The Book of Obadiah - Part 1

Transcription

1 The Book of Obadiah - Part 1 Oba 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Oba 1:2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. Oba 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Oba 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. Oba 1:5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? Oba 1:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! Obadiah s vision is an important part of the sum of God s Word. This little book is in fact the Words of Jesus Christ and if we followed Babylonian traditions, they would be highlighted in red. The Lord speaks through Obadiah and all His prophets which are the very Elect chosen by God in each age. So there really is no such thing as a minor prophet, these are the Words of the Lord. Hos 12:10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. 2Pe 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2Pe 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior: 1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. This book of Obadiah tells the story of all of us. This is our life and our walk being described here, the positive and the negative, the flesh and the spirit, our disobedience and our eventual obedience. Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. God s people, the Christ of Christ are a kind of firstfruits and to whom and about the Scriptures are written (Jas 1:18, Rev 17:14, etc). Gen 1:1 In the FIRSTFRUITS (beginning) God created the heaven and the earth. First comes Adam, the natural man of the flesh and then secondly comes the 2 nd Adam, the Lord from heaven. It s is all the work of the Lord as He is the Alpha and the Omega and all in between. 1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 1

2 Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Oba 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Obadiah heard a rumour (H8052) which begins the prophecy. He was given ears to hear and eyes to see as is also given to God s Elect who are the Lord s prophets. It is interesting that the word for rumour is most often translated as rumour or report but is also the word translated DOCTRINE in this key verse from Isaiah 28: Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? (H8052) them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. So Obadiah heard doctrine. He was made/caused to believe the REPORT of the Lord. He was given ears to hear and eyes to see and to understand the Words of Christ and thus began this prophecy and sharing of what the Lord was saying. Likewise, when we are given our ears to hear, we too are sent forth among the heathen to arise and go into battle. Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? (H8052) and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, The vision (revelation) was concerning EDOM, which is a symbol of the first man Adam and the pulls of the flesh and the beast within that must be overcome. So this prophecy is about what happens to EDOM within us. Salvation is accomplished now by us being given dominion over the old man. Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Gen 36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. The battle that Christ must wage begins in us when He arises to fight this battle against the flesh. Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Being remade into a new creation, the process of salvation requires the new man in us, Christ in us, to rise up and go fight the pulls of the flesh and carnal mindedness. We all start in a place of disobedience and at the appointed time, we are called to arise and go fight EDOM and that 2

3 includes our own flesh. Salvation comes as we are given dominion over EDOM and the flesh (Esau) serves the new man (Jacob). Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. David as a type of Christ reveals that we will take captive the pulls of the flesh and the flesh will serve us and not the other way around. 2Sa 8:14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. The last key point on verse 1 is the reference to ambassadors. God s Elect are Christ s ambassadors in this world and it is thru us that His Word is spoken and the greater spiritual works of the Lord are accomplished. 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. I found it very instructive to the inward application of this battle and ambassadorship by looking at the Hebrew word H6735. Almost half the time it is used, it is translated as pangs, sorrow or pain. H6735 ציר tsıŷr Total KJV Occurrences: 13 ambassador, 3 Pro_13:17, Jer_49:14, Oba_1:1 pangs, 3 Isa_13:8, Isa_21:3 (2) ambassadors, 2 Jos_9:3-4 (2), Isa_18:2 hinges, 1 Pro_26:14 messenger, 1 Pro_25:13 messengers, 1 Isa_57:9 pains, 1 1Sa_4:19 sorrows, 1 Dan_10:16 3

4 The word Ambassador is from the Hebrew word tsoor (H6696) which is most often translated as adversary or some form of the word besiege. H6696 צ ור tsu r tsoor A primitive root; to cramp, that is, confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile): - adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags. Total KJV Occurrences: 36 besieged, 14 2Sa_11:1, 2Sa_20:15, 1Ki_16:17, 1Ki_20:1, 2Ki_6:24-25 (2), 2Ki_17:5 (2), 2Ki_18:9, 1Ch_20:1, Jer_32:2, Jer_37:5, Dan_1:1 (2) besiege, 8 Deu_20:12, Deu_20:19, 1Sa_23:8, 2Ki_24:11, 2Ch_6:28, Isa_21:2, Jer_21:4, Jer_21:9 siege, 3 1Ki_15:27, Eze_4:3 (2) distress, 2 Deu_2:9, Deu_2:19 adversaries, 1 Exo_23:22 assault, 1 Est_8:11 bags, 1 2Ki_12:10 beset, 1 Psa_139:5 cast, 1 1Ki_7:15 distressed, 1 2Ch_28:20 enclose, 1 Son_8:9 fortify, 1 Jdg_9:31 put, 1 2Ki_12:10 Here is one example of this same word translated ambassador is used to speak of birth pangs. 4

