ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 1

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2 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 2 Genesis 14 Series, Study Genesis 14 Series, Study Genesis 14 Series, Study Genesis 14 Series, Study Genesis 14 Series, Study Genesis 14 Series, Study 1 by Chris McCann, originally aired February 15, 2017 Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #1 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are reading the first two verses of the chapter in Genesis 14:1-2: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. I will stop reading there. We have come to the point in the study of the Book of Genesis where God is temporarily breaking off from a discussion of Abram and his sojourn in the land of Canaan and God is describing a battle that took place thousands of years ago. What is significant about this battle is that Lot will be taken captive and Abram will enlist some of his servants and some others and they will go to battle. It is a very interesting historical event that God has recorded for us. Certainly, given the nature of man, there would have been numerous battles. There would have been numerous city states battling against other city states, but we are not given information about other battles. The Lord selected this particular battle and we wonder what is so important about this battle for God to record it in the Bible and inform His people about it. That is one of the questions we will have in the back of our minds as we read about it. Again, it said in Genesis 14:1: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; These kings were on the same side and we would call them allies. They are warring with the city states that are mentioned in Genesis 14:2: *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. Verse 1 describes four kings and verse 2 describes five kings they are fighting against. We know we are correct concerning the number of kings because it says in Genesis 14:8-9: And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same *is* Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. That is exactly what we had counted in verses 1 and 2. The Lord very carefully tells us the name of each king and the name of the city or state that king ruled over. Before we can move on with our study, the names of the kings are not very helpful in revealing a spiritual truth or information about them. The first king listed was Amraphel

3 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 3 and it is a word that Strong s concordance does not identify and it is not related to another word (that I could see). The second king, Arioch, is from a word that may relate to a lion. It is possible, but it may not be. The third king, Chedorlaomer, is also unknown. The fourth king is Tidal and Strong s relates it to the idea of fear. It gives a word that it believes Tidal is derived from, but when we look at that word it does not seem to be a derivative of the same word, so I do not think that Tidal means fear, but Strong s Concordance does, so I will mention it, but I do not think there is any evidence of it. So, we are not going to be helped through the names of these kings, except for Arioch (because it is used elsewhere). So, let us move on and look at the places they are kings over: Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. This is more helpful because we see some of the locations used elsewhere in the Bible. For instance, Shinar is found in the Book of Daniel. In fact, most of these names will lead us to the Book of Daniel. It says in Daniel 1:1-2: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, captured many of the Jews and took many treasures from Jerusalem and carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god, so Shinar is very much part of the kingdom of Babylon. It was a place where the house of the king s god was located, so that would have been extremely important in that nation, so we could say that Shinar identifies with Babylon. Let us look at the second individual, Arioch, king of Ellasar. We do not know the meaning of Ellasar, and I do not believe it is used elsewhere in the Bible. Again, we do not know what the name Arioch means, but it possibly could relate to a lion. The name Arioch is used elsewhere. It appears in Daniel 2:14-15: Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise *men* of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why *is* the decree *so* hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Although we do not know the meaning of the word Arioch, we see that a captain of high rank in the kingdom of Babylon had that name, so there is also some relationship to Babylon. We could say that Arioch is a Babylonian name because this captain of the guard had that name. So, again, Shinar is the place of the house of the god of Babylon and Arioch is a name that a Babylonian captain of the guard was known by. What about Elam? Elam is a place mentioned more often in the Bible and it also leads us to the Book of Daniel. It says in Daniel 8:1-2: In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, *even unto* me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I *was* at Shushan *in* the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. Shushan, the palace, was in the province of Elam. Shushan is later mentioned in the Book of Esther as the palace of King Ahasuerus. But here in Daniel 8, verse 1 it was in the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar, who was a Babylonian king and Shushan was the palace for the Babylonian king. Once again, we find that in the case of Amraphel king of Shinar, it identified with Babylon; in the case of Arioch king of Ellasar, the name Arioch identifies with the captain of a Babylonian captain of the guard; in the case of Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Elam was the place where Shushan the palace was and the location of King Belshazzar, the Babylonian king. Each one

