One of the great mysteries in Scripture concerns the identity of Jerusalem. Today many Christians wait to see a new temple built in old Jerusalem and yearn for the day when this same old Jerusalem shall be made a praise upon the earth. But, the prophecies concerning Jerusalem do not deal with old Jerusalem and Ezekiel’s vision concerning a new temple do not relate to some new physical temple that will one day be built in old Jerusalem. No, these prophecies speak about the overcomers of God, the sons of God and the Bride of Christ, whom John saw as New Jerusalem descending from heaven.

In the Old Testament it is primarily the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel who spoke about this new Jerusalem. We need to interpret the prophets through the filter of the Revelation given to John and the other New Testament apostles and prophets. For example, what does John mean when he says, “Then the angel^[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life^[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2, ESV)

First, take note that in this passage John says the very same thing which Ezekiel prophesied when talking about the new temple to come. Look particularly at verse 12 below to see this. Ezekiel said,

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸ And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;^[b] when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.^[c] 9 And wherever the river goes,^[d] every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea^[e] may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.^[f] 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹² And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing. (Ezekiel 47:6b-12)

Notice that trees grow on each side of the river. The river itself is the water of life, Jesus Christ. The water, representing Christ’s truth and life, flows to the salty sea. This sea is mankind. Mankind dwells in the salty, murky, dark waters under the firmament of heaven. Remember the second day of creation, “And God said, “Let there be an expanse^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And God made^[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.” (Genesis 1:6-8) The waters “above the expanse” are the waters of life.  A time is coming when this water above the expanse will flow into the water below the expanse. This will make the salty water into “fresh” water, that is, it will bring life and healing to the “fish of the Great Sea.” The fish are men. Remember that Jesus calls us to be fishers of men. But, what are the trees? Isaiah prophesied,

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.^[c]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:1-4)

The trees we see in Ezekiel and Revelation are these “oaks of righteousness.” These are the firstfruits of God, the first human beings besides Jesus ever to be glorified with immortal bodies. To them will be granted a “beautiful headdress” in place of the ashes of dust they now bear. Today they mourn under the burden of their faint spirit, their unfruitfulness, and the sin of their flesh. Tomorrow they will be clothed with a garment of praise. Tomorrow, at their glorification, they will produce new, good fruit each month. Their leaves, their produce, will bring healing to the nations. To them it shall be granted to build up the ancient ruins, to raise up the former  devastations, and to repair the ruined cities. These trees are the ones whom the Bible also calls “New Jerusalem,” as prophesied by Isaiah.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
    and her salvation as a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your righteousness,
    and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken,^[a]
    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,^[b]
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,^[c]
    and your land Married;^[d]
for the Lord delights in you,
    and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
    so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
    so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:1-5)

 This is the same image which John saw and wrote of.

⁹ Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹ having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:9-14)

So, when John says, “Then the angel^[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life^[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations,” (Revelation 22:1-2) this speaks of God’s Spirit, God’s water of life, moving without hindrance through the very essence (“middle of the street of the city”) of each overcomer who comprises New Jerusalem! And it is this unhindered flow of the water of life, the very fullness of Jesus Christ himself, which produces in us ongoing fruit which will bring healing to the entire earth! Let us then each aspire to become these oaks of righteousness that will heal a broken and hurting world.

The Bible speaks to people who know God, not to people who do not know him. Jesus reserved his harshest criticism and judgment for the religious leaders, those who believed they stood the very closest to God. “To whom much is given, much shall be required.” The apostles warned us that those who teach the Word of God shall be held to a higher standard of accountability than those who do not. The writer of Hebrews warned that it would be better to have never believed in the Gospel than to turn away from its truth.

Jesus did not lightly say that people who bear bad fruit would be cut off of his vine (separated from him) and would be thrown into the fire to be burned. This burning is the second death which occurs in the Lake of Fire according to the Book of Revelation. The Lake of Fire is the application of God’s Law upon those who refuse to obey him in this flesh. This is also the place that Jesus calls the “outer darkness.” This outer darkness will be the place where rebellious men finally learn to obey their Creator. Their rulers here will be those sons of God who have learned to obey God to the best of their ability and who yearn to walk with him in total perfection and obedience, only doing what they see their Father doing. They will rule with a “rod of iron,” the application of God’s Law. No longer will men be allowed to carry out every sin they conceive. Every single sin will be punished according to God’s perfect plan of justice. For example, those who lead slovenly lives and expect everyone else to feed, clothe, and pay for their drugs will become the slaves of those who exercise self-control. Yes, in God’ perfect economy even slavery has its place, the place where rebellious sinners learn obedience.

