Jer 25:29-38  Evil Shall go Forth From Nation to Nation

[Study Aired December 12, 2021]

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Jer 25:34  Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Jer 25:35  And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
Jer 25:36  A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.
Jer 25:37  And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 25:38  He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

All the Lord’s ways are judgment, so we should expect to read about His judgments when we seek to know Him and His ways, as we seek His promised “more abundant… life”:

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Psa 37:28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

Psa 89:14  Justice [H6664: ‘tsedek’, justice, righteousness] and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Psa 97:2  Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness [H6664: ‘tsedek’, justice, righteousness] and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The two English words ‘more abundantly’ are translated from the one Greek word:

G4053
περισσός
perissos
per-is-sos’
From G4012 (in the sense of beyond); superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); by implication excessive; adverb (with G1537) violently; neuter (as noun) preeminence: – exceeding abundantly above, more abundantly, advantage, exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, superfluous, vehement [-ly].

Life in the spirit realm is far superior to life is this natural realm. However, life in the realm of the spirit comes only through “fiery trials”.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

The very next verse reveals that being given to understand that fact brings great peace and joy to those to whom it is given to understand that principle:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

“On their part He is evil spoken of” refers to Christ and His ways and His doctrines. It refers to what the religions of this world will say of us:

Act 24:14  But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they [the religious leaders] call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

Here is how “the way which they call heresy”, ‘the way’ of Christ, is summarized by the holy spirit:

Act 24:25  And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

“Judgment to come… the way they call heresy” is also the subject of our study today, and what a blessing it is to know that “all His ways are judgment” and to know the fruit of His judgments:

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

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.

I will begin this study by reading the last two verses of our last study:

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.
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

We all just naturally want to avoid being judged, but the Lord’s fiery judgments cannot be avoided by anyone:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

There is a beginning to the Lord’s judgments, and scripture reveals that the Lord begins His work of judging mankind at His own house:

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

The apostle Peter tells us what we should expect if indeed we are the Lord’s elect:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

This is not a “milk of the Word” verse. We just naturally want to hear about all the blessings we receive as Christ’s Christ, but we tire of all the admonitions which tell us to expect to be hated of all men and to be persecuted:

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

The next verse of 1^st Peter 4 tells us how we should react towards our persecution and trials:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Paul repeats this admonition:

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

“Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you… but rejoice…”

That is the same admonition Christ gives us in Matthew 5:12… “Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” The admonition to ‘rejoice’ is addressed to those who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, but we must never forget that all of us who are persecuted for righteousness sake are the same persons who were persecuting the Lord’s Christ before our eyes and ears were opened to “see… hear… and keep the things written” in the scriptures. We all become puffed up with our own righteousness, and we all must have our own ‘road to Damascus’ humbling, each in our own order:

Pro 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Pro 16:19  Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Saul of Tarsus was extremely proud:

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

That experience was just the beginning of the judgment of ‘Saul of Tarsus’. That was merely the beginning of what Saul had to do. His humbling experience revealed to Saul just how blind he really was in and of himself. His experience on the road to Damascus typifies how each of us hates and murders those who first come to us bringing the words of Truth:

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Saul of Tarsus had to be told “by the church” (Eph 3:10) “the things which he must suffer for [Christ’s] sake”:

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him [Ananias, “the church” (Eph 3:10)], Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Our families and friends in this world do not consider themselves to be ‘murderers’ while they are rejecting and hating the Truth for which we stand. Nevertheless, we, too, have been murderers when we self-righteously rejected those who first introduced us to Christ. We all mean our hatred against Christ and His doctrines for evil (Gen 20:50), but we know God means it for our good.

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

We are Joseph’s brothers who sold Him and His doctrines into Egyptian slavery before we were humbled like Saul of Tarsus and dragged and made to see Joseph for whom God had made him to be.

Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

How is it possible for the Lord to “roar His voice from His holy habitation… upon His habitation”? That is easily understood by all who have been and are being judged in this present time. The story of how the Lord used “His holy habitation” (1Co 3:16), Ananias, to tell Saul of Tarsus, His newer habitation, what he must do, demonstrates how “The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation… upon His habitation.”

The Lord could easily have told Paul what He had Ananias to tell him, but the Lord speaks and “utters His voice from His holy habitation… upon His habitation” (Jer 25:30). The Lord using His temple, Ananias, to speak to His temple, ‘Saul of Tarsus’, is a perfect example of how it is possible for the Lord to ‘roar from His holy habitation upon His habitation’.

