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Keys to understanding the deep things of God,
and God reveals them when we need to understand
Fred R. Coulter—August 1, 2020
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- How do we find them?
That's quite a question, because everyone can have access to a Bible in their own language. God has made it so that no one can have an excuse and say, 'God, I never knew.' His answer will be, 'Did you have a Bible?' Yes! 'Did you read it?' No! Why didn't you?
Some would say that they read it, but couldn't understand it. Why is that? Because there are certain keys necessary for God to reveal!
- Obey My Voice!
We have the Bible with the voice of God all written down, and Jesus said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God that proceeds out of His mouth.'
God is so great and so good and powerful, that in spite of the sins of all people in the world, He's caused His Word to be spread around the world. Anyone at anytime can have access to it, especially in this digital age!
What does the Bible tell us about those who have understanding? Those who keep the commandments of God! Stop and think about it; one of the greatest events to take place in the history of mankind was when Israel was before God at Mt. Sinai. God spoke the Ten Commandments. All of the Israelites heard Him.
- Do you know the Ten Commandments?
- Do you keep them?
if you keep them
- How do you keep them?
That's a key!
We're going to see something else later on, but when God gave the Ten Commandments that was on a Pentecost. All of the Sabbaths and Holy Days of God give us important things:
- in time
- in history
- in prophecy
- in fulfillment
God has said in the New Testament that it's given to those who love God to understand the mysteries or the secrets of God! They're secrets because of the keys that are necessary to understand. The first one is obey His voice!
- Keep His Sabbath and the Commandments of God
- The Passover and Holy Days of God
Let's think about it for just a minute: the Sabbath Day every seventh day. In spite of the sins of the Jews, they have preserved the Old Testament and the Calculated Hebrew Calendar. All God's days are based on His calendar. Think about all these things as we're going along.
God deals with nations, His people and His Church, all three!
In Dan. 2 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream—he was king of Babylon—and he pulled a 'slick one' on his astrologers and soothsayers. He said, 'I had a dream and I want you to do two things:
- tell me what the dream was
- what the interpretation is
If you don't you're going to lose your heads!'
Well, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the Jewish young men who were taken captive and brought to Babylon. The captain of the guard told it to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and they said, 'We'll pray to God and ask Him to reveal what it was that the king dreamt.'
Daniel 2:17: "Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions…. [that's Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego] …That they might pray for the mercies of God in heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision…." (vs 17-19). God is the revealer of secrets, but He gives conditions to reveal those secrets! What did Daniel do?
"…And Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of You, for You have made known to us the king's matter'" (vs 19-23).
Then Daniel was taken before the king. Here's what was told to the king:
Verse 27: "Daniel answered before the king and said, 'The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the enchanters, the astrologers or the magicians."
Who is the god of those enchanters, the astrologers or the magicians? Satan the devil! Think of it today:
Do any of the religions of the world anything about the plan of God? Even many of fake Christianity may understand some parts, but they don't understand it the way that they should. Why? Because they have half knowledge!
Remember, one of the keys to understanding is Sabbath-keeping. Sunday-keeping will never do it. You may guess some parts, but you'll really never understand it.
Verse 26: "The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?' Daniel answered before the king and said, 'The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the enchanters, the astrologers or the magicians. But there is a God in heaven Who reveals secrets and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days….'" (vs 26-28)—from that time down to the end, and in outline form!
Sidebar: Daniel and all of his prophecies are the lock to the framework. Revelation and all the things given to the Apostle John is the key to open the lock. All of those things put together is based upon: Do you love God and keep His commandments? Never forget that!
"…Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed are these: As for you, O king, while upon your bed your thoughts came to you of what should come to pass hereafter. And He Who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass" (vs 28-29).
Now notice Daniel's attitude; this is what it is important; v 30: "But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but so that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart."
Then Daniel describes it: a man with a head of gold, chest of silver, then brass, iron and iron and clay. That one image represents the major kingdoms of this world from that time down to the end.
Verse 44—right down to the ten toes: "And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed…." That's the whole Gospel!
In every single book in the Bible, it talks about the Kingdom of God, either directly or indirectly! ",,,shall never be destroyed…."—and that's pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles!
"…And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (v 44). We need to also understand that:
- God is true
- God cannot lie
- His Word is true
There is no lie in anything that He has in the Scriptures! Men try twist it and try to make it look like a lie. That's also part of what we have to believe. Even though Nebuchadnezzar had an outline of understanding, he really didn't know the details.
