[Part 1 of this Study Aired February 4, 2025]

Study Audio – Part 1 – Download

[Part 2 of this Study Aired February 11, 2025]

Study Audio – Part 2 – Download

The Purpose of Christ’s Millennial Reign

Christ’s thousand-year reign serves as a crucial stage in fulfilling God’s eternal purpose for mankind. This purpose was first declared in Genesis 1:26: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth.” While this declaration includes dominion over creation, its deeper significance points to mankind bearing God’s image internally, following the principle that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). The millennium demonstrates why external dominion without internal transformation cannot fulfill God’s ultimate purpose.

Looking at Genesis 2:7, we see Adam’s fundamental nature: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This shows Adam was created from earth – natural, not spiritual. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.“

God’s eternal purposes cannot be thwarted, as Isaiah declares: “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24). This unchangeable purpose is further confirmed by Ephesians 1:11, which states that God “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.“

The millennium reveals how Christ, as the last Adam, fulfills God’s eternal purpose by bringing forth spiritual life where only natural life existed before. As Paul explains: “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). This follows God’s order – “that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46).

God’s work of restoration through Christ’s millennial reign follows His unchangeable pattern seen throughout scripture – the old must be removed before the new can be established. The prophet Jeremiah revealed God’s method: “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). Ezekiel further confirmed this pattern, declaring: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown…I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Ezekiel 21:26-27). This principle reflects the truth that “the law having a shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1) must give way to the spiritual reality it foreshadowed.

The millennium fulfills a crucial purpose in revealing the limitations of external righteousness. God establishes this period of just governance under Christ to prove conclusively that even ideal conditions cannot transform human nature. Despite experiencing Christ’s righteous rule, Satan’s binding, and enforced peace, the natural mind retains its fundamental opposition to God. John exposes this unchangeable reality: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). This truth explains why Jesus emphasized that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). The prophet Jeremiah further revealed this internal condition: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). These scriptures together demonstrate that true transformation must occur from within, not through external circumstances, no matter how good they may appear to be.

The millennium serves as the ultimate demonstration of mankind’s need for spiritual regeneration. God previously revealed this truth through Israel’s wilderness experience, where despite daily miracles, heavenly provision, and the Lord’s visible presence, the people repeatedly rebelled. As scripture records: “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy” (Psalm 78:41-42). Now through the millennium, God expands this lesson to encompass all nations, proving universally what He showed through Israel – that prime external conditions cannot transform the human heart. The prophet Jeremiah revealed God’s solution to this deep-seated problem: “And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7). This work of internal transformation accomplishes what a thousand years of ideal conditions cannot achieve.

The timing of the millennium in God’s plan reveals profound spiritual wisdom. By placing this thousand-year period before the final judgment, God establishes an undeniable witness to humanity’s need for spiritual rebirth. Jesus laid the foundation for understanding this truth when He declared: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). The millennium demonstrates the full implications of this statement by showing how even the most righteous external conditions cannot elevate the flesh to spiritual life. This aligns with Paul’s revelation that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Through the millennium, God proves conclusively that transformation must come through His work alone, “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Signs Before the Thousand Year Reign

While God reserves the precise timing of Christ’s millennial reign in His sovereign wisdom, He provides clear signs to prepare His people for these momentous events. Jesus established this principle of watching for signs while acknowledging godly timing: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Yet He also commanded vigilance: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42). This aligns with God’s consistent pattern of revealing His purposes progressively, as Amos declared: “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Through these revelations, God enables His people to recognize the season of His appearing, even while the exact timing remains hidden in His counsel.

As we examine the signs preceding Christ’s millennial reign, we must remember that these prophecies reveal spiritual truths about mankind’s condition and need for transformation, rather than serving as a checklist of current events to interpret. The purpose of understanding these signs is to recognize mankind’s need for spiritual rebirth, not to predict specific dates or match prophecies to world events.

The first major sign Jesus identified centers on widespread spiritual deception. This deception manifests through false claims to Christ’s authority: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). This proliferation of spiritual counterfeits matches God’s revealed pattern of testing His people, as Moses warned: “For the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:3). The Holy Spirit further detailed this spiritual climate through Paul: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). The prophet Joel saw this period as one of profound spiritual darkness: “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness” (Joel 2:2). This spiritual confusion serves God’s purpose of separating those who truly love truth from those who merely profess it, as Paul explained: “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

The intensification of international conflicts stands as another crucial sign of Christ’s approaching reign. Jesus provided specific details about this increasing turmoil: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:6-7). This upheaval fulfills what God revealed through Isaiah: “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard” (Isaiah 24:19-20). The prophet Daniel received further insight about this tumultuous period: “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Daniel 12:1). This unprecedented level of conflict serves God’s purpose of shaking all human institutions, as Haggai prophesied: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations” (Haggai 2:6-7). Through these events, God exposes the futility of human attempts at peace apart from His rule, fulfilling Paul’s words: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Throughout history, God has used natural phenomena to accomplish His purposes, and the approach of Christ’s reign follows this pattern. Jesus specifically identified environmental upheaval as a key sign: “And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matthew 24:7). These disturbances reflect a deeper spiritual shaking, as the prophet Isaiah foresaw: “The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:4-5).

