Divine Sugar Sticks for October 2002

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Thursday, October 31, 2002

The Promise to Ephesus

The Lord in Heaven and the Spirit on earth make the true church T

Each letter proves Their present oversight of the church and ends with Promises and rewards to those within the church who over come the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Each Promise could be studied in the light of the letter containing it. The first Promise to the overcomer contains an evident allusion to the Garden of Eden with the tree of life in the midst. Gen 2.

The Promise of the Tree of Life to the Christian Overcomer is Far More Glorious Than the Garden of Eden

In the coming paradise (expression of Heaven’s blessedness), there is the tree of life of which one may freely eat, and no tree of good and evil (the symbol of creative responsibility).

For victors in the fight, there is eternal life without alloy and without fear of failure. There, conquerors are to enjoy an everlasting feast.

Overcoming false prophets and their evil teaching, overcoming our own faintness of heart and tendency to decline from our first love, we have the Promise of an unending walk with God in paradise.

The Promise to Smyrna

The second letter came from Him which was dead and is alive again and was addressed to those who were about to die for their faith. Rev 2:8, 10.

Overcomers in Smyrna required endurance suited to their death struggle. What a conflict raged between light and darkness.

Allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ then meant loss of character, possessions, and life itself. And the faithful required strong faith and clear spiritual trust of Him who would not forsake His valiant saints. Many of them were called upon to die terrible deaths, even as their Lord had died.

But the Promise enabling them to die triumphantly was deliverance from “the second death,” which issues in the Lake of Fire, Rev 20:14, 21:8.

For such overcomers there was the Promise of the crown of completeness of life for evermore. To escape the hurt of the second, eternal death, is a prize worth fighting for throughout a lifetime with Satan and sin dogging our heels.

The Promise to Pergamos

Here, again, that Promise is personalized “to him that overcometh.”

Even a company of overcomers is formed by the exercise of faith and spiritual energy of each one.

Often we have to fight the good fight of faith alone. What peculiar sweetness characterizes this Promise. The twice repeated “I give” enhances the value of the promised rewards.

First of all, the overcomer is to feast on the “hidden manna.” Israel’s manna was spoken of as “angel’s food” and “the bread of God,” Psa 78:25, John 6:33, which was certainly not hidden since it lay on the face of the ground round the camp where it could be seen and gathered.

There was, however, manna hid in a golden pot, and for some 500 years this “hidden manna” told its tale of the Lord Jesus Christ in His humiliation, but to God alone. Exodus 16:33, Heb 9:4.

Such a pot was hid from the gaze of the people. The reward of the future is the feasting upon the moral beauties and perfections of Him who is presently hid from our eyes. He who enables His saints to fight and overcome, will, in all His fullness, be their Reward.

A White Stone

The second part of the Promise speaks of a white stone, with its new name unknown to any, save the possessor of the stone.

What are we to understand by this particular stone bearing its secret name?

“A white stone” was largely employed in the social life and judicial customs of the ancients. Days of festivity were noted by a “white stone.” Days of calamity by a “black stone.”

A host’s appreciation of a special guest was indicated by a “white stone.” with a name or message written on it. “A white stone” meant acquittal. “A black stone,” condemnation in the courts of justice.

The Spirit Promises the Overcomer a “White Stone” Bearing the New Name Known Only to the Happy Recipient

Can this suggest the Mighty Victor’s personal delight in each one of His conquering band following Him in the train of His triumph?

As to the “new name” alone known to the overcomer, can this mean that the Lord Jesus Christ will be known in a special and peculiar way to each of those to be rewarded? Is there to be a secret communication of love and intelligence between the Lord Jesus Christ and the overcomer, in joy which none can share, a reserved token of appreciative love?

In the glory of the “hidden manna” is the expression of “our appreciation of the Lord Jesus Christ” in His humiliation, while “the white stone” equally sets forth the Lord Jesus Christ’s “appreciation for us as overcomers.”

His and our individual paths here are the points respectively set forth in glory, by the symbols of the “manna and the stone.”

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

The Holy Spirit and His Promises

Among the numerous titles for God the Holy Spirit, describing His personality and performances, there is the suggestive one Paul gave us in the Book of Ephesians.

Why is He thus named?

First of all, He came as the Promised One. He came as the Promise of God the Father and God the Son.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Divine Promise Was Realized …

and the Holy Spirit came in the plenitude of His power and brought into being the mystic fabric, “the Church of the Living God”

Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled and experienced in the day of Israel’s exultation and blessing (Joel 2:28-31, Isa 2:2-4, Micah 4:1-7), when the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all.

God the Holy Spirit is Called “the Spirit of Promise”

Because by Him the Promises of redemption and sanctification are coined into the reality of experience

All the Father and the Son made objective and possible, God the Holy Spirit makes subjective and actual in the lives of the redeemed.

He is the Promise or pledge of better and more perfect work in His present inworking in us. He is but the earnest, the down payment, of the Divine purpose to claim in complete possession that which God has purchased.

Actually, the Spirit of God, is God’s promissory note of a full and final settlement.

Further, God the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Promise” …

Seeing He inspired holy men of old to record the thousands of Promises the Bible holds

It was He who put words into their mouth and taught them what to say. Exodus 4:15, 16; 2 Tim 3:16.

