Types of the Bride of Christ: Rebekah

Scripture tells us that Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nabor, Abraham’s brother.

Abraham — a type of God the Father — instructed his servant (a type of the Holy Spirit) to find a bride for his son Isaac, who is a type for Christ.  Abraham insisted that the bride was not to come from the Canaanites, but from his country and his people. 

Her deeds qualified her 

Rebekah, a virgin, kindly provides Abraham’s servant with water from the well, which was the sign the servant was looking for.  It is also a type for the bride filling herself up with the living water that the Lord lovingly provides every time we go to His Word.  Rebekah fills her pitcher, not once, but twice, which tells us that she had a double portion.

The servant gives her a golden earring of half a shekel weight and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, which was the bride price.  The golden earring represents that she was hearing and obeying God’s Word (Royce Powell).  He also gives her jewels of silver and gold and her raiment, which points to the bride being qualified at judgment seat of Christ.

When the servant asks if there is room in her father’s house, she says there is both enough straw and provender.  Isaiah 11:7 tells us that when Christ reigns, the lion will eat straw. 

She came out of her world

The servant asks: “Wilt though go with this man?” Rebekah says yes, which requires leaving her home and family behind, a type of what the Holy Spirit will do after He removes the bride from this fallen world.  It is also instruct us that we should not follow the ways and the sways of the world and steadfastly follow Christ Jesus, our Bridegroom.   

She had faith in that which was unseen

Scripture tells us that Rebekah arose to go and meet Isaac — who was coming to claim her — just as the bride (among other believers) will arise at the rapture to meet her Bridegroom for the first time in the clouds.  Rebekah had never met Isaac before, but she goes to him having faith in that which is unseen.  She is a beautiful type of a bride who willingly gave up everything to be with her bridegroom.  

References: Complete Word Study Bible, Jewish Encyclopedia

Quoteworthy: Testing The Spirits (1 John 4:1-7)

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.   

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
 
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. 

This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

The Return of the Jewish Messiah

I am Jewish by birth and attended Sunday school at a synagogue until I was a teenager.  But it wasn’t until many years after becoming a believer that I learned that Jesus was Jewish.  This knowledge was the beginning of an incredible journey to understand His (and my) Hebrew roots.

I often wondered why the Jewish leaders did not recognize Jesus as their Messiah.  They dutifully and rigorously studied the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), most likely on a daily basis.  They knew about the writings of the prophets (while there was no collection of these books yet, the various texts were read as separate scrolls).¹  So how could they have missed it?

Believers today are fortunate to have knowledge from both the Old and New Testaments.  We can look back and clearly see how Jesus fulfilled Scriptural prophecies during His first advent on earth.  We have the advantage of having the full picture and of knowing exactly what we are looking for. 

The Jewish people were looking for Christ too, but I think their preconceived beliefs about who the Messiah was — and the role He would play — kept them from seeing the entire story.  When you explore both early and later Jewish beliefs, however, the parallels are amazing.

The Jewish people held the belief that there would be a future Messianic period, which would bring salvation to the Jewish people and to the whole world.  Their hope was for a future king who would redeem Israel and establish the kingdom of God on earth.²

In apocalyptic literature of the last two centuries B.C.E., the Messiah is described as a powerful warrior and ruler.  He was also described as a supernatural being who existed from the beginning of days and was close to God; designated as the “son of man” or as “My son.”  He is also sometimes described as an angelic being whose existence antedated the creation of the world, just waiting for the right time to reveal Himself and assume His seat of glory.  At that time He will dispense justice to all the inhabitants of the earth.²

The Jewish people also had a double concept of the Messiah: One Messiah was the son of Joseph, and another Messiah was the son of David.  They came to associate the figure of their Messiah with King David or a descendant of King David.  This idealized version of the Messiah fueled their expectation of a mighty warrior and king — and they were correct — but this will not be fulfilled until Christ Jesus’ second advent. 

When Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21) he stopped at the comma in the middle of passage:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

The Jewish leaders had no idea that the remaining part of that passage (and the day of vengeance of our God;) would be fulfilled at a future time. 

