12 – 13 May 2024
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.
As we’ve seen in many previous posts, but not recently discussed, the words rendered “strait” and “narrow,” speaking of the gate into life (out of death and hell), are stenos, used three times, meaning “narrow (from obstacles standing close about);” and thlibo, a ten times used word, meaning “to crowd (literally or figuratively).” It is from this latter word comes thlipsis, meaning “pressure (literally or figuratively):– afflicted(-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.”
These words speak of men as obstacles that must avoided and navigated, crowding the way (misleading those trying to enter, holding them with their mouths as the gates of hell).
The deeper aspect of the verse is in the word apago (compounded from the same components that make the word agape), which tells us these obstacles are blocking (katecho – withholding, letting) the way that “leads” (by agape) into life.
As we understand, the deep meaning in such passages shines bright in the seemingly disconnected words and statements accompanying them. In the above case, Matthew 7:14, the LORD is referring to the evil (the misleading of the straiteners and the narrowers) spoken by others (putting themselves in the LORD’s place as Provider), and the good gifts the Father is giving through Him (as here and now by His good shepherd). It is of this matter and pointing out the perpetrator (withholding and letting His people throughout time) the LORD speaks in the below portion of the chapter (those doing so in His name when He never knew them: was never joined with them as they went their own way).
Matthew 7
1 Judge not [with corrupt judgment, not seeing as the LORD sees], that you be not judged [with the same corrupt judgment].
2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete [give my good judgment, seeing as I see], it shall be measured to you again [this is specifically referenced in verse 12 below].
3 And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam [dokos, only used six times, all speaking on this same point: the corrupt judgment pervading our time; the word speaks of the balance beam of equal justice {dikaos} that comes with right thinking {dokeo}] that is in your own eye?
4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote [karphos – heart shining, the foundational understanding revealed in conversation; as is karpos: “fruit”] out of your eye [corrupting your judgment]; and, behold, a beam [dokos – the greater corruption of those who think they know, when their point of balance is off center, and they’ve become obstacles] is in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first cast out the beam [dokos] out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote [karphos] out of your brother’s eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs [those who are forever ignorantly barking in the darkness], neither cast you your pearls [the entryway found in these treasures, as in Revelation 21:21 speaking of the twelve gates into the city of God: holy Jerusalem that comes down from Him out of heaven] before swine [the unclean flesh of those who’ve become obstacles], lest they trample them under their feet [doing violence to these words, with their opinions they present as fact, defiling it as they’ve done to all truthful discourse], and turn again and rend [rhegma] you [scatter you again away from the LORD and His ONE BODY].
7 Ask [the Father], and it shall be given you; [diligently] seek [Him], and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you [by Him]:
8 For every one that asks [Him] receives; and he that seeks [Him] finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened [by Him]. [Hebrews 11: 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets [from where comes these treasures from the present Father who gives them to be given].
13 Enter you in [into His presence] at the strait [stenos – avoiding the obstacles that attempt to block the] gate: for wide [platus – only used here, the same as plasso and plastos, meaning fabricated, fictitious, falsely formed] is the gate, and broad [euruchoros {eu-rhume-chora} – only used here, meaning crowding good into emptiness: making it without form] is the way, that leads [apago] to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait [stenos – wrought with these obstacles] is the gate, and narrow [thlibo – crowded with those who put their opinions in the place of truth] is the way, which leads [apago] unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets [speaking in the LORD’s name, or in the name of some other god they put in His place], which come to you in sheep’s clothing [disguised as a friend or neighbor, saying they are at peace with you, while they war against us, out better culture, and our nation], but inwardly they are ravening wolves [who will turn on you, and as the swine mentioned above, rend you: scattering you from the LORD and His ONE BODY, which only a chosen few find].
16 You shall know them by their fruits [karpos – the foundations of their mind revealed in their conversation]. Do men gather grapes of thorns [misleaders], or figs of thistles [deceivers]?
17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit [karpos]; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit [karpos].
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit [karpos], neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit [karpos].
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit [karpos] is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits [karpos] you shall know them.
21 Not every one that says unto me, LORD, LORD, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven [bringing forth the good fruit He has given us and commanded to give as received].
