[Study Aired October 4, 2020]

Isa 65:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
Isa 65:14  Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
Isa 65:15  And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
Isa 65:16  That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Isa 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isa 65:19  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isa 65:20  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

Our study today begins with the word, ‘Therefore’. For that reason, we will begin by simply reading the last four verses of last week’s study so we can understand the grounds for what is being revealed to us.

Here are those four verses:

Isa 65:8  Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
Isa 65:9  And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
Isa 65:10  And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isa 65:12  Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. [Chose to “believe a lie” – 2Th 2:2:11]

Regardless of the subject and regardless of the numbers of persons involved in any story in the bible, whether it is Joseph and his brothers, or King David and King Saul, or Israel and Syria, or Israel and Assyria and Babylon, it is not over simplifying the message of the scriptures at all to say that all scripture concerns nothing more than two men. Those two men are “our old man” and our “new man”, and those two men are always at war with each other. Here is how scripture frames these two warring parties:

Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her [Rebecca, Isaac’s wife]; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Those “two nations” are indeed “two nations”. They are not ‘one nation’ although they do come out of one womb, and that ‘one womb’ is “the first man Adam”. The first Adam in “every man” was “made to be taken and destroyed” because he has a “natural… carnal mind” which must be destroyed if the new man is to be birthed. This is how Christ speaks of these two men:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die [our carnal minded old man], it abideth alone : but if it die [if it is destroyed], it bringeth forth much fruit [If our rebellious, carnal-minded old man dies then it is through that dying process that our new man is born].
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life [the life of a carnal mind] shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Only one of these two men can “inherit the kingdom of God”. Therefore, the first man, our natural man, our “old man” must begin to be “put off” and be destroyed and begin to die before “the new man” can begin to be born. The ‘birth’ of our “new man” is a process which continues within us until we draw our last physical breath. Only then will we “bear the heavenly” body in the fullness of our “new man”:

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body [A “spiritual body” can pass through a locked door and appear as a natural body. A “natural body” cannot do that, Luk 24:39].
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
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 [our old man]: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly [our new man].
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption [There is no such thing as “a spiritual physical body” as so many teach].

“The old man [and] the new man; the first man [and] the second man”; these are the two men with whom all scripture is concerned.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

‘Putting off the old man and putting on the new man’ are both in the aorist tense and are taking place daily within our new man. ‘Corrupt according to deceitful lusts’ and being ‘renewed in the spirit of your mind’ are both in the present tense as the dying process of our old man is being worked out.

That is the meaning of:

Isa 65:8  Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

“Destroy it not for a blessing is in it” refers only to our ‘new man’. However, there can be no ‘new man’ until the old man dies:

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

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
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.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Our ‘old man’ is also called “the son of the bondwoman”, and this is what we know of his fate:

Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

We were “in time past… children of the prince of the power of the air… children of disobedience” but no more (Eph 2:2-3).

God has caused mankind to be associated with the number ‘six’ by creating mankind on “the sixth day” right there along with all the other beasts of the earth:

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The spiritual significance of the number six is ‘that which is not completed’, especially as it refers to what is within mankind:

The Number Six

The spiritual significance of the number three is the process of judgment:

Numbers in Scripture – Three, the Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment

Number Three in Scripture

It is not a coincidence that mankind was created on the sixth day along with all the other beasts. It is not a coincidence because His creation of mankind in His image, with “dominion over… every living thing that moveth upon the earth”, is not yet complete. Mankind himself is a beast, and it is we ourselves over whom we, of ourselves, have no dominion:

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20  All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Those words speak of our old man. He has “no preeminence above a beast” because he himself is a  beast who, like every other beast is “of the dust, and [sh]all turn to dust again”, and if there is not a resurrection from the dead of “all in Adam”:

1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Notice that it says “they… which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished”. It does not say, ‘they which are up in heaven with Christ.’ Neither are we ever told that those who “are fallen asleep” not knowing Christ are yet alive suffering excruciating pain in literal flames of fire. Quite to the contrary, this is what we are told of all who are “fallen asleep”:

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

I used to hate the Jehovah’s witnesses who first showed me that verse of scripture. I hated them, and I hated that verse of scripture simply because it did not fit in with the doctrine of the church I was in at that time.

In Genesis we are told that man is to have dominion over the fish, the fowl, and over all living things on the earth.

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

In Ecclesiastes 3 we are told that man has no preeminence over a beast. This apparent contradiction evaporates when we discover that the words “Let us make man in our image” are better translated as:

Gen 1:26 And saying is the Elohim, “Make will We humanity in Our image, and according to Our likeness, and sway shall they over the fish of the sea, and over the flyer of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all land life, and over every moving animal moving on the land.
Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them. (CLV)

Every verb in those two verses is in the Hebrew Qal stem which is the equivalent of the Greek aorist tense. What that means is that God did not “make man in His image”. The fact is that He shaped man in dust and iniquity and conceived Adam in sin as we clearly informed:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

However, did we not just read:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

This next verse to Gen 1:31 is needed to get “the sum of [His] word” concerning what was created in those six days:

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

“All that in them is” would include the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the crooked deceitful serpent and thorns and briars. Indeed, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a “very good… tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. The “crooked serpent” was a “very good… crooked, lying, murderous” serpent. Adam and Eve themselves were “very good… flesh and blood… corruption”:

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.

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

The serpent did not become a liar after Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate of that tree because the serpent beguiled and lied to them. That is what a “very good” serpent does. He is “very good” at what he was created to do. He did not become a “crooked serpent” after he lied to Eve. The Lord’s own hand formed that “crooked serpent”:

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

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

What does all of this tell us about that which is “very good”? The law of Moses is said to be “good”, and yet we are told it, “Is not for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient.”

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
1Ti 1:11  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Any application of the “lawful use of the law” of Moses must be applied in our lives “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God”, and in answer to the question… What does all of this tell us about that which is “very good”? this is what “the glorious gospel of the blessed God” tells us about that which is “very good”:

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious [the law of Moses] had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

Let’s look at that verse along with the verses surrounding it so we can get its full impact:

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, [“The law (of Moses) is good” – 1Ti 1:12] was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit [“The law of Christ”, Gal 6:2 and Mat 5-7] be rather glorious?
2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Based upon what we have just read, it is not adding to or taking from the Word of God to say, ‘That which was “very good” was not good at all by reason of that which excels.’ In other words, ‘The good is actually the enemy of excellence’ to the point that “the milk of the Word”, keeping the law of Moses, is the enemy of going on to perfection.

To make this point I will quote from the end of Hebrews 5 and the beginning of Hebrews 6 without the verses or the chapter breaks:

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. [Both the judgment which is now on the house of God and the great white throne judgment, the salvation of all]
And this will we do, if God permit.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

The phrase “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ…” connects what was said about being spiritual babes to the “milk of the Word” doctrines which are all listed here, and the phrase “For it is impossible… to renew them again to repentance…” connects what has just been stated about those spiritual babes with the warning that “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.” What we are being told is that those who insist on remaining only on the milk of the Word and see no difference between the called and the chosen, are actually “crucifying Christ afresh and putting Him to an open shame” and are simply unwilling to “go on unto perfection”. It is only those who are given to “go on unto perfection” who will be given “a crown of life [and] a coat of many colors”. The masses and multitudes who come to Christ are not given to receive these gifts because they instinctively realize that if they separate themselves from those who want only ‘the milk of the Word’ they will be rejected and ostracized and persecuted by the masses and multitudes who are not given to endure that “fiery trial” of rejection and persecution (1Pe 4:12). Being given by our Father a coat of many colors and a crown of life will separate us from our brothers and will cause us to be “hated of [our] brothers”. Many are so afraid of being made to differ from their brothers that they are willing to place themselves on the same level as the many called. God’s “very elect” are given to bear the rejection of their own brothers because they are “loved… more than all [their] brothers”.

Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

The Lord has demonstrated this Truth to all of us when He dragged us out of Babylon, and then He has demonstrated it over and over again when He causes even those who were our equal, those who were our guides and our intimate acquaintances, to accuse us of placing ourselves above others. We must realize that our Lord was not only hated by the very multitudes He had fed and nourished, but He was even hated and betrayed by those who had broken bread with Him and with whom He had over the years taken sweet counsel, and with whom for years He had gone up the house of God. Do we think we are different from our Lord? We are not; rather we are Him, and we, too, will know what it is for those with whom we have “taken sweet counsel” to suddenly forsake us, turn against us and magnify themselves against us.

These verses are addressed to you and to me:

Psa 41:9  Even a man desiring my welfare, I trusted in him, eating of my bread; this one has lifted up his heel against me.

Psa 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

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.

All these Words of Christ will never pass away. They will be experienced by the true saints of every generation:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

When Christ says, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” ‘these things’ include “the end [of the age”] (vs 14), as well as “the abomination that makes desolate spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (vs 15). This demonstrates the ‘is, was, and will be’ nature of the Word of God. It will always have an application to those living at the time it was penned, as well as every subsequent generation… “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” Any and all exceptions to this rule are clearly qualified and made obvious in scripture. Being of the “blessed and holy… few” who are given to have a part in the first resurrection, while “the rest of the dead” who are not given that privilege “live not again till the thousand years are finished” is one example of a qualified exception in scripture (Rev 20:5-6). Another such exception is that those who are in the first resurrection are clearly told “the second death… shall not hurt [them] and has no power over [them] (Rev 2:10-11 and 20:6).

There is no way to apply these words to those who are in the lake of fire because “the lake of fire… is the second death”, and the devil himself is being purified in that ‘fire’:

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

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

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

But when the apostle Peter writes:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts [our old man], made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of [spiritual] adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Those who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Mat 13:10-15) will always remember these words of the apostle Paul, and will give every word here in 2 Peter a primarily personal application, while at the same time acknowledging that the scriptures also have a secondary past application as well as an apocalyptic end time application:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course [Greek, ‘aion’, age] 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.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ [‘quickened’ Greek: aorist tense, ‘being given life’], (by grace ye are saved;)

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

Those who are granted to remember that “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” will never forget to apply these words of the apostle Peter first and foremost personally, and not place them somewhere out there on someone else.

Knowing the meaning of, “My words shall never pass away” we will always apply these words of Peter to our own old man whom we all know very well we have served for so very long.

If we read scripture from any other perspective it becomes nothing more than a history book, with absolutely no personal application. But if we see every story in scripture as a struggle between the kingdom of our old man and the kingdom of our new man, and if we understand that these two nations are always at war within our own heavens constantly struggling one against the other, then we will appreciate and  understand these words:

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

There are “two nations” within every man. One is the first to be given the hegemony over our heavens. Those “two nations” share a common ancestor, and yet they have nothing else but the fact they are both being judged in common. Their ‘common ancestor’ is “the first man Adam”, and just as his actions involuntarily negatively affected all men, so also “the last Adam’s” actions will also positively, involuntarily affect all men of all time. In other words, God did not “make men in His image”, rather the Truth of the scriptures is that He is in the process of making man in His image in two phases. Those two phases of His creation are “the first man Adam”, and “the last Adam”:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made [Greek: aorist tense] a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Our study today concerns itself with the contrasts which exist between these two men who have nothing in common but the judgments of their Creator:

Our last study ended with the Lord revealing to us the marred condition of our old man:

Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isa 65:12  Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

Being “numbered to the sword” is being numbered to destruction, which is indeed the fate of our old man.

Our study today contrasts the cursed fruit of the ways of our rebellious old man with the blessings of the fruit of having Christ and His mind living within us:

Isa 65:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

It is our old man who, while spiritually starving to death and spiritually dying of thirst and being shamefully naked, actually thinks he is “rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing”:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Remember “the time is at hand” that we are to “read… hear… and keep the sayings of the prophecy 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.

As the converted Nebuchadnezzar, a type of our new man, confessed after seven years of humiliation of his typical ‘old man’ at the hands of the Lord:

Dan 4:37  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride [our old man] he is able to abase.

