Conversations with a bullfrog ( I helped him'a drink his whine........)

'Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.............'

I didn't answer right away, because I love listening to the good ole' Statler Brothers sing that song, but I noticed that the name 'Jeremiah B.' showed up on my caller ID, so I figured I'd better answer sooner, rather than later. As I flipped my phone open; I said 'Hey, Jer; what's up?' Boy, was I in for it this morning! 'Somebody' must have had quite a day yesterday ( Thanksgiving Day )! First, it was 'What took you so long to answer?', so I had to remind him of my enjoyment of Newton's hymn, as sung by the 'Brothers', after which he began his tirade........................'You know what my favorite thing about the holidays is?', he asked. 'I used to think it was family and friends, but now I really think it's the food!' ( I love food too, and Thanksgiving really brings out the best in most cooks! ) I had to ask my friend, at this juncture, what had happened yesterday that had so soured him on the family aspect of the holidays He replied, 'ya know, Chuck; it's not just yesterday that I'm talking about, it's the holidays in general......................why do we wait till certain days to get in touch with each other............wait a minute; I think I just answered my own question ( having family of my own; I kinda understood where he was coming from )..........I almost interrupted at this point, but I decided to let him continue his 'rant'. 'I've always had problems, if not outright, most of the time, then latently, with my family!' Harking back to what we had talked about last time, Jeremiah Bereano went on to explain that, for whatever reason, whether because his beliefs ( which he doesn't apologize for ) are somewhat different, or because he leads a different sort of life, he has had problems communicating with his family, and thus holidays can become quite strenuous for him, since he feels that preaching is his life, that's what he knows. As he too a short breath; I had to interject a few thoughts, reminding him to look at himself, and not others, for the source of his 'problems': 'if you really want to get to the bottom of your family troubles, you might wanna take a look at yourself!' Having heard much of his family history, previously; I rehearsed to him how, after he had been introduced to some 'new' ideas, he had adopted much of them as his own, even taken them further in some areas, and had become rather vocal, if not a little antagonistic, toward those who disagreed. ( I've had some pretty heated discussions with him, myself ). I continued, 'Have you ever stopped to think that might be part of YOUR problem?!' 'Maybe your family ( and certain friends ) have become so used to your disagreeable temperament, especially regarding religion, that they've ( consciously or unconsciously ) decided that you're not that much fun to be around, except for the occasional holiday!' I could hear nothing but silence for what seemed like a few minutes, on the other end of the 'line', and I could almost see my friend hang his head as he thought about the harsh possibility of what I'd outlined for him. 'You might have a point there, Chuck', he ( almost grudgingly ) said; 'I realize that, in the past, I've held such an attitude of 'I'm right, and you're wrong', and 'if you don't see it my way, you just don't get it', that many people have probably, as you said, consciously or unconsciously, 'turned me off' and 'tuned me out'; so what can I do now?' 'I don't think it's too late', I consoled him; 'a couple things you might do is, first; get off your high horse, stop talking down to everybody about how all this so-called 'knowledge' of yours makes you so 'all-fired' right all the time, so everybody else is wrong, or just hasn't gotten it yet..............' He interrupted me quickly, saying, 'I believe that God has given me this knowledge, and if that makes me right, then they ARE wrong!' 'Jer', I said, 'that may or may not be the case, but if you go around alienating everybody, because you think God's given you this 'knowledge' that He's, for whatever reason, held back from everybody else, by telling them that you have the truth, and they, just because they don't understand it quite the same way as you, don't; then it's no wonder that nobody wants to listen to you!' 'You need to realize that, just because you believe that God's shown you the truth, doesn't mean that you have it, and even if you have it to a greater extent then the average person, that doesn't give you the right to walk around ( no pun intended ) acting like you're better than everybody else, trying to prove that you're right all the time and that you know everything!' 'Learn what it means to defer, and whether you think you're right or not; humble yourself, and acknowledge that you DON'T know everything, you're NOT right all the time, and there just may be something you CAN learn from other people; like how to show people you love them , not just tell them, and then act differently, and how to show people that you believe such and such a way, not just tell them, and then destroy any effect you might have had ( for good ) by not living up to your words! Now I was ranting, and hoping that my friend wouldn't hang up in fury and frustration! My friend had had enough, so he quietly said that he had to go, and before he said goodbye; he meekly ( or is that 'weakly' ) said 'thanks', then softly hung up the phone. In God's good providence; I might not hear from my friend, while he mulls things over, then hopefully, acts on them!

Apples & Oranges ( and cranberry sauce )

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner is cranberry relish!

I love a good cranberry relish; not too sweet, but not too sour!

There are several topics that I wanted to 'treat' here; first of all ( and don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining ), the celebration of 'special days': two, the comparisons that we make between 'fruits', and three, how we ought to be especially thankful for all that God has given us ( leading right back to number one )!

Whoever came up with the idea for setting aside a certain day in November ( to say nothing of a certain day in December, a certain day in April, even a certain day of the week, etc. ) as more special, or more important than another, ought to be flogged ( and thanked )! Thanksgiving Day was a great idea: as a nation, we have been greatly blessed, and setting aside that certain day every year to gather together, whether it be just family, family and friends together, or even strangers, to especially thank and praise God for His great goodness, is a good thing, a great plan. When I say that this man should be, or have been flogged; I say this because of the commercialization that has come from specializing this, as well as certain others you might think of. Thanksgiving Day, as with so many ideas, started well; what a great idea! A good time to remember how God has blessed us, not just as a nation, but as individuals, but why wait till November 26th ( or the last Thursday of November ) to get together as family, friends, and strangers, to eat turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and cranberry relish? As with certain other holidays ( as opposed to holydays? ), we have a tendency, as human beings, to treat these certain days as so much more special than others, that we might start to think that we should do things differently ( and I'm as guilty of this as anybody ) than we do other days of the week, or year ( as the case may be ). Should we be thankful everyday of the year for what God has blessed us with? Should we not celebrate the greatest Gift ever given everyday of the year? How about remembering what this Gift did for us, dying for our sins, and rising again that we might have life, everyday? I don't think that anybody would argue against this, but we still bow to tradition when, because of our busyness, or for whatever reason ( or excuse ) we treat certain days as better than others. I'm not complaining, as I said earlier; I enjoy getting together with family and friends ( even new friends ) for the holidays, eating special meals, and doing special things as much as the next guy, well, maybe not as much as some, but, as many of, I'd like to imagine, I'd rather that we weren't so busy with our hectic lives, so that we could afford to celebrate what God has blessed us with all the time!

The question is; 'can we afford not to?'

