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THE GOD-BREATHED WORD!

Into each life some rain must fall...




A Figurative Exegesis by Pastor R.Lester (Bob) Smith of Foreman, AR


"He has made us able ministers...not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills but the spirit gives life" - 2Cor3:6



1. Was Jonah really swallowed by a whale?   Why?
2. Was Lot's wife really turned into a pillar of salt?   Why?
3. Did Moses really roll back the waters of the Red Sea?  Why?
4. Did Elijah really call down fire on the altar at Carmel?  Why?
5. Did the walls of Jericho really fall down as Scripture says?
.......click here for answers...

Jewish MENORAH The mystery of the seven stars... and the seven golden candlesticks.

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:

and the seven candlesticks...are the seven churches." Rev 1:20.


Metaphors, Allegories, and Symbolism in the God-breathed Word

"..Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk". Ex34:26

We translate: The young goat would die and be boiled in his mother's milk -- strange? The word "seethe" is translated many ways: to boil, cook, bake, roast, ripen, grow ripe. (Heb: bashal Strong#1310) Now Jesus was spoken of as "the lamb of God", and in the OT the scapegoat was part of the ritual for the Day of Atonement, Lev16:8,. when the sins of all the people were placed on the head of the scapegoat (he wasn't responsible, but took the blame).    WITH HIS FATHER/MOTHER LOOKING ON!    This law was written three times in the OT, so it can't be accidental, and yet the Jews interpreted it to mean they should separate dairy from meat products. hah! Don't blame them! The Holy Spirit only came on one person at a time in the OT -- he didn't arrive for all mankind until after Jesus returned to the Father, and those OT priests and rabbi's may have been doing their best, but were before the time of the New Covenant.
They ignorantly 'seethed a kid in his mother's milk' when they crucified Jesus on the cross with his mother looking on helplessly.
In the OT they didn't know how scripture would be spoken of as MILK. Both Paul and Peter spoke of the "Milk of the Word" - 1Cor3:2, 1Pet2:2. (In jest, perhaps: Father's Milk?) In the OT it was Isaiah who planted a clue about this: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts". Isa28:9

The Bible is true history; those people really said and did those things; Moses and Jesus weren't misquoted. It is Life's Instruction Manual from the Creator as well as a vehicle for preaching and teaching, and a special "table" to confound the skeptics and scoffers.

It is literal truth and poetic truth and geographic truth and hidden truth and figurative truth -- the Holy Spirit guides us to 'rightly-divide' God's Word of Truth; all 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. 2Tim2:15.

Moses turned the water to blood, but the first miracle of Jesus was turning the water into wine. First he directed that the six containers (vessels) be filled with water. Six is the number of man, and Jesus still does his first miracle for anyone (any whosoever) who asks for the Holy Spirit and is willing to be filled to the brim. He'll turn your Living Water into New Wine! But you have to ASK!

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!   On that great Day of Pentecost, Peter said "These are not drunken as ye suppose", harkening back to the mystery of why Noah got drunk after the Flood. Could it be that fermentation had previously been hindered by the great water layer surrounding the earth prior to the rain? Is it possible that Noah had no prior experience with alcohol, and that his drunkenness was totally unexpected? Did the planet's water barrier prevent or reduce solar radiation, and did that have something to do with the extreme longevity of that age? Let's hear it from the scientists!

  • God breathed into Adam, and Adam became a Living Soul. Gen2:7.

    Jesus breathed on his disciples, Jn20:22, and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. They became quickening spirits who followed in The Master's footsteps. 1Cor15:45

    Now the breath of God is in book form! "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." All scripture is "God-breathed". 2Tim3:16.

    Scripture isn't simply the True Bread or the Living Water, but it's God's own breath-- He wants to give you some mouth-to-mouth!



People ask "Why did God create mosquitos and hurricanes?". They aren't familiar with the GOD OF THIS WORLD: sATAN, 2Cor4:4, and how this life is a relatively short test for the new life in the Kingdom to come.




It's important to know what the Bible DOESN'T say, as well as what it says and how it says it.

1. It doesn't endorse or condone any kind of Mary-worship.  
2. Neither does it endorse or condone human (male or female) worship. Rev19:10.
3. Nor does the Bible authorize calling men "Father". Matt23:9.
4. Nowhere does Scripture say Jesus was crucified on Friday.
5. Nowhere does it say God loves the wicked.
"The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet". Nahum1:3.