Such is how the Lord has chosen to work with His creatures. It is only through much humiliation and tribulation that any of us will enter the kingdom of God. It is only through being brought to see our miserable, starved, thirsty and shamefully naked condition that the Lord drags us to Himself, as He tells us repeatedly throughout the scriptures:

Job 27:14  If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women [false doctrines in false churches] shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

Just as Isaiah is doing in this 65^th chapter, throughout scripture the Lord contrasts the fate of our old man with the fate of our new man:

Psa 37:18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Psa 37:19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Isaiah continues with this contrast between the rewards for the humility and obedience of our new man in “this present time” to the shameful, poverty-stricken fruits of the pride and rebellion of our old man against his own Creator and Maker:

Isa 65:14  Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

“My servants shall rejoice… My servants shall sing for joy of heart” does not mean we will do so because we will know nothing but physical blessings and physical Pollyanna joy in “this present time”. Do not allow yourself to be taken in with the insidious false doctrine of a “substitutionary atonement”. That particular lie is believed by literally millions of Christians. That false doctrine teaches that Christ came to this earth to die for you, which is, of course, true. Nevertheless, just as he did in the Garden of Eden, the serpent states a truth and then twists that same truth into a lie which simply cannot be detected by those who live on nothing but smooth, sweet milk of the Word. Christ did not come and die for us so we could avoid persecution and avoid the hatred of all men. These are His own words:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Does that sound like Christ thought His death on the cross would somehow miraculously deliver us from sore trials in “this present time”? Just a few verses later, in this same chapter, Christ tells us in very clear language that He did not die for us so we would not have to die. Rather, He died for us so He could come to us through His Father’s spirit and give us the strength to die with Him for “His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24-27).

This is what Christ has to say about the function of His death for us and what we can expect if we are granted to believe in Him and His doctrines:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

There it is in very clear language. Christ expects us to die with Him. He did not die for us so we could avoid death. The exact opposite is the Truth.

This is how the apostle Paul expresses how these words of our Lord affected his life:

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. [So I could be “crucified with Him”]

These “earthen vessels” (2Co 4:7) are the curse of the corruption which cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50), which is the subject of our next two verses:

Isa 65:15  And ye [you and I, our old man] shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen [our new man with a “new name”, Rev 2:17 and 3:12]: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
Isa 65:16  That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

We will show what is our “new name” shortly.

“Swearing by the God of Truth” has been changed by our Lord to simply stating the Truth, which ‘Truth’ is that we will be the first to be saved, and in time “through [our] mercy… all in Adam shall be made alive in Christ”:

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

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

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

All the blessings of the kingdom are ours at this very moment in down-payment earnest form. “The redemption of the purchased possession” is the fullness of our promised reward, and all of that is yet before us if we are granted to endure “much tribulation” to the end:

Isa 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

This “new heavens and new earth” are being created within us at this very moment through “much tribulation”, and “Jerusalem” is the “new name” mentioned in verse 15:

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Rev 3:12  He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name. (ASV)

If indeed we are Christ, as He declares (Mat 25:40 and Act 22:8), and if indeed “His inheritance is in the saints” as we are informed in:

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Our new name is His new name and that name is “New Jerusalem”, a name befitting our “new man”. It is Christ and His Christ who “come down from God out of  heaven”, first to rule within us at “this present time” (Rom 8:18), and then to rule over the kingdoms of this world for “a thousand years”.

This is what life is like in the New Jerusalem of Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65 is the inspiration for these words:

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John [Aaron Lohman, Tony Cullen, Steve, and all of us] saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

“The manifested sons of God” are “the New Jerusalem” which Christ is presently creating within us. In “this present time” we can and should be rejoicing in the glory that is to be revealed in us:

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

As “the manifested sons of God” the best is yet to come, minus all the suffering of this present time, and according to our Lord “[He] will rejoice in [us]… and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in [us], nor the voice of crying” when He receives His inheritance in us. Christ rejoices in His inheritance which is in us, and we are to rejoice in our inheritance in Him:

Isa 65:19  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

To which Christ adds these words:

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

“[His] people [are] His inheritance”:

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Christ’s inheritance is in us, and ours is in Him:

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Christ within us”, Col 1:27… “the earnest of our inheritance” Eph 1:14] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

However, not all “[His] people” of this age will be “faithful [and] endure to the end” in His service in “this present time”. We will all fill out every one of the days which are written in our “books” (Psa 139:16 ASV, Rev 20:12). Those “books” record in advance every little thing we do while in these earthly vessels of clay (Jer 18:4; 1Co 15:47-49), and that which is done in and of our flesh is the spiritual significance of the number ten, and all of its multiples. Here is the URL to The Spiritual Significance of The Number Ten: The Number Ten

Isa 65:20  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

The Hebrew word for ‘child’ is ‘na’ar’ (H5288), and it means a mature young man capable of battle and of heavy labor. Here are the first two times this word appears in the Old Testament:

Gen 14:23  That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou [the king of Sodom] shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Gen 14:24  Save only that which the young men [Hebrew: na’ar, the young men who fought with Abraham to rescue Lot from the kings of the east] have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Gen 18:7  And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man [H5288: na’ar]; and he hasted to dress it.

A ‘na’ar’, a ‘young man’ who dies a hundred years old’ and is not an “accursed… sinner”, in New Testament Greek, is an ”elect”, ‘uihos’, a “son of God”:

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons [G5207: ‘uihos’] of God.

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons [G5207, ‘uihos’] of God.

Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons [G5207, ‘uihos’], God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son [G5207, uihos] into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

The fact that Isaiah 65:19 tells us that Christ “rejoices in Jerusalem… [His] people “, and the fact that verse 22, which we will cover in our next study, calls “[His] people” in this context “His elect”, demonstrates that “the child being an hundred years old shall die [to his old man],” refers to “His elect”, our “new man… in this present time”, being birthed through the death of our old man. “The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed”, because he is not dying to his old man in this present time and is therefore condemned to Gehenna, the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death. The fact that this particular ‘sinner’ also lives to be 100 years old and is called “My people”, and yet he is “accursed” and  is being contrasted with “the child [young man] dying at 100 years old, qualifies this particular “accursed… sinner” of Isaiah 65:20 as typifying those who were once known of Christ, as Judas was, and yet are cast into the lake of fire to be purified being “condemned with the world”:

Here is how Christ describes this particular ‘sinner’ who is feasting with His people in ‘Jerusalem’:

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests [at the marriage of the king’s Son, vs 2] he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

This is how those who are given a proper wedding garment are given to avoid the fate of that man:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge [G1252: diakrino, verb, separate, make a distinction, to prefer] ourselves, we should not be judged [G2919: krino, verb].
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged [G2919: ‘krino’ – verb, judged in this present time] we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [G2632: katakrino, down judged, judged against] with the world.

Being “condemned with the world” refers to the judgment against the ungodly and sinners of this present age who will “appear” at the “white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death” because they are not being judged along with “the house of God… in this present time”:

Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation [G2920 Greek: ‘krisis’, judgment] of hell? [G1067 Greek: ‘ghenna’, the great white throne judgment, ‘krisis’, the lake of fire/ second death].

Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment [Greek: ‘krisis’, G2920] also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [at the beginning of the thousand year reign]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Exact same Greek word translated ‘judgment’ in verse 27, ‘krisis’ G2920… the “white throne… judgment”, Rev 20:11-15].

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment [G2917: ‘krima’, noun, neuter, same root as the Greek noun, ‘krisis’ G2920: feminine, noun], 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? [They will be “condemned with the world to the “resurrection of damnation [Greek: ‘krisis’, Joh 5:27-29]
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

That is our study for today, and here are the verses for our next study where we will learn that all “[the Lord’s] elect”, who are in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection” are even now in down-payment form, given to build and plant the things of the spiritual ‘kingdom within’ ourselves, and to even now eat the fruits of the spirit, and to have dominion over every beast in our lives, even in “this present time” as the elect of the Lord:

Isa 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
Isa 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isa 65:23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

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Isa 62:1-6 I Have Set Watchmen Upon Your Walls O Jerusalem

[Study Aired July 5, 2020]

Isa 62:1  For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Isa 62:2  And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3  Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isa 62:4  Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Isa 62:5  For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isa 62:6  I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

The first verses that came to my mind in picking the title for today’s study were:

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

“Oversee… [watch] all the [Lord’s] flock… therefore watch” and be the “watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem”. This warning and this commission here in Isaiah has little to do with world affairs. Those who oversee the Lord’s flock are watching out for “men who speak perverse things” and bring to us the necessary “heresies among you”:

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

As I have demonstrated many times, it is typical of Hebrew writers to state the same thing twice using two different items or names to make their point. When we read:

Gen 48:2  And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

It is obvious that ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ are one and the same person.

When Isaiah says:

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

It is again obvious that ‘Sodom’ and ‘Gomorrah’ are speaking of one and same peoples.

Likewise, when we read in the first verse of this chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 62:1  For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

It is again obvious that ‘Zion’ and ‘Jerusalem’ are again the same people of God.

However, there is a process which ‘Zion’ must endure before she is made righteous.  The fact is that the words ‘Sodom’ and ‘Gomorrah’ are also two more names which refer to Zion as the great Harlot which she must acknowledge herself to be, and of which she must repent before her “righteousness goes forth as brightness and [her] salvation… as a lamp that burns.”

The Truth is that the words, “Ye rulers of Sodom; [and] ye people of Gomorrah” in the introduction to this Isaiah prophecy is also addressed to Judah, Jerusalem and Zion, all types of us as the Lord’s special people.

Let’s return to the first chapter of this prophecy and just look at how the Lord addresses us as His own people:

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

“Judah and Jerusalem” typify the Lord’s elect, but notice closely how the Lord’s elect first appear to Him in His perception of what he first made us to be:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Israel, Judah and Jerusalem are all types of the Lord’s chosen people of Zion, as we see here in chapter 62 where we are being shown the glorious end product of our fiery trials, and where we are being made to know what is the “redemption of the purchased possession” and what is meant by “to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ”:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Look at how Paul speaks of our own beginnings. Just as the holy spirit revealed that “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me” was required in Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel, Paul, too, was moved of the same single-minded holy spirit to make us to know that we also, being the true “Israel of God” (Gal 5:16), are first, by our Maker’s design, servants of “the prince of the power of the air”. We, too, must first be the sons “of [our] father the devil” (Joh 8:44):

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
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.

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GWV)

Joh 8:44  You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He’s a liar and the father of lies. (GWV)

Here we have Christ telling the “Jews that believed on Him” (Joh 8:30-31) they are “of [their] father the devil”. The church of Christ’s day, represents the churches of our day who profess Christ but hate His doctrines. Then we have the apostle Paul, speaking under the inspiration of the same holy spirit, tell us, “We all…were…by nature…the children of wrath even as [all] others.” Then Paul informs us that because God has “predestinated us” to be “to the praise of His glory” that we are now seated with Him in the heavens (Eph 2:6). How is it possible for us to have been “as others, walking according to the… prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience… fulfilling the desires of the flesh… by nature the children of wrath” and yet now be seated “with [Christ] in the heavens” (Eph 2:6)? The answer is that it is all the predestinated work of His own hands fulfilling what He promised to us “before the world began”:

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

“The first man, Adam”, as death-bound, earthy, marred and corruptible as he is, still typifies “the last Adam… a life-giving spirit”:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
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.

We need to notice that it does not say ‘The first man Adam was made a living soul; Jesus Christ was made a quickening’. While that is certainly true, it does not make the point the holy spirit is making, and it doesn’t make the point the holy spirit wants us to understand, which is:

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth [Christ] and they who are sanctified [all mankind] are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Now look at the preceding verse:

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

“Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things” is “not ashamed to call [us His] brothers”. That is how He sees us, and that is how He wants us to see Him. He is not ashamed of us. We are “His workmanship”, His brothers. We are the work of His hands, and He identifies with us:

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;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Christ made us as we are, and to demonstrate His love for us He emptied Himself of the glory He had with His Father, and took on Himself the seed of Abraham and became subject unto death.

