Jer 17:14-27 Bear No Burden on the Sabbath Day

[Study Aired September 12, 2021]

Jer 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jer 17:15  Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.
Jer 17:16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
Jer 17:17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Jer 17:18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Jer 17:19  Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:20  And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jer 17:23  But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
Jer 17:24  And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
Jer 17:25  Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.
Jer 17:26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
Jer 17:27  But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

In our first verse, Jeremiah cries out to be saved from certain death at the hands of the Lord’s own people:

Jer 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

That this prayer is prompted by his treatment at the hands of the Lord’s own people is established in the preceding verse:

Jer 17:13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

The overlying tone of all the prophets is a lament of the apostasy of His people and their rejection of the Lord. Israel typifies each of us…

1Co 10:5 But not in the majority of them [physical Israel] does God delight, for they were strewn along in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things,

…as is especially true of this prophet who tells us this of ourselves:

Lest there be any doubt that verse 13 refers to the apostasy of the Lord’s own nation, Jeremiah next tells us of their brazen, challenging attitude to him as the Lord’s prophet:

Jer 17:15  Behold, they [leaders and people of Judah] say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

That spirit was around in Noah’s day while Noah was prophesying for 120 years that a flood was coming on an earth that had never seen rain until the day it began to rain.

Gen 6:2  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

“The sons of God” before the flood were the descendants of Seth whose genealogy we have from Adam to Noah. All but Noah’s family had intermarried with the children of Cain, contrary to the principle found throughout scripture that we are to come out of Egypt… come out of Babylon and come out of this world and be separate:

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

“Be ye separate… and ye shall be my sons… the sons of God.” Only Noah’s family had kept themselves separate from the sons of Cain, and “every imagination of the thoughts of [mankind’s] heart [was] only evil continually.” As a type of our own trials and baptisms, the Lord had resolved to destroy the earth that then was, and make Noah the father of the new world:

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:
1Pe 3:19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

When did Christ “preach to the spirits in prison”? He did it through Noah… “In the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing” just as He is preaching to the world today through us as we prepare the Lord’s house, our “ark” Christ, to rule in the new world which is just around the corner:

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

The people no doubt thought Noah was insane, building a huge ship on an earth that had never seen rain, just as Lot’s sons-in-law thought Lot was mocking them when he warned them of Sodom’s impending destruction:

Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

The Lord is destroying Babylon within each of us, and it is our commission, as “a city built upon a hill”, to warn this world of its impending destruction, knowing they will think we are insane, because they reason that a worldwide cataclysm has been being prophesied for thousands of years, and it has not yet occurred, at least not outwardly:

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Peter warned us against having this attitude of Judah in the days of Jeremiah… ‘Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now.’

2Pe 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

“All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” is a lie which denies the flood of the time of Noah. The Lord’s judgment is coming, and ‘it will not tarry’:

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Lord willing, none of us will fall victim to such a foolish doctrine, and we will remain faithful to the Lord’s Words, and we will be faithful to feed His flock with words of Truth, the words of Christ:

Jer 17:16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
Jer 17:17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

How true it is that the Lord knows that which [comes] out of [our] lips” because:

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

If the Lord is “[our] hope in the day of evil” then we have accepted that He is sovereign over “all things”, and that even the wicked are made by Him for “the purpose of His own will”.

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

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:

Jeremiah’s words… “I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee” is the same thing Paul said in these words:

Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Jer 17:18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

We read this verse and, as naturally as breathing, we tell ourselves the Lord just told us that when the Lord says, “Let them be confounded that persecute me” that we were being told that we have never persecuted anyone, and we will never be confounded. However, if we read these words again, we might notice there is nothing that says we have never persecuted anyone, and we will never be ashamed and confounded. “The sum of [the Lord’s] words” reveal quite the opposite:

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

Jer 17:19  Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

This same prophet, speaking to these same people, Judah, types of you and me, said this to us “for our admonition” (1Co 10:11):

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah himself was deceived and rebelled against the calling he was given. This is what He reveals to us of his own “experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13):

Jer 20:7  O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jer 20:8  For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

The Lord’s Words were “as a burning fire shut up in [Paul’s, your and my] hearts”, and when we are given to put His Word above our own pride, then we can admonish others just as Jeremiah and Paul did, in the very next verse:

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.

