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************************* DEATH IN THE POT *************************

Most people who study the Bible fail to realize the intricately 
balanced and entertwining nature of the scriptures and of Bible 
symbolism. We would like to cover a very simple "type" which will 
help to illustrate this fact.

2 Kings 4:38 thru 41:
 4:38  And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and [there was] a
dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets [were] sitting
before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot,
and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
 4:39  And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and
found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap
full, and came and shred [them] into the pot of pottage: for
they knew [them] not.
 4:40  So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to
pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out,
and said, O [thou] man of God, [there is] death in the pot. And
they could not eat [thereof].
 4:41  But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast [it] into the
pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat.
And there was no harm in the pot.

It says in this passage that Elisha came again to Gilgal.  This is 
important in that there was a time when Elisha had come to Gilgal 
before. (2 Kings 2:1) This time he comes there was a dearth in the 
land. This is the same famine that is spoken of in 2 Kings 8:1, and 
was to last for a period of seven years.  Since "seven" would 
represent the spiritual, this famine symbolizes spiritual famine 
that the prophets said would come upon this world (Amos 8:11).  God 
told Amos it would not be a hungering for literal bread, but that it 
would be a famine for the hearing of the word of God.  

Please consider the following based on what we have already studied 
in the previous chapters of this book:

     (1) There is a CENTRAL THEME that runs through the Bible that 
by now the reader has probably noticed. It is also a daily theme in 
the life of every living creature on this planet (which God intended 
in order to convey the spiritual lesson). That "theme" is centered 
on the subject of EATING. Notice the following brief outline as just 
a few of the MANY examples which could be given. 

A) Adam and Eve cast out of Eden for EATING from the wrong TREE.

B) Firstborn slain in houses where PASSOVER meal not EATEN. (Ex. 12)

C) Many Israelites slain for not wanting to EAT MANNA.  (Numbers 11)

D) EAT "butter and honey".."refuse evil; choose good".    (Isaiah 7)

E) Must EAT Jesus' "flesh and blood" (type..WORD OF GOD. Jn.6:53-63)

F) EATING unleavened bread "type" of (E) (Ex.12:15,23:15, 1 Cor.5:7)

G) "Seven women" (symbolic) want to "EAT" own bread.    (Isaiah 4:1)

The list could go on and on but if we combine these thoughts with 
our study in the last chapter about a prophet who is SLAIN BY A LION 
sent by God (for eating in the wrong place) we can see that the 
subject is an important one (spiritually speaking). It is SO TRUE 
that we are what we eat (both physically AND SPIRITUALLY).

We want to make this study of "death in the pot" as clear as we can 
in its meaning, so we will (as usual) have to look at another 
symbolic picture to fully portray the TRUE meaning of this thought 
concerning "EATING".

John 6:30-63; note especially the following verses:

54)  Whoso EATETH my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal 
     life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
56)  He that EATETH my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in 
     me, and I in him.
57)  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father:  
     so HE THAT EATETH ME, even he shall live by me.
63)  It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth 
     nothing; THE WORDS that I speak unto you, they are spirit, 
     and they are life.  

It is easily understood from JOHN 6 that "manna" is a "type" or 
symbol of Christ, but it pictures Him in a special manner.  There 
are multitudes of people today who feel that when they partake of 
what is called the "Lord's supper", they are fulfilling what Jesus 
said to do here in John 6.  When we begin to read these passages of 
scripture we need to realize that Jesus was not speaking literally 
of partaking of his flesh or even literally partaking of bread and 
wine (grape juice) as symbols of his flesh.  We cannot receive the 
fulfillment of a "type" by simply partaking of another "type" or 
symbol of the same REALITY. Jesus tells us in verse 63 that it's the 
spirit that quickeneth (giveth life).  He continues and says that 
the flesh profits nothing!  

The problem people had back then was that they saw only the 
fleshly picture!  When Jesus said, "You must drink of my blood and 
eat of my flesh," all they could think of was his literal, 
physical body!  Jesus made it plain that the flesh profits 
nothing!  You could have eaten the entire body of Jesus Christ, 
and that would not have provided any spiritual help or life!  
Jesus said HIS WORDS were spirit and life!  

The Church that Jesus purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28) was 
built on Christ as a manifestation of the living word of God (JOHN 
1) which Christians may "feed" on SPIRITUALLY today just as Jesus 
taught. I am not talking about the BIBLE literally as being the 
"word of God", for if that were the case, you would have perpetual 
INDIGESTION on your way to heaven. When I speak of the "word of 
God", I am talking about the spiritual TRUTH that is HIDDEN in the 
Bible. 

The children of Israel ate the literal manna in the wilderness and 
they died, but if you eat the spiritual manna today you won't die!  
You will have everlasting life!  Jesus said it is very important 
that we eat this bread if we want to live forever with him! If we 
don't feed on heavenly bread, we are not going to make it to glory!  
Let's turn to the book of Exodus and briefly study the types of the 
manna just as the Bible gives them.  In the 12th chapter we read 
where the children of Israel were delivered from the bondage of 
Egypt's Pharoah and taskmasters (picturing salvation from the 
bondage of Satan and his agencies).  Then we come to the place where 
the children of Israel began to get hungry.  

You will find that when you get saved (redeemed from Egypt), you 
begin to have an appetite for spiritual food.  You begin to get 
hungry for the things of God. I have seen people get so hungry for 
spiritual things that they didn't want to eat any physical food 
anymore (of course they still had to).  When the children of Israel 
had been redeemed and were led into the wilderness they became 
hungry.  Lets read about it in Exodus 16:   

 2. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured 
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  

Here we have a approximately two to three million people
in number (the Bible shows 600,000 fighting MEN), who had just 
been redeemed by this "blood of the lamb" (as a "type").  Where 
are they now?  The same place you go when you get delivered. They 
were in the wilderness of Sin!  Someone might say, "Well, the Lord 
doesn't save us to sin!"  True, but he still leaves you where sin 
goes on all around you.  The wilderness of Sin was all around them 
and it made them hungry. They couldn't find anything suitable for 
food.

When we get saved, we begin to look around us and there is nothing 
in this world to feed us!  When you were out in sin perhaps you went 
out every night of the week trying to find something to satisfy!  
That's why people do things like smoking, drinking, and partying 
around with the world.  They are trying to find something that 
satisfies.  When you get saved you suddenly realize that smoking, 
drinking, cussing, partying, lusting, etc., do not satisfy anymore!  
Yet, on every side it is a sinful wilderness, and you are 
spiritually hungry!  As a babe in Christ, if you are not careful you 
will begin to murmur as Israel did! They didn't know how to say, 
"God we are hungry; feed us."  So what did they do?  They murmured 
and complained!  Those people had just seen the miracle of God in 
the passover night!  They had just seen the miracle of the crossing 
of the Red Sea!  Yet after all God had done for them, they still 
questioned whether He could provide them with food.   

