Because of the Spiritual battle around us, Paul tells us to
put on the full armor of God. It may seem that Paul was the only one talking
about the armor of God but we find that Isaiah, Solomon, and John also speak of
armor. What we find is that we are to wear the armor now, and when Jesus
returns with his redeemed saints he will also be wearing the same kind of
armor. We sometimes misunderstand the places and positions of believers, angels
and Jesus, during this administration as well as the next one. As we studied
the Book of Revelation a while back we will pull some ideas from that study to
better explain what we are to wear today to make us ready for our future.
To gain perspective, we have the Old Testament writers who
were writing about the coming of Jesus with his armies, the Parousia. They tell
us about the armor. We have Paul telling us to wear armor now. And we also have
John telling us that both Jesus and his armies will have armor when they
return. That is the time and the viewpoint we want to understand when we read
these sections. It might have seemed that Paul was just pulling the idea of
armor out of thin air, but he was trying to get us to picture ourselves in the
armor we may wear in the future. Last week I mentioned the Watchers, which the
AP Polyglot translates Sentinels, that is also a picture we should have in our
minds. The sons of God are not passive, laid back beings simply observing, they
are militants keeping peace on the earth. We are to join the battle now while
we are on earth and fight the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, as
well as the devil’s wily schemes. And
while we all get tired of the fight from time to time, we should never take off
our armor.
We will start with Paul’s imagery, as we have probably all
seen someone enact putting on this armor, until they were fully dressed. This
word for armor means “full armor”. It is used 6 times in both Old and New
Testaments, and is different from regular armor which could be one or two
pieces. Paul says dress in the full armor of God. He is saying don’t leave any
part out. I heard someone the other day say that if you don’t believe in
something you cannot receive it. For example, salvation or the gifts of the
spirit; if one rejects them then that one does not receive them. Likewise the
armor and the harpazo. The armor is for the ones who will go in the harpazo,
but if one does not believe in the harpazo, one will not go. And if one does
not believe armor is for them today they will not have any armor to wear. That
idea may be a little thin, but I think erring on the side of belief in the
harpazo is better as we will see the harpazo’d ones coming again with Jesus.
Thayer:
1) full armour, complete armour
1a) includes shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate
1a) includes shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate
Eph 6:13-18 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
Evil
day
means “wicked, toilsome, and painful”. But not just one twenty four hour period
of grievous time, it is all days or 24x7.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Stand here “means
take a stand”, as in “plant yourself in the truth and then fight for it”. There
are so many lies and distortions that we can be suckered into, just like
children being tossed about with every wind of doctrine. Instead, take a stand
for the truth. Loins are “hips” in
this usage, so the image you should have is that your hips are steady, not
swaying or being pushed around, but steady hipped in the truth. Then, having or
putting on (or as Strong’s defines), “invest in the chest plate of
righteousness”. If your hips are locked into place on the truth, put the chest
plate of righteousness on.
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace;
Bind your feet with the readiness or preparation of the
good news of peace. Take the good news of the Messiah and peace wherever you
go. Your hips are steadfast in the truth, and you have a chest plate of
righteousness, therefor wherever you walk, bring the gospel.
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith
ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Strong’s uses the word superimpose
for above. Superimpose, over lay, or
cover over the shield of belief. Use belief as a shield to cover yourself and
to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the wicked. Just as I mentioned before,
if one believes he can extinguish flaming arrows then he can, and if he does
not believe he can extinguish flaming arrows, he cannot.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Receive the helmet of deliverance. The words and take are dechomai, “receive”. We receive deliverance as a helmet and sword
of the Spirit which is the rhema of God. Rhema
is “uttered or spoken words”, also commands. In this context the sword of rhema
is a command rather than a suggestion. Use the rhema as a sword in your
wrestling with principalities, powers, and dark rulers.
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for
all saints; KJV
Here, Paul tries to cover several ideas of prayer, the
communication type of prayer, the asking type of prayer, and the inspired
prayer of the Holy Spirit, which may either be tongues or revelatory prayer. Perseverance means to “be sleepless”,
therefore in those wee hours of insomnia, pray for the holy ones.
Paul may have understood the idea of the armor from
Solomon’s earlier writing in the Book of Wisdom. Solomon is referring to the
righteous ones, who will inherit the kingdom and that the Lord will use his
armor to protect them.
