Two Methods Of Interpretation: The Spiritual And The Carnal

Two Methods Of Interpretation:

The Spiritual And The Carnal

         Which method did many disciples use when Jesus said, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you,” “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” “When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you?... [Do you stumble at this?] It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you [My method] are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you [because of the carnal method] who do not believe’” (John 6:60-63).

         The spiritual method gives life and the carnal method profits nothing. They interpreted Jesus literally and Jesus implies that their method was the carnal method.

Which Method Did The Judaizers Use?

         By insisting on circumcision they would argue that the sign of God’s covenant is eternal and therefore still required. God said, “I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (Gen 17:19). They were correct in saying that circumcision is still required, but could not understand that it is fulfilled in baptism. “In him also you were circumcised… in baptism… (Colossians 2:11-12 ESV). Paul used the spiritual method by insisting that the weak and beggarly elements of the ceremonial laws were only shadows of the substance fulfilled in Christ.

The Spiritual Method

         Allegories, types, copies, shadows, symbols, analogies, figurative speech, riddles, and parables fall into the category of the spiritual method.

         Paul used allegories and types to interpret the Scriptures. He said the literal history of Hagar and Sarah “may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants” (Gal 4:24 – Greek allegoreo). Hagar represented Old Jerusalem and Sarah represented New Jerusalem.

The Corinthians Used The Carnal Method

         Paul said he could not address the Corinthians as spiritual people, but “as people of the flesh, as infants” (1 Corinthians 3:1 ESV). He was referring to the two methods of interpretation: the spiritual and the carnal. He calls the carnal method infantile. Children can’t make analogies. When you tell a child that it is raining cats and dogs, he looks out the window for literal cats and dogs.

What Is Jerusalem Called Spiritually?

         The Holy Spirit calls it the great city that “spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8). The Greek word translated “spiritually” is pneumatikos. If old Jerusalem is called Sodom and Egypt by the spiritual method, what would it be called by the carnal method? Would it not be the opposite of Sodom and Egypt? Would not the carnal method call it the Holy City? If God calls the church the New Jerusalem and the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), what would the carnal method call unbelieving Jews? Would they not call them the opposite of what the spiritual method calls them? Which method did Jesus use when He said, “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Rev 2:9)?

What Does Jesus Call Unbelieving Jews?

         He called them “children of the devil” (John 8:44). Was He using the carnal method or the spiritual? To Jews, Gentiles were children of the devil, so to them, Jesus was actually implying that they were really Gentiles. The spiritual view is the view of reality and not the literal view. In spite of what Jesus called them, the carnal method insists they are still God’s people even though they deny Christ. However, there is one advantage of being carnal Jews: that “to them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom 3:1-2).

Hebrews 5 Calls The Carnal Method Childish

         “You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child” (Hebrews 5:12-14). Since he is a child (spiritually), he tends toward the literal “cats and dogs” interpretation and cannot make the analogy. He sees literal circumcision and literal Jews instead of what those shadows represented. But we do not look at the things that are seen. We look at the things that are not seen (2 Cor 4:18).

         Dwight Pentecost, in his book, “Things To Come,” boasted that dispensationalists use the literal method of interpretation. The spiritual method mixes both the literal and the figurative. The carnal method uses one or the other, not both. The “one and the many” demands both.

It Depends On The Context

         Sometimes in visions, an angel interprets the symbol in literal terms. For example, the angel says, “the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches” (Rev 1:20). Note that he did not say the stars “represent” the seven churches, but “are” the seven churches. He did mean they represented the churches, but this method of the apostles and the Holy Spirit was understood.  

Peter Enns Versus The Apostles

         Peter Enns says in his book, Inspiration And Incarnation[1] that the method of the apostles in interpreting the Old Testament seems odd.  He says, “The New Testament writers do some odd things by our standards.”  By “our standards” I assume he means the standards that emerged after the Humanist Enlightenment of the 18^th Century.  He cites several examples of how the New Testament writers seemed to quote Scripture out of context.  He implies they did not seem to use our so-called “more enlightened” method. 

         Mr. Enns even thinks Jesus used an odd method of proving the resurrection of the body by quoting, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mat. 22:32). His answer certainly stopped the mouths of the Sadducees.  No one dared to ask more. Why would that seem odd to Mr. Enns?  Could it be that he is not even able to make the analogy that the Sadducees made?

         Mr. Enns mocks Paul for saying that the Rock followed Israel in the wilderness. Enns’ inability to make analogies pictured a rock rolling around in the desert. Paul evidently violated post-enlightenment rules and mixed the metaphors by extending the cloud analogy to a rock analogy. He obviously reasoned that both the cloud and the rock represent Christ.

         Does it seem like the wise and prudent have never lodged in John Bunyan’s house of the Interpreter?

Did Moses Baptize?

