The Spiritual Significance of the Holy Days, Part 5B

Trumpets

[Study Aired September 12, 2025]

Lev 23:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:24  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Lev 23:25  Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Num 29:1  And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
Num 29:2  And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:3  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram,
Num 29:4  And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:
Num 29:5  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you:
Num 29:6  Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

We paused our last study to come back to the story of the conquest of Jericho by marching around it with seven priests blowing seven trumpets for seven days. Jericho was conquered, and Israel was in a figure resting while that conquest took place by the hands of our Lord.

Jos 6:1  Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Jos 6:2  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Jos 6:3  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
Jos 6:4  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The battle of Jericho as well as all of Israel’s battles were “finished from the foundation of the world.” That is why the Lord spoke to Joshua as if the battle had already been won:

Jos 6:2  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

‘Have given’ is in the Hebrew Qal stem which equates to the Greek aorist tense. Both are defined as verbs which have no regard to tense. What that means is that ‘I have given’ is an is, was, and will be statement. All of Israel’s battles, whether they won or lost, were all “finished from the foundation of the world.” The same can be said for anything that has been done, is being done, or will be done in the history of mankind. For this reason we are plainly told this about God’s perspective on the lives of all men of all time:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.  (ASV)

These words are written ‘for our admonition’:

1Co 10:11  Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. (ASV)

We are told that circumcision signifies “the putting off of the flesh.”

Col 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Israel had been circumcised at Gilgal just a few weeks before the conquest of Jericho. Circumcision signifies that the day of judgment “begins at the house of God”, and that judgment has been “begin[ning] at the house of God” since that kingdom was first established within us. Judgment is accomplished in all men “each in his own order” (1Co 15:23). The seven priests with the seven trumpets circling Jericho demonstrate, and the festival of trumpets itself signifies, that in time God’s trumpet judgments will include “all [who are] in Adam.” That judgment has been, is being, and will always be administered by the “seven priests” who are also called the seven angels of the seven churches, which angels we are also told blow the seven trumpets. It is the book of Joshua which shows us the seven trumpets are blown by seven priests, and it is the book of Revelation which shows us that the seven angels of the seven churches signify those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of the book of Revelation. The entire prophecy is addressed “to the angel of the [seven] churches.”

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus [Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea] write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

The book of Revelation, and indeed all scripture, is addressed “to the seven churches”, and is also addressed to “the angel” of every church. If we want to know who the seven priests who are blowing the seven trumpets as Israel marches around Jericho, if we want to know who they signify, then we must first know who the seven angels of the seven churches signify. So who do those seven angels signify? “One of the angels” tells us who they all signify:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The “second witness” to this Truth is found in:

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

This book is addressed to the seven churches and to the seven angels of the seven churches. It is they are are commanded to “read, hear, and keep… the things written therein.”

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

That is who the seven priests of Joshua 6 signify. It is each of us who are admonished that we will be blessed if we “read, hear, and keep the things which are written therein.”

The seventh trumpet consists of ‘seven vials’ which “fill up the wrath of God” (Rev 15:1and 6). The Canaanites and the giants in the land of Canaan signify our weaknesses and our passions and our rebellious carnal mind. The destruction of the walls of Jericho on the seventh day of blowing of trumpets signifies the wrath of God being poured out upon the kingdom of our rebellious old man, the man of sin, the beast within every man.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels [you and I and our fellow servants, the seven angels to the seven churches] came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

The fact that these seven angels “came out of the temple” proves that they are the seven priests which the seven priests of Joshua 6 prefigure and foreshadow. Only the priests were permitted to enter into the temple. Anyone who was not a son of Aaron, anyone who was not a priest was to die, and the priest who let them in was to die also:

Num 18:2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
Num 18:3  And they [the Levites who are not the sons of Aaron] shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

It is these same seven angels who pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God which are essential to “consume [the man of sin] with the spirit of [their] mouth, and destroy [him] with the brightness of His coming.”

Jos 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked [the first man Adam, the beast, the man of sin within all of us] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [“At the last trump”]

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Who are these seven angels? Here is “one of” the seven angel’s own answer to that question:

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel of Rev 17:1]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

This angel tells us that he signifies the very churches and angels to whom this whole prophecy is addressed… “I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book.”

It is through the blowing of the seven trumpets by the seven priests that Jericho’s walls, typifying the walls and fortifications of the kingdom of the beast within us, are destroyed. As we showed earlier it all “begins at the house of God.”

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“Begin at the house of God” does not mean that the judgment which “must begin at the house of God” is the one and only judgment mentioned in scripture. This judgment which “begins at the house of God” is the first of the Lord’s judgments. This first judgment prepares those who are being judged first “in this present time” to “have part in the first resurrection”, which Christ refers to as “the resurrection to life”:

The resurrection

John 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto life [Rev 20:6]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Rev 20:11].

The judgment of this present time is just the beginning, and it begins within His own “house”, His firstfruits, His “body, which is His church.” This is how Paul describes this judgment which “begins at the house of God.”

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

This verse, Colossians 1:24, reveals a great truth which many who have been deceived by the false doctrine of a “substitutionary atonement death of Christ”, will and do consider to be blasphemy. Nevertheless, Paul very clearly states that his own sufferings are for “[Christ’s] body’s sake, which is the church.” He even states that this suffering in his body is “the afflictions of Christ in my body… which are behind [Greek: lacking] of the afflictions of Christ”. It is all a work of God and not of us, but it is being done through us “for His body’s sake, which is the church” as we will discuss in our next study if the Lord wills.

The next holy day is the day of atonement, only nine days after the feast of trumpets. The day of atonement is followed five days later by the feast of tabernacles and the last great day, which we will get to in the following study, Lord willing. Every holy day reveals the order in which the Lord is working to save all of His creatures.

Before we begin our study of the day of atonement, I want to briefly review what we have so far learned through the holy days, about the plan of God to save all men of all time:

Review

The revelation of that plan begins with the Passover.

Indeed Christ was offered on the day of the Passover. Rest assured the priests and the Pharisees did not plan it that way. They were as blind to what they were doing as you and I were to the fact that we are the beast. As such we also are partakers in the crucifixion of our Lord, and we also must be “crucified with Christ” and with him we must bear the sins of the Lord’s people:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The priests and the Pharisees had no clue that it would be “through our offences” that Christ would be delivered up to be crucified, and that it would be  through our justification that He would be resurrected from the dead:

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [Greek: dia – through] our offences, and was raised again for [Greek: dia – through] our justification.

Romans 4:25 is an integral part of being called in Christ “before the world began”:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

While Peter, typifying all of His apostles, went out and wept bitterly for denying Christ when He most needed them most, they and we still must endure seven sevens of the work of God in our lives while we are being matured for the day of Pentecost, “on the morrow after the seventh sabbath.” Only then, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come” can the holy spirit come to us and enter into our hearts and form and found the church of Christ and the kingdom of God within us.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Pentecost is the day after which we are finally willing to die with Christ because the spirit of God has changed our hearts, and we now become Christ’s firstfruits, “endued with power from on high… and not of ourselves” (Luk 24:49, Eph 2:8-10).

Lev 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

If we are Christ’s, then we are “”Firstfruits unto the Lord… a kind of firstfruits” because this feast typifies those who are in that blessed and holy first resurrection as Christ’s firstfruits. So the feast of Pentecost is also called “the feast of your firstfruits.” The meal offering of Pentecost is “baken with leaven” because we, unlike the head of His body, are not without sin and are therefore “baken with leaven.”

Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. [The number ‘three’ signifies the process of the Lord’s judgment of mankind:

The Number Three

Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep [1] the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16 And [2] the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and [3] the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

While our Lord was a sin offering “who knew no sin”, the same cannot be said for His firstfruits, who, in Him, become a trespass offering which Christ fulfills only through “them that are Christ’s.” That is how we can be “chief of sinners” and also “fill up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ.” Because Christ fulfills the trespass offering only through us, the Pentecost offering is the only offering offered to God with leaven:

Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

2Co 5:21 For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (ACV)

We become the righteousness of God in Him, and He becomes the trespass offering through us… “baken with leaven.” “In Him” we offer our lives as the scapegoat (Lev 16:8-26) and the second bird (Lev 14), as a living sacrifice, “for His body’s sake, which is the church.”

Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church; (ASV)

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Pentecost is the second festival season, and it signifies the third step we all must experience in the Lord’s plan. Pentecost is the summer wheat harvest, which comes fifty days after the Spring barley harvest. Pentecost is the only holy day in the Summer season. The last four steps in the process of the salvation of all men are all in the third season of the Lord’s plan for the salvation of all men of all time. These last four steps are all in “the seventh month”, and they begin with the festival of trumpets on the first day of the seventh month which we are concluding with this study.

Before that goal of God being in all His sons is accomplished, we are told that “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”. Add the following verse to all we have learned about the plan God for the salvation of all mankind of all time which He is revealing to us through these holy  days:

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption [flesh and blood] inherit incorruption.

Our first father, Adam, and “the first man Adam” in all of us (1Co 15:45), has demonstrated that flesh and blood are not fit to be in the incorruptible kingdom of God, simply because flesh and blood are dying corruption which can never become immortal. We are very clearly told that death must be destroyed before God can be all in all. If that is the case and if flesh is dying in every generation of mankind, how is it even possible for death to ever be destroyed since little ‘flesh and blood, corruptible, Adams’ are being born every day by the millions?

