Jesus in Exodus 17

Once you become aware of types in Scripture, you cannot help but see them.  I am re-reading Exodus, and was already familiar with the “rock in the wilderness” as a type for Christ in Exodus 17:6.  In this passage, Moses strikes the rock to quench the thirst of the Israelites, which many commentaries state is a type for Christ’s death.  The water is said to symbolize both Christ's side being pierced, and the Holy Spirit. 

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Two verses later in this chapter, I came across an image that really jumped off the page as a much clearer type for the crucifixion of Christ.  It is the story of how Moses helps Joshua overcome Amalek and his people in Exodus 17:8-12:

⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun (emphasis added).

Chuck Smith points out in his commentary that Amalek was the grandson of Esau, who was of the fleshly seed; making Amalek a type for the flesh.  Both Smith and Ray Stedman have written that these passages describe a battle against the flesh.  In his commentary, Matthew Henry writes that Moses has his arms lifted because he was praying, but Scripture does not say this directly.  In the book of Numbers, Scripture does describe two occasions when Moses prayed: 

And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. (Numbers 11:2)

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (Numbers 21:7)

It sounds like the battle against Amalek was a long one, because Exodus 17:12 clearly communicates that Moses suffered considerable strain.  Just as our Lord suffered terrible physical strain when he was hung upon that cross at Calvary. 

I wonder if the Lord is telling us in Exodus 17:6 and Exodus 17:8-12 that because of Christ’s death, as believers we receive the Holy Spirit, which helps us battle against the flesh to “win” salvation of our soul?

Is The Outer Darkness Eternal?

When I am researching one topic in Scripture, it often leads me to another.  While putting together my previous post about the outer darkness, I made a mental note to do a word search for “eternal.”*  I was specifically looking for passages where Jesus talks about eternal punishment or eternal damnation. 

Here is what I found:

Matthew 25:46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

This passage refers to the second coming, the time when Jesus returns to earth to establish His millennial kingdom, and will judge the nations; separating the sheep from the goats.  The goat nations are the ones that will receive everlasting punishment, while the sheep nations will be permitted to enter the millennial kingdom — and as saved nations — will receive eternal life.

Mark 3:29: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

In this passage, Jesus is addressing the experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem.  In his commentary, Guzik states that these scribes were an official delegation of experts who came to observe and assess the ministry of Jesus, and that that many people valued their opinions.  Jesus was telling them that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin that will never be forgiven, and results in eternal damnation.

While the passage below is not from Jesus directly, I am adding it for clarity.

Jude 1:7: Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

We are being told to remember God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha.  This is a pretty strong warning that while God is loving, He is also a God of judgment.  

Jude 1:14-15 further states:

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

After looking at these passages, I am even more convinced that the outer darkness is not hell, or a place of eternal damnation.  The three passages that mention outer darkness (Matthew 8:12, Matthew 22:13, and Matthew 25:30) provide no indication that the outer darkness is place of eternal punishment.

 

*When I do a word search, I start at BibleGateway, then go to the NET Bible website (I prefer the classic version) to see what the actual Hebrew or Greek words are.  The Net translators provide their translations, along with definitions from Strong.  It is a great tool to see if the same word is being used in multiple passages you are researching, or whether they are different words.  In this case, the same word was used for eternal in all the passages above.

Jesus in Genesis: Joseph, Moses & Enoch

I love finding examples of types in the Old Testament, but I have to admit that I do not always see them.  Then when an author points them out to me, I think “How could I have not seen it?” 

In this case the author is Clarence Larkin, author of “Dispensational Truth: God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages.”  I have written previously that Joseph is a type for Christ.  Larkin expands this further by writing that Joseph took a Gentile bride (Asenath) during the time when his brothers rejected him, which was before the famine, a type for the tribulation.  To complete the type, Jesus must also come for his bride before the tribulation.

Larkin goes on to say that Moses is also a type of Christ who took his Gentile bride after being rejected by his brethren, but before they went through their trials under Pharoah, another type for the tribulation.

Enoch was caught out before the flood, which is a type of the rapture of the saints before the tribulation.  Larkin also writes that Noah and his family represent the Jewish remnant; the 144,000 who are sealed and preserved through the tribulation.

I know there are some scholars who believe that the study of types is not a correct method for exegesis of Scripture.  But when you see the repetition of types that relate to the bride of Christ, the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming of Christ, and His millennial kingdom, you know in your heart that they are not merely coincidences, and that God orchestrated all of these events to tell us His story.

Jesus Provides the Signs of His Return

My pulse quickens when I read the words of men who love and study Scripture, and write passionately about our blessed hope, which is the return of our Lord. These writers that I speak of may be hard to find in mainstream bookstores because they penned their tomes more than 150 years ago (in fact, I did a Google search on “bestselling Christian books” and could not find one book about His second coming).

Fortunately, many of these wonderful books are now available in the public domain, and a lot of them can be downloaded for free to your computer or ebook reader, thanks to Google Books. 

At the moment, I am reading G.H. Pember’s book, "The Great Prophecies Concerning the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Church of God,” and I was struck by his statement that the signs of Jesus’ first coming are not as fully depicted in Scripture as those of His second.

That inspired me to run to the gospels to see what Jesus says about His second coming. I found at least 25 passages where Jesus either refers to His return in the clouds during the rapture (when believers will be gathered up to meet Him in the air) or the second advent, when He will come in the clouds again, but this time will physically stand on the earth and rule and reign with His bride when He establishes His millennial kingdom. 

What are these signs that Jesus speaks of?  Here are few:

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:27)

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

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors . (Matthew 24:32-33) 

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:37-39) 

Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matthew 26:64) 

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark 13:24-27) 

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  (Luke 17:26-30) 

In Luke 12:56, Jesus says, “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?”