4 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 4 identifies with Babylon. Then the fourth and final king in verse 1 is Tidal, king of nations. Again, we do not understand what the name Tidal means, but it is highly significant that he is said to be king of nations. Why is that significant? It is because it is a title that belongs to God. It says in Jeremiah 10:6-7: Forasmuch as *there is* none like unto thee, O JEHOVAH; thou *art* great, and thy name *is* great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise *men* of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, *there is* none like unto thee. The Lord JEHOVAH is King of nations. And, yet, this man Tidal calls himself king of nations. There is nothing specific about what nations he is king over. He is apparently not the king of Shinar or these other nations mentioned, but he rules over some nations and he took the title king of nations. The Hebrew word for nations is go-ee and it is the same word for Gentile. It is the same word for heathen. We could read it this way: Tidal, king of the heathen. Does that help us in our attempt to spiritually identify him and these four kings? Yes, it does. Satan is the king of the heathen or the king of the unsaved people of the earth. He became their ruler through conquest back in the Garden of Eden when man disobeyed God and believed the lie; man became subservient to Satan. Satan became king of nations. At least, that is what he claimed in Luke, chapter 4 at the time of Jesus testing. It says in Luke 4:5-6: And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. He speaks of all the nations of the world and Satan said he could give them to Christ because they were given to him, as he said at the end of verse 6: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. And it was delivered unto him to have dominion over man. Mankind had dominion over the world and when Satan conquered them, he had dominion over the world or everything man had ruled over, so king of nations is the perfect title to represent Satan. Not only that, but notice that there are four kings named. The first three had some link to Babylon and some relationship to a king of Babylon and the king of Babylon is a type and figure of Satan. It says in Isaiah 14:4-6: That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! JEHOVAH hath broken the staff of the wicked, *and* the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, *and* none hindereth. This is referring to Satan. The context clearly shows it. He is typified by the king of Babylon and, yet, what God is saying about the king of Babylon has application to Satan. Satan is the one that ruled the nations in anger. By the way, that is the reason why in Revelation 19 where it speaks of the Day of Judgment (which began on May 21, 2011), it was also the day that Satan was put down from all official rule over the nations and over the churches. Satan was put down. He ruled the nations because all the nations of the world had been delivered unto him and he ruled them in anger. But then Christ took the kingdom and conquered him. It says in Revelation 19:15: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Christ rules over everything Satan had previously ruled over and Satan had ruled the nations. From that point at the beginning of Judgment Day and up until the end of the world, the Lord Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron. We know that Satan has been put down and deposed. In an historical parable, the Book of Esther lays this out very well. Haman, a type of Satan, is the adversary and enemy and he was hanged on the seventeenth day of

5 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 5 the second month of their calendar and then King Ahasuerus gives the house of Haman to Mordecai, a type of Christ. Then Mordecai rules over the house of Haman until all the enemies of the Jews were slain on that day and Purim was the day that had been selected by lot. There we have that same idea. On May 21, 2011, the house of Satan or the nations were taken from Satan. To prove that the nations have to do with the house, remember that Christ spoke the parable: No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Christ bound Satan at the cross and spoiled his house through the centuries of the church age; that is, the Gospel went into the nations of the world and individuals became saved. The Word of God prospered and was established in the churches and congregations for 1,955 years. Satan s house was plundered as the Gospel took individuals from among the nations. Haman s house was given to Mordecai and, likewise, Christ presently rules over the nations of the world, as He is smiting them. It is not a rule designed for their good, but for their ultimate destruction. So, we see that Satan ruled the nations, like Tidal, king of nations. Concerning the king of Babylon, we could also look at Jeremiah 25:11: And this whole land shall be a desolation, *and* an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. This is what Genesis 14, verse 1 is directing our attention toward by using locations like Shinar and Elam and the name of one of the kings, Arioch. It is directing our attention to the Great Tribulation period, the time when Satan began to rule in an unparalleled way over the nations and over the corporate church. It