Discernment of Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept

[Davy]

Sometimes I get asked, how does God want us to study His Word? I point them to Isaiah 28.

But I often get a complaint that Isaiah 28 is God saying NOT to study His Word that way! And all they had to do was to PAY ATTENTION to what is written there and think for themselves, and CONTINUE to read there.

Isa 28:9-16
9 Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

God is actually using their own words in quoting them above. They are mocking that His Word is like that, "precept upon precept...".

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.

That was quoted by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21 about even those speaking other languages will prophesy God's Truth, yet many of His people are still rebellious.

12 To whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing": yet they would not hear.

Still, many of them rejected His Word, that "rest" and the "refreshing".

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

By that we know they complain that study of God's Word is "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." God made study of His Word that way so they would WHAT? So they would "fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken"! They stumble at God's Word and His Christ.

That means the lazy and those who think they only need to read a verse here and a verse there out of God's Word, and are able to preach and teach from lack of true Bible study, are doing that same mocking those in Jerusalem did against line upon line study of God's Word. The above reveals God made understanding in His Word only comes through precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little type study. And because His Word is that way, many who refuse to do it that way instead fall backward, are broken, and snared, and taken, in deception.

 

[Robert Gwin]

Sometimes I get asked, how does God want us to study His Word? I point them to Isaiah 28.

But I often get a complaint that Isaiah 28 is God saying NOT to study His Word that way! And all they had to do was to PAY ATTENTION to what is written there and think for themselves, and CONTINUE to read there.

Isa 28:9-16
9 Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

God is actually using their own words in quoting them above. They are mocking that His Word is like that, "precept upon precept...".

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.

That was quoted by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21 about even those speaking other languages will prophesy God's Truth, yet many of His people are still rebellious.

12 To whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing": yet they would not hear.

Still, many of them rejected His Word, that "rest" and the "refreshing".

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

By that we know they complain that study of God's Word is "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." God made study of His Word that way so they would WHAT? So they would "fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken"! They stumble at God's Word and His Christ.

That means the lazy and those who think they only need to read a verse here and a verse there out of God's Word, and are able to preach and teach from lack of true Bible study, are doing that same mocking those in Jerusalem did against line upon line study of God's Word. The above reveals God made understanding in His Word only comes through precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little type study. And because His Word is that way, many who refuse to do it that way instead fall backward, are broken, and snared, and taken, in deception.

From the time Christianity came into effect, and particularly now that we are in the last days, most disciples are taught by other disciples who obediently teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded Mat 28:20. Jesus assigned a faithful slave to feed his sheep during his presence which they receive at God's house Mat 24:45-47; Isa 2:2,3

 

[Davy]

From the time Christianity came into effect, and particularly now that we are in the last days, most disciples are taught by other disciples who obediently teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded Mat 28:20. Jesus assigned a faithful slave to feed his sheep during his presence which they receive at God's house Mat 24:45-47; Isa 2:2,3

That leaves the subject of Isaiah 28 about HOW we are to study God's written Word. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little, is how all of God's people are to study His Word, and that of course includes the Christian Church and not just the Jews.

Instead what are most Churches today teaching? Most pull a verse or two from The Bible and often teach something 'outside' the actual context of those verses. There is danger in isolating a verse off by itself outside the 'flow' of the Chapter where it appears. God's original Message can be lost that way very easily. But that method of teaching appears to be the status quo taught in many of today's seminaries.

I admonish preachers to go through all... of God's Word line upon line immediately if they have not yet done so, and discover what God through The Holy Spirit actually teaches. Even Jim Baker of the PTL Club when he went to prison, he recanted his belief on the false Pre-trib Rapture Theory, simply because he said his incarceration gave him time to actually study The Bible more thoroughly. He found out the Pre-trib Rapture doctrine is nowhere to be found in Bible Scripture.

 

[Karl Peters]

Sometimes I get asked, how does God want us to study His Word? I point them to Isaiah 28.

But I often get a complaint that Isaiah 28 is God saying NOT to study His Word that way! And all they had to do was to PAY ATTENTION to what is written there and think for themselves, and CONTINUE to read there.

Isa 28:9-16
9 Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

God is actually using their own words in quoting them above. They are mocking that His Word is like that, "precept upon precept...".

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.

That was quoted by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21 about even those speaking other languages will prophesy God's Truth, yet many of His people are still rebellious.

12 To whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing": yet they would not hear.

Still, many of them rejected His Word, that "rest" and the "refreshing".

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

By that we know they complain that study of God's Word is "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." God made study of His Word that way so they would WHAT? So they would "fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken"! They stumble at God's Word and His Christ.

