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The Biblical Evidence for the Existence of Hell!
(Ver 1.3) This is Part 1 in a series of lessons on the subject of “What Does the Bible Teach Us About Hell”. I’ve have heard more than one person say that hell does not exist. Many like to say that hell is a figurative or symbolic place that really doesn’t exist. They have even tried to tell me that nothing in the Bible says there is a hell. In fact they have gone so far as to try to explain that the word “hell” is not even in the Bible, if you read the original text. There is no end to the deception that Satan has promoted on the earth to give people the assurance that they do not need to do anything to prepare for eternity. What I will attempt to do is show you Bible verses that talk about this place called hell. I will show you that the Bible tells us where it is and what it is. I will demonstrate that the Bible also tells us who will be going there. I believe if you do the research that Jesus while present on the earth actually talked more about hell than He did about heaven. I easily found over 30 different verses in the Gospels with the words in red ink that spoke about hell directly. I believe we should try to pay attention to what the creator God taught us about why He created this place and who it was designed for. Let’s start reading in the Old Testament:
Psa 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.
The Hebrew word translated in the KJV Bible as hell is the Hebrew word “sheol” or H7585. Obviously, reading this verse and the Strong’s definition of this word it would appear that this word would seem to indicate a place that has been reserved for those who qualify as being “wicked”. The wicked would include all those who were labeled as unrighteous. The word translated as “wicked” in the Hebrew means “morally wrong” and that is probably everybody at some point in their lives. The word also means a bad person or a guilty person. So far I believe everyone in the human race would qualify at one time as one of these definitions. The Hebrew word for “hell” has the following definition from the Strong’s:
H7585
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: – grave, hell, pit.
We can clearly see from the definition that it refers to a place known as “hades”, called the place of the dead. It is also given to us to be a subterranean location. Subterranean means, beneath the surface of the earth. Scientist and most every human alive has at least heard of or seen volcanoes in action. These geological phenomena’s are the external proof of the extreme heat within the earth’s core. We know that these eruptions come from cracks in the earth’s layers that allow this molten material to leak out. I feel like this is God’s way of trying to warn people that hell actually exists. I do not believe that God causes volcanoes, but I do know that they do exist. There are numerous scriptures in the Old Testament that refer to this place of the dead and even give us the location of this place. Here are some of these:
Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
We can see clearly in this verse that heaven and hell are described as two separate and distinctive places. Meaning they are not the same place or even in the same location of space. In fact the two could be called opposites. Heaven is described as being a place that is UP! A place that is high above us. Hell on the other hand is described as a place that is DOWN! A place that is beneath our feet. Interesting, isn’t it?
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
This verse is of course somewhat controversial. You see in some Christian circles it is taught that Jesus did not go to hell. However, this verse would seem to indicate the complete opposite. I personally believe if Jesus did not go to hell, then you and I will have to go. If Jesus did not take the full punishment for our sin, then we still owe a debt that we cannot pay. It was either paid in full or not paid at all. Jesus said before He was crucified that even as Jonah was 3 days in the belly of the whale, that the He was going to be 3 days in the belly of the earth (Mat 12:40). You cannot take that very many ways that would not seem to say, He was going to hell. If you still do not believe that Jesus went to hell for you, so that you do not have to go, I guess that will be your problem and not mine.
Psa 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
We can again see a verse of scripture that clearly locates the position of hell and also confirms who it was made for. God tells us clearly that the “wicked” will “go down”. I guess anyone that reads this and still doesn’t believe me must think that they do not qualify as one of these wicked. Maybe people think that my sin is not as bad as the sin of others so I must be OK! However, the Bible says that if you even violate any single one part of God’s law, you are now guilty of sinning against ALL of the law (James 2:10)! According to God’s written Holy Word no matter what sin you did, big or small, the consequences are just the same.
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
There are so many verses in the Bible like these that I have shown you. They all indicate that “heaven” is UP! and that hell is DOWN! This verse speaks about the “omnipresence” of God and says no matter where you go, God is everywhere. Yet it clearly tells us that some will go up and some will go down.
Pro 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
If you continue to read the many verses like these that I have been presenting to you and still refuse to acknowledgeme the existence of hell, you have been greatly deceived in your midnd not wanting to see the truth. This verse in Proverbs clearly says a wise man is one who acknowledges the ways of life and departs from the way that leads him into hell, below. Again we see two places mentioned, one is implied to be good and the other is definitely not a good place to go to. If a wise man goes Up, then that implies that a “foolish” man or a fool goes “down” by their own choices that they have made.
Isa 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Sadly this verse seems to indicate that hell will not be an empty place. The indication is given to us that it will be full of fools and idiots who thought they knew better. I’m sorry I do not know what else to call people who have refused the free gift of salvation. In this verse in Isaiah the path to hell is again said to be down. To descend means to go beneath the surface of the earth. Jesus said “Wide is the gate and broad is path that leads unto destruction and many are those that choose this path” (Mat 7:13). But, then Jesus tells us “that straight is the gate and narrow is the way to life and few are they that find this path” (Mat 7:14). You can see that Jesus is describing two separate groups of people. You can clearly understand that Jesus says one group will live and the other group will die. This of course is a spiritual reality and not a physical one. A spiritual death would be a separation from God who is the author of life. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). What was Jesus telling us in this verse in John? Jesus was saying He was the only way to achieve true life. Meaning that every other way that people think they are going is the wrong way. It is a very simple yet profound truth that many still refuse to accept. I can’t make you believe it, I can’t make you see it, even though I wish I could.
There are so many verses in the Bible that speak about hell that I just can’t go over every one. I would strongly suggest that you get your Bible search program and look for them and read everyone carefully. Study to show yourself approved, a workman unto God! I will leave this blog with this profound story given to us by Jesus himself. In the book of Luke Jesus tells us a real story of two real actual men who lived on the earth in the past. In this story we are told the direct name of one man who was named “Lazarus”. We know from the story that Jesus says that the man Lazarus was not well physically and was called a beggar who sat at the door of a rich man who had things very nice and lived very well. Lazarus wanted just some crumbs from the rich man’s table to quench his hunger, but it appears the rich man did not give him any or much at all. Jesus tells us that both men died physically and were buried. It also tells us something else that is very profound:
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
You see in this verse we can see two men who died. We know from when Jesus was telling us this story that He was still ministering physically to the nation of Israel. Therefore, we know that Jesus was not yet crucified and that the payment for sin was yet to be accomplished on the cross. Jesus told us in John 3:13 that no man had ever gone to heaven where God was up until this point in time that He spoke that statement. This means after people on the earth died before the shed blood on the cross, they must have gone somewhere else. We can clearly see that the beggar is said to be carried by the angels to this temporary place and it was called “Abraham’s bosom”. We can also clearly learn that this was not the beggar’s body that was taken to this place, but that it was his spirit that was relocated to this temporary location with Abraham. In this verse we are informed that the rich man also died and his body was buried. Where then did the rich man’s spirit go? We can read the next verse and find the answer:
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
We can clearly see that the rich man goes to hell, a place that is intentionally described as a place of torment. Torment is not a good or a positive word is it? Torment implies torture, pain and suffering. Before Jesus was crucified we can see that the beggar was somewhere, not heaven but yet not hell either. It is a place that is described to be a far off from hell, yet the rich man could still see it. Did you also notice that these verses said that the rich man’s body was buried, yet the rich man went to hell? If you do not understand that you are spirit that lives in a body you need to get a hold of that fact fast. After your spirit leaves your body you can see from this story, you still exist, you still have feelings, you still can see, you still can talk, you still can do many of the things that you can do today physically, except get saved. It is now too late to get saved.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
So the rich man hasn’t really changed has he? Even being in hell he thinks he is better than the beggar Lazarus. He asks for mercy from Abraham, his natural father, but yet ask for Abraham to send his brother Lazarus to hell to cool his tongue with water. In this verse we can again clearly see that hell is a place that is described as very, very hot. It is described as being surrounded by flames of fire. So what was Abraham’s response to the rich man?
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
So we can learn some valuable lessons if you want to see them. Jesus told us, “How hard it is for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God” (Mat 19:24). Why is that? Because they think that they do not need God or salvation. They are consumed with a life of luxury and want and need nothing. They make themselves out to be better than others who have nothing and most of the time do nothing to help them. We can clearly see in this story that the lives of these two men of example on earth are in stark contrast and opposition to each other. When one cried out for mercy on the earth, the other refused to give it. Then now that the tables are turned, the other cries out for mercy and yet nothing can be done to help him, even if they wanted to.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Jesus tells us that Abraham told the rich man that nobody could cross the vast expanse that was between them now. It sounds like this area represents a spiritual barrier or even a prison wall like structure. Nobody can get in and nobody can get out. Once you are there you are there, at least until judgment day. You see there is a day when the Bible says that “every knee will bow and call Jesus the Lord God”. When presented with the truth, I assume many will still not believe it, but yet they will still be forced to bow their knee. It would be much wiser to bow your knee voluntarily right now, than to wait until later and be forced into this position.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
The rich man is not through asking for stuff and trying to negotiate a better outcome. Now the rich man asks for Abraham to send Lazarus back to the earth to his father’s house. Funny how rich men like to ask other people to do stuff for them all the time, isn’t it? Did you notice that in verse 25, Abraham said to the rich man “remember”? Do you know that the rich man in hell, without his body could still do this? Do you understand the significance to that revelation? People in hell can still remember and reflect back on everything that they had and the things that they did and still know everyone that they had met here on the earth. What is more astounding is the fact that the rich man knew who Abraham was and He had never met him before. Abraham lived many hundreds of years before this man and yet he still knew him.
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Now the rich man in the middle of hell realizes that the time of decision making was on the earth. Since he has found that nothing can be done to help his situation, he wants Abraham to send Lazarus as a witness to his brothers on the earth so they will not come to the same place. No doubt his brothers were also wealthy men who were raised to disregard others.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Now we have some more amazing information. Here we have Abraham speaking about a future son named Moses. How did Abraham know Moses? Apparently Moses was there in the same place as he was and had heard the stories that Moses spoke of. Moses and the prophets wrote God’s word down hundreds of years after Abraham lived and Abraham knew what they had done. I find that absolutely fascinating. Here we have a spiritual law of sorts being revealed to us. We can see who ever lives and dies later will meet those and speak with those that went before. An exchange of information is assumed and everyone will know everyone else who is there also. But, did you notice that Abraham is not going to respond to what the rich man said, the way the rich man wanted him to. Abraham tells him that God’s Word is where it was at, that was the only way to know God and to be saved. Abraham never said anything about Buddha did he? Abraham never said anything about any other way or religion did he?
Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
The rich man is very persistent and continues to ask for someone from the dead to be sent to his brothers so that they will hear first hand testimony of this awful place of torment. Then if they hear someone personally say look I died and saw hell and it is not good place, they would repent. Did you know that would really not help most people. You see if people do not believe the Bible, how would they believe someone who came up to them and said “I’ve seen hell and it is a really bad place”. Do you think they would believe it then? I do not think it would make any difference. Let’s see what Abraham thought about it:
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
You see Abraham had the same opinion that I did, he tells the rich man that if they do not believe the Word of God, they will not believe someone who was raised from the dead. That is such a strong Word of Truth to consider. You see there are not many ways to God, Abraham never said anything about Islam or any other religion. Abraham said the key was the Bible. This is what salvation is based upon.
We are not told very many things in the Bible about people who are directly said to have went to heaven or to hell. Very few times are we actually given the names of specific individuals. In fact I cannot think of anyone’s name that is said to have gone to hell. We are told that Abraham and Lazarus was in a place not associated with hell and it implies that Moses and the prophets were also there. From other stories in the Bible we can assume that Elijah was a specific individual that qualified as a prophet, but was someone who was caught up in a chariot by God. We know from New Testament scriptures that Enoch was also said to have been taken by God. Other than these few named individuals the Bible is purposely vague on the subject. For example, I have heard Sunday School teachers teach about Adam and Eve and how someday we will see them in heaven. However, I have not seen a Bible verse that says that they made it. Just because your name is in the Bible doesn’t guarantee that you were saved. There are a lot of names in the Bible that would appear to indicate that they were in hell right now. How about Goliath, the giant?
So according to the Bible, hell is a very real place! Jesus himself confirmed to us the existence of hell. Jesus said, hell exists because it was created for Satan and his demons calling it eternal fire (Mat 25:41). However, from the evidence in the Bible we can also clearly see that that there will be men and women that will also be in hell. I could give you many more scriptures, but if you do not want to see it, it will do no good. I knew a preacher, a man of God that I would call the greatest man of God that I have ever seen on this planet in the last 50 years. This man’s testimony goes something like this. As a teenager he was sick because he was born with a malformed heart condition. This man lived to be a teenager and died, left his body and went down to hell just like the story of the rich man in Luke 16. He could see the flames of fire and the large gate into this place of torment. He said he saw a creature that was about to escort him into hell and suddenly something happened. He said that before he went in, that he heard a voice saying something that was not English and he started going back up to the earth passing through the darkness. He then came back to his bed in his bedroom and entered back into his body. I can’t tell this as good as he could, but he is no longer with us, so I choose to tell it for him. This story was an example of someone who died and came back to tell us personally, like Abraham said you would not beleive. This man was saved and became a preacher of the gospel trying to get you not to go to this place. I do not know how many, have heard this story of his experience, but God allowed him to come back and try to tell us the truth. I believed his story, but I also believed the Bible before I heard this story. I saw the fruit of his ministry and the effort that he would go through to help people to see the truth. You of course can be like many others who have chosen not to believe and as a result have taken the wide gate and broad path to their own destruction. People will either be saved or will perish based upon what they do right here right now here on this planet.
I wish I could say that I believed that everyone on the planet would be presented the opportunity to make the correct decision and have a chance of a fair opportunity to make this decision for God to go to heaven. However, too many things in the world have proved otherwise. Vast numbers of people have died not having heard the gospel and good news of salvation. Children, babies and those that are too young to choose have been killed unfairly and in an untimely fashion. I do not recall reading in the Bible that God said life is fair or just and that you will be given any such chance to make an informed decision. I do not recall anywhere in the Bible that says God will allow you the opportunity to explore every religion to determine which is the best one and the one that is true. If you think that you have a lot of time to figure it all out, it might already be too late for you. Evil in the world is escalating. Satan is feverously working to try to save himself from hell’s flames. As a result, terrorism is on the increase, murder, suicide and other crimes against humanity are being perpetrated at increasing and alarming rates around the world. If you think it is bad now just wait until the Christian are taken out of the world and then you try to figure out what is happening. There will be a lot less informative blogs on the internet when that happens.
If you you like to continue reading in this series about the subject of hell you may go to “Part 2“.
Universal Salvation, Is Everybody Going to Be Saved? Pt 2
(Ver 1.2) Today is Part 2 in the lesson series about the subject of Unieveral Salvation. I really just introduced this subject in my last lesson. If you did not read this series from the beginning, I would recommend that you go back and start with “Part 1“. In the first lesson, I alluded to the fact that I have heard several people try to teach this and they have attempted to convince me repeatedly that they were absolutely correct and that I was the one that was absolutely wrong. They would give me Bible verses and I would just have to say Yes, I know that, but…” DId you know that no deceived person knows they are deceived? The greatest danger of being deceived is the individual’s acceptance of the lies to be the truth. Rather than reviewing all of the Bible verses they were giving to me, let’s talk about some other Bible verses that they have obviously ignored or refused to look at and study. Whenever one group of people preach something that is wrong, it is usually a result of not knowing what else the Bible says on the subject. Selective theology is a predominate fallacy of deception that people fall into sometimes way too easily. But, it is also very difficult to get these types of people to see the truth, since they do not want to know what is truth. In fact it is almost impossible to get anyone to see what they do not want to look at. You could be attempting to show them one of the greatest revelations of all time from God’s Word that God himself has taught you personally and just because it is something new or different, people automatically reject it and refuse to see it. Believe me I know this for a personal fact, it can be very discouraging if you let it get to you. I guess it is just a basic human characteristic to not accept something new that is presented to you, after all we are bombarded by false teachings every day.
Most proponents of Universal Salvation ignore Bible verses about the existence of hell. I guess they read them and because they do not want to see them they just ignore them or attempt to explain them away like people usually like to do. Do you understand how easy it is to explain away God’s Word using human reasoning, people do it every day. Instead of talking about hell first let me start with a couple of things that Jesus said about the end of the world:
Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
In this verse from Matthew, Jesus is clearly talking about the end of the world. A time that we are living very near to and within our sight, right now. Jesus clearly says that the angels will be given the task and assignment to separate the wicked from the just. The Greek word for “sever” in this verse is a word that means to divide. To divide literally means to make two separate groups. If you recall from my last blog I told you about these two groups. Those of the Day and those of the Night. God will send His angels to separate those who live in the Light from those who live in the darkness. There will be a division of those who have accepted His salvation from those who have rejected His salvation. Those who are said to be wicked from those who are called the righteous. You know I did not write the Bible, God did and people easily just discount these words as being not important or that they simply think that they do not apply to them. Nevertheless that does not change what God said.
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Here is another very clear verse that speaks about a prophetic event soon to occur. Again we can clearly see another reference to a “division” that is occurring. This verse says that God will gather every nation to stand before Him. It then does not say that everyone will be saved, does it? No it actually says the complete opposite. Let’s start by acknowledging that this verse is referring to every possible group of people on the earth that currently exists, every people that existed in the past and every group that could possibly exist in the future. In other words Jesus did not leave out any nation of people on the earth, it is an all-inclusive statement Why would you divide your sheep from your goats? Who do the sheep represent and who do the goats represent? These are clearly symbolic references to something that will soon occur in the spiritual realm, whether you choose to believe it or not. Did you realize that it doesn’t matter if you believe something will happen, for it to actually happen to you. Things happen to you every day that you did not believe would happen. I wonder how many people in the World Trade Center would have believed that an airplane would intentionally fly into them on 9/11/01? Even though I am not a gambling man, I would be willing to bet you that none of them expected that to happen and yet it did. I know I was at home watching it live on TV and I know I still couldn’t believe what was going on. These terrorist certainly pulled off a major unexpected attack on American soil. I would be shocked if it doesn’t happen again. But that is my opinion and I normally don’t give you my opinion on anything.
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Again continuing in this chapter you can see that the nations are being divided into two separate and distinctive groups of people that are completely different from each other. One group is placed upon His right hand and the other His left hand. If you understand this is a Biblical principle and a law given to us in the Old Testament. A son would receive the right hand of blessing from their father and this would be a sign of their inheritance. Once this blessing was imparted it could not be reversed. You can read about it in the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis. Now see what the chapter continues to inform us of these words from Jesus:
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords so we easily know who is doing the talking in this verse 34. Those sheep on the right of God are said to be blessed of the Father like I just mentioned about the story of Jacob and Esau in the book of Genesis. We are clearly told that these people on God’s right hand are the ones that will inherit the Kingdom of God that was prepared for them since the foundation of the world. Meaning that there is somewhere else prepared for the other people on the left hand of the King. This is so strong that it is obviously just ignored by those who do not want to see it. Continuing down the chapter we finally see what happens to the other people Jesus is speaking of:
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Finally, in this verse we can see that to the goats on His left hand He clearly says for them to “depart from me”. Where did these goats come from? They came from the same nations of people that were divided on the right hand of God. That does not sound like Universal Salvation to me, does it to you? Did you also notice that God is not talking to Satan and his demons? If you carefully read this verse correctly, you will see that there is a place that was called “an everlasting fire” that was prepared or created originally for Satan and his angels. But, yet God is not talking to Satan when he tells these goats to depart from him. We can clearly see that hell exists in this verse and it describes it as a place of eternal torment and punishment. No you are right it does not call it “hell”, but what else would you call it from this clear description. A place that is not good, a place that will not be an eternal party or a place to have fun. Have you ever been near a raging fire on the earth, now imagine having to be in that fire and not just standing near it.
So, why do people go to hell, if hell was created for Satan and his angels as this verse in Matthew says? In order to answer that question you have to understand Bible covenants. 
You have to understand how God operates using covenants and laws. You have to understand the Bible and how it was written and why it was written. If Satan committed the first sin, why didn’t God just solve the sin problem and throw Satan into hell? Why if God was God and Satan was not, why did God not just get rid of the source of all evil so that none of us would ever have to see it or to understand what it was. Did you know that God could not legally throw Satan into hell. Now God can, after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ when the end of the world comes, but I’m talking about before Adam and Eve came along. Before, the Old Covenant came into existence, God had no legal grounds to stand on. God’s law in the Old Testament gives God the legal right to throw Satan into hell, if God can get Satan under the law. Did Satan ever get under the law? I guess I’ll need to leave that to another blog.
If you did not realize it, God created a perfect world without any sin with Lucifer in charge of all of the angels in the beginning. Maybe you have never studied the Bible and have not seen how that the Bible says that there was a world that existed prior to our world. In this world, Lucifer ruled it and walked among the other angelic beings. In this world existed the Garden of God, a place called Eden. In this world Satan rebelled and this world fell into ruin and was destroyed. There are many people and good Bible teachers who refuse to buy into these Bible verses, but yet they have a hard time of explaining them away. Why was the world covered with water in state of destruction in Genesis 1:2? Why does God describe the world as formless and void in Genesis and then in Isaiah 45:18 tells us that He never created anything that was formless? In Isaiah 45:18 it clearly says that God when He created the earth, it was created to be inhabitable. God uses the same Hebrew word to inform us that the world became formless and void and that was not this way when it was originally created. Scientist through astronomical calculations of light refraction and phase shifts have measured the duration of time for light to reach the earth in terms of billions of years. When we look at stars shinning in our night sky we are looking at light that took billions of years to reach us. Yet we have numerous Bible teachers who want to try to convince you that the world is only few thousand years old. Any intelligent person can simply see that the earth is not that young. If you believe that it is you are promoting a lie and a deception to the people of God and to those who are in the world that are obviously more informed than you are. God is not the deceiver nor is He a party to deception. I guess I got off of the main subject, I’m sorry about that. Maybe I’ll blog on the age of the earth from a Bible perspective later on.
There are many complex reasons for the existence of Satan and evil. But, most of these reasons boil down to God giving us a choice. If you see that God is good, that God is Love and still choose not to follow Him and His Word, then you by default belong in the group of goats on God’s left hand. Why is this? It goes back to covenants again. Because people do not understand Bible covenants and what they are and how important they are to God and what He does, people lose sight of why God had to allow evil in our world and could not throw Satan directly into hell.
In the Bible a covenant is a marriage contract between two parties. We who have been saved called His sheep are in a brand New Covenant that never existed before to a risen Savior that was never in a covenant with anyone else before. Therefore we are in a spiritual marriage contract with the raised from the dead Jesus Christ (Rom 7:4). If you do not understand Bible covenants, please read my series on “Understanding Bible Covenants“. This new covenant relationship puts us into the category of the sheep and the spiritual realm of the Day and Light. Those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior remain in the night and the spiritual realm of darkness controlled and ruled by Satan. There are many reasons for this and I have alluded to Night and Day multiple times. If you need more understanding about these spiritual states or dimensions please refer to my blogs on “Night and Day, Understanding the Spiritual Heart of Man“.
Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Here is a verse of scripture that speaks about a marriage covenant contract that contains grave consequences. In a Bible marriage covenant contract, what one party possesses the other party also possesses. This law of marriage works for the positive aspects of marriage as well as for all of the negative possessions that each party owns. For example, if you marry someone in the world today who is on the verge of bankruptcy with in massive amounts of financial debt, after you are married their debt becomes your debt. This is just a basic Bible law. Hopefully, you understand this and can see the cause and effect that this verse in Isaiah 28 contains. Clearly these people in this verse are in a covenant that a God to get them out of.
If you go into this chapter and check the context of this verse, you can see who God is speaking to directly in verse 14 of Isaiah 28. This verse is written directly to the rulers of Jerusalem. To be in agreement with and to be in covenant with are synonymous terms for someone who is married to the realms of “death” and “hell”. In this marriage covenant contract, these people now possess a destiny that is very dark and gloomy. They actually have no good future or optimistic outcome or anything to look forward to. Furthermore, there is actually nothing they can do to get out of this contract. It can only be broken or disannulled by God himself. A Bible covenant cannot be easily broken, unlike people’s marriages in our world today. You cannot just go to court and get a divorce from “death” and “hell”. Do you understand what I just said? There are many songs, movies and books that relate to stories of people making a deal with the devil. They usually sell their soul for a few years of pleasurable wealth, fame or other natural earthly gain. These fictional stories mask, mock and make fun of a spiritual reality and most Christian do not even know it is actually a real reality.
Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
So God declares that our previous agreement with “hell” will not stand and our previous covenant with “death” will be disannulled. So how did God accomplish this great task? There are actually several verses in the New Testament that give us insight into how God did this for us. You may be familiar with some of these so I’ll just give you one to think about:
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
This is an outstanding verse of scripture that has a vast amount of very important and relevant information for us to understand. It is speaking of how God became a human in the body of a male child named Jesus of Nazareth. We are now informed how God broke the covenant with death that had previously dominated every human on the planet. This verse informs us that God used death to undo the consequences of death. Because God died in the body of Jesus our covenant with death was broken. That of course is not the complete story or results of what happened, but it is an important part of what happened. This verse actually speaks about Satan, the devil directly as the one that God targeted with His death on the cross. You see this verse actually tells us directly that Satan controlled the “power” of death, but that God came to “destroy” him. The Greek word for “Power” means dominion over, strength or might. However, the Greek word translated as “destroyed” does not mean the same thing in the spiritual realm as what we think of when we say it in the natural realm. Most of the time we think of something that is destroyed as something that has been obliterated or reduced to a pile of ashes or something like that. But, obviously Satan is still alive and doing everything he can to kill, steal and destroy from everybody that will let him today. It is important to realize that you cannot destroy a spiritual being! A spiritual being is an eternal being. So to destroy Satan in the spiritual realm means that God came to undo the consequences of Satan’s deception and our sin. By God experiencing death and participating in it, there are many things that transpired that were of severe consequences to Satan. If you remember in Genesis, God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and if he did, he would die! So we can see how death entered into the world and we can now understand who controlled or held the power of death and this was Satan. So therefore, we can conclude that Adam entered into a covenant relationship with Satan. This covenant allowed Satan to live on this planet as long as Adam time to rule the planet was in effect. In fact Adam’s rulership was transferred to Satan after Adam died. Now Satan was given complete dominion over the earth (Luke 4:6). In a covenant relationship we know that what each party possesses the other also owns jointly. So now Satan was free to rule our planet and Adam and all of his children were now destined for hell. Thank God for giving us a way out.
So how was man’s covenant with death and hell rendered harmless? It was through Jesus dying on the cross that loosed us from the consequences of our sins. We know the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Rom 6:23). That verse is another one that the Universal Salvation teachers like to quote. It implies that everyone is saved according to their interpretation of what a gift is. But, they do err in their conclusion that a gift is automatically accepted by everyone that it was given to. Most people today do not know how to receive a spiritual gift from God? Do you know that it requires you doing something to open a present that has been given to you? How would you open a present that you cannot even see, cannot hold on to, or cannot even verify exists? That is a very tricky question and one that you should figure out the answer to if you haven’t already. Some think that it is just a matter of joining a church. Some think that it is just a matter of saying you are a Christian. Some think that you can be baptized as an adult or as a baby and that saves you. Some think that it is just doing good works and good deeds for others. Some think that it is an automatic free gift to everyone and they have it magically. But, none of these are the correct answer. There are not many ways to God. There are not many ways to be saved. There are not many religions that will work for you. There is only one Absolute Way to God and Salvation and His name is Jesus Christ. He died for your sins and was raised from the dead and now waits for those who will believe in Him. I would be a fool not to tell you the truth. You would be a bigger fool not to believe it. If you haven’t figured it out by now, not everything that you think is always 100% correct and guess what that includes me. I do not know everything and I am still learning new stuff about God and the Bible almost every day. The things that I do know I will tell you boldly with confidence. So you have now read this entire lesson and if you still want to place all of your hopes on the possibility of an universal salvation theory thinking that you have no responsibility or saying in the matter, I guess you have the right to be wrong and go to hell. I know if I just read this and still believed in universal salvation, I would do some more research to make sure I was right. How can you place all of your eggs in one basket and know with the same confidence that I have, that you have not made a fatal mistake? Thanks for taking the time to study the Bible with me and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them for me. God Bless.
Universal Salvation, Is Everybody Going to Be Saved?
(Ver 1.3) The is Part 1 of a series of important Bible lessons countering the lies of the enemy being taught in churches called the doctrine of “Universal Salvation”. I know it takes all kinds of different people to come up with some of the stuff that I have heard being taught from the Bible. They probably have a lot of help from Satan to invent these concepts, but that is just how Satan works. One of the most obscure and ridiculous things that I have heard being taught from certain nameless individuals is that everyone on the earth will be saved eventually. This would include mass murders, terrorists, rapists, and everybody else that you can think of. People base their beliefs upon a limited number of scriptures that seem to indicate the possibility of this occurring, but they also ignore many other scriptures that directly contradict and conflict with their beliefs. This is a classic example of how some people read the Bible and have taken “A TRUTH” and have exalted it to become “THE TRUTH”. People make this mistake all the time in many Christian denominations. It is a very dangerous practice, but yet one that is found widespread in almost every church. This type of teaching is what I call extremism. They will take a truth to an extreme while excluding all conflicting verses they do not agree with. However, the only correct way to interpret the Bible is to review all truths and all scriptures on a subject and then balance them all together.
People who teach this philosophy of Universal Salvation, start with believing in the complete saving power of the shed blood of Jesus, the stated love and mercy of God and the divine sovereignty of God and these are actually all very good truths to believe in. They claim that the Bible says Jesus has paid for everybody’s sin by His death on the cross and by His shed blood He has purchased or redeemed us all from any future eternal torment. They are at least partially right in those beliefs, but yet still mostly wrong misapplying them that everyone is now saved. They embrace sover very basic Bible truths and then jump to some incorrect outrageous conclusions. You see there is more than “One Truth” in the Bible! If you only take a few of the truths and ignore all of the other truths in the Bible you are only partially right, meaning you are mostly wrong. No lie from Satan is based upon completely false teachings no found in the Bible. Every very good lie is based upon a lot of Bible truths with mixed in human reasoning and lies making them much more difficult to see. Here is another popular verse that these teachers like to use to promote their idea of Universal Salvation:
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God being an omnipotent God says that He is not willing that any should perish. Omnipotent means of course “all powerful”. Since God holds all power, whatever He desires is what happens, according to these religious people. These types of teachers have concluded that God’s will, will prevail over all others. They can even claim that everything that happens in the world is always the will of God and therefore they justify all of the evil in the world as being something from God also. So in their minds that have determined or reasoned that if a man like an Adolf Hitler has killed over a million Jews it was the direct will of God that this occurred. So the universal salvation peddler says that Adolf Hitler will eventually be saved like all the rest of us. It is really a crazy belief system and one that makes no logical sense to me. However, I do understand how they logically arrived at their state of deception. I believe many people have wanted to believe this teaching because of their close relatives or friends that they knew who have died without knowing Jesus and they do not know what happened to them and they do not want to think of them being tormented eternally. Therefore, they embrace a false sense of hope in order to believe this person made it into God’s family.
