Matthew 26:30-35is about THE WARNING TO PETER.
Peter, a great senior apostle, still needed to be warned by Jesus because he would deny Him. None could predict that Peter could deny Jesus only in a moment. Therefore, all of us need to be warned always by God.
Matthew 26:31-32, 34
26:31. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
26:32 "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."
26:34 Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
Jesus warned Peter with prophetic Word.
The prophetic Word is as follows:
26:33 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."
26:35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.
Peter rejected the prophetic Word because he did not want to be sanctified and renewed, he kept his sin and mistake.
Peter should have realized his weakness and not felt strong by himself.
The prophetic Word is stronger and knows all things more than we.
It is better to humble ourselves now before the Word!
Peter did not want to be sanctified but kept his carnal man until he denied Jesus.
Consequently, one who denies Jesus will be denied before God, meaning forever perdition as destroyed mortar pot. It is as the condition of Judas Iscariot.
Nevertheless, Peter still got the help because he was shepherded and he got the intercession prayer.
II Peter 3:3-6
3:3. knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
Be alert!
In the last days there will be many sons of God who mock or reject the prophetic Word, so they live in the flesh lust; they keep the carnal man.
Because of rejecting the Word of God, the world in the last days will return to the condition in the days of Noah and Lot.
Luke 17:26-30
17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
17:27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
17:28 "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
17:29 "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
17:30 "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Other people mocked Noah and Lot who were righteous and followed the prophetic Word.
The people lived in flesh lust as follows:
The world was judged with flood in the days of Noah.
Sodom and Gomorrah were judged with the rain of fire and brimstone.
II Peter 3:10
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
The judgment in the form of fire and brimstone rain will also come to the world in the last days. The world and its contents will perish because of the greater judgment caused by the sins which peak. Afterward, there will be eternal fire judgment in hell.
There are three things we must heedin order not to get the judgment as in the days of Lot as follows:
Peter, a great senior apostle, still needed to be warned by Jesus because he would deny Him. None could predict that Peter could deny Jesus only in a moment. Therefore, all of us need to be warned always by God.
Matthew 26:31-32, 34
26:31. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
26:32 "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."
26:34 Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
Jesus warned Peter with prophetic Word.
The prophetic Word is as follows:
- The Word revealing all things that will happenin the last days, especially about these two things;
- Jesus' second coming in glory as Heavenly Bridegroom and King of kings.
- God's judgment to the world up to the eternal one in hell.
- Jesus' second coming in glory as Heavenly Bridegroom and King of kings.
- The Word showing us the hidden sins.
The more the Word works in our life, the more we see our sins and the sanctification increases.
In such condition, the church is sanctified and renewed to become perfect as Heavenly Bride who is worthy to welcome Jesus' second coming.
It equals to the Word that sanctifies us, the Word which is sharper than any two-edged sword.
26:33 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."
26:35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.
Peter rejected the prophetic Word because he did not want to be sanctified and renewed, he kept his sin and mistake.
Peter should have realized his weakness and not felt strong by himself.
The prophetic Word is stronger and knows all things more than we.
It is better to humble ourselves now before the Word!
Peter did not want to be sanctified but kept his carnal man until he denied Jesus.
Consequently, one who denies Jesus will be denied before God, meaning forever perdition as destroyed mortar pot. It is as the condition of Judas Iscariot.
Nevertheless, Peter still got the help because he was shepherded and he got the intercession prayer.
II Peter 3:3-6
3:3. knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
Be alert!
In the last days there will be many sons of God who mock or reject the prophetic Word, so they live in the flesh lust; they keep the carnal man.
Because of rejecting the Word of God, the world in the last days will return to the condition in the days of Noah and Lot.
Luke 17:26-30
17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
17:27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
17:28 "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
17:29 "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
17:30 "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Other people mocked Noah and Lot who were righteous and followed the prophetic Word.
The people lived in flesh lust as follows:
- The sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage. It means they are conquered by Satan or the dragon in the air.
