THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH
| CHAPTER 1
WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF HIS PEOPLE CHAPTER 2
THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
CHAPTER 4
CROSSING THE RED SEA CHAPTER 5
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CHAPTER 7
THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM FORWARD The
knowledge of the truth is the knowledge, which will
eventually fill the whole universe. This is the true
gospel of the Kingdom of God; which has been hidden
since the time of the Apostles. Each church era had
different knowledge, and different problems: with
different rewards in God’s Kingdom. Jesus Christ
said He would build His church, based on four things. The rock is
Christ being the Son of God. The gates of Hades will
not prevail, even though this era will see billions of
deaths. The keys of the kingdom are the knowledge of
eternal life. New knowledge would replace old
knowledge in heaven. Mat 16:18 “And I also say to you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build My
church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it. Mat 16:19 “And I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Notice that
being saved is tied in with the knowledge of the
truth. 1Ti 2:1 Therefore
I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all
men, 1Ti 2:2 for kings
and all who are in authority, that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence. 1Ti 2:3 For this
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, 1Ti 2:4 who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. 1Ti 2:5 For there
is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus, This is not
new knowledge: it is a restoration of knowledge, which
had been hidden since the time of Christ. The apostles
had this knowledge. This
knowledge will not come by accident. 2Ti 3:7 always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth. The whole of
the Exodus from the Passover to entering the Promised
Land is a direct type of our spiritual calling. This
knowledge has to be revealed by God, as the following
scripture shows. 2Co 3:15 But even
to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on
their heart. 2Co 3:16 Nevertheless
when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Belief is
required. Joh 5:46 “For if you believed Moses, you
would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. Joh 5:47 “But if you do not believe his
writings, how will you believe My words?” The
knowledge of Jesus Christ begins at Moses. Luk 24:27 And
beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He
expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning Himself. The Old
Testament Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land is a
direct type of the New Testament Exodus from sin to
Eternal Life. Heb 3:5 And Moses
indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which would be
spoken afterward, An intensive
study into the Passover and nature of God, by my wife
and myself: has resulted in the knowledge of the truth
now being available. This is the start of the
Laodicean church of God. We learned
that God the Father is God of the Old Testament. We
learned that Jesus Christ is the Son of God from the
beginning [prior to creation.] We learned from clearly
stated scriptures that only one God has inhabited
eternity. We were
receiving answers to such questions as: Why is
Pentecost on a different date each year when the other
Holy Days were on the same date each year? What was
the reason for the transfiguration of Christ? Why is
the Wave Sheaf ceremony not kept even though it is
just as permanent as the Passover? What is the
significance of the man with the drawn sword in Joshua
5? What is the true meaning of the Feast of Trumpets?
And many more new truths. Both my wife
and I found that when we believed the Bible, and
accepted new knowledge, every scripture on the subject
agreed with that knowledge. When we were wrong in what
we thought we learned, it soon became very apparent
and we went back to the subject till we got it right.
We have loved the truth as it has been revealed to us. The
following pages give the knowledge of eternal life to
anyone who will believe the Bible, and have the
courage to follow that belief. We can make this truth
plain but you must believe God’s word. God is not
interested in my thoughts or your thoughts: He alone
has the words of eternal life. God tells us whom He
will reveal truth to. The attributes He requires of us
are defined in chapter one. Let me state
very clearly; Do not
believe me………… Believe the Bible………The Bible is the
word of the great God who cannot lie. CHAPTER 1 WHAT
GOD
REQUIRES OF HIS PEOPLE God requires
certain attributes from us before He will teach us
anything. These attributes are clearly defined in the
Bible. God will help us to attain them if we ask and
put in the effort. We must fear
God and keep His Commandments. To fear God
is to be in awe and reverence of Him. The fear of God
is associated with wisdom and knowledge. Ecc 12:13 Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God
and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. Pro 1:7 The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools
despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 9:10 “The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. We can learn
to fear God. Psa 34:11 Come, you
children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of
the LORD. Pro 2:3 Yes, if
you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice
for understanding, Pro 2:4 If you
seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden
treasures; Pro 2:5 Then you
will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the
knowledge of God. We must be
humble and tremble at the awesome power of our God. Isa 66:2 For all
those things My hand has made, And all those things
exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who
trembles at My word. God requires
us to believe Him and to have the courage to
follow that belief. Rev 21:8 “But the
cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers,
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Notice that
unbelief is on a par with murder and lying etc. We have
found that most people will not believe the Bible if
it differs from what they already believe. We must not
only believe the Bible; we must love the truth. 2Th 2:10 and with
all unrighteous deception among those who perish,
because they did not receive the love of the truth,
that they might be saved. We must move
from the milk of the word to the meat. Isa 28:9 “Whom will
he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to
understand the message? Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts? The Great
God of the universe dwells with those who are contrite
and humble. Isa 57:15 For thus
says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy
place, With him who has a contrite and humble
spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to
revive the heart of the contrite ones. By reading
the above quoted Scriptures and any others on the
subjects: it will become clear just how importantly
God regards these attributes. God resists the proud,
and the envious, and those who doubt His word. These
people will not accept or believe new knowledge. When we
first encounter new truth, it is difficult for us to
accept something that is different from what we have
always believed. God requires that we believe Him
regardless of the physical cost. The
Philadelphian era of God’s church was not given the
end time knowledge of the truth; they had the
knowledge that God revealed to them for that
particular era. That era had to hold fast ‘to what
they had.’ Knowledge is to be increased at the time of
the end. Dan 12:4 “But you,
Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until
the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall increase.” There are
many new things to learn in the end time. The end time
church will be united in the knowledge of God. We, in no
way wish to undermine the teachings of Mr. Armstrong:
what we are saying is, that the end time knowledge was
not given to Mr. Armstrong because his commission from
God did not include the end time days. The
Philadelphian era was to be kept from the time of
trouble, which is to come on the whole world. Mr.
Armstrong was given a great deal of knowledge
including the key to the house of David. The knowledge
of who modern day Joseph is includes the fact that the
House of David still has a royal line existing to this
very day. The knowledge, that Great Britain and
America are modern day Joseph [Ephraim and Manasseh],
is the key to the House of David. Mr Armstrong
has been dead now for many years, and God’s church
must continue to grow in grace and knowledge. That is
why, many of these end time truths differ from what
Mr. Armstrong taught. They are totally from the words
of the Bible, they are the truth; they are for this
end time age, which we now live in. Whether or not
these new truths are believed is entirely up to the
reader. Christ never forced anyone to believe Him. God requires
that we prove all things. We are not to blindly follow
the leaders of the church. We will all have to
individually stand before the judgement seat of
Christ. In all, of
this vast universe, there is nothing, which can be
given priority over the Great God. We must
become as a child. Mat 18:2 Then Jesus
called a little child to Him, set him in the midst
of them, Mat 18:3 and said,
“Assuredly, I say to you,
unless you are converted and become as little
children, you will by no means enter the kingdom
of heaven. Mat 18:4 “Therefore whoever humbles
himself as this little child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. Mat 18:5 “Whoever receives one little
child like this in My name receives Me. God expects
His people to accept the truth like a little child,
but He expects us to love the brethren enough to be
prepared to lay down our life for them. Joh 15:13 “Greater love has no one than
this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 1Jn 3:16 By this we
know love, because He laid down His life for us. And
we also ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren. A massive
key to understanding new knowledge is to realise that
we do not have all knowledge. There is always
something new to learn. God will reveal the knowledge
of the truth, one step at a time. He cannot teach us
if we do not believe Him, and follow that belief. CHAPTER 2 THE
GOD
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT The
knowledge of God is part of the knowledge of eternal
life, which makes this an extremely important subject.