It's the same situation today.  There are people that get saved in 
false religion but they are just babes in Christ.  They begin to 
murmur and complain.  They don't understand that if they would 
ask God, He would lead them to the truth and a true Pastor 
(Shepherd) who would feed them (see Acts 20:28 and Jeremiah 3:14-
15).  Instead, they murmur and complain!   

Exodus 16:4, "Then said the Lord unto Moses, behold I will 
rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and 
gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether 
they will walk in my law or no."

Notice that the source of manna is from heaven.  He said, "I will 
rain bread from heaven."  It didn't grow in the wilderness!  We 
need to get this thing straight.  For Bible preaching to be genuine 
manna, it MUST be heaven sent!  The preacher must get it directly 
from God!  Manna has to come from heaven or it does no one any good. 
TRUE manna is not invented, produced, or manufactured by men. This 
is why we constantly emphasize to people that the Bible contains 
God's word but it is not God's word by itself!  The Holy Spirit must 
help us feed on it!  If the Bible is God's word in itself, then 
everybody can get God's word; everybody can go in the store and buy 
manna. 

Paul said the natural man (lost) cannot receive spiritual truths (I 
Corinthians 2:7-14).  A lost person can read the Bible, but they 
cannot receive the true manna that comes down from heaven.  There is 
a lot of preaching right out of the Bible that is not manna from 
heaven!  It is not manna if it is invented, manufactured, pieced 
together, or dreamed up by men!  A lot of people are being led 
astray by false preachers because (as they say), "he is reading it 
out of the Bible."  Friend, the Bible is not the Word of God!  The 
word of God comes down from heaven!  Men had the word of God before 
they even had the Bible!  They preached the "word" before the Bible 
was ever printed!  You will never find one place in the Bible where 
Jesus referred to printed pages as being the word of God.  He called 
it scripture.  The Holy Spirit has to take the scriptures and reveal 
the hidden spiritual truths that lost people can't see due to their 
spiritual blindness (II Corinthians 4:3-4, Matthew 13:10, etc...).  

Why did God send manna from heaven?  Many people don't realize why 
God sends His word to us to eat.  There are so many people today 
who just sit there and say, "Bless me Lord, bless me Lord."  
Brother, He didn't send it to bless.  He sent it so you would obey 
it!  He blesses you for obeying it!  Someone might say, "Why do I 
sit under the sound of the gospel and get blessed?"  It's because 
your heart is reaching out and saying, "Yes, Lord I'll do it!"  
God knows if you mean business and if your heart says "Amen."  

You can be blessed by false preaching!  One way is if you are not 
truly saved and a false preacher gives you false comfort.  Then 
the devil blesses you and you think it's of God.

Another way that you can get blessed by a false preacher is to be 
a saint of God who lacks understanding of genuine blessings.  Your 
flesh can get blessed by his preaching.  How is that?  If you are an 
emotional person he may stir your emotions and you will probably 
mistake it for spiritual blessing.  Flesh will bear witness with 
flesh and you will think it blesses you.  If the preacher preaches 
about something that the flesh likes (ie:  material prosperity), you 
will feel blessed, but only in the flesh.  

Read with me again from verse 4, "then said the Lord unto Moses, 
behold I will rain bread from heaven for you and the people shall 
go out and gather a certain rate every day that I may prove them 
whether they will walk in my law, or no ".  In our language today, 
we would say, "Whether they would walk in it or not."  

Most people would say that manna was sent from heaven to fill their 
bellies.  No!  Manna is sent from heaven to test us.  If it's really 
God's word it will be a challenge to us to live in such a manner as 
to deserve God's blessing.  It won't be the kind of message that 
just hands it out, "Here come and get it, and I'll heal you, or 
provide for you, or bless you."  If you want this help from God you 
are going to have to be willing to commit yourself to the will of 
God and follow Him.  If you want physical blessings you are going 
to have to be willing to commit yourself to the will of God whatever 
it might be. God sends manna from heaven to test us and if we pass 
the test He will provide for us! Any preacher that preaches the 
blessings of God and doesn't lay down the conditions for being 
blessed is preaching false doctrine.   Friend, the preaching is only 
manna when it digs into our life and promises blessings if we live 
according to the will of God. Away with this devilish preaching that 
hands out blessings to everyone. 

According to Exodus 16:4, we must be willing to spend some time and 
effort in order to gather up what God has sent.  Surely if we must 
labor to earn our physical food, it will be necessary to labor for 
the spiritual!  Many of the saints in this congregation drive nearly 
a hundred miles or more each way just to come here to gather manna.    
It is not easy, but the Lord makes it worthwhile for His TRUE 
PEOPLE.

Exodus 16:11 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard 
the murmurings of the children of Israel, speak unto them, saying, 
at even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled 
with bread: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.  And it 
came to pass, that at even the quails came up and covered the camp:  
and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.  And when the 
dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness 
there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the 
ground."
  
Notice where this manna was accumulated.  It was round about the 
host.  In other words, it was all around the camp.  Just think; 
there might have been folks down in Egypt that would have liked to 
taste some manna but they weren't in the right place!  You would 
have had to be in the camp of Israel and delivered from Egypt 
before you could get the manna.   

The manna was round; a "small round thing".  There's truth in that 
thought that thrills me every time I think of it.  Friend, do you 
realize that no matter where you start in God's word you will 
always end up coming back to the same place?  You'll find that 
truth will always fit all the pieces of the puzzle together 
perfectly.  Truth in Genesis always fits snugly with truth in 
Revelation.  Jesus said He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
and the end.  A round object always has its beginning and ending 
at the same spot, and that is true no matter where you start. What 
better symbol of Jesus and the word?  

As you study you'll find that you will follow scriptures that 
intertwine and interconnect (in thought and teaching) throughout the 
Bible.  Eventually, you'll end up returning to your original text.  
For example, to study Revelation you'll work your way to Genesis and 
on through the Bible. You'll eventually end up right back in 
Revelation.  The Word of God will never contradict itself!  The 
Bible does because of translation problems, details that God 
included to "blind" those who are not honest, etc.  However, God's 
word is round like the manna so all "rolls" together beautifully!
Exodus 16:16 says, "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded.  
gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every 
man." 
 
