They are called, "locusts" which sting like scorpions. They are NOT scorpions. I think you do this just to annoy me.
Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rome invaded Israel riding horses and chariots and pulling scorpion machines. They arrived in Jerusalem in Feb of 70 AD. For 5 months, these scorpion machines launched darts into the city but not one dart hit any Christian Jew because they had fled to Pella earlier.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Real locusts harm grass, trees and green things so HINT: these aren't real locusts. Instead they are an invading foreign, heathen army like we see in Joel 1.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten...[SUP]6 [/SUP]For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion...
When the literal is illogical, look for the figurative. HoD what are we going to do with you??
FYI: Firstfruit Jews would be those early Christians in the first century, hence "firstfruit" duh!!
The Old testament saints walked in the same manner as us, by the same spirit of faith (Christ’s) as it is written. Just as us on this side of the cross. Therefore they received the end of Christ’s work of faith the salvation of their souls in the same way as us on this side of the cross.
Some would teach they had no assurance of their salvation until Pentecost.. no Holy Spirit called the Spirit of Christ.
God puts no difference between a Jew and a Gentile purifying the hearts of both by a work of His faith. He is no respecter of persons . God is not a man as us. He is not Jewish as if he had a father and mother a beginning of Spirit life or end thereof..
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Act 15:8
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was “in them” did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 1Pe 1:9-11
The first fruits.. ....the glory that did follow and will continue up until the last day, the day of the Lord. .
The first fruits were the result of God’s three day promised work of faith as a labor of His love it fulfilled the prophecy spoken of in Ezekiel 37.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. Eze 37:12
That land would be the new heavenly Jerusalem (Zion) Christ’s bride. Now that nothing could hold them seeing Christ had finished preparing a place of many mansion .The first fruits entered and were witnessed by many angels.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Mat 27:54
Jesus in John spoke of that manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was “in them” did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.....fulfilling the prophecy in Ezekiel 37
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, Joh 5:25
This is the first resurrection is be part of all saints today. To be absent of the body is to experience the first resurrection now that the work is finished.. The gathering in to celebrate the wedding supper is the second and final resurrection. Those that are alive reigning with Christ on the day of the Lord (the last day) will be caught up in the twinkling of the eye with those asleep hearing the wakeup call (arise) and both be changed into their promised new incorruptible bodies.
In regard to the Scorpion or what ever other descriptors of destructive lying spirits.
While we look not at the things seen the temporal they are used in parables to point to the things not seen, the eternal spiritual understanding hid from natural man . Poison whether it is used in respect to a serpent or a scorpion indicates false prophecy coming from false apostles. Green things represent those who have become born again... the poison of asps or scorpions as false doctrine will not affect them.
The word poison as to its purpose I would think should be established. I will offer a few verses as to how poison is used in parables..
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8
The father of lies a murder from the beginning.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Gen 3:4
I would offer signs as that seen used in parables signify that not seen the eternal faith principle by which we can walk with our God as two in a agreement.. .
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mar 16:18
I think the 2 Corinthians 4:18 principle used in
it shall not hurt them is expressed in the parable below.
(Purple in parenthesizes) my comment
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. ,( it shall not hurt them) Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him,( it shall not hurt them) they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. Act 28:3
Those in unbelief did not receive the spiritual meaning of the parable and called Paul, as that seen, a god. This shows natural man walking by sight not mixing a faith that comes from hearing God in what they did hear and see .