Teachers and commentaries often promote the gospel from an emotional point of view, or from personal testimony, or by reconciling Biblical principles with worldly reality. The listener or reader isn't usually required to have more than a general knowledge of scripture. By contrast, the figurative perspective relies on strict attention to what is written, and how it says it. Not tradition, or what people say about it, or the screen shows it, but the way it actually reads. That being said, I have found that "reading between the lines" brings out hidden truth in an amazing and exciting way. Twenty years of ministry has persuaded me that the Bible is the most challenging and intriguing work of literature known to man. I favor the King James Version (KJV), but sometimes find other versions offer a clearer under standing.

Did you ever hear such a thing? That God planted Jesus in the womb and in the tomb, because He wanted children, and He knows the process of sowing and reaping! 1Jn3:2 says: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God". 1Pet1:23 calls the Word the incorruptible seed, and John 12:24 refers to Jesus as that "kernel" which must die and be planted.

"Know anybody named Eve?"
 
God hadn't said not to TOUCH the tree, and He'd said SURELY it would result in death (not just "lest ye", or maybe).
But Eve wasn't there when God told that to Adam...remember?
 
Did Eve know about the second tree -- the Tree of Life? She was "greatly deceived" (1Tim2:14) -- no doubt by Satan, but maybe also by her husband? Hos6:7. So where do WE get our info about God? People think "it was her fault", but Adam was right there with her, so why wasn't he deceived?.

Because, he knew EXACTLY what God had said!   He was there when God said it!

"If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom", Job 31:33, and "They, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me", Hosea 6:7.

Have the intellectuals convinced you that Scripture is just fairy tales? That a real whale wouldn't swallow a man whole, and that a genuine virgin couldn't give birth? Consider some facts, even if you've heard differently.   The name Joseph means "the Lord will add a son", Gen30:24, and when he was born to Rachel, his name signified the coming of his baby brother Benjamin (whose name means "son of the right hand").

In those early days of mankind they hadn't yet learned of the coming of the ultimate SON OF THE RIGHT HAND: JESUS.Rom8:34. During those Genesis times, it was the generations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph that The Book emphasized. Back then, the idea of tracing the generations from Adam to Jesus hadn't occurred to anyone; including the religious authorities.

Jesus repeatedly emphasized the three generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but stopped short of saying "Joseph" -- because that Joseph in Egypt was not in the pedigree of Jesus, and neither was the Joseph who was husband of Mary. Jesus was, and is, truly the Son of God!

It's only conjecture, but we ought to think on it. Did Mary's husband know the meaning of his own name? Could the angel have said to him: Joseph, the son born to Mary won't be your flesh and blood--the LORD will add this son! When Mary said "Be it unto me according to thy Word" was when Christ began forming within her--just what happens to the spiritual virgins today if they continue to travail in the new birth instead of being stillborn or aborted. Gal4:19.

They bring gifts, too!

They "spy out the scripture" like Joseph's brothers came to Egypt and like the "spies" sent by Moses to search out the 'Promised Land" (as we wonder about Heaven..)

A many faceted study. Yes, I know that Jesus died for our sins, and that we should thank him and praise him and be grateful. Yes, I'm aware of the book "The Witness of the Stars"and how the story of the coming of Christ was writtenClick here for Pyramid info in the stars and constellations. Yes, I followed the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the tomb of Caiaphas with great interest. Yes, there was a time when I avidly pursued the study of numerology, gematria, and so-called theomatics. Yes, I've followed the account of the recently discovered ELS Bible Code, and wonder if this will develop into another Shroud of Turin or Nostradamus or Noah's Ark controversy. If the code truly contains the names of celebrities along with a cognate word or phrase on the same page, I'll be ecstatic, because it fits the pattern of the myriad two's in the Bible. (See "Reciprocals").

The neat thing about the symbolic perspective is that you aren't obligated to know Hebrew or Greek, or have an Ivy League education. In fact, it helps to have a healthy disdain for worldly knowledge and tradition--setting aside all authority except for scripture and the dictionary. You won't be guided by the opinions of professors or archeologists, or what might be found in the Talmud, the New York Times, or some Sunday School bulletin. Isn't it written that the common people heard Jesus gladly, when it riled and irritated the religious leaders to high heaven? But, of course, you must be guided by the Holy Spirit--that's a must.

Little by Little -- One byte at a time...

ONE: Once upon a time I learned how Jacob wanted so much to marry Rachel that he worked seven years for her, and then on his wedding nite discovered that he was married to Leah instead! Egad, what an unpleasant surprise -- what a calamitous switch! Not sure what I would have done in his place, but then he agreed to serve another seven years, so his love for Rachel must've truly been sincere. The name Rachel means "ewe", a female sheep, which seems to me a strange way to address a girl. I understand how a boy would be named Ram, but wouldn't a flower or brook or color be more appropriate for a girl?? Oh well.