An omer is three to three and a half quarts.  They were going to 
have quail in the evening.  They needed the manna to last them 
through the day.  You don't need much strength through the 
evening because you are going to bed.  The manna is what gave 
them strength for their labors through the day.  Most people's 
stomachs are supposed to hold only a pint and three and a half 
quarts is seven pints.  The Lord gave them plenty to eat didn't 
he?  When you eat God's manna, do you eat until you're full?  God 
wasn't trying to make gluttons out of them but He was trying to 
feed them plenty!  They probably griped about him giving them too 
much!  That's the way it goes today too!  First people complain 
about starving; then they complain about the long messages!  

It must have taken a long time to gather three quarts of something 
that was as small as frost!  It is the same way spiritually.  You 
can't fill your bucket in a hurry!  It is impossible to truly feed 
God's sheep with sufficient food in a short period of time.  Thirty-
minute sermonettes just won't do it.
   
In the 14th verse he said it was on the ground!  It is the same way 
today (spiritually).  We are not going to get it by standing up 
proudly and saying how righteous and holy we are!  When people went 
out to pick up those little pieces of manna they would not have 
gotten to do much standing!  They had to bend over and they may have 
even gotten down on their knees.  Brother, that's how we are going 
to have to do it today.  If we want to feed on heavenly food we must 
get down and humble ourselves!  We must get our eyes open enough to 
see our own weaknesses and quit allowing the devil to blind us so we 
only see our brother's sins!  A holier-than-thou attitude is a 
stench in the nostrils of God according to Isaiah 65 and other 
passages.  

No one will ever get much heavenly food to eat until they realize 
they are nothing and Jesus is everything!  Israel either gathered 
the manna or trampled it under their feet.  It was all around the 
camp, so as they went out they either picked it up or walked on it!  

It is the same way today with God's manna from on high.  Either you 
are going to gather it up or you are going to trample it under your 
feet.  To feed on this bread of life is to take it into your 
spiritual being to the extent that it actually becomes part of you.  
This will enable you to live a life influenced by the manna.  
Otherwise, you are just trampling it under foot!

Verses 17 and 18 say, "And the children of Israel did so and 
gathered some more, some less. And when they did mete it with a 
omer he that gathered much had nothing over and he that gathered 
little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his 
eating."  
  
Someone might say, "God said for each man take an omer but some 
of them didn't. It almost sounds like that was alright. Does that 
mean we don't really need to eat as much spiritual "food" as God 
supplies for us?" 
God wants us to take an "omer" but if we take less it doesn't mean 
that he is going to cut us off.  It simply means we won't 
have as much to eat for strength!  Some people require more strength 
than others don't they?  Some people use their strength more than 
others do!  Some people labor more to help others find Christ and so 
use more spiritual energy.  Those who take more manna have more 
strength to accomplish more for God.  Some take less but it's not 
because God wants them to!  God's word was "Take every man an omer", 
but some didn't.  

Exodus 16:19 says, "And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the 
morning."   This shows that it is essential that we "feed" upon 
FRESH spiritual food, and not something some preacher got out of 
some old book, or else is a REHASH of an old "sermon outline". It is 
sad, but if you will do some checking, you will find that MOST 
"sermons" that are preached in the world today are "old messages" 
gotten from someone who lived in an age of the past where "LIGHT" 
WAS NOT NEARLY AS BRIGHT AS TODAY. THAT IS NOT FRESH "MANNA". 

Exodus 16:15 says, "And when the children of Israel saw it, they 
said one to another it is manna, for they wist not (knew not) what 
it was, and Moses said unto them this is the bread which the Lord 
hath given you to eat."  

If you look at the word "manna" in the Hebrew it means "What is 
it?"  That is still a good name for the Word of God today as far 
as the natural man is concerned!  The natural man still says 
"What is it; I don't get it; what do you mean?"  The natural man 
can read the Bible, but he can't feed on the word!  To help us 
see this type, look in verse 31 of the text:  
 
It says, "and the house of Israel called the name thereof manna, 
and it was like corriander seed, white:  and the taste of it was 
like wafers made with honey."  

Everyone knows what white symbolizes.  White is always a symbol 
of purity throughout the scriptures.  Someone might say, "it must 
be a type of Jesus."  That is only part of the picture. Jesus is a 
manifestation of the Word of God which is just as pure as Jesus.  

Psalms 119:140  Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant
loveth it.

Proverbs 30:5  Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto
them that put their trust in him.

Exodus 16:31 said the taste of the manna was like wafers made with 
honey.  Psalms 19 will tell you that the law and the judgments of 
God are sweeter than honey in the honeycomb.  Only a Christian can 
feel that way!  No lost person feels the judgments of God are 
sweeter than honey in the honeycomb.  Why?  Because they don't like 
them a bit!  It's not manna to them. It's only manna to the people 
of God!  Lost people just don't like the taste of it! If you will 
notice in verses 19 and 20, you will see why they don't. "Moses said 
let no man leave of it till the morning. (A lost person has to leave 
it; they cannot eat it.) "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto 
Moses; but some of them left of it until morning and it bred worms, 
and stank: and Moses was wroth with them."  
Is it any wonder why lost people don't like the taste?  They can't 
get it down so they leave it until the morning and try again when 
it's full of worms and stinking. No wonder they don't like it!  The 
law of God shows them their need, but it's not sweet to them!  If 
you don't love God's law and delight in it as Paul said he did 
(Romans 7:22), then friend you are lost!  

Many people say, "How do you know whether a person is saved or 
lost."  Ask them if they love the law of God!  If they don't love it 
with all their heart they are not saved (Psalms 1:2 and Psalms 119-
47)!   A lot of folks just listen to the preaching with their head 
and not their heart. Friend, you have got to eat it!  It doesn't do 
you any good at all just to look!  It doesn't do you any good at all 
just to hear about it!  You must eat it to do you any good!  

In Numbers 11:4 and 5 it says, "And the mixed multitudes that 
were among them fell a lusting:  and the children of Israel also 
wept again, and said, who shall give us flesh to eat?  We remember 
the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the 
melons and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic."  

There is nothing wrong with those vegetables, but they represent 
(among other things) that which causes the "stinking breath" spirits 
of people in SPIRITUAL "Egypt". According to the scriptures people 
in sin are a stench in the nostrils of God!  

Today you have lost people and hypocrites right among the people of 
God.  They are "mixed multitudes" and all they do is complain about 
the manna!  You can always tell a hypocrite or lost person because 
they complain about manna!  To a lost person the preaching of 
truth is either boring, too lengthy, offensive, or is just not of 
any interest to them!  

Numbers 11:8 says, "And the people went about and gathered it, and 
ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, 
and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh 
oil."  

