Jerald Finney’s Scripture notes (these are still being added to as Jerald Finney does his continuing Bible studies)
Updated here 1/14/17
We have 3 enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The Gibeonites made a compact, they subtly came, they used subtlety. The serpent was more subtle than any creature. That is always the method of Satan. He never makes a frontal attack. He always comes in the side door, even the back door. The enemy today, Satan, does not attack the word of God. Satan is too clever to make a frontal attack on the word of God. He is attacking the men who believe and teach the word of God. We are not ignorant of his devices. Joshua 7 deals with the method used to defeat the world. Joshua 8, the method to defeat the flesh. (See McGee broadcast, Joshua 7, 8, ). As to Joshua 8, “The central truth here is that spiritual victories over the world is won by means and upon principles utterly foolish and inadequate in the view of human wisdom (1 Co. 1.17-29; 2 Co. 10.3-5); the method used is faith. You cannot fight the world and win. God fought the battle and God got the victory. Joshua took orders from God, through faith (He. 11.30). God has already won the victory over sin and Satan. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 Jn. 5.4).).
The worst enemy that you have is yourself. It is difficult to deal with this enemy because we are reluctant to identify him, to label him as an enemy and because he is inside us. If he would only come out and fight like a man. He is not a coward, but he can fight better from his position within. Not only individuals and nations, but churches also, are wrecked from within, not from forces without (See, e.g., Re. 2.14, 15, 20). Steps in sins of the flesh are: I saw—physical; I coveted—mental; I took—volitional. You don’t use the same tactics to defeat the flesh as you use to defeat the world. You can’t live the Christian life. Only God can live it through you.
The most dangerous people in the church are the super-duper saints. They have overcome the world, but they haven’t overcome the flesh. Some of them have the dirtiest tongues, and some of them do the meanest things. The flesh has a great many people in toe. The victorious life is in him.
In Josh. 7, 8, 9, Joshua is whinning. In 7.10-11, God tells him, “Get thee up: wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? … Israel hath sinned and have….” Whinning does no good. We need to get at the root of the problem. He tells Israel the root of the problem in Josh. 7.11, that sin was in the camp and that Joshua had to deal w/it. They went through all this procedure to ferret out all that was wrong. It is very difficult to find evil in the church. Church members are more blind to evil in their own communion than any place else. They can see it down there in the nightclub, in the liquor store, a thief in politics. But can’t find it in their own church.
What are some sins? Gossip, criticism, envy, and jealousy, etc. They cause strife and trouble. Criticism builds up your ego. It calls attention to yourself. It makes you look better than the person you are criticizing. The sin of the flesh sees, covets, and then takes. … The only way you can keep communication open between you and God are by confessing your sin. See 1 Jn. 1. Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” 1 John 1:5-6 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” … the rest of 1 Jn. 1. (sin not, confess, ….).
If we don’t judge ourselves, God has to step in and judge us. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
In Joshua 9. The Gibeonites were very clever, and they were a bunch of liars.
Remember, Jericho represents the world. How do you overcome the world? By faith. Ai represents the flesh. How do you overcome the flesh? Not by fighting it, but by recognizing your weakness, confessing to God, and letting the Spirit of God get the victory. Remember, God said, “I’m going to give you Ai.” Now, the Gibeonites represent the devil. As the men of Israel should have been beware for the wiles of the Gibeonites, so the believer today should watch for the wiles of the devil. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against ….” (Ep. 6.10-18). Satan is a spiritual enemy. Yet many Christians do not recognize him today. What does he do? He tries to trick you into following him. I am not sure he is interested in making a drunkard or a drug addict out of you. I think he is ashamed of that crowd of his in the bars and in the sinful places of the world. He went to church last Sunday and he will be there next Sunday. He wants to be religious and he wants you to fall down and worship him. He is clever and many Christians are taken in by him. The devil can pull the wool over our eyes. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Unfortunately, you and I are sometimes ignorant of his devices.