was a glorious time for him and his kingdom of darkness. He was full of power and strength and he overcame the camp of the saints. Here, in Genesis 14, verse 1 the four kings are fighting against five and they are representative of the rule of Satan, especially during the Great Tribulation period. Genesis 14 Series, Study 2 by Chris McCann, originally aired February 16, 2017 Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #2 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are going to read the first two verses in Genesis 14:1-2: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. Just to remind us, in our last study we saw that the four kings mentioned in verse 1 relate to Babylon. Shinar was a place where the house of the Babylonian god was located. Arioch was the name of a Babylonian guard. Elam was a place where Shushan the palace was located. We discussed Tidal king of nations, and how that was a good name for a type and figure of Satan because Satan ruled the nations up to May 21, 2011, when he was put down from all official rule. These four kings are representative of Satan and his rule as king. For instance, if we go to Daniel, chapter 7 it speaks of a vision Daniel received. It says in Daniel 7:3-4: And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first *was* like a lion, and had eagle's wings Then it says in Daniel 7:5: And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear Then it says in Daniel 7:6:

6 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard Then it says in Daniel 7:7: After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it *was* diverse from all the beasts that *were* before it; and it had ten horns. Remember what we said regarding Haman in our last study. Haman had ten sons and Haman was called the adversary and enemy and he was used by God as a figure of Satan. Likewise, his ten sons were also a figure of Satan. When Haman was hanged, he lost his house when King Ahasuerus gave his house to Mordecai. The ten sons of Haman continued to exist, although they lacked power and authority because their father s house had been given to Mordecai. Yet, they continued to live until Purim and at Purim they were also put to death. This relates to Satan s defeat on May 21, 2011 as he lost all official rule and, yet, he continues to exist until the end of the world on the last day; then he will be destroyed. The four great beasts are a picture of Satan. It goes on to say in Daniel 7:17: These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, *which* shall arise out of the earth. We are reading about four kings in Genesis, chapter 14 that have ties to Babylon and the fourth king was said to be king of nations. It says in Zechariah 14:2: For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle Here, Jerusalem would be a picture of the corporate church and God s plan was to gather the nations against Jerusalem. But how would God accomplish the gathering of the nations? In the last Book of the New Testament, we read in Revelation 20:7: And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom *is* as the sand of the sea. In Zechariah, God said He would gather the nations and brings them against Jerusalem, but God accomplished it by loosing Satan and Satan immediately came against the camp of the saints, the local churches and congregations of the world. He was able to completely overcome them because God s Spirit was no longer within because the Lord had departed out of the midst of the churches, delivering them up to Satan for destruction. So, God gathered the nations by utilizing Satan, exactly as we read in the Book of Jeremiah when the Lord used the king of Babylon and the nation of Babylon to come against Jerusalem and God said of the king of Babylon that he was His servant. The way God used King Nebuchadnezzar in ancient history was as a tool of destruction upon the rebellious city. King Nebuchadnezzar was very good at that, just as Satan is very good at spiritual destruction, so God used Satan to gather the nations to battle. There was Tidal king of nations, and there were four kings coming against five. It says in Revelation 13:1-2: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a

7 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 7 leopard, and his feet were as *the feet* of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion If we go back to Daniel, chapter 7 that I read earlier, you will find it refers to those beasts being as a leopard, a bear and a lion. Revelation 13 speaks of a beast rising up out of the sea and it is the same beast as in Daniel, chapter 7, verse 17 which was said to be four kings. Therefore, as we relate four kings to our verse in Genesis 14, these four kings are a picture of the beast or the final rule of Satan during the Great Tribulation period. Then it says of the beast in Revelation 13:7: And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him Again, there was spiritual warfare between the beast and the camp of the saints, just as in Revelation, chapter 20, although I do not think we read that verse after it said they were gathered together to battle or war. It says in Revelation 20:9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about So, the nations came against the churches and in Revelation, chapter 13 the nations under the power of Satan came against the churches. Babylon came against Jerusalem or Judah. Also, in Revelation, chapter 11 it speaks of the two witnesses, a figure of Moses and Elijah, that represented the Law and the prophets or the Word of God within the churches and congregations and the Word of God had power and authority as long as the Spirit of