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The Book of Jeremiah – Part 3, I Have Set Thee Over the Nations

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Jer 1:10 Part 3 – I Have Set Thee Over The Nations

The Curses of Leviticus 26:14-46

[Study Aired December 6, 2020]

In our last study we saw that there are always many more verses of scripture which deal with our judgment in this age than the verses detailing our blessings for being obedient to the Lord’s words.

We saw that Jeremiah being set over the nations typifies what the Lord is doing within each of us. We learned that we must be set over the nations within us before we will be given to “rule on the earth… with a rod of iron” (Rev 1:1-3, 15:7-8, 2:26-67).

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

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

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.

All the verbs in the first two verses of Revelation 1, the verbs… He ‘gave’ this revelation, to ‘shew’ him things that must ‘come to pass’, ‘sent’, signified, ‘bare record’ and ‘he saw’…are all in the aorist tense signifying that those verbs are in the process of being fulfilled within us. All the verbs in the next verse, verse 3, are in the present tense. ‘Read’, ‘hear’ and ‘keep the things written’ are all in the present tense because “the time is at hand” for judgment to presently, right this very moment “begin… at the house of God”:

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The ‘suffering’ of the seven last plagues and the ‘judgment beginning at the house of God’ are one and the same thing. Both are the work of God judging the nations within us – all our weaknesses and all our faults, all of our appetites and all of our passions. Only after the Lord has judged us within and has burned out all that will burn up, will we be qualified to judge the outward world with a rod of iron at “the redemption of the purchased possession… the blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

‘Reading… hearing… and keeping the words of this prophecy’ means that we must begin fulfilling the seal, trumpets and seven last plagues before we can begin entering the temple of God as mentioned in:

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

All the verbs I have emboldened in these two verses are in the aorist tense, which tells us they are in the process of being fulfilled within each of us. If the seven plagues had to be fulfilled before any of us could begin to enter into Christ, then the judgment which is now upon the house of God could never even begin, and none of us would be here today because:

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Is the phrase “to die” in the future tense? If, as it appears, it is in the future tense, then “we are of all men most miserable” and judgment can never “begin at the house of God”, because the seven last plagues are that ‘judgment’ which produces the death of our old man. If our death must be completed before our judgment can begin, then we are all doomed. However, if the phrase “once to die” is in the aorist tense, then it is speaking of a process which is presently taking place in ‘the temple’ and ‘the body’ of Christ in every generation since Christ. If Hebrews 9:27 is speaking of the process of dying to our old man as we are entering into the temple of God, then it is possible for all of us to presently be entering into the temple through the judgment which is now upon the house of God. If “once to die” is better translated as “once to be dying” and to begin entering into the temple of God, even as the seven plagues of the seven angels are being poured out upon us, then we are not doomed, and instead we are “through death”, through the daily dying of our old man (1Co 15:31), being delivered from death unto life.

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present [aorist tense] you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

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

Let’s see what the tense of the phrase “once to die” is here in Hebrews 9:27:

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointedG606 [G5736] unto men once to dieG599 [G5629], but after this the judgment:

There are two verbal phrases in this verse, both of which I have emboldened. The first phrase… “it is appointed” is in the present tense, but the second phrase, “to die”, is not in the future tense as it appears in our English. It is in the aorist tense, telling us that this ‘dying’ is a matter of “dying daily” (1Co 15:31), being crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) daily and daily presenting our bodies as “a living sacrifice unto God” (Rom 12:1) and daily “fill[ing] up in [our] bodies what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake which is the church” (Col 1:14).

I was pleasantly shocked to discover the meaning of the two words translated “but after” in the phrase “but after this the judgment”.

Here is Strong’s definition of this Greek word:

Here is the breakdown of how the 2841 appearances of this Greek word ‘de’ is translated in the King James Version which I am combining with the information from Brown-Driver-Briggs, Thayer and Strong’s:

This is not a complete list of how this Greek word ‘de’ is translated into the King James English, but it is very clear that the English word most often used to translate this Greek word is the word ‘and’, which connects and continues the thought of dying with judgment.

Further proof of the fact that “once to die” should reflect the aorist tense which the holy spirit gave it is the next Greek word which is translated into the English word ‘after’. Here is what Strong’s reveals about this Greek word:

With this knowledge we can safely say that the holy spirit is telling us that “It is appointed unto man once to be dying accompanied by judgment… which is now beginning to be administered daily at the house of God”:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin [aorist tense] at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The plagues being poured out upon the kingdom of our old man are “the goodness of God which brings [us] to repentance” (Rom 2:4). It is these plagues which bring us “to our wits’ end” before we can be resurrected with Christ in newness of life:

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro [Qal stem], and stagger [Qal stem] like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

It is the Lord’s wrath, His judgments upon our old man, which drags us to repentance:

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment [of “the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God (Rev 15:1)] of God?
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness [wrath… judgment] of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath [“The seven last plagues [which] fill up the wrath of God” [Rev 15:1] and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

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

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

Our old man would much rather be told that there will be “a place of safety” or “a rapture” out of the fiery judgments of God upon His house in this present time, but all the false doctrines of Babylon will not change the fact that the wrath of God is being fulfilled upon His house through His pouring out upon us His seven last plagues within our lives. Babylon within us must fall “daily” to “fill up the wrath of God” as the gospel of the scriptures require:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

The falling of Babylon is a major part of the judgment of God which is listed as the seventh of the seven last plagues which are being fulfilled within the lives of all who are being given the opportunity to begin being judged in this present age (Rom 8:18 and 1Pe 4:17).