I spoke above of comparing 'fruits' ( 'Apples & Oranges' ): I refer to us humans, and in particular, Christians. I speak for myself, I accuse no other; we have a bad habit of comparing ourselves, especially as Christians, to the next guy. I know I have a problem with doing things that I believe I shouldn't because, well, my friend does the same sort of thing all the time and he obviously doesn't think it's wrong, so how bad could it be? One might think of the obverse of James' statement in James 4:17, 'Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin'. ( Romans 7:15-20 ) Scripture has much to say on the subject of 'conscience', and Paul even goes as far as saying, in regards to the conscience, 'Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble'. ( I Corinthians 8:12 ). Along these lines; Paul further writes, in I Corinthians 10:12, 'For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.' ( Now; before anyone feel like I'm pointing the finger at them: I am not saying that those who exercise their liberty ( in Christ ) to the fullest are unwise, or even sinning, just that each of us must live according to his own conscience, not that of someone else. ) Eventually; we might hope that those who 'beg to differ' might have a change of conscience so that they might more fully enjoy the liberty that we have in Christ Jesus. Until that point, if ever, I believe it not unwise to defer, as Paul did, certain of those liberties, in order that we might not wound those with 'weak' consciences ( II Corinthians 4:2 ). As Paul wrote to the Corinthian church earlier, in the beginning of chapter 8, 'We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies'. If we have a conscientious objection to something that our brother or sister does, yet do the same; are we not 'comparing apples and oranges?'

Not to sound hypocritical, but; I love Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving and Christmas, with Easter bringing up a close second, are probably my most favorite holidays ( although they really are 'just' holydays, like all the rest! ) Two main reasons; first, it's a great 'excuse' for family to get together, renew bonds of friendship, pick up the chains of sibling rivalries, etc., and two; the food ( especially cranberry relish )! It's really kind of sad, but too often; we wait for those two, maybe three days of the year to do this kind of thing, to fix these special dishes. As I've said; I'm not complaining ( for one, because I'm no better when it comes down to it! ), because I know the reason that we don't, several actually: the busyness in which we're all involved makes it difficult for us to get together for the purposes of celebrating everyday ( hard to get the same days, or amount of time, off, etc, for those who live far apart from each other; finances are always a factor, and I think that we, because of tradition or for whatever reason, seem to have gotten the idea, as I said above, that certain days are, and should remain, better, or more special than others. Thanksgiving Day ( or Turkey Day, as it's becoming more commercially known ) has become, to some, the day of the 'triple-header' ( as a friend of mine and I were talking about this morning ) where we stuff ourselves 'to the gills' with turkey, stuffing ( apt, huh? ), sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie ( don't forget the cranberry sauce ), and then sit on the couch with our beers, and watch some 'fools' ( with nothing better to do on TD ) run around and beat themselves up for four quarters ( X3 ). I dare say that most of us are thankful for what God's given us, although it may be questionable whether or not everyone actually acknowledges where these blessings come from, but are we truly being thankful to God, by relegating the celebration of this thankfulness to one particular day ( even a season )? I mentioned the over-commercialization of these three major holidays ( although many others have suffered ): many of us look forward to 'Black Friday'; most stores offer their best deals ( for a limited time ) on the day after Thanksgiving Day, and every year the stores are opening their doors earlier, competing to see how many people they can get to come through their doors, spending all kinds of money ( usually plastic ) that they may or may not have, buying all kinds of 'things' that they may or may not 'need' ( want ). For every major holiday; stores have special sales, sales which draw us into their stores; all to one end: the almighty dollar! This is not the way it should be!

God has certainly blessed us and it is more than right, and less than His due that we should set aside a certain day, even a season, to gather and celebrate our thankfulness, but as is common among humans, even Christians; I believe that we tend to forget our thankfulness in the humdrum and busyness of everyday life, and this, again, is not the way it should be! I chastise only myself with these words, because I have the same tendency ( problem ) with thankfulness: I'm not, much of the time. Especially in this season; let us remember to give thanks to God for all His manifold blessings, and then after all the 'hoopla' of the Thanksgiving holiday is over, and we're strutting around like over-stuffed turkeys, even the next day when we 'proclaim, 'I never want to see another turkey leg again', that it is not only when we have friends and family around, or turkey ( and cranberry relish ) on the table, that we should be thankful for His blessings, nor is it just on a certain day each year that we should gather as friends and as the family of God to celebrate that thankfulness, but everyday, in everything that we do and say! The apostle Paul said 'in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you' ( I Thessalonians 5:18 ), and earlier, in Romans 14:6, referring back to an earlier topic of mine, 'He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;^a]">[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks'. The Psalms are full of references to the giving of thanks: in Psalm 18:49; David wrote, 'Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name', after God had delivered him from the hand of Saul. We are told, in Psalm 30:4, 'Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.^b]">[b]' Asaph wrote, in Psalm 75:1, 'We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near', and again, for deliverance, in Psalm 79:13, 'So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations'. In Psalm 92:1; we read that 'It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High': Psalm 97:12 reminds us to 'Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.[a].' The psalmist pleads, as so many of us today, 'Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!' ( Psalm 107:8 ), and David wrote, in Psalm 140:13, 'Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence.' Whether or not one believes in fulfilled eschatology, whether one believes God is present with us in His fullness, or whether just through His Holy Spirit; it is a 'concrete' fact that the righteous dwell in His presence, and for this, if for no other reason; we should give thanks: Job, when he had just lost most of his material possessions, and also the children that God had given him, in one fell swoop, said 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD' ( Job 1:21 ). In the next verse; we read that 'Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong': can we do less, but in every situation, good or evil, give thanks to God for all things, even those that we do not recognize as a blessing? Finally; as Paul wrote in one of his most comforting passages, 'And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.' ( Romans 8:28 ) Now, pass the cranberry relish, please!

in thankfulness, Charles Shank
^b]">

Conversations with a 'bullfrog'

