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.

Quoteworthy: Signs of the Times

"Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times ?"—Matthew 16:3.

Jesus was at Magdala. He was surrounded by a multitude. They were clamoring for some signs or evidence that he was the Christ, the Messiah.

He said to them: You can tell by certain conditions in the sky whether it is going to be clear or stormy, and govern yourselves accordingly. Now, there are signs in the times, conditions, circumstances and events, foretold in your Holy Scriptures, which you ought to be able to read as clearly as you read the face of the sky.

The prophets had foretold certain things concerning the Christ when He should come. They had said he should be of lowly mien; that He would perform many healing wonders; that he would speak in parables; that he would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; that he would not come with outward beauty nor winsome attraction; that he would ride into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of an ass; that he would come in at a definite day and date, and that he would present himself in the temple as their king.

All these things had happened, were happening, and were about to happen. The Jews were called upon to be witnesses of these things and read them aright. They ought to have seen that they were the credentials of the Christ; that he who fulfilled them before their very eyes was none other than Messiah himself.

They did not so see. They did not read the signs. They were blind, and they were blind because they had turned away from the book that recorded them, and had listened and were listening at that very moment to the traditions of men rather than to the Word of God. They missed their ordained opportunity and, for two thousand years, have paid the penalty in an agony and tragedy that are terrible to contemplate. There are signs for these days just as plainly foretold in Holy Writ, as were the signs of those days.

They have been foretold by the Son of God himself and all his holy apostles. They are written in the Scriptures; and yet, the church, as a whole, fails to read or note them, is utterly blind to them, and all the out-reach of their tremendous meaning.

From The Signs of the Times by IM Haldeman.  Published in 1919.

Are You Ready for Christ’s Return?

We can rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord will return for His bride! We do not know when that glorious day will be, but Scripture tells us that Christ’s return will occur when the world least expects it (Matthew 24:44). 

While the bridegroom is away, the bride makes herself ready by studying His Word and eagerly anticipating His appearing. She also busies herself with whatever work the Lord has entrusted to her, which is portrayed in the parable of the ten minas or pounds.

Luke 19:12-13: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

The man of noble birth is Jesus, and he is currently sitting at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19, Acts 7:56, Hebrews 1:13, 1 Peter 3:22). He is interceding on our behalf as our High Priest until that wonderful day when He will return in the clouds and believers will be caught up with Him in the air
(1 Thessalonians 4:17).
 
Luke 19:14-15: “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

I believe these verses are referring to the time after the rapture, when all believers will appear before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ to be judged for their works (2 Corinthians 5:10). While our eternal security is firmly assured, we will either experience loss or receive rewards (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). 

Luke 19:16-19: “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

From these passages, it appears that believers whose works withstand the test of fire (see older posts on salvation of the soul and loss of salvation of the soul) will receive positions of authority — in direct apportion to their works — when Christ Jesus returns to earth to establish His millennial kingdom.

Luke 19: 20-27: “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

The earlier passages describe rewards, while this one points to loss at the judgment seat of Christ. There is a similar parable in Matthew 25 about the servant who was given one talent and did nothing with it, which reveals more about loss. Jesus says in Matthew 25:30:

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

Many assume that this passage, and the two other passages in Scripture that speak of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12 and Matthew 22:11-13), refer to unbelievers and hell. Outer darkness is a topic on its own, and one that deserves much greater discussion. I will preface that future discussion by stating that I do not believe that Jesus is talking about unbelievers in this parable. 

In both parables, Jesus entrusts His servants with the means by which they are to work for Him (minas and talents). 

Would Jesus entrust an unbeliever to do His work?