These natural disruptions serve as both judgment and warning. The prophet Amos revealed this purpose: “And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest… yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD” (Amos 4:6-7). Even these judgments demonstrate God’s mercy, as He uses physical circumstances to draw people to repentance. This follows His unchanging pattern seen in Joel’s prophecy: “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:12-13).

The intensity and frequency of these events will increase as Christ’s return approaches. The prophet Joel specifically addressed this escalation: “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:30-31). These shakings serve to remove confidence in human systems and prepare hearts for Christ’s rule.

The degradation of moral standards serves as another unmistakable sign of Christ’s approaching reign. Paul provided a detailed prophecy of this moral collapse: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good” (2 Timothy 3:1-3). This deterioration reflects what happened in Noah’s time, as Jesus warned: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

The prophet Isaiah identified a key aspect of this moral decay – the deliberate confusion of good and evil: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21). This confusion doesn’t happen by accident but results from rejecting divine standards, as Paul explained: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28).

This moral decline particularly affects family relationships, fulfilling Jesus’s prophecy: “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death” (Matthew 10:21). The breakdown of natural affection that Paul mentioned manifests especially in family structures, demonstrating how deeply this moral decay penetrates society’s foundations. The prophet Micah saw this dissolution of family bonds: “Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother” (Micah 7:5-6).

Daniel’s prophecy about the end times specifically highlighted an unprecedented increase in knowledge and mobility: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). This explosion of information and travel capabilities marks our era distinctly from all previous generations. Yet this increase in knowledge, while fulfilling prophecy, often leads to what Paul described: “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

The prophet Isaiah foresaw this paradox of increased knowledge without true wisdom: “The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid” (Isaiah 29:14). This validates Solomon’s observation that “in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Human knowledge, divorced from God’s wisdom, leads to pride rather than understanding, fulfilling Paul’s warning that “knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth” (1 Corinthians 8:1).

This technological advancement, while appearing as progress, often serves to deceive through “signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). The ability to manipulate creation at increasingly fundamental levels reflects mankind’s continued attempt to usurp God’s role, echoing the tower of Babel incident where God observed: “and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:6). Yet all this knowledge and technological power ultimately fails to address humanity’s fundamental spiritual need, proving Solomon’s wisdom that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

Israel’s restoration as a nation stands as one of the most visible signs heralding Christ’s approaching reign. Jesus used the fig tree, a consistent biblical symbol for Israel, to mark prophetic timing: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:32-33). This regathering of Israel fulfills numerous prophetic promises, demonstrating God’s faithfulness to His covenants.

The prophet Ezekiel detailed this restoration with remarkable precision: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land” (Ezekiel 37:21). Amos further specified that this restored nation would maintain permanent residence in their land: “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God” (Amos 9:15). Isaiah foresaw this gathering happening suddenly: “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once?” (Isaiah 66:8).

This restoration serves multiple purposes. First, it demonstrates God’s sovereign control over nations, fulfilling His word through Jeremiah: “For, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid” (Jeremiah 30:10). Second, it provides a visible witness to all nations of God’s faithfulness, as Ezekiel prophesied: “And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore” (Ezekiel 37:28). Finally, it prepares for Christ’s millennial reign from Jerusalem, fulfilling Isaiah’s vision: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2).

These prophetic signs should stir believers to spiritual preparation rather than fear or anxiety. Paul explains this distinct position of God’s people: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5). This knowledge brings acknowledgment of God’s work, as Peter emphasizes: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11). This verse shows us examining and giving account of what God is producing in us, for “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

The prophet Isaiah provides specific guidance for this preparation: “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7). This internal preparation matters more than external responses. Again the prophet Isaiah describes the character God seeks during times of judgment: “but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).

Understanding these signs should deepen our reliance on God’s wisdom rather than human understanding. As Solomon counsels: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). This dependence becomes especially crucial as deception increases, fulfilling Jesus’s warning: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).

Rather than being overcome by events, believers should find hope in seeing God’s prophecies fulfilled. As Jesus encouraged: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). These signs confirm that God works all things according to His eternal purpose, as Paul declared: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

The Preparation for Christ’s Kingdom

God orchestrates specific events to prepare for Christ’s millennial reign, each following His sovereign timing and eternal purpose. The prophet Isaiah revealed this orchestration: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 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” (Isaiah 46:9-10). The first major preparatory event involves the resurrection and transformation of those who died in Christ. Paul unveils this mystery: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This resurrection marks the beginning of God’s visible intervention to establish His kingdom through Christ.

