Can the Kenites Have Salvation or Are They Pre-Condemned?

Steve, in your Bible study The Old Devils Are at It Again, you stated “Yes, when all is said and done, the Kenites – those old devils known euphemistically in Ezekiel 28 as the “Prince of Tyrus” — will be tossed into the pit along with their father the devil, i.e., the King of Tyrus, to await their ultimate demise in the lake of fire.”

I’ve always been taught that the Kenite can indeed have salvation, and that they’ll be allowed into the Millennium teaching period so they can be taught correctly and be given opportunity for repentance.  So, I find it hard to believe that Kenites are somehow pre-sentenced to death in the lake of fire like their father the devil.

Please help me understand what you meant.  And thanks in advance for your time.

Marie

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Steve’s Answer:

Hi Marie,

As you’re aware, Satan, the father of the Kenites (John 8:44) has been pre-sentenced to death by the Lord.  It’s his destiny.

He cannot win in his battle against God.  He will not repent.  Therefore, he’s doomed himself.  He’ll be locked up in the pit during the Millennium, because he literally has no chance of salvation.  Therefore, there’s no point of him being a participant in the Millennium, which is designed to bring people to salvation.

He was condemned to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10) because of his actions against God in the first heaven age (Rev. 12:1-6), when he attempted to overthrow God’s throne.  That’s why he’s cast into the lake of fire before the great white throne judgment even begins (Revelation 20:10).

He was pre-sentenced.  His judgment took place in the first heaven age, shortly after his rebellion against God.  So, there’s no need for a trial here on this earth, either.  He was tried, and condemned, long ago, in heaven.

In Ezekiel 28, God pronounced that death sentence upon Satan, so we would know, before the fact, that he cannot have salvation:

Eze 28:18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

 

Eze 28:19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Now, To More Directly Answer Your Question

But you asked why I wrote, in that “Old Devils” study, that Satan’s children, the Kenites, would be in the pit with their father the devil, awaiting their destruction in the lake of fire.

I can see I should have been much more clear on that topic.  No, I don’t believe every Kenite in existence is pre-sentenced to the lake of fire.  After all, if a Kenite truly loves the Lord, God is not going to sentence him to death in the lake of fire.

But, just as Satan was pre-sentenced to the lake of fire, and his fallen angels were also pre-sentenced to die (Revelation 11:13; Ps. 82:6-8) and thus will not be afforded the Millennium, it’s quite possible that the Kenite leadership on this earth who actively and knowingly work against Christ, and against Christianity, on behalf of their father the devil, are also pre-sentenced to the lake of fire.

Again, in my opinion, that’s because their souls were already judged for their egregiously wicked actions during Satan’s rebellion in the first heaven age.

How I Reach that Conclusion

Here are the verses I believe thoroughly justify the conclusion that at least some Kenites have been pre-sentenced to death in the lake of fire, along with their father the devil:

Num 24:21  And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

 

Num 24:22  Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.

In the above verse, the prophesy clearly states “the Kenite shall be wasted,” with the word “wasted” meaning, in the original Hebrew, “consumed by fire.”

Yep.  That’s the judgment pronounced upon them.  Think about it.  It doesn’t say “short of repentance” the Kenite shall be wasted.  No.  It just says they’ll “be wasted” (i.e., consumed by fire).

I’ll come back to this verse for a second look, at the end of this short study. But before that, let me build my case just a bit.  St. Jude, it seems, taught similarly:

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

As you know from previous studies, the Kenite “crept in unawares” thanks to Satan’s seduction of mother Eve in the garden.

It’s important to understand that the word “ordained” in this verse is translated from the Greek word prographo (i.e., Strong’s G-4270), which means “designated beforehand,” or in the judicial sense, “previously sentenced.”

And the word “condemnation” is translated from the Greek word krima (i.e., Strong’s G-2917), meaning a judicial decision, or judgment on a crime (yes, we get our word “crime” from the Greek word krima).