Verse 45: "Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.'" And you can depend on this with every single word of God!
How much time is it from Nebuchadnezzar down to the end? Babylonian Empire—middle of the 5th century B.C.; well over 2500 years! Let's see how this fits in with the New Testament:
1-Peter 1:2: "Who have been chosen according to the predetermined knowledge of God the Father, by sanctification through the Spirit…"
He talking about all of us who have been called, baptized, received the Holy Spirit and have understanding of the Bible. Very important!
"…unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…" (v 2). Nowhere in the New Testament does it say that the Law has been done away!
"…Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a living hope…" (vs 2-3).
What is that hope? The hope of eternal life! But notice that it says, "…begotten us again…"! Note Appendices P & Q (The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version); also articles found on truthofGod.org:
- What Does It Mean to be "Born Again"?
- What Does it Mean to be "Born of God"?
When you were conceived, you were begotten by your father, you first begettal and then you were born, your first birth.
Then when you repent and receive the Holy Spirit of God you receive the begettal of God's Spirit in your mind and then when the resurrection comes, that's when you're born again. It's really that simple!
"…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us… [which Christ is going to bring] …who are being safeguarded by the power of God through faith…" (vs 3-5). That's why it's important:
- to believe, and that's faith
- to love, and that's what God wants
- to obey, and do what He says
"…for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time" (v 5).
1-Cor. 2—here we find out that God does reveal things, and reveals them when we need to understand them. There are many things, even in the Old Testament that are prophecies in action of things that are going to take place way in the future. All of those will be major events.
Sidebar: I have two books at home written by two different people who think they know the prophecies. They don't! They don't understand them! Why? Because they're trying to solve them their way, rather than let the Bible interpret the Bible to give understanding! That's a big difference!
1-Corinthians 2:9: "But according as it is written, 'The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" Keep that in mind!
Everyone wants God's love and forgiveness for themselves. But how many people want to love God in return, the way that God says we should do it?
Verse 10: "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit…" If you don't have the Spirit of God you're not going to understand it!
- How do you receive the Spirit of God? You repent and be baptized!
- What did Peter say about that? That God reveals it to those who obey Him!
No one is going to receive the spirit of God without obeying God! Just not going to happen!
"…for the Spirit searches all things—eventhe deep things of God" (v 10)—which are hidden in the Bible! But He will reveal them!
Verse 11: "For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man, which is in him? In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God. Now, we have not received the spirit of the world…" (vs 11-12).
What is the spirit of the world? Who does that come from? Satan the devil!
"…but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know the things graciously given to us by God" (v 12).
Have you seen Water's World on Fox News? He used to go out and take his microphone and cameraman and they'd go out on the streets of New York City and ask them different questions. Some people don't even know who the President is! Some people did not know who Columbus was! That's in the world, lost! If you asked them anything about God, their eyes would probably roll back like in slot machine!
"…but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know…"
Isaiah 56:1—this will be very enlightening for us: "Thus says the LORD…" God speaking directly to you, even though He may have spoken it a long time ago, it makes no difference, because His Word is Spirit and Life! So, it's still active today.
"…'Keep justice and do righteousness…" (v 1).
Psalm 119:172: "…all Your commandments are righteousness."
If you're not keeping the commandments of God, you're practicing unrighteousness or lawlessness! If all of His commandments are righteous that has to be true!
Isaiah 56:1: "…for My salvation is near to come… [this toward the end of the age; a prophecy of our time] …and My righteousness to be revealed."
What's the first thing revealed of the righteousness of God that's going to startle the world? Actually shake the world down to the core?
Revelation 6:14[transcriber's correction]: "Then the heaven departed like a scroll…" and the Son of man is revealed! The whole earth is going to go into convulsions! That's the first revelation of the righteousness of God demonstratively to the whole world!That's so powerful that 144,000 of the children of Israel repent, and a great innumerable multitude repent. That's going to be a startling event to be revealed.
Isaiah 56:2: "Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it…" This means that you grab it, and it's like something that you take to your bosom so-to-speak.
"…who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil" (v 2). Not only the things that are evil, but when you're doing things that are normal, when you do it on the Sabbath Day, it becomes an evil thing because you're rejecting what God has said! People are blinded because they don't know!
Verse 3: "And do not let the son of the stranger, who has joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, 'The LORD has utterly separated me from His people.' And do not let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the LORD, 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose things that please Me…'" (vs 3-4). That's the key!