God was in the midst. But, once the Spirit departed out of the midst, the Word of God lost its power, authority and ability to save within the churches. So, it says in Revelation 11:7-9: And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies *shall lie* in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Again, this is language indicating the lifelessness of the Word of God during the first part of the Great Tribulation. That lifelessness would continue during the entire Great Tribulation within the corporate church. When the two witnesses rise upon their feet it identifies with the witness of God outside of the churches and congregations and the Word of God, once again, had the power, authority and the ability to save. That began on September 7, 1994 with the outpouring of the Latter Rain. But notice that the beast is making war with the two witnesses and their bodies are lying in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom, and that brings us back to Genesis, chapter 14. We know that in verse 1 four kings are listed, pointing to the universal rule of Satan during the Great Tribulation. Then we read in Genesis 14:2: *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. We just saw in Revelation 11 that it speaks of a beast and Daniel 7 identifies it as four beasts because the number four is pointing to the universal aspect of Satan s rule during the Great Tribulation period. So, there is warfare because the beast made war with the camp of the saints and overcame them. He defeated them and we are going to see in Genesis 14 that the four kings do defeat the five kings. They defeat the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar. It appears to be a rout because there is no evidence that these other city states put up much of a fight; they were defeated handily and many captives were taken. We can relate that to

8 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 8 Satan s overcoming the churches and congregations of the world during the Great Tribulation. That means that Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar also identify with the corporate church. We have evidence of that regarding Sodom, in Revelation 7, verse 11, but we also see it in Isaiah 1:1: The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, *and* Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The vision is concerning Judah and Jerusalem, but God goes on to speak of His people in Isaiah 1:7-10: Your country *is* desolate, your cities *are* burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and *it is* desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except JEHOVAH of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, *and* we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of JEHOVAH, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Again, the Lord is addressing Israel or Judah and He is calling them rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah. Yes, it is because of their great wickedness that He says this, but, nonetheless, there is a typology being developed and an association is being made between the people of God and Sodom and Gomorrah. By the way, Zoar is also mentioned here, but not by name. God says, Except JEHOVAH of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, *and* we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Remember, later in the Book of Genesis when the Lord is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, Lot fled to Zoar. Notice the language concerning Zoar in Genesis 19:20-22: Behold now, this city *is* near to flee unto, and it *is* a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (*is* it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. It was called Zoar or a little one, as in a very small remnant. Zoar was located in the plain of Jordan, along with all the other cities. We sometimes forget about Admah and Zeboiim, which were likewise destroyed. They were all in the plain and fire and brimstone fell from heaven destroying four out of five cities, leaving only the little one remaining. The little city became as a city of refuge for Lot and his family. God did not destroy it. A very small remnant escaped the judgment and that identifies with the remnant within Israel and it identifies with the elect remnant that was within the churches and congregations. At the time God began to bring destruction upon the corporate church, there were elect attending the churches. They were members and very faithful individuals within their churches and, yet, God allowed Satan to come against the churches while the elect were still within the churches and congregations of the world. It is just as in this battle, Zoar was not exempt. Zoar was not excluded from the fight. The king of Bela or Zoar is named among the four kings, but it is just a little one and it is a place that identifies with the remnant. The Lord has told us about Zoar as being part of the alliance of kings because the elect were aligned with the corporate church. The wheat and the tares grew together until the Lord issued forth issued forth the command for His people to come out of the midst and flee to the mountains. However, that did not happen until several years into the judgment upon the corporate church that began at the house of God. So, here in Genesis 14, verse 2 we see that the four kings made war with Bera, King of Sodom, and we can easily see that Sodom relates to a type of figure of the corporate church. They made war with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and we saw in Isaiah 1, verse 10 that God spoke of His people as people of Gomorrah, so we can relate Gomorrah to the corporate church.