The idea of a Messiah’s supernatural birth, earthly suffering, and death to atone for sin and bring salvation to those who believe in Him was inconceivable to many Jews during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  It is not so surprising when you consider that even those who were closest to him — his disciples — did not fully understand this for themselves until Jesus appeared to them after He was crucified.  

Jesus’ resurrection was certainly beyond the realm of understanding of the Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection.  It was also beyond their level of comprehension that a Messiah could come first as a suffering servant, be raised from the dead, and return to earth once again as king.

The Jewish people looked to the Messianic era (yemoth hamashiah, which literally means “days of the Messiah”) as a period of redemption to be ushered in and ruled over by the Messiah.  It is a time that marks the return of the people of Israel to the land of Israel. 

Interestingly, the “days of the Messiah” are different from the “world to come,” which will usher in resurrection and the judgment and the reign of God.   Later Jewish writings suggest that the Messianic era was postponed due to sin and will be preceded by social and political problems, extreme poverty, heresy, and wars, including the wars of Gog and Magog.  Jewish writers during the Middle Ages pointed to a new Jerusalem and a time of perfection.²

A more contemporary parallel to what we see with “kingdom now” believers is a platform that was established by American rabbis in 1937.  They stated that their historical task is to “cooperate with all men in the establishment of the Kingdom of God, of universal brotherhood, justice, truth and peace on earth.”² 

Issac Landman, an American reformed rabbi, educator, and prolific author who lived from 1880 to 1946 and edited the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, wrote that “The hope for a future king who will redeem Israel and establish the kingdom of God upon earth is not expressly found either in the Biblical or in the Apocryphal writings.”  

Believers know that there are Bible passages that speak to Jesus’ return to earth as King and reigning upon David’s throne (Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:31-33, Psalms 132:11, the tenth chapter of Zechariah, and the eleventh chapter of Romans, to name a few).  But we have the power of the Holy Spirit, which reveals to us the mysteries of the Kingdom within Scripture.

It is impossible for unbelievers to understand these mysteries (some believers are blind to them as well).  God opened my eyes when I asked Him to show me that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and our future King.  If you happen to be of the Jewish faith, I pray that you will ask God to open your eyes too. 

 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7)

1. Jones, Barry A (2000). "Canon of the Old Testament." David Noel Freedman. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans.

2.  The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.  Isaac Landman, Ed.

Is Celebrating Christ's Birth More Important Than Anticipating His Return?

This December 25th, people in church pews all across the world will celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ (a date, by the way, that some historians say is not accurate). 

I wonder how many of the people in those churches will be stirred with excitement because they will also hear about the promise of our blessed hope, which is the return of Christ Jesus?

There is nothing wrong with looking back, as long as we also look forward.  His story starts in a manger, but it does not end on the cross.  Scripture tells us over and over again that there is so much more to come! 

In the words of Isaac Massey Haldeman:

"If the value of a statement or is to be measured by the number of times repeated, then, since from Genesis to Revelation, in every form of human language, the Second Coming is proclaimed upon almost every page of the Bible, is inwrought with every fibre of truth it finally presents; since in the New Testament alone it is mentioned directly and indirectly more than three hundred times, as there is no other theme in the Bible that approaches it in frequency of repetition, it should seem that this event and doctrine of the Second Coming with all its promises and certified consequences should easily be of supreme and all-compelling importance; and because the Holy Spirit has made it of such importance I am under bonds to preach it.  Those who persist in saying it is incidental, secondary and sporadic might well be said to be of that class of theological disputants who never study the Bible; for the fact is should you cut out every reference to the Second Coming, its cognate truths and all the events to which it gives emphasis, you would have but a fragment of the Bible; and the Book upon which faith is founded, from which hope casts its glances heavenward, see light in the grave and immortality assured, would be as a broken reed, a garment of beauty torn and shredded, or as a harp whose main chord has been snapped asunder." 

From Why I preach the second coming.  Published in 1919.