Wisdom 5:15-23 But the righteous live for evermore; their
reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.16
Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the
Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm
shall he protect them.17 He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour,
and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.18 He shall put
on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an
helmet.19 He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.20 His severe
wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him
against the unwise.21 Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and
from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.22 And
hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of
the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.23
Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow
them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall
overthrow the thrones of the mighty. KJV
Who are the righteous? Those who receive Jesus as Messiah and
they receive five crowns; righteousness, glory, incorruptible, rejoicing, and
life. Five crowns for the ones who receive Jesus as Lord. Right now the world
is a wicked place and we are wrestling with evil spiritual beings. Jesus will
vindicate all humans when he comes with us at the end of the tribulation. He
uses His holiness as an invincible shield and his severe wrath sharpens his
sword.
Let’s think of this in a mind picture. Humans are on the
earth, the devil is the prince of the power of the air, and Jesus resides above
the clouds. Jesus has no jurisdiction on the earth just yet, he holds the keys
to hell and death, but he is not on the earth. This is why Jesus told us that
if someone says they saw Jesus in the desert or in the city or somewhere on
earth, don’t go there because it won’t be him. When Jesus calls for the
harpazo, he does not come onto the earth, he calls from the clouds because
again he still does not have jurisdiction. The two witnesses come to the earth
as the seals are being opened and they are blamed for all the troubles that
start occurring. The two witnesses are Elijah and Enoch, the only two that were
taken up in whirlwinds who both still have their bodies. This is important
because they will be killed when Apollyon is released and the people of earth
will rejoice and give each other presents. After three days the entire earth
sees them rise from the dead, and they go to the coronation ceremony mentioned in
chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. This is when we see Jesus crowned and the
kingdoms of the world become His. This is when the devil is finally kicked out
of heaven and only has access to the earth, and he is steaming mad. Meanwhile,
Jesus gives out rewards to the saints that were harpazo’d, those who were
redeemed from Revelation 5. Jesus then goes to mount Zion and gets the 144,000
off the earth. This is the first time Jesus comes to the earth since he left after
being resurrected. Remember that Paul saw a bright light and heard the voice of
Jesus, but he did not see Jesus in person (Acts 9). There are many times where
people see Jesus, but Jesus is not physically here on earth today. People
either go to Jesus or see Jesus in a vision. Jesus is not wandering around
earth today. After Jesus comes to mount Zion midway through the tribulation,
angels go out into the air proclaiming that judgment has come and not to
worship the beast. Then comes the time when Jesus commissions the winepress of
the wrath of God, the beast kills Babylon, and as Zechariah tells us two thirds
of the Jews are killed. The beast then rules and reigns and attempts to make
war with the Lamb, but Jesus comes back with his saints.
If you have a hard time picturing this, make a timeline for
yourself on a piece of paper, you will then be able to see these highlighted
aspects of the tribulation. These details are very important because one event
does not happen before another, meaning the seals are opened first before the
trumpet judgments. The two witnesses are on the earth until the end of the
trumpet judgments. If we listen to people who randomly pick and choose events
and try to tell people they are occurring now, or in the near future, we will
be confused and fearful. There are a host of other events that must happen
first, before the Day of the Lord. If we are in the tribulation times now,
where are the two witnesses? The whole world hears and sees them, so where are
they? The sixth seal reveals the wrath of the Lamb and the Father on his
throne, when did that happen? When did Jesus gather the 144,000 from mount
Zion? I think we would know if it split in two, wouldn’t we? It is simple if we
take a linear approach to all the details.
It is as if John was in a sports bar or restaurant with
several television screens broadcasting four different sporting events. John
focuses on the main one, the one that concerns the saints who believe in Jesus.
So if one were to ask John about the games he was watching, he would probably
tell you about the one that he was interested in the most, say football. Yet
John would give you a shortened back story regarding the witnesses, and an
overview of the history of the world, and the back story of the beast, similar
to the highlights of the basketball game, the hockey game, and the soccer game
all being played at the same time on the televisions in the restaurant. Since all
the sports were being televised at the same time, in order to explain them, he
would use the football game as a timeline, and insert the highlights of the
basketball game as an addendum to the timeline. John might have to give a bit
of history to an event as well. This is what he did when he was not allowed to
write what the seven thunders were saying. Instead of noting the seven thunders
exactly, in a roundabout sort of way John gave us a historical timeline through
to a future event, which is his way of suggesting what the seven thunders said
without actually saying it. With that perspective in mind, let’s look at the
day that Jesus will return with his armies from Isaiah.