The priority of this resurrection follows God’s established pattern seen throughout scripture. God commanded Israel concerning harvests: “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God” (Exodus 23:19). This physical requirement revealed a deeper spiritual truth about God’s order of resurrection. Christ fulfilled the firstfruits pattern in His own resurrection, as Paul explains: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21). These resurrected saints represent the next wave of God’s spiritual harvest, following Christ the firstfruits. The prophet Isaiah glimpsed this order: “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” (Isaiah 26:19). Hosea further confirmed this promise of resurrection: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14).

Following the resurrection of the dead in Christ, living believers undergo an instantaneous transformation. Paul reveals the sequence: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). He further unveils the nature of this transformation: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). This change reflects Christ’s own glorification, as John testifies: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Paul elaborates on this conformity to Christ’s image: “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:21). The prophet Isaiah foresaw this glorious transformation: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

The establishment of Christ’s kingdom requires the removal of all opposing spiritual influences, beginning with Satan himself. God revealed this necessity through Isaiah: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17). John witnesses this purifying action in his vision: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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” (Revelation 20:1-3). This binding fulfills God’s ancient promise to crush the serpent’s power, first declared in Genesis: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head” (Genesis 3:15). The prophet Zechariah foresaw the complete purification this brings: “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (Zechariah 13:2). Through this action, the way is prepared for Christ’s uncontested rule over the earth.

The Structure of Christ’s Government

The governmental structure of Christ’s millennial kingdom reveals God’s pattern of authority and administration. At its center stands Jerusalem, the city God chose for His eternal purpose. David captured this holy selection in Psalm 132:13-14: “For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” The prophet Jeremiah further elaborated on Jerusalem’s future role: “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 3:17).

While Scripture provides these detailed descriptions of governmental structure, we must remember that ”the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) and that Jesus’ words are ”spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). These prophecies and descriptions do represent profound spiritual realities rather than purely physical arrangements. Just as the law served as ”a shadow of good things to come’‘ (Hebrews 10:1), these governmental descriptions do reveal spiritual truths about Christ’s authority and rule in His people rather than merely detailing physical administrative structures. Following the principle that we should compare ”spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13), we understand these prophecies have deeper spiritual significance beyond literal physical fulfillment. While God will establish His authority through Christ’s reign, the exact physical manifestation of this government may differ from interpretations of these prophetic passages.

From this heavenly center, Christ and His transformed saints will administer righteous judgment throughout the earth. Isaiah provides a detailed picture of this worldwide government: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). This governance fulfills God’s original purpose declared through Daniel: “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away” (Daniel 7:14).

The distribution of authority within this government follows principles of proven faithfulness. Christ Himself established this standard in His parable: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:21). This pattern appears again when He teaches: “And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17). These passages reveal that positions of authority in Christ’s kingdom are assigned based on proven character rather than natural abilities or human selection.

The structure of Christ’s millennial government includes clearly defined roles, beginning with the twelve apostles. Jesus personally guaranteed their positions of authority: “That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:30). He further confirmed this appointment with a specific promise: “Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

Beyond the apostles’ authority over Israel’s tribes, transformed saints exercise authority over other aspects of the kingdom. Daniel foresaw this shared reign: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High” (Daniel 7:27). The prophet Isaiah detailed how this righteous rule would function: “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:1-2).

This government maintains order through godly power because those being ruled still possess a carnal nature requiring strict oversight. Paul explains this fundamental opposition between flesh and spirit: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Therefore, as John reveals, Christ “shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Revelation 2:27). The prophet Isaiah describes this firm but righteous rule: “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4).

From Jerusalem’s throne, God’s truth and authority extend outward to encompass all nations. Ezekiel saw this expansion symbolized through an extraordinary vision of water flowing from the temple: “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward…And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles…Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over” (Ezekiel 47:1,3,5).

This expanding river represents how knowledge and authority progressively fill the earth. The prophet Habakkuk foresaw this universal spread of truth: “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Isaiah reveals how this instruction reaches individuals: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). Under Christ’s government, confusion about God’s will vanishes as “the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken” (Isaiah 32:3).

During this period, nations regularly journey to Jerusalem to learn God’s ways. Zechariah describes this pattern: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zechariah 14:16). Isaiah expands on this prophetic picture: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

This millennial government serves a purpose beyond maintaining external order – it demonstrates profound spiritual truths about human nature. Just as Israel in the wilderness received perfect leadership through Moses, daily miracles of provision, and God’s visible presence, yet remained carnal in their thinking, so will the nations during the millennium experience favorable conditions under Christ’s rule while their inner nature remains unchanged. Paul recorded this crucial lesson from Israel’s experience: “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:5).

This godly administration reveals why external perfection cannot transform the inner nature of man. The prophet Isaiah described this limitation: “Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD” (Isaiah 26:10). Even with righteousness enforced and Satan bound, the natural heart remains resistant to God’s rule. Because “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

The millennium particularly demonstrates the insufficiency of knowledge alone to change human nature. Though truth fills the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9), the prophet Amos foresaw a different kind of famine: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11). This prophecy reveals how even amid abundant spiritual light, the natural mind remains spiritually deaf and blind unless transformed by God’s power. As Isaiah explained: “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (Isaiah 6:9).