TWO: Rachel died in childbirth with Benjamin, the last of Jacob's twelve sons, and her sepulchre is near Bethlehem. She had been barren all the time the first ten sons were born, but then finally she had Joseph and then Benjamin (Benjamin means "son of the right hand"). Maybe back then they didn't understand the significance of that name, but the New Testament makes it very clear who is sitting at the right hand of the Father, doesn't it?

THREE: "Thine Maker is thine Husband", Isaiah 54:5. A pattern requires a kind of repetition, so something must follow after something else, and we learn how God is not just a heavenly Father, but also a Heavenly Husband! Like Jacob, his first wife was the Hebrew Old Covenant--they were Rachel, the ewe, who [finally] birthed the Lamb of God! She died giving birth to the "Son of the Right Hand" in Bethlehem! And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem it signified the beginning of the end of the Old Covenant era...

When Jesus said "It is finished", we entered into the fruitful marriage of Leah--no longer "Children"--because the Greek New Covenant is for reasoning adults. Eph4:14. A switch had been made! Instead of the Jews coming into their inheritance, it was the Gentiles who entered into the new marriage contract with God. That OLD era is past history, and now even the NEW church age is coming to a close. Jesus is returning soon -- are you ready??


. Jesus is the Second Adam! 1Cor15:45. Most of the Book of Genesis deals with four generations: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Father to son, but each of them had two notable sons, and it was their order of birth which dictated the more blessed son. Ishmael was first, but God said "in Isaac shall thy seed be called". Gen21:12. The New Testament confirms this in Galatians 4:28 when it says "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise."

Isaac's twin sons were first Esau, then Jacob. Initially we thought Esau to be admired for his strong outdoors image, and Jacob to be censured as a trickster. However, further reading reveals Esau as a "profane fornicator", Heb12:16. Jacob didn't rob him of his birthright--Esau sold it to him for beans. In the modern vernacular we'd probably say for peanuts.

God said in Malachi that He loved Jacob and hated Esau. A pattern is being developed in scripture which will eventually lead us to understand what Jesus meant when he said "You must be born again", Jn3:7. The old man of the flesh must be superceded by the new hidden man of the heart. Jacob is representing the 2nd man; the one that's "born-again". It didn't happen right away -- not until after he'd wrestled with the Man, and I do mean the Main Man. When we wrestle with the Word of God and prevail, our commitment becomes even more established.

The Esau Disguise! Jacob objected to the wearing of the Esau disguise, saying to his mother "I shall seem to be a deceiver". (His name means "supplanter"--to take the place of.. Gen27:36.) He was still living at home then, and obeyed his mother. He'd already bartered with Esau for his birthright, and now this disguise would get him the blessing as well. When you read the account carefully, it seems that maybe Isaac wasn't really fooled, but went along for the ride.

The parallel isn't seen until the New Testament goes to press and we learn how Jesus came "in a body prepared", in the likeness of sinful flesh -- disguised to look like anybody else! Satan got tricked, because "had the princes of this world known it, they never would have crucified the Lord of Glory." 1Cor2:8. Jacob got the birthright and the blessing as a way of showing us that in the fulness of time (chronologic) Jesus would come to win back what Adam had lost.

It's difficult to find a notable O.T. Bible character who isn't portraying someone or some principle of the New Testament. Following the "script", so to speak.

Abraham is in the role of God, who offers Isaac as a human sacrifice. Personally, I'm aghast at the thought of killing my own son (I have two) and I firmly reject the idea that Abraham intended to do such a thing, but if he KNEW FOR A FACT that God wanted him to play out his part as a PRECEPT for us to compare to Calvary, then it makes sense to me.

Abraham went about digging wells, and Isaac followed suit, and God's the one who furnishes the genuine Living Water, as exemplified by the woman at Jacob's Well. Scholars and nincompoops fault Abraham for calling Sarah his sister (literally a half-truth), but it's a precept for the 100% whole truth of the New Testament. My wife (in Christ) is really my sister! Mt12:50.

Isaac, the "promised son" is in the role of Jesus. He's a willing sacrifice who carries the wood up the mountain (Moriah), and copies the actions of his father; redigging the same wells and saying the same thing about his wife. Rebekah is a figure of the Bride of Christ. Abraham's loyal servant (think Holy Ghost) found her fetching water (think Living Water), and she agreed to marry Isaac even though she'd never seen or met him.

Now in the New Testament dispensation, the Holy Spirit is here to find brides for Christ: those who have never laid eyes on Jesus, but who have believed his Word and the Holy Ghost.