In short, these men were previously sentenced by God to this judgment.

It’s my belief that in the first heaven age (referring to the phrase “before of old” in the above verse) these “ungodly men” were Satan’s front-line troops who worked to undermine the love of God’s children for their heavenly Father, and led many of them directly into Satan’s counterfeit kingdom.

And because of that egregious assault against God, His throne, and His eternal family household, when these wicked souls come through this flesh earth age alongside of us, they’re placed into the bodies of that ungodly Kenite lineage that began with Satan’s seduction of mother Eve in the garden.

In short, in the first heaven age these wicked souls helped Satan lead astray one-third of God’s children (Revelation 12:4). So, in this flesh earth age those very same souls are placed into the flesh bodies of Satan’s children, the Kenites.

And why? It’s because that’s exactly what they deserve due to their spiritual assault against God, His throne, and His family household in the first heaven age when we all lived in harmony with our heavenly Father until Satan’s attempted overthrow.

This is why they’ve been “before of old ordained,” which is to say, sentenced previously, to this ignoble fate.

In other words, it’s my contention that just as the elect of Christ have already been judged and found not guilty in the first age (Romans 8:30), likewise Satan’s elect (i.e., those among the Kenite leadership who hate Christ and actively work against Him and His Christian people) have already been judged and found guilty in the first heaven age, and sentenced to death.  They were simply sent into this flesh age to fulfil their negative role, before being destroyed.

Let’s jump to Isaiah chapter 14 for a minute, and look at this from another angle:

Isa 14:21  Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

 

Isa 14:22  For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

In Isaiah 14, God is describing His judicial sentence against Lucifer, and His vengeance upon him.

Verse 21 of that chapter (see above) tells us God is even going to slaughter Lucifer’s children (i.e., the Kenites), “for the iniquity of their fathers.” What was that “iniquity”?  They murdered Christ, as well as most of God’s Old Testament prophets and Christ’s New Testament apostles.

In other words, as Christ pointed out in Matthew 23:24, down through the ages the Kenite leadership has murdered just about every one of God’s prophets.  Virtually all of Christ’s apostles were martyred by them.  And they murdered the Lord, as well, on that cross at Calvary.

What’s more, modern-day Kenites enthusiastically support that murder, as evinced in the short video, below:

So, the Kenites who work against God, at the behest of their father the devil (John 8:44), are literally steeped in murder.  And God is going to slaughter them for it, according to Isaiah 14:21-22, above.

The bottom line is that these verses strongly indicate the unrepentant Kenites won’t be allowed into the eternity (i.e., “that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities”).

I think it’s important to point out that when the Scripture says the “name, and remnant, and son, and nephew” will be “cut off,” it means the whole family line.

Meditate on that one, too.  How can you cut off a family line if salvation is actually open to them?

The Parable of the Householder and His Vineyard

For me, this all ties in with the parable of the householder and his vineyard (Matthew 21:33-44).

In this parable, the “householder” is representative of God, and His “vineyard” is representative of the nation of Israel.

The “husbandmen” are representative of the Kenites who had taken the reins of power in order to rob and control the people, and direct them toward their father the devil, as “god,” rather than to the true God, our heavenly Father YHVH.  This robs Father of His due “fruit” from the vineyard.

Let’s take a look at what Christ taught in this parable:

Mat 21:33  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

Again, the householder is God.  The vineyard is Israel.  The husbandmen are the Kenite false Jew leadership in Israel (Revelation 2:9 and 3:9) pretending to be true Judahites.

Mat 21:34  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

In other words, God is looking for a harvest of souls at the end of this flesh earth age.  The leadership of Israel was supposed to provide Him with the fruits of that harvest.  But will they?  Or are they working for another “god” altogether, meaning their father the devil (John 8:44)?

Mat 21:35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

The Kenite husbandmen killed God’s prophets.  They killed Christ’s disciples, afterwards.  They had no compunction about it.  They’re ravenously murderous.