Satan Loosed: The Final Testing

After a thousand years of the rulership of Christ’s, God administers a final test that conclusively reveals the true state of human nature. John describes this divine purpose: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison” (Revelation 20:7). This release follows God’s consistent pattern of testing seen throughout scripture, serving to manifest what lies within unregenerate hearts. Moses explained this principle to Israel: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

God’s method of testing always exposes what already exists within, as Jeremiah revealed: “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10). This final test proves definitively that even favorable conditions cannot transform human nature – only regeneration through Christ can accomplish this change. The prophet Ezekiel foretold this necessary internal transformation: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

This testing follows the pattern God established with Israel, where external blessings often revealed internal rebellion. As Moses warned: “But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation” (Deuteronomy 32:15). The millennium’s conditions similarly expose mankind’s continued opposition to God’s rule, fulfilling what David prophetically observed: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 53:1).

The End of the Millennial Reign

The results of Satan’s release provide conclusive evidence about mankind’s true spiritual condition. After being bound for a thousand years as John witnessed: “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” (Revelation 20:3). This divinely determined “little season” serves God’s purpose – it is long enough to manifest what lies in unregenerate hearts, yet brief enough to demonstrate God’s complete control over evil. Despite experiencing a thousand years of just government, peace, ideal conditions, and abundant provision, the nations of the world quickly succumb to Satan’s deception. John records the astonishing scope of this rebellion: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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” (Revelation 20:7-8).

This rapid turning against God’s rule mirrors Israel’s pattern in the wilderness. Despite witnessing God’s miracles daily – the manna, the pillar of fire, the cloud of glory – they repeatedly rebelled. The psalmist captured this persistent ingratitude: “How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy” (Psalm 78:40-42). This pattern reveals a profound truth about human nature – external blessings without internal transformation lead to greater rebellion.

The deceived nations gather for one final assault against Jerusalem and God’s people. John describes this culminating rebellion: “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city” (Revelation 20:9). The prophet Joel foresaw this gathering: “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… Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about” (Joel 3:9,11). However, God’s judgment comes swiftly and decisively: “And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (Revelation 20:9).

After this final rebellion is crushed, Satan faces his ultimate judgment. John witnesses this decisive moment: “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” (Revelation 20:10). This judgment fulfills the prophetic promise: “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet” (Psalm 91:13). The prophet Isaiah had glimpsed this final defeat: “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1).

Then comes the great white throne judgment, where all remaining issues find resolution. John describes this awesome scene: “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” (Revelation 20:11). This judgment fulfills what Daniel foresaw: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:9-10).

At this judgment, even death itself faces final destruction: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Revelation 20:14). This fulfills Paul’s prophecy that “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26) and realizes God’s promise: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces” (Isaiah 25:8).

God’s Ultimate Purpose Accomplished

These events reveal profound spiritual truths about God’s work in mankind. The millennium demonstrates what Paul explained about the natural and spiritual order: “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46). Just as God created the natural Adam before bringing forth the spiritual Christ, He uses the millennium to prove conclusively that even exemplary physical conditions cannot produce spiritual life.

The lake of fire represents God’s method of bringing spiritual life through death, following Christ’s fundamental principle: “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” (John 12:24). The prophet Isaiah foresaw this transformative process: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2).

All these events lead to the fulfillment of God’s ultimate purpose, as Paul declares: “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power… And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28). Through this sequence, God accomplishes His eternal plan of bringing all creation to spiritual life in Christ, fulfilling His original declaration about mankind: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).

What appears as defeat serves God’s purpose of victory. The natural creation’s complete failure during the millennium, despite suitable conditions, leads to the very circumstances through which God brings forth spiritual life. As Paul reveals: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).

The millennium and its aftermath demonstrate God’s righteous wisdom in bringing forth spiritual life. What begins with mankind’s creation in God’s image finds its fulfillment through a carefully designed process that proves one essential truth – spiritual life cannot emerge from improving the natural, but must come through death and resurrection. As Paul explains: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-24).

This process fulfills what Paul revealed as God’s ultimate purpose: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11:36). The message of Numbers glimpsed this glorious outcome: “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” (Numbers 14:21). Isaiah too saw this completion: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).

Through these events, God demonstrates His sovereign control over all creation, working everything according to His eternal purpose. As Daniel declared: “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). This fulfills God’s declaration through Isaiah: “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24).

The millennium thus serves its purpose in God’s plan, proving that true transformation comes only through His work. As Jeremiah prophesied: “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). Through this process, God achieves His eternal purpose of conforming all creation to the image of His Son, that Christ “might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

Exiles in the Bible – Adam & Eve and the first instances ‘exile’ is used

[Study Aired September 27, 2024]

1: Adam and Eve are exiled from the garden of Eden

The first real typical mention of exile in the bible is found in (Gen 1:1-2) where we are told that the heaven and the earth that God created were incomplete. The earth “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” What this heaven and earth are a shadow of is the marred vessel in the Potter’s hand that was shapen in iniquity and in need of being made anew right from the foundation of the world (Psa 51:5, Jer 18:4).