First of all; I would like to introduce my readers to a good friend of mine, named Jeremiah. ( 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog.....................wazza good friend o' mine.........') Sorry, just had to slip that in! Jeremiah seems to have a 'Jeremiah complex': he's a bit of a self-proclaimed preacher ( prophet, if you will ) that has a problem, as do most of us, when it comes to putting into practice what he preaches. In this way; he is not quite 'on par' with his name-sake. I remember quite often, as does my friend, the prophet's words in Jeremiah 20:9; 'Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.' But ( His Word ) was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones: I was weary of holding it back, and I could not'. Whenever Jeremiah, almost pridefully mentions this; I have to remind him that, although the situation that he faces may almost be compared to the situation that the prophet faced, it is nowhere nearly as dire, because Jeremiah was being persecuted for speaking the truth of God's promises of adverse judgment upon His typical Old Covenant 'children' because of their disobedience. I tell him, 'You are under no such persecution for declaring such things; you are surrounded by God-fearing people, though maybe a bit mixed up, that 'persecute' you, not so much because of what you preach, but because you don't practice what you preach, as you should.' 'You're right, brother Charles', he says, ashamedly 'but I still feel like the prophet must have felt sometimes, because when I do remind those around me of God's Word and face 'persecution' because of it, I'm almost sorely tempted to say, 'forget this', and stop preaching, because I don't always practice; it seems like my conscience just won't let me be, ya know, kinda like when God's Word was like a burning fire in Jeremiah's heart.' I, along with other friends, then remind Jeremiah ( B) that we shouldn't stop preaching just because we don't always practice; rather, we should do our best to always practice, not only because it's the right and grateful ( thankful ) thing to do, but because it does help our witness, helps those around us to see that, 'hey, he really means what he's saying, he's not just spouting off at the mouth!' I went to see Jeremiah the other day, and after the usual talk about the weather, sports, etc. ( we usually end up gravitating to discussing religion; it's rare that we don't! ); he remarked to me, 'ya know, Chuck; sometimes I almost sympathize with those prophets of old ( like Jeremiah ) when God used them, not only as His mouthpiece ( 'Thus says the Lord........' ), but as examples of what He was about to do to His Old Covenant 'children''. When I asked him why he would say something like that, he told me that he found that some things that he naturally did ( I must make a note here, and I hope that Jeremiah's not reading this; my friend can be a real jerk sometimes, insensitive, selfish, immature, prideful, etc.............), he realized later that, although he was acting wrongly ( proudly, selfishly, immaturely, etc...........), he was really showing others around him their own weaknesses and helping them to see the wrongness of their own actions and to correct those actions. I told him that this sounded a little like he was trying to rationalize, and he said, 'I realize that, Chuck; and I try not to act like that, but I also realize that God uses our actions, wrong or right, for His own purposes, and I thank Him for that!' 'Remember what He said through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 55:8, 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.' Before I could accuse him of proof-texting, he quickly said, 'I know I'm kinda pulling that out of it's context, as I might seem to be doing with Jeremiah's words, but I believe that, even though the historical context of the prophet's words is quite a bit different than the situations that we face today, we can still find application for God's words, in that there is a tendency today to try to put God in a 'box', and say, 'well, this is the way we do things ( or more to the point, the way I do things ), so it must be the way God acts, too', or 'God wouldn't ( or doesn't ) do things that way'. 'This is not to say that my actions are without fault, and that I'm inculpable because I believe God's 'using me for His own purpose', just that, as Christians who, though chosen and perfected (although still being sanctified-Hebrews 10:14 ) still act wrongly ( sin? ) sometimes, we must remember that we have been forgiven 'once for all', not that........' ( I rudely interrupted at this point ) 'Are you trying to tell me that Christians can now sin for free, that we don't have to worry about consequences because 'once saved, always saved'?' Jeremiah replied, 'if you'd let me finish; I'm not saying that because of Christ's work, and yes, I believe 'once saved, always saved', that we can live however we please and we'll be okay, rather, because we've been forgiven and healed of all our iniquities ( I John 1:9 ) we are free to do what's right, we don't have to worry that our little slip-ups are gonna separate us from the love of Christ; as Paul said, in Romans 8:38 & 39, 'For I am persuaded that nether death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' I had to remind my friend, yet again, of the historical, not to mention immediate, context of Paul's words. ( Although thinking of Paul's remonstrations in the previous chapter almost makes his point, huh? ) When I did mention this to him, he reminded me of Paul's words in Romans 7, and that, although the historical context may have been quite different; the situation ( on the surface, anyway ) that Paul treated in that chapter was not so different from the situation that so many of us face today. 'Paul's words in Romans 8:38 &39 though', he continued, 'should give us all the comfort of knowing that no created thing ( does that include us? ) can separate us from God.' 'You're preaching to the choir here, Jer,' I amusedly told him; 'but one might argue that God, through Isaiah, told His Old Covenant 'children' that 'your iniquities have separated you from your God.' ( Isaiah 59:2 ) 'Whoa', he replied, 'now it is I who must remind YOU of the historical context!' 'God was speaking to those under the Old Covenant, not the New, and although Christ's atonement and redemption had been prefigured since day one and revealed, in a sense, to some of the faithful ( Hebrews 11 ); salvation had not yet been fully revealed, and their iniquities had not been pardoned: as we can see by reading the end of the Bible first, their sins finally and irreversibly separated them from God.' As sometimes happens; my friend was right, so I had to cede his point, and I promised that one day, we would get back to the subject: right now, my head hurt ( from overuse, maybe? ) and I had some things to do at home. I left my friend with this thought; 'if you're really serious about being a Jeremiah to those around you; you need to start being more serious about practicing what you preach, and controlling your own actions: start seeking God's will rather than your's more'.

As I got on my bike to pedal home; I distinctly heard him mutter, after our usual 'c-yas!'; 'till next time, Chuck, till next time...........................'

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil-The Power of Darkness

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

1928 Book of Common Prayer


In Reformed circles particularly, but in the institutional church at large; this phrase is most often used during the ceremonial act of water baptism. I vaguely remember being asked this question ( or at lest hearing others being asked ), 'do you renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil?' when I was baptized, in my early teen years.

We have probably all heard this phrase, in some variation, at some point or other, in our lives; but what is this phrase really saying? My contention in this article, is that this phrase does not convey an understanding of three separate entities; but, as can be gleaned from the usage of this kind of language in Scripture, especially in the covenantal and historical context of Scripture, that these three things can, and maybe should be 'lumped' together.

In the covenantal context of Scripture; God promised, speaking of those who tried to refute His wisdom and righteousness and replace it with their own, in Isaiah 13:11, 'I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible'. ( see also Psalm 9:8 ( John 3:16-19 ),17:14, 22:27, Isaiah 24:4, 34:1, Matthew 13:22, 18:7, Mark 4:19, Luke 12:30, John 1:10, 9:39, 12:31 ( 14:30, 16:11 ), Acts 19:27, Romans 3:19 ( 5:12 & 13, 11:12-15 ), 12:2, I Corinthians 1:21, 3:19, II Corinthians 7:10, Galatians 6:14, Colossians 2:8, Hebrews 11:7, James 1:27, 4:4, II Peter 2:20, I John 2:15 & 16, Revelation 13:3, 16:14 )
I'm sure many of my readers know that there are two ( main ) different Greek words translated 'world' in the New Testament; 'αἰών', or 'age' , and 'κόσμος' which basically means 'orderly arrangement'; some writers also used 'οἰκουμένη', which means 'inhabited earth', and, in the historical context, most scholars will admit, were referring to the Roman Empire.
In many cases; the covenant and historical context of which I spoke above are really one and the same, referring to God's covenant creation, the physical 'children' of Israel ( after, or according to the flesh ). Isaiah prophesied of God's judgment on these 'children', saying 'The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish' ( Isaiah 24:4 ) ( see also Isaiah 62:11, Lamentations 4:12, Nahum 1:5, Matthew 24:14 ( 10:23, Colossians 1:23 ), Luke 2:1, John 7:7, 15:18, 16:33 ( 17:9 ), 18:36, Acts 17:6, II Corinthians 5:19, Galatians 4:3, Philippians 2:15, I John 2:17, 5:19, II John 1:7, )

