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Rev 16:4-9 Part 1, The Third and Fourth Vials

[Study Aired March 16, 2025]

Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.
Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

We concluded our last study with these very revealing and revolutionary verses of scripture:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.

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?

Adding the writings of Paul to the doctrines of Peter, it becomes clear that ‘judgment must begin at… he… which is… a Jew… inwardly’.

For all those who struggle to understand how Gentile Christians can possibly call themselves the true spiritual ‘Jew’, Romans 2:28-29 makes that case as clearly and concisely as it can be stated. Some disdainfully refer to such a doctrine as ‘replacement theology’. If Roman’s 2:28-29 is ‘replacement theology’ then Peter and Paul were the original replacement theologians. These are Peter’s own words at the Jerusalem conference:

Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them [Gentile Christians] the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Notice that Peter did not say, “They shall be saved even as we are.” The holy spirit inspired him to tell us that Jewish Christians “shall be saved, even as they [Gentiles, are saved]”.

“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly… but he is a Jew which is one inwardly” is one of “the first principles of the oracles of God”, a truth which we can all read and see with our own eyes. Nevertheless we “hold [this truth] in unrighteousness” and deny that “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly” while these seven plagues are being poured out upon us. This blind rebellion against the words of God is what turns “the rivers and fountains of waters” of God’s Word into blood.

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

“This generation” is the generation reading these words in every generation.

That blood we are given to drink is the blood of Christ which is now on our own hands, even as we profess that we “believe on Him” and serve him when in fact we do not:

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Like Saul of Tarsus, we are those who “kill you thinking we do God’s service”, before we become Paul the apostle who truly does service to God by “dying daily” to the things of this age.

It is very instructive that several of these trumpets are said to affect “the third part”, whereas there is no such language in the description of the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God”, bringing this process of judgment to its conclusion. The trumpets describe this ongoing process of judgment, while the seven last plagues describe the filling up in our lives of these judgments of God.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound [his trumpet], the mystery of God should be finished [the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God”], as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

There is no mention of “a third” of anything because this is what “finishes… the mystery of God.”

In the third trumpet “the third part of the rivers and fountains of water… become… bitter” and many men die, but in the third vial we are “judged thus” to have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and we are given blood to drink, and again we are told “true and righteous are your judgments.” No mention of “a third part” of anything in the pouring out of the vials.

The bitterness of the star, which makes the rivers and fountains of waters ‘wormwood’, is the same perversion of God’s Word which we drink as blood in the third vial which is also dealing with our rivers and fountains of waters of God’s Word which we hold at this time in our walk “in unrighteousness”:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God [the seven last plagues] is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

These plagues are God’s chastening judgments upon our own “ungodliness and unrighteousness”:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ’paideuo’, chastening] us [with the seven last plagues] that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

It behooves us to “read, hear, and keep the things written herein” because we are told:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

So those who teach that these seven plagues are not God’s chastening judgments, but are designed simply to harden hearts for destruction in the lake of fire, will be judged out of their own mouths, and will find themselves in that very position because they refuse to acknowledge that “all things are ours”, and that we “must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, especially the “great and marvelous” words of this 16th chapter of Revelation.

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.

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;

Anyone who denies that these ‘seven last plagues’ are to be experienced by the Lord’s elect are denying The Truth of 1Co 3:21-22 and The Truth of these words:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled [In his life].

According to those who believe that they need not experience these seven last plagues of the wrath of God Revelation 15:8, they think that verse should read “No man [except those who were raptured, or those who “need no repentance”, or those who ‘never blasphemed the name of God’] was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.’

These seven last plagues come straight out of the mouth of God:

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

Rev 1:1  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.

“The time is [always] at hand [for us] to keep… these seven last plagues… which are written in this book”, generation by generation. These plagues are part of the “one event [which is] to all men” (Ecc 9:2), as is the fourth vial also.

The fourth plague and the fourth trumpet as well as all seven trumpets and all seven vials must be “fulfilled” in our lives (Rev 15:8):

Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

At this point the fourth vial or bowl is poured out upon the sun. With what is the fourth trumpet concerned?

Rev 8:12  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Again we see that the trumpets involve “the third part” whereas the vials “fill up the wrath of God” upon our sins and rebellions while we blaspheme the name of God. While we just naturally assume those who blaspheme the name of God do so knowingly, the scriptures actually reveal that we do so unknowingly.

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

So how do the scriptures reveal that we will all unknowingly blaspheme the name of God within our lives? Here is how we all blaspheme the name of God, before we come to even know we are doing so:

Rom 2:17  Behold, thou art called a [spiritual] Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20  An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Rom 2:21  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Romans 2 is addressed to Gentile Romans converts who Paul considers to be his spiritual “brethren”. This epistle is not written to people who don’t even know God and His Son. The church at Rome was not raised up by the apostle Paul. The church at Rome long preceded Paul’s ministry and without a doubt included the Jews who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the church first received the holy spirit as recorded in Acts 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.
Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

This book is addressed to those in Rome who claim to know Christ, and that certainly included many Gentiles because Paul addresses this book specifically to the Gentiles in Rome:

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Paul is not accusing Caesar or his subjects of blaspheming the name of God in Romans 2. He is speaking to those who consider themselves to be God’s own people, who teach others not to steal, commit adultery and commit sacrilege, while they are doing the very things they have condemned in the lives of others. In other words, these words are all addressed to you and to me. It is we who have blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles, and we continue to do so all the time we spend in the churches of Babylon, truly believing all the lying false doctrines of Babylon even as God judges us for all of our rebellious hypocrisy. That is how we are guilty of the blood of all the prophets including the blood of Christ. Even so this is how merciful our Lord is towards us while we are killing Him and His Christ:

Luk 23:33  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

When the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled in our walk, we will repent of our blasphemous lives. We will have read, heard, and kept all these things written in this book, and then we will be cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire. Only the priests of God can stand on that sea with the harps of God, and through the fire mingled with that glass, they are given to enter into the temple of God which temple is us in Christ and Christ within us. In that day we will understand the meaning of this verse:

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

That, too, is the mystery of God declared to us by His servants the prophets. It simply adds to our understanding of the same mystery spoken of by Paul in Colossians 1:

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

What John calls seals, trumpets, and vials, Paul simply refers to as “much tribulation” and “all your tribulations”, which he equates with “the righteous judgment of God”:

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.

2Th 1:3  We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith [“of Jesus”, Rev 14:12] groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

This statement in Acts 14:22 is made immediately after telling us that Paul had just been stoned and left for dead, but he had been raised up to continue his testimony. This is an example of what is meant by the “sea of glass mingled with fire.” Those who are granted to stand on that sea, with the harps of God, have already endured the seven last plagues. Christ has entered into His temple and has taken the dominion of their hearts and minds, and they will not be deterred by a mere stoning to death.

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

Summary

In this study we have seen that it is the pouring out of the seven last plagues of the seven angels which is essential to bring us to see our need for being cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire.  The fire that is mingled with that glass is the judgments of the Word of God upon all the blasphemous sins that are within us, even as we claim to be doing God a service. That fire brings on us the fulfilling in our lives of the seven plagues of the seven angels. They must begin to be fulfilled before we can be cleansed and stand on the settled ‘sea of glass mingled with fire’ and before we can enter into the temple of God.

We also saw that the destruction of the man of sin of 2Thessalonians 2, “with the brightness of [the] coming [of Christ]”, is the same event as the pouring out of these seven plagues. Both result in the same thing; “the mystery of God should be finished”. That mystery is “Christ in you”, and we saw that “the mystery of God… as He has declared to His servants the prophets, commences where “the mystery of iniquity… the man of sin” holding the dominion in our body, ends and the dominion of the mind of Christ begins to dominate our lives.

We have seen that these seven vials are God’s judgments upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness, which “fill up the wrath of God”, while the seven trumpets which precede the seven last plagues, and which perfectly parallel the seven vials, are characterized by the phrase “the third part”, signifying the process of judgment is ongoing and God’s wrath is not “filled up” in the trumpets as it is in the vials.

We have seen how we have perverted the truths of God’s “rivers and fountains of waters”, His own word, which we have twisted and perverted into deadly lies which we used to kill the prophets of God who have been sent to us with His Truth. In this way we have been made to drink the blood of our own Savior and His Christ, thus being guilty of that blood.

Mar 10:38  But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mar 10:39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

We have seen that we have all blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles for the plague of heat, which as “the Sun” of the fiery Truth of God’s Word, is poured out upon our old man and his doctrines. We saw that we do this by holding Truth in unrighteousness, even as we think we were serving God:

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

We have seen that the mystery of God within us actually begins in the opening of the seals and should be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the pouring out of the seven last plagues, when he begins to sound. In other words, “He that has begun a good work in us, will perform it until the day of Christ.”

Php 1:3  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Php 1:4  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Php 1:5  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: [The finishing of the mystery of God].

In our next study, Lord willing, we will see that the bottomless pit and “the seat of the beast are one and the same within us.

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

]]> Ezekiel 18:1-32  The Soul Who Sins Shall Die https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/ezekiel-181-32-the-soul-who-sins-shall-die/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ezekiel-181-32-the-soul-who-sins-shall-die Mon, 27 May 2024 18:33:31 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30013 Audio Download

Ezekiel 18:1-32  The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

[Study Aired May 27, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study concerns the changing of the law by the Lord to make people accountable for their own sins instead of the sins of their fathers. Whenever there is a change in the law, there is resistance to the change as we naturally resist change. The people of Israel thought that the way of the Lord is not just in regard to people bearing their own sins. They preferred the situation where the fathers’ sins are borne by their children. As a result of their resistance to change, the people of Israel were surely going to be judged. The chapter concludes by giving us insight into the benefits of the Lord’s judgment.

The Changing of the Law

Eze 18:1  The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
Eze 18:2  What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? 

The proverb “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are on edge” became a regularly used proverb in Israel because of the following scriptures:

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exo 34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
Exo 34:7  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

In these verses, the Lord was demonstrating to the people of Israel that their iniquities have consequences on their children. As you can see, the Lord gave this rule when He was delivering the ten commandments to Moses. This means that this rule was an integral part of the Law of Moses. As we are aware, the purpose of the Law was to expose sin, but the Law did not have what it takes to change our behavior. Therefore, the rampant use of this proverb suggests to us that the people of Israel have resigned themselves to the fact that they cannot help themselves in hurting their beloved ones (children) through their actions.

Rom 7:7  What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”  

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

Deu 5:28  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 
Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children upon the third and fourth generation signifies that when we are dominated by our old man or the flesh, we are not different from our fathers. In other words, we are not different from the people of Israel in terms of their propensity to disobey the Lord since we are all of the flesh or the old man. The number three means becoming spiritually mature through the process of judgment. This implies that it is as we go through the process of judgment to become spiritually mature (third generation) that the iniquity of our fathers (the old man) is no longer relevant in our lives. The fourth generation mentioned symbolizes that the whole of the Lord’s elect have to go through suffering as a result of the deeds of our old man, which is the iniquity of our fathers. There is no exception to bearing the consequences of our actions as the Lord’s elect of every generation. 

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

Eze 18:3  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 
Eze 18:4  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 

These verses give us glimpses to the change of the Law which became effective when Jesus, the reformer, came on the scene. Here we are made aware that everyone will bear his or her own sins. That is to say that everyone who eats sour grapes will have his own teeth set on edge.

Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 
Act 3:21  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 

Jer 31:29  In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 
Jer 31:30  But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Who is a Righteous Man?

Eze 18:5  But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 
Eze 18:6  And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 

The verses here show us the characteristics of a righteous man or woman or simply, the Lord’s elect. According to verse 6, a righteous man must not eat at the mountain shrines. 

Isa 57:7  Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

In a negative sense, mountains or hills represent the place where the people of Israel perform their idolatrous acts against the Lord. In this case, the mountain represents Babylon where we imbibe false doctrines in our pursuit of another Jesus. It is in Babylon that we pay attention to the great swelling words of vanity of man’s wisdom and tradition. Not eating on a mountain therefore means that as the Lord’s elect, we have been delivered from Babylon and have come to know the truth of the Lord’s words. As a result, we are able to test the spirit to see if it is of the Lord.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

Lifting up our eyes to the idols of the house of Israel signifies harboring idols of the heart which came about as a result of our sojourn in the house of Israel or Babylon. Not lifting our eyes to the idols of the house of Israel therefore signifies the destruction of the idols of our hearts which we imbibed in Babylon.

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

According to the word of the Lord, a wife symbolizes the church. A neighbor, on the other hand, refers to the people of Israel as shown in the following verse:

Lev 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Jesus made it clear to us that our neighbor is the one who has shown mercy to us. In other words, our brothers and sisters in Christ who acknowledge the mercy the Lord has shown to us. 

Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 
Luk 10:30  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 
Luk 10:31  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 
Luk 10:32  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 
Luk 10:35  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 
Luk 10:37  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 

Defiling our neighbor’s wife therefore refers to anything that we do to unveil the nakedness of the church or our brothers and sisters. This means that not defiling our neighbor’s wife means not doing or saying anything evil against our brothers and sisters. We, as the Lord’s elect, must not defile our neighbor’s wife.

James 4:11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (ESV)

As the Lord’s elect, we are not to have sexual relations with a woman during her period. A woman in her period signifies Babylon or the churches of this world in relation to the shedding of blood of the Lord and his messengers. In other words, if we are to worship the Lord acceptably, then we must leave Babylon.

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

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Eze 18:7  And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 

In verse 7, we are required not to oppress anyone but return what we took in pledge for a loan if we are to be the Lord’s elect. The first time the word “oppression” was used in the Bible, it has to do with how Pharaoh and the people of Egypt have set taskmasters over the people of Israel to cause them to work hard for Egypt’s benefit. The oppression in verse 7 is also qualified by the fact that a righteous man returns what a borrower has given as security for a loan and does not rob anyone. In other words, we should not take advantage of anyone irrespective of the position the Lord has placed us. 