This subject has been lost until now. The
following verse is a pivotal scripture and needs to be
properly understood. This verse alone changes our
popular belief that God the Father and God the
Word [Jesus Christ] combine to be known as one God. It
states clearly that there is one true God, and it is a
requirement of eternal life that we know this ‘one
true God’ and Jesus Christ. Joh 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent. It is
absolutely amazing how simple it is to know which God
is the God of the Old Testament, if we believe the
Bible. Psa 83:18 That they
may know that You, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, Are
the Most High over all the earth. The Most
High God is God the Father, whose name alone is
Jehovah. There is only one Jehovah who is the ‘Most
High God.’ Jesus Christ is the Son of the Most High
God. Mar 5:7 And he
cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I
to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I
implore You by God that You do not torment me.” The Most
High [Jehovah] is the one true God. Jer 10:10 But the
LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the
everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will
tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure
His indignation. In every
instance in the Old Testament where the Hebrew word
Jehovah; [3O68 in Strong’s Concordance] is mentioned,
it refers to God the Father. It is almost always
translated ‘Lord,’ and is mentioned over six thousand
times in the Old Testament. God the
Father cannot be directly looked upon. Exo 33:20 But He
said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see
Me, and live.” Joh 1:18 No one has
seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. God the
Father can be heard. Gen 17:1 When Abram
was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to
Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk
before Me and be blameless. Deu 4:33 “Did any
people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of
the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Deu 5:4 “The LORD
talked with you face to face on the mountain from
the midst of the fire. Mat 17:5 While he
was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of
the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Hear Him!” The fact
that the above scriptures refer to the Father speaking
is confirmed in the following scripture, Peter refers
to the Father as the excellent glory. 2Pe 1:17 For He
received from God the Father honor and glory when
such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The
following scriptures do not say that the Father cannot
be heard. The people who have never heard His voice
are those who think they have eternal life, but refuse
to come to Christ, and refuse to believe Christ. Joh 5:37 “And the Father Himself, who
sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither
heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. Joh 5:38 “But you do not have His word
abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do
not believe. Joh 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, for
in them you think you have eternal life; and these
are they which testify of Me. Joh 5:40 “But you are not willing to come
to Me that you may have life. God the
Father walked in the Garden of Eden, He was in the
burning bush, He gave the Ten Commandments, He spoke
to Abraham; He appeared to Job. In all these
encounters God was not directly looked upon. God the
Father is our only, overall Saviour: His plan of
salvation included the crucifixion and death of His
own Son. It is God
the Father who stands upon the Mount of Olives. Zec 14:3 Then the
LORD will go forth And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle. Zec 14:4 And in
that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of
Olives shall be split in two, From east to west,
Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain
shall move toward the north And half of it toward
the south. God the
Father returns to earth prior to the return of Christ. Dan 7:22 “until the
Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in
favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time
came for the saints to possess the kingdom. Dan 7:13 “I was
watching in the night visions, And behold, One like
the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He
came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him
near before Him. God the
Father can be invisible: He has appeared in a cloud,
in a fire, in a whirlwind, in a dream, or in a vision. A scripture
which seems to contradict the above; is the following
verse. Job 42:5 “I have
heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my
eye sees You. God the
Father spoke to Job, He cannot be looked upon. The
word ‘seen’ in Job 42 v 5. Can mean literally or
figuratively and is used in both senses in the Bible. It is
possible to see with ‘eyes of understanding.’ Eph 1:18 the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened; that you
may know what is the hope of His calling, what are
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, Job saw God
with the eyes of understanding. We know that is how
Job saw God as God the Father cannot be looked
directly upon, and scripture cannot be broken. God spoke to
Job ‘in a whirlwind.’ Job 38:1 Then the
LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: Isaiah
appears to have seen the Lord. Isa 6:5 So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of
unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The
LORD of hosts.” If Isaiah
saw the Lord then scripture is broken. The answer is
in Isa. 1v1. Isaiah saw God ‘in a vision.’ Isa 1:1 The vision
of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Every
scripture in the Bible on the subject will agree with
the knowledge that God the Father can be heard but not
seen. The
scriptures are very plain about the knowledge of which
God is the God of the Old Testament. God the Father is
the main God. He appeared as Almighty God prior to
revealing Himself as Jehovah, to Moses in the burning
bush. Quite often, God the word is with Him. Using the
word ‘one’ to mean ‘two’ does not stack up. Quite
often in the Bible: One God is quoted and Jesus Christ
also mentioned. Joh 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent. God the
Father is the one true God, in that He is the only God
who has inhabited eternity. Jesus Christ is also God;
but He is not regarded as a true God, because He is
from the beginning: not from eternity. Joh 7:28 Then Jesus
cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know
where I am from; and I have not come of Myself,
but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. Joh 7:29 “But I know Him, for I am from
Him, and He sent Me.” 1Jn 1:1 That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the
Word of life; Almighty God
revealed Himself to Moses as the ‘Self Existent One’
prior to the Exodus. This knowledge is restored as
part of the knowledge of eternal life, which is a
direct parallel of the Old Testament Exodus. Notice
carefully the following scripture, God only revealed
Himself to Abraham as Almighty, that was all Abraham
was required to know, just as today the Philadelphian
era were required to know certain knowledge, BUT, when
the Laodicean era started different knowledge was
required, therefore we have the knowledge revealed to
us which is different from that revealed to the
Philadelphian era. Notice that
the knowledge that Moses had was quite different he
knew God as Jehovah. Exo 6:2 And God
spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD. Exo 6:3 “I
appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God
Almighty, but by My name JEHOVAH I was not known to
them. Exo 6:4 “I have
also established My covenant with them, to give them
the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in
which they were strangers. Exo 6:5 “And I
have also heard the groaning of the children of
Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I
have remembered My covenant. Exo 6:6 “Therefore
say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I
will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with
great judgments. Exo 6:7 ‘I will
take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then
you shall know that I am the LORD your God who
brings you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians. Moses had to
tell the Israelites that the Lord [Jehovah] would
bring them out of Egypt. The Israelites would know
that it was the Lord. The Hebrew
word [Jehovah] is almost always translated ‘Lord’ in
the Bible. Strong’s concordance describes Jehovah as
follows: JEHOVAH [H3068]
IS GOD THE FATHER ONLY H3068 From H1961;
(the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish
national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord. Right up to
the time of Moses: God the Father was known as the
Almighty God. Notice carefully that it is the Lord
[Jehovah] who is speaking. Gen 17:1 When Abram
was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to
Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk
before Me and be blameless. God revealed
Himself to Moses as the ‘Self Existent One.’ This was
done at the burning bush. Notice carefully; Moses
asked God’s name in verse 13: God answers in verse 15. Exo 3:13 Then Moses
said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of
Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has
sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His
name?’ what shall I say to them?” Exo 3:14 And God
said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus
you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has
sent me to you.’ ” Exo 3:15 Moreover
God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the
children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever,
and this is My memorial to all generations.’ [I am] means
to ‘emphatically exist.’ It was at the burning bush
that God revealed Himself to Moses as the Lord
[Jehovah the self existent one] This is proved in
scripture where God told Moses that the Lord [Jehovah]
would free the Israelites. Moses had to tell the
Israelites that the Lord would bring them out of
Egypt; the Lord’s name is Jehovah: it is not ‘I AM’. Exo 6:6 “Therefore
say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I
will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with
great judgments. Isa 47:4 As for our
Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy
One of Israel. The
following scripture is talking about Christ existing
before Abraham. It has nothing to do with Ex. 3 v 14. Joh 8:58 Jesus said
to them, “Most assuredly, I
say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” The first
thing that Almighty God did prior to freeing the
Israelites; was to reveal Himself to Moses as the Self
Existent One. Abraham and other people of God, prior
to Moses, did not have this knowledge. The church of
God, during Mr. Armstrong’s time did not have this
knowledge. During the Philadelphian era of God’s
church we believed that there were two ‘Self Existent
Ones.’ Please note
very carefully, it is of extreme importance to
understand the following paragraphs. Abraham is
the father of the faithful. He and other people of God
prior to Moses did not have the knowledge of ‘The Self
Existent God.’ This does not debase them in any way,
this was part of God’s plan, and has nothing to do
with righteousness. Moses was
given this knowledge prior to the Old Testament
Exodus, which is a direct type of our spiritual
calling. The physical Israelites were given the
knowledge of the ‘Self Existent God’ by Moses, at
God’s command. The
knowledge of the One True God [The Self Existent One]
has been restored with the knowledge that the physical
Exodus is a direct type of our spiritual Exodus out of
this world to the Promised Land. The
knowledge of the truth begins with the knowledge that
there is one true God who has inhabited eternity. The
knowledge that there is one true God who has inhabited
eternity: was revealed to Moses prior to the exodus to
the Promised Land. This knowledge, which had been lost
since the time of the Apostles, is once again
restored, prior to the knowledge of the truth, which
is the true gospel of the Kingdom of God. This begins
the true knowledge from carnality to eternal life. The Lord who
has inhabited eternity, has a Son who was born in the
beginning, [prior to creation.] Some of the
scriptures that show Christ was God’s Son from the
beginning are as follows. Heb 1:2 has in
these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; 1Jn 1:1 That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the
Word of life; Pro 30:4 Who has
ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered
the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a
garment? Who has established all the ends of the
earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know? Col 1:15 He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. There is