It is hard to prove 'beyond a shadow of a doubt' that 'flesh', as read in the Scriptures, refers to physical Israel; but Jesus, speaking in the context of 'the feeding of the five thousand' and of 'The Bread of Life', told those unbelieving Jews, in John 6:63, 'It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life'. These Jews had the word of God, written on 'tablets of stone' ( II Corinthians 3:3 ), which spoke of the Christ; but they thought that that these words contained life, so when Jesus came, speaking the true 'words of life', they would not believe Him. After Jesus had forgiven and dismissed the women, supposedly caught in adultery; He told the shame-faced Pharisees, who could not carry out their own law, 'You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one' ( John 8:15 ). Paul, referring back to Jesus' statement above, in Romans 8:5, wrote, 'For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit'. He late said, in Romans 9:8, 'That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed'. Again referring, I believe, to the Jew's misplaced hope in their law, Paul reminded the early church, which had just emerged from the shadow of it's Judaistic foundings, and was still fighting their ( Jewish ) influence, in I Corinthians 15:50, 'Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption', and in II Corinthians 5:16, 'Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer'. I've often pondered this passage, and while it could be physically understood to be saying that since Jesus had ascended back to 'Heaven', Paul and the apostles no longer regarded Him as 'in the flesh'; but I believe that Paul was referring to knowing Him 'in Spirit and in Truth' ( John 4:24 ), rather than simply through the 'letter of the law' ( Romans 7:6 ). In Galatians 3:3; Paul rebuked the brethren for listening to the arguments of the Judaizers, by asking them, 'Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?' Paul referred, in metaphor, to our freedom from the penalty, the 'chains' of the law ( of Moses ), in Colossians 2:11, when he wrote, ' In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins^c]">[c] of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ'. There is, no doubt, an application for today to be made, in, as Peter said, in I Peter 3:21, 'the answer of a good conscience toward God', but the point that Peter was making, I believe, to his brethren after the flesh, was that God had freed them from the tyranny and oppression ( Exodus 1:8-14 ) of Judaism ( Matthew 23:4 ), and that, for their conscience sake, should 'present their bodies as living sacrifices' ( Romans 12:1 ) in His service and for His Kingdom! Today, as twenty-first century Christians; we should do no less!

As a rule; the 'devil' is, to a greater ( in some circles ) or lesser ( in others ) extent, a rebellious, apostate ( Hebrew 6:4-6 ) fallen ( wicked ) angel, who, while not exactly omnipotent or omnipresent, and according to some ( those 'others' ) has no more power ( over Christians, anyway ), still wields much authority, as the 'ruler of this world' ( John 12:31 ), and the 'prince of the power of the air' ( Ephesians 2:2 ), even over Christians ( Job 1 & 2, John 13:2 ), but definitely over the world at large. As we have seen, and as I have stated in previous articles; I believe this to be a 'false assumption' ( though not ( necessarily ) damning ), based on a very simplistic ( at best ) theology! We have noted, for instance, that Jesus Himself said that the Pharisees were children of the devil ( John 8:44, I John 3:10 ), and how, in Hebrews 2:14, we read that Christ came to destroy this 'devil' ( who had the 'power of death'-Romans 8:2, I Corinthians 15:56 ( Romans 9:4, ( Matthew 23:13 ). Although this lesson may also easily be applied to many situations today; I believe that it is important to realize, through the above mentioned covenantal and historical contexts, that 'the world, the flesh, and the devil' that we read about in Scripture, not only had a quite different meaning to the original intended audience, but were all basically speaking of the same thing; the disobedient 'children' of the Old Covenant.

With all this said; I would like to remind my readers that, although these words still hold application for us today, when viewed from the perspective of the original audience, they hold different connotations for us today. No more do 'the world, the flesh, and the devil' wield the power of death ( as under the Old Covenant ), and although we may still ( and should ) renounce 'the world, the flesh, and the devil', we are denouncing, not the rigors of legalism under the Old Covenant ( although this may be arguable ), but rather our 'old man', our former, sinful way of life, which is something that we must struggle with each and every day!

May God continually lead us all to the realization that we have, through Him, the strength to fight this inner battle, and that now 'the world, the flesh, and the devil' no longer hold 'the power of death' as they once did under the Old Covenant: in a sense, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself'; we no longer battle against 'principalities and powers' ( Romans 8:38, Ephesians 3:10, 6:12, Colossians 2:15 ), but rather, against our inner 'demons', our own sinful and rebellious ( fleshly ) nature!

In His service,
and for His Kingdom and glory,
Charles Shank

Studies in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus the Christ the Son of God ( the visions ( final judgment ( the book ) Pt 7

Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation

'Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.' ( Matthew 17:1 & 2 )

'And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.' ( Zechariah 14:4 )

I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.

The 'mighty angel' that John observes here, is pretty obviously a representation of our Lord Himself. Jesus, speaking of Himself, in Matthew 25:31 & 32, revealed that 'When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy^[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.' ( see also Ezekiel 20:4, 22:2, Joel 3:2, Matthew 10:34 ) Following the theme of 'division' that we see in Zechariah 14, and throughout the prophetic Scriptures ( Genesis 1:4, Exodus 8:23 ( 33:16, Romans 3:22 ), Exodus 26:33 ( Genesis 1:7 ), I Kings 8:53 ( Ezra 6:21 ), Nehemiah 9:2 ( II Corinthians 6:17, Matthew 13:49 ( Luke 12:49-51 ), John 7:43 ( 9:16, 10:19 ), Hebrews 4:12 ), John 'sees' Jesus place His feet, one on the sea ( symbolic of the nations ), and one on the land ( symbolic of national, physical, Old Covenant Israel ) thus making a separation between the two, but also bringing the two together in a resounding echo of the Gospel! ( Revelation 21:1b )

Prophesying of the revelation of the Son of God; David wrote, in Psalm 40:7 & 8, 'Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.' God told Isaiah to 'go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever' ( Isaiah 30:8 ), concerning His Old Covenant 'children', who were 'a rebellious people', warning them of the coming 'Day of the Lord' ( Isaiah 2:12, Jeremiah 36:2 ( 25:1-11 ), Joel 1:15 ( 2:1-11 ), Amos 5:20, Zephaniah 1:2 & 3 ( Zechariah 14:1 ), Malachi 4:5 )

Isaiah wrote of the coming of the Lord, 'As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill' ( Isaiah 31:4 ( 5:29 ), and Hosea 11:10 reads, 'They shall walk after the LORD. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, then His sons shall come trembling from the west', speaking of God's final gathering of His Old Covenant people.


When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices,^[a] I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,^[b] “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.

'The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.' ( II Samuel 22:14 ( Psalm 18:13 )

'And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' ( Mark 9:7 )

'Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.' ( John 12:28 & 29 )

'But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase'. ( Daniel 12:4 )

Previously in this study of the book of the Revelation; we noted the words of the Lord which He revealed to the prophet Isaiah, concerning the blindness of the Old Covenant house of Israel, recorded in Isaiah 29:11-13: because they had rebelled against God and His Word for so long: His words were 'sealed' to them, they could not understand them ( Job 17:4, Isaiah 6:9 ( 44:18, Matthew 13:13,14 & 19 ), Jeremiah 5:21 ) God had determined an end to this rebellious and apostate people, and so had hardened their heart to His purposes!



The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand^[c] to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.


'In that day they will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened by the clouds.' ( Isaiah 5:30 )

In the passage above, God reveals, through Isaiah, what will be in the 'last days', the final hours ( I John 2:18, II Timothy 3:1, I Peter 1:5 & 20, Jude 18 )of His Old Covenant 'children' ( Matthew 21:43 ( Isaiah 65:15 ). I believe that John's vision of the 'angel' that 'set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land' was indicative, not only of the fact that God rules over the nations ( Jew & Gentile-'for there is no difference' ( Romans 9:24, Galatians 3:28 ( Ezekiel 37:21-25 ), but also that He was 'behind it all' ( or above, as the case may be ), that He was the 'driving force' to destroy His enemies, and save His people ( Romans 9:22-24 ( Zechariah 9:9-16 )!