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

The universe is not teaming with life and the earth at this time in God’s creation is as much a representation of all the physical heavens as well, that have not been made anew in the Potter’s hand, not teaming with spiritual life, but rather ‘the dead burying the dead’ (Luk 9:60). In fact we are told in the final analysis that the physical heavens and earth will be destroyed, giving way to the new creation, and that destruction is again typical of the destruction of the first marred vessel that must be made anew in the Potter’s hand (Rev 21:1). The ‘new spiritual heaven and earth’ are words that represent the new creation that is going to be formed through Christ as God gives the abundant increase of new life, through Him (1Co 3:6). The natural precedes the spiritual (1Co 15:46), and Christ did create all the natural world including the universe that we live in, in a marred condition. This marred creation must precede the new spiritual heaven and earth, and the very Lord Jesus Christ who created the physical is going to have all men drawn to him (Joh 6:44) who is the author and finisher of the new heaven and earth that is formed through the faith of Christ and is a gift from God (Rev 21:1, Heb 12:2, Eph 2:8, Joh 3:5).

Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

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

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh;[where the dead bury the dead] and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [by being baptized into his death as we die daily].

Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden of Eden not because of what they became, but rather because of what was made manifest in their already marred-in-the-hand-of-the-Potter condition. God’s plan of salvation started off with the marred clay that He purposed to put into exile where an experience of evil would unfold to humble mankind (Ecc 1:13 CLV) bringing us to see our need for our Creator. Our bodies, without Christ ruling in our heavens and earth, are servants of sin that have yet to be made free from our own iniquities, which is the natural self-righteous state that all flesh abides in (Php 3:9, Rom 7:24). The bondage of sin as we reside in sinful flesh that cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50) is what separates us from our Creator, but thanks be to God, the same marred vessel that is subject to vanity can also be subject to our hope of glory within, Jesus Christ, who knows how to cleanse our heavens and earth and form a new creation (Rom 8:21-22). This process of forming a new vessel that was marred in the Potter’s hand at the beginning, in the beginning, is the way that God has purposed His plan to unfold. Satan was part of that initial creation, the marred crooked serpent (Job 26:13) that was placed in the garden along with Adam and Eve and everything else that God created, and what are we told of this creation, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good“. It was all good, and everything that would unfold going forward was very good in that it would ultimately lead to the salvation of all of His creation when God is all in all (Gen 1:31, Rom 9:18-23, 1Co 15:28). This, all to say, that the exile that Adam and Eve went into, as all exiles in the word of God are, is part of God’s “very good” plan that mankind as a whole will one day acknowledge (Jer 14:20, Heb 8:12, 1Jn 1:9).

Ecc 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

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.

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Jer 14:20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us oursins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2: The first time the word exile is used in the bible

To give some context to these first verses that involve the subject of exile, we need to understand the evil intention of Absolom the son of David. This fifteenth chapter of Samuel is all about the betrayal of Absolom to his father, and Ahithophel who was David’s trusted counsellor who was drawn away by Absolom’s flattering tongue that was seeking power and rulership over the kingdom of Israel. When David got wind of what Absolom was up to, he put a plan into action to flee from Jerusalem and avoid the imminent attack of his son. In the course of these events, king David instructed Ittai the Gittite not to flee with him from Jerusalem, reminding him that he was an exile and that he should stay in Jerusalem, which typifies our time in Babylon. Notice the response of Ittai which sounds very much like what Ruth said (2Sa 15:21, Rth 1:16-17). Based on what Ittai responded to David, he no longer needed to stay in Jerusalem and typified for us what God’s elect become after we go into exile and ‘come out of her my people’ (Rom 12:1-2, 2Co 6:17).

2Sa 15:19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.

2Sa 15:21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

Rth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service [how we come out of exile].
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [1Jn 2:16-17]

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. [Joh 17:15, Joh 15:19]

Ittai declares whether in death or life (Rom 14:8), “even there also will thy servant be”, and Ruth declares “where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”. Where we lodge is in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) that are obtained by being given the power to lay down our life and be led by the spirit of God (Rom 8:14-15), going where God would have us go as sojourners in this earth seeking a new country (Heb 11:14, Joh 21:18).

Rom 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

Joh 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

The main point I wanted to make with this section of the study is that there is an appointed time to go into that exile and to leave it. For God’s elect, we are blessed to ‘come out of her my people’ in this life (2Co 6:17), which means we are coming out of spiritual exile which can only happen through the much tribulation of this life, typified by the family and close associates who were against David who is a type of the elect. So that persecution is needful for us to grow, as it was for David, and moves God’s plan forward (Mat 10:21-23).