Now, how do we overcome this enemy? James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 1st – Submit ourselves to God. We need to stay close to him in this day. Satan is out to deceive us as believers. He works wilily. Dr. McGee says, “Frankly, I am amazed at the stupidity of the saints today. They are taken in by every imaginable ruse. Do you know why religious rackets are flourishing? It is because Christians are supporting them without doing any investigating. We are to have nothing to do with that about which we are not well informed. There is a danger of being linked up with him today, just as the men of Israel in their naiveté became linked with the Gibeonites.
N2 p8 to Gen. 3.1 “Now the serpent was more subtil 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?” (The serpent, in his Edenic form, is not to be thought of as a writhing reptile. That is the effect of the curse Ge 3:14. The creature which lent itself to Satan may well have been the most beautiful as was the most “subtle” of creatures less than man. Traces of that beauty remain despite the curse. Every movement of a serpent is graceful, and many species are beautifully coloured. In the serpent, Satan first appeared as “an angel of light” 2Co 11:14.)
N1 p726 to Isa. 14.12-17. “Verses 12-14 evidently refer to Satan, who, as prince of this world-system (see “World,” Joh 7:7 Cmt. on Re 13:8 is the real unseen ruler of the successive world-powers. Tyre, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, etc. (see Eze 28:12-14 Lucifer, “day-star,” can be none other that Satan. This tremendous passage marks the beginning of sin in the universe. When Lucifer said, “I will,” sin began. Cmt. on Re 20:10. See other instances of addressing Satan through another, Ge 3:15; Mt 16:22-23.
N1 p871 to Ezk. 28.12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” (Here (Eze 28:12-15), as in Isa 14:12 the language goes beyond the king of Tyre to Satan, inspirer and unseen ruler of all such pomp and pride as that of Tyre. Instances of thus indirectly addressing Satan are: Ge 3:14-15; Mt 16:23. The unfallen state of Satan is here described; his fall in Isa 14:12-14. Cmt. on Re 20:10. But there is more. The vision is not of Satan in his own person, but of Satan fulfilling himself in and through an earthly king who arrogates to himself divine honours, so that the prince of Tyrus foreshadows the Beast. Da 7:8; Re 19:20.)
N3 to Mt. 4.1, p997. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” (The temptation of Christ, the “last Adam” 1Co 15:45 is best understood when contrasted with that of the “first man Adam.” Adam was tempted in his place of lord of creation, a lordship with but one reservation, the knowledge of good and evil Ge 1:26; 2:16-17. Through the woman he was tempted to add that also to his dominion. Falling, he lost all. But Christ had taken the place of a lowly Servant, acting only from and in obedience to the Father. Php 2:5-8; Joh 5:19; 6:57; 8:28,54 Cmt. on Isa 41:8 that He might redeem a fallen race and a creation under the curse Ge 3:17-19; Ro 8:19-23. Satan’s one object in the threefold temptation was to induce Christ to act from Himself, in independency of His Father. The first two temptations were a challenge to Christ from the god of this world to prove Himself indeed the Son of God (Mt 4:3,6). The third was the offer of the usurping prince of this world to divest himself of that which rightfully belonged to Christ as Son of man and Son of David, on the condition that He accept the sceptre on Satan’s world-principles (cf. Joh 18:36). Cmt. on Re 13:8. Christ defeated Satan by a means open to His humblest follower, the intelligent use of the word of God (Mt 4:4,7). In his second temptation Satan also used Scripture, but a promise available only to one in the path of obedience. The scene give emphasis to the vital importance of “rightly dividing the word of truth” 2Ti 2:15.).
N2 p998 to Mt. 4 “8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;” (The Greek word kosmos means “order,” “arrangement,” and so, with the Greeks, “beauty”; for order and arrangement in the sense of system are at the bottom of the Greek conception of beauty.