22 Many will say to me in that day, LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you [I was never, and I Am not now, joined with you in your own evil works against me and My flock]: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a Rock [the sons from whom the Father’s word flows]:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a Rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand [ammos – a-momos, only used five times, meaning they are those claiming they are flawless: infallible, as do the many religious of our time, saying they are without a beam in their eye]:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes [the know-it-alls].
Romans 9
18 Therefore has he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens [skleruno, from skleros, the hard speeches of these ungodly men].
19 You will say then unto me, Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who are you that replies against God [with your own hard speeches against Him and His salvation plan, while refusing to speak His words as commanded]? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?
21 Has not the potter power over the clay [as the LORD has power over the earth], of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power [over the earth] known, endured with much longsuffering [not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance] the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels [who receive] of mercy, which he had afore prepared [for their mouths to be opened, showing the same mercy] unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he has called [kaleo – and sent], not of the Jews [those who call themselves His people] only, but also of the Gentiles [those who haven’t known Him]?
25 As he says also in Hosea [2:23], I will call [kaleo] them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And [written in Hosea 1:10] it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not my people; there shall they be called [kaleo – with correction, to become] the children of the living God.
27 Isaiah [in Isaiah 10:22 & 23] also cries concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand [ammos] of the sea, a remnant shall be [corrected and thereby] saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the LORD make upon the earth.
29 And as Isaiah [in Isaiah 1:9] said before, Except the LORD of Sabaoth [a man of war] had left us a seed [which He’s sown into the earth], we had been as Sodom [consumed in the flames of our time], and been made like unto Gomorrah [left an uninhabitable ruin].
30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles [who haven’t know the LORD], which followed not after righteousness [that is by keeping the now totally corrupted law: the doctrine of the apostate churches], have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith [by obeying the voice of the LORD, when they hear it as His, spoken by His elect remnant who first heard Him].
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works [touch not and taste not natural things, while they consumed deadly, corrupted, spiritual things] of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling-Stone [sent for their correction];
33 As it is written [in Isaiah 28:16], Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling-Stone and Rock of offence: and whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.
Hosea 1
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, You are [by His correction] the sons of the living God.
11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together [into the LORD’s ONE BODY], and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land [‘erets – rise from the corrupt earth]: for great shall be the day of Jezreel [when I sow them into the earth].
Hosea 2
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor [where they were in a constant state of agitation] for a door of hope: and she shall sing there [repeating these words of understanding I have given her], as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land [‘erets – arose from the earth] of Egypt.
16 And it shall be at that day, says the LORD, that you shall call me Ishi [man – a man of war]; and shall call me no more Baali [no longer calling your idols by My name]
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim [the words taught by your idols] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant [writing My words, the only way to peace and safety, into their minds] for them with the beasts of the field [who have been without My Spirit] and with the fowls of heaven [those in the places where understanding should be found], and with the creeping things of the ground [all that walk the earth]: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle [against Me] out of the earth [‘erets], and will make them to lie down safely.
19 And I will betroth you unto me forever; yea, I will betroth you unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth you unto me in faithfulness: and you shall know the LORD.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, says the LORD, I will hear the heavens [your understanding from your mouths], and they shall hear [be heard in] the earth [‘erets];
22 And the earth [‘erets] shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil [these words that nourish the mind]; and they shall hear Jezreel [My people I have sown into the earth].
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth [‘erets]; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, You are my people; and they shall say, You are my God.
Isaiah 1
4 Ah sinful nation [who haven’t known Me], a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should you [by your own ways] be stricken any more? you will revolt more and more: the whole head [all leadership] is sick, and the whole heart [mind] faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 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 [this is the True State of the Union].
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers [alone among vines that have overgrown all else], as a besieged city.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom [consumed by flames], and we should have been like unto Gomorrah [left as an uninhabitable ruin].
10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.
11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? says the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13 Bring no more vain [worthless] oblations; incense is an abomination unto me [worshipping idols men created and put in My place]; the new moons [the corrupt governments you’ve created and put in the place of justice and security] and sabbaths [your interruptions and correction away from good and into evil], the calling of assemblies [to hear broadcasted the foolishness of buffoons], I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of [innocent] blood.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow [those who have no man to protect them from the attacks of the wicked].