Isn't it amazing how people are always trying to improve on manna.  
They were trying to fix it up where it would taste better.  They 
ground it, they beat it, they baked it, and they made cakes out of 
it.  That means they must have sweetened it!  Isn't that what folks 
in the religious world are doing today to the manna from heaven?  
Brother, they don't like it the way it is!   

However, any preacher that changes the manna (Word of God) is 
feeding false doctrine!  Satan's preachers (II Corinthians 11:13-15) 
still make use of the basic manna.  They deceive by changing it here 
and there.  They don't like it the way God gives it.  

Someone might say, "I like to eat the manna but I just can't seem to 
find much real spiritual food in churches today."  

I would like for you to see the reason many people can't get the 
manna of God.  It's not that he doesn't want to give it.  Revelation 
2:17 (Jesus speaking), "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the 
spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give 
to eat the hidden manna." (We've circled back to Revelation). 
God HIDES the TRUE MANNA so the "NATURAL MAN" cannot receive it. 
Remember Paul's words in I Corinthians 2:10 as he spoke of the 
mystery wisdom of God's word? "But God hath revealed them (the deep 
truths) unto us by His spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, 
yea, the deep things of God."  

Surely by now the reader can see how the Bible uses symbolism which 
pertains to the process of "EATING". Using the principles that we 
have proven so far in this book, let us look more closely at the 
symbolism in the story of the "GREAT POT".

If we look again at the text in 2 Kings 4 we notice the following 
details that are easy to recognize as spiritual "KEYS" to 
understanding the text. 

(1) There was a "dearth" (famine) in the land...Type of a LACK of 
GOOD spiritual food.

(2) Even the "sons of the prophets" (a kind of minister's school) 
were without good food.

(3) Since God has control over FAMINE, He was purposely allowing 
this time of FAMINE to affect even the GREAT POT from which the 
"sons of the prophets" usually received their FOOD.

(4) We stated in the beginning of this chapter that the famine was 
the same as mentioned in 2 Kings 8:1 as being seven years in length.
This may seem absurd to the reader, but we must remember that this 
text (as many others in the Bible) is not written completely in 
Chronological order, but rather in the order that God inspired which 
reveals the TRUTH to His people while HIDING it from the "natural 
man". You should at least be able to see that for the sake of the 
type, 2 Kings 8:1 continues the story about the woman mentioned in 
the earlier part of 2 Kings 4. The important thing is to realize 
that ALL FAMINES symbolize spiritual famine, and therefore (in 
"type") they are ALL SEVEN YEARS LONG (spiritually speaking...some 
of famines in the Bible were literally three years long)!!!! This 
should be easy to see if you study the seven years of famine in 
Joseph's day and God's offer of seven years of famine for David's 
punishment (2 Samuel 24:13).

(5) This story takes place in "GILGAL" which means the place of the 
"wheel" or "round rolling" thing. THIS SHOULD REMIND THE READER OF 
THE SYMBOLISM PORTRAYED TO US IN THE "ROUND" SHAPE OF THE MANNA, AND 
THE RESULTING PICTURE OF THE WORD OF GOD AS SOMETHING WHERE ALL 
PARTS COME BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. 

(6) Since GOOD FOOD was in short supply, the "sons of the prophets" 
were almost poisoned by the fruit of a "wild VINE". Matthew 24:24 
shows that the enemy would like to TRY to POISON even the very 
"elect" of God but that is not possible. GOD WILL ALWAYS MAKE 
CERTAIN THERE IS AN ELISHA PRESENT IN ORDER TO PROTECT HIS PEOPLE. 

We live in a time today when people think they have plenty to eat.  
It's because there are so many SPIRITUAL "poisonous gourds" that are 
plentiful round about us.  People are finding laps full just as this 
man in 2 Kings 4:39. What is sad is that there usually IS NO 
SPIRITUAL ELISHA AROUND TO DO AWAY WITH THE POISON IN THE POT.
WHAT CAN Elisha be a picture of here.  We know he pictures Jesus,   
but he pictures him spiritually manifested through his "body" the 
TRUE CHURCH. That's the way Jesus manifests himself in the New 
Testament dispensation.  

Ephesians 1:
 1:22  And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him
[to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all
in all.

You can always tell if Jesus' spiritual body is around. Wherever HE 
IS, the famine ceases for the "sons of the prophets". 

What does the title "sons of the prophets" represent?  It didn't mean 
that these were the prophet's kids. There were not even that many 
TRUE PROPHETS (study and I think you will agree).  It didn't mean 
that these were the physical offspring of the prophets.  

If you'll study the Old Testament scriptures you'll find that the 
term "sons of the prophets" had reference to those who were students 
or followers of the prophets of God.  They studied their teachings 
and writings.   

Today you and I are those who follow after the words God has sent to 
us by the prophets of God were divinely inspired and have written it 
down.   We are those who are striving to gain understanding of God's 
will in a way that he might direct our lives. Today we are still sons 
of the prophets in a spiritual sense.  
 
Elisha was present in the midst of the "sons of the prophets" and had 
the answer to the famine that encompassed them. He gives them the 
simple message, "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for 
the sons of the prophets."  He told his servant to do that task.  

Does the "body of Christ" and all those who follow it's teachings 
have a "servant" today? If you will notice, Elisha did not tell ALL 
of the people to go prepare the "GREAT POT". He gave THAT command 
exclusively to his "servant".  Whether we like it or not GOD still 
uses the work of the PASTOR in that manner.  He said unto his 
"servant" (NOT plural). Elisha didn't say "all you sons of the 
prophets go out there and do your best to heat up some pottage and 
eat it".  

The question wasn't "where shall we find food?". Symbolically 
speaking, the food was in the great pot. It is a great pot in the 
sense that there is plenty of food to suffice for ALL HONEST HEARTS 
even in the midst of the worst famine.  It's no wonder that he 
specified the "great" pot.  It would have been different if he had 
said "go out there and get the pot and seethe some pottage." I praise 
God that the "pot" from which He feeds HIS CHILDREN TODAY is STILL a 
GREAT POT!!!

We stressed in the beginning of this chapter on the "great pot" that 
(as verse 38 of our text says) Elisha "came AGAIN to Gilgal". This is 
very important for us to notice in order to understand the TIME 
PERIOD when this "type" takes place in REAL LIFE. Rather than cover 
this thought in detail, we will just outline it for now:
(a) When Elijah was in GILGAL the first time, he was there with 
ELIJAH (2 Kings 2:1).

(b) When Elijah "went away", Elisha received TWO-FOLD of the 
spiritual power that Elijah had manifest (2 Kings 2:9 and note the 
works of Elisha).

(c) Jesus (spiritual Elijah) did many wonderful works, but told his 
TRUE DISCIPLES that they (HIS SPIRITUAL "BODY" or ELISHA) would do 
"GREATER WORKS" because he was going away (John 14:12).