Tremendous question: Ruth and Esther are also types of the Bride of Christ, and this subject brings up one of the most fascinating mysteries of scripture: Since the Bride of Adam was taken from his own body, will the Bride of Jesus be taken from the church, the Body of Christ? 1Cor12:27. Are the wise virgins the bride, and the foolish ones the rest of the body? The analogy stems from learning how Jesus is the 2nd Adam, and how the believers have been "espoused to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ". 2Cor11:2.

Jacob displays the works of the Holy Spirit -- he's very fruitful with 12 sons and daughter Dinah, but it's the New Name of Israel (led of God, or ruling with God) that sets him apart.

Bilhah, Zilpah, and Rachel each bear two sons for him, while Leah presents him with six sons and Dinah. "Jacobs Trouble", Jer30:7, speaks of the time when a man (male) will travail with the new birth and become spiritually fruitful (Gal 5:22).

Jacob took a stone for his pillow! Maybe a rock for his head? Jesus is the Rock, 1Cor10:4, and the chief cornerstone, Eph2:20, and 1Cor11 calls Him the "head". We're the body, but He's the head. Jacob's cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and spotted, because they looked upon the peeled rods. That isn't the way it happens in the natural, but if you expect to be "conformed to the image of His son", Rom8:29, you'll have to study Him in His Word. See the logic?

Jacob's first four sons were: Reuben (seeing), Simeon (hearing), Levi (joined), and Judah (now will I praise the Lord). Gen29:32 explains. Having ears they didn't hear, and having eyes they didn't see, but when we join together our hearing and seeing, then we'll praise the Lord!


Two Wives! Since Christians are supposed to be monogamous, people will ask why some of the superstars of scripture had multiple wives. The answer comes from Romans 15:4 "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning." Not just our light entertainment or reading pleasure; but for our learning. Because the Bible teaches God has had two wives! Check out Jeremiah 3:14 -- verse 8 refers to Israel and Judah as "sisters", married to God.

Rachel represents the Jews, the Hebrews, Old Israel, the "Children", the circumcision, who were God's first love. Just as Jacob desired to have Rachel for his first wife (but didn't get her), so God initially chose them. Rachel (the name means "ewe", a female sheep) sat on the sidelines, barren, all the time the other ten sons were being born, but then finally she gave birth to Joseph. Read between the lines to understand how in the fulness of time, the corporate wife Rachel was the ewe who produced the Lamb of God.

On his wedding night Jacob found himself alongside Leah instead of Rachel. A switch had been made and the story causes us to wonder if he'd had too much wine or if her veil was too thick. In the New Testament we find the parallel switch at Calvary where the Old Covenant for the Jew under the Law was "finished", and the New Covenant for the Gentile, by faith, began.

The New Birth hadn't been available under the Old Covenant, but seven weeks after Christ our "Firstfruits" (1Cor15:19) rose from the dead, the administration of the Holy Spirit came in like a mighty rushing wind. In the Old Testament it was called the Feast of Weeks. Dt16:16.

















Joseph is like Jesus! He's the saviour of his family by providing them bread in the time of famine, and to the best of the land in Goshen. Now it's to heaven where Jesus (the True Bread) will be leading the family of God. Joseph had the amazing coat of many colors, and Jesus came "in a body prepared" to offer salvation to all races and colors of mankind. Both of them had their vestures dipped in blood! Joseph overcame the temptation of sin (Potiphar's wife), and went down into the dungeon (cp 1Pet3:19), before his promotion to the right hand of the Pharaoh.

The scripture is completely silent on this point, but wouldn't you like to know what Mr. and Mrs. Potiphar thought about Joseph's release from prison? Can you imagine how the tables were turned when Potiphar was subject to the authority of Joseph?

Don't miss this! The name Joseph means "the Lord will add a son", Gen30:24, and the meaning clearly was of prophetic nature and applied to his, as yet unborn at the time, brother Benjamin. Nobody would have remotely considered a different meaning for the next two thousand years. Did Mary's husband Joseph know the meaning of his own name? Was it confirmation to him when the angel of the Lord told him that the son born to Mary would be from God -- that "the Lord would add the son"? Of course the Joseph in Egypt was not in the pedigree of Christ, and neither was the Joseph who was husband of Mary! Think about it!

Wives for Benjamin?

The curious story in the final chapters of Judges finds all of the other tribes united in battle against Benjamin who has protected the homosexuals, until it develops that the women of Benjamin are so decimated that the other tribes have an unexplained change of heart and now seem bent on finding wives for the remaining men. Read this story keeping in mind that the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Lord to find "wives" for Him, and that the wedding banquet may be next on the agenda.