more about the Son of God in chapter seven of this
article. CHAPTER 3 THE
PASSOVER The Passover
was killed [or kept; which means prepared] on the 14th
Nisan. It was eaten on the 15th. Which was the first
day of Unleavened Bread. Scripture cannot be broken,
so every mention of the Passover must agree with the
following two verses. 2Ch 35:1 Now Josiah
kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they
slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day
of the first month. Joh 2:23 Now when
He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the
feast, many believed in His name when they saw the
signs which He did. The
following verses show that the feast of Unleavened
Bread, which is eaten in the 15th Nisan; is actually
the feast of the Passover. The seven days of
Unleavened Bread are called the feast of Unleavened
Bread, and the Passover meal is also called the feast
of Unleavened Bread. In every instance: the Bible
states clearly which feast is being referred to. The
following verses show clearly that the feast of
Unleavened Bread is on the 15th: the feast of
Unleavened Bread is called the Passover: The Passover
meal and feast of Unleavened Bread are on the same
day, and are the same meal. Lev 23:6 ‘And on
the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of
Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must
eat unleavened bread. Luk 22:1 Now the
Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called
Passover. Mar 14:1 After two
days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought
how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to
death. The
scriptures are clear and show that the Passover is
prepared on the 14th Nisan [preparation day] and eaten
on the start of the 15th Nisan [holy day]. We take the
Passover just after sunset possibly around 7.30 pm
which is the start of the first day of Unleavened
Bread. The time of the Passover is ordained forever. Exo 12:14 ‘So this
day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep
it as a feast to the LORD throughout your
generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an
everlasting ordinance. The above
scriptures state plainly that the Passover is to be
prepared on the 14th and eaten on the 15th. The
obvious question arises; did the Worldwide church of
God keep the wrong day? The answer is absolutely
astounding. By keeping
the Passover on the correct day we have eternal life
inherent. Joh 6:54 “Whoever eats My flesh and
drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise
him up at the last day. The
Israelites in Egypt were not offered eternal life, but
they had to keep the Passover. Drinking the blood was
not required in the Old Testament Passover. Exo 12:7 ‘And they
shall take some of the blood and put it on the two
doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they
eat it. Drinking the
blood is required for eternal life. Joh 6:53 Then Jesus
said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no
life in you. The Old
Testament Passover was to be eaten without the blood,
and drinking the blood of Christ is necessary for
eternal life. This article
will show that at our baptism into God’s church; we
receive the earnest of God’s Spirit, which is the down
payment of eternal life. We do not have eternal life
inherent until we receive the Spirit of life. We still
have to keep the Passover after our baptism, even
though we do not yet have eternal life. God worked out
a brilliant plan, so we could keep the Passover while
not yet having eternal life. Christ changed the
symbols of the Passover to where we now had to not
only eat the bread signifying His body: We also had to
drink the wine, signifying the drinking of His spilt
blood. We have shown above that the time for eating
the Passover is the 15th Nisan, which has been
ordained forever. Christ changed the symbols on the
14th Nisan, which means the New Testament Passover can
be kept on that date, but it does not mean we have
eternal life inherent by keeping that date. On the
correct night of the eating of the Passover, we kept
the night to be much observed, which is actually the
Old Testament Passover meal, and is eaten without
blood. God’s church
in the Philadelphian era kept the new testament
Passover, by partaking of the new symbols of the
eating of the bread and drinking of the wine, but not
on the correct day. They kept it on the same day that
Christ kept His last Passover, because this was one of
the reasons that Christ and the disciples kept the
Passover early, so as to allow the New Testament
church to keep it on the wrong date so they would not
qualify for eternal life at that time. The Old
Testament Passover meal was still kept on the correct
night of the Passover under the guise of the night to
be much remembered. A lot of
readers will say, we want to keep the Passover at the
same time that Christ did. This is a good reason but
we must understand why Christ kept the Passover a day
early. It was
because He was the Lamb of God and was going to be
killed at the approximate same time as the Passover
lambs were killed, which was on the 14th Nisan. He
would be dead at the correct time for keeping the
Passover. The Jews
were keeping it at the proper time, notice the
scriptures, on the day Christ died the Jews were going
to keep the Passover that night. Joh 18:28 Then they
led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it
was early morning. But they themselves did not go
into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled,
but that they might eat the Passover. When we come
to the knowledge of the truth, we will eat the New
Testament Passover on the 15th Nisan. We keep the
Passover in remembrance of the death of Christ and we
accept the fact that Christ died for the sins of
mankind. Christ ate the Passover on the Feast day
during His ministry; the Passover was eaten in the
Feast day after His death. It is stated plainly in the
New Testament, that the Passover is eaten in the Feast
Day. Christ kept the Passover the night before His
death, and introduced the New Testament symbols of His
body. He did not change the date. The Passover
ceremony was ordained forever. This fact is mentioned
continually in the Old Testament. If Christ changed
the date; then scripture would be broken. Exo 12:14 ‘So this
day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep
it as a feast to the LORD throughout your
generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an
everlasting ordinance. The lamb was
selected on the 10th Nisan, killed on the 14th, eaten
on the 15th. The lamb’s blood was put on the door
lintels. Christ was
killed on the 14th. He paid the penalty for the sins
of mankind, and was buried just prior to sunset. God the
Father calls us out of this world; we accept Christ’s
death for the remission [deliverance or forgiveness]
of our sins. Mat 26:28 “For this is My blood of the new
covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins. Christ’s
death reconciles us to the Father. Read this next
scripture carefully. We are not
saved by Christ’s death. Rom 5:10 For if
when we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. The Passover
must be prepared forever on the 14th Nisan and eaten
forever on 15th Nisan. The ancient Israelites ate the
Passover on the 15th. Christ ate the Old Testament
Passover on the 15th. [Except for His last Passover,
which He ate on the 14th.] When we
receive the earnest of God’s Spirit; we have accepted
Christ’s death so we do not kill a lamb on the
preparation day, but we still eat the Old Testament
Passover meal on the 15th. [We call this meal the
night to be much observed] Christ changed the symbols,
and introduced the drinking of His blood; which means
we have eternal life, but only if it is taken on the
correct night. [We must accept all the requirements of
eternal life: keeping the Passover correctly is one of
these requirements.] Please note
very carefully; the Passover will be kept forever at
the correct time. Preparation day is the 14th Nisan,
the eating is on the 15th. God’s church
will keep the New Testament Passover on the 14th.
Nisan, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th.
Until they accept the knowledge of the truth. They
will then keep the correct Passover ceremony on the
correct night. The night to be much observed will no
longer be kept. Christ’s
disciples had eternal life inherent after Pentecost,
following Christ’s death. They would have eaten the
New Testament Passover on the 15th. from that time on. CHAPTER 4 CROSSING
THE
RED SEA. The full
account of the exodus is in Exodus chapter twelve. The
summary I give here can be verified from that chapter.
The Israelites ate the Passover meal. They were
dressed and prepared to leave immediately. God the
Father passed over at midnight and the destroyer
killed the firstborn of the Egyptians. Pharaoh told
the Israelites to go and all the Egyptians thrust them
out immediately. They left sometime after midnight on
the 15th Nisan. The Israelites had previously spoiled
the Egyptians. This spoiling was done prior to the
Passover. God had told
Moses well in advance, that the Israelites would spoil
the Egyptians. Exo 3:21 “And I
will give this people favor in the sight of the
Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you
shall not go empty-handed. Exo 3:22 “But every
woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who
dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles
of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on
your sons and on your daughters. So you shall
plunder the Egyptians.” Exo 11:2 “Speak now
in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask
from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor,
articles of silver and articles of gold.” Exo 11:3 And the
LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the
Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in
the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s
servants and in the sight of the people. The
Israelites ate the Passover meal around 7-8 pm on the
15th they ate it dressed and ready to leave, a few
hours later, after midnight they left Egypt. The
Israelites camped the first afternoon at Succoth, the
second afternoon at Etham, and the third afternoon on
the banks of the Red Sea near Migdol. God parted the
Red Sea all that night. There is a
parallel between the parting of the Red Sea and
Christ’s resurrection. Notice the following: The start of
the 15th Nisan to the start of the Red Sea parting was
three days and coincided to the time that Christ would
be in the heart of the earth. From the
time of the rising of Christ {very early Sunday
morning} till the time He ascended to the Father
{Sunday Morning at dawn} is typified by the parting of
the Red Sea. This is the time the Israelites crossed
from Egypt to where the Promised Land was available,
and is a type of spiritual Israel coming out of this
world to where eternal life is available. One of
greatest physical miracles that has ever occurred
typifies one of the greatest spiritual miracles that
has ever occurred. [This was equalled when they
entered the Promised Land many years later.] Many Saints
were seen at the time of Christ’s resurrection. Mat 27:52 and the
graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints
who had fallen asleep were raised; Mat 27:53 and coming
out of the graves after His resurrection, they went
into the holy city and appeared to many. The crossing
of the Red Sea typifies our baptism. 1Co 10:1 Moreover,
brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all
our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through
the sea, 1Co 10:2 all were
baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, At our
baptism, we leave Egypt [sin] and come to where the
Promised Land [eternal life] is available. At our
baptism we receive remission of our sins. Mar 1:4 John came
baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins. Just as
baptism does not usually follow repentance
immediately: so receiving the Holy Spirit of truth
does not usually follow baptism immediately. We
receive the earnest of the Spirit at the laying on of
hands…… but the Spirit of truth comes much later. Act 2:38 Then Peter
said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Eph 1:13 In Him you
also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, Eph 1:14 who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchased possession, to the praise of His
glory. Note
carefully, at this time the Israelites were out of
Egypt but not yet at the Promised Land. At our baptism
into God’s Church, we come out of this world to where
eternal life is available. Eternal life, in the form
of God’s Spirit of power, truth or life is not given
at this stage. God gives
the Spirit to those who obey Him. Act 5:32 “And we
are His witnesses to these things, and so also is
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey
Him.” At our
baptism, we have a desire to obey and believe God.
