You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of Gehenna [the burning trash heap outside the city, where worms slither and eat]?
The above is Matthew 23:33 and is the LORD defining those who would eventually kill Him as those who secretly slithered among His people. They are known by their venomous mouths that speak their own words opposing and rebelling against His words: the word of God.
Matthew 23
24 You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel [You condemn men for the smallest offenses and committing the greater crimes against God and man].
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within [meaning the minds] the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchers [tombs – their churches], which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore you be [this day] witnesses unto yourselves, that you are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill you up then the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of Gehenna?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah [who Jehovah remembers] son of Barachias [and who bent his knee to Jehovah’s will], whom you slew between the temple and the altar [see 2 Chronicles 24:21].
36 Truly I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD.
In the prior post, we discussed the beginning and ending of the circuits of darkness, which are shown in patterns we were led to by (Divinely inspired curiosity) the Hebrew word tquwphah. We examined it in some detail in three of its appearances, giving a lesser mention to the fourth, which is in 2 Chronicles 24:23. In this last appearance, we are given the deeper truth showing us the end of the light, when the work stopped and God’s people were silenced. It was when Zechariah was stoned to death, which is referenced by the LORD in verse 35 above.
2 Chronicles 24
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada [who Jehovah knows] came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king [bent their knee to the corrupt government]. Then the king hearkened unto them.
18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols [the mighty men {trees} of the world and their ideas]: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.
19 Yet he [the LORD] sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.
20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah [a pattern of the last of the manly prophets – who as David remember their God] the son of Jehoiada the priest [the priests who God knows], which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus says God, Why transgress you the commandments of the LORD, that you cannot prosper? because you have forsaken the LORD, he has also forsaken you.
21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king [the people, the priests, at the command of the corrupted government, killed him to silence him] in the court of the house of the LORD.
22 Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it [as the LORD mentions in Matthew 23:35 above].
23 And it came to pass at the end [tquwphah – the end of light and the begging of darkness] of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus [meaning to silence the word – and bring intoxication {the stupefied mind} and tears].
24 For the army of the Syrians [‘Aram – those who exalt themselves above God] came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash [all that was given by God].
This is telling of the end of the light, understanding of the priest and prophets and the ensuing darkness of the lights in church and state governing.
Here following is the illumination of the deep that has been hidden by the ignorance and neglect of those who now control all the church’s positions of prophets, priests, and teachers.
The next time a prophet is mentioned after Zechariah the son Jehoiada it is in 2 Chronicles 25:15. This prophet is unnamed, but we see the loss of determination (strength) when he begins to speak, as God commanded, and is told to be silent, to save his life he bent his knee (bowed) to the demands of those in power. What follows are the two kings of God people who exalt themselves, and follow the advice of men.
2 Chronicles 25
14 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah [the mighty men – who call themselves God’s people] was come from the slaughter of the Edomites [those who sold their birthright], that he brought the gods of the children of Seir [those led by the devil], and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.
15 Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of your hand?
16 And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Are you made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why should you be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not hearkened unto my counsel [as thought Jonah as he waited in his booth].
17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.
18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar [seeing themselves as the mighty men – trees] that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle.
Friends, this unnamed prophet is Jonah, and Nineveh (niyn, progeny + navah – meaning to be settled – at rest) is the offspring of those in whom the light once burned brightly, in whom the light (understanding the word of God) has gone dormant – “that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand.”
Luke 11
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
33 No man, when he has lighted a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness.
36 If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle does give you light.
This pattern of Jonah as seen in Zechariah is spoken of by Luke as he continues in chapter 11 to say the same as is written above in Matthew 23 above. In both Gospels, the LORD is speaking of the ignorance of the self-proclaimed prophets, priests, and teachers of God’s people, who can’t discern what they have done and continue doing. As in Luke 11:32 above, both speak of the men of Nineveh rising up in judgment with this generation, as a candle ignited and conspicuously placed where it can be seen. This is so this generation can see the light of our understanding – but the light that is in us must come from a single unified vision.
(Allow me to digress for a moment: the churches and preachers of our time are bound into silence by their own sins. And refusing forgiveness and amnesty (God’s mercy), they reject correction, and choose to remain chained to the darkness of their error. These thieves and robbers, the confederacy of the corrupt, remain focused on building their own kingdoms, refuse to subordinate their will to God’s, and by these abominations, they are the desolation modern evangelism has become. “18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwells in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them [the men of this same confederation] that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? [Should God’s people be looking] for the living to the dead [these dead men, without God’s Spirit and therefore without light – understanding]? 20 [Shouldn’t people be looking] To the law and to the testimony [God’s living word that bring light by both]?: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward [as these men now do – not because God has led them into it, but because they are under the control of the gods of this world who have blinded their eyes to this glorious gospel]. 22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.” Isaiah 8)
In Luke 1, when Luke tells of Zechariah the priest, he says he is unable to speak, meaning he has been silenced (but is the one who would remember the LORD and the LORD would not forget him). We know he is the father of John the Baptist – the preacher of repentance, who prepares the people to receive the coming LORD. Repentance is described in what the LORD says in Matthew 23 above, purify the mind (what is inside the cup), at which the religious have failed.