         Paul says all those in the exodus from Egypt were baptized into Moses by passing through the sea and the cloud. Even though they did not get wet, He saw this as a type of baptism. He also saw eating the same spiritual food at Passover as a type of the Lord’s Supper. “But with most of them God was not well pleased” (1 Cor 10:5). The analogy is that even though one is baptized and takes the Lord’s Supper, he might not be saved.

Where Did The Apostles Learn The Spiritual Method?

         Jesus taught them.  Paul said the mystery that had been hidden from the ages was now revealed through Christ (Col 1:26).  Jesus said that “life” from the Old Testament comes from those Scriptures that speak of Him (John 5:39).

         The method used by the apostles believed the literal historical account of the Scriptures, but also as allegories, types, copies, and shadows of things that are fulfilled in Christ.

The Literal Versus The Spiritual

…is another way of saying “the carnal versus the spiritual.” The word literal comes from the word letter. Paul said, “circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter” (Rom 2:29). He said “that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom 7:6). He said God “made us… as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2Cor 3:6). Paul said the literal kills and Jesus said the carnal method profits nothing.

There Were Two Jewish Allegorizing Schools

… in New Testament times: that of the Jews in Palestine and that of the Jews in Alexandria. But men like Philo of Alexandria were influenced by the fanciful method of the Greeks. The Greeks did not believe Homer’s history (their bible) was literal, but only an allegory. This is what modernists do. Paul, on the other hand said, “the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual” (1Cor 15:46). The Jewish Palestine school took the history first as literal, and after that the spiritual analogy.      

Matthew Shows That Christ Is The True Israel

…when he seems to quote Hosea out of context.  “I called my Son out of Egypt” (Hos 11:1 and Mat. 2:15). The context in Hosea shows he was not referring to Christ, he was referring to the nation of Israel.  But Matthew and the Holy Spirit are showing us that Israel is a type of Christ.

         The literal is also an allegory. It is called, “the spiritual method of interpretation.” 

Again Matthew Quotes Isaiah 7:14

… and applies it to Christ.  Isaiah was talking about his own son as a sign to King Ahaz.  He said, “My sons and I are signs and wonders.”

         How did Mathew make that connection?  It was by way of analogy.  The literal is also a type.

When Jesus Was Taken To Nazareth,

…Matthew says it was to fulfill what the prophet said: “He shall be a Nazarite.”  Which prophet said that?  It was said to Samson’s mother in Judges 13:5.  Evidently Matthew and the Holy Spirit saw Samson as a type of Christ in the same way that Jesus said, “There is one greater than Solomon here… There is one greater than Jonah here…  There is one greater than the Temple here” (Mat 12:6,41,42).  The same logic would make Jesus the greater David, the greater Moses, the greater Joseph, etc.

Circumcision Was A Type

         The first church council in Acts 15 decided on the issue of circumcision.  Evidently some of the believers in Jerusalem could not make the analogy that circumcision was a type of baptism.  We still have that problem with many believers today.  Paul tells us that Old Testament things were written as types (Gr tupos) (1 Cor 10:11).  Since Jesus was literally circumcised, and believers are spiritually baptized into the body of Christ, that means that believers are also circumcised.  They are circumcised by means of being baptized into Christ. “In him also you were circumcised… in baptism… (Colossians 2:11-12 ESV).

Shadows Of Things To Come

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things [that were] to come, but the substance is of Christ (2:16-17 NKJV).

         Using the spiritual method, Paul saw the Old Testament history and ceremonial law as types of things that are fulfilled in Christ. 

The Unclean Foods Were Gentiles

(Acts 10)

(Enlightenment wording would be, “Unclean foods represent gentiles,” instead of were gentiles.) Hebrews shows us that Christ is our high priest.  He is our Temple (Rev 21).  He is our Passover Lamb, etc. 

         The new moon-sabbaths were shadows.

         Passover was a type of the Lord’s Supper, and Christ is the Passover Lamb.

         The Jews Celebrated Pentecost for the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. It was fulfilled when God poured out His Spirit and put His Law in our hearts on the Day of Pentecost.

         In the Feast of Tabernacles the feast of trumpets is fulfilled as we trumpet the Gospel and tabernacle in world evangelism, etc. This is how the apostles interpreted the Old Testament and changed the customs. Jesus does not destroy the Law He fulfills it.

 Should We Handle The Old Testament

The Way The Apostles Did?

         Well, if we do not, we certainly will not understand it the way it should be understood.  We are their heirs.  We should honor our parents.

         To reject the authority of the apostles and their method of interpretation is to do what Jude’s mockers were doing. They still creep into the church unnoticed, “reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries” (Jude 8). “These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit” (Jude 19).

         Some say it’s okay for the apostles to do it, but not for us. But God says, “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, that have no understanding, that must be harnessed with bit and bridle” (Psalm 32:9). “A whip for the horse, A bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the fool’s back” (Prov 26:3). If we do not understand the apostolic method of interpretation, we certainly will not understand the Lord and His word.