- Buying-selling, meaning they are conquered by antichrist, so they cannot develop the talent.
The practice is as follows:- Being unfaithful even leaving the service and ministry to the Lord.
- Serving and ministering God only to seek physical advantage.
- Being unfaithful even leaving the service and ministry to the Lord.
- Planting and building or being conquered by false prophet. The false field and false building continue in the building of Babel or the bride of Satan.
The sign is rejection to the stirring up done by God to make us active in the building of Christ's body.
The world was judged with flood in the days of Noah.
Sodom and Gomorrah were judged with the rain of fire and brimstone.
II Peter 3:10
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
The judgment in the form of fire and brimstone rain will also come to the world in the last days. The world and its contents will perish because of the greater judgment caused by the sins which peak. Afterward, there will be eternal fire judgment in hell.
There are three things we must heedin order not to get the judgment as in the days of Lot as follows:
- We have to keep being on the housetop.
Luke 17:31a
17:31a "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.
Housetop refers to cool place.
It spiritually means we have to have peace always, namely BEING SILENT and BEING QUIET.- Being silentmeans we check or correct ourselves through the prophetic Wordor the true teaching Word.
Finding a mistake or sin, we have to seriously confess it to God and other people. Being forgiven, we should not do the sin anymore. It means we repent.
Do not reject the Word! Do not force the Word suit for our flesh desire!
On the contrary, we have to make ourselves suit for the Word or obey it!
Being silent also means we forgive the sins of other people who have confessed it seriously and we forget it.
Thus, being silent means repenting or finishing the sins as Jesus has said "It is finished". - Being quietmeans controlling ourselves, so we do not doubt, worry, fear, or hope in other people but God only.
I Peter 4:7
4:7. But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Being quiet means we can pray.
In shorts, being silent and quiet meanswe repent and pray.
Only repenting without praying, one will perish.
Only praying without repenting, the prayer will not be answered by God.
If we are silent and quiet, the power of God will come upon us to work for us in finishing all matters.
The results are as follows:- The Lord is able to make all wind and waves hitting the boat of our private life, or marriage, or service and ministry calm. Moreover, other people around us who are shaken can be helped. We can reach the harbor of peace, namely eternal heavenly kingdom.
As it has happened in the days of Lot, there will be many shakings in the last days, beginning from the household. - All problems are solved by God in time of need, even the impossible ones.
On the contrary, if we are not on the housetop, we will be in Sodom and Gomorrah. - Being silentmeans we check or correct ourselves through the prophetic Wordor the true teaching Word.
- We have to keep being in the field.
Luke 17:31b
17:31b And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.
Field refers to ministry.
It spiritually means that we have to keep being in our service and ministry to the Lord.
All of us are not worthy of ministering God, but it does not means that we may leave our ministry.
The solution is we have to throw away all sins and mistakes and we keep on ministering in the field of God.
We will be in the field of swine or Sodom and Gomorrah if we are outside the field of God.
The field also refers to a place to sow.
It spiritually means we have to keep being in the sowing of the seed of the true teaching Word.
Let us heed the seed! There must be only one seed of the true teaching Word.
Leviticus 19:19
19:19. ' You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
Thus, the true ministry begins from the sowing of the seed of the true teaching Word.
The true teaching Word is as a command. All ministries will be false if the command is false.
For example, Mary and Martha.
Mary started her ministry with sitting at Jesus' feet and hearing His Word.
Jesus said that she has chosen the best thing whereas the ministry of Martha was rejected because of the ambience of Sodom and Gomorrah and forever perdition.
Luke 10:39-42
10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.
10:40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
10:41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
10:42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Without the true teaching Word, Martha, referring to women, wanted to be head whereas God places a woman as a helper.
I Peter 1:22
1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Mary sat at Jesus' feet and kept on listening to His Word. It means hearing the true teaching Word and OBEYING it.
If we are obedient, we must be sanctifiedand we have the LOVE OF GOD.