Therefore let us learn how to judge our fruit and let us be sure that we bear good fruit instead of bad. Paul defined the criteria for good fruit to the Galatians. And remember, to understand the good we must also understand the bad. Paul said,

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy,^[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:13-26, ESV)

 Paul then elaborated upon these ideas to the Ephesians.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking,which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:1-21)

And to the Romans Paul said,

⁴ Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way ofthe Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6) 

Today we have a choice. Do we live according to the Spirit and therefore produce fruit for God? Or, do we set our minds upon the flesh and upon deeds of darkness? If we live according to the flesh then we will produce fruit for death and our place will be in the outer darkness when Jesus comes to judge the world. If we produce fruit for death we will be found unworthy to be called a son of God and God will assign us a place with the hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

(Note: I understand that every sincere Christian is at a different place in his or her walk with God. There will be people whom God accounts as his son whom we would probably despise if we merely knew them after the flesh. For an excellent teaching on this topic see chapter ten of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis was one of God’s prophets who taught much about becoming a Son of God. See especially his masterpiece entitled Till We Have Faces. Then read my book When We Awake which you can find in the links on the left of this page).

When we believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and for the salvation of our souls we receive the earnest of the Holy Spirit, which gives us the power to become sons of God. We do not suddenly become sons of God like so many falsely teach. Simply re-read the parable of the sower and the seeds from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke to see this is so. Also remember John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” So far you and I have only received power to become sons of God. We have not yet been made sons of God. Nevertheless, Jesus and the prophets did give us clear instructions so that we could discern whether or not we walk upon that one, narrow path which will result in our manifestation as a son of God. Those instructions include the doctrine of fruit which we are now studying.

The Gospel begins with John the Baptist saying,

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.“ (Matthew 3:7b-10 ESV)

John spoke to the religious hypocrites of his day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I speak to the religious hypocrites of my day, those who call themselves by the name of God and yet teach men to do evil in his name. These are those who call evil good and good evil, who are righteous in their own eyes, and yet are filled with nothing but dead men’s bones. They hold the truth in unrighteousness and teach the doctrines of men in place of the doctrines of God. They do not follow the narrow path of God’s Word, nor do they teach others to do so. They make men into the sons of Hell which they themselves are, thus making men into the image of their father, Satan, rather than into the image of God. As John warned, these shall be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Jesus himself spoke about bearing fruit toward God many times in his ministry. Early on he said,

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20)

Here, like John before him, Jesus criticized religious leaders who pretend they serve God, but in reality are false prophets. He told us we could recognize false prophets by looking at their fruit. What is their fruit? Anything dealing with their life, for example, their wife, their children, their dress, their demeanor, their habits, their teaching. A person’s fruit is that which you see concerning him. Is the fruit bad or is it good. Would you eat it, that is, would you want that type of fruit in your life. It is very common, for example, that people consider preacher’s kids to be brats, or to be arrogant. If the kids exhibit these traits what does that tell you about their father and mother? So, examine your fruit. First identify it. What is your fruit? Now determine whether your fruit is good or bad.

If you think your fruit may tend toward what God would judge to be bad, then consider Jesus’ next teaching about fruit:

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶ I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

If you can “make” your fruit either good or bad, then you must have some control over your own tree, your own self, right? The nature of your tree depends upon the treasure in your heart. Where is your treasure, on earth or hidden in Christ above? The vast bulk of Scripture concerns building up your treasure in heaven. Our treasure should be the oil of the Holy Spirit which we must have in order to see God. We seek this oil by faith in the holy Son of God. We act upon this faith by works of obedience which God gives us to do as we seek his face. Our actions, like Abraham’s before us, prove our faith. By this shall we be justified in God’s sight. None of us create our good fruit by obeying God or his law perfectly. Our fruit develops by drawing upon and having faith in the sap which feeds and nourishes our tree, the living water of Jesus Christ himself (his flesh and his blood in the spiritual).

Jesus explained this shortly before men crucified him. He said,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:1-10, ESV)

Again, examine your own fruit. Be diligent and be honest. What exactly is your fruit? Now determine whether your fruit is good or bad by holding it to the light of God’s word. Jesus said that the word that he spoke would judge us. So shall his word judge our fruit.