Sensual Persons

         The word translated sensual is literally soulish. The Greek word is qucikov psuchikos; natural, of the soul or mind from which we get the word soul (psyche). James says, “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual [soulish], demonic” (Jas 3:15). This same word is translated as the natural man (the soulish man) who does not receive the things of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2:14. The apostle Paul makes the soulish man a synonym for the carnal man and the infantile man in 1 Corinthians 3. The spiritual method of interpretation is silly (foolish) to the soulish man. He prefers the carnal and literalistic method. That’s why St. Augustine before conversion, thought the Bible was silly until Ambrose explained that much of it was allegorical. (I imagine that some will laugh at me for using the spiritual method.)

         Speaking of laughter, Sarah laughed and named Isaac laughter. Ishmael laughed at Isaac. The Ishmael’s of the world still laugh at Isaac, but God said, “In Isaac [laughter] your seed shall be called,” in Isaac instead of carnal Ishmael.

The Spiritual Method Is Poetic

         The Psalms and Prophets are full of poetry. Robert Frost said, “Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another.” In every-day speech we always speak poetically, and so does the Bible. Frost says,

         Let us assume that your roommate has just come in out of a rainstorm and you say to him, "Well, you're a pretty sight!  Got slightly wet, didn't you?"  And he replies, "Wet? I'm drowned!  It’s raining cats and dogs outside, and my raincoat's just like a sieve.”

         It is likely that you and your roommate understand each other well enough, and yet if you examine this conversation literally, that is to say unimaginatively, you will find that you have been speaking nonsense.  Actually you have been speaking figuratively.  You have been saying less than what you mean, or more than what you mean, or the opposite of what you mean, or something else than what you mean.  You did not mean that your roommate was a pretty sight but that he was a wretched sight.  You did not mean that he got slightly wet but that he got very wet. Your roommate did not mean that he got drowned but that he got drenched.  It was not raining cats and dogs; it was raining water.  And your roommate's raincoat is so unlike a sieve that not even a baby would confuse them.[2]

Note The Use Of “Is” Instead Of “Represents”

         When He said, “This is My body,” post-enlightenment literalists would say, “This bread represents My body instead of it is My body.” “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

         When animals were sacrificed the animal represented the worshipper. The apostles would say the goat was the worshipper. When David poured out the water his men had risked their lives to bring him, he said, “Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy?” If post-enlightenment men had been present, they might have corrected David with, “That’s water, not blood. You should have said, ‘Shall I drink this water that represents the blood of these men?’”

Visions And Dreams

         Visions are given in signs and symbols. The literal method is the carnal method. The carnal method is the infantile method. Children cannot make analogies. John was in the Spirit when He saw the vision of The Revelation of Christ. Therefore it must be interpreted spiritually except in the cases where the angel gives the meaning of the literal interpretation of the symbols within the vision.

Therefore, because it is a vision,

The 1000 Years Must Be Interpreted Spiritually

And Not Literally

         Since the angel does not interpret this symbol, we must turn to see how it is used elsewhere in Scripture. For this we must allow Scripture to interpret itself. “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). No one interprets that literally. It just means He owns an undetermined number of cattle. He keeps His covenant to 1000 generations (Deut. 7:9). It simply means an undetermined number of generations. If we took that as literal, we would have to say the Lord is not coming for 40,000 years from Moses’ time. “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand” (Psalm 84:10). To rule and reign with Christ a day is as a thousand years. Using these examples of poetic language we can see that a thousand is used poetically for an undetermined period of time. “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Pet 3:8).

The Spiritual Method Seems Silly To The Natural Man

         Using the spiritual method of interpretation, we must expect to be mocked by educated people because Jesus said God has hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them to babies. To him it is not logical. It seems too simple-minded, childish, and naïve. But God wants us to be child-like in malice but mature in understanding. Both of these qualities are combined in the spiritual method of interpretation. It has to do with “the one and the many.”

Why Did The Disciples Not Understand?

…when Jesus told them three times that he would be killed and rise from the dead? It was possibly for two reasons. One possible reason was since Jesus was always speaking figuratively, they were not sure whether to interpret Him figuratively or literally.       Reason number two: the literal interpretation would not fit their eschatology. They probably expected the Messiah to overthrow Rome and rule the world from Jerusalem. How could He be killed and still rule? They must have known that Daniel clearly said Messiah would be cut off, but it seemed like a contradiction to their carnal method.

Not Bread, But Leaven

         When Jesus said, “Beware Of The Leaven Of The Pharisees,” the disciples associated bread with leaven and thought He might be implying they had forgotten to bring bread. This was a faulty analogy. Leaven is not bread. It only reminded them of bread. Leaven is something to put in bread. The correct analogy would be, “Something that is put in the Pharisees.” Jesus said, “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mt 16:11). With what were they leavened? Luke says, “Hypocrisy,” and Mathew says, “Their teaching.” It was both.

What Was Their Leaven?

         Was it not that they could not make the analogy between outward righteousness and inward righteousness? Jesus said that in order for the law to be fulfilled, our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. It is not enough to not commit adultery. We must also not lust. The literalist focuses on what is seen, while the spiritual man focuses on the heart. “For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:18).