Thus, we can minister God with obedience whatever risk we have to face, with holiness and the love of God as well as with faithfulness and fervency in spirit.
We can minister God with sincerity, without any pride or feeling so great in our own eyes.
The obedience to the Word indeed hurts our flesh, but we can have the sanctification and the love of God.
As a result, we have chosen the best eternal thing none may take away from us. - Do not look back behind us!
Luke 17:32
17:32 "Remember Lot's wife.
Genesis 19:26
19:26. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Why did Lot's wife look back behind her? Because of being bound by Sodom and Gomorrah.
The farther we walk to follow Jesus with keeping any bond, we will look back behind us at any point and we will perish. It means we fail at the end and all things are useless.
The spiritual meaning of the binding of Sodom and Gomorrah is as follows:- The binding of riches making human stingy and greedy.
Being stingy means one cannot give.
Being greedy means one seizes the possession of other people, of the country or of God.
The proof that we are delivered from the binding of Sodom and Gomorrah is we can say "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
We have to give or sacrifice all things for the work of God, except one thing, namely the true teaching Word! - The binding of the sins concerning eating-drinking such as smoking, being drunk, gambling, drugs abuse, et cetera, and the sins concerning marrying-being given in marriage such as sexual sins and false marriage.
Do not keep sin with any reason!
The Lord is stronger than we, and He is able to help us. - Disobedience spirit.
Why is one disobedient?- Because there is curiosity to the things God has forbidden or the things that is not in line with the Word.
- Because of feeling nothing about the things God/the Word has forbidden.
Remember! If we say "it does not matter," there will be "something."
- Because there is curiosity to the things God has forbidden or the things that is not in line with the Word.
- The binding of riches making human stingy and greedy.
- We have to keep righteous in order to help other people who are not righteous.
Do not follow the unrighteous!
Prophetic Word is the true teaching Word sharper than any two-edged sword or the Shepherding Word that is preached repetitiously. It is the only one thing can deliver us from the binding of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Philippians 3:13-14
3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If we can be delivered from the bond, our eyes will only look toward God and we press toward the perfection.
Nevertheless, Paul and Lot confessed that they were not able to reach the perfection right now.
Genesis 19:18-23
19:18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!
19:19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
19:20 "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
19:21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
19:22 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
19:23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
We are not able now to run to the mountain to reach perfection (New Jerusalem or heavenly kingdom).
Therefore, we need Zoar, a little city, referring to the Altar of Burnt Offering or the cross of Jesus which many people often belittle.
The cross of Jesusis the place where we can confess all our sins and mistakes as well as our failures, and the place where we can struggle to fight against sins and problems.
While the rain of fire and brimstone came upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the sun, referring to God's love, had risen upon Zoar.
God shines His love to us through the cross of Jesus.
The function of the sun or the love of God that rises is as follows:- To protect us from Sodom and Gomorrah.
It means as follows:- The love of God is able to preserve and protect us physically in the midst of the world which is full of shakings and impossible matters. It is also able to give us beautiful future life.
- The love of God is able to preserve and protect us spirituallyfrom sins up to the peak of sin, so we can live in righteousness and holiness.
- The love of God is able to preserve and protect us physically in the midst of the world which is full of shakings and impossible matters. It is also able to give us beautiful future life.
- To defeat Jericho.
Joshua 6:15
6:15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
The love of God is able to destroy all threats and hindrances, so we can be employed in the revival of building the perfect body of Christ.
Do not ever doubt the love of God! - To give us victory over our struggling.
Genesis 32:24,28,31
32:24. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
32:28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."
32:31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
The love of God gives us victory over our struggling to fight against fear, struggling for the salvation of our marriage and household, and our struggling to get new name or life renewal.
The name of Jacob, whose meaning is liar, was renewed to become Israel, whose meaning is winner.
The life renewal begins from not lying anymore but we are honest in all matters.
The love of God works to renew us continuously until we really receive our new name and we are worthy to enter the eternal New Jerusalem.
- To protect us from Sodom and Gomorrah.