²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:23-27)

I daresay that compared to the faith of Christ all of us now have “little faith,” but some have less and some have more faith than others. We live now in that time prophesied by Jesus when “men’s hearts will faint with fear from what is coming upon the earth.” The sons of Satan are now well upon their way upon destroying much of the beautiful earth God has created. He is busily destroying this world even now with his manifold nefarious schemes. And some of us do not now possess the faith we need to meet the disasters lurking around the next corner. My hope is that this little teaching will help us acquire the faith we need in order to prevail. Everything depends upon acknowledging and feeding the implanted word of God within us. Remember the word of James, brother of Jesus.

   Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation.

    [19] Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.  [21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  James 1:18-21 (ESV)

The book of James, like every other book of the Bible, speaks primarily about the salvation of the soul, not the spirit.  The reason for this is that Jesus’ death and resurrection effected spiritual salvation for every man, woman, and child who ever lived or will live and nothing we can do will add or subtract from that.  This is our spiritual salvation.  It is true that we need to learn about that and come to believe it so that we understand that we have now been reconciled to God through Jesus.  The next thing we must do, though, is to get up and walk out of our prison of sin, our bondage to sin.  This deals with the salvation of the soul and is accomplished through the implanted word. This is that which will empower us to prevail in the dark days.

One of Jesus’ most memorable parables concerns the implanted word.  He said,

“A sower went out to sow.  [4] And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  [5] Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  [6] but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  [7] Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  [8] Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  [9] He who has ears, let him hear.”  Matthew 13:3-9 (ESV)

 No one, of course, could understand this parable so Jesus explained it, saying,

“Hear then the parable of the sower:  [19] When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.  [20] As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,  [21] yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.  [22] As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  [23] As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”  Matthew 13:18-23 (ESV)

Many people interpret this story to mean that only the last group of people achieve ultimate salvation while the rest fail to get saved and so spend eternity in hell.  That is wrong and false doctrine.  We are the soil, the earth upon which the seed is scattered.  Remember, God made man of the dust of the ground.  The seed is the word of God.  Each man, each piece and type of soil, hears the word of God in some form during his life.  That person, that soil, bears his own responsibility with respect to the word he hears.  Everyone hears the word of God through a variety of sources. The question is, what is each one going to do with that specific word God has given to him or her?

James says to to receive the word with meekness.  We each have hard hearts that want to go our own way.  We always think we are right, but we need to meekly admit and accept that only God is really right and that Jesus tells us through his word exactly what God says is right.  Consider the prophets:

The word “break up” here means to “to till the soil.”  We are the soil.  This phrase speaks of breaking up, or tilling, our hard unproductive ground, our hard hearts.  In order for the the word of God to take root in our soil, our individual lives, our land first needs to be tilled and broken up.  This is partly each man’s responsibility.  This is why the Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and man’s duty.   God plants his word in us, but what have we done to prepare and keep the soil he has planted his word within?

Is your life characterized by impotence with respect to God’s word?  Do you find that the devil always snatches the word from you, leaving you unproductive in the sight of God?  Do you fret and worry about all things, failing to trust God for your provision?  Do you lust for ever more worldly goods?  Do you plow with wickedness instead of the word of God and, therefore, reap iniquity and eat the fruit of lies? Then break up your fallow ground!  Receive with meekness the implanted word!  Just begin to do the first thing that you know the word says to do.  Your ground is not destined to always remain hard and unproductive.  Shoulder your responsibility and get on with it.  Like a farmer, begin to turn your unproductive soil (life) into land that produces fruit.  Remember, God is making man into his image and your decision to become part of that process is integral to that plan.

This is how each of us must now prepare for the evil days we have entered. These days will grow harder and more evil. The devil is afoot, but greater is he who dwells within us. Now take this little teaching and grow in faith. Remember the word of God which you have and do it. This will begin to break up your fallow ground and will allow new seed (word of God) to sprout, which will in turn cause new and greater faith to arise in your heart.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:16-17)

I have known since I wrote the last post on the New Covenant that the theme of this post would be based upon Romans 10:17, the truth that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But it was not until this morning that it occurred to me that I really ought to examine the verse that Paul quotes from Isaiah before I wrote about it. So today I read Isaiah 53:1, the source of this Scripture. I did not just read that verse though. I began at Isaiah 52:13 and read through Isaiah 55:13. And once again I saw an amazing thing… how the Book of Isaiah so often sheds light upon truths revealed in the New Testament.