The answer to this dilemma is solved for us in the story of Samson in Judges 14:

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. [This story signifies God’s elect lusting after the doctrines of Babylon]
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines [signifying all flesh and blood, (Rev 13:16)] had dominion over Israel.

The Philistines were a very religious people whose God was named Dagon. These Philistines are the Biblical type of all who are in the land of promise but they are there without the benefit of circumcision, and they are more than willing to put the teachings of their god, Dagon, ahead of the doctrines of Christ. They see their preeminence over God’s elect as proof that their God is the true God just as the Jews of Christ’s day, and the Christians of today feel toward the Lord’s ‘scattered flock.’

Jdg 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

Dagon typifies the god of modern day ‘Babylon the great’  who is none other than the “great Red Dragon” who empowers the beast within all men:

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Rev 13:16  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:

The entire story of Samson is a type of God’s elect whose service to God is first in the strength of our own flesh as we are married to the doctrines of Babylon, and to the modern day ‘leaven of the Pharisee and Sadducees’. This self-righteous iniquity in time brings us to our wits’ end as this story of Samson demonstrates. Only then are we finally made aware that we are blind as a bat and totally useless to God or mankind in a life of our own making while living in and among the doctrines of the enemy. Samson in his death typifies God’s elect who are more than willing to die to everything in this life to gain Christ:

Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, [the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees] but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Physically blind Samson is the type of this same mind. Here are Samson’s own words after he, in type, is finally given spiritual vision:

Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Dying “with the Philistines” is the dying of our flesh to our old man, and just as Samson delivered his people through his death, so we are delivered from our own sinful flesh through our dying daily to the power of our flesh over the new man who is being born within us as we “die daily.”

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

This is the fruit of Pentecost which introduces the church era which leads up to the day of the blowing of trumpets in our lives.

Christ’s doctrine and His own example demonstrate for us that life comes only through death:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

It is only “through death”, the death of our old man, that our new man can be born. So it is for all men of all time, and so it is with death itself. Until death itself is destroyed, there will be no victory over death. As long as little Adams are being born, death cannot be destroyed, and that is the real reason for putting “the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan” in prison for a thousand years, just to release him again for “a little season” afterward.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 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.

Why, after placing Satan in prison for a thousand years, would a loving heavenly Father release him upon an unsuspecting world? The answer is that God is seeking an occasion against the Philistines of that time. When Satan is loosed upon the world after it has been ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, mankind’s carnal mind will be ripe for the deception Satan is sent to bring upon all nations at that time. After being ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, mankind will be convinced by Satan that he is capable of overcoming the saints of the “blessed and holy first resurrection”, who have been their rulers for the past one thousand years. We are told that Satan is given to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth to “encompass the camp of the saints”, and at that very moment, just like the fall of Jericho and just like the sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, fire will come down from God out of heaven and will destroy all flesh of all men “in the four quarters of the earth” so that it can truthfully be said that death is destroyed, and there will be no one left on this earth who can beget another rebellious carnal-minded Adam in a vessel of clay.

That is why it is right after being told that fire comes down from God out of heaven, that we then immediately read of “a great white throne” revealed to us for the first time. This great white throne is also revealed at the same time as we learn for the first time of “the lake of fire”:

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 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.
Rev 20:9 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. [Notice what happens immediately after the destruction of all flesh]
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.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [a thousand years earlier] was cast into the lake of fire.

“The second death… is… the lake of fire”. When the second group of mankind experiences the death of their carnal mind that is the death of death, and it is “through [this] death” that life is given to all men of all time.

The four months from Pentecost to Trumpets signify this age of grace, when God is preparing a few faithful elect out of the many called multitudes who come to Him. Judas was an elect who did not leave Christ when the multitudes left Him.

Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Joh 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Christ knew who would betray Him, and yet “the twelve”, which included Judas, remained faithful even after “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” Still Judas was found not to have a proper wedding garment, and he was predestined to be God’s rejected elect who, like God’s anointed, King Saul, sought to kill God’s faithful elect, signified by King David. Both King Saul and Judas were the Lord’s anointed, but neither was faithful to the end. Being called and being elect are not enough to be given a wedding garment and to be in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Those who are with Christ in the armies of heaven will have one more necessary qualification, and that qualification is to be faithful to the end:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful [“to the end”].

As the apostle Paul said of the Hebrews (Heb 6:9)… “I am persuaded better things of [us].”

Next week, Lord willing, we will begin our study of the day of atonement, and we will begin to see the blessings of being in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, and in time we will see what is the function of those blessed and holy  few who “endure [and are] faithful… to the end”.

Here is a taste of what is in store for all who are given that blessed calling:

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

The next step in the Lord’s plan for us is signified by the day of Atonement, a day of fasting and afflicting our souls demonstrating that we realize the need to have our sins covered and be at one with our Lord.

Lev 23:26  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:27  Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
Lev 23:29  For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 23:30  And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31  Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32  It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

[Here is the link to the next study in this series.

The Spiritual Significance of the Holy Days, Part 4

The Third Holy Day:  The Day of Pentecost

 [Study Aired September 5, 2025]

Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
Lev 23:18  And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.
Lev 23:19  Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
Lev 23:20  And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
Lev 23:21  And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
Lev 23:22  And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Before we get into our study on the spiritual significance of the Day of Pentecost, let’s remind ourselves what all these holy days are intended to accomplish.

Here are some of Paul’s thoughts concerning the holy days and the law of which they are a part:

Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Heb 8:3  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4  For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

This third feast, Pentecost, and all that is revealed about this feast, signifies “the true tabernacle, the church which is the Lord’s body” with all that is revealed about who we are and all the functions we perform in service to the Lord and the fulfilling of His plan for mankind.

This feast of Pentecost is the day on which the New Testament church was born:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This is the only feast in all the year when an offering is made with leaven.

Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

A “meat offering… baken with leaven” was indeed “a new offering” with ‘new’ significance. This is the only day a meal offering was to be “baken with leaven.” That ‘leaven’ in this offering on this holy day signifies the fact that while Christ, our spotless sacrifice, “was made sin which knew no sin”, His body, His firstfruits are not spotless, and they do ‘know sin’ and are all guilty of trespassing against our Lord’s words. That is the spiritual significance of the “two loaves baken with leaven” which were offered only on the day of Pentecost.

This is the only harvest which includes the instructions to leave the gleanings and the corners of your fields for “the poor and the stranger.”

Lev 23:22  And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

These instructions which make provision for the less fortunate in Israel are mentioned many times in relation to “the fatherless and the widow and the poor”, but this is the only feast where “the poor and the stranger” are singled out for making provision for them.

It was on the day of the first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of our Lord that “strangers” are mentioned as those who heard the gospel of our Lord for the first time:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Pentecost is the only holy day which specifically makes provision for “the poor and the stranger”, for ‘poor’ Lazarus who ate of the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table and for ‘the strangers’, the Samaritan woman at the well, and Cornelius the Roman centurion.

Deu 10:19  Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

This is the only holy day which foreshadows the fiftieth year of jubilee, the year of release when all debts are forgiven and every man returns to his inheritance. This is a ‘blessed and holy’ holy day, because it signifies and celebrates the birth and the work of the ‘Saviors on Mount Zion’ (Oba 1:21).

To begin to understand and appreciate the great spiritual significance of the day of Pentecost, we must first realize that the root number of this holy day is the number five which signifies grace through faith.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Here is the link to that study:

The Number Five

The gift of grace through faith is first given to the Lord’s firstfruits. That is why Pentecost is also called “the feast of the firstfruits of thy labors.” Pentecost is the holy day which celebrates those who, with our Lord, are “a kind of firstfruits”.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep [1] the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And [2] the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and [3] the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Exo 34:22  And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

The wave-sheaf offering on the first day after the sabbath during the days of unleavened bread foreshadows and signifies the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our offering being accepted by His Father as first of ‘the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep in Christ’:

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  

Christ was intended by His Father to be given preeminence in all things including being the first of the firstfruits. He was never intended to be the only ‘firstfruit.’

While there was no leaven in the offering of the wave sheaf, there is leaven in the offering of the firstfruits of the “two loaves” of the Pentecost offering. Both are of “finely ground flour”, but the Pentecost offering is “baken with leaven.”

Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; [signifying Christ as the first of the firstfruits] seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

“The church which is His body” (Col 1:14) is referred as “firstfruits” by Paul and James and John:

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Paul alludes to himself and other members of the church as those “which have the firstfruits of the spirit”:

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

He refers to Epaenetus and Stephanas as “the firstfruits of Achaia”:

Rom 16:5  Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1Co 16:15  I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Finally John also calls the church of this present time, signified by the number 144,000, “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb.”

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

 ‘The church, which is the body of Christ (Col 1:24) was birthed “when the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Act 2:1). This holy day signifies those who are the first to believe on Christ and who are referred to as “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” here in Revelation 14:4 and throughout the New Testament where those who are first are always mentioned as being  special to the Lord.

Both Paul and John emphasize the exceptional blessing and favor placed by the Lord upon those “who first trusted in Christ.”