I have said many times (and I know I speak for all of us) my flesh, like Jeremiah, wishes fidelity to the Lord’s Words was not so unpopular. My flesh wishes that the Lord had kept the sabbath day and the law of Moses and had never inspired Paul to write the words of Galatians 4:9-10 or Colossians 2:8. If only He had tried just a little harder to fit in with the traditions of the people to whom He had been sent, and if only He would let us all keep the traditions of those among whom we all live, oh, how much easier life would be! Why does the Lord make such a big deal about ‘groves’ and ‘traditions of men’??? Nevertheless, none of us dares to “shun to declare unto you all the counsel of God”.

Notice the words immediately preceding Jeremiah’s lament of the Lord’s calling upon his life:

Jer 20:1  Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
Jer 20:2  Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
Jer 20:3  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.

This is Thayer’s definition of the name ‘Magormissabib’ which the Lord, through Jeremiah, has given to Pashur the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord:

H4036
Original: מגור מסּביב
Transliteration: Magowr mic-Cabiyb
Phonetic: maw-gore’ mis-saw-beeb’
Definition: Magor-missabib = terror on every side

1. the name given Pashur the priest by Jeremiah when Pashur smote him and put him in the stocks for prophesying against the idolatry of Jerusalem

This event, Jeremiah telling Pashur what the Lord told Him to tell this priest, is the modern day equivalent of you and me telling the Catholic Pope, and all the Islamic Imams, Hindu pujaris, all the shamans, and all the mega ministers of the Protestant world, that the Lord is going to burn them with fire and eat their flesh, because that is exactly what we are already watching take place all around this world, and this is but “the beginning of sorrows for Pashur and his modern day ‘harlot’ anti-types.

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  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 [“Every one against his neighbor” (Isa 19:2)].
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 woman” is “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified”.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

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

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

You and I, and every man on earth, are first part of the religions of this world, for whom Christ was crucified. We must be in ‘Babylon’, the great harlot, before we can be called out of Babylon:

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.

The ‘ten horns’ and ‘the beast’ are of the same mind. They both hate this hypocritical whore and are in the process of casting off her religious burden. We see this taking place as the secular world uses medical tyranny to force the religions of this world to submit to the secular beast who is symbolized by ‘the beast that comes up out of the sea’ in Revelation 13.

Pashur typifies this harlot who hates God’s true prophets. Pashur typifies religion in opposition to the Truth of God. ‘Pashur’ typifies all of mankind’s religions, which are also typified by the second beast which comes up out of the earth. This second beast is just another symbol of the religious great harlot within us, and this is what the Lord has in store for that beast… the great harlot:

Jer 20:4  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
Jer 20:5  Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
Jer 20:6  And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends,to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

It is the function of Pashur and the religions of this world to try our faith and to persecute us in this age:

Jer 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

Rest assured that if indeed Christ dwells within you, the adversary is looking for any opportunity to speak evil of you and accuse you of evil before this evil world.

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Luk 6:23  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. [Including Jeremiah, and you and me]

Luk 6:26  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

As is always the case, the Lord delivers us at the last possible moment:

Jer 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Jer 20:12  But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
Jer 20:13  Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

The greatest enemy from which any of us have been delivered is the one we see in the mirror every morning. “Let me see thy vengeance on them” hides, but still includes, the kingdom of our own old man. Plural pronouns always include our own carnal-minded, rebellious beast within.

‘Vengeance’ and ‘judgment’ are one and the same thing:

Rev 19:2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

The Lord’s vengeance and His judgments are both administered by the seven angels, symbols of the Lord’s elect:

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

Rev 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.

When we simply repeat and remain faithful to the Lord’s words and do not add to or take away from them and do not “think above that which is written”, then we are “judging the great whore and… avenging the blood of His servants at her hand”.  When we do that, we will “be hated of all men”, as the stories of all the Lord’s prophets demonstrate. Nevertheless, we must speak that which is written:

Jer 17:20  And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jer 17:23  But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

“They obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction [because]:

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

Once again, the plural pronoun ‘they’ includes the old man in each of us. The Lord brings us into this world through iniquity and sin:

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

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

If we truly believe “the Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” and we add to those words… “as in Adam [“the wicked”] all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”, then we are beginning to understand that we are not responsible for anything we do, good or evil. If we understand that, then we will never again bear any burdens, neither our good or evil works, through the gates of heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all:

Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers [“Enter into My rest” (Heb 4:5)].

