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YET FORTY DAYS!

Electronic Bible Fellowship

2017

Jonah 3:1-4: And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 

God told Jonah to declare, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”  It has always been a mystery how God commanded His prophet to go to Nineveh and proclaim this statement as an absolute declaration. Despite all the negative sermons over the centuries discussing the rebellious prophet Jonah, we find in this case that he obediently did exactly as he was told: “Preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”  

For those individuals that want nothing to do with timelines when they share the teachings of the Bible, it is important to note that God does not seem to have any problem whatsoever with setting a time and having it declared to people. It is very revealing that God bid Jonah to preach what is obviously a timeline.   We are not going to look at the Biblical nature of timelines right now, but what we are going to begin to think about is that when God commanded Jonah to declare, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” it did not fail to happen, as we, perhaps, have always thought.  

The failure lies with our understanding of what was said and the truth is that we have never properly understood what God intended when Jonah cried out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”  We are going to look at the very real possibility that the warning to the Ninevites still stands – no, not to the historical city of Nineveh and its people, but to those the city of Nineveh represented, which was the world itself.  Nineveh is used in the Bible in a similar way as Egypt and Babylon are used. All of them can be types and figures of the world.  For example, it says in Nahum 1:1:

The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

After letting the reader of the book of Nahum know that what is being said involves Nineveh, God then goes on to discuss the final judgment of the world, in Nahum 1:5-6:

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

The book of Jonah records God sending His prophet to Nineveh, which we can understand as though he is being sent to the world. The message Jonah preached to Nineveh is a message intended for the unsaved inhabitants of the earth.  It was as though Jonah exclaimed, “Yet forty days, and the world shall be overthrown.” The message of God throughout the Bible is very clear and consistent concerning God’s intention of destroying the world and all the wicked people of the world at its end.  Of course, the historical account in the book of Jonah offers some complications because the people of Nineveh did repent.  And God lays down a law in the Bible that states that if a nation repents, He will not do the evil He said He would do unto them (Jeremiah 18:8). However, in the end, the only ones that truly repent and are spared destruction are God’s elect. The people of Nineveh that repented at the preaching of Jonah are therefore a type and figure of God’s elect, while the city itself remains an overall picture of the world. The gospel message of the Bible reveals that God will save His elect people out of the masses of the world, and then bring total destruction to the world and the rest of its inhabitants. 

Basically, the book of Jonah records the fact that God saved His elect out of Nineveh.  He did not save the non-elect.  He only saved the elect people of Nineveh and there were certainly some people in Nineveh that God did not spare, in the sense that they died in their sins, although He spared them physically at the time He did not destroy the city in a literal forty-day period. 

However, there is much more to the things we read in the book of Jonah than meets the eye.  We will find that the 40-day warning still has application to our present time because we have not yet come to the end of the “forty days,” spiritually.  You might be asking, “How can that be possible?”  Although we do not know the exact date Jonah went to Nineveh, it was at least over 2,600 years ago and, certainly, the 40-day period would have elapsed long ago.

Let’s consider how it is possible for the forty days to have not yet expired. 

THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE BOOK OF JONAH

The book of Jonah is arranged in a very interesting way.  In order to see this arrangement, let’s begin by going back to Jonah 1:1-2:

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

This was the first time God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh.  That is why it says in Jonah 3:1 that the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. The first chapter records the first commandment by God to Jonah to go to Nineveh.  Then it says in Jonah 1:3:

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

This language is indicating that Christ became a man and entered into the human race.  We know this is the case based on the phrase, “from the presence of the LORD,” which is mentioned twice in this verse.  Let us go back to Genesis 3 to the time right after Adam and Eve first sinned and made fig leaves to cover their nakedness.  It says in Genesis 3:8:

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

They fled “from the presence of the LORD” and that is the exact same phrase as we find in Jonah chapter one.  What does it indicate?  It means they had become sinful.  Due to their sin, man is no longer in communion with God and, instead, man hides from God and seeks to go away from His presence.  Jonah was commanded to go to Nineveh, but what did He do?  He got on a ship and went “from the presence of the LORD.”  It even said that he “went with them…from the presence of the LORD.”   Clearly, Jonah is a picture of Christ here, as Jesus was born into the world and took upon Himself human form; He became a man and lived among mankind where all the world is going away “from the presence of the LORD” and it is as if Jesus is going with them “from the presence of the LORD.”  

God’s first commandment to Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh (people of the world) identifies with the birth of Christ in 7 B.C.  When we look at the circumstances onboard the ship and how God controlled the sea and stirred up the waters to the point where the mariners had no choice but to cast him into the sea, it all relates to Jesus’ life and His time of ministry until the point of His death on the cross, does it not?  According to God’s determinate counsel, He arranged circumstances so that Jesus must go to the cross just as He arranged circumstances for the prophet Jonah to be cast overboard into the sea.  We read in Jonah 1:17:

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Again, chapter one begins with him receiving the commandment from the Lord to go to Nineveh.  Although we might think he was a rebellious prophet going from the presence of the Lord, that is where mankind is “located,” so Jonah is an excellent picture of Christ as He entered the human race that was going in a spiritual direction that was away from God.  Then, at the end of Jonah 1 it said, “And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”  The Lord Jesus also referred to Jonah’s length of time in the fish’s belly in Matthew 12:40:

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

When was Jesus in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights? Literally, He never was, but, spiritually, His suffering began Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed by Friday night in the tomb and Saturday night in the tomb, and then He rose early on Sunday.  We know precisely when this took place:  He was on the cross on April 1, in 33 A.D.  