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

It is those “who first trusted in Christ” who will come up in “the resurrection of life” and be given to have a part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [at the beginning of the thousand year reign, (Rev 20:6)]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [at the great white throne judgment, (Rev 20:11-15)]

Pentecost is the only feast to specifically make provision for the fatherless and the poor, both of which signify the New Testament Gentile church which has now become part of the commonwealth  of Israel because Christ has broken down the middle wall of partition between the Jewish and Gentile Christians and has made of both one new man, so making peace (Eph 2:15).

Pentecost signifies the salvation of the church in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), but the counting of seven sabbaths until the morrow after the seventh sabbath signifies the completion of the time needed as carnal babes in Christ, to bring us to true conversion on the day of Pentecost. This is what Christ said to Peter at the Passover meal the night he was apprehended of the Jews at the very beginning of time which is signified by these seven sabbaths which followed the Passover and culminated in the fiftieth day, the day of Pentecost:

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Of course, Peter, who at this stage in maturing signifies us as “carnal babes in Christ”, did deny His Lord during this time of seven sabbaths until the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is Greek for ‘count fifty.’ ‘Pente’ is ‘fifty’, and ‘cost’ is ‘count.’ Seven sevens are required to bring us to acknowledge our part in the crucifixion of our Lord, to deny Him, to weep bitterly in repentance, to live in fear of our lives and to be tried of the Lord who raises up the stormy winds of life, and brings us to our wits’ end, as He did with the apostles during that period of time immediately following the Passover. Before the day of Pentecost and the gift of the holy spirit dwelling within us, we are all “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), afraid for our lives, worried about what our families and friends will think of us, locking our doors and going fishing to avoid having to witness for the Lord. After the day of Pentecost and having the holy spirit now living within us, we are all as brave as a lion and do not let fear keep us from standing up and confessing that we do indeed know Christ and His Father, and we are not ashamed to say that we are His elect.

It was after Pentecost that Peter and all the apostles were dragged before the Sanhedrin, and this time none of them denied their Lord:

Act 5:17  Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Act 5:18  And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Act 5:19  But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Act 5:20  Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
Act 5:21  And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Act 5:22  But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
Act 5:23  Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
Act 5:24  Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
Act 5:25  Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
Act 5:26  Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
Act 5:27  And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Act 5:28  Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

We have no idea how the Lord performed this miracle, but we know He did, and we know these apostles are not the same men who were hiding in fear behind locked doors before the day of Pentecost. Pentecost signifies the giving of the holy spirit, and the holy spirit gives us the mind of Christ who wants nothing but to please His Father and do the things He has given Him to do. Christ was sent to save the world and that the world through Him might be saved:

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Christ, with His Father’s approval has sent us to do what His Father sent Him to do:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. [“That the world through [you] might be saved… [you in Christ are] the propitiation… for the sins of the whole world”]

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

It is at Pentecost that we are given our backbone and are given to fear God rather than men (Act 5:29).

This concludes our study on the day of Pentecost. The next step in the Lord’s plan for our salvation is signified by the Day of Trumpets which will be the subject of our next study.

[The next study in this series can be found here.]

[Study Aired December 4, 2022]

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Act 2:13  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Act 2:22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

In our last study Peter was inspired to remind the other ten apostles that King David had prophesied that Judas was to be replaced. In doing so, he demonstrated that any action against any Old Testament man of God is a prophecy of how Christ and His Christ will be treated by their enemies.

These are the verses in Psalms which the holy spirit inspired Peter to show us were referring to Judas’ betrayal of Christ:

Psa 69:25  Let their home be made desolate; let no one dwell in their tents.

Without explanation he jumped to Psalms 109 and added this verse to make his point that Judas must be replaced:

Psa 109:8  let his days be few; and let another take his office;

Peter tells us these verses refer to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus:

Act 1:20  For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

Based on these words, the apostles appointed two men and cast lots to see who the Lord had chosen to take Judas’ ‘bishoprick’.

Act 1:21  Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
Act 1:22  Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Act 1:23  And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Act 1:24  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Act 1:25  That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Act 1:26  And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Peter had observed how Christ Himself had applied this principle to Himself when quoting the Old Testament:

Joh 13:18  I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

This is the Psalm Christ referred to:

Psa 41:9  Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Verse 5 shows once again that King David is referring to “[his] enemies”:

Psa 41:5  Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?

However, Christ identified with King David and with every righteous patriarch, king and prophet and every godly man or woman of the Old Testament who was persecuted for being obedient to Him and His Word. Therefore, every enemy of theirs was His enemy and was the enemy of His nation Israel and of His body, the church. Peter learned that principle from Christ Himself, and he and all the apostles use this principle when they quote the Old Testament.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

This Pentecost is the day of the birth of the church of Christ. The church was born on this day because the feast of Pentecost is “the feast of… the firstfruits”:

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Contrary to the false doctrine which teaches that this is the only day of salvation, the scriptures teach that there are three distinct harvests of the fruits of this earth which will bring “all in Adam” back to their Lord (1Co 15:22). The order of these harvests is of utmost importance to understanding the plan of God for His creatures.

The first harvest is the death and resurrection of Christ Himself. Christ is the first of the firstfruits as our spotless Passover Lamb who was offered at the beginning of the days of unleavened bread:

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

The second harvest was 50 days later. Hence the name Pentecost, which means ‘count fifty’. Fifty is a multiple of five and therefore signifies the “grace through faith” that was given to mankind on the day of Pentecost.

Here is the link to the study on the spiritual significance of the number five:
Significance of the Number Five

The feast of Pentecost is also called “the feast of… the firstfruits” signifying that we, too, with Christ, “are a kind of firstfruits”, being the beneficiaries of “the first resurrection”:

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

The Lord’s work in the lives of His “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” began on the day of Pentecost, the “feast of… firstfruits”:

The “rushing mighty wind” was the gift of holy spirit which was given to those 120 people. The gift of the holy spirit was accompanied by “cloven tongues of fire”, signifying the fiery witness which was taking place at that moment. The Lord’s Words are called ‘fire’ in scripture:

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

The gift of the holy spirit is the ‘baptism of fire’ promised by both John the Baptist and by Christ:

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

These same ‘fiery words’ of the Lord in Jeremiah’s mouth are the same fiery words of the Lord into which we are all baptized, and which are called a fiery ‘two-edged sword’ in:

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

“They were filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with other languages.” They did not begin to speak in unintelligible gibberish which characterizes the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches of today. We are even told which languages were being spoken by those who were given the holy spirit that day:

Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

The multitude gathered in Jerusalem that day were devout Jews, “out of every nation under heaven”, and they heard the wonderful works of God being spoken of by ‘every man in his own language’:

Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Act 2:13  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

There will always be skeptics. It is right and proper to “try the spirits”, but we should do so with a ‘Berean’ attitude to “see if these things be true”, not with a closed mind that is telling us this is all a hoax, “These men are full of new wine.”

Act 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

“They searched the scriptures daily” with an open mind to see “whether those things were so”.

When the holy spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, Peter, who just a few weeks earlier had denied with an oath that he knew the Lord, was now publicly telling the “men of Judea” what he had found when he had “searched the scriptures [to see] whether these things were so”:

Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Notice that Peter’s words are not addressed to those who had come to Jerusalem to observe this feast from all the countries mentioned in:

Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

None of these people thought those who had been given the holy spirit were drunk because they all said: “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

For many years I thought these were Gentile “devout men, out of every nation under heaven”, but notice what the scripture says:

Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

This is the very birth of the church. Peter has not yet gone to the house of Cornelius, and the apostles themselves are yet… carnal babes in Christ, still offering blood sacrifices for their sins, and still convinced that God is working only with the physical seed of Abraham. Remember what we read in our last study. These events took place over two decades following the death and resurrection of our Lord:

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

If Paul had broken his word concerning the letter sent to the Gentiles in Acts 15, and if indeed he had been teaching the Jews among the Gentiles that they need not keep the law of Moses, this was the perfect opportunity to make that clear. However, Paul had never once told the Jews among the Gentiles that they need not keep the law of Moses, and he was more than willing to “Do… this we say unto you”:

Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself [according to the law of Moses] with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering [a lamb. A blood offering, as if the blood of Christ was not sufficient] should be offered for every one of them.

All who offer offerings at the temple in Jerusalem must be Jews. Gentiles were not the least bit welcome in that temple, and the thousands of Jews at the day of Pentecost at the birth of the church were just as “zealous of the law” of Moses, as they were these decades later when Paul made his final visit to Jerusalem.

Here on the day of Pentecost, Peter is speaking specifically to the “men of Judea”, who did not understand the “wonderful works of God” being spoken of by the apostles and the others who comprised the 120 who received the holy spirit that day.

Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

These were the same Jews which believed on Him one day and were calling for His crucifixion the next day, as Peter revealed when He said:

Act 2:22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

It is true that Christ died to bear the sins of the whole world, but that was not yet understood by these immature apostles and believers who were all Jews on the day of Pentecost. Gentiles were not yet welcome in Jerusalem, much less into the temple.

