This article is a lengthy one, and takes us through the entire seven days of the feast and also the Last Great Day. We will go through the meaning of the feast, and compare the physical exodus of the Israelites with our spiritual journey to eternal life.
FIRST HOLY DAY EVENING SERVICE
Reminder that the Israelites wandered for 40 years and lived in temporary dwellings…..why?
To understand fully the journey to eternal life, we will show the parallel between the exodus from Egypt and the path to eternal life.
We must have a temporary booth erected before the start of the Feast, so we can sit in it for a portion of each day
Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when
you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to Jehovah
seven days. On the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day
shall be a sabbath.
Lev 23:40 And you shall take the fruit of majestic trees for
yourselves on the first day, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of
thick trees, and willows of the valley. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah
your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Reminder that we need to spend time in our booth each day during the feast, we don’t need to live in the booth, just dwell in it each day during the feast.
Neh 8:17 And all the congregation of those who had come again
out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths. For
since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day, the sons of Israel
had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
We are going to repeat each day of the feast what the feast actually pictures, as this is new knowledge for us and needs to be learnt and understood. To repeat this knowledge every day is the best way to remember what the feast pictures.
The feast pictures the Israelites wandering for 40 years in the wilderness,
dwelling in booths.
Each day of the feast we will look at a different occurrence during that time to learn from the errors made along the journey which we must avoid if we want to attain what the Israelites did not do.... want the promised land and enter it.
Every day at the feast the book of the law is to be read, this should happen every seventh year. As we do not know which year we are in, we will read it every year, Why...because we love this book and we can learn a lot from it every feast.
Deu 31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying: At the end of seven
years, at the set time of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles,
Deu 31:11 when all Israel has come to appear before Jehovah
your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this Law before
all Israel in their hearing.
Starting tomorrow the first holy day we will read the first five chapters of the book of Deuteronomy
Tonight we will look at the first subject
God the Father and Christ.
This is new knowledge restored to this era of the church. We have not had a correct knowledge of the Father or Christ.
Do not read over this verse, read it and re read it, until the meaning of it sinks in. There is one true God and that is the Father.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
The Father is the only one who has existed for all eternity. He
is the one True God.
Christ is the Son of the Father Christ was born before anything else
existed.
Col 1:15 who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born
of all creation.
LETS GET THESE FACTS CLEAR IN OUR MINDS, FIRST THERE WAS THE FATHER,
HE EXISTED ON HIS OWN, THEN CHRST WAS BORN TO HIM BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE
EXISTED. {if you want to know how this happened you will need to ask God,
we do not know, but because it is in scripture, we are prepared to believe
it.
How has God done any of His miracles, why does the sea stop at the
shore, we don’t know but we believe it does.
God the Father is above Christ He is not equal to Christ, in authority, and never has been, He is the Father, the self existing one. Christ is His Son and is second to Him in everything.
Joh 14:28 You have heard how I said to
you, I go away and I am coming to you again. If you loved Me, you would
rejoice because I said, I go to the Father, for My Father is greater than
I.
1Co 15:27 For He put all things under His feet. But when He
says that all things have been put under His feet, it is plain that it
excepts Him who has put all things under Him.
1Co 15:28 But when all things are subjected to Him, then the
Son Himself also will be subject to Him who has subjected all things to
Him, so that God may be all things in all.
Christ has not existed for eternity, He is from the beginning
Christ is equal to the Father as a son is equal to his father.
Joh 5:18 Then, because of this, the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the sabbath, but also said that God was His father, making Himself equal with God.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and without
Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
Joh 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The beginning is a point in time, look at Genesis 1 v 1 in the beginning
God made…..now that was a particular time, before that time, the heaven
and earth did not exist.
Now apply the same principal to Christ, before the point in time known
as the beginning……Christ did not exist.
He was born to God before creation, The Father created all things through Christ
Eph 3:9 and to bring to light what is the fellowship of the
mystery which from eternity has been hidden in God, who created all things
by Jesus Christ;
CHRIST WAS THE BORN SON OF GOD BEFORE CREATION.
We are not talking about the birth of Jesus out of Mary here.
We are talking about a birth which happened before creation. We also
want to state emphatically that we are not saying Christ was created
CHRIST IS THE FIRST BORN OF ALL CREATION
Secondly the Passover.
The Passover has been kept on the 13th of Nisan during the Philadelphian era of the church. Prepared 13th eaten 14th. This was the correct day for that era because they did not have the knowledge of eternal life. There are three points which must be known for eternal life in the keeping of the Passover. They are eating the body, drinking the blood and keeping it on the correct day. The Philadelphian era had only the blood and the body, they did not have the knowledge of the correct day. To have eternal life, which is now available, in the Laodicean era, we eat the bread, drink the blood, prepared on the 14th taken after sunset on the start of the 15th. This is the knowledge of eternal life, the bread the blood taken on the correct day.
Ancient Israel had the correct day and ate the body {when they sacrificed the lamb} but they did not drink the blood, they put it on the door posts.
Philadelphia era, accepted Christs sacrifice, so we didn’t kill the
lamb, they ate the meat on the correct night, {night to be much remembered}but
not the blood, we actually kept two Passovers, the 13th {bread and blood
but wrong date }and the 14th
Bread but not blood {night to be much remembered}
Laodicean era now has the knowledge of the bread, the blood, and the
correct day.
It is one of the keys to the kingdom. We must understand the correct meaning of the Passover and keep it on the correct day to have eternal life.
We will not accept the knowledge of the correct day for the Passover until God opens our minds to the new knowledge which is required for Eternal life. This knowledge must be believed and loved in order to qualify for eternal life.
Act 13:48 And hearing, the nations rejoiced and glorified the
Word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
2Th 2:10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they
might be saved.
To keep the Passover on the correct day is the second step to eternal life.
The Passover is on the 14th Nisan. This is the day that Christ
died, this is the day that the lambs were killed.
Christ was the Passover lamb, He died for our sins.
The only way He could die on the Passover day, at the approximate same
time as the lambs were killed, was to take the Passover service the night
before with His disciples. HE KNEW HE WOULD BE DEAD THE NEXT NIGHT.
So just for this one special night He and the disciples had the Passover
service one night early.
Today the Passover service is held after sunset at the start of the
15th.
The 14th is the Passover, it is the preparation day. This
is the day we prepare to eat the Passover meal.
Joh 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about
the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold your king!
The actual service starts after sunset on the beginning of the 15th. THE PASSOVER SERVICE IS HELD IN THE HOLY DAY AT THE START OF THE FIRST DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.
The following scripture shows Christ keeping the last Passover with His disciples, this scripture shows the Passover was prepared in the day and eaten after sunset the start of the following day
Mat 26:19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them.
And they made the passover ready.
Mat 26:20 And when evening had come, He sat down with the
Twelve.
Once you take the Passover service and eat unleavened bread, you do not go back to eating leaven for one day and then start unleavened bread again.
These days tie in with the exodus, the death angel passed over the Israelites home at midnight after the first day of unleavened bread had started, the Israelites left Egypt some 4 hours or so after this on the 15th, they did not wait in Egypt they were compelled to leave quickly by the Egyptians. They left Egypt in the early hours of the morning on the 15th which is the 1st day of unleavened bread.
Christ kept the Passover one day early with His disciples only on ONE OCCASION because He was the Passover lamb He had to die on the Passover day, so He would be dead at the correct time for keeping it today.
THIS POINT MUST BE UNDERSTOOD BY THE READER.
Lets notice the events of the Passover in Egypt and see how it is clearly shown when the events happened.
The lamb is to be killed around 3-5 pm before sunset on the 14th This is the preparation day this is the Passover day.
Exo 12:6 And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day
of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it in the evening.
Put the blood on the door posts.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take some of the blood and strike on
the two side posts and upon the upper door post of the houses in which
they shall eat it.
Eat a few hours later, after sunset, with unleavened bread, why……because it is now the first day of Unleavened Bread,
Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted
with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
Exo 12:9 Do not eat of it raw, nor boiled at all with water,
but roasted with fire, its head with its legs, and with its inward parts.
Exo 12:10 And you shall not let any of it remain until the
morning. And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn
with fire.
Look how they had to eat it, ready to leave, because if they ate it around 7 pm they were going to leave in approximately 8 hours time.
Exo 12:11 And you shall eat of it this way, with your loins
girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you
shall eat it in a hurry. It is Jehovah's passover.
Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night,
and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.
And I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Jehovah.
The following scripture clearly shows that the Israelites left Egypt on the first day of unleavened bread.
Exo 12:17 And you shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
For in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.
Therefore you shall keep this day in your generations by a law forever.
Now when did the Israelites keep the Passover. Some 12 hours previously they prepared the Passover, after sunset the start of the 1st day of unleavened bread they ate it. Then some time after midnight on the first day of unleavened bread they left Egypt as per Ex. 12 v 17.
Notice clearly that the Israelites kept the Passover, and left Egypt within a 12 hour period approximately.
At midnight the destroyer passed over and killed the firstborn Egyptians. Ex. 12 v 23 tells of the destroyer.
Exo 12:29 And it happened at midnight Jehovah struck all the
first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat
on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the prison;
also all the first-born of cattle.
This event probably happened around 1 am. Notice it is still night
Exo 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his
servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for
there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses, but he did not go to the Pharaoh in accordance with Ex 10 v 29, therefore Moses must have received word from him to get out with haste as the next verses plainly show.
Exo 12:31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said,
Rise up! Get away from my people, both you and the sons of Israel! And
go serve Jehovah, as you have said.
Exo 12:32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have
said, and go. And bless me also.
The Egyptians wanted them to get out urgently, lest they all should die.
Exo 12:33 And the Egyptians were urging the people, that they
might send them out of the land in a hurry. For they said, We are all dead.
The Israelites left in the night time, probably around 3 am.
Exo 12:34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened,
their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
The spoiling of the Egyptians had already happened, when Moses was getting the Israelites ready to leave, the spoiling did not take place that morning. The spoiling took place some time earlier.
Exo 12:35 And the sons of Israel did according to the word
of Moses. And they asked articles of silver, and articles of gold, and
clothing from the Egyptians.
Notice that the Israelites took the spoil quite some time previously
Exo 3:22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that stays in her house, jewels of silver and jewels of gold and clothing. And you shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters. And you shall plunder the Egyptians.
We have proved clearly that the Passover is the 14th the service is
to be kept after sunset start of the 15th, which is the fist day of unleavened
bread. This new knowledge must be believed and loved if we want eternal
life.
Remember again the three points required for eternal life regarding
the Passover.
Eat the body, Drink the blood, take these symbols on the correct night.
This is the new knowledge restored to the Laodicean era of Gods church.
Plus the fantastic knowledge of who God is and who Christ is.
These new truths must be loved, believed and obeyed if we want eternal
life.
All the original Israelites over 20 years old, all died before
crossing the Jordan and entering the promised land.
Today all of the Philodelphian era are to be kept from the coming troubles
and will also die as the Israelites did.
1ST DAY HOLY DAY Morning Service.
1st Service……We are temporary in this life now……that is the same as the Israelites living in booths, it was a temporary condition. spiritual life is permanent. Live towards our spiritual life, and be less concerned with our physical.
What does the feast picture, the fact that the Israelites dwelt in booths during the 40 years in the wilderness, each day we are going to repeat this, and recap on what we have learned the day before. We have such a lot of new knowledge, we don’t want to miss anything.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses declared the feasts of Jehovah to the
sons of Israel.
Notice verse 43
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.
Lets recap on what we learned last night. To understand the knowledge
of eternal life, we have to know Jesus and God the Father, we need to know
that the Father is the one true God, and that Jesus is the born son of
God, before creation.