18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If you be willing and obedient [shama’], you shall eat the good of the land [‘erets – the earth]:
20 But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
21 How is the faithful city become a harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
22 Your silver is become dross, your wine mixed with water:
23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loves gifts, and follows after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come unto them [for protection against the wicked].
24 Therefore says the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of my adversaries, and avenge me of my enemies:
25 And I will turn my hand upon you, and purely purge away your dross, and take away all your tin:
26 And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning: afterward you shall be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
Isaiah 28
16 Therefore thus says the LORD GOD [‘Adonay Jehovih – KING of kings and LORD of lords], Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death [maveth] shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell [sheol] shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report [shmuw’ah – the sound doctrine, teaching, and the rumor of Ezekiel 7:26, which is the voice of Jehovah heard].
20 For the bed is shorter than that a [sleeping] man can stretch himself on it: and the covering [the lies and falsehoods under which they hide is] narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD [Jehovah] shall rise up as in mount Perazim [2 Samuel 5:20 – as water from His throne, breaking forth upon His and David’s enemies], he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon [Joshua 10:10 & 11 – His word reserved {frozen} in heaven, sent as great hailstones upon the wicked: the current corrupt crop sitting in power], that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange [known to no one except Him] act.
22 Now therefore be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the LORD GOD [‘Adonay Jehovih – KING of kings and LORD of lords], of hosts [a man of war and Commander, Chief, of the armies of heaven] a consumption [kalah – a full end, as in Daniel 9:27], even determined [charats – decreed, as in Joshua 10:21 saying “And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua {Jesus} at Makkedah {as one flock under one shepherd} in peace: none moved {charats} his tongue against any of the children of Israel.” And 2 Samiel 5:24, the LORD saying to David, “And let it be, when you hear {shama’ – obey} the sound {qowl – the voice} of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees {baka’, from which come bkowr – telling us this is the voice of the “firstborn”}, that then you shall bestir yourself: for then shall the LORD go out before {paniym – His presence will be manifested with, in} you, to smite the host of the Philistines {the enemy army now mixed among you}.”] upon the whole earth [‘erets].
23 Give you ear, and hear [shama’ – and obey] my voice [qowl]; hearken, and hear [shama’ – and obey] my speech.
As we know, the scourge mentioned above is from the eleven times used word showt, which only appears one other time in Isaiah, in Isaiah 10:26, telling us it’s the end of the LORD’s indignation, in the destruction of the wicked. It’s when, against Midian, all God’s people are called to destroy this existential threat.
Isaiah 10
21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption [killayown – only here and Deuteronomy 28:65 where it is a “falling” eye, as in what these men say they’ve seen, as in Zachariah 14:12] decreed [charats] shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the LORD God of hosts shall make a consumption [kalah – a full end], even determined [charats], in the midst of all the land [‘erets – the earth].
24 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, O my people that dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian [communists in power]: he shall smite you with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt [as tyrants oppressing all God’s people].
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation [za’am] shall cease, and my anger in their destruction.
26 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge [showt] for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb [those who trust in their cover of darkness – against who the LORD calls His people as light, mustering them to the battle and final destruction of these enemies among us]: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt [and the sea, God’s people at large, will come together again and overthrow them].
27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing [of the King].
Hebrews 3
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost says, Today if you will hear [obey] his voice,
8 Harden [skleruno] not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness [when you doubted the LORD’s presence]:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart [darkened minds]; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart [misled mind] of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened [skleruno] through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end [in His presence, raising Himself in you];
15 While it is said, Today if you will hear his voice [here Him speaking], harden [skleruno] not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in [into His presence] because of unbelief [not hearing or obeying His voice].
Psalms 4
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: you have enlarged me [opening and entering my mind] when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O you sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame? how long will you love vanity [worthlessness], and seek after leasing [kazab – falsehood]? Selah.
3 But know that the LORD has set apart [palah] him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart [consider your thoughts and know they are vain] upon your bed [where you sleep], and be still. Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
6 There be many that say, Who will show us any good? LORD, lift you up the light [understanding] of your countenance [paniym – Your presence] upon us.