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

Another way of saying all this is that the Lord uses His church to “utter His voice [and] mightily roar upon His habitation”:

Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
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,

The Lord roars from His holy habitation, from His church, the very words of this prophecy of Jeremiah “to the intent that the principalities and powers in the heavens [of every man] might be made known, by the church, the manifold wisdom of God.”

Jeremiah 25:31 tells us that the ‘noise’ of this verse is “the sword [of] the Lord plead[ing] with all nations”, but Isaiah repeats this same message in these words:

Isa 66:6  A voice of noise from the city, a voice  from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.

We must first see clearly that “His enemies” are within us. “Them that are wicked” (Jer 25:31) must die, and since “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”, we all must die to our old man within. When that begins to take place within us, then Christ begins to rule in His own temple “which [we] are” (1Co 3:16-17):

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

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

The words of the Lord’s judgments are “His ways”. ‘His ways’ teach us He has ordained our lives in this present time to be “an experience of evil” which will give Him the occasion He is seeking to humble and to destroy our old man, and through that destruction He is transforming us into a “new man… in His image”. This present life is the incomplete six days of the creation process. Mankind was created on the sixth day to tell us that we are not yet the humbled, completed product which must “enter into His rest” to be completed. Our entry into His rest in this age is only in “earnest”. We are not given “the redemption of the purchased possession” until the first resurrection:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them. (CLV)

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

Demonstrating that the creation of man in the image of God is an ongoing process, here is Genesis 1:27 with the Strong’s numbers and the numbers for the tenses in brackets:

Gen 1:27  So God^H430 created^H1254[H8799] man^H120 in his own image^H6754, in the image^H6754 of God^H430 created^H1254[H8804] he him; male^H2145 and female^H5347 created^{H1254 [H8804]} he them.

This King James Version says “So God created man in His own image…” This translation makes it appear that the creation process lasted only six evenings and mornings, and then it was completed. Notice, however, that every time the Hebrew word ‘bara’, translated as ‘create’, H1254… appears in Genesis 1:27, it is in brackets, and it is always followed by the TVM numbers for the Qal stem which are in brackets. [H8799] is the TVM number for the first use of the Hebrew word ‘bara’, which is assigned Strong’s number H1254, translated as ‘created’. [H8804] is the number in brackets indicating the Hebrew tense for the last two entries for this Hebrew word ‘bara’, H1254.

This demonstrates that the CLV got it right and that the creation process is not yet complete while we are yet in these clay prototypes. That is why the number which signifies ‘that which is incomplete’, the number ‘six’, is assigned to mankind in His present state of “sinful flesh and blood”. These corruptible bodies of “sinful flesh” are “an experience of evil God has given humanity to humble them by it”:

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.”

The life we are given in “this present time” is but a necessary evil first step in the ultimate goal of “creating … humanity in His image”. The statement “created man in His image” is in the Qal stem in the Hebrew, and the Qal stem is akin to the aorist tense in the Greek. Both convey a fact without regard to any tense, and can and must therefore be understood as something that is taking place, has happened and will continue to happen until the consummation of the ages. That is why in the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ we are told many times, in various ways, that Christ “is… was… and will be”. Here are three of those entries, and these three are all found in the very first chapter of Revelation:

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

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

The doctrine of ‘preterism’, which puts the Lord’s words in the past, and the doctrine of ‘dispensationalism’ which teaches that the book of Revelation and many other prophecies, are only for the future, both deny the ‘is, was, and will be’ character of the Word of God, and must be rejected and destroyed by The Truth, which always is, always was, and always will be the Truth and “will not pass away”:

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The creation of Adam is a perfect example of this ‘is, was, and will be’ character of the Words of God. Adam’s creation on the 6^th day was just a step towards our completion. ‘Seven’ is the Biblical number which signifies ‘completion’. ‘The seven churches’ of Revelation 2-3 signify the complete church. That is why we are told seven times:

Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

No man is completed until he is given to “enter into His rest” on “the seventh day” of the Lord’s work. We are even admonished to ‘fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it’:

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.

Why would we be told to “fear, lest a promise being left us of entering His rest, any of you should seem to come short of [doing so]” if “the first man, Adam” was complete? We are not complete, and that is why we are given that admonition.

