Mark, chapter 13

This chapter is doctrinally and specifically about the Tribulation which would have occurred right after Jesus’ resurrection if the rulers had accepted Christ when Stephen spoke to them in Acts 7. But, as it is, this event is somewhere in the future.

1 ¶ And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!

Judas is the only one who calls Him, “Master”. He marvels at the beauty and majesty of the Temple buildings.

Amos 3:15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.

Amos 6:11 For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

Zephaniah 1:14 ¶ The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

All of man’s great and majestic works are coming down. We’ve already seen the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center but all over the world we have not seen the fall of the great cities. Its coming

Revelation 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Why? It all goes back to one event.

Genesis 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

All of man’s greatest works are designed to try to overthrow God’s sovereignty.

2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The first application is Titus in 70AD destroying the temple. The second application is the destruction of the temple built during the Great Tribulation.

http://templemountfaithful.org/

The tabernacle that went through the wilderness winds up in Shiloh, in Ephraim. The Philistines get the Ark of the Testimony and it goes in their temple of Dagon, the half man/half fish. It is brought to one city of the Jews before King David brings it to Jerusalem and sets up a tabernacle in the city. Solomon builds a temple based on his own design. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroys it. The temple of Zerubbabel is built and finished by King Herod. This is the temple that Jesus is referring to as He speaks. Jesus is not referring to Solomon’s temple, which is destroyed.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

Judas isn’t invited here.

4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 ¶ And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Christians are constantly confused and in every generation they say they’ve identified the anti-Christ as Hitler, Stalin, David Koresh, Sun Yung Moon, Saddam Hussein, etc. etc. etc. which is pure baloney as they are only types or pictures of the anti-Christ and poor ones at that. Christian authors who are mere opportunists simply want you to buy their book. Christians would rather do anything than read God’s word. None of them were anywhere close to getting the whole world worship them, as they claim to be Christ.

He comes in peaceably with flatteries, not as a mass murderer at first.

Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

The statement says that many will come in and call themselves Christ, and this has been done and will continue to be done.

7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

The world has been swirling in wars abounding for the last 2000 years as our natural differences are overcome so that mankind will be able to unite in one grey mush to stand under the control of the anti-Christ.

“The end shall not be yet” shows that the Preterists are wrong. The Pax Romana was in play at that time. The world they knew was at peace.

8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

All of these things are happening and have happened. These are only the prelude to the worst, most disastrous era in human history.

9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

The Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation, mentioned in Revelation, chapter seven, will be persecuted. There are many references to this. Read the first three chapters of Revelation. Doesn’t this remind you of the Book of Acts, which could have been the end time if the Jewish rulers had believed on Christ? But, although the last times didn’t come then, Paul is given information about what to expect IN THE CHURCH at the end times.

1 Timothy 4:1 ¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

2 Timothy 3:1 ¶ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

This is not about the radio getting the gospel out. This is about the Jewish evangelists of Revelation. If the council had accepted Stephen’s testimony in Acts, chapter seven, this all would have occurred then but it didn’t and we have the church age inserted in time, which is not mentioned here. Read the book of Ephesians. This gospel of enduring until the end isn’t preached until the Great Tribulation. Read Revelation.

11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

It is important to read the first three chapters of Revelation carefully to get a perspective on this.

12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

This worldwide internecine conflict will involve those who believe on Christ being murdered and betrayed by members of their own family as happens today in Muslim and Hindu lands with regard to relatives who seek Christ.

13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Here in the Tribulation to come there are many things to note. One is that they have to endure to the end to be saved.

If they lose their salvation and take the mark of the beast they cannot be saved again.

Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

To fall away is to betray, to join the other side, and to commit treason.

Jeremiah 37:13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

They will not be able to take the mark willingly and acquiesce in worshipping the beast.

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Every single church in the early chapters of the book of Revelation is told that individuals must overcome by staying faithful to Christ unto the end.

Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

1John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

The church is not part of this. We believers, Jew and Gentile today, will be gone.

Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Luke 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

1Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Shepard, Victorinus, Commodianus, and Ephraim the Syrian are among the early church leaders who declared that the church would not go through the Tribulation but would be raptured.

“The end”, is the end of the world. Read Matthew 24. It is not the end of your life in the Church Age. It is the end of the world in the Tribulation.

The doctrinal belief that this is talking about not sinning until the end of your life is foolishness and shows that the preacher is illiterate, ignorant of the Bible, unsaved, or all three. There is no Christian in the context of this verse.

Who is in the passage?

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

There are Jews in this context. There are no Christians involved. These people are under the Law.

Matthew 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

These are the rules and the events of the Tribulation for those Jews who believe Jesus Christ AND the Law.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Christian is not going to endure to the end to be saved. Christ saved us when we believed and we were sealed until the end. This verse is not doctrinal for Christians, but has a spiritual application only.

14 ¶ But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Daniel’s statements are not about Antiochus Epiphanes because Jesus is talking about the future. There may be a localized application but read the nature of the beast in Daniel and see how smooth politically he is. Epiphanes was anything but smooth. Daniel’s statements are future, but so are Jesus Christ’s and His are after the lifetime of Antiochus Epiphanes.

2Thessalonians 2: 3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

The abomination of desolation is standing but the Beast of Revelation is sitting. What then is the abomination of desolation?

Revelation 13: 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

What is this abomination of desolation, the image of the beast?

Supposedly, a statue of the Virgin Mary in a Chaldean Church in Syria has been seen to have spoken and allegedly that has been recorded. The fascist ecclesiastical organization called the Vatican which is a state and a church and has killed 50 million or so Christians over the course of the last 2000 years first in its incarnation as the political Roman Empire and then as “The Church”, perhaps. The Virgin Mary is worshipped by Roman Catholics and the image of the “Blessed Virgin” is worshipped. The “mother of god” and the “blessed virgin” were names given by the Ancient Babylonians to Ishtar, goddess of immigrants and harlots and personal freedom, a statue of which lies in New York Harbor and is called Liberty. This statue was patterned after a statue of Isis in Egypt, who is a version of Ishtar. The Roman Catholic Church is the Roman Empire in spiritual form and I have quotes from prominent Catholics who admit this.

15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

We are about to have a discussion of a rapture of the believers DURING the Tribulation. Mark the three statements commanding someone to come up which I have mentioned earlier in these commentaries. There will simply be no warning other than this Book and the time is immediate so you will have no time to prepare.

16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

This time will be the worse in human history. There is no comparison to the newspaper today nor to history books. Nothing, not the Holocaust, no World Wars, not the time of Napoleon, or not the time of the Black Death will or can compare to this time to come.

20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Were it not for the Lord’s return for the sake of the elect Jews and the believers in the Tribulation all life on earth would die in this time. It can’t get any worse without a repeat of Genesis 1:2.

What if in a repetition of Noah’s Flood that there were only eight saved people left on earth when Christ returns?
Things will get so bad, so incredibly bad at the end.

21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

By application to us, we can see that we are not to believe ANY man that comes along saying he is Christ as that is not how Christ will return. Secondly, we must understand we can be fooled. You can’t permit any charismatic high muckety muck deceive you with his words. Judge all things by the words of God found in this Book.

The Beast of Revelation, the Anti-Christ, will show signs and wonders to show that he is the Messiah.

23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

Without being told who or when we have been told exactly what God wants us to know. Far too much money has been spent on “prophecy conferences” and books by pundits who have merely copied Clarence Larkin’s work. There has been no new information on prophecy since 1920.

24 ¶ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Haggai 2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

Haggai 2:21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

Isaiah 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

Jeremiah 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

On the spiritual side, there are powers in the universe. For every things being done in human government here there are spiritual powers fighting in the heavens which are the pattern after which the things done on earth are done. The stars are literally powers in heaven.