Php 2:7 but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made,
Php 2:8 and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death–death even of a cross, (REV)

It was He who made “the first man Adam”. Of what character and composition are we made by Him?

This is what we are told about what this “first man Adam” is:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

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

This how Jeremiah makes this same point:

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

“The vessel He made of clay was marred in the Potter’s hand”, because, as Ephesians two explains:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; [in the Potter’s hand]
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 [“In the hands of the Potter”] the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Did any of us vote to be “dead in trespasses and sin”? Of course, we did not ‘vote’ to be “dead in trespasses and sins.” Instead we all “by nature… fulfill the desires of the flesh and the [carnal] mind” whether we wanted to do so or not. We are all “by nature… dead in sins”, and yet the Lord has taken a chosen few in this present time (Rom 8:18) and “made us to sit together in the heavens”.

We have all been led by the great whore and her daughters to believe that “the first man Adam” was a perfected creation of God. We have all been lied to and led to believe that Adam and Eve, of their own free will, rebelled against God and plunged all mankind into a fallen state. Nothing could be further from the truth. “The fall of man” is not a Biblical phrase, nor is it a Biblical doctrine, and yet I have heard a very well known man with an international TV ministry say, “The first thing I am going to do at the resurrection is to walk right up to Adam and punch him in the nose.” This minister and many, many others believe that God Created mankind in a state of perfection from which Adam fell when His listened to his wife who had taken her instructions from the fallen serpent.

The fact is that God, our Creator and Maker, can make us any way He pleases, both in the garden of Eden and right this moment as He continues here in Jeremiah 18 to explain to His adulterous wife, Israel:

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

It is therefore by our Maker’s decree that we are all, as were our original parents, Adam and Eve, “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same in hope”:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

“Subjected… the creature… to vanity… in hope” does not mean that the Lord hopes in vain to save a few of mankind from death and destruction. Remember, what the Lord wants or hopes for is exactly what He gets!

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Does the Lord tell us what He desires for mankind? Yes, He does, and He tells us over and over again:

1Ti 2:4  Who [Christ] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Does “specially of those that believe” mean ‘exclusively of those that believe’? Absolutely not!

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins [the sins of believers]: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. [The whole unbelieving world]

The Lord tells us that He is in fact using the unbelief of most of mankind for the occasion He is seeking to keep the vast majority of mankind spiritually deaf and spiritually blind, “lest He should heal them and they should be converted.”

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

The Lord revealed to the apostle Paul that He intended to use a very select few as the channel and conduit through which He “will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the Truth.”

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

In the end, the Lord will “have mercy upon all”, but that mercy of God will come “through your mercy”. In the interim both His elect and the masses of mankind are predestinated to have an experience of evil and misery, groaning and travailing in pain together until now:

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.

This “experience of evil… given to the sons of humanity” by the Lord Himself, is the same as being “made subject unto vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same in hope” as we read earlier:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

“The bondage of corruption” is these bodies of sinful flesh and blood which are defined in those very terms:

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

Let us go back to the first chapter of Isaiah where we read earlier in this study the Lord tells us that we have “rebelled against Him”:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

It is in this state of “the bondage of corruption” (Rom 8:21) and rebellion (Isa 1:2) the Lord first begins to speak to us as it was revealed in the first chapter of this prophecy of Isaiah:

Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8  And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
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.
Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

It is from that sad state in chapter one, having become “a harlot” (Isa 1:21), that the Lord drags us out of that great harlot through ‘falling seven times’ (Pro 24:16), through being tormented day and night in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb (Rev 14:8-12), and by our fulfilling the seven last plagues of the wrath of God (Rev 15:7-8), to the glorious blessing of:

Isa 62:2  And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3  Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

The Lord reveals all these glorious blessings to us because He knows we need to be encouraged, and lifted up and built up in the spirit.

Isa 62:4  Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

‘Hephzibah’ means:

H2657
חֶפְצִי בָּהּ
chephtsı̂y bâhh
khef-tsee’ baw
From H2656 with suffixes; my delight (is) in her; Cheptsibah, a fanciful name for Palestine: – Hephzi-bah.

‘Beulah’ means:

H1166
בָּעַל
bâ‛al
baw-al’
A primitive root; to be master; hence (as denominative from H1167) to marry: – Beulah have dominion (over), be husband, marry (-ried, X wife).

“Beulah… Your land shall be married” tells us this:

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

The marriage union is but a type and shadow of Christ and the church:

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

As the wife of our Lord, we must call Him our Lord and obey His doctrines:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

If we do what our Lord tells us to do, then we will “know of the doctrine” whether it is of the Lord or of men.

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

Isa 62:5  For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

This is one more verse which demonstrates that in scripture a son of God is also the bride of Christ, just as Christ is both the son of God, and at the same time submits to His father “as unto the Lord” as his head (Eph 5:22 quoted above) and:

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

“The head of Christ is God” does not reveal a trinity. What it does reveal is that Christ’s Father is also His husband to whom He submits as a wife to her husband.

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

We are called “the sons of God”:

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

At the same time, we are told we are “espoused to one husband… Christ”.

Like our Lord we are both a son and a wife, and in the spirit that is no contradiction at all.

Isa 62:6  I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

We are “a chaste virgin espoused to one husband” (2Co 11:2), we are “sons of God” (1Jo 3:1-2), we are shepherds and bishops of the Lord’s flock (Act 20:28). We are spiritual soldiers in the Lord’s spiritual army (2Ti 2:4), and we find that we are also “watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem” and are expected to be ever vigilant and sober and diligent to watch over the Lord’s flock as Paul warned the Ephesian elders:

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

“Overseers” are “watchmen” who the Lord has placed “on the walls of Jerusalem… [to oversee His flock. The Lord’s true watchmen] shall never hold their peace day nor night: [If we] make mention of the LORD, [we will] keep not silence”.

We have all fallen to the wiles of men arising and speaking perverse things while in Babylon, but we have also “of [our] own selves [had] men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves”.

There is one reason and one reason only why we ourselves are not taken in by such “men… speaking perverse things”, and that one reason is this:

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jacob treated Esau worse than Esau treated Jacob. King David’s sins against Uriah and Bathsheba and against Israel were greater than the sins of King Saul. Yet the Lord had already decided who would and who would not be written in His book. These things are types of us in that we take credit for nothing, and yet we can take great comfort and encouragement knowing what is the mind of God and His love toward us.

That is our study for today. Here are our verses for our next study:

Isa 62:7  And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Isa 62:8  The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
Isa 62:9  But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
Isa 62:10  Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
Isa 62:11  Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Isa 62:12  And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Psa 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
Psa 104:20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
Psa 104:21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
Psa 104:22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
Psa 104:23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

In this study of verses 19 to 23 in Psalm 104, we will look at how God has appointed^H6213 all the affairs of mankind and see how the symbolic language within these scriptures declares that we serve a Sovereign creator who is working “all things after the counsel of his own will” in order to “bring forth salvation” to all of mankind.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

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

Isa 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

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

We have our appointed time not only of being in the light of God’s word which cleanses us of that of which we are coming out, described in scripture as a former conversation that was appointed us of God, so that in due season we could be brought to see our need to lose our old carnal life, our human reasoning, or wisdom of man’s mind, which can easily enslave us in our lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life (1Jn 2:16). God’s elect are blessed to find new life and spirit in Christ, the power of God that is His love being shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5). Christ is the power of the resurrection who enables us to be raised (Php 3:10, Joh 11:25, Eph 2:6) with a new soundness of mind and liberty through Christ which makes it possible for us to escape these lusts through God’s “exceeding great and precious [spiritual (Joh 6:63)] promises” which quicken us (2Pe 1:4).

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

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

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.

2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
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.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

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

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

It is that new life in Christ which will bring us joy in the morning after we wrestle through the symbolic night as Jacob did (all our life), having our strength taken away from us so Christ’s strength can be made perfect through our weakness. That is what must happen if we are to say, “I will be glad in the LORD.” That joy will grow in us as we grow in our ability through the holy spirit to put off the flesh as we look to the author and finisher of our faith to do that.

Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Gen 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Gen 32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

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

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Psa 104:19 He appointed^{H6213 [H8804]} the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

If we look at the Strong’s number for the word ‘appointed’^H6213 here in this verse, in the 2286 instances that the KJV uses it, it becomes very clear that God is showing us that He is Sovereign and in complete control of the micro and the macro parts of His physical creation, just as He is within every life or book that He has written from beginning to end. That control that God has of the physical represents for us his control of the spiritual.

H6213 – “appointed”
BDB Definition:
1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
1a) (Qal) – H8804 (the tense, voice and mood of this verb “appointed”)

1a1) to do, work, make, produce
1a1a) to do
1a1b) to work
1a1c) to deal (with)
1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect

1a2) to make

1a2a) to make
1a2b) to produce
1a2c) to prepare
1a2d) to make (an offering)
1a2e) to attend to, put in order
1a2f) to observe, celebrate
1a2g) to acquire (property)
1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute
1a2i) to bring about
1a2j) to use
1a2k) to spend, pass

1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be done
1b2) to be made
1b3) to be produced
1b4) to be offered
1b5) to be observed

1b6) to be used
1c) (Pual) to be made

2) (Piel) to press, squeeze

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

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

Our lack of perception or discernment, the ‘no stay of bread and water’ of Isaiah 3:1, is spoken of as “the moon for seasons” here in this verse, and it represents that season when we are under the law, the schoolmaster which God uses to convict us of our sinful nature so that we can be dragged to Christ who, in contrast. “knoweth his going down”.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

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

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

“The sun knoweth his going down” and the physical creation reveals to us this obvious reality of the physical sun which is easily discernible because of the physical light showing when it is rising and setting. The moon has cycles and moon-rises and moon-sets, but it is less discernible in the Day, and is a shadow for us of the light that is in Babylon which we considered in our appointed time to be the light of Christ when in fact it was the lesser light spoken of in these verses.

2Co 3:11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
2Co 3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
2Co 3:13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

H3996 “his going down”
BDB Definition:

1) entrance, a coming in, entering [this is when “the vail shall be taken away” of 2Co_3:16 above]
2) sunset [“appointed the moon for seasons”]

2a) sunset
2b) sunset, west

Total KJV Occurrences: 27

entry, 6
2Ki_16:18, 1Ch_9:19, Jer_38:14, Eze_27:3, Eze_42:9, Eze_46:19

going, 5
Jos_1:4, Psa_50:1, Psa_104:19, Psa_113:3, Mal_1:11

entering, 3
2Ch_23:13, 2Ch_23:15, Eze_44:5 [compare the ordinances of the moon” in Jer_31:35 above to the ordinances of the house of the LORD when they are written on our hearts Jer_31:33] 

entrance, 3
Jdg_1:24-25 (2), 1Ch_4:39

youngest, 3
Jdg_9:5, 1Sa_16:11, 1Sa_17:14

down, 2
Deu_11:30, Jos_1:4

came, 1
2Ki_11:16

coming, 1
Pro_8:3

goeth, 1
Deu_11:30

west, 1
Zec_8:7

westward, 1
Jos_23:4

Psa 104:20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

God creates the conditions needed for the beast within us to thrive, and it is “all the beasts of the forest” reminding us that all that is in the world is in us, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, and the Lord is at work in our heavens destroying those beasts by little and little (1Jn 2:16 ).

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Deu 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

We are shown that “thou makest darkness, and it is night” is the same as saying that God creates light and darkness, but this verse shows us that it is with that light and darkness God uses that we learn that we are “the beasts of the forest” that “do creep”.

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

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Psa 104:21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God^H410.

Psa 104:21 The sheltered lions roaring for prey And seeking their food from El. (CLV)

In this appointed season in the darkness when all the beasts of the forest do creep, we hear the young lions roar, the “sheltered lions” in the concordant literal version, reminding us of the churches of Babylon with their idols wrapped around their hearts, seeking meat that has been tainted through our former conversation within us, which dictates how we discern His word. It is not God’s word which is without that is tainted, but rather what comes out of our heart after we receive His word in a world of sin (Isa 4:1, Mat 15:11) and so we are admonished (Jas 3:10-11).