7 You have put gladness in my heart [in my mind], more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for you, LORD, only make me dwell in safety.
Psalms 17
1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goes not out of feigned [deceitful] lips.
2 Let my sentence [mishpat – my judgment] come forth from your presence [paniym]; let your eyes behold [chazah – let me discern by seeing with Your sight] the things that are equal.
3 You have proved my heart; you have visited me [paqad – come as the Chief Overseer of the earth] in the night [this time when ignorance covers the earth and no man knows You]; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon you, for you will hear me, O God: incline your ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Show your marvelous lovingkindness, O you that saves by your right hand them which put their trust in you from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9 From [paniym – By Your presence, save us from] the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouths they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to [corrupt] the earth;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint [paniym – by Your presence against] him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is your sword:
14 From men which are your hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly you fill with your hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold [chazah – perceive] your face [paniym – presence] in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness.
The “destroyer” mentioned above in verse 4 is the six times used word priyts, meaning “violent, i.e. a tyrant:–destroyer, ravenous, robber.” All the other five of its uses are in the passages below, in which the present LORD speaks to us of our time and His will.
The first of these comes in Isaiah 35:9, which follows chapter 34, wherein verse 11, the LORD speaks of the condition of the earth in like terms as in Genesis 1:2. In the former, it is “without form [tohuw], and void [bohuw], and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
In Isaiah 34:8, “it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion.” We know this controversy is about who is better suited to rule the earth, the LORD God who created it and will create it again anew, or the men who have brought it to its current state of “confusion” (tohuw) and “emptiness” (bohuw).
This state is mentioned in Isaiah 34:11, one of the three places the word bohuw appears, always with tohuw. In the other place, Jeremiah 4:23, it’s rendered the same as Genesis 1:2, also speaking of the condition of the earth.
Jeremiah 4
1 If you will return, O Israel, says the LORD, return unto me: and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight [paniym – from My presence], then shall you not remove.
2 And you shall swear, The LORD lives, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns [the misleader who overgrew My garden neglected by those in whose care I left it].
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart [your minds], you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of [paniym – which is My presence against] the evil of your doings.
5 Declare you in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow you the trumpet in the land [‘erets – the earth]: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defensed cities.
6 Set up the standard [nec – the pole upon which the son of man must be lifted] toward Zion: retire [‘uwz – save yourselves by coming out from among those misleading you], stay not [‘amad – stand not with them]: for I will bring evil from the north [this time of darkness when the existential threat is a man’s our ignorance], and a great destruction [sheber].
19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound [qowl – voice] of the trumpet [the voice of the LORD’s archangel, I Am], the alarm of war.
20 Destruction [sheber] upon destruction [sheber] is cried; for the whole land [’erets – the whole earth] is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
21 How long shall I see the standard [nec – the son of man, I Am, lifted by the LORD’s presence manifested in My flesh], and hear the sound [qowl – the voice] of the trumpet?
22 For my people is foolish [‘eviyl – silly], they have not known me; they are sottish [cakal – silly] children [as silly women ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, because they refuse to put away childish things], and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil [speaking the misleading, the fabrications, of those they follow], but to do good they have no knowledge.
23 I beheld the earth [‘erets], and, lo, it was without form [tohuw – in a state of mass confusion], and void [bohuw – it was emptied of all sanity]; and the heavens [the places where understanding should be and from where it should be taught], and they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains [the corrupt governments of church and state], and, lo, they trembled [ra’ash – to bring the dead bones together, and to make men consider how they’ve handled the word of God, and to it done violence], and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man [alive in these governments], and all the birds of heavens [raise there by the LORD strength, His understanding] were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [My garden – karmel Carmel] was a wilderness [midbar], and all the cities thereof were broken down [nathats] at the presence [paniym] of the LORD, and by [paniym – by His presence manifesting] His fierce anger.
27 For thus has the LORD said, The whole land [‘erets] shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end [kalah].
28 For this shall the earth [‘erets] mourn, and the heavens [the corrupt place where understanding should be found] above be black [in complete ignorance, as they are this day]; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
Isaiah 34
16 Seek you out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it has commanded, and his spirit it has gathered them.
