is this bottomless pit.

“Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit,…. With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men’s consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practices; and this, as it may be applied to Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, may regard the publishing of his Alcoran, and obliging all his followers to receive it as the infallible word of God:.”

If ever we need to remember that we are to “read, hear and keep the things written therein,” it is as we consider what the scriptures mean by “the bottomless pit.” All the comments and commentaries such as this comment by Gill, serve only to further the function of the smoke that comes from this thing called “the bottomless pit.” The last thing in the world the Adversary wants us to know is the correct location and the Biblical understanding of where this “bottomless pit” is.
We have been taught that this bottomless pit doesn’t even really exist until the beginning of the millennium, when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and restrained for one thousand years. Here are the verses which are most familiar to most Christians.

20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

But we are not yet in Rev 20. We are in Rev 9 and an angel is given the key to this bottomless pit, and is permitted to “darken the sun and the air by means of the smoke that arises out of the pit.”
If you search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, you will find it seven times in the King James Version, and all seven are found only in the book of Revelation. Here are those seven entries: The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation.
1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [ abussos phrear]
2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; [ abussos phrear] and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3) Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, [ abussos] whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [ Hebrew- Destroyer, Strong’s number 11], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
4) Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit [ abussos] shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
5) Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [ abussos], and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
6) Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ abussos] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
7) Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [ abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
What do we see here with these seven verses containing the words ‘bottomless pit’? What we see, when we go to a concordance, is that the Greek word for ‘pit’ appears only four times in only two of these seven verses. Here are the only two verses where this word appears in this “revelation of Jesus Christ,” when it is used in conjunction with the word ‘abussos’.

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ Greek, abussos] pit [ Greek, phrear].
2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [ abussos] pit [ phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of t he pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [ phrear].

So this Greek word for ‘pit’ is ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421. This word is also found a total of seven times in the New Testament. Of those seven entries, four of them are found right here in verses one and two of Rev 9. They are all emboldened above. It is also translated as as ‘pit’ in Luk 14.

Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit [ Greek, phrear], and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The remaining two entries are found in

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [phrear] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well [phrear], and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

So the only time this Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit’ or ‘well’ is used in this entire book of Revelation is in these two verses of Rev 9. There is no ‘pit’ – the Greek word ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421 – mentioned in any of the other five verses here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, where we find the English phrase “bottomless pit.” The other five times this phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears in the book of Revelation, it is translated from the single Greek word ‘abussos,’ Strong’s number 12.
But what is so interesting and revealing, is that when we go to our concordance we discover that the Greek word ‘abussos’ (Strong’s number 12, translated “bottomless pit”), appears more than seven times. This word ‘abussos’ actually appears nine times in scripture, and it is those two extra times where the meaning of “the bottomless pit” is made clear. Here is the first of those two very revealing entries.

Luk 8:31 And they [ the demons named legion] besought him [ Christ] that he would not command them to go out into the deep [ Greek- abussos, the sea].

Before we get to the last remaining verse where the word abussos is found in the New Testament, let’s take note of what this verse in Luk 8:31 show us about the world of demons. This verse reveals to us that demons, and all false spirits, much prefer to be enthroned in God’s church rather than to be sent out into the deep sea of all the uncalled masses of mankind. What newsman wants to be stuck with reporting on the lives of the common man, when he could be at the United Nations, reporting on the lives of the leaders of this world. Like all of us, demons want to be where the action is, and in the spirit world the action is where God’s people are either learning Truth, or being deceived. Demons seek rest in dry places, places on ‘the earth;’ which has been pushed up out of the sea. Where demons really prefer to be in God’s very temple and sitting on the very throne of Christ, in the hearts and minds of God’s people:

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Demons “walk through dry places” simply because they do not like ‘the deep.’ They very much prefer ‘dry places’ where they can find rest and feel at home, just as Christ ought to feel at home within each of us.
Now let’s look at the only entry for this word abussos which we have not yet considered. It is this entry which will reveal to us where the ‘bottomless pit’ is located.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [ from above]:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [ abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Now notice how this Greek word ‘abussos’ or ‘deep’ is translated when we go back to the Old Testament and read the verse from where Rom 10:7 is quoted:

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

So where is the abussos? Where and what is this thing referred to as “the bottomless pit?” The ‘abussos’, the bottomless pit, just like ‘heaven’, and just like the Word of God, is not way out beyond the milky way. Neither is it in the depth of the physical oceans and physical seas. The ‘abussos’ is within each of us, “In your mouth, and in your heart.” That is where “the bottomless pit” is located and that is where the smoke originates to “darken the sun and the air,” in this fifth trumpet warning which we are to “read, hear, and keep.
So when we read in Rev 20 that Satan is cast into the ‘abussos’ and is imprisoned with a great chain, he doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. He is simply restrained under ‘house arrest’ until the time appointed to be released from the ‘abussos’ and be commissioned to go forth and deceive the nations again. According to Deu 30, both the abussos and heaven are “very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.”

What is the function of this symbolic “thousand years”?

Why does God give the kingdoms of this kosmos over to the rulership of His elect for a symbolic thousand years and then release Satan upon that very kosmos? What good or what purpose is accomplished by this time of ruling the kingdoms of the world and then releasing Satan to deceive the nations again?
The fact is that this exercise of our heavenly Father is expedient in accomplishing His plan and purpose of saving “all in Adam”. But before we see what that plan and purpose is, we need to understand the spiritual significance of the number one thousand.
One thousand is a multiple of the number ten, which our studies of numbers in scripture revealed to be the perfection of the flesh. But as we saw, even at its very pinnacle of perfection flesh is still mere corruption which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”.