That means the lazy and those who think they only need to read a verse here and a verse there out of God's Word, and are able to preach and teach from lack of true Bible study, are doing that same mocking those in Jerusalem did against line upon line study of God's Word. The above reveals God made understanding in His Word only comes through precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little type study. And because His Word is that way, many who refuse to do it that way instead fall backward, are broken, and snared, and taken, in deception.

You might want to look that section of Isaiah over a bit more and talk to the Lord on it!!

Of course anytime someone begins to learn something from a teacher, they start with the basics and continue to teach them more and more. The first words I heard from the Lord were, "Read Your Bible", and so was the first thing I did. It took me nine months about 20 years ago to finish the Bible. But that is the text book and not the Teacher. The Teacher was the One who first told me to read the text book, and His name is called "The Word of God"!!

Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

So we don't "study His Word" we listen to His Word (Him who speaks to us) !!

We study the Bible, which are the sacred writing and even those which writings that clearly told us the He is the Word of God!!

So the Word of God was Him! whose first words to me were, "Read Your Bible" and not as you think! You are thinking when you ask the Lord, " asked, how does God want us to study His Word?"

You are making the sacred writings His Word, instead of Him. That happens just like is explain by Isaiah explain! If you do not listen to Him, then the Word of God to you will be the Bible - the orderly line on line of text that you study a little here and there, as opposed to actually listening to the Word of God and believe in Him!!

That has to be the case, because if you don't listen to Him and believe in Him, then the only other words you have from Him are those written by others in the past who heard from Him!! In that case you are not like His sheep who hears His voice - thus not like those who heard His voice and wrote down the Scriptures! You wind up being like the Pharisees and other religious leaders over the years who put their faith in the Scriptures instead of putting their faith in Him like Abram did!!

It explains that in what you yourself copied!


12 To whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing": yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Take a close look at what is actually written, even by that the problem is clear!!

If you don't listen/hear then the word of the Lord is the precept upon precept, line on line; a little here and there, and that so you might go and fall backward!!

Therefore the key to not stumbling backward is listening to your Teacher!! Yes, He will go over the Bible with you, but if you indeed hear Him go over the Bible with you, then you will clearly understand that He is the Word of God because He talks to you personally!! You will then understand that He was the Word of God to those whose wrote the Bible too, because they listened to Him! Then you will clearly understand that those people telling you that the Bible, with the precept on precetp and line on line that people study is not the Word of God but rather the Sacred Writings. Do you not even think the writings are correct??

I already pointed out how the Bible calls Him the Word of God!! Can you apply revelation in the book of Revelation to the other things you read in the Bible?? Let me help you:

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

In the above verse we find that Abram saw "the word of the Lord, in a vision. Did Abram see a Bible or did Abram see the Lord our God Jesus Christ??? The correct answer is that Abram saw the One we call Jesus Christ, and whose name is called "The Word of God" in the vision and Abram.

Or course that is the case, because the Bible had not even been written then. Moses wrote that part of the Bible some years later, so Moses also knew and understood that the Christ is named and was name the Word of God, or word of the Lord - the same thing!

And so let's move on to Moses and his time:

Num 15:31 ‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.'”

Now in the above verse does "word of the Lord" refer to the Bible or Jesus Christ? The answer of course is again, Jesus Christ, because we also read "His commandment", and the Bible can not be referred to as "His". It is Jesus Christ who we despise if we don't want to keep His commandment, not the writings. So to "dispised the word of the Lord" means you despise the person of whose name is called 'the word of the Lord.

Now let's move on, but first you should know I can pick out sure a hundred of such examples, so the moving on is to just keep moving through the Bible.

Jn 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John, when he began to write his gospel (and I know some people think it wasn't John but whoever it was that wrote it, wrote it and knew the Lord) started by clearly stating the One (person) through whom all things were created (which would include the Bible when it came into existence) was called the Word!! His, the Word, was in the beginning with God and was God!! And He (not that book but the person who came down out of heaven at that time) is the Word!!!

So when you are asked, "how does God want us to study His Word?" Do you not quickly correct them and tell them that we get to know God's and we study the Bible?

He is not a book that you should study like that!! What do you think? Do you think you can put Him in a cage and study Him like and animal? Do you think and perhaps you can operate on Him and do a medical study in Him?

NO NO, that is not what you are thinking. You are thinking the Bible which was written precept on precept, line on line, so that you can study it a little here and there is the Word of God, right? So you don't and have not ever actually heard Him tell you, "Read Your Bible" If so, you would know that He is not the Bible! That means you are under the "yet they would not hear" group as proven by the mere fact that you are calling the Bible (the textbook) the Word of God instead of Him!

His sheep hear His voice. Abram heard His voice. Moses heard His voice. John heard His voice. But it is also written:

Ps 81:11 “But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me.