Figures Of Speech And Faith

         Jesus said, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech… I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

         His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! …this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone” (John 16:25-32 ESV). Notice how Jesus associates believing with understanding figurative speech.

         When Jesus told the Jews “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. …they perceived that he was speaking about them” (Matthew 21:43-45 ESV). They made the analogy. Why can’t some Christians do that?

Revelation 20

         Now let’s look and see if we can determine how the spiritual method interprets it Revelation 20.

         [20:1] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. [2] And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years... (Revelation 20:1-3 ESV)

The Angel Coming Down Represents The Incarnation

         Amillennialists note that the NT affirms that Jesus’ first coming has already bound Satan and brought God’s light to the nations. Mathew Henry and I agree.

“Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Matthew 12:29 ESV).

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15 ESV).

Michael Also Represents Christ

         We see this binding of Satan depicted again in Revelation 12 with Michael defeating Satan. “And the great dragon was thrown down… to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Then it tells how He and his messengers did it: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!” Christians are heaven dwellers, seated with Christ in heavenly places. Unbelievers are earth dwellers. “But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:7-12 ESV)!  Time is on our side. Satan is always in a hurry.

Gog And Magog

         “Satan will be released [after 1000 years] from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” Gog and Magog are the nations in the four corners of the earth. They are the nations that rage and imagine a vain thing. They are the nations that have opposed God’s for ages.

         The literalists have suggested umpteen guesses: The Ten lost tribes, Eurasian nomads, Russia. The Book of Enoch says God would send the Medes and Parthians (instead of Gog and Magog) to attack Jerusalem, and be destroyed. Revelation 20:8 tells us: Gog and Magog, are "the nations in the four corners of the Earth."

The Bottomless Pit

         The abyss is not the lake of fire. No one escapes that. I agree with St. Augustine on this. The abyss is in the heart of Gog and Magog. “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him” (Prov 22:15). The beast ascended out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 13. But in chapter 17 the beast ascended from the sea. Therefore the abyss must be under the sea. Then the angel tells us that the sea is the nations (Rev 17:15). So the abyss must be the heart of the nations. Satan gets bound there for an undetermined period that is equal to a day or a thousand years. He periodically is released from the underground into the open although he was there all the time.

         An example is how Christendom ruled Europe for a thousand years until the church went corrupt. Satan was then released and used the nations to come against the reformers to destroy them, but God rained down the fire of His word and liberty emerged in the modern world as a result of the Reformation.

         Another example could be how Christian values ruled in America until the hippies belched out of the abyss with the new morality. Satanic values before that in the fifties were underground, but now they are publically accepted. This new culture will get more and more consistent with its underlying presupposition until God rains down fire again. The more epistemologically consistent the culture gets, the closer it is to destruction by the fire of God.

The First Resurrection

         Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. [5] The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. [6] Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.  (Revelation 20:4-6 ESV)

         As St. Augustine pointed out, these are beheaded souls, not beheaded bodies. Because of their testimony, they lost the headship of Adam. They made Christ their head instead of the statism of the beast. They are seated with Christ as kings and priests with power to judge right and wrong for a timeless period spiritually called 1000 years. This is the first resurrection.

         The first resurrection is the spiritual new birth. The second one is the body. Jesus indicated two resurrections when He said, “the hour is coming [the 2^nd resurrection], and now is [the 1^st resurrection], when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live” (John 5:25).

The Lake Of Fire

         and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10 ESV)

         This is the ultimate destination of the devil and his angels. It represents total defeat and total destruction. Do I believe in annihilation? No. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The same is true for those whose names are not found in the Book of Life.

---

[1]               Peter Enns, Inspiration And Incarnation, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005, 156.

                  [2] Laurence Perrin, Sound And Sense, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1956, 21.

When Alexander The Great Came To Conquer Jerusalem

When Alexander the Great and his army approached Jerusalem…  Alexander had commanded Jaddus the high-priest to send provisions from Jerusalem for his siege of Tire. But Jaddus told him that he had sworn faithfulness to Darius, the king of Persia, and with good conscience could not break his oath. Josephus said, “Now Alexander, when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem; and Jaddus the high-priest, when he heard that, was in an agony, and under terror, as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians, since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained that the people should make supplications, and should join with him in offering sacrifice to God, whom he besought to protect that nation, and to deliver them from the perils that were coming upon them; whereupon God warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city, and open the gates; that the rest should appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should meet the king in the habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence of God would prevent. Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced, and declared to all the warning he had received from God. According to which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming of the king.

And when Jaddus understood that Alexander was not far from the city, he went out in procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It reached to a place called Sapha, which name, translated into Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have thence a prospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple. And when the Phoenicians and the Samarians that followed him thought they should have liberty to plunder the city, and torment the high-priest to death, which the king's displeasure fairly promised them, the very reverse of it happened; for Alexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, and the high-priest in purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head, having the golden plate whereon the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high-priest.