When we love God and keep His commandments we're doing the things that please God!
"…and take hold of My covenant… [the covenant of eternal life] …even to them will I give within My house…" (vs 4-5)—New Jerusalem!
"…and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off"—eternal life! You have to have eternal life in order to have an everlasting name.
Verse 6: "Also the sons of the stranger, who join themselves to the LORD to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and takes hold of My covenant."
It is rarely taught that those who keep the Sabbath are going to be in the Kingdom of God, but this is exactly what it's telling us!
Verse 7: "Even them I will bring to My Holy mountain… [of New Jerusalem] …and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon My altar… [only then when they had the sacrifices] …for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people."
Where was this stated in the New Testament? John 2! What did Jesus do? He went in and made a scourge and drove out the moneychangers, the cattle, birds and everything else. He scattered their money all over! Can you imagine the made dash of them trying to get the money! Then He said, 'You have made this a den of merchandise, but it should be the house of prayer for all people!'
What was the proposition that God gave to Israel just before He gave the Ten Commandments? Exo. 19—here's what Israel was to do down through all time! God gave them His commandments and His Word. This brings together many of the things that we've already covered. God is speaking to Moses and this is what he was to tell the Israelites:
Exodus 19:4: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians…"
- Was that a major event in history?
- Do you know how long it took Egypt to recover from the destruction that God brought upon them? 400 years!
"…and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you unto Myself. Now, therefore…" (vs 4-5).
Notice that God always gives the condition to us; "'…if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a Holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel" (vs 5-6).
All the details came later! But they said, v 8: "And all the people answered together and said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do.'…."
Then they got scared to death and afraid, and they said, 'Moses! You speak to us and you go to God and listen and tell us what God says, and we will do it!' But they never, never did it! They couldn't even do it for 40 days and 40 nights!
When Moses was on the top of Mt. Sinai and getting the rest of the laws, commandments, statutes and judgments, and all the instructions on building the tabernacle and everything. They came to Aaron and said, 'Hey, we don't know what happened to this guy Moses, he went up on the mountain, it looks like a volcano, maybe he fell in it and died. Make us gods!' So, what did Aaron do? Made a golden calf! After they said, 'Yes, we will do all that God says!'
Notice what God says, and this carries right down to today. I have a sermon: What Would the World Be Like if Adam & Eve Had Not Sinned? It would be quite a different place than it is today. What would the world have been like if the 12 tribes of Israel had been faithful to God and carried the Word of God to the whole world, even back then? Remember, it was conditional: 'IF you will obey My voice and keep My commandments THEN you shall be a kingdom of priests to Me!' But they never did it! When they went into the 'promised land,' finally got in there after 40 years of wandering around the Sinai Peninsula because of their sins.
What did they do after Joshua and the elders died? They started going after the gods of the other people! Israel has been like a roller-coaster of waves. They come to God for so long and then they get down and depraved. Then God has to send a judge to raise them up, get them out of their depths, and we're in one of those low places right now. Will we come up out of it for the time being? We don't know, we'll have to see!
Isaiah 43:21—God says: "This people that I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise. Yet, you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; much less have you troubled yourself about Me, O Israel" (vs 21-22).
Go back and look at all the promises that God gave to the 12 tribes of Israel because of Abraham. When God makes a promise He'll never break it. What happens if sin comes along? There will be punishment and if there is repentance, go forward again!
Sidebar: Look at what God promised David. He would always have someone sitting on the throne of Israel, always! Never missing! Never lacking!
Then David sinned with Bathsheba. God gave the promise, He doesn't break His word, so He gave punishment against David for what he did. The child died and there was a near revolution by his own family against him. Absalom wanted to take over the kingdom. That was David's punishment. But God never changed His pledge, and likewise with Israel!
If they come back to God—even halfway—God will still give them a little correction, but will be with them and bless them. The Church—look at Rev. 2 & 3—you go through that and see what happened with the Churches.
What does it say about God? I am the same yesterday, today and forever! Both the Father and the Son! Now, this is what the world cannot really understand:
Luke 10:21: "In the same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You did hide these things from the wise and intelligent, and did reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do so.'"
Doesn't that sound like tying in with Daniel where he said, 'I'm nothing more than any other person, but God is the One Who gave the secret'?
Verse 22: "Then He turned to the disciples and said, 'All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows Who the Son is, except the Father; and Who the Father is, except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him.'"