Isa 59:15-18….. and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no judgment.16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered
that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him;
and his righteousness, it sustained him.17 For he put on righteousness as a
breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on
the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a
cloke.18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his
adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay
recompence. KJV
As we have observed previously, there are some Masoretic
alterations that can change the meaning of the context, therefore we should
look at verse 19 in the Septuagint as it clearly puts this in context.
Isaiah 59:15 And truth has been taken away, and they
have turned aside their mind from understanding.
And the Lord saw it, and it pleased him not that there was
no judgment. 16 And he looked, and there was no man, and he observed,
and there was none to help: so he defended them with his arm, and
stablished them with his mercy. 17 And
he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and placed the helmet of
salvation on his head; and he clothed himself with the garment of
vengeance, and with his cloak, 18 as one about to render a
recompence, even reproach to his adversaries. 19 So
shall they of the west fear the name of the Lord, and they that come from
the rising of the sun his glorious name: for the wrath of the Lord shall come
as a mighty river, it shall come with fury.
20 And the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake, and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 21 And this shall be my
covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon thee, and the words
which I have put in thy mouth, shall never fail from thy mouth, nor from the
mouth of thy seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
This is the Day of the Lord, the apocalypse, the revealing
of Jesus as Lord. They will see him in the west they will glorify His name in
the east. This is the day the world will fear, yet today is the day we wear
armor. Today is the day we put on the helmet of deliverance and the chest plate
of belief. Remember Jesus above the clouds, the devil between the clouds and
the earth, and the humans on the earth. Jesus will militarily take back access
to the earth and establish his millennial kingdom on the earth after he is
crowned and the kingdoms of the world have been turned over to him.
1 Thess 5:5-10 Ye are all the children of light, and the
children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.6 Therefore let
us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.7 For they that sleep
sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.8 But let
us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and
love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.9 For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,10 Who
died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. KJV
1Thes 5:8G1473But weG1161 G2250being of dayG1510.6 G3525should be sober,G1746putting onG2382the chest plateG4102of beliefG2532andG26love,G2532andG4030helmet --G1680hopeG4991of deliverance. http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/1%20Thessalonians%205
As we see, whether we are alive (awake) or dead (asleep) we
will live together with Jesus, but for today, being sober, we put on a breast
plate and a helmet.
As we have previously studied, the beginning of Isaiah 61
when Jesus read this in the synagogue regarding himself, we noted alterations
here by omitting the section about restoring sight to blind people. We will
look at this section in the Septuagint. Jesus is the one who makes everlasting
covenants with people who believe on Him during the millennial reign. As Isaiah
is prophesying this, he then steps back and says “Let my soul rejoice…..”;
notice what he says.
Isaiah 61:8 For I am the Lord who love righteousness,
and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and
will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall
be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every
one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of
God; 10 and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord.
Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has
clothed me with the robe of salvation, and the garment of joy: he has put a
mitre on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
Isaiah 61:10G2532And G2167in
gladness G2165they
shall be glad G1909over G2962the lord .G21Let [2exult
G3588 G55901my
soul] G1473 G1909over G3588the G2962lord! G1746For he
clothed G1063 G1473me G2440with a
cloak G4992of
deliverance, G2532and G5509an
inner garment G2167of
gladness. G5613As G3566a
groom, G4060he put
on G1473me G3411.2a
mitre; G2532and G5613as G3565a
bride, G2629.1he
adorned G1473me G2889with
an ornament. http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Isaiah%2061
Notice these elements of armor for those who believe in the
Lord now, like Isaiah. A cloak of deliverance, an inner garment of gladness, a mitre, which is a headdress symbolizing authority,
and an ornament, or adornment. That is why Isaiah could say “Let my soul
rejoice”.
Isaiah 63 again tells us of Jesus’ coming, the Parousia,
with his saints. The Masoretic text mistranslates verse 6, the Lord does not make
people drunk with his fury, he sheds their blood on the earth, not brings down
their strength. Remember the Day of the Lord is a bloody time.
63:1 Who is this that is come from Edom, with red
garments from Bosor? thus fair in his apparel, with mighty strength? I speak of
righteousness and saving judgment.
