By Wendell Tenison
Click to Return to Articles Page
Gen 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:.....But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Gen 3:1-4 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?.....And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:.....But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die......And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
The serpent (Satan) is the father of all lies and deception, Jn.8:44.
Gen 3:23-24 "Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken......So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
Ezek 36:34-35 "And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by......And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited."
Now Adam and Eve would pay the consequence for their sin in that Adam will now have to work by the sweat of his brow. Eve's sorrow and conception will be greatly multiplied and her desire shall be unto her husband and he shall rule over her.
There is no doubt that God removed the garden of Eden from where it once stood.
Rom 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
Man will keep the appointment of death, because of Adam's sin.
Job 7:1 "Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?"
Job 14:5 "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;"
Eccl 8:8 "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it."
Now matter how hard the fight to retain the spirit, we cannot win. God knows the hour, day, month and the year and that is final.
Gen 6:5-7 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually......And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart......And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."
It repented God that he had made man and there was no greater force of his wrath displayed than this event.
Gen 7:6-12 "And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth......And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood......Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,.....There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah......And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth......In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened......And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."
Amos 5:8 "Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:"
Notice that God took waters from the sea in addition to the rain to cover the earth.
Gen 7:20 "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered."
Psa 104:6 "Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains."
There is no question about it, the highest mountains were covered.
Gen 9:11-13 "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth......And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:.....I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."
God's covenant with Noah and every living thing that he had saved, would not again destroy the earth with water. This was the final chapter of the flood. God set his rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant.
Gen 11:3-4 "And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar......And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
This is the beginning of nations and tongues. Why they had a fear of being scattered upon the earth, nor how many people existed at that time we do not know.
Gen 11:5-9 "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded......And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do......Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech......So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city......Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."
This is not the first time the phrase "let us" is found in the scripture. This of course, has reference to God Almighty the Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:24-27 "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;.....Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;.....And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;.....That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:"
Here is a confirmation that God did divide the people into nations and tongues. God does not dwell in temples made with men's hands, nor is he worshipped with things made with men's hands.
Gen 19:23-26 Gen 19:23 "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. .....Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;.....And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground......But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."
God meant business then regarding his commandment that they should not look back and he has not changed one bit.
Deu 29:23 "And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:"
Jer 50:40 "As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein."
Hosea 11:8 "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together."
America and other countries are literally playing with fire and brimstone, because of their vile homosexuality. God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap, Gal.6:7.
Exo 12:29-30 "And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle......And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead."
Rom 9:17 "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth."
After God hardened and softened Pharaoh's heart multiple times, he let the people go. However, there was another reason why God did so much carnage, because he would raise up Pharaoh and bring him down in order to magnify his name among the heathen.
Psa 106:9-11 "He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness......And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy......And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left."
Psa 136:13-15 "To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:.....And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:.....But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever."
God left Egypt in shambles, without a king and army.
Num 1:46-47 "Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty......But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them."
Num 14:29 -30 "Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,.....Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."
A rough estimate would be 2,000,500, but not all were destroyed.
Deu 1:37-39 "Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither......But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it......Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it."
God excused their little ones who had no knowledge of good and evil in the day he took them out. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, the maximum age of those who entered was 59 years old.
Psa 78:29-31 "So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;.....They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,.....The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel."
1 Cor 10:7-9 "Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play......Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand......Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents."
This is just a sample of how God disposed of them.
Jonah 1:17 "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
Jonah 3:3 -4 "So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey......And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."
God made a believer out of Jonah, because from where he was it was a three days journey to Nineveh, but he made it in one day.
Mat 12:38-40 "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee......
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:.....For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Not only did God teach Jonah a lesson, but this event provided Jesus with an answer to stop the Jews in their tracks regarding their wanting of a sign. The apostle Paul confirms the Jews insistence for signs by saying, the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, 1 Cor.1:22.
2 Ki 17:23 "Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day."
2 Ki 24:11-16 "And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it......And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign......And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said......And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land......And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon......And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon."
Never again would the kingdoms be a super power.
Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:.....And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."
God's wrath waxed very hot against his people in that he cut off all communications of his word from them until the last two prophets, John the Baptist and Jesus the Son of God.