People who believe things like this usually do not believe in an enemy or an unseen opposing evil spiritual force like demons. They purposefully close their eyes so that they do not understand that there are two different spiritual forces at work in our world today. These two spiritual forces are in direct competition and opposition to each other for the souls of the people in the world. One spiritual group is called those of the “Day” and the other spiritual group is called those of the “Night”. The Bible says that those who are in or of the “Day” have the light of Jesus Christ shinning in their hearts or spirits (2 Peter 1:19). Then those in the “Night” are those without the light of Jesus and are they that dwell in the darkness controlled by Satan. Two separate spiritual divisions. one of Light and the other of Darkness (Acts 26:18)! Here is a scripture that has great significance to our subject:
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Universal Salvation teachers like to think that God is an all loving God and a God who is full of mercy to everyone. After all, what loving, all powerful God would allow any of his innocent creation to go to a place of eternal punishment? It is so amazing that the Bible tells us that Satan has deceived the whole world in Rev 12:9. That is a pretty broad statement and an all inclusive term. However, Christians we know are in the world, but not of the world so we can see that Christians have not generally been deceived. What we must discover and get others to see is the fact that Satan has deceived a lot of people into not believing the truth. Then people need to understand how Satan has accomplished this deception.
What is Satan’s motivation to deceive people if everyone is going to be saved? Have you ever asked your self that question? I mean come on and think with me for a change using your brain for change. If you continue to read in Revelation 12 you see that Satan is very angry and has great wrath towards the human race and those that are in the church, because it says that he knows his time is short. Satan can clearly see that things in the spiritual realm is winding down to a final conclusive point of time. He can see what is happening in heaven the spiritual realm, the church and the physical world. He is trying to cause what God said in the Bible that is soon to occur, not to occur. This is the key motivational factor for why Satan is trying to deceive you right now. Satan’s only hope is to destroy the nation of Israel and to eliminate the Church or at least keep the church divided. If Satan can do either of these, he thinks he can change his eternal fate and destiny. At the very least he thinks he can put it off a little longer and delay it from happening so fast.
There are many who struggle with the fact that there are many religions in the world today. Why would a loving God create or allow so many possible ways for man to better themselves and to achieve a higher state of being, they were not all legitamate paths to travel? Many people have concluded that God loves people so much that he made many ways to achieve salvation. However, I believe, that the primary reason God has allowed this to occur is for many compolex purposes, but it all goes back to the fact that God gave every man the right to choose. 
Giving man a freewill is God’s right of giving the man the right to be wrong! When God created the first man and woman on the earth, He presented them with a simple binary choice. He even told them which one to choose and which one to avoid and yet they made the wrong decision. Any choice presented to us by God dictates that we have the responsibility of things to choose from and a direct decision to make. But, it does not mean that every way that we have chosen to go in is the right way or the correct way for us to go in. That is what Universal Salvationists would like you to believe. It does not matter what you choose the everntual outcome will be the same becasue of God’s Grace. However, let’s get back to why Satan is deceiving people today? Those in the far east and the rest of world that have chosen to believe in Buddha as their choice or option when it was presented to them have actually fallen into this trap of the enemy’s deception. Satan causes religions to spring forth as instruments of depction. What makes you think that it does not matter what you do here on the earth and what path you select to travel on? What makes you believe that choosing Christianity is no different than choosing Islam? Just because you select an Islamic path, it does not mean that this was the correct way to God. It is kind of like the old saying, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. That is the dilemma that people are faced with today everywhere in the world. Because, they do not know this True unseen God they usually end up looking for Him in the wrong places. After all any religion is better than no religion, or is it? Could it be that Satan has put all of these other religions in the world in order to deceive people from choosing the right one and to keep people from selecting the only way that will let them into the Kingdom of God? Why can’t there be One Absolute Truth against many lies? If I was the enemy that is what I would do. I would put out so many options, so much propaganda, distractions and smokescreens that nobody could see or have time to find the truth. It is an amazingly useful strategy in war time, isn’t it? Keep your enemy distracted with little things here and there and then strike with a big thing when they are not looking. This is a common ploy of the Taliban in Afghanistan. You of course have to understand that there is a spiritual war going on. If you refuse to read and believe the whole Bible and only take a few verses out of context to justify your beliefs you can be wrong like the other religions in the world.
God wrote the Bible in a fashion using techniques that purposely allowed men the right of choice. They can read the Bible and get out whatever they want to see from the Bible and to ignore what they do not want to see. God tells us to specifically to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Tim 2:15). This verse implies there are many ways to wrongly divide the Bible. Just as there are many false religions God wrote the Bible to allow many false teachings. So how do you know when you are right or not? That is a really good question. It starts with knowing the author personally, and then He opens the book up for you to see what it really means, if you are interested of course.
If you would like to continue reading this series, you can go to “Part 2“.
The Bible Definition of Apostasy and the Apostate Church!
(Ver 1.4) In reading wall posts on Facebook and Christian blogs on the internet I have discovered a popular common theme on many of them. It appears that there are a tremendous number of self-righteous people who think they are the only true church and everyone else is just promoting or following a false god. That sounds like a very smug and an arrogant attitude that proves to me that they do not know Christ or have the love of God in them. My Bible tells me that if you do not have the love of God for your brother that you can see, how then can you possibly have any love for your God that you have never seen (1 John 4:20)? My Bible also says that if you have the Spirit of God in you then He is the one that teaches you to love your brother (1 Thes 4:9). Therefore, loving your brother is more than a suggestion; it actually appears to be a requirement for your salvation based upon the words of Jesus in John 13:34. These verses imply that if NO Love is present then NO God is present either. If no God is present then you are just walking in darkness and Satan controls your life and your destiny. Love is a predominate subject found in the New Testament and people want to treat it with disdain to ignore it like it is not important or relevant to me. Many of these blogs like to take the woman in Revelation 17 called the whore of Babylon and call her the “apostate church”. So far I have not heard ANY of them give us any scriptural backing for their statement of beliefs. Without scriptural backing it is obviously just some man’s opinion and what is commonly called a private interpretation of the scriptures (2 Peter 1:20) which is not allowed. That is a very shaky foundation to build your house of religious theology cards upon, if you ask me. What we need to do is to look to the Bible and seek the answers from God’s word and see what God thinks about the subject of apostasy. That is what I will do today. Jesus gives us a clear example and it exemplifies God’s definition of what an apostate Christian is in the book of Luke.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
We can see Jesus talking about a Pharisee in this verse who obviously thinks very highly of himself. Also notice that according to Jesus this proud man is praying to hiimself and not to God. God does not even acknowledge his words at all. Did you see that? This Pharisee claims that he is not like other men. He is thankful that he is not an extortioner, or an unjust man who cheats others, or even an adulterer who cheats on his marriage covenant. This man looks at others and judges his own state of righteousness by what is observed in the visible lives of the others around him. This man is beginning to sound like a lot of the internet bloggers that I have read recently. One of the key words in this verse is the Greek word translated as “adulterer” and it has the following Greek definition from the Strong’s:
G3432
Perhaps a primary word; a (male) paramour; figuratively apostate: – adulterer.
If you understand this word it means someone who is married, but who commits adultery on their spouse. It is a word for a man who is unfaithful to his wife or for a wife that is unfaithful to her husband. We have all seen a lot of examples of this type of behavior in the media in the past few months. Really famous people with beautiful and famous wives and they choose to sleep around and be unfaithful not being satisified with what they have. That is the meaning of this word. But, it also says it is a figurative definition for someone who is called an “apostate”. Does that sound familiar?
This Pharisee man was calling someone else an apostate man just like those on the internet are doing today. Isn’t that interesting? Here is the Pharisee praying loudly so that everyone can hear him and telling us how great he was and how he was so much better than the publican who was standing nearby. You can clearly see that this Pharisee was exalting himself above all others. He thought himself to be better than the others, smarter than the others, the one that had all knowledge of the truth and everyone else was just ignorant fools. Jesus continued in his discourse in this chapter 18 of Luke and told us about the publican and how that he humbled himself and asked God to be merciful to him a sinner. Clearly there is a major difference between these two contrasted attitudes. One man was very proud and one man was very humble. Which one of these two men got the attention of God and was justfied? Let’s read and find out, here is the conclusion that Jesus derives from these two men’s words of prayer:
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
So Jesus claims that the publican went away being justified by God, because he had humbled himself before God. The implication is clear that the Pharisee was put down and called an idiot by God. The Pharisee man that thought he was righteous and so much better than the others around him was deemed by God to be the lowly one. The man that actually humbled himself was the ONLY one that God raised up. So who was right? Obviously it was not the Pharisee! Therefore, who is Jesus calling the “apostate”? Obviously it was not the Publican that was called an apostate by the Pharisee! Did you notice that Jesus did not agree with anything that the Pharisee said? The Pharisee called the Publican the apostate and Jesus reverses this decision. This lesson from Jesus teaches me that just because someone believes something is right or even true that does not necessarily make it right or true in the eyes of God. I do not believe that the Pharissee thought he was wrong. I beleive the Pharisee honestly believed he was better than the Pulican. However that was not the correct attitude to take, was it? This is a very clear Biblical example of what is occurring on Facebook and many of the blogs that I have found all over the internet. They exalt themselves and their religious faith, church or denomination to be the ultimate true church that is far wiser, knowledgeable or better than everyone else. Everyone else in their eyes are labeled as the false religious deceived ones. Everyone of these websites call themselves the “true church” and all the others the “apostate church” simply because they teach something different than they believe is the truth. Who exactly died and made them God? Do they know everything just because they think they know everything? If they are NOT God then they actually know very little of the whole truth like everyone else in the church. Even Paul said that he saw through a glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12). Therefore, no one sees everything in the Bible clearly and no one today is greater than Paul who wrote 2/3 of the N.T. These types of Christians teach the Bible from their ignorance of the Bible just like I do, but yet they still feel like they are superior to everyone. That is exactly a Pharisee type of attitude and God’s response to it would be the exact same today as Jesus gave us in this example in Luke 18.
The dictionary gives us some definitions of the word Apostate. I guess it would not hurt to review this information and see if it matches the Bible definition.
- deserter: a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
- not faithful to religion or party or cause
So we can see a lot of similarities between these words and the Bible definition of an “adulterer”. An adulterer is someone who is unfaithful to their spouse. An apostate is someone that is unfaithful to their religion. They are quite similar definitions. So what is the problem? We have a large group of people on the internet that call themselves Christians but sound like “Pharisees” while doing it and I do not think they have all the answers either. I do not think they they are God that knows everything. Who are they to judge another ignorant Christian believer? That is an example of an idiotic foolish Pharisee type of behavior and it is clearly a very dangerous attitude to exhibit, if you ask me. You see Saul went around and persecuted the early church of Jesus Christ as one of these religious Pharisees that thought he was so right and what happened to him? Jesus appeared to him and personally asked him, “Saul why are you persecuting me!”. Jesus took the persecution of the Pharisee Saul very personally, didn’t He? So who are these Pharisees on the internet that are persecuting Christianity, thinking they are the true church and no one else is saved? I’ll tell you who they are, they are fools in the grasp of Satan’s control like Saul. Pawns of darkness that are soon to be sacrificed in their dangerous religious chess game. They walk after their own religious mindsets and exalt themselves much too highly. Their end will not be a good one!
Here are two more Hebrew words found in the Old Testament that give us further light on the definition of “apostate”. We can learn a lot by studying the Bible, if you want the truth you should be looking for it in the Bible.
H7726
From H7725; apostate, that is, idolatrous: – backsliding, frowardly, turn away
H7728
From H7725; apostate, that is, heathenish or (actually) heathen: – backsliding.
We can see a clear pattern from both of these words. They imply someone that was right with God, but has now become unfaithful. The term “backsliding” is even used. This term speaks about someone that has fallen into sin. Someone who is dominated by old habits that they were delivered from. They clearly speak of someone who does wrong after knowing right. So how is this the “apostate” church that is portrayed on the internet? From what I can tell the “apostate” church to these Pharisees are just the people who do not believe exactly like they do. If they find someone that believes anything differently than they do they claim them to be in error, rather than studying the Bible with humility to see if it could be possibly them that is in error. That is an example of a Pharisee attitude. You see there are no perfect men or women in the world today. There are no men or women who know everything or can do everything without committing a sin or even keep from making a little simple mistake sometimes. Your attitude will either make you a Pharisee or a Publican. What I believe is that we need more “Publican” Christians and a lot less “Pharisee” Christians in the world today. Of course calling a Christian a Pharisee Christian is an oxymoronic term that really does not exist. What I did was to contrast two groups and put symbolic titles upon them for you to see and understand where you are today. Can you choose to change? Will you judge yourself and make the determination which kind of Christian you are today?
Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
The Greek word translated in this verse as “stumbling block” is G4348. According to Strong’s, it can be defined as “an occasion for apostasy”. This word has a Greek root word that is G4350. This Greek root word means to strike at or to surge against as water. Both of those are describing precisely what the Pharisee was doing to the Publican. The pharisee was striking down the Publican with his harsh erroneous words causing an occasion for apostasy. So we can see how judging others is a factor in causing others to stumble and fall away. The body of Christ should be attempting to help others and not to put them down or pull them apart from the body. In this verse in Romans, God is speaking directly to the church and telling them not to stand in judgment of fellow Christians. We can see that becoming a stumbling block will only cause the one who is causing the other to fall to be judged by God. Read these words of Jesus found in Matthew very carefully:
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
To offend a believer in Christ and call them the apostate church in error is an act of grave consequences in the eyes of Jesus. Jesus clearly told us that it would be better for that man to have been cast into the sea with a mill stone around his neck than what is about to happen to them for what they have done to another. That sounds very serious to me. God is taking note of who you offend and who you call an apostate today. If you are wrong, the consequences will be extremely severe, is that really worth it to call anyone an apostate when you are not God and do not know their heart?
Wake up and realize that only God is God, you do not know everything and you do not understand most of what is in the Bible. If you think you do you make yourself out to be God and exalt yourself beyond your own ability. The Publican was humble enough to just call himself a sinner and to cry out to God for His mercy. If you learn to do this, you can change from a Pharisee and become a Publican who was justified in the eyes of God. Paul did it and you can too. Learn from Paul’s example, and you will be very glad that you did. Thanks so much for studying the Bible with me and share this message with a friend on Facebook that is saying someone is an Apostate to possibly help them turn into a true Publican. God Bless!
In the Last Days Knowledge Shall Increase!
(Ver 1.4) This is Part 1 on the subject of God’s Knowledge in the Bible. I always try to teach how important it is in correct Bible interpretation to be open to new ideas, thoughts and to things that maybe you haven’t ever heard or considered before. Why do you think that this type of noble attitude might be important to have while studying the Bible? I think if for no other reason, it is based upon the factor of human ignorance and that we are not God who knows it all. We as ignorant humans still have a lot left to learn from our God. If you think that you know it all, or at least that you already know all that you need to know, you are already potentially deceived into believing a lie. Satan I believe wants you to think that you are smarter than you really are. Whenever this deception occurs you are then not going to make the effort to seek to know the truth of God’s Word. Satan wants you ignorant of the truth. You are easily defeated as an ignorant Christian. However, God also gives us another very good reason for having a positive attitude and he tells us something that is very profound in the book of Daniel:
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
This verse is a great witness to the fact that God has concealed the meaning of this book until the “time of the end”. To “shut up” means to hide, keep secret or conceal. This is a common methodology of God found throughout the Bible. God has hidden information for us to find. This information is revealed by the Spirit of God at the proper time. For some scriptures it was during the time of the Apostles and Paul when God revealed vast amounts of new revelation. But, it is also for our time based upon this verse in Daniel, that we live in right now. If you didn’t know it, we are in the time of the end, and guess what it is almost over. Many of you can look around and see how fast technology is advancing. But, the net revelation of this verse, to me speaks of both natural and spiritual things. We of course in the last 20 to 30 years can see the explosion of computers and the internet. As a result of this technology, man’s knowledge has grown astronomically. But, God not to be out done by man is also doing something new. He is revealing the Word of God like never before on a scale that is difficult to comprehend fully. I believe that if you are reading Bible commentaries that are 100 years old or older then you are reading information that has been updated and expanded so much that it sometimes doesn’t resemble the outdated theology. It doesn’t mean they were wrong, it just means God has shed more light on it and revealed a more complete meaning of the verses.
Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Here is a promise from the Old Testament that God said he would pour out His Spirit and by doing so, the result is a new revealing of His word to His people. I believe that this is a prophetic verse that we can take hold of and claim for ourselves today. This also reminds me of some other verses in the Bible about the harvest.
Jer 5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the later, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Natural rain involves water falling from heaven physically, but God is speaking of a spiritual rain in this verse. Spiritual rain is the water from heaven where Jesus is right now and this rain could be a new understanding of His Word.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
In the book of James, it basically quotes from Jeremiah the same reference, but this time it puts it into the context of the return of Jesus Christ. God is looking for the precious fruit of the earth and that is not apples, oranges and bananas. The reference and implied meaning of this verse is that when the Apostles and Paul wrote the New Testament that was the early rain. God poured out His spirit and men increased in spiritual knowledge like never before. Paul wrote 2/3 of the New Testament after being filled with the Holy Spirit and God revealing to him the meaning of many of the Old Testament scriptures. However, God did not reveal to Paul the meaning of Daniel, did he? Have you read anything in Paul’s writings that directly mention Daniel? I have not, however I do believe that Paul wrote many things that do help us to understand this book that we have yet to see and understand. You see in this verse in James, God also speaks of a later rain. The early rain is a reference to a beginning of the rainy season. The later rain could be implied the end of the rainy season. I do not think that means there are new books of the Bible to come, I believe that it has to be a new understanding of what has already been given to us by God. I believe that God has been pouring out His Spirit for the last 100 years and as a result, knowledge and understanding of God’s Word has greatly increased.
You can see this implied reference from Daniel 12:4 where the writer is told to seal up the book until the time of the end. Did you ever notice that there is no obvious encryption code found in the book of Daniel or any other book of the Bible? How is it that God can write things in a known language and the reader not understand what it means for hundreds or even thousands of years. Have you really ever thought about this and asked how God accomplished this task. Now is certainly the time of the end and therefore something should be transpiring to open up this book so that our understanding can be greatly increased. If now is the time of the end like I believe it is, then we ought to be learning new things at an exponential rate. If now is the time of the end there needs to be stuff happening to let us know it. We should be able to look around at the prophecies and see them being fulfilled all around us. Have you seen it happening? I have seen it almost everyday. We will only be privy to it if you are open to change and new ideas that God will be revealing very soon. Either decide to be ready for it or be prepared to miss it, for it will happen very soon and ver fast.
If you would like to continue reading in ths series about “Bible Knowlege” you may go to “Part 2“.
Once Saved, Always Saved vs. The Sin Unto Death!
(Ver 1.4) This is “Part 1” in a series of very important Bible study lessons on a very controversial subject taught by many churches called Once Saved Always Saved. It is also called eternal security, unconditional security and goes by several other names. Can a Christian after being saved ever do anything that will cause them not be saved? There are certainly so many in the church today that say this is impossible. This is certainly a difficult subject found in the Bible and one that has caused much debate for many Christians. As you can tell I do not intentionally avoid controversial subjects in my Bible lessons. I try to talk about the important subjects and the relevant God kind of things that are on everyone’s mind at one time or the other. But, I want to make sure that when I talk about a subject, I try to do it from a balanced Bible perspective and that I do not ignore any related subjects or scriptures in order to embrace a part of the truth that I like more. I like to confront religion and religious minded people directly with the Word of God. I do not intentionally ignore the hard sayings that the Bible contains. I obviously am still learning new things everyday, so I might be able to add more to a topic later, but I just talk about the things that I’ve learned up until this point in time and that is the best that I can do. I have heard this philosophy of “Once Saved, Always Saved” being taught in many Christian circles and denominations. I often wondered about it, why it seemed to me not to be totally accurate truth being taught. I heard the argument for eternal security and it seemed like a very legitimate good one on the surface. The Bible tells us that the payment of sin was an all inclusive one-time act of Jesus (Heb 9:26). Therefore, what sin could I possibly commit that was not already covered under the blood of Jesus for me to lose my salvation and I could at first not think of any. Until one day I read a verse in the Bible that talked about a new kind of sin that I had never seen before. This sin was called the “Sin Unto Death” so I started studying the scriptures for a clearer understanding of this topic and this lesson was the beginning of what I found.
Today’s topic is Once Saved Always Saved vs. the Sin Unto Death! It is a modern Bible debate of the scriptures. What does it all mean? Is there a Sin that a Christian can commit to cause them not be saved anymore? What we must realize is that if there is just one sin that you can commit to lose your salvation then we need to know about it and how to avoid it. You see in some Christian denominations it is taught as “Once Saved, Always Saved!” Meaning that there is not any sin of any kind or any human action that a man or women can commit to go to hell after being saved. After studying the Bible, I would not want to be in that person’s shoes on judgment day if that is really what they believe. Too many Christian use the Bible and certain verses as a justified license to commit sin and that is not a good interpretation of what God said. I believe in the eternal power of the blood of Jesus and I believe that Jesus died on the cross once for all people and for all sins, past, present and future. I believe that there are no more sacrifices for sin that is required to pay for any past or future sin. However, to say once saved and always saved means that man no longer has any free will rights or future choices or decisions to ever make to stay saved and that forces us to ignore a vast portion of the New Testament that teaches us that we have responsible actions to follow. This type of thinking causes man to have no future accountability and no further responsibilities after becoming a Christian. Where in the Bible does it ever say that man loses his right to choose or make decisions? Where in the Bible does it say that a man will never be judged for what he has done on the earth? That type of thinking does not fit the complete image of God or the Bible in any form or fashion. God never makes our decisions for us. God never chooses or forces your destiny. God will never control your thoughts. God will never stop you from doing anything either right or wrong.
If you closely read and study the Bible, it speaks of an ongoing and a continual process of salvation. Salvation is spoken of in the terms of something that clearly has a beginning or starting point. For example, Jesus said in John 3:3 that “you must be born again”. This spiritual birth described by Jesus was exactly like a natural birth and it represents a starting point for your new spiritual life and growth process. If something like being born again has an observable beginning, then it must also have an observable ending termination point with a specific process of stuff in the middle. Is this too complicated for you? Do you understand processes?
Let’s talk briefly about the imedded process of being a Christian from inception to termination. You see in the Bible we are told to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12). Does that not sound like a process to you? We are also commanded “to run the race” (Heb 12:1, 1 Cor 9:24). 
Isn’t every race a process with a stated ending after a beginning? We are told to “fight the good fight” (1 Tim 6:12). Have you ever watched a boxing match? Do they not start every match with a bell and then go through to the number of predetermined rounds if each boxer survives that long? That sure sounds like a process to me. Then we are told to “Hold Fast to what you have been given until Jesus comes back” (Rev 2:25). If it is necessary to “Hold on” to what Jesus has given to us, then that is also a stated process that can be lost. All of these verses imply an ongoing process and a continuing effort to contend for a good and a positive outcome. They also imply the possibility of someone losing, quitting, or giving up. Any race will always have a winner and a loser, Any race will always have people who finish and some that quit. A fight also has a winner and a loser. A fight can also have a person who throws up his hands and says “no mas” or “I give up”. To work out your salvation implies a job with an expected outcome attached to it, like a paycheck. If at any time you give up and do not finish the job or work are you still entitled to the pay? Then that verse in Revelation 2:25 that Jesus is speaking to the church and telling them to “hold fast on to their salvation until I come back”. You see salvation is a gift that we have been freely given, yes? If I gave you a Rolex watch, couldn’t you throw it away? You see any gift given is dependent upon the receiver holding on to it and taking care of it in order for the gift to be kept safe. If you have to hold on to your salvation then you can lose your salvation, you can throw it away intentionally, you can treat it casually and even accidently lose it. Any gift from God a man or a woman has the right to reject it or walk away from it at any point in time. People never lose their right to choose and they will always have the ability and power to reject salvation. The Bible is a very tricky book to understand. You see it says so many things in so many different ways that you have to be very careful on what you base your theology. You cannot take just a small part of the Bible and make that the complete truth. It might be only a small part of the truth and you have exalted it to be the complete truth. That is what I believe people who teach “Once Save, Always Save” have done. So what is this “Sin Unto Death”? In 1 John 5:16 God gives us some information that is difficult to understand. Let’s go through what this verse says and talk about it:
1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto dath: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
God is obviously talking about the subject of sin. Sin is usually defined as “missing the mark” and the mark is doing the right thing no matter what it costs. But, in this verse there seems to be two different types of sin being discussed. One is a normal sin and the other is called a “sin unto death”. What is the Bible definition of death? I think that most Christian people think naturally and define death to be when someone’s body just ceases to function. But, you also have to keep in mind that the Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). In that verse God is talking about two kinds of death using a single reference. One type of death is physical or natural and the other type of death is a spiritual death. You see there is a spiritual death that is simply defined as the separation from God. The human spirit will never cease to exist but it may not exist within God’s family unit. Let’s continue reading in 1 John so we can see the definition of sin:
1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
This verse starts with the definition for sin, saying it is anything that you do that is unrighteous. That includes a tremendous number of possible things, doesn’t it? This verse ends in a contradictory statement to what I just quoted in Romans 6:12 that the wages of all sin was death. In Romans it clearly teaches us that the “wages of sin is death”. Wages are what you normally receive for doing good works at a job. However God is using this concept to teach the consequences of sin as an inverse negative. We have a paradox given to us in 1 John 5:17 that is truly a mystery. God clearly teaches that there are sins that are not unto death. What we have is a major interpretation problem brewing or we could also view it as a misunderstanding based upon our ignorance of the subject. The only logical way to resolve the conflict is to understand that one verse is talking about both physical and spiritual death and the other verse is just talking about spiritual death. The “sin unto death” is a referenced spiritual death that separates that individual from God spiritually speaking. We are told in 1 John 5:16 to only pray for those that are committing the sins that are not unto death, but for those that have committed the sin unto death, it does not do any good to pray for them God says. I also want to emphasize that John was writing about Christians in this verse context calling them spiritual brothers. This sin unto death is not used in relation to non-Christians even though they are technically already spiritually dead not having been born again. I do hope that you are beginning to understand the difference between these two types of sins being contrasted. If not let’s review an example of the types of sin not unto spiritual death:
1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
We are looking at a Bible example of a sin not unto death and trying to see what God says about it. In this verse found in 1 Corinthians 5 you can read about a man that is committing fornication and sin by taking his father’s wife and sleeping with her. God tells us very clearly that this action is a sin, but yet He does not say that it is a sin unto to spiritual death, yet the man is still handed over to Satan to be killed a physical death as we can read in the next verse:
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The man was handed over to Satan by Paul for the destruction of his flesh. Did you know that Satan had that kind of power and access if you sin? This is certainly an example of death, but it is only a natural physical death and not a spiritual eternal separation from God. God still says that the man’s spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. What we can see is that the man’s sin resulted in him going to heaven early and he didn’t have a long extended life here on the earth. That is what sin does to you, it opens the door to Satan and it shortens your life here on the earth. But, notice the difference, he was still potentially saved so this was not the sin that was mentioned earlier called the sin unto spiritual death. Are you seeing it? Let’s examine some other New Testmanet scriptural examples concerning those who have comitted this sin unto death:
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
In this verse in Hebrews we can see an example of the “sin unto death”. It speaks of someone who was once saved, but now they have changed their directions and speak against God. They appear to disdain the shed blood of Jesus in the new covenant, and God says that they have actually trample on or walked over the Son of God like He was their defeated enemy. The blood that they once thought was holy they now call unholy and what they use to esteem they now despise. This verse speaks of someone who was clearly once saved and now has turned back to what they use to be. This is extremely sad to me, but people will always have the freewill right to go back into the darkness and leave the light of God. Here is another verse that reveals men on the earth can castaway what God has given to them:
Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
You can see fairly clearly reading throughout this chapter in context and this verse in particular that it says that people can purposefully “cast away” whatever has been given to them. I tried to talk about this concept earlier, when I said if I came and gave you a Rolex watch, you could choose to not keep it and even throw it in the garbage. It really depends upon how much you value what is given to you. If someone has no confidence in God or the blood of Jesus saving them then that could also result in that person losing their salvation. Look back up in this chapter at another verse in context on the subject of drawing back:
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Finally, in this verse God talks about some people who were once saved but now they have “drawn back” into perdition. To “draw back” means to quit or stop running or to not finish or complete the process that I talked about earlier. It speaks of them entering back into the state of “perdition” which means a state of “loss” or “ruin”. All of these terms are speaking about someone who was once saved, but chose to depart God and go another foolish way. It is impossible to draw back into perdition if you were not saved free from perdition. This is not rocket science you just have to see what the Bible says on the subject. Can a believer draw back from their salvation? According to God they can!
So what is this “sin unto death”? I believe that the only sin that will result in you not making it, is the one where you willfully and intentionally say “I do not want you God anymore”, “I do not want to be saved and you are not my Lord, Jesus”. If you do this and say this guess what, God will not make you go to heaven and He will let you go to hell. God will always allow you to choose your destiny right up until your very last breath that you breathe here on this planet. After you leave this planet your choice has been made and there are no more chances to change. There is a lot more in the Bible on this subject and I could give you personal testimonies of people, but I am running very long so for now I think I will end this lesson with a restatement of the Christian process that you are in right now:
What are we Christians suppose to be doing right now? Here are 4 things:
- Fight the Good Fight of Faith…
- Run the Race that is Set Before Us…
- Work Out Our Salvation with Fear and Trembling….
- Hold Fast to What God Has Given You…
Perhaps you know something I do not on this subject of why you are saved eternally without the possiblity of being lost again, if you have scriptures that I did not talk about today, I would be happy to hear about them. I will do a followup lesson in this series and go into more scriptures about the subject of the sin unto death in the future:
God Bless!
If you would like to continue reading this series, please go to “Part 2“.
The Key to Grace and the Key to Greatness!
It takes humility to admit that you are wrong. I know I’ve been wrong a lot in my life and I’m still learning. Pride will shut you off to receiving anything from God. The Bible says God gives grace to the humble. So evidently there is a qualification that is required in order to receive His grace. This is a spiritual law that goes to everything that God does and everything that God gives. If you want to learn the truth, be willing to admit you were wrong and change what you were thinking. This is an amazingly simple but critically important point. Why are there so many division within the church? I think part of it is because nobody wants to admit we were wrong. I don’t believe that there are any Christian denominations that are 100% correct and I don’t believe there are any preachers that are 100% correct about anything either. So what is our attitude towards one another to be? We should be much more tolerant and patient towards each other. We should try to be more helpful and loving. We should all certainly remain open. Even listening to preachers that I know are saying something that is wrong that doesn’t mean that they won’t say something that is right that you need to hear. I always try to say to myself, they just haven’t seen that truth yet on that subject and move on past their remarks. Will Rogers use to say, “We are all ignorant, just about different things.” If you didn’t know that, you could have just learned a whole bunch by listening to that one statement.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humulity: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Do you need the grace of God in your life today? This verse informs us of one of the key elements to obtaining the grace of God. In order to receive God’s grace you must become humble. Of course, your definition of humble must be God’s definition of humble and not what your preacher may think it means. To be humble is the opposite to being proud. You can see this in this verse in 1 Peter. The Bible definition of proud is someone who appears or thinks they are above someone else. They look at others with disdain or arrogance. They think more highly of themselves than others. Proud people have great difficulty in submitting to others. They think they know everything and have a better solution to every problem. The Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day were prime example of men who thought they were better than everyone else. But, God gives us another picture of humility:
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
God reverses the thinking of men and tells us how to become great in God’s eyes. Men and women like to think that to become the greatest singer or entertainer or sports figure it just takes good looks, or talent or ability or some other human quality. Maybe in the world that is the way it works. But God purposely choose a different system to define greatest in heaven. The key to greatest in God’s world is to become humble like a little child. Have you ever watched a small child and observed their behavior? Most of the time it is a great example of humility. Jesus used this example and said this is what it takes to be great in the eyes of God. You see I have never seen a normal child who thought he or she was better than anyone else. Children can develop pride and rich kids can become snobs and arrogant towards others they view as being inferior, this is a learned behavior from their parents mostly. But I am talking about little kids like 3 or 4 years old. The innocence and the behavior of a child should be your example for your Christian life. We all need God’s grace and this is one of the key elements to obtaining it.