The Psalms Contain More Gracious Promises Than Any Other Book of the Bible

How permeated they are with all God is willing to be and do for His children.

As the bulk of these Psalms, with their rich Promises, came from the mind and pen of David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, it is interesting to note that he claimed the inspiration of the Spirit for all his work.

Of Psalm 18 David could write, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me and His Word was in my tongue,” 2 Sam 23:2 and chapter 22 with Psalm 18.

While We Could Profitably Explore All the Utterances of the Spirit Through Those He Chose and Inspired, and Dwell Upon the Promises, Facts, Revelation, and Threatenings They Contain ...

There are seven explicit Promises of the Spirit we can draw our attention to, namely, the seven to be found in our Lord’s letters to the seven churches, Revelation 2 and 3.

Here is the order of these overcomer Promises. An exposition of these letters will show that there is a marked pattern ending with a Promise which is clearly evident.

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

The Promise of Resurrection

The mighty, heavy boulder was no problem to an angel. From that which the friends of Jesus Christ feared, the angel made a seat.

Then with what heavenly joy this heavenly witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ must have proclaimed such a fact.

Note his phrase, “As He said.” The disciples did not believe Him when He said He would rise again. But the angel knew He would triumph over the grave, even as He had declared.

Promise of Deliverance From Prison

Those who were responsible for Peter and John being thrown into prison were the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and of the existence of angels. The interposition of the latter on behalf of the apostles must have caused the unbelieving Sadducees to reflect.

Mantled with Divine power, angels find locked prison doors no barrier. Neither were the strong prison guards whom the angels were able to paralyze in some mysterious way.

Promise of Courage

The crises of life either make or break a man. During the terrible storm that beset the ship taking Paul and others to Rome, all around the apostle became panic stricken. Paul’s moral ascendancy, however, dominated the situation. He infused courage and cheer into crew and captives alike, and commanded the crisis because of the Divine assurance he had received through the medium of an angel.

The question may be asked, have we any reason to believe that the manifold angelic ministry continues until this day?

The testimony of the Bible is that it does. The angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation,” Heb 1:14.

All Heirs of Salvation Have a Guardian Angel

As in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have One always near, although unseen, so in angels we have guardian attendants, though not perceived. Matt 18:10.

If wicked spirits have power over the thoughts for evil, why should we question the great influence good angels have over us in a heavenly direction?

I doubt not that good angels suggest good counsels and tender holy motives, and offer pious thoughts and refresh the often parched souls of gracious men with inward joy.

No wonder that angels watch over us to keep us in all our ways.

The Death of Moses Contrasted by the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ

Moses died alone.
Christ died alone.

But the Lord was with Moses when he died. He buried him.
But the Lord forsook Jesus Christ when He died. He really died alone.

Moses died because as he said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” He died because he was a sinner.
Christ died, not because He was a sinner, but because of the sins of others.

No one knows where Moses was buried.
Everyone knows where the Lord Jesus Christ was buried.

When Moses died, that was the end of his ministry.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died, that actually began His ministry.

Moses ascended to be with his fathers.
Jesus Christ ascended to be with God the Father.

The principle:
The wages of sin is death, Moses.
The gift of God is eternal life, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Principle:
The Lord was with Moses in his death.
We have the Lord with us when we die.

Sunday, October 27, 2002

A Promise of Preservation

How varied are the activities of the angels. One prepared a meal for Elijah, here another preserved the three Hebrew youths from being burned to death. And doubtless it was the same angel Who restrained the natural hunger of the ferocious lions so that Daniel could have a restful night.

Gabriel, one of the highest in the angelic hierarchy, was the one who revealed to Daniel God’s plan for the nations. Dan 8:16-19, 9:21.

A Promise of Interpretation

In Zechariah, a Book which is rich in symbols, angelic appearances and activities are conspicuous. On this occasion, however, they are related to God’s prophetic plan regarding Jerusalem, the restoration of spirituality, and the coming of the Messiah.

As God’s representatives, the angels are able to impart unerring instruction and knowledge.

The Promise of a Forerunner

The mission of angels is carried over into the New Testament in which they appear just as active as in the OId Testament.

To Gabriel was the honor given of announcing to Zacharias and Elizabeth the end of barrenness, and the birth of a son, who would become the forerunner of the predicted Messiah, Who was to say of John the baptist, “There is none greater,” Luke 7:28.

The Promise of a Saviour

Gabriel’s prediction was fully realized and Jesus Christ came into the world as its only Babe who never had a human father.

Thus Jesus Christ, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, appeared as the Saviour of the world, as the Angel of the Lord announced, and a myriad of angels rejoiced over. Luke 2:9, 10, 13.

P.S. If the Angel of the Lord, is the Lord Jesus Christ, did the Lord Jesus Christ announce His own coming?

Promise of Fulfilled Prophecy

Abiding in the presence of God, the angels are instructed in many of His secrets and in turn are commanded to transmit what they receive from Him for the enlightenment of men.

Saturday, October 26, 2002

Mohammedanism – Part Two

Of course, coupled with this fact was also the fact that the forces of the prophet met with little organized opposition. They swept over Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa, conquered Spain. Their victorious career was not checked for 100 years, until Charles Martel defeated them at Tours in A.D. 732.