And when he had said this to Parmenion, and had given the high-priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high-priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high-priest and the priests. And when the Book of Daniel was showed him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. [3] And as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present.

The Jews also did all together, with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about; whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him disordered in his mind. However, Parmenion alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to pass that, when all others adored him, he should adore the high-priest of the Jews? To whom he replied, 'I did not adore him, but that God who has honored him with his high-priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dion in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is that, having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the Divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind.”

McVEIGH TYPES

McVEIGH TYPES

By Ron Smith

1998

         Now days we seem to have many malcontents and militia types who blame the U.S. government for many insane and oppressive policies.  Maybe they are right about the insane and oppressive policies.   Revolutionaries fall into the same category as Barabbas.  Barabbas was an insurrectionist who had killed a man in rebellion against Rome.   

    And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow insurrectionists; they had committed murder in the insurrection.  (Mark 15:7)

   

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  (Mark 15:11 )

 

So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  (MAR 15:15)

         Barabbus was what was called a zealot.  The goal of the zealot was to overthrow the rule of Caesar.  The New Testament calls the Zealots robbers.  They felt that Rome had no right to rule over the Jews because Caesar was the real thief.  They believed that with God’s help, they could overthrow the oppressor.  Almost forty years after choosing the release of Barabbas, the zealots gained the upper hand in Palestine.  They rebelled against Rome, won an early victory, and then were destroyed.  The prophecy of Jesus, as a result, was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! "See! Your house is left to you desolate." (Mat 23:37,38)

         Barabbas types believed in the doctrine of blood and soil.  They believed that their blood and their soil were holy.  They considered themselves patriots.  They were racists.  The Zionists, the Aryan Supremacists, the KKK, the Nazis, and  Muslims are good examples.  They believe their violence is justified.  But Jesus said, “Put up your sword.  He that lives by the sword shall die by the sword.”  Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

         The militia types of today are very similar to Barabbas.  They blame all of their woes on the oppressor.  The Barabbas types of today believe in a conspiracy theory.  They believe the statists and one-worldists are the cause of all our ills.  They believe these problems can be solved by over throwing the conspirators.

THE STATISTS AND THE CONSPIRATORS

         Those who say “We have no king but Caesar,” are the same ones who say, “It takes a village.”  They are the statists and one-worldists who cause the whole world to worship the image of the state (Caesar).  The same chief priests who chose Barabbas said they had no king but Caesar.  They then spoke like a dragon and said, “Crucify Him!”  They spoke out of both sides of their mouth.  On one hand, they were supported by Rome, the seven-headed beast.  On the other hand, they chose violence in the form of Barabbas, to over throw Caesar.  The statist believes that the state should save us from all our problems.  They believe the state possesses all rights to our children.  They believe the state must support the poor.  Some of them believe the state should own private businesses.  They believe it is cruel to say, “If any man work not, neither let him eat.”  (2 Thess. 3:10)  They believe in building a tower of power that reaches to heaven.  This tower will save us, they believe, from a flood.  There is no need to trust God.  Their tower is an effort to by-pass the conditions of God’s covenant.  They believe in bigger and bigger government, with more and more taxes.

         Barabbas types join gangs.  These gangs are ethnic and racist in nature.  These gangs have names like Aryan Supremacists, La Raza, Black Power, Gay Power, KKK, National Socialist Party, Feminism, etc.  “Power” is their watch word.

The animal I have been describing looks like a lamb.  It seems to be well meaning, innocently motivated, and religious.  Its two expressions of power (horns) seem to contradict each other.  One horn says, “Give us Barabbus.”  The other horn says, “We have no king but Caesar.”  The motive is self preservation.  But Jesus said, “He that saves his life shall lose it.  But he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.”  These two power sources (horns) are part and parcel of the same animal.  This animal is psychotic.  This same lamb-like creature speaks like a dragon and says, “Crucify Him.”  By choosing either Barabbus or Caesar, one has no option but to reject Christ.  Its function is to cause the whole world to worship the image of Caesar (the beast).  This two-horned, lamb-looking beast, rises out of the land.  It is nationalistic.  The seven-headed beast (Caesar) rises out of the sea.  It is international.  It looks like the seven-headed dragon (Satan).  Only by losing one’s self preservation can one find life in Christ.

         The militia (Barabbas) types of the world need to know that God raised up Caesar to destroy Jerusalem and the Barabbas types. Caesar was defeated three hundred years later by the Lamb of God.  Caesar was defeated not by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of the Lord.  God chose His church to destroy Caesar, and she did it meekly through the sword of the Spirit.

         Extreme nationalism is a curse sent by God to those who build their Tower of Babel.  God destroys their gang tower of power by confusing their languages and dividing them.  They thought they could enter into a covenant with each other that would save them from the conditions of God’s covenant.  They spoke in tongues.  The next time the gift of tongues was seen, was when the church was christened (Acts 2).  On that day the people from all over the world heard God’s church speaking in their own tongues, praising God.  At the Tower of Babel, they were divided.  At Pentecost they were united.  God has broken down the dividing wall and has created one new race made up of all nations.  His church is a new nation.  It is one new race made up of all races.

