Rebellion In Our Midst
Through the final moments of Samson’s life I see a picture of the final moments of the church’s life in America. Spiritually speaking our enemy, the devil, has already bound the majority of the church, and in particular the leadership. Their strength from God is gone and most are totally unaware. They are already blind (Rev. 3:16-18) and in a spiritual grind, going in circles, imprisoned under the power of the devil. Only those who acknowledge their spiritual impotency, remembering God as their strength, will be granted one last push against the pillars of the devil’s house that he has built through injustice and unrighteousness.
I was given a revelation from God on Easter morning of this year, 2020, that I believe compares to what happened to Samson. It was revealed to me, through Matthew 28:1-2, that this will be the year “to begin to grow light” when the dead body of Christ will begin to awaken and rise up with His resurrection life through a great shaking. The “Head-covering” of Christ will begin to grow once again on His anointed ones, giving them the strength to rise up one last time, pushing back against the foundational pillars that currently uphold the enemies house, causing it to come down with a great and final crash. (Again, see the Bible study 2020 The Dawning Of The Light.)
2 Peter 2:17-19 – Peter warns us about false prophets and teachers who will (not “might”) arise among us and “secretly introduce destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). Of Plymouth Plantation is William Bradford’s personal account of the pilgrim’s journey from England to America and their incredible trials to get established here. On the very first page he begins his account talking of these very things that were being manifested in his day within the church. It was the same devil working then as now, as well as in Peter’s day when he wrote this.
17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice [1185- also see verse 14] by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,
19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome [2274], by this he is enslaved [1402].
NASU
NT:1185 deleazo (del-eh-ad'-zo)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from the base of NT:1388; to entrap, i.e. (figuratively) delude:
KJV - allure, beguile, entice.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. properly, to bait, catch by a bait
2. metaphorically, to beguile by blandishments [flatteries, praises, smooth talk], allure, entice, deceive:
tina (2 Peter 2:14,18; James 1:14)
NT:2274 hettao (hayt-tah'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from the same as NT:2276; to make worse, i.e. vanquish (literally or figuratively); by implication, to rate lower:
KJV - be inferior, overcome.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to make less, to be made inferior, to overcome
NT:1402 douloo (doo-lo'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1401; to enslave (literally or figuratively):
KJV - bring into (be under) bondage, given, become (make) servant.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to make a slave of, reduce to bondage
a. properly: tina (Acts 7:6)
b. metaphorically: give myself wholly to one's needs and service, make myself a bondman to him
(1 Cor. 9:19)
Samson, The Brute Beast
Psalm 73:16-22 – In this psalm of Asaph, he contrasts the wicked and the righteous. He also shares the repulsion he had for the wicked, questioning God why everything seemed to be well with them while the righteous struggled.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly [7281- “a wink of the eyes, in a moment, i.e. a very short space of time”] are they destroyed, completely swept away [8552- “to be complete, to be finished, to be at an end”] by terrors [1091- “terror, destruction, a calamity, a dreadful event”]!
20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies [KJV/NKJV- “You shall despise their image.”].
21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless [1198] and ignorant; I was a brute beast [929] before you.
NIV
OT:1198 ba`ar (bah'-ar)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:1197 [see def. below in Isaiah 4:1-4]; properly, foot (as consumed); i.e. (by exten.) of cattle brutishness; (concretely) stupid:
KJV - brutish (person), foolish.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
brutishness, stupidity, brutish (person)
It wasn’t until Asaph entered the sanctuary of God, into His Presence, that he understood their end. It was revealed to him that they would suddenly, in a moment, by a disastrous and dreadful event, be destroyed.
He said that while he was grieved and his spirit embittered that he was “senseless and ignorant,” a “brute beast” before the Lord. To be “senseless” in Hebrew is defined as “brutishness, stupidity, brutish (person).” It describes “someone who is so cruel or violent that he seems more like a wild animal than a human. Someone who is brutish is uncivilized in some way… As an adjective it is defined as ‘resembling a beast; showing a lack of human sensibility” (vocabulary.com). The Latin root word, brutus, means “heavy, dull, or stupid.”
During a time of rebellion in Israel against the Lord, He said to Jeremiah the prophet, “For My people are foolish, they know Me not [see Math. 25:11-12, 7:21-23; 2 Tim. 2:12]; they are stupid [“silly, a fool”] children and have no understanding [“to have discernment, insight or understanding; to know”]. They are shrewd to do evil, but to do good they do not know.” (Jeremiah 4:22/NASU)
2 Peter 2:12-13 – In his warning to us regarding the rise of false prophets within the church, Peter says “They are like brute beasts [“irrational, destitute of reason, absurd”]” that will be “caught [“captured, to be taken”] and destroyed.” This is what occurred in the life of Samson who, because of continued disregard for God’s law (i.e. lawlessness), was eventually taken captive by the enemy and destroyed in his final act on earth (see Psalm 78:61).