This is limited without God’s Spirit, so God gives us
the earnest of the Spirit so we can obey Him. Read these
next verses carefully. Christ is talking to Philip,
one of the Apostles, who already had the earnest of
the Spirit. Now notice this very carefully, there are
two phases of God’s Holy Spirit, firstly we are given
the earnest of the Spirit, and then later, at the
Fathers discretion, we are given the Holy Spirit of
power, this is eternal life inherent. Notice the
following verse on the subject. Joh 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may abide
with you forever; Joh 14:17 “the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him
nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells
with you and will be in you. Now back to
the Israelites, they had eaten the Passover, been
protected from death by the blood on the door lintels,
left Egypt in haste, and journeyed three days to the
Red Sea. God the Father parted the Red Sea, the
Israelites crossed the Sea leaving Egypt and arrived
at the wilderness, where the Promised Land was
available. They were not yet at the Promised Land. After
crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites journey three
days into the wilderness. This brings them to Marah,
where God gave them a statute or decree and a law or
regulation and He tested them. This was the last day
of Unleavened Bread. God also made a healing covenant
with them. Note also, Commandment keeping was
required. Exo 15:25 So he
cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a
tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters
were made sweet. There He made a statute and an
ordinance for them. And there He tested them, Exo 15:26 and said,
“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your
God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to
His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will
put none of the diseases on you which I have brought
on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” Christ was
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth
and was raised at the time that coincided with the Red
Sea closure many years previously. Christ was
resurrected on Thursday morning and then departed to
hell. He spent three days and three nights there
preaching to the spirits and He, together with the
Father, raised Him from Hell or Hades. God the
Father has called us. We have accepted Christ’s shed
blood, and begun to leave the ways of this world. We
are baptised and receive remission from sins. We are
now ready for our journey to the Promised Land
[eternal life in the form of the Spirit of life.] At some time
after this, God will offer us the knowledge of the
truth. This will show God who will believe Him and
accept eternal life. 1Ti 2:4 who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. CHAPTER 5 THE
TEN
COMMANDMENTS When God the
Father gave the Ten Commandments to Israel: He
promised physical riches for keeping them. The old
covenant required Israel to keep God’s statutes and
laws. Lev 26:3 ‘If you walk
in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform
them, Lev 26:4 then I
will give you rain in its season, the land shall
yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit. Lev 26:5 Your
threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and
the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you
shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your
land safely. Lev 26:6 I will
give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and
none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of
evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your
land. Lev 26:7 You will
chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword
before you. Lev 26:8 Five of
you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you
shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall
fall by the sword before you. Lev 26:9 ‘For I
will look on you favorably and make you fruitful,
multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. God put on
an impressive show on Mt. Horeb so that people would
fear Him and keep the old covenant. Exo 20:18 Now all
the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning
flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain
smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled
and stood afar off. Exo 20:19 Then they
said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear;
but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Exo 20:20 And Moses
said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come
to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so
that you may not sin.” Psalm 81
makes it very clear that the Feast of Trumpets is the
holy day that pictures this fabulous time in our
history. Psa 81:3 Blow the
trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full
moon, on our solemn feast day. Psa 81:4 For this
is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. Psa 81:5 This He
established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went
throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a
language I did not understand. Just as God
gave the old covenant and confirmed it with thundering
and lightning: so also He gave the new covenant and
confirmed it with the earnest of the Spirit; which is
the down payment of eternal life. Heb 10:16 “This is
the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their
hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” The old
covenant promised physical riches for obedience and
physical punishment for disobedience. The new
covenant promises eternal life for obedience and
eternal death for disobedience. God the
Father gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites on
Mt. Horeb. God the Word was also on the mountain at
the same time. Exo 24:1 Now He
said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron,
Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel, and worship from afar. Exo 24:2 “And Moses
alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not
come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” Notice,
Moses alone shall come near Jehovah. The Elders
saw the God of Israel, and were not hurt. They even
had a meal in His presence. Exo 24:9 Then Moses
went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy
of the elders of Israel, Exo 24:10 and they
saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet
as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it
was like the very heavens in its clarity. Exo 24:11 But on the
nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His
hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. The Lord
[Jehovah] called Moses up into the mountain. Joshua
went with him some of the way. The Father had already
told Moses that only he was to come near God the
Father. Exo 24:12 Then the
LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain
and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone,
and the law and commandments which I have written,
that you may teach them.” Exo 24:13 So Moses
arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up
to the mountain of God. Notice that
only Moses was allowed to come near the Lord, but he
could not look at Him. Exo 33:20 But He
said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see
Me, and live.” One God
could be looked upon, one could not be looked upon. When God the
Father gave the Ten Commandments, He said He would not
go in the midst of the Israelites to the Promised
Land. God the Word, [who would be born to Mary as
Jesus Christ] went with them. Exo 33:3 “Go up to
a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not
go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way,
for you are a stiff-necked people.” Exo 33:14 And He
said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give
you rest.” Further
proof that God the Father sent Christ as “my
presence”. 1Co 10:1 Moreover,
brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all
our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through
the sea, 1Co 10:2 all were
baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 1Co 10:3 all ate
the same spiritual food, 1Co 10:4 and all
drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of
that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that
Rock was Christ. How plain
the truth of God is, here in the above scriptures is
the plain and simple truth, that God the Father gave
the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. However,
because of their rebellion and stiff-necked attitude,
He said He would not go with them, lest He consume
them on the way. So He would send His presence to go
before them. The presence that He sent was Christ. The whole
exodus is an exact type of our spiritual calling. Just
as God the Father led the Israelites out of Egypt and
handed them over to Christ: so God the Father calls us
out of this world [Egypt] then we are baptised into
Christ. Gal 3:27 For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on
Christ. Joh 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless
the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise
him up at the last day. 1Co 3:23 And you
are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. God the
Father gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, then
handed them over to Christ for the duration of the
time in the wilderness. Moses was still in contact
with God the Father during this time. God the Father
was the actual leader but He did not go in their
midst. God the
Father has called us out of this world, we have been
baptised, accepted Christ’s death, and we have been
given the basic knowledge of His law. We are baptised
into Christ, and receive the down payment of eternal
life. {The earnest of the Spirit.} We are then in the
spiritual wilderness. At this time we are out of this
world [Egypt] but not yet at eternal life [the
Promised Land.] Christ is
our God when we are baptised and receive the down
payment of eternal life. The Holy Spirit of power is
given by God when He decides. This is some time after
we accept the knowledge of the truth and show God we
love, obey and believe this new knowledge. The Spirit
of power is eternal life inherent. CHAPTER 6 THE
WILDERNESS When the
Israelites came out of Egypt they were not at the
Promised Land. The Promised Land was still some forty
years away. During this time the Israelites rebelled
and grumbled and gradually came to disbelieve God.
Their journey through the wilderness coincides with
God’s Church having the earnest of the Spirit. We do
not receive the Spirit of life at baptism, we receive
a small portion of the Spirit so we can obey God. God
will offer us the knowledge of eternal life when we
obey Him. Act 5:32 “And we
are His witnesses to these things, and so also is
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey
Him.” At baptism
we have a limited ability to obey God. The carnal mind
is enmity to God so our obedience is limited prior to
baptism. Christ’s
disciples did not receive the Spirit of life at
baptism; they received it on the day of Pentecost.
They received the down payment of the Spirit at
baptism, and the Spirit of life, or power on the day
of Pentecost. Act 11:15 “And as I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as
upon us at the beginning. Act 2:1 When the
Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with
one accord in one place. Act 2:2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting. Act 2:3 Then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and
one sat upon each of them. Act 2:4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. At baptism
we are guaranteed God’s Spirit as long as we do our
part. God does not give the Spirit of life until He
sees whether or not we will obey Him. The knowledge of
eternal life is the perfect test to see if we will
obey God regardless of the consequences. Remember, the
firstfruits follow Christ wherever He leads. The
following scripture does not say that we receive God’s
Spirit of truth immediately at baptism. The earnest of
the Spirit is usually given at baptism at the laying
on of hands. Act 2:38 Then Peter
said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Act 2:39 “For the
promise is to you and to your children, and to all
who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call.” Repentance
and baptism usually do not take place at the same
time. Receiving the Holy Spirit of life does not take
place immediately after baptism. The disciples did not
receive it at baptism and neither do we. Just as the
Israelites in the wilderness found a leader to try to
take them back to Egypt, so some in the church were
led back to the ways of the world. Those of us who did
not go back to the world have been prey for any person
who wants to gain a following with their own
interpretation of the Gospel. There are literally
hundreds of breakaway churches, each one with their
own slant on doctrine. We are truly
in a time of spiritual wilderness, when everyone is
doing what is right in their own eyes. More than
ever we need someone to say ‘this is the way, walk ye
in it.’ It is
vitally important that we study to show ourselves
approved unto God. It is wrong to blindly follow the
church leaders. 2Ti 2:15 Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth. We must
realise that we will be individually judged. 2Co 5:10 For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive the things done in the
body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad. Following
blindly will not get us into God’s Kingdom. Luk 11:52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you
have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not
enter in yourselves, and those who were entering
in you hindered.” Mat 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom
of heaven against men; for you neither go in
yourselves, nor do you allow those who are
entering to go in. We have to
prove all things, and hold fast to what is good. 1Th 5:21 Test all
things; hold fast what is good. God’s end
time Church will be united. The Church
will eventually be united in faith and the knowledge
of Jesus Christ. Read the following scripture, and
believe it if you will. Eph 4:13 till we
all come to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ; To know
Christ means we will know the Father. Joh 8:19 Then they
said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered,
“You know neither Me nor My
Father. If you had known Me, you would have known
My Father also.” Consider
this scenario: If we receive the Holy Spirit of life
at baptism, anyone who dies straight after baptism
would be in the first resurrection, whether or not
they had developed any character. Imagine all the
people in the Churches of God being firstfruits. What
a disunited group that would be. What about anyone who
left the Church after being baptised. The more we
learn about the Great God, the more we learn how much
love and forgiveness He has. Let me
repeat: just as the Israelites came out of Egypt and
were not yet at the Promised Land, at baptism we come
out of the ways of this world but do not yet have
eternal life. The reason
for the time in the wilderness is made clear in
scripture. This is also the reason that we are in the
spiritual wilderness. No writing could be clearer. An
interesting fact is the knowledge that even though God
the Father did not go through the wilderness in the
midst of the Israelites: He was still the one in
charge. God the Father is in overall charge of His
people even though we are baptised into Christ. Deu 8:2 “And you
shall remember that the LORD your God led you all
the way these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble you and test you, to know what was in your
heart, whether you would keep His commandments or
not. Deu 8:3 “So He
humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you know that man shall not
live by bread alone; but man lives by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Mr.
Armstrong was the physical leader of the Philadelphian
era of God’s church. This era was not given the end
time knowledge of the truth. They were to be kept from
the end time trouble, and they were to hold fast to
‘what they have.’ Rev 3:10 “Because you have kept My
command to persevere, I also will keep you from
the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole
world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Rev 3:11 “Behold, I am coming quickly!
Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your
crown. Mr.