Benjamin is also like Jesus! His name means "Son of the Right Hand", Gen35:18, so he's clearly the figure of the One who's now seated at the right hand of the Father. The Jews reportedly saw the humor in the 700 left-handed men of the Tribe of Benjamin, without questioning why Joseph would label his baby brother a thief by planting his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. Gen44:2.

We couldn't make the connection until we read the account about Jesus saying "The cup my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" Jn18:11. Benjamin in Egypt got an actual literal cup from his big brother (the Trinity doctrine plays a part here), but the true Son of the Right Hand was given a poetic or spiritual cup by his Heavenly Father.

Truly there comes a time when too many coincidences mean it wasn't coincidence at all, and surely that time is different for different people. It was Nathanael who believed on the basis of skimpy evidence, Jn1:50, but it was Thomas who had to see for himself -- he wasn't the sort to take someone else's word for something so important. Jn20:24. I say "Amen" to that. No doubt you're the epitome of truth and honesty, but I'll have to see it in the Bible for myself!

Moses came as a baby (like Jesus), and he floated down the Nile to an alien country, just as Jesus left his Deity in heaven to come to earth and be the saviour of the human race. Moses didn't do the speaking himself (as the movies show it), but spoke through his brother Aaron -- the scripture foretelling of the time when the words would come from the Holy Spirit. Acts2:4.

Joshua, "son of Nun", Ex33:11, is a type of Christ in that he "succeeds" Moses, and is the one who actually takes them across Jordan and into the Promised Land. Now the Old Covenant has been succeeded by the New Testament, Heb8:15, and it will be Jesus who leads us to heaven.

Does the Hebrew word for Nun imply any connection with the English word None?? Probably not, but the doctrine of the Trinity and Isaiah's speaking of Jesus as "the everlasting Father" gives us pause to reflect. Joshua's genealogy is NOT given (other than calling him the "son of Nun"), and we first see him in scripture as winning the battle against Amalek, while Moses' hands are raised. Ex17:10. Prayer and the lifting of hands are a twofold action. 1Tim2:8.

The name of Jesus means "saviour", and the name of Moses means "drawn from the water". Moses said to the people in Deut 18:15 "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." They both came as babies (don't we all?) and as "strangers", and Aaron spoke for Moses as Jesus spoke for the Father, and as the Holy Spirit spoke (through men) on the Day of Pentecost.

Rahab, called a harlot, is surely teaching the salvation message, albeit in a different sense from Noah's generation who drowned in that liquid flood. (Today, people are drowning in the Sea of Life). Rahab made a deal with the two un-named messengers, Josh6:25, so she and her house would be saved during the Battle of Jericho. Her neighbors would no doubt have called her a traitor.

She hid the messengers on the roof-top. Taking my cue from Samson, whose strength came from "up-above", and Psalms 119:11 "thy Word have I hid in mine heart...", I see her in the Church age hiding Jesus the Word (I and my Father are One), and then forsaking worldly pursuits in favor of salvation. Two scriptures come to mind: Heb11:25 where we learn that Moses chose to "suffer affliction with the people of God [rather] than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season", and Exodus 12:11 where the people were instructed to eat the Passover Lamb (think Lamb of God, Word of God, Jesus) in haste; the scripture signifying how they must get out of Egypt (don't go back into the saloons or hang out with the R-rated crowd) and embark on a new and holy Way.

Elijah & Elisha (see the poem by that name) represent the Old and New Covenants. Elijah's works are primarily in FIRE, but Elisha works in WATER. Many people die during Elijah's administration (the captains and their fifties, for instance) and his hunger is appeased by the angels and the widow and the ravens by the Juniper tree. Sooo? Scripture is indicating this great man of God is hungering for the Word of God, and the Book wasn't out yet! Elisha has no trouble with food; he heals it and causes it to increase. Remember Jesus made the connection between Elijah and John the Baptist, and by extension we can see how Elisha is typifying Jesus.

Elijah does things personally, in his own strength(?), but Elisha delegates -- when Naaman came to see him, he didn't even come to the door, and I'm thinking it's a rude way for a man of God to behave. The principle being illustrated is that of "succeeding", passing the baton, and the power of attorney. Elisha took it from Elijah, and Jesus passed it to his disciples, and now any "whosoever" can grab it and run.

Why or how someone like Elisha could "die sick", 2K13:14, puzzled me the longest, until I recollected how Jesus himself "bare our sicknesses", Mt8:17. Even the bones of Elisha showed the power of God by raising the dead, 2K13:21, and of course it's the death and resurrection of Christ which has caused the gospel to go forth like leaven throughout the entire world. Even when folks don't know it's Bible -- even when they think the leaven was inspired by Buddha or Mohammed or some ghuru.