Exo 3:9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

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

As the Lord’s elect, we are not to oppress anyone for our benefit. This oppression is clearly seen in the churches of this world (Babylon) where many are working hard for the benefit of the pastors of these churches. Many shepherds of the Lord in the churches of this world have become robbers of the people the Lord has placed over them through extortion in the name of tithes and offerings.

Verse 7 also tells us that those who are righteous give bread to the hungry and cover their nakedness with a garment. Giving bread to the hungry means feeding the Lord’s people with the truth of the word of the Lord. It is the truth of the Lord’s words which covers our nakedness as we are given the garment of righteousness. Unfortunately, this was not what happened to us during our time in Babylon where the shepherds feed themselves.

Eze 34:2  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
Eze 34:3  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen (garment) is the righteousness of saints.

Eze 18:8  He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 
Eze 18:9  Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.

A righteous man does not lend to people at interest or take profit from them. That is to say that we do not take advantage of people to exploit them financially. As indicated, this is what we see in Babylon where the Lord’s people are exploited financially in the name of the Lord.

Jas 5:4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 
Jas 5:5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 

To withdraw our hands from iniquity means we are being judged and as a result we are learning righteousness. Putting our hands to iniquity is therefore not an attractive option for the elect as the old man is diminishing and the new man is gaining ascendency in our lives. As Paul stated, the training the Lord is taking us through in this life helps us to judge fairly between two parties and therefore prepares us to judge the world and angels in an age to come. 

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

In verse 9, we are told that a righteous man or the Lord’s elect follows the Lord’s decrees and faithfully keeps His laws. This is because as we are being judged in this life, we are learning righteousness and therefore making it easier to obey the Lord’s commandments. 

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

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

In conclusion, if we live by the standards set here in Ezekiel 18:5-9, then we are the Lord’s righteous man and therefore we shall surely live. To be living here means that we shall be spiritually alive as we serve the Lord in this life. In other words, we shall be the Lord’s overcomers!! We must take note that the walk of the elect with the Lord is a process. That means it takes time for us to live according to the Lord’s standards. Let’s take confidence in the fact that the Lord who has called and chosen us will see to it that we overcome. It is not about our efforts. He who has called us is faithful!!

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

Eze 18:10  If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 
Eze 18:11  And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 
Eze 18:12  Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 
Eze 18:13  Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 

These verses show us our lives before the Lord came to us, even though we are His sons who are called and chosen before the foundations of the world by the Lord who is righteous. Verses 10 to 13 show us that we were born in sin, and as a result, we manifest the deeds of the flesh until the Lord came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. In verse 13 we are told that we shall surely die and that we shall suffer the consequences of our lives in the flesh. That is to say our blood shall be upon us. The Lord’s coming to us is to judge us so that we learn righteousness. 

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, 
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:

Eze 18:14  Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 
Eze 18:15  That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife, 
Eze 18:16  Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 
Eze 18:17  That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 
Eze 18:18  As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. 

Verse 14 shows us that our father was the devil and that through the mercies of the Lord, we were given to consider our father’s evil influence on our lives as the Lord came to us with His brightness to deliver us from committing the deeds of our father the devil. As a result, we learn righteousness every day as our old man dies daily. The devil will surely die in his iniquity and therefore shall face judgment in an age to come.

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.

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

Resistance to the Changing of the Law

Eze 18:19  Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 
Eze 18:20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 
Eze 18:21  But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 
Eze 18:22  All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 
Eze 18:23  Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 
Eze 18:24  But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 

In spite of the changing of the law regarding each person suffering for his or her own sins instead of the children bearing the iniquity of the fathers, many Israelites questioned this change. In verses 20–22, the Lord is therefore explaining why there should be a change in the law. There is no salvation if this law is still in force. This is because, if we are to suffer the consequences of the actions of our fathers, then even if we turn from our wicked ways and become obedient to the Lord, we shall still be liable to the sins of our fathers and therefore, the blood of Christ, which was shared for our sins, would have been ineffective. However, thanks be to the Lord that this change of the law paved a new and living way where each person must give and account for his own deeds.

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 
Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 
Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 
Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 
Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

Eze 18:25  Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 
Eze 18:26  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 
Eze 18:27  Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 
Eze 18:28  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 
Eze 18:29  Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? 

Whenever there is a change in the law, there is always resistance to the new law. The reaction of the Lord’s people in questioning that the way of the Lord is not equal foreshadows the resistance to Christ’s work as a reformer when He came on the scene. This scenario is the same today as our brothers and sisters in Babylon resist the fact that the Lord will bring salvation to all humanity. In other words, Babylon is accusing the Lord that His way is not equal. Remember that we also in our time in Babylon accused the Lord that His way is not equal. However, through the mercies of the Lord, we were forgiven and given a new life in Christ to understand that the way of the Lord is perfect!!

Psa 18:25  With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; 
Psa 18:26  With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. 

Psa 18:30  As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 

The Benefits of the Lord’s Judgment

Eze 18:30  “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 
Eze 18:31  Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 

Our resistance to the Lord’s ways means that we shall surely be judged. As we are aware, it is the Lord’s elect who are being judged in this life. In verses 30 and 31, we are shown the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. It causes us to repent and turn from all our transgressions so that sin does not disqualify us from the prize of His higher calling. Judgment destroys our old man who is the source of our transgressions against the Lord. The death of our old man or flesh is the birth of a new man described in verse 31 as the new heart and new spirit. It is this new man which keeps us alive in Christ. 

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. 

Eze 18:32  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” 

In verse 32 we are told that the Lord does not have pleasure in the death of anyone. This implies that it is the Lord’s desire to bring salvation to all at His appointed time. 

Psa 135:6  Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

1Ti 2:3  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 
1Ti 2:4  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Conclusion

This whole chapter gives us glimpses of the change in the priesthood which necessitated the change of the law which took place when our Lord Jesus Christ came as a reformer. Today, our Lord is still carrying out His reformation works in our lives as He gives us the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death. He who has started this good work in us, shall see to its completion.

Heb 7:12  For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 
Heb 7:13  For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 
Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 
Heb 7:15  This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 
Heb 7:16  who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
Heb 7:17  For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” 
Heb 7:18  For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 
Heb 7:19  (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 
Rom 8:3  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 
Rom 8:4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Thank you Lord, for your wonderful plan of salvation in which you have given us a significant role to play. Amen!!

]]> Zec 9:1-17  The burden of the word of the LORD  in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/zec-91-17-the-burden-of-the-word-of-the-lord-in-the-land-of-hadrach-and-damascus/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zec-91-17-the-burden-of-the-word-of-the-lord-in-the-land-of-hadrach-and-damascus Thu, 27 Jul 2023 18:01:33 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=28015 Audio Download

Zec 9:1-17  The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus

[Study Aired July 27, 2023]

Zec 9:1  The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. 
Zec 9:2  And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
Zec 9:3  And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 
Zec 9:4  Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 
Zec 9:5  Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 
Zec 9:6  And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 
Zec 9:7  And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 
Zec 9:8  And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. 
Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zec 9:10  And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 
Zec 9:11  As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 
Zec 9:12  Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 
Zec 9:13  When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Zec 9:14  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
Zec 9:15  The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
Zec 9:16  And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 
Zec 9:17  For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

The first verse of this ninth chapter of Zechariah sets the stage for a prophecy that declares all the world will be judged by God through the church which will be an ensign upon the land revealing God’s goodness and beauty to all the earth, making the world rejoice in the word of hope the elect will bring (Rev 2:26-29). 

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

This judgment over the nations which are given to the elect is what “The burdenH4853 of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD” represents, and is a prophecy of the judgment of all the world symbolized by this statement, “as of all the tribes of Israel.“

It is a physical and mental burden to have our old man judged in this age (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17), but it is also a joyful burden (2Co 7:4) knowing that the present suffering we are enduring cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed in the first resurrection, and so we look to the joy that is set before us through Christ who gives us that vision through the church (Rom 8:17-18, Heb 12:2, Pro 29:18).

2Co 7:4  Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation [Act 14:22]

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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.

This chapter of Zechariah talks about the judgements that will come upon Babylon through the church expressed as “the burdenH4853 of the word of the LORD“. That same expression can be found in Isaiah 19:1-25 where Egypt, representing all the world, will be judged by the LORD who will “rideth upon a swift cloud [God’s elect the great cloud of witness  (Heb 12:1)], and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it”.

Isa 19:1  The burdenH4853 of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 

This chapter of Zechariah is about God’s indignation against the nations of the world and how He will judge all men with a mighty stretched out arm (Exo 15:16, Isa 34:1-6).

Exo 15:16  Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. [God’s elect being connected to the passover lamb (1Co 6:19-20, Rom 8:36, Col 1:24)]

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Isa 34:3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
Isa 34:4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree [Rev 6:12-13].
Isa 34:5  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon IdumeaH123, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
Isa 34:6  The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of IdumeaH123. [Rev 14:18-20]

When God’s judgments are in the earth, men will learn righteousness (Isa 26:9), so although these verses we have read speak of some very hard things that will happen unto the world at the hand of God via the elect, the end result will bring healing. This time in Christ’s life found in Mark 3:1-14 is a parable of what God’s elect will experience during the thousand-year reign, being like him in the earth (1Jn 4:17). The twelve disciples, who are sent forth by Christ to preach, are typical of the foundational [12] body of Christ that will be sent forth to preach to all the world during the thousand-year reign of the saints. Right down to the smallest detail, there are parallels to be drawn from this section of the gospel of Mark and the ninth chapter of Zechariah, which we will look at before we get into the actual verses of the study.

Mar 3:1  And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand [a withered hand in the synagogue represents our inability in Babylon to sow the word of God correctly].
Mar 3:2  And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
Mar 3:3  And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Mar 3:4  And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 
Mar 3:5  And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Mar 3:6  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him [All of the physical healing during the reign of the saints does not prevent the events of Revelation 20:8  from transpiring, showing there was no spiritual healing taking place, no conversion].
Mar 3:7  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, 
Mar 3:8  And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. 
Mar 3:9  And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 
Mar 3:10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
Mar 3:11  And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
Mar 3:12  And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
Mar 3:13  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 
Mar 3:14  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 
Mar 3:15  And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

Zec 9:1  The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.

The judgment upon Hadrach (the country) and Damascus (the capital city), by way of the word of God which judges us, symbolizes what will happen to all men in time who will be dragged to Christ “when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD” (Joh 6:44). 

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

All the world will labor to enter into that rest, “the rest thereof” each man in his own order (1Co 15:21-24). Being before Christ and believing because we have been dragged there by the Father requires that we continue in that relationship if we are going to grow unto maturity, as we are dragged to Christ to that “private place” [Hadrach], the hidden idols of our Adamic hearts’ “sack of blood” [Damascus] that are revealed and repented of in this age, Lord willing (Joh 8:31-32, Jas 1:18-20, 1Jn 1:7). That dragging for us today as the body of Christ (Joh 6:44) burns up the idols of our Adamic hearts typified by the names HadrachH2317 and DamascusH1834.

Zec 9:1 The burden of the Word of I was, I am, I will be against the land of private placeH2317 Hadrach BDB definition =”dwelling”, and its resting place, sack of bloodH1834 Damascus BDB definition = “silent is the sackcloth weaver” , (when the eye of man, and all the tribes of he will rule with God shall be toward I was, I am, I will be), [PNB-YLT-1]

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

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 
Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Zec 9:2  And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
Zec 9:3  And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 

These next verses discuss the condition of man’s heart and the idols of the heart that will be destroyed by the body of Christ bringing great fear upon all the world, and they parallel very well with the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:1-11). 

The verses start off by describing cities that represent the strongholds of our flesh [HamathH2574 BDB=”walled”; PNB=wall of anger], the deceitful and desperately wicked heart (Jer 17:9) that is proud and “very wise” having built itself upon the negative rock [TyrusH6865 BDB=”a rock”; PNB=strength ] thinking we are complete and fulfilled in our self-sufficiency not having need of Christ’s words. Man’s wisdom is not the power of God, but God allows mankind to dwell in a place that creates a false sense of security where strongholds are laid up, “Tyrus did build herself a strong hold“; and riches of the flesh are accumulated through our industriousness [ZidonH6721 BDB = “hunting”; PNB=hunting place] and “heaped up as silver as the dust” along with “fine gold as the mire of the streets.” “Dust and mire” – that’s the conclusion Paul comes to regarding the wisdom of man versus the power of God which is revealed in the true gospel of Jesus Christ (Php 3:8, Rom 1:16-17).

Php 3:8 and  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 

This is the mindset that is needed to win Christ that Paul is describing for us and the fruit of that mindset is then described in Philippians 3:9.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Zec 9:4  Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 
Zec 9:5  Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 
Zec 9:6  And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Tyrus is being discussed now, which is the Phoenician way of saying the port city of Tyre. These verses are talking about the judgment of mankind at this time, and God uses the port city of Tyrus as a type of Babylon that must be judged by the saints and will be during their reign with Christ (Rev 8:9, Rev 18:17, Rev 18:19). 

Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. 

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 

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

The “Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire“, tells us that it is with the word of God that man’s false sense of power will be taken away, “in the sea“, meaning in our flesh and amongst all the rest of humanity that we trade with and exchange our ideas, all based on the lie that we have free moral agency.