Though the main reason for the spread of Islam was the Caliph’s army, coupled with this fact was the fact that Islamism appealed to the lower sensual nature of mankind, and promised all sorts of sensual delights in Heaven. It is not difficult to get converts among idolaters and people whose religion means little to them, with such an appeal.

Islam demanded no moral regeneration, and is a religion divorced from morality.

As long as certain external forms of worship are gone through with, the Moslem could commit all kinds of sins except drinking intoxicating liquor with impunity.

These facts in themselves adequately account for the spread of Mohammedanism.

Undoubtedly God used this religion to punish a corrupt Church, effete with prosperity, which had become unfaithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and true Christianity, just as He used the Goths, Franks, Vandals, and other invaders to chastise the Church in Europe.

Though God used it as an instrument, natural causes are adequate to account for the actual spread of the religion.

The Promise of a Nazarite Son

Although Manoah and his wife were a most godly couple, they were childless and doubtless had prayed much over such a condition. Prayer was heard, and in a most needy period of Israelite history, a son was given to these two like-minded souls.

He became the mighty Samson, troubler of Israel’s foes, the Philistines. The celestial dignity of the Angel who appeared to Manoah and his wife, distinguishes Him from an ordinary angel.

Here again, we have the great Angel of JEHOVAH, one of the Theophanic appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Promise of Sustenance

To have an Angel as a cook and host was no mean honor. Throughout his career as a prophet Elijah, the rugged son of the wilderness, was accustomed to Divine and Angelic provision and protection.

At his translation, he was taken up to Heaven in a chariot with its horses of fire.

Angels are meant by chariots and they are called chariots because they have appeared in such form. And because like chariots of war, they are the strength and protection of the Lord’s people, and because of their swiftness in doing His work. 2 Kings 2:17, 6:16, Psa 68:17, 18.

Friday, October 25, 2002

An Angel’s Promise to Isaac

It will be recalled that three angels in human form appeared to Abraham at Mamre and brought him the joyful tidings from the Lord about the birth of Isaac, the son of promise, Gen 18:2.

Now the Angel of the Lord spares Isaac from sacrifice and assures Abraham of Isaac’s wonderful posterity. “The Angel of the Lord” is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Promise of Guidance

What different homes our nation would have if only those desiring to set them up had the guidance and the direction of Heaven, as Eleazar had when he sought out the right kind of partner for Isaac.

How tragic it is when two unite in a Divine institution, as marriage is, without Divine guidance and benediction.

Promise of Possession

Jacob experienced intimate encounters with angels, both on his flight from home and his return to it. Angelic guardians made earth “the gate of Heaven,” Gen 28:17, for lonely Jacob.

It was the Angel JEHOVAH, who changed the patriarch’s name from Jacob to Israel, Hosea 12:3-5.

And who also changed the mind of Esau so that the two brothers could meet in peace.

Promise of Proclamation

Good advice for preachers. “Only the Word that I speak unto thee.”

Although a seemingly religious man, Balaam was yet a lover of the wages of unrighteousness, 2 Pet 2:15, and found himself reproved by an Angel and rebuked by an ass.

The Angel of mercy who would have restrained Balaam from sinning, was really a friend rather than an adversary. He obeyed the angelic voice and said to Balak, “All that the Lord speaketh, that must I do.”

Good response, too, but only the Word that I shall speak unto you, that thou shalt speak.

Promise of Faithfulness

God had graciously untaken for His people in preserving them and bringing them into the Promised Land.

He had kept His Promise. But the people and broken theirs and the Angel proclaimed their judgment.

“An Angel of the Lord Appeared to Gideon. And Said Unto Him, The Lord is With Thee, Thou Mighty Man of Valor ...”

“The Angel of the Lord said unto him, I have seen an Angel of the Lord face-to-face.”

The angelic ministrations are associated with Gideon’s call to deliver Israel from their apostasy and servitude. Of the meal Gideon prepared for his heavenly visitor and instructor, Gideon intended a dinner. The Angel turned it into a sacrifice.

Important Historical Principles Every Christian Should Know About Mohammedanism

The most recent religion to gain an international following of any great number of people is Mohammedanism. It is one of three great missionary efforts in the world. The other religions are Buddhism and Christianity.

It is also the religion which has had the greatest conflict with Christianity.

It has in the neighborhood of 200,000,000 followers. In its early history its spread was even more rapid than that of Christianity. And most important of all, the scene of its conquests was in lands which were nominally, at least, under the control of the Christian Church.

Certainly in this religion, if in any, we would expect to find evidence of supernatural influences at work in its spread, since Satan is the father of religion.

The first thing to be noticed about Mohammedanism is the fact that almost from the very first it was spread by force.

More important still, it is the correlative fact that there was no important military power available to check its career.

The western Roman Empire had been overrun by barbarians in the 6th century, after the Church had become corrupt and stagnant with too much prosperity and political power.

The eastern Roman Empire was divided politically by insurrection, and its army corrupted and weakened by luxury and lack of discipline.

The Greek Church was divided by factions and could not offer a united religious opposition to the common enemy, while the forces of the eastern empire were busily engaged in fighting the Persians, who were invading Asia Minor.

The Persians themselves had their hands full with defending the territory they had just conquered from the eastern Roman Empire, and paid little attention to the Mohammedan growth in Arabia.

The Christians in South Arabia regarded Mohammed as a deliver from their Persian enemies, and fought in his armies against the non-Christian tribes in other parts of Arabia, to establish one Arabian nation, in which they expected to be free.