Armstrong held fast to what God revealed to him during
the Philadelphian era of God’s church. No man could
have been more loyal or obedient to God. During this
time Mr. Armstrong faced rebellion after rebellion,
and was always surrounded by disloyalty. He survived
underhanded plots to get rid of him, even from his own
son. Since the death of Mr. Armstrong: there has been
a concerted attempt to deny that he was God’s leader
of the Philadelphian church. The knowledge of
modern-day Israel was given to Mr. Armstrong. There is
also a massive attempt to deny the knowledge that
Great Britain and America are modern day Joseph. The
following scripture is about the physical leader of
the Philadelphian era. Compare it with the account of
the Philadelphian church in Revelation Chapter 3. Isa 22:20 ‘Then it
shall be in that day, That I will call My servant
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; Isa 22:21 I will
clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with
your belt; I will commit your responsibility into
his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem And to the house of Judah. Isa 22:22 The key of
the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he
shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall
shut, and no one shall open. Isa 22:23 I will
fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will
become a glorious throne to his father’s house. Isa 22:24 ‘They will
hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the
offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small
quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. Isa 22:25 ‘In that
day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is
fastened in the secure place will be removed and be
cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it
will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’ ” Mr Armstrong
has a glorious throne waiting for him. The over comers
in the Philadelphian Era will be pillars in the
kingdom of God. Just as
Moses led the physical Israelites through the
wilderness to where the Promised Land was available;
so Mr. Armstrong led the spiritual Israelites through
the spiritual wilderness to where the knowledge of
eternal life is available. Just as Moses was not
allowed to enter the Promised Land; so Mr. Armstrong
was not given the knowledge of eternal life, which is
now revealed. Moses was given a glimpse of the
Promised Land. Perhaps Mr. Armstrong was given a
glimpse of the knowledge of eternal life just prior to
his death. He said a few times just before he died
that he had some astounding things to say, but as far
as I know, he never got a chance to say anything. During the
time in the wilderness, the Israelites were fed on
manna, which was food from Heaven. This is the milk of
the word. We do not get the meat of the word during
this time. When the Israelites wanted meat during the
wilderness, God gave it to them and they could not
handle it. Notice carefully that manna is food from
heaven [God’s word] but eventually we need more. We
need the food of the Promised Land, the knowledge of
eternal life. The
Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness. They
grumbled and griped, and rebelled against God and
Moses all this time. The Generation, that originally
left Egypt, all died before the Promised Land was
entered. Except for Joshua and Caleb. The next
Generation entered the Promised Land. God’s church
has come through the wilderness to where eternal life
is available. God will make eternal life available to
those who believe Him. CHAPTER 7 THE
KEYS
OF THE KINGDOM There are
several clear requirements for eternal life as
required by God. At our baptism we have not fulfilled
these requirements. My wife and I have gone to great
lengths to correctly divide the word of truth. We ask
you not to believe us; believe the Bible, which is the
words of the Great God; He cannot lie. Jesus Christ
will build His church, and will give the keys of the
kingdom. These keys have now been given by Jesus
Christ, at the start of His building of His church.
This is the start of the Laodicean era of God’s
church. Mat 16:19 And I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The keys of
the kingdom have now been revealed by Christ: Each key
is an individual requirement for eternal life. [1] BELIEF. Amazing as
it may appear, we have found that practically no one
believes the Bible. We believe church doctrine, which
does not always stand up under close scrutiny. To
believe the Bible will take us out of our comfort zone
and alienate us from other members. Rev 21:8 But the
cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers,
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” The
unbelievers go in the lake of fire; that shows how God
looks on belief of His word. We can see from this
scripture that belief is a requirement of eternal
life. Believing God is mentioned extremely frequently
in the Bible. The
Israelites did not enter the Promised Land because of
unbelief, their journey is a type of our spiritual
journey, will our unbelief prevent us from entering
into eternal life? Heb 3:18 And to
whom did He swear that they would not enter His
rest, but to those who did not obey? Heb 3:19 So we see
that they could not enter in because of unbelief. [2] FEAR OF
GOD. To fear God
is quite often mentioned in church sermons, when this
subject is looked into it becomes apparent that very
few have a correct fear of God. The correct fear of
God is to stand in awe and reverence of the Almighty
Creator God. The correct fear of God cannot be
feigned, we have to learn to fear God. Deu 4:10 especially
concerning the day you stood before the LORD your
God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the
people to Me, and I will let them hear My words,
that they may learn to fear Me all the days they
live on the earth, and that they may teach their
children.’ Deu 14:23 And you
shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place
where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe
of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the
firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you
may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deu 17:19 And it
shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days
of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his
God and be careful to observe all the words of this
law and these statutes, Rev 11:18 The
nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, And
that You should reward Your servants the prophets
and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small
and great, And should destroy those who destroy the
earth.” The reward
goes to those who fear God’s name. Php 2:12 Therefore,
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling; A person who
fears God [is in awe and reverence] will tremble at
the awesome power of our great God, they will be
afraid to disobey God. [3]
OBEDIENCE. Obedience to
God is a requirement of eternal life. See Phil. 2 v 12
quoted above. Notice the
Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. Act 5:32 And we are
His witnesses to these things, and so also is the
Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey
Him.” Disobedience
leads to the lake of fire. 2Th 1:8 in flaming
fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God,
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 2Th 1:9 These
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
power, [4]
COMMANDMENT KEEPING. Everyone in
God’s church knows we must keep the Commandments and
the Holy Days, so we will not dwell on this subject
except to quote one scripture. Mat 19:17 So He said
to him, “Why do you call Me
good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if
you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments.” Jesus quoted
some of the commandments, but there is plenty of
scriptural proof that all the commandments must be
kept as well as the Holy Days. Commandment keeping,
both physically and spiritually is a requirement of
eternal life. This is also showing love to God. [5] LOVE. Knowledge is
worthless without love. God the Father must be our
first love. If we do not love God we cannot love the
brethren. 1Jn 4:20 If someone
says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a
liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he
has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1Jn 3:14 We know
that we have passed from death to life, because we
love the brethren. He who does not love his brother
abides in death. If we love
the brethren we have passed from death to life. Joh 15:13 Greater love has no one than
this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. Joh 15:14 You are My friends if you do
whatever I command you. Notice who
Jesus’ friends are. We must love all mankind, but God
expects a greater love for the brethren. We cannot
love the brethren without loving God. [6] DOING
GOOD. We will go
into the lake of fire if we don’t do good when it is
in our power to do so. Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those
on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world: Mat 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave Me
food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a
stranger and you took Me in; Mat 25:36 I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and
you came to Me.’ Mat 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer
Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and
feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? Mat 25:38 When did we see You a stranger
and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Mat 25:39 Or when did we see You sick, or
in prison, and come to You?’ Mat 25:40 And the King will answer and say
to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you
did it to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did it to Me.’ Mat 25:41 “Then He will also say to those
on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed,
into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil
and his angels: Mat 25:42 for I was hungry and you gave Me
no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; Mat 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not
take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick
and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Mat 25:44 “Then they also will answer Him,
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not minister to You?’ Mat 25:45 Then He will answer them,
saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you
did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to Me.’ Mat 25:46 And these will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life.” [7] KEEPING
THE PASSOVER. Joh 6:54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks
My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day. By keeping
the Passover we have eternal life. Joh 6:57 As the living Father sent Me,
and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds
on Me will live because of Me. To correctly
keep the Passover we must live by Christ. [Christ must
be the one we emulate and obey.] The Passover must be
kept on the correct day. It is
extremely plain that the Old Testament Passover was
kept [prepared] on the 14th and eaten at the beginning
of the 15th. The New Testament is very clear on the
date of the Passover as well. During the
time in the spiritual wilderness, we keep the Old
Testament Passover meal under the guise of ‘night to
be much observed’ When we accept the knowledge of
eternal life, we will prepare the Passover on the 14th
and eat it at the start of the 15th. Christ and the
disciples kept His last Passover one night early,
because He was the Passover Lamb, and He would be dead
at the correct time for keeping the Passover. Notice that
the Jews were going to keep the Passover at the
correct time, they were going to keep it after the
death of Christ. Joh 18:28 Then they
led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it
was early morning. But they themselves did not go
into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled,
but that they might eat the Passover. [8] KNOWING
GOD THE FATHER AND GOD THE SON. We all know
that knowledge without love is useless; nevertheless
there is knowledge required for eternal life. Love
fulfils the law, it does not replace the law. If you
believe the Bible: You will believe the knowledge of
God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. A friend of
ours had previously shown us, mainly from the book of
Hebrews, that Jesus Christ had not inhabited eternity.
He was from God; ‘from the beginning.’ The implication
of this knowledge was not apparent to me until I began
my study into the Passover. It was only then that John
17 v 3 began to dwell heavily on my mind. It cannot be
quoted any clearer than the Bible quote, and yet it
seems that practically no one believes it. Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent. It might be
a good idea to read every word of that verse until it
sinks in. We have been taught that there are two true
Gods. IT IS A
REQUIREMENT OF ETERNAL LIFE THAT WE KNOW THE ONE
TRUE GOD AND JESUS CHRIST. God the
Father is the one true God. Jesus Christ is the Son of
the true God. 1Th 1:9 For they
themselves declare concerning us what manner of
entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from
idols to serve the living and true God, 1Th 1:10 and to
wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from
the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath
to come. Christ is
from the true God. Joh 7:28 Then Jesus
cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know
where I am from; and I have not come of Myself,
but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. Joh 7:29 But I know Him, for I am from
Him, and He sent Me.” The
following two verses call Jesus Christ true, not true
as in eternally existing God, but true in how He
teaches the way of God. The Bible says quite plainly
in John 17 v 3 that there is only one true God. The
Greek word used in the following two verses to show
that Christ is true; is different from the word that
shows God the Father is true. Mat 22:16 And they
sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians,
saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and
teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about
anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Mar 12:14 When they
had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that
You are true, and care about no one; for You do not
regard the person of men, but teach the way of God
in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or
not? There is
only one who has inhabited eternity. Isa 57:15 For thus
says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy
place, With him who has a contrite and humble
spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to
revive the heart of the contrite ones. The Bible
says plainly that there is only one true God, there is
only one who has inhabited eternity. The Bible also is
plain that Jesus Christ [God the Word] has not
inhabited eternity. It is extremely clear in the Bible
that Jesus Christ is God, it is also clear that Christ
is not from eternity. He is from the Father. This is
plainly stated by Christ plenty of times in the
Gospels. Joh 7:29 But I know Him, for I am from
Him, and He sent Me.” Read the
following scriptures carefully, they show where and
when Jesus Christ came into being. Jesus Christ
is; ‘from the beginning’ Beginning means commencement,
Christ had a commencement. Notice also that Christ
[the Word] was with the Father in the beginning. 1Jn 1:1 That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the
Word of life 1Jn 1:2 the life
was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness,
and declare to you that eternal life which was with
the Father and was manifested to us 1Jn 1:3 that which
we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you
also may have fellowship with us; and truly our
fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus
Christ. Compare John
1 v 1 with Gen. 1 v 1. We have no trouble knowing that
the Creation had a commencement [in the beginning] we
use the same words in John 1 v 1 to say that Christ
has eternally existed. We have been wrong: Christ is
from the beginning. He is also from the Father. Jesus Christ
is the Son of God prior to Creation. This knowledge is
revealed by God. The knowledge of who Christ is will
be the rock on which Christ will build His church. The
gates of hell will not stop this knowledge. Satan is
going to hate this knowledge going out to the true
church of God, but nonetheless it will go out and will
form the foundational beliefs of the end time church.