Therefore, chapter one of the book of Jonah covers the birth of Christ in 7 B.C. to the cross in 33 A.D. when Jesus finished His earthly demonstration of what Jonah had prefigured, which was His death at the foundation of the world.  Then Jonah chapter two describes Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish, or the things which Christ referred to as taking place in the heart of the earth. This means, based on the typology and language God used, that chapters one and two cover the period from 7 B.C. to 33 A.D., a span of 40 calendar years.

When Jonah 2:10 says, “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land,” it can only identify with Christ’s resurrection in 33 A.D.  To summarize, there are 40 calendar years (when going from a B.C. date to an A.D. date it is necessary to minus “1” because there is no year “0”) covered in chapters one and two.  To be precise, it covers 39 actual years, yet 40 calendar years.

It is interesting that we also read in chapter three the phrase, “And yet forty days,” and the number “40” is in view, once again.  At what point in Jonah chapters two and three does the 40 days expire?  The answer is that it does not expire.  When we read chapter three, we find that Jonah went into the city a day’s journey, which was very early in the 40-day period, but then we see that the Ninevites repented, sat in sackcloth and cried mightily unto God.   That is how chapter three ends, as God says, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”  

Did the Ninevites know that God had turned from the evil that He said He would do to them?  None of them knew it.  It was a decree made in heaven and we do not find anywhere that God told Jonah or any other prophet to speak to them and tell them, “I have forgiven you because I have seen that you turned from your evil way.”  The people of Nineveh had absolutely no knowledge regarding God’s reaction to the repentance taking place in their city. And since they had no knowledge that God had turned from the evil He intended to do to them, what would the Ninevites have continued to do?  We can be sure that they would have continued to sit in sackcloth and cry mightily unto God.  The Lord, for His own purposes, left the people of Nineveh in that humbled condition.  How long would they have stayed in that condition crying out to God?  What did Jonah tell them? “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Certainly, they would have continued humbling themselves, in some form or another, for 40 days. 

In chapter four, after some discussion with God, Jonah goes out of the city.  It says in Jonah 4:5:

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

In a very interesting way, God tells us that Jonah is in a booth and the word “booth” is the same Hebrew word elsewhere translated as “tabernacle.” It is the same word for tabernacle used in the feast of tabernacles. We will not go into detail about this in this short booklet, but the feast of tabernacles was a feast designed by God to commemorate Israel’s dwelling in tabernacles, or booths, throughout their wilderness sojourn. How long did Israel dwell in booths in the wilderness? The Bible tells us that the Israelites dwelt in booths for 40 years. 

For how long did Jonah sit outside the city of Nineveh?  How long would you have waited?  “And yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”  That was the preaching He had been bidden to preach, so to find out what would happen to the city, Jonah would have certainly waited 40 days.  But the book of Jonah, which is only four chapters, concludes without God telling us what happened after 40 days.  After further conversation with Jonah, God said in the last verse in Jonah 4:11:

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?  

This is where the book ends.  It is a very unusual way to conclude a book.  The reader is left with a “cliff hanger” or a mystery left unsolved.  What happened to the city?  What happened regarding God’s declaration through Jonah, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown”?  We have always assumed that since the Ninevites repented, God did not destroy the city according to the preaching He had commanded Jonah to proclaim. Our assumption has always been that the 40 days came and went and God did not destroy the city as He had said He would do. We have concluded that God followed the principle laid down in Jeremiah 18:8-10:

If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. 

Apparently, this was the Biblical principal that God followed in the book of Jonah that permitted Him to not destroy the city of Nineveh.

But, then again, what if God’s commandment, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” had nothing to do, in the first instance, with the historical city of Nineveh?  What if it was a deeper spiritual warning that involved the entire world and, likewise, the 40-day period was also meant to be understood in a spiritual way?  In a way, that would extend the timeline for a period of time far greater than an actual 40 days. In such a spiritual understanding the 40-day period would not yet have come to an end.   Biblically, is it possible for God to give an historical declaration like we find in the book of Jonah and, yet, have its actual application to be on a spiritual level? 

Yes, indeed, God can give commandments in His Word that we would expect to have physical application, and yet they never do have any physical application.  Let us look at an example of this where God is speaking to the nation of Israel, a type of the New Testament churches.  It says in Deuteronomy 28:68:

And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. 

In this verse, God is speaking to Israel and He is saying that as a punishment for their disobedience, He will bring them into Egypt again with ships.  It’s certain that Israel was disobedient to the point of being punished by God. However, can anyone disclose where that chapter and verse is found in the Bible wherein God brings Israel back to Egypt in ships and there they are unloaded and returned as bondservants in Egypt?  You will not be able to find such a verse because it does not exist.  And yet, this verse is not saying that this might happen to Israel, but God said it would happen. It is a matter-of-fact statement: “And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships.”  Is it untrue?  Absolutely not! This is the Word of God. It must therefore be true. However, the fulfillment was not on a literal level.  It was spiritually fulfilled.   What does Israel typify?  It typifies the corporate church and God does liken churches to ships in Acts 27 where the destruction of a ship was a picture of the end of the Church Age.  During the Great Tribulation, the Spirit of God departed out of the midst of the churches.  Where have those people that are still in the churches been taken?  They were taken back into spiritual Egypt or back into spiritual bondage because salvation ended in the churches and Satan (often typified by Pharaoh) ruled there during the 23 years of the Great Tribulation, as it says in Revelation 11:7-8:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

The people of the churches, typified by Israel, have been returned to bondage to sin and to Satan. It is as if Israel of old had gone back into Egypt and returned to the house of bondage.  Therefore, there was a spiritual aspect to the command in Deuteronomy 28:68 and God did, indeed, fulfill the command on the spiritual level. 

Likewise, if God says, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” and, yet, He does not physically destroy the historical city of Nineveh in the 40-day timeline, but He does destroy the entire world after what the 40-day timeline represents spiritually, He will then have fulfilled the preaching He bid Jonah to preach.  He will have done what He said He was going to do!  