12 But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute [249] beasts, creatures of instinct [5446- they walk in the flesh], born only to be caught [“captured, to be taken”] and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. [See Jude 10 which is almost word for word.]
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure [2237] is to carouse in broad daylight [much like Samson]. They are blots [“stain, fault, (moral) blemish”] and blemishes [“blemish, blot, disgrace”; see Eph. 5:27], reveling in their pleasures [“delusion, deceit, deceitfulness”] while they feast with you.
NIV
NT:249 alogos (al'-og-os)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1 (as a negative particle) and NT:3056; irrational:
KJV - brute, unreasonable.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. destitute of reason, brute
2. contrary to reason, absurd (Acts 25:27)
NT:5446 phusikos (foo-see-kos')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:5449; "physical", i.e. (by implication) instinctive:
KJV - natural. Compare NT:5591
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
natural
a. produced by nature, inborn
b. agreeable to nature
c. governed by (the instincts of) nature (2 Peter 2:12)
NT:2237 hedone (hay-don-ay')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from handano (to please); sensual delight; by implication, desire:
KJV - lust, pleasure.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
desires for pleasure (James 4:1)
The following is from the Bible study The Spirit Of Judgment And Burning.
Isaiah 4:1-6 - The Lord cleansing “the daughters (sons) of Zion” by the “spirit of judgment” and the “spirit of burning.” Another word for “spirit” is “wind.” In fact, this same Hebrew word is interpreted “wind” in connection with the judgment of God referred to in many Old Testament passages as the “east wind” (see My Journal Of Healing for more on the east wind).
1 For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!"
2 In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.
3 It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy — everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. [See the book of life in Rev. 3:5]
4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit [7307- “a wind, breath, a mind, a spirit”] of judgment [4941] and the spirit [7307] of burning [1197],
5 then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.
6 There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.
NASU
OT:4941 mishpat (mish-pawt')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:8199; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or [participant's] divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style:
KJV - adversary, ceremony, charge, crime, custom, desert, determination, discretion, disposing, due, fashion, form, to be judged, judgment, just (-ice, -ly), (manner of) law (-ful), manner, measure, (due) order, ordinance, right, sentence, usest, worthy, wrong.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
judgment, justice, ordinance
a) judgment
1) act of deciding a case
2) a place, a court, a seat of judgment
3) a process, a procedure, a litigation (before judges)
4) a case, a cause (presented for judgment)
5) a sentence, a decision (of judgment)
6) an execution (of judgment)
7) time (of judgment)
b) justice, right, rectitude (attributes of God or man)
c) ordinance
d) decision (in law)
e) right, privilege, due (legal)
f) proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan
mishpat [OT:4941] – “judgment; rights.” This noun, which appears around 420 times, also appears in Ugaritic.
This word has two main senses; the first deals with the act of sitting as a judge, hearing a case, and rendering a proper verdict. Ecclesiastes 12:14 is one such occurrence: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Mishpat can also refer to the “rights” belonging to someone (Ex. 23:6). This second sense carries several nuances: the sphere in which things are in proper relationship to one's claims (Gen. 18:19), the first occurrence; a judicial verdict (Deut. 17:9); the statement of the case for the accused (Num. 27:5); and an established ordinance (Ex. 21:1).
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
OT:1197 ba`ar (baw-ar')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to kindle, i.e. consume (by fire or by eating); also (as denominative from OT:1198) to be (-come) brutish:
KJV - be brutish, bring (put, take) away, burn, (cause to) eat (up), feed, heat, kindle, set ([on fire]), waste.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) to burn, to consume, to kindle, to be kindled
a) (Qal)
1) to begin to burn, to be kindled, to start burning
2) to burn, to be burning
3) to burn, to consume
4) Jehovah's (Yahweh's) wrath, human anger (figurative)
b) (Piel)
1) to kindle, to burn
2) to consume, to remove (used of guilt) (figurative)
c) (Hiphil)
1) to kindle
2) to burn up
3) to consume (destroy)
d) (Pual) to burn
as a denominative verb:
2) to be stupid, to be brutish, to be barbarous
a) (Qal) to be stupid, to be dull-hearted, to be unreceptive
b) (Niphal) to be stupid, to be dull-hearted
c) (Piel) to feed, to graze
d) (Hiphil) to cause to be grazed over
The “canopy” (tabernacle or tent), or covering of the Lord over the whole area of Mount Zion is described as a place of “refuge and protection” (see my Bible study The Righteous Covering). First though, the judgment of the Lord takes place. While questioning the Lord one day concerning the coming judgment of America that He was revealing to me, I asked Him how, or what it would look like. He led me to the end of verse 4 which says “by a spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.”