17 And he has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it [their confusion and emptiness in the places of their corrupt governments] unto them by line: they shall possess it forever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein. [Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.]
Isaiah 35
1 The wilderness [midbar] and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon [purity seen again in high places] shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon [My garden again plainly seen], they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness [midbar] shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of [living] water: in the habitation of dragons [tan – men as serpents and whales, with their wide open mouths devouring men and swallowing them into the belly of hell], where each lay [there stop their works], shall be grass with reeds and rushes [and their words, the cause of the beam in men’s eyes, shall wither, and there end].
8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it [‘abar – the corrupt shall not passover from death into life]; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men [who’ve traveled this highway with the LORD], though [before] fools [‘eviyl – silly and have not known Me], shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous [priyts] beast [tyrants without the LORD’s Spirit] shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs [this word of God they speak with Him] and everlasting joy [realizing His presence with us, in us] upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Jeremiah 7
3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
4 Trust you not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these [defiled places].
5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute [My good] judgment between a man and his neighbor;
6 If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place [as the wicked do this day, openly without shame, as terrorists hoping to cause terror], neither walk after other gods to your hurt [as do the wicked in their daily broadcasts, misleading, gaslighting, and worshiping those manipulating the world into their evil ways and ever darkening tribulation]:
7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land [‘erets – this earth] that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.
8 Behold, you trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal [the false gods of this insane world], and walk after other gods whom you know not;
10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations [you’ve put in My place]?
11 Is this house, which is called by my name [wherein My identity should be manifested], become a den of robbers [priyts] in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it [by My sight that isn’t defiled by your beam of corruption], says the LORD.
Friends, Paul, twice in his writing to the Thessalonians, about the tribulation and from whom it comes, reminds them of things he has told them before. The first is in 1 Thessalonians 3:4, after, in the previous chapter, he speaks to them as those who’ve received this word “from us” (him, and Timothy present with them, in whom the LORD’s presence is manifested, as He is this day with those who receive this word as His) as the word of God, as it is, and not of man, and says they are thereby “in the presence our LORD Jesus Christ at His coming.”
Chapter 3 continues from this declaration, saying it is for this cause he (the LORD in Him speaking) sent Timothy (I Am) to them: those of Thessalonike, who get the “victory over falsity:” over the fruit (karpos) of the false prophets and false teaching among them doing the work of Satan: the evil spirit possessing them.
In the second (reminder), in 2 Thessalonians 2:5, he speaks of the mystery of iniquity was already (as described above) at work, in men possessed by Satan, doing his work with all lying signs and worders, as they sit in the temple of God, which they defile with their abominations (while saying, “the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, are these”), and where they sit opposing Him in His place, showing themselves as if they are gods.
Acts 17
11 These were more noble [“well-born,” the religious in Berea: because they are now “well-watered”] than those [the religious, who think they are infallible, those Paul says are possessed by Satan, hindering the word of God and opposing His work] in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
1 Thessalonians 2
18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered [egkopto – by cutting into: scattering the elements of understanding] us.
19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of our LORD Jesus Christ at his coming?
20 For you are our glory and joy [when you realize you are in His presence].
1 Thessalonians 3
1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear [stego – meaning they are staying hidden by their silence], we thought it good to be left at Athens [leaving uncertainty – to end your doubting the LORD’s presence in us] alone [separating you from the ONE BODY];
2 And sent Timothy, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow-laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish [sterizo – meaning “to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm”] you, and to comfort [parakaleo – as the Paraclete, the LORD in me working and speaking unknown; to call you near to Himself, to join with Him in His ONE BODY] you concerning your faith [believing it is Him]:
3 That no man should be moved [from your faith in Him] by these afflictions [thilipsis]: for yourselves know that we are appointed [keimai – where the LORD’s dead body “lay” before He was risen from the dead, the city “set” on a hill that can no longer be hidden in silence] thereunto.
4 For truly, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation [thlibo – only rendered as such this once, the narrowing the LORD speaks of]; even as it [now] came to pass, and you know.