When used in the N.T. of humanity, the “world” of men, it is organized humanity–humanity in families, tribes, nations–which is meant. The word for chaotic, unorganized humanity–the mere mass of man is thalassa, the “sea” of men (e.g.) Re 13:1 Cmt. on Re 13:8. For “world” (kosmos) in the bad ethical sense, “world system” Joh 7:7.)
N1 to Mt. 7.22, p1004. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Devils, lit demons. To the reality and personality of demons the N.T. scriptures bear abundant testimony. As to their origin nothing is clearly revealed, but they are not to be confounded with the angels mentioned in 2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6. Summary: Demons are spirits Mt 12:43,45 are Satan’s emissaries Mt 12:26; 25:41 and so numerous as to make Satan’s power practically ubiquitous. Mr 5:9. They are capable of entering and controlling both men and beasts Mr 5:8,11-13 and earnestly seek embodiment, without which, apparently, they are powerless for evil. Mt 12:43-44; Mr 5:10-12. Demon influence and demon possession are discriminated in the N. T. Instances of the latter are Mt 4:24; 8:16,28; 9:32; 12:22; Mr 1:32; 5:15-16,18; Lu 8:35; Ac 8:7; 16:16. They are unclean, sullen, violent, and malicious Mt 8:28; 9:23; 10:1; 12:43; Mr 1:23; authority Mt 8:31-32; Mr 1:24; Ac 19:15; Jas 2:19. They know their eternal fate to be one of torment Mt 8:29; Lu 8:31. They inflict physical maladies Mt 12:22; 17:15-18; Lu 13:16 but mental disease is to be distinguished from the disorder of mind due to demonical control. Demon influence may manifest itself in religion asceticism and formalism 1Ti 4:1-3 degenerating into uncleanness 2Pe 2:10-12. The sign of demon influence in religion is departing from the faith, i.e. the body of revealed truth in the Scriptures. 1Ti 4:1. The demons maintain especially a conflict with believers who would be spiritual. Eph 6:12; 1Ti 4:1-3. All unbelievers are open to demon possession Eph 2:2. The believer’s resources, prayer and bodily control Mt 17:21 “the whole armour of God” Eph 6:13-18. Exorcism in the name of Jesus Christ Ac 16:18 was practised for demon possession. One of the awful features of the apocalyptic judgments in which this age will end is an irruption of demons out the abyss. Re 9:1-11.).
Mt. 8.28-34 “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.”
Mt. 12.22-30 “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
Mt. 13.19, Mk. 4.15; Lk. 8.12 (Here Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower): Mt. 13.19: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.” Mk. 4.15: “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Lk. 8.12: ” Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”
Mt. 13.28-40 (Here Jesus is explaining the parable of the tares): Mt. 13:38-41: “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 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;”
Mk. 3.22-27 “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”
Re. 12.2-3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Re. 12.7-12 “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. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
Re. 12.13-16 Satan and Israel in the Tribulation “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”
Re. 12.17 The Jewish remnant “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
N2. to Re. 13.1, p1341 “Daniel’s fourth beast, Cmt. on Da 7:26, The “ten horns” are explained in Da 7:24; Re 17:12 to be ten kings, and the whole vision is of the last form of Gentile world-power, a confederated ten-kingdom empire covering the sphere of authority of ancient Rome. Re 13:1-3 refers to the ten-kingdom empire; vs. Re 13:4-10 to the emperor, who is emphatically “the Beast.” Cmt. on Re 19:20.”
N1 to Re. 13.3, p1342 “Fragments of the ancient Roman empire have never ceased to exist as separate kingdoms. It was the imperial form of government which ceased; the one head wounded to death. What we have prophetically in Re 13:3 is the restoration of the imperial form as such, though over a federated empire of ten kingdoms; the “head” is “healed,” i.e. restored; there is an emperor again–the Beast. Margin: world. ge = earth. Joh 7:7, Cmt. on Re 13:8.”