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents [Absolom], and cause them to be put to death.
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.
Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

This next section of Samuel is so encouraging and instructive for us as it typifies how God will provide a way for us to come out of this exile (2Sa 15:30-34), and despite ourselves if we are His, we will endure and be blessed to be dragged to Christ who is our strength in this life through whom we can endure all things (Php 4:13). The direction that David went is symbolic of our turning our eyes unto the author and finisher of our faith as we are spiritually raised in heavenly places (“went up by the ascent of mount Olivet” – 2Sa 15:30). David had a humble and contrite heart as he went up and wept, and had his head covered, which is a positive use of a man covering his head, David typifying the church in this instance who is likened unto a woman. He is barefoot which symbolizes his walking in the spirit and not being bound by the letter of the law (Act 7:33, Joh 1:27). All the people with him, each one had their heads covered as they went up weeping as well. This hiding or covering symbolizes for us today that we are hidden in the Lord (1Pe 3:4, Rev 2:17, 1Co 2:4-7, Col 3:3).

2Sa 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
2Sa 15:31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
2Sa 15:32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:
2Sa 15:33 Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:
2Sa 15:34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.

It is significant that although we are hidden in Christ as exiles, we are also completely exposed to God who exposes our old man of sin through the process of ongoing judgement that occurs when we are in exile and coming out of it (Col 3:3, Heb 4:13, 1Co 13:12-13, Psa 103:13-18).

Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

The first time a word is used in the bible is often very significant, and the first use of the word ‘exile’ is no exception to this rule, found in (Gen 9:21 , Gen 35:7). This first use of the word ‘exile’ in (Gen 9:21) is very revealing as it is a type and shadow of the spiritual drunkeness that our old man experiences in Babylon. We all must go into Babylon to come out of her, and while we are there we are unknowingly in a spiritually drunken state.

Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered^H1540 within his tent.

This next use of the word ‘exile’ in God’s word is in (Gen 35:7), and explains in type and shadow language that in order to come out of exile we must bury all the idols of our hearts, and by doing this we are demonstrating by our actions, and not just our words that we want to seek the Lord with all our hearts, and minds and souls, which will result in our finding him, or rather in His appearing unto us (Jer 29:13).

Gen 35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Gen 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
Gen 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
Gen 35:5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
Gen 35:6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
Gen 35:7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared^H1540 unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

2Sa 15:19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile ^H1540.

H1540 Exile gâlâh BDB Definition:

1) to uncover, remove

1a) (Qal)
     1a1) to uncover
     1a2) to remove, depart
     1a3) to go into exile

1b) (Niphal)
     1b1) (reflexive)
          1b1a) to uncover oneself
          1b1b) to discover or show oneself
          1b1c) to reveal himself (of God)
     1b2) (passive)
          1b2a) to be uncovered
          1b2b) to be disclosed, be discovered
          1b2c) to be revealed
     1b3) to be removed

1c) (Piel)
     1c1) to uncover (nakedness)
          1c1a) nakedness
          1c1b) general
     1c2) to disclose, discover, lay bare
     1c3) to make known, show, reveal

1d) (Pual) to be uncovered

1e) (Hiphil) to carry away into exile, take into exile

1f) (Hophal) to be taken into exile

1g) (Hithpael)
     1g1) to be uncovered
     1g2) to reveal oneself

Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Mike,

Did we at one time have a diagram that showed the old testament feasts and celebrations and what part of the year they took place? I would like to know their seasons and spiritual meanings.

YbitC,

N____

Hi N____,

This is not from the web site, but it does answer your question.

“Rosh Hashanah

“From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Rosh Hashanah (disambiguation).

Rosh Hashanah
A shofar, symbol of the Rosh Hashanah holiday
Official name	Hebrew: ראש השנה‎
Also called	Jewish New Year
Observed by	Judaism and Jews
Type	Jewish
Observances	Praying in synagogue, personal reflection, and hearing the shofar.
Begins	Start of first day of Tishrei
Ends	End of second day of Tishrei
2015 date	sunset, September 13 – nightfall, September 15
2016 date	sunset, October 2 – nightfall, October 4

“Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה‎, literally “head of the year”) is the Jewish New Year. The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Hebrew: יוֹם תְּרוּעָה‎, literally “day [of] shouting/raising a noise”) or the Feast of Trumpets. It is the first of the High Holy Days or יָמִים נוֹרָאִים Yamim Nora’im (“Days of Awe”) which usually occur in the early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration, which begins on the first day of Tishrei. Tishrei is the first month of the Jewish civil year, but the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year.

“The day is said to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of humanity’s role in God‘s world. Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram’s horn) and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to evoke a “sweet new year”. (End quote)

Here now is what the scriptures say about the Old Testament festivals:

Lev 23:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
Lev 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
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.
Lev 23:7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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 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 of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
Lev 23:14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
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.
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.
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.
Lev 23:33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
Lev 23:38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Lev 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
Lev 23:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

I well remember being blown away as a teen to discover when I started taking the Bible Correspondence Course from the World Wide Church of God, that these holy days are a type and shadow of the plan of God for all men.

Here is what these days foreshadow in the exact order in which they are here presented to us here in Leviticus 23:

Passover: The death of The Christ for our sins.