Judges 5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Daniel 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 10: 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Joel 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

Joel 3:15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Amos 5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

Acts 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Re 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Don’t worship the stars, even the ones in Hollywood. They are of Satan.

Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

This is the end when Christ shall come to take over the kingdoms of the world as per Revelation 11:15.

Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

This is the rapture of the Jews at the end of the Tribulation. The body of Christ, the church is already in heaven at this time having been raptured at the beginning of the Tribulation.

Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob‘s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

There are three types of elect; Jesus Christ (Isaiah 42:1), the body of Christ or Christians (Colossians 3:12; Romans 8:33), and Israel (Isaiah 45:4; 65:19-22; Romans 9:11; 11:5-7). It is important to understand who God is referring to in a particular passage by USING THE CONTEXT. There are no Christians in this passage and Jesus Christ is not talking about His suffering but the Jews’.

28 ¶ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Israel is the fig tree and produces no good fruit now. But when Israel starts putting out fruit for God things are about to happen. For 2,000 years they have not been a nation. But, now, for 60 years they have been a secular nation. Time is coming when they will produce fruit for God. Watch carefully.

Song of Solomon 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

There are doors in heaven and on earth in the spiritual world.

James 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Psalm 24:3 ¶ Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. 7 ¶ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Look at verse 26-29. That generation that sees these things happening will see all of these things. This is the context, preterist theology notwithstanding.

Take whatever the Bible says as literally as possible unless it is impossible to do so. This verse alone is clear evidence of the problem you have when you take a verse out of the context it’s placed in and try to create a doctrine around it.

31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Christ’s words will never pass away.

Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 ¶ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

Everything that is except for God’s word will pass away. You look at your Bible and you don’t realize what that Book is. That Book is so close to God it is almost God and God has put it in His place. It is God pouring Himself out for you to see and that’s all you’ll physically see of God until Christ returns.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

See how God puts “the Scripture” in the place of Himself in these verses. Compare the Old Testament verse with its corresponding New Testament.

Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

with

Romans 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Genesis 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

with

Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

You will be judged by His words.

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

His word judges you right now.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Don’t look for a feeling. You’ve got the power of God right there on the pages of a Book. Read it, believing it and God will do great things with you. Of course, Satan will redouble his efforts. You are a part of a spiritual war taking place in the heavens. The word of God is the power of God given into your hands.

Most people, Christians in particular are ignorant of the power of this Book. Saul is the example of the modern charismatic who depends on feelings to determine his spirituality. He is mad.

32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Acts 1:6 ¶ When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

This verse has nothing to do with the Rapture of the Church. This is about the Second Advent. God the Son, the Son of God, or God in the flesh limited Himself for His self appointed mission on earth. Just as He did not call down legions of angels to remove Him from the cross and as a child He grew in wisdom and stature. Christ’s walk on earth was, by necessity, a self limiting mission.

For instance, the rhetorical question is asked, “could Jesus Christ have sinned?”. Of course, nothing is outside of His power but many things are outside of His will. The old nonsense “could God make a rock so heavy He couldn’t move it” comes to mind. Christ did not have information on the end to reveal to these people.

33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Practically speaking, we can say that this verse shows us to always be looking for God to yank us out of here but doctrinally this is about the physical, visible Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.

The Rapture of the church is worthy of study, however.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 ¶ But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

The church will not be on earth when the events that Jesus Christ is talking about begin to happen. This doesn’t mean that the church won’t go through a great deal but that it will not be here during that last 3 ½ years.

34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Israel’s time is 7 hours ahead of ours. The Second Advent at the end of Tribulation, will it take place at 7pm here, or 2pm there, midnight here, 7am there, 3am here, 10am there, or 6am here, 1pm there? We’ll know because we’ll be with Christ when He comes to take over the kingdoms of the world.

36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

It’s very easy to fall into apathy and lethargy as we go about our daily duties and get caught up in worldly pursuits and entertainment. Pretty soon you can forget that the Lord’s return is always imminent or “at hand.” That means it can happen at any time. One of the focal points of Christianity is an expectation of the Rapture of the Church.