Deu 23:3  An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:

This is what the holy spirit inspired the apostle Peter to say to the “men of Israel [among whom Christ had been] approved… by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you” (vs 22):

Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

There is no dichotomy or contradiction between what Peter quotes Joel saying and what Paul says about women being quiet in the congregation. The word ‘silence’ is not a proper translation of the Greek word, sigao, which is more often translated ‘hold their peace’:

1Co 14:34  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

All speaking by women is not prohibited in the church as the commandment to Mary to tell the apostles that He had risen was done “in the church” shows us. Nevertheless, it was not done in a capacity of overseeing and teaching the church, which the holy spirit through the apostle Paul in his latest epistles prohibits:

1Ti 2:11  Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
1Ti 2:12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Neither Deborah, the judge, nor Huldah, the prophetess, nor Anna in the temple, ever sought to usurp authority over men. Deborah even upbraided and shamed Barak for insisting that she go with him to the battle:

Jdg 4:8  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
Jdg 4:9  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

The whole story of Deborah and Barak is a testimony of how far from God Israel was at that time:

Isa 3:12  As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

It is those nations who claim the Lord’s name to this day who produce the most women rulers.

There is a proper time and place for women to speak, and the story of Mary telling the apostles of the resurrection was such a place, and the women on whom the holy spirit fell on the day of Pentecost is another such example where “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” and do so properly, not seeking to “usurp authority over the man”.

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Act 2:22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

“Ye men of Israel” [who had seen the] miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by [Christ] in the midst of you” are those to whom Peter is speaking. It was they who could not understand the languages being spoken by the 120 disciples. If Peter has any hopes of being heard by these men, then they surely must truly have seen all these “miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did by Him in [their] midst”. Peter is not speaking to people with the mind of the spirit who could see any of this from a spiritual perspective. These were all unconverted people who had not the least bit of spiritual understanding. They had indeed seen all these “miracles, wonders and signs”, but what about “wonders in the heavens above, and signs in the earth beneath”? Had “the sun [appeared to have] been turned into darkness and the moon [appeared to be turned] into blood before the [judgment of] that great and notable day of the Lord” which was beginning on this very day?

Here is what all these men of Jerusalem had seen just seven weeks earlier at the crucifixion of Christ:

Mat 27:45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

This time of darkness from noon until three P.M. was witnessed by all those in Jerusalem and far beyond Jerusalem. This was an incredible supernatural event because any natural eclipse of the sun lasts no more than a few minutes. It was recorded by many heathen historians as John Gill relates in his commentary on Matthew 27:45:

“…but it is evident, that it is taken notice of, and recorded by Heathen historians and chronologers, as by Phlegon, and others, referred to by Eusebius (d). The Roman archives are appealed unto for the truth of it by Tertullian (e); and it is asserted by Suidas, that Dionysius the Areopagite, then an Heathen, saw it in Egypt; and said, “either the divine being suffers, or suffers with him that suffers, or the frame of the world is dissolving.” (End Quote)

Mat 27:47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
Mat 27:48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
Mat 27:49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Mat 27:50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Mat 27:54  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

The Lord’s own stubborn people were less affected by these things than that Roman “centurion, and they that were with him”.

These events have great spiritual significance concerning the spiritual ‘earthquake’ which the Lord uses to drag us to Himself, but again these words are being addressed to very carnal Jews who were familiar with all these physical events but had not been given to repent of all they had done to facilitate the crucifixion of their own Savior. Like doubting Thomases, this audience had to see to believe, and they had seen all these “miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by [Christ] in the midst of you.”

These unbelieving Jews and Thomas are types of our own self-righteous, rebellious old man.

Joh 20:24  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Joh 20:25  The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Many have believed “that have not seen”, and they are being given a blessing for believing without having to physically see all these things we now are blessed to read about. I used to wish that I had been there with the original twelve apostles to see all the miracles of Christ in real time. Christ tells us “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”.

The disciples had witnessed many more signs and wonders than the Jews who cried out for Christ’s crucifixion:

Joh 20:30  And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

“The things that are made”, including these signs and wonders to which Peter refers, must precede the spiritual:

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

This principle applied to the events surrounding our Lord’s death and resurrection. Christ had to come first in a natural body before we could get to know Him spiritually. That principle also applied to all these “miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by [Christ] in the midst of [these Jews who dwelt in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost].” If the Lord grants us to continue in His faith in these things we have never physically seen, we will be blessed of all men:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

This is the blessing to which we are hoping to attain:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Whether we are given to “have part in the first resurrection” or not it will have nothing to do with anything we did of our own will any more than those who crucified the Lord chose of their own will to do so. Peter reveals who it was who had been determined in advance to be given the bitter task of crucifying our Lord:

Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

The same could be said of the wicked hands of the self-righteous treachery Joseph’s ten brothers conspired against Him. They thought for certain they had rid themselves forever of their pesky ‘Daddy’s boy’ brother. Nonetheless, the words of Joseph to His brothers apply to all things the Lord is doing:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Christ and His Christ are the real ‘daddy’s boys’, who have been given to know the Father and His Son as Joseph knew his father:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

If it is God who has predestined that we are all guilty of our Lord’s crucifixion, then it is incumbent upon the Lord to deliver “every man” from the death into which He has placed “every man”. That is also the very thing we are told the Lord, through His judgments, is doing for every man in Adam:

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Lest any man miss the point being made here, Paul puts it this way:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire [The lake of fire/second death/ white throne judgment].
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

The “all” of the first part of verse 22 is the same “all” of the last part of that verse. Christ’s sacrifice covers “the sins of the whole world”:

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

That is truly good news, and this is the message the Lord has given us to take to this dark and hopeless world. The resurrection of Christ and the giving of the holy spirit on the day of Pentecost are the first two harvests which will lead to the third and final harvest of “all in Adam” at the great white throne judgment where the elect will dwell comfortably in the everlasting flames, judging men and angels:

Deu 8:16  Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

Isa 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Joh 6:58  This [Christ and His Word] is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

There is a resurrection of the dead, and we, of all men, are most blessed (1Co 15:19).

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 149

“The feasts of the Lords will”

February 2, 2019

While preparing for this study, I didn’t really know where I was going to start. So, like with many of my studies, I simply relied on the Lord to guide my thoughts as His spirit flowed through the words I was reading to the typing of my keyboard.

This study is an example of how the Lord is not random in what He is doing, but it quite precise.

That knowledge is like a two-edged sword because if they Lord is working everything after the counsel of His own will, then even then things we think are negative are happening as a direct effect of His will working it.

In our study today, we are going to see how the Lord has pre-orchestrated events which cause us to acknowledge His will in our lives.

Without this causation we might think all things are coincidence or “karma” or some other sort of causation NOT pointing to the Lord.

Our verses for today are found in Deuteronomy 16.

Deu 16:9  Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
Deu 16:10  And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deu 16:11  And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
Deu 16:12  And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

I started with verse 9 because our first verse with the word hand or hands is in verse 10, and I always like to read these verses in context.

This chapter is listing out three time periods which the Lord has purposed for His people to come together in acknowledgement. These times of acknowledgement are given to the people of God so that they can acknowledge the accomplishments the Lord has done in their lives both present day and in the past.

Though we are started at the feast of weeks, also known as the feast of ingathering, the earlier verses speak about the Passover.

Of the verses I have chosen to start reading from, the number 7 is the first prominent point that is being made. With seven being the number of completion, especially of judgment, we can see that the Lord is completing the process of the bounty He has given Israel in the form of a harvest.

There are several things to note here that carry spiritual types for us to implement in our thinking and in our lives today.

Obviously, I will be listing things that are brought to my mind about this topic, but there certainly are many examples that can be taken from these verses.

The next things mentioned that stands out to me is that the Lord tells us to bring a freewill offering according to how the Lord has blessed us.

It is easy to look at the freewill part of these verse, but the real focus is on, “according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee”. Freewill mentioned here is not speaking about your will free from God’s but rather gives us a perfect example of showing how we have nothing to offer unless God has already blessed us.

The third thing I see in these verses is the inclusion of others around us. The Lord doesn’t simply bless only us, but He blesses others via us as well.

The feast of weeks is a feast that the Lord wants to make sure all participate in. In other words, the Lord wants us to sympathy towards those that are around us versus holding grudges, despising or looking down on others.

This phrase “thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you” tells us that the Lord wants us to acknowledge that He has placed these people where they are and we would do well to recognize that.

We are all servants of the Lord no matter what we are doing because the Lord will use what is happening for the good that will inevitably come about from it. Our intentions have not bearing on how the Lord works things in the end.

Gen 50:18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Gen 50:19  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Gen 50:21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Why have I mentioned all of these verses together? Well, the stranger in the land is to be treated just as the “son, daughter or servants”. If we really hearken unto what the Lord teaches us concerning these things, then our outlook should change how we treat others.

We do this because we are commanded to remember that we were once “bondmen in the land of Egypt”. Any other outlook is not acceptable to the Lord and does not glorify Him.

The next set of verses finds us look at the feast of tabernacles.

Deu 16:13  Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
Deu 16:14  And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
Deu 16:15  Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
Deu 16:16  Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
Deu 16:17  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

These feasts were to all designed to acknowledge God in both the blessings of the past, present and future. That is because the Lord encompasses it all.

Passover shows us what the Lord has done for us, the feast of weeks shows us what the Lord us doing for us and the feast of booths shows us that we can celebrate because the Lord has brought us to where we are, and more importantly, where we are going. Without a bountiful harvest, we will not be going anywhere as far as progress with the Lord is concerned.

