Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 23)

This post continues from where I have left off at Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 22), where I have discussed from scripture how the “mystery of iniquity” is at work in mankind to bring about a change, so that that man of sin, the son of perdition might be revealed in his time. The bible reveals the identity of the “mystery of iniquity” in Revelation 17:5 as “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” She is the “strange woman” in the book of Proverbs that is subtly guiding mankind in the will of the Devil, step by step, to bring about a transition. Do you know that “wisdom” is a woman figure in the book of Proverbs?

Proverbs 7:4-5 "Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words."

In this passage of scripture, the bible tells us to draw ourselves near to “wisdom” and “understanding,” both of whom are women figures in the bible. But then, there is another woman in verse 5 that the bible warns us against, and that is the opposite of “wisdom,” which Proverbs reveals as the “strange woman” which flattereth with her words. Wisdom has a voice:

Proverbs 1:20 "¶ Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:"

She is a person that speaks with a voice. Just like you and me, she is a body of knowledge and she has a message of repentance for sinners who happen to pass by her:

Proverbs 1:21-23 "She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."

Her message of repentance is this: “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof:…” Compare wisdom to the strange woman who also has a voice, but one who flattereth with her words. The bible tells us about the strange woman:

Proverbs 2:16-19 "To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. 19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life."

While wisdom is out there preaching a message of repentance unto life, the strange woman which flattereth with her words is out there preaching a message that leads people unto death. Verse 17 tells us that she has forsaken the “guide of her youth” and forgetteth the “covenant of her God.” That means that her disposition is to reject “the way, the truth and the life,” (John 14:6) the narrow way that leadeth unto God the Father. Instead, she is drawing people on her paths that lead unto the dead, which is to say, her paths are the broad way which leadeth unto destruction according to Matthew 7:13. Verse 19 tells us that none that go unto her return again, which is to say, she is very effective in keeping those that go unto her from the “paths of life.” Just like wisdom, she is doing the work of an evangelist. Notice their similarities in these verses:

Proverbs 9:1-6 "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. 3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding."

Proverbs 9:13-18 "¶ A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. 14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, 15 To call passengers who go right on their ways: 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell."

Both are at the high places of the city, and both are looking for that “simple” man who wanteth understanding. Both have a message for that simple man, howbeit very different messages:

• Wisdom: “Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.”

• Strange woman: “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

Both messages are diverse one from the other, but you’ll notice that there are “bread” and “drink” in them. These are not physical bread and drink, but spiritual ones. There is bread and drink that “wisdom” hath prepared, but there is another bread and drink that the “strange woman” hath prepared. The way of understanding is to eat of the bread and drink prepared by “wisdom,” and forsake the foolish. It is the narrow way that leadeth unto life, and that is the way of life that “wisdom” is pointing to those who will eat of the bread and drink of the wine that she has prepared. Jesus tells us in these verses:

John 6:53-56 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."

The flesh and blood of the Son of man is the “bread” and “drink” that wisdom hath prepared for whosoever will “forsake the foolish” and “go in the way of understanding.” Compare this to:

John 3:16 "¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Therefore, to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is first and foremost, to have the willingness to “forsake the foolish” and “go in the way of understanding.” Secondly, it is to eat of the “bread” and drink of the “wine,” the spiritual food that wisdom hath prepared. Paul tells us in these verses:

1 Corinthians 3:1-2 "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."

Paul was not referring to physical meat and milk. He was saying that the word of God is meat and drink. Indeed, the word of God is spiritual food for the soul, just like what Jesus tells us in this verse:

Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

It is not physical bread, but every word of God that man shall live by. The spiritual food for the soul is every word of God. Jesus tells us in John 6:54 that “whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” If we compare this verse with John 3:16 which says “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That goes to show that believe in Jesus Christ is not a matter of simple confession or a one-time conviction, but it goes a lot deeper than that. Jesus tells us that a true believer eats of his flesh and drinks of his blood. Just like how the body needs physical food to keep it alive physically, the soul also needs spiritual food to keep it alive spiritually. Without sustenance from “every word of God,” (Luke 4:4) the soul will thirst and starve, just like what this verse tells us:

Proverbs 19:15 "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."

An idle soul is a soul that is not feeding herself with the word of God, which then prompts the question: “Where is every word of God in our current age and time?”

John 6:33-35 "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

Is it a wonder why the 66 books of the 1611 King James Bible is constantly under attack from all fronts? Why? Because it is the “flesh” and the “blood” of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God who came down from God the Father. He is the Son of God that whosoever will eat of his flesh and drink of his blood should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus further tells us in John 6:35 “he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,” which is to say, eternal life depends on the soul of a man having the spiritual food and drink to sustain it. That’s why it is the goal of the Devil to ensure that we will never come to that “bread of life” that keeps the soul alive spiritually. To accomplish this, he uses the “strange woman” in the book of Proverbs. Recall from Genesis that there were two trees in the midst of the garden of Eden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:22 "¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"

After man took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, death reign over mankind. The antidote is the “tree of life” according to Genesis 3:22, which BTW, 66 = 3 x 22. Solomon tells us that “wisdom” is a tree of life in this verse:

Proverbs 3:18 "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her."