9 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 9 But what about Admah and Zeboiim? Let us go to Hosea 11:8: How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? *how* shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? *how* shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. God is speaking of giving His people up and he relates Ephraim, which is Israel, to Admah and Zeboim. The Lord did not always use Sodom and Gomorrah as the figure and He did not mention Sodom and Gomorrah here, just as he did not mention Admah and Zeboim in Isaiah, chapter 1, but we know four cities of the plain were destroyed in the days of Lot and all these cities are joined together in battle against these four kings that represent the rule of Satan, the beast, during the Great Tribulation period. The four kings will overcome the five. Genesis 14 Series, Study 3 by Chris McCann, originally aired February 20, 2017 Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #3 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are going to read the first two verses in Genesis 14:1-3: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. In our last study, we spent some time going over the places and the names of the individuals found in verses 1 and 2. We saw in verse 1 that the four kings identify with the kingdom of Satan and the rule of Satan, especially during the Great Tribulation period, as these four kings tie in with the four beasts we read about in Daniel, chapter 7; the beasts there relate to Revelation 13 and other places in the New Testament. It is picturing Satan s rule at the time of the end of the world. In verse 2 the five kings identify with Israel or Judah, as we saw. I am going to go to a different verse that shows this because there are a good number of verses that point to this. Let us go to Jeremiah 23:13-14: And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness By the way, the Lord specifically tells us how this was done in Ezekiel, chapter 13 where He also addresses the false prophets, in Ezekiel 13:22: Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way This is exactly what it says in Jeremiah 23:14: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness So, this is a parallel statement to Ezekiel 13:22: and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: We are told the reason why at the end of the verse: by promising him life. That is the condemnation for just about every corporate church today. They all promise their members life, if you are a member in good standing or you have been baptized or you partake of the Lord s Table or you have accepted Christ, and so forth.

10 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 10 It is a transaction in which the leaders of the congregations are promising their members life if they follow their church and do certain things. This strengthens the hands of the wicked (unsaved people) because the pastor says, If you say the Sinner s Prayer and you truly believe that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and you accept Him, then you re a child of God. See it says so here in the Bible. He promises the person life and, yet, there was no change in the heart of that person because God did not establish a salvation program whereby repeating certain magic words can save anyone. It is alien to the Bible. It is contrary to the Bible. Salvation is of the Lord and God will do the saving of those He determined to save during the time period He allotted for salvation, but the day of salvation has now expired. God does all the work when it comes to saving sinners and that is why it says, and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: Now the person can have their cake and eat it, too. He can have his sins and he can still have the world and he can have assurance of salvation, but the problem is that it is not assurance from God because it is not salvation from God. It is only assurance from the church and salvation of the church, which is not true salvation at all. That is why it is such a terrible thing and these people will remain in their wickedness because they are content in that condition. It goes on to say in Jeremiah 23:14: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Israel of old qualified to be labeled as, ye rulers of Sodom and ye people of Gomorrah, in Isaiah, chapter 1. Here, again, unfaithful and rebellious Judah had set up their own gospel. (Yes, there was a gospel in Old Testament times, too.) They were as Sodom. The rulers (the priests and the Levites) were like Sodom and the inhabitants thereof were like Gomorrah. I just quoted from Isaiah, chapter 1, but I want to read it again. Notice what it says in Isaiah 1:10: Hear the word of JEHOVAH, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. God is making a distinction. The rulers are like Sodom, but the people that follow them are like Gomorrah. That is similar to Jeremiah 23, verse 14 where the Lord speaks of false prophets that are doing the teaching: they are all of them unto me as Sodom. They are the rulers and the ones that are in authority and they are violating that trust; they are the shepherds and pastors that ought to be feeding the flock, but, they are feeding themselves of the flock. They are as Sodom and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Why does God liken the people in Isaiah 1:10 to Gomorrah, but He likens the rulers and the false prophets that do the teaching to Sodom? It is interesting when we look at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Admah and Zeboiim, we read about the sin of Sodom. For instance, when God came in the form of the angels that came to Sodom, it was the men of Sodom that were trying to know them through the sin of homosexuality. It says of the people of Sodom in Genesis 13:13: But the men of Sodom *were* wicked and sinners before JEHOVAH exceedingly. God found fault with Sodom. Sodom was an extremely wicked place and, yet, He also destroyed Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and He would have destroyed Zoar, but Lot interceded for it and it was spared. Why did God destroy the other cities when Sodom appeared to be the main culprit? It is because Sodom was leading the other cities of the plain in to evil, just as it was the spiritual leaders of Israel (the rulers and the teachers) that led the nations of Israel and Judah astray. Yes, God condemned them as Sodom, but He also pronounced condemnation upon the people of Israel and Judah because the people loved to have it so, as we read elsewhere in the Bible; they were not innocent as they were following these things.

