FILTHY GARMENTS

Here is every appearance of the word “filthy” in the scriptures:

[Job 15:16 KJV] 16 How much more abominable and filthy [is] man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

[Psa 14:3 KJV] 3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one.

[Psa 53:3 KJV] 3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one.

[Isa 64:6 KJV] 6 But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

[Zep 3:1 KJV] 1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

[Zec 3:3-4 KJV] 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

[Col 3:8 KJV] 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

[1Ti 3:3, 8 KJV] 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; … 8 Likewise [must] the deacons
[be] grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

[Tit 1:7, 11 KJV] 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; … 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

[1Pe 5:2 KJV] 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

[2Pe 2:7 KJV] 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

[Jde 1:8 KJV] 8 Likewise also these [filthy] dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

[Rev 22:11 KJV] 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

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Zechariah 3:

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone [shall be] seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

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From the verses that use the word “filthy”, a number of things can be gleaned:

1.Man drinks iniquity like water.
2.All are concluded to have gone back, become filthy, and none does good…not one.
3.All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.All humanity fades as a leaf. Man’s iniquities carries him off like the wind.
4.Jerusalem, so highly esteemed with man, is filthy, opressive and polluted.
5.Joshua (same name as Jesus) takes upon him all iniquity, it is all dealt with in him, and then his garment is changed (Isaiah 64:6)
6.The rest of the use of “filthy” deals withing keeping yourself clean, once Jesus made you that way by taking your punishment.

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The beginning of the scriptures, particularly Genesis 3 and 4, deal with the concept of retribution, or vengeance. It is written,”vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord”. Cain murders his brother Abel. Cain is made a fugitive and vagabond in the earth. He is driven from the presence of God. He reasons that everyone that finds him, will kill him. He is speaking not merely of himself, but of all his offspring to be. The Lord sets a mark upon Cain,so that any who has the ability to see the mark, knows not to take vengeance upon him.

The end of the scriptures, Revelation 22 also deals with vengeance.”He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still”. This saying is exactly as the purpose of the mark of Cain. Vengeance and retribution are still the Lord’s exclusive territory. Jesus has taken upon him, the iniquity of us all. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Though all will not accept what He did for them, He did it nonetheless. Not one of us redeemed ourself. Not one of us can claim to be self-righteous and self-cleansed. And so, not one of us has anything to do with seeking to exact retribution upon anything or anyone in the world. Much of “Christianity” so-called, is in dire shambles and in a very sorry state. It has been delivered to the tormenters.

Peter once asked Jesus a question. I don’t know what was going on in Peter’s mind that lead to the question. But It involved what the Lord had said in the beginning, that if anyone kills in vengeance, vengeance will be taken on him, seven fold. The question Peter asked was this, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me, and I am obliged to forgive him? until seven times?” Jesus said, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times”. Then Jesus encapsulated all of this principle in a parable:

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

The mark upon Cain is still there. And it is for your sake, if you can see it. The Lord commands in end of the age, let the filthy and unjust, be filthy and unjust. Let the cleansed and set apart, stay cleansed and set apart. This too, is for your sake. It is said to us, lest we fall into the trap of self righteousness and vengeance. The churches seem to forget who is responsible for our change of raiment, and what He had to endure to secure it. Jesus at no time has said to go into the world and exact vengeance, and fight tooth and nail with your brother. If we are forgiven, let us act like it, and not be as the unjust servant in the parable, who was forgiven all, but wanted his fellow servant to get his due. Jesus said that if you take that path, The Father will too. The tormentors Jesus spoke of is real. And it is not off in the future. It is going on every day, all around you.

I am not a pacifist. I will make that clear. I am a man under authority. A FORGIVEN man under authority. If the Lord says come. I come. If says go, I go. But under no circumstances am I authorized to take matters into my own hands. Had the Lord laid the iniquity of the world upon me, and I died for it, it would have availed nothing, and the world would still be dead in it’s sin. It is a lesson that must be learned…how to hate the things Jesus hates, but not hate the people trapped in them. It is easier to learn the lesson, if you don’t forget the cross.

Whether the mark of Cain, the last admonitions of the bible, or everything concerning that subject in between, all are there for our benefit, for our sake. There is truly one message for the world. Repent and believe the gospel. There is also a message for those who are washed. Keep your garment un-spotted from the flesh, keep yourself free of the tormentors, the raging, foaming flesh fest of the self righteous who take their fallen brethren by the throat and demand satisfaction.

2 Peter 2:

For when they speak great swelling [words] of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, [through much] wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.