First, this passage from Isaiah prophesies and predicts the centuries later suffering and crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is here where we first learn that God will send a particular servant who will be cruelly despised and tortured by men, a servant who will offer himself up as a living sacrifice and offering for the sins of all mankind. Yes, here resides the wonderful verse which reveals that all men have gone astray from their Creator, but that God laid mankind’s iniquity upon Jesus instead of the sinners themselves.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

And it is just before this where Isaiah says, “Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” the verse which Paul quotes in Romans 10. Now consider what Paul says next.  ”So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Interestingly, Isaiah talks about this very thing within the passage of Scripture from 52:13 to 55:13. Before considering the particular verses remember that in the Book of John Jesus calls him “the water of life” in chapter 4 and “the Bread of Life” in chapter 6. Also recall from many previous teachings on this site that the Biblical definition of “food” is God’s Word, or true doctrine. The following verses make this abundantly clear:

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them.¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. (Hebrews 13:8-10)

Amazingly, then, later in this passage under consideration in Isaiah, the prophet speaks directly about food. He says,

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant (the NEW COVENANT!),
    my steadfast, sure love for David. (Isaiah 55:1-3)

And now we have come full circle.  Isaiah has given us the secret for obtaining faith from God. We have to come to Christ for food and water, that is, come to him for the truth of His Word. Then we have to “buy” that food (truth) from him.  But, we don’t buy it with the money of men like we do “for that which is not bread.” We spend our dollars, our silver, and our gold for the natural foods, wants, and pleasures our flesh desires. But that is not true bread, says Isaiah. Instead we need to buy Christ’s water, bread, wine, and milk. But, these are spiritual things and we “buy” them “without money and without price!” How?

We buy Christ’s food, Christ’s truth, by “listening diligently.” Do you really care about the things of God? Or do you pretend you are a “good Christian” because you regularly attend church, say your prayers, and retain friendships with a few other “Christians?” Paul says that “faith comes by hearing.” You can only hear, says Isaiah, if you come to Christ, incline your ear to him, listen diligently for what he has to say to you, and then eat (take to heart) that which he says. THIS IS what it means when Paul says that “hearing comes by the Word of God.”

And this is why Paul begins his statement concerning faith by referring us to Isaiah 53:1. To have faith means that we become obedient to that “word of faith” each of us individually receives. “But they have not all obeyed the gospel.” No, we Christians have not all obeyed the gospel, nor have we obeyed the individual words of instruction God has given us. Instead, many of us have turned the doctrine of faith into a gospel of “grace to sin.” Others of us turned the true gospel of grace into a set of laws that bar many from salvation. This is why Paul says that whatever we do which does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23) and is also why he says not to quarrel over many doctrinal opinions (Romans 14). As we diligently listen to Christ, then he will lead us into all truth, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

So what is the real difference between the Old and the New Covenants? It is the difference between flesh and faith, between works born of the natural, un-renewed mind of man and works born of the Holy Spirit.  It is the difference between man’s strange fire born of his fleshly mind and God’s fire which consumes the flesh. Remember Nadab and Abihu!

Amazingly, though, this covenant of faith has always been available to God’s people.  Consider how Hebrews affirms that “the gospel” was preached to the entire nation of Israel which left Egypt with Moses. “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2 KJV)

So, why did the gospel not profit those Israelites under Moses to whom it was preached? Hebrew 4:2 says it is because the word of the gospel was not mixed with faith. Now let’s consider the rest of this passage from Hebrews.

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ² For good news [gospel] came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.^[a] 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵ And again in this passage he said,

⁶ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news [gospel]  failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God^[b] would not have spoken of another day later on.⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:1-13)

Pay close attention to verses 2 and 6 above. Verse two says that Israel heard the gospel but that the gospel did not benefit them because they did not mix the word of the gospel with faith. But verse six says that those who heard the gospel did not benefit from it because of their disobedience. Applying logic to these two verses we see that failing to mix the word of God with faith is the same as disobedience. This means one of two things, either lack of faith equals disobedience or disobedience results in lack of faith. The latter, I think, makes more sense. This means that Israel’s disobedience to God’s word resulted in a lack of faith which then caused them to fail to enter into God’s rest, into the good of the gospel. According to the Book of Hebrews this very thing can happen to Christians as well.