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Greatness and grace are extended to the humble and in this verse to those who become servants to other. Jesus set us an example that even astounds me still today. Jesus who was God in the flesh, the creator of everything we can see, the one that knows all and sees all, the one that has all power and ability and He stops and washes the feet of His followers before He returns to heaven. That is a very difficult thing to imagine happening. How can the omnipotent God become a servant to others? To wash people’s feet was the task of slaves and servants in those days. Jesus set some very high standards and definitions for greatness and I hope I can live up to them.
So what is your definition of being humble? What is humility to you? I know there are many other verses in the Bible on the subject that I did not talk about. Do you have a favorite story in the Bible about humility? Can you see how in those stories that God’s grace was extended towards them because of their humility? I like stories like Moses and David where God demonstrated His greatness because of the humble hearts of his servants. I would be very glad to hear your thoughts on this subject.
The Top 10 Enemies To Salvation! Why People Don’t Get Saved!
(Ver 1.1) There are a countless number of enemies to salvation. I want to address the Bible reasons for why people do not get saved. Maybe you did not realize it, but salvation is not automatic. Just because God wants you to be saved, does not mean you are saved. If you read the Bible and study it very carefully you will discover that whatever God has freely given to man, man is required to do something to enjoy it. So salvation is a partnership agreement between you and God. God initiated salvation by His grace and you receive it by your faith. I hope that you understand that concept because it is a spiritual law and is a pattern for how things work in the Bible from cover to cover.
Act 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
This verse in Acts speaks about a process of how salvation works. There are steps required to be taken to get saved. No one is automatically saved. In fact by default you are not saved. You are born into a world of evil and sin. As a very young child you have not reached the age of accountability and are unable to understand sin, even though the sinful nature resides in your flesh. I believe that young children that are killed or die prematurely go to heaven. But I guess I’m getting off of the main subject of why people don’t get saved. In this verse in Acts it speaks to us about an implied process. We have to have someone who is sent to preach the gospel to the people, the people have to listen, hear, and understand what is being said, then the people have to believe what is said. Then they have to accept and confess Jesus as their Lord. I know I gave you a lot of information that is not in that verse, but let’s look in the Bible for what I just said:
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15 And how shall they saved, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
You see the process of salvation being described in reverse order in these verses. To be saved a man or a woman must be sent by God to preach and proclaim the good news that God has forgiven them of their sins and has reconciled them back into a favorable relationship to Him. So Salvation is dependent upon someone “preaching”. The first enemy to people not getting saved is for nobody to “preach” and proclaim the good news. All it takes for no one else to be saved is for everyone to keep their mouths closed. So you are the potential first enemy to the salvation of the world. What people do sometimes is think that they have to do something to make others get saved. So they get into a works mentality of protesting against sins like abortion, or homosexuality or whatever. All this does is turn people off of God’s process. God does not work within your guidelines, you must work within His guidelines. You are responsible to do your part and nothing else. Preaching against sin and sinners is not in the Bible. The Bible tells us that God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). That means to go and tell people that God is not mad at them and that He has forgiven their sins and doesn’t hold them against them anymore. We are required to go and preach the Gospel meaning the Good News of God and that is all.
The next step in salvation is to say things in a way that people will clearly understand them. You see people do not get saved just because they hear you speak. Hearing is involved, but that is not the complete picture of salvation. People need to hear enough information to clearly understand the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So the next enemy to salvation is not communicating effectively and clearly. I hope you see that you have a responsibility and a major role to play. You are God’s light in the world for others to see. People who do not know God cannot see God, they can only see and hear you. You are responsible for communicating in a way that speaks the truth in love. You are responsible for more than you realize.
So the next step in the Salvation process is for the hearer to believe what you say. Did you know you are not responsible for making them believe anything. If they can’t look at you and see that you are different and what you are saying is true, then you are not God and your job is done. Jesus said in Mark, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel, those that believe will be saved and those that believe not will be damned”. We again see God’s process of Salvation in this verse. A preacher goes and tells someone and someone hears and believes it or chooses not to accept it. You are not responsible for their decision. As sad or as joyous as it might be you are not responsible any further.
So what are the primary two enemies to the world getting saved? First no one goes and tells anyone the good news. Next, you tell someone the wrong information or in the wrong way so that they do not understand it clearly. These are the first two enemies for people getting saved. So let’s go through why people reject the Gospel even if it is presented in the right way:
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
This verse tells us that people think the message is foolishness. It could be that they do not understand how much of a sinner they are and how much they need salvation. Many people think they have never done anything bad enough to not be saved. In many religions it boils down to a works mentality. People doing good things to earn a place in paradise. Some even teach that life is like a balance scale and if your good side of your scale outweighs the bad side, you are automatically saved. It is amazing how much works comes into play. I have even seen men beating themselves with chains to punish themselves and they think this act earns them favor before God. The level of deception in the world is tremendous and many have bought into this works idea;
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,
You see in the Bible it clearly tells us that our works are not factors in us getting saved. There are many verses in the Bible that speak to us in these terms. No matter how good you think you are you cannot earn a ticket into heaven. So I would say that the third enemy to people getting saved are those that think they can work and do good to make it into heaven. If you run into people like this you might be able to help them see the error of their ways by showing them Bible verses. Like the Bible says “if you are guilty of violating one law you are guilty of the whole law” (James 2:10). The Bible actually says any offense is guilt. One sin is not of greater sin consequence than another. They are all equally the same result to everyone. The Bible says the wages of sin is death so we know any sin results in death.
So let’s look at Jesus’ words concerning the Salvation process. Jesus gives us a parable that uses natural things to demonstrate some powerful spiritual truths. Jesus made the statement that this parable was the most important for us to know and understand. If we don’t understand this parable, Jesus said how can you know any parable?
Mar 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Jesus tells us that a man went out to sow seeds in a field. The symbolic field represents the hearts of men and women in the world. The symbolic seed is the “Word of God”. The symbolic “sower” represents the preachers who go and tell the world the good news. Jesus gives us only one verse on the preacher’s responsibility and then he starts to talk about the hearer:
Mar 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
What we discover in this parable is the heart of men and women in the world come in different kinds of soil. The preacher or “sower” does not know what kind of soil they are sowing into. It almost sounds like a random pattern of sowing seed everywhere you can. This first kind of soil called “way side” was a soil that was particularly compressed and hard packed and the seeds were easy for the birds of the air to come and eat. The symbolic birds or the air are representative of Satan and his demon spirits. These are called the “prince of the power of the air” and “prince” means the ruler of the atmosphere. You can understand all of these by reading Jesus’ explanation of the parable later in the chapter. It is implied in these people that they really do not hear what you are saying. In this example of the first type of soil we can clearly see that Satan is another key enemy to salvation.
Mar 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
Jesus then describes the second condition of the hearts of men and women. This soil is said to be “stony ground”. Again a hardness of the heart is implied. The inability of the seed to get any depth and it remains on the hard surface. So as the seed grows Jesus says it is unable to take root. In the explanation, Jesus tells us that these people receive the word gladly, but they soon are offended and fall away. Jesus informs us that other people in the world are not on our side or God’s side in helping you to get saved. Jesus tells us because of “affliction” or “persecution” because of the Word that you have heard, people are soon offended and fall away. Please note that your old unsaved friends are one of your worst enemies to your salvation.
Mar 4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
In the next example of the heart of man, the realization of “weeds” are described. If you have ever owned a home and had a front yard with grass you understand that you have to do nothing to get weeds. Weeds are a part of the fallen world system. They come with the territory. In this example of soil the weeds dominate the seed and take control over the soil. It is clear that these people in this soil hear the word of God, but yet they do not produce any spiritual fruit for God. Why is this? Jesus tells usthree very important enemies to salvation in his explanation:
Mar 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Jesus says the “Cares of this World” choke out the Word of God. The cares of the world include many things. It could be your job. It could be your husband. It could be your children. It could be your car. It could be your boat. It could be your love for movies. I could go on and on. Placing inordinate priority on anything in this world will cause you to make that your God and you will not produce fruit for God. Jesus told us that where your treasure is there your heart will be also (Mat 6:21). What He was asking us to look at is what we think is important. If something else in the world is more important to you than the Bible, you are in trouble. Next, Jesus describes a kind of people who think they don’t need God because they trust in their abilities, possessions and their resources. Jesus tells us that it is very hard for a rich man on earth to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Mat 19:23). They build their big barns and fill them with their possessions and think they are in control of their destiny. Having a false sense of security, because of all of the nice things they surround themselves with, they fall into deception easily. Finally, Jesus gives us the third problem this type of soil is faced with. The “Lusts” of other things. Did you know that “Lust” is not always a negative thing? It just depends upon what you are “lusting” for. A “lust” is a very strong desire. It can become a habitual desire and that is when it starts to control you. It never starts that way, it just can easily develop into something larger. Nobody starts out as an alcoholic. Many times it takes years of repetitious behavior. Eating and food can become more important to you than God. There are really so many examples of this that I cannot go into them all. I’m sure you understand what I am talking about. You have seen how drugs can hook someone into a lifelong dependency. People become so hooked on the drug that it controls their life and they spend all of their money on it and eventually it kills them.
The Enemies To Salvation:
- A Preacher is Sent But Does Not Go!
- A Preacher Doesn’t Say Anything!
- A Preacher Says the Wrong Thing!
- Satan Steals the Word From your Mind and You do not Hear
- You do not understand what is being said!
- Your Old Unsaved Friends Come Around and Laugh at You and You are Offended!
- You Give Up because of the Pressure of Your Peers!
- Other Things in the World Take Priority Over God!
- Having a False Sense of Security In Your Wealth! Trusting in Your Money!
- Lusts and Desires for Natural Things! Food, drugs, alcohol, sex, TV, movies, books!
If you have never been saved! You are a candidate today to receive the free gift of God’s salvation. If you have read this blog you have heard a lot more than many other people have. You can see that there are enemies to your salvation and you are now faced with a choice. This is not a hard or difficult process to get saved, it is actually outlined in this verse of scripture:
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
I can tell you that Jesus was raised from the dead and that He now lives in me and I know him personally. If you want the same, all you have to do is believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead and then say “Jesus I make you my Lord and Savior”. If you meant it and did those two things, Jesus now lives in you also. Congratulations you are saved!
I Will Make You Fishers of Men!
In my last blog I made a reference to what the nation needs to do, to help people who are in desperate need. I know there are people all over the world that do not know what is happening and why it is happening to them. In the past few weeks we have seen devastating earthquakes that have killed way too many people. But, yet these earthquakes do not surprise me, Jesus said in the last days these would occur (Mat 24:7). So I expect more to occur and for them to be even stronger than before. I do not mean to imply this to be a prophecy of an impending doom, I just believe the Bible and the words of Jesus. Jesus called this the beginning of sorrows in time of the end.
Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus makes a demand on us. If you do not take it personally you are not a disciple of Christ. Jesus gives us a very specific instruction in this verse and it starts by following Jesus. To follow Jesus means to observe his movement, his words, his actions, his ways, his purpose, and then for you to imitate them to the best of your ability. Since Jesus is not here in the flesh any more the only way we can do what he said to do is by reading and studying His Word. Only by learning what Jesus did and how he did it, can we then begin to follow in his footsteps. So the journey begins with learning about Jesus. Jesus is our example and our leader. We follow His direction by learning about Him in His Word and by hearing the Spirit of God that is within us. The Word and the Spirit will always agree.
Then Jesus gives us the goal for this following of His ways. There is a specific purpose and plan given to us and a reason that we are now a Christian. This reason is of course to help others see the truth of God’s love toward man. In other verses of the Bible Jesus said we are the “light” of the world. He implies that you do not hide a candle under your bed, you put it out where it helps others to see where they are going. Jesus told us if we follow him, He will make us “fishers” of men. That immediately tells you one of the major reasons why Jesus came to the earth, to be an example fisherman. A “fisherman” is an occupation. It is something men and women do to make a living and pay their bills. It is also “work” and that is a four letter word to many. “Work” implies an extended effort and a toilsome endeavor. In fact here is a definition of the word:
WORK: a sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result
We can see that there are implied obstacles and certainly physical and mental effort on our part involved in being a “fisher” of men. We can also see there is a goal and a prize for doing this. You can call it a reward or a payment, but nonetheless it is the end result of good work and it should always be a positive. We are to be fishers of men. Learning the techniques and using the tools that Jesus taught us to use. By following Christ’s example we can become more like Him and achieve the same results.
I can already tell that this post will probably not be too popular. People do not want to know or hear about their responsibilities. People are generally too focused on themselves and think that it is the preacher’s responsibility to get everyone saved. It’s too bad that is not what Jesus said, is it?
Deceptions in the Modern World designed to Deceive and Control Us Part 4 – Is the Government Your God?
(Ver 1.1) This is now “Part 4” in the Bible study series concerning the subject of modern strategies of the devil to deceive Christians. If you have not read this series from the beginning you might like to start with “Part 1” first. But please understand that this lesson is not dependent upon any previous lesson to be understood and applied in your life. I think millions of Americans are being raised and indoctrinated to look at the government as their personal source for whatever they need. If someone needs food, the government invented food stamps. If someone needs housing, they invented Welfare and Section 8 housing. If someone lost their job and needs money the government invented unemployment income. Now the government has been looking to solve everyone’s health care issues by giving a people free Medicare that is again going to be paid for by other rich people. There are a never ending list of deceptive promises designed to trick us into being controlled by the government. All I ask is “Who is Your God”? Do you look for God to help you or is that the responsibility of your government? Do you pray to God or the President or Congress? Is a human your god? I do not think so!
Ignorant Christians obviously vote our congress and president into government office. And I wonder who is their god to them? My point of this lesson is to get us to see that God is still God and that He is capable of solving whatever problem that we are facing right now. This of course doesn’t help anyone that does not believe there is a God. But my Bible says “That a fool says there is no God”, and it is very difficult to help a fool. But for Christians my Bible also says “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2) Christians should be looking to Jesus as their source for whatever we need. Whatever Jesus did while he walked the face of the earth, He still does today. The Bible says “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8). Jesus has not changed in His love, His actions or His deeds. Whatever He did before, He can do again! Always remember what Jesus did in the Gospels. He healed blind eyes, He healed lame men, He healed lepers, He raised the dead, He fed 5000 once and 3000 another time. Is there anything too hard for our God?
So is the government our source and supply? Are new government programs the answer for our problems? Should we expand the government so that they can solve all of our problems? This might be news to you, but our current government cannot sustain the current level of growth and monetary deficits. Our government will not survive at this rate very much longer. Our government is already bankrupt, financially and morally. If our government was a financial institution they would have needed a bail out a long time ago. We are living in an extremely fragile time and the least little thing can send everything spiraling out of control. The world financial markets are perpetuating an illusion of stability. The governments of the world are uncontrollably spending money they do not have to prop-up the illusion of stability. The world will soon realize that the stage is set for the anti-Christ to appear.
People have been raised and conditioned to look to the government to solve all of their problems. So when the anti-Christ appears on the scene offering solutions for every problem that he has created for you to see, people will automatically jump in that pool with all of their clothes on and soon drown in the waters of confusion and deception.
Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Looking to the government for our answers is exactly what Satan wants us to do. By Satan offering to solve all of our problems we will be deceived into a false sense of security. Everything will appear to be great for a short time. Satan will try to teach us that we can get by without God! He will then attempt to teach that we can ignore the Bible. It is a deceiving plan to teach that people won’t need a God as long as the government feeds them! God doesn’t need to send us manna from heaven as long as we have food stamps.
SO, WHO IS YOUR GOD? Is your God too small to fix your problem?
What we need to do as a nation is to bring back God as our source and supply. We then need to help people who do not know God to see the truth. Then we need to teach these people who are in need to learn how to fish for themselves. As long as the government continues to give out free fish to everyone, no one will be motivated to do the right thing and learn to help others.
Please join me in praying for God to help us to not be deceived by our governement:
LORD, I come to you as our Jehovah Jireh. The God of more than enough supply and provision. As you supplied Abraham with a ram for sacrifice instead of Isaac, you are more than able to supply what is needed to fulfill your plan and your purpose for my life. Help me O’LORD to not place my faith in the provisions of a temporary human government on the earth. Help me to not be deceived by the deception of temporary promises from anyone on earth not speaking Your Words and Your Will, especially people who are being used by Satan. Grant me wisdom to know who to vote for in our elections. Help me to vote for people that do your will and hear your voice. I look to you the creator of the heavens and the earth and declare you be LORD over my mind, my thoughts, my will, my emotions and my Spirit. Thank you for leading me into the paths of truth and life and far from the ways of deception and death. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Thank you for reading and studying the Bible about the ways Satan is trying to deceive us in the Church today. These are things we must learn and avoid to follow after. Please leave a comment or press “Like” if you agree with this message. God Bless you until next time.
If you would like to continue to learn in this series on “Deception” please go to “Part 5“.
Asking God the Hard Questions?
(Ver 1.1) 
Too many Christians like to ignore the hard stuff. Stuff that is just too tough to think about or to attempt to explain. I have found that God is not intimidated by the difficult questions. In fact He has given us a huge book full of information that contains ALL of the answers that we are seeking. Everyone is seeking to know who they are, why they are here, what purpose does their lives serve in being here. These are in fact the basis for all other questions that we can probably think of. Because people don’t know who they are and why they are here, they spend a lot of time searching for their answer in the wrong places, with the wrong people at the wrong time. It is an amazing extended effort in frustration.
So what are some of the Hard Questions of Life that we should be trying to find out the answers to in the Bible? Here is my top 10 list:
- Who Am I?
- Why Am I here?
- Is There a God?
- Who is God?
- Why is there so much Evil in the World?
- Why doesn’t God do anything to Stop Evil from happening?
- Is God causing the Tornados, Hurricanes, Earthquakes?
- Is there a Devil?
- Is there a Heaven and a Hell?
- Is there anything after Death?
These are just some of the most important questions that I can think of to find the answers to. Maybe you can come up with some more good questions to ask God. If you can please give them to me in a comment. I can think of some related questions that I didn’t really include in my list, like “Did God take my Child in that car wreck?” or “Did God take my mother with cancer?” There are really a lot of personal questions that we are all faced with from our life’s past that we do not understand.
Unfortunately, we all want easy simple answers to every question, not realizing that there are many factors that are uniquely individual to everyone. You see many people may experience the same thing, but how they got there could be completely different than somebody else. So God’s answer to me for a question might be a little different for His answer to you for the exact same question. People like to look at the external and God is primarily focused on the internal aspect of your heart. Life is a completely complex system of interrelated dependencies. Everyone’s life is similar, but yet uniquely different.
So how do you find these answers to the Hard Questions of Life? I have to admit that finding things in the Bible can be work. If you want an easy answer to your problem, I would suggest that you go try a religion that offers a simple inoffensive message of enlightenment and hope. If you want the truth I would say you are not here reading this blog by chance or accident. I do not have all of the answers to every complex question, I just know the one that has all of these answers. You can know Him also, He will speak to you and help you to find the answers that you are seeking. God is actually for you and wants you to be successful in this life. God desires a relationship with you, for you to know Him and for Him to know you.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. If you want or need help with a difficult question, I will do my best to try to point you to answers in God’s Word. Just please understand that every answer is not simple and many times God’s answers are completely different than what you want to hear, but yet they are always intended to help you see something that you need to change inside of you. God Bless You!
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 7
(Ver 1.1) This is now part seven of a series of advanced Bible study lessons on the methods that God has used to conceal truth and information in the Bible for us to find. By studying these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the truth of God’s Word. I have covered a lot important concepts and information in these lessons that will not be repated. If you have not read this series from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“.
Technique 7: Types and Shadows
The next technique for concealing truth is what I call the usage of “Types and Shadows”. Types and shadows are very interesting patterns that God has used and are very prevalent in the Old Testament especially. A type or a shadow is many times a recognizable representation of a New Testament spiritual truth. Types and Shadows can be found within individuals, groups, events, Jewish feasts and festivals and even places. Types can be referred to as an archetype or archetypal. Here is one definition for this word:
archetypal – representing or constituting an original type after which other similar things are patterned. Archetypal Patterns.
This term describes something that is a pattern of something else that is to come. In other words there is a recognizable resemblance of the past thing from knowing or seeing the future thing. I hope you got that last statement, because it was significant. The idea that you must know the new in order to recognize the pattern in the old is the primary reasons why the Jewish people don’t see Christ the Messiah all over the Old Testament and we do. Because they don’t know the new, they don’t see the old patterns that reflect and describe the new.
Here are some scriptures that describes the usage of types and shadows by God in the Old Testament:
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
These verses inform us of God’s instructions given to Moses through the law. God says these things that Moses had written about were shadows of things which already existed in Heaven. That is an informative verse and demonstrates the principle of types and shadows. Two specific words in this two verses stood out and these are the words “shadows” and “patterns”. That is exactly what I am talking about. These natural types or shadows are given to Moses by God, to provide a view of something that is not seen in the spiritual realm. God showed Moses what to build on earth using the patterns of the things that already existed in heaven. These things can be looked at in one of two ways. They can be viewed as a way of revealing that which existed in heaven or they could also be viewed as something that concealed the things in heaven. Because we have never seen these things in heaven we would not really know by looking at the earthly things what they represented, would we? Let’s examine another New Testament verse that also deals with the subject of types and shadows:
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
God provides a short list of some things that can be found in the Old Testament and declares that these things are types and shadows of things that were to come in Jesus Christ. The principle is again that God gave us things in the law that were recorded to provide insight into something that was going to come in the spiritual realm. The thing that was to come was greater than the thing given to be a type. It’s like if I’m walking in the sunshine and I cast a shadow on the ground. You might be able to look at just the shadow and tell a lot about me, but there are a lot of the details omitted in the shadow representation. Only by looking correctly at the real can you fully comprehend the shadow. There lies a problem with people reading just the Old Testament in isolation, they are looking at shadows and it is many times very difficult to determine what something is by just looking only at the shadow.
The term shadow is a term that implies the light has been blocked by something. In other words a natural shadow on the ground is caused because some object is blocking the light. The absence of light causes shadows. In the natural realm the light can be from the sun or from another light source like a lamp. In the spiritual realm God is the Light! Who is blocking God from shining into the minds of people on the earth like the Jewish people who do not know Jesus? The Bible says that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not”. This verse is of course speaking of Satan as being in control of our current world system. But the term “blindness” means the inability to see light. This applies physically and spiritually equally.
There are types and shadows from Genesis chapter 1 until Malachi. If you are a serious student of the Word of God you will also realize that the Gospels are all predominantly Old Testament. I think sometimes people forget this, but Jesus did not implement the new covenant until his resurrection. Knowing this fact we can see further types and shadows in the life and ministry of Jesus. For example, in the life of Jesus, he walked up to a fig tree and cursed it and it died overnight. Maybe you didn’t realize it, but Jesus didn’t get angry and do anything on a whim or by accident. This action of cursing the fig tree was symbolic and a type of something else that was a much greater truth. Since this is not my subject I will not attempt to explain it for the sake of time.
I guess I should try to point out that a pattern found in the Old Testament might be very similar to an analogy that I previously discussed in the topic of symbolism. Sometimes types can be real people that point us to spiritual truth. But a type or pattern can also be a holiday, like the Feast of Passover. The Passover Feast can be viewed as a type of Jesus the lamb of God being sacrificed and Him shedding his blood. Then there is story of Moses in the wilderness who puts a serpent on a pole and everyone that looks upon it is made whole. Again this is a type and a shadow of Christ’s work on the cross. Christ became sin that we might become the righteousness of God. There are many patterns given within the law of Moses and I cannot begin to try to include them all in this blog.
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
This verse in Hebrews actually describes types and shadows very accurately. The law of the Old Testament contains many shadows of the good things to come. Of course it then tells us that these things are not the clear image of the real item. After all they are just shadows. God informs us the real thing that was coming is the New Covenant. The things given in the Old were purely given to point you to the real. That is why the nation of Israel is in so much deception. They have embrace the shadows and have chosen to purposely ignore the real.
There are so many other examples that I could give you right here, that I’ll just pick one example, that is found in the book of Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite or gentile woman, whose Jewish husband died. We can see a man called Boaz who is called the kinsman redeemer of Ruth. Ruth moves back to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, where she meets Boaz and eventually marries him. Without going into a lot of details of this story the major types and shadows are as follows, Ruth represents the church, Boaz represents Jesus Christ and Naomi represents the Nation of Israel. A type and a shadow is never a perfect image of the true image portrayed. Like a real shadow on the ground it always points you to the real image that is causing or making the shadow. The shadow should be an outlined representation of the real without all of the detailed features of the true image. This of course is sometimes difficult to see or recognize at first until you figure out what the shadow is pointing you to. But once you see it then it becomes much clearer what everything means. There are many other types and shadows in the book of Ruth and I didn’t give you all of them because it would certainly complicate your world without a much more in-depth teaching and understanding.
So I’ll end this blog on that note. We have now gone through seven different techniques that God has utilized to hide information in the Bible for us to find. That of course is not every method that there is and hopefully I can continue to discuss some more in my next blog. God Bless!
If you would like to continue reading this series of lessons you can go to “Part 8“.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 6
(Ver 1.2) This is part six of a series of advanced Bible lessons on the methods that God has designed and implemented to conceal spiritual truth and information in the Bible for us to find. By studying these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the spiritual truth of God’s Word. Some might ask why is important to know this? I believe that the Bible will only be understood correctly, by understanding how things are hidden in the Bible. God is making known these hidden things today and if you didn’t know that there were hidden things to find and how these things were hidden you would really not be able to understand how to study the Bible. Here is a prophecy that Jesus made to us:
Mat 10:26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
This is a prophetic statement of the end times that we live in. God is saying that the things that He has hidden in His Word will be understood by the church. The true believers will participate in this knowledge. Those who are known by God and who know God will see the revelation shine forth. Those who walk in the darkness will not perceive it and will fail to comprehend what is happening. Satan will do everything that he can to deceive you into a lie, but if you are wise you will overcome. This revelation will cause the true believers to unite and become one in mind, one in purpose and one in spirit, and this will allow them to make themselves ready for the coming of the Lamb of God.
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
This is one of the Standard Operating Methodologies of God. God declare something will happen before it happens. However, these things that are prophesied are not very self apparent or self revealing. In other words they are hidden to allow God to reveal them at the right time. If you understand what God is doing before He returns you will be able to participate.
In my last lesson on this subject I talked specifically about how God can call one thing by multiple names, titles and descriptions and how difficult that makes it to find related verses in the Bible. Linking two completely different names in the Bible to be references to the same spiritual individual subject is one of the most prevalent methods that God uses throughout the Bible. Today, I want to discuss the opposite to that technique and introduce you to a new paradigm. If you have not read this series from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“.
Technique 6: Calling Multiple Things by the Same Name
There are so many different methods of concealing truths that sometimes I wonder how we have learned anything from the Bible. Obviously if it were not for the Spirit of God showing us how to read it and study it we would all still be hopelessly lost. So I want to tell you something else that is extremely important in the correct interpretation of the Bible and this one will probably be somewhat controversial because it might be totally new to you. I’ve studied the Bible a lot for many years and this is one of the things that God showed me that certainly has helped me to better understand the Bible, so I hope it will help you also.
This method of concealing information is based upon a trick of calling multiple things, people, places or objects by the same name, so that if you hear someone say it you won’t really know which one they are talking about. This is really a common problem that we face every day in our usage of the English language and many times we are forced to decipher what is being said by the context of a particular word or by even knowing who it is that is speaking. Wow, that was an incredible statement that God had me type and it helps to explain many challenges that we face today in a wide variety of Bible interpretations found on the planet. Two people can say the exact same words and they mean something differently because of who they are and how they said it. You see an English word can have multiple meanings and can be used in a wide variety of ways and even in slang. You must automatically decode the meaning of the words based upon the speaker, the intent and the usage. Believe it or not, this is a clever way that God has used to encode information into the Bible for us to figure out.
Let me give you a quick example, if I told you to look at my fruit, what comes to your mind? Maybe you would think I had a basket of apples or oranges. But Jesus said you will know them by their fruit? So how did that change the definition and what you are now thinking about when I say look at my fruit. You see the difference and the difficulty of attempting to think naturally versus thinking spiritually. What I did was show you a common approach found in the Bible. God speaks of fruit in verses found from Genesis to Revelation. How do you know which kind of fruit He is referring to, or could it be that He is referring to both of them sometimes simultaneously? It is a very challenging puzzle to consider.
Let me go into another example of what I am talking about, the concept of calling different things by the same name in the Bible. The term “heaven” is used multiple times in the Bible. If you have studied the Bible very much, you must have noticed that the Bible refers to at least three different areas or realms and they are all referred to as “heaven”. You can see this in the New Testament when Paul writes about being caught up to the third heaven. Obviously if he went and visited the third heaven there must be a first heaven and a second heaven. Looking through the Bible you will find that one heaven is the atmosphere around our planet where birds soar, the wind blows and clouds form. Then another dimension called heaven would be the area of outer space where stars, planets and other celestial objects exist. Finally, we know that there also exists a spiritual place or city that contains the throne of God. A place full of angelic beings and those that have departed to be with the LORD. This last one is definitely a spiritual reality and location. But we can see that there are three completely different areas all called by the exact same name and this makes our job of reading and studying the Bible that much more complex.
I’ll attempt to give you another example, but this one will be tricky. I noticed this when reading the Bible that the city named Jerusalem was mentioned a lot. From the Old Testament nation of Israel to the New Testament ministry of Jesus all the way to the book of Revelation. In fact by my Bible program’s search it found 767 verses that contained the word “Jerusalem” from Joshua to Revelation. Jerusalem is certainly one of the central themes of the Bible. But here is the secret, pay close attention to what I am about to tell you because it will be very important. There is more than one city named Jerusalem in the Bible. In fact I have found three different cities all called Jerusalem. I’m not talking about a conquering nation coming into Israel and destroying the earthly city Jerusalem and then it being rebuilt into a newer version of the same city. I’m talking about three separate and distinct cities that all potentially exist right now in time in different locations. So when we read a verse that says “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” The first question that you should ask yourself would be “Which One?”.