You won't find any other translation this way: "…the Son personally chooses…"
Why did I do it that way? There's a special verb in the Greek called 'middle voice verb.' Most action is by the subject: 'I see Jack.' That's direct!
Middle voice is that God is the subject and the object. His calling is the object back to Himself. So therefore, to translate it personally shows the personal involvement that God wants in our lives.
Verse 23: "And He turned to His disciples and said privately, 'Blessed are the eyes that have seen the things that you see. For I tell you, many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.'" (vs 23-24).
Now He gets down the very core; v 25: "Now, a certain doctor of the Law… [he understood the Law, like most theologians today] …suddenly stood up, tempting Him and saying, 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'"
All of you out there, if you're a Sunday-keeper and listening to this—understand what is being said by Jesus. If you believe in Jesus, then you better believe what He says. If you think you're going to have eternal life, you better see how He says that you're going to have eternal life, or you're just deluding yourself. Your Sunday-keeping is doing you no good spiritually speaking!
Verse 26: "And He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' Then he… [the doctor of the Law] …answered and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.'" (vs 26-27).
All Sunday-keepers: Do you do this? What is the love of God?
1-John 5:3: "For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." They are freedom! Freedom from sin!
Luke 10:29: "But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" Doctor of the Law, like a priest!
So, Jesus gave him a parable (paraphrased): there was a certain man who was robbed, beaten and left over in the ditch to die. Along came a priest and saw him and went clear to the other side of the road as he was going to do his religious duty at the temple, and did nothing to help him.
Then along came a Levite and he looked over and he had to get to the temple so he could offer the sacrifices.
Then along came a Samaritan, which is like saying they're the most cursed people on earth to a Jew. He came and took the man, cleaned his wounds, put oil and wine on it and put him on his donkey and took him to an inn and took care of him. When he left, because he had to go to Jerusalem to do some business, told the inn-keeper, 'Here's some money, you take care of him and if it's more than that, when I come back I'll pay you.'
So, Jesus asked the doctor of the Law: Who do you suppose loved his neighbor?' And the doctor of the Law said, 'Well, I suppose the Samaritan.' That was probably hard for him to say!
We're going to understand some deep things of God!
(break)
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*****
Now let's continue on with our study today. Let's come to an important event. Before we get there let's do a little rehearsal.
The Sabbath:
- Is the Sabbath a commemoration of an important event?
- What does it say in the 4th commandment? For in six days God made the heaven and earth!
- Is that not an important event? That's why you keep the Sabbath!
- Why is that necessary? Because we're made a little lower than God, after the image of God and we have a mind to do a whole lot of different things!
So, if you don't keep the Sabbath, you get lifted up in your own vanity and intellectualism, and you think you are so smart! Yes, people are smart.
What did God say as to why He had to destroy the Tower of Babel? Because anything that they imagined they can do!
So, the Sabbath is important that you realize and understand that your life comes from God. Everything that there is comes from God, and you realize that you live, move and have your being with Him! This keeps you in proper perspective with you and God, and God with you.
The Passover:
Does the Passover mark two important events? What two are they?
- with the children of Israel, the firstborn being spared, with the destruction of the firstborn of the Egyptians
Remember, the sacrifice of the Passover in Exo. 12 and from that time forward was not for the forgiveness of sin. It was for the sparing of the firstborn. That's why if you understand that that's the sparing of the firstborn for the covenant with Israel.
- the Passover for eternal life, the sacrifice is God manifested in the flesh.
What was He?
- the firstborn of Mary
- the only Begotten of the Father
When He was crucified, that was an important event! The key most important event besides the Sabbath. His sacrifice was for the forgiveness of sin! Was the sacrifice of the Firstborn, not the sparing!
When you go back to when the children of Israel were in their houses in Egypt, when did the death angel come? Midnight!
Jesus the Firstborn of the Father and Mary, what happened on that Passover night? He was arrested to be crucified, showing that God did not pass over His own Son!
First and Last day of Unleavened Bread:
The first day is getting rid of leaven, and in the New Covenant it is also getting rid of sin!
The last day they went through the Red Sea. Was that an important event? Open of the Red Sea ten miles wide and walk through? Yes, indeed! For us, we have our sins forgiven and God helps us through all the impossible tasks in our lives.
Pentecost:
Was that an important event? Yes, for the children of Israel it was the giving of the Ten Commandments and statutes and everything of God.