It is during the time of the feast of tabernacles that we reflect on the blessing of being able to gather in corn and wine. It takes a lot of work and a lot of blessing of the Lord to get us to this point.

Anyone that has gardened, farmed, raised livestock or even been around these things understands the toils involved, but more importantly the absolute reliance on the Lord for the increase to happen. IF the rains don’t come, the crops don’t grow, and the animals die too.

Additionally, the feast of tabernacle shows us that the Lord WANTS us to delight and take grateful pleasure in the work of our hands of which He has blessed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings the Lord gives us, but He wants us to SHARE those blessings as well. That sharing obviously comes in many forms.

Both of these events tell us to be conscious of those around us.

“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee,” is telling us that the Lord knows what He has given us and wants a loving offering given back to the Lord as acknowledgement.

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

This is all good in well, but how do we look at these feasts and apply it to our lives today? Each event we have in our lives leads to the eventual crossing of the finish line where we will no longer need to toil.

However, the Lord wants us to acknowledge Him in all ways until we get there.

Much of our present day lives correspond to the “time period” of Pentecost. Passover certainly happens in ours lives, as well as, the feast of tabernacles.

I find that my daily activities have me reflecting on my walks with the Lord in the form of Pentecost or of being a kind of first-fruit unto the Lord. What do I mean by that?

“Seven weeks shall thou number” tells me this is about completely living my life to the Lord. A week is 7 days, and this is 7 weeks. There is a witness to this completion being works in our lives.

This period begins with the waving of the sheaf offering.

Lev 23:11  And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

It was after this time that the baked loaves were presented to the Lord.

Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

This shows us that we are to dedicate our lives to the Lord because we are a kind of firstfruits. The baked bread represents us acknowledging that the bread is life in us and we are the bread bring offered up unto the Lord.

This all starts with the “Passover sheaf” and ends with the wave of the wave loaves. This all points to a time and cycle in our lives.

Joh 9:3  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Joh 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

We are the light of the world because we have the light in us, and that is how we need to live our lives. If we are always concentrated on the past events of our lives, then we cannot keep our eyes on the mark of the prize of the high calling.

Peter sinking in the water is a perfect example of this. The storm that caused the waves to crash against the boat was a storm of the PAST so to speak. It happened BEFORE Peter was called out onto the water, but it continued into the present time of Peter being called onto the water.

Instead of Peter keeping his eyes on Jesus, Peter looks around and continues to focus on the storm that has already been conquered by Jesus who is currently walking on the water.

Mat 14:22  And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
Mat 14:23  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
Mat 14:24  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Mat 14:25  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Mat 14:26  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Mat 14:27  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Mat 14:29  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Mat 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

What we need to do is concentrate on Jesus coming before us as seen in the Passover.

(ESV) Rom 11:16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

1Co 15:19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1Co 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

We must remember that Jesus died on the Passover and the Spirit of God didn’t come until the Pentecost was fully come.

I point this out to say there is always a waiting period with the Lord when He is working a situation that causes us to wait upon Him.

In the old testament examples, we have read today, the Israelites were being given directions on how to keep the feasts in the flesh, while we can take many, many lessons from the ways we should keep these feasts on both a macro and micro level.

These feasts were kept both individually and as a collective nation.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

I hope we can all continue to dwell upon the mindset that we are indeed very important to the Lord because of the position in His kingdom that He has placed us in, but not only for ourselves but for everyone around and connected to us in one way or another.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 85

“The judgments” Part P

August 26th, 2015

In the previous study we saw the Lord instituted periods of rest for His people. In this study, we are going to skim the surface of the times of feasts the Lord has given His people and what they mean in our lives today as Christians.

Three times a year

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Exo 23:18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
Exo 23:19  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

There are seasons for all sorts of things in our lives. Though it is true that the study today will be covering feast times, even these times have hidden meanings which help us gain a better understanding of the Lord workings His will for us into our lives.

“There is a time for …. _________” and you can fill in the blank. There is a time “under the sun” for everything.

Ecc 3:17  I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

As beasts and sons of men, we should be concentrating more on what makes us sons of God. When we evaluate the verses at the focus of this study today, let us concentrate on how we should be applying them to our daily lives and not only for specific times of the year.

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

In the feasts that are mentioned here, we see three time periods which are obviously separated by varying degrees of time passing. In a “black letters on white paper” sense, we see that during the year the Israelites has to keep three particular feasts.

The first was to recognize their rescue from Egyptian slavery. All males must appear “before the Lord” to keep the feast of unleavened bread.

The feast of unleavened bread

This first feast symbolized a much deeper spiritual meaning for Jews which are inward and of the heart.

Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

We yearn for the praise of God, and to gain that praise we must spiritual partake of the feast of unleavened bread. In this feast, we fully recognize that Jesus Christ was the sacrifice made for all of mankind so that we could be freed of the spiritual bondage and death.

This is the feast which represents our savior coming into our lives and there is NO leaven permitted to taint this sacrifice and offering. This also represented the purist form, the purest form of not having any false doctrine in our lives because Truth – Jesus Christ – cannot be mixed with lies.

1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gal 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
Gal 5:8  This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Yes, leavening represents untruth, lies and false doctrine. As we live out this feast in our lives, we must always be worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. We do this by always keeping in mind who Jesus Christ is to us.

We have been freed and we are now His workmanship. Selah.

The feast of harvest/firstfruits

The second feast we are studying today is one which continues to build upon who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus Christ is a Head and Body. He is a Father and Son. He is a Husband with a Bride.

Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field:

There are a few foundational things to remember about who it is we are in Christ Jesus. We are His body. We are his church.

The church is added to Jesus Christ at Pentecost. I am going to cover a few easily missed, but very important points, if one if just quickly reading through these verses.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Yes, everyone that is fully brought to the “day of Pentecost” is brought to have the same mind and be in the same place spiritually. We must all be at the point Peter described as witnessing during this day of Pentecost.

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

One must call on the name of the Lord. Only we, as His body, know that “His name” is not simply the English words, “Jesus Christ”. His name is so much more than that.

However, calling on the name is not the only requirement that is made.

Act 2:40  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

One must also “receive His Word” and be baptized by the “washing of water BY the Word” (Eph 5:26). Receiving His Word is believing His Word.

Rom 10:6  But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7  Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The “day of Pentecost” comes to those who have a deceitful heart and to “the generation” which must shortly have these things come to pass in their lives.

Acts 2:40 tells us to “save yourselves” from this untoward generation much in the same way we are told to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”.

See, we are both taken from the field and left in the field. That is to say, the old man is taken, and the new man is left IN THE FIELD.

Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

What is the field?

Gen 24:65  For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

The “servant of the Master”, whether it be Christ presenting God the Father to His people, or His angels presenting Jesus to His bride, presents the Master to the future up and coming bride “in the field”.

Here is the field:

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Why is it important to recognize what the field is in context of these feasts the Lord is instituting in Exodus 23?

Act 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Act 2:44  And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
Act 2:45  And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Act 2:46  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

These feasts are feasts which are to be kept daily while it is “to day”. The key to understanding the linking of the field to Exodus 23 and the feasts is that the field is the world.

We, as the children of God, are in the world but are not OF the world. We are in the field laboring, but are not OF the field.

It is true that we have been Of the field BEFORE Pentecost, but part of confessing and believing is being baptized into newness of life and being BORN AGAIN into something different.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

“The ends of the world” are come upon us. What that means for us is that our LABORS are “in the world” but are not “of” the world, and this is CONTINUOUS.

Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

In Acts we just read that they continued daily breaking bread house to house. When we connect that Christ is the Passover and the unleavened bread is sincerity and Truth, when do we stop worshipping God in Spirit and Truth? The answer is we never stop.

If we see that the field is the world, then what we are SOWING in the world are the labors the Lord has given us, and those labors are not something that we need to guess about.

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the REAPERS are the angels.

In “spiritual speak”, for those with eyes to see and ears that hear, Jesus could not have been any more clear. His messengers are the reapers who are told to sow to the field. The reason why is that “the kind of firstfruits” are just first in the process and the feast of INGATHERING of all of mankind will be coming upon everyone!

The feast of ingathering

Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Exo 23:18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
Exo 23:19  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

The three parts of this “year” we are reading about in this study is the process in which God is saving all of mankind. Therefore, we see that “all males” shall appear before God tells us spiritually that all “sons of God” must go through this process.

We cannot offer Truth and untruths during this process. That is to say, that God will not be mocked and anything that is leaven will be cast out of us.

As sons of God, we will be put through the fire but ONLY in our appointed time during this “year long” process of salvation of the Lord.

To bring home this point, Exodus 23:19 ends with “thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk”. Mike wrote a great article about this “seething”, but the word means to boil.

Boiling is a process to mature something whether for eating or purification. However, there is another connection that “seething” has to this conversation.