You see there is the earthly city Jerusalem in the nation of Israel located in the middle east and this is the main city that everyone always associates with the name Jerusalem. But we can also see in Revelation chapters 3 and 21, a new city called Jerusalem and this one is certainly not the same city as the one in the middle east today. So that is definitely number two. Then in the Epistles we can read about a third city called the “Heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22) or as it is also called “the Jerusalem that is above” (Galatians 4:26). This is certainly new information to many so I anticipate that I will get some opposition, because they haven’t seen it and don’t understand it yet. Oh well? You know I don’t expect you to believe something just because I said it, I do expect you to study things for yourself and find out if they are true or not. You see the implications being given to us by this revelation is that the earthly city Jerusalem represents the Old Covenant relationship of God and natural Israel. The New Jerusalem is said to be the bride of Christ and corresponds to the New Covenant relationship of Jesus and the church. Then there is the heavenly Jerusalem which I would guess some have said was the same as the New Jerusalem, but that does not fit the scriptures. You see in Galatians 4:26 it describes the “Heavenly Jerusalem” to clearly be the spiritual mother of the church and therefore we can imply that it says that she is not the church. The implication is that of a mature woman capable of child bearing. The church is called the New Jerusalem in Revelation 3, so we know that the heavenly Jerusalem must have existed prior to the spiritual birth of the church in order for her to give birth to us. It is only logical.
There are a number of clearly implied references and associations of these three cities. First, they are all cities and they all represent women. They are all implied to be women so there is also an implication that they all have children. They are all implied to be related to a covenant relationship with God. Three women, three cities, three covenants. I don’t have time to explain everything here in this blog. My goal is to make you familiar with a technique that God has shown me that He has used to conceal information in His book, the Bible.
What do we know about Moses, God said in his Word that he gave Moses instruction to pattern things after those things that were already in heaven. Moses built an arch of the covenant and created a temple, priests and garments that were all patterns of things that already existed in heaven. What was God doing? He was establishing a city, a covenant and a temple on the earth that revealed another one that already existed in heaven. This one was in heaven was a very old city and had to exist prior to the church. In the allegory given to us in Galatians 4, we can see that this heavenly city was a type of Sarah who was a very old lady when she had Isaac, the promised child. But it says the earthly city Jerusalem was a type of Hagar who is in bondage with her children. What does the Bible say, it says to cast out the bond woman, for her son will not be heir with the children of the free woman. This is very strong words and speak volumes of information about the current state of Israel and the middle east city of Jerusalem.
I can certainly say that if God referred to three different cities, all with the same name that would certainly make things significantly more complicated to figure out what He was talking about. Do you agree? First, just learn the concept and method and then go and see how it is applied in the Bible. If there are three cities called Jerusalem, that implies three different nations called Israel. The number of parallels and duplicates of earthly and heavenly things are very huge. Then God tells us that there is coming a new heaven and a new earth. That implies these Old things will pass away and vanish. But that also confirms why God tells us that there will be a New Jerusalem to take the place of the other two cities. There are so many examples like this in the Bible if you look for them you will find them. This process always starts by you realizing that they exist and for you knowing what to look for.
I’ll give you another example of what I am talking about to help you see it more clearly. A” day” can be interpreted to be a literal 24 hour time period where the earth revolves around one complete cycle and we sleep and then we get up and go to work. This 24 hour time period is just the first definition of the word and here is a scriptural example of this word being used in this manner:
1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
Then the word “day” can be interpreted to mean a 12 hour time period that the sun shines into and this period is in direct contrast to “night” another 12 hour time period. So now we have the same word but used to mean a 12 hour time period instead of a natural 24 hour time period. Here is an example of this word being used like that in the Bible:
2Ti 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
I hope that you are already seeing the potential conflicts in correctly interpreting the word “day” in the Bible. But, we certainly are not through with all of the possible ways to use the word “day” in the scriptures. Let’s look at another example:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
What does this word “day” mean in Hebrews 10:25? I think that it means a coming event. But it could also mean other things. There is the complexity of correctly interpreting the Bible. You see here is another problem with correct Bible interpretation; many, many times it is imperative to get God’s definition for a word in order to correctly apply it and understand what is being said to us in the Bible. Here is an example of what I am talking about. God gives us His definition for a “day” in this verse:
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
You see a problem now exists. After learning God’s definition of a word, you need to try to apply God’s definition to every other occurrence in the Bible of the word “day” and see if it fits or works to help you understand the spiritual side of the verse. This is a very tricky method of hiding information in the Bible. Take for example, the Genesis 1 account of the creation of our world. If you notice it describes a 6 day period of work by God. But, you can also learn by applying God’s definition to what 6 days imply to us in prophetic terms. God actually lays out the plan of man and salvation and redemption in the first chapter of Genesis. By noting what God did on what day and applying it using God’s definition of a day you can see several major spiritual truths being hidden in these verses. There is a prophetic verse in the Bible that says “I make known the end from the beginning”. So by studying the beginning we ought to be able to see and understand the end. I’ll give you a quick example, on day 4 God divides day and night and caused the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. This is a prophetic view into Christ being born on the 4th day of human history or around 4000 years after Adam. Do you understand that Jesus is the Sun and Satan is the moon? Any way I have gone long enough in this blog so I hope that you are understanding the concepts being given. You might not understand everything that I write about in these blogs, but try to get a hold of the concepts and then apply them when you are studying the Bible. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. God Bless!
If you would like to continue reading this series of lessons, please go to “Part 7“.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 5
(Ver 1.3) This is part five of a series of advanced Bible study lessons on the methods that God has used to conceal information in the Bible for us to find. By studying, learning and understanding these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the real truth of God’s Word. We have already discussed that God uses various methods of hiding information of which I have first mentioned has consisted of Him spreading the information out randomly over the entire Bible in an unorganized pattern which causes it to be difficult for us to find all of the verses on any related subjects. I like to call this the truth seed scattering method of hiding truth. It is very much like a farmer out in his field planting seeds to produce a single crop. The seeds fall in random order but they all grow together in unison to make up the unified crop to harvest. That is exactly like the Word of God was designed. You can find subjects throughout the Bible and they must all be considered equally when interpreting the Bible. Other methods we have talked about are God’s usage of figurative language, God’s usage of symbolism and symbolic representations and God’s usage of parables. If you have not read these lessons from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“.
Technique 5: Referring to the Same Thing Using Multiple Names, Titles or Descriptions
Another very common method of hiding information in the Bible is something that God uses very often and it is literally a very tricky method of hiding information. You see if God wanted to tell you something and He wanted to make it harder to find, one method might be that He could depict it using different descriptions, terms, titles or names. God could be talking about the exact same thing, but this makes it significantly more difficult to associate and put the pieces together correctly. What if your Bible study subject was about “the words that people speak” or just “spoken words”. Have you ever thought how you would attempt to find every verse in the Bible that refers to this one subject so that you could potentially gain a thorough knowledge on it? You would have to search the Bible for “word”, “words”, “speech”, “speeches”, “spoken”, “spoke”, “speak”, “speaker”, “say”, “saying”, “sayings”, “tell”, “told”, “console”, “consoled”, “council”, “commune”, “communicate”, “converse”, “demand”, “demanded”, “demands”, “command”, “commanded”, “commandment”, “commands”, “talk”, “talks”, “talker”, “voice”, “voices”, “breath”, “mouth”, “lips”, “tongue”, “tongues”, “whisper”, “whispers”, “whispered”, “question”, “questions”, “questioned”, “ask”, “asked”, “asks”, “inquire”, “inquiring”, “inquired”, “request”, “requests’, “requested”, “utter”, “uttered”, “utters”, “babble”, “utterance”, “declare”, “declared”, “declares”, “inspire”, “inspired”, “inspiration”, “encourage”, “encouragement”, “correct”, “corrected”, “correction”, “scorn”, “sarcasm”, “mockery”, “cynicism”, “irony”, “ironic”, “sound”, “sounds”, just to name a few of the obvious ones. How many other words am I leaving out that can be taken as “spoken words”? What about the truth, a lie, or lies, or lying? What about someone who prays or is praying, or has prayed, isn’t that speaking words to God? This is the root of the problem, there are so many other synonymous words that I did not include and then there are also some not so obvious ones that are very difficult to find. For example, what about a babbling brook or a flame of fire? What about a reference to a fountain, a rudder, a bit or a bridle? What about the fruit of your lips? Jesus said “out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.” That is a not so obvious reference to something coming out of their mouths and it must be their spoken words. This verse does not mention words directly nor even have a direct reference to the area of the mouth, but yet it speaks about something coming out of an area of the body that normally you put stuff into, to feed your body. That is very tricky, if you ask me. Then the Bible describes Jesus as the man with the sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, and again that is a symbolic reference talking about His spoken words. Words are described in terms of a weapon that cuts two ways. That is some very powerful information on the subject of spoken words, yet how would you find it and recognize the significance?
I do hope you grasp what I’m saying for it is very important that you do. There are so many ways to describe and speak about any subject that it makes it very difficult to think of them all, much less to find all of them in the Bible. You would have to read the Bible from cover to cover on every Bible study, paying very close attention to every word to see if it is related to the subject you are searching for. Even then many of the references could be symbolic, figurative, or some other reference that makes it difficult to recognize with just a surface reading.
So let’s talk about the “devil” or Satan. How many different Bible verses can you come up with that describe this spiritual being in not so obvious terms. I can think of a bunch so I’ll give you a few examples to get you started in thinking of new ways to recognize this technique used in the Bible. Satan is called the “serpent”, the “dragon”, the “deceiver”, the “accuser”, the “prince of this world”, the “god of this world”, the “thief”, the “enemy”, the “ruler of the darkness”, “Lucifer”, “Beelzebub”, the “moon”, and I probably could go on and on. Wouldn’t it have been easier, if God had always called Satan by the name “Satan” and then we would have been able to understand when He was talking about him in a more precise and clear manner? Of course it would! But nobody said the Bible was simple! God intentionally designed every word of the Bible to conceal and reveal information.
By calling one thing by a multitude of different names or titles, you make it significantly more difficult to find and understand them. But God can also give new implied information in using this technique. For example, one of the first times that Satan is mentioned in the Bible, he is called “the serpent” (Genesis 3). But, in Revelation 12 he is called “the dragon”. We are also clearly told in Revelation 12 that the dragon was the ancient serpent. Therefore, both are symbolic references to the same spiritual entity. However, you can infer from these two references some qualities that have transpired or have developed in the course of time over the last 6000 years. Satan who was called the serpent was a much smaller and insignificant spiritual being in Genesis. As a symbolic serpent he was a manageable force. But, now as a great red dragon in Revelation he has implied growth and strength which also infers a much greater power. In other words, Satan is a much larger formidable spiritual opponent in Revelation than he was in Genesis. This information was given to us indirectly by God using two different symbolic references for the same spiritual being called Satan. If you would like to read my lesson on the “Names, Titles, Descriptions and Symbols of Satan” found in the Bible it would be worth your time to go and check it out.
I’ll give you one more example, since this subject is so vitally important to correct Bible interpretation. God calls the sun by multiple names and descriptions. If you just searched the Bible for the obvious word “sun” you would miss some of the most important verses in the Bible on the subject. By only searching for the obvious “sun”, you will miss the not so obvious ways to describe the sun. The very first reference in the Bible of the “sun” is found in Genesis 1 on the 4th day of creation and God calls the sun the “greater light” in Genesis 1:16. The “Greater Light” is the prophetic symbolic ruler of the day and of course represents a symbolic type of Jesus Christ who was to come to the earth on the 4th day (4000 years) of human history. Then in 2 Peter 1:19 God calls the sun the “Day Star“. If you understand astronomy you understand our sun is nothing but our closest star that lights our days. This is a physical reality that symbolizes a spiritual reality. In this verse in 2 Peter, Jesus is again called the Sun that rises in the hearts of men. Finally, in Revelation 22:16 the sun is given another completely different name and is called the “Bright and Morning Star“. Again this is literally speaking about the sun. This verse in Revelation is Jesus speaking directly to us and claiming to be the Sun of Righteousness found in Malachi. Then in 1 John 2:8 we find a symbolic sun being referred to as the “true light“. That is radically important to the subject of the sun, but a reference that would be very hard to find. So if you just searched the Bible for the term “sun”, you missed three or four of the most important verses on the subject. To adequately satisfy the subject you would need to start with the obvious references of the “sun”, “day”, “daylight”, “light”, “morning”, “dawn” and then be smart enough to look for the not so obvious ones like “star”.
Another technique that I haven’t spoken of yet is opposite or antithesis truths. To understand “day” you might also have to understand “night”. To understand the “Sun” you might also need to understand the “moon”. To understand “light” you might also need to understand “darkness”. Many times in the Bible a subject is covered by speaking about what it is not. Light is not darkness so when God tells you about “darkness” you can infer some meaning to what light is. It can get very complicated and I know you will get it if you start to look for it. I also just gave you a small sample of the names of Jesus found in the Bible, if you would like you can go to “Names, Titles, Descriptions and Symbols of Jesus” found in the Bible and begin to recognize how many ways there are to describe one person. It is almost overwhelming.
Begin to recognize that there are literally dozens of ways to describe the same thing. God can be talking about the same thing in multiple verses, but calling them by different names. All this does is make it more difficult and challenging for us to figure it all out. I do hope you get it! This is a very prevalent and widespread technique used by God to conceal information in the Bible. Why, because you probably didn’t realize that there were so many multiple ways of naming something. Things, events, people, and places in the Bible are often referred to using different titles and names based upon different descriptive qualities and attributes. I can’t tell you how important it is that you grasp this concept and know this technique of hiding information in the Bible. Using this knowledge alone will cause you to learn more than you can imagine.
If you would like to continue reading this series, please continue to “Part 6“.
Genesis 6: Prophetic Salvation and Redemptive Patterns in Noah? Pitch Within and Pitch Without!
(Ver 1.1) I know I teach things that are new and different than anything you have ever heard before, but that doesn’t mean they are not true or what the Bible says. If you diligently study the Bible I believe you will come to the same conclusions that I have. In my blog today I want to teach you about something prophetic that God showed me about the story of Noah. Noah as you recall was selected by God to preserve the human race. God looked at humanity and said “The end of all flesh has come up before me.” This was obviously not a good thing because violence and sin had filled the earth. Men and women were lovers of themselves and didn’t care about anybody else. However, Noah found favor before God. God told him to go and build an ark that him and his family could get into along with the animals of the world and God would then send a flood to cause a new beginning or a new starting point. Apparently something this catastrophic came as a result of the tremendously sad state of the human race at that time. Jesus told us “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the coming of the son of man” (Mat 24:37). We do not have much to look forward to, if this is truly the case. There does seem to be a growing evil presence in the world. It would appear that those in the darkness are growing darker and more evil. A day does not go by on the 6:00 evening news where someone has not done something evil against another human on the earth. But since this is not my mainline subject I will not go into that in any more depth. What I want to show you today is God’s plan of salvation and redemption in some hidden types and patterns found within the Old Testament story of Noah:
Gen 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
This pattern and type is not easily found, but it is not hard to understand once you see it. In studying the Bible maybe you noticed that many English translations are void of the original Hebrew language meanings and that they also lack the true importance of what God had originally intended it to say. Today’s scripture verse will be a prime example of this problem. It would appear that the translators did not know how to correctly translate the verse so they used their best guess method at what they thought that it meant to say. After you read the rest of this lesson you will understand why it is so important to study the original Hebrew words in order to see what you might be missing. So here is the key verse to our subject lesson today:
Gen 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
God told Noah to make an ark out of gopher wood. The Ark is a symbolic representation of humanity and the human condition. God uses the Ark to save humanity. This is also symbolic of God’s plan of salvation and redemption. God comes to the earth personally and becomes the very thing that He wants to save. By becoming a man, God is now able to save the human race. It is a fascinating concept to consider. But that is not my subject today either. So let’s look at the Ark. God told Noah to put pitch on the inside and then to put pitch on the outside of the ark. Let me stop right there and describe the human condition. Humans are spiritual beings that inhabit or dwell in a physical body. The body is the outside part that we see, the inside of a person is their spirit that we do not see. I do hope that you understand spiritual things enough to see what I am telling you is true. So what we have described to us in the form of a symbolic ark are the external vs. the internal parts or dimensions of a man. A man or a woman alive in the world today is in contact with both the natural and the spiritual worlds simultaneously, whether they know it or not. The vast majority of the unsaved people of the world are not aware of the spiritual dimension of things at all. Even a great number of carnal Christians are also oblivious to spiritual things and there lies the problem. Oh well?
So we have man in two separate dimensions simultaneously, one is natural and one is spiritual and God’s plan of salvation and redemption must include both of these dimensions in order to be fully effective. Do you understand that concept? Well the story of Noah and the Ark gives us some valuable clues to how God did this and most have never seen it. You see the two words translated as “pitch” in Genesis 6:14 are not the same Hebrew words. Both Hebrew words are related to each other, in fact one word comes from the root word of the other. But one Hebrew word seems to mean something almost completely different than the other one means. So why would translators make them the same word in the English translation? That is a really good question, I guess they couldn’t figure out what other words to use so they assumed they both meant pitch. If you look at the base definition of each word the root of each word means “to cover”. To cover something implies that you are hiding something or removing something from plain view. This is an intentional act of taking something found in plain view and covering it with something else to not be seen. I personally think that this applies to God’s work of salvation. In building a physical Ark, Noah would have had to do something to make it water tight. In boat making this usually involves some coating or a sealant; especially for a wooden boat. If a wooden boat sits in water without a water tight coating, the wood would eventually become water logged with the water that you were hoping to keep out and it would probably soon leak and sink. So a coating of pitch was placed on the inside as well as the outside of the Ark to make it waterproof. But what was this covering and what is the symbolism a representation of with these two different Hebrew words translated as “pitch”?
Let’s consider the facts. A human is a spirit being made in the image and likeness of God. God being a spirit being created man to look and resemble Himself. However, God limited man’s ability by confining him to a physical body. By confining the man to a physical body, he is limited to a specific three dimensional time and space. In other words, while God can be everywhere at every time all at once, man can only be in a single location at any given point of time. Man is confined to a specific environmental condition range of temperatures and living requirements. Physical man needs oxygen, food, water and other essential elements to survive in this world. By God’s intelligent design man was severely limited in a state of specific fragile circumstances in order to learn and to be able to make choices without affecting any other spiritual eternal being or spiritual place or location. While one physical human being can kill another physical human being, one physical being can do nothing to the real spirit man in their body. God created our lives as a series of lessons in a temporary natural environment so that we could choose where we will spend our eternity. Spiritual beings will never die or cease to exist somewhere.
So what is a human body? Your physical body is your earth suit and it is comprised of a multitude of different physical elements and parts. The number of trace elements in the human body is over 50 different types ranging from Oxygen to Tungsten. The human body by weight is 70% water. Oxygen is the most abundant element in both the earth and the human body by weight. The top three elements in the human body are Oxygen, Carbon, and Hydrogen. It is really most interesting to note that the human body can be called a hydrocarbon unit. These are two of the key elements found in bitumen. Bitumen is a waterproofing agent used in asphalt and other areas and surfaces to keep water out. According to the Strong’s definition of the Hebrew word H3722 translated as “pitch” for the “within” inward part of the ark this word represents this type of waterproofing agent called bitumen. But if you think of the human spirit as being like the interior of the ark, it is also covered with a waterproofing surface called a body. I just think that is interesting to note.
So let’s explore the human body from a different angle other than its physical composition. I personally believe that the physical human body is the only factor that gives you legal access to this planet. To be born here of a woman is the only legal entry or door into this physical world. Your physical body gives you the right to choose your eternal destiny. Jesus said unless a man is born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3). To be born again means you first must be born the first time physically to even qualify to be born again spiritually. That is a very difficult concept for some to consider, but it also means that it severely limits Satan and the other demons from participating in God’s plan of salvation.
So let’s do an analysis of the two words translated as “pitch” in this verse and see what they reveal to us. The first word that I will look at is the “pitch” that is said to apply to the inside of the ark. The inside of the ark would be representative of the spirit of man so let’s see what God says about our spirits. This “pitch” word comes from a Hebrew word in the Strong’s number H3722 and has the following definition:
WITHIN
H3722
A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: – appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
This word has a lot of potential overlapping meanings. First, let’s talk about the last meaning found in this definition called “reconciliation”. To reconcile one thing to another is to restore it into right relationship. Of course in this lesson we are talking about the condition of the fallen man being restored back into right relationship with the One True Creator God. The word reconciliation is a very important theological concept given to us in the Bible. Here are some definitions for this word reconciliation.
Reconcile:
- to make (two apparently conflicting things) compatible or consistent with each other; often passive; usually foll by to) to make (oneself or another) no longer opposed
- to become friendly with (someone) after estrangement or to re-establish friendly relations between (two or more people
- make peace between, reunite, propitiate, bring to terms, restore harmony between, re-establish friendly relations between
Whether you realize it or not before you were saved, you were an enemy of God. God directly opposed everything that you stood for, even though He died for your right to change and be saved. The human race was separate and directly opposed to God and everything that a Holy God stood for. After sin entered into the world, the human race was in direct opposition to God. After sin, the human nature was no longer God’s nature. Knowing this God had to do something to reconcile the situation. We have one spiritual being, God being opposed to another spiritual being, man and God’s plan of salvation includes something called “atonement”, “forgiveness”, “mercy” and “grace”. The implied ways of this reconciliation are represented to us as a cleansing process. A cleansing process involves a washing in the blood of Jesus, spiritually speaking of course. Our sins have been purged or annulled by the shed blood of Jesus. Through what Jesus did for us as a man on the cross, God was able to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. What is that? It means to go and tell people, God is not mad at them. God is not opposed to them anymore. They are not God’s enemies anymore. God has invited them to be His friend and a part of His family.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
You can clearly see what I just described to you take place in God’s plan of salvation. In these two verses God declares that the Church should be telling people this good news. This should be the emphasized message from the church of God to the lost world. Reconciliation is the prophetic representative work of the “pitch” within in the Ark of Noah. Our spirits have now been forgiven and reconciled back into the right relationship with God is part 1 of God’s plan. But, man lives in a physical body and God’s plan of salvation must also include this external part of man to be an all inclusive work and fully effective. So let’s explore the symolic “pitch” which is applied to the external portion of the ark called the body of man revealed in this Hebrew word in the Strong’s number H3724:
WITHOUT
H3724
From H3722; properly a cover, that is, (literally) a village (as covered in); (specifically) bitumen (as used for coating), and the henna plant (as used for dyeing); figuratively a redemption price: – bribe, camphire, pitch, ransom, satisfaction, sum of money, village.
This word is contrasted to be a completely different work of God. Where the first “pitch” on the inside meant to “forgive'”, this “pitch” on the outside has a financial implication of someone paying a sum of money to buy back an object. This is where “redemption” comes into play. Maybe in your Bible study you have heard about Christ’s work of “redemption”. But maybe you did not understand the difference between “redemption” and “atonement”. As you can see they are dramatically different realms of man. One work applies to the “spiritual” side of man and the other applies to the “physical” side of man. By God accomplishing both of these simultaneously, man is wholly saved in one act of God’s grace. Let’s look briefly at the definition of “redeem”:
Redeem
- To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum
- To set free; rescue or ransom
- To save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences
Again we see a process of someone paying a sum of money to buy something back. Something is implied to have been taken either legally or illegally and a sum of money is paid to recover what was taken or lost. This is more of what Jesus did on the cross, even though you might not have fully understood it. How did Jesus accomplish this redemption and what price was paid for our redemption is now the part of the lesson that we have arrived at:
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
You see in these verses, Jesus Christ is said to be the price paid for our redemption. Jesus gave himself for a ransom. A ransom is a sum of money you pay to a kidnapper to get your child back. Apparently the human race belonged to or was taken captive by someone that had to be paid in order to get us back to God. What are we talking about though? We are only talking about the human body. The spirits of the man and women were already forgiven and reconciled to God. What we find is that God had to pay a price for the bodies of the human race.
Isa 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
In this verse God prophecies that man will be redeemed without the payment of cash, gold, silver or monetary value changing hands. God makes a statement that the human race had sold themselves and gotten nothing in return or of value for their stupid act. So God’s plan of salvation and redemption did not cost Him any money either, but it was certainly not FREE!.
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We can understand from this verse that we, the human race were bought out of something or someone’s possession and now belong to God. God paid the price for our redemption from sin with His blood sacrifice. It is very much like a person who takes a valuable item to a pawn shop and temporarily sells it for money. They are given a specific time limitation to redeem their item and if they do not the item is forever lost. We have been purchased back from our sad sinful state and by accepting Jesus as our Lord have received the free gift of salvation and redemption. Unlike a pawn shop analogy where the item sold never has a say or a voice on its destiny, people are the objects that was sold and they can choose to be redeemed or stay where they are at. But the redemptive work of God is more complex than my simple pawn shop analogy. We are actually still awaiting for a part of the redemptive work of God to occur or be completed in the future:
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
You see if you look for verses in the Bible, you will see that we are still waiting for the full redemptive work of God to be accomplished. We still have mortal temporary bodies on this planet and according to the Bible we will be transformed on the outside very soon and all get new bodies that our spirits can live in forever. God writes in Roman’s 8:23 that we are all awaiting this to happen with anxious anticipation. A groaning is applicable to a birthing process, I believe. God has already paid the price for our redemption, but yet we still await the redemption of our bodies. It is a very complex subject, I know.
I hope you enjoyed this lesson on the pitch within and the pitch without and how it relates to the Word of God for the salvation and redemptive work of Christ. This two part work of God completed the salvation which involved the forgiveness of the human spirit as well as the purchased redemption of our bodies. God has hidden little things like this in the Bible for a reason and they can only be seen if you look for them diligently. I pray that you see them and understand them. Until my next blog, God Bless You.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 4
(Ver 2.2) This is part four of a series of lessons on methods that God has used to conceal information in the Bible for us to find. By studying these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the truth of God’s Word. I have been attempting to go through the techniques that God has used to conceal spiritual information using definitions, terms and descriptions that are not complicated or laced with educated phraseology that is intended to be studied only by the elect doctorate types. I am using plain language and common terms that hopefully anyone can understand. If you did not read this series from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“. I have covered a lot of good information and it will not be repeated in the same level of detail.
Technique 4: The Use of Parables
Eze 17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
Another widely used technique found in the Bible is the designed use of parables. God purposely uses parables in the Bible to conceal and reveal spiritual truth to us. According to the Bible a parable is a sort of riddle or a puzzle. You may have noticed while reading the Gospels that Jesus taught a lot in parables. Many times parables would give powerful spiritual truths using the terms of natural things like, seeds, farms, fields, wheat, tares, leaven, weddings, a bride, a groom, etc. Jesus actually fulfilled prophecy by teaching in parables. You can clearly see in this next verse that God prophesied something very profound about the words that Jesus would speak to us:
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
To speak things that have been kept secret since the world was established, is the key reason for why Jesus spoke in parables to us. We can clearly understand that these parables must hold some very complex secret information within them, but yet people do not still appreciate their value, because they do not fully comprehend their meanings. There are over 40 different parables that Jesus used to teach people with in the Gospels. Some parables are repeated in multiple books of the Bible and some parables only occur in one book of the Bible. How many of these do you know and understand? I will give you a list of parables later in this lesson, and you should spend time studying them because they hold some of the greatest spiritual secrets of the Bible within them. The words of the prophet referred to in Matthew 13:35 are recorded from the book of Psalms and we should go back and read this verse for confirmation:
Psa 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
We can see some powerful truth in this verse of prophecy. It says in speaking of Jesus that He would open his mouth and speak in parables. A parable is defined to be “mental superiority”. This word says that it uses “metaphors” and “similes” to convey an implied hidden message. There is one word in this verse that describes this type of speaking and it is the Hebrew word H2420 which is translated as “dark saying”, and this word has the following definition in the Strong’s.
H2420
From H2330; a puzzle; hence a trick, conundrum, sententious maxim: – dark saying (sentence, speech), hard question, proverb, riddle.
That is a truly amazing definition and is certainly very relevant to the subject of God hiding the truth in plain sight. You see these parables describe spiritual truths in a puzzle or riddle form. This means that you might be able to see some of the truths on the surface but the really deep stuff is hidden from our natural view and human understanding. This makes the usage of parables a very tricky method of concealing information in the Bible.
Pro 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
One time Jesus said to his disciples, to you it has been given to understand, but to them I speak in parables (Mark 4:11). So obviously this was a technique that both concealed and revealed spiritual truths. A parable is always something that is “like” something else. It is a reference to a natural thing that has deep spiritual truths attached to it. I do not know how many parables there are in the entire Bible. I do know there are a lot of them. Here is a quick example of a parable:
Mat 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
So you can observe some similarities between symbolic references and parables. Both are techniques that use natural things to describe spiritual realities. A symbol can be a single word used in a story to conceal a single spiritual reality and a parable is usually a story that conveys and relates several spiritual truths together. In this verse in Matthew Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of heaven and tells the people that heaven is like a fisherman’s net that is cast into the sea and it brings out every kind of fish that it can pull up. Since Jesus was speaking to a nation of people that understood fishing and fishing methods this was an interesting puzzle word picture for them to think about. How can the kingdom of heaven be like a fisherman’s net? It was a puzzle and a very descriptive reality of what was going to happen in the spiritual realm in the near future. There are several elements in this one verse parable. We have the sea, the fisherman, a boat, the fish and the net and each of these must represent some key to the correct meaning of the story. The sea must represent the world that we live in; the fish must represent the people who are saved out of the world. The net must be the Word of God. The fisherman must be the preachers and the angels of God. God was telling the people that the new kingdom of God would consist of every nation and every kind of people in the world. God was telling them that there is not favoritism with Him and He loves everyone the same. There are many hidden inferred meanings within this parable and it is a great subject to study to learn about spiritual things. This was truly a puzzle to their natural thinking religious minds and the people of Israel clearly did not understand what God was saying to them.
So we have talked a little bit about what a parable is, but let’s address what a parable is not so that we can clearly understand the difference. A parable is never a story of a specific named individual, place or actual event within history. That would be an allegory. An allegory if you recall is an actual story that occurred in human history that also has a spiritual meaning attached to it. Some ignorant people have tried to make Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 to be a parable and even go so far to try to say hell is not a real place, but it is only symbolic of a spiritual place of torment. I don’t know how people can be so easily deceived, but it takes all kinds, I guess. However what you must understand is that Jesus is not a liar, if He tells you a story of someone specifically named Lazarus this is not symbolism and this is not a parable. Lazarus must have existed as a real historical man. It would be a physical lie to tell you of something or someone with a name that did not specifically exist or actually happen and try to pass it off as symbolism. Jesus never says “hell” is like a rich man and a beggar in this chapter of Luke. But, if Jesus said, the Kingdom of God is like a ….” and gave you a natural example without naming names or specific places, dates or events, then it would be a legitimate parable and a legal method of communicating without telling a lie. The Bible clearly says that it is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18). Be smart and learn the difference between a lie and a parable. Parables do not contain the names of any real people. A real parable is only a story of nameless and anonymous things that can relate to a spiritual reality.