P is for Poem Eli-Eli



"Nothing new under the sun?" (Ecc 1:9) Someone was telling about a family which finally had a boy after four girls, and reckoned as how that boy would really be the darling of the family. Reminded me of the ten sons born to Jacob before the daughter Dinah finally was born to Leah -- nevertheless the Biblical story exalts the eleventh son Joseph and then the twelth son Benjamin rather than the ONLY daughter. Curios?

Personally, I think the Holy Ghostwriter is telling the story in such a way that we don't at first see how the Old Covenant is for the male, and the New Covenant for the female. Downplaying the women's role and hiding those details until the time arrives for the Holy Spirit to reveal in the Last Days.



Both followed after the LORD with their whole heart, and celebrated significant Passover Feasts: the amended Passover (likened to Solomon's) for Hezekiah, and the regular Passover (likened to Samuel's) for Josiah. Hezekiah is best known for receiving an extra 15 yrs. of life; the only man in scripture to know the year of his death. His son Manassas was only twelve when he took the throne, so his was a miracle birth!

Josiah was prophesied by name long before he was born, 1K13:2, though he may not have known it until the lost Book of the Law was discovered. 2Chr34:21. When was it lost? Even though he'd been a good king, the Book showed him he'd been doing something wrong. It could be scripture's way of saying they finally found the Book to be TRUE!

It's more than intriguing! How Hezekiah would have died aged 39 without the extra 15 years, but Josiah died at 39 in a battle against the King of Egypt. Hezekiah's age of 54 is twice the number of books of the New Testament. I'm reminded of how "the first shall be last, and the last shall be first", Mt19:30, and wondering if Josiah doesn't represent the Old Covenant, and Hezekiah the New. Hezekiah had showed all his "treasure" to the Babylonians, but it wasn't until after his time that they came and took away that treasure. Consider how we've shown the good Word (likened to fine gold in Psalm 19:10) to the world, and how they'll want to have some after we've gone in the clouds.

Does the New Testament display this same kind of allegorical content? Yes; take the case of Peter and Paul. The Book of Acts begins with Peter as the chief spokesman of the twelve, but his authority diminishes gradually as the Apostle Paul takes over. As John the Baptist said about Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease". The Old Testament precept from 2Sam3:1,10, spoke of how the House of David was increasing, but the House of Saul was declining. Note the pattern of Peter/Paul.

Contrast and compare Peter with Paul: (Book of Acts)

1. Peter was freed from jail by an angel: 12:6. For Paul it was an earthquake: 16:25.

2. Notable healing by Peter was lame man of 3:2. For Paul it was the cripple of 14:9.

3. Peter raised Tabitha from dead: 9:36. For Paul it was Eutychus: 20:9

4. Compare the "shadow of Peter", 5:15, with the "handkerchief of Paul", 19:12.

5. Peter was special minister to the Jews. Paul to the Gentiles. Galatians 2:7.

6. Peter denied Jesus three times. Mk14:30. God denied Paul thrice. 2Cor12:8.

7. Paul ministered to Aquila & Priscilla: Acts18:2.   Peter 'ministered' to Ananias & Sapphira...it fits the pattern of "first the male, and then the female", Acts5 -- 3 hours later.

8. Peter sent to Cornelius (first Gentile). 10:45. Paul to Rome: 28:28.

9. Paul wrote "be ye no more children", Eph4:14. Peter wrote "as obedient children.." 1Pet1:14.

10. Count their speeches: Peter has seven, and Paul has eight. Or thereabouts.


Paul writes this stunning revelation in Romans chapter seven. "Know ye not, brethren, how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman which has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives, but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband." Rom7:1,2.

..So Jesus died on the Cross.

God is the husband, according to Isaiah 54:5, and we are the wife! This will dismay some macho types and those who rate women as second class citizens, but for sure it's gospel--chapter and verse in spades. The Jews were married to God (read Jeremiah 3:14), but ever since Calvary they've been set free to enter into the new (marriage) contract with Jesus! "For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2Cor11:2.

There are those who question whether Paul knew what he was talking about, or if he was really inspired by the Holy Ghost, but those folks obviously aren't acquainted with the way he reveals the mystery of the gospel.

Vesture of many colors... To KNOW Him is to love Him. Scholars are quick to point out that the word "know" has a sexual connotation that almost always resulted in pregnancy, but usually without connecting it to the new birth in Christ Jesus. You can't KNOW HIM apart from His Word -- all the commentaries ever written won't take the place of reading HIM for yourself !!