(d) The first time spiritual Elisha was in Gilgal (i.e. "the wheel" 
or the "circle" of fellowship in the WORD OF GOD) it was with 
spiritual Elijah present. 

(e) The SECOND time that Elisha comes into GILGAL (or true spiritual 
fellowship in the TRUE WORD OF GOD presented as a means of such a 
"circle" or fellowship), THE GREAT POT HAS TO BE HEALED AND FAMINE IS 
PREVAILING. 

(f) In these last days, we live in a time when the "GREAT POT" has 
been POISONED. Only the true "Elisha" ("body of Christ") has the 
answer and the remedy for the disaster that would otherwise prevail 
over "the sons of the prophets" today. 

(g) Meal is an ingredient for TRUE BREAD, and in this case, the TRUE 
INGREDIENT of GOD'S word will heal the pot IF "ELISHA" CASTS IT INTO 
THE "GREAT POT"!!! 

(h) Many people do not understand WHY the Lord is having to get his 
people to feed on TRUTH and thereby overcome the effects of the 
"POISON" that has been eaten from the pot in the past. God is today 
bringing us to the place where the work has been done so there is "no 
harm in the pot". GOD IS ATTEMPTING TO SAVE OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES BY 
PURGING THE "POISON" FROM THE "GREAT POT". 

(i) The ones who have poisoned the pot are those who have "gathered" 
from the "WILD VINE". MANY WELL MEANING PEOPLE AND PREACHERS HAVE 
ADDED POISON TO THE POT BECAUSE THEY GATHERED THEIR DOCTRINES AND 
TEACHINGS from the wrong source. Please NOTE:

     (1) The one who added the poison in our text did so ignorantly.

     (2) The one who added the poison was WORKING HARD TO SERVE. 

     (3) The one who added the poison was ATTEMPTING TO FEED those 
     who symbolize the people of God in this text.

Many people today think they are serving God just because they are 
busy attempting to get "food" to feed His children. This "type" 
should help us to see this is not always true. 

It was a time of famine, and yet right in the midst of this famine 
this one person at least would have had the impression that there was 
plenty of food around.  Why?  Because he went out to gather food and 
he found a whole lap full.  Today the appearances in the religious 
world are the same (Jesus tells us in Matthew 13 that the field is 
the world).  
One of the details of this "type" that may confuse the reader has to 
do with the "wild vine" and its fruit which in our Bible is called 
"gourds". The Hebrew word translated "gourds" means to "burst". The 
implication of the term is that it is some kind of fruit which 
"bursts" forth with "juice" from within. 

We studied in an earlier chapter about the "vine of the earth" in 
Revelation 14:18-20 (see; we have made the circle {GILGAL} again and 
are back in Revelation), and we found that those "grapes" were 
bursting forth with "blood" up to the "horse bridles". This "vine" is 
quite DIFFERENT than the one we see in John 15. Jesus said, "I am the 
vine and ye are the branches".   

In the "vine of the earth", the Bible shows us a picture of false 
religion that is "earthly" or of the FLESH. Instead of being the true 
vine that comes down from heaven and is sustained and nourished from 
above, we find that this vine grows up from beneath. It is trying to 
produce the same FRUIT that the true heavenly vine produces, but it's 
origin is different.  That means we should expect FALSE professors 
to be very good counterfeits of true "Christian" people. The "vine of 
the earth" (the "field") is trying to produce something that appears 
to be the same kind of fruit as that which grows on the vine of 
heaven.  

If we are TRUE BRANCHES IN THE TRUE VINE, we will produce TWO 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF "FRUIT".  One is actually the fruit of the Spirit 
of God.  Another "fruit" that the Lord wants each one of us to 
produce are the "grapes" that grow on vines.  Those grapes are 
representative of the word of God.  The Bible gives many typical 
pictures of grape juice as a perfect symbol of God's word. In fact 
the Bible speaks of TWO BASIC TYPES OF "WINE":

     (1) Pure unfermented "GRAPE JUICE" which is taught to be GOOD in 
the Bible and which Jesus produced from water  (Isaiah 65:8, 1 
Timothy 5:23, John 2, etc.). This is the "wine" that symbolizes the 
TRUE "word of God" (i.e. Isaiah 55).

     (2) FERMENTED alcoholic "wine" which is FORBIDDEN (Proverbs 
23:29-33, Ephesians 5:18, etc.). This is the "wine" that makes people 
"drunk" and symbolizes the CORRUPTED  or "poisoned" WORD OF GOD. This 
is the kind that makes false professors of "christianity" DRUNK 
(Revelation 17:2).

Friend, those "GRAPES" of the "vine of the earth" NEED to be put 
under the wrath of God.  Time and time again we speak out against 
false teachings about the Bible.  People ask why do we preach so 
much against false doctrines?  The reason why is that we are living in 
the time of the "wine press".  One of our main duties today is to put 
the "squeeze" on these grapes from the vine of the earth. 

So what the man in 2 Kings 4 was gathering "looked" like food.  There 
seemed to be plenty of it even in the midst of famine.  We find that 
the man himself did not know there was anything wrong with it.  
It says in the last part of the 39th verse, "...for they knew them 
not."  He's saying they didn't know these wild fruits were poison.  
They didn't realize the harm that could be done by them.  Do you 
realize that's the same condition we have in professing 
"christianity" today?  I'm not just talking about LOST people out in 
the false religious world. That's the same thing we have to deal with 
right amongst the sons of the prophets.  Where did he go to gather 
these wild vines?  He went out in the "field"; out into the "world" 
in "type".  

We would like to point to the "type" and show you that nobody died.  
Friend, we're going to have to face facts that the body of Christ as 
a whole has in times past been affected by a "pot" in which honest 
people desiring to serve the Lord have gathered some fruit from the 
"vine of the earth" or "wild vine". We can praise the Lord that we 
live in the day when he is casting in the "meal" of TRUTH and is 
healing the "GREAT POT". No HONEST HEART has to die spiritually 
today.

Back in the first century church they had a "body of Christ manifest.  
Paul came along and was pouring in true meal.  They'd started out 
with a great pot, but the disciples began to bring in some of the 
creeds and doctrines of the traditions of men. It was actually fruit 
of the "wild vine", but they didn't know it. Study Acts 15 and 
Galatians 2 noticing the problems they had.  There was quite a 
turmoil going on between Paul and the apostles. This was because the 
other apostles were still bound with the literal and ceremonial 
teaching  of the law, and the apostle Paul understood that the law of 
God was a ceremonial symbolic picture of SPIRITUAL things for the New 
Testament age.    

