(new article tomorrow for certain)
[2] I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
[3] Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
"A fowler is somebody trying to catch birds. Ecclesiastes 9 talks about trying to catch people. Solomon writes, [11] I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
[12] For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
"Satan is going to set traps for Israel in the tribulation period," explains Richard Jordan. "There's that thing in Revelation 13 about worshipping the image. You can't buy, you can't sell unless you do that. Well, that would put you under pressure. He's trying to capture these people. They can run out to the wilderness, the secret place where God will feed them. Satan's trying to trap them not to do that.
"The phrase 'noisome pestilence' is there to make you run over to Revelation 16 for the reference it connects to. Chapter 16 is immediately before the Second Advent. It begins, [1] And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
[2] And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
"Psalm 91: 5-6 says, [5] Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
[6] Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
"When you look at the terror by night, in Scripture you'll find oftentimes people come in and rob people, terrorize them by night. There's a terrorism happening and it's under the cloak of darkness. Men love darkness.
"Then he says the arrows that flieth by day. That's open warfare, a missile. They have all this persecution coming in trying to rob them and attack them. There are people chasing them constantly trying to destroy them.
"The pandemic that comes in that day will be a terror against 'the little flock' and it will be a pestilence sent out under the cover of darkness. There will be missiles shot at them, there will be open warfare and private warfare.
"Verse 7 says, '[7] A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.' That tells you we're talking about open warfare. It's literal, physical, visible conflict they're dealing with. This is not imaginative stuff. It's real.
"Verse 8 says, [8] Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.' That's the Second Advent. He's saying, 'You guys are going to go through this; you're going to trust the Lord and He's going to deliver you from it into His purpose for the nation. All these things He's going to deliver you from. These specific things you're seeing and experiencing, you're going to see the reward of the wicked who are coming against you. You're going to see Christ destroy these enemies.'
"This is all real stuff, is my point. Verse 9 and following is where the kicker comes: [9] Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
[10] There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
[11] For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
[12] They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
"The evil he's talking about is in verses 3, 5 and 6. The 'all' there has a context. There's a healing program made available to these people where these things do not overcome them.
"Satan quotes this passage in Matthew 4 understanding that it's talking about the protection God the Father's providing for the Messiah. When you read the context it seems to be talking about the believing remnant. It's talking about both because it's Israel, the Believer in Christ, and Him identified with them.
"Jesus trusted His Father, He lived in dependence and commitment and trust in the will of His Father.
"Looking at Matthew 4, Satan adds in verse 6: 'lest at any time.' Satan takes the verse out of its dispensational context and says, 'This verse can apply any time, so let's make it apply right now.'
"There's one commonality in the three temptations Satan used on Christ. Command that these stones be made bread. He's going to do that one day. Revelation 12. Come down. He's going to do that one day. Revelation 19. Possess all the kingdoms of the earth. He's going to do that one day. Revelation 11.
"The problem wasn't that He couldn't do it; the problem was Matthew 4 and Luke 4 wasn't the time for Him to do it. The time for Him to do it is His Second Coming, not the first. So at the basic commonality in the temptations was really Satan is trying to do away with a dispensational understanding of the Scripture in Christ's mind. Satan's challenging Him, 'Well, don't you believe these verses?' "
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