We saw that chapters one and two of Jonah involve a 40-year timeline of Christ’s first coming, which would identify with God’s command to Jonah to go to Nineveh (the world) the first time.  Then chapters three and four involve a 40-day timeline with the second command to Jonah.  The command is given in Jonah 3:1:

And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

Then Jonah went into the city only a day’s journey.  But how many days’ journey was the city?  It was said to be a three-day journey.  If you only went into the city a day’s journey, but the entire city is a three-day journey, how much of the city have you reached?  You have reached “one third” of the city.  As we read the Bible, we find that God’s overriding concern is always with bringing His Gospel to His elect people.  The command in Matthew 28:9, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” was accomplished when the last one of the elect became saved.  There is no command to preach to unregenerate or non-elect people.  What would be the purpose?  There is no purpose in that.

But Jonah went one third of the way into the city because the elect are typified by the figure of “one third.”  Remember the ratio the Bible lays out to represent the saved and unsaved people of the world?  It is “one third” and “two thirds,” as it says in Zechariah 13:8-9:  

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, the LORD is my God.

“One third” of the city hear Jonah’s preaching while “two thirds” do not hear.  Of course, God does not make this distinction as we read the account in the book of Jonah. All we see is the reaction of the people of Nineveh as they sit in sackcloth and ashes and cry mightily to God.  In doing this, they typify the elect’s reaction to the Gospel.

Let us go back to Jonah 3:3 to read the verse again:

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

Let’s compare this verse to Revelation 16:19:

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell…

Nineveh was said to be a great city of three days’ journey, but he went into the city a day’s journey and Revelation speaks of a great city that has “three parts,” so that ties in to a one third/two thirds relationship that the Bible mentions from time to time. The figure of “one third” typifies God’s elect and the figure of “two thirds” typify the unsaved of the world. By entering into the city of Nineveh only a day’s journey, God is greatly emphasizing that the Ninevites were a type of His elect people. 

THE NAME JONAH MEANS “DOVE”

As previously mentioned, God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh the second time, and we have already learned that the city of Nineveh typifies the world.  At this time, it would be good for us to consider what the name “Jonah” means.  It means “dove.” The Hebrew word is #3124 in Strong’s Concordance. The word translated as “dove” is Strong’s #3123.  They are right next to one another in the concordance and both words have identical consonants along with identical vowel pointing, so I do not know why they differentiate the two because they are the same word.  Now let’s ask the question: what does “dove” represent in the Bible?  We will see that it very clearly represents the Holy Spirit.  It says in Matthew 3:16:

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 

You can read similar statements in the other Gospel accounts, too.  The Holy Spirit is likened to a dove.  This is the way in which God makes connections in order that we begin to see spiritual types and figures emerge. Typically, a defining verse arises that ties two Scriptures together and, in the process, establishes a Biblical typology. Here, the defining verse declares the Spirit is “like a dove.”  

In chapter one, Jonah was told to go to Nineveh the first time.  In chapter three, God commanded Jonah, the “dove,” to go to Nineveh the second time. Once again, since Jonah means “dove” and a dove pictures the Holy Spirit, our next step is to see if God’s sending of Jonah two times to Nineveh relates in any way to God sending out His Holy Spirit two times to the world.  Previously, in our study of the Bible we have learned that there were two outpourings of the Holy Spirit in God’s salvation program. These two periods of sending forth the Holy Spirit were typified by two periods of rain that would fall to bring in God’s spiritual harvest, the salvation of His elect people, as it says in Joel 2:23: 

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Also, the Bible speaks of these “rains” in James 5:7:

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

It all began with the Lord Jesus who was born in the Jubilee year of 7 B.C.  Following His birth, He fulfilled His 40-calendar-year ministry in the year 33 A.D.  In that same year, He returned to heaven after showing Himself alive after His resurrection for forty days and then, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out the first time to begin the Church Age and to gather the firstfruits unto God.  And, for all intents and purposes, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit continued over the next 1,955 years of the Church Age. All throughout this time, the early rain fell and the firstfruits of God’s salvation plan were being brought in through salvation.

But in 1988, God ended the early rain period along with the Church Age.  At that time judgment began on the house of God as the Great Tribulation period got under way.  For the first 2,300 evening mornings, from May 21, 1988 through September 7, 1994, there was “no rain” and no more firstfruits being brought in. It was the lack of rain which made that period of time so grievous.  Then, finally, in September 1994, God set His hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during a period of time the Bible called “the Latter Rain.” The Bible describes the time of the final rain as a time of a great spiritual harvest in which a great multitude of people around the world would become saved.  Let us look at Isaiah 11:11:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

Once again, God began to evangelize the earth, during the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  He saved people like never before, as He saved the great multitude that came out of Great Tribulation during the last (about) seventeen years of the Great Tribulation, from 1994 to 2011.  It says in Revelation 7:9:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Then it says of this “great multitude,” in Revelation 7:13-14:

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

We do not know how many people God saved during those years of the latter rain, but the language of the Bible indicates it would have been tens of millions all over the earth.  After reserving the best for last and saving all whose names were in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lord concluded the Great Tribulation simultaneously with the Latter Rain and the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  It all came to an end on May 21, 2011: Judgment Day!

VERY FEW SAVED IN O.T. HISTORY—NINEVEH, THE EXCEPTION!

When we read the Old Testament, do we find large numbers of people being saved?  No, it’s normally the opposite and we read of very few being saved. How many people were saved on the ark?  There were only eight souls out of the entire world’s population of that time.  How many were saved out of Sodom and Gomorrah?  The Bible reveals there were only three – Lot and his two daughters.  Even Lot’s wife, who escaped the city initially, later perished.  How many people were saved in other periods of Old Testament history?  Again, and again, we read of only a small number of individuals that truly became saved, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron.  We read of individuals being saved, here and there, throughout the thousands of years of Old Testament history.  