Then "Let Christ be formed in you", Galatians 4:19. Let the incorruptible seed of the WORD bring on your personal spiritual birth. For men, this is the "Jacob's Trouble" wherein they travail, and "in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female". Notwithstanding, He's the bridegroom and we're supposed to be among the five wise virgins who are ready with their oil.

Metaphors of Scripture - A study in poetic analogy

God, LORD, Father

Jesus, Lord, Son

Saints, Christians,Sons
Consuming fire - Dt4:24 Vine of Jn15 Salt, lights, of Mt5:13,14
Fountain of water - Jer2:13 Door of Jn10:9 Kings, Priests, of Rev5:10
Potter, Father - Isa64:8 Bread of Jn6 Sheep, Ps23 - Clay, Isa64:8
Jealous - Ex34:14 Light of the World, Jn8:12 Temples - 2Cor6:16
"I AM" - Ex3:14 WORD - Rev19:13 Seeds - Rom9:8, Gen4:25
Husbandman - Isa54:5 Tree of Life - Gen3:22 Trees, Isa61 - Branches
Rock - Ps18:2,31 Rock - 1Cor10:4 Lively stones: 1Pet2:5
Spirit: Jn4:24 Seed: 1Pet 1:23 Vessels: 2Cor4:7
HUSBAND: Isa54:5 Lamb: Jn 1:29 Epistles - 2Cor3:2
Fortress, Tower - Ps18:2 Lion: Rev5:5 Virgins - 2Cor11:2
Love, 1Jn4:16 Author: Heb12:2 Sons: 1Jn3:2
Light, 1Jn1:5 Head: 1Cor11:3 Houses: Heb3:6
     

Holy Spirit

Christ, anointed

Satan
Holy Ghost - 2Pet1:21 Messiah, Messias Devil - Rev12:9
Comforter - Jn16:7 Twice: Dan9:25, 26 Serpent - Rev20:2
Spirit of Truth - Jn16:13 Jn1:41, 4:25 Beelzebub - Mt10:25
Teacher - Jn14:26   Lucifer - Isa14:12
Dove - Mk 1:10   Tyrus(false rock) Ezek28:2
Rushing wind - Acts2:2   Amalek - Ex17:16
    god of this world: 2Cor4:4
     

Salvation - Acts4:12

Scripture - WORD

Gentiles - Rom2:9,10
Deliverance - Ps107:20 Corn - Ps78:24 Uncircumcision - Gal 2:7
Transformed- Rom12:2 Honey - Ps19:10, 81:16 Greeks - Rom 10:12
Translated - Col 1:13 Milk - Isa28:9, 1Cor3:2 Adults - Eph4:14
Born again - Jn3:7 Wheat - Ps147:14  
Saved - Rom 10:9 Spirit - Jn6:63  
  Oil: Job29:6

Jews - Jn4:22

  Word - Ps107:20 Hebrews - Gen14:13
    Circumcision - Rom2:29
    "Children" - Mt15:26
    Israel - Rom9:4
    Oxen - 1Tim5:8
     




Women aren't 2nd class citizens-- there is NEITHER male nor female in Christ Jesus!









There are two (2) of them, you know. The first one is where Jesus and the twelve had their Last Supper together the night before he was crucified. Mark 14 records how Jesus sent forth two of his disciples to meet a man carrying a pitcher of water, who showed them "a large upper room furnished and prepared". Luke 22:12 concurs that an "Upper Room" was where they made ready the Passover meal. Sometime during that meal Judas Iscariot was dismissed, and that same evening brought the mob of elders and chief priests to the Garden of Gethsemane. The events unfolded very quickly after that, so that Jesus was already hanging on the cross before the sun ever set again. The Lamb of God fulfilled the scriptures even to the point of dying on the very day designated that the Passover Lamb should be killed!

The 14th day of the first month was Passover, Ex12:6, the day assigned by the LORD for the Lamb to be killed. They used the lunar calendar, so it would be a time of full moon, and the following day would be a high sabbath (Ex12:16, Jn19:31) to begin the seven days of eating unleavened bread. It wouldn't be a regular Saturday Jewish sabbath which began on Friday at sunset, nor a regular Christian sabbath which goes from midnight Saturday. High sabbath's could occur on any day of the week, depending on the new moon and the day of the month.

No! I don't wanna go!

"Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles..." Dt16:16. See also Ex34:23, Numb28:16, and Lev23.