Isa 57:4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
Isa 57:5 Enflaming yourselves with idols^H410 under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?

Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god^H410, and shall speak marvellous things against the God^H410 of gods^H410, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

Jer 2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.>
Jer 2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Jer 2:14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
Jer 2:15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
Jer 2:16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
Jer 2:17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
Jer 2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
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.

Gen 14:11 And they [King Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him] took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals^H400 [the “meat” the young lions were seeking], and went their way.
Gen 14:12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

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,
Eze 16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

Psa 104:22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

This verse can be seen in a positive light as a type and shadow of God’s children resting in the Lord (Psa 4:8, Psa 3:5), while we ruminate or digest those things that God gives us spoken of as “their prey” or “their meat” from God in the previous verse. Even in the night the Lord is working in our heavens and giving us victory over those things which we wrestle with, showing us that nothing is to hard for Him and that the night and day are the same unto Him (2Pe 3:10-11, Jer 32:27).

Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
Job 17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
Job 17:15 And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
Job 17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

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:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. [This verse in Psalm 23 is a shadow of how God will “lay them down in their dens“]

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. [Again God will “lay them down in their dens” or my mother’s womb, the church, Jerusalem above the mother of us all].

Psa 104:23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

Man must be about his business. “Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening” just as Christ and His body must be about His/our Father’s business.

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

Our initial business is to have an experience of evil which will humble us and bring us to see that we are beasts in need of judgment (in that day Isa 5:30, Isa 22:12) and the new mind of Christ which can only be formed through much suffering. That experience is a life-long experience that, if God wills, will be accompanied by His grace and faith for those who were predestinated unto that purpose (Ecc 1:13, Act 14:22, 2Ti 3:12, Psa 34:19, Rom 8:29).

So our labor in the Lord is very specific and for a very great purpose of preparing us (2Th 1:10) to be able to wipe away all the tears of mankind (Rev 21:4). We must suffer or fill up what is behind of his afflictions if we are going to be able to be used of God to wipe away those tears of others (Col 1:24, 2Ti 2:12).

Christ hung on the cross “until the evening”

Mat 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
Mar 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

We must remain on that cross with Christ and bow our heads and give up the ghost or resist unto the shedding of blood, the first man Adam, as He did. The world mourns for Christ at their appointed time just as we did and these “Daughters of Jerusalem” spoken of in Luke chapter 23 who are told “weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” in other words “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”.

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

Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
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:

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.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Luk 23:27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
Luk 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
Luk 23:29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
Luk 23:30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
Luk 23:31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

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:

Christ’s bride is highly favoured to be blessed to be pierced in our hearts in this age so that we can identify with Christ’s suffering and be comforted by the God of all comfort who will use the church to bring healing to the world through his stripes which we are blessed to be partakers of. Those stripes are what will make it possible “that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed”. Christ is being formed in us today for that very purpose of judging all the world one day with the same spirit of love and merciful discernment that He is applying to our lives today.

Luk 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

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

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

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 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial [confirming the souls of the disciples Act 14:22] which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the next series of verses in this Psalm study that point to reason why we must say “I will be glad in the LORD” who works are manifold, in wisdom has he made them all, and the earth is full of his riches. 

Psa 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Psa 104:25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
Psa 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Psa 104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
Psa 104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Mike,

I have heard that 1986 was the 120th Jubilee from Adam. 2035 will be the 121st. And also that we will see the outpouring of the Spirit during the time of the 120th.
Did you know this? Or do you disagree?

J____

Hi J____,
Thank you for your questions.

The answers are, yes, I have heard of this belief of the jubilee, and yes, I disagree. The answer is that the Jubilee of scripture typifies the salvation of all men, and it has nothing at all to do with any particular physical date. Christ’s words are the spirit of God, and they have been being poured out on all who are given to receive them ever since the foundation of the church on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Act 2.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

These words are as much the words of Christ as any other part of scripture, and this is what Christ has to say about all of His Words.

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

Since we are specifically told that Christ is our Passover and our Sabbath, it follows that He is also our days of unleavened bread, our Pentecost, our trumpets, our atonement, our tabernacles and our last great day, which is another symbol of jubilee. Christ is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament holy days and all the types and shadows of the law of Moses.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Christ is “the very image… of all good things to come”.

Heb 1:3  Who [ Christ] being the brightness of his [ Father’s] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

That is our ‘jubilee.’ Yes, there are two resurrections, and those who are blessed to be in the first resurrection will rule the kingdoms of this world for a symbolic one thousand years, after which all flesh will be destroyed and all men who have ever lived will be resurrected from among the dead to be purified in a symbolic lake of fire, which will consummate in the salvation of all men and God being all in all.
But all of this must be experienced within first.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [ are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [ as] a thief, or [ as] an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if [ any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
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?

Christ was right when He said this:

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

So I will agree with Christ, and I will believe that it is all “near, even at the door, and will be fulfilled in this generation,” not in some distant year to come, or for that matter in a distant week or month to come.
Here is Christ’s advice to you and to me concerning the things of the future:

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [ is] the evil thereof.

The whole world ignores these words of our Lord in favor of some dispensational approach to the word of God, all of which includes some form of a ‘place of safety’ or a ‘rapture’, both being two sides of the same dispensational coin which denies that Christ’s words in Mat 24 and the book of Revelation really were “near, even at the door.” They all deny that the words written in the book of Revelation were to be kept by John and the people of His day, or that those words really were to “shortly come to pass.”

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:
Rev 1:3  Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

I hope that all of these scriptures which tell us all not to worry about “the things of the morrow” and to “keep the things which are written” in Mat 24 and the entire book of Revelation in “this generation” will help, and that all the things of Mat 24 and the book of Revelation are “near, even at the door,” and have always been that way since the death and resurrection of Christ; I hope they all help you to avoid be ensnared by all the guesses that we are specifically advised to avoid concerning the events of the future.

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I just want to confirm something with you about Rev 17:12.

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
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.

As well Rev 18:10:

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

I just noticed that the workers coming in at the last, who represent the elect, work one hour. Should this then represent the same one hour of my life as a beast in Rev.17:12 where I lose my battle against the Lamb and in Rev.18:10 where Babylon falls within me in one hour corresponding with the one hour of Rev.17:12?

Thank you for taking the time to read this email and confirm what I’m looking at hopefully with spiritual eyes!
I always pray that God will keep us mindful of His mercy toward all His creation, and realize that the only way He can teach me that is to have His judgment come upon me in one hour.

Your brother in Christ,
T____

Hi T____,

Thank you for your question, and thanks even more for your input into this study of the revelation of Jesus Christ. I had never made the connection which the holy spirit has given you between the one hour borne by God’s elect and the one hour in which Babylon falls.
This too, is intended to be read, heard and kept as the kingdom of God is growing and destroying the kingdoms of this earth and filling this earth within us.
The hardest thing for the natural man to do is to see that none of this is spoken in words “which man’s wisdom teaches”, but it is written in words which “compare spiritual things with spiritual”, meaning that we understand that in order to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, we are all first guilty of complaining about the elect and their special relationship with God and persecuting them, before we become those very elect and show mercy to our brothers whom we were just like only yesterday.
As we have seen earlier, horns typify power. Being on the beast, they are the power of the beast. Our beast is what delivers us out of Babylon, generally because we realize Babylon has been illegally placing a tithing tax upon us. God told Abraham to leave his father’s house and Ur, which is a type of Babylon. But who actually took Abraham out of Ur? It was Terah who led Abraham out of Ur.

Gen 11:31  And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

This in spite of what we are told had happened in the next chapter:

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Terah represents our “old man”, our “first man Adam”. Just as we do when we first “come out of Babylon”, the great harlot, Abram was led out of Ur by the beast himself, his “old man”. Instead of leaving his “old man” and going straight to Canaan, like all of us, Abram left Ur with his old man still intact, went only half way to Canaan and settled in Haran, on the same side of the Euphrates as was Ur. So Ur was still in Abram until his father, as a type of our “old man”, finally died. Only then did he leave Haran and go into Canaan.

Gen 12:4  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Now there is no time wasted in leaving Haran, our halfway to Canaan stop, which actually has us still on the wrong side of the river, “the flood”.

Jos 24:2  And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

This leaving of Haran after the death of Terah, is our “one hour” in the destruction of Babylon. We are still “carnal babes” having Lot still attached to us. Abram is now in the land of promise, but the flesh of his father’s house is still clinging to him in the form of his uncle’s son, Lot. “And Lot went with him.” He is still Abram and has not yet been changed to Abraham. It all takes time, but the time it takes to leave Haran is short, and it is in disgust against all that Ur and Haran represent.
This all demonstrates that it is we who are first Babylon, complaining of the elect, and are then the horns who are filled with disgust towards what we ourselves were just yesterday.  Then we are destroyed by the Lamb in one hour.  It is a short work that the Lord does, but we read, hear and keep every word.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
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:

It truly is a “short work” that will “shortly come to pass”, but while we are in this flesh, it seems like a lifetime, because that is what it is.
Thanks for sharing with me what the Lord has shown you, and let me know what you think of all these verses.
God bless you as you look behind you to see this revelation of Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike

I have been studying and meditating on this for quite a while. First I want you to know that this is not an argumentative email, but me just trying to come to grips with what I believe. I have been a listener and reader of yours for several years and I listen to one of your recordings daily. I have heard them all and most of them I have heard many times.

So I have been a believer and seeker of the truths for several years which began about 6 years before I found you. All of that said, there are a couple of issues that I cannot line up with you. I am not challenging I am just wanting to settle the issue within me.

The first is probably more minor than the second, but I believe it is along the same lines of meaning. You mention that the verse if a man does not work he will not eat and use it more in a physical sense that a spiritual. I believe that this is not speaking physically because I know of many men who do not work, but they still eat. I believe this is speaking if a man does not work to dig up the truths of God he will not eat of the meat of God’s word. I believe when we look at it in the physical it causes me to have that “religious” feeling. This also goes along with if a man does not provide for his family he is worst than an infidel. Again that is just not true and can get people looking at a wealthier man is taking better care of his family than a poorer man so the wealthier is more blessed of God. I believe here again it is speaking that if a man does not seek God with all of his heart and give up his life to provide these truths of God to his family then he is worst than an infidel. I believe this kind of coincides with “raising a child in the way he should go” is again raising him up on the mysteries of God not the rudiments of this world that makes him successful in this age.

Now I apologize for the length, but let me move on to what I feel has a little more import to it. You say that you believe that Peter and the disciples all continued to take care of their businesses and families as they walked with Jesus. I believe that this is going a little above scripture and is doing a little bit of “leaning on one’s own understanding”. I believe throughout the bible the parables do not speak this and I believe that Mar 10 shows again that the parable of the disciples are that one must give up this world in order to follow Jesus. We are to forsake all. Not just the things we decide are reasonable to give up but all. Jesus said if we love our wife, brother, family members, etc more than we love Him then we are not worthy of the kingdom. It seems to me to be impossible to go to work in corporate America, do a good days work, and at the same time put Christ first. I believe the only way one will become a true follower of Christ is when one has really quit what they are doing in this world, separate one’s self, and seek Christ. Then and only then can one really put all of their trust in Christ. Until one does there will always be some bleating of sheep being heard in the back ground.

I believe this point is again spoken to when Jesus says that one should clean the inside of the cup and not worry about the outside. The outside is taking care of the physical, pharisaical part and the inside believes in the spirit. Like saying a woman should submit to her husband if she has a good husband. No a woman is to submit to whatever husband God has given her and trust God for everything else. Unless we are doing it to Christ from the inside out it is carnal. When we have joy in all things whether those things are trials or blessings.  It is a matter of the heart. It is when we really and truly believe that God is working all things to the good of those who love Jesus.