H1310
bâshal
Total KJV Occurrences: 30
seethe, 9
Exo_16:23 (2), Exo_23:19, Exo_29:31, Exo_34:26, Deu_14:21, 2Ki_4:38, Eze_24:5, Zec_14:21
sodden, 5
Exo_12:9, Lev_6:28 (2), 1Sa_2:15, Lam_4:10
boil, 4
Lev_8:31, Eze_46:20, Eze_46:24 (2)
boiled, 2
1Ki_19:21, 2Ki_6:29
ripe, 2
Gen_40:10, Joe_3:13
bake, 1
2Sa_13:8
baked, 1
Num_11:8 (2)
brought, 1
Gen_40:10
forth, 1
Gen_40:10 (2)
roast, 1
Deu_16:7
roasted, 1
2Ch_35:13
seething, 1
1Sa_2:13
sod, 1
2Ch_35:13

I am going to read the two verses that really bring out a spiritual concept for us on when we are to spiritually “seethe/boil” and when we are not to “seethe/boil”.

Gen 40:9  And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
Gen 40:10  And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe(H1310) grapes:

Joe 3:9  Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
Joe 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Joe 3:13  Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe(H1310): come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

This is a process we are to keep in mind daily as hard as that is to do sometimes. When the time is RIPE, we have been told we are the reapers of the harvest.

However, when someone in our lives is NOT YET being worked with my the Lord, we are told not to try to bring the fire of the Word of God to that person because they have not yet even went through TRUE baptism.

They are still on milk of the Word.

Num 31:23  Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

In order for us to live out these commandments of the Lord in Exodus, we must never despise those around us who do not know what we know or who could be being worked with but are still getting nourishment from the milk of the word.

The latter group must be placed into the “washing of the water by the Word”, the baptism of the “water of separation” of the old and new man before they can have the fire of the world start to burn up the wood, hay and stubble.

I hope this has helped expound upon the ways we keep these feasts in our Christian lives today and every day “unto the end”.

Audio Links

The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God – Part 3

The Instrument of His Power

Introduction

Review of first study – God does have a plan for all mankind

In the first study in this series on the Biblical overview of the plan of God we saw all the scriptures witnessing to the fact that God does indeed have a plan and a purpose for effectuating the salvation of all men of all time. What we saw was that His immutable intention is to head up all of His creation, in heaven and in earth, in the Christ:

Eph 1:10 For an administration of the fulness of the seasons, to reunite for himself (under one head) the all things in the Christ, the things upon the heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him: (REV)

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Everything the Father is doing is being done “by [Christ] and for [Christ]”. God is the author of this plan, and He does not beat around the bush in explaining why He has given Christ the preeminence in all things. He is a God of love, so all He does is out of His love for us, but the reason He gives for placing Christ at the head of His creation is simply this:

Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

So God has revealed to us that He has a purpose and a plan in all He is doing and Christ has been chosen of His Father to be the head of all things, and through Christ the Father is in the process of redeeming to Himself “all things in heaven and in the earth” (Eph 1:10).

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

That was the essence of our first study.

Second study – The sequence of events in the plan of God

In our second study we saw the sequence of the main events of that plan and purpose. Though we did not include the holy days given to ancient Israel in that study, I want to include them in this study because they have hidden within them the revelation of those who will be in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, who we are later informed will be the instrument by which Christ will accomplish all His Father sent Him to do. That is the subject of our study today, so I will go back through the Biblical sequence of events, which lead to the salvation of all men of all time, and we will take special note of the revelation of a dual firstfruits, which are later revealed to be that for which all the creation waits in great anticipation.

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

These holy day festivals reveal the necessary sequence of events in the plan of God. These holy days, which Christ Himself gave to Israel, were actually given “Not unto themselves but… for our admonition” as spiritual shadows of the plan and purpose which God the Father is working out through Christ and for Christ.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

There we are. We are informed that the law of Moses, of which the holy days and their sacrifices and rituals are an integral part, was given to Israel “for our admonition… having a [mere] shadow of good things to come”, and yet most people have no idea what they were really all about, least of all the masses of the Jews and Christians of this world.

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

The holy day festivals given to Israel, “with those sacrifices they offered”, typified “good things [which were] to come” to Christ and His anointed, His Christ. They were not in reality, at that time ministering to the people of the Old Testament, because the faith of Christ was not yet available to any of that era. They were all, at the time those holy day festivals were instituted, still under the “law… for the lawless… [the mere] shadow of good things to come… to whom the promise was [in spiritual reality] made”:

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

The promise appears to the natural man to have been made only to Abraham and his physical seed, but the festival of Pentecost is also called “the feast… of firstfruits”, and it was on that particular feast that the New Testament church was founded:

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the first fruit of thy labours, [The feast of Pentecost] which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering [The feast of tabernacles], which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest [Pentecost], and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

The reason the holy spirit came on the feast of Pentecost was because those who are in Christ, are also “a kind of firstfruits”:

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

This is interesting considering that Christ Himself is called “the firstfruits of them that slept”, and His resurrection is typified by the offering of the wave sheaf of the barley harvest fifty days prior to “the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of [the summer] wheat harvest”.

Lev 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your [barley] harvest unto the priest:
Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
Lev 23:12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish [typifying Christ] of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.

The scriptures reveal that the firstfruits of the wheat harvest of the festival of Pentecost typify those in Christ who are now the spiritual ‘firstfruit’ seed of Abraham:

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

It is believed by most Christians that because Abraham and all the Old Testament saints of Hebrews 11 are said to have had faith, therefore they will all be in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”. Is that really what the scriptures teach? The answer is absolutely not! That is the equivalent of using Exodus 16:4 to prove that manna was the true bread from heaven while ignoring the fact that Christ tells us that the “bread from heaven”, which Israel called ‘manna’, was nothing more than a type and shadow of Himself as the true bread from heaven.

Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Was that Old Testament manna the real “bread from heaven” or was it just a shadow of this Truth?

Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The “bread from heaven” of the Old Testament was “not… the true bread from heaven”. It was nothing more than a spiritual type and shadow of the true bread from heaven, which “true bread” was Christ. Likewise the faith of Abraham was not the true saving faith of Christ, but was a mere type and shadow of that true faith:

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed.

Did Abraham’s faith secure for Him the promises? What do the scriptures teach us?

Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

If they obtained a good report “through faith”, why did they “receive not the promise”? The answer is that their Old Testament ‘faith’ was not “the true” faith any more than “the bread from heaven” of the Old Testament” was “the true bread from heaven”. Both were mere spiritual types of the True, which is Christ, and which was available to no one “till the seed [Christ] should come, to whom the promise was made”. Until that time “We were kept under the law shut up onto the faith which should afterwards be revealed”:

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Abraham did not have “the faith which should afterward be revealed”. The faith of Christ teaches us to ‘love our enemies, and if they take your goods ask them not again’, while the faith of Abraham told him to destroy the kings who had taken Lot and the plunder of Sodom and take the plundered goods back.

Gen 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Gen 14:15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Gen 14:16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

The holy spirit revealed this same Truth to the apostle Peter who goes so far as to tell us that the Old Testament saints “ministered… not unto themselves, but unto us…”

1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Did the Old Testament saints receive saving grace? Absolutely not! They “prophesied of the grace that should come unto [us]… not unto themselves, but unto us…” Did the glory that comes with obedience to the faith of Christ come to the Old Testament saints? No, it did not! Rather it was “the glory that should follow… the sufferings of Christ”. Did all those things that happened to the Old Testament saints happen to them for their own admonition? No, absolutely not! “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister“.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

With all of this in mind, let’s go back and consider what is revealed to us about the purpose and plan of God in the annual holy day festivals that were given to Israel “for our admonition”.

The passover

Those festivals begin with the passover, symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ as our sacrificial passover Lamb. That ‘passover’ sacrifice was foreshadowed in the Garden of Eden when Christ Himself killed an animal to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve after they were made aware of their nakedness by their predestined disobedience to Christ’s commandment that they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

The days of unleavened bread

The passover festival is followed immediately with the days of unleavened bread, showing us that when we are granted to accept the sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood for our sins the consequential affect is that we begin immediately to put sin out of our lives. The days of unleavened bread symbolize the same thing the flood of Noah symbolized. They both foreshadow the doctrine of baptisms, the doctrine of having sin burned out of our lives and being washed clean of our sins by the blood of the Lamb:

Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The sacrifice of the life of our Savior and the purging of sin from our lives are the first two steps of the plan of God for the lives of all men of all time. Whether our judgment is now or in the great white throne judgment, the lake of fire, the same steps must be taken in the same order as it is laid out in the holy day festivals God gave to ancient Israel.

The feast of Pentecost

What the holy day festivals reveal, and what the New Testament also reveals, is that our initial acceptance of Christ as our Savior at the passover festival, and the purging of sin from our lives which the days of unleavened bread signify at that point are an early baptism which is youthful, immature and outward in nature. Our passover and days of unleavened bread conversion precedes the trials of the wilderness where we all rebel against the trials of obeying our Lord’s commandments. We may well have witnessed all the miracles God has performed on our behalf against our enemies while still in Egypt. We have witnessed the death of the firstborn of Egypt for our sakes. We may have ‘come out of Egypt’, we may even have witnessed the power of God to part the Red Sea on our behalf, but all of those miracles are outward gifts which cannot yet change our hearts to the point that the holy spirit can take up its residence within us.