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

So if the number ten signifies the perfection of the flesh with its ten plagues (Exo 7-11), its ten commandments (Exo 20), and its ten rebellions against God (Num 14:22); what then is the spiritual significance of one thousand? One thousand is just a multiple of ten and is therefore just an amplification of the perfection of our corruptible flesh. One thousand is in fact ten to the third power. Three, of course is the process of judgment, and that is exactly what we will see is the purpose and function of this symbolic one thousand years of the rulership of the fleshly kingdoms of this world at the hands of God’s elect.
It requires the very spirit of Christ and His Father within us to keep reminding us that these very words are “within our mouths and in our hearts” and are addressed to “he that hath and ear” within the seven churches. It requires Christ Himself living within us to remind us that it is we who are told to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in this prophecy”. The natural man cannot see how “all things are ours” (1Co 3:21-22) but the spirit gives us the “key of knowledge” which reveals to those with “eyes to see” that even this symbolic thousand years is ours, even as the first resurrection is ours.
Here are those who will be in that most blessed event.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [ I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

“This is the first resurrection”. What is the first resurrection? It is those who John sees sitting upon thrones. It is those who are given to judge this world and to judge angels in a lake of fire which follows this thousand year reign of God’s elect overcomers, which we will be learning of later in this same chapter.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who first died in Christ, who were sometimes literally, and always symbolically, “beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God”. The first resurrection is those who were granted to judge themselves here and now, thereby becoming those who are the first to be judged while still in these vessels of clay. The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who were first to lose their physical lives in favor of the promise of life in a spiritual body.

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [ to the “great white throne judgment] with the world.
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?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

“Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” They will appear at a later judgment to be “chastened of the Lord” which is the very purpose of function of Biblical ‘judgment’.
“Which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” does not mean that these overcomers had somehow figured out a way to avoid keeping the things written in this book concerning the worship, image, number and mark of the beast”. We know that is not what this means because we are told we are all “marred in the Potter’s hand… shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin” and that “all men” will worship this beast, and that he will “overcome and kill the saints”.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
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.
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.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

You and I are both “made of clay”. “Both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” is all inclusive. So what does “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” mean?
Here is what that means:

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

If we are granted “the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name” then it can be said that we “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands”.
If verse four tells us that the overcomers reign with Christ and His father for “a thousand years” and verse 6 tells us the overcomers will be “reigning priests of God for a thousand years”, it is obvious that all others will come up in the great white throne judgment which is destined to follow the “little season” of world wide deception which immediately follows this symbolic millennium.
Next week, if the Lord wills, we will be see what happens when people are ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, and then given over to Satan.

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

Revelation 9:5-12

Mike Vinson — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0000

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Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, [ which is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [ is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [ his] name Apollyon.
Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Introduction

We have established that these locusts are the fruit of the smoke of the bottomless pit, because we are told that they come out of the smoke. This smoke and the locusts it produces are what is “by nature” within us.

Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

One of the “locusts,” that is one of the lies which come out of this smoke of the bottomless pit which we saw in our study of Rev 9:1-2 is within us, is the doctrine that denies what Christ had to say about what is “by nature… within… the heart of men.” This doctrine teaches that God created man in communion with Him, and concludes that communion equals perfection. That is the false doctrine of a totally unbiblical “fall of man.” That is a phrase which neither Christ nor any of His apostles nor any New Testament writer ever uses. “Falling from grace”, which is a Biblical phrase, has nothing at all to do with the false doctrine of “the fall of man.”
God created man of dust and not of spirit; nothing else is truth.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

He created mankind ignorant of his own shameful nakedness. He created mankind unclothed and without the righteousness of the saints.

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

That is just another way of saying that they were completely unaware that they were created “marred in the hand of the Potter.”

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

This particular ‘locust” uses the name of Christ and quotes many scriptures about Christ being within. But this locust does not mention that Christ has to remove what is naturally within us before He will take up His abode within this earthen vessel.
We have seen that this smoke out of the darkness that is within us darkens our heavens and our air. In other words, this smoke that produces these locusts and darkens our heavens and our air is ignorance of the Truth of God’s Word of which ignorance is the source of the many false doctrines we have entertained so long, which have blotted out the light of the Truth and has defiled God’s dwelling place, keeping our hand out of God’s hand for many years via the “darkened air”, the blinded spirit of darkness and deception which has taken up residence in God’s own home, which we are destined to become. This is how that is done.

Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
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.

The spiritually blind always think they see, and the spiritually dumb bring many false doctrines and are totally incapable of speaking one word of Truth.

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

If we accept and acknowledge our own blindness and we acknowledge that it is only Christ’s Words which “are spirit and Truth”, then, and only then, will we be given eyes to see that it is only in those words of Christ that we can hope to learn what is the meaning of the symbols of these verses which describe these locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit, which is within each of us.