Reminding his people of the eternality of God's promise to Abraham ( Genesis 12: 2 & 3, 15,17:4-8 ); the writer to the Hebrews recalled, 'because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself' ( Hebrews 6:13 ). In pronouncing His judgments on the 'nation', the enemies of His people, God, through the prophet Jeremiah, spoke these words, 'For I have sworn by Myself,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes'. ( Jeremiah 49:31 ). In this famous passage from Isaiah 45; God said, in verse 23, 'I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath'. ( see also Isaiah 55:11 )

The 'angel' now reveals to John that 'in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel....................the mystery of God would be finished': 'in Romans 16:25; Paul, in his benediction, reminds his readers that the 'gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ' was a 'mystery kept secret since the world began'. ( see also Ephesians 6:19 ) Although John's 'mystery of God' may, to whatever extent, be speaking of something other than the 'mystery of the gospel' that Paul talks about; they are closely intertwined, for the secret of which Paul speaks is the good news, the revelation that whoever, whether he be Jew or Greek, slave or free ( I Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28 ) believed on Jesus Christ would be saved. The 'mystery' of which John wrote was the fulfillment of that promise, which, although of an ongoing fulfillment, was historically and decisively completed by the destruction of the Jewish Temple and economy, and the end of the Old Covenant 'age' ( Luke 18:30, I Corinthians 10:11, Ephesians 1:21 ). Paul wrote, in Colossians 1:23, that the Gospel was 'preached to every creature under heaven'. The immediate purpose of the Gospel was fulfilled in the first-century, revealing the secret of God's unconditional love ( Romans 11:11 & 12 ), not only for Jews, but for Gentiles as well, those outside the boundaries of physical Israel ( Ephesians 2:12 ( John 10:16 )!

Prophesying of the coming Messiah; God spoke, through Isaiah, 'I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles' ( Isaiah 42:6 ( 49:6, 66:12 ). In Malachi 1:5; God revealed that, 'Your eyes shall see, and you shall say, 'The LORD is magnified beyond the border of Israel'. When Simeon, in Luke 2:29-32, had seen The Christ, he rejoiced, saying 'Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel' ( see also Amos 9:12 ( Isaiah 62:2 ): as John 'heard' the 'angel' say; God had revealed this secret of the Gospel to His prophets all throughout the Old Covenant Scriptures, even as far back as Genesis 3:15, if one but had the 'eyes' to see it!



'Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.' ( Ezekiel 3:1-3 ) The first 15 verses of this chapter reveal the purpose that God had in making Ezekiel ( metaphorically ) eat this scroll; so that Ezekiel, as one of His many prophets, could carry a warning, in essence, act as a 'watchman' for His Old Covenant 'children'. I believe that John's 'book' and Ezekiel's 'scroll', like the intent of their separate visions, were one and the same; Ezekiel's warning of the beginning of 'the end', and John's of the final 'end', the final and complete fulfillment of the 'Day of the Lord'!



Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he^[d] said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.

In previous articles; we have noted the teaching in Numbers 5:11-31, concerning unfaithful wives ( which physical Israel was ). The priest was commanded to write the curses of the law concerning adultery in a book, and then ceremonially scrape them off of the scroll into a pot of water which the accused was then to drink from. If she was indeed guilty of the crime, the water would become bitter in her stomach, causing it to 'rot' within her. If God did not find her guilty, though ( a picture of those in Christ ), the 'bitter water' would do her no harm. As John was a prophet, and thus a representative to of Israel; he was made to symbolically bear the 'burden' of Israel punishment, as a warning to his people. Old Testament examples of this would include Ezekiel 4:4, where the prophet was told 'Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity' ( Isaiah 53:11 ). The prophet Micah wrote, 'I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness' ( Micah 7:9 ). As recorded in Daniel 9:1-16; Daniel revealed how he and his brethren bore the iniquities of the house of Israel in a foreign land.

In Exodus 15:22-26; we have a record of the incident at Marah, where the bitter waters were made sweet, or drinkable. I believe that, though this is undoubtedly a factual, historical account; it was given that it, along with so many other such incidents, might show us a deeper spiritual truth, a hidden meaning. When John, like Ezekiel, was commanded to eat this 'book', or scroll, they were further commanded, upon consuming it, to relate God's word to His people ( God's warning, you might say ) You may have heard, as I did, that this book represented, or was symbolic of the law ( of Moses ); as Paul said, in I Timothy 1:8, 'But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully' ( see also Romans 7:12 ). It is clear from both visions that, if not referring directly to the 'words' ( 10 ) given through Moses, that it was a fulfillment of passages such as Deuteronomy 28:16-68, as alluded to above, warning of a temporary, chastising judgment( in Ezekiel's case ) and final, irreversible judgment ( in John's case ). Solomon advised his son, in Proverbs 24:13, 'My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste' ( Song of Solomon 2:3 ), and in Ecclesiastes 11:7, preached that 'Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun'. Both of these 'proverbs', though doubtless having a very physical and fleshly meaning, carried, I believe, a greater spiritual meaning; that of the wisdom of walking in God's light, and eating His 'honey', His Word.

John is reminded, finally, as we close this part of our study, that he must 'prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings': the last trumpet ( I Corinthians 15:52 )had yet to sound, and until it did, John had a job to do; warn His people to 'flee to the mountains' ( Matthew 24:16 ), and 'let those who are in the midst of her depart' ( Luke 21:21 ( Isaiah 52:11, Genesis 19:14 ( Daniel 3:26 ). John, like Ezekiel, was a 'watchman' over the people of God, to remind them of their sin and warn them of the consequences ( Jonah 3:1-4 ( Matthew 12:41 ).


As God's New Covenant people, though this is past history, can we do less than be the 'watchmen' of our generation, warning all those that God places in our path of His wrath, and telling them of His grace, showing them His love?! I believe that the only 'end' this 'world' ( the people in it ) faces is physical death; up until that point, there is still hope: let us always remember our job as 'healing leaves' ( Revelation 22:2 )!

In His service, and for His Kingdom,
Charles Shank

Studies in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus the Christ the Son of God ( the visions ( final judgment-the fifth and sixth trumpets ) Pt 6

Keys to Understanding the Book of Revelation.

'How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,^[b] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! '( Isaiah 14:12 )

'Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground!' ( Isaiah 21:9b )

In the first passage; we find Isaiah prophesying the utter destruction of the king of Babylon at the hand of the Medes and Persians ( see also Daniel 5 ): in the second; the fulfillment of that prophesy. As we can see from the note ( b ) in Isaiah 14:12, above; 'Lucifer' literally means 'Day-star', from the Greek הילל , meaning 'light-bearer'. The Israelite people of God were to be light-bearers, shining forth the light that God shed on a dark and dreary world, but they failed, in part, not in whole, to carry out that mission, or as it's called elsewhere, their 'dominion mandate' ( Genesis 1:28, 9:1 )

Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.