The Laodicean Church. CHRIST WILL
BUILD HIS CHURCH ON THE ROCK OF WHO HE IS. Mat 16:13 When Jesus
came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked
His disciples, saying, “Who
do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Mat 16:14 So they
said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and
others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Mat 16:15 He said to
them, “But who do you say that I am?” Mat 16:16 Simon
Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.” Mat 16:17 Jesus
answered and said to him, “Blessed
are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in
heaven. Mat 16:18 And I also say to you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build My
church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it. Notice also
that Christ will give the keys of the kingdom to His
church, and that is what you are reading right now. Mat 16:19 And I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” God made the
worlds by His Son. Heb 1:1 God, who
at various times and in various ways spoke in time
past to the fathers by the prophets, Heb 1:2 has in
these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; The Son of
God is mentioned in the Old Testament. Note carefully
that Nebuchadnezzar is talking about the Most High
God, God the Father. He is not talking about a son of
a pagan God. Dan 3:25 “Look!” he
answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the
midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the
form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Dan 3:26 Then
Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning
fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come
out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. The
following verse states plainly that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God prior to being born of Mary. Pro 30:4 Who has
ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered
the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a
garment? Who has established all the ends of the
earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know? [9] LOVE OF
THE TRUTH. If we don’t
love the truth; we will not be saved. 2Th 2:10 and with
all unrighteous deception among those who perish,
because they did not receive the love of the truth,
that they might be saved. 2Th 2:11 And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that
they should believe the lie, 2Th 2:12 that they
all may be condemned who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness. [10] FAITH. Faith is a
requirement of God, it is proof that God’s word will
come to pass. Heb 11:1 Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. The grace of
God, which is unmerited pardon, is received through
faith. Eph 2:8 For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he
who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The keys of
the kingdom are God’s requirements for eternal life.
We will not be in God’s kingdom unless we believe and
keep every one. They are, in no particular order. [1] Belief [2] Fear
[being in awe and reverence] of God [3]
Obedience to God [4]
Commandment keeping [5] Love [6] Doing
good [7] Keeping
Passover correctly [8] Knowing
God the Father and God the Son [9] Love of
the truth [10] Faith COMMENT. The
firstfruits are those who follow Christ wherever He
leads. Rev. 14 v 4. The knowledge of God and Christ is
revealed knowledge. This knowledge has come to light
in the Laodicean era of God’s church, the era least
likely to accept it. The Philadelphian era was not
given this knowledge. The over comers in that era are
kept from Jacob’s Trouble. Rev. 3 v 10. Their reward
is not as good as the Laodicean era. We are in the era
that will see Jacob’s trouble and the Day of the Lord. You have
just received the knowledge that God requires, to be a
firstfruit. It is useless to have zeal towards God
without knowledge. This is revealed knowledge not
academic knowledge. We must come to the knowledge of
the truth. The Bible
states, dozens of times that Christ is from the
Father, and that Christ is the Son of God, Christ is
from the beginning, and there is only one true God. Heb 10:26 For if we
sin willfully after we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, This article
has given the knowledge of the truth. To those with
eyes to see, God is offering us the chance to be
firstfruits. There can be no greater offer ever made.
This is the knowledge of eternal life and also eternal
death. God is not interested in part time or hobby
Christians. He demands 100% commitment. It seems
that the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
from the beginning has been hidden since the time of
the Apostles. Luk 11:52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you
have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not
enter in yourselves, and those who were entering
in you hindered.” God
chastised the first era mentioned in the book of
Revelation for leaving their first love. God the
Father is the first love. Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against
you, that you have left your first love. The
Philadelphian era of God’s church had to hold fast to
what they had. That era, which has passed with the
death of Mr. Armstrong, did not have this knowledge of
the truth. Rev 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly!
Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your
crown. The truth
can be opened to anyone who [figuratively] hears
Christ’s voice. In the Laodicean era: Christ is
knocking. We can let Him in. Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me. My wife and
I have gone to a great deal of trouble to correctly
divide the word of truth. We are well aware of the
penalty for putting our ideas into God’s word. We will
not knowingly misquote a scripture. Do not
believe me --------believe God--------He cannot lie. With this
knowledge comes great responsibility. Don’t let God
down. We will look
at some scriptures that are traditionally used to
state that Jesus Christ has inhabited eternity with
the Great God. I will quote the scriptures and then
give a comment. Mic 5:2 “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the
thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth
to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings
forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Pro 8:23 I have
been established from everlasting, From the
beginning, before there was ever an earth. In the
concordance, the Hebrew word used for Everlasting can
mean from the beginning. Heb 13:8 Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Act 7:28 DO YOU
WANT TO KILL ME AS YOU DID THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?’ In the
concordance, the Hebrew word used for Yesterday can
mean in time past. Php 2:6 who, being
in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to
be equal with God, Joh 14:28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I
am going away and coming back to you.’ If you
loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am
going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater
than I. Read this
next verse carefully; Christ said He was equal with
God, He also said that God was His Father. Joh 5:18 Therefore
the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He
not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God
was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Christ is
God. He is not equal in power or authority to the
Great God. Just as a physical son is equal to his
father; so a spiritual Son is equal to His Father.
Read Phil. 2 v 6. Again, Christ was in the form of
God. Once He was born of the Father He was in the form
of God. Joh 10:30 I and My Father are one.” God and
Christ are in complete agreement in everything they
do. Christ speaks the Father’s words. They are
separate Gods, one a Father, and one a Son. They are
two Gods, not one God. Gen 1:1 In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Joh 1:1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. We have no
trouble knowing that creation had a beginning, but we
have used the word ‘beginning’ in John 1 v 1 to mean
‘from eternity.’ It does not mean from eternity, it
means what it says. Joh 8:58 Jesus said
to them, “Most assuredly, I
say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” ‘I AM’ means
I exist. Christ is saying in this verse that He
existed before Abraham. Heb 7:3 without
father, without mother, without genealogy, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made
like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. This is
talking about Melchisedec. Read it again it’s talking
about physical parents, physical ancestors and
physical life. Melchisedec was not born of physical
parents. He did not have beginning of days because he
was created by God before days were in existence.
Melchisedec is not Christ. Christ had end of days when
He was crucified. Also he was made like the Son of God
{Christ.} Melchisedec was like Christ. The
following scripture is the words of God the Father. He
was working before the creation of day and night.
Angels were created before day and night were created. Isa 43:13 Indeed
before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who
can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will
reverse it?” CHAPTER 8 CROSSING
THE
JORDAN As we have
seen, the Exodus from Egypt is a type of our spiritual
calling and coming out of the world. Crossing of the
Red Sea is a type of our baptism. Once the Israelites
had crossed the Red Sea, the Promised Land was
available, this is a type of receiving the Holy Spirit
of promise, and eternal life is available. The Spirit
of promise will enable us to understand God’s word,
grow in grace and knowledge, overcome, believe God,
and obey, have faith and love. Just as God
gave the Israelites all they needed physically to
journey to the shores of the Jordan, so when God gives
the Holy Spirit of promise, we are given all we need
spiritually to journey to eternal life. The
wandering through the wilderness for 40 years is a
type of our lives as we have the day to day trials and
tests. God tests us as long as He chooses to see if
our heart is right and if we believe Him and are
prepared to obey Him. Deu 8:2 And you
shall remember that the LORD your God led you all
the way these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble you and test you, to know what was in your
heart, whether you would keep His commandments or
not. We see quite
plainly by the above scripture why God had the
Israelites wander for 40 years, now we must apply that
to us, once we are baptised we are to wander for a
period known only to God, for what purpose?……… to
humble us, prove us, to know what is in our heart, and
whether we will keep His commandments or not. This could
take many years, this is up to God. It is also up to
us. During this time of wandering, God fed the
Israelites on manna, this is a soft food and is a type
of receiving the milk of the word. The people were not
ready for strong meat. So it is with us, we have only
had the milk until now. The food of the Promised Land
{Eternal Life} is available once we accept the
knowledge of Eternal Life. Jos 5:12 Then the
manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the
produce of the land; and the children of Israel no
longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land
of Canaan that year. The manna
was food from God just as the teachings, until this
time, have been from Mr. Armstrong, which have been
inspired by God. Once we show
God that we want the Promised Land, that we want the
Holy Spirit and God is as sure as He can be, that we
will believe and obey Him, He offers us the knowledge
of eternal life. An extremely
important factor at this point is that we BELIEVE GOD,
this is stated over and over again through the
scriptures. It is vitally important that we believe
God, if we want Eternal Life. Without belief we cannot
enter the Promised Land. Notice what
happened when the spies were sent into the Promised
Land to spy it out… Num 13:1 And the
LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Num 13:2 “Send men
to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to
the children of Israel; from each tribe of their
fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader
among them.” Num 13:25 And they
returned from spying out the land after forty days. Num 13:26 Now they
departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all
the congregation of the children of Israel in the
Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back
word to them and to all the congregation, and showed
them the fruit of the land. Num 13:27 Then they
told him, and said: “We went to the land where you
sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and
this is its fruit. Num 13:28 Nevertheless
the people who dwell in the land are strong; the
cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw
the descendants of Anak there. Num 13:29 The
Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the
Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in
the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea
and along the banks of the Jordan.” Num 13:31 But the
men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able
to go up against the people, for they are stronger
than we.” Num 13:32 And they
gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land
which they had spied out, saying, “The land through
which we have gone as spies is a land that devours
its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in
it are men of great stature. Num 13:33 There we
saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from
the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our
own sight, and so we were in their sight.” The spies
brought back a bad report of the Promised Land; they
did not want it. We must be
like Joshua and Caleb, and bring back a good report of
the Promised Land, they wanted to enter the Promised
Land. Notice the
wonderful attitude that Caleb and Joshua had in the
following verses. Num 13:30 Then Caleb
quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us
go up at once and take possession, for we are well
able to overcome it.” Num 14:7 and they
spoke to all the congregation of the children of
Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy
out is an exceedingly good land. Num 14:8 If the
LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this
land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with
milk and honey.’ Num 14:9 Only do
not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of
the land, for they are our bread; their protection
has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do
not fear them.” Num 14:30 Except for
Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of
Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I
swore I would make you dwell in. Now notice
the rebellious and stiff-necked attitude of the
Israelites, when confronted with the truth, they
couldn’t handle it so they wanted to return to Egypt;
go back to the ways of the world. Num 14:4 So they
said to one another, “Let us select a leader and
return to Egypt.” This
rejection of the Promised Land has again happened to