Though the first successor of Mohammed did not oppress the Christians, Caliph Omar deported those who would not accept Mohammedanism, and made it the national Arabian religion.

By that time, the Caliphs had powerful armies of Bedouins at their backs, and began to sweep everything before them.

Plunder and rapine appealed to them strongly and they forced their victims to become Mohammedans or to accept slavery or death. To save their property, multitudes of effete Christians apostacized and Mohammedanism triumphed.

Not the least of the causes of the military success of Mohammed and his successors, was the fanatical bravery of their troops.

Every Moslem was taught to believe that if he died while fighting the “infidels,” he was translated immediately into paradise, where he would enjoy all manner of sensual rewards.

“The sword,” said Mohammed, “is the key to Heaven and Hell. A drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayers. Whoever fails in battle, his sins are forgiven and at the day of judgment, his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim.”

This is what accounts, more than any other fact, for the fanatical zeal of the followers of the prophet. With such a belief it is easy to see why they were almost irresistible in battle.

More to follow: Know your enemy!

Thursday, October 24, 2002

From Satan’s Encounter With the First Adam in the Garden, We Go Over to His Conflict With the Last Adam in the Wilderness …

Where the double promise of preservation and kingship was presented by Satan to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ

The first temptation assailed the Lord Jesus Christ through His bodily sufferings and was overcome by faith.

In that second temptation, Satan sought to appeal to the spiritual exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ’s faith had triumphed. The Jews had a tradition that when the Messiah came, He would stand upon the roof of the sanctuary and proclaim to Israel, “Ye sufferers, the time of your redemption draweth near; and if you believe, rejoice in My light, which is risen upon you.”

Satan, Cognizant of Such a Tradition of the Jews and Also of the Prophecy That the Lord Would Suddenly Come to His Temple (Malachi 3:1) …

Urged the Lord Jesus Christ to make a dramatic descent and appearance, assuring Him that such a short cut would not result in any physical injury. He could float unhurt on angel’s wings, seeing that He had a Scripture Promise guaranteeing His safety.

He was trying to get the Lord Jesus Christ to by-pass the Cross. The Cross must come before the crown.

The Next Promise Satan Made Was That He Would Give to the Lord Jesus Christ All the Kingdoms of the World ...

And the glory of them, if only He would fall down and worship him

The Lord Jesus Christ was promised the throne of a universal empire, and on easy terms. Our Lord Himself allowed the claim of Satan to the world kingdom. He called him “the prince of this world,” John 12:31, 14:30.

But the unworthy prince had nothing on Him, Who is coming as “the Prince of the kings of the earth,” Rev 1:5.

The apostle Paul speaks of Satan as “the god of this world,” 2 Cor 4:4, and as “the world ruler of darkness,” Eph 6:12.

All the tempter asked was homage rather than the adoration and worship due to God only. But the Lord Jesus Christ met Satan with great calm, for He remembered what the sinister promiser had forgotten about the ancient Psalm.

“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder.” Thus the roaring lion who keeps no promise was trodden upon.

Satan Still Offers His Kingdoms, Wealth, Honor, Fame, and Position

All are accessible to us if only we will compromise

It was in this veiled fashion that he prompted the Lord Jesus Christ not to go to the Cross, but take an easier way to the kingdom.

Peter, however, heard himself rebuked in the same formula. “Get thee behind me Satan,” Matt 4:10, 16:23. An unfortunate rebuke for the first pope.

He, who is tempted in all points like as we are, is our Shield against the darts of the wicked one.

O Saviour Christ, Thou too art man,
Thou hast been troubled, tempted, tried.
Thy kind, but searching glance can scan
The very wounds that shame would hide.

The Angels and Their Promises

It is to be regretted that the angelic ministry is a Bible theme so easily neglected by many believers today.

We come short of our duty to the blessed spirits if we entertain not in our souls a high and venerable conceit of the angels’ wonderful majesty, glory, greatness. And an awful acknowledgement and reverential awe of their presence, a holy joy, and confident assurance of their care and protection, and lastly a fear to do ought that might cause them to turn their faces in dislike from us.

It is evident to the most casual reader of the Bible that it abounds in angelic appearances and angelic ministrations.

Angels are closely associated with some of Scripture’s most remarkable histories and events, and have an important mission to fulfill in the consummation of the Gentile Age.

None of the angelic hierarchy with the exception of the most distinguished angel spoken of as “the Angel of the Lord” or “the Angel of the Covenant,” which is the Lord Jesus Christ, are found making promises on their own initiative. As God’s elect messengers, or intermediaries, they are simply the conveyors of the Divine Promises to the sons of men.

Created by God, the angels exist to carry out God’s will in the world and to assist His children in their pilgrim walk and witness.

Angel Promises will follow.

Promises of the Law

The above passages prove that legends of angels attended the Divine manifestation at Sinai when the law was given to Moses, Deut 32.

Without doubt they were present as ministering spirits of the Angel of JEHOVAH, source of all Precepts and Promises of the law. The law spoken by angels implies that they delivered it in articulate and audible sounds.

Promise of a Son

The angels reflect the graciousness, compassion, and beneficence of their Creator. Hagar’s broken heart must have been consoled by the tender, solicitous approach of the angelic visitor, who revealed an intimate knowledge of Hagar’s name and perilous plight. How true it is that angels are ministering spirits, Heb 1:14.