There are very few examples of Jesus explaining a parable’s meaning to us. However, we can see that He does give us some examples of correct interpretation for us to follow. Jesus taught that of all the parables that He gave to us, the parable of the sower was the most important one for us to understand and he talks about this in 3 gospels (Matthew 13:3, Mark 4:3, Luke 8:5). God uses several key farming elements to describe spiritual things to us. There is a farmer who sows seed. There is seed and there are 7 different types of soil that the seed falls in. There are also seed enemies, like birds of the air and weeds. Everything in this parable has deep spiritual meanings attached to them. Jesus taught us that the Word of God was the seed. Jesus taught us that the soil represented the hearts of men and women in the earth. The birds of the air were demons and spiritual forces that come to steal the Word of God from the hearts of men. If you have never studied this parable, then you should do so immediately. Jesus said it is the key to understand every parable. I only went through a few examples and their explanations. I have covered this subject in other lessons if you want to learn more. I’ll end the discussion of parables with this verse found in Ecclesiastes:
Ecc 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
You see this verse speaks of a wise man of God who teaches God’s people truth and diligently seeks it out. The verse ends in the term to “set in order” the words found in the puzzle. The word translated here as “proverbs” is the same Hebrew word for “parable”. There is a clear implication that there is a puzzle and a riddle to solve and someone is responsible for solving it. One of the ways that God hides things in the Bible is by using parables and proverbs, dark sayings that have hidden meanings. These are stories and descriptive words of natural things that describe powerful concealed spiritual truths. Parables often times involve metaphors and metaphoric expressions. These are usually used in communications that convey new ideas by using objects and things that the listener is already familiar with. We can also understand that if you are not familiar with “farming” then Jesus using a farming metaphor to describe the kingdom of God will not help you to understand what is being taught until you do become familiar with the natural process of farming. Therefore, parables conceal and reveal information simultaneously.
There are so many parables throughout the Bible and you must locate them and then correctly interpret them. To quote a famous movie line “Are you the one or should we look for another?”. God bless you until next time when I continue talking about other methods that God has used in hiding information in the Bible.
Parables in the Gospels
|
Scripture(s) |
Parable |
| Matthew 7:6 | Parable of the Pearl and Swine |
| Matthew 7:24; Luke 6:48; | Parable of the Wise Man Who Built His House |
| Matthew 11:16-17; Luke 7:32; | Parable of Children Sitting in the Markets |
| Matthew 13:3; Mark 4:3; Luke 8:5 | Parable of the Sower |
| Matthew 13:24; | Parable of the Wheat and Tares |
| Matthew 13:31; Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19 | Parable of the Mustard Seed |
| Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21 | Parable of the Leavened Bread |
| Matthew 13:44; | Parable of the Treasure in a Field |
| Matthew 13:45 | Parable of Merchant Seeking Pearls |
| Matthew 13:47; | Parable of the Fisherman’s Net |
| Matthew 13:55; | Parable of the Householder’s Treasure |
| Matthew 18:23; | Parable of the King’s Servants |
| Matthew 20:1; | Parable of the Hired Workers |
| Matthew 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9 | Parable of the Vineyard Leased Out |
| Matthew 22:2 | Parable of the marriage of the King’s Son |
| Matthew 23:27; | Parable of the Whited Sepulchers |
| Matthew 24:32; Mark 13:28; Luke 21:29; | Parable of the Fig Tree |
| Matthew 25:10; | Parable of the Ten Virgins |
| Matthew 25:14; | Parable of the Talents and Servants |
| Mark 3:24; | Parable of a Kingdom Divided |
| Mark 3:27; | Parable of the Strong Man’s House |
| Mark 4:26 | Parable of the Man who Casts Seed into the Ground |
| Mark 13:34 | Parable of the Man taking a Far Journey |
| Mark 13:34 | Parable of the New and Old Cloths |
| Luke 5:37 | Parable of the New Wine In Old Wine Skins |
| Luke 5:39 | Parable of the New and Old Wine |
| Luke 6:39 | Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind |
| Luke 10:30-36; | Parable of the Good Samaritan |
| Luke 12:16 | Parable of the Rich Man who Laid Up Treasure for Himself |
| Luke 12:36 | Parable of the Men who Wait for their Lord to return |
| Luke 13:6 | Parable of the Fig Tree without Fruit |
| Luke 13:35 | Parable of the Shut Door |
| Luke 14:8 | Parable of the Wedding Seating Arrangement |
| Luke 14:12 | Parable of the Feast and the Poor |
| Luke 14:16 | Parable of the Great Supper |
| Luke 14:28 | Parable of the Cost of the Tower |
| Luke 14:31 | Parable of the King Going to Battle |
| Luke 14:34 | Parable of the Salt that Lost Its Flavor |
| Luke 15:4 | Parable of the Lost Sheep |
| Luke 15:8 | Parable of the Woman with 10 Pieces of Silver |
| Luke 15:11 | Parable of the Prodigal Son |
| Luke 16:1 | Parable of the Rich Man and Steward Who Wasted Mammon |
| Luke 17:7 | Parable of the Servant in the Field |
| Luke 18:2 | Parable of the Judge and the Widow Woman |
| Luke 18:10 | Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee |
| Luke 19:13 | Parable of the Rich Man with 10 Servants & 10 pounds |
| John 10:1 | Parable of the Sheepfold and the Gate |
| John 10:7 | Parable of the Sheep Door |
| John 10:11 | Parable of the Good Shepherd |
If you would like to continue reading this series of lessons, please continue with “Part 5“.
The Greatest of These is LOVE!
(Ver 1.1) Today I am going to blog to me! It is always better for me to judge myself rather than to attempt to judge someone who has said something negative against me. If anyone else can gain anything from my message written to me, that is a blessing. Otherwise know, I’m not teaching or talking about you today. Sometimes I think it is just good to review subject that I know to be right, so that I can better put them into practice. That is my goal and what I’ll attempt to do today. Today’s subject is a review of the God Kind of Love!
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.
This is one of the greatest verses in the KJV Bible, but I had to fix two words. These words in KJV of the Bible were translated as “charity” and that is not a word that means the same as what God is saying. Charity in my mind is what many give to, to get a tax deduction. But this Greek word translated as “charity” is a unique word that describes a much greater spiritual truth. The Greek word is “agape” and it is a plural word that implies a continual process of never ending love. It can actually mean a “love feast”. A feast is an over abundance of something good. In our world I can feast on dinner or desert. But this is the God kind of love and it implies a spiritual feast of a force which cannot be compared with anything else I have on this earth.
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
I can see from this verse that God is “Agape” and “Agape” is God! To BE “Agape” is a powerful expression of the character and attributes that make up everything that God IS! God does NOT have love, God IS Love and there is a huge difference. If I only have love for my wife, then there is a chance that I could change my mind. If I am love to my wife then I am committed no matter what happens. The God kind of love is a commitment. So many times people look at love as an emotion or a feeling and this is not the God kind of LOVE! God did not come to the earth and die for our sins because He felt like it.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I have learned that the God kind of love gives, even though it is tough and you don’t feel like it or even when someone does you wrong or says bad things about you or even hurts you. Jesus experienced all of these things multiplied by a factor of a thousand and yet as he hung on the cross, he prayed that God would forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were doing. That is a powerful example that I strive to live by.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not LOVE, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
This verse tells me that I can write the best blog that I can write and share great knowledge and revelation, but if I do it in the wrong way I am just perceived to be a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. In other words I am just making a noise not worthy of being heard. There are too many blogs on the internet like that. Too many people sounding off with a noise. I will not be like those, I want to look different, sound different and be different. So I will endeavor to do a better job at speaking the truth in love.
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
So what is the God kind of Love? I know it is not a human love. It is not a natural love and it doesn’t come easy. However, everyone that has been born again has this love on the inside of them. I am responsible to let this love shine out or it will remain hidden. The God kind of love is a conscious, deliberate, intentional act of doing the right thing even though my flesh wants to hit you. That is tough sometimes.
The God Kind of Love IS:
- Giving
- Patient
- Kind
The God Kind of Love:
- Bears all things
- Believes the Best
- Hopes for the Best in Everyone
- Puts Others First
- Seeks Good for Others
- Endures all things
- Never Fails
The God Kind of Love IS NOT:
- Easily Provoked
- Envious
- Selfish
- Proud
Thank you for reading my lesson for me. I was blessed to be remined what kind of Love that I need to display to others that are not so lovely and loving to me at times. I pray that anyone that has said or done anything bad to me is blessed. I forgive you. And I love you.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 3
(Ver 2.1) This is part three of a series of lessons on advanced studies concerning the methods that God has used to conceal information in the Bible for us to find. By studying these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the truth of God’s Word. The first technique I discussed was “Widely Dispersed Information”. This is the method of spreading out and not covering a complete subject in any one location of the Bible. Next, I talked about “Symbolic and Allegorical References”. These are very common practices of calling spiritual things by natural names, descriptions and titles and not telling you that is what is occurring. So we have gone through two fairly complex methods of hiding information in the Bible, and today I want to shift gears and slow down and show you something more basic, but yet still very effective. Today, I want to talk about another common method called “Figure of Speech”. If you did not read this series from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“.
Technique 3: Figures of Speech
Like in other writings of the English language, the Bible often times uses language and phrasing which is known as “figures of speech”. Figures of speech are words that usually cannot be taken literally. A figure of speech is one technique that can be used to conceal or hide the truth or true meaning of a verse of scripture while using words that clearly describe something to you in very expressive terms.. Here is a definition for a figure of speech that I found on the internet:
A figure of speech is a use of a word that diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it such as a metaphor, simile, or personification. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetoric or a locution.
As you can see from this definition the usage of “figures of speech” can bring clarity or they can introduce ambiguity to the interpretation and I have seen both of these. I have often times heard preachers try to take a verse of scripture that uses this technique of “figure of speech” and attempt to make it a literal truth found in the Bible. It was obvious to me that they were wrong, but obviously they did not see it that way at all. So I think that I should try to give you some examples of this type of writing found in the Bible that to me is obvious not to be taken literally. For example, the Bible describes events where God tells Israel that if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, they shall be “thorns in your side” (Numbers 33:55, Joshua 23:13). God was not speaking in literal terms, was He? God did not mean that these people would literally be a natural thorn in their natural flesh. The people of Israel would not be walking around with sticks and thorns poking out of their robes or their clothing made from the people found in the land. That would be an incredibly bad interpretation of the Bible to try to take this literally. Here is a sample of one of these verses from the Old Testament:
Num 33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
God uses two figures of speech in this verse found in Numbers. We see a reference being made to pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides. Neither of these can be taken literally, because they are purely “figures of speech”. This is just another literary technique that God has implemented in the Bible to make things a little bit more difficult for us to read and to understand. What God is referring to here, is a people that would become a spiritual hindrance and a distraction from them obeying the Law of God. These people would become stumbling blocks of potential temptations that would introduce them to other gods, idols, religions and things that were presented to deceive them. God knew the dangers and warned the people about something using figurative wording from what they could understand. Almost everyone in the world has had a time when they got stuck by a thorn and this is a very unpleasant experience physically. God is saying that this is what will happen to them in the spiritual realm if they do not do what God said to do. If you have ever had a thorn under your fingernail you can understand that this is a pain that you are better off not ever having this to occur. This is the idea that God is trying to convey by writing to the people using this technique. This usage consists of the fact that a word or phrase is used differently than the ordinary way that it is normally used within a context that is only done to create an added emphasis. Therefore, when God declares people to be thorns and pricks, He is not speaking literally. Figures of speech always represents departures from the given laws of normal language in order to communicate an emphasized point.
People today use figures of speech in their everyday conversations all the time. I often times hear someone say something like “She is a real pain in the neck.” That is a figure of speech and it means something else other than a literal pain in their flesh. Do you understand figures of speech? Have you ever been guilty of using a figure of speech? We can clearly see the usage of “figures of speech” throughout the Bible and we have to be smart enough to recognize them and treat them accordingly and to interpret them correctly. In my example that I have given you there is another similar occurrence in the New Testament where Paul wrote about a thorn in his flesh that was given to him.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
I’ve heard so many confused individuals who try to imply that Paul was sick, crippled, and blind or that he had some other physical imperfection based upon this clear usage of a figure of speech. People please wake up and realize the difference between literal words and figurative language. Paul is clearly speaking in the same terms that God spoke to Israel in Numbers. This is a figurative explanation for a spiritual reality. Paul tells us what his “thorn” was, when he says it was a “messenger of Satan”. That sounds like a spiritual force and not a physical imperfection. If you take a figure of speech and attempt to make it literally true, you cause confusion to occur. You can promote a lie or a fabrication of a misinterpretation and that is a key problem occurring in the Body of Christ today. What you must do, is first understand the concepts behind “figures of speech” and then be smart enough to recognize them when you are reading through your Bible.
There are many different literary styles and techniques and God has used them all in the Book that He has given to us. As a part of studying the Bible we are required to be smart enough to read a verse and analyze it correctly in order to truly understand what is being said. One of these techniques that causes people trouble is what is known as this “figure of speech”. I do not claim to have done an exhaustive or comprehensive study on the usage of this technique; I merely wanted to introduce you to it so that you become aware of it as you read and study your Bible. Become intimately aware of God’s techniques and writing styles. Try to discover the methods that God has used to conceal information in the Bible and this will help the church to become united with one mind.
Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
God bless you and continue to prosper you through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I will hopefully endeavor to expand this subject in my next blog.
If you would like to continue to read this series, please continue with “Part 4“.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight — Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 2
(Ver 2.1) This is part two of a series of lessons on methods that God has used to conceal information in the Bible for us to find. By studying these methods we will greatly increase our ability to understand the truth of God’s Word. Today I want to talk about a subject that I have taught on before, but this is so important and you should be able to see why I feel that it fits with this series to do again. If you did not read from the beginning I would strongly suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“.
Technique 2: Symbolism and Symbolic References
Another technique in the Bible widely utilized by God is the usage of symbolism. Symbolism is usually an interesting coded message. Biblical symbols often times describe spiritual things in the terms of natural things, events or people. God uses symbols of things that we can naturally see and understand to describe and point us to the things that we cannot see in the spiritual realm. Daniel and Revelation are both covered with symbolic references and are probably the books of the Bible that come to people’s mind when describing this subject. In Revelation we have a harlot, the great dragon, a beast, the serpent, the sun, the moon and the stars, a woman, a city, a bride as well as many other symbolic references. Why did God use this type of writing? It is interesting to see how this writing style makes it so challenging for us to figure out what God is talking about. Most people who just read the verses in Revelation without studying them are very confused and do not understand very much about what is being said. So interpreting symbolic references correctly is critical to understanding these references in the Bible. So how do we interpret symbolic references correctly? I believe that we must use other interpretation rules that I have not really discussed yet. One of these rules is that we let the Bible interpret itself. Another rule is, we use the law of first mention to help determine the definition. Still another rule is that we look at other descriptions and related dependent symbols to help point us to the true identity of the main symbol. Often times by figuring out a descriptive symbolic reference first, it will help us discover the bigger symbolic reference. For example, if you want to identify the symbolic woman in Revelation 12 you must first start by correctly identifying the “sun” that she is wearing and the “moon” that she is standing upon. By correctly discovering the identity of the sun and the moon we can only then correctly identify the woman. The error that most people make is that they assume that the woman is Israel and then try to make the other symbols fit their erroneous assumed interpretation. But, I learned by the help of God that this is not the correct approach to take.
I mentioned Daniel and Revelation as being heavily symbolic books. But there are symbolic references in almost every book of the Bible. For example, Genesis contains heavy symbolism in the first three chapters of the book and I will briefly go into a few examples to help you to start to look for and recognize them. You see the first three chapters are largely all symbolic references with some real events and people mixed in among the symbols. There are 6 days of creation and the 7th day God rests. If you read your Bible carefully you will discover these 6 days are all symbolic. The division of waters from land is a symbolic event. The division of day from might is a symbolic event. The Sun that rules the day and the moon that rules the night are both symbolic references to spiritual truths. The mention of fruit and trees are strongly symbolic. The serpent in the garden is symbolic coded reference to a hidden spiritual being. The woman is symbolic; the seed of the woman is symbolic. The marriage of the first woman and the first man is also a symbolic event. I could go on and on, but I hope you get the message.
But, please do not misunderstand me. I’m not saying these symbols did not occur in Genesis. Adam is a real man. Eve is a real woman. Dividing the waters was a real event. On and on I could continue to go. What I am trying to say is that there are parallels of truth in almost every statement. One truth is a natural truth and the other truth is almost always a greater spiritual truth. Anyone can see the natural, but the spiritual truths are the messages that were hidden from our plain sight. Let’ look at a new example of this next.
Let’s look at another important Bible reference which describes a different type of symbolism. But this time it speaks of another usage of symbolism that is called “allegory”. Allegory is always a Bible story with two meanings. The first meaning of the story is the literal description of the subjects given. The second meaning of the story is a symbolic reference to a much greater spiritual truth. Notice what God said in the book of Galatians:
Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
You see from these verses God specifically shows us how he has used allegory in the story of Abraham to demonstrate a much larger spiritual truth. In these verses in Galatians 4, we are told that the story of Abraham having two sons is a story that contains an allegory. We are then told that the two women Sarah and Hagar represent two covenants. Sarah is called the freewoman, and Hagar the slave woman who is in bondage. Hagar represents the earthly Jerusalem and the Old Covenant wife of God. Therefore we know that Abraham represents God in this scenario. We are told that Sarah represents the heavenly Jerusalem who is called the spiritual mother of the church. There are certainly many other spiritual truths to learn from these verses, but I will not elaborate further in this blog. So an allegory is an extended metaphor in which actual people, places, objects, and actions in a story are equated to meanings and truths that lie outside of the realm of the story. In other words an allegory is a real story in which the people, places, and things represent spiritual concepts, individuals and moral qualities that we cannot see or perceive with our natural senses. We can see from this great example that God gives us a view of something that is of extraordinary value through an actual event and the people in a story that happened in human history without telling us this in the story.
You see there is absolutely nothing found in the book of Genesis that tells you the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar is a picture of God and his spiritual family, but when you read in Galatians 4 you discover that God has encoded this information within the story in a hidden format. Remember point 1 was widely dispersed truth and now point 2 is about symbolism and allegory. Therefore we can clearly see how God combined two different methods together to hide a greater spiritual truth. Do you understand these concepts?
This is a very important lesson key for correct Bible interpretation. These are very prevalent methods that God has created and used in concealing spiritual truths in the Bible. The story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar is not the only allegory in the Bible. It is however, the only one that God tells you about so that He can give you a clue into how He has hidden information for you to search and to find. God uses real historical true stories with real people and places to reveal some very powerful spiritual truths that have been hidden in the Bible for thousands of years. The book of Ruth is heavily allegorical information. The book of Genesis has significant amounts of allegorical information throughout it. The books of Exodus and Numbers are widely interspersed with allegorical content. I do not understand how God is able to do this; I just know that He did it. God obviously is not bound by time and He could see human history before it happens. To say that God caused it to happen this way would violate man’s right to choose and his right to freewill; so I do not believe that God manipulated people to get things to happen the way he wanted them to happen. But, that is my opinion.
Please understand the difference between symbolism and allegory. A symbol is a reference to something that you might understand, but it might not actually exist in the natural realm. For example, in Revelation a prevalent symbol of Satan is a dragon and I have never seen one of these in the world, but I understand what they are because of books, movies and cultures like those that are found in China where they parade a large dragon figure down the middle of the street. So a dragon is a fictional character representation of the real spiritual being called Satan using a coded name. An allegory is quite the opposite, because it is always a real Bible story where each character named in the story represents something else in the spiritual realm. An “allegory” is always real historical people and “symbols” can be either real or fictional representations for real spiritual things. They are both very similar while being totally different at the same time. They both convey a truth that is well hidden on the surface only reading that most people do when they read their Bible.
The usage of symbolic references is widespread and can be found in almost every book of the Bible. Especially the books that contain prophetic scriptures where the prophesies concern the coming future events, people, things or places. Of course practically every book of the Bible contains some prophetic verses and you should be aware of that also. Because of God’s usage of allegory where any story found can represent a greater future spiritual story you will have to read every story in the Bible with new ways of looking for how does this potentially fit into what is going to happen in the future.
You see there are scriptures in the Bible that declares “the thing that has been, is that which shall be and the things that were done is that which shall be done again” (Ecc 1:9). In other words God said history will repeat itself. What happened naturally in the Bible is that which will happen in the spirit realm. This kind of information causes you to look at things in the Bible with some totally new perspectives; if it does not do this then you are clearly spiritually blind. Surely you can see the importance of learning how God has hidden information in the Bible and I pray that you will benefit as I have from knowing this.
If you would like to continue reading this series, please continue with “Part 3“.
Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight – Understanding God’s Methods of Hiding Information in the Bible! Pt 1
The Introduction:
(Ver 1.5) This is Part 1 in a series of basic important Bible lessons that deals with the question “Why is the Bible so Hard to Understand?” Many of us have certainly discovered by reading and studying the Bible, that everything that is presented in the Bible, is not always clearly perceived or self evident. In other words, everything in the Bible is not easily understood using natural human reasoning or logic. I am personally convinced that the Bible contains many outstanding truths, even though the Body of Christ hasn’t been able up to this point, to agree on a lot of them. I can at least hope that you too can see and understand the challenge that we all face in studying the Bible. Based just upon the number of Christian denominations in the world you can see that God has chosen to conceal Himself not only from the people in the world, but He has also chosen to hide Himself in His Word to give the church, the opportunity to search for Him and to discover Him. By searching for the truth we come to know Him who is the Truth (John 14:6). We can conclude that God, if He wanted to remain a mystery forever and keep men in the dark all that He would have to do is to stay silent and not speak to us. But we can clearly see by the Bible alone that He has given to us, that He has not chosen to do that. Let’s briefly establish the fact that God has hidden information in the Bible.
Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
To make something known implies something was first hidden from plain view. To make God’s Words known implies that what we read in the Bible we need God’s help to understand. There is an implied unveiling process in this act. There is an intentional act of uncovering also implied. To “reveal” that which was hidden. The Bible is God’s Words written down by chosen men. These words are not encrypted in a modern coded system of unreadable text. Yet these words according to the Bible must be revealed in order to be understood.
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
In Ephesians we are told that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a mystery. Even Jesus confirmed this reality when he told the Jews to search the scriptures because these were words that testified about him (John 5:39). If they had to search to find Jesus it is very clear that Jesus was hidden in the words that were written in the O.T. As we have seen the Jews did not understand the scriptures and did not embrace the Gospel of Jesus. We can clearly see that while Paul and the other apostles used the Old Testament as the basis for their message, very few of the Jewish leadership understood it. So was it hidden from them only? Or did they just choose not to see it?
Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
In this letter to the church, God declares that which was being preached came as a result of a revelation being given. A revelation is a revealing of that which was hidden from plain view. It was written in their language, but they did not see it or perceive it. Why is that so important to understand?
Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Here is an Old Testament reference that describes the nature and character of God. This verse declares that it is to God’s glory to conceal or hide information. But in the same sentence it also declares that “kings” are intended to search it out? Who is the King of kings? Jesus is the King of kings. Who are these “kings” that Jesus is King of? Who are these kings that need to do this searching for this hidden information? I believe we are these “kings”. So I have given you several scriptures that all point you to hidden information in the Bible. There are certainly many other scriptures that I could have included and you can find them if you search.
There are a large number of reasons that I believe God has hidden information in the Bible. One reason is to conceal the information from His enemies. Another reason is to give man a choice in what they believe. Still another reason for hiding information is to allow God to reveal the information at the right time to the right people. There are certainly other reasons for God doing this, but as long as you see and understand that He has done it, you will at least be far ahead of a lot of other Christians in the world that do not understand this.
So knowing God has concealed spiritual truths within His Word, we should be smart enough to recognize some of the techniques that God has used to hide these truths. I call this concealing or hiding the truth in plain view. Every word in the Bible is clearly readable by anyone that picks the book up, but every word is also equally hard to understand because of the methods and techniques that God has selected to record His words in a book format. It is much like a game of hide and seek where everyone that you are looking for is out in the open in plain view, but many of them are wearing camouflage and have blended into their surroundings so that you don’t see them clearly. They are there right in front of you, yet you walk right by them. So it is with the Bible, just because we can see all of the words and read them, it is clear to me that we need to follow some very strict rules in order to understand what they say, correctly. Satan can read the same words that we can and he didn’t understand them and he is doing everything in his power to make sure that you don’t understand them either. If Satan would have understood what was written, he would not have crucified Jesus.
In reading Proverbs 25:2, it reveals to us one of God’s intentions and purposes for giving us the Bible. This verse specifically informs us that it is God’s Glory to conceal information. This Hebrew word translated as “conceal” means to keep secret, or to hide from plain view.. When you conceal something that means it is not clearly visible or self apparent. The US army often times camouflages themselves and their equipment to conceal them from or cause themselves not to be seen by the enemy. If a government in our world wanted to conceal information from their enemies they would have probably created a code or an encryption system that would in effect make the textual message unreadable to others. In this way the encoded message is only readable to the intended person to whom the message is sent using the decryption method and the key that would unlock the true meaning. While many have done crypto analysis of Old Testament scriptures and have seemed to have discovered encoded messages, I am not talking about this method of hiding information. While I do not discount these or attempt to preach against them in any way, this is not the information that is hidden in plain sight that I am talking about. Being a computer programmer I understand the complexity behind creating a readable textual message with embedded ELS coded messages. Without a very, very powerful computer it would be impossible to find them, much less try to create them. The Bible Codes are to me just an additional proof that God exists and He has written something for us, to us that only He could have done. To those who don’t believe in God, it is a sign that someday they will understand.
So what I want to do in this blog series, is to explore some of the primary ways that I have discovered how God has hidden Himself in plain view for us to find. By studying some of these methods we can use them to unlock more of the truth and to see and know Him better. So did God encode things in the Bible for us to discover? You might still not understand code concepts, and that is OK. I’m not here to teach you computer algorithms. What I want you to see is some general concepts and methods that God has implemented in the Bible to hide information and truth. By understanding these concepts we can then apply them to our Bible study and hopefully learn whatever God wants us to know before Jesus comes back for us very soon.
Earlier I mentioned a common trait of codes and encryption. This has to do with knowing the key that unlocks the code. The key is the electronic word, phrase, numbers, symbols, or combination of all of these that we use to unlock the encrypted information. That is what we are going to explore in this series of lessons. I want to show you some keys. By understanding the methods that God has used to hide information it will give us the keys that we need to unlock it and to understand it. Jesus makes this statement:
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
I know I pulled a part of a verse to make a point, but take this information and understand the concept given. Jesus tells us that there are keys to the kingdom of heaven. That implies there are hidden or locked things within the kingdom that are not readily available to all. What Jesus is doing is giving us a simple concept lesson and He is telling us that it is our responsibility to open the doors that these keys are associated with. You never hand someone a key, either a physical key that unlocks a lock or an electronic key to unlock a code and not expect them to use it. Are you grasping the concept? So let’s explore some of the key methods that God uses to hide information in the Bible.
Technique 1: Widely Dispersed Truths
One method that God uses frequently to hide truths in His Word, is to spread out the information so that a subject is not completely covered in any one location of the Bible. The Bible is a significantly large book with a lot of words and subjects within it. Finding specific related scriptures is not always as easy as you might think. By spreading the information out in a widely dispersed random pattern, it become exponentially more difficult to grasp the correct meaning of anything. Spreading out information in the Bible is just one of the many techniques that God has used to hide things for us to find. One advantage that we have today over previous generations, is the proliferation of computers within our society. By using a computer’s database indexing and search engine capabilities, we are blessed with a tool that makes it much easier to explore the Word of God and to find truths that are spread out over 783,137 words in the King James Bible. If you don’t study the Bible using a computer you should, it will help you tremendously once you get over the initial learning curve of using a computer to read and study the Bible. What we discover in our search is there are scriptures everywhere in the Bible that speak to, or comment directly on other passages in the Bible. In other words we have the commentary of the author, the Holy Spirit given to us on any given subject. God did not leave us in the dark, he just made it a little challenging to find. I also made mention that the commentary and related information may appear in any random order. Information can be given on any subject in any book of the Bible. This certainly is a very tricky method of hiding information.
Let’s take creation and the story of Adam and Eve. If you search the Bible you will soon discover that both Adam and Eve are referred to in other books of the Bible by name. These are God’s direct commentary on the Genesis story given to Moses. But by studying these verses we can gain a significant amount of insight into the original story. But of course that is not all the information, we would have to search for all of the subjects found in creation, like: man, woman, temptation, sin, serpent, gardens, fruit, seeds, trees, and all of the other subjects that are mentioned in the book. By omitting these facts from our study of the subject we are lacking vital clues to what God intended for us to understand. This example is just a simple sample of a much larger truth that God has spread out the information so that while it is in plain sight, it is not easily found, related or understood. This is one of the most important lessons from this blog that you should take away and learn to put into practice. Don’t read a single verse and attempt to say I understand that, without researching and looking for the related passages and God’s commentary on the subject.
Think with me and consider the hidden reference to the serpent in Genesis chapter 3. I have heard people say that this is not Satan while others say it is Satan. However, there is absolutely no way to know this by only reading this chapter of Genesis. If you read the Bible cover to cover, it would take you a long time to finally find the answer to who this serpent is. This infromation is not revealed until Revelation chapter 12. God finally sees fit to reveal the identity of the hidden serpent in the last book of the Bible. This is a clear example of a widely dispersed truth. Where God introduces you to a subject in the 3rd chapter of Genesis, but does not reveal the identity of the being until the 12th chapter of Revelation. I hope you are beginning to understand these tricky concepts that God has implemented in the Bible.
Widely dispersed truths are an essential part of finding the hidden information in the Bible. You see the Old Testament is a large set of books that Jesus told the Jews to search, for he said these are they that testify about Him (John 5:39). But if you read the Old Testament you will not find one chapter called the story of Jesus. While there are hundreds of prophetic verses of the coming messiah, not one said you will call his name “Jesus”. Yet if you have eyes that see, you can find Jesus on almost every page of the Old Testament in some form or reference. Some are more easily found than others, but none are in plain view and self apparent. The Bible is a complex tricky book written with complex and tricky techniques that record truths in a manner that is not easily recognizable. We have just touched on this subject in this blog and talked about one of these methods. By putting little pieces of information here and little pieces of information elsewhere in a large random order you can certainly understand that this would make it very challenging for us to find anything of value. This one technique alone would make the Bible very difficult to understand, but God has many other techniques of hiding information that we will get into later.
If you would like to continue reading this series, please go to Part 2.
Proverbs 1:22-23: I Will Make Known My Words Unto You!
(Ver 1.2) I will continue to talk about Unity and the Keys to Understanding today. Today I want to explore verses found in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs contains a lot of the Wisdom of God. It was written down by Solomon, the son of David the King and Bathsheba. God used Solomon to give us many valuable spiritual truths. I’ve heard several ministers recommend that we should read from the book of Proverbs on a daily basis to gain the wisdom of God. I believe, that by renewing your mind to God’s wisdom you will be able to make better choices and decisions in this life. Today I want to discuss the process that God uses to make His Word known to us. We will begin with the first chapter of Proverbs and verse 22:
Pro 1:22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Who are these simple ones that God is talking to in this verse? If you did not know that was you, you are already deceived into thinking too highly of yourself. People on the earth are the simple ones that God is talking to. It doesn’t matter how many degrees that you have or how many universities that you have attended, God calls you a simple one. According to God, people love simplicity. They want everything served up fast in a simple neat package to them. However, God is not a part of your simple box concept. You may want God to come down to your simple level and He might for awhile to help you. However, God wants you to come up higher and to see and understand the more complex subjects found in God’s Word. The implication given to us in the beginning of this verse is that God’s word is not simple. I have heard many try to make it simple and reduce it to a human level of intelligence, but they were mostly just confused in what they thought God said. There are many complex spiritual truths in the Bible and these are not always presented in simple terms using simple methods. However if you learn this fact, you can at least become aware of what to look for.