That needs to change and He needs it to or:

Ps 81:14 -16 “Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
“I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries.
“Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him, And their time of punishment would be forever.

If you hear from Him you will get to know Him and the importance of knowing Him. It means your life and that for eternity or not!

 

[Karl Peters]

People = The way to study your Bible is how Jesus Christ personally tell you to study the Bible!!!

The person who believes in Jesus Christ will ask Him for how He wants them to study their Bible!

The person who does not believe in Jesus Christ will not ask Him but proceed as they want to proceed.

Doing that is still able to get them the wisdom to seek Jesus Christ and listen to Him, but it doesn't mean they did!

Now Isaiah 28 has two issues covered, but the primary issued being cover is the issue of not listening to Him! Those verses essentially cover the fact that He most like will use the Bible, but also that people will not listen to Him and still study the Bible.

He once told me; There are two mistake a person can make. One is to not believe the Scriptures are from God, and the other is to not believe the Scriptures are correct."

This is why we read: "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there" twice and not just once in Is 28.

The first is to point out that the Scriptures are from God, and the second to point out that the basic principle of God in the Scriptures is to hear what He has to say to us personally!!

That explains why He had written the following verse in between the two!

Is 28:12 That is why we read. "He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.

In that verse we see the most basic principle of the gospel, which is that we need to listen to Him!! If you don't follow that most basic principle of the gospel, then you are going to "stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive."

And that happens and to many people!!! The proof of it happening to a person is when they start calling the Scriptures the word of God instead of calling Jesus Christ the word of God. Saying the Scriptures are the word of God means that you are not hearing from Him whose name is called "The Word of God", and that makes you different for those who did actually hear from Him and wrote the Scriptures like He told them to!

That is to say that they got their words they wrote from Him personally, and you don't, so you have only their writings to get words that came from Him. And that means you are not listening to Him! That violates what they told you to do and confirms what they said about His people!!

Is 1: 2,3 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”

Isaiah - you know - the same one who wrote Isaiah 28, started by telling us to "Listen", because the Lord speaks!!
He also pointed out that the Lord's people do not understand!!!

And that is what happens when you don't actually listen to Him!!

You don't listen to Him, you don't get understanding! So you start thinking that knowing the Bible is going to save you, but you don't do what you are told to do - which is listen to Him!!

Mat 17:5 behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

That is the message the Father has, it is the message the Holy Spirit has, it was even the message the Son came with, and it was the basic message the prophets had. It is what preaching the Word of God means!!

The Holy Spirit once told me, "Karl, we don't use the Lord to preach the Scriptures, we use the Scriptures to preach the Lord!"

So it is, that as I am instructed by the Lord our god, that I use the Scriptures to preach the Lord, and that we need to listen to Him whose name is called "The Word of God", because He has the words of God and stands there waiting just to give them to us each personally via His Holy Spirit!

Don't worry yourself about knowing the Scriptures, because as your Teacher He will tell you to "Read Your Bible", if you have one handy and can read. And as the Teacher, He will go over them with you, so you won't miss the fact that you need to listen to Him!!

And the really good news is that He is going to talk to you about all areas of your life!!!!!!!

He is not going to stop with the mere 1500 pages in the Bible, but will go over your relationships, your work, you classes at school if you are taking some, your dress, your food, your purchases (it is interesting going shopping with Him), and ALLLLLLLL AREAS OF YOUR LIFE!!

It is a foolish person who thinks that all the Lord is going to cover with you are the precepts in the Bible!!

He told me once, "Karl, can 1500 pages cover all the things I need to talk to you about?" He went on to say, "So don't put Me in a box, not even a Bible box!"

Did you not even read that if all Jesus had been done, even during His brief time on earth, had been written down that perhaps the whole world could not contain it???

SILLLY, SILLY, SILLY PEOPLE WHO READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE AND DO NOT COME TO SEEK HIM AND HIS WORDS FOR THEM PERSONALLY!!! HUGH MISTAKE!! HE IS GOING TO TELL MANY ON THAT DAY THAT HE NEVER KNEW THEM!! DON'T LET IT BE YOU!!

 

[Davy]

You might want to look that section of Isaiah over a bit more and talk to the Lord on it!!

Your advice does not supersede God's advice in His Word. I will listen to HIM and HIS WORD.

Sorry you do not like what I showed with Isaiah 28 about the leaders at Jerusalem that got too lazy to keep God's Word precept upon precept, line upon line, and for that reason they FELL BACKWARDS, AND WERE TAKEN.

 

[Karl Peters]

You will listen to Him and His Word?????

He is The Word of God!!

So, if indeed you do or did listen to Him you would know that He is the Word of God and know that what you wrote does not make any sense!!

As it does not make any sense to call the Bible the Word of God!