We must keep the Passover on the correct date, the 14th is the Passover
It is the day we prepare the Passover, then after sunset the start
of the 15th we take the service, and eat the bread and drink the wine which
are the symbols of the body and blood of Christ.
The Feast pictures the looking back to the time of wandering for 40 years in the wilderness and living in booths for this time. The Israelites rejected the Holy Spirit of Power or Truth twice during this time. Firstly at Marah shortly after crossing the Red Sea and secondly when they reached the Jordan, and spied out the Promised Land.
Exo 15:25 And he cried to Jehovah. And Jehovah showed him a
tree. And when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.
Exo 15:26 And he said, If you will carefully listen to the
voice of Jehovah your God, and will do that which is right in His sight,
and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His Laws, I will put
none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians;
for I am Jehovah who heals you.
Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
When the Israelites came initially to the promised land, only Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report. The other ten spies did not want the promised land.
Notice the evil report of the promised land given by the other ten spies.
Num 13:31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not
able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.
Num 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which
they had searched to the sons of Israel, saying, The land through which
we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up those who live in it.
And all the people whom we saw in it were men of stature.
Num 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, of
the giants. And we were in our own sight like grasshoppers, and so we were
in their sight.
There is a parallel between the Israelites journey from the crossing of the Red Sea till they finally crossed the Jordan river and entered the Promised Land, and our spiritual journey, of baptism, receiving the Earnest of the Spirit, our period of testing, and finally believing God, accepting the knowledge that leads to eternal life, and the receiving of the Spirit of Power or Truth which is eternal life inherent.
We will look at this amazing parallel during the feast and learn as Gods plan for man unfolds.
Today our subject is the parrallel of crossing the Red Sea.
Let’s look at the crossing of the Red Sea
This was three days from the killing of the Passover lamb.
The Red Sea parted all night, this happened three days from when the
Passover lambs were killed.
[this corresponds to the time when Christ was raised.]
Lets look at the parallel of the death of Christ and His resurrection
, and then being raised and His ascension to the Father.
Christ was killed on the 14th. The Israelites killed the lambs
on the 14th. They then left Egypt in the early hours of the 15th.
Christ was buried on the 14th before sunset. That year it was
a Wednesday. So on Wednesday around 3-5 pm Christ was buried.
After the sun has set it is the 15th the first day of unleavened bread,
Thursday. The Holy Day, the Israelites leave Egypt…they travel Thursday
and pitch their tents at Succoth.
They travel Friday and pitch their tents at Etham.
They travel Saturday and pitch their tents between Migdol and the sea.
They are now at the Red Sea, it is Saturday afternoon. At about
5 pm
Once the sun has set, it is now the beginning of Sunday, the Sea starts
to part, and parts all that night. The parting of the Sea makes the
promised land available. They crossed all that night, which is the
parallel from Christ being raised from the dead [from hell] until He went
to the Father early on Sunday morning.
The crossing of the Red Sea is at the same time of Christ being raised from hell.[or heart of the earth] This was completed Sunday morning. Christ was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Incredible as it may seem to us, that is all it took for the Israelites to travel from Goshen to the Red Sea, that is because God took them on eagles wings.
Exo 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.
When Christ was raised He appeared to Mary on Sunday morning, but Christ had not gone to the Father at this time.
Joh 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
If the Israelites departed from Egypt on the same days as Christs death we will show the same days and events.
Late Wednesday between 3-5 pm kill the lambs {Passover}
Christ died at this time.
Christ buried before sunset.
After sunset start of Thursday night {now 1st day of unleavened bread} put blood on doors. Eat Passover meal. Possibly around 7-8 pm.
.
Midnight the destroyer passed over
Thursday morning before daylight on the 1st Day of Unleavened
Bread leave Egypt. Anytime after midnight is morning anytime from 1am till
4am this could have happened. They left in the night so it was before
daybreak.
Christ resurrected Thursday morning and descends to hell.
Christ was raised from the dead between Saturday night
and Sunday morning.
Christ was in the heart of the earth [hell] three days and three nights.
Thursday Friday and Saturday are the three days
Thursday night Friday night and Saturday night the three nights.
Saturday afternoon arrive at Red Sea, and cross after sunset
cross over Red Sea all Saturday night till they reached the other side
on Sunday morning.
Exo 14:21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And
Jehovah caused the sea to recede by a strong east wind all that night,
and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
Exo 14:22 And the sons of Israel went into the midst of the
sea upon the dry ground. And the waters were a wall to them on their right
hand and on their left.
Exo 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them to
the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Exo 14:24 And in the morning watch it happened that Jehovah
looked to the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the
cloud, and troubled the army of the Egyptians.
Arrive on the other side of the Red Sea Sunday morning
Christ raised from the heart of the earth [hell] sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
After Christ appeared to Mary then Christ ascended to the Father on Sunday morning.
Exo 14:24 And in the morning watch it happened that Jehovah looked to the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the army of the Egyptians.
As the Israelites came through the Red Sea they reached the other side where the promised land was available. The Israelites were not at the promised land when they came out of Egypt.
Christ, after His death was to be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and then be raised. The parting of the Red Sea corresponds to the time between Christ being raised from the dead and His ascendence to the Father to be glorified.
JOHN 20 v 1,17.
Joh 20:1 The first day of the week Mary Magdalene came
early to the tomb, darkness still being on it, and she saw the stone taken
away from the tomb.
Joh 20:17 Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and Your Father, and to My God and your God.
When Christ was glorified applies to those who have eternal life inherent,
that is why Christ said My God and your God.
The Father becomes our God when we have eternal life…..before that
time we belong to Christ only….not the Father.
The parting of the Red Sea made the way to the promised land available. The resurrection , raising from the dead and glorification of Jesus Christ made eternal life available. Note this very carefully, at our baptism we have eternal life available we do not at that time have eternal life.
Eph 1 v 13,14.
Eph 1:13 in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel
of our salvation, in whom also believing, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 who is the earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption
of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
As the Israelites crossed the Red Sea they left Egypt and came to where the promised land was available. They had a lot more trials and tribulations before some of them actually entered the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb and those who were under 20 years old [at the time of the rejection of the promised land} entered into the promised land.
God calls us out of Egypt {sin} to where the promised land {Eternal Life} is available. We have a lot of trials and tribulations before we reach eternal life.
The crossing of the Red Sea made the promised land available, in parallel, eternal life is available once we are baptised and receive the earnest of the spirit.
The crossing of the Red Sea is a type of our baptism
1Co 10:1 And, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant that
all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.
1Co 10:2 And all were baptized to Moses in the cloud and in
the sea,
When we are baptised we try to leave sin behind {which in this case
is pictured by Egypt} then we are subject to many trials etc {which pictures
the wondering in the wilderness}
Once we are baptised eternal life is available. We receive the
down payment of eternal life in the earnest of the spirit.
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea eternal life was available to
them also, in the form of the Promised Land.
1ST HOLY DAY 2ND SERVICE
Let's recap on what we have learned so far.
What does the feast picture……..the Israelites had to wonder for 40
years in the wilderness and dwell in booths
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.
We have learned that in order to received eternal life, we must know
the Father and Christ, we must also keep the Passover on the correct day.
We saw this morning the parallel between the Israelites crossing the
Red Sea and the time that Christ was raised from the dead.or the heart
of the earth.
For this afternoons service we will look at what happened at Marah, on the last day of Unleavened Bread. Only one week after leaving Egypt. The rejection of the fountain of living waters, God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Once the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they then began their journey toward the promised land. It is the same for us after baptism, we must push on and overcome and develop character during this time.
On the last day of Unleavened Bread which was 3 days after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea the Israelites came to Marah where they rejected God and the Holy Spirit
Exo 15:23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink
of the waters of Marah, because it was bitter. Therefore the name of it
was called Marah.
Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What
shall we drink?
Exo 15:25 And he cried to Jehovah. And Jehovah showed him
a tree. And when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.
Jer 2:13 For My people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
After baptism we soon learn that we do not take very long before we
fall into the ever present snare of sin. It was the same for the
ancient Israelites, they sinned very quickly after the Passover and continued
to do so during unleavened bread.
We cannot live our lives, without sinning and so we need Christ’s sacrifice
to cover that sin.
The tree, which was thrown into the water; pictures Christ. This
tree turned the bitter waters to sweet. Just as Christ is able to
intervene for us and has paid the penalty of our sins.
The Israelites rejected God
Jer 2:11 Has a nation changed their gods who are yet no gods?
But My people have changed their Glory for that which does not profit.
Jer 17:13 O Jehovah, the Hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the Fountain of living waters.
The Israelites rejected God, the fountain of living waters, this living
water is mentioned in John 4 v 10-15 this is a symbol of the Holy Spirit
and in this case it is also a symbol of the Father.
It appears that the account in John may have happened on the
last day of unleavened bread.
God offered the Israelites eternal life and they rejected it.
They preferred the idols and hand made cisterns to God and the Holy Spirit.
The water that God was offering was the only one that mattered, it
was the way to eternal life….the Israelites rejected that.
Lets compare the two accounts of the Israelites in the wilderness and the Samaritan woman in the gospel of John. They were both offered living waters, which lead to eternal life.
Joh 4:5 Then He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near
the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6 And Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being
wearied with His journey, sat thus upon the well. It was about the sixth
hour.
Joh 4:7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said
to her, Give me to drink.
Jesus told the woman, that if she had known who He was, she would have asked for the gift of God which was living waters.
Joh 4:9 Then the woman of Samaria said
to Him, How do you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria?
For the Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said to
her, If you knew the gift of God, and who
it is that says to you, Give Me to drink, you would have asked of Him,
and He would have given you living water.
Christ shows how the water, which He has to give, will spring up to everlasting life, the living waters pictures the holy spirit. Christ also shows the contrast between the usual drinking water and the living water. If she chose to reject the living water she would continue to thirst, but she wanted the living waters Christ had to offer her.
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her,
Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again,
Joh 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Notice how the woman wanted the living water.
Joh 4:15 The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so
that I may not thirst nor come here to draw.
.
Notice that after Christ told the woman about the living waters, which He could give her, He then proved her to see if she told the truth.
Joh 4:16 Jesus said to her,
Go, call your husband and come here.
Notice the woman told the truth, and wanted the living waters.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus
said to her, You have well said, I have no husband
Joh 4:18 for you have had five husbands,
and he whom you now have is not your husband. In that you spoke truly.
Joh 4:19 The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are
a prophet.
Later in the account notice she brought other Samaritans to Christ and
they believed in Him.
Christ tells her that the Father must be worshiped in spirit and truth.
She wanted the spirit {living waters} and she was a truthful person, so
she was well on her way to what was required.
Joh 4:23
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.
The following verse is interesting, the woman no longer has any interest in the normal drinking water which she had originally came to draw. Once she heard of the living waters, which Christ was willing to offer her, she had no desire for the physical water, only the living water.
Joh 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot and went into the city and said to the men,
Now lets compare this account with Exodus 15
In John 4 v 7 the woman came to the well to draw water, she needed water.
In Exodus the Israelites found no water, they were thirsty. They needed
water.
Exo 15:22 And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they
went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness,
and found no water.
In John 4 v 10 if the woman knew it was God who was speaking to her she would have asked for living water.
The Israelites knew that God was with them, they had only just come through the Red Sea, they were at the waters of Marah, they were thirsty, so why didn’t they behave patiently and wait on God to see what He would say to them. Unfortunately even after the miracle of crossing the Red Sea, they so quickly forgot that, they didn’t believe God or trust Him. They were only interested in the physical things. In their physical needs and desires. They were quick to complain to, and about Moses.
Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What
shall we drink?