One of the greater references to people being saved in the Old Testament is found in the book of 1 Kings where God speaks of a group of seven thousand Israelites that had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18).  This was a fairly large number for the Old Testament times, but it is nothing in comparison to the number of people we find that God saved out of Nineveh. The entire city sat in sackcloth and ashes and cried mightily unto God. Certainly, this was strong evidence that tremendous numbers of people in that great city became saved.  But why, out of all the many opportunities to save various nations and people, did God reserve such a great display of salvation for the city of Nineveh?  

As we study this question, the answer clearly appears to be that Jonah’s (the dove’s) warning to them was pointing to the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Historically, God sent His prophet Jonah to the Assyrian city of Nineveh.  However, spiritually, it was as though God had stretched forth His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people.  The saving of so many Ninevites was pointing to the outpouring of the Latter Rain during the last (about) seventeen years of the Great Tribulation, a glorious time when God saved a great multitude of people outside of the churches and congregations of the world.  By saving many from a foreign city and nation like Nineveh (instead of saving many out of Israel), God was illustrating His plan to save many people outside of the corporate church, which Israel typified. This is why we read of this wonderful exception to the general rule that few were saved during the Old Testament period.  

I do not know if we can say that 120,000 were saved in Nineveh (120,000 is a number God gives at the very end of the book), but, certainly, it is safe for us to say that there were more people saved in Nineveh than in any other instance found in the Old Testament historical record.  There is no other account found in the Old Testament where so many were saved – the salvation of the Ninevites is the “great multitude” of the Old Testament.  

Yes, there is an account in Ezekiel 37 concerning the valley of dry bones and it speaks of a great number coming together, but that was a vision.  They were not real people.  God did not bring dead bones to life again, but it was designed by God to be a vision to give instruction about His salvation program.  As far as an actual historical account, there is nothing like what happened to the people of Nineveh after Jonah, the dove, was sent the second time to Nineveh.  And, once again, it ties in with God pouring out His Spirit the second time to save the great multitude during the little season of the Great Tribulation.

Let us look at Matthew 12 where Jesus refers to those that were saved in Nineveh.  After saying, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,” Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 12:41:

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

This statement from Christ leaves no doubt. Since they are going to rise in the resurrection, it can only mean that the people of Nineveh were truly saved.  When we read in Jonah 3:5-9 about the king’s decree and the putting on of sackcloth, it was an actual reflection of their spiritual condition.  God saved many people in Nineveh and He also used them to typify the great multitude that He would later save out of the Great Tribulation.

THE SECOND TIME

It says in Jonah 3:4:

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 

Concerning the 40-day reference, there are a few times in the Bible where God speaks of 40 days and then ties it in with 40 years.  For instance, it says in Numbers 14:33-34:

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. 

This same kind of statement is made several times in the Bible.  The 40 days are related to 40 years.  In the case mentioned in Numbers 14, it was a judgment of God upon Israel because ten of the spies that searched out the land came back with an evil report.  Therefore, the judgment was that they must wander in the wilderness a year for each day they had searched out the land.  They searched out the land for 40 days, so they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, from 1447 B.C. through 1407 B.C.  Then in 1407 B.C., Moses died and they were prepared to enter into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land.  We read in Joshua 5:1-2:

And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 

It was the second time.  God said He would set His hand the second time to recover the remnant of His people (Isaiah 11:11).  God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh the second time to preach the preaching that He bid him.  

It is very interesting to us that at the end of the 40 days (a day for a year), God commanded to “circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.”  Those that had come out of Egypt were circumcised at the very beginning of their journey, but the vast majority of them had perished in the wilderness.  So these were the younger people that had grown up in the wilderness and God was making sure they were circumcised the second time before entering the land of Canaan, the Promised Land that often typifies heaven.  It was at the end of 40 days/ 40 years, they were circumcised again the second time.  In Jonah 3, it was at the beginning of a 40-day period that God told Jonah to preach a second time.  It is interesting that we have 40 days in view in both places where a “second time” is mentioned.  We know the preaching a “second time” identifies with the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

According to what we have learned from the Biblical calendar of history, when did God pour out the Holy Spirit the second time?  It was in the year 1994 which was a Jubilee year, just as Jesus was born in 7 B.C., a Jubilee year.  That is where Jonah begins when he went with them from the presence of the LORD.  So Jonah chapter one begins in a Jubilee year and spans 40 calendar years in chapters one and two; then the third chapter of Jonah identifies with the second sending of the “dove” or Holy Spirit, and we know that identifies with the Jubilee year of 1994.  

These are Biblical tie-ins or connections that the Bible makes and it comes from much study that has been done over many years now.  These are things many of us are familiar with, but there may be someone that is not as familiar with it and they would have to do further Bible study, but in September 1994 when the Latter Rain began it identifies with the time when God began to save the great multitude, just as Jonah was commanded the second time by God to go into Nineveh.  This connection between Jonah (the dove) and the Holy Spirit allows us to say that Jonah’s entry into Nineveh relates to the year 1994 and the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit which began at that time.   

Since the Bible speaks of “a day for a year” and if we are looking at a period of forty days, then it is very possible it could be pointing to 40 years from the entry into Nineveh or the command for the “dove” or Holy Spirit to go forth and save many people.  And 40 years from 1994 would be 2034 A.D. As far as we know, that year is not a particularly important year in God’s timetable. However, we have the historical precedent of Christ’s first coming, which identifies with the first two chapters of Jonah and the first command to rise and go to Nineveh. The first coming of Christ and the first outpouring of the Spirit of God, beginning in a Jubilee year, 7 B.C., covered 40 calendar years and 39 actual years.  The precedent established by Christ’s first coming allows us to apply the similar timeline to the command for Jonah to preach, “Yet forty days,” or 40 inclusive years.  It would not be calendar years because you do not call them calendar years unless you are going from a date in the Old Testament to a date in the New Testament, but it is 40 inclusive years from 1994 to 2033.  