I have known people to get very upset when the pastor has to get up 
before the congregation and apologize for teaching something wrong. 
The pastor is only trying to add "meal" to the "great pot", but some 
people think that just because someone has added some fruit from the 
"wild vine" in the past, and it took the pastor awhile to discover 
it, that the pastor is false. The real fact is that ANY TRUE PASTOR 
TODAY is going to have to straighten out some of their teachings in 
order to get rid of the poison in the "great pot" of today. 

I know of people who have left the "body of Christ" for such reasons  
and have gone and sat in the "field" to eat poison (almost 100 percent 
poison in many cases).  Friend, if you eat poison you are going to 
have a poison attitude.  If you eat poison you're going to have a 
poison mind (spiritually speaking),  and you'll stand against anything 
that isn't poison.  YOU WILL EVEN STAND AGAINST GOD AND HIS TRUTH. 

It is possible that the man who mixed in the fruit of the "wild vine" 
was entirely innocent of any WILFUL transgression, but there was 
death in the pot just the same. People today will many times claim to 
be sinlessly perfect, even though they find that they have TAUGHT 
WRONG DOCTRINES. 1 John 5:17 says "all unrighteousness is sin". Since 
"unrighteousness" is NOT-RIGHT-NESS, do you suppose that IGNORANTLY 
adding "death" to the pot could be SIN? Could it be what the BIBLE 
calls a "sin of ignorance"?

Let's look in Matthew 13:33 "Another parable spake he unto 
them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, 
and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."  

We've shown you before that meal is a true ingredient of true bread.  
Meal is a good ingredient.  In 2 Kings 4 Elisha took meal and put it 
in the pot to neutralize the effects of the poison. Matthew 13:33 
shows us that this "woman" (which is symbolic of MYSTERY BABYLON that 
is pictured in Revelation 17) took and mixed "leaven" into the TRUE 
"meal" of the word of God. I have heard preachers teach on this 
parable in Matthew and say the LEAVEN was the GOSPEL. Let's check and 
see what the Bible has to say about leaven.   

Matthew 16:
 16:11  How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it]
not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
 16:12  Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware
of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees.

1 Corinthians 5:
 5:6  Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new
lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is
sacrificed for us:
 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.

If we look collectively at these texts, we can easily see that LEAVEN 
is used to symbolize false doctrine and evil living. TRUTH (PAUL 
SAID) IS "UNLEAVENED BREAD". When we add to this picture the teaching 
of the Old Testament ceremonial "types", we can learn (ie. in Exodus 
12:15, etc.) that UNLEAVENED BREAD SYMBOLIZES THE TRUTH WITHOUT THE 
CORRUPTION OF FALSE DOCTRINES ADDED (THAT MAKES THE BREAD LIGHT AND 
FLUFFY BUT WITHOUT REAL SUBSTANCE).

SO IN MATTHEW 13 "MYSTERY BABYLON" IS PICTURED (IN THE RIGHT 
AGE...THE FOURTH PERIOD OF THE SPIRITUAL "KINGDOM" WHICH IS THE 
FOURTH  SEAL PERIOD) AS SHE LEAVENS WHAT LITTLE TRUE "MEAL" ("three 
measures") IS LEFT FROM THE 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD SEAL AGES. SHE CORRUPTS 
WHAT LITTLE TRUE INGREDIENTS THAT ARE LEFT AND PUTS "DEATH IN THE 
POT" and Protestantism results from all of the "leaven".

Matthew 13:
 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of
heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in
three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

False religion has mixed in leaven to the degree that even what they 
had that was truth is no longer truth at all.  Some items that false 
religion teaches are true, but the principle of truth isn't there.  
So the false teachings that are taught along with the TRUE THINGS 
"leaven" the entirety of the doctrine and that corrupts the whole 
teaching.  Every great pot (and there is one in every congregation of 
God's true people), has a servant of Elisha (ie. a servant of Christ) 
that has been commissioned to put the pot on, seethe it, and serve 
pottage to the sons of the prophets. So every true congregation has a 
pot to seethe and a servant to seethe it, but every single pot has 
been poisoned from the "leaven" of the doctrines and traditions of 
men which have been ADDED in the past.  

There's not a single congregation in existence in the world today 
that hasn't had some poison in the pot.  God has protected those who 
have eaten out of the pot in the past, but now the time has come that 
He is bringing forth His light. If we go on eating today WITHOUT 
mixing in the meal we will be poisoned.   

If you notice our text in 2 Kings 4, the men did not notice the 
"POISON" BEFORE they ate, but rather noticed it AFTER they began 
eating. Yet there was not one of them who died. What would have 
happened if instead of mixing in the meal like Elisha told them 
to do, they would have said "we just finished eating it and it didn't 
kill us so we're not going to change it.  We're just going to 
keep eating it like it is".  They would have died if they did that.  
Many people today react in that same manner when they are shown that 
the religious organization that they are a part of has "POISON" or in 
other words, FALSE DOCTRINE in the POT. We are living in a day when 
the Lord has exposed the poison and given the "meal" to neutralize 
it, but most preachers and most churches do not care to bother.  THEY 
SEEM TO THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE SURVIVED THE "POISON" SO 
FAR THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. MANY WILL NO EVEN ADMIT THERE 
IS POISON IN THEIR "POT". 

You won't find any true child of God that has been spiritually 
destroyed by having been taught something wrong in the past, as long 
as they walk in the light when it comes forth. God protects us 
until the time when we are given light on a particular subject.  

Think of what could have happened in this particular story.  Let's 
say the servant who was told to put on the pot had gone out and 
gathered the the "wild vine" fruit, brought it in, and put it in the 
pot. Let's say that he then began eating, found it to be poison, and  
Elisha told him that he had to add more meal to the pot. What if the 
servant had an attitude that he couldn't do that because people 
might think he was a bad cook. He might fear for his reputation too 
much to be willing to humble himself and do what was necessary to 
correct for his ignorance. That is just like SO MANY PEOPLE TODAY. 
They won't admit they have been wrong, but go right on preaching the 
"traditions of men". I HAVE HAD PASTORS TELL ME THAT THEY COULD SEE 
THAT WHAT WE WERE SHOWING THEM WAS TRUE, BUT THAT THEY COULD NOT 
CHANGE THEIR TEACHINGS FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR JOBS. SAD, SO SAD!!!

The meal was added because the sons of the prophets came to the 
realization that there was something in the pot that shouldn't be 
there.  The effects of the poisoning brought it to Elisha's 
attention.  Elisha told them it would be alright; just add some meal.  
But they had to wait until it was brought to light that there was 
something wrong in the pot before any changes could be made.  