Days of Unleavened Bread: After being cleansed by His blood we begin to put sin out of our lives, but we are “yet carnal” (1Co 3:1-4), and we must wait fifty days, symbolizing grace through faith (The Meaning of the Number Five), as we come to be cleansed to the point of being able to receive the holy spirit on:

Pentecost: The birth of the church. The only holy day where the meat (meal) offering is offered with leaven, telling us that we are still in vessels of clay, bodies of sinful flesh, dying daily.

Feast of Trumpets: The beginning of the judgment that is now on the house of God (1Pe 4:17).

Atonement: The death of our old man symbolized by fasting and denying the flesh. Through this death we are brought to “be raised with Him in newness of life” (Rom 6:1-6), both spiritually as being already resurrected with Christ, and as a type of the literal first resurrection.

Tabernacles: The first resurrection and the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ.

8th And Last Great Day of the Feast: The second resurrection and the white throne judgment and the salvation of all men:

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

As we now know, “He that believeth on  me” will, through the work of the lake of fire, include all who are in Adam (Rom 3:21-22; 1Co 15:22; 1Ti 2:4 and 4:10; 2Pe 3:9 and 1Jo 2:10 etc.)

I hope this is all of some help to you.

YbitC,

Mike

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.]

Audio Links

The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God

There Is A Plan

As the title of this series of studies suggests, I want to give us all an overall view of what the scriptures reveal God had planned before He created Christ, and what He is, in and through Christ, even now working out in the affairs of mankind.

All we will accomplish in this study today is to show you that God does have a plan, and that plan will produce a creation of which this “earnest” physical creation is but a disposable prototype which is unfit to even exist in the “purchased possession” phase of the kingdom of God.

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

God is in the process of revealing to us “the mystery of His will” which He tells us He has deliberately kept secret from all of mankind until the time of Christ.

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
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.

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:

The Literal Version (LITV) translates Eph 1:9 more accurately because the phrase “Having made known” is in the Greek aorist tense, and should read:

Eph 1:9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (LITV).

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

“Made manifest” in verse 26, and “make known” in verse 27 are both in the aorist tense. The former is in the passive voice and the latter is in the active voice. What “made manifest to his saints” means is that it is God who has hid his secret from mankind, and that it is also God who is making us to know His secrets, and mankind had nothing to do with what God is doing.

“Hid from ages and from generations” tells us that we are all born blind from our mother’s womb, both our physical mother and our first spiritual mother, Babylon, out of whom we must all be delivered (Rev 18:4).

“To whom God would make known” is in the aorist tense in the active voice, meaning God is the initiator of what is being done, ‘Making known’ to His saints what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, this secret, which he keeps hidden from all but his saints.

Because the Truth is so resented in every generation, it becomes less popular and more obscured, denigrated and despised with each passing generation:

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Simply acknowledging the truth of these verses of scripture, simply acknowledging that God has revealed His secret to us, makes us hated, despised and reviled by all who do not like that revelation.

That verse of scripture, 2Ti 3:13, aligns and accords with all other verses dealing with the progression of God’s plan in this age. For example the disciples asked Christ this question:

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? [Greek, aion, age]
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

How “many shall [be] deceiv[ed]”? We are not given a specific number, but Christ does tell us this:

Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

To which He adds this:

Luk 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.

And finally Christ concludes with this very revealing question:

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The salvation of all in Adam is secure, but that goal is not ordained to be realized in this present age. The salvation of all was never intended to be realized in this age. This, again, is what will be realized in this age:

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Nevertheless there has always been a figurative 7,000 whom God has reserved unto himself (Rom 11:4), and since sending His Son, He has revealed so much more to those to whom He is making Himself known, revealing Himself, His mind and His plan for mankind.

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

Heb 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Heb 2:7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

Since “now we see not yet all things put under Him”, it is obvious that there is much more work to be done. “You… put all thing in subjection under Him” is in the aorist tense, meaning that in Christ it is the process of being done, and it will be realized. But the plan is the same plan God has had from the beginning, as we are told in the first part of Hebrews one:

Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Why we need to know the plan of God

In the 12th chapter of this same book of Hebrews we are told this:

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Christ was motivated by “the joy that was set before Him”, and because of the promise of sitting with God in His throne, He “endured the cross”, esteeming the shame of the cross to be nothing by comparison of the glory that would come with “the joy that was set before Him”. That is the meaning of “despising the shame”. Christ esteemed the pain and shame of hanging naked on the cross to be unworthy of being compared to the glory that would be revealed in Him and in His Christ:

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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.