Nevertheless, we find that it is faith not good works that establishes our standing in Christ and with God. Remember Paul’s words,

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[a] the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer^[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify^[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:1-9, ESV)

So, how do we get the faith to mix with God’s word which we need to be able to enter into his rest and thus into his Kingdom? Can I simply decide to believe and then suddenly become a man who is profited by the gospel? This seems to me to be the crux of the mystery of the gospel. What is it exactly which separates the overcomer in God from the one that does not overcome? How and why is it that one Christian receives the crown of life and the other rewards Jesus mentions in Revelation 2 and 3 and the other Christian has his name blotted out of the Book of Life according to Revelation 3:5?

I believe the passage quoted from Hebrews 4 above reveals the answer. Anyone who would be an overcomer must act upon the word of God which he has received, which he knows to be true. He must obey Jesus Christ. These acts of obedience will lead to ever more revelation of God’s word and will, in turn, lead to more good works. This is what Paul means when he says,

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)

Even though Paul does exhort us to work out our own (soul) salvation we must remember that it is God himself who actually works his will within us in order to accomplish this. This is the New Covenant, the covenant which is from faith to faith. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17 KJV)

The New Covenant succeeds, or arises from and out of, God’s old covenant with Abram (who God later renamed Abraham). In this article we will see that the Old Covenant was a covenant of flesh. God first established the covenant with Abram in Genesis 15. The word translated “covenant” is the Hebrew word ber-eeth’ which means “an agreement or contract made by passing between pieces of flesh.” Here is the Genesis 15 account.

After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

² And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

³ And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

⁴ And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

⁵ And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

⁶ And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

⁸ And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

⁹ And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

¹⁰ And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

¹¹ And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

¹² And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

¹³ And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

¹⁴ And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

¹⁵ And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces [pieces of flesh].

¹⁸ In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates…. (Genesis 15:1-18)

About fifteen years later, after Abraham had attempted to establish the covenant in his own flesh and procreated Ishmael (who became the perpetual thorn in the flesh of the spiritual man), God renewed the covenant.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

² And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. (Genesis 17:1-2)

Here God reveals his ultimate goal regarding his covenants with man, that he would walk before him in perfection just as he himself is perfect. But, men had many lessons to learn before this could ever become reality. Thus the LORD continued explaining to to Abram, saying,

⁴ As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

⁵ Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

⁶ And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

⁸ And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

⁹ And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

¹⁰ This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹ And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

¹² And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

¹³ He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴ And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

¹⁵ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

¹⁶ And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

¹⁸ And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

¹⁹ And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

²¹ But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. (Genesis 17:4-21)

Here once again we see that God established his old covenant by the cutting of flesh. In order to remain under the Old Covenant every Israelite male child had to be cut in his flesh, he had to be circumcised. If he was not so cut, then his “soul” would be “cut off from his people.” By this we see that the Old Covenant was a covenant of flesh. Paul’s teachings make it very clear that no one will ever be perfected in their flesh, and yet “perfect” is exactly what God called Abraham to be. Paul says, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) The obvious answer here is, “No, we cannot be made perfect by our flesh.” Also, remember that the book of Galatians deals almost exclusively with the Christian heresy of Paul’s time which demanded that Christians become circumcised in order to be saved, in order to be true Christians. By this Paul was showing the distinction between the Old and the New Covenants. The Old was a covenant of flesh, the New a covenant of spirit.

Regarding our flesh Paul also says, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18) Concerning this distinction between flesh and spirit Jesus says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth [gives life];  the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) Clearly both Jesus and Paul think very little of man’s ability to please God by his own fleshly efforts. God revealed his standards of right conduct in his old covenant laws, but both Jesus and Paul affirm that man cannot perfectly obey those laws. Thus we see that the old covenant of flesh was destined to fail because man in and by his flesh could never walk in the perfection which God requires. Men required something more than the laying down of right precepts in order to please God. They needed to eat God’s body and drink his blood, said Jesus. They needed the very life of God himself. This is why God himself came in the flesh and established a new covenant. Once again a covenant was established through torn flesh, but this time the flesh was God’s own flesh, and it resulted in tearing the veil that separated God from man and allowed man to enter into God’s spiritual presence.

