The Book of Jeremiah – Jer 1:1-10 I Have This Day Set Thee Over The Nations and Over The Kingdoms

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Jer 1:1-10 I Have This Day Set Thee Over The Nations and Over The Kingdoms

[Study Aired November 22, 2020]

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The title of this study, taken from our tenth verse, is first true in “this present time” within if we are given that gift. If we are granted the “gift… in this present time” (Eph 2:8 and Rom 8:18) to rule over the nations that are within us, then, and only then, will we also be given to rule the outward physical nations of this world (Rev 2:27).

To demonstrate and display the Lord’s enduring mercy, the holy spirit has seen fit to tell us when each prophet gave his prophecy.  Doing this demonstrates that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will regardless of which king is on the throne and regardless of what we do. The reason for letting us know when the prophets prophesied is to let us know that both the good and the evil kings of Israel and Judah are all within our own flesh and are serving as nothing more than instruments in His hand to cause His glory to be declared throughout the world, just as He did with the wicked Pharaoh, who was oppressing His people:

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.

The Lord spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah beginning in the reign of Uzziah and ending in the reign of Hezekiah:

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Let’s take note of the Lord’s longsuffering mercy. King Solomon’s reign was approximately 1,000 years before Christ. King Solomon was granted great wisdom, yet he apostatized and married hundreds of wives out of the nations around him. The reign of Uzziah was nine wicked Jewish kings later and approximately 200 years after King Solomon’s reign. Some were less wicked than others, but there were ‘none that did good, no not one.’

Psa 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Jeremiah informs us that his prophecy begins “in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. What we are not told right here in Jeremiah is that one of the most evil kings ever to rule over Judah, King Manasseh, was the father of King Amon (2Ki 21:18). His reign was the longest of any king of Judah, spanning 55 years between the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Manasseh, according to both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, was the king who had the prophet Isaiah “sawn asunder”.

The so-called ‘faith chapter’, chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews, alludes to just such an event:

Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Here is a short summary of King Manasseh’s reign:

2Ki 21:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2Ki 21:2  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ki 21:3  For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Ki 21:4  And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
2Ki 21:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Ki 21:6  And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ki 21:7  And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Ki 21:8  Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
2Ki 21:9  But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

He is considered by many to be the most wicked of all the kings of Judah, and yet his rule endured 55 years, signifying the great mercy, grace and faith the Lord has shown toward us.

Both Manasseh and Amon, his son, were extremely evil kings. King Amon was assassinated by his own servants. It was the assassination of King Amon, after only two years on the throne, which occasioned the ascent of King Josiah to the throne of Judah. The story of King Amon’s ascension to the throne includes the great mercy the Lord extended to his father, wicked king Manasseh:

2Ki 21:16  Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
2Ki 21:17  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2Ki 21:18  And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
2Ki 21:19  Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
2Ki 21:20  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.
2Ki 21:21  And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
2Ki 21:22  And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
2Ki 21:23  And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
2Ki 21:24  And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Jeremiah’s prophecy began in the thirteenth year of King Josiah’s reign. So, 55 years of King Manasseh, and two years of King Amon’s reign, plus 13 years into the reign of Josiah, gives us 70 years since the time the prophecy of Isaiah ends. That is as long as the Babylonian captivity and is a precursor to that event.

It is very instructive to note what very few know or acknowledge is that the Lord brought Judah’s most wicked king, King Manasseh, to repentance, typifying the great mercy being shed upon all of us. His sins are all we hear about him. I can remember how shocked and surprised I was when I first had my eyes opened to these words several years back:

2Ch 33:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2Ch 33:2  But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ch 33:3  For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Ch 33:4  Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
2Ch 33:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Ch 33:6  And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ch 33:7  And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Ch 33:8  Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
2Ch 33:9  So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

However, the Lord dragged King Manasseh to repentance:

2Ch 33:10  And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, [all his rebellious lying false doctrines] and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction [in Babylon], he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
2Ch 33:14  Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
2Ch 33:15  And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
2Ch 33:16  And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, [In type he began to be crucified with Christ and to die daily in His service] and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
2Ch 33:17  Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

Like their fathers before them, Judah wanted to serve God, but they wanted to do so on their own terms. Their terms permitted what the Lord did not permit. Their terms permitted them to fit in with the nations around them by keeping the traditions of those nations and claiming to do so to the Lord. This what our Lord thinks of such an arrangement:

Deu 12:29  When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deu 12:30  Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Deu 12:31  Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy Godfor every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Deu 12:32  What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Mankind, typified by Judah, was of that same nature even after the crushing and repentance of King Manasseh:

2Ch 33:18  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
2Ch 33:19  His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
2Ch 33:20  So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

King Manasseh, like King Nebuchadnezzar many years later, led the Lord’s people into great evil. Yet the Lord, in His mercy, typifying and signifying His mercy towards each of us, saw fit to bring both these extremely wicked men to repentance before they died.