In John 4 v 13-14 Jesus explained to the woman that if she drank of the physical water she would thirst again, but the water He had to offer her would spring up to eternal life
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her,
Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again,
Joh 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The Israelites were only concerned in the physical water, God gave them
a statute and an ordinance and he proved them. They were offered
the choice of the living water or the physical water, they chose the physical,
they rejected God and the living water which is a symbol of the holy spirit,
God was offering them eternal life and they rejected it.
Notice the account in Exodus and Jeremiah about this event and
we will compare the two.
Exo 15:25 And he cried to Jehovah. And Jehovah showed him a tree. And when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.
Jer 2:13 For My people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
John 4 v 15 states that the woman wanted the living waters.
Read again the account in Jeremiah, the Israelites did not want Living
Water, they had forsaken God the fountain of living waters. Because the
cisterns were broken, shows that they could not hold water. The Israelites
could not get the Living Waters which pictures the Holy Spirit, because
of the attitudes they had. They did not want the living waters, so
their attitudes were not acceptable to God.
John 4 v 16 shows that Christ proved the woman. Notice the Israelites were also tested.
Ex 15 v 25
……and there he proved them
John 4 v 17-19 shows that the woman passed the test and answered Christ
truthfully.
Even though God told the Israelites that He was the Lord that healed
them and He wanted them to diligently hearken to Him and obey Him, and
He offered them living waters which would lead to eternal life. They
rejected Him, they did not want living waters…..they failed the test.
Exo 15:26 And he said, If you will carefully listen to the
voice of Jehovah your God, and will do that which is right in His sight,
and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His Laws, I will put
none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians;
for I am Jehovah who heals you.
John 4 v 23 shows that the Father wants people to worship Him in spirit
and truth.
The woman was capable of that, she was truthful and she wanted the
spirit….living water.
The Israelites did not want the living water and did not believe that
God was truth.
Therefore they did not qualify to worship Him.
Jer 2:19 Your own evil shall correct you, and your backslidings shall reprove you, therefore know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken Jehovah your God, and that My fear is not in you, says the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.
ISRAEL DOES NOT FEAR GOD
Notice in John 4 v 28 how when the woman learned about the gift of God..the
living water, she no longer cared about the physical water, she only wanted
the spiritual gift of God. She left her waterpot.
The spiritual was far more important to her than the physical.
In stark contrast the Israelites cared nothing for the living water,
they only wanted the physical water. The spiritual things did not
matter to them, they could only see the physical.
Jer 2:13 For My people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Israel brought all their trouble on themselves because they rejected God.
Jer 2:17 Have you not brought this on yourself, in that you
have forsaken Jehovah your God, when He led you by the way?
Jer 2:19 Your own evil shall correct you, and your backslidings shall reprove you, therefore know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken Jehovah your God, and that My fear is not in you, says the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.
The Israelites were offered amazing things by God if they would obey, believe and love Him and fear Him.
God promised to make them a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. They could have been Gods special treasure over every other nation in the world.
Exo 19:5 And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep
My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the
nations; for all the earth is Mine.
Exo 19:6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.
They did not have to fear other nations, they would have abundant food water and clothing.
All they needed to do was obey,believe,and fear God, but that was all
too hard for them.
Lets recap on what we have learned.God brought the Israelites out of
Egypt we must leave the old ways of this world behind us, we must
try to live our lives without sin, we must try to be like Christ.
The feast is to be kept in a joyous mood, as we endeavour to
rely on God and pull away from Satan, and sin.
The last day of Unleavened Bread is a solemn day, it pictures the fact
that Israel were offered living waters which spring up to eternal life,
God offered to heal them in return for obedience to His laws.
Israel rejected God, and eternal life choosing the physical over the
spiritual……this is indeed a solemn day…….
We have shown that as the Israelites journeyed toward the promised land, they rejected God and the Holy spirit, as early as three days after crossing the Red Sea.
Many people who have been called have done this, and the greater majority of humanity wants very little, if anything, to do with God today. Those who profess Christianity, do so on their terms, certainly not on Gods. What God says to do is either ignored or pushed into the outdated basket or reasoned away by most professing Christians today. Gods laws, Sabbaths, statutes are just ignored and labeled Jewish or some such thing. Very few are concerned with what God wants.
If we choose the fountain of living waters we still need physical food and water and God promises to provide these needs if we put Him first in our lives.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
We must be careful to worship God in truth and in Spirit, if we are
to gain eternal life. We must be prepared to accept the new truths
God is revealing to His end time church.
2ND DAY OF THE FEAST
Lets recap again about what we have learned, the Feast pictures the
dwelling in booths for 40 years by the Israelites.
Lev 23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses declared the feasts of Jehovah to the
sons of Israel.
The first truths we must learn to gain eternal life is the truth about
the Father and Christ. Then we must learn about the correct date
for the Passover. Then we looked at the parallel between the crossing of
the Red Sea and Christ
being raised from the dead.
Then we saw the Israelites reject God the Father, the fountain of living
water, and the holy spirit at Marah
How do we keep the feast today, both spiritually and physically, the reading of the book of Deuteronomy. every 7 years. Sharing with others, fellowship, sing hymns prayer and bible study. And live the good life during the feast
Today we will parallel the rejection of the promised land by the Israelites,
to our calling today.
Many people are called by God, but only a few value the truth
and knowledge of God. Few are prepared to put in hours of study,
effort to overcome our own natures and seek God first. Many are pulled
and tempted by worldly things, like TV, material pursuits, which take us
away from God.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few
chosen.
Lets look at the parable of the sower explained by Jesus
Remember we are the modern day Israelites, this is our story, it is
about us, apply it to ourselves.
Mat 13:18 Therefore hear the parable
of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When anyone hears the Word
of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and
catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown by
the wayside.
Mat 13:20 But that which was sown on
the stony places is this: he who hears the Word and immediately receives
it with joy.
Mat 13:21 But he has no root in himself,
and is temporary. For when tribulation or persecution arises on account
of the Word, he immediately stumbles.
Mat 13:22 And that sown into the thorns
is this: he who hears the Word; and the anxiety of this world, and the
deceit of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mat 13:23 But that sown on the good
ground is this: he who hears the Word and understands; who also bears fruit
and produces one truly a hundredfold; and one sixty; and one thirty.
We see explained in this parable how some people are easily taken away from the truth, some endure for a little while, but when things get too hard, they give it away, then others are just too busy with the physical things, then the last group who bear fruit. Even in the fruitful group, some put in more effort than others, 100 fold down to 30.
It was the same with the Israelites, when God brought them to the promised
land, He sent 12 spies to check out the land. Only two of them brought
back a good report.
The other 10 thought it was all too hard. They left God
out of the picture. They only looked to the physical not the spiritual
at all. These 10 align with the unfruitful mentioned above and have no
understanding.
Notice the men who searched out the promised land were leaders of the tribes of Israel.
Num 13:3 And Moses by the command of Jehovah sent them from the wilderness of Paran. All those men were heads of the sons of Israel.
Num 13:17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan,
and said to them, Go up this way, southward, and go up into the mountain.
Num 13:18 And see the land, what it is, and the people that
live in it, whether it is strong or weak, few or many.
Num 13:19 And see what the land is that they live in, whether
it is good or bad; and what cities they dwell in, whether in tents or in
strongholds;
Num 13:20 and what the land is, whether fat or lean, whether
there is wood in it or not. And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit
of the land. Now the time was the time of first ripe grapes.
Num 13:21 So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness
of Zin to Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
Num 13:22 And they went up by the south and came to Hebron,
where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Anak were. (Now Hebron was
built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
Num 13:23 And they came to the valley of Eshcol and cut from
there a branch with one cluster of grapes. And they carried it between
two men upon a staff, and some of the pomegranates and of the figs.
The grapes ripen in the area around July to August.
This is the evil report that the leaders of Israel brought back
Firstly it was fertile land, the produce they brought back was huge.
Num 13:27 And they told him and said, We came to the land where
you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey. And this is the fruit
of it.
The leaders thought it was too fortified for them to take the cities, and there were giants there.
Num 13:28 However, the people that dwell in the land are strong,
and the cities are walled, very great. And also we saw the children of
Anak there.
Today we face the same problems, it is not an easy stroll into the kingdom
of God, we have to face and overcome huge obstacles, but we can overcome
them if we rely on God. We are well equipped to win the battle. If
we are strong and courageous.
The prize is well worth the effort, put on the armour of God.
Num 13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and
the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains.
And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan.
Notice the attitude of Caleb, he could not see the problem, he had strength and courage to go forward. He wanted the promised land. He knew all things were possible with God. Do we have this attitude towards eternal life. Do we rely on God to help us overcome the obstacles in our paths.
Num 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said,
Let us go up at once and possess it. For we are well able to overcome it.
Even though Caleb spoke out in faith and strength, the others were weak. It was all too hard for them. They just gave up and said the inhabitants were too strong for them. They had no belief in God, they lacked faith, Joshua and Caleb did not.
Today we have satan and his spiritual cohorts to deal with. They are big strong and powerful.{just as the Anakim were to the Israelites.} But if we rely on God for strength and courage, we can overcome his influences. Resist the devil and he will flee from us.
The Israelite leaders had a different attitude, they couldn’t see God in the picture at all, they left Him out of it.
Num 13:31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not
able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.
The leaders of Israel did their best to discourage the Israelites from
entering the promised land. They only saw the physical, and ignored
the powers of God and His ability to help them.
Much like our ministers and leaders who could not speak out and tell
their congregations to follow Gods laws when we were in worldwide.
Today we have people like that they are wondering stars who feast among us. They do their best to turn us away from eternal life. They sneak into the church and try to take us away from our calling, watering down the truth, and preaching lies.
Notice Jude 11-13
Jud 1:11 Woe to them! For they went the way of Cain, and gave
themselves up to the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying
of Korah.
Jud 1:12 These are sunken rocks in your love feasts, feasting
together with you; feeding themselves without fear; waterless clouds being
carried about by winds; fruitless autumn trees, having died twice, having
been plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their shames; wandering
stars for whom blackness of darkness has been kept forever.
Num 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which
they had searched to the sons of Israel, saying, The land through which
we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up those who live in it.
And all the people whom we saw in it were men of stature.
The size of the sons of Anak, the giants worried the leaders.
Today, could we have a bigger or worse or more fierce enemy than santan
and his cohorts. Without God we would not be able to do anything,
but if we rely on God we can do anything.
All things are possible with God.
The scouts exaggerated the difficulties, that they had to overcome,
for example the sons of Anak were 8 foot tall not 80 feet.
Remember the promised land was a type of eternal life. This is
where we are now, on the banks of the Jordan, only ready to cross over
if we want eternal life, and we have courage, love the truth, believe the
truth, and obey God.
Num 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, of the giants. And we were in our own sight like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
The leaders evil report was contagious and all the Israelites
murmured against Moses and Aaron. Are we any different today, what
has happened to the memory of Mr. Armstrong.
His sermons were not allowed to be played in church services. etc.
etc. all because when the church was led into error everyone turned it
all around and blamed a man who had nothing to do with all this rejection
of Gods law and not only that Mr. Armstrong had been dead for about 10
years, WHEN ALL THAT HAPPEBNED. but all the people murmured against Gods
chosen servant Mr. Armstrong. Whilst they put up the new leader
on a pedestal and yet it was this new leader who had taken away the laws
of God out of the Worldwide Church..
Num 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice and
cried. And the people wept that night.
Num 14:2 And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses
and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, Oh that we
had died in the land of Egypt! Or, Oh that we had died in the wilderness!
Then they blamed God and wanted to return to slavery in Egypt. This is how our thinking can be warped today if we do not listen to the truth, believe God and put our trust in Him.
Num 14:3 And why has Jehovah brought us into this land to fall
by the sword, so that our wives and our sons should be a prey? Would it
not be better for us to return to Egypt?
Num 14:4 And they said to one another, Let us make a leader,
and let us return to Egypt.