When thinking of Old Testament references to 'pits'; one might remember the pit that Joseph's brothers threw him into, in Genesis 37:22. Joseph, as a type of Christ ( deliverer-Genesis 45:7 ) was so cruelly treated by his brethren, also children of Israel, or Jacob ( Genesis 35:10 ). Jeremiah 38:6 records how the prophet Jeremiah was cast into a pit because he revealed God's word of warning to the children of Israel in Jerusalem. Probably recalling this imprisonment; the prophet, in Lamentations 3:53-56, voices his complaint before God, in words that might almost have been uttered by Christ on the cross.

'They silenced^[b] my life in the pit and threw stones at me. The waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!” I called on Your name, O LORD, from the lowest pit.' ( Jonah 2 )

There are many other examples of the mistreatment, and even the murder of God's prophets ( I Kings 18:13, 19:10, Nehemiah 9:26, Luke 11:47, Acts 7:52, Romans 11:3 ( I Kings 19:14 ), I Thessalonians 2:15, etc ) by the wicked and rebellious children of Israel throughout Scripture. In Leviticus 26:14-30, God promised to 'cast down' those children of His that were rebellious against His covenant. ( see also Deuteronomy 28:15-68 ). In agony, almost; pondering the seeming prosperity of the enemies of God and His people, David realized, in Psalm 73:18, that 'Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.', and in Psalm 147:6, that 'He casts the wicked down to the ground'. Of His back-slidden children; God promised, in Jeremiah 8:12, 'They shall be cast down' ( see also Jeremiah 6:15 ). The prophet Jeremiah recalled, in Lamentations 2:1, how that God had 'cast down from heaven to the earth the beauty of Israel', which should remind us of Jesus' words to His disciples, in Luke 10:18, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven', concerning the defeat of the enemies, or adversaries, of His people. ( see also Romans 16:20 )

Regarding the 'keys to the bottomless pit' that were given to this 'star fallen from heaven to earth'; remember that Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:19, 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed^[d] in heaven.' I believe that we can safely infer the obverse of this; that the 'keys of Hades and of Death' ( Revelation 1:18b ) were given to those who opposed Christ and His Kingdom, or people. ( II Corinthians 3:7, ( Romans 7:7-12 ) Romans 9:4 )!


And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

When reading this passage; one might be immediately reminded of the incident, recorded in Daniel 3, in which Christ is prefigured as deliverance from this 'fiery furnace'. Daniel's friends prophesied ( in a figure ) of the Christ, replying to the king 'our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king', and indeed,we read later, that 'the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them'. In Genesis 19:28, we see a very vivid picture of this 'bottomless pit' in the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah. The Author revealed that Abraham 'looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.' ( see also Isaiah 1:9, II Peter 2:6 ( Matthew 11:23 & 24 ). In Ezekiel 22:17-22; the prophet recorded that God promised to purify His Old Covenant children in this furnace. ( see also Isaiah 48:10, Matthew 13:49 & 50 ( Revelation 1:15 ). The prophet Isaiah, speaking in figurative terms of this 'furnace' of the Lord, wrote, 'For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; its land shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night or day; its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; no one shall pass through it forever and ever. ' ( Isaiah 34:8-10 ( Revelation 20:9 & 10 ). My readers might recall the plague of locusts on the 'land' of Egypt, that 'darkened' the land, recorded in Exodus 10:1-15 ( Psalm 105:34 ). ( see also verse 21, Luke 23:44 & 45 ), and that Jesus, speaking of the destruction of the Temple and the Old Covenant 'age', in Matthew 24:29, told His disciples that 'Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.' (see also Revelation 8:12 )


Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

I mentioned above the plague of locusts that God loosed upon the 'land' of Egypt, the adversaries of His people. We have noted many of the similarities between the plagues of Egypt and the plagues that we read about in the book of Revelation, and as we continue to study this book, we will see many more similarities, not only to these, but also to many prophecies and visions laid before us through the Old Testament prophets.

God spoke to Solomon of this 'day' ( Joel 2:1 ), in II Chronicles 7:13, reminding His people that, as He sent the plague among the adversaries of His people, in Egypt, so He would send the same plague among them when they became adversaries to themselves. The prophet Amos had a vision of this 'day' also, I believe, revealing that 'He ( God ) formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings' ( Amos 7:1 ). It is interesting to note that John the Baptizer fed on locusts, which could have been a reminder of the coming judgment. ( Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6 ( Malachi 4:5 ( Matthew 11:14 ). The Lord comforted the prophet Ezekiel with these words, 'And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house' ( Ezekiel 2:6 ). Back in Deuteronomy 8:15; God warned His children, in type, of the consequences of disobedience, reminding them that it was only by His protection that they escaped, unscathed, from their wilderness wanderings. ( Luke 10:19 )


They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

'And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.' ( Job 2:6 ) Whatever you believe about this 'Satan', this adversary of Job, whether you believe God 'simply' allowed 'Satan' to plague Job, or whether God Himself was the Hand that struck Job's person ( verse 10 ); it is clear that Job realized that His troubles came from the Lord, as the 'locusts' above were allowed to torment the children of men, but not to kill them. The first part of the passage above takes us back to the 'plagues of Egypt', in Exodus 7-12. In Exodus 8:23, God told the Pharaoh that 'I will make a difference^[a] between My people and your people' ( Exodus 11:7 ). As we noted above; in most, if not all of the other plagues, Scripture makes it clear that the children of Israel were exempt from these plagues, as long as they were obedient ( Exodus 12:21-24 ). To those who refuse to be enlightened by the true Light; God says, in Isaiah 50:11, 'Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— this you shall have from My hand: you shall lie down in torment'. Solomon, King of Israel wrote, in Proverbs 21:6, that 'Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.^[b]' ( see also Proverbs 8:36 ) God reminded His children that they had, in their foolishness, 'made a covenant with death', which covenant ( II Corinthians 3:7 ( Romans 7:10 ) He would annul ( Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 8:13 ), fore-telling of the 'new' covenant in Christ, in Isaiah 28:15-18.

The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.


To start with, that these 'locusts' had faces 'like the faces of men' should tell us something! I can't emphasize too greatly that John is receiving this Revelation in the form of a vision; what he 'saw' was a picture of what was going to happen, even what was already happening. A friend of mine likened these 'word-pictures', or hyperbole, to a comic strip, which are often used to portray a subtle, or deeper meaning, using a preposterous circumstance to reveal a certain truth, without actually saying it out-right. I believe that this is what Jesus revealed here, to His servants; this vision was meant to show John the true 'nature' of these 'locusts': they were men, those same men whom God had 'raised up' ( Exodus 9:16, I Kings 11:23, Isaiah 41:25 ( Habakkuk 1:6 ) to discipline His covenant children. In the midst of instructions to His covenant children, before bringing them into the 'Promised Land; God spoke in this way, in Deuteronomy 20:1, 'When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt'. Although this vision was to serve as a warning to the children of God; in the context of Scriptures such as that above, John's words would have brought great comfort to his Hebrew, or Jewish readers. ( Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 3:6 ) In Zechariah 10:5; God again offers the same words of hope to His covenant people, saying, 'They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame'. I believe that David prophesied of these 'locusts', in Psalm 2:2 & 3, writing, 'The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us' ( see also Acts 4:26, Revelation 17:12 ).