We know from Luke 1:63 that once Zachariah confirmed the name of his son is John, his mouth was opened. The Greek word John is Ioannes, said to mean God is a gracious giver. Jonah in Greek is Ionas, meaning dove. Both of these are (seemly the same name) telling of the work of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah (the end of understanding – light shining) and Jonah (the pattern of the end thru to the new beginning) are telling of John (the preparation for the coming light) coming to open the mouths of the prophets, and willing to give up his life for God’s mission, again restoring determination to the priesthood.
John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
As we know the dove is also a sign of the destination reached, dry land, as was the sign of Jonah. This is what opened the mouth of those who Jehovah remembered – which is our destination and the beginning of our mission of spreading the light. The destination is this new beginning when all the past sins of those who repent and leave their errors (idols) behind, are forgiven and forgotten. This purification is the beginning point, so the LORD can enter and give understanding to any who will receive it, which produces a self-governing mind.
Hebrews 8
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 10
26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that has said, Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The LORD shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Luke 1
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth [the first day of the new beginning] day they came to circumcise [take away the flesh from the mind] the child; and they called him Zechariah, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of your kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.
64 And his [Zechariah’s] mouth [of the prophets, which had not been understood] was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the LORD was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David [see Psalms 132:17 below];
70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the LORD to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
As mentioned above, the light in Nineveh had been darkened, becoming dormant in those who have settled on their lees (see Zephaniah 1:12 below). The Hebrew word that describes this light is niyr.
Here is the Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary definition: #5216: niyr (pronounced neer) or nir {neer}; also neyr {nare}; or ner {nare}; or (feminine) nerah {nay-raw’}; from a primitive root (see 5214; 5135) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively):–candle, lamp, light.
The word is used to describe the light that is in us, even when dormant, as it was in the sons of David. David was this light, the light in him a lamp unto the feet of God’s people, which remained in His seed. This is the light (understanding) in God’s people during their captivity in Babylon (confusion), when it burning ever so low, reduced to a smoking flax (see Isaiah 42:3). This time is when LORD appears, and by His Spirit reignites the flame into full light. This is the meaning of the smoking flax the LORD says He hasn’t come to quench, but rather to send it as a fire upon the world in darkness (confusion).
Matthew
7 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Jeremiah 25
4 And the LORD has sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but you have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.
5 They said, Turn you again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:
6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
7 Yet you have not hearkened unto me, says the LORD; that you might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
8 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts; Because you have not heard my words,
9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar [the lies {abominations} of the false prophets that cause desolation] the king of Babylon [confusion], my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment [shammah – a state of paralyzed dismay], and an hissing [shreqah – an object of ridicule], and perpetual desolations.
10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones [the sound of work], and the light [niyr] of the candle.
11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Of the forty-eight times the work niyr is used it only appears in two other places after Jeremiah 25:10 – Zephaniah 1:12 and Zechariah 4:2.
Zephaniah 1
7 Hold your peace at the presence of the LORD God: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has bid his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh [hollow place – see Judges 15:19 below], for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles [niyr], and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.
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.
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and have greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Judges 15
14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson [sunlight] said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi [the lifting up of the jawbone].
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, You have given this great deliverance into the hand of your servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place [maktesh] that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore [the fountain of the caller], which is in Lehi [the jaw bone – as in the mouth moving to produce words] unto this day.
The description in Judges is of the LORD’s words being heard. This is the means by which the LORD is hewing down the mighty men spoken of in Zephaniah 1.
Zechariah 4
1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest you? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps [niyr] thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps [niyr], which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my LORD?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Know you not what these be? And I said, No, my LORD.
6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel [those who came to life after leaving confusion], saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
7 Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone [Christ] thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me unto you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil [that feed the light of understanding] out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Know you not what these be? And I said, No, my LORD.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones [in whom the LORD has put his Spirit – oil], that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.
The word niyr appears in Psalms 132:17 while telling of when the horn of David will bud (the light come to life), by the lamp (niyr) the LORD has anointed (with the oil that produces this light – understanding). Friends, this is the time we leave our fleshly understanding behind and come out of these temporary booths, into the habitation the LORD has prepared for Himself – our transfigured Spiritual body. Psalms 132:9 tells of this using the same language as does the LORD in Job 38:7, when He laid the foundation of the new earth and heaven, and “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Understand – this Psalm is meant for this exact moment – and speaks of the culmination of all the LORD has taught us to date.
Psalm 132
1 LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:
2 How he swore unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,
5 Until I find out a place for the LORD, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, into your rest; you, and the ark of your strength [masculine determination].
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For your servant David’s sake turn not away the face of your anointed.
11 The LORD has sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.
12 If your children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon your throne for evermore.
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation.
14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp [niyr – a fire within] for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
1 Timothy 6
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.
13 I give you charge in the sight of God, who quickens [brings from death to life] all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
14 That you keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our LORD Jesus Christ:
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and LORD of lords;
16 Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light [understanding] which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to your trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings [fruitless discussions – confused words], and oppositions of science falsely so called [antithesis gnosis pseudonumos – the opposite of “knowledge,” falsely named]:
21 Which some professing [they have knowledge] have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