37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

We, as Christians, are looking for Christ’s appearing, not His return to rule. But, in the Tribulation they are waiting for Christ and us to return to take over.

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Leviticus, chapter 12

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

Now we run into proof that Mary was not sinless as one large church organization asserts. If she were sinless why would she have to follow this rule?

3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
6 ¶ And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:
7 Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.
8 And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Here is an entire, small chapter devoted to this. Now look at what transpired in the New Testament.

Luke 2:21 ¶ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

Leviticus, chapter eleven

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Dietary restrictions are a fundamental part of the Law given to Moses. However, it is important for the Christian to read, along with this the following passages in the New Testament. Read Acts 10 and 11 paying particular notice of what change Christ’s death and resurrection implemented.

Acts 10:15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Read Romans 14 after that. Pay close attention to verse 20.

Romans 14:20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

There are Christian groups who keep trying to keep their adherents under the Law. These are the Judaizers of today. Read the book of Galatians to see Paul’s argument against those who would think that they were justified by observing the Law. They mingle legalism with their faith in Christ, making that faith of none effect because it gives them, not God, the power to maintain their salvation.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

The curious thing to me is that I wonder if the nature of these unclean animals has anything to do with what the renegade sons of God did in Genesis 6. Is it possible that this supernatural interference along with our sin has helped pollute life on earth?

Genesis 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

9 ¶ These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

This is pretty self explanatory, leaving all sorts of fish available to them to eat but leaving things like eels, crabs, and the like for them not to eat. Sadly, steamed crabs would be out.

13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15 Every raven after his kind;
16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

This is a very important point to make. Long before Linnaeus, God classified creatures in a different way. Winged creatures were not divided into birds and mammals but this classification of “fowls” included the bat because it was a winged creature.

20 ¶ All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;

Now, we are brought to insects that can fly.

22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,

Turtle soup was a no-no.

30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.

Here’s an important health notice. Did you know there was a time in towns in America that people might share a common drinking vessel in a foundation or well? Just think of the disease such things would carry.

36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.
37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

Here is a fairly basic rule for handling a dead animal. Of course, there are a lot of spiritual applications for the believer and there have probably been some good sermons to come out of this. Christians handle all sorts of dead things in this world, much to our detriment. Entertainment, vocations, and relationships often revolve around dead things that should not be handled.

It’s also clear from reading the Bible that devils love dead bodies and cemeteries. Death is celebrated by the unclean spirit world. Much in our culture that passes for success and amusement revolves around handling a corpse in a figurative sense. This underscores the belief that devil possession is more common than one would realize. Hollywood has warped our thinking of devil possession into a head spinning, pea soup spewing phenomenon, but it seems clear to me that most devil possessed people appear to be perfectly sane and normal. However, like the proverbial lemmings, they are all walking off the nearest cliff.
41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
43 ¶ Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

By making these demands on the Hebrews God reveals the condition of the heathen around them. Certainly these things that are forbidden must have been dietary regularities for the heathen. If it were not so, why would God have felt the need to so clearly condemn them?

45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

To belong to God they had to separate themselves from the pollution of the world, as should we.

46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Discrimination, making a difference between clean and unclean, is a key to spiritual maturity. Unfortunately most Christians aren’t willing to do this, much to their later regret. How are you going to walk with God when you keep covering yourself with rotting garbage and dead things.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

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

Leviticus,chapter ten

1 ¶ And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.

Strange is a word that can mean foreign or alien in the Bible. It is something other than what was commanded.

Exodus 30:9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

A stranger is a foreigner or alien.

Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Genesis 17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Genesis 23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

There are many other verses that underscore that to be strange is to be alien.

2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Under the Law, to the Hebrews, there was this fierceness about their relationship with God. Under grace, God does not send fire to strike us although we are often rebuked and chastised for our sins. Unfortunately, many Christian consciences are so seared they can’t understand or realize any lesson from their rebuke.