THE OPPRESSOR IS ALWAYS SENT BY GOD

         Every time God’s people sinned, God sold them to the oppressor.  He warned that He would do it.  In the Book of Judges, when the people cried out to God, He delivered them.  Finally, He sent the Assyrians and carried Israel away into captivity because of their sins.  Then, a hundred years later, Judah was carried away by Babylon.  Then Jerusalem was destroyed.  When they prayed, God caused the king of Persia to send them back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  God commanded them to obey the king (their oppressor) and to pray for the peace of his city.

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace (Jer 29:7).

         The reason we are oppressed today is always because of sin.  The sword is never the solution unless authorized by a lesser magistrate.  The solution is submission to God and to the authorities He has placed over us.  If we repent as a people, we are guaranteed freedom.  How can anyone read the Bible and not see this?

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.

         Just before the destruction of Jerusalem,  the Barabbas types rose up in rebellion against Rome.  The Apostle Paul had predicted that they would arise because they hated the truth and that God would therefore send them a lie.

 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.  (2 Thess 2:11 )

         The militia types of today are no different.  They believe in conspiracy theories.  Even if there is a conspiracy, it is sent from God as a judgment because of our sins.  Only repentance can deliver us.  To join the statists or the militia is sin and deception, but righteousness exalts a nation.

HAIL CAESAR

         Would you say that unquestioned allegiance to the state would be the same as taking the mark of the beast?  That is what Hitler required.  Those who do that are actually placing the state as that which is in charge of a new covenant...an antichrist covenant.  When the law of the state becomes the supreme law, the state becomes the supreme god.  When lawyers use the law of the state to violate the law of God, they become marked men.  God put a mark on Cain.  Those who believe that the state is the supreme authority have taken the mark of the beast in their hearts just as the saints of God have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

GIVE US BARABBUS!!

         On the other hand, those who hate Caesar as Barabbas did, still give rise to an opportunity for the whole world to marvel at the wounded beast who comes back to life.  Both horns cause the whole world to worship the image of the beast (the state).  Barabbas types, like Lenin, overthrew the czar (Russian for Caesar).  The result was a worse tyranny...a state more like Caesar than the czar was.  The Barabbas types, like Pancho Villa,  resulted in a one party oligarchy and a fake democracy.  Castro is more like Caesar than Batista was.  On and on it goes, example after example.

The only answer to oppression is to cry out to God.

For they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.  (Isa. 19:20b)

If My people which are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  (2 Chron 7:14)

         This does not mean that a nation does not have the right and the obligation to defend its national security.

Fear’s Logic

The sluggard says,
“There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”  (Proverbs 22:13 ESV).
    Not only does the sluggard say that, the fearful do, too. Could it be that having too much time on one’s hands contributes to fear?
 
    Fear is a faith disorder. It has varying degrees. It can increase to the point of being characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission. Fear can form a baseless and an excessive suspicion of the motives of others.  It’s a faith disorder characterized by systematized delusions, especially of persecution or grandeur.
    Paranoia is a more extreme form of fear. One who suffers from paranoia is paranoid. In popular terminology, a “paranoid” personality is characterized by suspicion and distrust of others; a tendency to look for hidden meaning (conspiracies) behind other people's actions; argumentativeness; complaining; low tolerance for criticism; and a constant display of one's own talents, accomplishments, independence, and rationality.” 
    I know a retired policeman that experienced so many traumatic situations in life that when he retired he built eight-foot walls around his house and bought a steel bar for the door. His supply of arms was extensive. He is convinced that he is not afraid. Fear has its own logic.
    I can imagine that many policemen can get paranoid because of trauma. Many blacks, also, because of ill treatment by some whites live in fear. Just think what bad things can happen when a paranoid cop encounters a paranoid suspect.  When two fearful dogs look each other in the eye “anarchy” ensues. 
    There are various degrees of fear. Some fear is needed for protection. Paranoia is an extreme form. The first thing a paranoid person will swear is that he is not paranoid. He really believes that his fear is well founded and is logical. Based on his underlying presupposition, he’s right. His fear is logical. But the problem is that his presupposition is wrong. His fear can be baseless, but fear has its own logic.
    Even though only trace amounts of TCE had been found in the Boston school and the levels were within safety standards, the obese chain-smoking mother insisted that the school be closed. “The school could give our children cancer!”  Notice how the personality is characterized by suspicion and distrust of others, a tendency to look for hidden meaning (conspiracies).
    The Bible says, “fear involves torment.” “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1John 4:18). Loving the one who threatens you takes special grace. True converts have special grace; false ones only have common grace. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
    There is no way to debate a fearful person and win. They will swear with deep conviction that they are not afraid and that their fear is 100% reasonable. Their logic is infallible because it is based on their fear. The fearful personality is characterized by suspicion and distrust of others.
    A man from a formerly communist nation told me that this is the way it is in his country. The country’s years of tyranny makes everyone suspicious of others as being a possible spy for the government. He said they don’t notice this fear until they live in the U.S. awhile and go back for a visit.
    Now don’t get me wrong. There is a place for being wise and careful. But the fearful person can’t tell the difference.