11 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 11 So, the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah and the other cities of the plain is a picture of God s judgment upon the churches and congregations. Israel and Judah point to the New Testament church age and, finally, at its conclusion God began judgment at the house of God (the corporate church) because of their spiritual high places that were established by church leaders, such as the popes, bishops, priests, ministers, pastors, elders and deacons. They were the ones that set up the high places. They were the ones that wrote the theology books and the commentaries and led the people astray on doctrine after doctrine. They were the ones that came up with other kinds of gospels. The people simply followed and, yet, there is no excuse. The people cannot say, Well, it was the pastor. It was the elders. They led us astray. We just followed. It is similar to the leaders during the rebellion in the wilderness. Yes, there were the men of renown that were famous in the congregation and, yet, the people followed them. There is accountability and responsibility that all people have toward the Word of God. Every individual is responsible before God to follow the truth and maintain and uphold sound doctrine. When a preacher or another leader goes off course, the people have a responsibility to no longer follow him. They should say, I am sorry. We do not want you as the pastor any longer. We do not want you teaching here anymore or we must leave. Then it was up to the people to leave and go to another church during the church age. There is dual responsibility. It starts with those in authority that are proclaiming and teaching the Word of the Lord. They were as Sodom, but because the people allowed it to happen without confronting the pastor or teacher they also share in the blame; they are as the inhabitants of Gomorrah. And God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, even though we could say Sodom was more wicked because they were the instigators that were leading everyone else in to sin. And, yet, Gomorrah and its inhabitants, likewise, perished. So, we see as we look at the five kings, there is no question that Sodom and Gomorrah identify with the corporate church. That would be the spiritual connection as they identify with Israel and Judah and they, in turn, identify with the corporate church. As far as Admah and Zeboiim, we looked at Hosea 11, verse 8 in our last study, where God likened Ephraim and Israel to those two cities of the plain, so four of the cities of the plain can be tied to the churches and congregations. This fits with this historical battle that took place in the days of Abram because it is a picture of the battle that would occur at the time of the end of the world at the end of the church age when God came to visit the churches and congregation to see if they had repented of their high places and error. He found that they had not repented and at that point God loosed Satan out of the bottomless pit. He is Gog that gathered together Magog, the unsaved of the nations, and they come together (the four beasts, as it were) against the corporate church in battle. Satan won that battle because God was no longer within the churches. They ceased to be the corporate people of God, as God ended that association, and they were on their own. However, there were still elect within the churches, as typified by Zoar in Genesis 14, verse 2. As God allowed Satan to overcome the churches and congregations, Zoar was protected. Zoar was not destroyed. The little city was not destroyed. The name Zoar means small one or little one. Remember, Lot interceded, as it says in Genesis 19: : Behold now, this city *is* near to flee unto, and it *is* a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (*is* it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then JEHOVAH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from JEHOVAH out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. Where was Lot? He was in one of the cities of the plain, but protected while all around him the other cities were burning and their inhabitants killed. There was terrible destruction in the plain of Jordan for four cities out of

12 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 12 five. We saw that Zoar became as a city of refuge. When Lot entered Zoar, it was a picture of the elect finding salvation. We have a dual picture because of the way God uses Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom can typify the churches or it can typify the world, so we have a dual spiritual meaning. God would not bring judgment upon the corporate churches until every one of the elect firstfruits (as typified by the 144,000 of Revelation14) had experienced salvation. As righteous Lot entered Zoar, it was like the elect had entered that eternal little city, the kingdom of God; then God could begin judgment upon the corporate church. Everyone the Lord had ordained to become saved via the churches had become saved. In a secondary way that points to the final judgment of the world, Lot represents all the elect that were saved by May 21, The Lord could do nothing until Lot entered the Zoar and, likewise, when the last of the elect that was to become saved was saved, then God began to bring about the final judgment on the world. So, we can see both spiritual pictures in view. And, I say both, based on the ways Sodom is used in the Bible; we cannot limit it only to the churches. For instance, in Luke 17 God speaks of the destruction of the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, tying it in to the end of the world and the final judgment