They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that, 'if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him' ( I Corinthians 11:14 ). Paul's words, in the immediate context, may seem to have been spoken of the distinction between men and women, who's place have been more or less clearly defined, but in the historical and geographical context of Paul's writing; I believe that he referred to the Scythians, those of the nations that were still considered 'barbarians. I think that John may have had the same sort of idea in mind when he wrote that 'They had hair like women’s hair', indicating that God was bringing judgment on His Old Covenant children from the 'nations'. God; revealing beforehand the glory of the restored Temple, and His people Israel, wrote, through the prophet Ezekiel, 'They shall neither shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed' ( Ezekiel 44:20 ). The apostle Peter wrote to the churches, 'Be sober, be vigilant; because^[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour' ( I Peter 5:8 ( Judges 14:5, Psalm 22:13 ). Solomon wrote, in Proverbs 19:12, prophesying, I believe, of this 'day' ( Luke 21:22 ), 'The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass', and of the wicked rulers of Judah and Jerusalem, who fully warranted the adverse judgment of a righteous God, the prophet Zephaniah wrote, 'Her princes in her midst are roaring lions' ( Zephaniah 3:3 ). Remember the words of Jacob concerning his son Judah, back in Genesis 49:9 ( see also Hosea 5:14 )? How ironic then, that God judged His errant children, using the same mannerisms that they had displayed! John's reference to 'wings...like the sound of chariots' should immediately bring to mind passages such as Exodus 14:7-9, the chariots of Pharaoh, king of Egypt ( see also Joshua 24:6 ), and Joshua 11:4-6, concerning the armies of Jabin, king of Hazor, who assaulted the children of Israel as they began to 'occupy' the 'Promised Land' ( see also Judges 4:3 ( 7, 15 ). Isaiah prophesied of this 'day, writing, in Isaiah 66:15, 'For behold, the LORD will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire'. ( see also Jeremiah 4:13 ) Prophesying of this 'day', in Ezekiel 23:24, God promised of His instruments of judgment, 'And they shall come against you with chariots, wagons, and war-horses, with a horde of people. They shall array against you buckler, shield, and helmet all around'. The prophet Zechariah 'saw' these 'chariots' of God that brought peace through the sword. ( Zechariah 6:1-8 ( Habakkuk 3:8 )

And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

I wish here to remind my readers of the apostle Paul's words, in II Corinthians 3:7, concerning 'the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones': these words of Paul's, along with passages like Romans 7:7-13 ( James 1:15 ) might give us a hint as to whom John might, in code, be referring. In the midst of his afflictions, Job realized, of God, that 'You will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living' ( Job 30:23 ), and although the writer to the Hebrews ( 2:14 ) relegated 'the power of death' ( Hosea 13:14 ( Revelation 20:14 ) to the 'devil'; we should note, in the covenant context ( in particular, Paul's words above ) of Scripture, that the Old Covenant ( AKA 'Mosaic' ) law, which was entrusted to the physical Israelites ( Romans 9:4 ), who were but typical of the New Covenant 'Israel of God' ( Galatians 6:16 ), was that which actually held the power of death! As I implied in the earlier part of this study; as the 'keys of the kingdom' were given to those New Covenant people of God, so the keys to Hell & Death ( spiritual death ) were given to the Old Covenant children of Israel!

The Hebrew אבדון, translated 'Abaddon', means literally, 'destruction'. In Deuteronomy 32:24, after the children of Israel had become fat off the land and turned from God, He promised that 'They shall be wasted with hunger, devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, with the poison of serpents of the dust', and II Samuel 24:15 & 16 records that, when David, king of Israel had sinned by ordering a census of Israel, 'So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. And when the angel^[b] stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah^[c] the Jebusite'. God spoke, in Ezekiel 5:16, of the time 'When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread' of His apostate children. In Joel 1:15 the prophet laments for his people, saying 'Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty', and Amos 3:14 & 15 records the judgment of God upon the northern tribes, wherein He promised that 'in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end,' says the LORD'. John als uses the Greek Ἀπολλύων , translated 'Apollyon', which means 'Destroyer', to describe this 'angel of the Lord' ( Exodus 12:12-23 ( Psalm 78:51, Hebrews 11:28 ). God told the king of Judah, in Jeremiah 22:7, 'I will prepare destroyers against you, everyone with his weapons; they shall cut down your choice cedars and cast them into the fire', and Paul, in I Corinthians 10:9 & 10, reminded readers of what happened to their fathers, saying 'nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer' ( Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 11 ).

Interestingly enough; John now writes that 'One woe is past', using the Greek ἀπέρχομαι , meaning 'to go away, depart', giving us the impression that this 'plague' has happened, and is passing away ( Hebrews 8:13, I Corinthians 7:31, II Corinthians 3:7-18, I John 2:8 ) , or has passed away. ( II Corinthians 5:17 )


Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.


' Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters' ( Isaiah 43:16 ( Jeremiah 4:7, 18:11 )

'Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you.' ( Ezekiel 21:3b )
'For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘ Prepare the way of the LORD;make His paths straight.'^[a]'
( Matthew 3:3 ( Isaiah 40:3 )

Again, we find familiar language here, the reference to 'one-third': remember that in the previous study we noted the significance of the term 'one-third', most often referring to 'the remnant' those brought 'through the fire', to be revealed as the people of God. ( Psalm 66:12, Isaiah 43:2 ( Daniel 3 ), Zechariah 13:9 ( I Corinthians 3:15 ), I Peter 1:7 ( Job 23:10 ) We might note, too, the use of the term 'four'. ( Ezekiel 1:4-12, Daniel 7, Zechariah 1:18-21, Matthew 24:31 ) The 'four winds' ( of heaven ), the 'four corners of the earth' ( Isaiah 11:12, Revelation 7:1, 20:8 ), '' 'of the land' ( Ezekiel 7:2 ) and etc.

When I read about the 'horns of the altar', one of the first Old Testament passages that comes to mind, strangely enough, is I Kings 1:50, where it is recorded that Adonijah fled from his brother Solomon to the altar of God, pleading for mercy after he had presumed to ask for something that was not his right. ( see also 2:28 ) The prophet Jeremiah wrote, 'The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars' ( Jeremiah 17:1 ): I believe that John's reference above to the 'voice from the four horns of the golden altar' point directly back to Jeremiah's words here!

Finally; Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36 seem to come clearer, make more sense than what, I believe, we have traditionally read in them: He said 'But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,^[e] but My Father only'. When John 'saw' that 'the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year' were to be released; do you think Jesus' words above came to his mind?


Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.


Speaking to 'Gog' and his allies, significant of the 'nations' surrounding His Old Covenant 'children'; God said, 'You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you' ( Ezekiel 38:9 ), and in verses 15 & 16, 'Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes'. Ezekiel 39:11-16 tells us that it took seven ( there's that number again ) months to bury this great multitude when God 'turned the tables on them'. Young's Literal Translation ( YLT ) reads Revelation 9:16, 'and the number of the forces of the horsemen [is] two myriads of myriads, and I heard the number of them', whereas the Authorized King James Version ( KJV reads, more familiarly, 'And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand : and I heard the number of them'. One problem that the English bible translators have had, I believe, is that they are English. No; I'm not saying that being English is a bad thing; just that they/we are Western in culture, as well as geo-politically. Obviously, in o9ur Western mind-set; a 'thousand thousand' is equal to a million, therefore naturally, 'two hundred thousand thousand' should be translated 'two hundred million', right? Wrong: the Greek μυριάς, more correctly, I believe, translated 'myriad' in the YLT, was used here, and it literally means 'ten thousand' or 'an innumerable multitude, an unlimited number'.