5 Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs (H6735) and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. This is a powerful confirmation that being an ambassador for Christ is making war against the heathen first and foremost by laying siege to the nations of the heathens within us. This is what brings about the pangs of childbirth and the sorrow of the old man and why this word used as ambassador in Obadiah is also rightfully used as pangs, sorrow, pain, etc. Here is what besieging the heathen nations means in New Testament terms. Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. Mat 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Living and abiding in CHRIST is how these words of an ambassador (fire) are spoken and do their work in the appointed times. Ambassadors do not get entangled in the affairs of the nation to which they are sent. We truly need to be separated, being in the world but not of the world. 2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Php 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. This ambassadorship will bring us great scorn among the heathen within and without, who cannot hear Christ s Words at first and who will bring persecution to Christ. This conflict will rage in our own heavens as the Word of God that is this fire begins to prick our hearts and tear down the kingdom of the beast sitting in God s temple. It continues until the old man is completely destroyed and the land made utterly desolate. Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isa 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, The battle against EDOM is spiritual as we wrestle not against flesh but against spirits, lies and false doctrines that defile our heavens. 5

6 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. 2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; Oba 1:2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. Many are called and few are chosen to be God s Elect in this age. The Israel of God was purposefully made small and surrounded by much bigger nations. To top it off, the Lord has put enmity between us and everyone else in this world that has not the mind of Christ. Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Deu 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. There is nothing attractive about Christ and this is true for our Lord but also for us, His Christ. Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. And this is the Lord s MO and why He used the despised to do His work. 1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. It is worth noting here that this vision of Obadiah is very similar to other Scriptures and particularly these verses from Jeremiah 49. Jer 49:14I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. Jer 49:15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. Jer 49:16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD. Jer 49:17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and 6

7 shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. The parable seems to impart the same message of God s Elect being called out and separated and given to understand true doctrine. Then that very word puffs us up and then in turn is used to show us our own innate wickedness which brings us low and ushers in salvation. But that is not a ten second sinner s prayer, it is a painful process of judgment, suffering and affliction that we must endure to enter into the Kingdom of God. Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Oba 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Oba 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. This prophecy like all Scripture is first and foremost to be applied inwardly and what God is doing and showing us in His kingdom which kingdom is within us (Luke 17:21). We won t be exalted and used of the Lord until we are first humbled but first comes the budding of our pride. Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. This is exactly what we do when we are still in Mystery Babylon, the harlot of harlots, even though we have been long gone from the orthodox churches. We are exalted and in need of nothing. Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Jer 49:4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? That trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? Isaiah 14 comes quickly to mind here when reading Oba 1:3-4. Those words are written to Israel and include a proverb about the King of Babylon who is you and me before we are humbled. Isa 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 7

8 The mercy the Lord will bring to us in due time are the trials. But in the meantime we run off puffed up on knowledge and the pride that is in our carnal DNA. Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. The clefts of the rock are places where we dwell and this is the refuge that is found on the mountain tops. We sit there in our self-righteousness until the Lord brings His righteous judgments against the proud tree we all first become. Reminds me of what happened to another king of Babylon. Dan 4:13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; Dan 4:14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Being exalted as an eagle here is a negative application of that word. Eagles sit high up on the cliffs and rule the skies and are ravenous eaters consuming lots of meat. The negative spiritual application of this is we get puffed up with knowledge before we are proven with trials and the result is pride will blossom. Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains But we cannot hide when our day of the Lord comes, the Word will search us out. Eze 7:9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. Eze 7:10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. We are first found by the Lord and brought into the marvelous Truth and born on the wings of Christ. A great example of this is Deut 32. Deu 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Deu 32:11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: Deu 32:12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. But here is what we all will do before we are tried with the fire. We get fat! Deu 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of 8

9 the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; Deu 32:14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Deu 32:16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. Deu 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Deu 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. Sitting back reading Scriptures, gaining knowledge not coming to the Body and having fervent fellowship, is a trade mark of a self-exalted eagle. It brings these Scriptures to mind. Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me (MY BODY), that ye might have life. The key takeaway of this lesson is the often repeated lesson in Scripture is that we must do the Word not just hear it. This can only be done in the Body, serving Christ. Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Faith along with knowledge does not save us. This faith must lead to works and that is how we are being justified in due time. Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Jas 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Jas 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. This is a necessary and painful process for us to be so humbled. The day of the Lord will not come to our heavens until this is lived out. These words are also is, was and will be! 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; 9