What this judgment causes is fear and sorrow and torment, described with these words, “Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.“

This thought of “AshkelonH831 BDB = the fire of infamy: I shall be weighed“ and “GazaH5804 BDB = “the strong”” seeing this judgment unfold on Tyrus, and fearing, reminds us of this verse previously mentioned (Rev 18:19). The king perishing from Gaza, “the king shall perish from Gaza“, is symbolic language meaning that mankind is being shown we are not the masters of our own destinies, our own kings with ten crowns (Rev 13:1), and so the king of kings in our hearts [small k], with its lie of free moral agency, has to die. Ashkelon, which means ‘the weighing place’, will consider these events and see an end coming to its self-willed enterprising mind, all happening in thirds, meaning a process of judgment that must occur to rid mankind of these idols, as mentioned in Revelation 8:9. Men’s ideas about themselves, in other words, are no longer going to thrive and flourish: “Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.” So, it is a bastardH4464  who dwells in AshdodH795, H7703 at this point, seeing that the legitimacy of mankind’s ‘Jewishness’ has been exposed (Deu 23:2, Rev 3:9).

Deu 23:2  A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. 

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Zec 9:7  And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 

Still speaking of Tyre, we are told that God will “take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth“, symbols of ‘another Jesus’ based upon our own understanding of Christ. Taking away our Adamic blood is what is required to understand the precious blood of Christ (1Pe 1:19). The abomination between our teeth is the man of perdition who sits on the throne of our hearts and represents our self-willed spirits that reject God’s sovereignty at first. So, God taking away “his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth” is a good thing and something that requires a process of judgment (Luk 21:19-20, 2Th 2:8, Mat 24:15, Lev 7:18). 

Then we’re told, “but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.” There will be no conversion during the thousand-year reign of the saints, but this verse shows us that there will be different levels of comprehension with the unconverted masses and even those who will befriend the elect acting as governorsH441 in Judah [typifying the elect], and EkronH6138, as a JebusiteH2983, H2982.

governorsH441 
BDB: 1. tame, docile 
friend, intimate
3. chief

Strong’s:  From H502; familiar; a friend also gentle; hence a bullock (as being tame; applied although masculine to a cow); and so a chieftain (as notable like neat cattle): – captain duke (chief) friend governor guide ox.

Ekron H6138
BDB: Ekron = emigration or torn up by the roots 
the most northerly of the 5 principal cities of the Philistines; located in the lowlands of Judah and later given to Dan.
Strong’s: From H6131; eradication;

H6131: A primitive root; to pluck up (especially by the roots); specifically to hamstring; figuratively to exterminate: – dig down hough pluck up root up.

Jebusite H2983 
BDB: descendants of Jebus 
Strong’s: Patrial from H2982

H2982: BDB = threshing place ; Strongs = trodden that is threshing place;

Zec 9:6  The people in Ashdod will not even know who their real fathers are. I will completely destroy the proud Philistine people.
Zec 9:7  They will no longer eat meat with the blood still in it or any other forbidden food. Any Philistine left living will become a part of my people—they will be just one more family group in Judah. The people of Ekron will become a part of my people, just like the Jebusite people did (1Ch 11:4; 1Ki 9:19-22). I will protect my country. (ERV)

1Ch 11:4  And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 

1Ki 9:19  And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
1Ki 9:20  And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, 
1Ki 9:21  Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice (forced labour / slaves / servants) unto this day.

Mary was not converted, nor were any of Christ’s disciples at the point where He was on the cross. However, there was a closeness they had with Him that others did not share, and Mary’s heart was threshed and pierced at seeing her beloved son dying in such a horrific manner (Luk 2:35). This should give us hope for those who are yet  unconverted in our midst, still blessed to have known Christ within the body of Christ (Gal 2:20). 

Zec 9:8  And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. 

Now the reality is in front of the world, God is dwelling on earth with His saints in the person of Jesus Christ, “I will encamp about mine house” where His bride “encamps about” to protect the holy city (Mat 26:53) so that “the exactor shall not pass over them furthermore” (CLV). “No oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes” (Rev 21:26-27) is another way of saying we will see him face to face in that day, when we are spirit beings who cannot be oppressed by the world. The natural precedes the spiritual in that regard as well, knowing that all those who are raised up as spirits in the second resurrection will not be able to oppress the elect but will be judged by the saints (1Co 13:12, 1Co 6:3, Mat 22:29-30).

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

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

Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 
Mat 22:30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

This verse is commonly thought of as a prophecy that points to the time when Christ makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and it is, but that moment in Christ’s life was also typical of His coming into the life of the elect, who are typified as Jerusalem (Gal 4:26) and now have taken on the perfected mind of Christ in the first resurrection and are glad and rejoicing for this loving relationship we have with our husband (Rev 19:7). We are glad and rejoicing and are also called the “daughter of Zion” and the “daughter of Jerusalem” throughout the scriptures. In light of the thousand-year reign though, we can also see this declaration spoken to ‘the other sheep not of this fold’ (Joh 10:16), the rest of humanity who are going to be saved and told, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee” (Oba 1:21, Psa 127:3, Psa 113:9, Isa 54:1-5)

Psa 127:3  Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

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

Psa 113:9  He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

With Christ being our head, the elect are like Him and are represented by “a colt the foal of an ass“, the tamed beast Christ controls and rides triumphantly into Jerusalem above, where we are raised in heavenly places (Eph 2:6). Because the Lord has guided our lives in this age, and we have been led by God’s spirit (Rom 8:14-16), we have been crushed and have suffered, making it possible for us to become that meek bride, being made ready to rule and reign under Christ (1Pe 3:4, Pro 18:22). 

1Pe 3:4  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 

Pro 18:22  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. 

That crushing of the elect is directed by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is “riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” that is going over the tree branches and clothes (Mat 21:8) which represent the elect whose lives have been lost and cut down and crushed under the stone, Jesus Christ (Mat 21:44), as a glorious witness of His power and might that is able to finish this work of salvation (Zec 4:6, Psa 149:4, Luk 12:32) within the elect as His kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18).

Psa 149:4  For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. 

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

Zec 9:10  And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 

This verse contrasts with Christ “riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass“ showing us the need for judgment in the earth in order for the world to learn of His righteousness. God will take away the power of the nations, symbolized by these words, “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off.“

There will be no area of the world where Christ’s and His Christ’s influence will not be felt and implemented, declared here saying, “and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”

Zec 9:11  As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 
Zec 9:12  Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 

These two verses are talking about God’s elect today who are being given hope in His word that tells us because of our communion with Christ (1Co 10:16), He will, at the appointed time, send “forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water”, which has both an inward application and a dispensational one as well. We are told today to “Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope” as we look to Christ as our hope of glory within who can deliver us from our wretched flesh. We are hoping in those things which are not seen, by the faith of Christ (Col 1:27, Rom 7:24, Heb 11:1). He declares to His elect even today the double blessing which will be given to those who endure until the end and overcome by God’s power in this life “even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee.“

Zec 9:13  When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Zec 9:14  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.

These verses show us that God is preparing us for the battles that have been ordained for us to go through, battles that belong to the Lord (1Sa 17:47) but are executed through His bow, “When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.” The spirit of Christ in God’s elect is against the fleshly carnal heart of man, to which is what this section of the verse is referring, “and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece [representing carnal, gentile flesh, which is what all flesh is in God’s eyes], and made thee [God’s elect] as the sword of a mighty man.“

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 

The world will see this work of judgment unfolding upon them through the elect, which is what we are being told here, “And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.” The arrows represent His word that will go forth from our lips as lightning. All God’s elect do will be directed and guided by Christ, who will “blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south“, meaning we will take our lead from Christ. Coming from the south means we will go forth with the prosperity of His word in our quiver to do His bidding on the earth (Psa 127:3-5).

Psa 127:3  Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psa 127:4  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 
Psa 127:5  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Zec 9:15  The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.

The imagery in this verse describes the certainty of God’s judgments that will prevail throughout the earth. He will defend us and win our battles for us, and the giants in the land at that time will be slain, which was typified by King David slaying Goliath. “The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones” (1Sa 17:49-50).

This will be a great time of rejoicing for the bride of Christ as we see the loving protection and mighty arm of our saviour taking us into battle and giving us victory at every turn. That is why it says, “and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine.“ We shall be “filled like bowls and as the corners of the altar“, representing the complete power of judgment that will go forth from the body of Christ. The corners of the altar are where there are horns representing that power of God working in our lives. Today that power is made known to us as we die daily being, bound to the altar by the grace-through-faith relationship we have with our Lord (Psa 118:27).

Zec 9:16  And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 
Zec 9:17  For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

Again, some reassuring verses that remind us of God’s love toward the bride of Christ and the little flock who will be an ensign unto all the earth, “for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land” (Mal 3:17).

How great is God’s goodness toward us, and how great is His beauty, indeed! Our joy will be in living lives that have learned throughout our lifetime of overcoming that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Rev 4:8, Act 20:35), having been prepared as the bride of Christ for that service to all the world. That service is what this verse foreshadows, “For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.” We will have the privilege of giving the world the truth, represented by “corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.”

Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 
Rev 4:9  And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 
Rev 4:10  The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

]]> Is it a Sin to ‘Seek After a Sign’? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/is-it-a-sin-to-seek-after-a-sign/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-it-a-sin-to-seek-after-a-sign Mon, 24 Jul 2023 19:50:31 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=27989 Is it a Sin to ‘Seek After a Sign’?
[Posted July 24, 2023]

Hi R​____,

Thank you for these very revealing and encouraging observations concerning what Christ said about an evil and adulterous generation not being give any sign other tha​n the sign of Jonah:

Mat 12:38  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Not once in those words of our Lord does He say anything about signs not following those who believe in Him. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign” does not mean that ‘A righteous and faithful generation must never seek or display any signs.’ The exact opposite is true:

Mar 16:17  And these signs [G4592: ‘semeion‘] shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

The Greek word translated as ‘sign’ in Mat​thew 12:39 is G4592, ‘semeion‘, and this is Christ Himself telling us that ‘signs’ would follow them that believe, and indeed they did:

Act 2:43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

Act 5:12  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

I think your words explain why Christ said ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.’ This is what you said:

Amen! and Amen!! While physical signs are nowhere nearly as prolific for us as for those of Christ and His apostles, we do still have healings from time to time, and “greater thing than [we] do”, every time we cast out an evil lying spirit with the power of the word of God and convert a soul, which Christ did not once do in His three and a half year ministry:

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

Saving a single soul from death is a much greater work than all physical healings combined:

This is a subject worthy of posting for future reference.

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Your grateful brother, Mike

]]> Zec 8:1-23  A city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts  https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/zec-81-23-a-city-of-truth-and-the-mountain-of-the-lord-of-hosts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zec-81-23-a-city-of-truth-and-the-mountain-of-the-lord-of-hosts Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:56:03 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=27972 Audio Download

Zec 8:1-23  A city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts

[Study Aired July 20, 2023]

Zec 8:1  Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 
Zec 8:3  Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. 
Zec 8:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 
Zec 8:5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 
Zec 8:6  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 
Zec 8:8  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. 
Zec 8:9  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 
Zec 8:10  For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 
Zec 8:11  But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:12  For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
Zec 8:13  And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 
Zec 8:14  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: 
Zec 8:15  So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 
Zec 8:16  These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Zec 8:17  And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zec 8:18  And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, 
Zec 8:19  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. 
Zec 8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
Zec 8:21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zec 8:22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 
Zec 8:23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

In this eighth chapter of Zechariah, we learn of God’s ultimate purpose for the elect who are judged in this age (1Pe 4:17, Rom 8:28) so that they can be revealed as the Israel of God (Gal 6:16) who will be called “a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain” which God has made ready through Christ to rule the nations with a rod of iron (Oba 1:21, Rev 19:7, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5).

Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

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

The “all Israel” spoken of in Romans 11:26 represents the world God will bring into the midst of Jerusalem. “And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” (vs 8)

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

This section of Zechariah is a prophecy talking about the time when the world will learn of God’s righteousness because His judgments will be in the earth via the body of Christ, who will be used to “turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Isa 26:9). God’s people will be a fruitful vine (Zec 8:12) which disseminates the word of truth to a world that will hear what the church has to say, but will not be able to ultimately continue in the truth given to them (Joh 12:47, Rom 8:9, Mat 13:16-17, Joh 8:31-32).

Joh 12:47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world [Mat 12:36-37, Luk 19:22]. 

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

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

God’s elect can conclude with heartfelt joy today through Christ our hope of glory within (Col 1:27) that our labor now, and during that thousand-year period will not be in vain (1Co 15:58, Isa 66:9). Those labors are all to God’s glory to reveal His longsuffering spirit toward the vessels of dishonor who will, at the appointed time, come to see that God’s word will never return void but will deliver all the banished of this world (2Sa 14:14, Rom 9:21-22, Isa 55:11, Rev 20:11, 1Co 15:22). 

God’s mercy toward the weak of the world, the elect (1Co 1:26), is truly unsearchable and past finding out (Rom 11:33). Studying this section of Zechariah reminds us how His ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8-9), and how blessed we are to know our Lord now, to have eyes that see and ears that hear. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1Co 15:58, Joh 8:31-32).

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 

Zec 8:1  Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 
Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 

If the Lord had not been jealous over His bride, who is likened to “the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain” (Oba 1:21) we would have never been made ready. Because of His faithfulness that which He has promised to start and finish will be accomplished within the body of Christ (Heb 12:2). Christ is jealous of His wife, and because He is a consuming fire, He will burn out of His bride all unfaithfulness, all iniquity so our hearts and minds will grow to be able to bring every thought into subjection to our head Jesus Christ, truly becoming one with the Lord and His body (2Co 10:4-5).