Proverbs 1:22 says that fools hate knowledge. I have seen a lot of fools in the world today. We are in fact raising a generation of fools. It has been rare for me to run across a young person that is truly hungry for the knowledge of God. There are just so many distractions in the world today. Television, movies, games, electronics, music, concerts, the internet, entertainment, sports and on and on I could go. It would appear that words on the pages of the Bible are the last thing that anyone would really want to spend time with these days. There are a huge number of distractions that keep young people’s mind off of anything that is productive or valuable. School is the last thing that most of them would call fun. But, God said fools hate knowledge. Knowledge involves learning, Learning involves hearing. Then when you throw in understanding on top of all of this, that is beyond the mindset of any modern teenager.
Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Here is a key to knowing and understanding God’s Word. It involves you doing something after God does something and then God doing something in response to what you have done to solve the problem. This is the way God works in most normal cases in the Bible. God offers man reproof or correction and people are required to “turn”. Notice that unless you turn, God will not do anything else. If you think He will, you would be wrong. So you knowing anything from God will involve you turning. To turn implies a correction in your course and action. It could be a new way to think about something. It definitely involves you changing. I believe this is a continual process within life. Since God rarely gives us very much information at one time, we may need to make many course corrections as we continue our walk with God.
Proverbs 1:23 ends with God making known His Word to us after we turn. The middle part of the verse says if we turn, then God will pour out His Spirit upon us. So we can clearly see and understand that in order to know God’s Word it will take the Spirit of God to reveal it to us. From these two verses in Proverbs I have learned several spiritual truths and I will list them again for you to see. Here is my TOP 10 List of THINGS I LEAREND FROM Proverbs 1:22-23:
- The Bible is NOT SIMPLE!
- The SIMPLE DO NOT Understand the BIBLE!
- FOOLS do not want to Learn the BIBLE!
- God offers ALL of US Reproof!
- We MUST Turn and make Changes in order to Learn!
- IF WE CHANGE, God WILL then Pour Out His Spirit Upon US!
- The BIBLE Contains HIDDEN and CONCEALED INFORMATION!
- God will MAKE Known these Secret Things to ceretain individuals that qualify.
- Only With God’s Help Will We KNOW and UNDERSTAND God’s WORD!
- Understanding the Word of God is CONDITIONAL!
I do hope that you can see and understand what these verses are telling us. In order for the Body of Christ to come into unity we will require God’s correction first. We WILL have to HEAR God’s correction. We will need to be OPEN to change. Then we will need to CHANGE. God will pour out His Spirit upon us and then we will all KNOW and UNDERSTAND the Word of GOD! It is not a long process, but it is a process none the less. People will need to put down their ego’s and become open to correction. Accepting reproof is not easy for anyone. Admitting you were wrong and changing will certainly be another challenge for others. What God is informing us in these verses is, that it is more up to us than it is up to God on how much we understand in the Bible. Understanding the Word of God is conditional. If you think UNDERSTANDING is automatic you will never achieve it. God is FAITHFUL, so He will do His Part, NOW YOU DO YOUR PART! God Bless!
Seeing they will not Perceive, Hearing they shall Not Understand!
(Ver 1.1) Why is it that there are so many varying opinions on what the Bible means? How can I see one thing in the Bible and you fail to see it? If we could somehow solve this dilemma we would all have to get into harmony and finally become one in Christ Jesus. Jesus prays this prayer to the Father concerning His bride and these are His words:
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Jesus informs us that He and the Father were one in the same. Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the Father (John 14:9). Jesus was claiming He was God. But now Jesus is praying and He makes a specific new request. He asks that all of those that are given to Him should also become one. Has this happened? Will it ever happen? Does Jesus get His prayers answered? That is some interesting things to consider. Looking around in the world today it certainly does not appear that the Body of Christ is one. What does it mean to you to be one? To me it means someone that is unified in purpose. The disciples after Jesus ascended were said to be in one accord while tarrying in the upper room in Jerusalem. I would have to say this is what Jesus was praying for, but what happened to this show of unity between believers? Is it just a problem of sheer numbers? Could 120 get into unity but 2 billion not do the same? Has God shrunk in size or ability? What does it mean to be in “one accord”? According to Strong’s this word means to be unanimous, to be of the same mind. Everyone doing the same thing for the same reasons and motivation. That so far does not resemble any of the church that I have seen in recent years. I have noticed some glimpses of partnerships and unity, but there certainly needs to more effort in unifying the Body.
So what is the main problem? Why does one denomination embrace speaking in tongues and one preach it is of the devil. Those kind of differences are clearly a huge issue to unification. One group of people see and perceive the truth and the other group chooses not to see it. What is the solution? Where do we start to amend? How can we resolve these differences? How can we become reconciled to become one bride who has made herself ready? I believe we can at least start by understanding the problem. By seeing what the Bible says the problem is we can hopefully avoid repeating a failing pattern. But of course even this involves seeing and understanding and therefore we are really back to the original problem. Unless God does something to help us overcome this problem we will not. But that was my opinion of the situation.
Here is a scripture from the book of Acts that describes the situation that they faced while teaching the truth of the God’s Word to the people in the nation of Israel. Paul tried to reach his own people, but encountered great resistance and opposition. Was what Paul was teaching the truth? Did it come directly from God? Was this the same God that gave these Jewish people their law? Was this the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? So why was this new message so easily dismissed as being false and not from God? It would appear that by studying their reaction and reasoning we might see some patterns that could be avoided in our daily routines. After all is God still the same today? Does God still teach or reveal anything new? So in the book of Acts Paul is speaking and says the following about the nation of Israel:
Act 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
You read these verses and it describes a people in a sad condition. These were people who had normal natural senses of sight and hearing, but they are described to be a people who were not using them to learn and understand. God is actually implying that we have a spiritual set of eyes and ears that need to be open and receptive. These people are described as their hearts being “waxed gross”. Here is the definition for this word in the Strong’s:
G3975
From a derivative of G4078 (meaning thick); to thicken, that is, (by implication) to fatten (figuratively stupefy or render callous): – wax gross.
It is a fascinating word that has a widely applicable association with the human spirit. It is really a symbolic reference given to us of a spiritual state that we are unable to see. To make thick or to fatten something implies a hardening process. If you think in modern medical terms and cholesterol and the ill effects that it has on the human body, then you can kind of see what this is referring to. The thickening of the arteries and blood vessels in the body with cholesterol causes the walls to become thick and eventually clogged. The results of this is a major physical problem and even death. Believe it or not this is describing a spiritual clogging and thickening process that will also result in another type of death. This word has a figurative meaning of being stupid or acting foolishly. That also applies to the spiritual realm and we all need desperately to learn this lesson. Finally another meaning of the word is to become callous. We can understand this term by looking at the process of creating natural calluses. By working with a specific tool for example long enough you repeatedly wear a specific surface of your skin. This worn area can develop blisters and eventually calluses so that the area is much less sensitive to feeling. This is another lesson to apply to spiritual principles. How can a spirit being become calloused against the truth?
Let’s analyze how people learn. The Bible tells us that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom 10:17). This verse is a simple lesson in learning. People hear what their teacher says and either accept it or reject it. By rejecting the truth you cause a spiritual callous to begin to form. Your heart becomes thicker in that area and the next time you hear the truth it is easier for you to reject it since you have less feeling in that area. People’s heart eventually can become so hard in areas that they have absolutely no feeling when presented the truth of God’s Word. This is why the Bible speaks of God taking out the “stony” heart and putting in a heart of “flesh” (Eze 11:19). People have allowed their spirits to harden against certain things and even the truth and as a result have become very difficult to reach.
So learning starts with hearing. What is hearing and how does it work? Can we hear anything? Jesus taught us that we must be careful what we hear (Mark 4:24). Then Jesus told us to take heed how you hear (Luke 8:18). Jesus is saying there are two factors to consider about what we listen to. God says it matters what we hear and how we hear it. In other words don’t listen to every teaching from every religion and think that you are helping yourself to grow spiritually. All you end up doing is confusing your spirit, clouding your mind and deceiving yourself. No, hearing starts with listening to the Word of God and to those teachers anointed to teach it. If you can’t tell who those are then just study and read the Bible.
Learning starts with hearing or reading out loud to yourself. But there is certainly more to learning the Bible than just reading or hearing. The only part of the Bible that is going to do you any good is the part that you come to “know”. To “know” in the Bible is an important word that means an intimate relationship with. In the Old Testament it is often times used as “Adam knew his wife and they had a son”. You can see that to “know” a subject implies a deep understanding of it. The verse in Acts tells us that if the people would have heard and they would have understood what was being said in their “heart” or “spirit”, then they would have been converted and God could have saved them. However, since they closed their own eyes and refused to see, they were cut off. So understanding the Bible is the next key element to being saved. I believe this is the next key to unity also. If we can gain understanding from God we will be of one mind and then we will have a singleness of purpose.
Pro 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
We are commanded to get wisdom and understanding from God’s Word. God’s Word contains all of the knowledge that we need to live. Wisdom and Understanding are two benefits of knowing God’s Word intimately. If you asked me why do I need to study the Bible, this would be my answer, “to get wisdom and understanding”. We have too many people on the internet that have neither of these qualities, yet they cloud our network with words of confusion. By introducing you to their opinions and personal interpretations to God’s Word they cause more harm than they do any good. This is what we are faced with, this is what we are challenged to do. We are commanded to get wisdom and understanding, so if a website or a blog is not helping you to achieve either of these goals I would recommend that you not waste your time in reading them. May God give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. May your eyes be able to see and perceive the deep spiritual things of God. May your ears hear from the Spirit of God so that you can clearly understand. May you understand with your heart and be converted and be healed.
Genesis 12: Was Abraham A Liar? Seeing the Truth in Genesis!
(Ver 1.3) Today is a subject that contains some very deep water concepts. As you can see from my diagram in this post, these are warning signs concerning water hazards. So please be advised that this is an advanced Bible study lesson with some new concepts that forces you to get into things that may be over your head. So many times I have heard ministers in the pulpit accuse Abraham of being a liar because of one story in the book of Genesis that they clearly misunderstood. In this story, we find that Abraham is faced with what he perceives as a threatening situation and he makes a decision that many have thought was a lie. But, what we have is an example of how preachers can take a part of a story and try to make it the whole story and as a result they have jumped to some erroneous conclusions and an incorrect interpretation of the Bible. I do not attack these preachers personally, I just attack their ignorance. Truth will always prevail if you want to see it. We will pick up with the story of Abraham starting in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 11:
Gen 12:11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
We can see in this verse that Abraham is traveling about and he comes near the country of Egypt. Abram begins to speak to his wife and this is where it starts to get good. Abram tells his wife Sarai that she is very beautiful and this must have been the truth. No one that I know of has ever questioned the beauty of Sarai his wife.
Gen 12:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Abram begins to speculate and imagine some very negative things as he approaches Egypt. Egypt is a type of the world, if you did not know that, keep that in mind as you read accounts in the Old Testament about Egypt. We can see that Abram’s fear is that the men of this country will see how beautiful his wife was and kill him in order to take her to be theirs. So Abram was very concerned about his own personal well being and safety and did not think much beyond that, it appears. So Abram comes up with a plan or so the ministers said, he lies about who his wife was.
Gen 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
We can see that Abram asks his wife to tell everyone that she is his sister and not to mention that they are married. Abram thinks that he will be spared and be safe if anyone in Egypt wants his wife Sarai. So this was Abram’s plan, a plan or work of some sort of alleged deception to save himself from being killed, or was it? You see if you only read these verses and come up with a sermon based upon this limited information you would probably conclude that Abraham was a liar. That he out of fear chose to purposely lie to a group of people because he was afraid of being killed. This would in affect make Abram a type of Satan, the deceiver. I just can’t go along with that picture because it doesn’t fit his character. Nowhere in the Bible that I know of is Abram ever called a liar. So if God does not call Abram a liar, I do not feel it is right that a preacher should call him a liar. So we have to come up with another explanation or interpretation of the verses or at least some more information that helps us to understand what the real truth is about Abram and Sarai. So we continue to read the book of Genesis and we read chapter after chapter and finally come to the answer later in Genesis 20. During these chapters and this time period, Abram and Sarai have a lot happen to them. God changes their names. Abraham enters into a covenant with God. But, it seems that Abraham repeats the same plan when he comes to another country called Gerar, ruled by Abimelech the king of Gerar. We can see that Abraham didn’t learn very much from his Egypt experience and he repeats the same plan.
Gen 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
So Abimelech believed what Abraham said, that she is my sister and he takes Sarah to be one of his wives. God again saves the day and keeps the king from doing anything to Sarah with a dream.
Gen 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
Apparently God frowns upon one man taking another man’s wife. I guess that is putting it very lightly since God told Abimelech that he was a dead man. Apparently God thinks it is very serious to take another man’s wife. That would be a very strong lesson for many Christians to learn, I don’t think God has changed his mind any time in the last 6000 years. So as we continue down the chapter we discover that Abraham gets his wife back and he is not killed. God saves the day again and preserves the linage of Christ. But did Abraham lie? We still haven’t resolved the situation or the circumstances that he was faced with. I believe the answer to the question and the solution to the problem is finally solved by reading Genesis 20:12:
Gen 20:12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
You see from this verse the solution to the problem that Abraham never lied. Abraham did marry his sister. However, she was a half-sister, the daughter of his father, but not the daughter of his mother. Abraham had a different mother than Sarah, but she is still called his sister, legally and truthfully. Abraham could call her, his sister and omit the wife part and still not be called a liar. If you omit part of the truth and only tell a different part that is true, what would you call that? I call it being very tricky. I do not defend what Abraham did at any time. It seems if it was not for God saving the day that Sarah would have ended up in someone’s harem. God is faithful though to save them both.
I had one reader write me a comment that Abram was guilty of the sin of omission. In other words by not telling all of the truth he committed a sin. I thought that was an interesting misinterpretation of the Bible again so I spent time studying the subject in more depth. I looked for any scripture that said withholding information was a sin and I could not find any. Then I went and studied the subject of deception and I learned some new things found in the Bible that are very profound. While Satan is called a deceiver, the Bible does not indicate that every deception is a sin. I could give you more examples found in the Bible, but I wrote a blog on this subject and you should go and read that to find out more about the subject of “Righteous Deception“.
We can really learn a whole bunch from this story of Abraham if we look for it. I will not go into all of it, but I will tell you that Abraham is a type of Christ a picture of Jesus the man born of the natural woman Mary. God is both the spiritual and physical father of Jesus Christ. Mary is Jesus’ natural mother in the flesh. The church is called the spiritual children of the “heavenly Jerusalem” in Galatians 4. We can see that if there is a spiritual mother there also has to be a spiritual father in order to have spiritual children. So the picture of Abraham as being a type of Christ with the same father of his wife Sarah, but with different mothers, actually fits the pattern given to us of Christ and the church. The Bible is full of little complex imbedded hidden truths like this. If you understand how to look for them you can learn a lot. In another blog I told you that Jesus married his sister. I told you that Solomon was also a type of Jesus and that 3 or 4 times in the book of Songs that Solomon calls his lover bride to be his sister. Interesting isn’t it? Why are things like this written in the Bible for us to figure out? So I’ll end this blog with a picture diagram of Abraham’s family and hopefully you will that this is a pattern of another family that I will talk about in the future:
The Bride of Christ Revealed – Part 11 The New Jerusalem
(Ver 1.2) This is now Part 11 in the series of advanced Bible lessons on the subject of the Bride of Christ Revealed. In my last lesson in this series we came full circle back to the New Jerusalem and today I want to address this bride city in more depth. This will probably be the last lesson in this series on this subject for now. Today’s lesson will cover the city of New Jerusalem mentioned in Revelation 21 as the Bride of the Lamb and how she is representative of the church. This city has long been a point of controversy since she is described symblically and these symbols can potentally be interpreted to mean many things. However if we use the Bible to interpret the Bible we will only come up with one true identity that she can be. We have really covered a tremendous amount of new information found in the Bible in this series. If you have not read the first 10 parts of this series I would strongly recommend that you go back and start reading with Part 1.
I have already given you a lot of scriptures and references that the woman in Revelation 21 appears to represent the church. But we have certainly not exhausted the scriptures on this subject and probably would not be able to if we tried. The Bible is much more complex than what people see on the surface of the text. So let’s go through some more of the scriptures in this blog and see if we can find other confirming verses of the identity of the New Jerusalem.
Let’s look at some other scripture that I’ve heard does reflect the identity of the bride. In fact it is almost impossible to ignore since it directly reflects this title.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
It is very interesting to note that God finds it necessary to create a new heaven and a new earth. There is an implied problem with the old heaven and the old earth. Why buy a new car if your old car is still in great shape and useful. Why create a new family or a new covenant if the old is in such good relations. There lies the problem that God had and the solution that He has implemented with the establishment of a new heaven and new earth. If is also noteworthy that this verse says the “first” and not just the “old”. That actually tells us there were none others before this first heaven and earth. But yet it does tells us that there will be a second.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
I can’t emphasis enough the reality that this city is called the wife of the Lamb. We already have a good understanding of who the Lamb is, but many may still be struggling to figure out the identity of the city called New Jerusalem. So let’s look at some other verses in this chapter that describe this city:
Rev 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Revelation gives us significant additional information that I think we should take a look at now in some depth. If the church is the bride and Jesus is the bridegroom, then God is also calling the church the “new Jerusalem” the new covenant city of God. I’ve heard some say that here in these scriptures it proves that the “new Jerusalem” is the bride and not the church. If this is true this doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’ll put it to you this way why couldn’t the church be both? In fact if you look at scriptures accurately I believe you will find out that the church is both. Someone said that we are the body of Christ and therefore, if Christ has a bride we have a bride. You know based upon scripture that I’ve shown you that this is not true. We have been called the body of Christ, but we are never called the Lamb. I don’t know of any scripture that says we are the Lamb of God and here in Revelation Jesus is referred to as the Lamb more than once. I’ve given several scriptures that demonstrate how the church became the body of Christ and that was clearly by a marriage covenant. So we have already established that the church is the bride of Christ, but now we need to further confirm that the church is also the New Jerusalem.
In Biblical days a city was usually a walled dwelling place where all the human people of a common nation lived. The reason for building a wall was for safety to keep enemies from stealing from them and killing them. This city is said to have 4 walls as if a square or a rectangular structure. Each of the 4 walls has 3 gates. Each Gate has an angel. It still appears that God is guarding the way in an out of this city. But all of these can also be taken symbolically. If we are talking about a symbolic city with symbolic gates, symbolic walls and symbolic foundations we really have a lot more to learn. I believe we make a mistake if we think of this spiritual city in terms that it is a physical place.
We have already discussed that a city represents a covenant and is referred to as a woman. The covenant is not with the city however, it is with the inhabitants or residents of the city. I could give you several good scriptures, but I’ll choose one that I liked and one that stood out to me. Let’s review the Word of God in Isaiah:
Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
Isa 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
These scriptures are an amazing parallel to the description of the city found in Revelation 21 called the New Jerusalem. We see the mention of many of the key qualities of a large city with stones, foundations, windows, gates and borders. We also see the mention of key stone types meaning they are valuable, precious and rare. These key elements describe a city for sure in verses 11 and 12 of Isaiah 54. However, did you notice the reference found in verse 13? It speaks of this city as a woman with children. Isn’t that an interesting commentary. I tell you when you see what the Bible is describing as a woman you begin to see a lot more clearly the things that are symbolized in the Word of God. We again see in Isaiah that a city represents a woman and not just any woman in our case it is called the bride of the Lamb in Revelation 21:9. A woman has children and that is one of the primary reasons for marriage.
There are so many good things within these scriptures in Revelations, but I saw a definite significance of the number 12 mentioned, did you notice that too? It is not an accident that there were 12 tribes in the nation of Israel for this was a type and a shadow of the spiritual Israel to come. It is no accident that Jesus choose 12 Apostles and the book of Revelations informs us that their names are written on the 12 foundations of this new city Jerusalem. If the names of the 12 apostles are written on the foundation doesn’t that describe the church? Who started the church if it wasn’t Jesus breathing on the apostles (John 20:22) I don’t know who it was. We also see the reference of 12 angels and of the 12 tribes of Israel so the new Jerusalem is comprised I believe of, at the least a part of all three of these groups. So if we get right down to it, I don’t think that the Gentile Church is the entire city, only a big part of it. Hopefully you will understand this more as the Word of God is revealed further. Let’s look at just one part of this new city and see the part that the church plays. Once you finally realize that this woman represents a covenant marriage relationship, then you can easily associate the role of the church to this woman.
Here is a good time to remind you of what we read earlier when God said my wife “Jerusalem” committed adultery (Ezekiel 16:32). Who did God call his female wife? The earthly city Jerusalem was referred to as “her”. This physical city is in no doubt a foreshadowing of the new Jerusalem the spiritual city that we just read about. The reference to a city is the a reference to the people within the city who were in covenant with God, Yes? The people living in the earthly city Jerusalem were in covenant and married to God. God calls all of these people by a name of Jerusalem and says she is my wife. This was the Old Covenant people or the earthly nation of Israel. So, who is in the New Covenant with Jesus Christ? It is those people in covenant or marriage with Jesus that are the residents of this new Jerusalem. The distinct parallels between these two cities are very numerous and cannot be ignored, unless you just want to remain ignorant.
Do you remember in the Old Testament the life of David the king of natural Israel? In the book of Acts David is called a type of God. If you understand the significance of Biblical Typology these Old Testament stories have meaning for us in the church today. The Bible in Acts 13:22 says that David was a man after God’s own heart. David had it in his heart to build a temple in Jerusalem, but God said it was not for him to do, but for his son Solomon (1 Kings 8:17-19). Solomon represents a type of Christ as I said before and he was the builder of the physical Temple of God in Jerusalem. But Christ Jesus was the builder of a spiritual house for God. Natural types are only God’s patterns or foreshadows of that which was to come. Jesus today is the builder of a new spiritual temple and we can prove this by reading the New Testament:
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.
Here is a most significant scripture with great revelation. The implied reference is that of a building. But buildings are many times built within cities. It says God will live in them and walk in them. That sounds like a really big house or a city to me. If you live in Dallas Texas, and wanted to go for a walk, where would you be walking? But this is not a physical building or temple, for God in the same context speaks of this temple in the terms of people. In other words the temple is built with people. People are the spiritual building blocks that make up this structure. Do you understand that concept?
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Here is another scripture that says we are the dwelling place of the living God right here and right now. There is a clear implication of a building or a house or even a city within both of these verses. After all what does it mean to “dwell”? When it says God dwells in us what does that mean to you? If I said I dwell in Dallas Texas what does that mean? It specifies the location of my home. If I said I dwell in a big white house on Jones Rd. What does that tell you? It describes a building or house that I live in and helps give you the location of that house. I don’t know how we can be the bride and the temple and the city and the body of Christ and all of these things at the same time, but I believe we are.
What is a temple? A temple is a building or a structure that is created to be inhabited or occupied by someone. Modern temples are called places of worship many times. However, the original temple was put together by Moses according to God’s instructions and made out of tents. A tent represents a temporary dwelling place. It was not until Solomon, that the permanent dwelling place was built in the earthly Jerusalem. Both of these are representative of what the church is experiencing now and foretells that which is to come. Look at these scriptures:
2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
2Pe 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
This is a very interesting pair of scriptures and I believe they give us some light on the subject of the temple of God. These scriptures say that Peter was dwelling in a tabernacle. This is not talking about a physical house or a building made by the hands of man. In fact he is not talking about any kind of physical building at all with walls, doors and windows. No, it is speaking of his body that he and God dwells in. God has showed him that he was soon to die and leave his body and go and be with the Lord. The tabernacle represents a temporary dwelling place. The Greek word translated “tabernacle” comes from another root word that contains the meaning of a “tent”. A tent represents a temporary dwelling place and we know that if Jesus doesn’t come we will all die. However, when we are raised from the dead and given a new glorified body then we will have a permanent dwelling place for God.
2Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Co 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
2Co 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2Co 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
These are very powerful scriptures and teach us many of the things that I’ve been attempting to convey. They speak of our current mortal bodies as a temporary home and even calls them an earthly tabernacle or tent. What is an earthly tabernacle? It has to be a tabernacle made of earth or dust as it says in Genesis that God formed the body of man from the dust of the ground. But it also gives us the hope of a new house that was not built with man’s hands, but it will come from God and will be immortal. So we see a pattern from the Old Testament where Moses established a temporary tabernacle for God made of tents. Then came Solomon and he built the permanent tabernacle. These are types and shadows of what Jesus has done and is doing.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
These are some of the most interesting scripture references comparing the church to a symbolic building and they say that we (the church) are ALLL the habitation of God. Notice first in chapter 2 verse 19 God is referring to the church as being fellow citizens with the rest of the saints. A citizen is a resident of a city. Which city are we now citizens of? Isn’t that very relevant to what we are talking about in Revelation? God then implies that this city is where we were once on the outside of the walls being called strangers and foreigners but, we have now become a residential part of this implied city of God. Then notice all of the symbolic architectural terms and references in these verses. There is a clear reference to the act of constructing a building. Also notice in verse 20 the reference to the symbolic foundation of the 12 Apostles and prophets. Doesn’t that sound familiar? What about the description of the city in Revelations coming down from Heaven? It also had a foundation of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb. This is no accident, but demonstrates a confirmation of the relationship of the church to the city New Jerusalem. Going back to verse 19 you see the connection to the household of God and the spiritual building that God is putting together. These verses also further imply the members of the church are symbolic building blocks in this construction being joined together laid upon the foundation. These are amazing verses to remember for our study of the New Jerusalem. Let’s review an earlier concept and remember what God said in 1 Corinthians using new light:
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Don’t you know that you are the temple of God? What does that now mean to you? That means to me that each and every one that is born again represents a living stone in a new temple dwelling place for the True Living God. I know the natural earthly Jerusalem contained the temple of God as one of its key components. So at the minimum the temple of God is within the new Jerusalem and to say it is not the entire city would be difficult in my perspective. So if we are this new temple then we are at minimum a major or significant part of the new Jerusalem referred to in Revelation.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
I included these scriptures as a contrast to what I was talking about previously. For they contain more building and architectural terms, but the reference is given in much different context. We see a foundation which is clearly Jesus Christ. Then there are references to other builders that continue to reveal the word of God. So does these scriptures contradict the others or complement them to give a different perspective or view. I say they only complement. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort showing multiple scriptures that at the minimum shows the church is a significant part of the new Jerusalem, if not the entire city. I don’t feel like I’ve exhausted the subject but I feel I’ve given enough scriptural evidence to justify the claim. So now I want to stir up a different point of view and look at some other scripture that seems to indicate to me that the church is this woman mentioned in Revelation 21.
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Verse 26 in Ephesians 5 specifically mentions the church as the bride and says she has been made clean by Christ. In verse 27 we see another inference of marriage in direct relationship to the church with the word “present” her. Present in the Greek means to stand beside. So if the church was only the body of Christ then there would be a direct contradiction, because how can a man stand beside himself? In a marriage ceremony usually the bride is standing beside the groom when taking the vows. Finally in verse 27 there is a reference to the church not having spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. I know that is speaking of God’s righteousness that was bestowed or given to the church and not something that we earned or achieved on our own. But did you notice a distinct parallel to another verse in Revelation 19 where it speaks about the bride in this regard:
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
This is a most interesting choice of words. It speaks of a cleansing process that has taken place. You might could infer a washing. Fine linen infers a garment that is spotless without stains, imperfections, rips or holes. Isn’t this what Ephesians was saying also? Also notice that it says in the last part of verse 8, the righteousness of the saints, not the righteousness of God. I fully understand it is God’s righteousness I’m just making a point. The word “saints” is used in other places in direct reference to the church. Look how God addresses His people in Rome:
Rom 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think the similarities and parallels between the scriptures in Revelation describing the bride as a city to other scriptures that are written directly to the church in the epistles are so amazingly related that they complement each other. They simply give a different perspective of the same thing. God simply uses symbolism that we can grasp hold of and shows us some natural things to help us to understand these spiritual realities. In this verse in Romans 1:7 that is written to the church, we are called saints of God. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard anyone besides the church ever referred to as saints. Have you? Then I noticed something very interesting in this verse, God calls the church “His beloved”. I don’t know if you noticed this or not, but this is a term used some 27 times in the Song of Solomon. The beloved is often times used in conjunction with a direct reference to his bride. Is this a coincidence or a clue to God’s purpose and plan? I believe it is a valuable clue to see. The church is this beloved, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”. To love someone that much to give yourself for them is an incredibly unselfish act.
Before I end the discussion in this blog, let me show a verse of scripture that has tremendous significance to the identity of the “Lamb’s Wife”. As you read this verse notice that Jesus is speaking and who Jesus is speaking to. I believe you will see Jesus is talking to the church:
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
I don’t know how you can read this verse and not see clearly that Jesus is speaking to the church. Jesus is telling the church some very specific things. These specific details confirm in other words what we read in Revelation 19 and 21 about the New Jerusalem. Again the city is referred to as the city of God and it comes from above. But the name of this city will be written on or given to them that have overcome. Who is it that has overcome? What city name was it that was to be written on them? Of course Jesus says that to those who overcome, He will write the name of the New Jerusalem upon them. Jesus also said these same people will be living stones or pillars in the temple of God. This confirms that the spiritual temple of God and the spiritual city New Jerusalem are one in the same thing. These are totally complementary views of the exact same spiritual structure. If you can see it you will understand some very powerful spiritual truths. Then there is the whole name changing operation that takes place at a marriage between a husband and the wife. The wife traditionally always takes the name of the husband and isn’t this what this verse is saying? The church is taking the name “New Jerusalem” and becoming the wife of the Lamb. This is all New Covenant language and spiritual truths that have been overlooked by many. I hope you have enjoyed this lesson the identity of bride of Christ. I know I did not cover everything that I could have, but hopefully I gave you some new things to think about and study.
Who Sinned This Man or His Parents? John 9 Part 3 Understanding the Spiritual Heart of Man!
(Ver 1.2) This is now Part 3 in this Bible series on understanding the subjects of Night and Day and the spiritual heart of man and this will be different than anything that you have ever heard before. If you have not read from the beginning of this series I would suggest that you go back and start with “Part 1“. Today’s lesson wa a revelation that God taught me almost 20 years ago, when I was working for a small software company. I had a co-worker that had graduated from a large seminary and he was a very confused individual. For someone who could quote a large part of the Bible, he understood practically none of it. He even studied the Hebrew and the Greek and still knew nothing of who God was or what He said in His Word. He was a prime example of a man with two good eyes that could read but who couldn’t see what the words meant. God and I tried to help him and teach him the truth, but he did not want to see it. It is funny how God does things, especially for people who trust in their own ability or their own wisdom. God will most of the time send some lowly nobody that does not fit the pattern that they esteem or hold as valuable. You can recognize this was the same problem that the Jewish leadership had when Jesus walked among them. Most of them looked down on Jesus as a nobody man from Nazareth and he certainly did not fit their inner circle of self appointed importance. So what did they do? They crucified their God and their creator. They did not recognize the one that gave them their Holy Book of the law. Even though this book contained so many verses that pointed them to Jesus, they did not see it. I hope you are not like any of them. Look for foolish things sometimes as a source for the greatest wisdom and you will more than likely see it is from God.