They wanted to do away with the leaders appointed by God, just as today the church wants to rid any memory of Mr. Armstrong, and no doubt get rid of us too, but God is in charge, we will keep the memory of Mr. Armstrong alive, and God choses who will be the physical leaders of the church, not man.
Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb tried to change the peoples minds and show them that the promised land could easily be taken
Num 14:5 And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all
the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,
of those that searched the land, tore their clothes.
The Promised land was a land well worth trying to take.
Num 14:7 And they spoke to all the company of the sons of Israel
saying, The land which we passed through to search is an exceedingly good
land.
If the Lord delights in us, we can enter the land. Today is no different, if we are to receive eternal life, we must please God.
Num 14:8 If Jehovah delights in us, then He will bring us into
this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.
Today we must be chosen to do this, we must believe God, love the truth, obey God and have faith.
There was no need for them to fear the giants. God was with them.
Num 14:9 Only do not rebel against Jehovah, neither fear the
people of the land. For they are bread for us. Their protection has moved
from them, and Jehovah is with us. Do not fear them.
Remember we are the modern day Israelites.
Today why fear man or the spiritual wickedness in high places.
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is
for us, who can be against us?
The Israelites just would not listen, they had been shown miracles, and yet too soon did they forget and prefer to return to slavery than enter the promised land. Not only that but they wanted to kill Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb.
Num 14:10 But all the congregation said to stone them with
stones. And the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation
before all the sons of Israel.
Today the church is no different, a great deal of the members chose to reject God and the commandments, and later on most refuse to believe God, and this new knowledge.
Why didn't the Israelites want to go in. Because they did not believe God.
Num 14:11 And Jehovah said to Moses, How long will this people
provoke Me? And how long will it be before they believe Me, for all the
signs which I have shown among them?
In fact if we do not believe God we will not enter into the promised land. Which for us is eternal life.
Heb 3:17 But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not
with those who had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
Heb 3:18 And to whom did He swear that they should not enter
into His rest, but to those who did not believe?
Heb 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of
unbelief.
Again it is the same today, very few, if any will believe the new knowledge restored to the church, which is the knowledge of eternal life.
The rebellious Israelites upset God greatly
Num 14:22 Because all those men who have seen My glory and
My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted
Me now these ten times, and have not listened to My voice,
Num 14:23 surely they shall not see the land which I swore
to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it.
Num 14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit
with him, and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land into
which he went. And his seed shall possess it.
and Joshua
Num 14:30 you shall certainly not come into the land which I swore to make you live in, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Num 32:11 Surely, none of the men that came up out of Egypt,
from twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed Me,
Num 32:12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,
and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed Jehovah.
Notice that Caleb had another spirit. Both Joshua and Caleb wanted the
promised land.
If we want eternal life, we must obey and believe God and not be rebellious
like the Israelites.
Eternal life should be something we want, today it means accepting
new truths, believing the new knowledge about the Father and Jesus Christ,
the new meanings to the Holy days and their dates. There is much
new knowledge being restored to the end time church, we must have faith,
be strong and courageous and through much prayer continue our journey to
that goal.
3RD DAY OF THE FEAST
Once again today we will recap on what we have learned so far, what does the feast picture, that the Israelites had to dwell in booths for 40 years in the wilderness.
These following verses sum it up
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses declared the feasts of Jehovah to the
sons of Israel.
We must know the new knowledge about the Father and Christ, we must know and keep the correct date of the Passover, We have shown the parallel between the crossing of the Red Sea and the raising of Christ. We then looked at how the Israelites rejected the fountain of living waters which is the Father and the holy spirit. Then we saw how the Israelites rejected the promised land.
We must keep in mind during the feast that we are the modern day Israelites. All these things must be applied to ourselves.
Today we will look into the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and the fact that the Israelites dwelt in booths during that time.
The feast pictures this time, when the Israelites dwelt in booths. Let’s look at the reasons for this, and parallel it with today.
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Booths are temporary and so is the receiving of the earnest of the spirit it is a testing time. Just as this was a time of testing for the Israelites, so it is for us.
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your
God led you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble you,
to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His
commandments or not.
Deu 8:3 And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and
then He fed you with manna, which you did not know, neither did your fathers
know it, so that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of Jehovah man shall
live.
Deu 8:4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your
foot swell, these forty years.
Deu 8:5 And you have known with your heart, that, as a man
chastens his son, so Jehovah your God chastens you.
Deu 8:6 And you shall keep the commandments of Jehovah your
God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
Notice how some of the spies discouraged the Israelites from entering
the promised land.
Num 32:8 So your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea
to see the land.
Num 32:9 For when they went up into the valley of Eshcol and
saw the land, they broke the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they
should not go into the land which Jehovah had given them.
Num 32:10 And Jehovah's anger was kindled at that day, and
He swore, saying,
Because of disobedience they could not see the land.
Num 32:11 Surely, none of the men that came up out of Egypt,
from twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed Me,
Today we must accept the new knowledge in the church which leads to eternal life. There will be people who will come into the church and try to discourage us, they will try to turn us away from the truth. Let’s be forewarned against the modern day spies with the evil report of eternal life. They will be against the modern day physical leaders of the church, just as they constantly murmured and rebelled against Moses.
When we took the knowledge of the truth to the church the ministry did their best to discourage us, but they could not. We clearly stated time and again to show us by the scriptures where we were wrong and they could not do it.
2Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who secretly will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
One of the end time truths being restored is who God is.
2Pe 2:2 And many will follow their pernicious ways, and because
of them the way of truth will be evil spoken of.
Notice the way of truth…..we must love the truth, we must be whole hearted.
Joshua and Caleb followed God wholly. Joshua and Caleb loved the promised land, they could not see any problem with it, certainly they knew about the giants, but they also knew that if God was with them, they were capable of entering and taking the land.
Num 32:12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,
and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed Jehovah.
Num 32:13 And Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel,
and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all the generation
which had done evil in the sight of Jehovah was destroyed.
Because of disbelief they could not enter. They did not have the heart to believe God, love the promised land, or obey God.
Today we must follow God wholly, with all our might, with all our heart. This is the way to eternal life.
Mar 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with all
the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and
to love the neighbor as himself, is more than all the burnt offerings and
sacrifices.
Psa 119:2 Blessed are they who keep His testimonies, and who
seek Him with all the heart.
Rev 14:4 These are those who were not defiled with women; for
they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
These were redeemed from among men, as a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb.
Unfortunately we see those in the end time church who do not follow God with their whole heart. We see the lukewarm ones who have their mind on the material things of this world, and not on God. Lets look at ourselves and see, do we discuss God on the Sabbath, or do we simply talk about the weather, or some other gossip. Notice that in the end time church exists the attitude of the ancient Israelites. Also notice that many in the Laodicean church are not whole hearted.
We are the modern day Israelites and all that was at fault with the ancient Israelites is alive and living in us today and we need to know that and accept that and apply it to us today, that is why these accounts are written because we must apply them to us, learn from their mistakes and get these wrong ways out of our lives.
Rev 3:15 I know your works, that you
are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because the Israelites rejected the promised land God caused them to die during the 40 years in the wilderness. They murmured against God.
Num 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation,
which murmurs against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel
which they murmur against Me.
Num 14:28 Say to them, As I live, says Jehovah, as you have
spoken in My ears, so I will do to you.
Num 14:29 Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness,
and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from
twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me,
Num 14:30 you shall certainly not come into the land which
I swore to make you live in, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua
the son of Nun.
Do we murmur today about our church leaders or about God. I think
it is disgraceful how many in the church, murmured against Mr. Armstrong,
and how he is treated as nothing by most in the church today. What
a disgrace.
Mr. Armstrong was the God appointed leader of the Philadelphian era
for some 60 years, and now, most in the church, just treat him with disrespect
and disregard his memory. That will not happen in this church. Whilst
we are teaching you.
If people want to tarnish the memory of Mr. Armstrong or talk about us, please have the ticker to do it to our faces . This attitude will not be tolerated by us.
If anyone disagrees with who God puts in charge of His church, then they are out of step with God, and those people need to take a long hard look at themselves and change.
Notice the warning by Paul about murmuring and other sins which Israel were guilty of during the 40 years of wondering.
Notice especially the words of chapter 10 v 11 they are for examples and admonition for the people living in the last days.
1Co 10:1 And, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant that
all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.
1Co 10:2 And all were baptized to Moses in the cloud and in
the sea,
1Co 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
1Co 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they
drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
1Co 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased, for
they were scattered in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6 And these things were our examples, that we should
not be lusters after evil, as they also lusted.
1Co 10:7 Nor should we be idolaters, even as some of them,
as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to
play."
1Co 10:8 Nor let us commit fornication, as some of them fornicated,
and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.
1Co 10:9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted
Him and were destroyed by serpents.
1Co 10:10 Nor murmur as some of them also murmured and were
destroyed by the destroyer.
1Co 10:11 And all these things happened to them as examples;
and it is written for our warning on whom the ends of the world have come.
1Co 10:12 So let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he
fall.
The children of the Israelites went into the promised land.
Notice the Israelites despised the promised land, today many despise the truth.
Num 14:31 But your little ones, which you said should be a
prey, I will bring them in and they shall know the land which you have
despised.
There is always a penalty for disobedience, here we see the children had to pay for their parents mistakes, this no doubt was to ensure that they did not make the same mistakes.
The children of the Israelites had to bear the whoredoms.
Num 14:33 And your sons shall feed in the wilderness forty
years and bear your fornications, until your dead bodies have wasted in
the wilderness.
Num 14:34 According to the number of the days in which you
searched the land, forty days, each day for a year you shall bear your
iniquities, forty years; and you shall know My alienation.
The Israelites were an evil congregation
Num 14:35 I Jehovah have spoken; I will surely do it to all
this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall
be destroyed in this wilderness, and there they shall die.
The original spies died of the plague
Num 14:36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land,
who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing
up an evil report upon the land,
Num 14:37 even those men that brought up the evil report upon
the land died by the plague before Jehovah.
Num 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, of the men that went to spy out the land, lived.
Num 14:39 And Moses told these sayings to all the sons of
Israel. And the people mourned greatly.
Why did they have to remember the way which God led them, for 40 years? To humble them,to prove them to know what was in their hearts and to see if they would keep the commandments. These are exactly the same requirements that God requires of us in the spiritual wilderness.
Once we are baptised {parallel with the Red Sea crossing} we wander for a period of time in the spiritual wilderness, during this time, we are tested to see what is in our hearts.
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your God led you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble you, to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Jas 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, God resists
the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
1Pe 1:22 Purifying your souls in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, love one another fervently out of a pure heart,
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints. Here are the
ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Jos 5:5 For all the people who came out were circumcised. But
all the people born in the wilderness by the wayside, as they came forth
out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.
Jos 5:6 For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,
until all the people, the men of war, who came out of Egypt, were destroyed,
because they did not obey the voice of Jehovah. To them Jehovah swore that
He would not show them the land which Jehovah swore to their fathers that
He would give us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
Jos 5:7 And Joshua circumcised their sons, whom He raised
up in their place. For they were not circumcised, because they had not
been circumcised by the wayside.
When Caleb spied out the land he brought back word as it was in his heart.
Jos 14:7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of Jehovah
sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land. And I brought him word
again as it was in my heart.
Caleb loved the promised land, he wanted it, yes he saw the obstacles that were there, but he knew that if he relied on God he could easily overcome them. What about today….do we have this heart.
Lets not be like these gentiles
Eph 4:18 having the understanding darkened, being alienated
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of
the blindness of their heart.
Guard against these things, this was the heart of the Israelites, is it in us today.
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brothers, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Lets be like Joshua and Caleb
Eph 6:6 not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Caleb wholly followed the Lord.