As Hagar wandered with her child
Amid Beersheba’s desert wild,
Their cruse of water failed at last.
But hark! The Angel of the Lord
Lone Hagar’s drooping soul restored.

Promise of Deliverance

When Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, he assumed a perilous position. Before long he was in Sodom, and caught up in the maelstrom of its iniquity. Yet amid such putrid surroundings we have another illustration of the effectiveness of the angelic ministry in the preservation of the righteous.

While the angels were messengers of mercy on behalf of Lot and his two daughters, fulfilling for them the promise of deliverance from destruction, they were likewise ministers of vengeance, seeing they were sent by God not only to witness the sin of Sodom, but to punish it.

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Satan’s Promises

Here is our Lord Jesus Christ’s assertion as to Satan’s absolute lack of integrity, truthfulness, and reliability.

With such a Divine estimation of Satan’s character before us, what else can we do but discount the fulfillment of any promise he has made?

Among the very few of his recorded promises there are those connected with Adam and Eve, and our Lord, which we might consider.

Have you ever studied Satan’s promises?

Satan’s Promise to Our First Parents

We have here a three-fold promise from Satan whispered in the ear of Eve:

1. That she would not die, although God declared that she would.
2. That enlightenment might be hers.
3. That partaking of the forbidden fruit would result in divinity of choice.

The background of man’s first temptation must be kept in mind. Eden was the sphere of prohibition for our first parents, who were placed in circumstances where they had freedom of choice.

God did not create Adam and Eve as mere machines or robots. Endowing them with life, He gave them “free will” and the tragedy of Eden is that such a precious gift was used against the Giver.

Our wills are ours, we know not why.
Our wills are ours, to make them Thine.

Because in the Garden the Will Was Not Kept in Harmony with the Divine Will, Sin Entered the World to Mar God’s Handiwork

Sin, however, although a possibility to Adam and Eve, was not a necessity. Everything in their sphere of prohibition was favorable to holiness, with God giving them a clear and distinct warning respecting the terrible consequences of sin.

Literally, “in dying, thou shalt die” (i.e., die twice, physically and spiritually).

Satan, We Are Told, Beguiled Eve Through His Subtlety

But both she and her husband were deceived (2 Cor 11:3; 1 Tim 2:14) by Satan’s promises.

The Divine restriction was limited to one tree, to all other trees there was free access. Thus the permission was larger than the restriction. How beneficent God is. Seven days make up a whole week and yet He only asks for one day to be set apart specially for Himself.

In the Garden He put a fence around one tree but threw open large orchards in which were smiling flowers and delicious fruit and silver streams.

Our First Parents Fell Among the Purity and Glory of Eden, Proving That Holy Surroundings Are No Sure Barrier Against the Wiles of Satan

Perfect environment is not the answer to man’s problems. Regeneration is! Both the Garden of Eden and the Millennium prove environment is not the answer to man’s problems.

The one prohibited tree is spoken of as “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Man had knowledge of good as long as he kept away from the tree. The knowledge of evil came through the violation of what God had said about the tree.

The record of Satan proves that he does not always appear in the same character. With his innate and accumulated wisdom, he knows how to seduce the souls of men.

The Appearances of Satan

To Eve he came as a subtle serpent, that “Old Serpent,” Rev 12:9, and in this capacity as he promised, he lied. John 8:44.

When it suits his purpose to be demonstrative, he appears “as a roaring lion,” 1 Pet 5:8, Mark 1:26, “seeking whom he may devour.”

Seeking to make havoc of the flock of God, he is seen as a ravening wolf, Acts 20:29.

At other times he is seen in the role of apostle, so clearly disguised that even the elect are unable to detect his presence, John 13:27, 28.

Although the prince of darkness, he can transform himself into an angel of light, 2 Cor 11:14.

But the Meanest of Satan’s Portrayals is That of a Slimy Snake

And as such, he instilled his poison into the mind of Eve. Satan knows how to use words to deceive men.

But in all, Satan’s words fashioned into promises, although having the inspiration of evil, Luke 8:28, are counterfeits of the Divinely-inspired Promises.

Satan Commenced by Insinuating a Falsehood

This was not what God said. And, therefore, Satan, in order to represent God, coined a lie. He then went on to make a false promise to Eve.

After suggestion that God had not spoken at all, Satan proceeded to affirm that if God had spoken, then He said something He did not mean, and thus denied the Truth that God had uttered and so became the “liar” the Lord Jesus Christ called him.

Since that fair yet foul promise, countless multitudes have been deceived by Satan. As he covered his promises with what appeared to be beneficial and attractive gains, as he tempted Eve, so today he hides the dagger of death in a lovely bouquet of flowers as the assassin did who murdered president Carnot of France.

As the God of this World, Satan Knows All About its Pleasures and Pursuits …

And can use them in seemingly innocent, attractive ways to entrap saint and sinner alike

Eat the forbidden fruit, he says, and still promises, “Ye shall not surely die.” As the tempter kept his promise in the ear of Eve until she violated God’s command and fell, so he, as a sinner from the beginning (1 John 3:8) deceives the whole world (2 Cor 4:4, 11:3). Our only hope of deliverance from all the wiles of the Satan is the invincible armor God has provided, Eph 6:11.