3 ¶ Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

God did not want mundane worship. An analogy today would be when carnal and worldly music is used in worship or psychology is used in Pastoral Counseling, as it has been since the 1920’s. Neither of these things are Biblical or of God. God has not called us to hip shaking flesh driven music in worship or for Freudian non-Biblical principles in counseling. We are not called to “shake our booty” and to think of fleshly things when worshipping our Lord but for praise and the glorifying of God. In counseling it is not about empowerment, self-esteem, or self-realization but obedience to Christ and to His words, the love for God, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Christians have been offering strange fire before the Lord for over a century and although we aren’t destroyed by fire our churches have lost their spiritual power and become clubhouses for the sedated, the self-righteous, or the malcontent.

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

Someone else is told later not to publicly mourn for a loved one because their death was a sign that the Lord wanted to manifest for the sake of people watching.

Ezekiel 24:16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

It is Ezekiel’s wife who God takes from him in order to show Israel what they will lose.

Ezekiel 24:21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

8 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Here is an important principle for the Christian. Aaron and his sons were not to enter into the Lord’s presence having drunk strong drink. We Christians, as a holy and royal priesthood, are always in the presence of the Lord, as unlike the Hebrews, each of us has God’s Spirit dwelling in us. So, should we not abstain from strong drink?

1Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Now, we have established that each Christian is part of a royal priesthood and that they are always in God’s presence as their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are also each, in type, the nation of Israel as a whole so that we can read the Old Testament and see our own lives written out before us in the tragedy of the nation of Israel. We will fail in our sin but God will, in the end, redeem us. This is an important point, I think.


12 ¶ And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:
13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons’ due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded.

Here is a principle that shows that those who are in full time service for the Lord are entitled to receive wages of that work. Although this is a highly misused and abused principle it is still true. Let us not forget, though, Paul’s labor as a tentmaker.

Acts 18:3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons’ due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.
15 The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,
17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?
20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.

Here, Aaron reveals that the deaths of his sons have put him in fear and that he took responsibility in some form for their sin. Note the difference in his attitude with regard to the golden calf he produced for the Hebrews back in Exodus. This is proof that people can grow, learn, and change.

Exodus 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

Latest Reading

Preachers Present Arms by Ray H. Abrams, Ph.D., Round Table Press, Inc. 1933. This is an incredible look at how easily the government can and has repeatedly subverted the churches of the United States to get them to be agents of the state and cheerleaders for war. Every Christian, particularly those who think that they are Bible Believers and that they worship Jesus Christ and not the state, should read this and take account of themselves. The behavior of American Churches in time of war is apalling. How easily we fall away. World War One was not merely the Western world committing suicide and the end of the Times of the Gentiles spoken of in the Bible but it led to all of the other ills of the last hundred years. The participation of the churches of the United States in this hundred year catastrophe is all too apparent and sickening.

Leviticus, chapter nine

1 ¶ And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

It’s interesting to note that the eighth day was when a child was to be circumcised, receiving the sign of being a Hebrew.

Leviticus 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

2 And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

Notice this comment on the calves here relating them to God’s future people.

Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

3 And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
4 Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.
Notice one difference between this age of the Law and the Church age in that God appears outwardly to these people but inwardly to us. We look for God to appear to finish things once and for all.
5 And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
See here how the congregation is dependent upon Moses….
6 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
…to reveal or make manifest what God has said, while we, the sons and daughters of God, can directly have God speak to our spirits through His word. What a great time to live in, to enjoy fellowship with God without a human prophet being necessary to tell you. Of course, there are still preachers who try to make you think you can not be taught or instructed by the Holy Spirit without them. The old Puritan heresy that the principal way God speaks to his people is through the weekly sermon rather than through His word is still prevalent, particularly among many fundamentalist churches associated with cult preachers like the late Jack Hyles.
1John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
All of us are to preach to the lost so that they hear God’s words.
Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
But, then the bishop or elder of your local church should direct you to read God’s words. His purpose should be to exhort you to obedience to Christ through His word.
2Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Always understanding that God’s word is the principal means of sanctification.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
No preacher today, no minister, has the role of Moses leading his people in the wilderness except in type. Some of them take the typology so seriously they become abusive, manipulative tyrants.
7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
8 ¶ Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
10 But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.
11 And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.
Hebrews 13:11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
12 And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.
Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
13 And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
14 And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.
15 And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
16 And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.
17 And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
18 He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,
19 And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:
20 And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:
21 And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded.
22 And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
23 ¶ And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
Revelation 1:16b ……and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17a And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead………