If you are wondering what an inclusive year is, it means you would start counting from 1994 as “year one,” rather than calculating from 1994 to 1995, with 1995 as “year one.”  You can write it out, starting with 1994 and list all the years to 2033, with 1994 being “year one” and you will find that 2033 is the 40th inclusive year (see Appendix I), which is the identical time period from the birth of Christ in 7 B.C. to 33 A.D. when He went to the cross.  In other words, from 1994 to 2033 is the identical time period (number of years) as 7 B.C. to 33 A.D. (see Appendix II).  It was exactly the same and that relates to this whole idea in the book of Jonah.  To begin with, Jonah went to Nineveh and he preached and there was a tremendous response to his preaching, like nothing comparable in the Old Testament.  Then it is as if God takes the focus off the people of Nineveh and just leaves them there sitting in sackcloth and ashes while the 40-day period continues.  It is as though God leaves the reader of the book of Jonah “up in the air,” without any conclusion or summation.  It could be that the reason He leaves it at that junction is because the events taking place there really have spiritual application to a time in history that is more than two thousand years into the future, a time at the end of the world when there will be the final fulfillment of the 40 days! 

Remember, back in Joshua 5:1-2, God commanded that they circumcise the children of Israel the second time.  Let’s ask the question: how many resurrections are there in the Bible?  The answer is, there are two resurrections.  The first resurrection is the resurrection of the soul that takes place when a person is born again and the second resurrection is of the body at the end of the world.  We know the Bible describes the first resurrection (of the soul) as salvation. Does the Bible view the second resurrection also as an act of salvation?  Yes, because the body is sinful.  Our soul was sinful and dead and we were spiritually dead when God saved our souls.  It was a resurrection to “life” and circumcision points to that.  When God resurrects our physical bodies, it is the completion of His salvation program and it is the “second circumcision” because He is going to cut off the sins that are in our flesh and equip us with new resurrected spiritual bodies.  It says in Romans 8:23: 

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

When will the redemption of our body come?  It takes place on the last day.  Therefore, we find that at the beginning of the second sending of Jonah, the dove or the Holy Spirit, there was a great salvation of the Ninevites (people of the world outside of the churches).  This pointed to the great multitude that were saved in their souls during the little season of the Latter Rain which fell during the second part of the Great Tribulation, but in Joshua 5 it is at the end of the wilderness sojourn when they are about to cross the Jordan and enter into the land of Canaan, which can typify the new heaven and new earth.  History continued, of course, and from that point on there was the conquest of the land of Canaan and the rest of the history of Israel, but this picture of Israel being circumcised the second time identifies with the second resurrection, which is the putting off of the sins of the flesh at the completion of God’s salvation program at the end of the world.  It says in Joshua 5:5-7:

Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.

SPACE BETWEEN YOU AND IT, ABOUT TWO THOUSAND CUBITS

In Joshua 3:3-4 we read:

And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 

The ark went first and the Levites and the priests followed at the space of 2,000 cubits. When we take a closer look at these verses, we find that the ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the river Jordan is picturing the wrath of God. It is necessary to cross over the wrath of God in order to reach the Promised Land, the new heaven and new earth.  The ark (Jesus) is the first to pass over Jordan. We could say that, spiritually, Jesus was the first to experience the wrath of God, and it is because of His passing over first that a way is made for His people to cross over after Him. The people of Israel followed after the ark by the space of about 2,000 cubits by measure. The people of Israel would represent the Israel of God or those truly saved. Each child of God must also cross over Jordan (the wrath of God) in order to reach the Promised Land of the new heaven and new earth.  As we consider God’s statement, “about two thousand cubits by measure,” the use of the word “measure” helps us to understand that time is actually in view.   It says in Psalm 39:4:

the LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.

The measure of time in view would relate the 2,000 cubits  to 2,000 years.  Once we understand all the types and figures God used in these verses, the deeper spiritual meaning becomes obvious. The ark (Christ) passed over Jordan (experienced the wrath of God during His demonstration on the cross) and will be followed by His Israel (the elect of God) about 2,000 cubits (2,000 years) after. 

From the year 7 B.C. to 1994 A.D. (from a Jubilee year to a Jubilee year), how much time elapsed?  It is a period of exactly 2,000 years (7 + 1994 – 1).  It is interesting how many Jubilees, which happen every 50 years, have passed since Christ was born in 7 B.C. until the Jubilee in 1994.  Divide 50 into 2,000 and you get 40 Jubilees from the first entry of Christ into the world, which identified with the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, to 1994 when the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit began during the Latter Rain.  It was exactly 2,000 years (40 x 50) since Jesus was born.  Also, when Christ went to the cross in 33 A.D., it was all part of the first pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and when we go from 33 A.D. to 2033 A.D., it is again 2,000 years (2033 – 33 = 2000), exactly.  It is as though God has one timeline running on this track over here with the first coming of Christ, from 7 B.C. to 33 A.D.; and over there, on another track, 2,000 years later, is a parallel timeline running from 1994 to 2033.  An exact 2,000 years separates the dates and that is very significant because the Bible speaks of the Messiah coming the first time after 11,000 years of history, and the Bible also points to Christ coming the second time after 13,000 years of history.  What separates 13,000 from 11,000?  It is 2,000 years, so we have a parallel timeline running that matches perfectly with the first coming of Christ, which began with a Jubilee year in 7 B.C.  And this final timeline also begins with a Jubilee year in the year 1994.  