2 Wherefore are thy garments red, and thy raiment
as if fresh from a trodden winepress? 3 I am
full of trodden grape, and of the nations there is not a man with
me; and I trampled them in my fury, and dashed them to pieces as earth, and
brought down their blood to the earth. 4 For the day of recompence
has come upon them, and the year of redemption is at hand. 5 And I
looked, and there was no helper; and I observed, and none upheld: therefore my
arm delivered them, and mine anger drew nigh. 6 And I trampled them
in mine anger, and brought down their blood to the earth. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
Isaiah 63:6G2532AndG2662I
trampledG1473themG3588inG3709my
anger,G1473 G2532andG2609I led
downG3588 G129their
bloodG1473 G1519untoG1093the ground http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Isaiah%2063
Isa 63:6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger,
and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the
earth. KJV
We see clearly that Isaiah 63 refers to the Day of the Lord
as in Revelation 19. But in the beginning of the Book of the Apocalypse
(Revelation) Jesus is speaking to John about the overcomers from the seven
churches. Jesus notes that he is the one who has the two edged sword. A two edged
sword means one can chop things with both sides of the sword. As the person
wielding the sword swipes one direction he would not have to change hand
position to swipe back in the opposite direction. It is more efficient to be
able to swing in different directions without changing the sharp edged position
of a sword.
Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; KJV
Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. KJV
The two edged sword comes from his mouth, his words are
commands that cut. We notice that Revelation 19 speaks of Jesus’ garment dipped
in blood, as Isaiah saw.
Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white
horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war.12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head
were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.13
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is
called The Word of God.14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.15 And out of his mouth
goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a
name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF Lords. KJV
Let’s take a look at verse 13. This is an important verse.
Rev 19:13G2532And G4016wearing
G2440a
cloak G911being
dipped G129in
blood, G2532and G2564[2is
called G3588 G36861his
name], G1473 G3588The G3056Word G3588 G2316of
God.
The words for his
name, #1473, means “I”. Because this
is a first person pronoun, it should read “I”. The Greek word for word is Logos, and the word for God is Theos. Literally his name is
called, I the logos, the Theos; I the word the God. As John once wrote in the
beginning was the word and the word was with God and God was the word.
John1:1G1722In G746the beginning
G1510.7.3was G3588the G3056word, G2532and G3588the G3056word G1510.7.3was G4314with G3588 G2316God, G2532and G2316[4God
G1510.7.33was G35881the G30562word].
God was the word, John is the one who just said that the
one who’s vesture is dipped in blood’s name is called “I the word the God”. Yet
Isaiah said the Lord who comes on the Day of the Lord has garments dyed as if
by blood, and that the Lord would spill their blood. Just in case someone
doesn’t believe that Yahweh and Jesus are one in the same, we should note this.
The remnant of people who don’t believe on Jesus as Messiah and worshipped the
beast will be killed by the sword of His mouth.
Rev 19:19-21 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on
the horse, and against his army.20 And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.21 And
the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled
with their flesh. KJV
As we referenced a few weeks back, the called, chosen, and
faithful are the ones who come back with Jesus when, as verse 19 says, the
beast tries to war against the Lamb. Today is the day we utilize our armor.
Today is the day we command with the sword of the Spirit which is the rhema of
God. We see how Jesus will use his sword, but he does not use it today. Today
we use the sword of rhema by revelation from the Spirit of God. Who is on the
earth today? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the rhema for our sword.
In the future Jesus is the logos whose words are the sword. In case there is
any misunderstanding, our words are our sword today. Jesus’ words will be his
sword as he is the word and the God.
Paul wasn’t just writing an encouraging message about
flowers and sunshine, he was writing a message that we live and die by. Whether
we wear the armor or not will determine how we survive in this age. If we don’t
believe there is any armor we won’t receive it, just as salvation, the gifts of
the spirit, or the harpazo. Paul said that we are not fighting flesh and blood,
and these weapons are not weapons that kill flesh but subdue principalities,
powers, and dark rulers. The Sentinels are keeping peace on the earth, that is
the mission of the four horsemen of the apocalypse; but in the future they and
their Sentinels take peace off the earth. There are spiritual militaries all
around us, and yet we humans hardly engage in the battle. This is the time,
this is the age, for us to learn to use our weapons of warfare and to utilize
them on spiritual wickedness in high places. Words need to be spoken, and to
use our sword we need to speak out commands that are given by a rhema from the
Holy Spirit. Perfect practice now helps us become perfect warriors when the
times of the wicked are upon us.
If you need imagery, think of Gandalf, “You cannot pass....I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the
flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of
Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.” If you prefer the movie say “You shall not pass”. Or in our
perspective, “You cannot pass, I am servant of Yahweh the Most High God, and a
wielder of the rhema of the Holy Spirit. You cannot pass. Your evil schemes
will not avail you, wicked spiritual slave. Go back to the shadows.”