The fact that our knowledge of God is through His outward works on our behalf and not through the trials of the wilderness, which try our faith, is the significance of the “seven sabbaths until the morrow after the seventh sabbath”, before the festival of Pentecost at which holy day the holy spirit was given to the church.

Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Fifty is a multiple of five and indicates the work of chastening grace and faith which begins upon the arrival of the holy spirit within us when we are brought to the day of Pentecost. Until we have been brought to Christ in a more mature stage, having repented of being “carnal… babes in Christ”, we cannot be given the indwelling of the holy spirit. In other words, babes in Christ are indeed “yet carnal” and without the holy spirit dwelling within in a way that begins the chastening and scourging which is experienced by a more mature child who is no longer an immature babe, but has progressed to the point of being capable of receiving the chastening, scourging and tribulations which must be endured by “every [mature] son who [is] received [of the] Lord”.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son [G5207, uihos, maturing son] whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons [uihos]; for what son [uihos] is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards [“carnal… babe[s] in Christ”], and not sons [uihos].

No parent chastens a baby, but any good parent does chasten children who are mature enough to benefit from the pain of a scourging which will make them think twice about disobeying their loving parent. It is of utmost importance for us to know that the Greek word for ‘babes’ in 1Co 3:1-4 is nepios, while the word for ‘son’ and ‘sons’ in Heb 12:6-8 is uihos, meaning a son who is now much more mature and is in need of being chastened and scourged for the purpose of giving him loving rebuking and correction.

This is the Pentecost stage of the plan of God within our lives, and within the plan of God for all men. It is the beginning of the day of judgment in the lives of all who will be part of that “firstfuits of [His] harvest”:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

“Christ the firstfruits” is the resurrected Christ, the anti-type of that wave sheaf of the barley harvest during the days of unleavened bread. Christ’s resurrection immediately followed the passover sacrifice of Himself.

Christ’s resurrection was on the morrow after the sabbath during the days of unleavened bread.

“They that are Christ’s at His coming” is speaking of those who have the kingdom of God “within [them]” (Luk 17:19-20), and who have “died in Christ” since His death and resurrection, continuing up to the time of His coming to establish His kingdom over the kingdoms of this world for the symbolic “thousand years”.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The feast of trumpets

The events which lead up to the rulership of “this world” by the elect of God are pictured within and without by the feast of trumpets on the first day of the seventh month, in the Fall.

Lev 23:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Lev 23:25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Every holy day symbolizes a great work of God within each of us. Outwardly and dispensationally these holy days symbolize a step forward in the plan of God for all men, and yet every holy day is a sabbath because God wants us to know that He is working all things after the counsel of His own plan, purpose, and will, and not because of anything that we do:

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Every step of God’s plan for mankind is to be taken only with “a sacrifice made with fire unto the Lord”. The fire of God’s chastening and scourging does indeed entail torment, but it is a ‘fire’ which burns up and consumes all that can be destroyed by that fire. That which is not consumed and destroyed is purified in that fire. The torment, like the fire itself, has a purpose and an end, and that purpose and end is the cleansing and purifying “every man”. ‘Every man… shall suffer [the] loss” of all the wood, hay and stubble, in his life, “but he himself shall [in the end] be saved, yet so as by fire” (1Co 3:15).

Joseph is a type of Christ, our judge, and the way he dealt with his brothers, who sold him into slavery in Egypt, demonstrates how the fire of the Word of God works in our own lives. It demonstrates how we are judged by the Words of our own mouth and how we reap what we have sown:

Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Gen 42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
Gen 42:24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

It is an emotional thing to have to witness our own brothers and sisters being brought to true and deep repentance through the torment which their own words bring upon them. But we, too, must endure this very same “godly repentance” in our own lives before we will be granted to cause our brothers and sisters to be brought to that same place and time in their lives. Joseph could easily have said, “Hi boys, it’s me, Joseph, your little brother who you sold into slavery. Hey, don’t worry about anything, I have died for you in a sense by spending thirteen years as a slave in Egypt, and now all you have to do is to accept my generous sacrifice for all you did to me.” But that is not what Joseph did, that is not what Christ did for you and me, and that is not what we will do for those in the lake of fire. That fire is the word of God, and this is what that word teaches us about who we are and what we will do:

Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

That is exactly what Joseph’s brothers thought of Him, and it tormented them for many long years. They really believed that when Jacob died, Joseph would get his revenge upon them all for what they had done to him:

Gen 50:15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

It was their own unforgiving heart that caused them to suffer in fear all those years, and so the scriptures were fulfilled which said:

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Contrary to the smooth teaching of the false doctrine of “the substitutionary death of Christ”, Christ is not in the process of saving us with “coffee and doughnuts”. Rather “he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire”. It is much easier to be forgiven and at the same time refuse to forgive those who have trespassed and sinned against us. It would also have been much easier for Joseph to have revealed Himself to his brothers to begin with than for him to have restrained himself from doing so while he tormented them as he did. But these things happened to them, and they are written for our admonition upon whom these very same “ends of the world have come”. That is right, these events are the events that come upon us all in “the ends of the age”, both inwardly and dispensationally and outwardly.

As the apostle warned us, and as our Lord Himself taught us, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap [by] the tormentors… till the debt is paid”:

Mat 18:32 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:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

All of these lessons are learned first by those who are pictured as the firstfruits of the feast of Pentecost. From Pentecost to the feast of trumpets is the time from the summer to the fall. It is during this extended time that we are being matured through fiery judgments which “begin at the house of God”. Those fiery words apply to us first, and we are the first to be judged out of our own mouths, according to the idols of our own hearts” (Eze 14:1-9).

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked [the first man Adam, the beast, the man of sin within all of us] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

“That wicked… shall [be] consume[d] with the spirit of His mouth”. In other words, “that wicked” is consumed by the fiery words of Christ in the mouths of His firstfruit witnesses.

Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

“The feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest” is the feast of Pentecost, and “the feast of ingathering at the year’s end” is the double festival of tabernacles and the last great day.

This festival, “the blowing of trumpets”, is only nine days before the day of atonement, indicating that these two festivals are closely associated with each other. That association is the fact that our sins cannot be covered without first drinking the cup Christ drank and being baptized with the baptism He was baptized with, which are both typified by the trumpet judgments of Revelation 16 within our lives. This judgment is even now taking place within the lives of those who are “the house of God” and are acknowledged as such at the feast of trumpets (1Pe 4:17).

As the seven priests with the seven trumpets circling Jericho demonstrate, the festival of trumpets acknowledges that the day of judgment “begins at the house of God”, and has been taking place since that house was established within us. But judgment is accomplished in all men “each in his own order”. In time God’s trumpet judgments will include “all [who are] in Adam”, but at this time judgment is being administered by the “seven priests” who are also called the seven angels of the seven churches, which angels we are also told blow the seven trumpets and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God which are essential to “consume [the man of sin} with the spirit of [their] mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming”.

Jos 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked [the first man Adam, the beast, the man of sin within all of us] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Who is this angel and this beast? Here is the angel’s own answer to that question:

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel of Rev 17:1]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

It is through the blowing of the seven trumpets by the seven priests that Jericho’s walls, typifying the walls and fortifications of the kingdom of the beast within us, are destroyed. As we showed earlier it all “begins at the house of God”:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“Begin” does not mean that this is the end of God’s judgments. It is just the beginning, and it begins within His own “house”, His firstfruits, His “body which is His church”. This is how Paul describes this judgment which “begins at the house of God”:

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

This verse reveals a great truth which many who have been deceived by the false doctrine of a “substitutionary death”, will and do consider to be blasphemy. Nevertheless Paul very clearly states here that his own sufferings are for “[Christ’s] body’s sake, which is the church”. He even states that this suffering in his body is “the afflictions of Christ in my body… which are behind [Greek: lacking] of the afflictions of Christ”. It is all a work of God and not of us, but it is being done through us “for His body’s sake, which is the church” as we will discuss in our study next week, if the Lord wills.

The next holy day is the day of atonement, only nine days after the feast of trumpets. It is followed five days later by the feast of tabernacles and the last great day, which we will get to next week, Lord willing.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]

Greeting in Christ,

I ran into your article below when searching for a scripture for a paper I’m writing.
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ David_ have_ HS. php

I was reading fast as I’m pushed for time but I saw no mention of 1Sa 16:13. This expressly states that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
With reference to the ‘hit list’ you mentioned as evidence David was not Spirit- filled I think you are misunderstanding that list somewhat. It is made up of people who were a danger to Solomon and the general well- being of the nation of Israel and their walk with the Lord. Therefore David is warning Solomon to take action against them. This is much like we are encouraged in the new testament to take lethal action against the flesh. Crucify it and kill it so it can not rise up and destroy our spiritual walk. As usual the old testament is a physical picture of a new testament spiritual truth.
I don’t think you have any basis to believe that David was not Spirit- filled upon the basis of 1Sa 16:13 and Psa 51:11. The Word of God is very clear that David was Spirit- filled. It seems you are trying to use ‘the sum of thy word’ to prove a clear claim of the bible to be wrong, but you can’t do that. The bible won’t contradict itself and it clearly states…

“… and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.”