The reason why it is important to understand that Passover relates to the firstborn instead of all people (at the present time) is because the entire Scripture was written for the chosen overcomers, not for the whole world. Jesus spoke in parables for this reason… to hide the truth from the general masses of humanity, not to explain it to them. Matthew says,

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:10-17 ESV)

Later in this same chapter Matthew said,

³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[e]

The question we face now is, “Why does God make this so hard?” We have to turn back to Isaiah chapter 6, the chapter Jesus quoted above, in order to understand. Following is that chapter in its entirety.

6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^[a] of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” ⁹ And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

This chapter begins with God revealing himself to the prophet Isaiah. Immediately upon receiving that revelation Isaiah “mourns” over his sinful condition and realizes he is “poor in spirit,” so poor in fact that he even calls his lips unclean. By responding in this way Isaiah shows that he, initially at least, qualifies to begin walking as an overcomer. In response to his heart’s cry “without guile” God sends a seraphim to touch his lips with a live, hot coal. This represents (is a type of) the baptism of fire (roasting the lamb) that every overcomer must go through. At this point Isaiah qualifies for the ministry of the word of God. God asks who will go to preach for Elohim and Isaiah volunteers. Then God gives him his marching orders. Isaiah will indeed preach the word of God (it is sweet in his mouth), but its outworking will be bitter (eating bitter herbs) because no one will understand him.

Then Isaiah wonders, how long will this go on? How long will it be until people will finally begin to understand your Word? God answers that this will not occur until judgments come and until the holy seed (firstborn, firstfruits, overcomers) are a mere stump in the land, all that is left of that huge tree today which sees itself as the Kingdom of God on earth, the Church. The overcomers will have been the only ones:

1. Who applied the blood of the Passover lamb to the doors and lintel of their lives (souls),
2. Who ate the lamb with unleavened bread (representing a soul without guile and hyprocrisy which has embraced the true doctrine of Christ, or as Paul says, “not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
3. Who ate the lamb with bitter herbs (they submitted to a life of travail and bitterness of soul as they worked out their soul’s salvation in fear and trembling)
4. Who ate the lamb roasted in the fire, not boiled in water or eaten raw (the overcomers submitted to the baptism of fire allowing God’s word to burn the dross, the sin, out of their souls)
5. Who roasted and ate the lamb whole, with its head, legs, and inner parts (they did not pick and choose the words of God they would apply to their lives; to them the Word of God is as a seamless garment which conveys one truth, God’s truth, and one law, and all of it is to be eaten)
6. Who ate the lamb without breaking its bones (Of course the people of Israel did not pick up the whole lamp and pass it around for each person to take a bite of it; they cut the joints and marrow with a sharp knife. This represents the truth of Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Overcomers learn to discern the word of God and submit to the Spirit’s work in them. They understand that the Word seeks to convert their souls, not just bring their spirits a one-time salvation that does not affect their earthly lives)
7. Who ate all the lamb in one night (who consumed Christ’s flesh and blood during their one life time, that is, who assimilated his word into their very souls and made it part of them during their earthly life, thus becoming one flesh with Christ; since they attempted to eat all of Christ what remains of him that was not eaten (not understood or assimilated during their lives) will be “burned in the fire;” it will be imputed to them by faith at their judgment just before their glorification)
8. Who ate the Passover lamb (Christ) with their loins girded (according to Ephesians 6:10-18 they learned of and submitted to Christ having their most vulnerable body parts protected with the belt of truth)
9. Who ate the Lamb with their feet shod with the Gospel of peace (again according to Ephesians 6)
10. Who ate the Lamb with his staff in his hand (the staff or rod represents the blossoming almond tree rod of Jeremiah 1:11; this speaks of new life, resurrected life, which will first be displayed in each overcomer, each firstborn manchild, the firstfruits of God)
11. Who ate the Lamb in haste (in some mystery I don’t understand the obedience of the overcomers hastens the coming of the Day of the LORD according to Peter,
    

    ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,^[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies^[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.^[c]

    ¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:8-13)

12. Who became circumcised by faith in Christ before they ate of him, their Lamb (“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:9-15)
13. Who came out of Babylon and refused to eat the Passover Lamb with uncircumcised foreigners (overcomers did not fellowship in Christ with those who refused to acknowledge, accept, and consume Christ in faith also)
14. Who ate the Lamb in One House, God’s House, as a firstborn son of God (“Therefore, holy brothers,^[a] you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, ² who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s^[b] house. ³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴ (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) ⁵ Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶ but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” (Hebrews 3:1-6, ESV)

Yes, many are called, but few, very few are chosen. For the vast majority of those called the word of God spoken to Isaiah and quoted by Christ has proved true:

“‘Keep on hearing,^[c] but do not understand;
keep on seeing,^[d] but do not perceive.’
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people dull,^[e]
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”

I didn’t say it. The LORD said it.