on mankind. You cannot relate that to the judgment on the churches. And, yet, in Revelation, chapter 11 where the judgment on the churches is in view, God brings up Sodom. Since we have God giving this wider understanding of Sodom in regard to either the corporate church or the world, we can see that the destruction of Sodom can apply to both. It can apply to the judgment of God on the churches and the judgment of God on the world. Let us go back to Genesis 14 and read Genesis 14:3: All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. The word vale means valley. It was in the valley of Siddim. The word Siddim appears to mean field or country, so it is in the valley of the country or of the field, which is the salt sea. The battle between the four kings and five took place in this location in the valley of Siddim, which is the salt sea. It was there that the warfare occurred and the four kings overcame the five and took captives, and so forth. Lord willing, when we get together in our next study we will look more closely at verse 3 and the word translated as joined together. It really has a very interesting meaning, especially as we look at them as joining together as two armies running toward one another and killing one another. And, yet, the word leads us to an unusual understanding of what that means. Genesis 14 Series, Study 4 by Chris McCann, originally aired February 21, 2017 Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #4 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are going to read the first three verses in Genesis 14:1-3: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; *That these* made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. In our last study, we saw that the four kings identified with Babylon and, therefore, with the kingdom of Satan and they came against five kings. Regarding the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, we can show very clearly in the Bible that these four cities relate to the corporate church. As was mentioned in our last study, there is also an element of the final judgment that could be in view and the context determines if it is a picture of the

13 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 13 judgment upon the corporate church or a picture of the final judgment of all unsaved people of the world. Here, it appears to be pointing to the judgment upon the churches by the forces from the north or from Satan s kingdom. The kings from Shinar and Elam identify with the kingdom of Babylon and the name Arioch identifies with the captain of the guard of the Babylonians. We saw that Tidal king of nations was a picture of Satan winning by right of conquest the rule over all the unsaved inhabitants of the earth. The four kings identify with four beasts. The beast is the name God assigned to Satan that especially identifies with Satan s short period of rule during the 23-year Great Tribulation. It was at that time Satan was loosed and came against the camp of the saints, which Judah and Israel normally typify. In Revelation, chapter 11 the Lord relates the fall of the two witnesses when they were killed and lying in the streets of Sodom. So, here, the four kings coming against five identifies with the spiritual battle that took place during the Great Tribulation period. There has always been something odd about that battle because we know that at the beginning of the Great Tribulation on May 21, 1988 God s Spirit departed out of the midst of the churches. That was when God loosed Satan and delivered the church in to his hands. The Lord officially gave the devil rule over the churches and congregations of the world as an instrument of punishment against them for their unfaithfulness and rebellion against God. So, when we read of a battle that identifies with the Great Tribulation, we wonder how there could be two sides because the forces of Gog and Magog that gathered the nations to battle to come against the camp of the saints were led by Satan. The assaulting army was ruled over by Satan, but so, too, was the corporate church because God had turned it over to Satan s hand. That did not take any length of time. It was done in an instant, as the Holy Spirit removed Himself from the entire corporate church; every church and congregation in all the world lacked the Holy Spirit the moment He came out of the midst and, in that same instant Satan took his seat in the temple as the man of sin, showing himself that he was God, in the entire church body. We can go to Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 where the Lord pictures the forces of Gog and Magog or we could go to the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations or to passages in Ezekiel and we could see the parable of King Nebuchadnezzar (Satan) and Babylon (the forces of Satan) coming against Judah and Jerusalem (the churches and congregations of the world). Historically, God gave up His people of Judah and Jerusalem and turned them over to the hands of the enemy; God was not fighting with them against the Babylonians. So, we see this works out where the Bible is showing us that Satan came against the corporate church and Satan was also the leader of the churches at that time. The churches had been delivered over to him for destruction. They were under his power and authority which was officially given to him by God. By the way, when we look at these nations or city states, we do not know how many people lived in these places like Sodom, Gomorrah, Shinar or Ellasar. As far as we know, Abram entered Canaan when he was 75 years old, so that would have been in the year 2092BC and we also know that Abram was 86 when Hagar, Sarai s handmaid, gave