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 

Exo 34:14  For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Num 5:14  And the spirit of jealousy come upon him [think of Christ with his bride], and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 

Num 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him [think of Christ with his bride], and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

Deu 4:24  For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;(our own thoughts and daily interactions with the world) 

[God equips the body of Christ to deal with our iniquity, our self-righteousness that he visits and promises He will burn out of us, pulling down every stronghold within us and those spirits we wrestle with in others (Mar 13:11-13)]

The “great fury” of verse 2 which God has against us is against our yet carnal minds that must be circumcised and put off in order for the bride to be called “a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain” (Rev 15:8), that mountain being mount Zion who comes up as saviors of this world in the first resurrection who are in perfect subjection to our head Jesus Christ (Oba 1:21).

Zec 8:3  Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. 
Zec 8:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

The elect are likened to mount Zion (Oba 1:21) to whom God has returned as well as Jerusalem, a city of truth. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:2). Both represent the resurrected body of Christ that will rule on this earth. In regard to this holy mountain called Zion, we learn “and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27).

The rest of humanity who are still alive when God’s government is established on this earth, are spoken of in Zechariah 8:4, and this verse describes the great peace the earth will experience prior to Satan being released for a season (Rev 20:8). “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age” (Zec 8:4). 

Being an old man or old woman still bringing forth fruit in our lives is a great blessing and symbol of wisdom (Job 32:7, Psa 92:14). However, when we read “every man with his staff in his hand” it symbolizes for us a world that is still believing in free moral agency, being held up by their own strength, still leaning unto their own understanding, which is all we can do until the Lord takes away our confidence in our own flesh (Job 32:8-9, Php 3:3).

Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 

Job 32:7  I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 
Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 
Job 32:9  Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, [Joh 4:23] and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 

Zec 8:5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 
Zec 8:6  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
Zec 8:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 
Zec 8:8  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

These verses describe for us a time of great peace and prosperity in the earth during the thousand-year reign. “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof“, and the symbolic language shows us there will be a confidence in flesh because of the hedge God creates during this period until it is taken away at the release of Satan for a season (Rev 20:8). 

To answer the question, “If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts“, we can consider how Paul marveled at how soon people were turned away from the true gospel in his day (Gal 1:6-10), and we will marvel (not being surprised or caught off guard, just marveling at the marvelous work of God in the earth) as we see the world go through this process of being judged “from the east country, and from the west country” and then be shown that there was no conversion during that symbolic thousand-year period of judgment, with no spirit of God within (Rom 8:9). The prosperity of this time is undeniable in its description in God’s word both physically and in the abundance of God’s word which will fill the earth as the oceans are filled with water (Hab 2:14). 

The peace and security this brings is likened unto “old men and old women dwell[ing] in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age” and to “the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” Nevertheless, none of this gives evidence to the conversion of the masses, only that like Adam and Eve in the ideal garden of Eden as soon as Satan is loosed for his season upon them, it is revealed that they cannot resist the devil and are taken in their own iniquity (Gen 3:4-7).

Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 
Gen 3:5  for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. 
Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 
Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons [actions that symbolize their own iniquity].

The world will be brought into the midst of Jerusalem, “and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” does not preclude that there is conversion on the horizon, only the opposite as this is a time of great contrast just as it was with Peter who said he would never deny Christ but did, along with the rest of the disciples (Mat 26:31), and Adam and Eve who denied Christ, and Israel who denied Christ, and finally all the world who are alive at that time and will be overtaken by the spirit of Satan just as Judas was the night he betrayed Christ (Joh 13:27); all showing us that our victory and overcoming is solely a gift of God and given at an appointed time.

God bringing them so that “they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” is the necessary first step of witnessing the truth to the world, and that word and witness will not return void, but the hypocrisy of all flesh must be driven home for every human that ever lives before salvation (Oba 1:21) can come at God’s appointed time [Isa 26:9, Isa 55:11].

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

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

Zec 8:9  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

Those who hear in “these days” are those who are blessed to interpret and understand (Rev 1:3) the message that the prophets of old and righteous men of old prophesied, not to themselves but to us upon whom the end of the ages are come (Mat 13:16-17, Heb 10:11, 1Pe 1:12). Our hand is strong because we have been blessed to come to rely on the strength of the Lord through whom we can endure all things (Php 4:13, Tit 2:14). God’s elect are given to have Christ’s righteousness which exceeds that of the prophets of old, and they have inherited the kingdom (Mat 5:20) to lay down the foundational principles “of the house of the LORD” (1Ti 3:15).

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

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

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

It does not take a converted mind to be given the materials to lay the foundation of truth that would later be understood by those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear, so we have these scriptures that confirm that point (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11, Eph 2:20).

1Co 10:11  Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. 

Eph 2:20  being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; [So “that the temple might be built” (Psa 127:1)] 

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

God set “all men every one against his neighbour” [Christ’s word was divided in Babylon and symbolically residing in the cup of a harlot (Rev 17:5).] witnessing to the truth of Isaiah 45:7. This is the time described in the previous chapter of Zechariah (Zec 7:14) and represents our time in Babylon when there is no stay of bread or water to be found (Isa 3:1, Isa 4:1). If there is no hire for man who is a beast or any hire for beasts to be taken care of, “For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast“, the Lord is telling us there is no stay of bread or water in Babylon by those words (Isa 3:1). What if that all changed, as it will during the thousand-year reign when mankind is given the unadulterated truth of God via the elect, the church? The next two verses demonstrate that God is going to put all His cards on the table so to speak so the world has no excuse (Rom 1:20). In truth we always have an excuse if the spirit of God is not yet given within us to rightly divide the word of truth, otherwise there would have been no point in Christ saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Rom 8:9, Luk 23:34).

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they partedG1266 his raiment, and cast lots.

Zec 8:11  But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:12  For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 

God will do something different in that He will make the truth crystal clear to humanity during the thousand-year reign by way of the true church (Col 1:24). Verse eleven is talking about the world during the thousand-year period, “But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts“, and verse twelve is talking about the elect who are that one “seed” (Gal 3:16) which is going to be “prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things“. This prosperity is talking about the word of God going forth from the elect which will not return void in the great white throne judgment, where it will be purified. It is the remnant, the elect, who are told they will possess all things by the grace of God, “And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.” The “all these” possessed of the elect is the inheritance God has promised to those who lose their life in this age so they can be used to bring in the rest of humanity in the lake of fire; our many children who only come to maturity in the second resurrection (Gal 4:27, Php 4:4).

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

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

Zec 8:13  And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 
Zec 8:14  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: 
Zec 8:15  So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 

The message is being repeated again here as a witness to the truth that God is going to save all of humanity:  “so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.” God does not determine the timing of that salvation with that sentence, but we know that salvation for the rest of the world is a long-suffering event as declared in Romans 9:21-22. There is a transition being shown from old covenant black-and-white law to a merciful hedging-in of the nations to drive home the point that any ‘ideal’ situation does not bring about conversion unless God’s spirit is within, enabling the temple of God to be built by the grace-through-faith process that is not a part of this dispensation being prophesied about.

Rom 9:21  Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? 
Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction: 

Another shadow of this relationship with God’s true church with the world can be seen with the story of Joseph who fed and clothed his brothers, but in type and shadow language their love was not perfected as they feared (1Jn 4:18) that none of these actions of their now-ruling brother convinced them that they were not ultimately going to be destroyed. This torment Joseph’s brothers endured typifies the time when all the world will be judged in the second resurrection/second death/lake of fire/white throne judgment (Rev 20:14-15).

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. 

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

Zec 8:16  These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Zec 8:17  And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zec 8:18  And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, 
Zec 8:19  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

These commandments were spoken by the Lord: “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD” to provoke people to love and good works and represent the relationship God’s elect will forge with the world during the thousand-year reign (Isa 30:21). 

Isa 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Then verse 19 demonstrates that there is a process unfolding in these earthly circumstances where humanity is being given the true manna from heaven: “The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace“, and it is a joyful event  with “joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts [for] …the house of Judah [the elect]” but anon with joy the world is receiving the word of God. That receiving of the word will be shown to have not taken deep root when tribulation comes by way of Satan being loosed for a season (Mat 13:20, Pro 24:10). God has not purposed conversion for humanity at this point, just an intellectual relationship that is more akin to being under tutors and governors (which is how the elect are perceived by the world in their hearts). 

The world’s dedication to Christ and His bride is demonstrated by these many physical fasts: “The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth.” They typify the many wonderful works we do in our flesh, deceiving us into thinking that we are more spiritually mature than we actually are, all by God’s design to demonstrate to us that all the watering and planting in the world which will take place during the reign of Christ and His Christ (Rev 11:15) does not accompany spiritual increase, which only comes at the exact moment that God has ordained it, to His glory (1Co 3:6-7).

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. 

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Zec 8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 
Zec 8:21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zec 8:22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

The return of Christ and resurrection of the elect will bring many “strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.” It is in many cities and nations “that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities” to hear the word of the Lord. There will be a zealousness in the earth as people go from city to city to provoke people to go up and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Simply put, because God’s judgments are in the earth via the body of Christ, men will learn righteousness (Isa 26:9). All these actions of the masses of humanity are typical of the old covenant patriarchs along with prophets and righteous men (Mat 13:17) who sought a better resurrection, which we know is typical language pointing to the first fruits who are already raised in the first resurrection (Isa 26:9, Heb 11:35).

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Zec 8:23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

This last verse confirms and explains the zeal of the nations during the thousand-year reign and is typical of how the disciples were initially zealous to drop their nets (Mat 4:20) and immediately follow Christ, only to later discover that upon Christ’s death and being without the spirit of God within them, they went back to be fishers of fish rather than the fishers of men which they would become once the spirit of God was given on Pentecost (Joh 21:3, Mat 4:19). That is what is happening here, where “ten men” which typifies the perfection of the flesh in a collective manner “all languages of the nations” shall take hold of “the skirt of him that is a Jew.” That Jew is the body of Christ (Rom 2:29) which the world will touch and be healed physically by, but not spiritually like the woman who touched the hem of Christ’s garment in Matthew 9:20. There is a zealousness in the earth because the world has heard that “God is with you“, but that zeal is not according to knowledge (Rom 10:2-4, Joh 6:29) because the world is not being saved by grace through faith as yet (Eph 2:8), a gift reserved for humanity in the great white throne judgment. This is very much an eating-of-loaves time we are reading about in this chapter of Zechariah, of which Christ said this: “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (Joh 6:26). We are told by Christ that it is the natural saving of our life [symbolized by eating loaves and being filled] that will cause a person to be reserved until the second resurrection (2Pe 2:4, 2Pe 3:7). It is by God’s grace that the elect cry out to Him and fear (Heb 5:7), being given a hunger and thirst for His life and appreciating the miracle which that life produces within us [the true bread from heaven] (Mat 5:6), that will increase in those who lose their life for His sake (Mat 10:39).

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 

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

]]> Book of Jeremiah – Jer 51:33-48  The Sea is Come Upon Babylon https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/book-of-jeremiah-jer-5133-48-the-sea-is-come-upon-babylon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=book-of-jeremiah-jer-5133-48-the-sea-is-come-upon-babylon Sat, 22 Oct 2022 20:57:40 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=26461

Jer 51:33-48  The Sea is Come Upon Babylon

[Study Aired October 23, 2022]

Jer 51:33  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
Jer 51:34  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Jer 51:35  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Jer 51:36  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
Jer 51:37  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:38  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
Jer 51:39  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:40  I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
Jer 51:41  How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
Jer 51:42  The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
Jer 51:43  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
Jer 51:44  And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Jer 51:45  My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 51:46  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
Jer 51:47  Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Jer 51:48  Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:49  As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

The first verse of our study, for those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear “the things of the spirit”, demonstrates that the time of threshing and the time of harvest are both just different ways of speaking of the day of our being judged:

Jer 51:33  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

Being in Babylon is just like being in Christ. If we are in Him, then He is also within us:

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

The same is true with Mystery Babylon and the adversary who is worshiped by Babylon:

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Jer 51:34  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Jer 51:35  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

It is Satan himself who tells us that God has given him to be “the god of this world”:

Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

‘The sum of [the Lord’s] Word’ reveals that the power Satan has is no power of his own, and he is nothing more than ‘the Lord’s hand’:

Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Act 4:29  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Just because we are informed that the crucifixion of our Lord was by the “hand and… counsel” of God does not mean that this is a one-time thing where the Father stepped into the affairs of mankind and caused a major event to work according to His will. No, it was not a one-time event. These words are telling us that God works all things, after the counsel of His own will and not ours:

Satan is empowered and limited by our Lord. Satan does exactly and only what he is given to do. Therefore, even all the evil in this world is actually “the Lord ruling in the kingdoms of men” via “the god of this world… [His] hand”:

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

Who are the Lord’s ‘watchers’? If we are in Christ, then we are His watchers and His watchmen:

Isa 21:6  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Eze 33:7  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

Christ and Paul tell us to be “watchers”:

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

Act 20:28  Take heed [watch] 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.

1Co 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Whether we ‘watch and warn’ the Lord’s flock or we fail to do so and we become a “grievous wolf” it will be the Lord’s “predestinated… work”, working all things after the counsel of His own will:

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

Fortunately for us, the outcome of this battle in our heavens does not depend upon our strength or our fabled ‘free’ will because the Lord wants us all to know:

Php 2:13  For [G1063: ‘gar’, assigning a reason, because] it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Therefore, if we will to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling’ we do so only because it is the Lord working in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, and we have no right to glory in our corruptible flesh.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Jer 51:36  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
Jer 51:37  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:38  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
Jer 51:39  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

Mystery Babylon is the second beast of Revelation 13. The first beast comes up out of the sea, which symbolizes all of mankind:

Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea [mankind] shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Jer 51:42  The sea [the nations] is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Mystery Babylon is signified by another beast which comes up out of the earth:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Mystery Babylon is secret Babylon because she appears as a lamb, but she speaks as a dragon. ‘The earth’ out of which she is coming is religious mankind who claim to know God but who “speak as a dragon” by spreading the lies of the great red dragon with all her false, lying doctrines.