We can tie the statement, “Yet forty days,” with the second outpouring of the Jubilee or the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which began in the year 1994.  So, let us ask a very important question: has the 40 days (40 years) that Jonah was commanded to proclaim to the Ninevites passed?  The answer is, “No,” the time until the day of destruction has not yet passed.  

I know these past few years of living through the Great Tribulation, and now living on the earth in the Day of Judgment, seems like it has been a long, long time to all of God’s people.  It is certainly difficult to live in the world at a time when God has given it up and turned it over to sin and has also ended the Church Age.  It’s even more difficult to live on the earth at a time when God has shut the door of heaven and ended His salvation program. 

Yet, if we are correct, God has given us a timeline in Jonah 3 for the period of the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit all the way to its conclusion, which identifies with 40 days. Jonah was waiting for the 40 days to elapse all the while he was sitting under a booth.  Remember the feast of tabernacles and its connection to the end of the world?  We can’t help but see a possible relationship between a 40-year timeline and the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles being accomplished.  At this time, we are well into the 40-year (inclusive) period and there are possibly just a few more years to go, so it is a very definite possibility that God has given us the timeline that spans the Great Tribulation, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Latter Rain, and now into Judgment Day itself—a timeline that will finally end with the destruction or the world 40 years from the point that the Holy Spirit was sent forth a second time to save the great multitude.  At that point, spiritually, God will have fulfilled His Word that He commanded the prophet Jonah to preach: “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” The work of the Holy Spirit during the time of its second outpouring will be completed when the elect people of God receive our new resurrected spiritual bodies.  That is the point when it may be said that salvation has been completed and we have, as it were, been circumcised a second time.   

THE USE OF THE WORD “ABOUT”

One last thing we must consider is why God uses the word “about” in Joshua 3:4. Since the main date for Christ’s first coming is 33 A.D., and if He brings His people into the new heaven and new earth exactly 2,000 years later in the year 2033 A.D., why was the word “about” used? 

Actually, the answer is not that hard to understand. It was in the year 2011 A.D. that the elect children of God, along with the rest of the world, first entered into the Day of Judgment. Remember, the Jordan river typified the wrath of God. The ark (Christ) entered first, and the people of Israel (the elect) were to follow “about” 2,000 cubits (2,000 years) after. God’s wrath began to fall on the world on May 21, 2011. The year 2011 is separated by 1,978 years from the year 33 A.D.  All the elect people of God were left alive and remaining on the earth to go through the judgment period. While it is true that the conclusion of the prolonged Day of Judgment may take us to the year 2033 A.D., a date exactly 2,000 years from the cross of Christ, yet its beginning point of 2011 was 1,978 years from the cross, a time period that is close to 2,000 years, but is not quite 2,000 years, and therefore, God accurately used the word “about” to describe it. 

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The Elect’s Appearance
Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

The Elect’s Appearance
Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

by Chris McCann

Electronic Bible Fellowship

2017

Copyright © 2017 by Chris McCann

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Edition: July 2017

Second Edition: August 2018

Electronic Bible Fellowship
P.O. Box 1393
Sharon Hill, PA 19079-0593
U.S.A.

www.ebiblefellowship.org

A copy of this book may be freely obtained by sending an e-mail to:
ebiblefellowship@juno.com.

Contents

Preface 2

Chapter 1: The Elect’s Appearance Before the Judgment Seat of Christ 5

The Word “We” 5

Here is the Patience of the Saints 8

Chapter 2: Isaiah 24 11

Additional Biblical Evidence 12

We Which Are Alive and Remain 14

Chapter 3: God’s Plan to Judge Both Saved and Unsaved Alike 17

The Quick and the Dead 17

One Event to All 19

Christ Prays that His People NOT be Taken Out of the World 21

Chapter 4: The Judgment Seat of Christ 25

Rule them with a Rod of Iron 27

Feed them with a Rod of Iron 29

Chapter 5: We Must All Appear 33

The Manifestation of Jesus in History 35

The Elect (Saved) Have Already Been Judged in Christ at the Foundation of the World 37

Chapter 6: We Shall All Stand Before the Judgment Seat 41

Who Shall be Able to Stand? 42

The Wicked Will Burn, the Righteous Will Endure the Fire 44

Chapter 7: God Gets the Glory 47

Scripture Index 52

Preface

Perhaps the date of May 21, 2011 has faded from your memory? It should not have. The Bible and its Biblical calendar continue to insist that that day was indeed the beginning of Judgment Day for this world. 

E Bible Fellowship and many of God’s elect people have spent a great deal of time searching the Scriptures to find our error or to find correction regarding the date and declaration that was proclaimed to the world: “May 21, 2011, Judgment Day!” Despite all of our searching and questioning, we cannot find any fault with the timeline of history and the Biblical calendar that directed us to arrive at that date with such confidence that we dared to boldly share it with the world by using an exclamation point. 

Since our diligent study of the Scriptures continues to show that the Bible will not budge or move off the date May 21, 2011 as the Day of Judgment, this can only mean that the Bible is still insisting that the final judgment of mankind did begin on that day. 

Because God’s elect people believe the Bible above all (even over what our own physical eyes tell us), we have returned to the Word of God with the understanding that it is Judgment Day. Knowing this, how then can we explain certain things that have been going on since May 21, 2011? For instance, why was there no physical earthquake or any physical destruction of any kind? The answer to these questions is that God often brings spiritual judgments to pass. As a matter of fact, some of the most important and major judgments recorded in the Bible were all spiritual judgments: man’s fall in the garden of Eden, Jesus’ drinking of the cup of wrath while in the garden of Gethsemane, and God’s judgment on the corporate church, are all examples.