5 For this cause, when I could no longer forbear [stego – stay hidden in your silence], I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter [denying the LORD’s presence] have tempted you [and you continue in your silence, not declaring His presence], and our labor [to the end that we all come to life, and, awakened, rise with Him into His ONE BODY] be in vain.
6 But NOW when Timothy came from you unto us [was raised to life from the dead among you], and brought us [those waiting to be awakened with me] good tidings [declaring the LORD alive with us] of your faith [by which you believe He is] and charity [agape – will give the same word as received from Him], and that you have good remembrance [mneia – recollection, making mention of, as with Joseph when he was in prison] of us always [by which we again see the LORD’s living ONE BODY], desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted [parakaleo – called near] over you in all our affliction [thilipsis] and distress by your faith:
8 For now we live, if you stand fast [steko] in the LORD.
Hebrews 11
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 12
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [in whom this understanding is held, reserved therein for the time of war, when your silence is ended and your mouths are opened], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the LORD, nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
6 For whom the LORD loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives.
25 See that you refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven [this place of full understanding]:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he has promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
2 Thessalonians 2
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together [into His ONE BODY] unto him,
2 That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means [calling themselves infallible, saying have not fallen away from the LORD into apostacy]: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasia – apostasy, led by Satan possessed men sitting in the LORD’s place and defiling it, His temple, the minds of men, with their abomination: doctrines men put in His place] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [in the pattern of Reuben, who put himself in his father’s place and defiled it];
4 Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Remember you not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now you know what withholds [katecho – holds you down] that he [Satan possessing men] might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity does already work [Satan already possessing men who were then like now hindering, resisting, the LORD’s work, the free course of His word from His chosen]: only he who now lets [katecho – hold you down] will let [hold you down, keeping all from rising with the LORD into His ONE heavenly BODY], until he be taken out of the way [mesos – from our midst].
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the LORD shall consume with the spirit of his mouth [this word heard and declares as His presence], and shall destroy with the brightness [giving understanding] of his coming:
9 Even him [the LORD Himself], whose coming is after the working of Satan [scattering the element of understanding] with all power [of deception] and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish [by following those who put themselves in the Father’s place]; because they received not the love of the truth [His presence manifested in His word], that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned [krino – be their decision to remain in darkness, to remain insane, never realizing reality] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the LORD, because God has from the beginning [arche] chosen you to salvation through sanctification of [hagiasmos – purification by] the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called [kaleo] you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ [revealed in you].
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast [steko – upon the LORD’s word, the Rock by which we live], and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
John 1
1 In the beginning [arche] was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning [arche] 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 [phos – understanding] of men.
5 And the light [phos] shines in darkness [was gives into this time when ignorance covers the earth silencing His word]; and the darkness comprehended it not.
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.
Ezekiel 7
20 As for the beauty of his [the LORD’s] ornament, he [the LORD] set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein [His place]: therefore have I [the LORD] set it far from them.
21 And I [the LORD] will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
22 My face [paniym – My presence] will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret [tsaphan] place [where these treasure of understanding are held]: for the robbers [priyts] shall enter into it, and defile it [as they have].
23 Make a chain [to bind these men in their own darkness]: for the land [‘erets – the earth] is full of bloody crimes, and the city [of peace] is full of violence.
24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they [those possessed by Satan] shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.
25 Destruction comes; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
26 Mischief [hovah, from havah] shall come upon mischief [hovah], and rumor [shmuw’ah, this voice of Jehovah heard] shall be upon rumor [shmuw’ah, His voice teaching, precept upon precept, line upon line] then shall they seek a vision of the [false] prophet[s]; but the law shall perish from the priest[s], and counsel from the ancients [all the robbers who’ve put themselves in My place]. [The word hovah, referring to the effects of the strong delusion the LORD has sent upon the insane, only appears one other time, in Isaiah 47:11, saying “Therefore shall evil come upon you; you shall not know from whence it rises: and mischief {hovah} shall fall upon you; you shall not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know {because you’ve been chained in your own ignorance}.”]