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

Mystery Babylon is a mystery because the various religions and denominations within those religions are all confused, and they are pointing at each other and calling each other Mystery, Babylon the Great. The Lord has put it into the hearts of the “ten horns” on the beast that comes up “out of the sea” to rebel against the hegemony and the dominance of religion, and to throw off that influence and dominance. That change of heart toward this spiritual whore is expressed and signified with these words:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

The words of warning against ancient Babylon are spiritually applicable to Mystery Babylon:

Jer 51:40  I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
Jer 51:41  How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
Jer 51:42  The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
Jer 51:43  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

The only other place the name ‘Sheshach’ appears is in:

Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

This 25th chapter of Jeremiah concerns the seven last plagues which are called ‘the wine cup of [the Lord’s] fury”:

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

“Sheshach” is obviously an epithet for Babylon. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this name and its origins:

“From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jer 51:44  And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

For Jeremiah to prophesy, “the wall of Babylon shall fall” at the time he made this prophecy would be like me prophesying that all the religions of this world will be destroyed at the appearing of the Lord. At that time, it simply did not appear possible that the wall of Babylon would ever fall. The same is true for Mystery Babylon today. It appears impossible that orthodox, historical Christianity, the largest single religion on earth, and Islam, the second largest religion on earth, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and any other religions of mankind, including the religion of Atheism, will all fall before the power of “the Lord and His Christ”, and yet that is exactly what the scriptures foretell:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Jer 51:45  My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 51:46  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

These words repeat the admonitions of verses 6-8 earlier in this same chapter:

Jer 51:6  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
Jer 51:7  Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
Jer 51:8  Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

It is the inspired words of verses 6-8 and verses 45-46 which inspired the apostle John to give us the same admonition:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

Jer 51:47  Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Verses 17-18 make it very clear that idols signify “falsehood[s]… the work of errors”:

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

All the lying false doctrines of all the religions of this world are at this very moment being exposed and rejected by the secular societies of every nation on this earth. The Lord has put it in their hearts to do His will and to turn against all the religions of mankind and to begin their destruction.

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

The false doctrines of every religion on earth have “reigned over the kings of the earth” for thousands of years, but the Lord is preparing this world to forsake all its religions and to learn to live under the rod of iron which will be wielded by “the Lord and His Christ”:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

“The time of their visitation“ of Jeremiah 51:18 is the same as “the time of the Lord’s vengeance” in verse 6:

Jer 51:6  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

Jer 51:48  Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.

This verse is telling us that the heavens and the earth and all that therein is, shall sing for the fall and the destruction of Mystery Babylon the Great.

The destruction of all the lies of the great harlot, of which I was a true believer, was the greatest ‘earthquake’ ever to take place in my life. I remember telling Sandi that I had come to realize there was no ‘stay of bread nor any stay of water’ in any doctrines of any of the churches we had ever attended.

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

‘The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water’ both signify the Word of God (Joh 6:51 and Eph 5:26). What we are being told here is that not even one doctrine of Babylon, including the death and resurrection of our Lord, is untainted by the lying false doctrines of Mystery Babylon the Great. The fact is that Mystery Babylon doesn’t believe that Christ died on the cross. Their false doctrine teaches us that Christ possessed an immortal soul which could not die and instead went to heaven to be with His Father, or He went to paradise to be with the thief, or He went to preach to spirits in prison. So even the most basic doctrine of scripture which teaches that Christ died for our sins is perverted and denied by the lying error of the idols of the heart of the ministers of Babylon.

Coming to understand just how deceived I had been was both devastating, and at the same time it was exhilarating, because the casting out of all those lies was the beginning of Christ assuming His throne in my heart and mind, and it was the beginning of being given eyes that could see and ears that could hear the things of the spirit.

My experience is common to every one of you. We have all been dragged to where we are, and remaining faithful to the Word of God is a fiery experience which costs us the friendship of this entire world.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

It is the adulterous attitude of going along with the traditions of men to get along with men which turns us all into spiritual “adulterers and adulteresses”. Christ did not go along with the doctrines and traditions of men in His day to get along with the people of His day. He broke the sabbath, and He maintained that He was the Son of God, and for that Mystery Babylon said He must die:

Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

What great love the Father has bestowed upon us that we also should be 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.

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. [That blessed and holy first resurrection].

The resurrection of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, struck such fear in the hearts of “the great men of [Mystery] Babylon”, that they plotted to kill both Lazarus and Christ. Just imagine the fear that will strike the hearts of the men of Babylon the Great when Christ Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and all the saints of God from the days of Christ until the day of His appearing shall rise up out of their graves and meet the Lord in the sight of the whole world!!!

Joh 12:9  Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
Joh 12:10  But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
Joh 12:11  Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

This is the “even so” that Christ’s Father sent Him “into the world” to accomplish, and this is what Christ is now sending us to accomplish:

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

That is why you and I have come into this world. We have been sent by God to be Saviors upon Mount Zion:

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

]]> Book of Jeremiah – Jer 49:11-22  No Man Shall Abide In Edom https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/book-of-jeremiah-jer-4911-22-no-man-shall-abide-in-edom/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=book-of-jeremiah-jer-4911-22-no-man-shall-abide-in-edom Sat, 03 Sep 2022 21:24:04 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=26205 Jer 49:11-22  No Man Shall Abide In Edom
[Study Aired September 4, 2022]

Jer 49:11  Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
Jer 49:12  For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
Jer 49:13  For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
Jer 49:14  I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
Jer 49:15  For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
Jer 49:16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:17  Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
Jer 49:18  As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
Jer 49:19  Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
Jer 49:20  Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
Jer 49:21  The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
Jer 49:22  Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

In our last study we saw how Esau’s close relationship to Jacob (‘Israel’) makes Esau the type of those who are the closest to the true “Israel of God”.

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)

Esau is Jacob’s twin brother who at first had the birthright.

Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

The natural mind does not connect Esau’s selling of his birthright for a bowl of pottage to assuage his hunger pangs worthy of calling him a “profane… fornicator”, but that is exactly how the Lord feels about us when we ignore and disobey Him for the purpose of avoiding the tribulation or persecution [which] arises because of the word:

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Esau was not born of a bondwoman as Ishmael was, and he was circumcised in the flesh, along with Jacob and Ishmael. Esau then, and those he typifies today, have a lot in common with the Lord’s elect, yet it is the Lord’s preordained intention that Esau is to be rejected and supplanted by Jacob. This decision by the Lord had already been determined of God while Esau and Jacob were still in their mother’s womb having yet done “neither good nor evil… that the purpose of God should stand… not of works… but of election”:

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 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Those words are the ‘birthright’ of those to whom they apply. “The children of the promise” will endure hunger and discomfort and the rejection of this world and will never sell their birthright, not because of their own will or their own works, but because God has “before ordained that they should walk in [those good works]”:

Eph 2:5  Even when we [“the children of promise”] 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 own] 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.

Esau, and all those who are so close to the Lord’s people and yet are rejected of the Lord, hate these words and feel that the Lord’s ways are not right or fair. Esau feels that he has gotten cheated, and indeed, by the Lord’s own design, Esau, our rejected anointed, has been supplanted by Jacob:

Gen 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Esau, who is Edom, is therefore the type and shadow of all those who are circumcised in letter but not “of the heart, in the spirit”:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Esau does “many wonderful works” in an effort to please his physical father, but our heavenly Father is not interested in our works:

Gen 27:1  And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
Gen 27:2  And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
Gen 27:3  Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
Gen 27:4  And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

A conniving Jacob, at his mother’s commandment, didn’t even have to prepare the “kids of the goats”, to lie to and deceive his father into blessing him while Esau was away doing all his father had asked of him.

Gen 27:8  Now therefore, my [Rebekah] son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
Gen 27:9  Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

The Lord expects us to accept even the evil in this world as part of the “all things” which are His works for our good (Rom 8:28, Eph 1:11).

Edom, Moab and Ammon are the three adversary nations who were all physically related to Israel. Of these three family members who were related to Israel, Edom is the most closely related, and Edom is also by the Lord’s design, the most resentful of the Lord’s elect as the story of Jacob and Esau so graphically demonstrates. So also, it is with Christ. Christ came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

That statement is as true of the church today as it was of “[the Lord’s] own” when those words were first penned. It will always be those who want Christ’s name but refuse to wear His clothes or eat His bread who will most hate Him and want Him crucified. The closer to Christ they are, the more they hate Him, His ways, and those who are His. In plain English, Christians who know that Christ said “resist not evil… love thine enemy… he that lives by the sword will die by the sword” will hate those who live by those words more fiercely than a Hindu or even a Muslim. It is Christians who most hate the Lord’s faithful who teach His doctrines such as:

2Ti 2:3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The answer of the ministers of Babylon to these words of Christ is, “All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.” They are eating their own bread and wearing their own apparel, but they call themselves ‘Christians’ (Isa 4:1). We’ve all been there. None of us could at first believe that God creates and works in and through evil, wicked men to accomplish “His own” purposes (Isa 45:7).

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

Lot, the father of Moab and Ammon, was the son of Abraham’s older brother, Haran. That makes Isaac and Lot first cousins. However, Jacob and Esau are not mere cousins – they are twin brothers. The Lord promises both Moab and Ammon, who are far more distant from Israel than Esau, that in the end He will “bring again [their] captivity”. Esau is given no such honor because Esau, Israel’s closest relative, his twin brother, typifies the Lord’s rejected anointed. The Lord’s rejected anointed king, King Saul, was David’s most fervent enemy and was constantly seeking to destroy David, who typifies the Lord’s ‘accepted in the beloved’ anointed. Abraham just naturally hated to have to drive Ishmael out of his house, and David also mourned the death of the Lord’s anointed, King Saul, showing us that we must never, ever rejoice when our enemy falls:

2Sa 1:21  Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

Pro 24:17  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Pro 24:18  Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Esau leaped for joy at the judgment of Israel, and that is one of the reasons why the judgment pronounced upon Esau sounds so severe:

Jer 49:11  Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

This is a call for all of us as “fatherless children” to “come out of [Babylon the great]”:

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.

Jer 49:12  For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

We all, “every man in his own order” judged that we will “not drink of the cup… of the Lord’s wrath”. That is exactly what Jerusalem thinks:

Jer 25:4  And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.
Jer 25:5  They [“His servants the prophets”] said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:
Jer 25:6  And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Jer 25:7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
Jer 25:8  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
Jer 25:9  Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Jer 25:10  Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:
Jer 25:18  To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

Jer 49:13  For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

Two of the prophets who speak of the utter destruction of Esau, Israel’s closest relative, are Jeremiah and Obadiah. The entire book of Obadiah concerns the judgment and destruction of Esau and his kingdom of Edom.

Oba 1:1  The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her [Edom] in battle.

Take note of the use of the feminine pronoun. This tells us we are speaking of an adulterous daughter, church, or religion. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament consisting of a mere 21 verses.  Obadiah builds upon this part of Jeremiah concerning the judgment of Esau. Look at the similarities between these two prophets as they prophesy of the ultimate judgment of Esau:

Jer 49:9  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

Oba 1:5  If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?

This little book ends with these foreboding words concerning Esau, the type and shadow of those who are closest to Christ but will not do the things He says:

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

Esau typifies all religions which claim to know God but are in rebellion against the doctrines of Christ. “The kingdom [which] shall be the Lord’s” at the time of the judgment of Esau, will be all religion which is in opposition to “our Lord and His Christ”. It will be the whole world which the Lord promised to ‘Abraham’ as the type and shadow of Christ and those who do the things He says:

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Rom 4:13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

The message of both Jeremiah 49 and the book of Obadiah is that those who humble themselves and do the things Christ says to do, those who are willing to wear His clothing and eat His bread, will be the ultimate judges of those who are closest to Christ and who want His name but refuse to submit themselves to His doctrines:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

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

It is for the Truth’s sake and for our own good that the Lord will play second fiddle to no one. He does not need us or our worship, but we surely need Him and His Truth to deliver us from this great deception to which He first commits every man.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

No one is above being deceived by “that wicked”. Even the Lord’s elect are first held in this deceitful bondage:

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The Lord is not impressed with the power of this “man of sin…second beast…false prophet…eagle, Esau”:

Jer 49:14  I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
Jer 49:15  For, lo, I will make thee [“her”] small among the heathen, and despised among men.

Jeremiah refers to Esau with the same feminine pronoun, ‘her’ that Obadiah uses in his opening words:

Oba 1:1  The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

This feminine pronoun signifies religion in rebellion against “our Lord and His Christ”. This is taking place before our very eyes. The religions of this world are being revealed to be the hypocrites they have always been, and their hold on mankind is diminishing every day as the religions of this world become “small among the heathen and despised among men”.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ [the “manchild” of the next chapter]; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Jews claim to be “God’s chosen people”. Christians and Muslims both claim Christ’s name, but the only thing these three religions have in common is their common disdain for the doctrines of Christ. Christianity is still the largest religion on earth. The Muslim religion is the second largest. Between these two religions, both claiming the name of Christ, more than two-thirds of the nations of this world have for thousands of years been in bondage to their false anti-Christ doctrines. Nevertheless, the Lord will judge the house of Esau and will make religion in opposition to Christ “small among the heathen, and despised among men”.

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

Obadiah also refers to Edom in his pride against the Lord and His Christ “dwelling in the cleft of the rock… as high as the eagle”:

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Oba 1:4  Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

Jer 49:17  Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

Edom is proud of heart, has exalted himself, and will be brought down, and everyone who passes by ‘shall be astonished and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof’. Where have we read this before?