The Dark Side of Fundamentalism - Devils in the pulpit

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
There is a fact presented by the above verses that leads one to understand that Satan can be represented by "men of God" who are doing his work rather than Christ's. These men "hold the truth in unrighteousness;" and will often do wrong and then justify it by doing one of three things.
First, they will say that a command is found in the Bible and yet will not quote the chapter and verse but simply say, "It's Bible". The member of the congregation who they have kept ignorant by not focusing on preaching that that member feed themselves every day on God's word can only assume they are speaking the truth. Here are two classic examples of heresy produced by some fundamentalist preachers and forced on their unsuspecting and often willfully ignorant congregation.
"The Pastor's authority over your children is greater then the parent's authority. The Pastor must answer to Jesus Christ for your children."
Nowhere does it say in the Bible, and nowhere in the letters of the New Testament that pertain to doctrine in the Church Age, the "Age of the Doctrines of Grace", does it say that the Pastor, Bishop, or Elder of the New Testament Church has authority over your children that trumps your God given authority. If you believe it does, don't hand me the malarkey of "It's Bible" but give me the verses.
This is the thinking of a cult mentality.
Another error introduced in some churches is that the widows and single women of the church have no voice in the congregation except through the Pastor. They have no voice of their own. They certainly don't have any say over their own children. This is exercised in the event that a single mother is concerned about the lack of adult supervision in a youth group or of behavior in a youth pastor that she can not, in good conscience, tolerate. She is told that either her children be placed under the authority of the youth pastor of questionable judgment or that she must leave the church, even if she has been attending the church for decades.
This wickedness is compounded by telling her that "it's Bible" that if a widow is rebellious for not disposing of her children in the way the Pastor sees fit she is to be turned out of the church.
Chapter and verse, please.
I have already explained how Numbers 27 gives a principle that women without male heads of family were entitled by God to a share of the Hebrews' inheritance. It would seem to be a sound principle to me, at least, that single mothers who are heads of their family should have a vote or some kind of say.
A second thing that these Satans in the pulpit will do is to continue to try to force their congregations back under the Law of Moses so that they can control them in spite of the fact that under the doctrines of the Church Age;
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
These same controlling abusers will then, under the same methodology, drag the New Testament Bishop or Pastor back into the Old Testament as a Prophet anointed to call down fire from heaven on those who won't obey him. And yet, here are some important verses under the doctrines of grace regarding the Pastor of the New Testament Church.
1 Timothy 5:1 ¶ Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; 2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
How do you reconcile these words to a New Testament Church Pastor with Elisha, the Old Testament prophet who calls she bears out to kill Hebrew children mocking him fulfilling Leviticus 26:22?
What about this warning to elders which is generally recognized to refer to Pastors?
1 Peter 5:1 ¶ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
Doesn't seem much like Elijah calling fire down on groups of fifty soldiers, does it?
This same gentle Shepherd will warn his brainwashed church members that if they leave his church, his authority, even if they choose their own family members which he has abused over him, that they will suffer punishment from God.
Out of which book of the Bible did they get that hateful threat?
Lastly, for my argument, but certainly not finally, as they have other ploys and tactics that Satan has given them, they will twist scriptures, wrenching them out of their context by violence to batter some weak person, usually a woman who has been abused already by men, to submission.
For instance;
Numbers 12:1 ¶ And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)4 ¶ And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.10 ¶ And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
The abusive Pastor imagines himself to be Moses under the operation of the Old Testament Law. He is not the gentle shepherd of the New Testament church but the fire breathing disciplinarian of the Sinai whom God will avenge if crossed. They'll even be quoted as saying "don't mess with the Pastor." They'll imply that if you cross them God will kill you or give you a disease like Miriam. And yet, the rule that the New Testament pastor has over his flock is clearly of a different nature.
1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.It is clearly the spiritual rule of a temperate, self-disciplined man who is faithful to his wife. Go back to the verses in 1 Peter 5:2,3.
It is probably best to attend a church for a good while before joining. But, you won't see what kind of Pastor you really have until your church faces a crisis. It is then you'll know if he is working to build faith in Christ or working to build a flock he can control for whatever purpose. Be warned. There are many good churches out there and there are bad ones.
Read your Bible, know it, study it, and memorize it. Do not be deceived.
2Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Leviticus, chapter eight