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel^[c] be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted,

³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^[d] did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

God called Moses in the wilderness in order to do a specific work with respect to his “firstborn.” The Scripture says,

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” (Exodus 4:21-23)

Recall that later, at the first Passover, Moses instructed all Israel to select a lamb for slaughter and to place some of its blood on the door posts and lintel of each house. Blood had to be applied there or else the death angel of God would strike and kill every firstborn person and beast in that household. Since none of the Egyptians observed this Passover every Egyptian household suffered death of their firstborns, both human and beast.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12)

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. (Ex. 12:29)

Immediately after this first Passover the LORD spoke to Moses saying, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” (Exodus 13:2) After this Moses instructed the People:

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, ¹² you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand theLord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” (Ex. 13:11-16)

Later, when Moses begins to expound God’s revealed laws to his redeemed nation he says, “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.” (Ex. 22:29) Later he says again, “All that open the womb are mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep.” (Ex. 34:19)

Egypt is a “type of” (represents) the world in Scripture. Pharaoh represents Satan in the “parable” of the ten judgments upon Egypt (although Pharaoh represents God in the parable of Joseph feeding all the world during the seven year famine. Joseph himself is a type of Christ and a type of the overcomer in that parable). So, God’s passing over, or saving, the firstborn Israelites in the first Passover has prophetic meaning as well. In the past we have only considered that Passover related to spiritual salvation which comes by simple faith in the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Now, as we consider the fifteen or more regulations which God imposed upon observing Passover,  we see that Passover really relates mainly to the firstborn. Passover does affect everyone else in the household as well, though, because they are kept safe by the presence of the firstborn who believes in the efficacy of Christ’s blood (the lamb) and who obeys the Passover regulations. An example of this is seen in Rahab of Jericho. Everyone who gathered in her house, based upon her faith in the God of Israel (displayed in the red cord hanging from her window), was saved from slaughter when Israel killed every living thing in Jericho. The question we face today is who the firstborn represents with respect to our Christian faith.

Before Israel’s second Passover, however, the LORD does a very strange thing. He substitutes an entire tribe of Israel, the Levites, for all of the firstborn males of Israel.

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle.⁸ They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.” (Numbers 3:5-13)

Moses expounds upon this two more times in the book of Numbers.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, ¹⁸ and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. ²¹ And the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, andAaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. (Numbers 8:14-22)

⁶ And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting.⁷ And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,^[a] and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” (Numbers 18:6-7)

This idea of substitution is something we see time and again in Scripture for, as a rule, the actual firstborn child of a Biblical character is usually disqualified. Adam was the firstborn son of God, Cain the firstborn of Adam, Ishmael the firstborn of Abraham, Esau the firstborn of Isaac, Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, and Manasseh the firstborn of Joseph. David was the last born, not the first of Jesse, and David’s firstborn, Amnon, was rejected in favor of Solomon, the second son of David’s infamous treachery and adultery with Bathsheba. Every single one of these firstborn sons was disqualified for spiritual rule for one reason or another.

Finally, when we come to the Biblical record of Jesus, God calls him his “only begotten son,” forgetting Adam altogether (but remember, Adam is called a “type” of Christ; I believe Adam will be found to be an overcomer in the end). Later, the apostles Paul and John call Jesus the firstborn from the dead.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29)

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. (Revelation 1:4-5)

And now we come to the mystery. The Bible reveals that only two men exist in God’s mind concerning his creation, Adam and Jesus Christ.

⁴⁵ Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;^[a] the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall^[b] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep,but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

I never noticed this until yesterday. God only commanded Israel one time to put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts and lintels, and this one time was when they still lived in Egypt. In the Scripture Egypt represents (is a “type” of) the world. Israel’s dwelling in Egypt, then, is a picture of all God’s people living in the world. Passover thus shows mankind the only way that he can escape ultimate death (insofar as he is aware), and the death in view is his soul’s death, not physical death because since the time of Adam all men but two or three have died physically.

