He That Hath Understanding, Let Him Calculate at Once ... (continued)
Let us remember that when Goliath came on the scene Saul and his army were the chosen people of God, and they were circumcised with a circumcision made with hands; but neither Saul nor his army could stand up to this giant. The works of the natural man cannot meet the challenge of this giant. You cannot defeat carnality with carnality! You cannot destroy the works of the enemy with the works of the natural man! You cannot defeat carnal reasonings with carnal reason! The weapons of our warfare cannot be carnal, cannot be of the natural man (2 Corinthians 10:3) because carnality, the strength and force of the natural man, in any form, always strengthens this uncircumcised giant. It is the strength of the natural man that allows that which is antichrist to have full sway among God's people. This is why most of what is called the church today has little or no impact against the forces of evil. This is also why God has called forth those who would become overcomers.
David was able to defeat this giant of uncircumcision, Saul and the army of Israel could not. So let us calculate the number of the name of the beast, whose name is "blasphemy," as we search into the origin of this Philistine giant. The first mention of the Philistines in the Word of God leaves no doubt that they are part of satan's evil strategy against the Christ of God; for they are found in that infamous list that makes up the kingdom ruled by Nimrod. "And the beginning of his (Nimrod's) kingdom was Babel ... and Mizraim became the father of Ludim ... and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) ..." (Genesis 10:10-14).
We all know that Nimrod, whose name means, "We will rebel," or "Come, let us rebel," was the first one used by satan to build a religious kingdom. Nimrod was a mighty hunter, and in his rebellion against God, he hunted the souls of men. He needed the soulish man, the natural man, the carnal nature of man, in order to build his religious kingdom; by the works of their own hands they would attempt to reach the heights of God: - which satan proclaims is his goal, "I will exalt myself above the Most High."
There is a question that we want to ask, "How did Nimrod become so strong?" The very first time he is mentioned (Genesis 10:8), the Holy Spirit draws our attention to the fact that, "he (Nimrod) began to be a mighty one in the earth." The Holy Spirit uses the same word "mighty" to describe Nimrod that He uses to describe the giants, the monsters of iniquity, in Genesis 6:4; and He does this to draw our attention to the fact that they are both of the seed of the serpent. - Let him hat hath understanding calculate the number of the name of the beast.
Now we know that Cain, who offered God the works of his natural man, and his descendants were the ground needed by satan to produce these giants of iniquity in Genesis six: - the works of the natural man gives satan the ground he needs to produce these giants. Also, the Holy Spirit purposefully lists Cain's descendants unto the sixth generation in order to emphasize that they were antichrist in spirit; 1 John 3:12 tells us that they are of that "wicked one." - Not by natural birth, but because of their natural man. However, Cain's descendants, and these giants, all all the people in Noah's day, except for Noah and his family, were destroyed by the flood. So again we ask, where did Nimrod get his strength; in other words, where did satan get the ground he needed to begin his religious kingdom?
Let us remember that Nimrod is a descendant of Ham who was one of Noah's three sons. We all know that Noah is a man of faith. "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen n reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews 11:7). The Bible also says, "And Noah walked with God." Noah walked in harmony, in agreement, and in sympathy with God, for Amos 3:3 declares: "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" Noah had a splendid walk before God, but Noah was also a human being, he was a man "subject to like passions as we are," and God is faithful to record this in His Word so that we may learn that we must subject our "natural man" to the work of the Cross.
Consequently, after the flood, after God made His everlasting covenant with Noah that He would not destroy the earth again with water, after this Noah sinned, he let the desire of his natural man cause him to sin, to miss the mark. We can understand Cain's natural man for he was of that wicked one. But Noah? How could this man of faith give satan the ground he needed to bring forth a Nimrod?
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 36)
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