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Now, here is an interesting point. The congregation, the church, if you will, had to assemble together at the tabernacle to hear what God had given to Moses to tell them. Notice how fortunate we are today. We don’t assemble for that reason. We have access to what God has said and is saying to us through His words in His Bible. Every day we can permit God to speak to us, we can listen, and His words can act on our minds and hearts; our reasoning and our passion.
We are told to assemble together to exhort one another. That’s true.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
But, we are sanctified daily, and grow, if we read and trust God’s words.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
There are many verses in the Bible that talk about reading God’s words. It was the Puritans, according to some sources, that insisted that the principal way God speaks to His people is by the weekly sermons. This heresy has been passed down to fundamentalist churches that lose their spiritual power as a result.
We do assemble together to hear what God has told the preacher to tell us. We hear what God has to say to us each day and throughout the day as we read His words, believing them.
1John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
What the preacher can do is to help you understand the sense and meaning of what God has said, if he is spiritual and if he is mature and if he is in the word of God faithfully each day.
Nehemiah 8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.
6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
9 And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Let’s compare this that Moses did with what Christ adorns the Christian with in this age.
Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
The oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. Notice how our sanctification is accomplished and by what physical item.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
The Hebrew priesthood was sanctified by works while we are sanctified by God’s words. The results of our sanctification, the physical results are clearly stated;
First, what you don’t do.
1Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
And then belief;
2Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
And then obedience.
1Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.
14 ¶ And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
Here, we have a type of Christ.
15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.
Whose blood purifies the altar in our heart (The Christian has no other altar, certainly not the step at the front of the sanctuary upon which the pulpit stands).
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
16 And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.
17 But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.
18 And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
Did you notice back in Genesis 22 that God had provided a ram for Abraham’s sacrifice in place of his son, who represented Christ?
Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
19 And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21 And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
22 And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
23 And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
I don’t understand the significance of this, as yet. Perhaps someone else has an idea. One spiritual application is that God must cleanse what we hear through, what we use to touch, and what we use to walk as these are things that lead us into great trouble and sin. We listen to wickedness far too often and not enough to God’s words.
24 And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
25 And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
27 And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD.
28 And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
29 And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part; as the LORD commanded Moses.
30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
31 ¶ And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.
33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.
Obviously, seven is also a number of consecration. Seven has quite a special significance in the Bible and is worth your study.
34 As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.
This is the Lord commanding things to be done to make an atonement, for them to make peace with God. We have a more sure sacrifice, which is God Himself.
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.
36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
At least now, Aaron and his sons are obedient.