Hope you receive this in the inquiring spirit it is being written. I know this is a hard saying, and I am possibly wrong. I guess the reason I am writing to you is to convince me that my thinking is wrong, I just cannot stop myself from believing this. It is that same feeling I had about certain doctrines of the church that everybody believed in but me, and I could never change my beliefs to suit theirs.

Thanks and I am sure you know that God is blessing you. I also really enjoy the live Revelation broadcasts.

D____

Hi D___,

Thank you for your questions and for the tone of your questions. Arguing for the sake of winning the argument is an exercise in futility, which simply feeds the beast within us, instead of earnestly seeking only to know what is the Truth.

I want you to know that I realize I have no way of knowing exactly what has generated this question in your mind. Perhaps you are approaching this subject from the point of view of having a wife and family who are trying to persuade you to give up your relationship with Christ and His Word. If that is what is taking place in your life, then you had better be willing to put Christ ahead of your wife and children, or you will be found unworthy to called a disciple of Christ.

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

The sum of these two verses shows us that ‘hate’ actually means that we do not love our father or mother “more than Christ”. We are commanded to put God and Christ ahead of everything, including “our own life also”.

If on the other hand, we are seeking to simply avoid the responsibilities and burdens of providing for the daily needs of a family, then we are denying the faith and are worse than an infidel. Until we are willing to forsake “our own lives also”, we need to be providing for the daily necessities of our families. In other words, until we quit feeding our own face, we need to feed our wives and our children. So I do not need to know what your situation is to tell you what the scriptures say on the subject of providing for one’s own household.

I am encouraged to know that there are those out there who read the IWWB site so regularly, and yes, of course, our emphasis is, as you note, much more on the spiritual than on the physical. I know that you must have noticed that Joh 6:63 is one of the most quoted verses of scripture on IWWB.

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

It was right after uttering those words that we read:

Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Nothing has changed in the past 2000 years and if you insist on the truth of those words today then the effect is still the same. There will be few “walking with you”.

I have said many times that there are no exceptions to the truth in that verse and that the primary intent of every verse of scripture and every word of scripture is to in some way impart a spiritual message. “Hate your enemy” is no longer the doctrine of scripture and of Christ in the physical realm. We are now commanded to do the exact opposite in the physical realm. We are now commanded to love our enemy. But the command to ‘hate your enemy’ is still the doctrine of Christ in the spiritual realm. We are still commanded to “die daily” to our sinful flesh and all of its pulls against our spirit, because the worst enemy you or I will ever confront is that beast we see in the mirror every morning.

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

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

But these spiritual truths which are always primary do not always deny or in any way disagree with what we see in the secondary truths of the physical realm. For example, the fact that spiritual adultery is understood as believing the doctrines of “another Jesus”, does not mean that physical adultery is no longer an issue with God. Nothing could be further from the Truth. The physical very often reflects the spiritual, and that is especially true of taking care of both the spiritual and the physical needs of our physical families. “He that provides not for his own, especially for those of his own household, has denied the faith and is worse than and infidel”, just like “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is both physically and spiritually true.

For example, look at Christ’s prayer for His disciples concerning their physical well-being the night of His apprehension to be crucified by the Jews:

Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Christ was concerned and was praying for the physical “in the world” well-being of His disciples. Christ supernaturally healed the physical ear of the servant of the high priest, and gained the physical freedom of His disciples that very night:

Joh 18:8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
Joh 18:9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

Christ physically placed His physical body between His disciples and danger and gave himself a ransom for His disciples.
So the truth is that there is always a spiritual message in the entire physical creation, as Rom 1:20 reveals.

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

The invisible spiritual world is “understood by the things that are made“. For that to be so, then the physical world, our physical lives in particular, must be a reflection of the spiritual state of our lives. If we are unable to control our flesh and physical sins are always dominating our lives, what kind of witness are we going to be to others when we speak about the things of the spirit?

Likewise, if we neglect the care of our physical families, what message does that send to the world concerning the God we claim to represent? Does our God not provide for His own wife and children?

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Yes, of course, that is primarily a spiritual statement. But the spirit is reflected in “the things that are made”:

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

What God demonstrates in all “the things that are made” is that the parents of birds and beasts, whether on land, in the sea or in the heavens, supply the daily needs of food and shelter for their offspring.

If you are “called a brother” and you commit physical adultery against your wife, you are “blaspheming the name of God”, and committing spiritual adultery as well. The same is true of providing for the daily basic needs of your family.

1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Now I am very much aware that there is such a thing as spiritual fornication and spiritual adultery. But does that mean that there is no connection between spiritual adultery and fornication and physical adultery and fornication? Absolutely not! There is a direct link between the two, and I repeat, the same is true for failing to supply the physical needs of your wife and children. Why should anyone listen to anything we are saying about the things of the spirit, if we are not supplying our own physical family with the basic needs of their physical existence? No one yet has ever come to Christ, “the last Adam”, without first being in the first Adam, who is also of Christ. So too, we must provide for and nourish our physical bodies and our physical families before God will entrust us to supply for and nourish our spiritual bodies and spiritual family.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Christ does not deny the first Adam is His physical son, the physical work of His hands:

Luk 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

But this ‘Adam’ is His “son of the bondwoman” son. That is what we all are before we become the “son of the free woman”. God took care of and provided for Ishmael, just as He did for Isaac. So if any of us truly want to become capable of feeding our children with nourishing spiritual food, then we must first acknowledge that we are first flesh, with all the physical needs of physical food and clothing which are required for the maintenance of the daily life of the flesh. In other words, if you are still eating physical food, needing physical housing and breathing physical air, then you need to make certain that your physical wife and children receive the same.

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.

If we are “one flesh” with our wives, then we will act like it and “Nourish and cherish our wives, even as the Lord the church”.

Christ is still living in “earthen vessels” as He lives in our physical bodies. That is what Paul means when he tells us that Christ’s afflictions are not yet completed.

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:

That is why we are told that “we are His flesh and His bones”. It not only says ‘We are the same spirit,’ but it also says “We are of His flesh and of His bones”. No man hates his own flesh, but nourishes it, as he should. Yes, “This is a great mystery concerning Christ and the church”. Does that spiritual statement mean that we should forsake our physical spouses because this is a spiritual mystery? What does the very next verse say?

Eph 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

In other words, when we are able to give up breathing physical air and eating physical food, only then will we be ready to dispense with the physical needs of food and shelter for our wife and children.

Now let’s examine this statement you make:

I know of many men who do not work, but they still eat. I believe this is speaking if a man does not work to dig up the truths of God he will not eat of the meat of God’s word. I believe when we look at it in the physical it causes me to have that “religious” feeling. This also goes along with if a man does not provide for his family he is worst than an infidel. Again that is just not true and can get people looking at a wealthier man is taking better care of his family than a poorer man so the wealthier is more blessed of God. I believe here again it is speaking that if a man does not seek God with all of his heart and give up his life to provide these truths of God to his family then he is worst than an infidel. I believe this kind of coincides with “raising a child in the way he should go” is again raising him up on the mysteries of God not the rudiments of this world that makes him successful in this age.

Yes, of course, you are right, we do have to dig for the deep waters of life, as did Abraham and Isaac. That is the spiritual truths we are to feed our families, but if you know someone who “is called a brother” who eats but does not work, then you and that brother are sitting in a modern day “church at Corinth”, and this is what we know of that church:

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?

Look at your statement. You twice quoted the word of God, which says “if a man does not work he shall not eat… if any provide not for his own… he is worse than an infidel”, and then you say, “again that is just not true”. It is not my intent to offend, but to instruct, and I am certain that you do not want to be in a position of fighting against God and saying that His Word is a lie. What you and I both want is only to know the truth of what is meant by this verse:

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Below is a verse which I hope will bring us together in our understanding of 1Ti 5:8.

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;
1Co 3:23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

I have emboldened the parts we seem to overlook. “The world… and death”, those are ours also. Yes, it all ends in life, but in the meantime, while we are yet in these vessels of clay, “all things are yours” and mine. Not just good spiritual things but “death and the world” are also ours.

Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels”, and ‘earthen vessels’ require physical food and shelter. It is a sin and a blaspheming of God, for “anyone who is called a brother”, to place on the backs of others in the body of Christ, the responsibility for the food and shelter of his wife and children when that brother is able to work and to provide for his own flesh. Paul’s words, the words of the holy spirit, do not “judge those things which are without”, but they do indeed “judge those that are within”.

1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

So we must all come to understand that “the sum of God’s Word is Truth”, and that we must “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”.

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

Doctrine is never to be established upon one isolated verse of God’s Word, but on its sum.

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

2Pe 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture at all is becoming its own explanation.

Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 28:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

In other words, “the natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit for they are foolishness to him”.

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

No, you and I did not literally kill Cain or Christ, but the ‘Adam’ in those who did is the same Adam in you and me. It is in that sense that we are all guilty of “the blood of all the righteous men from Abel to Zachariah”.

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

Luk 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute;
Luk 11:50 that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.

Once we accept those verses as true and that “all things are ours”, then we can begin to understand that everything in the first Adam is in our flesh, and the only reason we don’t actually live it all out, is because the hand of God is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11), and it is simply not in His will that we all be utterly depraved, but it is in His will that we all provide for our own household as He works that in us, if we are truly brothers in Christ and not just “called a brother”.

What this means is that we must all learn first, if God wills, to provide for those physical needs without being a burden on those who are also in bodies of flesh around us. This will always involve a time of humiliation when we will fail to provide for our own. Being humbled is a most necessary part of our experience in these bodies of clay:

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. (CLV)

What this verse tells us is that if God gives us an admonition against doing evil or an admonition to do any particular good, He does so as a prophecy that we will not do the good and we will do the evil. If God says, “thou shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, then He told us that because He already knew that is exactly what He had “written in His book” that we would do. If on the other hand He tells us to “love Him with our whole heart”, then He said that because He already had it “written in His book” that we would serve other Gods, our idols, first. That is the very meaning of “living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” and “keeping the things written therein”.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

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

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Then, as we repent of these sins, including failing to provide for our families as we ought, and we begin to demonstrate that Christ really is in us, as He performs through us that part of our walk, and we live the fiery trials of providing food and shelter for our own families who are the fruit of our own body, and for our wife who is “one flesh” with us; then if God is merciful, He may grant you and me to be found worthy to share with others the things of the spirit.

Rom 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

Paul knew and wrote to us that he was only part of the body of Christ, and that every part of that body was vital to its proper functioning. But he too, was first a sinner, then repented and was then given to feed the Lord’s flock.

1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is [the] Christ.

1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

But do not mention the name of Christ to others or to your own family if your family and your children are having to be supported by others, while you refuse to sacrifice your physical life and time in order to perform physical labor needed to provide for the physical needs of those physical people who God Himself has given you and whose physical needs He has placed in your physical charge and care.

You say that I said, and I quote:

You say that you believe that Peter and the disciples all continued to take care of their businesses and families as they walked with Jesus.  I believe that this is going a little above scripture and is doing a little bit of “leaning on one’s own understanding”.  I believe throughout the bible the parables do not speak this and I believe that Mar 10 shows again that the parable of the disciples are that one must give up this world in order to follow Jesus.  We are to forsake all.  Not just the things we decide are reasonable to give up but all.  Jesus said if we love our wife, brother, family members, etc more than we love Him then we are not worthy of the kingdom.  It seems to me to be impossible to go to work in corporate America, do a good days work, and at the same time put Christ first.  I believe the only way one will become a true follower of Christ is when one has really quit what they are doing in this world, separate one’s self, and seek Christ.  Then and only then can one really put all of their trust in Christ.  Until one does there will always be some bleating of sheep being heard in the back ground.