God’s Church, as we have seen recently so many that
once believed and followed God, turned back and
returned to Egypt, like a dog going back to it’s
vomit. Are we going
to have a bad report about the Promised Land and
return to Egypt or stay in the wilderness? Or are we
going to be like Joshua and Caleb, and be full of
courage and strength and march on into the Promised
Land? Jos 14:7 I was
forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD
sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and
I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Jos 14:8 Nevertheless
my brethren who went up with me made the heart of
the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my
God. Jos 14:9 So Moses
swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where
your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and
your children’s forever, because you have wholly
followed the LORD my God.’ God is
extremely careful when He gives the Holy Spirit
because once we have it there are severe penalties if
we fall away from the truth. Heb 6:4 For it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and
have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit, Heb 6:5 and have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the
age to come, Heb 6:6 if they
fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since
they crucify again for themselves the Son of God,
and put Him to an open shame. In Joshua
Chapter 1 we read that Joshua was told three times by
God to be strong and courageous. This is then repeated
again only this time the Israelites told Joshua to be
strong and courageous in verse 18. To continue our
journey into the Promised Land requires strength and
courage. We must make
our calling and election sure. 2Pe 1:10 Therefore,
brethren, be even more diligent to make your call
and election sure, for if you do these things you
will never stumble; Note also. Mat 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for
wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads
to destruction, and there are many who go in by
it. Mat 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and
difficult is the way which leads to life, and
there are few who find it. Jos 3:3 and they
commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark
of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the
priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set
out from your place and go after it. Jos 3:4 Yet there
shall be a space between you and it, about two
thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it,
that you may know the way by which you must go, for
you have not passed this way before.” The
Israelites were told to follow the Ark of the Covenant
{which was carried by the Priests} because they did
not know the way to go. This is a type of God’s word
leading His people for example. They would be lost if
they did not follow the Ark. We will be
lost if we don’t follow God, where ever He leads. The
Israelites had not entered the Promised Land before,
so it is with God’s people, they have not been given
access to the Promised Land, which is Eternal Life,
before. God must show us, we must be willing to follow
God where He leads us. The Priests
were given the responsibility of carrying the Ark,
just as today the Priests are entrusted with the words
of God, and leading the people into truth. Once Joshua
reached the shores of the Jordan River an amazing
event occurred. Jos 3:8 You shall
command the priests who bear the ark of the
covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of
the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the
Jordan.’ ” Jos 3:9 So Joshua
said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear
the words of the LORD your God.” Jos 3:10 And Joshua
said, “By this you shall know that the living God is
among you, and that He will without fail drive out
from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and
the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites
and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Jos 3:11 Behold,
the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth
is crossing over before you into the Jordan. These verses
say that the Priests and the Israelites could not
cross the Jordan till they heard the words of God
described in Josh 4 v 10. The Priests and the
Israelites had to hear what the Lord had commanded
Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that
Moses had commanded Joshua. If we want to receive
God’s Holy Spirit and enter the Promised Land, and
receive Eternal Life, we must hear and accept the
knowledge of eternal life. Jos 3:13 And it
shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet
of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the
Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of
the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be
cut off, the waters that come down from upstream,
and they shall stand as a heap.” Jos 3:14 So it was,
when the people set out from their camp to cross
over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of
the covenant before the people, Jos 3:15 and as
those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the
feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the
edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its
banks during the whole time of harvest), Jos 3:16 that the
waters which came down from upstream stood still,
and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city
that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down
into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed,
and were cut off; and the people crossed over
opposite Jericho. There will
eventually be a famine of hearing the Word of God,
this is represented by the waters closing after all
the people had crossed the Jordan. Jos 4:18 And it
came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of
the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of
the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet
touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan
returned to their place and overflowed all its banks
as before. Just as the
path to the Promised Land was cut off, so will God’s
word be cut off some time in the future. Isa 55:6 Seek the
LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He
is near. God will not
wait forever, while we procrastinate, while we allow
the cares of this world to come before our Bible
study, prayer and meditation. Either we serve God or
we don’t. Once the
people crossed over the Jordan they entered the
Promised Land. This is a type of us receiving the Holy
Spirit and receiving Eternal Life inherent. Note
carefully, the complete Passover service is involved
in entering the Promised Land. The Wave Sheaf ceremony
is included for the first time when the Promised Land
is reached. The
following scripture shows some very amazing events. Jos 5:10 Now the
children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the
Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at
twilight on the plains of Jericho. Jos 5:11 And they
ate of the produce of the land on the day after the
Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the
very same day. Jos 5:12 Then the
manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the
produce of the land; and the children of Israel no
longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land
of Canaan that year. Firstly we
see the Israelites keep the Passover, followed by the
first celebration of the Wave Sheaf. Verse 11 this was
spoken of in Leviticus. Lev 23:10 “Speak to
the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you
come into the land which I give to you, and reap its
harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. This was not
to be kept until the Israelites entered the Promised
Land. This is a type of how God’s people will keep the
Wave Sheaf ceremony when they accept the knowledge of
Eternal Life. God decides when this will be for each
person. He will also decide when they will receive the
Holy Spirit of power which is eternal life inherent. CHAPTER 9 THE
WAVE
SHEAF One of the
mysteries of the Old Testament is the ceremony of the
Wave Sheaf. The Wave Sheaf ceremony is a ‘statute
forever’ just as the Passover is, yet we have only
kept the Passover. The reason for this is absolutely
amazing, it is revealed clearly in scripture to those
who love the truth. Lev 23:10 “Speak to
the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you
come into the land which I give to you, and reap its
harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. Lev 23:11 He shall
wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on
your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest
shall wave it. Lev 23:12 And you
shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a
male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a
burnt offering to the LORD. Lev 23:13 Its grain
offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine
flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to
the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering
shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. Lev 23:14 You shall
eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain
until the same day that you have brought an offering
to your God; it shall be a statute forever
throughout your generations in all your dwellings. The Old
Testament Wave Sheaf pictures a sheaf of the
firstfruits of the harvest to be waved before the Lord
[God the Father] to be accepted for the Israelites.
There is to be no grain eaten in any form prior to the
sheaf being offered. The actual fulfilment of the Wave
Sheaf by Jesus Christ shows that the Sabbath mentioned
in Lev. 23 v 11 is the weekly Sabbath after His
crucifixion. The Wave
Sheaf pictures Jesus Christ offering Himself to the
Father on behalf of God’s people. The
transfiguration mentioned in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 has
never been understood until now. The understanding of
the transfiguration will help us to understand the
true meaning of the Wave Sheaf. Mar 9:2 Now after
six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led
them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and
He was transfigured before them. Mar 9:3 His
clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like
snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Mar 9:4 And Elijah
appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking
with Jesus. The reason
that it has not been understood until now is given in
Mark. Mar 9:9 Now as
they came down from the mountain, He commanded them
that they should tell no one the things they had
seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. The true
knowledge of the raising of Christ is now revealed, so
we can be told about the transfiguration of Christ.
The one to tell us will be, either: Peter, James, or
John. The Apostle Peter tells us. 2Pe 1:16 For we did
not follow cunningly devised fables when we made
known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 2Pe 1:17 For He
received from God the Father honor and glory when
such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 2Pe 1:18 And we
heard this voice which came from heaven when we were
with Him on the holy mountain. 2Pe 1:19 And so we
have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well
to heed as a light that shines in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts; 2Pe 1:20 knowing
this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation, 2Pe 1:21 for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The
transfiguration of Jesus Christ, and Moses, and
Elijah, was the time that God the Father gave Christ
honour and glory, even though Christ had not yet been
crucified; God made this promise in advance. The
transfiguration is also a time when we are warned not
to interpret prophecy, but to let God interpret it. Back to the
Wave Sheaf. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Wave Sheaf on
the Sunday morning after He was raised. Joh 20:1 Now the
first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the
tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that
the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Joh 20:17 Jesus said
to her, “Do not cling to
Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but
go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending
to My Father and your Father, and to My God and
your God.’ ” Read the
above scripture carefully. This is where Christ’s God
becomes our God. Christ ascends to the Father to be
accepted for us. Remember that at our baptism, we are
baptised into Christ. Christ is our God until He
ascends to the Father. The
Passover, which is kept, prior to the knowledge of the
truth being revealed, pictures us being reconciled to
God the Father. When the complete Passover ceremony is
kept on the correct day, and includes the Wave Sheaf
ceremony; it shows quite clearly that we are saved by
Christ’s life. This ceremony is part of the knowledge
of the truth. The Wave
Sheaf ceremony will not be kept until we accept the
knowledge of eternal life. Rom 5:10 For if
when we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. On the day
of Christ’s ascension to the Father on behalf of the
apostles, Jesus breathed on them and said ‘receive the
Holy Spirit.’ They did not actually receive the Holy
Spirit until the Day of Pentecost, fifty days later. Joh 20:22 And when
He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to
them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. Just as God
gave honour and glory to Christ at the
transfiguration, prior to His crucifixion, so Christ
promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples fifty days
prior to them actually receiving it. The
knowledge of eternal life gives an insight of the
tremendous love that God has for His creation. Eternal
death comes from blaspheming the Holy Spirit. At our
baptism we receive the earnest or down payment of
God’s Spirit. This means that if we leave the church
at this time, we have not committed the unpardonable
sin. God is far from pleased with those who turn back
from Him, and He puts them on a par with idol
worshippers. These people will get a chance at
salvation at some later date. It will be a much lesser
reward than they were originally offered. Note verse
six in the following quote. Zep 1:2 “I will
utterly consume everything From the face of the
land,” Says the LORD; Zep 1:3 “I will
consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of
the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling
blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man
from the face of the land,” Says the LORD. Zep 1:4 “I will
stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every
trace of Baal from this place, The names of the
idolatrous priests with the pagan priests Zep 1:5 Those who
worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those
who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who
also swear by Milcom; Zep 1:6 Those who
have turned back from following the LORD, And have
not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him.” Also, the
parable of the prodigal son proves that if you leave
God and go into the world; you can come back to God.