Is it Not Wonderful to Realize on the Heel of Satan’s Subtle, Evil Promise, There Came God’s First Promise of Grace to Fallen Man?

A Promise containing the whole Gospel and the essence of the covenant Grace, which in great measure was fulfilled at Calvary when the Lord Jesus Christ bruised the serpent’s head

To us, the Promise stands as a prophecy that we shall be afflicted by the powers of evil in our lower nature, and thus be bruised in our heel. But we shall triumph in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who sets His foot on the old serpent’s head.

In a Garden the first of our race was deceived,
In a Garden the Promise of Grace received.
In a Garden was Christ betrayed to His doom,
In a Garden He was laid in a tomb.

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

“He That Promiseth to His Own Hurt and Changeth Not,” Psalm 15:4

There are days when many promises are not worth the paper they are written on. Solemn treaties become mere scraps of paper. The lamentable increase in divorces proves that marriage vows can be quickly broken.

In the law court, a promise is made with the hand on the Bible “to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” yet so often those who testify, lie in their witness.

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is “the Truth,” it is incumbent upon us to reflect something of His character.

The Scottish memorial version of Psa 15:

“Who to his pledged word of truth,
“Thus ever firmly stood.
“And, though he promised to his loss,
“Still makes his promise good.”

The Lord Jesus Christ’s Promise to His Own

The Lord Jesus Christ came as “the Long Promised One,” and while here in the flesh, He could lay hold of those Old Testament prophecies, which were Promises, and relate them to Himself. Luke 24:25-27, 44:18.

As he “tabernacled” among men, the testimony of those who heard Him was, “Never man spoke like this Man,” John 7:46.

All He uttered was full of Promise. His sayings, parables, and discourses are potential Promises. There are, however, a few explicit Promises we can enumerate.

There is a Sense in Which John 14, 15, and 16 Can be Treated as One Long Glorious Promise for Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ

How permeated these great chapters are with all the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to be and to do for His own. The appropriation of all He has promised in this last discourse of His would quickly end all doubt and spiritual impoverishment.

He waits to fulfill His Word on our behalf, and if only our love were more simple, we would take Him at His Word.

All the Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ Are as John Bunyan Said of One of Them

“Words for a man to hang his soul on”

His Promises, like His Cross, tower over all the wrecks of time. The saints of succeeding ages have testified to the fact that He is faithful to all His Promises.

“Have faith in God,” should be rendered, “Hold fast the faithfulness of God.”

The Lord Jesus Christ came as God manifest in flesh and we can certainly hold fast to His faithfulness as a Promiser.

We Trust Not Only in the Faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ, but His Power Enabling Him to Fulfill Any Promise on Our Behalf

His Promises were made not only as the Carpenter of Nazareth, but as the eternal Son of God, Begotten before all worlds and Who came as God,” John 1:1, 2.

This is why we can sing with those of a past age as we think of Him as the Eternal One.

His every Word of Grace is strong
As that which built the skies.
The Voice that rolls the stars along,
Speaks all the Promises.

When William of Orange Was Coming to England, He Gave Written Pledges to Certain of His Friends ...

That they should have particular honors and certain high places in the kingdom

But there was one of his friends who became Lord Chamberlain of the realm, who refused any pledge. “No sir,” he said respectfully, “your Majesty’s word is enough.”

Can we not write over every royal Promise “Thy Word, Lord, is enough?”

Is not the story of past fulfillments of His Promises sufficient assurance for us today? All He has been as the faithful Promiser, He is and ever will be.

This, this is the Christ we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend,
Whose love is as great as His power,
And neither knows measure nor end.

The Greatest Person in the Universe

The Book, it speaks of Him, the Christ reveal.
The eyes that close to Him, all Truth conceal.
His Promises, the world’s refreshing rain.

The Spirit came, the outcome of His death.
The peace of God, His Grace and living breath.
He’s all, the visibility of God.

And so we sing of Him and onward plod.

Monday, October 21, 2002

Men Making Promises and Vows to God

Here is another instance in that of Jephthah, the judge, of whom it is said that, “He vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whosoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s and I will offer it up for a burnt offering,” Judges 11:31.

Returning from his God-given victory over the Ammonites, who was the first to cross the threshold of his home but his own much-loved daughter. Without hesitation, Jephthah fulfilled his promise, saying, “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.”

In a most noble fashion his daughter replied to her father, “If thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth,” Judges 11:36.

Jephthah’s Promise to God That He Kept

Volumes have been written on the morality or otherwise of such a solemn vow, and as to whether the daughter was actually offered up as a living sacrifice in fulfillment of this vow.

What must not be forgotten is the fact that Jephthah was not impetuous and hasty in the making of his promise. It was not made in the heat of a battle with the Ammonites without weighing his words, but before he set out.

While he made a hard vow, he left it to providence to choose what should first cross his threshold to be offered up as a sacrifice unto God. In his eagerness to smite the foe and thank God for it, Jephthah could not think of any particular object to name, great enough to dedicate.

He shrank from measuring what was dearest to God, and left this for Him to decide. Perhaps he hoped that God would not require the hardest of sacrifices, namely the surrender of his own child.

But God spared not His Son!

Man Making Promises to God!

What a solemn matter it is to make God a promise. Due thought should be given to all its implications before framing it into a prayer and presenting it to God.