So today I am going to talk about spiritual blindness from a familiar story found in the Bible in John chapter 9. In this story Jesus is said to heal a physically blind man. My seminary co-worker told me that this chapter proves that God causes some people to be sick, so that Jesus could heal them. That was a very confused interpretation and from what God showed me a clear misunderstanding of what this chapter was about. People read and see what they want to see. The seminary graduate was looking for verses that proved God caused some people to be sick for His glorious purpose. It was very sad to see people treat God with such disrespect. According to him, God would do something so perverted and illegal in the eyes of our court system that if tried, He would have to be found guilty and thrown into jail as a child abuser. Let’s start reading this story starting with verse 2:
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
In this verse the disciples asked Jesus a difficult question. It is apparent that the disciples believed that sickness came as a result of someone’s sin so they asked Jesus as they passed by a blind man, who sinned? This man or his parents to cause him to be born blind? So here is the answer that Jesus gives to their question:
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Here is where you need to start to pay attention to what is said very closely, for Jesus does answer their question, but not the question that they had in their mind. Jesus told them “Neither this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him”. You may recall that the Bible says in Roman 3:23 that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God, so we know Jesus is not saying these people never sinned. You see Jesus answered the question that He heard in His mind and not the question that come from their minds. Do you understand the difference? If you do you are doing better than most. The answer was from God’s perspective on the situation. God’s perspective is always a spiritual perspective first and foremost. This is an extremely valuable lesson in correct Bible interpretation. God tells us in His Word, “My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways” (Isa 55:8). So Jesus, who was God in the flesh was not thinking naturally like they were. The disciples were seeing a naturally blind man and asking a question about what caused his physical blindness. But, Jesus was looking at the man’s heart and what caused his spiritual blindness. The disciples asked a natural question and Jesus gives a spiritual answer. My co-worker from the seminary never saw it either. Jesus told the disciples that his spiritual blindness was not caused by anyone’s sin and then starts talking about working the works of God. Verse 3 is where the seminary graduate said it proved that God made him blind so that Jesus could work and heal him. But, look at what else Jesus teaches us as he continues to answer their question. Notice Jesus did not stop talking, but says the following:
Joh 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Jesus starts by talking about working God’s work and we will look at that in a second. But, you see in this verse Jesus starts talking about the spiritual day and night. This is not the natural day and night that Jesus is talking about. If you start to realize that Jesus is speaking symbolically of the spiritual day and night then you will begin to understand the rest of this chapter. Again in this verse Jesus mentions the “work of God”. Automatically preachers and readers (as well as the disciples of Jesus) think naturally and see the work of God as being a physical healing. But, let’s continue to the next verse and the final statement in the answer to the question of who sinned?
Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
This statement is an incredibly informative verse that is a combination of natural and spiritual things. You see Jesus was in the natural physical world. God made manifest in the flesh. But, then he says “I am the light of the world”. Did Jesus tell the disciples that he was our Sun that lights our natural day? Or did Jesus continue to show them a spiritual truth. I believe Jesus was speaking that He was the spiritual Sun light of the world. This is exactly why the Bible is so tricky to correctly interpret. We have a verse that combines natural things and spiritual things and we are given the assignment to figure it out. This is an example of rightly dividing God’s Word. Thank God, He helps us.
If you continue reading in the next few verses in the chapter you see that Jesus spits and makes mud from the ground and then rubs it in the blind man’s eyes. Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam and the man did and it says that the man came back seeing. So was that all of the story? Is that where the story ended? Of course it is not and that is the problem with trying to take one Bible verse and trying to say God made him blind so that Jesus could heal him. People need to do a much better job of studying and seeing what the Bible says. According to a lot of preachers I heard this is where the story should end. They were focused in on Jesus healing the natural man’s blindness and did not see the rest of the story. What if Jesus healed the man physically and 35 years later the man dies and goes to hell? Would Jesus have been pleased with giving this man sight for 35 years and him still going to hell for an eternity. No you see Jesus was focused in on people’s spiritual blindness. Jesus cared more about the man’s spiritual eyesight than He did about healing the man’s physical blindness.
So what was the work of God that Jesus was interested in doing? Was it healing the people’s physical bodies or was that just an introduction to help them to see who they were dealing with. Jesus gives us a definition for the work of God in this same book of the Bible. So instead of making a wrong assumption by thinking we know what the work of God was that Jesus was here to accomplish, let’s go find out what God said about why He was here. If you can find it, this will be an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle. In order to correctly interpret the Bible you must get God’s definitions for every subject. Let’s go and find that definition and see what Jesus said was the work of God that He came to do:
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
You see the disciples ask Jesus another question and this time they want to know how to work the works that Jesus was here to do. Jesus is about to give us the definition for the work of God in his answer and it is not the answer that most are expecting to hear:
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Here is God’s definition for work and it is not healing people physically. Jesus tells his disciples that the work of God that He was here to do was to get people to believe in the one that God had sent. This of course was Jesus speaking of Himself. Learning this truth alone changes your perspective on the entire story of the blind man in John 9. Once you see that Jesus only heals the man physically to get him to see spiritually you can begin to see the true meaning of the chapter. Now we know what to look for. We also can begin to understand how Jesus did what he did and why. Jesus said that the Work of God was to get men to believe in the One that God sent. So why didn’t Jesus just open the eyes of the blind man and ask him if he believed? You see the man would not have had any opportunity to believe anything. Jesus spit and made mud and rubbed it into his eyes to get his attention. When Jesus told the man to go and wash. The man had an opportunity to say “what are you crazy, I’m not going to waste my time”. The man obviously believed something by traveling to the pool of Siloam. The pool was not that close and the walk to the pool would present many opportunities for the man to question what he was doing. If he would have doubted and not gone to the pool he would have never been healed. The blind man had exhibited some level of faith by just obeying Jesus’ instructions. That is believing in something that you haven’t seen yet.
Let’s quickly review spiritual blindness. We know from the New Testament that Satan is the source for spiritual blindness.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
You see in this verse God tells us that Satan who is called the god of this world has blinded the minds of everyone that refuses to believe on Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is again called a light in this verse that will shine into the hearts of men who let him in. But, we can see that is why Jesus could answer in John 9 that neither this man sinned or his parents to cause the man’s spiritual blindness. It was Satan that caused the man not to see spiritually. Jesus was answering their natural question with a spiritual answer.
So what happens in this story of the man that was born blind? How does it end? The blind man goes and washes in the pool and comes back seeing. Everyone is amazed and there arises a great debate of the religious minds and leaders of the day. They question the man repeatedly and bring in his parents and question them. They have tremendous curiosity of what happened and they are focused in on the fact that Jesus did all of this on the Sabbath. They call Jesus a sinner for working on the Sabbath and not keeping God’s law. If they only could see who they were talking about. Well the conversation and questions continue for many verses and they eventually end up with them casting the formerly blind man out of their church. I guess it was technically a synagogue, but I just wanted to get your attention. What did Jesus do immediately after all of this? You notice Jesus did not show up to defend the blind man or to testify to the religious zealots. Jesus in effect knew they were not reachable and he did nothing to defend himself either. Jesus finds the formerly blind man and asks him this question:
Joh 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Did you see what Jesus was interested in? Jesus didn’t ask him about how do you like seeing the world. No, Jesus said “Do you believe in the Son of God?” Jesus is dealing with his spiritual blindness and solving the problem of the man’s eternal destiny. We can finally see the real work of God being performed. Jesus was interested in getting the man to believe that He was sent from God. The man immediately asks who is this Son of God that I might believe and Jesus tells him it is the one that you are looking at right now and talking with. So the man says “Yes Lord I believe” and worships him. This was a man whose spiritual eyes were opened to know the One True Living God of Creation. His eternal destiny is established and I plan on seeing him in heaven some day.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were spiritually blind, but Jesus couldn’t help them to see. Real seeing is an act of the human spirit. Believing in someone that you have only heard about and have never seen. This is God talking to you right now. Do you believe? I’m not God, but He is using me right now to say something to you. Believe in Him!
Luk 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Choose to be a believer!
Night and Day Defined! Understanding the Spiritual Heart of Man! Part 2
(Ver 1.2) This is a series of lessons on a basic spiritual truth that reveals the hidden conditions of the hearts of men and women in the world. God reveals this spiritual truth using the things created and found in the natural universe. These natural things are clearly symbolic and represent a far greater spiritual truth. I am convinced that this is an essential basic truth that every Christian should become intimately familiar with. This is now part 2 of the series and I would suggest that if you have not read from the start that you go back and start with Part 1.
There is a real man or a real woman inside of the physical bodies of every person on the earth. These real people are spirit beings that will live forever somewhere after their body dies. However, most people in the world today don’t know about this fact and are oblivious to this stated reality found in the Bible. The Bible often times speaks of these spiritual individuals in the hidden terms of the “heart”. The “heart” of a man is the spirit of the man. God is not talking about the physical blood pumping organ, God is talking about the center of your being, as in the heart of an apple or the heart of a tree. The “heart” term used by God is a figurative Bible term and describes the center of a human. This center of your being is the real you that you can not see. When a physical body dies, the person’s spirit is immediately transported to one of two possible places. One place is very good location called heaven and the other one is a very bad location called hell. The spiritual things are the real eternal things, the natural things are the temporary things (2 Cor 4:18). God has designed a system in the world that limits humans to a three dimensional realm with specific time constraints. All of these constraints represents natural boundaries and laws. When your body dies, you leave the natural realm you enter into the spiritual realm and you normally never come back (2 Cor 5:8). I have heard of a few people dying and going into the spiritual realm and then they are revived or come back to life in their physical bodies, but I would not put all my eggs in this basket hoping that is what will happen to you. Many times these people can see in both realms simultaneously. These people can see the hospital room, the doctors, the nurses, their family and their body but usually they are above all of this looking down on it all. These people are either sent back by God or God has allowed them to see and experience this in order to tell others that there is more to life than these few years we have on the earth. So this was a brief explanation of the spiritual realm.
In my last blog I introduced you to a number of scriptures that reveal the hearts of people to be either in darkness or in the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Darkness and Light are symbolic references and are synonymous terms for Night and Day. Today we will explore more scriptures found in the New Testament that further enlighten us to these truths.
Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
I’ll start with this prophecy from the Old Testament. This verse is speaking about Jesus coming to the earth personally walking among us. This verse calls Jesus Christ the “great light” and that is of course a very significant statement. In my last blog we read verses that showed Jesus to be the spiritual Sun, the spiritual light of the world. Just as the physical sun is the source for all natural light on our planet, Jesus is the only source for all spiritual light on our planet. In this verse in Isaiah the people are described as being in the darkness. The darkness is caused by something that is blocking the light and causing a shadow. You do understand the concept of shadows? A shadow is an area where the direct light is not shinning. The direct light has been blocked by another object that casts a shadow on the ground. We were the people in this shadow and this shadow was caused by “death” and Satan. If you read the New Testament you will find verses that describe Satan as holding the power of death. So that is why I related the two together. The Bible says Jesus was made manifest in order to destroy him that had the power over death (Heb 2:14). So we can clearly see who is causing the darkness in the spiritual realm, it is Satan. So the term “great light” let’s explore that term to learn more about the spiritual hearts of men.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser lightto rule the night: he made the stars also.
You see in the fourth day of creation God makes a prophetic and symbolic reference to spiritual things that were to come. God makes the “greater light” AKA “great light” to rule the “day”. God then makes a “lesser light” to rule the “night”. These lights are very significant to see and understand for other Bible interpretations. The “greater light” is the Sun and represents Jesus Christ. The “lesser light” is the moon and represents Satan. These two spiritual rulers are over their own separate domains or kingdoms. The Sun rules the Day (Ps 136:8), the moon rules the night (Ps 136:9). These separate 12 hour periods represent two different spiritual realms and conditions of the hearts of people. So the planet earth is a type and pattern of the human heart. The sun shines on the earth in a constant and consistent manner and the earth revolves and is either in the shadow or darkness or in the light depending on how it is positioned at any given time. The earth represents the hearts of men that have the opportunity to change and allow the light to shine or to turn away and stay in the darkness. When Jesus was walking the face of the planet some 2000 years ago he told us this:
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus made a bold and direct statement that He was the Spiritual Sun, the Greater Light that shined in the world. Jesus said by following Him we would never again walk in the darkness but always have the “light of life”. So light represents Life and darkness represents death. Life and death are very strong analogies and very important to understand.
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We can certainly see what I told you about the hearts of men having to be turned from darkness to light. It is clearly the responsibility of the men and women to do the turning, God will not force you to turn, but He will help you if you ask. Then there is another stark contrast given between these two realms. Satan has the power to rule in the darkness. To say Satan is powerless would be an error. But what is important to note is that his power is limited to the realm of “darkness” and the “night”. If you are in the light you are outside of the realm of his influence and power, or at least you should be. Satan will still attempt to deceive you and influence power over you until you learn not to let him.
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
You see these two spiritual realms being starkly contrasted again. The power of darkness is where, we the church use to be, but we are now called “saints in light”. These two spiritual domains are also called different kingdoms. The Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness. Again day and night are symbolic references to two separate and distinct spiritual states or places to be. Even though we walk the same planet with those who are still in darkness we are not of the darkness and darkness is no longer ruling our hearts and minds. To be in the world but not of the world as the Bible says.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
So Satan and his demons are spiritual forces that rule the darkness of the world around us. This verse clearly confirms that Satan is the moon, the lesser light, the ruler of the darkness that we referred to from Genesis 1. A ruler clearly implies a kingdom, a kingdom of darkness. Satan has been trying to establish his own dominion and kingdom outside of God since the beginning when sin was found in him.
1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
In this verse in 1st John we are told for those who are in the light that the darkness has passed. It is interesting to note that when the lights are on you don’t have any darkness. But this verse also tells us that Jesus is the “true light”. The Sun of Righteousness has arisen in our hearts and He is shinning a true light that we might see the truth. It is interesting that the characteristics of the moon is used to describe Satan symbolically. The moon has no life or produces any light of itself. The only reason we can see the moon at night is because it reflects or masquerades as an object of light. The moon is a pretender and shadow caster and a false light. It is so different than the sun that is the key to the source of our life on this planet. But as the Bible says, men who love the darkness are deceived by it and succumb to the trickery of the ruler of the darkness. But here is some good news and hope for those that are in the darkness:
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
You see God says that those who are in the darkness are simply asleep and capable of waking up and seeing the light. This is a very strong typology and the spiritual information is significant. Pray for those in the darkness to wake up and see the light of day. To turn and allow Christ to arise in their hearts. Again if people do this they are translated into the light and the life of God. If they refuse to turn they are already dead. That is a very sad state of many people in the world today.
There are many other verses in the Bible that speak to us on this subject of Day and Night and I would suggest that you get your Bible search program and look for the key words, like day, night, darkness, light, sleep and any other word that you can think of that are associated with these spiritual realms. By studying the subject you will better understand why people don’t see Christ like you see Christ. Why they have been turned off when the light shines in on them. Jesus told us that “now ye are the lights of the world” so it is our responsibility to be a light to others. But this should be done in a Godly manner using the same ways that God worked through Jesus. Learn to be like Jesus and walk like Jesus and you will get others attention by just being so radically different than they are. Here is a quick chart of some of the lessons we have learned about the spiritual realms of Day and Night:
Day And Night Characteristics
| DAY | NIGHT |
| Light | Darkness |
| Sun Rules the Day | Moon Rules the Night |
| See | Blind |
| Awake | Sleep |
| Sober | Drunk |
| Life | Death |
| Good | Evil |
| Love | Hate |
| True Light | False Light |
| Greater Light | Lesser Light |
| Righteousness | Unrighteousness |
| Power of God | Power of Satan |
If you would like to continue reading in this series of lessons, you can continue with “Part 3“.
The True Identity of the Woman in Revelation 12! Pt 4
(Ver 2.4) This is Part 4 in a very advanced Bible study series on the Book of Revelation concerning chapter 12 and the True Identity of the Woman. This woman was described by God with a crown of 12 stars, clothed in the Sun and standing with her feet on the moon. We have covered so very much important information on this subject already. There is absolutely no way that I can teach it again today. Therefore I would strongly recommend, if you have not read from the beginning that you stop and begin your study with “Part 1“.
INTRODUCTION AND QUICK REVIEW
I knew this subject would take a lot of effort to get people to begin to understand it and accept it. The main reason for this resistance is that I have never heard anyone else teach the chapter this way. We have been using very important new Bible revelations that are focused upon 6 key symbolic elements that surrounded the woman. These were the crown on her heard, the sun as clothing on her body and the moon that was found under her feet.
This is now the fourth lesson on the subject in the search for the true identity of the woman in Revelation 12. There are so many diverse opinions to who this symbolic woman in Revelation 12 represents and all of these can produce a presupposition that can become a mental stronghold. These prejudices can be used by Satan to block any new information from entering our human mind. Any previous knowledge on a subject can potentially produce a state of human “bias”. “Prejudice and bias is a human condition that occurs when someone is prejudging someone or somethings before all of the facts are given, known and understood.
For example, many people today hate the Jewish people and most of these haters have never really even met a Jewish person and talked with them. That is usually one form of racial prejudice, injustice and bias that is easily utilized by Satan due to our ignorance of not knowing the full truth. This type of hatred must have been passed down from someone’s parents, or from teachers, or from other groups of influence that we associate with. This type of prejudice does not come from birth or from God. Almost every little child if raised in a good family without prejudice, will like everyone regardless of their gender, race, education or whatever. But, this open early attitude of like and trust can change when someone does or says something evil to us personally. Then there can come a new problem of thinking that everyone that is similar to them, is the exact same type of evil. This is called lumping everyone of the same type of category to be all equally good or evil with knowing any of them very well. What a complex world we live in.
There is really so much more to explore on this subject of the woman in Revelation 12. We have only touched on a few of the subjects and there are so many more questions to ask and answer. Why is the woman pregnant? Who is the child? Why does she appear in heaven first in verse 1 before any other description? I try to write and teach using progressive revelation, where truth builds upon truth. This means if you missed the beginning lessons you missed the foundation to all the other building blocks. I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but I’ll tell you what I do know and we will trust the Spirit of God to answer the questions that have not yet been answered.
In Part 1 we focused on the answering the question of when these events occur and found God said they are in the future. We continued to study and discovered the identity of the “Sun” clothing to be Jesus Christ the ruler of the Kingdom of Light. We have also found why this woman is clothed with the Sun. Then in Parts 2 and 3 we talked about the moon being the ruler of the darkness, a kingdom that is directly opposed to God’s kingdom of light. Then we looked at the specific meaning of how the moon is found in relation to the woman as being under her feet. I believe this is so very important to understand what this means.
I have shown scriptures that spoke about the church bruising the head of the serpent (Satan). I talked about Jesus delegating His authority to the church to tread on (walk on or over) the serpent (Luke 10:19) who we know is Satan (Rev 12:9). I then showed how Jesus today is seated at the right hand of Majesty in heaven, still waiting for all of His enemies to be made His footstool (Acts 2:35, Heb 1:13). All of these are scriptural references, patterns and pointers that God uses to help us identify the woman in Revelation 12. Today we are going to go into more detail concerning how the books of Genesis and Revelation are divinely designed to be connected bookends. We were introduced to this concept previously. But since this is a potentially new concept, I believe we need more information and that requires a deeper study. Let us get started.
GOD’S GENESIS AND REVELATION CONNECTIONS
I want to readdress some things that were potentially new to some people. Previously, I talked about the “seed of the woman” found in Genesis 3:15 as possibly being a spiritual seed and the woman being a prophesied picture of the church. Today in this lesson, I want to teach some things that I believe the Lord has taught me on this subject that could potentially help us to see some things from a new and fresh spiritual perspective. These are absolutely fascinating and completely related to our subject of the identity of the woman as being related to the Genesis 3-woman prophecy. This is why I called this section “God’s Genesis and Revelation Connections”.
In Revelation 12, the very first verse is focused upon our suspect mystery woman in question. But we can also see and know that the very last verse 17 is about the same woman. In fact, it is very important to see that at least 10 of the 17 verses of Revelation 12 mention the woman directly. She and the dragon are the two primary subjects.
Also, note that there is a new truth that I did teach you before. The Greek word that occurs in 10 verses in Revelation 12 for “woman” is G1135 and yes, it is correctly translated as woman. But it is normally associated to be a married woman called a “wife”. Ok, you may think that this does not really help us that much because after all, the woman is pregnant. And all of our suspect women candidates were all married wives. But I still feel like this is important to study.
From this information we learn that this woman in Revelation 12 is not an unmarried woman or more specifically not a virgin. Or we could say more positively that she is a woman in covenant with a man. Finally, notice that this Greek word G1135 translated as woman in Revelation 12 is again used in Revelation 19 to describe the Lamb’s wife. But this time the word was chosen by translators to say “wife”. Just keep that in your mind as we continue. I believe this could be a significant connection to apply to our study.
I have mentioned previously the direct connection of Revelation 12 to Genesis 3 by God’s designed purpose. God designed the Bible with concealment of related subjects, by spreading out much of the connected information for us to discover by searching the Bible. We are so very blessed to live in the last days when computers, phones and tablets are available to help us in this task. Remember, Daniel 12:4 informs us that in the last days knowledge will increase. God knew computers would exist and He prophesied it accordingly. Praise the LORD!
We understand truth connections do exist simply because the book of Genesis was written by Moses nearly 1600 years earlier than the book of Revelation which was written by John. These two men did not know each other personally, yet their books go together with exact precision. I’m going to repeat something that I have said several other times. But it is important to know and understand. In the book of Genesis, God usually introduces us to every major Biblical subject. Then in the book of Revelation God concludes the discussion on these subjects to conform to how He desired them to be and remain from the beginning. That is why I like to call them bookends. It is like a modern fiction author writing the introduction to the characters and subject in chapter 1 and then concluding with the last chapter and all of the surprises, twists and turns.
The information from the chapters, books and authors that come in between the book of beginnings and the book of the revealing can also provide us additional clues to the subject in question and they usually do. This introduction and conclusion of divine subject information is popularly known as the “Laws of First and Last Mention”.
We need to notice in Genesis 3 the direct connections found in our woman suspect subject study. In Genesis 3:15, we can see that God is introducing us to 1) a woman (other than Eve), 2) her seed, 3) Satan called a serpent, and 4) Satan’s seed. Then in addition to these main characters there is a described 5) great prophesied enmity (hatred) between them. It would probably be good to go back and reread the entire chapters of Genesis 3 and Revelation 12 to see the common subjects, noun and verb connections. Make a list of nouns, verbs and adjectives and then compare the two lists. Sometimes subjects are implied and not directly mentioned so it is good to note the implications. For example, in Revelation the woman is said to be a pregnant wife, and this would imply a husband, even though he was never mentioned directly in the chapter. Let’s examine some of the direct important connections that I found next when reading.
In reading Genesis 3:1 we should easily learn of God’s introduction of “the serpent”. We are never told who this creature is, or if he is literal, or symbolic in this chapter. There are several other Bible studies on this subject that contain additional information, on the subject of the serpent. But we can conclude and believe that this serpent in Genesis 3, was only a symbol for Satan and he was not physically manifested in the garden through a body of a physically created beast of the field. I would highly recommend you go read the Bible lesson “Genesis 3 – Was there a Literal Talking Snake in the Garden”.
We learn from the introduction of the serpent in Genesis that there is a connection to Revelation 12 because this unknown serpent is finally defined and identified to be the dragon in Revelation 12:9. Because God chooses to give us the true definition and identity of the “old serpent” as being the dragon and Satan we should automatically begin to examine what else could also be connected here in these two chapters. This is how God gives us clues to discovering truth, and it is amazingly wise.
This direct connection teaches us clearly, that this “old serpent” in Genesis 3 had to be a symbolic representation for the now implied much larger symbolic “red dragon” in Revelation 12. Both the serpent and the dragon are symbolic names and descriptions of the same evil being named Satan. Also note that there are two verses in Revelation that define the serpent’s identity. Ask yourself, could both of these be a connection? These verse definitions are Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2. These are the only two verses (currently know) in the Bible where God chose to define the true identity of the “serpent” introduced in Genesis 3. This is a very common method that God uses to hide truth in the Bible for us to find. God will talk about a subject in one place and then will suddenly define the subject in a completely new and different place later in the scriptures. This can even occur in a completely different book using a new inspired author like we find in the book of Revelation.
It is just interesting to note that these two referenced definitions of Satan occur in the vicinity of two described women. Revelation 12 is where the woman is mentioned first and then the dragon is introduced with the connection of the serpent definition. Both occur together within one verse in the same chapter. Notice in Genesis 3:1, the serpent occurs first and then immediately followed with him speaking to a woman. This is typical bookend patterns. I pray you know what bookends look like. I placed a sample picture in this paragraph to help. Bookends exhibit a pictured image, but in the reverse order. Wow, that is very similar to what we see in these two chapters. I do not believe that is a coincidence.
Then in Revelation 20 we find the dragon and the serpent definition being preceded again in Chapter 19 by another woman. But this woman in Revelation 19 is called the “Lamb’s Wife”. The word “wife” was the same Greek word translated as “woman” in Revelation 12. Isn’t that interesting? I do not believe that these are accidents either. These are the signs of highly intelligent design connecting related subjects and patterns together.
But, in Revelation 19 and 20 there is a new person that comes between the woman and the dragon. He is the LORD Jesus coming back to the earth with His saints riding on a white horse. Since chapters and verses were numbered and added by imperfect humans long after the writings of the scripture, we can understand that Revelation 19 and 20 are still connected together by verse association and context.
I am not making a fixed declaration of doctrine or a statement of “I’m right and you are wrong” type of conclusion. But I believe that both women mentioned near the dragon and serpent definitions are the exact same woman/wife. I hope you find it very interesting where and how God put them close together for us to discover and learn from.
While it would be nice to go through all of the 10, Revelation 12 verse references today of the woman, we will not because of the increase of the size of the lesson. However, let’s change our focus in Revelation 12, to the woman found again in verse 17 for what God reveals to us to be more directly connected words and subjects found in Genesis 3. This is the last verse in the chapter, and it would appear the subject changes in Revelation chapter 13 to something new.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I personally see so many similar subject subjects, characters, descriptions, nouns, adjective and verbs as what we found in Genesis 3:15. This might not be an exact quotation, but the synonymous comparisons are amazingly parallel. We should all be able to see how there are enough overlaps for us to confirm that they are speaking of the same subjects. Can we notice what it says?
Verse 17 starts with a statement that declares Satan to be very angry with this woman. The statement or word in the KJV is actually “wroth” (G3710) and it means to be enraged and angry. That really sounds analogous and synonymous to God’s phrasing of “enmity” and “hatred” (H342) we found in Genesis 3:15. I know that these are slightly different words, but they synonymously connect us with a similar meaning of hatred toward two enemies. Next, we then see within the context of this verse that Satan is said to be at “war” with the remnant of this woman’s seed. Again, this signifies an adversary relationship with the seed of a woman. We learn from this that Satan and the woman are direct enemies in conflict against each other.
That statement is absolutely essential to see and understand, “….and went to make war with the remnant of her seed”. Did you notice that we have been talking about the “seed of the woman”? In Genesis 3 we clearly observe scripture where God prophesies that Satan, and his seed will be at odds with a woman and her seed. Isn’t that what Genesis 3:15 said? God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between her seed and your seed”. Fascinating, isn’t it? Clearly this is not a chance occurrence.
Here in Revelation 12:17 we have God’s very specific mention of 1) a woman, 2) her “seed”, and 3) Satan (the serpent). But this time it is in clear context and relationship to a new symbolic woman revealed in Revelation 12. Or is it a new woman? I have concluded from this information God is connecting the Revelation 12:17 woman with the Genesis 3:15 woman and that they are the exact same woman being spoken of by God. Therefore, whoever the Genesis 3:15 woman represents, the Revelation 12:1 woman must also represent. I believe that God was first introducing us to her in Genesis 3:15 and is now confirming the fulfillment of the prophesied pattern here in Revelation 12. This must be the same woman that God was talking about in Genesis 3:15. We should be able to see that there are too many connections being given to us in these two chapters by divine design and purpose to deny it.
Now how does this verse Revelation 12:17 end? The ending words of the chapter provides us a clear window to the view of the identity of the woman. Who does this verse claim that the Revelation 12 woman is? God in this verse gives us two very specific dependent qualifications for the identity of the Revelation 12:1 woman. These are two distinguishing characteristics of determined truths that must be applied correctly in order to understand (interpret correctly) the identity of the woman in Revelation 12 and here they are:
- She keeps the commandments of God
- She has the Testimony of Jesus Christ
How can we read these statements and not know who God is talking about? Does this describe the Old Covenant natural nation of Israel who practices Judaism? Perhaps you see that it does. If so, please explain why you see it this way to us. Where can you find verses that back this belief? Have you seen any that describe this natural nation of Israel, have succeeded in following all of the laws and the commands of God? It is interesting that only Jesus Christ succeeded 100%. Praise the LORD!
Of course, we might say the same thing about the church also. Has the New Covenant Bride of Jesus Christ completely followed every command? I don’t know of any Christian that is yet perfect and never makes a mistake or sinned. Do you know one? I believe Jesus was the only one and we all should be rising to His living example. But Christians do have an advantage over the Old Covenant. True Christians should be following Jesus Christ their Great Shepherd and listening to His voice on a daily basis (John 10:27). Christians should have the Spirit of Christ living on the inside of them guiding them and this is the help that we need to become more like Him. Also, there are many natural Jewish people that have become Christians by believing in Jesus. The church began with 120 Jewish people in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 2) and then they began to spread to Gentiles later with God’s help. So, no one is being anti-Semitic at all. We love all people especially the Jewish people and we want everyone to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
Every human has the opportunity to repent and believe in Jesus Christ to be saved. This begins the walk with Him. When we start down this narrow path, we should be led by the Holy Spirit to become like Him and that means to become holy. Now that is when we change to begin to possess the “testimony of Jesus Christ” as God reveals to us in Revelation 12:17. Ask yourself this question; “Does Natural Israel have the testimony of Jesus Christ?” Maybe some teach and believe that this will come to fruition in the tribulation because Revelation mentions the 144,000 from every tribe to prove that will occur. We can’t dispute that. But we should believe that this woman mentioned in Revelation 12 will have Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female (1 Cor 12:13, Gal 3:28) and we will all jointly be called the “Bride of Christ”.
I’ll briefly discuss another factor of Grace that is important to know. We are not made righteous because we are perfect. We are made righteous by Grace. It was a gift. 2 Corinthians 5:21 informs us that “He was made sin who knew no sin, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”. Wow, that is amazing. I do not have time to teach this subject fully. Just understand righteousness was a gift, but it was given so that we could change to become dead to sin aka holy, like Him (1 Peter 2:24).