The description of these lying locusts

Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [ was] to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

The symbols which describe these locusts are very revealing for those who know what the scriptures reveal concerning the meaning of these symbols. There are six symbols which the holy spirit has used to describe these locusts which come out of the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.
1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle.
2) They appear to have crown of gold on their heads.
3) Their faces are “as the faces of men”.
4) They had hair as the hair of women.
5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron.
6) The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. The last symbol of this fifth trumpet is:
7) the king that is over these locusts. His name is Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek.
We covered the symbols of verse 10 when we were on verses 3-5, so we need not repeat that study here. Here are those verses, side by side.

Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

These three verses concern the power that God himself uses to break us to pieces, and bring us to our wits end, and to humble us and bring us to repentance, and to Himself. These three verses are summarized by verse ten.

Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

Then in verse 11, we have our final 7th symbol in these verses. It is the symbol of the king of these locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit. His name is given in both the Hebrew and in the Greek, and he is called “the angel of the bottomless pit.”
So let’s look at how the scriptures interpret these symbols which describe the locusts which come out of the smoke which proceeds from the bottomless pit within us. The first symbol is…

1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle.

Those who are not given to discern the things of the spirit will, once again attempt to discredit scripture and say ‘You cannot look like both a grasshopper and a horse.’ But God’s Word is not limited by our lack of understanding. As we have already pointed out, this is a book of symbols which were never intended to be understood by what they say, but they are to be understood by what the scriptures reveal they mean. So each word symbolizes a point that is being made. The locusts symbolize the complete and systematic destruction of Egypt and all that Egypt has produced within us. So we do not care that a grasshopper does not look like a horse. All we want to know now is what do horses symbolize in scripture? Here are some verses which answer that question:

Job 39:19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
Job 39:20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
Job 39:21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
Job 39:22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
Job 39:23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
Job 39:24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
Job 39:25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

The horse is the symbol of fierceness and strength, and does not fear or even hear the sound of the trumpet as he goes to do battle with armed men. Christ comes on the strength of a white horse, but these are not said to be white horses. We are told that they come out of the smoke that darkens our sun and our air. These horses are doing battle against anything that would allow the light of the gospel to come to us. Here is what God thinks of these “horses.”

Psa 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Psa 147:10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Psa 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Do not ever underestimate the strength of the flesh or of the Adversary. He has been granted “great strength” so that no man “can make war with the beast.”

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him t o make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

But as King David tells us in Psalms, if Christ is living in us, “a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength”, and the Truth of this matter is:

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

So Christ’s strength is much greater than the strength of these horse like locusts, or the strength of the beast or the strength of the Adversary.

2) They appear to have crowns of gold on their heads.

Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And this is where these locusts as horses get these crowns like gold.

Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

Babylon is full of “gold, silver and precious stones”, and only those who know how to try the spirits can tell the gold of Babylon from the gold that is upon the breasts of God’s elect. It is God’s own gold with which these horse like locusts are crowned. But they are crowns of pride that will be stripped in due time.

Isa 28:1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

The lies of these lying locusts as horses are one and all perversions of God’s Truths which have been perverted into the “images” or doctrines “of men”, and you and I have worshiped those “idols of our hearts.”

Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

3) Their faces are “as the faces of men,”

What do the scriptures mean by the word “men”? These verses should tell us why these destructive, strong locusts, wearing golden crowns of God’s own gold covering the idols of our hearts, are said to have “faces of men.”

Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

These are “men” who are in councils or the Sanhedrin and who are in synagogues. These are religious “men” of whom we must “beware”.

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?
Tit 1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

These are “carnal… men who will “scourge you in their synagogues.” That is the significance of “their faces [ were] as the faces of men.”

Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, y e received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

It is “the word of men” that we need not have “any man to teach us.” It certainly is not the word of God which “God has set… teachers… in the church,” for that very purpose of teaching His body of His Words.

Act 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And Philip ran thither to [ him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. .
1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

4) They had hair as the hair of women,

What is the spiritual significance of “the hair of women”? What is the Biblical difference between the hair of women and the hair of men? Is it color? Is it texture? No, there is no Biblical comment which distinguishes the color of a man’s hair or the texture of a man’s hair from “the hair of women”. The only Biblical difference between the hair of men and the hair of women is given to us in 1Co 11.

1Co 11:13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
1Co 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
1Co 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

It is not the purpose of this study to cover the subject of the spiritual significance of the length of a woman’s hair, but these verses should establish the fact that these horses like locusts had long hair that is like “the hair of women.” What we are concerned with is why the holy spirit wants us to connect these locusts with women. What do women portray in scripture? Here is the answer to that question. It is right here is this same 11th chapter of 1Co.

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.

Paul informs us that our wives typify our own relationship to Christ. “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man.” He comes right out and tells us this is so in Eph 5.

Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

The Greek for ‘women’ and ‘wife’ or ‘wives’ is the same one word. It is gune. Here is how Strong’s defines this word.

G1135
γυνη
gune
goo- nay’
Probably from the base of G1096; a woman; specifically a wife: – wife, woman.

The relationship between a man and woman, according to Eph 5, is a type of the relationship between Christ and His church, and the reason these locusts have “the hair of women” is to tell us that these locusts appear as a wife that is subject to her husband, Christ, and to his word, while in reality they are the words and doctrines of a harlot who is not subject to her husband’s words, even though they have “the hair of women.”

Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron

We know what iron signifies in scripture:

Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Iron is harder and stronger than any other Biblical metal. “Iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things.” So why do these locusts have “breastplates of iron”? The answer is that a breastplate covers the heart, and there is no way to get to the heart of these locusts because of the deep darkness and the pride and deception that is in our hearts at this stage of our walk.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Daniel’s image, which typifies our experience, begins with a head of gold, followed by arms of silver, followed by a belly and thigh of brass, followed by legs of iron, and finally it is standing on feet which are made of part iron and part clay. It is concerning the legs of iron that we read in Dan 2:40, that “iron breaks and subdues all things”. The reason these breastplates are of iron is to let us know that it will take the supernatural intervention of God and His Son coming into our lives to destroy these breastplates of iron and to destroy our hardened and darkened hearts, which are protected by these “breastplates of iron.

6) the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Our final symbol that describes these horse- like locusts as “the sound of their wings was a the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” All locusts have wings, and the wings of these locusts sound like chariots of many horses going to battle.”
What we need to learn in this symbol is just a little more about the sovereignty of God over both the good and the evil. In scripture evil men are called the Lord’s sword.

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

We need to acknowledge that the words ‘which is’ are not in the Hebrew and could just as easily have read ‘with’ instead of ‘which is.’ Nevertheless we are still told this in Pro 16.

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

So the Lord is definitely the Lord of both the good and the evil that is within us, and it is He who creates us as wicked first, for our day of evil, within. He also who sends the angel that opens the bottomless pit and darkens our Sun and air by these locusts which hurt us for five months and crush us and bring us to want to die with Him on His cross. Here is Rev 9 in Joe 1. It is the same event, and this is the “day of the Lord” which Peter said he had experienced just before the day of Pentecost.

Joe 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joe 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Joe 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Joe 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
Joe 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth [ are] the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
Joe 1:7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast [ it] away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joe 1:8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Joe 1:9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn.
Joe 1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Joe 1:11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Joe 1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Joe 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Joe 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders [ and] all the inhabitants of the land [ into] the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD [ is] at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joe 1:16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, [ yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joe 1:17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
Joe 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joe 1:19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Joe 1:20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Is this not what the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven plagues are when we “keep the things written therein?” (Rev 1:3) Is this not the very same “Lord’s day” which includes the events of the revelation of Jesus Christ? Is this not all the destruction of our old life, which we must all experience to bring us our new life? Speaking of this very battle, Joel continues:

Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joe 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Christ mentions this very same battle in which these locusts as horses are involved:

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

None are able to stand against his wrath in this battle. The lies of all these locusts, their strength as horses, and their iron breastplates will all fall victim to Christ, and the armies that are with him. He has created this army of locusts for our destruction. When they have accomplished their evil deeds and have destroyed within us all that the lies of Egypt and Babylon have produced within us, then He will destroy the destroyer.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Our last symbol is:

9) The angel of the bottomless pit

Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

The Hebrew word ‘ababbon,’ becomes the name of the angel of the bottomless pit. This word appears 5 times in the Old Testament.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction [ abaddon] hath no covering.
Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where [ is] the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
Job 28:22 Destruction [ abaddon] and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
Job 31:12 For it [ is] a fire [ that] consumeth to destruction [ abaddon], and would root out all mine increase.
Psa 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [ or] thy faithfulness in destruction [ abaddon]?
Pro 15:11 Hell and destruction [ abaddon] are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Will God’s loving kindness be declared in the grave? The answer is, yes, it will. Will His faithfulness be declared in destruction? Again the answer is, yes, it will.

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

It is only through the destruction of our old man that our new man can be born.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy [ Greek, apollumi] both soul and body in hell.
Mat 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy [ Greek, apollumi] him.

It is a grave mistake to think that the king of the bottomless pit is Adam himself. If that were so, then where is ‘Adam’ in these verses?

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Joh 13:27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

There is no one here who is denying that “that old serpent the devil and Satan” dwells within us, just as Christ dwells within us. What we are denying is that Eve was speaking to Adam when she was seduced by the serpent. Adam was already in King Saul before “the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” Christ was not being tempted of Adam when He was in the wilderness 40 days. Adam did not enter into Judas “after the sop.” Adam was there all along. And finally, Adam will be on earth being ruled with a rod of iron all through the millennium, while Satan is bound in the bottomless pit within us all.
So Abaddon, also known as Apollyon, is the king of the lies which are symbolized by the locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit, simply because God created him to be his lying Adversary, “from the beginning.”

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

Summary

We have covered seven symbols in this study. There are six symbols which the holy spirit has used to describe these locusts which come out of the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.
1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle, tells us that we are fighting an enemy with great strength.
2) They appear to have crown of gold on their heads, tells us that they will at first be mistaken for overcomers, and those who are the servants of, and the angels of God.
3) Their faces are “as the faces of men,” tells us that these lies are nothing more or less than idols of our own hearts, which we have carved out of the truths that are the Word of God.
4) They had hair as the hair of women, tells us that these doctrines are one and all the doctrines of that great harlot woman, and they certainly do darken our sun and air.
5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron, tells us that it is impossible for any man to reach our hearts and destroy these lies and deceits, and that it will take Christ, Himself to do so.
6) “The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle,” tells us that these deceits are many and strong and they are ready and willing to do battle with our Lord and His Word.
The last symbol of this fifth trumpet is:
7) The king that is over these locusts is named Abaddon, in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. This tells us that this is a life and death battle in all seven of these seven trumpets, and God had created the waster to destroy, and he is good at what he was created to do. That is to destroy all that we think we are, so that we can be “made again as seems good to the Potter to make us.” (Jer 18:4)
Next week, Lord willing, we will begin our study of the sixth trumpet, which is also called “the second woe.”

Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Revelation 9:1-2

Mike Vinson — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:00:01 +0000

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Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Introduction

Before we begin to study the words of this fifth trumpet, let’s recall what is said of these last three trumpets in the last verse of the preceding chapter.

Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

As the life of any man of God, whether in the Old or the New Testament demonstrates, the trials we endure toward the end of our walk, in the lion’s den, in the fiery furnace or in the Garden of Gethsemane, could never have been endured without first having our hearts prepared for those trials, by enduring easier trials earlier in our walk. So it is with each of these last three woes. Each of the first six seals and each of the first four trumpets were preparation for these last three “woes” culminating in the seven last plagues upon all who are to become the temple of God’s holy spirit.

1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Job 11:12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born [ like] a wild ass’s colt.
Job 11:13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
Jer 12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

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

“Pull out” who? Who is “pulled out” like sheep for the slaughter? Who is the temple, and who enters that temple? It is those who are “keeping the things written therein.” It is all who are now being judged by these seven trumpets. Being ‘pulled out like sheep for the slaughter’ is the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon mankind.

Psa 44:22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Act 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He [ Christ] was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

“As He is so are we”, and just as Christ’s flesh was first judged for us, so must we “first be judged” for the sake of the church which is His body.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what [ is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

With this reminder of the proper approach to this prophecy, let’s number the symbols of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet. 1) The first symbol is the angel that sounds the trumpet. 2) the second symbol is a star that falls from heaven to the earth. 3) The third is the heaven from which the star falls. 4) The fourth is the earth to which which the star from heaven falls. 5) The fifth is the key to the bottomless pit. 6) The sixth is the bottomless pit itself. 7) the seventh is the smoke of a great furnace. 8) The eighth is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit, 9) and finally, the ninth is the air that is also darkened by the smoke of the pit.

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Since we have already given the Biblical revelation of what the first four symbols are and since we have already given the Biblical, spiritual meaning of what the eighth symbol of the darkened sun is, we will simply list and briefly review what these symbols and their meanings are before getting into what the scriptures reveal about the remaining four symbols.

1) What is the angel?

1) The angel that sounds the trumpet, we have demonstrated is the symbol of the priests who alone are commissioned to blow the seven trumpets

Jos 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Go back to our earlier study on Rev 8:1-6 – Part 2- What Is Fire of The Altar Cast Into The Earth? to see all the scriptures which reveal who these seven angels symbolize. They tell us that they are “our fellowservants who keep the sayings of this book and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 19:10 and 22:8-9)

2) What is the star?

2) This star that “falls from heaven to the earth,” is a messenger from the God who “dwells in the heavens.”

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall [ Greek, pipto] from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

The use of the pronoun ‘he’ demonstrates that this ‘star’ is indeed a messenger from God, who is sent with a key to open up this thing called “the bottomless pit.” When the angel uses the key to open the pit, the sun and the air are darkened by the smoke from the pit.
This “key to the bottomless pit” appears again in the hand of an angel who is not “cast down” (Greek, pipto) from heaven, but rather “comes down (Greek, katabaino) from heaven” and binds Satan for a thousand years and casts him into the bottomless pit.” But look at what this angel with this key is doing the next time we see him:

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down [ Greek, katabaino] from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

We are told that this star here in Rev 9 “fell from heaven”, a phrase used elsewhere only of Satan and his angels.

Isa 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall [ Greek, pipto] from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall [ Greek, pipto] from heaven.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

But in Rev 20:1 We are told “I saw an angel come down [ katabain] from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit.” Christ is certainly the preeminent ‘Star’ and as such it is He who sends both good and evil stars, or angels, both to “testify of these things” and to open the bottomless pit and let the smoke of that pit darken the light of the sun and darken the air.”

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

It is by the agency of this “star,” this angel, that the pit is opened” and the sun and air are darkened by the smoke from the pit.” God sends evil spirits to darken the sun and the air.

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

This “star” in this chapter is “cast [ Greek, pipto] unto the earth.” and has the key to open the bottomless pit and releases evil and lying spirits out of the smoke of the pit which can darken the sun and the air.

3) Where and what is heaven?

3) The heaven from which the star falls and “the heavens” through which this angel is “flying”, we have established beyond question, are the hearts and minds of God’s elect.

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [ the blood of animals – verse 22]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Exactly where is Christ? We just quoted the verse that tells us where Christ now is.

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Upon what throne is Christ seated? Where is the kingdom over which Christ is ruling? Into which “holy place” has He entered? Exactly where is the dwelling place of “the presence of God?” Wherever all this is taking place; wherever all of these things are to be found, that is where Christ will be found “Making known to us the things that must shortly be done, [ and] keeping the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Here is exactly where the kingdom of God is located.

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

So where is the temple where God dwells in His heavenly kingdom at this very moment?

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

4) What Is the earth?

4) The fourth is the earth to which the star from heaven falls. Since we have seen in our previous studies that scripturally speaking, the “earth” is our physical bodies in which the spirit of God dwells in the heavens of our hearts and minds, we will gain much from the things which are written in the words of this prophecy, only if we keep all of these Biblical truths in mind, as we continue this study into the seven trumpets of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

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

We must not fail to remember that both the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as the tree of life, (Christ), both come out of the ground, the earth.