Still some do call the Bible "The Word of God" and that is to fulfill the prophecy in Is 28 which you even copied in your OP.

Is 28: 12,13 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
So the word of the LORD to them will be,
“Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.

I was driving home one day after talking to someone like you at church. One the way home the Lord started telling me, "QUAD GOD, QUAD GOD, QUAD GOD1"

Ok - so I had to ask Him what He was talking about. He explained, "Karl there are people preaching Father, Son, Holy Bible and Holy Spirit. They are making an idol out of the Bible"

So read it again: Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

and Jn 1:1,2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

Are you worshiping the Bible and making it God??

There is one other possibility, but from what you already wrote and what more importantly, from what Isaiah wrote, it is not this but your making and idol out of the Bible which is the problem. What does the Lord say?

Anyway, He also once told me this parable: It is covers both the first problem and the problem of semantics. That is to say, that sooo many people at church are calling the Scriptures "The Word of God" that the name of the Bible is often used to mean the Bible and something like "The Small Voice" is you to mean Jesus Christ. In that case a person might hear from Him, and read and study their Bible as the Word of God, because to them "Word of God" is the name for the Scriptures. However, if we were really talking to Him as we should, then we would come to know about that issue of semantics.

Of course that does not quite explain why you wrote:

I will listen to HIM and HIS WORD.

Because in that case you would "Read" HIS WORD (meaning the Bible), unless of course you have an audio Bible and that is how you get the words in the Scriptures. Listening to the Bible as "His Word" means you have given it the ability to talk like a person, unless you did mean you listen to an electronic device put the Bible into audible words. Even then, did you not ever notice that Satan's also has words in the Bible?? Why would you call Satan's words The Word of God?

Anyway, here is the parable

TWO TOWNS:

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.


The meaning behind the parable is this:

There are two towns that we can live in "spiritually speaking" which are both called by the same name! One is a town where it is just you and the Lord Jesus Christ, and so in the parable that town is called "Two" because it is just you and Him walking and talking together.

The other town is not far away! Indeed many at church live in that town. In that town it is that person with the Bible, and thought the Bible is not a person, they like to call that town Too, because they view the Bible as a person and want to be included.

So the two judges, Jesus Christ and Satan, set up a time to judge if this is ok. Satan wants it that way and Jesus doesn't want to make it about semantics, to a decision is reach to where both towns can be called by the same name, and amazingly that makes people from both towns happy! Neither realize the problem and the confusion it causes.

And this is how it is with "The Word of God". There is a town where Jesus Christ is the Word of God meaning you and Him live together in the same town. And not far away they too call their town where the person lives with their Bible, pretend it is just the two of them. So at church, where the people with the Bible love to live, a judgement comes forth that both some be called living with "The Word of God.

Sadly, only those who live in the town of Two are only those who are going to be saved!!

Enoch walked with God and was no more! Understand that and you will have understanding!!

Still, it is possible to change towns until it isn't! And the people living in the town of Two, do generally speaking have a Bible, but they understand that it is not God, but a book written to point people to Him! Perhaps you would like to start listening to Him whose name is called "The Word of God"??? He is alive and active and He stands at the door and knocks and if anyone (which would include you) hears His voice and opens up to Him they will hear Him whose name is called the Word of God. And He, your Teacher, will explain the Bible to you so that you won't miss the fact that His name is called "The Word of God" so what you write will match up with what is in your Bible!

 

[Karl Peters]

People - Jesus Christ rose from the dead!!!

He is alive and active, and wanting to talk to you personally!! That is what the Bible explains!!! And that is why His name is called "The Word of God!!

If you start applying His name to the Holy Bible, which is not alive and active, but is ink on paper. are you not into idol worship???

If it is just a question of semantics, where you understand that the Bible is not God and that you also understand that He does actually speak to you, so that you called the Bible "The Word of God" when the Bible calls Him "The Word of God" because He speaks to His sheep in words; are you not now bring in confusion??? Are you not actually leading people away from Him and listening to Him and leading them to leaning on their own understanding and the disbelief that He is there for them???

Are you making Him sound dead or in a far-off place called heaven so as to not be heard from "Today"??

That is not the Word of God we are preaching!! Did not anyone read Romans 10 during their study of the Bible??? Maybe someone read what Moses wrote??

The Word of God we preach is found in our hearts, and often coming from our mouth!! So not found in ink on pages!!! That is the sacred writings, and not the Word of God we are preaching!!

This Word of God should have been preached at your Christian church!!!!!

So why does it seem like so few know who the Word of God we preach is???

Are we preaching the Word of God correctly????

Are we "Christians" actually leading people to Jesus Christ and Him as the Word of God who we find in us???

Do we even know and believe that He will never leave us, just l like He said?

Do we understand that "Today" is always the day to hear from His voice, speaking in words to our spirit?