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Jer 49:18  As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

This is exactly what the holy spirit says about the destruction of the great whore, Babylon the great:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her [Same feminine pronoun for ‘Edom’]
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

The utter destruction and the “burning with fire” of Edom and Mystery Babylon are one and the same, and it is not bad news. Rather, it is good news. It is ‘the gospel of Jesus Christ’:

2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: [The kingdom of our old man]

Jer 49:19  Behold, he [Nebuchadnezzar, the destroyer of both Judah and Esau] shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong [It is Edom who thinks he is so strong]: but I will suddenly make him run away from her [Edom will flee from the Chaldeans who are also referred to with the feminine pronoun]: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her [Edom]? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

The Lord is sovereign, and it is He who will appoint a governor over Esau. In that day He will appoint saviors over all of mankind:

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

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

The destruction of Edom and Babylon within us is the best thing we will ever experience, because that destruction is the beginning of the birth of Christ within us.

Obadiah 1:21 and Revelation 11:15 are one and the same event which will culminate in the greatest work of grace by God which is known as “the great white throne… judgement/the lake of fire/the second death.” It is in the lake of fire that Esau will be destroyed and through that destruction become a new man “as seemed good to the Potter to make [him]”:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7  At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

Jer 49:20  Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
Jer 49:21  The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

The same words are used to describe the fall of Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth:

Jer 50:46  At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

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

This ‘woman’ is the mother of all harlots and every worldly religion, and every legal denomination within that religion is one of her daughters. As hard as it is to imagine at this time, this entire system of rebellion against the bread and apparel of Christ will be “made desolate [and will] be destroyed”:

Jer 49:22  Behold, he [Nebuchadnezzar in type, and “the Lord’s army… in that day”] shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

“The heart of a woman in her pangs” is the same as being brought to our wits’ end. It really is the end and the destruction of the kingdom of our old man, and it really is a painful and extremely trying time. However, let us not forget that birth pangs, like a seed that falls into the ground and dies, brings forth a new life, both in “this present time” and in the great white throne judgment.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Joh 16:21  A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

We quote many verses of Psalms 107, and some think we dwell much too much on the Lord’s judgments upon the kingdom of our old man. Nevertheless, let’s look at these verses together, and Lord willing, He will cause us to see the positive side of His judgments, the delivering of a child, and He will cause us to sacrifice to the Lord the sacrifice of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing and not with a heart that is ungrateful and unaware that His judgments are actually His “wonderful works” which drag us to repentance. It is only through the Lord’s judgments that He will bring us to “praise [Him] for His wonderful works to the children of men”:

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

I will insert these words from Romans between verses 22 and 23 of Psalms 107.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

It is a very rare ‘lost sheep’ who is made to understand that the destruction of the kingdom of our old man is the first step to laying down the foundation of the kingdom of our new man, “the kingdom of God… within us” (Luk 17:20-21). It is a rare ‘prodigal son’ who is brought to see that Psalms 107 is all about “the goodness of God that brings [us] to repentance”

Continuing in:

Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:32  Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

It is Christ and His elect who ‘go down to the sea in ships and who are doing His business in great waters’. They alone have eyes that can see and rejoice in His wonders in the deep. When Edom is in the pangs of the Lord’s judgments, Edom is just as much a son of Adam as Jacob is. The only reason we do not read the phrase “And in the latter day I will bring again the captivity of Edom” is that Edom is used of the Lord as a type and shadow of religion in rebellion against the Lord, a system of men which is also called “Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth”. Being used of the Lord to typify that doomed system does not mean that the great white throne judgment does not include all of Edom because:

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

These verses are also applicable to Edom as to anyone else who is “in Adam” and who is in the great white throne judgment:

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

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

So much for the despicable and blasphemous false doctrine of an immortal soul burning in literal flames of fire for all eternity. The Father sent Christ to save the world, and as His Father has sent Him, He has sent us be “Saviors on mount Zion judging the house of Esau” so that they, too, will “learn righteousness”.

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.

]]> Study of the Book of Kings – 1Ki 10:1-13 So King Solomon Exceeded all the kings of the Earth  for Riches and for Wisdom https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/study-of-the-book-of-kings-1ki-101-13-so-king-solomon-exceeded-all-the-kings-of-the-earth-for-riches-and-for-wisdom/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=study-of-the-book-of-kings-1ki-101-13-so-king-solomon-exceeded-all-the-kings-of-the-earth-for-riches-and-for-wisdom Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:35:16 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=25270 1Ki 10:1-13 “So King Solomon Exceeded all the kings of the Earth for Riches and for Wisdom”
Study Aired February 17, 2022]

1Ki 10:1  And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. 
1Ki 10:2  And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 
1Ki 10:3  And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. 
1Ki 10:4  And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 
1Ki 10:5  And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. 
1Ki 10:6  And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. 
1Ki 10:7  Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. 
1Ki 10:8  Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. 
1Ki 10:9  Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. 
1Ki 10:10  And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
1Ki 10:11  And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. 
1Ki 10:12  And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. 
1Ki 10:13  And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

In last week’s study we looked at how God’s elect, who are the body of Christ (1Co 3:16, Eph 5:30), are the light of the world who preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to all men with works and words (Joh 14:11, Joh 14:20, Luk 6:43-45) which we understand are being accomplished by Christ, our hope of glory within (Col 1:27-28) and King on the throne of our hearts (Luk 17:21, Rom 8:9).

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

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 

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

Luk 6:43  For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
Luk 6:44  For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 

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: 

Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

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

It is in our hearts and minds that God is able to accomplish this witnessing of the kingdom of God to all nations within us giving us the power to subdue the powers and principalities that we are able to rule over through Jesus Christ (Eph 6:10-12, Eph 1:21) who is working in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure within (Php 2:12-13).

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 

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

As we gain dominion over the beast of the field within our own lives, little and by little through Christ who increases as we decrease (Exo 23:29-30), the fruit of our lives increases (Luk 8:15) which outwardly witnesses to the world that our kingdom is not of this world (Joh 18:36, 1Jn 4:17), but rather resides within us in earnest as we wait on the Lord and possess our souls in patience with great hope, believing and anticipating that in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye this will happen: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15)

Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 
Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

When that day occurs, the Lord will draw the world to the body of Christ to witness to them the wisdom and riches of Christ within us, which is what this prophecy in Isaiah  (Isa 60:1-22) is all about. What we are looking at today in the tenth chapter of the first book of Kings is a type and shadow of the prophetic events found in Isaiah 60:1-22. So with that in mind, let’s look at these very confirming verses telling us what God has in store for those who love not their lives in this age (Rev 12:11) and are blessed to endure until the end through our Savior Jesus Christ (Php 4:13, Mat 24:13).

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 
Isa 60:2  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
Isa 60:3  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 
Isa 60:4  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 
Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 
Isa 60:6  The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 
Isa 60:7  All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 
Isa 60:8  Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 
Isa 60:9  Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 
Isa 60:10  And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 
Isa 60:11  Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 
Isa 60:12  For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 
Isa 60:13  The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 
Isa 60:14  The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 
Isa 60:15  Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 
Isa 60:16  Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 
Isa 60:17  For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. 
Isa 60:18  Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 
Isa 60:19  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 
Isa 60:20  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 
Isa 60:21  Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 
Isa 60:22  A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. 

1Ki 10:1  And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. 

The body of Christ will be proved by “the queen of Sheba” who represents Babylon during the thousand-year reign of the saints, the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15). That time of ruling over the nations is an unknown (Rev 20:6) amount of time seeing the thousand years represents the process of spiritual completion through judgment, three 10’s (10x10x10=1000) that God’s elect will be able to execute upon all nations so men can learn God’s righteousness because His judgments will be in the earth (Isa 26:9).

The world will be coming to prove the elect “with hard questions” and it will be the answers to those very hard questions that will sow the seed that will not return void until it is purified in the lake of fire (Isa 55:11, Joh 12:48, Rev 20:12, Rev 21:8). Nothing will be hidden from us regarding what is in the hearts of men as revealed in type and shadow with these words in regard to Solomon’s encounter with the queen of Sheba “there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not” (Luk 8:17, Joh 20:19).

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

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works [words and the works are the same].

Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

1Ki 10:2  And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
1Ki 10:3  And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. 

This is a very central section of our study as it shows the contrast between all the many wonderful works of the queen of Sheba who represents Babylon who “communed with him of all that was in her heart” and how “Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not“. Solomon as a type of the elect church can answer all of the world’s questions, and nothing is “hid from the king” again is a type and shadow statement of how nothing will be hidden from those who will be given to judge the nations under Christ (1Co 6:3, Heb 4:13).

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

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

The world, represented by Babylon [the queen of Sheba], will bring to “Jerusalem” (Gal 4:26) which represents the mind of Christ [Solomon], “a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones” which represents the many wonderful works that people do in their flesh (Mat 7:22) separate and independent of the knowledge that God is sovereign and that we have no free will. This is the “very great train” that carries with it this lie of the devil from the very beginning, from the garden of Eden, where humanity attributes the disobedient actions of Adam and Eve as something that was a work of their hands independent from the Creator and therefore something that God had not determined according to the counsel of His own will from the start. We self-righteously look at the sins of others and say. “I wouldn’t do what they did if I were in the garden of Eden.” The truth is we will not be justified in this life until we are led by God to repent of such a spirit that just naturally reigns in the heart of mankind (Eph 1:11, Rom 2:4, Luk 18:13-14).

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: 

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Our speech can become very seasoned in this life prior to knowing Christ, which language is understood and heard by the world (1Jn 4:5). This is what the ‘spices’ Babylon carries before Solomon represent. However, when in the possession of Solomon they will serve a purpose which is more akin to the salt, which is a seasoning that enhances food spoken of in Colossians 4:6 and Matthew 5:13 telling us, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Solomon knew how to answer the queen, “Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not“, which represents how God’s elect will have this same grace given to them as saviors who come up on mount Zion, who will be able to discern good and evil to the glory of God, as Solomon also did with the “two women that were harlots” (1Ki 3:16-27), revealing to us in type and shadow who was the true church [of the two women] who possessed the true doctrine [child] (Heb 5:14, Mal 3:18).

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

The much gold and precious stones of Babylon within us, although of great value, are still as so much dung in the eyes of God while it is wrapped around an idol of our heart (Eze 14:4) and connected to our earthly endeavors and completely unable to acknowledge God’s sovereignty (Php 3:8-11). That is what God is burning out of the elect so we can “be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.“

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

All these treasures, the “spices, and very much gold, and precious stones“, are carried by an unclean animal, a camel (Deu 14:7), to remind us that these are works of the flesh and not of the spirit, and they do not and cannot compare to Solomon’s God-given riches and wisdom that “exceeded all the kings of the earth” (1Co 1:25).

1Ki 10:4  And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 
1Ki 10:5  And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. 

Having no more “spiritH7307 in her” could have also been translated “no more courage” (see Jos 2:11) or “no more breath” (see Jer 10:14, Jer 51:17), again showing us a shadow of the work in front of the elect, moving the world to repentance and a renewed spirit within them (Psa 76:12, Psa 78:8, Psa 34:18, Psa 51:10-12, Psa 104:30).

Psa 76:12  He shall cut off the spiritH7307 of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Psa 78:8  And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spiritH7307  was not stedfast with God.

Psa 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spiritH7307.

Psa 51:9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 
Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spiritH7307 within me. 
Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spiritH7307 from me. 
Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy freeH5082 (noble, honorable)  spiritH7307.

This section of scripture truly captures the moment when the world will come to see the resurrected Christ and His Christ, the world being represented by the queen: “And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built…” She was, as the world will be, left breathless: “…there was no more spirit in her” (1Ki 10:4,5).

Isa 66:8  Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1Co 2:9), and in this story the queen of Sheba is only seeing the fruit of Solomon’s life represented by “the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD“.

The “his servants” of this verse represent the elect of God (2Co 6:4), as does “the attendance of his ministers” and “their apparel” represent the righteousness of the saints (Rev 19:8). His “cupbearers” represent those who will bring healing to the nations with the word of God we will bear for the world’s sake as we do for each other today (Mat 10:42). This last section, “his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD“, is speaking of the relationship the elect have with God that has transcended the flesh (2Co 5:16), represented by the six steps that lead up to “the house of the LORD” (1Ki 10:19).  However, “the meat of his table” is from the Lord, and it will bring healing to all in God’s perfect time (Eze 47:12).

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministersG1249 of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 

Mat 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh [six steps]: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 

1Ki 10:19  The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.

Eze 47:12  And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

1Ki 10:6  And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1Ki 10:7  Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. 
1Ki 10:8  Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. 
1Ki 10:9  Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. 

Blessed are those who believe and have not seen, quoted in John 20:29, cannot be said of someone who says to “the king…It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.“

It is in Babylon, in our “own land” that we hear of the great stories of the gospel, and of all the things that Christ did, represented by “thy acts and of thy wisdom“, yet we don’t believe the words until we start to be dragged out of Babylon and come to realize how blind we were “until I came, and mine eyes had seen“. It’s then, if we are blessed to continue in the truth and become disciples indeed, that we will deeply realize how corrupt the Babylonian interpretation of the gospel is out of which we come, by grace through faith (2Co 6:17, Eph 2:8).

The queen says “behold, the half was not told me“, meaning we really don’t know Jesus at all when we’ve only  ‘heard half of the story’. It is the sum of His word that is Truth (Psa 119:160 [ASV]). In Babylon, we do naturally add and take away from God’s word, and both are deceptive acts that God gives Satan the power to do (Psa 17:13, 2Co 4:4). When we take away from the words of God, He takes “away his [our] part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book” from us, meaning we have no stay of bread or water while in Babylon (Rev 22:19, Isa 3:1). The queen of Sheba represents the world who will come to see the truth through the body of Christ recognizing “thy wisdom and prosperity” that “exceedeth the fame which I heard” (Eph 3:10).