It isn't always easy to see how the four Gospels harmonize, and a parallel task in the Old Testament is to study out these three (3) feast times. The Jews would journey to the Temple in Jerusalem, because that was the place (back then) that God had chosen. 2Chr6:6. The first Feast of the Year was alternately called either Passover or Unleavened Bread, and the last Feast (in the 7th month) was called Tabernacles or Booths (Lev23:42) or Ingathering (Ex23:16).

The first Upper Room was where they ate the Last Supper Passover meal with Jesus, and the second Upper Room was the dormitory where the apostles roomed after the Ascension when they weren't at the temple or taking care of other business in Jerusalem. The time between Calvary and the Resurrection was three days, and then Jesus showed himself for "forty days", Acts 1:3, to "upwards of 500", 1Cor15:6, before instructing the twelve to stay in Jerusalem until they were "endued with power from on high", Lk24:49. Jesus was the firstfruits from the dead, and fifty days later (seven weeks + one day) the great Day of Pentecost ushered in salvation for "about three thousand souls", Acts2:41. (The same number, by the way, as had died on the day the Law was brought down by Moses in Exodus 32:28.)

This fact should stand out: there couldn't be a Day of Pentecost (formerly part of the Feast of Weeks) without "Firstfruits" beginning the count! High Priest Caiaphas must have declared that day on the self-same day that Jesus rose from the dead!

Two crops: First the grain, then the fruit. It was the middle feast which had no set date, but was determined by whenever the first crop came up--it was seasonal. When the first of the grain crop appeared, the High Priest would "wave them" before the LORD to begin the seven week (50 day) countdown to Pentecost or full harvest. Fruit harvest, some say. So "when the Day of Pentecost was fully come", meant the seven week countdown from Firstfruits was completed. Our Passover Lamb was also our Firsfruits from the dead, 1Cor15:23, and so Acts chapter two followed his resurrection by fifty days! Jesus is the "waiver" for our entrance into heaven!

And all the faithful and believing Jews were present for that occasion, there in the Temple at Jerusalem, as required by the Law. Not in some upper room somewhere, or even in the one where they'd eaten the Last Supper. Luke 24:53 bears witness.

Nothing in scripture says the two upper rooms were one and the same, and only a fifth grade reading level would assign the Day of Pentecost to the upper room (like a dormitory) where the apostles roomed. Even to assert that 120 persons (give or take) were all together in that same room, takes unwarranted liberties with the text and becomes a kind of satanic subterfuge to mask the true meaning of the Day of Pentecost, which concludes the Feast of Weeks: a Harvest Feast. The figurative meaning tells us that Jesus was not only the True Bread, but also the Firstfruits!

He rose, so that we would know that we'd be rising too!

When Joseph in Egypt dreamed about the other sheafs of wheat bowing down to his own sheaf of wheat, it was a figurative prophecy of the time when Jesus would be recognized as the Son of God and the True Bread, with the name above every name! Phil 2:9. A name that was a secret in the Old Testament, Judges 13:18, but now in the Church Age is recognized as Wonderful! Isa9:6.

The Koran (Quran) writes about the story of Joseph in Sura 12 (chapt. 12), spelling his name yusuf or yousuf. Click HERE or on the Koran link at the bottom of the home page to read their confused plagiarism for yourself.

Joseph had another dream in which the sun and moon and the eleven stars bowed down to him. Some say he should have kept it to himself; that he should have known how it would anger his brethren. His father Jacob interpreted the dream on the spot apparently, concluding that Joseph expected he and his wife and eleven brothers to bow to him. The point I'm trying to make is that they read an allegorical meaning into the dream, and in the fulness of time it really turned out to be true. Jesus is the Star that leads us to the House of Bread (Bethlehem) where we can "taste and see how the Lord is good". Ps34.8.

Amen and amen.

Be sure to read about the True Bread and the SixDays for Man for more insight and explanation into this fascinating scriptural subject.




God of the Bible, God of His Word




HALLELUJAH!



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1. "Nothing is impossible with God" so it really happened that way, for several reasons: It's the greatest fish-story ever told and when you swallow it, your entire outlook on life changes as you become a new creature in Christ. It TEACHES metaphorically concerning the entombment of Jesus.

2. She's TEACHING how Christians become the salt of the earth, and "pillars", by looking back at their sin.

3. That was liquid water which Moses divided, to TEACH us concerning the Living spiritual water which must be "rightly divided" in order to see the truth of the God of the Bible.

4. Elijah did it to PROVE the real God is the one who sends down fire, like on the Day of Pentecost.

5. It's our Christian WALK, wearing the shoes of the preparation of the gospel, which brings down the "walls of ignorance".