Some people say that it is not important what you teach just as long 
as you are sincere.  This man was seemingly very sincere when he went 
to gather the wild herbs.  He went out into the field as sincerely as 
anybody could.  He began to search and gather herbs as sincerely as 
anybody has ever gathered herbs.  He gathered a lap full of fruit as 
sincerely as anybody has ever gathered a lap full of fruit.  He was a 
hard worker, and sincere in all that he was doing.  He was going to 
eat out of the same pot.  He was one of the sons of the prophets.  He 
wasn't someone wanting to kill them off. He was fixing something that 
he himself was going to be partaking of.  He was sincere in it, but 
sincerity is not enough.  He was sincerely wrong.  

The thing that is so wonderful is the fact that true sons of the 
prophets (genuine sons, not those that just profess to be) are never 
able to be deceived for very long. They tasted the poison before it 
killed them.  Very likely there could have been people there who 
when they found out there was death in the pot, got scared.  They may 
have stopped eating, and sat there in their seat. In "type" it would 
be like someone being told by their pastor that he had been shown by 
the Lord that some of the "spiritual food" that he was feeding was in 
error (i.e. poison). 

Elisha came walking in and they asked him what they should do. He 
said to just add more meal; SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING just put more TRUTH 
in the "great pot" so it will neutralize the effects of the "poison" 
from the wrong teachings of the past.  Then there could be one 
person saying, "there has been poison in the pot in the past, so how 
do we know that adding more meal will do the job"?  Such a person 
will probably decide they aren't going to take any chances and they 
will leave.  If there were such a person back in Elisha's day, he 
would have left and probably died of starvation. The only place 
around where there was any food was in the great pot.  

Many times when a person worries about their spiritual food, it is a 
lack of faith.  It you have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, our 
Elisha, then you have faith to believe that as long as your heart 
cries out for that which is genuine, he's not going to feed you 
"serpents in place of bread".  He's not going to feed you a stone, or 
something that is not edifying.  If we begin to feel something is 
wrong with the SPIRITUAL FOOD that God has provided and we are in a 
TRUE body of Christ, then we need to realize that any fears we 
have about our spiritual food SHOWS a lack of faith in our 
"Elisha".  That is the same as saying that we don't believe that 
He can take care of us.  

Today, someone might find an ingredient (doctrine) that in past 
years was added in, but was wrong. Yet the Lord brings it to our 
attention and helps us to pour in fresh meal (TRUTH).  Friend, we 
have to face facts; the "light" of yesterday is not the "light" of 
today. Many times Christians today may not realize so many 
traditions and creeds of men have been mixed into the pot.  They 
may believe those teachings are part of the ingredients of the 
pottage.  

How do you know you've found the "great pot"? There are actually 
TWO main things that will help us here. 

(1) If we are "feeding" spiritually from the "GREAT POT" the 
preacher will have been mixing in the "MEAL" of TRUTH and showing 
where HIS and OUR past beliefs have been wrong. He will make right 
any teaching that is wrong as God brings NEW UNDERSTANDING of the 
"LIGHT" for today. Fresh "meal" has a neutralizing effect on any 
"poison" doctrines of men taught to us (that we have "eaten" 
spiritually) in the past.

(2)  This has to do with your faith.  You can't say that the 
Lord led you to a true spiritual "body of Christ", but yet you are 
not sure about the teachings.  That is like saying that you know 
the Lord led you, but He might want to poison you.  That is not 
showing much faith.  There was not one single person hurt or 
damaged from feeding on this "pot" because ELISHA was there.  

You won't find the question of "taste" found in this entire type.  
There wasn't one place where Elisha stood up and asked if 
everyone liked the taste.  He just told them there was famine out 
there and they could either eat out of this pot or go out and 
starve.  That is the same situation we have today.  The Lord will 
protect the "pot" today, and it is a great enough "pot" that it 
contains plenty for everyone.  We will never go without sufficient 
spiritual food as long as we have a willingness to eat out of the 
GREAT POT.  

When we eat our physical food, we don't look at it and say, "this 
might be poison so I better not try it". Instead we have prayer 
and thank the Lord for the food, commit our keeping unto Him as we 
partake of it, and then we dig in and eat!  

When you go to the services to eat spiritual food you need to 
take the time to do the same thing spiritually.  Pray and commit 
your keeping unto the Lord, give Him thanksgiving, and ask Him 
to take care of you through the message.  To do anything else 
would be to lack in faith. If you are certain that the Lord is 
providing "MEAL" for the pot where you go to church (ie. that the 
teachings are gradually being "unpoisoned" and "neutralized" as 
your pastor is given greater "light" by God) then you need to DIG 
IN AND "EAT".  We need to trust that the Lord will provide for us 
spiritually. We can't be skeptical and think that maybe He will 
allow poison to remain in the "pot".  

Look in the literal and physical realm.  A man doesn't say a 
prayer for food he's about to eat, then not eat any because it 
might be poisoned or contaminated.  (How would the wife feel?)   

The-husband-has-to-have-the-faith-that-his-wife-is-cooking-for-his-
benefit, and not to get rid of him. IT WOULD BE A MISERABLE LIFE 
IF A PERSON HAD TO CONSTANTLY GUARD AGAINST BEING POISONED BY 
THOSE WHOM THEY LOVE AND WHO LOVE THEM.  

We have to have faith that if we are saved the Lord wants us 
strengthened and not killed.  Friend, if you have that much faith 
then you could have the same experience that the "sons of the 
prophets" had.  They ate from a pot that had been POISONED, but 
with no harmful effects. IF WE LISTEN TO THE LORD HE WILL SPARE US 
FROM THE "DEATH IN THE POT". 

Before we end this chapter I would like to give some examples of 
why we have been stressing that the Bible MUST be spiritually 
interpreted before it becomes the word of God. If one LITERALIZES 
the scriptures, they are FULL of contradictions.

It is our sincere prayer that the reader will study the following 
in the light of what we are presenting these things to show and 
not for the purpose of pulling out of this context in order to try 
to TEAR DOWN the Bible. There are many contradictions in the Bible 
if one does not know how to "rightly divide" it. The "types" or 
symbolic spiritual pictures are the ONLY means that one has to 
TRULY determine the real meanings of the many various passages 
which seem to be an endless maze of contradictions. The following 
should give the reader at least a brief picture of WHY WE NEED TO 
UNDERSTAND THE TYPES IN ORDER TO PROPERLY INTERPRET THE BIBLE. 
THESE ARE ONLY A VERY FEW OF THE MANY THOUSANDS OF SEEMING 
CONTRADICTIONS.
                              COMPARE: 

(1) Acts 9:7  The men with Paul heard the voice speaking.
    Acts 22:9         The men with Paul did not hear the voice. 