Then there is another verse in the middle of chapter 12 of Revelation that is also related to the identity of the woman with her enemy relationship to the serpent and the dragon:
Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
When I read this verse, I see the corporate church described as an overcoming, victorious body of believers. This can only be describing those that have received the Lamb of God as their personal savior and Lord (Jew, Greek, male, female, bond or free). This must be speaking of people that have applied and appropriated the shed blood of the Lamb of God to the doorposts of their spiritual hearts. When someone is described as having overcome something, that denotes a clear sign of victory at someone else’s ominous defeat. Here we have another confirming picture of the woman in Revelation 12: 1 standing with her feet upon the moon (Satan). Currently there is still just one woman in the Bible suspect list that qualifies to be this woman and it still is only the church the Lamb’s wife!
I would also like to make another quick point about Revelation 12:11. The blood of the Lamb, was just one enemy overcoming factor. The second part of that verse says “… and the word of their testimony”. Do you realize what that says or at least implies very heavily? The Greek word translated as “word” in this is G3056 and it is transliterated as “logos”. The definition literally means “something spoken” but it is used in reference to the Word of God numerous times. It is specifically used by Jesus in Mark 4:20 to describe the “seed” that was sown on good ground to produce fruit. This means real Christians.
We have just discovered a new connection to the woman in Revelation 12. I believe that Satan is in an all-out battle with anyone that professes the Word (seed) of God. Therefore, when we get to Revelation 12:17 I believe this is who Satan is fighting against on the earth. There will be people that were not truly saved after the rapture takes place that will understand what a mistake they have made and attempt to come back to the LORD. These people will have a very difficult time on the earth, but God will help them.
Notice in Revelation 12:15 when God is trying to help these people left on the earth that we are told that Satan the serpent spews water like a flood out from his mouth to try to overcome the woman. Wow, please realize this flood represents “spoken words”. The words could be lies, they could accusations, they could be threats, tricks and deceptions. There are a lot of tactics that could be used to try to get people to turn from their beliefs. However, again God helps the woman by opening the earth to swallow his words. Again, we see a prophecy that they overcame Satan by applying the blood and speaking the Word.
We have just learned of two weapons that can be turned against our enemy Satan. This applies today as well as during the tribulation. These weapons can be transferred back into us wearing the Armor of God. We are told to wear this armor in Ephesians 6. I believe all of the armor of God is based upon the Word of God. So, we have just confirmed how this chapter 12 of Revelation is in parallel to the Genesis 3:15 prophecy. We definitely have a woman versus a serpent and her seed (words) against his seed (words). But let’s go into some verses about the blood next. How many scriptures in the New Testament can you recall that speak of the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ?
Romans 5:9 – Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Hebrews 9:12 – Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
These are just a representative sampling of verses in the Bible that speak of the work of the blood of Jesus for His church. Understanding the power of the blood of Jesus is an essential part of a successful and victorious walk with Christ on the earth. Knowing what the blood of the Lamb purchased is critical to knowing who you are in Christ. Understanding the purpose of the blood of Christ is essential to a successful earthly Christian life. After understanding these verses, I hope that you can see the direct relationship to the descriptive qualities of the woman especially being clothed with the Sun of Righteousness in Revelation 12:11.
I am not going to go through every verse, but I would like to make a quick point on the first verse from Romans 5:9. Did you notice the connection from the church appropriating the shed blood of Jesus to be justified and to us missing the tribulation? I know it does not say tribulation but please understand this is when the wrath of God will be poured out on the ungodly upon the earth. This 7-year time period is divided into two 42-month periods. The greater tribulation occurs at the last 3.5 years. But yet I believe the church will not be here for any of it if we overcame Satan already using the blood of Jesus and God’s Word. It is a mystery of sorts when people believe the tribulation will occur with some even thinking that God will send His beloved bride through His time of wrath and judgement. But what loving husband would do that to His bride/wife?
If God did this He would violate His own written word. Remember in Ephesians 5 God instructs husbands to love their wives like Christ loves the church. So, if Christ sends His bride through brutal judgment to be murdered then we should do the same! I am being very sarcastic with that last comment. No, we should not do that at any time. Therefore, is the church the bride of Christ? I believe she is! Is the church going to encounter God’s fierce wrath? Not according to the Bible. Wow let’s please wake up and see the true heart of God.
Finally, here is what the Bible says in relation to the qualifications of the identity of the woman described in Rev 12:17. In these verses we will see instructions for the church to obey God’s commandments. God told Israel the basic same things, but this time in the New Covenant He came inside the hearts of people removing their hard hearts of stone to place tender hearts of flesh. This is where He writes His laws on them for us to follow. I just quoted a lot of Old Testament prophetical statements written about the church. But let’s read the instruction in the New Testament:
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.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
We can see from these sample verses that the Church has been directed (commanded) to keep God’s commandments. They all say something like, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. This is how we know we love God, because we keep His commandments. We know of course that this does not mean that the Church is supposed to keep the law of Moses, but rather the new law of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us that all the law is summarized in two statements. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and then love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus gave the church a new commandment to love one another. This new commandment fulfills all of the Old Testament law. If you love your neighbor, you are not going to steal from them, you are not going to cheat them, you are not going to commit adultery with their spouse, you are not going to do anything that will harm them or cause them pain, emotionally, physically, mentally or spiritually. This is the law of LOVE! So let’s look at scriptures concerning those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ, who could this describe?
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Rev 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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 fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Here are just a few of the scriptures related to those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ. We can see that the testimony of Jesus Christ was confirmed in the church members of Corinth. We can see Paul’s instruction to Timothy for him not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in Revelation 1:9 we can see that John was imprisoned on Patmos for having the testimony of Jesus Christ. Finally in Revelation 19:10 in context with the description of the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb, the angel of the Lord tells John not to worship him, but worship God with his brothers that also have the Testimony of Jesus Christ.
So, we have seen numerous scriptures that indicate directly and indirectly that the church are the people that are supposes to keep God’s commandments and keep the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were also confirmed to be people that must overcome the serpent (Satan) using the blood of Jesus and the Word (Seed) of God. So, we can see from all of these descriptive elements that this certainly narrows the potential identities of the woman in Revelation 12 to only one woman. Using the Word of God to explain the Word of God is the key to understanding the Bible. Perhaps you will join me in my next lesson. Thank you for reading and commenting and may God Bless you tremendously with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowing Christ Jesus. Amen.
If you would like to continue reading this series, you can go to Part 5.
Night and Day Defined! Understanding the Spiritual Heart of Man! Part 1
(Ver 1.4) This is Part 1 in a series of basic Bible lessons on understanding the Spiritual Heart of Man. These lessons are some of the essential foundational concepts found in the Bible that permit us to understand many other more advanced subjects found in the Bible. This Bible lesson today will be some additional information on a subject that I have mentioned before briefly, but these lessons will be a much more in-depth study of the subject. I have learned from my Bible study that “Night and Day” represents the symbolic spiritual conditions of men’s hearts in the world today. I of course mean the term men as a form of mankind, meaning both men and women. This is a key subject to understand because it gives us a new perspective viewpoint into the spiritual realm that we cannot see or perceive with our five natural senses. The Bible says God is a Spirit (John 4:24). The Bible teaches us that no man has ever seen God (1 Jn 4:12). How then are we on the earth supposed to learn about this God and the spiritual realm that we have never observed? God actually tells us if we open our eyes to see Him. God created things in the natural world to give us clues of the unseen things in the spiritual world. God tells us in Romans 1:20 “The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that were made”. So to understand spiritual things we need to recognize how God created natural things to operate. The Bible informs us that the natural world is a temporary place (2 Cor 4:18). The earth is a place that will change dramatically in the future eternal dimension beyond time. But for now you must realize that we live within in the constraints of time and that God has put everything here in this world by design for a specific purpose to teach us about the things we cannot see. God does nothing by accident and everything that He created hid a view of something we don’t understand. We of course should also realize because of our human ignorance, we do not completely understand all of the motivations and purposes for everything that God has created. But, we can at least begin to understand the things that God has taught us in His Word. So that is what I will attempt to do today to teach you on the subject of Night and Day and what it means in the spiritual realm.
1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
You see in this verse God recorded a simple truth on the condition of the hearts of people in the world today. These things are referred to as “hidden things”. Hidden things are those that we cannot see clearly with casual observation. Do you understand that anything that was hidden was removed from our view intentionally by someone? It is like hiding easter eggs for your children to find. Some eggs you might place in plain sight but other eggs you might make very difficult to find and that is exactly what God has done with His creation and His Word. God hiding things is a prevalent themed pattern found in the Bible. In 1 Corinthinians 4:5 notice that God tells us that these things being spoken of (light, darkness and the hidden things) are matters of the heart of man. The heart in the Bible will almost always be a reference to the unseen spirits of men and women. God calls this a state of darkness before we are saved and Christ has entered into our spirits. We are said to be in a state of symbolic darkness or night. This of course is only a symbolic reference to a spiritual condition that we are unaware of in our unsaved and ignorant conditions. Technically unsaved people are spiritually asleep and saved people are spiritually awake and I will try to get into that later since both individuals still have spirits that exist forever.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
You see in this verse God tells us about an event that occurred in Genesis 1 on the first day of the creation account. We can clearly understand from this verse in 2 Corinthians that this event in Genesis was prophetic and had a double meaning. We know that there are many symbolic and prophetic events in the 1st chapter of Genesis if you have read my many other Bible lessons. God says that He has commanded the “light” to shine in our hearts and that was described in Genesis 1:3 when God said “Let there be light”. This light was the knowledge of the glory of God that it says was found in the face of Jesus Christ. We are told that the face of Jesus Christ shines as the “sun” in Revelation 1:16.
Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
You can see in this descriptive symbolic verse in Revelation, Jesus is described as the sun. We will certainly see many other verse in the Bible that further confirm this fact to us as we continue to study the subject. The physical sun is one of the key sources for our existence on this planet. Of course Jesus, the spiritual sun is certainly the key reason for our salvation out of this world. What we are seeing is a pattern of spiritual truths being revealed to us using God’s created realities. Those who are in darkness that do not know Jesus Christ verssus those who are now in the light of Jesus Christ. Here is another very key verse on this subject:
2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Jesus Christ is described as a light that shines into the hearts of men again in this verse. This verse also says that people who have not believed on Jesus have been mentally blinded. Blindness is of course just a symbolic state of darkness. Darkness will simply be defined as the absence of light. The absence of light is synonymously just the inability to see the light or it is called blindness. Have you ever been deep in a cave when they shut the lights off? I mean you can’t see your hand in front of your face. This absence of the spiritual Light of Jesus is equated to spiritual blindness. If Jesus is the light and He certainly claimed to be the light of the world, then Satan has done something to the unsaved world to affect their spiritual ability to see and understand. God clearly tells us that the Gospel has been hidden to them. Satan has blinded their minds so that they are unable to understand. Your mind is just an internal part of your soul. The soul of man is made up of three parts, the mind, the will and the emotions. This three part internal component of man is not your spirit. Maybe I’ll get to that in another lesson, but for now we will continue on. If you notice Jesus is again implied to be the sun that shines into the hearts of men in this verse. Here is what Jesus said about light and darkness in the Gospels when He walked amoung us:
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
In these verses found in John, God is contrasting why people are like they are. God says that those who are blinded by Satan love the darkness. These people are incapable of seeing the light because they hate the light. Whenever, light is presented to them they close their spiritual eyes and refuse to see it or even look at it. It is a very similar experience to people walking out of a dark theater to suddenly see the brigh sunshine. It is so bright that they just have to close their eyes. God’s Word is like that to many unsaved people, it can be presented in ways that are too bright and blinding to people who live in the darkness of this world. Jesus is talking specifically about this spiritual condition of the hearts of people in these verses. Even though He does not directly mention the terms of Night or Day, they are certainly indirectly implied.
So we have two conditions of men’s hearts given to us. Those that are blinded and in darkness and those that can see the light of Jesus Christ. There is a sharp and distinct contrast given between these two states of the heart. The difference is literally night and day. Those in the darkness are called lovers of evil. Those in the light love the truth. That would imply that the darkness is a lie or a falsehood. A false state of being. A fantasy world of the imagination. When you start to think in spiritual terms using this analogy you will begin to understand the spiritual realm with much greater clarity. There are many scriptures that we still need to explore and to see. Here is a very relevant verse found in 2 Peter:
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
We can see in this verse that God is telling us that we who are in the church use to be in darkness, but now the day has dawned in our hearts. The Day Star of course is Jesus Christ. The Day Star is a significant reference to the earth’s closest star. This Day Star represents our sun in other descriptive words. The natural sun is said to rise in the east and set in the west. We of course know from science that the sun does not move, but the rotation of the earth causes the sun to appear to rise and set. It is the movement of the earth that determines the light or darkness we experience in the natural. The same is true for the spiritual, God is always shining in a constant, consistent ever present way to every human on the earth. However, men and women choose to turn either to allow the light to come in or turn and keep the light out. It is the movement of the individual that allows God to shine in their hearts and not the other way. 2 Peter 1:19 says we were this dark place, but that God has commanded the light to shine out of darkness. However, we still have a choice to make. It is always a partnership of people receiving what God has given to them. God will not force the light down your throat.
1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
1 Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
God again contrasts two states of men hearts in these verse found in 1 John. Those in darkness are contrasted to those in the light. To those in the light it declares that our nights have passed and the true light of Jesus Christ is forever in our hearts. However, God tells us a another secret, when He says that there will be some that say they are in the light and who are not. That is of course a challenge we are faced with on a daily basis in this world. We cannot see the spiritual condition of someone’s heart. Someone in church can appear very Godly and Holy and even say some really good things. But God informs us that what people say is not necessarily what is really in their hearts (Mar 7:6). Too many Christian make this mistake every day. It seems that a great number of people in the world made that mistake in the last election. We had candidates saying one thing that they are a Christian and yet they do everything they can to oppose God’s ways and His Word. But we can see that God tells us that there is a difference. It has to do with good vs. evil and love vs. hate. Those in the light actually love their brothers. We can clearly see that this state of darkness causes people to be unable to perceive spiritual things and I can see this all over the internet and in people’s blogs and other parts of their life. I guess I’ll end this post here and continue this subject in my next blog.
If you would like to continue reading this series of lessons on Night and Day you can go to “Part 2“.
Why Did Jesus Leave Heaven and Come To the Earth?
(Ver 1.3) There are several possible answers to this question and I am only going to address one of them today in this Bible study. I have already established the fact that Jesus was God present in the flesh in other Bible lessons. Therefore, I will not repeat that information again today. Just know that God the supreme creator, became a human male and was born into the world in a Bethlehem manger approximately 2000 years ago. Jesus walked the planet in the form of human flesh for approximately 33 years and was then willingly crucified on a cross by the Roman Empire and the captive nation of Israel. That was just a quick synopsis of some of the Bible Christian theological basics that you should already be intimately familiar with. But, why was it necessary for God/Jesus to come to earth in the flesh and to shed His blood? What transpired or made it necessary for only God Himself to appear on the planet to solve the problem? Couldn’t God just create something new, or say something or do something or send someone else? Isn’t God still God? Why was it so important for the supreme God to do this personally? I think that is an amazing question to consider and one that if you really understood the answer, would explain so many other questions that you have yet to figure ask.
Today I will introduce you to just one of the most important answers to this question and I hope that you can at least begin to grasp these basic concepts. What we see from the Bible is that God had a problem. Of course we know that God is all powerful, all knowing, ever present and capable of doing practically anything. I did say “practically anything” and that will probably rock some people’s religious boats (minds). You see extremely religious people like to believe that God is capable of doing anything and everything and there is nothing that is impossible for Him. That would be a great truth if that was what the Bible really said, but since the Bible doesn’t say that I can’t agree with any of that kind of thinking. You see in one part of the Bible God says that it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb 6:18). If you understand what the definition of “impossible” means it clearly states this will never happen under any circumstances. I’ve heard some very religious theological ignorant people who have tried to explain this away using human reasoning that whatever God says, if it was not previously true when He said it that it would become true after He said it. After all He is an omnipotent God and truth is always relevant to what God wills. In other words if God says the sky is Green in color when it is not, then yesterday the sky might have been blue but tomorrow it would suddenly appear to us as green. So God would change things to fit what He said today and if tomorrow He wants it a different way He would change to cause it to be different. However, that reasoning just does not conform and balance with other scriptures either. The Bible clearly says that God is God and that He does not change (Mal 3:6). In other words He is a constant and consistently good God who does not change His mind or do one thing today and another totally different opposite thing tomorrow. I guess I got off of the main subject so let’s get back to why Jesus came to earth in the flesh.
Here is a key verse that informs us of at least one of the main reasons why God came to earth in the flesh. Open the eyes of your spirit to see what the Holy Ghost has to say to you about this reality. This verse is found in 1 John and it states the following:
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
We can determine from the context of this verse that one of the primary themes being communicated to us is concerning SIN! We can see that God is telling us about the source of sin, how and where sin originated. This verse calls the source the devil, but this is just another name for the ancient serpent also called Satan. If you read Revelation 12:9 you will see the true identity defined of this evil one, with several of his other names and symbolic descriptive titles being also connected together. What we begin to learn from this verse is the origin of God’s problem and the root cause for every evil that has entered into our world. I know that some are still struggling to see how God could have a problem. I’ve heard many religious minded theological people say that God is simply using Satan as a pawn and Satan doesn’t do anything unless he first checks with God and asks permission and God grants it or rejects it. In other words God is in ultimate control of everything and everyone and nothing happens unless God has a specific plan and purpose for it. That deceptive reasoning is ignorance gone to seed and borderline stupidity. That line of thinking doesn’t fit what God says in the Bible and doesn’t match in a balanced way with the description of a God who is called LOVE (1 Jn 4:8). Many humans have a very perverted concept of what true LOVE is because they based their concepts of love on their experiences here in this world. They then misapply these wrong concepts to explain why God does or does not stop bad things from happening in our world. When the earthquake hit Haiti I heard one minister on TV say something like this was God’s judgment for their sinful lifestyle. In other words God specifically caused this event to happen to punish some very wicked people. That is just idiotic when people think like that. We haven’t really talked about why Jesus came to earth, but it was for many reasons and one of them was to pay the price for all of our sins, past, present and future. His blood was a ransom payment for the sin of the world. So if God is now killing people because of their sin, then why did He come in the first place? We are all sinners, why didn’t He just kill us all and start over?
So let’s get back to our primary Bible verse of the day. In this verse it tells us that the Son of God was made manifest because God had to destroy the works of the devil or Satan. If Satan was the problem why didn’t God just throw Satan into hell and that would be the end of him? I think that is an excellent question that people do not know the answer to either. If you understood the answer to that question you would realize that God has a major problem on His hands, but one that He is still capable of solving. The term “destroy” in this verse has a different meaning than what most people think of when they think of something that has been destroyed. To destroy something in our world would mean that it has been obliterated or that it was blown to millions of little pieces. But that is not what this Greek word (G3089) is saying to us. This word translated in the KJV as “destroy” actually means to “loosen”. To loosen something implies that something was first held captive or prisoner that needed to be freed. Knowing that alone dispels the theory that God is in control of everything in this world. If whatever was held captive was in God’s control, God would not have had to come personally to earth to “loosen” it, would He? So who or what was being held captive? We can find the answer in the Bible:
Isa 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
This scripture in Isaiah is prophetically speaking to the New Jerusalem city described in Revelation as the Lamb’s wife. You can clearly see that if you read and study the context. But notice the instructions given to this woman. She is told to get loose from the bonds around her neck. That implies a woman who is a prisoner or a slave to something or someone. If the human race was in covenant with Satan and in the bonds of sin, as I believe we were, then you can begin to see the problem that God is faced with. God cannot do anything to Satan without doing the exact same thing to all of his captives. But it is really more complex than that. You see I believe that God was also in covenant with Satan. So God could not do anything to Satan that He wouldn’t also have to do to Himself. When you start to think along these lines you begin to see a lot of things in the Bible differently. You begin to think in a new way and see things that God is revealing to us in some very important verses in the Bible. For example, God tells us that Satan would not have crucified Jesus if he would have known what was going to happen or result from His death (1 Cor 2:8). Apparently God did something unexpected that was very strong and powerful through Jesus’ death on the cross and when He was raised from the dead. This one man’s action caused Satan to regret greatly killing him. The Bible says that God used death to destroy him that had the power of death. We learn from the study of the book of Ruth that death represents a force that breaks a covenant relationship. In most marriage ceremonies there is a clause spoken “until death do us part”. That means in our marriage covenant relationship we will always be together until one of us dies. Since Jesus was God in the flesh we can begin to understand that Jesus through His death severed any previous covenants that He was in. God used death as a legal termination of the covenants that He was in prior to His death. When Jesus was raised from the dead He was now legally able to enter into a New Covenant that did not include Satan in the family. Jesus said something very profound after he was raised from the dead and it is found in this statement “all power both in heaven and in earth has been given to me” (Mat 28:18). But, I thought Jesus was God and that God already had all power both in heaven and on the earth? Why would it be necessary for God to transfer all His authority to the risen Lord Jesus? Do you understand that difficulty presented in this information? Apparently we learn from this statement that God did not have all authority in both realms or it would not had been necessary for it to be given it to Jesus. Do you see how complex the Bible can get on such a simple subject? Let me show you another verse found in the Bible that further confirms this reality of truth:
Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Here we have another paradox being presented. God says everything has been placed under the feet of Jesus and then reveals not everything is yet there. Do you understand that statement? Well, probably not! First again why is it necessary for everything to be placed under Jesus if everything was already under God in heaven? This verse goes along with what Jesus said to us Matthew 28:18 that ALL power has been given to Him but yet we still read in many other verses that Satan remains present on the earth and that Satan still has power (Luke 10:19). This presents some very difficult scriptural and theological conflicts to resolve.
What we see from this short lesson is the fact that God had a problem. God’s problem originated with Satan or Lucifer as he was also called. Satan did something that caused the human race to be in a terrible self-solvable dilemma. Satan had corrupted God’s creation and became the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4). Being called the god of this world implies that he had taken control over everything that God had previously given to Adam in Genesis 1:26. However, God had a planned solution in place already from the beginning to get it all back in a legal way that not only solves our problem, but also solved God’s problems simultaneously. Our problem was sin and death and God’s problem was primarily Satan. God used Jesus to fix both of these problems. Jesus redeemed us from the consequences of sin. Through His shed blood our sacrificial lamb was slain and the payment for sin was made once for all. But through the death of Jesus on the cross, God’s covenant with Satan was also terminated and now Satan can be thrown into hell legally. I know I said a lot and I quoted a lot of scriptures and didn’t give you references to a bunch of them, I’m sorry about that. I also know this is a lot of new things to think about and study in the Bible and I hope that you do the research to see if these things that I said are true or not. I challenge you to study for yourself and not to take my word for anything.
The Bride of Christ Revealed – Part 9 The Bride in the Old Testament
(Ver 1.1) This has been a very long extensive advanced Bible study about the identity of the bride of Christ. This is now Part 9 in the series and is my 100th blog on this site. I have been going through an intentionally designed set of information to step you through a process so that you could clearly see and understand the identity of the Bride of Christ. We have discussed a lot of subjects and a lot of scriptures. These are absolutely critical for you to understand so that you know who you are in Christ. By knowing who you are spiritually, it clearly indentifies you and your responsibility in the spiritual realm and helps you to understand your covenant relationship with Christ. If you have not read these blogs from the beginning I would strongly recommend that you go back and start with Part 1 The Introduction and then continue forward in progressive blogs so that you can clearly see and understand what God is saying.
Within the Old Testament there are several styles of writings found within the pages. First we should realize that God originally started by giving the first part of the Old Testament to Moses. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and these are many times referred to as “the law”. The law represents commandments and instructions given to the nation of Israel so that they would learn and know of God and His ways. There is a lot of information contained within the law, but most of it does not apply directly to the church. We know from the New Testament in verses like Romans 6:14 that it says the church is not under the law, but under grace. So we have to understand the law, but not live thinking that by obeying the law that is what saved us. Jesus also said that a new commandment I give to you and this was the commandment of Love. Jesus told us that in this one new commandment was summed up all the other commandments of the Old Testament. Next, we should see the Bible as a historical document with actual events, places and people recorded for our benefit. The Bible says these things were written to us for examples (1 Cor 10:11) so that we could learn from what they did right or wrong. Learning from History will help us to not repeat it, so the saying goes. So we should read first and foremost for examples that we could learn from. Next, there are prophetic words recorded of events and things which have not yet occurred. Jesus of course fulfilled many of the prophetic writings when he was born a man and walked the earth. Then he was killed and rose from the dead and these were all prophesied events. Events that were written hundreds of years earlier. So we should be reading the Old Testament for events that are soon to occur. The next type of Old Testament writing that we should be aware of when reading, is the fact that God has developed patterns, types and shadows of future events and people. Many times it is a natural occurrence of a specific event that parallels a future spiritual event. God informs us that the thing that has been is the thing that shall be again ( Ecc 1:9). He told us that there is nothing new under the sun. So what we can determine from this is that God has given us glimpses into future spiritual events by showing us previous natural events. So as we read the Old Testament keep this in mind and look for natural patterns, types and shadows of people, places and events. I believe there are many other types and styles of writings in the Old Testament, but there is only one more that I want to point out. The last type of writing that I want to make you aware of are scriptures that many call double references. In other words they may be words that are originally given to or directed at the natural nation of Israel, but these words can also be applied to the spiritual nation of Israel or the church as it is also known. The law of double reference represents words that come from God that can be viewed historically and prophetically simultaneously. The Bible declares that all of the promises of God are yes and amen to us (2 Cor 1:20). For example, some of these promises were from the Old Testament given to Abraham and his seed (Gal 3:14). But, we know from Galatians that now we (the church) are the seed of Abraham and whatever God said to him, he said to us also (Gal 3:29). We can see from this example, that the story of Abraham has vast spiritual implications for the church. However, without reading and understanding double references and O.T. writings styles, you would never know these promises were yours without Galatians 3. So let’s look at some Old Testament scriptures and see what God has revealed about the identity of the bride of Christ.
There are so many Old Testament references as well as specific patterns, types and shadows that reveal the identity of this woman called the bride of Christ, but unless you are looking for them you will probably glide right over them and not even realize it. For example, have you ever read the Song of Solomon? This man goes on and on about a woman, describing her in detail and speaking of his deep feeling of love for her. I really don’t know how you can read that and not realize that woman’s true identity, that woman is the church. The man speaking is God in the flesh. Jesus died and gave himself for payment to purchase the church with his blood. I think for time sake I will not go through that book, but it does have many verses that are relevant. I would strongly recommend that you read this book with a new perspective and focus and look for examples of the bride. We can easily tell because we know who the author is, who the male or bridegroom is in the relationship. Jesus made this statement,
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
So as you read stories about the man in the Song of Solomon, remember what Jesus said. Search the scriptures, but keep this in mind for they are written about Him. That will help you a whole bunch in figuring out what they mean. I’ll give you a hint that will help you maybe in your study of the Song of Solomon. The woman in the story is many times referred to as the “daughter of Jerusalem” or the “daughter of Zion”. In the King James Translation it is incorrectly translated as “daughters of Jerusalem”, but if you look up the word you will see that it should have been singular. So who was the daughter of Jerusalem? If you recall we read in Galatians 4:26 that the Heavenly Jerusalem, is the spiritual mother of us all (the church). That would of course help confirm the identity of the Bride as being the daughter of the Heavenly Jerusalem in the Song of Solomon. There are many other interesting things to read in the book of Song of Solomon so I recommend that you spend time in studying this book in great depth. For example, six times in the Song of Solomon the woman is called his “sister” and his “spouse”. The term “spouse” is obvious and it means wife. The term sister is of course is more difficult for religious people to grasp. However, the church has to be a spiritual sister to Christ since we have the same spiritual mother and father. But I guess I won’t elaborate anymore and get you upset at me.
Another classic Old Testament type and shadow of Christ and the Church is given to us in the book of Ruth. The entire story is about a woman who is the primary named character. This woman is a gentile woman and ends up marrying her Jewish Redeemer. Sounds kind of familiar to another story in the New Testament. People who don’t see the Church as this woman must be ignoring the obvious or just blinded by the enemy so that they won’t see it. The book of Ruth is not a very big book, it is only 4 chapters and you can read it without spending much time doing it. However, reading is not the same as understanding it. You are going to have to study to show yourself approved a workman unto God. Study involves digging for the big hidden nuggets of truth and not just scanning the surface for the easy stuff. Study will always involve work on your part. If you would like to read my blog series on this woman Ruth you can go to “The Book of Ruth“.
Here is a quick synopsis of the story of Ruth. It seems that this story begins when there was a time of famine that existed in the land of Israel. A man, his wife and two sons moved out of Israel to find food. They went to the land of Moab and settled down. The father of the family dies there. His two sons marry Moabite women to start their own families. However within 10 years time, the two sons also die leaving no heirs. With all of the Hebrew men dead that left the mother-in-law and her two daughter-in-laws only. Naomi, the older widow then attempts to convince her two daughter-in-laws to go back home and find new husbands because she can’t have any more children for them to marry. One daughter-in-law takes her up on this and one does not. The one daughter-in-law named Ruth declares where ever you go I will go, where ever you die I’ll die, your people will be my people and your God will by my God. This is covenant talk if you didn’t realize that. So Naomi and Ruth return to Naomi’s homeland where her relatives lived. This so happens to be in and around the city of Bethlehem. This is the exact future birth place of Jesus. This is certainly not a coincidence. Ruth must have become familiar with the law of Moses being married to a son of Israel or from her mother-in-law Naomi, because everything she does going forward follows the things written in the law.
The law of Moses provided for a method of raising up an heir in the case and circumstances that Ruth was experiencing. A man called a kinsman redeemer was responsible to marry the widow of the dead relative and have children with her. This child would become an heir for the dead husbands family. This kinsman redeemer was named Boaz in the book of Ruth. Boaz was a very wealthy man and owned a large field that Ruth would gleam from in order to get food to survive. Boaz ends up meeting this woman Ruth and finds out who she is. The net result of this meeting is a marriage. Boaz redeems Ruth from her widowhood and they have a child and an heir. This natural child becomes the great grandfather of David the king and eventually directly in the lineage of the birth of Jesus, our redeemer. You might be able to recognize the types of some of the characters in this story fairly easily and others will be much more difficult to see. Boaz is definitely a type of Jesus, the redeemer. Ruth the gentile is a type of the church. Naomi the mother-in-law would be a type of the nation of Israel. I don’t know of any type and shadow that is a perfect match otherwise it wouldn’t be a shadow it would be the object that is making the shadow. Everything may not fit exactly like you think it should, but I guarantee you everything is significant and has meaning, you just don’t know what it means yet. I could attempt to explain more things in this blog, but since it is not my primary subject it would just cloud the issue at hand. If you go and read the story of Ruth closely you will find that I didn’t include every character mentioned. I didn’t include every interaction between these characters either. There are certainly many more things to learn from this book, but you will need to wait.
I would highly recommend if you haven’t read those two books that you go back and read them and pay very close attention to what is being said. Take note of who the characters are and what they do. The patterns, types and shadows given are very relevant to our subject of the identity of the bride of Christ. Both books are about a male and a female relationship. Both books are about love and marriage. Both represent types of Jesus and the church.
So that was an introduction to two major patterns of Christ and the church in the Old Testament. You should be intimately familiar with these stories and have a really good understanding of them so that you will know who you are in the spiritual world. We will continue looking at other Old Testament scriptures for the bride in my next blog.
If you like to continue reading this series, you can go to “Part 10“.
The Agapegeek Blog 