Next, we searched the Bible with the question in mind: if May 21, 2011, was Judgment Day, then why are we still here several years later? Is it possible for Judgment Day (singular) to be more than one day? And again, the Bible provided an answer that permitted us to move forward. Indeed, there are times when God does speak of long periods of time as a single day (see Hebrews 3:8-9). 

This led us to a very important question—one that personally impacted each person that God had saved—if God has brought the world into (spiritual) judgment and its Judgment Day (although a prolonged and drawn out judgment period), then how is it possible that the elect are still living and functioning on the earth? Should they not be raptured before the judgment?  That’s what we have long been taught by reformed theologians: that God will remove His people out of the world before proceeding to judge and punish its unsaved people. 

Yet, again, if May 21, 2011 began the final judgment process, and since the elect were obviously not raptured out of the world, would not that mean that they were going through the judgment? 

This booklet has been written in order to answer this very interesting question. We will find that the Bible has long taught, and in many Scriptures, that it has always been God’s plan to bring all the elect people before His judgment seat, and to do so for a very special reason and purpose. At this time, the people of God are alive and remaining on the earth while God works out His end-time judgment program.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Our hope for the reader is that you will, ultimately, be comforted by the information found in this booklet and realize that no mistake was made concerning the date of May 21, 2011 as the beginning Day of Judgment. And because no mistake was made we can be sure that each one of us is exactly where God wanted us to be.  

Chapter 1: The Elect’s Appearance Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

The Bible presents to us an incredible truth in the second epistle to the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ …

We are filled with questions after reading this statement. The first thing we wonder is: who are they which must make this appearance before Christ’s judgment seat? The plural pronoun “we” seems fairly ambiguous. It seems like it could be referring to anyone at all. 

However, a closer look at the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 5 reveals something very interesting and helpful to us in our desire to identify exactly who is in view by the use of the plural pronoun.  

The Word “We”

Let’s begin by reading all the verses leading up to verse 10:

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 

3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

6) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 

7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

9) Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

The plural pronoun “we” is used 14 times in the above passage. The 14th time, in verse 10, the statement is made that “we” must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 

The 13 times the plural pronoun “we” is used leading up to verse 10 can all be shown to point exclusively to God's elect: 

v.1 “we know...we have a building of God...”; v.2 “we groan...desiring to be clothed...with our house...from heaven; v.3 “we shall not be found naked”; v.4 “we do groan...not that we be unclothed, but clothed upon...”; v.6 “we are always confident, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord”; v.7 “we walk by faith, and not by sight”; v.8 “we are confident, and willing, to be absent from the body...”; v.9 “we labor, that, we may be accepted of Him.” 

After reading all of the statements made in this passage, it becomes obvious that the plural pronoun “we” can only refer to God’s elect in each case. It is certain that the unsaved people of the world are NOT groaning and desiring that their earthly house (their body) be clothed from heaven (i.e., to die and go to heaven). And it is certain that the unsaved people of the world have no confidence in the Biblical truths concerning life after death. And it is absolutely certain that none of the unsaved people of the world “walk by faith and not by sight.”

It quickly becomes apparent to the reader that each and every statement made in verses 1 through 9 applies exclusively to God’s elect people. This means that all 13 instances that the plural pronoun “we” is used in the first nine verses identifies only with God’s elect. 

Therefore, we can rightly conclude that the reference to “we” in verse 10 is also directed solely to the elect people of God:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ...

This observation is correct but nonetheless astounding to us. The people of God have long thought that they would be raptured out of the world before the Day of Judgment began. For over a millennium, theologians have taught that those people that God saved would NOT remain on the earth to go through the final judgment. 

Of course, many of the same theologians also taught us that the elect people of God would not go through the Great Tribulation period. Commentaries have laid out elaborate scenarios in which the people of God are raptured out of the world and then, at that point, the Great Tribulation begins. 

Yet we now know absolutely that that teaching is incorrect. In fact, we have already gone through the entire 23-year Great Tribulation period. The Lord foretold this would be the case in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

…

10) He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

In Revelation chapter 13, the Lord is discussing the loosing of Satan (called “the beast”) during the time of the Great Tribulation period. Notice that in the context of Satan’s loosing and overcoming of the saints (churches), God takes special care to let us know that that will also be the time of the “patience and faith of the saints.” Obviously, if the saints (elect) were raptured prior to the Great Tribulation then their patience and faith would not be a point of emphasis. The reason the patience and faith of the saints are highlighted here is only because they remained on the earth to go through the Great Tribulation period. The use of the word “here” in the context of the loosing of Satan (the beast) and his victory over the camp of the saints serves to illustrate the point that God’s elect are indeed present in the world at that terrible time of Great Tribulation. 

Here is the Patience of the Saints

Amazingly, in the very next chapter of the book of Revelation, we find a similar statement to what we read in chapter 13 concerning the saints. To begin with, we see that the context in view in chapter 14 is the final judgment of mankind. The language found there is clearly depicting Judgment Day:

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

11) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Everything about these verses points to the Day of the Lord’s wrath. It even says so in verse 10, “…the wine of the wrath of God.” The verse also mentions “the cup of His indignation” and “tormented with fire and brimstone.” The next verse (11) goes on to speak of “the smoke of their torment” and “they have no rest day nor night.” It is all terrible language that anyone familiar with the Bible will soon recognize as the language often used in connection with the Day of the Lord, the final judgment of the unsaved people of the earth. 

“Okay,” someone may say, “I see that, but so what? What’s your point?” 

The point comes into view with the very next verse:

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Wait a second. That’s very similar language to what we read in the previous chapter, in Revelation 13. In that chapter dealing with the Great Tribulation, God told us of many awful things that the beast was going to do during that time period, and then inserted the Scripture that declared:

Revelation 13:10b … Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Once again, we realized that this statement was made to indicate the presence of God’s elect on the earth during the Great Tribulation period. But this passage in Revelation 14 isn’t addressing the Great Tribulation period at all, it has to do with the final judgment of mankind at the end of the world. Why would God insert a statement concerning the patience of the saints in the context of the end of the world? 