Fear Of Man Versus Fear Of God
“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin’” (Exodus 20:20).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1:7).
A Cure For Fear
    A contributing factor for fear could be that the fearful person has too much time on his hands. “The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” (Proverbs 22:13 ESV). Just plain hard work can restore sanity. I heard about a father who would make his sons dig holes and refill them just to keep them from getting bored. That’s better than lying around watching television, but it would be better yet to work on a project toward a productive goal.
My Struggle With Fear
    At an early age I learned that two things contribute to overcoming fear.
1.)    Honesty with self and a clear conscience. When I was running with a gang at age 11, one night on my way home, I imagined that the whole world was after me every time I saw headlights. It was my telltale conscience. That was easily overcome when I quit stealing and quit running with bad boys.
2.)    The other way to overcome fear is to never let it defeat you. If you once give in to fear, it will rule you with more and more strength.
    A little healthy fear can be useful, however. Daredevil stunts can be plain stupid. The first time I jumped off a roof to clean windows in a boson chair was scary. I thoroughly checked and re-checked my ropes, each one tied in a separate place. But if you let fear take over, all the logic in the world will not convince you to jump. Fear has its own logic.
    I knew a salesman that would go into a panic attack as soon as he got 20 miles from home. I suspect that in some cases an adrenaline rush can cause that. Other times, I just don’t know the cause. But it seems to be physical. Trauma can cause an imprint on the soul that convinces one that something bad is going to happen. It’s a feeling, a passion that vetoes all reason. Fear has its own logic. “Fear hath torment” (1 John 4:18 KJV).
    The fear that has no torment, the healthiest fear of all is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” The fear of God kept me from being a much worse sinner than I already was. It kept me from damaging others more than I did already. “Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones” (Prov 3:7-8).
    Solomon Stoddard wrote a sermon called, “The Fear Of Hell Makes Men Live Moral Lives.” They might not get saved, but at least they’ll get closer to the Kingdom. It is true, however, that no one can be scared into conversion. On the other hand, the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. God uses fear to wake men up.
Judging Others Can Make Us Fear
“Abraham said, ‘Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife’” (Gen 20:11).
    Fear is characterized by suspicion and distrust of others. Fearful people are always looking for the bogeyman, a devil behind every bush. They’re always warning of a soon coming crash. “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” And they can give you all the good sound reasons for it. Their message is, “Store up food because the crash is coming.” To them it’s a doomsday world. The antichrist will take over at any time now. Things are getting worse and worse. And if you contradict them they get mad. They get mad because their fear is a form of madness.
The Truth About Doomsday
    The truth is that things have never been better. There is more freedom in the world than ever in history. In 100 A.D. there was only one Christian for every 360 people in the world. In 1989 there was one for every seven. Now there is one for every three and still growing. The average life span in 1840 was forty. Now it is eighty. Death from wars has hit an all-time low since the high in 1947. There is no evidence whatsoever that doomsday is imminent. 
    Fear is a “faith disorder” characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts. The media contributes to it because good news does not sell.
Running From God
    Some people are afraid of God in a bad sense. That’s not the same as a healthy fear of God. They run and hide from God. Heaven and earth have fled from God’s face (Rev 20:11). Cowards are the first on the list of those who will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). If they’re not afraid of God, they’re afraid of men. “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe” (Prov 29:25). “No one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews” (John 7:13). “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed” (Luke 9:26).
    When James Guthrie victoriously climbed the steps to be hung he said he climbed these steps with less fear than when he climbed the steps to the pulpit.

He lifted the handkerchief from his face and shouted to the crowd, "The covenants, the covenants, shall yet be Scotland's reviving!" Even in death he was optimistic about the future.
    Besides love casting out fear, the other powerful weapon is faith in the sovereignty of God and His love for His elect. The devil and his agents can do nothing without God’s permission. Nothing. “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [nor police brutality] nor height nor depth, [nor statism] nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).
When Fearful Cops Stop Fearful Suspects
    I know a Calvinist that got stopped by a cop. Since it was evident that this man was a foreigner, the cop kept probing with questions. When asked if he had a gun, he would not answer. He was afraid it might not be a real cop but a thief. Fear is unbelief. In his formerly communist country everyone is suspicious. No one trusts anyone. Fear, suspicion, and distrust of others; a tendency to look for hidden meaning (conspiracies) behind other people's actions prevailed. As a result backup was called in, they thoroughly searched his car, and he says they broke his computer. (So much for Calvinists that do not believe Romans 8:28.)
    Since that experience, the typical fearful “argumentativeness and complaining” about police brutality consumed him with the typical fearful person’s “constant display of his own talents, accomplishments, independence, and rationality.”  He even went so far as to develop a doctrine that makes God’s command to submit to the authorities of no effect and says we do not need policemen. He reasons that since some cops are bad, we do not need police. He teaches that the commands of Scripture to submit to the civil magistrate no longer apply. He even says parents should not teach their kids to obey the police. All of this is based on a fear that presumes that policemen are bad. This is a very gifted man, but fear, in the hands of a gifted person can inspire unbelief and rebellion that is very convincing to the novice, to the rebel, or to the lazy.
    Fear never met a conspiracy it did not like.   