I think it’s interesting that a word taken from the Hebrew for “burning” means “brutishness, stupidity.” Webster’s Dictionary defines brutish as “of or like a brute; savage, gross, stupid, sensual, irrational.” A brute is defined as “lacking the ability to reason, having no consciousness or feelings, like an animal.”
The evidence of increased decadence throughout our land proves the salt (God’s people) has become “tasteless,” devoid of its preserving agent, having been thrown out and now trampled by men. The Greek for “tasteless” in Matthew 5:13 is moraine (mo-rah'-ee-no). It means “to become insipid, to become foolish, to act foolishly.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, insipid is defined as “without flavor, tasteless, not exciting or interesting, dull, lifeless.” That is a perfect description of the church in America.
Without the presence of the Lord (the “Life” in John 14:6), we have become dull and lifeless to the world. Our unbelievable display of foolishness, especially on so-called Christian television that’s filled with human hype and devoid of the life of Christ, is neither interesting nor tasteful. Like the prophets of Baal who took on Elijah, they have to dress flashier, sing louder and shout longer in a futile attempt to gain mankind’s attention. They will be removed when God acts for His name’s sake.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” Paul is “explicitly”, or “clearly” telling us of the great falling away from the faith in the end times produced by doctrines of demons. These deceitful demons have control over those in the church who unknowingly preach and teach falsehood. They are said to have been “seared in their own conscience.” Their moral consciousness, through acceptance of the lies, has been cauterized, causing them to be insensitive to what is right and wrong, true and false. The church in America has been leavened with these teachers.
This is why we now see an abundance of these people within our society. As the church goes so goes the world. It is a sign that we are now under the judgment of God who has passed His verdict over us. Like a brute beast, these people are irrational. You cannot talk to them with any type of moral rational. Because of God’s judgment upon their minds, it simply does not compute. They are those in Romans 1:28-31 who have been given over to a “depraved” or “reprobate mind” (see my Bible study called Reprobate).
An example of this giving over is found through King Nebuchadnezzar. Because of pride, the verdict of the Lord was pronounced over him from heaven (Daniel 4:31-32). He became like an animal, dwelling with the “beasts” in the field for seven years (see the Bible study called The Tribulation). He was warned first in a dream that Daniel interpreted. Daniel 4:16-17 says, “Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast's mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him. This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, and the decision [7595- “judicial decision or mandate”~ NIV-“verdict”] is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes, and sets over it the lowliest of men.”
One of the definitions for “burning” in Isaiah 4:4 above is “to consume (destroy).”
Hebrews 12:28-29 – The “burning”, consuming fire of the Lord will be used to either destroy or purify.
28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
29 for our God is a consuming [2654- “to consume utterly, wholly”] fire.
NASU
Deuteronomy 4:23-24 – This isn’t just an Old Testament commandment from Moses to the children of Israel. We are also warned in the New Testament to be on guard, to not be forgetful covenant breakers but to be watching so as to be ready for the return of Christ. The Lord cried out to faithless Israel through Jeremiah, saying “‘But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the Lord their God.’” (Jeremiah 3:20-21/NIV) This is a warning to guard our hearts from placing anything above the Lord in our lives, which is to “forget the covenant of the Lord your God” as Samson did and paid a very difficult price, because He is “a consuming fire, a jealous God.” We, the church, must remember God, which is to acknowledge Him as Lord in our lives, so as not to find ourselves in His consuming fire.
23 "So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you.
24 "For the Lord your God is a consuming [398] fire, a jealous God.
NASU
OT:398 'akal (aw-kal')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively):
KJV - at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, freely, in ... wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, quite.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) to eat, to devour, to burn up, to feed
a) (Qal)
1) to eat (human subject)
2) to eat, devour (used of animals and birds)
3) to devour, consume (used of fire)
4) to devour, to kill (used of sword)
5) to devour, consume, destroy (inanimate subjects: that is, pestilence, drought)
6) to devour (used of oppression)
b) (Niphal)
1) to be eaten (by men)
2) to be devoured, to be consumed (used of fire)
3) to be wasted, to be destroyed (used of flesh)
c) (Pual)
1) to cause to eat, to feed with
2) to cause to devour
d) (Hiphil)
1) to feed
2) to cause to eat
e) (Piel) to consume
(Continued in part 4...)