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

8) What is the darkened sun?

8) The eighth symbol is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit. We we have already covered this symbol in our study of a darkened sun in the previous trumpet where we saw that darkness is a word associated with lack of knowledge, and faith in the lies and false doctrines of Babylon. A darkened Sun is a deceived condition, with faith in the doctrines of “another Jesus… another spirit… and another gospel.” That darkness is the doctrines of the messengers of Satan who appear as messengers of light.

Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

That is the “darkness of the sun,” with which we will be dealing throughout this revelation of Jesus Christ. It is all a necessary part of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

What is the key to the bottomless pit?

5) The fifth symbol of this fifth trumpet is the key to the bottomless pit. What is this key? The answer is that this key unlocks those things which cause us to be blinded by the lies of the Adversary and His messengers.

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

It is needful at this point to remind ourselves that his prophecy is “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” which we are commanded to “read, hear and keep, for the time is at hand.” It is also needful at this point to remember, and to once again recognize “the preeminence of Christ in all things.”

Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

“All things” includes Christ’s preeminence among the stars. Christ is the preeminent “Morning Star,” or angel of God, as we pointed out above when discussing the meaning of a star.

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

So while Christ certainly does not Himself “darken the Sun and the air with the smoke of the pit,” He nevertheless tells us that it is “He who has the keys of death and hell.”

Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

But just as Christ gave the key to the kingdom of God to Peter, likewise he gives the key to the “bottomless pit” to this “star”, and this angel opens the bottomless pit with this key.

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee [ Peter, and you, and me] the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

If the kingdom of heaven is within you (Luk 17:20-21) then we are all given those “keys to the kingdom of heaven.”
What does that have to do with the key to the pit? That key is given to an angel who is within each of us, just as the kingdom of heaven is within us. That which empowers us to deceive and be deceived and to confuse and lie to those who would enter the kingdom of God, is the key to the bottomless pit. Here is how this angel uses this key to the bottomless pit.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Having the key to the bottomless pit and opening that pit and darkening the sun and air, by reason of the smoke of that pit is “taking away the key of knowledge.” We have all been guilty of opening the bottomless pit, and darkening the sun and air, by reason of the smoke from that pit. We have all been guilty of “deceiving and being deceived.”

Where and what is the bottomless pit?

6) The sixth symbol of this fifth trumpet is the bottomless pit itself. Where and what is this thing called “the bottomless pit?” All of the commentaries think this pit and its smoke is speaking of some great false spiritual leader, and indeed it is. But this great deceiver is sitting on Christ’s throne within each of us, and it is there that this entire revelation is taking place. Here is Gill’s very typical take on what this bottomless pit is.

“Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit,… With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men’s consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practices; and this, as it may be applied to Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, may regard the publishing of his Alcoran, and obliging all his followers to receive it as the infallible word of God:.”

If ever we need to remember that we are to “read, hear and keep the things written therein,” it is as we consider what the scriptures mean by “the bottomless pit.” All the comments and commentaries such as this comment by Gill serve only to further the function of the smoke that comes from this thing called “the bottomless pit.” The last thing in the world the Adversary wants us to know is the correct location and the Biblical understanding of where this “bottomless pit” is.
Many of us have been taught that this bottomless pit doesn’t even really exist until the beginning of the millennium, when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and restrained for one thousand years. Here are the verses which are most familiar to most Christians.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

But we are not yet in Rev 20. We are in Rev 9, and an angel is given the key to this bottomless pit and is permitted to “darken the sun and the air by means of the smoke that arises out of the pit.”
If you search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, you will find it seven times in the King James Version, and all seven are found only in the book of Revelation. Here are those seven entries: The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation.
1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3) Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [ Hebrew- Destroyer- Strong’s number 11], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
4) Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
5) Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
6) Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
7) Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
What do we see here with these seven verses containing the words ‘bottomless pit?’ What we see when we go to our concordance, is that the Greek word for ‘pit’ appears only two times in these seven verses. Here are the only two times this word appears in this entire “revelation of Jesus Christ”, and it is used in conjunction with the word ‘abussos’ both times.

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ Greek, abussos] pit [ Greek, phrear.
bottomless [ abussos] pit [ phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [ phrear].

The Greek word for ‘pit’ is ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421. This Greek word is also found a total of seven times in the New Testament. Of those seven entries, four of them are found right here in verses one and two of Rev 9. They are all emboldened above. It is also translated as ‘pit’ in Luk 14.

Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit [ Greek, phrear], and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The remaining two entries are found in…

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [phrear] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well [phrear], and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

So the only time this Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit’ or ‘well’ is used in this entire book of Revelation, is in these two verses of Rev 9, which we are now considering. There is no ‘pit’; the Greek word ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421, mentioned in any of the other five verses here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, where we find the English phrase “bottomless pit.” The other five times this phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears in the book of Revelation, it is translated from the single Greek word ‘abussos,’ Strong’s number 12.
But what is so interesting and revealing is that when we go to our concordance, we discover that the Greek word ‘abussos’ (Strong’s number 12, translated “bottomless pit”) appears more than seven times. This word ‘abussos’ actually appears nine times in scripture, and it is those two extra times where the meaning of “the bottomless pit” is made clear. Here is the first of those two very revealing entries.