Remember now that the lamb blood Israel applied to the doorposts and lintels also foreshadowed, or prophesied, the blood Jesus would shed for all men, a sacrifice which brings spiritual life to all men as Paul preaches. Here, though, every Israelite had to apply this blood to their own two door posts and lintel or else the death angel would destroy every first born in their home in the coming night, the beginning of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Did you hear this? The death angel only killed the firstborn, not everyone in the house. The firstborn here represent the first born out of God’s ultimate creation. Consider again two key verses in the Book of John:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came tohis own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13 ESV)

 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35-36)

These two verses show that the first step of a child of God (a son of light) is to believe in Jesus (God). The Israelites showed that they believed in God by placing the blood on their door posts and lintels according to his command. The penalty for failing to do this, death of all firstborns within the individual houses, and the rest of the commands for observing Passover show that this feast, like all others and like all the teaching in Scripture relate to becoming a son of God, not simply escaping “hell.” Becoming a son of God is all about the “salvation of one’s soul,” one’s mind, will, and emotions. It is all about being conformed to God’s image. Believing in Jesus is just the first step in this process.

So we see that the remaining commands regarding Passover relate to spiritual concepts which God’s overcomers learn and apply to their lives in order to save their souls. They are the ones who work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Here is a list of the specific commands concerning Passover:

1. The lamb had to be eaten on the night of Nisan 15
2. It had to be roasted on the fire, not boiled in water or eaten raw;
3. It had to be eaten with unleavened bread, not leavened bread;
4. It had to be eaten with bitter herbs;
5. It was to be roasted whole, with its head, legs, and inner parts. In Exodus 12:46 we learn that none of the lamb’s bone could be broken;
6. No flesh of the lamb could be left until the morning of Nisan 15. Anything left over was to be burned with fire;
7. Each Israelite was to eat his lamb with his “loins girded”;
8. Each Israelite must eat with shoes on this feet;
9. Each Israelite must eat with a rod in his hand;
10. Each Israelite was to eat in haste;
11. No foreigners could eat of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:43-45)
12. The lamb had to be eaten in one house and none of its flesh could be taken outside of that house (Ex. 12:46)
13. Every member of the nation of Israel was to eat the lamb (Ex. 12:47)
14. Besides women, only a male who had been circumcised could eat it. Strangers who sojourned with Israel who were circumcised could also eat it (Ex. 12:48)

Earlier we saw that eating unleavened bread foretells eating (bringing into ourselves) true doctrine and living that doctrine out in a life without hypocrisy. Then we learned that roasting the lamb relates to Christ’s  baptism of fire upon our lives which represents a total submission to his ways and his word. Next we see that the lamb has to be eaten with “bitter herbs.”

Today’s end-time church of Laodicea, the prosperity church, cannot relate to eating bitter herbs. To them believing in Jesus is their ticket to a better life here on earth, a life filled with healing, riches, and every good thing. They do not understand that this command looked forward to God’s words to Ezekiel and to John the Beloved:

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Likeemery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’whether they hear or refuse to hear.” (Ezekiel 3:1-11)

To John God said:

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take andeat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” (Revelation 10:8-11)

Any time a prophet or a teacher receives a new word from God that Word seems at first sweet to them. After all, the great God of the universe is speaking directly to them! How could that not be sweet? But, as any prophet or Godly teacher will tell you, the working out, the preaching, the application of that word is bitter, very bitter. The main reason for this, as God tells Ezekiel, is that the people you preach to do not believe you. They call you legalistic, divisive, a false prophet. I can testify to you that over a thirty six year ministry of teaching God’s word this has always been the case with me. Very few people within “the church” have ever heard anything I have had to say. I still remember one of the leaders of a “prophetic” ministry saying to me thirty years ago, “I see your ministry as at the back of the church.” In others words, “Don’t think you have anything to say to the people!” And even today I find that old church friends “de-friend” me on Facebook because they do not like the things I say.

Men love the “sweetness” of God’s word, but they hate the application of that word which makes their life bitter for a season, bitter because they must change in order to walk by that word. This is why God commanded Israel to eat their Passover lamb with bitter herbs. The overcomer’s life is one of applying the sweet words of God to his life, his soul, and that outworking is bitter indeed. It is no wonder, then, that most of “The Church” changed the feast of Passover to the pagan holiday known as Easter or Ishtar, a feast filled with bunny rabbits, colored eggs, and sweet ham, a feast where the Passover lamb and the bitter herbs are long forgotten.