I do not for one moment think you have done so deliberately, but you have completely misunderstood  what I have said about preaching the gospel. If you can show me anywhere I have ever written that “Peter and the disciples all continued to take care of their businesses“, I will repent of ever having said that, and I will thank you for bringing that bit of heresy to my attention. I do not believe you will find that anywhere because I do not believe that, nor do I believe I have ever written such a thing. What I did say was that all of God’s true ministers have always provided for the needs of their wives and families, and to fail to do so would make them “worse than an infidel”. I have never as far as I can recall, said “Peter and the disciples all continued to take care of their businesses”. God does not allow His children to go hungry, either physically or spiritually, and neither do His disciples.

Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

The “bleating of the sheep” as you put it, like all things, is both spiritual and physical. It is a lost sheep that bleats, and that is who Christ is seeking. You will not be given the opportunity of God, to “feed my [bleating] lambs” or to “feed my sheep” spiritually, if you have refused to do so physically.

God’s sheep and His lambs are bleating, both to be found and to be fed, both spiritually and physically, and we will never be used to “feed My Lambs” spiritually, if we have not first done so physically. No, I am not saying that you cannot serve God if you do not marry and have a family first. What I am saying, and what the scriptures teach is that if God has given you a family, then these words are for you and for me, and they are true

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

I am very well aware of what seems to be the ‘catch 22’ position in which we live. That is what “the trial of our faith” is all about. We are told on the one hand, to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added”. At the very same time we are told that if we do not provide for the physical needs of our families, we have “denied the faith and are worse than an infidel”. But providing for the physical needs of our physical families is “seeking first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” as long as our children are so young that they need the physical support of a physical mother and a physical father. What utter hypocrisy it would be to leave our wives and children to be supported by others, while we claim to be feeding God’s lambs and His sheep. So we are told:

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

Jas 1:2 My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble.
Jas 1:3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested.
Jas 1:4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. (CEV)

2Co 4:17 These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.
2Co 4:18 Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen. (CEV)

Rom 8:28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,

Rom 8:32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?

… and again:

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Are these all spiritually true statements? Of course they are. Is it not also true physically? It certainly is! When we have “a lot of trouble” or when we are “enduring a test”, it is always connected to this physical realm in which we live. Our spiritual growth is through struggles in this physical realm. We ought not to go out into this world talking about our dedication to serving God when we are demonstrating to the world that we aren’t even dedicated to our own physical wife and children who were first given into your care by God Himself.

1Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his [physical] brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath [physically] seen, cannot love God whom he hath not [physically] seen

If that is true for a physical brother, how much more true is it for one’s wife and children?

Now let’s go back to 1Co 5, and see how we are instructed to deal with “any man who is called a brother” but who is not setting a proper example in the physical realm. What Paul is dealing with in 1Co 5 is the same self-centered spirit he is dealing with in 1Ti 5. In both cases the offender thinks that the outward appearance is of no consequence to God. But in both cases the offender is wrong, and outward appearances do have an affect upon how the world perceives those who claim to be speaking in the name of, and for Christ. Yes, God looks on the heart, but He also sees what that ‘heart’ produces in the living out of what is in the heart. And so we are admonished:

Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

That is an admonition to be careful to never appear to bring a reproach upon the name of Christ. Much of this chapter of Rom 14, concerns itself with how the physical things we do are perceived by those who are around us and are observing our physical walk in these vessels of clay we call our bodies of flesh.

1Co 5 is the chapter concerning a physical fornicator who was in the midst of the physical Corinthian congregation. He had taken the wife of his father and was physically living with her. Being worded as it is “his father’s wife”, this is apparently this man’s step-mother. Neither this man nor others in the congregation, considered this to be an act of any real consequence to God. This man had professed to believe in Christ, and that was enough for most of those who made up that congregation there in Corinth at that time. Instead of any display of righteous indignation at such a self-centered action, and instead of pointing out the hypocrisy this man’s physical life was demonstrating to the whole world, the Corinthian congregation was content to just willingly tolerate these despicable physical actions. Instead of feeling shame and humiliation for what was taking place in their very midst, they were actually “puffed up”, and proud of their open mindedness and tolerance.

1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

Is this a spiritual situation or is it a physical situation? The obvious truth is that it is both!!! Is the spiritual lesson the primary lesson? Of course it is. The spiritual lesson is that none of us ought ever to allow spiritual fornication or false doctrine into our spiritual house.

2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

But does it follow that since we ought never to permit spiritual fornication, that therefore physical fornication is not even worthy of our consideration? Absolutely not! What takes place within our physical families and within our physical congregations must be a reflection of what we teach spiritually or else we are seen for the hypocrites we are. When we tell others to be spiritually pure while we are defiled both within and without, we are “blaspheming the name of God among the heathen”. What are we to do when “any man that is called a brother” brings such a doctrine into our midst? Here is what the holy spirit tells us to do when a person’s outward actions do not match his claim of being a spiritual brother in Christ:

1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Do you see how the holy spirit connects the actions of the flesh with the condition of the spirit?

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

This is all being said in the context of a physical man committing physical fornication in the presence of the physical Corinthian congregation. Physical fornication begets spiritual fornication.

1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

I didn’t say that you cannot have spiritual fornication without physical fornication. There are many false prophets who are apparently dedicated husbands and wives. What I said was you cannot have outward physical fornication without also having spiritual fornication. You cannot live in the “works of the flesh” and produce the fruit of the spirit.

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?

Paul is not anticipating this man’s physical demise when he calls for “the destruction of the flesh”. He is anticipating the demise of the evil spirit that is causing his flesh to live in spiritual death. When Paul talks about the destruction of the flesh here, he refers to the destruction of the works of the flesh:

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

So “the [outward] works of the flesh” are both physical and spiritual sin which will rob us of “inheriting the kingdom of God”.

Now let’s consider the remainder of your thought on this subject. We will continue where you left off supposedly quoting me:

You say that you believe that Peter and the disciples all continued to take care of their businesses and families as they walked with Jesus. I believe that this is going a little above scripture and is doing a little bit of “leaning on one’s own understanding”. I believe throughout the bible the parables do not speak this and I believe that Mar 10 shows again that the parable of the disciples are that one must give up this world in order to follow Jesus. We are to forsake all. Not just the things we decide are reasonable to give up but all. Jesus said if we love our wife, brother, family members, etc more than we love Him then we are not worthy of the kingdom. It seems to me to be impossible to go to work in corporate America, do a good days work, and at the same time put Christ first. I believe the only way one will become a true follower of Christ is when one has really quit what they are doing in this world, separate one’s self, and seek Christ. Then and only then can one really put all of their trust in Christ. Until one does there will always be some bleating of sheep being heard in the back ground.

I believe this point is again spoken to when Jesus says that one should clean the inside of the cup and not worry about the outside. The outside is taking care of the physical, Pharisaical part and the inside believes in the spirit. Like saying a woman should submit to her husband if she has a good husband. No, a woman is to submit to whatever husband God has given her and trust God for everything else.

Once again you have missed what was actually said. I do not believe that I ever said that “the disciples continued to take care of their businesses”, and Christ certainly never said “one should not worry about the outside of the cup”. Here is what he actually said about the outside of the cup:

Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Why does Christ want us to be clean first on the inside? Where does He say “One should not worry about the outside?” Quite obviously it is not there to be found. Quite to the contrary, what He actually said was that we ought to clean the inside first so “that the outside may be clean also“. This is consistent with:

Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

It is also consistent with:

1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this [physical] deed might be taken away from among you.

You said:

I believe throughout the bible the parables do not speak this and I believe that Mar 10 shows again that the parable of the disciples are that one must give up this world in order to follow Jesus.

You are definitely on to something here, but it’s not what you are thinking. To begin with, it is interesting that this just happens to be the whole first half of Mark ten:

Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same [matter].
Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

I said you were on to something and you are, because you say:

I believe that Mar 10 shows again that the parable of the disciples are that one must give up this world in order to follow Jesus. We are to forsake all. Not just the things we decide are reasonable to give up but all. Jesus said if we love our wife, brother, family members, etc more than we love Him then we are not worthy of the kingdom.

We are not being asked to break the commandment of the first half of this chapter in order to keep this commandment in the last half. That is not what the sum of God’s word produces. Our wives and children are not “the world” being spoken of in this verse.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We are not “loving the world” when we love and cleave to our wives as Christ has just admonished us to do in this very chapter:

Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

We prove our love to God when we love our wives:

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Here are the verses in Mar 10 which you reference:

Mar 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

We have already demonstrated that Peter had not given up his wife or his house. The taxes were still paid and his wife and mother-in-law were fed and sheltered. So who are these “houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, who the disciples had forsaken for Christ’s sake, and the gospel’s?”

The father we give up is “Your father the devil”, the mother we given up is “that great harlot who reigns over the kings of our earth”, and of course we are “hated of all men” who comprise our brothers and sisters in Babylon. But we do not forsake and abandon to others our faithful wives and our dependent and loving children who God has place in our charge.

Now let’s consider what is the spiritual consequences of not physically feeding, sheltering and clothing those who God has placed into our physical charge via the physical institution of marriage and the family. Here again are the verses you reference:

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

We have already conceded that this is indeed a spiritual mystery. But we also saw that Paul, inspired of the holy spirit also said, “Nevertheless…” (Eph 5:33) the physical should reflect the spiritual if Christ really is living His life of selflessness in us. Just look at these verses:

2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
2Th 3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
2Th 3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
2Th 3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
2Th 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
2Th 3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

There it all is. “If any man… does not with quietness… work and eat his own bread” we are commanded to “have no company with him, that he may be ashamed”. He is not an enemy, but we are to admonish him as a brother.

Now it is obvious that “Love your Father and your mother” is primarily a spiritual statement concerning our heavenly Father. But do not these verses concerning our physical families bear out that love of our heavenly Father?

1Ti 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1Ti 5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
1Ti 5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
1Ti 5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
1Ti 5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
1Ti 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
1Ti 5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

God has, through the pen of the apostle, given this charge to us all. We are all to be careful never to rebuke an older person. We are to treat our elders “as a father, and younger men as brothers”. We ought never to rebuke an older woman. We ought always to treat older women as our mothers, and young women as sisters. Physical family members within the body of Christ, ought to be responsible for their physical relatives. The physical sons and nephews ought to be the first to attend to the physical needs of their elders. “Let them learn first, to show piety [in their physical] home, and to requite their [physical] parents; because that is good and acceptable before God”.

Those in the body of Christ, who have no such physical support are “widows indeed”, and will be provided for by the God in whom she trusts, and by those in whom our God dwells.

1Ti 5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

There is one final admonition that needs to be given against saying that we are all in the spiritual body of Christ and therefore need not concern ourselves with our physical surroundings. Those who have little regard for how their teachings contradict the doctrines of the apostles concerning our walk in this physical realm, often subscribe to the teaching that “the resurrection is past already”. This teaching is what is called the “fullness now” doctrine. This doctrine teaches that we can be perfected while yet in these bodies of clay and dust. Such is not the case. We are “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”. But that seal remains a “spirit of promise… until the redemption of the purchased possession”, meaning, until the resurrection of the dead.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him:

“The dispensation of the fulness of times” is not yet come. If it were here, we would not be waiting for the “promise”. Instead we are “accepted in Christ” and are therefore “sealed with the holy spirit of promise” as we are here told:

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

“Earnest” means ‘downpayment’. We have the downpayment of the spirit “until the redemption of the purchased possession…” We are being saved and we are “saved by hope”. But you do not hope for that which you already have:

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. [“The redemption of the purchased possession”, the resurrection from the dead.]
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.

We do not “wait patiently” for what we already have. “He that endureth to the end SHALL be saved”.

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

Paul, and all of God’s apostles, considered themselves to be God’s very elect and they all used the personal pronouns ‘we,’ and ‘us’ when speaking of God’s elect. At the same time, they all agreed that salvation is an ongoing, “dying daily… enduring to the end” process, which is “perfected on the third day”, the day of resurrection from the dead.

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

We have ‘resurrection’ in “earnest of the spirit”, which means in down payment form. The resurrection is not passed, and we are yet clay and sinful flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God because it is yet corruptible.