Luk 8:31 And they [ the demons named legion] besought him [ Christ] that he would not command them to go out into the deep [ Greek- abussos, the sea].

Before we get to the last remaining verse where the word abussos is found in the New Testament, let’s take note of what this verse in Luk 8:31 shows us about the world of demons. This verse reveals to us that demons and all false spirits much prefer to be enthroned in God’s church rather than to be sent out into the deep sea of all the uncalled masses of mankind. What newsman wants to be stuck with reporting on the lives of Chinese peasants, when he could be at the United Nations reporting on the lives of the leaders of this world. Like all of us, demons want to be where the action is, the action is where God’s people are being deceived. Demons seek rest in dry places, places on ‘the earth’ which have been pushed up out of the sea. Demons really prefer to be in God’s very temple and sitting on the very throne of Christ:

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth [ it] empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last [ state] of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Demons “walk through dry places” simply because they do not like ‘the deep’. They very much prefer ‘dry places’ where they can find rest and feel at home, just as Christ ought to feel at home within each of us.
Now let’s look at the only entry for this word abussos which we have not yet considered. It is this entry which will reveal to us where the ‘bottomless pit’ is located.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [ from above]:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [ abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Now notice how this Greek word ‘abussos’ or ‘deep’ is translated when we go back to the Old Testament and read the verse from where Rom 10:7 is quoted:

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

So where is the abussos? Where and what is this thing referred to as “the bottomless pit?” The ‘abussos’, the bottomless pit, just like ‘heaven’, is not way out beyond the milky way. Neither is it in the depth of the physical oceans and physical seas. The ‘abussos’, just like heaven, is within each of us, “In your mouth, and in your heart.” That is where “the bottomless pit” is located and that is from whence comes the smoke to “darken the sun and the air” in this fifth trumpet warning which we are to “read, hear and keep.
So that when we read in Rev 20 that Satan is cast into the ‘abussos’ and is imprisoned with a great chain, he doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. He is simply restrained and is under ‘house arrest’ until the time appointed to be released from the ‘abussos’ and be commissioned to go forth and deceive the nations again. According to Deu 30, both the abussos and heaven are “very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.”

What is this great furnace?

Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

“When the sun went down and it was dark” is the “darkening of the sun and the air.” It is then that we enter into that “great furnace” and “a horror of great darkness, falls upon” us all. That is when that great furnace generates the smoke which darkens the sun and the air and keeps us in bondage to “that nation whom we shall serve”. But at the predestined, appointed and due time, “when the iniquity of the Ammorites” is filled up within us, “at the time appointed of the Father”, we will no longer be in bondage to the elements of this world, and we will come out of Egypt and do so “with great substance”.
It is no coincidence that “a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, are the symbols of both the third and fifth trumpets of the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev 8:

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Here is the “iron furnace” through which we all must pass before we can become the children of light and the sons of God.

Deu 4:20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

Iron is the symbol of the legs and feet of the great image of Nebuchadnezzar, which image was destroyed by the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands. The mystery of the bottomless pit, is no mystery at all when we know what the furnace is, out of which the smoke that darkens the sun and the air, comes. Great heat and a fiery combustion in a “furnace of iron” must precede any process of purification. The whole orthodox Christian world recognizes that Egypt symbolizes the world within us, and it is only through that “furnace of iron” that we are delivered from that world within.
Here is what a furnace accomplishes in our lives.

Pro 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

Now notice where God’s fiery words are said to be purified.

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

We are that “furnace of earth” and every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God will be purified within us even as it purifies us. Here is this same message in the parable of the sower and the tares.

Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [ one];
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

We are the furnace of iron through which Egypt is destroyed. We are the furnace for the gold through which God tries our hearts. We are the furnace in which those tares are burned up. An the “smoke of a great furnace” that darkens the sun and the air” are also within us.

What is the air?

9) Finally, the ninth and last symbol of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet is the air that is also darkened by the smoke of the pit. What scripturally is the air? I wondered for many years what this verse meant:

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.

Meeting the Lord in the air sounded fine. But shouldn’t we go somewhere and do something after that? “So shall we ever be with the Lord,” just sounded a bit anticlimactic.
There are two words translated as ‘air’ in the New Testament. Our word here in Rev 9 is the Greek word ‘aer’, Strong’s number G109. The other, far more common word is ‘ouranos’, G3772, heavens].
Here is how that word ‘ouranos’ is used by our Lord.

Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
Luk 13:19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air [ ouranos, heavens] lodged in the branches of it.

To understand the true Biblical meaning of “the air” and the air being darkened by the smoke from the bottomless pit, we must as always, place line upon line and precept upon precept.
With that principle in mind let’s look at Eph 2:2, and notice that the Greek word ‘aer’ is translated into our English word ‘air’ in this verse.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air[ Greek, aer, air], the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

So “the prince of the power of the ‘aer,’ is “the spirit that works in the children of disobedience.” If we now carry the concept that the children of disobedience, are subject to the prince of the power of the air, over into the parable of the sower, we will find that it is “the wicked one” who “catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.”
So now we know that whether the Greek word behind the English word ‘air’ is the word ‘aer’ or the word ‘oruanos’, it does not matter, because “the wicked one” is, at this time, in both the ‘aer’ and the ‘ouranos.’ We know that to be true because of this verse and many others which confirm this to be so.