Well, if “wisdom” is a tree of life, that means that the opposite of wisdom, the “strange woman” is a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Knowledge of good and evil is knowledge of the law. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:8 “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.” The law defines for us what is good and what is evil, and it tells us to do that which is good, and refuse that which is evil. The law is good, only if man can use it lawfully. When Adam and Eve committed the original sin, that is, when they took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God had forbidden them in Genesis 2:17, it was then their eyes were opened to know the law. But, to know the law in this physical body controlled by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life would be to sin continually. Sin being the transgression of God's laws, and the penalty of sin being death means that death will reign over mankind as long as we are in this flesh and blood body. Earlier, I’ve shown from scripture that “wisdom” is the woman figure that will point us to the word of God. The strange woman is also called “wisdom” according to:

James 3:15 "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish."

This is that “wisdom” who tells us in Proverbs 9:17 that “stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” According to James, she is earthly, sensual and devilish, and we know from Proverbs 3:18 that she is that tree of the knowledge of good and evil by which man’s eyes were opened to know the good and evil. Paul describes her words as “enticing words of man’s wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 2:4, and Paul also used the phrase “not in the words of man’s wisdom teacheth” in 1 Corinthians 2:13 to tell us the things which the Holy Ghost teacheth. It was by the earthly, sensual and devilish wisdom of man that he knows good and evil. Therefore, the strange woman is the collective wisdom of men teaching man with enticing words, as opposed to the “wisdom that is from above” (James 3:17) that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

1 Corinthians 2:5 "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

Moreover, Paul tells us in this verse that if your faith is build upon the “wisdom of men,” you have not actually experienced the power of God: you have not known the LORD.

Luke 4:32 "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power."

The reason why the people were astonished in this verse is because the word of God was with power. There is power in the pure word of God. Matthew 7:28-29 is a connecting passage of Luke 4:32. Notice what the bible tells us in verse 29.

Matthew 7:28-29 "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

The pure word of God, which is powerful, is also endowed with authority from the most High. It is not as the doctrines of the scribes, which have their origins in man’s wisdom. Modern bible versions are products of the collective wisdom of men. Borrowing the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 3:5, there is a form of godliness about those counterfeit bibles, but there is no authority, and no power of God inside them. Again, Jesus tells us in:

Matthew 22:29 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

The power of God is in the words of the LORD. Proverbs 1:23 tells us that the Spirit of the LORD and the words of the LORD are one. The Spirit of the LORD is the spiritual form of the word of God, and the word of God is the physical form of the Spirit of the LORD. One cannot be decoupled from the other. The scriptures, according to Jesus in Matthew 22:29 contains the power of God. In fact, it is by this power that we are saved:

1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

The power of God is in the word of God that when born again believers received in their hearts, it regenerates them. It is by this very power that a sinner may be born again to inherit everlasting life. It is the preaching of the words, and it is also the Spirit of the LORD that he has received in the good ground of an honest and good heart. Moreover, Paul also tells us in this verse that for those who reject the preaching of the cross, they will never experience the power of God, for to reject the word of God is to reject the power of God, just like in this verse:

Matthew 13:57-58 "And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

The Jews were offended in the word of God, because it sounded like foolishness to them. Then, just like what the bible tells us in verse 58, Jesus did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Likewise, if you have chosen the wisdom of men over the wisdom of God, if you have made the wisdom of men the ultimate authority in your life; the preaching of the cross will become an offence to you, and the pure words of the LORD in the 1611 King James Bible will sound like foolishness to you. If you continue to reject scriptures, Jesus will not do many mighty works in your life, and you’ll never get to witness the power of God doing mighty works in you. In fact, that is what the “mystery of iniquity” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) is working to accomplish in churches all over the world, using philosophy and vain deceits as weapons. That is the strange woman teaching with the enticing words of man’s wisdom: words that sounds very much like the truth, but are not inspired by the LORD.

Proverbs 7:21-23 "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. 22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; 23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life."

With her much fair speech, the goal of the strange woman is to cause you to yield, to “give place by subjection.” (Galatians 2:5) Finally, when you have yielded from her much persuasion, just like how many students who went to bible colleges end up becoming bible critics, you will go in the way which she wants you to go, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. It is interesting that the bible used the words “till a dart strike through his liver,” because the liver happens to be a piece of “armour” that God has put in our bodies to protect us from harmful toxins that got in through the digestive track.

As born again believers, our fight is always against the things that we cannot see with our physical eyes, but God has equipped us with the whole armour of God. There is a piece of armour in the whole armour of God that is for defending us against the “fiery darts of the wicked:”

Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

The shield of faith is our defence against the “fiery darts of the wicked,” and the same word "dart" is also found in Proverbs 7:23 “till a dart strike through his liver…” Notice how much similar our liver is made to look like a shield? It is the shield that God has put in our bodies to defend us from toxins entering from the food and water we consume. Likewise, the “shield of faith” is that piece of armour in the “whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11) that protects us from the fiery darts of the wicked. That also means that if a fiery dart strikes through our shield of faith, then it is going to destroy us. That’s why it is in the interest of the Devil to replace that shield of faith with a counterfeit shield. To continue in Part 24.