This present time is “an experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13) in the creation process. When we are told that the Lord is making mankind into His image, it is in the Qal stem, which tells us the Creation is still in progress. The evil and corruption of these clay vessels are but a first necessary step to bring us through judgment (Isa 26:8-9) to become a new creature in His image. That is why we are assured that:

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

This even applies to the “flesh and blood” of our sinless Savior as we are informed in:

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [“after the flesh”].
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The Lord making “all things… new” is not ‘plan B’ for God. We know this is true because we are told:

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:

Therefore “the second… Adam… chosen… in Him before the foundation of the world” is the very meaning of “creating is the Elohim humanity in His image”:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them. (CLV)

“Creating [and] creates” are both in the Qal stem, indicating that the creation of man in His image is a process that is still taking place through the fiery trials of this life.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

‘Choosing us in Christ and trying every man’s works by fire’ was ‘plan A’ “before the world began”. We are all “called… in Christ Jesus… before the world began”:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

It is the words “in Christ” which are so revealing. If the promise of eternal life “in Christ Jesus” was given to us “before the world began”, that means God knew “before the world began”, before Adam and Eve were created, they would disobey His commandments and would need a Savior.

Being God, He had already determined that we would be brought to acknowledge our need for a Savior “by grace through faith”:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Contrary to the doctrines of the harlot and her daughters, your faith is “not of yourself”. “It is the gift of God.”

What exactly is this gift of “grace… through faith”? The answer, to put it bluntly, is that if indeed we are granted this gift of “grace… through faith” then we must expect to be put on trial and be ‘proven and tempered’ and “chastened” in this present time.

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, [show them] whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know [to show us] whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

The word ‘grace’ as a noun is defined with these words:

G5485
χάρις
charis
khar’-ece
From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): – acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
Total KJV occurrences: 156

Here are those 156 entries and the various translations of this Greek word ‘charis’:

G5485
χάρις
charis
Total KJV Occurrences: 156
grace, 130
Luk_2:40, Joh_1:14, Joh_1:16-17 (3), Act_4:33, Act_11:23, Act_13:43, Act_14:3, Act_14:26, Act_15:11, Act_15:40,
Act_18:27, Act_20:24, Act_20:32, Rom_1:5, Rom_1:7, Rom_3:24, Rom_4:4,
Rom_4:16, Rom_5:2, Rom_5:15 (2), Rom_5:17, Rom_5:20-21 (2), Rom_6:1, Rom_6:14-15 (2), Rom_11:5-6 (5), Rom_12:3, Rom_12:6, Rom_15:15, Rom_16:20, Rom_16:24, 1Co_1:3-4 (2), 1Co_3:10, 1Co_10:30, 1Co_15:10 (3), 1Co_16:23, 2Co_1:2, 2Co_1:12, 2Co_4:15,
2Co_8:1 (2), 2Co_8:6-7 (2), 2Co_8:9, 2Co_8:19,  2Co_9:8, 2Co_9:14, 2Co_12:9, 2Co_13:14, Gal_1:3, Gal_1:6,
Gal_1:15, Gal_2:9, Gal_2:21, Gal_5:4, Gal_6:18, Eph_1:2, Eph_1:6-7 (2), Eph_2:5, Eph_2:7-8 (2), Eph_3:2, Eph_3:7-8 (2), Eph_4:7, Eph_4:29, Eph_6:24,
Phi_1:2, Phi_1:7, Phi_4:23, Col_1:2, Col_1:6, Col_3:16, Col_4:6, Col_4:18, 1Th_1:1,
1Th_5:28, 2Th_1:2, 2Th_1:12, 2Th_2:16, 2Th_3:18, 1Ti_1:2, 1Ti_1:14,
1Ti_6:21, 2Ti_1:2, 2Ti_1:9, 2Ti_2:1, 2Ti_4:22, Tit_1:4, Tit_2:11,
Tit_3:7, Tit_3:15, Phm_1:3, Phm_1:25, Heb_2:9, Heb_4:16 (2),
Heb_10:29, Heb_12:15, Heb_12:28, Heb_13:9, Heb_13:25, Jam_4:6 (2), 1Pe_1:2,
1Pe_1:10, 1Pe_1:13, 1Pe_3:7, 1Pe_4:10, 1Pe_5:5, 1Pe_5:10,
1Pe_5:12, 2Pe_1:2, 2Pe_3:18, 2Jo_1:3, Rev_1:4 (2), Rev_22:21
favour, 6
Luk_1:30, Luk_2:52, Act_2:47, Act_7:10, Act_7:46, Act_25:3
thank, 6
Luk_6:32-34 (3), Luk_17:9, 1Ti_1:12, 2Ti_1:3
thanks, 4
1Co_15:57, 2Co_2:14, 2Co_8:16, 2Co_9:15
pleasure, 2

Act_24:27, Act_25:9
acceptable, 1
1Pe_2:20
benefit, 1
2Co_1:15
gift, 1
2Co_8:4
gracious, 1
Luk_4:22
joy, 1
Phm_1:7
liberality, 1
1Co_16:3
thanked, 1
Rom_6:17
thankworthy, 1
1Pe_2:19

The English word ‘grace’ is by far the most common translation of the Greek word ‘charis’. There is no fault, in this particular case, in using 13 different English words to translate this one Greek word. In Greek this word has a very broad application, and Greeks have no problem understanding by the context whether ‘grace’, translated from the Greek word ‘charis’, means ‘thanks’ or ‘favor’, the next most common translations in the KJV.