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 

On the other side of that coin, the queen goes on to say, “Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom” (Rev 1:3) and “Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.” (Rom 11:26,  Oba 1:21, Isa 26:9). Just as the queen of Sheba here, we do at first speak beyond our understanding and can prophesy but always and only “by the inspiration of the Almighty” (Job 32:8, Pro 2:6, 1Co 13:9).

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. 

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

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

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 
Job 32:9  Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

Pro 2:6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 

1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

1Ki 10:10  And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

The queen of Sheba represents Babylon who is going to give great increase or “great storeH7235” to Solomon so that he can lay up these “precious stones” and “abundance of spices” that were most abundantly given from her seeing she represents Babylon and this increaseH7235 (“great store” of this verse) that is promised by Christ who said he would build the church (Psa 71:21, Eze 36:11, Mat 16:18). That foundation is Christ, and He is the way, the truth, and the life (Joh 14:6), the pure foundational words of Christ which are likened to “an hundred and twenty [120] talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones“, which must be apprehended by Christ in us typified by Solomon who is now the recipient of all these great treasures that can now be purified seven times in an earthen vessel, the temple of God we are (1Co 3:16, Psa 12:6).

Psa 71:21  Thou shalt increaseH7235 my greatness, and comfort me on every side. 

Eze 36:11  And I will multiplyH7235 upon you man and beast; and they shall increaseH7235 and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

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

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times [ShebaH7614 = “seven” or “an oath”].

1Ki 10:11  And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. 
1Ki 10:12  And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. 

In our last study we saw how Solomon developed a navy that symbolizes the strength of Christ in us to rule over “Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom“, which places represent our flesh. He also maintained a working relationship with Hiram, stated this way: “And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon“. It was through this relationship that Solomon was able to receive the benefit of his close tie to Hiram whose navy “came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon“.

In this section of Kings, we are seeing the fruit of this relationship with Hiram that is being brought forth, which is typical of how the gospel can go forth and be preached “whether in pretence, or in truth” (Php 1:18), by whichever navy, Solomon’s or Hiram’s, (the Lord can use either source) to bring “gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones“.

Now we not only have “gold from Ophir” and “precious stones“, we also have “plenty of almug trees” which trees we know represent men (Mar 8:24) who  are being made into “pillars for the house of the LORD” (Rev 3:12), and “harps also and psalteries for singers” which represent those who are now blessed to have become a new creation from those “almug trees” (2Ch 2:8) who are now able to worship God in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:21-23).

2Ch 2:8  Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon [‘white’, (this is the negative example of white representing self-righteousness) ‘incense’ – Hitchcock definition]; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

1Ki 10:13  And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

As the world asks and seeks and knocks during the thousand year reign of the saints (Mat 7:7), Christ, represented by king Solomon, will give “unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty“. This true “royal bounty” is the word of God that is laid up and given unto the world during the thousand-year reign. However, what the world will ultimately do with that “royal bounty” is then expressed with these words: “So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.“

This type and shadow event of the queen of Sheba asking things of Solomon is reminding God’s elect today that we all start off asking amiss to consume things upon our own lust, and that it is only after we go through an experience of evil and then give an accounting of all those things that were given to us (Luk 15:17) that we learn to ask unselfishly and for the benefit of others (Jas 4:3, Pro 30:8).

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 

Pro 30:8  Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

It takes that experience of evil for us and all of God’s creation to clearly come to see how Christ, who is typified by Solomon, “exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom“. This, too, is instructive for us today to know that we must never take anything for granted, and that we must hold fast to the true riches and understand what the statement means: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Rev 3:11-12)

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown [1Co 11:31, Lev 26:40-42, Heb 8:12, 1Jn 1:9].
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

]]> The Book of Hebrews – Heb 7:5-11 “Whither the Forerunner is for us Entered, Even Jesus” – Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-hebrews-heb-75-11-whither-the-forerunner-is-for-us-entered-even-jesus-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-hebrews-heb-75-11-whither-the-forerunner-is-for-us-entered-even-jesus-part-2 Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:44:39 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=21655 Heb 7:5-11 “Whither the Forerunner is for us Entered, Even Jesus” – Part 2
[Study Aired October 22, 2020]

[Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.]

Heb 7:5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 
Heb 7:6  But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 
Heb 7:7  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 
Heb 7:8  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 
Heb 7:9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 
Heb 7:10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. 
Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 

This section of Hebrews draws a comparison for us with those who are “the sons of Levi” in Hebrews 7:5 who represent the churches of Babylon, to “Abraham” (Heb 7:6) who typifies the elect who give their tithe representing their life being given to “he [speaking of Melchisedec] whose descent is not counted from them [sons of Levi]  received tithes of Abraham [God’s elect], and blessed him that had the promises“[Melchisedec, who typifies Christ (2Co 1:20)]. God’s elect are not represented by Levi but rather Abraham, if God has determined that from the foundation of the world to be so (Eph 1:3-6).

2Co 1:20  For all the promises [“and blessed him that had the promises” (Heb 7:6)] of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God byG1223 us. [Eph 1:6, 2Pe 1:4]

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
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 byG1223 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.

G1223 dia dee-ah’

A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal or occasional). In composition it retains the same general import: – after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) . . . fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through (-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general import.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that byG1223 these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

One of the main goals in comparing the Levitical priesthood, from where the order of Aaron stems, with another priest that should rise after the order of Melchisedec is to demonstrate where perfection comes from and what is excellent to God (Php 1:9-11) as opposed to something that is good (1Ti 1:9, Gal 3:24, 1Co 15:41).

Php 1:9  And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Php 1:10  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11  Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are byG1223 Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

In order to “approve things that are excellent” we need to know that this can only be done “by reason of the glory that excelleth” which glory is our hope of glory within (Col 1:27).

2Co 3:1  Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2Co 3:2  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; [We bring nothing to the altar. (Php 2:13)]
2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Excellence is the enemy of good

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, 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 [Heb 7:11]:

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?[Heb 7:12]

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

2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory [Col 1:27, Rom 8:9].
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.
2Co 3:12  Seeing then that we have such hope [Col 1:27], 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 [“At that day” (Joh 14:20)].
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.

The reason that the change “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (of verse 12 and part of next week’s study) is glorious and excels in glory like the sun outshining the moon, is because with Christ in us as our hope of glory, we can be recipients of those promises which are in Him that speak of bringing us to perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32), not by might or power but by His holy spirit that gives us the power to rip the veil, which ripping symbolizes our overcoming our flesh (Heb 10:20, 1Co 3:16) in this life as we go from glory to glory through Christ as opposed to those who “could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished” (2Co 3:13, Heb 1:3, 2Co 3:18).

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; [Eph 5:30, 2Co 5:17]

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

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

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.

Now let’s look once again at how Jesus “the forerunner is for us entered” and how blessed we are to have an high priest who can now make us kings and priests (Rev 1:6, Rev 5:10).

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The priesthood of God’s elect is typified in the old covenant with the “the order of Melchisedec” as opposed to the “Levitical priesthood” or “order of Aaron“, and it is through Christ alone that we will be able to obtain to this excellent order and high calling found in “him with whom we have to do” as we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Heb 4:13-15, Php 3:14).

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin [Heb 9:13-14, Heb 9:23-24].

Heb 7:5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 

Verse five is going to be contrasted with verse six to remind us that “they that are of the sons of Levi” and “who receive the office of the priesthood” and “have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham” represent Levi and not Abraham (Rom 9:13). Levi represents Babylon, and Abraham represents the elect to whom God gave the true priesthood “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (Rev 1:6, Rev 5:10) who will reign on the earth under Christ who is represented by Melchisedec.

Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Physical lineage has nothing to do with our calling, and so we’re being reminded that these sons of Levi, although they descend from Abraham, they and we cannot help but be of our Father the devil (Mat 3:9, Joh 8:37-44) until such time that we are called and chosen (Mat 22:14) to be otherwise (Rev 17:14).

Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. [A tree is known by its fruit and not by its lineage, in other words (Luk 6:43-45, Joh 6:43-45)]
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me [Joh 20:21].
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word [1Jn 4:6].
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.

The context found in John 8:37-44 was written for the elect’s sake today to see clearly that lineage has nothing to do with being free (Php 3:4-9, Rom 2:14-19). This stark contrast being spoken to outward Jews (Rom 2:28) is being drawn to make the point as bright as possible for God’s elect today. Christ is making this contrast to the Pharisee within us who still wants to glory in the flesh, and that contrast between flesh and the spirit is shown between Levi and Abraham. Abraham being a type of Christ who, as our hope of glory within, makes it possible for us to be inward Jews who are being set free (Joh 8:36, Rom 2:29, Rom 8:9, Col 1:27).

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: [Php 1:10] for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

[(1Pe 4:17) Paul then goes on to admonish the church by showing them what those “secrets of men” are within the hearts of those who are first being cleansed in this age [Rom 2:20-29]. Christ admonishes us and encourages us with these words in that regard as well by telling us to no longer lean unto our own understanding, our own righteousness, by saying “think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Mat 3:9)]

Rom 2:17  Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, [Php 1:10] being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

The statement “Though they come out of the loins of Abraham” reminds us we are all sons of God, just as Adam was a son of God (Luk 3:38). The Jews had confidence in Abraham, and we have confidence in our own flesh at first until we become of the generation which has no confidence in our flesh (Php 3:3). That first man Adam must decrease in order for the second Adam, Jesus Christ, to take His rightful place on the throne of our hearts which can only happen through the circumcision of our hearts (1Co 15:45, Joh 3:30).

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

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.

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

Heb 7:6  But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

The verses in John 8:37-44 explain why “he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham” when we’re given eyes to see that Abraham represents the elect who are called to a blessing of our Lord whose descent was not counted of Aaron, just as Melchisedec’s was not. The promises, as we mentioned above, are all in Christ of which we are being reminded when we read that Abraham “blessed him that had the promises” (2Co 1:20-22).

2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
2Co 1:21  Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
2Co 1:22  Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Heb 7:7  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

We’ve established that Abraham is ‘the less’ in this type and shadow event of blessing Melchisedec who represents our presenting all our life as a living sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1-3). Abraham is blessed by Melchisedec by being able to give this offering, and this point is clearly brought out in this statement by king David found in 1 Chronicles 9:14).

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Joh 1:27  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

It is this spirit, found in the verses we have just read, which tells us how we are to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, a sacrifice that is typified with Abraham giving a tenth [his whole life] of the spoils of war. Giving the spoils of war is a typical act that acknowledges we know where all our blessings originate, along with all our spiritual battles over which God is sovereign in our heavens that are being cleansed in this age.

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

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Heb 7:8  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

Ulitimately God will be “all in all” (1Co 15:28), and that is when each life will be fully in subjection to Christ and our Father in heaven. That event is what the tithe symbolizes all along, and is the reason God says “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” in Malach 3:10.

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33 is the blessing we are talking about, as we come to know God and His son which is eternal life (Joh 17:3). Every soul will come to see the unsearchable blessings that this relationship will manifest in each life that God is going to save in due time (1Co 15:22, 1Jn 2:2, 1Ti 4:10, 1Co 2:9).

In verse eight we are simply being told that our many wonderful works, which we think account for something (Mat 7:22), are not laid up in heaven —  treasure that can only be obtained through Christ — and so this verse is worded this way: “And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth” to remind us that it is those who present themselves a living sacrifice, as typified by Abraham’s giving of the tithe, who are able to lay up treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust does corrupt because we are alive in Him (Rom 12:1, Rom 6:11, Gal 2:20, Mat 6:19-20, Joh 11:26).

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God [Eph 1:6], which is your reasonable service.

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Heb 7:9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 

God’s elect are a living sacrifice who lay their lives down for the world as Christ did (Joh 3:16, 1Jn 4:17), saviors who will come up on mount Zion (Oba 1:21) and who are being sacrificed now so that the stripes that we take upon us, the filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ (Col 1:24), can one day be beneficial to those who we will be able to judge as a result of having been judged in this life (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17, 2Ti 2:12, Php 1:29, Heb 5:14).

“Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham” reminds us that the whole world lives and moves and has their being in Christ (Act 17:28) whose life was sacrificed to take away the sins of the world (Joh 3:16). The sins of the world are forgiven, but an accounting is yet to be given for the many, and that accounting comes about for God’s elect today as He leads us to repentance, which happens as a result of our presenting ourselves a living sacrifice (Rom 2:4). It is Levi and all of humanity who took Christ and sacrificed him, and in so doing “payed tithes in Abraham” (Act 4:26-28) through Christ and His Christ, and this pleased God for that reason. “Levi also, who receiveth tithes” is our time in Babylon when we sincerely give our life over to another Jesus, but God’s people are called out of Levi or Babylon if we have been predestined to be a living sacrifice through Christ in this age (2Co 6:17) who will be sacrificed so “Levi also, who receiveth tithes” can one day come to realize that the sacrifice of Christ and His body expressed in typical language as “payed tithes in Abraham” is connected to Christ’s sacrifice and His body as our kinsman redeemer.

Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit [Isa 53:10, Joh 3:16, 1Jn 4:17].

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

The honor and privilege we have been given to suffer in this life for Christ is being expressed in this verse, and the living sacrifice we have become through Him is for the world’s sake as well as ours and is the way in which the world will come to realize that they “payed tithes in Abraham” by having sacrificed Christ and His Christ (Act 26:14-15).

Act 26:14  And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

The first section of this verse “Levi also, who receiveth tithes” is a reminder for us that Babylon does serve us by receiving the lives of the countless many who are called but not chosen. Those multitudes of Babylonian churches represent Levi, and Levi is joined to us, and by God’s grace and faith we come out of her and present ourselves a living sacrifice unto God so that one day those inumerable multitudes will be washed and made “white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:9, Rev 7:13-14). Babylon unknowingly has served us in their unbelief, and God has shown mercy to us today by calling us out of Babylon so that one day we will be able to extend that same mercy back toward the rest of God’s creation.