Amos 8:2 "And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more."
Jer 22:29-30 "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD......Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."
The kingdoms had come to nought and now the Jews were on their own. This is why Jesus' disciples ask him to restore the kingdom to Israel, Acts 1:6.
Luke 10:18 "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
The question is, when did Jesus see Satan cast out, was it was during his lifetime on the earth or before he came?
Rev 12:7-9 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,.....And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven......And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
This was a stunning defeat of Satan and now he is taking out his vengance on the inhabitants of the earth, Rev.12:12.
John 12:31 "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
It would appear by Jesus saying, the prince of this world shall be cast out, it might have happened shortly thereafter.
John 14:30 "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
At least at the time that Satan took Jesus to the high mountain to tempt him, he had no respect for the Son of God.
John 16:11 "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."
For sure after God Almighty gave our Lord all power in heaven and earth, Matt.28:18, he clipped the wings of Satan that he nor his ministers could ever enter into a man as they did during the ministry of Christ to have total control over him.
Acts 5:1-10 "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,.....And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet......But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?.....Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God......And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things......And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him......And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in......And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much......Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out......Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband."
Lying to the Holy Spirit by Ananias and Sapphira that was a warrantable death sentence, is of the same catagory as what Jesus said, in Matt.12:31, whosoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven in this world, nor in the world to come. In either case, both will result in eternal damnation.
Acts 12:21-23 "And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them......And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man......And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost."
Notice that Herod was eaten of worms and then he died. God is a jealous God, because his name is Jealous, Ex.34:14.
Mat 24:1-3 "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple......And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down......And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"
This was the prophecy of Jesus regarding the destruction of Jerusalem approximately 37 years later.
Jer 26:18 "Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest."
Micah 3:12 "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest."
Here is the prophecy from two prophets hundreds of years before the destruction. The first, Micah, second, Jeremiah, repeating what Micah first said. Notice what was said about Jerusalem being plowed as a field and as heaps and the temple as the high place of the forest.
Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 7, chapter 1:
"Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury, (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done,) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency ; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great manificance, and of mighty fame among all mankind."
Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 1, footnotes:
" *This Terentius Rufus, as Reland in part observes here, is the same person whom the Talmundists call Turnus Rufus; of whom they relate, that "he ploughed up Sion as a field, and made Jerusalem become as heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest;" which was long before foretold by the prophets Micah, ch. iii. 12, and quoted from him in the prophecies of Jeremiah, ch. xxvi. 18."
As a result of such complete destruction of the city and temple, all records of linage were burned and destroyed so that none thereafter, could confirm who were priests and who were not. Therefore, by not having a high priest and subsequent priests, the Jews no longer could have the Law of Moses as their rule of faith and practice. What were they to do? The only true option they had was to accept Jesus Christ as the new lawgiver. But, they refused and invented their own thirty volume set of law entiled, Babylonian Talmud.
2 Pet 3:7-13 "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men......But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day......The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance......But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up......Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,.....Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?.....Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Jude 1:14-15 "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,.....To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
No matter how many try to convince us that this earth will be destroyed by nuclear bombs, only by the word of God has he reserved this destruction for himself. For those who believe Jesus will come back to this earth to establish his kingdom, had better put on their asbestos suits, because it will melt with fervent heat.
Dan 12:2 "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
As early as Daniel the prophet, God made known to the Jews that everlasting destruction was to come.
Mat 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Everlasting fire is not designed for man, but the devil and his angels. However, all those ungodly who are the servants of the devil will have their place along side him in everlasting torment.
Mat 13:4-420 "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world......The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;.....And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
In the end of the world, the Son of man will gather out of his kingdom (church) all who offend and do iniquity and cast them into the furnance of fire along with Satan and his crowd. Not everyone who is a member of the Lord's church (kingdom) will enter heaven, because of their unrighteousness.
Mat 3:11-12 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:.....Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
John the Baptist is telling them that some of them (Pharisees) will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits, Acts 23:8, will be baptized with unquenchable fire.
Rev 20:10-15 "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever......And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them......And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works......And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works......And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death......And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
There you have it; not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven, Matt.7:21.
Is God asleep in the twenty first century. Do no bet on it!
© 2011 by Wendell Tenison