Re. 13:1-10 (The beast out of the sea.) “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
Re. 13.11-18 (The beast out of the earth.) “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
N2 to Re. 13.8, p1342 “Kosmos, Summary: In the sense of the present world-system, the ethically bad sense of the word, refers to the “order,” “arrangement,” under which Satan has organized the world of unbelieving mankind upon his cosmic principle of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and pleasure. Mt 4:8-9; Joh 12:31; 14:30; 18:36; Eph 2:2; 6:12; 1Jo 2:15-17. This world-system is imposing and powerful with armies and fleets; is often outwardly religious, scientific, cultured, and elegant; but, seething with national and commercial rivalries and ambitions, is upheld in any real crisis only by armed force, and is dominated by Satanic principles.”
N3 to Re. 13.16 p1342 “Antichrist the person is to be distinguished from the “many antichrists” 1Jo 2:18 and the “spirit of antichrist” 1Jo 4:3 which characterizes all. The supreme mark of all is the denial of the Christian truth of the incarnation of the Logos, the eternal Son in Jesus as the Christ Joh 1:1,14. Cmt. on Mt 1:16. The “many antichrists” precede and prepare the way for the Antichrist, who is “the Beast out of the earth” of Re 13:11-17 and the “false prophet” of Re 16:13; 19:20; 20:10. He is the last ecclesiastical head, as the Beast of Re 13:1-8 is the last civil head. For purposes of persecution he is permitted to exercise the autocratic power of the emperor-Beast. Cmt. on Re 19:20.”
Re. 14.9-12 The doom of the Beast-worshippers announced. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Re. 16.13-16 (This is a parenthetical between the pouring out of the 6th & 7th vials of the wrath of God.) “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Re. 20.1-3 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Re. 20.7-10 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 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.”
N2 p1350 to Rev. 20.10 “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.”. “Satan, Summary: This fearful being, apparently created one of the cherubim (Eze 1:5 , note; Eze 28:12-14, note) and anointed for a position of great authority, perhaps over the primitive creation (Gen. 1:2, note 3; Eze. 28:11-15) fell through pride (Isa. 14:12-14). His “I will” (Isa. 14:13) marks the introduction of sin into the universe. Cast out of heaven (Lk. 10:18), he makes earth and air the scene of his tireless activity (Eph 2:2; 1 Pet. 5:8). After the creation of man he entered into the serpent (Ge 3:1, note), and, beguiling Eve by his subtilty, secured the downfall of Adam and through him of the race, and the entrance of sin into the world of men (Rom. 5:12-14). “The Adamic Covenant (Gen. 3:14, note) promised the ultimate destruction of Satan through the ‘Seed of the woman.’ Then began his long warfare against the work of God in behalf of humanity, which still continues. The present world-system (Rev. 13:8) organized upon the principle of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and sinful pleasure, is his work and was the bribe which he offered to Christ (Mt. 4:8-9). Of that world-system he is prince (John 14:30; 16:11) and god (2Cor. 4:4). As “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) he is at the head of vast host of demons (Mt 7:22). To him, under God, was committed upon earth the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Cast out of heaven as his proper sphere and “first estate,” he still has access to God as the ‘accuser of the brethren’ (Rev. 12:10) and is permitted a certain power of sifting or testing the self-confident and carnal among believers (Job 1:6-11; Lk. 22:31-32; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20), but this is strictly permissive and limited power, and believers so sifted are kept in faith through the advocacy of Christ (Lk. 22:31-32; 1 John 2:1, note). At the beginning of the great tribulation Satan’s privilege of access to God as accuser will be withdrawn (Rev. 12:7-12). At the return of Christ in glory Satan will be bound for one thousand years (Rev. 20:2); after which he will be ‘loosed for a little season’ (Rev. 20:3,7-8), and will become the head of final effort to overthrow the kingdom. Defeated in this, he will be finally cast into the lake of fire, his final doom. The notion that he reigns in hell is Miltonic, not biblical. He is prince of this present world-system, but will be tormented in the lake of fire.”
Simply Church 