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works [good and evil], as God did from his.

The works from which Christ “ceased” included a “tree of the knowledge of good and evil [and] the crooked serpent”.

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

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

The number six is “the number of mankind” (Rev 13:18) because mankind was created on the sixth day, along with all other beasts (Ecc 3:18). The sixth day is one day short of being complete, which ‘completion’ is signified by the number seven. We are not complete until we have “entered into His rest” on “the seventh day”. Only then are we given to acknowledge that even our wickedness is His work in our lives for the express purpose of humbling us, judging us, and dragging us to Himself:

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

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has a mind calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of mankind, and its number is six hundred sixty-six.”

When we think that anything we do is of our own fabled free will, we are attempting to enter Jerusalem while carrying that burden. That cannot, and it will not, be done because:

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If we think “ye can do nothing” means only ‘ye can do nothing good’, then we still have not become familiar with the voice of our True Shepherd who tells us:

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

When we are given to accept this Truth, that it is the Lord Himself who “makes us to err from His ways and hardens our hearts from His fear” just as He did to Joseph’s brothers (Gen 45:4-8), to Pharaoh (Exo 4:21) and “the kings of the earth… and rulers” who participated in the crucifixion of our Lord (Act 4:27-28), then we are beginning to be obedient to the spiritual meaning of:

Jer 17:24  And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

It is for our own admonition that Joseph’s brothers, the Pharaoh and the kings and rulers of this earth are clearly declared to be doing only what the Lord made them do, and it all happened to them, and it is all written just for our admonition:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth [on his own works, good or evil] take heed lest he fall.

It is only after we begin to enter the gates of Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26) bearing no burdens, not the burden of either our own good or our own evil works (Isa 45:7), that we are promised to be seated with Christ in the heavens (Eph 2:6) to rule with Him over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 20:1-6) and to “judge angels [in] the lake of fire”:

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?

That is the message of our next verse:

Jer 17:25  Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

“This city” is not “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” (Gal 4:26). “The gates of this city” are the same as “the door of the sheepfold” of:

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Christ is “the door” and He is “the Porter”, and we are the shepherds of His flock, and He is our Shepherd.

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers:  but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

“The door of the sheepfold” is the same as “the gates of this city”, and “this city”, I repeat, is not “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai [The law of Moses], which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Not one Christian minister in a thousand believes that ‘Hagar’, the bondwoman servant of Sarah, typifies “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”, but the Truth is still the Truth, and Truth has never depended upon how many Christian ministers believe it. Truth is Truth even if no one believes it, and the few to whom it is revealed will be blessed above all men and will be honored of all men by God’s design, just as Joseph was honored by all Egypt.

Gen 41:39  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
Gen 41:40  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Gen 41:41  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:42  And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
Gen 41:43  And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:44  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

That is the glory which will rest upon those who are blessed to be in the first resurrection and to judge the world of that time with a rod of iron and then judge angels in the lake of fire.

Jer 17:26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. [ “…you are the temple of God” (1Co 3:16)]

Until we acknowledge it is the Lord who is working “all things [good and evil] after the counsel of His own will”, we are ‘carrying a burden into heavenly Jerusalem, and we are not yet entering into His rest, we are still bearing the burden of our own works, and we are not yet hallowing His sabbath. That rebellious spirit is yet to be burned out of us with unquenchable fire.

Jer 17:27  But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Such is the hold the false doctrine of God giving mankind a will that is free from “His own will” when “The Truth” tells us plainly:

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

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:

This “fire” which is being kindled by the Lord in the gates and palaces of Jerusalem is the divisive words and doctrines of Christ:

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Luk 12:51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Luk 12:52  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
Luk 12:53  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

That is our study for today. It is my fervent prayer that it is given to each of us to put all our burdens on Christ and enter the gates of Jerusalem above bearing no burden of any sort.

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Our next study is entitled “The Vessel Made of Clay Was Marred in the Hand of the Potter’ and includes that verse with which we are all so very familiar:

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
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 18:8  If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10  If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jer 18:11  Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
Jer 18:12  And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.