What was it for the New Testament Church? The receiving of the Holy Spirit! That was an important event! There are two other important events:
- the heavens rolling back as a scroll
- the first resurrection
{transcriber's note: this was added from the next part}
Trumpets: For the covenant with Israel it was for the success of their wars when they followed God, because it was a War Feast! For the New Testament it pictures two things:
- the first coming of Christ
- His final coming when He returns with all the saints together
That is a monumental event! Don't you think the whole world is going to celebrate that during the Millennium.
Day of Atonement:
What was that for the children of Israel? That was a covering for their sins every year, and the placing of the sins on Azazel, who was a type of Satan released in a place not being dwelt in, the wilderness!
For the return of Christ, the Day of Atonement pictures the angel taking Satan the devil and the demons and putting them in the abyss and locking them up.
The Feast of Tabernacles:
That pictures God living with His people! There was the fulfillment of it in Solomon's days after he built the temple. God put His presence in the temple at that time.
For the New Testament, what is it for us? We rule and reign with Christ a thousand years! We're the Church of the Firstborn made perfect! All of that is tremendous!
The Last Great Day:
This is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament, and once in the New Testament, picturing the second resurrection!
Every one of the Holy Days, the Sabbath, which is Holy, all picture important events. It's no wonder that when the world dismisses them as having already been fulfilled—which they hasn't been—or as the Catholics say 'the old Law' so you don't have to do it.
Every one of everything that goes to the children of Israel and to the Church started with Abraham. This is one of the most important events in the Bible, Gen. 15, and we'll prove later that this took place on a Passover Day. Think about that!
When we read this, think about how important it was that Abram obeyed God! Remember when God called him, much like our calling. He said, 'You get up from your father's house and to a land that I will show you.' Abram obeyed and went. He said, 'I will make your name great! I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'
That's an amazing thing, indeed! From one man! Here he was 85-years-old and had no descendants. How is God going to do that? Well, very carefully!
Genesis 15:3: "And Abram said, 'Behold, You have given no seed to me; and lo, one born in my house is my heir.' And behold, the Word of the LORD came to him saying, 'This man shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own loins shall be your heir'" (vs 3-4).
Think about that for a minute. After this promise was given nothing happened for 15 years. How long have you waited for a promise. Remember: God cannot lie!
Verse 5: "And He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward the heavens and number the stars—if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your seed be.'"
Here he was 75-years-old and no children, wife can't conceive, and I imagine they were trying really hard. God gave Abram this promise. Imagine how his faith had to be for that. There are two promises here:
- physical seed
- spiritual seed—stars of heaven
Jesus confirmed that by saying that those who are children of the Father in the Kingdom shall shine forth as the sun!
Verse 6: "And he believed in the LORD. And He accounted it to him for righteousness."
This sacrifice that is coming up is what is called a maledictory oath! Understand that in the Bible whenever there is a covenant that is made, there has to be a showing forth a symbolic death of the one giving the pledge, which normally is the sacrifice of an animal.
The Indians used to do it by taking a knife and scoff their palms and when they made a covenant they would put their hands together and the blood would mix with the blood and they were bound to do it unto death.
Remember, it started out in the evening and then God took Abram outside and showed him the stars. Has anybody ever seen the stars of heaven at noonday? No! You can only see them at night, so that's a night!
Verse 7: "And He said to him, 'I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.' And he said, 'Lord GOD, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?'" (vs 7-8).
Those promises are general sweeping promises of God that He's going to fulfill!
Verse 9: "And He said to him, 'Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.' And he took all these to himself, and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece opposite the other; but he did not divide the birds" (vs 9-10).
I don't know how long that would take, but what he did was to cut them right down the middle and each half was laid opposite each other with a path to walk between. The birds he didn't divide.
Now, get the timing: this tells us that it took a good deal of time:
Verse 12: "And it came to pass, as the sun was going down… [we don't know how close to the horizon it was; we're not told, but]: …that a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And, behold, a horror of great darkness fell upon him!"
What was this? This was a symbolic death, that Abram experienced!
Verse 13: "And He said to Abram, 'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs (and shall serve them and they shall afflict them) four hundred years. And also I will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full'" (vs 13-16).
That's another statement in itself. How long does God put up with wickedness before He finally judges? Quite a while!
Verse 17: "And it came to pass—when the sun went down…"
What happens when the sun goes down? That ends the day! So, we started out one day in the evening, up in the morning, then the afternoon the sacrifice of the animals, and then the symbolic death of Abraham and the darkness.