Leviticus, Chapter Seven

1 ¶ Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.
2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.
3 And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,
4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:
5 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.
6 Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.
Notice how only the males would eat in the holy place of the offering. This is a characteristic of the Law but not of the dispensation of Grace in which such spiritual differences between the sexes have been eliminated.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
In fact, it appears that many fundamentalists are not only afraid of women but actually appear to hate them under the guise of male headship. I know of churches that welcome single mothers but make no provision for a woman who is the head of a family to vote. So, what they are saying is that women are welcome to attend church and to tithe and give offerings but by virtue of their gender have no say in the affairs of the church. A woman having voting rights does in no way affect or undermine a husband’s headship. These Pharisees would love to put us back under the Hebrew Law but ignore the fact that God said to them that if no husband was in place then the woman would get the inheritance.
Numbers 27:1 ¶ Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. 6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. 9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. 10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. 11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Of course, this is not about what we are discussing in these verses but just an aside that came to my mind.

7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.
What is the difference between a sin and a trespass? They are synonymous according to Genesis 31:36;
And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
A sin is a trespass. Go back to chapter 6, verse 2.
8 And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.
9 And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.
10 And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
11 ¶ And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.
I think it is interesting how Christ made peace for us and He is our peace offering.
Ephesians 2:14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
A peace offering must be consumed immediately, in the same day it is offered. Nothing is to be left. It is to be finished once and for all.
Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Hebrews 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
16 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
A voluntary sacrifice can be finished the following day.
17 But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
The third day signifying Christ’s resurrection from the dead after spending time in the fires of Hell.
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
19 And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.
You weren’t to eat a polluted peace offering. If you did it had no value to you. Many today have created another Jesus, one that isn’t found in the Bible but is the product of their own imagination. This other Jesus judges nothing, condemns no one, demands little, and is basically some kind of Satanic poster child for people who want to justify sin. This other Jesus has no power and is merely a figment of peoples’ polluted imagination. To the fundamentalist, the other Jesus they create is the ultimate Judaizer, always trying to put people back under the curse of the Law of Moses, in opposition to the Jesus of the Bible. It has been said to me by a youth preacher that it is possible to know the Bible and to not know the God of the Bible apparently in an attempt to insist that his fantasy Jesus was the real one. I would say that it is, by contrast, impossible to know the God of the Bible without knowing the Bible. So many of even the most seemingly spiritual “men of God” have been taken prisoner by Satan and are filled with all manner of deception.
20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
God took this offense very seriously. You were to be killed if you committed this wrong.
21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Notice how that before Christ the soul and the body were spoken of together. The sins you committed with your flesh tainted your soul. But, under Christ’s grace God has performed an operation which circumcises the soul from the flesh so that the soul can’t be condemned for the sins of the flesh.
Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 ¶ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
I think it can safely be said that not only does an unsaved, unregenerate person have a dead spirit but that the sins of their flesh wound their soul, as well. By the time the soul of an unsaved person gets to the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium it’s got to be a pretty ugly sight.
22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
This would exclude quite a lot of delicious recipes from around the world. I can remember when I was in high school in New Jersey, our neighbor, who was of Hungarian extraction had a tasty dish that consisted of animal fat melted and dripping on bread. Obviously, eating fat deliberately isn’t healthy for you although we all need some incidental fat in our diets which we get just from eating meat.
24 And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.
Particularly they were not to eat of animals which had dropped dead or had been partially eaten by predators. This sheds some light on what some ancient customs may have been like and its pretty disgusting. I imagine that those living in the poorer parts of the earth today have experience eating animals killed in this way.
25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
This admonition is so serious, whether for the prevention of disease or not, that God wants the death of the transgressor. The meaning of “cut off” as “to kill” is established early on as in Genesis 9:11.
26 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
Eating blood is proscribed before the Law;
Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Eating blood is forbidden here under the Law and it is forbidden after the Law, in the Church Age.
Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
So, even a hyperdispensationalist should agree that we are not to willfully eat or drink blood.
27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
It’s important enough to die for if one transgresses. See “cut off” in another passage.
Zechariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
28 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
29 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.
31 And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
32 And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
33 He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.
34 For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
35 ¶ This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office;
36 Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.
God took care of the Hebrew priests through the offerings made to Him.
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;
38 Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
Here, we have God giving us the location again and the time when these offerings had been ordered by Him.