So the king who initiated so much apostasy within Judah, and the Gentile King who was used to punish the Lord’s people for their sins, both come to see themselves as the “chief of sinners”, and they both serve as “types of us” if we are granted repentance in “this present time” (Rom 8:18):

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV).

This all places Jeremiah’s prophecy about 640 years before Christ.

Jeremiah’s prophecy continued from the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign, through the reign of Jehoiakim “unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive into Babylon in the fifth month” of Zedekiah’s 11th year.

It is interesting to note that most of the prophets are raised up by the Lord within the last 100 years of the Jewish nation. This fact typifies how “knowledge… [is] increased… in [our] last days”:

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.

In giving such a witness to His people, and at the same time hardening their hearts, the Lord is giving Himself the occasion He is seeking to bring physical Israel to an end as a nation, both within us and outwardly. Judah and Jerusalem are now a type and a shadow of “Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth”:

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

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

The “faithful city” becoming a murderous harlot in Isaiah 1:21 is “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth… drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Such is the atmosphere of the people who claim the Lord’s name in the time of this prophecy of Jeremiah, 70 years after the end of the prophecy of Isaiah.

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The fact this “carrying away of Jerusalem captive” was in “the eleventh year of Zedekiah” indicates the confusion and chaos of the Lord’s nation of that time (you can check out this link for the significance of the number eleven: The Number Eleven). The fact that it took place in “the fifth month” indicates that sending each of us off into Babylon as captives of that false lying system is actually a work of the Lord’s chastening grace (here is the link for the number five: The Number Five). It is while we are rebelling against Him and His ways, and while we are enslaved in Babylon, that we are made aware that the Lord’s grace “chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live godly lives in this present age.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This is how we are to be conduct our lives when we come out of Babylon:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuō, ‘chastening’] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Our next verses demonstrate that the Lord knows whom He has chosen as His firstfruits “while we are yet sinners”:

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

These words are in complete accord with the scriptures which Jeremiah knew so well:

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

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

While we are admonished against laying our hands on a novice, because he will tend in his immaturity to become puffed up, nevertheless, when the holy spirit humbles some of us in our youth, then we are to acknowledge Christ in that person:

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

While instructing Timothy to be careful about ordaining a novice, this is what Paul tells us of Timothy himself in the very next chapter:

1Ti 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

It should be obvious that being “a novice” has more to do with being new to the doctrines of Christ and being new to the Word, than it does with one’s age, because we are also told this about Timothy’s background and his history:

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

However, our flesh just naturally resists the Lord’s calling:

Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Moses’ flesh had this same reaction to the Lord’s calling, but for a different reason:

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

To which the Lord responded:

Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

It was not the devil who makes us to be dumb, deaf, blind or seeing. In whatever condition we find ourselves, it is all a work of the Lord’s hand after the counsel of His own will:

Act 4:25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
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.

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:

Truth is truth regardless of the messenger of that Truth. If the Lord lays His hand upon us, nothing we can do will stop Him from using us, because He is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). If we are “the called according to His purpose” then everything we experience, good or evil, will be made by our Lord to work together for our good (Rom 8:28). For that reason, we should…

Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

These words are true within, and they will be true outwardly as well if we are given a part in that “blessed and holy first resurrection. At “this present time” (Rom 8:18) the kingdom of God is within us only and so, too, are all the enemies of His kingdom which is within us.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

How are we to do war with the nations of the enemies of the Lord’s people within us?

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;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Our commission to “revenge all disobedience” will be given to us only after our own obedience has been fulfilled. In other words, it will not be in “this present time”, and it will only be given us if we are the first to do warfare with and overcome all the enemies of “the kingdom of God [which] is [at the] present time… within [us]”.

Here are those inward enemies, and here are the weapons of our warfare in this age:

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 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood” is not meant to be understood as denying that we are to “crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts [and] put off the old man”:

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Col 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

What we are being told is that if we fail to realize there is a spiritual realm which controls the natural realm, then we are vastly unaware of and vastly underestimating our enemy.