I Never Knew You

Lately I have been thinking about what author David Biven terms “the difficult words of Jesus” (if you are interested in Hebraic gems that help illuminate the Gospels, read his book).  I am talking about Scripture passages that people tend to gloss over because they cannot make sense of them.

Matthew 7:21-23 is an example.  Jesus says:

²¹Not 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.  ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  ²⁴Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Some commentaries suggest that this passage refers to Christians who were never really saved, which I believe is blaspheme!  For Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us: 

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

Once a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved they cannot become unsaved, can they?  That would imply that Jesus “took His free gift back.”  Others state that Jesus was talking to unbelievers.  But unbelievers would never utter the words, “Lord, Lord.” 

The reason this passages does not line up for many is because it refers to soul salvation, not spirit salvation.  When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive the free gift of spirit salvation and eternal life.  What we do with this gift determines whether we will receive a reward (Revelation 22:12) when we stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ or loss. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

If our works are deemed to be of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), we will receive a reward, which I believe is the salvation of our soul that Paul writes of in Philippians 2:12 (another “difficult” Scripture passage):

¹²Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.  ¹³For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (KJV)

Here Paul must be talking about soul salvation, which we do need to work out with fear and trembling before we appear before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  I believe what is at stake is whether we will rule and reign with Christ during His 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom (Romans 8:17, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:4).  The types in Scripture (see my earlier post on Entering the Land) suggest that believers who do not receive soul salvation will be on the outside looking in.  They will have eternal life, but will not be able to enter the Millennial Kingdom.

 

When you are able to distinguish between spirit salvation (the free gift) and soul salvation (a reward based upon our works), then Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23 finally begin to make sense. 

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?

Jesus in Genesis: Joseph as a Type

Romans 5:14 states that Adam is a type of Him who was to come.  The Greek word for type is tupos, which means an example to be imitated, a design, an ensample, or a person or thing that prefigures a future Messianic person or thing.  

When the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to types in Scripture, it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss them as mere coincidences.  Types form an amazingly consistent pattern that could only have been devised by One who has divine knowledge of the course of history from the beginning of time to the end of the ages: our Lord.

In Genesis, Joseph is a type that beautifully shadows the second coming of Christ.  Below are just a few of many similarities that have been plucked from the Old Testament account of the life of Joseph.  

Some have already been fulfilled at Christ's first coming, while others still remain as our blessed hope, the imminent return of our Lord.

• Joseph is sent by his father to find out how his brothers (and their flock) are doing (Genesis 37:14) 
• He is rejected by his brothers, stripped of his robe, and cast into a pit (Genesis 37:23-24)
• He is sent to a far country (Genesis 37:28) 
• At the age of 30, he is exalted to the throne by Pharaoh, clothed in fine linen, and rules over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:40-43)
• He obtains a Gentile bride named Asenath (Genesis 41:45)
• He saves his people during the famine (Genesis 41:56-57)
• He shows grace to his brothers (Genesis 44:17)
• He is made known to his brothers the second time he appears before them (Genesis 45:1)
• He delivers his family from tribulation to settle into the land of Goshen (Genesis 45:10)

The Return of the Bridegroom As Foretold In Genesis

After Abraham had typically offered up his son on Mount Moriah and typically received him from the dead on the third day the son for a number of chapters in the record disappears from view. 

Then Abraham the father sends his servant Eliezer into a far country to get a bride for this now invisible son. Eliezer meets the intended bride at a well from whence she is drawing water, goes with her into her brother's house, takes out a pack of precious things sent from the father in the name of the son, displays them to her and invites her to become the bride of the son. She consents. The servant leads her forth. On the way he talks to her of the promised bridegroom. Suddenly she beholds him coming to meet her. He receives her, takes her into his prepared tent and she becomes his wife.