27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land [‘erets] shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts [mishpat – according to their corrupt judgment, by the precedent of their evil shall the evil judge them, and thereby] will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 18
5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 And has not eaten upon [corrupted and committed robbery by] the mountains [committed this violence by the governments of church and state], neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has defiled [with their corruption] his neighbor’s wife, neither has come near to a menstruous woman [the church defiled in the blood they’ve shed],
7 And has not oppressed any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge [the money they say we own in tithes and taxes, which went into their pockets], has spoiled none by violence, has given his bread [this word of truth] to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment [the LORD righteousness, His right, reality-based, thinking];
8 He that has not given forth upon usury [the money they steal by exorbitant interest rates], neither has taken any increase [stealing men’s wages and profits], that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Has walked in my statutes, and has kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, says the LORD God.
10 If he begets a son that is a robber [priyts], a shedder of blood, and that does the like to any one of these things,
11 And that does not any of those duties [mentioned in verses 7 thru 9], but even has eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor’s wife,
12 Has oppressed the poor [without worldly power] and needy, has spoiled by violence, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abominations [they put in the LORD’s place],
13 Has given forth upon usury, and has taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he has done all these abominations [by the power of government in church and state]; he shall surely die; his blood [the means by which he has shed innocent blood] shall be upon him.
Daniel 11
13 For the king of the north [the Democrats, the communists in power, and their army of darkness] shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches [the national treasury supporting their evil deeds].
14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south [the Republicans, or rather those who claim to be]: also the robbers [priyth] of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision [their vision of government, as they see it, with a different, kinder, gentler, form of oppression]; but they shall fall.
15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities [from where they steal elections by mass vote fraud they all know and condone]: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand [their power to deceive, known liars telling known lies, know false accusers with known false accusation, which the opposition party never oppose].
16 But he that comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength [understanding] of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many [false preachers and false prophets] shall cleave to them [be in their midst] with flatteries.
35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end [qets]: because it is yet for a time appointed [mow’ed].
Psalms 39
1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spoke I with my tongue,
4 LORD, make me to know my end [qets], and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
5 Behold, you have made my days as a handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before you: truly every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heaps up riches, and knows not who shall gather them.
7 And now, LORD, what wait I for? my hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because you did it.
10 Remove your stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of your hand.
11 When you with rebukes do correct man for iniquity, you make his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not your peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with you, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
Psalms 74
1 O God, why have you cast us off forever? why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation [‘edah], which you have purchased of old; the rod of your inheritance, which you have redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein you have dwelt.
3 Lift up your feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy has done wickedly in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies roar in the midst of your congregations [mow’ed – this appointed time]; they set up their [evil] ensigns for signs.
5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees [cutting down the upright].
6 But now they break down the carved work [even the idols they made and put in Your place] thereof at once with axes and hammers.
7 They have cast fire into your sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of your name [identity] to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues [mow’ed – at this appointed time] of God in the land [‘erets, in the earth].
9 We [because the false teachers destroyed our sight] see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knows how long.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why withdraw you your hand, even your right hand [of Your power]? pluck it out of your bosom.
12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You did divide the sea by your strength: you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters [men, like serpents and whales, with their words devouring men and swallowing them into hell].
14 You broke the heads of leviathan in pieces [the rivers in which the wicked flow their poison into the sea: humanity at large], and gave him to be meat [gave an understanding of the depths of the depravity in their words] to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 You did cleave the fountain and the flood: you dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day [when light has come] is yours, the night [the time when ignorance covers the earth] also is yours: you have prepared the light [understanding] and the sun [by which it comes as a new day].
17 You have set all the borders [the ends and beginnings of the ages] of the earth: you have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed your name.
19 O deliver not the soul of your turtledove [dove – those who know this is the time of the end of darkness, and opening their mouths is the sign of it] unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation [chay – the living, man of the new creation] of your poor forever [those without worldly power].
20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places [the ignorant powers] of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead your own cause: remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily.
23 Forget not the voice of your enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against you increase continually.
Psalms 28
1 Unto you will I cry, O LORD my Rock; be not silent to me: lest, if you be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto you, when I lift up my hands toward your holy oracle [exalting this word].
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore, my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song [repeating His words] will I praise him.
8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save your people, and bless your inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever.