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

It is true that any and all who deny that Christ is come in our bodies of flesh, just as He came in His own body of flesh, is “that spirit of Antichrist”.

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Christ is not just a man who lived 2000 years ago. He is in our bodies of sinful flesh, and we are in Him. It is true that Christ considers us to be Himself. Those are His own words to Saul of Tarsus, and to the apostle John:

Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

We have no record of Saul of Tarsus ever personally meeting Christ while Christ was in a body of flesh and blood. Yet Christ tells us that Saul of Tarsus was persecuting Christ Himself. “Why persecutest thou me?” That is why the apostle John tells us:

1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in 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.

Which means that a verse, earlier in this same chapter, and quoted above, is talking of the very same thing. It is speaking of Christ in us, not just in His own body of flesh while He was on this earth. Here again is that verse.

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

This is all very Biblical, but it in no way denies that “The sum of thy word is truth” (Psa 119:160) which teaches that we now possess only the down payment of all of these things, and that we still “wait” and are “in hope of the resurrection from among the dead”. Until that blessed day we follow in the steps of Christ and His apostles when they were in the flesh. It was “in the flesh” that Christ provided food and shelter for His own disciples and for their families. Am I “thinking above what is written? Absolutely not! As we will see, some of Christ’s followers owned homes and supported families.

Am I denying that anyone can be a full time minister? No, I am not. Christ never returned to being a carpenter once His ministry began. But as pointed out earlier, full time ministry and “forsaking all for Christ” does not mean that we do not provide food, clothing and shelter for the families given us by our Creator. The scriptures reveal that Christ and his disciples were at least partially funded by certain women “of substance” whose names are given in the gospel of Luke. Then it adds “… and many others” supported our Lord and His twelve disciples.

Luk 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
Luk 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
Luk 8:3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

“Mary, Joanna… and Susanna, and many others… ministered unto Him of their substance”. But we have not one instance of Christ, “taking up an offering” of the people to whom He ministered, and He would never have dreamed of taking tithes of anyone, simply because all tithes were to go to the priests and the Levites, for the ministry of the temple, and the work of the Levites. While yet in a body of flesh, Christ was completely unqualified to be either a physical priest or a Levite, serving in the physical temple.

Heb 7:13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
Heb 7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

So none of the apostles, who were all Jews, had any intention of every asking anyone for tithes to finance their ministry.

Peter and all the other 11 apostles, were as carnal as the day is long until the day of Pentecost, and one day while following Christ all of His disciples had argued among themselves which of them would be the greatest when Christ set up His kingdom on this earth. They truly believed that this “follow me” commission they had received from this great teacher and miraculous healer would one day pay great dividends. Here are the three accounts of this same incident:

Mat 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mar 9:33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
Mar 9:34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
Mar 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Mar 9:36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
Mar 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

Luk 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
Luk 9:47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

With that in mind, here are some of those who are to be “first and chiefest and greatest in the kingdom of God”. Here are some of the greatest supporters Christ had.

Mat 27:55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

Mar 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
Mar 15:41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.

“For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great”.

Peter at a later time, after Christ had made that statement, as was his style, was very blunt and pointed out to Christ that he and all of the 12, had “forsaken all to follow Christ”, and he wanted to know just what was in it for them all?

Mat 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

Now this gives us an insight into what “forsaking all to follow Christ” means, because Peter still owned a house and still supported his family.

Mat 8:14 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.

Phillip also, many years later, still owned a house:

Act 21:8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

So Peter was providing for his own house and for his mother-in-law, and Philip was providing shelter for Paul’s entire entourage. Both had “forsaken all to follow Christ”, yet neither had failed to “provide for they of his own house”. Neither had “denied the faith”, neither was “worse than an infidel”.

But the gospels are not the sum of God’s word concerning how Christ intends that the ministry of His gospel is to be financed. What comes later in the various epistles of Paul is inspired by the same “holy spirit of God”, which “holy spirit of God” also inspired the writing of the gospels. So what Paul says in His epistles concerning the way in which his ministry was financed, is not to be understood as contradicting what the spirit reveals concerning the way Christ’s ministry was financed. Both are true, and it is the sum of both which reveals to us what is the truth from the mind of God concerning the financing of the ministry of the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Let me give you an example of what I mean by “the sum of God’s Word”, before we examine what the spirit led the apostle Paul to write concerning how Paul’s ministry was financed.

If I were to meet my son Wayne this coming Saturday morning, at 8 A. M. and I told him, ‘Wayne I am going south to Buford this morning, is there anything I can do for you while I am in Buford?’ Then my son Dallas calls me that evening and tells me that He came by my house at three in the afternoon, and found that I was not at home. Now if I tell Dallas that I had gone north to Gainesville to take care of some business, at that time, and that is where I was when he came by, am I therefore lying to Wayne about where I was going when I talked with Wayne? Or was I lying to Dallas about where I had been when He came over? Was I in Buford, or had I been to Gainesville that day? Well, obviously both are true. I had gone to Buford in the morning, took care of my business there, and then I went to Gainesville later that afternoon. There is no contradiction in my speech and the truth is to be known in its sum. It is completely uncalled for, and it is completely counter productive, to attempt to make me out to be a liar if I mention to Wayne only that part of my day which concerns him and then mention to Dallas only that part of my day which concerns my conversation with Dallas.

So it is with the sum of God’s Words. When God told Moses, right there on Mount Sinai, that he would later raise up a prophet who would be a reformer just like Moses, then Moses words might very well be expected to mean that Christ also was to be a reformer, as was Moses, and that Christ’s ministry would be a complete “time of reformation… a change also of the law”.

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Heb 9:10 Which [temple rituals] stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

So while “offerings of the firstborn of the cattle and flocks” and “the offerings of firstfruits of the increase of the field”, and “the tithes of the increase of the land”, and the temple tax, were all used to finance and support the functions of the Old Testament temple and the Aaronic priesthood, there is not one verse of scripture which indicates that any of these means was used to finance the New Testament church. Rather there was “a change of the priesthood and a change also of the law”, when Christ came along and brought in His “time of reformation”. That “time of reformation” also completely reformed the manner in which the New Testament “Israel of God… the body of Christ…” was to be financed. Here is what we are told:

2Co 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

2Co 12:13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.

1Th 2:8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
1Th 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
2Th 3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
2Th 3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
2Th 3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

There it is again:

2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

Paul mentions a “disorderly walk” three times, and says that “there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all…”

What should such a person do? Should he forsake all and follow Christ? Of course he should. But how does Paul tell him to do that? Here is what the scriptures say is forsaking all and following Christ, for the average person in God’s flock who is not called to be a preacher or a teacher, but who is called to “forsake all” and to be a vital part of the body of Christ:

2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

What we do always speaks much louder than what we say. In first and second Corinthians, and in first and second Thessalonians, Paul repeats time after time that he “labored with His own hands”, to minister to his own needs and to the needs of those who were with him. He uses the phrase “that I would not be chargeable to you” time after time. He makes this exact same point when talking to the elders of the church at Ephesus.

Act 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
Act 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
Act 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Having said all of that, it is clear that there is such a thing in scripture as ‘full time ministry.’ But ‘full time ministry’ does not mean that one can never do anything but ministry. As Paul said:

Act 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
Act 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Yet it would be utter heresy to teach that it is wrong to accept support from those upon whose hearts Christ has placed a desire to give in support of the sharing and spreading of the gospel. While telling both the Corinthians and the Thessalonians that he did not want to “be chargeable” to them, Paul makes this statement:

2Co 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

This too is a part of “the sum of God’s word” on this subject:

1Co 9:6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

There is your apparent premise. What is the sum of God’s Word after the holy spirit has the apostle Paul to pose this question? Let’s continue:

1Co 9:7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?
1Co 9:8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
1Co 9:10 Or saith he [it] altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, [this] is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
1Co 9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, [is it] a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
1Co 9:12 If others be partakers of [this] power over you, [are] not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
1Co 9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live [of the things] of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
1Co 9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
1Co 9:15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for [it were] better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.

What is “the sum of” God’s word concerning how His ministers are supported? There it is. There are all the verses which show that while God has “ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel”, yet no one who trembles at the word of God, fails to note that the final revelation on this subject is:

2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

What is the holy spirit by the apostle Paul telling us? Is the holy spirit, here in these plain words of scripture teaching a “have a need, plant a seed” prosperity gospel? Is the holy spirit, here teaching that “‘Abraham was very rich in gold and in silver’ and that therefore you too, should be rich?”  Or is the apostle Paul not doing exactly what Christ did, and receiving support only from those upon whose hearts the spirit had laid the desire to assist him in the work which the spirit had given him?

2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all [things] I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and [so] will I keep [myself].

Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

‘Ministry’ is done in many ways and forms. Women, in scripture, are forbidden to be preachers and teachers over congregations, and most men simply are not called to be preachers or teachers. Yet we are all called to be ministers and servants of God as a vital part of the body of Christ. That is how the ministry and all of the ministers of the New Testament were supported. There is not so much as one example in all of the New Testament of any of the ministers of Christ ever demanding tithes of their congregations. There is not even one example of an offering ever being taken up for the support of the ministers of the gospel of this New Testament church. The support of the ministers of the New Testament is accomplished as a body, and that body has a head, and that head is Christ, and Christ, alone. It is Christ who through the agency of His spirit places it upon the hearts and minds of so many to do so much good for their fellow man in His name. Yes, even as they teach doctrine which are contrary to Him and His name. Either we believe that Babylon, with all of its false teachings concerning tithes and offerings is the working of all by God for good; that God “is working all things after the counsel of His own will” as the scriptures teach; either we believe those words or else we do not believe them.
Peter’s mother-in-law ministered to Christ when Christ healed her of her fever. When that was done, what are we told she immediately did?

Mat 8:15 And he Christ touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

No doubt some sisters in Christ will contend that Peter’s mother-in-law got up off of her sick bed and began preaching to Christ and the apostles. Such a thought is absurd in light of every word of the doctrine of Christ in the New Testament on the role of women in the body of Christ. (Read the paper entitled The Head of Christ Is God) In all likelihood Peter’s mother would have considered it a great honor to be counted worthy to wash the feet of Christ as Mary, the sister of Lazarus, did at a later date. Or she might have cooked Christ and His disciples a meal, or done anything that might make an honored guest feel more comfortable in her home. That is as much a part of the ministry of the body of Christ as is the gospel itself, because that is an essential part of the gospel. So the spirit and mind of Christ, which is in the hearts of all of those who tremble at the word of God is this:

Mar 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

You say:

The outside is taking care of the physical, Pharisaical part and the inside believes in the spirit. Like saying a woman should submit to her husband if she has a good husband. No, a woman is to submit to whatever husband God has given her and trust God for everything else.

Do you not see how you talk about the spiritual, but when you speak of forsaking your wife and family it becomes literal? Then you seem to be saying that even after forsaking your wife and family, your wife is still to submit to you “and trust God for everything else”.

We have covered the outside of the cup, and now we have covered the wife we are to forsake for Christ. It is definitely not the wife and husband which “God has joined together” as Christ Himself told us in the first part of this very same chapter.

Paul like Christ, never once demanded that the men of the church leave their wives. Not even the unbelieving wives:

1Co 7:12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
1Co 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

Getting back to what is revealed about the attitude of the apostles toward the subject of the support of the gospel, it is an incredible truth that Paul, nor any of the apostles of the New Testament, ever once demanded money of anyone. Here is what they did do:

2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.

By “robbed” Paul certainly does not mean extorted. He is simply saying that the support he received was completely by the moving of God’s spirit. It was a matter only of “giving”.

Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

Paul goes on to say that the church in Macedonia supplied his needs so that He was “not chargeable” to the churches in Corinth or Thessalonica.

2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all [things] I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and [so] will I keep [myself].

Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

Here is another insight into what Paul considered “forsaking all to follow Christ:”

Act 18:3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought [made tents]: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

For what did Paul work? It’s in the very next verse:

Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

I hope all of this serves to make it clear that we are to provide, as best God has predestined us, for the physical needs of our “own flesh”. We and our wives are said to be “one flesh”, and we and Christ are said to be “of His flesh and of His bones”. Is that a spiritual statement? Of course it is! “Nevertheless [even though these are spiritual truths] let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself…”

Eph 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

The husband who “is called a brother” and who physically loves and physically provides for His wife, is a proper example of just how much he loves and obeys his spiritual Father.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

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.

A wife who shows reverence towards her husband shows just how much she fears and obeys her spiritual Father.

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Not everyone can break away from corporate America and the corporate world. Those in whom the spirit of the true Christ dwells, who can and are led of God to break away from the corporate world, will never look down on those who cannot and are not gifted to do so.

I hope this helps you to see that very few are called to be teachers and preachers, and most of God’s people are called to “forsake all and follow Christ”, by “working with quietness and eating their own bread”, and that the “house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s”, is the house of our father the devil, our mother that great harlot, and our brothers and sisters who we lose when they all begin to hate us. That is “the world” we are to “forsake for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s”.

Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first.

2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

If God supplies the means for some to spend their lives in His ministry, that is just wonderful. But it is still the fullest and final revelation of the sum of His word that God’s ministers “work with their hands” when the need arises, to set an example to others that ministry is to be for giving and not for receiving:

Act 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
Act 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

2Th 3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
2Th 3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

I pray that I am fool enough to follow these admonitions of the holy spirit. I also hope you now see that regardless of how much or how little of our time is spent in ministry, we are all commanded of Christ to “provide for those of our own household, or we are worse than an infidel”, and that it is in keeping these words that we truly do “forsake all for Christ”.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

“The scriptures, as usual, teach just the opposite of [ the] commonly accepted, dispensational, application of Biblical prophecy. Here is the scriptural approach to understanding this and all prophecy: (1Jn 2:18) Little children, it is the last time. And just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have risen up, from which we know that it is the last hour. (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.

Did you catch that? 2000 years ago it could truthfully be said of these prophecies: “It IS the last time,” “Even NOW many anti- christs have risen up,” “it IS the last hour,” “the time IS at hand.”

“Now this “man of sin” becomes relevant to me. “It IS the last time.” “Even NOW many antichrists have risen up.” “It IS the last hour.” “THE TIME IS AT HAND.” This is the proper approach to ALL prophecy. Why did the apostles approach prophecy with this frame of mind? It is because, unlike many modern teachers of God’s Word today, the apostles knew what the purpose of ALL prophecy was: 1Co 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.”

Thinking of prophecy in ‘dispensational’ terms, instead of realizing that he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort (1Co 14:3), is, without a doubt, the single greatest obstacle to understanding prophecy. How can we hope to understand anything about prophecy if we don’t even know what prophecy is. ‘Prophecy’ is not ‘foretelling the future!’ Prophecy does ‘foretell the future,’ but ‘foretelling the future’ is NOT what prophecy is. He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, exhortation, and comfort. That is what ‘prophecy’ is. It is “edification, exhortation and comfort.” All the scriptures concerning the coming of the Messiah were accompanied with exhortations to ‘prepare the way and make straight paths’ (Mat 3:3; Mar 1:2-3; Luk 3:4).

Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

How did John the baptist, “make His paths straight?” It was with this exhortation: (Mat 3:8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance… A life of repentance and obedience is ‘making His paths straight.’ So the very prophecy of the coming of the Messiah was an exhortation to live a godly life.

And so it is with all the prophecies of scripture. The book of Revelation is primarily an exhortation to cleanse ourselves and repent of losing our first love, quit listening to those who say they are Jews and are not, don’t hold to the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, don’t allow that woman Jezebel to seduce us to commit fornication and to eat things that have been offered to idols, knowing the depths of Satan as we speak, not being dead, unwatchful and wearing defiled garments and being naked, miserable and poor and thinking the exact opposite is true. We are to ‘come out of Babylon,’ be ‘caught up to the throne of God,’ measure God’s temple, witness in the streets of that great city wherein our Lord was crucified, and overcome the mark, number, and name of the beast.

The entire book of Revelation is, we are told in the very first verse of the very first chapter, (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…

Revelation is ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him.’ Why does God give ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ,’ to Christ? The reason we are given is to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass. The word ‘shortly,’ is from the Greek word ‘tachos,’ meaning swiftly, speedily or, when prefixed with the Greek word ‘en‘ (as it is here), “in haste,” according to Strong’s Concordance.

The question that begs to be answered, and has been asked for centuries, is ‘Since it has been so many years after the writing of this prophecy, why are we told that Christ was given this revelation to show His servants things ‘which must shortly come to pass’?”

The answer is two- fold. The first part of the answer is that, as we have shown from 1Co 14:3, this book of Revelation, consistent with the rest of scripture, is primarily a book of “edification, exhortation and comfort.” The second part of the answer is that, as pointed out above, the word translated ‘shortly‘ is not even meant to convey the thought of bringing the systems of government of “this present evil age” to a quick conclusion in John’s day.

It goes without saying that if that were, indeed, what was ‘prophesied,’ then the book of Revelation would stand as the most obvious fraud of all time. But, of course, the book of Revelation is not a fraud. As little understood as it is, it is one of the most often referred to books of scripture, usually under it’s Greek name, Apocolyspse. And it is afforded the respect given to all scripture by most professing Christians.

So, what then is meant by ‘shortly?’ The Greek word translated ‘shortly,’ here is ‘tachos,’ Strong’s #5034. According to Strong’s Greek dictionary this word is better translated ‘in haste?’ Understanding why the revelation of Jesus Christ is done “in haste” makes the very purpose of the book of Revelation much more obvious. This word ‘tachos’ appears only eight time in the scriptures. The following two verses are typical of all eight:

Act 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly [ Greek – tachos]. And his chains fell off from his hands.

Act 22:18 And saw him [ an angel] saying unto me [ Paul], Make haste, and get thee quickly [ Greek – tachos] out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

Here we have two of God’s apostles being delivered from impending danger by an angel. In both cases time is of the essence. There is no time to waste. Had Peter or Paul been slow to respond, had they taken the attitude, ‘God is in control here, my works will only get in the way, so I don’t need to be vigilant, or concern myself with obedience,’ neither of them would have been delivered. So God’s sovereignty included the ‘good works’ and ‘obedience’ of both of these apostles and it “is written for our admonition.” 2Pe 3:14 “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

So here is why the Revelation of Jesus Christ must be done “in haste:” … For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (Jas 4:14). And then there is this from Peter: (1Pe 1:24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away…

“All flesh is as grass…” “Your life … is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” That is why the revelation of Jesus is done “in haste.” Now the third verse of the first chapter of the book of Revelation makes perfect sense:

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 [ life that appears for a little] time is at hand.”

Now that we know why the revelation of Jesus Christ is done “in haste,” the above admonition has an application to every generation! “The time is at hand,” in every generation! In every generation, “he that hath an ear,” had better “hear what the Spirit saith to the [ all seven] churches,”.

As hard as it will no doubt be for most to see at first, this is also true for this entire prophecy. You see, this entire book is addressed “to the seven churches,” and “to him that hath an ear.” And we are encouraged to keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. “The time is at hand,” for every ‘vapor,’ and every blade of ‘grass,’ that comes along, generation by generation.

Peter tells us: 2Pe 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” And Paul tells us: 2Ti 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” In other words, ‘ALL SCRIPTURE is for edification, exhortation and comfort.’ If we can only put aside our ‘idols of the heart’ ( Eze 14:1-9), and simply believe the truth of this verse, we will know how to properly approach and apply all “prophecy of the scriptures.”

So, do you want to know who ‘the beast is?’

To truly know who ‘the beast’ is you must first know where he dwells. Once you know where he dwells, you can go there and do battle with him, because you now know where he is. On the other hand, if you believe that the beast is only some future ‘man of sin’ who will sit in some future “temple of God”, then you are already convinced that he is right, you ‘cannot make war with the beast.’

So where is he? Where does he live? We don’t have to guess where this beastly ‘man of sin’ lives. We have been shown. But just like the entire nation of Israel of old, after scouting out the land, and assessing the odds of taking him on, he has us convinced that we cannot make war with him. And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (Rev 13:4). Why would anyone in his right mind worship this beast? Why would he be so successful at convincing everyone that it is futile to ‘make war with the beast?’ How is it that, 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 (Rev 13:16). How could anyone, much less, “he causeth all… to receive a mark;” how is it possible for this beast to succeed so universally while the whole world is watching for him and swearing that they would never submit to worshiping a man?

It is not only possible but it already is, and always has been, an accomplished fact. “The time IS at hand!” “He causeth all… to receive a mark!”

How can I possibly say that? I can say that in complete confidence because I know where the beast dwells. I know him all to well. And there was a time, not long ago when I too asked, “Who is able to make war with the beast?”

So where does ‘the beast’ dwell? Let’s let Paul and John reveal that to us. Paul first: He as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2Th 2:4). Now John: Thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is (Rev 2:13)

These prophecies were written over 1900 years ago. Yet we are told “the time is at hand… do the things written in this book” (Rev 1:3). Until we get this Truth firmly planted in our understanding, we will never receive the spiritual words that Christ’s word are: Joh 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you [ even in the book of Revelation], they are spirit, and they are life.” The single most repeated statement in the book of Revelation is Rev 1:11 “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” It may be slightly restated as Rev 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come.” However it is stated, it always tells us that Christ is the beginning, Christ is the end, and Christ is everything in between. Whatever is true of Christ is also true of His Word, because He is the Word (Joh 1:1). This Truth is reiterated 11 times in the book of Revelation alone.

It is repeated so many times to help us get rid of our ‘dispensational only’ approach to prophecy. It is reiterated so many times to reveal to us that all prophecy is presently applicable, was applicable yesterday and will also be applicable tomorrow. The “spirit of prophecy”, like Christ, “is, was, and will be.”

Rev 19:10 “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Now it becomes clear what is meant when we are told: And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority (Rev 13:2).

So ‘the beast ‘ “sitteth in the temple of God,” and he receives his “power and his seat and great authority,” from the dragon whose ‘seat’ (Greek – throne) just happens to be in the same place (Rev 2:13). This has been the case since the garden of Eden: Gen 3:14 “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this… dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Serpents do not literally eat dust, serpents are carnivores, they eat flesh. Spiritually speaking, which is the only way to understand the words of Christ, Satan is nourished through our yielding to our flesh, his nourishment. When Eve engaged the serpent in conversation, the serpent was sitting down to a three course, T- bone steak dinner. That is why we are told he “seeks whom he may devour.”

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

Now all we have to do to find out who the beast is, is to establish where the temple is of which it can always be said, “the time is at hand.” We are not left to guess. We are told in very emphatic terms where the “temple of God” is of which we can always say “the time is at hand.” The total success of this ‘Dragon empowered beast’ can be attributed to the total darkness the church finds itself in with it’s ‘out there in the future’ dispensationalism, or it’s ‘back there in the past,’ dispensationalism, instead of the super- emphasized “is, was and will be,” “the time is at hand,” “to him that hath an ear,” generation by generation application of prophecy that we are told is for “edification, exhortation and comfort.”

What is “the time is at hand” temple that the beast sits in, demanding our total dedication and worship, assuring us that there is no way to make war with the beast?

Those who cannot receive these very emphatic words of the apostle have done nothing less than materialized away the very spirit and therefore the power of the Word of God!

Here is that temple and here is that beast: Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God [ should be] dwell[ ing] in you? If any man defile [ allow the beast to sit in] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are ( 1Co 3:16-17). There is only one ‘temple of God’ that matters spiritually. And we are told specifically that the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands (Act 7:48).

I hope that God might manifest [ to you], and that [ you] might see that [ you yourself] are [ your] beast (Ecc 3:18).

I certainly have no doubt who my own worst enemy is.

No one escapes the image, mark, or number of the beast. For it is the number of a [ any] man (Rev 13:18). But some few do “get the victory over the beast.”

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.