birth to Ishmael, so Abram may have been somewhere in the range of 77 to 82 years old, so it would have been about 2090BC, or so, and it was thousands of years before our present time. It would be more than two thousand years to the birth of Christ, so this would have been ancient history. And, yet, with the four kings, none of them identified with the kingdom of God or with righteousness or goodness. We would say they were evil kings, based on the information we know about the places they ruled over. They were coming against Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and it was in the year 2068BC when Abraham was 99 that God would destroy these cities for their wickedness. Already in the previous chapter we saw that the men of Sodom were wicked: But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before JEHOVAH exceedingly. They were already wicked sinners and we can expect that Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim were following their lead, just like today where we have wicked cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York. These major cities can lead others in their messaging and their lifestyles, especially in our day when evil can be photographed or videoed and broadcast to all the world. So, yes, wicked cities can lead other places in to evil and Sodom led the cities of the plain. In Genesis 14 we have a battle that is about to unfold in which there are no good guys. There are no righteous

14 ebible Fellowship Genesis 14 Series Page 14 nations in view, until we look at Zoar, the little city. It was just a remnant of the population of the cities of the plain. It was a little city, hardly worth mentioning. They just included Zoar because it was in the general area, but they did not count on them for much in a battle like this and, yet, Zoar is a representative of God s elect that were within the churches and congregations that had been doing wickedly; they had been disobeying God s commandments and altering God s commandments. Well, we know the sins of the corporate church that they were actively involved with for centuries and many false doctrines were cemented into their confessions and creeds as high places. They usurped the authority of the Word of God, the Bible, and they made their high places their authority. We know full well that the churches were full of tares and they were like Sodom and their neighboring cities of the plain; they were doing wickedness exceedingly over the centuries of the church age. But for the entire church age of 1,955 years God s elect were there. They were the remnant or the little city and they were scattered here and there within the congregations of the world. There was wheat along with the tares and because the Lord cares for the wheat (His elect), He would not permit judgment upon the tares until the wheat was ready and then He separated the wheat from the tares. We understand from the Bible that this was a process the Lord put in to effect during the Great Tribulation, especially during the second part of the Great Tribulation when He commanded His people to come out of the congregations and flee to the mountains. Of course, not everyone that came out were truly wheat or saved, but everyone that were truly saved would come out. Some unsaved individuals also came out of the churches, but it was effective in making sure all the true elect people did leave the churches before May 21, 2011 when Judgment Day came. Then the fate of everyone left in the churches was sealed; they were bundled as tares for the fire. It was necessary, therefore, for all the elect to come out and all the elect did come out and the separating process was completed by May 21, But up until that point, it was like Zoar. There would be the true elect that were saved primarily through the witness of the churches and congregations. They are likened to 144,000 in Revelation, chapter 14 and they were the firstfruits unto God. They were just a small percentage, a little number of the total of those in the congregations. For many are called, but few are chosen. Zoar is the only good actor in this battle and, yet, it is identified with Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, so Zoar is linked together with these other cities that have been doing wickedly and committing evil deeds. We find a similar historic comparison in 2Chronicles but, first, let me read Genesis 14:3: All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. The Hebrew word translated as joined together is Strong s #2266 and it is found in 2Chronicles 20:35-36: And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish Keep in mind that in the Bible ships identify with the churches. In Acts, chapter 27 the ship was made shipwreck, pointing to the end of the church age. Here, Jehoshaphat is a good and faithful king and a true believer (he would be like Zoar) and he joined together with Ahaziah, a wicked king of Israel and, yet, they were joined together, just like the wheat and the tares were joined together in the congregations. They came together to make ships and, again, the ships picture the churches. Did the saved and the unsaved join together to build the corporate churches? Yes, they did and there were both saved and unsaved in the Presbyterian churches, the Lutheran churches, the Episcopal churches, and so forth. They joined together and you could not fully know who was saved and who was not saved. You could have some idea based on what they taught: By their fruits ye shall know them. However, for the most part, you could not know who was truly saved and who was not, especially during the church age, because that was a time when many things were sealed in the Bible. God had