Too often we make vows without prayerful consideration. Under the influence of a powerful Bible class our souls are stirred and we feel a call to surrender or dedicate ourselves and a promise is made to God to be wholly His.

To our shame, however, we have to sadly confess that our pathway is strewn with broken vows and unrealized promises. Yet any vow God the Holy Spirit prompts, He can enable us to realize. Power is His to fulfill our holy promises, just as He fulfills His Promises on our behalf.

To God manifest in the flesh Peter promised, “Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I not be offended,” Matt 26:33. Did Peter keep that promise?

Peter’s Promise is Another Promise Made by a Man That Came to Nothing Unconscious of His Utter Inability to Carry Out His Proud Boast ...

Peter’s promise had no better foundation than human resolve which proved to be futile. What a way for the first pope to act! When the testing came, Peter denied his Lord and used an oath to confirm his denial.

A man’s promise is often like an earthen pot broken with a stroke. Or as a blossom which, with God’s care, may come to fruit, but which left to itself will fall to the ground with the first wind that moves the bough.

On any Divine Promise we can hang time and eternity. And rely upon God to fulfill to the limit any promise we claim. On our own resolve, however, we dare not depend for our best resolves we only break.

Whatever we are prompted to do for God or to give Him can only be realized as we depend upon Him for all necessary Grace to perform what we promise.

Man’s Promises to His Fellow Man

Cato, the Latin philosopher, is credited with this saying, “What you are able to do to serve anyone, do not promise twice over. And do not be wordy if you wished to be esteemed as a man of character.”

It is to be feared that men of such discernment are rare these days, when wordy promises, even of those in high places, mean so little.

Let us turn to a few Bible men and see how they fared in this direction.

Another Promise with Tragic Results Given When the Promiser’s Passions Were Roused, Was Herod’s to Salome

The noble head of John the baptist was asked for and the weak king had to comply with such a cruel request.

The Vow of 40 Men Who Bound Themselves Under an Oath Not to Eat or Drink Until They Had Killed Paul Proved to be Futile

But such a promise was not forthcoming and Paul escaped. Here the term for “promise” means the “word.”

In our relations with others may we be known for our integrity and reliability.

May we seek for the Christian chivalry found in the ancient Psalm in which we have a “figure of stainless honour drawn by the ancient Jewish poet.”

In heart and tongue, in deed and word, the character of Psalm 15 is without reproach. The two aspects to the necessity of the fulfillment of honest promises are in these lines.

A phrase meaning one who thinks and speaks the truth and implies the reputation Shakespeare wrote of in Hamlet.

“This above all to thine own self be true,
“And it must follow as the night the day,
“Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Sunday, October 20, 2002

Man’s Promises to God

A proverb has it “he who trusts to the promises of others is often deceived.”

No one has ever been deceived in the fulfillment of the Divine Promises, none of which has ever failed.

God, however, has often been deceived by man’s promises, vows, and covenants. The Old Testament is one long record of the way in which the creature has disappointed the Creator. That God expects man to be as true to his word, as God Himself is, can be gathered from the following Mosaic instructions.

From Moses We Learn That Promising is Synonymous with Vowing, Deuteronomy 23:21, 23

In this instructive passage, Moses shows the voluntary nature of the obligation that is incurred by him who promises God something or who vows unto Him. Here are two instances of those who fulfilled their promise, or vow, Godward.

It May Seem That Jacob, the Surplanter and Deceiver, Who Was Being Forced to Flee From His Home, Was Seeking to Strike up a Bargain with God

In this promise, while there was a desire for God’s presence and protection, there was also a strong regard for temporal mercies like bread and raiment. There was a mixture of spirituality and worldliness in the motive that led Jacob to make his choice.

The patriarch’s promise had too much of the bargain-making spirit in it, too much of the “if” and “then.”

How suggestive is the contrast in the “if not” of the three Hebrew youths who went to the fiery furnace for their Lord. Dan 3:18.

Anyhow, Jacob’s promise, or vow, is the first of which we have record, and it is interesting to know that he paid his vow and redeemed his promise. Gen 37:7, 15.

Thought for the Day

I had a dream that I went to Heaven. And the Lord sneezed. I didn’t know what to say … “God bless you, God.”

Thursday, October 17, 2002

The Promise Made to Solomon

Solomon inherited from his father, David, the throne of the most powerful kingdom then in existence. Solomon’s dominions were vast, his personal character exalted, his wisdom proverbial, and Jerusalem, in his reign, was renowned for its wealth and splendor.

Yet this king, so eminently blessed of God, sinned against light when he married idolatrous women who brought about his ruin.

The besotted apostasy of Solomon’s old age is one of the most pitiful spectacles in the Bible. Yet this man received great Promises and was chosen to write three of the books forming the Bible.

God’s Promise to Solomon

When Solomon had finished the building of the temple and presented it to the Lord, there came the second Divine appearance. When the Lord assured Solomon that his dedicatory prayer had been heard and that He had hallowed the house built for the worship of His name, there came God’s further Promise to Solomon.

The fulfillment, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ, David’s Greater Son.

“Ask What I Shall Give Thee”

When in all humility, Solomon confessed his utter inability to follow his father’s example in walking before the Lord in uprightness of heart, or to govern a people that could not be numbered or counted for multitude, seeing that “he was but a little child,” not knowing “how to go out or come in,” he had God’s ear and favor.