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out [aorist tense] his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were [aorist tense] voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was [aorist tense] a great earthquake, such as was [aorist tense] not since men were [aorist tense] upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided [aorist tense] into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell [aorist tense]: and great Babylon came in remembrance [aorist tense] before God, to give [aorist tense] unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell [present tense] upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed [aorist tense] God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was [present tense] exceeding great.

“There fell upon men a great hail” is present tense. “The plague thereof was exceeding great” is also present tense. Both are present tense because “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).

A personal example of how I experienced verse 21 is that when I was first told the truth of “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”… back in 1972. That doctrine was itself a crushing “weight of a talent”, a 70-pound ball of hail upon me and the Babylonian, World Wide Church of God false doctrine of eternal death which was within me at that time. My immediate blasphemous reaction was… “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Anyone who knows anything about scripture knows that ‘the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever.’” Such pitiful ignorance! Such blasphemous self-righteousness! Every time we repeat and teach others our monstrous false doctrines, whether it is eternal torment or eternal death, we are blaspheming our own Creator and making Him into a monster who either torments or destroys the vast majority of His own creatures. Also, every time we tell others that we have never blasphemed God, when the Truth is that we must all come out of blasphemous Babylon, we are again blaspheming God by essentially telling others they need not fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels in their lives in spite of what the Lord Himself tells us:

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Those who know what ‘hail’ signifies know that it wipes away all our false doctrines:

Isa 28:17  Judgment [the seven plagues] also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters [the truth of God’s Word] shall overflow the hiding place.

Christ is that ‘temple’ and we are ‘Christ’ if we are in Him and He is in us:

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

All our false, lying doctrines have made us all blasphemers of Christ before we come to appreciate His goodness which judges us and drives us to “[our] wits’ end”. We are all first the servants of Babylon who hate the Christ of scripture before we are spiritually struck down and given our instructions of what we are to do in His service:

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.

The first 14 verses of Deuteronomy 28 and the first 13 verses of Leviticus 26 enumerate for us the “great and precious promises” that are ours in Christ if we are given to obey and abide in His words. The last 54 verses of Deuteronomy 28, and the last 33 verses of Leviticus 26 tell us of what will inevitably befall us when judgment “begins at the house of God” and we begin to experience the “seven seals… seven trumpets, and the seven plagues of the seven angels [being] fulfilled” in our lives.

Because Leviticus 26 is shorter, and because Leviticus 26 uses the phrase “seven times”, I will read those last 33 verses to set the stage for the pouring out of the seven plagues upon us, which is what is being signified by all the punishments upon His rebellious house which are recorded in this prophecy of Jeremiah.

This is what Israel was told in advance of their apostasy. This is what we are told before we lose our first love, hold the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, commit fornication, eat things offered to idols, are spiritually dead, think we are rich and increased in spiritual knowledge, while in reality we are spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The seals, trumpets and plagues are the “gold tried in the fire” of the next verses:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

This warning in Revelation is just the New Testament warning of these verses of Leviticus 26:

Lev 26:14  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev 26:18  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev 26:20  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Lev 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
Lev 26:23  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27  And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:29  And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Lev 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Lev 26:31  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Lev 26:32  And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Lev 26:34  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
Lev 26:36  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Lev 26:37  And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38  And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev 26:39  And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Lev 26:45  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
Lev 26:46  These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Revelation 16 is the New Testament account of the pouring out upon our lives of the seven bowls of the wrath of God which must be fulfilled within our lives if we are to enter into the temple of God in the kingdom of God in heaven.

Along with the last verse of chapter 15, here is what we must all endure which will bring each of us “to [our] wits’ end” before we are brought to our “desired haven… the kingdom of God within [which comes with]… the earnest of the spirit… [which is] “the holy spirit of promise” of… the redemption of the purchased possession”, the first resurrection at the beginning of a thousand-year reign with Christ over the outward, natural “kingdoms of this world [Greek: ‘kosmos’ the outward world] (Rev 2:26-27, 11:15, 20:1-6).

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Rev 16:2  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
Rev 16:3  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Please note that none of these seven plagues are qualified as having to be administered in the order in which they are enumerated. All we are told is they must be fulfilled. The same is true of the Old Testament details of these plagues. All we are told is that when we inevitably fail to be obedient to His words, “All these curses [plagues] shall come upon thee and overtake thee.”