Jos 14:8 But my brothers that went up with me made the heart
of the people melt; yet I fully followed Jehovah my God.
Jos 14:9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land
on which your feet have trodden shall be your inheritance, and your sons'
forever because you have fully followed Jehovah my God.
Jos 14:10 And now, behold, Jehovah has kept me alive these
forty-five years as He said, even since Jehovah spoke this word to Moses,
while Israel wandered in the wilderness. And now, lo, I am eighty-five
years old today.
Caleb in great shape at 85 years old.
Jos 14:11 As yet I am as strong today as I was in the day that
Moses sent me. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for
war, both to go out and to come in.
Heb 3:8 do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation, in
the day of temptation in the wilderness,
Heb 3:9 when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My
works forty years.
The Israelites did not have the type of heart God wanted. They did not know Gods ways. We must know God and the new knowledge we need to have a desire to learn. We need to love God, know about Him and Christ, love the truth and obey God.
Heb 3:10 Therefore I was grieved with that generation and said,
They always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways.
Heb 3:11 So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter into
My rest."
The new knowledge teaches us about God, it shows us who the Father is and who Christ is, we must love this knowledge and desire it, otherwise we are rejecting God.
Look at this warning, do not have an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God. This warning is for us today, we are the ones waiting to enter the promised land, NOW in the form of accepting the new knowledge of eternal life.
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brothers, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:15 while it is said, "Today if you will hear His voice,
harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."
Heb 3:16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke; however,
not all who came out of Egypt by Moses.
Heb 3:17 But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it
not with those who had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
Heb 3:18 And to whom did He swear that they should not enter
into His rest, but to those who did not believe?
Heb 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of
unbelief.
When Nehemiah learned that the Israelites were required to build booths, they did so with great gladness
Neh 8:14 And they found written in the Law which Jehovah had
commanded by Moses, that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths in the
feast of the seventh month,
Neh 8:15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all
their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to the mountain and bring
olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches,
and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
Notice where the people built the booths
Neh 8:16 And the people went out and brought in, and made themselves
booths, each one upon his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts
of the house of God, and in the street of the Water Gate, and in the street
of the Gate of Ephraim.
Notice that they sat under their booths, it means just that not actually living in them, but spending parts of the day in the booth, today we can erect one in our units at the feast and spend some of the day inside the booth, being mindful during this time that the Israelites lived in the booths 40 years. The word dwell in booths, can mean to sit in the booth and for us today this makes sense.
We cannot take the tree branches today as this could be against the law in some cases, but we could erect a temporary shelter inside our hotel room or unit. This could be a two man tent, or something similar, this is temporary, we can spend some part of each day sitting inside this booth. This would be proper for the feast and is obeying the scriptures.
Perhaps you may be allowed to erect a temporary booth where you are staying at the Feast made of trees and branches, but this would depend on the Managment where you are staying.
This also enables us to keep the Last Great Day correctly, because, we only dwell or sit in the booths for 7 days, we do not sit in our booth on the Last Great Day, so to observe this correctly we simply dismantle our booth before sunset at the end of the feast, before the Last Great Day starts.
Notice that the people sat in their booths they did not
live in them during the feast
`
Neh 8:17 And all the congregation of those who had come again
out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths. For
since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day, the sons of Israel
had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
Notice that we do not sit in our booth on the Last Great Day. We are commanded to dwell in booths for 7 days, it is only for the duration of the feast.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
The last great day is a separate holy day from the feast of tabernacles. The Feast lasts for 7 days then is a solemn assembly, for the Last Great Day.
Lev 23:36 Seven days you shall offer a fire offering to Jehovah.
On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall offer
a fire offering to Jehovah. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no
work of labor.
Notice that during the feast the book of the law was read
Neh 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read in the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth was an assembly, according to the Law.
Every 7th year the book of Deuteronomy is to be read at the feast. This is done for some great reasons. So the people can hear, learn and fear the Lord and to do all the words of the law. And so that their children will hear,and learn to fear the Lord as long as they live in the promised land.
We do not know which is the 7th year and we love the book of the law so we will read the entire book of Deuteronomy every feast.
Deu 31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying: At the end of seven
years, at the set time of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles,
Deu 31:11 when all Israel has come to appear before Jehovah
your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this Law before
all Israel in their hearing.
Deu 31:12 Gather the people, men and women and the little
ones, and your stranger who is within your gates, so that they may hear
and that they may learn and fear Jehovah your God, and be careful to do
all the words of this Law,
Deu 31:13 and that their sons who have not known may hear
and learn to fear Jehovah your God, as long as you live in the land where
you go over Jordan to possess it.
Lets recap on some of the many sins the Israelites committed during the 40 years of wondering.
Lusting after evil
Idolatry
Fornication
Tempting Christ {by continually sinning}
Murmering
These are just a few of the things that happened during the 40 years, but we must be careful.
WE ARE THE MODERN DAY ISRAELITES
GUARD OUR HEARTS.
LETS LOVE OUR BIBLES, BELIEVE OUR BIBLES, LOVE GODS WORD. THIS
IS THE ONLY WAY WE WILL GAIN ETERNAL LIFE.
The forty years of wandering has many lessons for us to learn, we need
to look into these lessons and apply them to ourselves as we journey through
our spiritual wilderness before we are offered eternal life. To gain
eternal life, we must believe God, fear Him, love the truth and be prepared
to step out with strength and courage. We need to have the heart
and actions of Joshua and Caleb.
4TH DAY OF THE FEAST
Lets recap on what we have learned so far, the feast pictures the fact that the Israelites dwelt in booths for 40 years in the wilderness
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.
Notice some of the reasons the Israelites dwelt in booths
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your God led you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble you, to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
We saw that to get Eternal Life, we had to know the Father and Christ,
know the new knowledge about them which is being restored in the end time
church.
We must know the correct date of the Passover, and keep it on that
day. We saw the parallel between the crossing of the Red Sea and
the raising of Christ. We then learned about how the Israelites rejected
the Father the fountain of living water, and the holy spirit. Then
yesterday we showed the difference between the attitudes of Joshua and
Caleb and the Israelites, and parallel this with our attitudes today.
Today we will look at what Christ preached about at the Feast. He pointed people to the Father, and obedience to Him. Jesus told them they did not know the Father….we must know the Father.
Jesus preached in the midst of the Feast which would be today most probably, since today is the middle of the feast.
Joh 7:14 Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into
the temple and taught.
Understand that some of the new knowledge that is required for eternal life is to know the Father and Jesus Christ.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that
they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have
sent.
Lets notice the words of Christ during the feast as recorded in the book of John
Jesus was in Galilee because the Jews wanted to kill Him
Joh 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for He
did not desire to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
Joh 7:2 And the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.
Joh 7:3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, Move away from
here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see the works that
You do.
Joh 7:4 For no one does anything in secret, while he himself
seeks to be in public. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.
His own family did not believe Him
Joh 7:5 For His brothers did not believe
in Him.
Joh 7:6 Then Jesus said to them,
My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
The world loved His brothers because they were of the world. Jesus was not. Jesus told the world of their evil ways.
Joh 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but
it hates Me because I testify of it, that its works are evil.
Jesus went up secretly because of the plots on His life, He was not tempting God and did His best to keep Himself safe until the appointed time of His death.
Joh 7:8 You go up to this feast; I am
not yet going up to this feast; for My time is not yet fulfilled.
Christ remained in Galilee until His brethren had left. Then He went to the feast in secret. He did this so as not to tempt the Lord.
Mat 4:6 And he said to Him, If you are
the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, "He shall give His
angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up,
lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone."
Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him,
It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
Joh 7:9 And having said these things to them, He remained in
Galilee.
Joh 7:10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went
up to the feast, not openly, but as in secret.
The Jews sought Him at the Feast, and no one spoke about Him openly for fear of the Jews.
It was obvious that it was Christs custom to go to the Feast for its entirety, because the Jews were looking for Him there. He was late going up this one time because of the plots on His life.
Joh 7:11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast and said, Where
is He?
Joh 7:12 And there was much murmuring among the crowd concerning
Him, for some said, He is a good man; others said, No, but he deceives
the crowd.
Joh 7:13 However, no one spoke openly of Him, because of the
fear of the Jews.
.
Christ teaches about the 4th day of the Feast, which is about the middle.
Joh 7:14 Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
Jesus did not attend their colleges.
Joh 7:15 And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know
letters, not being taught?
Jesus said that He was teaching the doctrine of the Father
Joh 7:16 Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
Jesus gave the glory to the Father, the words He was speaking were those of the Father
If we obey God we will know the truth, if it is of God or man. Notice the key that Christ gives is obedience. If we obey we will know the doctrine.
Joh 7:17 If anyone desires to do His
will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from
Myself.
If we do not speak the truth, and the words of God, we seek our own glory. But if we glorify God, we will be righteous.
Joh 7:18 He who speaks of himself seeks
his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him is true,
and no unrighteousness is in Him.
Joh 7:19 Did not Moses give you the
Law? And yet not one of you keeps the Law! Why do you seek to kill Me?
Because Christ said He was the Son of God they wanted to kill Him.
The Jews denied their plot to kill Christ.
Joh 7:20 The crowd answered and said, You have a demon! Who
seeks to kill you?
Joh 7:21 Jesus answered and said to them, I
have done one work, and you all marvel.
Joh 7:22 Because of this Moses gave
you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers,) and
you circumcise a man on the sabbath day.
Joh 7:23 If a man receives circumcision
on the sabbath day so that the Law of Moses should not be broken, are you
angry at Me because I have made a man entirely sound on the sabbath day?
Joh 7:24 Do not judge according to sight,
but judge righteous judgment.
Joh 7:25 Then some of those from Jerusalem said, Is this not
the one they seek to kill?
Joh 7:26 But lo, he speaks publicly, and they say nothing
to him. Perhaps the rulers truly know that this is the Christ indeed?
This idea of Christ appearing and disappearing was of Jewish thought and not biblical.
Joh 7:27 However, we know this one, from where he is; but when
Christ comes, no one knows from where He is.
They knew Christs family and where He lived, but they did not know the Father
They did not know the ONE TRUE GOD
Joh 7:28 Then Jesus cried in the temple
as He taught, saying, You both know Me, and
you know from where I come. And I have not come of Myself, but He who sent
Me is true, whom you do not know.
Christ explained that He was from the Father.
Joh 7:29 But I know Him, for I am from
Him, and He has sent Me.
Today we must know the new knowledge of Christ and the Father. Christ has not always existed, he was the firstborn of all creation.
Col 1:15 who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born
of all creation.
Christ is from the beginning
1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands
have handled, concerning the Word of Life,
The Father has existed for eternity He alone has existed for eternity. He is the one true God, that means that He is the only one who has existed for eternity. The following scriptures prove that very fact.
Isa 57:15 For so says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity;
whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the contrite
and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the
heart of the contrite ones.
Isa 45:21 Declare and bring near; yea, let them take counsel
together. Who has declared this of old? Who has told it from then? Is it
not I, Jehovah? And there is no other God besides Me; a just God and a
Savior; there is none besides Me.
Jer 10:10 But Jehovah is the true God, He is the living God,
and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the
nations shall not be able to stand His fury.
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has
given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true. And we are
in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and
the everlasting life.
1Ti 6:16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in light which
cannot be approached, whom no one of men have seen, nor can see; to whom
be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher, according
to truth You have spoken, that God is one, and there is no other besides
Him.
This is new knowledge for the end time church, it must be believed and loved, this is the knowledge that Christ will build His church on. It is the rock of knowledge, or foundation on which the church will be built.
Jesus was born of the Father before creation….
If we have a son does anyone call him our brother. No. Once he is born, he is then your son. Christ was born of the Father before creation, He was the Son then and still is the Son now.