On the same mount nearly two thousand yeare later God the Father offered up His only begotten Son. On the third day He raised Him from the dead. For two thousand years He has disappeared from view. The Father has sent forth the Spirit to obtain a bride for His Son. He meets her at the Gospel well from whence we draw the waters of salvation. He is calling her through individual selection that she may become the corporate bride. He has brought spiritual gifts which He seeks to display in all her assemblies. He is endeavouring to lead her along the highway of time and to speak to her in the heaven speech of the Coming Bridegroom. Suddenly the Lord will come to meet her and take her into the place prepared and keep her for the marriage hour. In this simple story the analogue finds its prophetic climax in the Second Coming of our Lord.

From Why I preach the second coming by Isaac Massey Haldeman.

Salvation of the Soul (Part 1)

I must start off by asking for your patience, dear reader, as I struggle to find the right words to summarize important truths that can be understood by anyone who has received salvation of the spirit and is devoted to studying God's Word.  If you are here because you are seeking a deeper understanding of Scripture I implore you to go back to your Bible after reading this, trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide you, and you will find all your answers there. 

⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ⁸For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 
(Matthew 7:7-8)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

On the heels of yesterday’s post, I want to discuss another Scripture verse that once perplexed me.

Hebrews 9:28: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I believe that this verse is referring to salvation of the soul, which is different from spirit salvation.^1-3  Man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body.^1-4  There is a great deal that can be written about this, but in its simplest form, the part of us that is spirit cannot be seen and it is the part of us that God communicates with through His Word.  Our soul is the part of us that influences our emotions, our personalities, our will, and ultimately our choices.  Our body is the flesh, the outward part of us that can be seen.^1-4  

1 Thessalonians 5:23 leads me to believe that the full scope of salvation involves all three of these parts: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

When man fell in the Garden of Eden, he experienced spiritual death.  When we believe in Jesus, we receive salvation of the spirit.  Even as believers, however, there is often a battle that wages between our spirit and our soul.^1-3  Scripture talks about the saving of our soul in James 1:21:  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 

While spirit salvation is present for believers, salvation of the soul appears to be a future salvation^1,2— the end of our faith that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1:9.   

After the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17), we know that we will appear before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ.   

Romans 14:10: But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 
  
2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Scripture tells us that the Lord will determine if our works as believers are gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, stubble. 
 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15: ¹⁰According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. ¹¹For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. ¹⁴If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

If our works survive the fiery test, I believe we will then receive salvation of our soul and the reward that is spoken of above and in Matthew 16:27:   

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 

Next time: What happens to those who shall suffer loss? 

References:  
1.  Chitwood A. Salvation of the Soul.

2.  Herbert J. "The Full Scope of Salvation."

3.  Powell R.  "Salvation of Spirit, Soul, and Body."

4.  Larkin C.  Dispensational Truth, or God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages.  Originally published in 1918. 

Salvation of the Spirit

Have you ever been haunted by a verse in Scripture?  What I mean by that is when you come across a verse that doesn’t seem to make any sense, and you repeatedly ask others to explain it, but their answers baffle you even more.  You pray, search, and hope that one day God will finally reveal the meaning to you.

For me, one of those verses was Philippians 2:12:

¹²Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.

How could I work out my salvation?  Wasn't it a free gift?  As I studied Scripture, I came across another passage that challenged everything that I had been told about salvation.   

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ⁸Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: ⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9) 

What was this salvation ready to be revealed in the last time?  And if I was already saved, how could salvation of my soul be the end result of my faith?

The reason that no one could explain these verses to my satisfaction was because they were associating them with salvation of the spirit, the free gift that we receive by God’s grace alone when we believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, which marks the beginning of our faith.

⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Let me clear: when we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior, we are assured of eternal life, something that we can never lose or have taken away from us.  

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)

Spirit salvation, however, is just the beginning of an ongoing process and it holds the promise of so much more!  To fully grasp this, we need to first understand the nature of man in relation to the nature of God.  

Genesis 1:26 states: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 

The Hebrew word for God that is used here is 'elohiym, and it is a plural noun.  Right from the beginning of Scripture we see that God is a trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

Scripture also says that man was made in God’s image and after His likeness.  1 Thessalonians 5:23 tells us that man’s nature is also three-fold: spirit, soul, and body:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Next time: Salvation of the soul.