We can see that that was probably at the same time that Jesus Himself died on the cross, which was the ninth hour[transcriber's correction] of the day (Mark 15:33-34) or 3 p.m.
Before all the rest of the Bible was written, it was very difficult to understand the things that I'm explaining right now. But you who have read and studied this, can understand it.
Jesus also said that 'you understand things that prophets didn't understand.'
"…and it was dark… [into the second day; it's a two-day sequence] …behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces" (v 17).
What do you suppose the smoking furnace was doing? This was a mammoth sacrifice, and it was God Who was walking between those parts! He was pledging His future death. This also shows that the God of the Old Testament was the One Who became Jesus Christ.
What do you suppose that smoking furnace did to those sacrificial animals? Burned them up completely, and left just little stacks of ashes! To show the veracity and absolute assurance that what Jesus—the Lord God of the Old Testament—what He told Abraham would take place!
This is the most important event in the Old Testament in relationship to the Holy Days! This is the beginning of the Passover, right here!
Verse 18: "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'I have given this land to your seed…'" Abram was 85-years-old that this was given.
Genesis 16:16: "And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram."
- Now what happened? A big mistake!
- What was that mistake? Sari thinking that she can help the fulfillment of God's promise by saying, 'You can go into my handmaiden and you can have children by her!'
In the legal sense of the law at that time that would be true. But that's not what God promised!
- What do we have? Ishmael!
- Has that been a problem ever since?
Good lesson: Never help God fulfill His promises! Let God fulfill them His way in His time!
Each part to a covenant must have a blood sacrifice. We saw the one with the three animals and two birds that God used. Abraham didn't walk through. He hadn't given any sacrifice.
Genesis 17:1: "And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect…. [New Testament standard] …And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' And Abram fell on his face. And God talked with him, saying, 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant…'" (vs 1-7).
That is carried right down to today in the physical nations! This has nothing to do with conversion or eternal life.
Verse 8: "'And I will give the land to you in which you are a sojourner, and to your seed after you, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. And I will be their God.' And God said to Abraham, 'And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you in their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you. Every male child among you shall be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. And it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. And a son of eight days shall be circumcised among you, every male child in your generations; he that is born in the house, or bought with silver of any foreigner who is not of your seed. He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your silver, must be circumcised. And My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant'" (vs 8-13).
When there's circumcision, what happens? There's blood! That was the sacrifice for the physical nations on Abraham's part. That had nothing to do with salvation; that had to do with the physical nations.
A year later is when he gets the promise of Isaac (Gen. 18). He is born (Gen. 21).
Genesis 21:1: "And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said. And the LORD did to Sarah as He had spoken, for Sarah conceived…" (vs 1-2). She's 90-years-old!
Why did God do it that way? Because you can believe when something that is impossible is accomplished by God!
Can you imagine at 90 getting pregnant and nursing him for three years? I wonder what Sarah thought when she first found out that she was pregnant? Then when Isaac was born? At first she laughed when she heard it of God! Then God said to her, 'Why did you laugh?' I didn't laugh! 'Yes, you did laugh!' It was laughable!
Let's see the sacrifice for the spiritual aspect of the spiritual seed, the stars of heaven! There had to be that sacrifice in order to complete the covenant that God made. There were two parts to that covenant:
- physical seed
- spiritual seed
The spiritual seed was a prophecy of the coming of the New Testament Church, and the plan of God expanding out with all those who would be converted and brought into the spiritual Family of God. This was a big deal!
Gen. 22 was probably also on a Passover. We'll prove that in just a little bit.
Abraham was asked to do this when Isaac was about 15-years-old. So, from the time the promise was given until the birth of Isaac was 15 years. Then by deduction, Isaac had to be about 15 years of age for this. Think about the faith that Abraham had to have, and this was also important! I'm quite convinced that this occurred on a Passover Day.
Genesis 22:1: "And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac…'" (vs 1-2).
Who is missing? Ishmael, who was not counted in the promises of spiritual seed! He was counted in the promises of physical seed.
"'…whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell you.' And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him" (vs 2-3). This took a lot of courage to do!
- Why was Abraham willing to do this?
- Where do you find the answer to that? Heb. 11!
Look at the hundreds and hundreds of years before the answer finally came!
- Why did Abraham do this? Because he counted God worthy to raise Isaac from the dead if he were sacrificed and died!
That's the faith!