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and
said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 Jesus answered and said to
him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah,
for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven.
Joh 7:30 Then they sought to seize Him, but no one laid a hand
on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
Joh 7:31 And many of the crowd believed on Him, and said,
When the Christ comes, will He do more miracles than these which this One
has done?
Joh 7:32 The Pharisees heard that the crowd murmured such
things concerning Him. And the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers
to seize Him.
Jesus told them He would only be with them for a little while longer and then He would be resurrected and raised.
Joh 7:33 Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to Him who sent Me.
Christ told them He could not be found.
Joh 7:34 You shall seek Me and shall
not find Me. And where I am, you cannot come.
The Jews had no idea of His resurrection and raising, and that He would sit on the right hand of the Father.
Joh 7:35 Then the Jews said among themselves, Where is he about
to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the Dispersion of
the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?
Joh 7:36 What saying is this that He said, You shall seek
Me and shall not find Me, and where I am, you cannot come?
Christ spoke about the Father during this day of the Feast, we must
know Him and Christ if we are to gain eternal life.
We must love the truth and believe it.
There is only one true God and that is the Father. He is the
only one who has existed for all eternity.
Christ was born of the Father before creation. Christ has not always
existed.
1Co 8:6 but there is to us only one God, the Father, of whom
are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
are all things, and we by Him.
1Co 8:7 But this knowledge is not in all. But some being aware
of the idol eat as an idolatrous sacrifice until now, and their conscience
being weak is defiled.
Isa 46:9 Remember former things from forever; for I am God, and no other is God, even none like Me,
Isa 45:5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else, no God besides
Me; I clothed you, though you have not known Me;
We must love the new knowledge of the Father and Christ, we have not
known who they are before this. That is because this knowledge
is only being revealed in the end time church, it has not been available
till now. Lets love these new truths brethren, lets believe them,
and obey them.
5TH DAY OF THE FEAST
Again let us recap on what we have learned, the Feast of tabernacles,
pictures the time that God had the Israelites live in booths for 40 years
in the wilderness.
We should be sitting in our booth for a period of time each day.
As we do this, we contemplate the temporary state of the booth, why
they lived like that, and how God must have felt about their constant rebellions
and murmurings.
Lev 23:34 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, The fifteenth
day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days
to Jehovah.
Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You
shall do no work of labor.
Lev 23:36 Seven days you shall offer a fire offering to Jehovah.
On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall offer
a fire offering to Jehovah. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no
work of labor.
Lev 23:37 These are the feasts of Jehovah which you shall
proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer a fire offering to Jehovah,
a burnt offering and a food offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings,
everything on its day;
Lev 23:38 besides the sabbath of Jehovah, and besides your
gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your free-will offerings
which you give to Jehovah.
Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast
to Jehovah seven days. On the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the
eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Lev 23:40 And you shall take the fruit of majestic trees for
yourselves on the first day, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of
thick trees, and willows of the valley. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah
your God seven days.
We have learned of the new knowledge about the Father and Christ, we
have seen the correct day of the Passover, and have seen we must keep it
on the correct day.
We have seen the parallel of the crossing of the Red Sea and the resurrection
of Christ.
We saw that the Israelites rejected the fountain of living waters The
Father and the holy spirit.
We saw how the Israelites rejected the promised land
We learned of the attitudes of Joshua and Caleb and how they differed
from the other leaders of the tribes.
We saw what Christ spoke about in the midst of the Feast, He spoke
of the Father.
The time spent in slavery should be on our mind every Sabbath, it is a reminder of this time, we need to remember what we were before God so mercifully brought us out of the land of bondage. Notice the following scripture and that we are to remember these days on the Sabbath.
Deu 5:14 But the seventh day shall be the sabbath of Jehovah
your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your
daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your
ass, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger inside your gates, so that
your manservant and your maidservant may rest like yourself.
Deu 5:15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and Jehovah your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand
and with a stretched-out arm. Therefore Jehovah your God commanded you
to keep the sabbath day.
Deut. 32 v 1-44 is the song of Moses it needs to be learned by modern day Israel in the end time.
Today we will look at Another spirit, why did Joshua and Caleb
qualify to enter into the promised land.
What was the difference between them and the other leaders of Israel.
How can we be like them today.
Today lets look at having a different spirit.
Num 14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land into which he went. And his seed shall possess it.
Deu 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. And the sons of Israel listened to him, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Num 32:11 Surely, none of the men that came up out of Egypt,
from twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed Me,
Num 32:12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,
and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed Jehovah.
Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,
of those that searched the land, tore their clothes.
They loved the promised land, they spoke highly of it. It was exceedingly good.
Num 14:7 And they spoke to all the company of the sons of Israel saying, The land which we passed through to search is an exceedingly good land.
Notice the confidence of Joshua and Caleb, they had no doubt that they
could inhabit the land, if God delighted in them. God will bring us into
this land, God will give it to us, notice that they gave all the credit
to God. It was never something they could have done on their own.
God was always in the picture with these two.
They could see that God wanted to give them the promised land.
It is the same today, God wants to give us eternal life.
Num 14:8 If Jehovah delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.
Again Joshua and Caleb are not worried by the size or strength of the
people of the land. If God was for them, what was their worry.
Don’t rebel, Don’t fear them, they are defenceless, the Lord is with us,
do not fear them.
Joshua and Caleb relied on God, they trusted Him, they believed Him,
they loved the land.
This is how we must be today. As we hear the new knowledge of eternal life, it may scare us. We may be worried and scared to leave the old beliefs behind, but if we trust in God and believe Him, the clouds of doubt will soon blow away. The new knowledge may appear too big for us to handle, too hard too difficult, but just like Joshua and Caleb, if we look past the obstacles, if we trust in God then we will be able to accept the truth. We have to love the new truth, just as they loved the promised land.
Num 14:9 Only do not rebel against Jehovah, neither fear the people of the land. For they are bread for us. Their protection has moved from them, and Jehovah is with us. Do not fear them.
Because of Joshua’s obedience and love of the promised land, and his willingness to rely on God and believe God, he was given responsibilities of leading Israel. Notice Joshua had the spirit.
Num 27:17 who may go out before them, and who may go in before
them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, so that the
congregation of Jehovah may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.
Num 27:18 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take Joshua the son of
Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand upon him.
Num 27:19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before
all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight.
Num 27:20 And you shall put of your honor on him, so that
all the congregation of the sons of Israel may be obedient.
Joshua and Caleb were the only ones out of all the Israelites over 20 years old, who entered the promised land……why .....they followed the Lord wholly
Num 32:11 Surely, none of the men that came up out of Egypt,
from twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed Me,
Num 32:12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,
and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed Jehovah.
Here is a warning for us in the end time church. We must be prepared to follow the Lord wholly. Unfortunately the last era of Gods church is only a half hearted bunch. We see that we are luke warm.
Rev 3:16 So because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
If we are not diligent to be whole hearted, what will happen, the same as the Israelites, they did not enter the promised land……we will miss out on eternal life…..because Christ says He will spue us out of His mouth.
Don’t just sit back and think we will easily roll on into the kingdom from here. Ok we have come through troubles in the church, and we chose to stick with Gods laws, when the church was led into doing away with the Sabbath and the holy days.
We have now been able to see the new knowledge that leads to eternal life. But if we think we can just cruise on in from here on in……think again…. Satan roams around seeking those whom he may devour. We must be on our guard, we must be whole hearted, we must put eternal life high on our priority list and God must be No. 1 and we must be loving this new truth, believe God, have faith and have courage.
Let’s not under estimate our enemy, when the church brings forth the end time knowledge of God and Christ…..satan is waiting to devour and do away with this knowledge.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and cast them onto the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman being
about to bear, so that when she bears he might devour her child.
We must be very diligent to get rid of this luke warm attitude if it is in us today. We must love the truth, believe God, trust in God, be faithfull, work hard on ourselves, and our attitudes, and rid ourselves of this half hearted approach to the truth, eternal life is at stake.
Deu 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall
go in there. Make him strong, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Notice the responsibility given to Joshua, he would cause Israel to inherit the promised land. He was going to lead them in, he set the correct examples of following God with his whole heart.
These are the same qualities we need today. Are we capable of leading others to the truth, can we be strong and courageous enough in the face of huge difficulties.
Deu 31:7 And Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the
sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage. For you must go with
this people to the land which Jehovah has sworn to their fathers to give
it to them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Deu 31:8 And Jehovah is He who goes before you. He will be
with you; He will not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear; nor be dismayed.
Here we see Moses telling Joshua that he must be strong and of good courage.
Then we see the all important song of Moses which Israel must learn as a witness against them.
Notice that the children of Israel were to learn it. The church must learn this song.
THE SONG OF MOSES
Deu 31:19 Now, therefore, write this song for you, and teach
it to the sons of Israel. Put it in their mouths, so that this song may
be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.
Deu 31:20 For when I shall have brought them into the land
which I swore to their fathers, the land that flows with milk and honey,
and they shall have eaten and have become satisfied, and become fat, then
turn to other gods and serve them, and provoke Me and break My covenant.
Deu 31:21 And it shall be when many evils and troubles have
found them, this song shall testify against them as a witness. For it shall
not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed. For I know their imagination
which they do, even now, before I have brought them into the land which
I swore.
Deu 31:22 And Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught
it to the sons of Israel.
Deu 31:23 And he commanded Joshua the son of Nun, and said:
Be strong and of a good courage. For you shall bring the sons of Israel
into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.
Deu 31:24 And it happened when Moses had made an end of writing
the words of this Law in a book, until they were finished,
Deu 31:25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark
of the covenant of Jehovah, saying,
Deu 31:26 Take this book of the Law, and put it in the side
of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, so that it may be there
for a witness against you.
Deu 31:27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Behold,
while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against
Jehovah. And how much more after my death?
Deu 31:28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and
your officers, so that I may speak these words in their ears, and call
Heaven and earth to record against them.
Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death you will become utterly
corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil
will happen to you in the latter end of the days, because you will do evil
in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your
hands.
Deu 31:30 And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation
of Israel the words of this song, until their conclusion.
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O
earth, the words of my mouth.
Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall
drop down as the dew, as the small rain on the tender plant, and as the
showers on the grass;
Deu 32:3 because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah, ascribe
greatness to our God.
Deu 32:4 He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His
ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without evil; just and upright
is He.
Deu 32:5 They have corrupted themselves: they are not His
sons; it is their blemish; they are a crooked and perverse generation.
Deu 32:6 Do you thus give back to Jehovah, Oh foolish and
unwise people? Is He not your Father who bought you? Has He not made you
and established you?
Deu 32:7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many
generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they
will tell you.
Deu 32:8 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,
when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according
to the number of the sons of Israel.
Deu 32:9 For Jehovah's portion is His people. Jacob is the
lot of His inheritance.
Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the deserted,
howling wilderness. He led him about, He cared for him, He kept him as
the pupil of His eye.
Deu 32:11 As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her
young, spreads abroad her wings, takes them and bears them on her wing,
Deu 32:12 Jehovah alone led him, and there was no strange
god with him.
Deu 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
so that he might eat the increase of the fields. And He made him suck honey
out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock,
Deu 32:14 butter from cows, and milk from sheep, with fat
of lambs, and rams of the sons of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys
of wheat. And you drank the blood of the grape.
Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. You grew fat,
thick, and satisfied. Then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed
the Rock of his salvation.
Deu 32:16 They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked Him to anger.
Deu 32:17 They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods whom
they knew not, to new ones newly come up, whom your fathers did not fear.
Deu 32:18 You forgot the Rock who brought you forth, and ceased
to care for God who formed you.
Deu 32:19 And Jehovah saw, and despised them because of the
provoking of His sons and of His daughters.