Mat 21:36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 

Again, they were (and still are) stone-cold murderers.

Mat 21:37  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

The “son” of the householder, of course, is representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Mat 21:38  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

The Kenite leadership knew Christ was the heir of God, destined to rule over Israel, and the world, for the eternity.  But they work for their father the devil (John 8:44).  So, they decided to outright steal the vineyard (Israel) for themselves by killing the heir (Christ) of the householder owner (God) of the vineyard.

Mat 21:39  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

They dragged the Lord out of Jerusalem and forced Him up that hill at Golgotha, whipping and beating Him along the way, then crucified Him until He died a gruesome death.

Mat 21:40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

Christ asks the above question of the chief priests and elders of the people, meaning the Kenites.

Mat 21:41  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Yes, the chief priests and Pharisees answered Christ’s question by saying, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen.”

In other words, with this parable Christ tricked the Kenites into pronouncing their own death sentence.

The phrase “miserably destroy” in the verse above should have been translated “grievously perish,” with the word “destroy” being translated from the Greek word apollumi, meaning “to destroy fully,” or “to fully perish.”

In other words, it’s not just their flesh that’s going to perish, leaving their soul open to salvation.  No.  They’re to fully perish, which is to say, both soul and body in hell (Mt. 10:28).

In my view, this means they’ve already been sentenced to the second death described in Revelation 20:14 and 21:8, which is the death of the soul.

Let’s jump over to the New Testament and take a look at Christ’s teaching in Matthew 23:

Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

 

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

 

Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

In these verses, Christ Jesus is speaking.  When He asks “how can ye escape the damnation of hell,” it’s a rhetorical question, meaning it implies its own answer:  They can’t escape it.  They have way too much blood on their hands.

Naturally, if there was a bloodline Kenite who loved the Lord Jesus, and who served Him faithfully, this death sentence (i.e., “…that upon you may come…”) for murder and blood lust would not apply.  But can you name even one Kenite who’s faithful and loving to Christ?  Past or present?  No?  I’m sure there are some.  But that’s how astonishingly rare it is.

Let’s now take a look at some verses from II Peter chapter 2 regarding false prophets and false teachers, which verses, I believe, are speaking about the Kenites, simply because of the judicial sentence being pronounced upon them:

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

 

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

 

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

The term “swift destruction” in verse 1 above should be translated “speedy perdition” or “impending perishment.”

In fact, the word “destruction” (from the term “swift destruction” in verse 1) is translated from the Greek word apoleia, which is a root word of one of Satan’s titles (Apollyon, from Rev. 9:11), which in turn is from the Greek word apollumi, meaning “complete destruction.”

In verse 3, note carefully the phrase “whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

This should be translated “whose judicial decision of old will in no way be delayed, likewise their perishment sleeps not.”  Check it out for yourself, in your Strong’s Concordance.

In other words, God’s judgment on the Christ-hating Kenite was pronounced a long time ago (i.e., in the first heaven age at Satan’s rebellion).

And in this flesh age, that judgment has not been delayed (i.e., “lingereth not”).

Everything written of the Kenite is right on schedule.  God isn’t cutting them any slack.  They have a role to play.  Then, at His Second Advent, they’re essentially toast.

Continuing further down in chapter 2 of II Peter, in which the same enemies are being discussed:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

I think that verse is pretty self-explanatory.  Nevertheless, it’s important to point out that the word “made” is translated from the Greek word gennao, meaning “born.”

In other words, the Kenite was literally born to be “taken and destroyed.”  That’s their purpose in this flesh age.  At least, among those you might call Satan’s elect.

Likewise, the phrase “shall utterly perish in their own corruption” means they have no way out.  To perish, which means to no longer exist, is their destiny.

Jumping down just a little bit further in chapter 2:

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

Again, the verse is pretty self-explanatory.  The phrase “the mist of darkness” should have been translated “the gloom of darkness.” It’s a Hebrew euphemism specifically referring to death.