Eph 6:12 for it is not ours to wrestle with blood and flesh, but with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world- mights of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials [ Greek, epouranios, the heavens].

The single most common phrase in scripture, containing the word ‘air’ in both the Old and the New Testaments, is the phrase “the fowls of the air.”
Here is the first appearance of this phrase “fowls of the air” from both the Old and the New Testaments respectively.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

While the dove is a “fowl of the air” which brings the olive leaf back to the ark and descends from heaven and rests upon Christ, nevertheless, what is it that Christ Himself tells us “the fowls of the air” generally represent? If we can discover the meaning of the fowls of the air, then even though there are two Greek words for ‘air’, we should be able to understand what “the air” that is darkened by the smoke of the bottomless pit, means, because Eph 2:2, among many other verses, has tied both of those Greek words together.
Here now is what Christ tells us is the meaning of “the fowls of the air.” It is found in His interpretation of the symbols which He used in the parable of the sower. Notice what Christ says happens to the “seed that falls by the way side.” Here is the part of that parable which mentions the fowls of the air.

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, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Who does Christ say the fowl of the air symbolize?

Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

By Christ’s own words “the wicked one” is symbolized by the fowls of the air. But what is the air itself? To whom has the “air” of this present world been given? Here are those who have been given the power of the air at this time.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

The last vial of the seven last plagues, is not poured out into our earth, but into the air.

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [ and] so great.

It is in the air, that the most permanent changes are affected. It is in the air that we are ever with our Lord, because, as we have seen, “the four winds of the heavens” are nothing less than the air in motion, so that the air and the wind are both the symbols of the spirit world. That world, at this stage of our walk, is darkened by the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.

Summary

We have seen that the symbols of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet are:

1) The angel that sounds the trumpet. We have seen the scriptures which demonstrate that these seven angels which “stand before God of heaven” are defined by scripture as seven priests which blow the seven trumpets in Jos 6 and are the same seven angels that are in Christ’s right hand and are the same seven angels who are our brothers who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
2) The second symbol is a star that falls from heaven to the earth and is given the key to the bottomless pit. Once again, we saw that this star is a spirit from heaven which darkens our understanding of spiritual matters and darkens our sun and air.
3) The third symbol is the heaven from which the star falls, and we have shown in depth that the heavens are the hearts and minds of the people of God, where every word of all the sayings of this prophecy must be read, heard and kept.
4) The fourth symbol is the earth to which which the star from heaven falls, and we have demonstrated that wherever we see the word ‘earth’, we are talking about the people of God who are called but not necessarily chosen.
5) The fifth symbol is the key to the bottomless pit, and we saw that this key is the means by which the smoke that darkens the sun and the air is released out into our heavens. This ‘key’ is given us to keep us from receiving the “key of knowledge” before we are able to receive that life saving knowledge.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

When the “key of knowledge” is taken from us, that is giving us the key to the bottomless pit which will serve to darken our sun and our air.
6) The sixth is the bottomless pit itself., and we saw that the bottomless pit is simply the sea of our flesh, and the flesh of mankind as the first deceived and rebellious Adam who cannot hear the words of Truth. We saw that the imprisoning of Satan in that bottomless pit is nothing more that restraining him within us during the thousand years, with a rod of iron. We all have our own “rod of iron experience” as we rebel against the things of the spirit as “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4).
7) The seventh symbol is the smoke of a great furnace, which we saw was the fiery trials that are now coming upon the house of God, as we are being brought out of Egypt, which is called “the furnace of fire” within us. We saw that this furnace of fire is a necessary part of our walk if we are counted worthy of being judged now instead of being judged at a later date.
8) The eighth symbol is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit. The darkened sun is that time of our lives where we prefer lies over truth and the word that has been planted has been snatched away by the wicked one.
9) Finally, the ninth symbol is the air which is also darkened by the smoke of the pit, and we saw that the air typifies the struggles we must endure in the realm of the spirit. We saw that it is mentioned last simply because it is that spiritual struggle “against the powers and principalities of the heavens” which follows our struggles upon the earth. Each struggle is a matter of life and death, but we saw that our Father prepares our hearts for every trial into which He leads us.
Next week, Lord willing, we will examine more of the symbols connected with this first woe which we are commanded to read, hear and keep.

Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Mankind Is In Prison?

Mike Vinson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:00:01 +0000

Hey, Mike,

Do you believe the angels in 2Pe 2:4 are humans that sinned? Some teach that it refers to angels because the Scriptures never teach of mankind being in tartarus.

Thanks,
J____

Hi J____,

Yes, 2Pe 2:4 is speaking of humans that sinned, and the scriptures certainly do teach of mankind being in prison, which is all that the Greek word tartarus means. Speaking specifically of “the kings of the earth (verse 21), Isaiah tells us:

Isa 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

That is exactly who Christ came to save:

Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [ and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

‘Prison’ and ‘the pit’ are both types of death, and “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

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

I have already written on this subject so I hope you will not mind reading these links:

http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Fallen_ Angels_ Spirits_ in_ Prison_ Manchild. php
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/2005031201. php
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Will_ Satan_ And_ His_ Angels_ Be_ Saved. php
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Fate_ of_ dead. php
Your brother in Christ,
Mike