Deu 32:20 And He said, I will hide My face from them; I will
see what their end shall be. For they are a very perverse generation, sons
in whom is no faithfulness.
Deu 32:21 They have moved Me to jealousy with a no-god. They
have provoked Me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to
jealousy with a no-people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish
nation.
Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn
to the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with its increase, and
set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
Deu 32:23 I will heap evils on them. I will spend My arrows
on them.
Deu 32:24 Exhaustion by famine, and consumption by burning
heat, and bitter destruction, and the teeth of beasts I will send on them,
with the poison of crawling things of the dust.
Deu 32:25 The sword outside, and the terror inside, shall
destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man
of grey hairs.
Deu 32:26 I said I would dash them to pieces; I would make
the memory of them to cease from among men,
Deu 32:27 were it not the provocation of an enemy I feared,
lest their enemies should misconstrue; lest they should say, Our hand is
high and Jehovah has not done all this.
Deu 32:28 For they are a nation without wisdom, neither is
there any understanding in them.
Deu 32:29 If they were wise, they would understand this; they
would consider their latter end!
Deu 32:30 How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten
thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them and Jehovah had shut
them up?
Deu 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies
themselves being judges.
Deu 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the
fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall. Their clusters are
bitter.
Deu 32:33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel
venom of asps.
Deu 32:34 Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed
up among My treasures?
Deu 32:35 Vengeance and retribution belong to Me. Their foot
shall slide in time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the
things that shall come on them make haste.
Deu 32:36 For Jehovah will bring His people justice; and He
shall have compassion on His servants, for He sees that their power is
gone, and only the imprisoned and abandoned remain.
Deu 32:37 And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock
in whom they trusted?
Deu 32:38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the
wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be
your hiding place.
Deu 32:39 See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with
me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is no deliverer
out of My hand.
Deu 32:40 For I lift up My hand to Heaven and say, I live
forever!
Deu 32:41 If I sharpen My glittering sword, and if My hand
takes hold in judgment, I will give vengeance to My enemies and will reward
those that hate Me.
Deu 32:42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword
shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from
the hairy scalp of the enemy.
Deu 32:43 Rejoice, O, nations, with His people; for He will
avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His foes
and will be merciful to His land, to His people.
Deu 32:44 And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song
in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.
Joshua was full of the spirit
Deu 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of
wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. And the sons of Israel listened
to him, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Notice they had another spirit
Num 14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit
with him, and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land into
which he went. And his seed shall possess it.
Joshua and Caleb had another spirit to the other leaders, they were obedient to God, loved the promised land, believed God, relied on God, had faith and trust in Him, they knew they could easily take the promised land if God was with them.
Lets go forward a little in our account to just before the time of the death of Joshua to recap on the type of man he was. This is 25 years after they entered the promised land and Joshua is 110 years old
Jos 23:6 And be very courageous to keep and to do all that
is written in the book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not turn aside
from it to the right or to the left;
Jos 23:7 so that you do not come among these nations, these
that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods,
nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves to them.
Jos 23:8 But cleave to Jehovah your God, as you have done
to this day.
When God was with Israel they were very strong, the same with us, if we rely on God we can do whatever God wants of us.
Jos 23:9 For Jehovah has driven out from before you great and
strong nations. But as for you, no one has been able to stand before you
to this day.
Jos 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand. For Jehovah
your God is He who fights for you, as He has promised you.
Notice Joshua reminds them to love God.
Jos 23:11 And take good heed to yourselves that you love Jehovah your God.
God kept His promises.
Jos 23:14 And behold, today I am going the way of all the earth.
And you know in all your heart and in all your souls that not one thing
has failed of all the good things which Jehovah your God spoke concerning
you. All have come to pass to you. Not one thing of it has failed.
Get rid of foreign Gods and serve God.
Jos 24:14 Now, then, fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity
and truth. And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other
side of the flood, and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah.
Jos 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve Jehovah, choose
this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served
Beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But
as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
God will not let the rebellious go unpunished.
Jos 24:20 If you forsake Jehovah and serve strange gods, then
He will turn and do you harm, and destroy you after He has done you good.
Jos 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, We will serve Jehovah
our God, and His voice we will obey.
Jos 24:25 And Joshua made a covenant with the people that
day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Jos 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the
Law of God, and took a great stone and set it up there under an oak by
the sanctuary of Jehovah.
Jos 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this
stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the Words of Jehovah
which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you
deny your God.
Jos 24:28 And Joshua sent away the people, each man to his
inheritance.
Jos 24:29 And it happened after these things, Joshua, the
son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years
old.
Jos 24:30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance
in Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
Jos 24:31 And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and who had known all
the works of Jehovah that He had done for Israel.
Caleb was 40 when he spied out the promised land.
Jos 14:7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of Jehovah
sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land. And I brought him word
again as it was in my heart.
Caleb was given the land
Deu 1:36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him I will give the land that he has trodden upon, and to his sons, because he has fully followed Jehovah.
Caleb given Hebron
Jos 14:12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the
LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were
there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will
be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
Jos 14:13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the
son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
Jos 14:14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb
the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly
followed the LORD God of Israel.
Jos 14:15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which
Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua and Caleb were rewarded by God for their faithfullness. The other 10 spies were also rewarded for their weak hearts they were put to death by the plague.
Under the leadership of Joshua the Israelites remained
faithful to God. Very few leaders of Israel have achieved such
a feat.
Joshua and Caleb were truely great men of God.
6TH DAY OF THE FEAST
Once again we will recap and remind ourselves of what these days picture.
The feast is a reminder of the time the Israelites dwelt in booths during
their time in the wilderness.
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.
We have learned that the Father is the one true God, and Christ is His
Son born before creation. We have seen that the Passover must be
kept on the correct day, we have seen the parallel between the crossing
of the Red Sea and the raising of Christ, We saw Israel’s rejection of
the Father the fountain of living waters and the holy spirit, we saw what
Christ spoke about during the feast, we saw Joshua and Caleb had another
spirit,
Today we look at the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and how it is a parallel to the time when we are given the earnest of the spirit.
We are given the earnest of the spirit at baptism, if we repent and meet Gods requirements.
Once we have the earnest of the Spirit, we can begin to understand, obey, believe, and grow in knowledge and overcome ourselves.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
1Pe 1:21 those believing in God through Him, He who raised
Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope might
be in God.
Eph 3:4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ)
Eph 3:5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons
of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit,
Act 5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things. And so also
is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.
How well we do these things depends on how much we want to please God, how much we want to be different to the world, how much time and effort we are prepared to put in.
If we want to win the race we have to be fit to compete.
God let the Israelites wander for 40 years to test them to see what was in their hearts.
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your
God led you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble you,
to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His
commandments or not.
Once we receive the earnest of the spirit we then have to be proved,
without any doubt we will lack humility, before we come to the promised
land we, like the Israelites, are taken on a long and arduous journey,
God wants to be absolutely sure we are ready before He gives us the holy
spirit of power, which is eternal life inherent.
The same as the Israelites they did not enter the promised land until
God was satisfied with them.
There is no turning back from eternal life, remember only those under 20 survived the 40 years in the wilderness, that made the oldest of them 60 at the time they entered the promised land. They had 40 years of testing, many of us have not been in the church that long.
2Co 1:22 And He has sealed us and having given the earnest
of the Spirit in our hearts.
2Co 5:5 And He who has worked in us for this same thing is
God, who also is giving to us the earnest of the Spirit.
Notice that we receive the earnest of the spirit when we believe God.
Then it could take many years before we are ready for the spirit of
power.
So once we receive the truth, we accept the truth, we act and try to
change, we have a desire to learn, and grow, and change and become like
God, and we believe God then God will give us the earnest of the spirit.
Even though the Israelites witnessed many miracles, they did not believe or love God.
The earnest of the spirit is a down payment of what is yet to come.
Eph 1:13 in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel
of our salvation, in whom also believing, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 who is the earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption
of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Once the earnest of the holy spirit is given then we can grow and overcome and understand much more, without the earnest of the spirit our understanding is shallow, we need the earnest of the spirit to have a deeper understanding of Gods word. We can begin our Christian walk, we can understand the bible as God opens our mind to understand. We can obey, we have belief, we have faith, love, and we should show the fruits of the spirit.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 meekness, self-control; against such things there
is no law.
This growth can take many years until God offers the knowledge of eternal
life.
But we must accept the new knowledge, love it, believe it, love the
truth, and obey, if we do not then we simply won’t receive the holy spirit
of power.
Remember the Israelites rejected the holy spirit and God.
This knowledge can only be understood when God opens our minds to hear
it and believe it and understand it.
Lets look at the example of the disciples.
They were given the earnest of the spirit. Notice that they were
given the spirit at the beginning. This enabled them to understand
some things,
Act 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on
them, as on us at the beginning.
The disciples were given the earnest of the spirit early up, at the beginning of their calling, Christ later promised that they would receive the holy spirit of power, in John
Joh 20:22 And when He had said this,
He breathed on them and said to them, Receive
the Holy Spirit.
They did not receive the holy spirit of power, at this time, but they
had qualified at this time, else Christ would not have told them that they
were going to get it. They already had the earnest of the spirit
as shown in Acts 11 v 15, so there is no doubt that Christ was talking
about the spirit of power.
They then went on and received the holy spirit of power at Pentecost.
However the knowledge of eternal life was a mystery to them, they could
not understand these things.
The disciples did not know that Christ was going to die for the sins
of mankind. What Christs death meant, and why He had to die was a
mystery to them.
It just wasn’t the time to understand some things, the holy spirit would bring things to mind after Christs death
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
Mar 9:31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, The
Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him.
And after He is killed, He shall rise the third day.
Mar 9:32 But they did not understand that saying and were
afraid to ask Him.
Notice that the understanding was hidden from them, they did not have the Holy Spirit of power and therefore could not understand. Christ told them to remember these sayings and later when they received the Holy Spirit of power, these things would be brought to their remembrance. See John 14 v 26 below
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
Notice again how Christ explained to them to let these things be remembered and the understanding would come later.
Luk 9:43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But
as all were marveling at all things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples,
Luk 9:44 Let these words sink down into
your ears. For the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45 But they did not understand this, and it was hidden
from them so that they did not perceive it. And they feared to ask Him
of this word.
They were unaware of His resurrection
Joh 16:18 Therefore they said, What is
this that He says, A little while? We do not know what He is saying.
Joh 16:19 Then Jesus knew that they
desired to ask Him, and said to them, Do you
seek answers with one another concerning this, because I said, A little
while and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall
see Me?
Once the disciples received the Holy Spirit of Power, the spirit brought to remembrance the things Christ taught them.
Joh 12:16 But His disciples did not know these things at the
first. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things
were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
It could be quite a puzzle to understand why the disciples had the earnest of the spirit and yet did not understand.
As we explained earlier, with the earnest of the spirit we can understand a good deal, but for the knowledge of eternal life, requires a further step, God must open our minds to greater understanding. This happens when God shows us the scriptures, if we have a desire to understand, grow, and believe what God shows us, He opens our mind to greater understanding.
If we love the truth, if we believe the truth, obey, and desire to learn,
we must accept that what we once held as the truth is now replaced with
new knowledge of eternal life, which is being restored in the end time.
Then God will open our eyes and ears.
Luk 24:44 And He said to them, These
are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in
the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me.
Luk 24:45 And He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.
Once God opens our understanding to the scriptures, then there is a
period of time until we receive the Holy Spirit of power, in the case of
the disciples it was the period from when God opened their minds to understanding,
till Pentecost.
In the case of the disciples, Christ was with them for 40 days teaching
them, and showing them about the kingdom.
In our case it is the same, God teaches us and shows us many things
until we receive the Holy Spirit of power.