What’s more, the term “reserved forever” means “reserved in perpetuity,” i.e., meaning the gloom of darkness (i.e., death) is their eternal destiny.  It’s being held for them.  They have a standing reservation at Hotel Death, so to speak.

The bottom line is that I believe Satan has elect among the Kenites, just as God has elect among true Israel (the western Christian nations).  You might think of it as negative and positive elect.

And these verses, in my humble opinion, refer to Satan’s elect among the Kenites, which is to say, the ones who run the show, on Satan’s behalf, down here on this old earth from behind-the-scenes.

Let me emphasize here, once again, that the verses covered above are not necessarily speaking of every Kenite in existence, but rather, those who actively work against Christ and Christianity on behalf of their father the devil – i.e., the leadership among the Kenites.

Satan has been pre-sentenced to death in the lake of fire. The fallen angels he brings with him are also pre-sentenced to death, which is why they’re sometimes referred to as “the damned” in religious tradition.

Is it not reasonable to conclude, considering the many Scriptures above, that at least some of Satan’s children, the Kenites, have been pre-sentenced to perish, as well, based on their wicked actions on Satan’s behalf in the first heaven age?

To be fair, this is a topic that Bible scholars have debated for centuries, because of its profound implications.  Some scholars claim the “whosoever will” clause of Revelation 22:17 completely negates the argument that some folks in this flesh are pre-destined to perish, and thus salvation is not open to them.  As it’s written:

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

But I’d argue back that “whosoever will” implies a corollary, i.e., “whosoever won’t.”  In other words, if a Kenite won’t “take the water of life freely,” he may well be one pre-destined to the lake of fire with his father the devil.

Likewise, Revelation 21:27, which is discussing the eternal kingdom, says:

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The clear corollary to this is that while some folk’s names are indeed written “in the Lamb’s book of life,” some aren’t, as well.  I’ll have to leave it up to you to think that through and arrive at your own conclusion.

Here’s one last “food for thought” Bible passage, regarding Christ’s parable of the tares, in which it’s revealed that the tares are the “children of the wicked one” and that they’ll be destroyed by fire at Christ’s Second Advent:

Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

 

Mat 13:41  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;

 

Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

No mention of sending them through the Millennium to be saved.  No mention of the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20.  Just gather them up and cast them into a furnace of fire.  Interesting, yes?

One Last Thought

Finally, as promised, going back to Numbers 24:22 (i.e., “Nevertheless, the Kenite shall be wasted”) in which the word “wasted” in the original Hebrew means “consumed by fire,” keep in mind this judicial decree was pronounced in the Old Testament times.

In other words, the decree of their death by fire went out against the Kenites long before the coming Millennium teaching period, and long before the coming great white throne judgment of God described in Revelation 20:11-15.

To me, this means the Kenite – or at least their antichrist leadership — are pre-destined to be consumed in the lake of fire, and will therefore have no place in the Millennium, because its entire purpose is to bring about salvation.  You can’t save someone pre-destined to perish.

Yes, their “damnation slumbereth not” – as St. Peter stated in II Peter 2:3 — because they’ve already been judged and damned after Satan’s rebellion in the first heaven age.

I admit my take on this issue of the salvation of the Kenite is quite different from that of many other Bible teachers.  But I have to stick with what the Scripture actually says, to the best of my understanding.

Therefore, I present this as my own understanding of what the Scripture says on this subject.  You must form your own understanding, from the Scriptures.

Here are some interrelated follow-up Bible studies and commentaries you might want to look into:

• God’s Purpose
• Christ’s Enemies Are Your Enemies
• People of the Curse
• Do the Jews of Today Know the Kenites Intermixed with Them?
• How Can I Prove Cain Was the Son of Satan Without Having to Teach an Entire Bible Study?
• By Their Own Sword
• The Old Devils Are at It Again: COVID and the Greatest Wealth Theft in World History

Regards in Christ,

 

Steve Barwick

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