And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.

'I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords'. ( Ezekiel 38:4 )

'But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near'. ( Luke 21:20 )

As John further describes these 'horses' and their riders, one can almost see these armies of foreigners, such as J.R.R. Tolkien describes in Book Four of 'The Lord of the Rings', as those of a people who did not know God, those who clothed themselves ( Genesis 3:7 ), in fancy clothing rather than being clothed in the righteousness of Christ! Again we see the reference to 'lions': this time to lions that breath fire out of their mouths. I believe that Jesus intimated to John, through this vision, that, as David cried, in Psalm 58:6, 'Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!', and as Daniel explained to king Darius, 'My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you' ( Daniel 6:22 ): those who fear God, clothing themselves in His righteousness have nothing to fear ( Matthew 10:28 ) from the 'power of the lion' ( Daniel 9:27 ( Psalm 22:21, II Timothy 4:17 ). David wrote, in Psalm 29:7, 'The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire', thus comforting us yet again, with the fact that those who trust in the Lord have no need to fear the wrath of man. ( reference Daniel 3 again, in connection with the fire and smoke that did them no harm. ) Isaiah 66:15 reminds us again, that this is the Lord's doing, that the Revelation referred, not only to the revealing Jesus Christ as the true Son of God, but spoke of the 'days of vengeance' ( Luke 21:22 ), God's righteous judgment on His Old Covenant 'children' who had rejected His Son ( Matthew 21:33-45 ), and ultimately, Him! ( Numbers 14:23, I Samuel 8:7, Hosea 4:6 ( Jeremiah 2:13 ) Looking back on this passage in Revelation; we can see that John seems to be borrowing from he Old Covenant Scriptures in his usage of 'biblical parallelism'; the horsemen's 'breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow' directly parallel the horses that breathed 'fire, smoke, and brimstone', because fire, of course, is fiery red, smoke is often described as blue, and brimstone is very sulfurous. KJV and YLT translate the words 'sulfur yellow', as 'brimstone'.


By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power^[a] is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

Not only earlier in this study, but in previous studies as well; we have noted John's use of the 'third' concept. In the study directly prior to this; we read that 'a third of the trees were burned up', next, that 'a third of the living creatures in the sea died', and I believe this is also very significant, when the third angel sounded his trumpet, that 'A third of the waters became wormwood' ( Exodus 32:20 ). Jesus said, in Luke 10:18, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven'. We know that it was because of His great sacrifice that this happened, and I find it very significant that this happened at the sounding of the 'third' trumpet because Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, thus sealing the final defeat of 'Satan' and his emissaries! We also noted the connection to the days of creation ( in reverse, if you will ) and in the passage above, this theme is not only continued, but we can also begin to see some of the 'sense of urgency' that I talked about, a sort of 'biblical parallelism', in which John begins to repeat his theme of a 'third' being destroyed, leaving behind a remnant. The 'fire, smoke, and brimstone' which came from the mouths of these lion-headed horses brings to mind, again, much imagery from the Old Testament prophets, but even as far back as Genesis 19, where we read the story of what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah, out of which a very small remnant escaped ( Luke 17:29 ). David, in Psalm 11:6, speaks of God's just judgment in these terms; 'Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup'. Isaiah prophesied of God's righteous judgment on the king of Assyria, in Isaiah 30:33, saying 'For Tophet was established of old, yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; its pyre is fire with much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it', and speaking of judgment on the nations around His chosen people, in particular Edom, the prophet wrote, in Isaiah 34:9, ' Its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; its land shall become burning pitch'. The horses with 'tails...like serpents' can be directly paralleled to the horses with 'tails like scorpions' that we read about earlier.


But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries^b]">[b] or their sexual immorality or their thefts.


'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be^[d] brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you'. ( Matthew 11:21-24 )

'Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle'. ( Jeremiah 8:5 & 6 )

'And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks,^[b] bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon'. ( II Chronicles 33:10 & 11 )

'As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice'. ( Daniel 9:13 & 14 )

Of the Old Covenant 'children' of Israel, in Deuteronomy 32:17; the Author spoke these words, 'They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear', and David recalled, in Psalm 106:37, that 'They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons'. I have mentioned before, in previous studies, the incident of 'the golden calf' that 'came out' of the fire, recorded in Exodus 32 ( Deuteronomy 9:12-21, Psalm 106:19 ), but, as the prophet recounted, in Isaiah 2:8, 'Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made'. ( Psalm 115:4-8 ) Even though Moses took drastic measures to rid the 'children' of Israel of this sin they had committed we can see from Scripture that this episode was not the end, or extent, of their idolatry, in fact the prophet Jeremiah wrote, as David had seen, 'Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not': these 'children' had become just like their idols ( Jeremiah 5:21 )! Isaiah again wrote, in Isaiah 42:20, 'Seeing many things, but you do not observe; opening the ears, but he does not hear'. In Ezekiel 12:2, God told the prophet, 'Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house' ( Psalm 135:15-18 ) and Jesus Himself quotes from Isaiah 6:9, when He told His disciples, 'Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand' ( Matthew 13:13 ). When the children of Israel were confessing their sins before God, in Nehemiah 9:26, the prophet recounted how 'they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself; and they worked great provocations', and in Stephen's address, in Acts 7:52, he reminded the Sanhedrin ( the judges of Israel ), 'Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers'. In Jeremiah 3:8, recalling the covenant unfaithfulness of His 'children'; God told the prophet, 'Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also' ( see Jeremiah 5:7-9, Exodus 20:14 ). Paul wrote, in Romans 1:28-32, of these covenant 'children' who should have known better, 'And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,^[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,^[d] unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them'. Jude reminded his readers of what happened to those disobedient 'children', bringing to their remembrance, as an example, what God had brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah, 'But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire' ( Jude 5-7 ( I Corinthians 10:8, Revelation 2:14, Matthew 10:15 ( Jeremiah 23:14 ). In Malachi 3:8, for instance, God reminded His Old Covenant 'children' of their thefts against Him; 'Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings'. When the apostle Paul wrote, in Ephesians 4:28, 'Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need'; I believe that this is exactly what ( and who ) he had in mind, those wicked spiritual leaders of Israel who were using the tithes and offerings for their own purposes, rather than for the sustenance, both physical and spiritual, of God's people, for which they were intended, for which cause God visited judgment upon them ( the Old Covenant 'children' of Israel ).


As we end this study of chapter 9; I pray, first of all, that all glory be to God for the revelation of His Son, and that this study would help my readers to understand that through the revelation, fully and in finality, of His Son, we now have the comfort and rest promised to His people, to those that love Him and keep His commandments!

May God bless you with these thoughts, as we continue to study His Revelation, and hope to gain a better and deeper understanding and knowledge of Him and His revealed!

in His service,
and for His glory and Kingdom,
Charles Shank