Attack on the Remnant - Part two
If you have not read the first part of this post which are the notes taken from a sermon by Jacob J Prasch called ‘The attack on the Remnant’ please do, you can find it here. It will give you a better background.
3rd Attack - Spiritual Seduction - Isaiah 36: 10-19
Jacob starts by reading all of Isaiah 36 and says that the king of Assyria is a shadow or type of anti-christ. From this passage of scripture where it talks about the king of Assyria and his planned attack, we can learn about how God’s chosen are attacked. It also illustrates what will happen in the last days just before the reign of the anti-christ as king of the World. Satan is already god/king of this world and he will manifest this in a tangible way as this age comes to an end. (see 2Cor 4:4)
Coming now to the scripture Isa 36:10, King Assyria who is a shadow or forecast of the anti-christ sends his stooge, he is the kings cup-bearer, this cup-bearer is a shadow of the false prophet that proceeds the anti-christ. The following verse is the cup-bearer and it is he who is now speaking on behalf of the king.
Rabshakeh, the cup-bearer, speaks in the name of his master; and he means to say that he had the express command of Yahweh to inflict punishment on the Jews.
Isa 36:10 And am I now come up without Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
Thus the wicked is sent to deceive us, the wicked will pretend the Name of the Lord: but we must try the spirits, whether they are of God or not.
Am I come up without his permission or command Rabshakeh says in Isaiah 36 vs 10? Rabshakeh here speaks in the name of his master; and he means to say that he had the express command of Yahweh to inflict punishment on the Jews.
Worldly Churches
The attacker of the remnant says…. that God is on our side, the Lord told us to do this, to attack you and take your land (Isaiah 36 vs 10). God isn’t with you, you are not hearing from the Lord is said by the enemy, this the third way the attack happens against Gods people. The enemy says that he – speaking of Jehovah - has given him all this territory all of this land all of this wealth. He says ‘He is with us not with you, he is with us.’
Worldly Churches will always judge their success the way the world does, because they are of the world. Money, land, numbers and methods are shown to the world and are judged according to worldly standards as the world recognises worldly success, this is not God’s economy but worldly economy. The worldly church says it needs more money, but what it really needs is more Jesus. They say…. God is with us because look what we have:
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:
They think the same way as the world does, they measure their standards the same way the world measures, not by God’s economy, because they are of the world not set apart from it.
Back to Isaiah 36 - What the king wants is what the king tries to get
Why is the King of Assyria so desperate for Jerusalem, he has everything else!! Why is this type of Anti-christ wanting God’s Holy Mountain? The King of Assyria has everything but the one thing he wants most.
So too does Satan, he has all the false religions and cults for himself all those worldly organisations etc, to be exalted and worshipped by, he has everything; he has all the worldly kingdoms.
He has everything except where the true alter is, the Holy Mountain, the true alter of God. The one place he wants to be exalted is in the temple of God. Physically the Holy Mountain of Jerusalem, spiritually the Church, as we are called the temple of God, he wants to be worshipped in the temple of God.
The one place he can’t have - the true alter, the cross of Christ
The one place satan can’t get is the churches that hold to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, where the true alter is , that being Jesus who is the Meso Beoch. The Meso Beoch is the most important picture for Christ in OT scripture. Blood atonement was made upon the Meso Beoch. The true Church is where the true gospel of the cross of Christ is being preached.
Take the cross out of the gospel and you have a social gospel, you have the prosperity gospel, you have the gnostic the mystic gospel, you have a works gospel, you have any other gospel but not a gospel based on the cross of salvation. He has everything but not the true gospel or where the true alter of blood atonement is, that being the cross. He can have every other gospel he wants, the social, the blab it and grab it, the prosperity, the Gnostic, the mystic, but he can’t have the gospel of the cross or the true alter. Hezekiah knew this, and that is why he tore down the High Places.
1st comes scripture out of context, then temptation, then intimidation and then the seduction.
The language of the Anti-christ - and the tower of babel
When the King of Assyria can’t get to the leaders, then he goes for the people, the laity.
The stooges that King Assyria sent said that they must speak to the servants in Aramaic because they (the stooges) understand it, ‘don’t speak in a language that the people can hear it‘.
Isa 36:11 And Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the chief of the cupbearers, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we hear. But do not speak to us in Judean, in the ears of the people on the wall.
The enemy knows our language. They speak the same language but have different meanings. As an example: Grace in a Catholic Church is through sacraments only, not given as a gift through the blood of Christ as the protestants believe as Luther pointed out, but grace is given out only by the sacraments that the Church of Rome can offer. Salvation by Grace alone yes, but please read clause in fine print, the Church of Rome is the only one who can offer it through sacramental traditions. Sola-fide, I don’t think so!
The enemy will always use biblical terms but they mean something completely different. That is how a unified church, religion and movement will come about, same words but different underlying meanings (try to find the clause and you will be hard pressed to do so). A reversal of the tower of Babel which bring in a false Day of Pentecost. This is something that we must understand, if you do not understand this; it would be easy to unite and become unequally yoked with a completely different belief system. The same terms are used but with different meanings. The enemy will use our language to bring in a false unity. A counterfeit Day of Pentecost.
Act 2:6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
The people are up on the wall watching this. The ears of the people on the wall are hearing this. They are protecting the sheep from the wolves. Jesus said that ‘My sheep will hear My voice’ especially when it comes to wolves who come in sheep’s clothing.
A pastor can only protect his people up to a certain point. The sheep have to discern their master’s voice eventually.
Isa 36:12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?
The above verse says that the enemy wants to go the people, the ones who sit on the wall. Has not my master sent me to the men that sit upon the wall? What they say to you and what they say among themselves are two different things, it is only in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue that the appearance of unity exists. Behind closed doors it is another thing said.
The coming division that comes from dialogue
Then they went to to people and said:
Isa 36:13=15 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you: neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
When he can’t get to the leaders, he will try to create a division between the people and their leadership. He tries to create a separation between the people and their pastor and elders. They try to sow rebellion in the camp.
Isa 36:16-19 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
‘Don’t listen to Hezekiah’ he tells the people, ‘King of Assyria can give you anything you want’. ‘You can have of the vine and fig tree etc, you can have a land that is like your own land’ — but is not — ‘a land of grain and new wine of bread and vineyards’.
Spiritual Seduction is the third attack.
How are we to respond?
Isa 36:21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
So much for dialogue and conversation. We are told not to answer, not a word shall we answer.
I will leave this post here, and will finish it off in a third post. That one should be a lot shorter, but I thought I would end it with something that has been on my mind about whether or not we should dialogue and converse at all.
- Part three now available.