Quote from Israel Wayne:
"Fear (worry) is always caused by unbelief. We do not believe or trust God when we fear. Our belief in His sovereignty is shaken. We forget that nothing can happen to us that does not filter through His all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving hands. Worry is failing to believe that God will always act in the most loving and caring way on our behalf.
"Another way of looking at this is that we will always be fearing something. We will either be fearing the Lord (having proper awe, reverence, and respect for who He is), or we will fear our situation, circumstance, and/or future. Just as we will always be worshiping something (either God, a false god, or ourselves), we cannot escape the mutually exclusive nature of the fear that is attached to worship. We will fear whatever we have put our trust in (money, security, etc.)."
    from the chapter "Why Are You Afraid?" (on Fear), from my new book, "Questions Jesus Asks"

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The Son Of Man Coming

The word picture of the Son of Man coming is cited from Daniel 7:13 several times in the New Testament. Daniel 7:13 is the only mention of this phraseology in the Old Testament. In that chapter He is not coming down, but is going up with the clouds to the Ancient of Days. Jesus calls it “coming in the glory of his Father.” The disciples witnessed this event when they saw Him ascend in the clouds. From thence He will come to the Ancient of Days to judge the living and the dead.

Mt 16:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Mt 24:30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mat 11:3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Mat 21:5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

Mat. 25:31  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

Jesus told the Father just before He was crucified, “…now I am coming to you…” (John 17:13).

         Daniel seven is the key to understanding every New Testament mention of this event. In that chapter Daniel sees the court scene in heaven. Myriads are there on thrones in the court session. The Ancient of Days is seated and one like the Son of Man comes to Him, the books are opened, and judgment is made. Jesus told exactly when that judgment was made just before He went to the cross. “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Daniel said, “the court was seated and the books were opened” (Dan 7:10). “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:10-12 ESV)

         Christ died, descended, arose, ascended, and sat down to judge the world. He is still seated in the court session judging and making war until His enemies are put under His feet. In that sense, every eye will see Him coming in the clouds to the Ancient of Days when they die. John described the same scene Daniel saw. “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it… And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened… And the dead were judged…” (Revelation 20:11-12 ESV).

         Martha said to Jesus, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:27). His coming to the Ancient of Days results in His coming into the world. Revelation 19 pictures Him coming on a white horse (conquest) judging and making war. He did this in A.D. 70 and has been doing it ever since then. Daniel 7 depicts His coming to the Ancient of Days resulting in a judgment in favor of the saints that brought about the destruction of the little horn. The disciples said, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (Mt. 24:3). He answered, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34 ESV). The sign of His coming was the destruction of Jerusalem. That event was the end of the age… the Old Testament age.

         The following statement by Jesus shows that when He comes to the Father He judges both those who have died and also the living who are able to witness His judgments on nations before they die. His “coming” to the Ancient of Days evidently has to do with coming into the world in some sort of visible judgment.

         “For the Son of Man is going to come [to the Ancient of Days] with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”  (Matthew 16:27-28 ESV).

         The sign of His coming was the destruction of Jerusalem. The Great Tribulation took place when Rome invaded. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, Jesus said, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the [land] will mourn, and [through that sign] they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30 ESV). Those disciples who were still alive saw Him coming to the Ancient of Days through the sign. The sign of His coming was the destruction of Jerusalem.

         “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy 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” (Mat 25:31-32). When did He come in His glory and sit on the throne of His glory? It was when He ascended to the Ancient of Days. This event is not only when He returns to earth but is now throughout history. How can nations that no longer exist be judged later? Only individuals can be judged that way. He is now seated and judging nations based on how they treat His brothers “from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool” (Heb 10:13). The Father promised His son, “For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined” (Isaiah 60:12). In A.D. 70 He came and destroyed Jerusalem. By 600 A.D. He destroyed Rome and has destroyed many other nations throughout history.

         How about the high priest that died in A.D. 40? Jesus told him, “hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mt. 26:64). When did the high priest see this? Was it not when he died? At death every eye will see Him coming with the clouds to the judgment seat (Rev 1:7).

         Vision language and apocalyptic expressions are spoken in spiritually metaphorical terms with hieroglyphic word pictures. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (Joh 6:63). “One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds” to the Ancient of Days is when He comes to judge the living AND the dead. He is already judging, ruling with an iron rod, and making war.

         “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation” (Isaiah 10:5). God uses evil nations like Assyria as His rod. “If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men” (2 Sam 7:14).

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