(2) John 15:15 Jesus told his disciples all that God showed him.
    John 16:12    Jesus had many things to tell them but could not.

(3) 2 Samuel 24:1      God caused David to number Israel.
    1 Chronicles 21:1       Satan caused David to number Israel.

(4) Matthew 19:26         "With God all things are possible". 
    Judges 1:19   The Lord could not drive out the iron chariots.   

(5) Numbers 22:20     God gave Balaam permission to go.
    Numbers 22:21-22       God was angry because Balaam went.

(6) Genesis 32:30   Jacob said "I have seen God face to face".
    Exodus 24:9-10  Seventy-four men "saw the God of Israel".
    Exodus 33:11    The Lord spake to Moses "face to face". 
    Isaiah 6:1      Isaiah saw the LORD.
    Exodus 33:20           No man can see God's face and live. 
    John 1:18              "No man hath seen God at any time".
    1 Timothy 6:16         "Whom no man hath seen nor can see".

(7) John 3:16   "For God so loved the world..."
    Psalms 5:5      God HATES ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY.
    Romans 9:11-13  God hated Esau before he had done any evil.

(8) Deuteronomy 32:4 and Psalms 5:4  God does no evil.
    Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6         God creates evil.
    Lamentations 3:38     Out of God's mouth comes good and evil.

(9) Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 29:20  God is a JEALOUS God. 
    Proverbs 27:4 and Song of Solomon 8:6  Jealousy is EVIL.

(10) Exodus 2:25    God had respect unto the children of Israel.
     2 Kings 13:23  God had respect unto the children of Israel.
     Psalms 138:6   God has respect unto the "lowly" (humble).
     Genesis 4:4-5  God had respect unto Abel and to his offering.
     2 Chronicles 19:7, Romans 2:11, 1 Peter 1:17  NO RESPECT.....
(11) Matthew 4:7   "Thou shalt not TEMPT the Lord thy God".
     Deuteronomy 6:16  Israel TEMPTED the Lord their God.
     Acts 15:10        "Why TEMPT ye God"?
     Malachi 3:15      "They that TEMPT God are even delivered".
     James 1:13        God cannot be tempted.

(12) Genesis 9:22-25 God cursed Ham's children for Ham's sin.
     Exodus 20:5     Iniquity of fathers on future generations.
     Joshua 7:24-26  Achan's family also punished with death.
     Deuteronomy 24:16  Others not to die with the guilty party.
     Ezekiel 18:4 & 20  Children not to die for father's sins, etc.
     Romans 2:5-6       Every person judged for their OWN deeds.

(13) Exodus 9:12       God hardened Pharoah's heart.
     Exodus 10:1       God said He hardened Pharoah's heart.
     Exodus 11:10      "the Lord hardened Pharoah's heart".
     Deuteronomy 2:30  God hardened Sihon's heart.
     Joshua 11:20      "It was of the Lord to harden their hearts".
     John 12:40        God blinded their eyes and hardened hearts.
     Romans 9:18       God hardens whom He wills.
     Hebrews 3:8           Man hardens his own heart.
     Proverbs 28:14        Man hardeneth his own heart.
     Exodus 8:15 and 32,   Exodus 9:34  Pharoah hardened his heart.
     2 Chronicles 36:13    Man hardens his own heart. 

(14) Exodus 15:3       "The Lord is a man of war".
     Romans 15:33  "Now the God of peace be with you all".

(15) Deuter. 7:16    God told Israel to "consume" all the enemies.
     1 Samuel 6:19   God killed 50,070 men for looking in ark.
     1 Samuel 15:2-3 God said to kill man, woman, babies, etc.
     Jeremiah 13:14  God said He would not have mercy, but destroy.
     Hebrews 12:29   "Our God is a consuming fire".
     1 Chronicles 16:34     The Lord's "mercy endureth forever".
     Psalms 145:9           "The Lord is good to all...mercies..".
     James 5:11             "The Lord is .....OF TENDER MERCY".
     
(16) 1 Timothy 6:16   God dwells in the LIGHT.
     1 Kings 8:12 and  Psalms 97:2  God dwells in DARKNESS.

(17) Numbers 4:3   Levites must be 30 years old to serve.
     1 Chronicles 23:24   Levites served from 20 years old.

(18) Mark 15:25   Jesus crucified at the THIRD hour.
     John 19:14-18    Jesus crucifixion began at the SIXTH hour.

(19) 2 Kings 8:26  Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign.
     2 Chronicles 22:2  Ahaziah was 42 years old when reign began.

(20) 2 Samuel 24:24 David paid 50 shekels of silver to Ornan.
     1 Chronicles 21:25  David paid 600 shekels of gold to Ornan.

(21) Numbers 35:4  Levitical cities to extend 1000 cubits.
     Numbers 35:5      Levitical cities extended 2000 cubits.

(22) Mark 1:16-29  Peter and Andrew's home was in Capernaum.
     John 1:44         Peter and Andrew's home was in Bethsaida.

(23) 2 Kings 23:30   Josiah DIED at Meggido.
     2 Chronicles 35:24    Josiah DIED at Jerusalem.

(24) Joshua 11:16-23  Joshua conquered "the whole land" of Canaan.
     Joshua 13:1-6 and Judges 2:23 Joshua left much unconquered.

(25) Matthew 28:19  The word of God to be preached to ALL nations.
     Acts 16:6   The Holy Ghost forbade them to preach in ASIA.

(26) Matthew 5:1-  The sermon on the mount preached on a mountain.
     Luke 6:17-       The sermon on the mount preached on a plain.

(27) Numbers 14:25   The Amalekites and Canaanites dwelt in valley.
     Numbers 14:43-45  The Amalekites and Canaanites dwelt on hill.

(28) 1 Chronicles 10:6  Saul and "all his house" died.
     2 Samuel 1-2:8-10     One of Saul's sons later became king.

(29) 1 Samuel 16:21-23  David was Saul's armorbearer and musician.
     1 Samuel 17:55-58  Later, Saul does not know David.

(30) 2 Samuel 5:14-16  David had eleven children in Jerusalem.
     1 Chronicles 14:4-7  David had thirteen children born there.
     1 Chronicles 3:5-8       Thirteen children, different names.

As we have shown so far in this book, God PURPOSELY has caused the 
Bible to be put together in such a way as to reveal SPIRITUAL 
truth to HIS TRUE PEOPLE, while causing others to be deceived. 
PRAISE GOD there is a cure for the "death in the pot", and we also 
praise HIM that He is providing an abundance of "meal" in these 
last days.