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.

Heb 7:10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

We don’t know that we are God’s elect at first, but over time become convinced of better things (Heb 6:9, Rom 8:38-39) unfolding within our heavens which give evidence that we are the sons of God in this age who are being led by His spirit (Rom 8:14-16). Abraham, in type and shadow, is still very young in his walk expressed as being “yet in the loins of his father“. Regardless, this is “when Melchisedec met him“, and this type and shadow event is a reminder for God’s elect that God knows those who are His (Rom 11:5), and His remnant were known from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). This meeting of Melchisedec is a type and shadow of our day of visitation when we are dragged to Christ and brought to repentance (Joh 6:44).

Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

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

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

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 

Can we go on to perfection through the order of the Levitical priesthood? The answer is emphatically ‘no’, and yet that was a needful part of our journey, receiving the law that was made to show the lawless man within (1Ti 1:9, Rom 7:13) and how impossible it was to be changed and truly overcome by simply keeping the letter of the law that brought only death and not life, which comes through the spirit of God (2Co 3:6).

There is, was and will be a need “that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec“, and Christ is that forerunner who is typified by Melchisedec. However the “order of Aaron” is the other order that genders unto bondage (Gal 4:23-27) and must needs be done away in order for the true liberty of Christ to be manifest through His spirit, a liberty that has begun and will be witnessed through God’s first fruits.

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.

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.
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.
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.
Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
]]> Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 64:1-6 All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-641-6-all-our-righteousnesses-are-as-filthy-rags/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-641-6-all-our-righteousnesses-are-as-filthy-rags Sun, 16 Aug 2020 01:47:57 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=21289 Download Study

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Isa 64:1-6 All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags

[Study Aired August 16, 2020]

Isa 64:1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Isa 64:3  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
Isa 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

“Oh that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might flow down at your presence” are the Old Testament way of saying “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” in the so-called Lord’s prayer.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Lord connects our mercy on others with “[His] kingdom, power and… glory”. Inwardly, it is the Lord’s “kingdom… power, and… glory” which will “rend our heavens” and will cause our “mountains [the “powers and principalities” within us] to flow down at His presence”. The flowing down of our mountains is in effect the destruction of the kingdom of the man of sin within us who is “consumed with the brightness of His coming.”

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:

Isaiah speaks for those who are comfortable in the devouring fire and the everlasting burnings:

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

However, this is how we all first feel about that “devouring fire”:

Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

This is true even today. We just naturally much prefer Moses’ ‘voice’ to the ‘voice’ of the True Shepherd.

Being comfortable while dwelling in the everlasting burnings and the devouring flame is the product of having our heavens purified from all the defilements which fill the heavens of our father, the devil, also known as “the prince of the power of the air.”

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

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

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye [and I] walked according to the course [G165: aion, ‘age’] of this world [G5889: kosmos, “this present time” (Rom 8:18)], 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, (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.

The Old Testament tabernacle of Moses, and the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, were “the patterns of the things in the heavens”. The tabernacle and the temple were made with men’s hands. They were mere patterns of the true. The true “heaven itself” is the hearts and minds of His people. The true heavens are within you and me if indeed the Lord dwells within us.

IF Christ does dwell within us, then He is there only because He has rent the heavens of “the prince of the power of the air” who is also known as “that old serpent called the devil and Satan” and is casting him out of our heavens (Rev 12:9). Christ dwells within us through His fiery words (Jer 5:14) and is “purifying [our] hearts [“the heavens” (Heb 9:23-24)] by faith”:

Isa 64:1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,

Here is this event as it is described as taking place within each of us in the New Testament:

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

“The tribes of the earth” are “the mountains”, all our false doctrines, which “flow down” at the presence of the Lord.

Isaiah continues his description of what it is like when Christ comes to us both inwardly and outwardly:

Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence.

Keep in mind that these words are intricately connected to Isaiah petitioning the Lord to “rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might flow together at Thy presence”. Now let’s see what “the waters [which are] caused… to boil” represent in this verse.

The word ‘waters’, like every word of scripture, has both a negative and a positive meaning. The positive meaning is the Word of God as in these verses:

Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Isaiah is beseeching the Lord to “cause the waters to boil… and cause the mountains to flow down”. Such a request is incorporating the negative application of the word ‘water’:

Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

Psa 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

Psa 69:14  Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Psa 144:7  Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;

Here are a couple of verses which contrast the positive waters with the negative waters:

Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
Isa 8:7  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

“The waters of… Assyria” are also called ‘the rivers of Babylon’:

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

These are the waters upon which the great whore of Revelation sits:

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

The scriptures interpret the meaning of these ‘waters’ for us:

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

These are the waters which will be caused to ‘boil’ “when the melting fire burns… to make known [the Lord’s] name to [His] adversaries [causing] the nations to tremble at [His] presence” within us and in time without.

What is this ‘melting… burning… fire’? I think we all know:

Deu 33:2  And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

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

Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

This darkened world does not understand any of these “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, so it is inevitable that anything the Lord does will overtake both the world within us and the outward world as a thief in the night:

Isa 64:3  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

“Terrible things which we looked not for” overtook the whole world in the days of Noah, and in every generation since Noah. The destructions of both Sodom and Babylon are a couple of such examples of very sudden unexpected destruction by the Lord upon His enemies when they least expected it.

“Terrible things which we looked not for” is also how Christ came to each of us. He began destroying our old man when we least expected it. Isaiah has already revealed to us that we are all first blinded by the Lord Himself from seeing and understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

“Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears.” In other words, the Lord did not intend for us to see, or hear, or be converted until His preordained time. It is this sixth chapter of Isaiah from which Christ was quoting when answering His disciples’ question about His method of teaching the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? [“Great multitudes” verse 2]
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
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.

That is the default spiritual position of every human, and while the gospel has come to all men, few are chosen by the Lord and dragged to come out of that spiritual stupor and darkness.

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

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

This statement… “Many are called, but few are chosen” appears only in these two above verses. In the first appearance in Matthew 20 “Many are called, but few are chosen” follows the parable of the workers in the vineyard, with the workers who are hired last at the 11th hour being paid first. In Matthew 22 the phrase “Many are called but few are chosen” follows the parable of the king who made a marriage dinner for His Son. Those who were the last to be invited were the only ones to attend the marriage supper.

In both cases the last called are equated with the “few chosen”, and the first called are equated with the many who are not chosen to have a part in the Lord’s wedding supper.

This “wedding… dinner” in Matthew 22:3-4 is the same “marriage of the Lamb” and the same “marriage supper of the Lamb” of:

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

John, who typifies all who are given to be at “the marriage supper of the Lamb”, was so grateful to the angel who showed Him “all these things” (Rev 22:8) that He wanted to worship the angel instead of the bridegroom.

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.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

While “the redemption of the purchased possession” is yet future, the purchase itself is not future.

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought [aorist tense] with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1Co 7:23  Ye are bought [aorist tense] with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

The down payment of that redemption is a present and continuing reality within the kingdom of God, which is within each of us (Luk 17:20-21). It is Christ who made, and through us is still making, that down payment, and we are already His:

Eph 1:12  That we should be [G5750, present tense] 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 [down payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [“The marriage supper of the Lamb… the first resurrection”], unto the praise of his glory.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we [G5748, present tense] the sons of God [in “the earnest of our inheritance”], and it doth not yet appear what we shall be [at “the redemption of the purchased possession”]: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

When we read “we shall see Him as He is” what we are being told is that “the eyes of our understanding [are] being enlightened that [we] may know what is the hope of His calling [us], and what [is] the riches of the glory of His inheritance [which is] in [us].

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

As “the eyes of our understanding [are] being enlightened… to see Him… we are changed into [His] image from glory to glory… day by day” as we continue in Him to “see Him as He is”:

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 [Word, Joh 6:63] of the Lord.

“The eyes of our understanding being enlightened” is what is meant by “We shall see Him as He is’ because we are who He is (Mat 25:40-45 and Act 22:8), and yes, “See[ing] Him as He is” includes having “the eyes of our understanding enlightened to… [know] what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who [really do] believe [all of this is true], according to the working of His mighty power”.

It is all “according to the working of His mighty power”. It doesn’t depend upon us for anything. It is all “the working of His mighty power… work[ing] all things together for good [within and without us] after the counsel of His own will”, and not after our will.

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 [to be the firstborn among many brothers], them he also justified: and whom he justified, them healso glorified.

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:
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:

Our Maker and Creator wants us to know that He is at this very moment “working all things after the counsel of His own will… for [our] good”, and that we should not be anxious or worried about what He is doing, because He is working it all together to our glory.

Mat 6:34  Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (ASV)

Let’s simply believe what we are told in our next verse:

Isa 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

From Adam to Isaiah “men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen… what you have prepared for [those] who wait for [You]”. Daniel was plainly told the same thing when he was informed that this knowledge was sealed up and was not for him to understand:

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

If we could only determine what is “the time of the end” then we should be capable of determining when “Your people shall be delivered… and knowledge shall be increased”. Well, we are blessed to be informed of when the ends of the ages began arriving and when knowledge began to be increased. The spirit searches the deep things of God (1Co 2:10), and this is what the scriptures teach concerning when the ends of the ages began:

1Co 10:11  And all these things as types did happen to those persons, and they were written for our admonition, to whom the end of the ages did come,

There it is in plain English and plain Greek. The ends of the ages have come upon us from the time Christ came to make known to us His Father and Himself! This is a particularly good example of “knowledge shall be increased”:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Notice the exact opposite tenor of how the spirit related to Daniel in the Old Testament, as opposed to how Christ relates Himself and His Father to us under His New Covenant which he has made with us:

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.

“This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” is about as far from Daniel 12:4 as is possible:

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This 24th chapter of Matthew is nothing less than a condensed version of the much greater “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1), and the book of Revelation begins and ends with the same tenor concerning the urgency of our times as Christ expressed in Matthew 24.

This how the revelation of Jesus Christ opens:

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.

This is also how the revelation of Jesus Christ closes:

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

“Shut up the words, and seal the book…” is the exact opposite of “seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book”. “Seal [it] up… even to the time of the end” is the exact opposite of “the time is at hand… this generation shall not pass till all these things shall be fulfilled.”

Now let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 2 and read the very next verse where we left off Paul quoting where Isaiah tells us that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard” the things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. While that is where most all ministers stop reading, you and I will go on to read the very next verse:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

This is not the place to demonstrate just how much “knowledge has been increased”, but this is the place to point out that even Daniel informed us that:

Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This 4th verse of Isaiah 64 is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:

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.
1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

This verse is always quoted at funerals in the churches of Babylon. But not one minister in 1,000 goes on to read the very next verse which I will quote together with verse 9:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

What a revolutionary statement!!! So exactly what does God have prepared for those that love Him, and how has He revealed it to us by His spirit? Here is the answer to that question:

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.

The Lord has revealed the things He has prepared for us by His Words, but as both Christ, in Matthew 13, and the apostle Paul, earlier in this same second chapter of 1 Corinthians reveals, “It is not given to [the multitudes] to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, or as the apostle Paul put it:

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.

The Lord Himself blinded the eyes of them that believed not or “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (Mat 13:10-15 quoted above, and Eze 14:9).

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

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

Therefore when we read:

Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.

It is very instructive to notice that the English word “continuance” in this verse is translated from the Hebrew word, ‘olam’ which is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word aion, meaning ‘properly an age’. So, what we are being told is that the Lord meets with pleasure those who “rejoice [in] and work righteousness” but His wrath abides on those who remain in the sins of this ‘olam’, this age.

Here is a little better version of what this verse is saying:

Isa 64:5  You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? (ESV)

“…A long time’ is definitely a better translation of the Hebrew word ‘olam’ than is the word ‘continuance’. Nevertheless, it still does not get the point across that there is an evil age in which we must all live out our part:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. [For “the aion of this kosmos,  this world, “the day of evil”]

Paul tells us the same thing, and the King James once again hides from us the fact that the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘olam’, which is the Greek word ‘aion’, is involved:

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course [G165: aion, ‘age’] of this world [G5889: kosmos, this evil world], according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We can rest assured that the sum of the Lord’s words informs us that whether we continue in “the aion of this kosmos” (the age of this world  or we “rejoice in righteousness and remember [the Lord] in [His] ways” it was all predestined and is being worked out by the Lord “after the counsel of His own will” and not ours:

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure [Job 23:13-14] 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:
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:

God’s elect are “predestinated” to be His elect, but no such person assumes himself to have arrived at the first resurrection. Anyone who is predestinated to be in the first resurrection will have this mindset concerning how we think of our predestination:

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

The man “whom He will harden [is] that prophet… [whom] the Lord [has] deceived” (Eze 14:9). Therefore, our salvation is all His work, as He so clearly tells us:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

What this all means is that as Job eventually came to see:

Isa 64:6  But we are all [of ourselves] as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

After being reproved of the Lord for “all [of his] righteousnesses”, this is how Job said the same thing:

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

Nevertheless, our iniquities and our filthy rags cannot separate us from the love of our Lord and our Father. If He really is our Father in “this present time”, then, as Job tells us, “He performs the thing that is appointed for me”.

Our next study will reaffirm the Lord’s love for His children who He has “predestinated” to be His children in “this present time” (Eph 1:11) and:

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.

The whole creation is waiting for our manifestation on the stage of this world.

Here are our verses for our next study which, Lord willing, will finish this 64th chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 64:7  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isa 64:9  Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Isa 64:10  Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Isa 64:11  Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
Isa 64:12  Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?

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