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. [the first plague… “the earth”]
Deu 28:17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deu 28:18  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:19  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out [The second plague upon “the sea”].
Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
Deu 28:21  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

We must come to see and confess that we have lost our first love and that we are stricken with all the curses of the seven churches, including the self-righteousness of Laodicea:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten [with the seven plagues]: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We are admonished here in Revelation 3 to “be zealous therefore and repent” of “say[ing], I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; [when the truth is that we] knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”:

What makes us think we are spiritually rich is all the false doctrines which have become part of us. They have become our spiritual children and the spiritual fruit of our union with a whore.

Burning all of this out of our lives is the spiritual meaning of:

Deu 28:41  Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

The ‘captivity’ of our “sons and daughters” is to be carried off into Babylonian captivity. Like ancient Israel, our heart is in Babylon while we are yet with our first love. Our spiritual ‘children’ are our doctrines which must go into Babylonian captivity, and it is there in Babylon where we must begin to “come out of her” before we can begin to enter into the temple of God in heaven.

This is what the Lord told Israel before their captivity:

Isa 57:3  But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. [Rev 18:4]
Isa 57:4  Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

This is what Isaiah tells us of our captors and of the false doctrines which hold us captive:

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation [seven plagues, Rev 15:8].
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isa 10:7  Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

The Assyrians were to Israel what our churches of Babylon, with all our false doctrines, are to us. They enslave us, they devour us, they use us and abuse us, and “we love to have it so”.

Jer 5:31  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities [Ephraim, Israel, us], and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

We see the word ‘because’ a lot in scripture, and many times it appears to be telling us that the Lord sends us into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity and puts us through the experiences of Job “because [we] refuse to return [to Him]…because of our own counsels”. Indeed, that is exactly what we just read but we must always remember that the sum of the Lord’s words reveals that “the Lord [is] seeking an occasion against [our uncircumcised flesh]”. That is what happened to Samson, and it is written for our admonition (1Co 10:11).

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained. (CLV)

‘At our own time’ our own uncircumcised flesh is given dominion over us who are to become the very body of Christ, and we “leave our first love” (Rev 2:4). Like Samson, the Lord works even our rebellious, carnal nature “after the counsel of His own will.”

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

Rev 2:4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

For that reason, we can all say with the apostle Paul, who was the former Christ-hating Saul of Tarsus:

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

“I am… chief of sinners” is how each of us should feel toward ourselves because no one knows us as well as we know ourselves. Like Paul, you and I are in no position to look down on others as sinners because we, too, have sinned and committed many transgressions against the words of our Lord. Nevertheless, there is a reason we have been forgiven our sins and have been granted dominion over sin in our lives. It is the same as the reason Paul was forgiven his sins, as Paul explains in the very next verse:

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me [us] first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Paul confirms that this reasoning applies to all of us and not just himself in the very next verse of Ephesians:

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

1st Timothy 1:14 tells us that ‘grace works with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus’.

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

We are told that ‘grace chastens us to forsake ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and [to] live godly lives in this present age’:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastens] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [G165: ‘aion’, age];

Of course love “is… obedience to His commandments”:

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

So “the grace of God that brings salvation” is not lascivious, greasy grace. It is rather ‘chastening grace’ which “chastens us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.”

The scriptures tell us:

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

We must never give in to an attitude of complacency and reason that if God is sovereign, then we need not be diligent, vigilant or sober. That is the complacent, “luke-warm” spirit of the church of Laodicea. Such a mindset is as far from the instructions of scripture as can possibly be. Here is how Christ tells us to be:

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

The Lord did not commend the unjust steward for being “unjust”. He even tells us in this very same parable that is not His point:

Luk 16:11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luk 16:12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

What the Lord was commending was the unjust steward’s zealous, vigilant and diligent efforts to provide for his future needs.

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

This is just the Lord’s way of telling those who are obedient to His words what He told us in:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

So, yes, we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12). However, when and if we are granted to do so, we must be very careful and acknowledge the Truth of what we are told in the very next verse:

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

All things are done “after the counsel of His own will… to do… His good pleasure”. If the Lord desires anything then that is what He does:

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

Therefore it is because of this “chastening” characteristic of the Lord’s grace that we see so many more verses which concern our chastening than there are those verses which concern our spiritual blessings for being obedient to the Lord in this present age.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth [pours out His wrath upon] every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to [begin to] enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were [are being] fulfilled.

That is the Lord’s choice for how He is going about “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

We have now laid the foundation to continue our studies in this chastening prophecy of Jeremiah. This prophecy, like every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God, has a personal application first and foremost to each of us. All the rebellions and chastening we will read of in this prophecy happened to ancient Israel and Judah as types of us.

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

These are the verses for our next study… our continued instructions concerning how the Lord is working with and is “chastening us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts… for our sakes” (Tit 2:11-12, 2Co 4:15):

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.
Jer 1:18  For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
Jer 1:19  And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

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