Verse 4: "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, 'You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son…." (vs 4-6).
- Abraham was a type of God the Father.
- Isaac was a type of Christ
- the wood that Abraham placed upon Isaac was a type of the crucifixion
Isaac had to have a lot of faith, too. But think about this: here's your own father leading you off to sacrifice you. That's quite an important thing; but Isaac didn't resist!
"…And he took the firepot in his hand…" (v 6). The King James says that 'he took fire in his hand' but you can't take fire in your hand, you'll burn it! So, it had to be a firepot with coals.
"…and a knife. And they both went together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'" (vs 6-7).
Notice what Abraham said. Here you're walking right up to the place that you're going to offer him.
Verse 8: "And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So, they both went on together. And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there… [of whole stone] …and laid the wood in order. And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood, upon the altar. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens and said, 'Abraham! Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand upon the lad…'" (vs 8-12). That shows that he had to be about 15-years-old.
"'…nor do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.' And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram was entangled in a thicket by its horns…." (vs 12-13).
I don't know how it got there; I don't know if an angel led it up there and stuck its horns in the thicket. I don't know if God created instantly a ram stuck in the thicket; that could be, too. When they came up there they didn't see it. I'm sure they were looking around, because Abraham said, 'God will provide a lamb.' I imagine that they were looking, 'Where's the lamb?'
"…And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son" (v 13)—a substitutionary sacrifice!
- How does that apply spiritually to us?
- What are the wages of sin? Death!
- How do we die? A symbolic death in baptism!
which accomplishes a lot of things:
- cleansing of sin
- your covenant pledge unto death that you will keep your promise to God
God has already proved His promise to you! (Rom. 6)
Verse 14: "And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide; so that it is said until this day, 'In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.' And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, 'By Myself have I sworn,' says the LORD…" (vs 14-16).
When God swears by Himself, He's swearing by His existence and everything that He stands for!
"'…because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son; that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens…'" (vs 16-17)—the sacrifice for the spiritual seed; whereas the circumcision was the sacrifice for the physical seed!
"…and as the sand, which is upon the seashore." (v 17). It took care of both!
Isaac was a type of Christ, symbolic, but he was physical and had children—Jacob and Esau! Then Jacob had the 12 sons and his name was changed to Israel.
Let's show that this took place—Gen. 15—on the Passover Day and the night following.
Exodus 12:41: "And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years…"
We had 400 years (Gen. 15) and now we have 430 years! We had 15 years from Gen. 15 until Isaac was born, then we have 15 years by deduction that Isaac had to be 15-years-old: 15+15=30+400=430 years.
"…it was even on that very same day, all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt" (v 41).
What day was that? The day after the Passover Day! That means that the first part off the pledge that God gave to Abraham took place on the Passover Day.
As the day began, then you have the night and then in the morning Abraham laid out the sacrifice. Then you have Abraham having the symbolic death and the sun went down and the promise was made. The sacrifices were burned to ashes.
Verse 42: "It is a night to be much observed to the LORD…" That's how that works!
This shows that every single day that God says that we are to observe
- the Sabbath
- the Passover
- Unleavened Bread
- Pentecost
- Trumpets
- Atonement
- Tabernacles
- Last Great Day
all picture mammoth, important events that will literally take place to fulfill the Word of God!
Scriptural References:
- Daniel 2:17-23, 27-30, 44-45
- 1 Peter 1:2-5
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-12
- Isaiah 56:1
- Psalm 119:172
- Isaiah 56:1
- Revelation 6:12-14
- Isaiah 56:2-7
- Exodus 19:4-6, 8
- Isaiah 43:21-22
- Luke 10:21-27
- 1 John 5:3
- Luke 10:29
- Genesis 15:3-10, 12-18
- Genesis 16:16
- Genesis 17:1-13
- Genesis 21:1-2
- Genesis 22:1-17
- Exodus 12:41-42
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- John 2
- Revelation 2; 3
- Exodus 12
- Mark 15:33-34
- Genesis 18
- Hebrews 11
- Romans 6
Also referenced:
Books:
- From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born? by Fred R. Coulter
- God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter
- A Parsing Guide(amazon.com)
Transcript Book/w CD: The Keys to Answered Prayer
Articles:
- What Does It Mean to be "Born Again"?
- What Does it Mean to be "Born of God"?
Sermon: What Would the World Be Like if Adam & Eve Had Not Sinned?
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/6/20
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