With largeness of heart God said, “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon could have taken God at His Word and presented large petitions. But he scorned riches, fame, conquest, longevity. His was a single desire. All he desired was wisdom to rule and judge so great a people as Israel. And his one request was abundantly complied with.

What Solomon Did Not Ask for, God Gave Him!

Overweight became his, in riches, and honor, outstripping the wealth and majesty of any other king.

Solomon’s was the single eye for the accomplishment of a God-given task. And all the time he maintained such a single purpose, God blessed him.

The lesson for us is that if we put “first things first,” all else will be cared for by Him who waits to reward those who seek first and foremost His revealed interests.

I would not ask for earthly store
Thou wilt my need supply.

But I would covet more and more,
The clear and single eye.

To see my duty face to face,
And praise the Lord for daily Grace.

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

The Promise Made in Genesis 46:1-4 Awaits a Perfect Realization

Israel will yet be His glory and the channel of blessing to all nations.

As for the Promised Land, it has ever been Israel’s since it was first promised. It is hers by Divine gift and right and will be hers in its entirety when her Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, returns to reign.

God’s Promises given to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, concerning His ancient people, will be fulfilled to the letter. Not one word will fail.

The Promise Made to David

This man after God’s own heart was eminently blessed of God. Among Old Testament saints, David is outstanding in his knowledge and experience of God’s Grace and power.

What sublime revelations of the Divine character were granted to him. The psalmist of this “sweet psalmist of Israel” is full of the majesty and might, protection and preservation of the Almighty. Rich Promises were given to this illustrious king who could say, “I love the Lord.” To David was given the seventh or Davidic covenant, 1 Chr 17:4-15.

“I Have Made a Covenant With My Chosen. I Have Sworn Unto David, My Servant, Thy Seed Will I Establish Forever, and Build Up Thy Throne to All Generations. Selah,” Psalm 89:3, 4, 35-37

Of such Promises God said,

This great Psalm is rich in its tribute to God’s faithfulness. As the faithful God, He cannot act contrary to His character. If He failed in His Promises, broke His covenants, and altered His Words, He would not be worthy of our trust and confidence.

Though we may waver, He remaineth steadfast,
All His Words are sure.
From everlasting to everlasting,
His Promises endure.

Monday, October 14, 2002

The Promise Made to Jacob

Rebekah constantly knew that her favorite son, Jacob, was the Divinely appointed heir to the Promise made to Abraham (Gen 25:23), and was determined to overrule the purpose of Isaac concerning his favorite son, Esau. Rebekah overhead the proposal of her husband to bless Esau and conceived the idea that Isaac should be diverted from his purpose by a spread of savory meats.

But she made bad use of her parental authority. “My son, obey my voice,” Gen 27:8. Which Jacob did, much to his own undoing, the bitter fruit of his obedience to his mother who was “his counselor to do wickedly,” 2 Chr 22:3. We see this in the subsequent career of this misguided son.

After Rebekah’s Deceptive Scheme was Uncovered, Jacob Was Forced to Flee to Padan Aran

His mother, who instigated the act of fraud, was now to lose her son for more than 20 years.

How true it is that sin is ever followed by suffering. During his journey from Beersheba to Haran, tired and weary, Jacob laid his head upon a stone and slept, and dreamed about a ladder reaching from earth to Heaven upon which angels were ascending and descending. Then came the Promise.

How Full Jacob’s Dream Was of Jacob’s God, Whose Voice Was Full of Majesty and Tenderness

This dream was more than an ordinary dream. In it Jacob learned of God’s Grace and heard His voice relating gracious Promises for the future.

At the “pillow” on which his head had rested, Jacob made a “pillar” as a memorial, not of his dream, but of the Divine glory he had witnessed.

A solitary stone became a fitting memorial of God’s Grace and Promise to the solitary wanderer. Some 20 years later Jacob heard the same Divine voice assuring him of Divine protection.

On the way home after such a long absence, Jacob is again accosted by the angels, and has contact with the God of His fathers, from whom came the assurance of the old time Promise.

Saturday, October 12, 2002

Thought for the Day!

What caused the Mid-East Crisis?

Answer: Abraham and Sarah not waiting for the Lord to fulfill His Promise to them of a son. Being impatient, they tried to produce the Promise of a son by their own works.

Consequently we have Abraham entering into Hagar and now we have the Arab race and the Mid-East crisis, which will go on until the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The child of the bond woman always persecutes the child of the free woman.

The Promise Made to Isaac

With the birth of Isaac we come to the cross roads in patriarchal history. While Isaac and Ishmael were of the same stock, it was Isaac who came as the child of the Promise and the progenitor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Abraham had received the Promise.

God, Who always keeps His Promise, “visited Sarah” as He had said, and through Divine interposition, what was naturally impossible, was achieved.

Often the promises we make are broken because of our inability to fulfill them. With God, however, it is different.

The Promise Abraham Received Concerning Isaac was Really an Offshoot of the First Promise Given in Eden Concerning the Redeemed. Genesis 3:15

“The tree of Promise had many branches. But the trunk of the tree is the Lord Jesus Christ.” Apart from Him the Promises are nay.

Every Divine Promise is a check drawn upon God, but before we can cash one of these checks, we must have it endorsed with the name o