Paul listed four of our spiritual enemies:

1)  Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities

This is the Greek word with its definition from which this English word ‘principalities’ is translated:

Our “chief” enemy is not our flesh, as much as it is he whom our flesh unwittingly worships. When we worship ourselves and tell ourselves that we, with our free will, have chosen to love and obey the Lord, we are in spiritual reality worshipping “the dragon, that old serpent the devil and Satan”:

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

Rev 13:4  And they [“all men, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”, Rev 13:16] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Our flesh is indeed our enemy, but we need to acknowledge that it is only when we are deceived by “the god of this world” that our flesh continues to dominate our lives even as we think we are serving the Lord and doing many wonderful works in His name:

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

When the Lord turns us over to Satan for the destruction of our flesh, as the book of Job demonstrates, we are helpless against that “principality”.

2) Against powers:

This is the Greek word translated as ‘powers’:

It is the Lord’s hand which has “formed the crooked serpent, the devil. He did not fall from perfection, and there is no “great controversy” between the Lord and the serpent He created to be “the destroyer”:

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

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

In the book of Job, Satan did exactly what the Lord sent him to do to Job. He could do nothing more, and He could do nothing less:

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 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Both our flesh and its ‘god’…, “the god of this world”, were “made to be taken and destroyed”:

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

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

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

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

Satan’s power, against which we struggle, is given him of God. There is no power but of God:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Our flesh is born under unbelief, under the power of our father the devil, under the Lord’s wrath:

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

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 beginningand 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 false doctrine which teaches that Satan was created in spiritual perfection and that he chose to go bad, is a lie. The Truth is… “He was a murderer from the beginning” because the Lord’s own hand had formed him to be a “crooked serpent… the waster to destroy”.

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

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Satan is “the god of this world” only because the Lord has given Him that power, and “the powers that be are ordained of God”, even “the basest of men”:

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.

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.

3) Against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

We all begin life as unbelievers in total darkness with the wrath of God abiding upon us, as we saw earlier in:

Joh 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

“He that believes not” is in darkness, and the great red dragon, that old serpent the devil, is the god of all unbelievers whether or not they acknowledge him as such. We are all in the bondage and in the darkness of this world by default. We are powerless against our darkened flesh, and only the Lord can deliver us from this hopeless position and our corrupt composition:

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

4) Against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The word ‘places’ is in italics because it is not in the Greek. The Greek simply reads “…spiritual wickedness in the heavens”. The Greek word translated as “high places” in this verse is:

As we have seen, “the kingdom of God is within [us] to such an extent that we are told that we are being made to sit with Christ in the heavens:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places [G2032, epouranios] in Christ Jesus:

Both the “raised us up together [and the] made us sit together” are in the aorist tense, meaning that a process is taking place which is purifying our heavens where we are being seated with Christ. It is few ‘Christians’ indeed who recognize that “the heavens” are in need of being purified as the scriptures teach with these words… “spiritual wickedness in high places”, and as we are plainly told in:

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 [must be purified] 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:

We are the “heaven itself” into which Christ is entering and purifying us as His heavenly tabernacle… His heavenly “temple of God”:

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.

The battle before us is not a carnal battle, and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. All powers in heaven and on earth are the creations of our Lord for the purpose of working out His plan to “reconcile all things unto Himself.”

There is no “great controversy” between God and the devil. The devil, just as we are, is nothing more than “clay in the Potter’s hand”, doing exactly what ‘the Lord’s hand and His counsel determined before to be done.’

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

Col 1:16  For by him [Christ, verse 18] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his crossby him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

It is through “the Lord and His Christ” that Christ, who is both Lord and Christ, will bring about the “reconciling of all things unto Himself”, because it was Christ Himself who was sent into the world “that the world through Him might be saved”, and it is Christ Himself who tells us:

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

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.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sinsand not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

It is with the goal of reconciling all of mankind to God that Jeremiah, as a type of who we are as “the Lord’s Christ”, is told:

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The prophet Jeremiah did this in type and in shadow. We, as the Christ of Christ, do these things both inwardly, now “in this present time” (Rom 8:18), and we will do these things outwardly in the thousand-year reign and in the great white throne judgment reigning over all men of all time:

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 [Jer 1:10].

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
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!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

That is our study for today. Next week we will learn how urgent our testimony is to this world, both within and outwardly, through these words:

Jer 1:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
Jer 1:12  Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15  For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16  And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Jer 1:17  Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

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