For the Israelites it was the time they crossed the Jordan River and entered into the Promised Land which was a type of us receiving the Holy Spirit of power.
That is why so many did not want it, it was all too hard, many are called, few are chosen.
The giving of the Holy Spirit of power, is a very serious time in our spiritual life, and God takes the giving of His spirit very seriously. When we receive it we have eternal life inherent.
The two phases of the spirit are very different, the first, the earnest
of the spirit, is the down payment, of eternal life, it is a deposit of
greater things yet to come.
The Holy Spirit of power once it is given is eternal life inherent.
great power is given with this Holy Spirit it is called the spirit of power,
or truth.
The comparison is during the 40 years of wandering is the time of getting the earnest of the spirit, entering into the promised land is the getting of the holy spirit of power.
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming
upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all
Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Many readers might think that the disciples first received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, but the following verse shows that they already had the Holy Spirit and were to receive another comforter.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father,
and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever,
There is a huge difference in the spiritual understanding we receive with the earnest of the spirit compared to the Holy Spirit of power.
The holy spirit of power or truth enables us to understand the things pertaining to eternal life.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW THESE TRUTHS WITHOUT GOD FIRST OPENING OUR MINDS TO UNDERSTANDING THE THINGS OF ETERNAL LIFE, AND AFTER WE ACCEPT THE TRUTH AND BELIEVE THE TRUTH WE ARE GIVEN THE HOLY SPIRIT OF POWER.
The Israelites simply did not accept the truth and believe the truth, they just were not ready until they crossed the Jordan. The 40 years was to sift their hearts. It is no different for us today.
Notice how God gives us understanding
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has
given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true. And we are
in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and
the everlasting life.
2Ti 2:7 Consider what I say, and the Lord will give you understanding
in all things.
We must come to the knowledge of the truth
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We must have a desire to learn, believe, and obey, then we will find the knowledge of God
Pro 2:3 yea, if you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice
for understanding;
Pro 2:4 if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for
hidden treasures,
Pro 2:5 then you shall understand the fear of Jehovah and
find the knowledge of God.
When we receive the truth we must also believe it.
1Th 2:13 And for this cause we thank God without ceasing, that
when you received the Word of hearing, of God, you welcomed it as the Word
of God, not as a word of men, but as it is, truly the Word of God, which
also effectually works in you who believe.
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for
you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth,
We receive power when we have the Holy Spirit of power.
Mic 3:8 But I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and justice, and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind.
Lets look at some of the things that are opened to our minds once we have the spirit of power.
Unless we love this knowledge, accept it and believe it, we will not receive the spirit of power, just as the Israelites were not ready to cross the Jordan until they were willing to obey neither will we cross into eternal life inherent.
Jos 24:31 And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of Jehovah that He had done for Israel.
THE FATHER IS THE ONE TRUE GOD
The knowledge of the Father and the Son is eternal life, we must know that there is one true God and that is the Father, He is the only one who has existed for all eternity. He is the self existent one, Jehovah. Jesus Christ has not always existed, He is from the beginning, He was born before creation. He is the firstborn Son of God. He is God but He has not existed for eternity. He is second in charge to the Father.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jer 10:10 But Jehovah is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to stand His fury.
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher, according to truth You have spoken, that God is one, and there is no other besides Him.
1Co 8:6 but there is to us only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we by Him.
1Ti 2:5 For God is one, and there is one Mediator of God and
of men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Once we learn these truths God will show us many more things, like the correct day of the Passover, the correct meaning of the holy days and much much more.
The prophets and righteous would not have been given certain knowledge because it was to be revealed to the disciples, until then it was not known.
Mat 13:17 For truly I say to you that
many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which
you see, and have not seen them; and to hear what you hear, and have not
heard them.
This knowledge is to be restored in the end time church……all things
will be restored. This knowledge will eventually fill the whole earth.
It was known by the disciples, but lost since then, to be restored in the
end time
.
Mat 17:11 And answering Jesus said to them, Elijah
truly shall come first and restore all things.
7TH DAY OF THE FEAST .
Again for the last time we will recap what we have learned during this
feast.We have seen that the feast pictures the time the Israelites lived
in booths, for 40 years.
Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when
you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to Jehovah
seven days. On the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day
shall be a sabbath.
Lev 23:40 And you shall take the fruit of majestic trees for
yourselves on the first day, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of
thick trees, and willows of the valley. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah
your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
Lev 23:43 so that your generations may know that I made the
sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses declared the feasts of Jehovah to the
sons of Israel.
We learned the new knowledge about the Father and Christ, we have seen
the correct date of the Passover. We have seen the parallel between
the crossing of the Red Sea and the raising of Christ. We have learned
how the Israelites rejected the fountain of living waters God the Father
and the holy spirit. We have seen how the Israelites rejected the
promised land. We have seen the difference between the heart of Joshua
and Caleb and the other leaders of the Israelite Tribes, and the other
Israelites. We looked at what Christ himself spoke about during the
feast.
We looked at why Joshua and Caleb had another spirit. Then yesterday
we looked at the parallel of the 40 years of wandering and how it is a
type of the period of time when we receive the earnest of the spirit until
we finally qualify to receive the spirit of power which is eternal life
inherent. So the 40 years is a type of the time we have the
earnest of the spirit.
Now today is the last day of the feast. This means that we will take down our booths, before sunset, before the start of the holy day for the last great day. We are only required to sit in our booths for 7 days.
Lev 23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are
born Israelites shall live in booths,
The parallel for us today pictures our temporary physical state as we wander in our spiritual wilderness during the time we are given the earnest of the spirit until we finally qualify to receive the holy spirit of power and have eternal life inherent. Again to have the holy spirit of power we must love the truth, believe it, obey it, and fear God.
Perhaps some of you are thinking we have repeated what we have learned over and over, this is so that it will help you to remember the new truths we are learning WE HAVE NOT KNOWN WHAT THE HOLY DAYS PICTURE ……THIS IS NEW KNOWLEDGE BEING RESTORED IN THE LAST DAYS, if it were not important we would not teach it, it is vitally important that you understand these new teachings, if you don’t or you have any questions about anything we are teaching you, please come and ask us, and we will do our very best to answer your questions from the bible.
Today we will look at why the Israelites rejected the holy spirit and God twice during this time. Firstly at Marah and secondly when they brought back an evil report of the promised land.
Today we will look at why the Israelites failed. What was their attitudes. What was in their hearts and minds.
Today we will learn from their mistakes to insure that we do not have the same attitudes, the same hearts and the same actions as the Israelites.
REMEMBER THIS IS A PARALLEL FOR US TODAY
REMEMBER THEY FAILED AND ALL PERISHED THEY DID NOT ENTER THE PROMISED LAND. Only those under 20 years of age , at the time the scouts spied out the promised land, entered in.
Notice the following account only a short time after the crossing of the Red Sea.
The people complained about a lack of food, we need to look at ourselves, do we complain or murmur or grumble about things, so did the Israelites,
Exo 16:2 And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel murmured
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Exo 16:3 And the sons of Israel said to them, O that we had
died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots,
when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us forth into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
They complained about water. In fact they complained about many things, so we must guard against this in our lives.
Exo 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water. And the people
murmured against Moses and said, Why is this, that You brought us up out
of Egypt, to kill us and our sons and our cattle with thirst?
The people were not righteous, they were stiffnecked. Their behaviour did not allow them to enter the promised land. They could not enter because of disbelief
Heb 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
We can’t earn eternal life either, unless we believe God, we must also love God, and the truth, obey and fear God if we want eternal life. If the bible differs from our thoughts we must change to believe the bible.
Deu 9:6 Therefore, understand that Jehovah your God does not
give you this good land, to possess it, for your righteousness. For you
are a stiff-necked people.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The entire time from Egypt until they entered the promised land, the Israelites were rebellious.
Deu 9:7 Remember, and do not forget, how you provoked Jehovah
your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you departed out of the
land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against
Jehovah.
So we must be careful that we are not rebellious.
Korah and others challenged the leadership of Moses, lets make sure we do not do that today. God decides who will be in charge of the church on the earth, not man. If we disagree with who God picks for certain leadership roles, then we are not in agreement with the Mighty One of Israel.
Mr. Armstrong was the God appointed leader of the Philadelphian era of the church, many disagreed with his leadership and followed other leaders back to Egypt and back to slavery where they were quite happy to do away with Gods laws, Sabbath and Holy days.
Num 14:4 And they said to one another, Let us make a leader,
and let us return to Egypt.
Act 7:39 to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust
him away and turned back again to Egypt in their hearts,
People join churches that suit them, not the only church on earth that has the truth of God. There are now hundreds of churches that claim to be Gods church, this is a fallacy, there is ONE CHURCH that has the truth of God. Notice the following scripture is singular church not plural.
Mat 16:18 And I also say to you that
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it.
It didn’t take the Israelites long to turn from God and to worship a false god of molten image.
We must guard against false Gods
Deu 9:12 And Jehovah said to me, Arise! Get down quickly from
here, for your people whom you have brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted.
They have quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them. They
have made them a molten image.
Notice the list of sins they committed.
1Co 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were scattered in the wilderness.
Do not lust after evil things.
1Co 10:6 And these things were our examples, that we should
not be lusters after evil, as they also lusted.
Don’t be idolaters.
1Co 10:7 Nor should we be idolaters, even as some of them,
as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to
play."
Don’t commit fornication
1Co 10:8 Nor let us commit fornication, as some of them fornicated,
and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.
Don’t tempt Christ.
1Co 10:9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted Him and were destroyed by serpents.
Don’t complain
1Co 10:10 Nor murmur as some of them also murmured and were
destroyed by the destroyer.
These are for examples for us in these last days.
1Co 10:11 And all these things happened to them as examples;
and it is written for our warning on whom the ends of the world have come.
Don’t harden our hearts.
Heb 3:8 do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation, in
the day of temptation in the wilderness,
Heb 3:9 when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My
works forty years.
We must know Gods ways.
Heb 3:10 Therefore I was grieved with that generation and said,
They always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways.
We must have a believing honest heart.
Gods rest is the promised land
Heb 3:11 So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter into
My rest."
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brothers, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Belief, we must believe the new truth, we must love it and believe it.
We must believe God, we will not get eternal life if we do not believe God.
Num 14:11 And Jehovah said to Moses, How long will this people
provoke Me? And how long will it be before they believe Me, for all the
signs which I have shown among them?
Keep away from evil and do not do it. Notice this is for the latter days
Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death you will become utterly
corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil
will happen to you in the latter end of the days, because you will do evil
in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your
hands.
Keep away from wickedness and do not be wicked
Deu 9:18 And I fell down before Jehovah, as at the first, forty
days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of
all your sins which you sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of Jehovah
to provoke Him to anger.
Do not have a lack of faith
Deu 32:20 And He said, I will hide My face from them; I will
see what their end shall be. For they are a very perverse generation, sons
in whom is no faithfulness.
Do not have vanity in our lives again this is a warning for the end time.
Deu 32:21 They have moved Me to jealousy with a no-god. They
have provoked Me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to
jealousy with a no-people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish
nation.
This account is only a summary of the many things the Israelites did that displeased God. Moses was constantly under attack by them, and God wanted to wipe them all out and start again with Moses sons.
This account is for us for an example so that we do not foolishly follow their bad examples. The time in the wilderness for us spiritually is a testing time to see what is in our hearts and minds….how do we come up…..what does God think of us, we are in this testing time now so be diligent, believe God, love the truth, believe the truth, obey it and have a healthy fear of God.
Surely we want to cross the Jordan and enter the promised land, which is for us the receiving of the Holy spirit of power, eternal life inherent.
A reminder that we take down our booth before sunset as that will be
the end of the feast. We do not sit in our booth on the Last Great
Day, only during the feast.