This is different from an apparent conflicting
scripture that says if you sin wilfully after
receiving knowledge of the truth there remains no more
sacrifice for sin. That is because the scripture
quoted in Hebrews is referring to once we receive the
Holy Spirit of power. Heb 10:26 For if we
sin willfully after we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, The answer
is plain, during the time in the wilderness it is
possible to leave God and come back. After receiving
the knowledge of the truth, we cannot leave God and
come back. God has a
set date for all the Holy days, except the day of
Pentecost. This is because the time of receiving the
Holy Spirit depends on when God offers us the
Knowledge of the truth. This time will vary and
depends on our obedience and belief of God’s word.
Jesus’ Disciples received the Holy Spirit after about
three and a half years from baptism. The time of the
Wave Sheaf is always on Sunday morning during the days
of Unleavened Bread, this is not always three days
from the Passover. When we accept the knowledge of the
truth, we will begin eating the New Testament Passover
at the beginning of the 15th Nisan. The Wave
Sheaf pictures the time that God the Father accepts us
into His Kingdom. From that point it is imperative
that we persevere to the end regardless of the
physical outcome. The Apostles were mostly put to
death, and that is quite likely what will happen to
those who accept God’s Spirit. Once we
receive God’s Spirit of life THERE IS NO TURNING BACK. The
following scripture can now be understood. Jos 5:13 And it
came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he
lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood
opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And
Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us
or for our adversaries?” Jos 5:14 So He
said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD
I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the
earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my
Lord say to His servant?” Jos 5:15 Then the
Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take
your sandal off your foot, for the place where you
stand is holy.” And Joshua did so. This is God
the Word speaking. Joshua saw and worshipped the man.
It was not God the Father as the Father cannot be
looked upon. When the
Almighty God was revealed as Jehovah, prior to the
Exodus: God the Father spoke out of the bush [And He
said, do not come near here. Pull off your sandals
from your feet, for the place on which you stand is
holy ground.] When God
revealed Himself as Jehovah at the burning bush, Moses
had to take off his shoes because it was holy ground. When the
Israelites entered the Promised Land, Jehovah once
again was in the midst of the Israelites, and God the
Word said ‘take off your shoes, this is holy ground.’
The man with the sword is God the Word, and is
confirming that Jehovah is once again with the
Israelites. If you read on in Joshua Chapter 6 you
will notice that God the Father was also there and He
spoke to Joshua. Compare the
following two scriptures. Exo 33:3 Go up to a
land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go
up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for
you are a stiff-necked people.” Jos 3:10 And Joshua
said, “By this you shall know that the living God is
among you, and that He will without fail drive out
from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and
the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites
and the Amorites and the Jebusites: The same
word is used for ‘midst’ in the first verse and
‘among’ in the second verse. During the exodus God the
Father was not in the midst of the Israelites. When
they entered the Promised Land God the Father once
again was in the midst of the Israelites. Compare
these two scriptures. Gal 3:27 For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on
Christ. At our
baptism, we have Christ for our God. We receive the
earnest of the Spirit. Later, when we receive the
Spirit of power [or qualify to receive it by believing
the knowledge of the truth] God the Father becomes our
God. Joh 20:17 Jesus said
to her, “Do not cling to
Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but
go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending
to My Father and your Father, and to My God and
your God.’ ” The reader
needs to understand there is a huge difference between
the two phases of the Spirit of God, the first phase,
the earnest of the Spirit, enables us to understand
and grow, the second phase: the Holy Spirit of power,
is eternal life inherent, before we receive this, we
must believe, obey and love the knowledge of the
truth. Heb 10:26 For if we
sin willfully after we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, CHAPTER 10 THE
CHOSEN
ONES The complete
exodus is an exact parallel of our Christian journey
to eternal life. The exodus makes plain the good news
of the Kingdom of God. God the
Father calls us out of the ways of this evil world. We
are blinded while we are in this world. We are
baptised into Christ, our sins are forgiven and we
receive the earnest of God’s Spirit, which is the down
payment of eternal life. The earnest of the Spirit
enables us to obey God, which we cannot do in our
carnal state. During this time: Jesus Christ is our
God. God tests us during this time to see if we will
obey Him. In God’s time we are offered the knowledge
of the truth, which is the knowledge of eternal life.
We must believe this knowledge to receive the second
phase of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of power,
which is eternal life inherent. By keeping
the Passover we are showing God that we accept
Christ’s sacrifice. The Wave Sheaf pictures God
accepting us into His Kingdom, because of Christ
offering Himself to God on our behalf. In a
nutshell, the Passover shows us accepting God: the
Wave Sheaf shows God accepting us. This is when God
the Father becomes our God. After
receiving eternal life inherent in the form of God’s
Spirit of power, we must then persevere to the end.
This is the time that we will be hated in the world. A
lot of God’s Firstfruits will be put to death. This is
when our biggest trials will come. This knowledge is
given to the Laodicean era of God’s church, this era
will see the time of Jacob’s trouble and the Day of
the Lord, and the return of Christ. This era
will also see the watchman who gives the prophecies of
Ezekiel; to the English-speaking people, to forewarn
them of the coming trouble. It will see
Elijah, who will restore all things. It will see
the two witnesses who will prophesy with great power
for almost three and a half years. This article
has given the knowledge of the truth, which is the
knowledge of eternal life. God makes eternal life
freely available to those who believe Him and have the
courage to step out in faith to obey Him. There is
nothing better in the vast universe that God can offer
us, yet it seems likely that only the very few will
believe the Bible and accept this offer to be
Firstfruits to God and Christ in the Kingdom of God. This offer
from God to those in the spiritual wilderness will not
last forever. The Jordan River will close and the
chance to be Firstfruits to God and Christ in the
Kingdom of God will be gone forever. At the
introduction of this article I quoted four scriptures
that showed Moses is the key to the knowledge of the
truth, I now ask you to read the following scriptures
carefully. Exo 32:12 Why should
the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out
to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from
Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your
people. Ex. 32 v 12
Is talking about the exodus. [A check of the chapter
will confirm that.] Deu 32:12 So the
LORD alone led him, And there was no foreign god
with him. Isa 43:10 “You are
My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I
have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And
understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God
formed, Nor shall there be after Me. Isa 43:11 I, even I,
am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. Isa 43:12 I have
declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was
no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My
witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God. Isa 43:13 Indeed
before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who
can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will
reverse it?” This
scripture is absolutely breathtaking. The Bible is
telling us that the Lord [Jehovah] has been revealed
as the only true God, and it also says that the Lord
has showed the knowledge of the exodus [the time when
there was no strange God.] It also
shows who are God’s witnesses that there is one true
God. Read the following verses: The chosen ones, God’s
Elect, are the ones who know that there is one true
God. The chosen
ones are chosen from the called ones. Mat 20:16 So the last will be first, and
the first last. For many are called, but few
chosen.” God’s elect
are the chosen ones. Mar 13:20 And unless the Lord had
shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but
for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened
the days. God’s chosen
ones believe the truth. 2Th 2:13 But we are
bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren
beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning
chose you for salvation through sanctification by
the Spirit and belief in the truth, The called
ones are not necessarily the chosen ones. Rev 17:14 These will
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome
them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and
those who are with Him are called, chosen, and
faithful.” God’s elect
have the foreknowledge of God the Father. 1Pe 1:2 elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in
sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to
you and peace be multiplied. God’s elect
are chosen from the called out ones. God’s called
ones can believe the truth, and should believe the
truth. We, who have been called by God, can be chosen,
by accepting the truth. We then must be faithful, and
persevere to the end. The
‘knowledge of the truth’ has been revealed by the
Great God. Jesus Christ will decide when to build the
Laodicean church. This Laodicean church will see the
coming of God the Father, and the coming of Jesus
Christ. The knowledge, which has started as a mustard
seed will eventually fill the whole universe. There will
come a time when the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord. Isa 11:9 They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea. Jesus Christ
is building His church on the knowledge that He is the
Son of the one true God, from the beginning. Jesus Christ
has revealed the keys of the kingdom. The
scriptures that were right for the Philadelphian era
are now superseded, as God uses the living book to
reveal the knowledge of the truth, which is the
knowledge of eternal life. The new truths are bound in
heaven, and the old truths, which were right for the
Philadelphia era, are now loosed in heaven. Mat 16:19 And I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Christ is
building His church on knowledge at the time of
writing: He will give the numbers at His appointed
time. There can be
no greater reward offered by the Great God of the
Universe: than to be Firstfruits in His Kingdom. The
firstfruits will be those who will help the Father and
Christ to bring about the following verse. The
universe will eventually be full of the knowledge of
the truth, we are the firstfruits we have that
knowledge, let us do all to make our calling and
election sure. 1Ti 2:4 who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. |