Jesus was talking about His first advent in that passage, but if He were to return today, I believe He might have a similar rebuke for many professed believers. This should not be a surprise for Scripture hints that the remnant of believers who are eagerly watching for His return will be very small, based on what Jesus says in Luke 18:8:

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Quoteworthy: Are You Ready?

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, "They that were ready went in with the bridegroom to the marriage:" they that were ready, and none else. Now here, in the sight of God, I ask each and every reader, Is this your case? Are you ready?

I do not ask whether you are a Churchman, and make a profession of religion.— I do not ask whether you attend an evangelical ministry, and like evangelical people, and can talk of evangelical subjects, and read evangelical tracts and books. All this is the surface of Christianity. All this costs little, and may be easily attained. I want to search your heart more thoroughly, and probe your conscience more deeply.  I want to know whether you have been born again, and whether you have got the Holy Ghost dwelling in your soul. I want to know whether you have any oil in your vessel while you carry the lamp of profession, and whether you are ready to meet the bridegroom,— ready for Christ's return to the earth. I want to know, if the Lord should come this week, whether you could lift up your head with joy, and say, "This is our God; we have waited for Him; let us be glad, and rejoice in His salvation." These things I want to know, and this is what I mean when I say, "Are you ready?"

 From Coming Events and Present Duties by John Charles Ryle.  Published in 1867.

Birth Pangs?

Birth pang (noun)*

1. One of the regularly recurrent pains that are characteristic of childbirth – usually in plural.

2. Disorder and distress incident especially to a major social change.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24: 3-8, NIV)

I opened my daily newspaper this morning and was greeted by this ominous photo of the Puyehue volcano in Chile, which has been silent for half a century.  

I was immediately reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, and could not help but think that with all of the earthquakes, floods, tornados, volcanic eruptions, wars, and rumors of wars that we have witnessed this year alone, that we may be experiencing the beginning of the birth pains that will lead up to the event that will mark the end of this present dispensation: the rapture.

Birth pains, or contractions as they are commonly known, come at regular intervals, and as time goes on, they get closer together. They also steadily increase in strength. It seems like there has been a disaster nearly every week in recent months, and tensions are rising in the Middle East as quickly as worldwide support for Israel appears to be waning.

As frightening as these events may be, there is also great hope for believers who are eagerly looking for the return of Christ Jesus. In their book, “Lost in Translation: Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots of our Faith,” John Klein and Adam Spears write that during the ancient Hebrew betrothal process, “the groom could come anytime between 6 PM and midnight, on the second through the fourth day of the week. When he did so he had to see his bride’s welcoming light in her window. If she let it burn out he would take that as a sign that she had either changed her mind or simply didn’t care anymore, and he would turn away and leave her in darkness.”

I think it is time for all preparing brides to light their lamps — and keep them burning brightly.

*Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

The Outer Darkness

The term “outer darkness” is only mentioned three times in Scripture, and these words always come from Jesus himself.*

Matthew 8:12:
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 22:13:
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:30:
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Many assume that outer darkness describes hell for unbelievers, but does it really? 

Using Scripture to interpret Scripture yields some interesting observations, particularly when you look at several verses that appear prior to the verses that mention outer darkness.

In Matthew 5:22, Jesus says:

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

In this passage, the Greek word “geenna” has been translated as hell (Strong #1067).  The NET translators write that this is the place of the future punishment called "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire".  Gehenna was originally the valley of Hinnom, which lies south of Jerusalem.  It was a place where refuse and dead animals were cast out and burned.  In his book, The Kingdom, James T. Harman writes that the fire of Gehenna correlates to the fire that will be used to test every believer’s works at the judgment seat of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)

In Matthew 5:30, Jesus says:

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Once again, the Greek word that has been translated as hell is actually Gehenna (Strong #1067).

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus declares:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Here the Greek word translated as hell is actually “hades” (Strong #86). According to Strong’s, hades refers to Hades or Pluto (the god of the lower regions); Orcus, the nether world, the realm of the dead; and that the later use of the word refers to the grave, death, and hell.  Hades is also considered to be similar to the Old Testament word used to describe hell, which is “Sheol” (2 Samuel 22:6, Psalms 6:5; Psalms 9:17; Psalms 16:10; Psalms 18:5; Psalms 49:14; Psalms 86:13; Psalms 88:3; Psalms 89:48; Psalms 139:8; Psalms 141:7; Proverbs 1:12; 15:24; Isaiah 14:15).

The fact that Jesus does not use the words Hades or Gehenna in Matthew 8:12, Matthew 22:13, and Matthew 25:30 makes me wonder: does the outer darkness refer to something completely different?

In his pamphlet titled "The Outer Darkness," Arlen Chitwood writes that outer darkness is the place where unfaithful Christians will be cast during the 1,000-year period of the millennial kingdom. Harman, however, writes that neither the outer darkness, nor the kingdom, are literal places.  Rather, he writes that “both are expressions of positions where the faithful will rule and reign with Christ, and the unfaithful will not.” 

In his book, Eternal Security, Charles Stanley writes that “To be in ‘outer darkness’ is to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on this earth earned them a special rank of position or authority.”  Like Harman, Stanley believes that outer darkness does not represent a place, but a sphere of influence or a privilege.

I still have many lingering questions about the outer darkness, but I do not believe that it describes hell for unbelievers. 

Remember that in Mathew 7:21, when Jesus is talking about gaining entrance into the kingdom, He warns: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

And just prior to this statement, Jesus says: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

*In the NIV, the term outer darkness has been translated as “outside, into the darkness” all three times.