Blessings in Him,
A____

Hi A____,
Thank you for taking the time to at write to me of your concerns.
You say:

I was reading fast as I’m pushed for time but I saw no mention of 1Sa 16:13. This expressly states that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

As I said in that letter you read, “it is never my intention to offend but to instruct.” In that spirit I would ask you to reread that letter much slower when you have more time.
It is obvious that you have not taken the time to consider any of the questions posed in that letter. I quote and deal with Psa 51:11 where King David, says “take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” What is the difference between that verse and 1Sa 16:13? Of course God’s “holy spirit came upon” King David, and of course, King David, in shadow and in type, had the “the holy spirit upon him”. But King David certainly was not in any way “born again of the spirit,” and he certainly did not have God’s holy spirit within His heart and mind to change him from being a carnal king to becoming a spiritual king, as you yourself note when you say:

As usual the old testament is a physical picture of a new testament spiritual truth.

And in the same breath you dismiss the fact that King David meant for Solomon to literally kill Joab, Shimei and others.

1Ki 2:8 And, behold, thou King Solomon hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
1Ki 2:9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou [ art] a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

Does that sound like someone who is “born again of the spirit” and has been empowered to “love his enemies, and to do good to them that despitefully use and persecute you for my name’s sake”? I think you know that is not a forgiving born- again spirit in King David.
That was but one of several very pertinent questions which I posed in that letter. So please take the time to reread that letter and for your own benefit, take the time to answer the questions as posed.
No, King David was as carnal as the day is long, just as Elijah was when the Lord had him to call down fire from heaven and kill two captains and their fifties.

Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw [ this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [ them]. And they went to another village.

Christ’s disciples were of the exact same spirit King David was of. It was a spirit of vengeance and hatred for one’s enemies.
As I posed in that e- mail, if the holy spirit could have been given before Christ came and died, then Christ was lying to his disciples when He told them that it was absolutely necessary that He return to His Father or the holy spirit could not come. I copied that letter for you below. Here is a cut and paste from that letter, which I don’t think you had the time to consider:

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
If, as you say…,
It would seem the Holy Spirit was indeed available to a select few BEFORE Pentecost. I’m left to conclude that David will probably be in the first resurrection then. What do you say??
… then what Christ is telling His disciples here is a blatant lie, and it is not expedient at all that He die or “the Comforter will not come unto you…”

I look forward to reading your answers to those questions which concern the sum of God’s Word. You are right, God’s Word does not contradict itself, but our lack of understanding sometimes makes it appear that “grace and truth” were both already here before Christ. Is that really what you believe? Do you really believe that King David is greater than John and will be in the kingdom of God that rules the nations with a rod of iron during the millennium? If that is what you believe, are you not making God’s word to contradict itself when it says this?

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Again, I am not intending to offend you, but your reading of that letter was obviously very cursory, as you admit, so please take the time to read and consider the scriptures included in that letter.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike,
Please comment on these scriptures for me.

Act 19:6  And when Paul had laid [ his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues (G1100), and prophesied.
Act 10:45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46  For they heard them speak with tongues (G1100), and magnify God….
1Co 14:18  I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
1Co 14:39  Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues (G1100).

Guess I am still hung up on this “tongues” subject. It sounds to me like there was still a prayer language, not to be spoken in the church without an interpreter, etc. At Cornelius’s home, they possibly all spoke the same language. Would you straighten me out? Do you think Paul was saying that he spoke many more languages than the rest of them?

Thank you for your time, when you get it.
YSITC,
F____

Hi F____,

I understand this struggle because I have endured it myself. I hope this is of some help in your understanding of what happened on the day of Pentecost. What happened then was, according to Peter, the very same thing that happened at Cornelius’s house, and there is no reason to think that it was not the same in every instance.
As I point out in this e- mail, there simply is not one scripture as a Biblical basis for speaking in unknown tongues. The fact that Paul says “my understanding is unfruitful” and “in the spirit I speak mysteries” in no way proves that Paul or anyone with the gift of tongues had an ‘unknown angels tongue’. What it does prove is that the people who spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost did not understand the language they were speaking. But that does not make it any less a language. We are told that those speaking were speaking “in our own language”.

Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

As you can see in the verses you have sent me, the number for the word ‘tongues’ is G1100, and the word is glossa, and it means a language. You cannot interpret a nonexistent language. There is no need for a nonexistent language because there would be no way of “interpreting” that language. The tongues of scripture are intended to be “spoken clearly… for a sign to the unbelievers,” and then they were to be “interpreted” for the benefit of the believers also. We are even told that it is incumbent upon the person with the gift of tongues to seek out an interpreter before he speaks in that language as a sign to an unbeliever, and if there is no interpreter available, then the person with the gift is told not to speak in that language at all.

1Co 14:27  If any man speak in an [ unknown] tongue, [ let it be] by two, or at the most [ by] three, and [ that] by course; and let one interpret.
1Co 14:28  But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

We are not told to speak first and then find out if there is an interpreter, instead we are told “If there be no interpreter let him keep silence” Do any of those who practice this doctrine follow these instructions?
Yes, the holy ghost did cause people to speak in other tongues, and I certainly would never “forbid anyone to speak in tongues”; known or unknown. But I always demonstrate with the scriptures, that there is no scriptural basis for speaking in something that is not a tongue, and is instead a counterfeit of what happened on the day of Pentecost in Act 2. Yes, the holy ghost was given after believing and being baptized in many instances, like at Samaria in Act 8 and Ephesus in Act 19. But that just demonstrates that newborn babes are still carnal. It does not demonstrate that anyone spoke in unintelligible syllables, and there is no reason to believe that the language of prayer is any different than the languages of Pentecost.
I hope this helps you to understand this subject. If not please let me know what is still unclear.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike

Today I was wondering why God ordained fall and summer! What do you think? Do you know a few reasons why? Does one or the other come first on God’s calender?

J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for your question. You ask why God ordained fall and summer, and if the one precedes the other on God’s calendar.
The reason God ordained all of the seasons is to show us how He is performing His spiritual work in our lives. Remember what Paul told the Roman converts:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Well, who made the seasons? That was of course God, and in the seasons there is a great lesson for us all. Look at this verse in Ecclesiastes.

Ecc 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

It so happens that the seasons of the year carry great spiritual significance which reveals the entire plan of God to save all men of all time.
You ask if one season comes first on the calendar, and the answer is, yes, spring comes first on reckoning God’s seasons. Here is the order in which the seasons of God’s working with His creation is listed:

Exo 12:2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

It was in this first month that the first Passover took place, and it was in the first month on the fourteenth day of the month. Lev 23 gives us the feasts of Israel, and in doing so they reveal to us God’s plan for all mankind.
That is much too deep a study for an e- mail, but it does reveal that God has a season for everything, and it is a very orderly arrangement.

Lev 23:4  These are the feasts of the LORD, [ even] holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
Lev 23:5  In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
Lev 23:6  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

The Passover and the days of unleavened bread show us that when we come to realize that Christ has died for our sins, then we begin to put the leavening of sin out of our lives.
This 23rd chapter of Leviticus lays out all of God’s feasts for Israel in order. The summer feast was called Pentecost (meaning ‘county fifty’) because it came fifty days after the offering of the wave sheaf of the spring barley harvest. But that was a type of the offering of Christ for our sins. But Christ is not all there is to God’s harvest. There are yet two other harvests before God brings all men to Himself.
Here are all three harvests. They are listed in Exo 23.

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Notice that the feast of Pentecost, is also called “the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of your labors…” So Christ is harvested first at the beginning of the year, during the spring. But that is followed by the “feast of firstfruits” of the summer wheat harvest. This typified the founding of the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost. But Pentecost is not the last of the harvests of God. There is yet one more season of harvest for our Lord, and that harvest is in “the end of the year.”

Exo 23:16 (b) and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

This fall harvest, “which is in the end of the year,” is also called “the feast of tabernacles, and it typifies the lake of fire harvest.
Christ never kept these seasons outwardly after He began His ministry. He made a point of not going up for the first day of unleavened bread as Moses commanded, and He made a point of eating the ears of corn on the sabbath and telling the man he healed to pick up his bed on the sabbath, contrary to the command of Moses. Christ did not observe the holy days that he had given Moses because he wanted us to know that He was “Lord of the sabbath”, and that one “greater than the temple” and one “greater than Jonas is here.”

Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

Mat 12:41  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

If Christ left us an example, as the scripture tells us, then that example is definitely one of not observing days, months, times and years. And that is exactly what we are warned that we are not to do as God gives us the grace to follow His example.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

If Christ set us an example of not keeping His own days, months, times and years, which He had given to Moses for Israel to keep, then He certainly does not want us to be keeping Pagan days, month, times and years. Here is what Christ told Moses concerning the ways of the nations around Israel:

Deu 12:29  When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deu 12:30  Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Deu 12:31  Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

God told Moses that the observance of the ways of the Pagans was an “abomination” to him. As always, when God says “Thou shalt not,” He does so because He knows that is exactly what we will do. And so He repeats this admonition in the New Testament:

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

It should be obvious from these verses that neither Paul nor Christ observed days, months, times or years.
I hope this all helps you to see that God does indeed have a reason for His seasons, but those seasons have nothing at all to do with any outward observance of either Jewish holy days or of the Pagan holidays which are so widely celebrated in the entire western world.
Your brother in Christ,

Mike