It is an integral part of the plan of God that “Many are called… [to] read, and hear” those words, but very few are given to keep these words faithfully to the end. If you are a child of God, then His spirit will witness that to you. If it does not, then you will be unable to make that claim for fear of being labeled by men as someone who has “lifted [himself] above the congregation of the Lord”. That is what happened to Israel, and that is what we all do in our own appointed rebellious time. It was “all the congregation” that gathered with Korah against Moses and Aaron:

Num 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

But as we will see, it is all an integral part of the plan of God, which was in God’s own mind “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9 and Tit 1:2). Moses is a type of Christ, and the priesthood of Aaron typifies God’s elect, who are given to enter into the tabernacle and to administer the different functions of the tabernacle. While it is true that Israel represents God’s elect while coming out of Egypt, that is not the case while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Korah and the 250 “men of renown” who were leaders of “all the congregation”, who rose up against Moses and Aaron, who were God’s ordained leadership, become typical of the rebels who God will purge from His people as having the spirit of Babylon within God’s own people and who “will not have this man to rule over [them]” (Luk 9:14).

This is what God did at that time, and what He is doing to this day:

Num 16:19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them [Moses and Aaron] unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 16:21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

The prophet Ezekiel tells us this was all a type of what God does as part of “working all things after the counsel of His own will”, His predestined plan for mankind (Eph 1:11):

Eze 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Eze 20:36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

It is part of God’s preordained plan that we will all at first reject Christ and His Christ, just as Egypt and then “all the congregation of Israel” refused the leadership of Moses and Aaron. We will all, at our own appointed time, consider the trials of the wilderness to be nothing short of suicide:

Num 16:12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
Num 16:13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
Num 16:14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

According to Eze 20:35, of course it is really God who brings us into the wilderness and gives us all of our trials. But those who do not want to endure this time of trial, and those who despise the chastening which God places upon us while we are in the wilderness, turn on those whom God has placed among His people as leaders and blame the leaders God has given them for all their trials, complaining that the promises of God are not being realized and blaming God’s faithful leaders for what their own rebellious sins have brought upon them.

God’s own apostles are blamed for the abuses of Babylon, and are in effect told “Ye… lift yourselves up above the congregation”. So if we cannot deny the doctrines of Babylon, replace those false doctrines with “the doctrine of Christ”, and if we cannot accept the Lord’s order which He “has placed in the church”, then we will be judged, as Korah and company were, out of our own mouth:

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:

All of this is part of the predestined plan of God, and it is very helpful that we know as early as the Lord grants us in our walk. Christ put it all in these words:

Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Whether you are a military leader fighting an adversary, the CEO of a company that produces a certain product, or a general contractor who has contracted to build a building, it makes all the difference in the world in the performance of those who are working for you to present to them clearly what is the goal of your endeavors, and if you can give them a clear overview of what is needed to reach that goal. It was because the apostle Paul had a clear vision of what God was doing that he could make this statement:

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, 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.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

A soldier digging a ditch will do so with much more enthusiasm when he knows just how wide, how deep and how long the ditch must be and why it is needed. A soldier who is told to dig a ditch without any instructions or specifications is not inspired to get the job done, because he doesn’t know exactly what the job is. Knowing that there is also a great prize for giving up all things to follow Christ is also a great incentive which God gives to those whom He has given to value the things of the spirit.

Knowing the width, depth and length of our calling is to “know [Christ] and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings”, all of which help us to become willing to “forsake all [we] have to [become Christ’s] disciple”, and to become “conformable unto His death”.

This is the formula John is given throughout “the revelation of Jesus Christ”. This is what is meant when we, as John was, are told to measure the New Jerusalem:

Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod [“a rod of iron”]: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

John, who typifies God’s elect, is told just what is to be ‘measured’, and he is also told what not to measure. We are in “vessels of clay”, and our strength and our efforts are very limited in these weak bodies of flesh and blood, so we really do need to focus on what the Lord tells us to do and not waste our energies on people or things of no profit to the growth and health of the “New man”.

Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Let’s look to Christ as our example of the measure to which we are seeking to attain. Here is how He uses His own time and His own efforts. First He tells us to pour out our resources on Him and His body first, before we pour out our resources out upon the poor of this world:

Mat 26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Mat 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor [the poor of this world].
Mat 26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
Mat 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
Mat 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

The woman, who is commended by Christ, places her resources upon Christ “for [His] burial” of His flesh. That is where our resources should be bestowed. We are perfected only with the burial of our own bodies of flesh.

Then Christ clarifies Himself even further when praying for His disciples by making this point for our edification:

Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Conclusion

There we have it:

Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

God has given Christ to die for “them which you have given me” at this time, and through “them which [the Father] has given [Christ]” He plans to use as the channel for His mercy to be given to all the rest of “all in Adam”, all men of all time.

Here’s the plan from the mouth of our Lord Himself:

Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

This promise is reiterated in Hebrews:

Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

“Reverence and Godly fear” are just more than this world is willing to give to a loving heavenly Father. But that is what Christ rendered to His Father, and that is what we must do also:

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

If we are granted to “serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear”, we ‘will not fear what man can do to us’, and like Christ was sent of His Father, Christ will send us to save this world:

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.

That is not the sum of God’s word on who is the Savior of this world. Christ was told by His Father to tell us this:

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me [“that the world through Him might be saved”], even so send I you.

Next week we will see just a little more clearly how important to the plan of God are “those [the Father] has given to [Christ]” in carrying out His plan to save all of mankind of all time.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]