10 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Here is an Old Testament witness to the same event of us as God s Elect handling the Word of God deceitfully and then being destroyed by the brightness of the Lord s coming within. We won t be able to hid in the cleft of the rock forever. Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Eze 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. Eze 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. Also See Ezekiel 16:8-17 We all must be humbled in our day of judgment. The pride of man will be cut down after we get puffed up with knowledge. We hide ourselves and deceive ourselves in the clefts of the rocks on the mountains of flesh (EDOM and ESAU). When thinking we have arrived and are no longer in need of repentance. Those high places must be brought low by the Lord. Eze 6:3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. Mic 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. And here is a new testament witness to the judgment when we get puffed up on knowledge but do not practice pure and undefiled religion before God. Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. Until we come to see ourselves for what we truly are and recognize we are sinning machines (without Christ), we ARE remaining self-exalted in our puffed up knowledge. We should always have the attitude Paul expressed. 10

11 1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. We must be diligent to constantly examine ourselves and our walk to see if we are in the faith. Oba 1:5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? The Lord wants it all. We have been redeemed with a price and when He comes to us He is not going to leave anything unturned. It is all going to be plundered as we are made anew. 1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. The thief comes in the night, a time of spiritual darkness when we are not aware of our marred abominable condition even after having knowledge. Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. The question about thieves leaving something behind and the grapegatherers leaving some grapes on the vine are rhetorical questions and the answer is clearly NO. They will take it all as Esau will be laid bare. When Christ comes to clean His house (His Temple, which temple we are) He leaves no stone unturned. Luk 21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, Luk 21:6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Isa 24:3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. Num 31:11 And they (Israel) took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. Being puffed up, the reward we receive shall be paid back double upon our own head. Jer 51:53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD. 11

12 Jer 51:54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: Jer 51:55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: The Christ is the thief and the robbers that spoil the land and this is, was and will be bringing deliverance to those on Mt. Esau as we will see at the end of the book. The words of fire spoken accomplish their purposes in our day of the Lord and that day of judgment is now for God s Elect. Jer 51:20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; Jer 51:21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; Jer 51:22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; Jer 51:23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. It is Christ (i.e. His Body) speaking the Words of fire that break the rock and is the method by which the Lord replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Jer 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Oba 1:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! The flesh will be thoroughly searched out and all things that oppose Christ will be laid bare and nothing shall be spared. Jeremiah 49 gives us multiple witnesses and here are just three that speak to the completeness of God s Word, the four winds of heaven completing their work within us all in our day of the Lord. Jer 49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Jer 49:13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah (a sheepfold) shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. God is calling light out of the darkness that He created first. First comes the darkness then comes the light and that all in the appointed times and due seasons. 12

13 Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Peter tells us who we are as God s Elect, the redeemed people of God who have been called out of darkness into the marvelous Light that is Christ. 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. It is the light of Christ that will bring the knowledge of God thru the Body and which SANCTIFIES US in the appointed time. 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. The battle against Edom (Esau) is relentless. Nothing will be missed. All the hidden things shall be found by the light of the WORD. Luk 8:17 (NKJV) For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. The day of the Lord is when these things happen to us. That day is in this age if we are God s Elect and is a day no man knows but the Father. The light of The Christ will bring the judgment to us first. We are the first to experience death of our old man and carnal lusts thru this process. Our idols will become a booty or spoil to the Christ who will come in the spiritual darkness of night. Zep 1:12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and do good, neither will he do evil. Zep 1:13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. Here we see our role as the lights bringing judgment thru the words of fire we speak. Oba 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. This bringing judgment comes thru the Words of Christ which we speak and hear. He is the Light of this world that searches these things out. Yet His Christ is also the light of the world and the very instruments the Lord uses to bring judgment to the inward and outward nations. Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your 13

14 Father which is in heaven. We should be doing this in down payment form now, speaking the words that shall judge us in the last days. Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? When the time is right the righteous judgment of God will shine the light of the WORD onto the hidden things of darkness in each of our hearts. 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. If we are God s Elect, we are doing this today within the Body, this is our period of on the job Training preparing us for the greater roles we shall have if we are so blessed to be in that blessed and first Holy Resurrection. The Lord is preparing us to be the very instruments thru which He rules during the Millennium. Also our function as the lake of fire bringing salvation to all men thru the process of judgment. There is no greater honor a man could strive to attain to than to be in the blessed and first holy resurrection and be used this way of the Lord. We see in this study that God s Elect are far from infallible (Pro 24:16). By being humbled and given the mercy of fiery trials, we are being prepared of God to bring mercy to others. Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. Thank you for joining us for this study. I hope it was edifying in some ways. See you next week for Part 2 Lord willing! 14