Here is an example of each of those two next most common translations for this Greek word, ‘charis’:

1Co 15:57  But thanks [Greek: ‘charis’] be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luk 1:30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour [Greek: ‘charis’] with God.

None of these thirteen different translations of this word ‘charis’ tells us what ‘grace’ does in our lives. Titus 2 and Hebrew 12 do tell us what God’s favor, His ‘grace’, His ‘charis’ does to those He favors and to those He loves:

Tit 2:11  For the grace [G5485: ‘charis’, favor] of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastening], us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

The Lord ‘favors’ those He loves, and this is what His grace, His favor and His love accomplish within us:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [G3811: ‘paideuo’, same Greek word translated as ‘teaching’ in Titus 2:12], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Knowing now that the Lord ‘chastens’ those He loves, gives us a much deeper understanding of this oft abused verse of scripture:

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Knowing that the Lord’s grace “chastens and scourges” us in time stops the tendency of our natural man and even many ministers to “turn the grace of God into lasciviousness”, which is exactly what has been being done by so many from Christ’s time here on earth until this very day:

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation [G2917: ‘krima’, judgment] ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now we understand much more deeply the meaning of the verse which tells us that “where sin abounds, grace does much more abound”. Now we can understand that it simply means that God’s chastening will always overcome our self-righteous stubbornness and eventually bring us all to repent of our sins and make us cry out to Him for mercy from His chastening judgments in our lives.

Let no one convince you that the work of grace was completed for you on the cross, or that Christ’s death substituted for our death, and that He received stripes, so we need not be afflicted. Nothing is further from the Truth because we are clearly told:

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, which is your reasonable service.

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

Then there is this incredible statement from the apostle Paul:

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

As we have just read, “The time is come, that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17), which, as we pointed out, is based upon these words:

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

Notice that while the Lord is “beginning to bring evil on the city which is called by [His] name”, and is ‘beginning His judgment of mankind at His own house’ (1Pe 4:17), He is at the same time ‘calling for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth”, who are not yet being judged in this present time:

Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

You can apply those words outwardly and say they apply to the worldwide fear of Covid, but more deeply than that these words apply to the Truths that are Christ’s doctrines destroying all the lies of Babylon within us:

Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

We learned in chapter 22 that we are the ‘earth’ with whom the Lord is pleading to give up our false doctrines for His Truth:

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

We have all believed many false doctrines, and the apostle Paul had also learned that all the doctrines he once believed were nothing more than “dung” upon the ground:

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,

Our old man is doomed, and he is being judged in “this present time”. We were all false prophets while we were in the false churches and religions of mankind. In that sense these words are “for our admonition” (1Co 10:11):

Jer 25:34  Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Jer 25:35  And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

When the Truth, the words of Christ, confronts the liar, there is no place to hide, and the liars are all destroyed by the Truth:

Jer 25:36  A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. [Their ability to deceive]
Jer 25:37  And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

The shepherds of Babylon within us have “their rock”, and they have their “peaceable habitations”.

Deu 32:31  For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
Deu 32:32  For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

However, the day comes when that “peace” is taken from them, and while the Lord “begins at His own house” to judge His own, He is simultaneously “calling for a sword upon the whole earth”:

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

This verse is explained for us in:

Rom 8:21  Because the creature [“all the inhabitants of the earth”] 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 [“the inhabitants of the whole earth”], 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.

We are blessed above all men if the Lord comes against our old man and His self-righteous rebellion in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). When He does so, He comes from all sides. He causes our own wickedness to judge us, and He pours out His judgments and His wrath upon us all at the same time:

Jer 25:38  He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

It all works together to produce the best day of our lives. That is the day when we begin to be given spiritual vision. Spiritual ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see the things of the spirit.

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.

That is our study, and here are the verses for our next study:

Jer 26:1  In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
Jer 26:2  Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
Jer 26:3  If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
Jer 26:4  And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
Jer 26:5  To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
Jer 26:6  Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
Jer 26:7  So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
Jer 26:8  Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Jer 26:9  Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Jer 26:10  When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house.
Jer 26:11  Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
Jer 26:12  Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.