Is the Lord insinuating that the elect will be in the world at the time the final judgment of the wicked is taking place? Is it possible that by explicitly saying, “Here is the patience of the saints,” right after discussing the torment of fire and brimstone, that God is letting us know that the elect will be left on the earth while it is happening? And that this shocking experience will try their patience? 

What an amazing thing for God to say in that awful context. What are we to make of this statement? Is there any other Biblical evidence that might support the idea that God’s elect (saved people) would be present in the world during the outpouring of the wrath of God upon the ungodly? 

The answer is, “yes.” To our surprise, as we search the Bible we find quite a bit of additional Biblical support for this conclusion. In the next chapter, we will take a look at some other Scriptures that tie in with this incredible information that we are beginning to learn from the Bible. 

Chapter 2: Isaiah 24

We discover, in the book of Isaiah, that God has moved His prophet to record a chapter which is completely focused on the final judgment of this world. It is Isaiah chapter 24. As we read through the chapter numerous statements confirm that the object of God’s wrath is indeed the whole world:

Isaiah 24:4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

5) The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

In just the two verses shown above, the word “earth” is mentioned three times, and the word “world” once. The emphasis on the judgment of the world cannot be missed. The next verse, though, tells us something astounding in regards to this final judgment of the earth:

Isaiah 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Twice more we find the word “earth” is used. The language of God’s wrath upon the earth is unavoidable: “the curse devoured the earth,” “they that dwell therein are desolate,” and “the inhabitants of the earth are burned.” Awful, ugly language. This verse is surely telling us that something horrific has happened to the inhabitants of the earth in the Day of Judgment. There is no doubt that it is all bad for them (cursed, desolate, burned) and yet, incredibly, we also read something that stands out in a remarkable way at the end of verse 6:

 “… and few men left.”

Immediately our mind fills with questions. How is it possible that all the rest of the inhabitants of the earth are burned and yet these few men remain? Why weren’t they burned? Who are these few men? And why are they left?

First, let’s try to identify exactly who the “few men” are. We don’t have to look too hard in the Bible before we find that God provides Scriptural confirmation regarding their identity. 

Matthew 20:16b … for many be called, but few chosen.

The few who are chosen are God’s elect. Out of mankind, God chose (elected) a certain number to become saved. They are only a tiny remnant out of the whole. The “few men left” in Isaiah 24:6 must be God’s elect. 

Therefore, we can know the following things about Isaiah chapter 24:

1. Isaiah 24 goes into detail describing the final judgment of the world.
2. We are told the inhabitants of the earth (most) are burned.
3. We are also told that few men are left. These few men are God’s elect.

These conclusions are very interesting to us because they agree with the information we learned from Revelation 14:10-12 and from 2 Corinthians 5:10. Isaiah 24 offers strong support for the idea that God’s elect will be left on the earth at the same time God is pouring out His wrath on the wicked (“the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left”). 

Additional Biblical Evidence

The idea we’re examining is brand new to us.  Theologians of the past, even the few faithful ones, did not present the teaching that God’s elect would go through an intense period of spiritual judgment as they made an “appearance” before the judgment seat of Christ. This is something never previously understood. Therefore, we want to look at everything we can possibly find that relates to this question. Is there anything else in the Bible for us to look at? 

Yes, there is. The Bible also makes a curious reference to God’s people being left in the book of Zechariah:

Zechariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

To begin with, the word “land” in verse 8 is also translated as “earth” from time to time. Actually, it is the same Hebrew word translated as “earth” 13 times in the chapter we were just looking at (Isaiah chapter 24), which means that this verse could legitimately say, “that in all the earth.” 

Also, the figure of two-thirds is used in the Bible to represent the unsaved. We see this in the following passage as David (a type of Christ) shows mercy to one-third (picturing the elect) and pronounces judgment to two-thirds (the unsaved that experience the wrath of God):

2 Samuel 8:2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.

There’s no question that the one line (one-third) that are spared point to those that Christ has saved, and the two lines (two-thirds) point to those that never do become saved.  

Likewise, Zechariah 13:8 tells us that in all the land (earth) two parts are cut off and die (experience death), while one-third is LEFT THEREIN.

Yet again we find a reference to the elect (one third) being left. Where are they left? The answer is: therein! That is, in the land, which can only be the earth. They have been left in the same location where the two-thirds have been cut off and died. We can quickly see how Zechariah 13:8 fits in with what we read back in Isaiah 24:6. We find both unsaved and saved going through a similar experience. Only the unsaved do not survive it (they are burned, or cut off and die), while the saved do survive it (they are not burned and they are not cut off –but somehow endure it and are left alive). 

Does this idea of being left, or remaining, while others are destroyed, sound familiar to our ears? Where else in the Bible have we read language concerning God’s elect people being left and surviving an awful judgment? 

We Which Are Alive and Remain

The book of 1 Thessalonians records one of the most straightforward passages found in the entire Bible regarding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the world: 

1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Significantly, in this well-known New Testament passage, God makes a point of emphasizing that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns on the last day, at the end of the world, He will gather up all His people that are ALIVE and REMAINING on the earth. Immediately we wonder, why does the Lord stress this point to the degree that He does? Twice He refers to those that are “alive and remain.” Remain from what? To remain implies that you are left over from something. It implies that this group of people have gone through something. Or, more accurately, they have experienced something extremely terrible and have endured it. 

The reason that God states twice that Christ comes at the very end of the world to rapture His elect who are alive and remaining on the earth is not because they have been raptured out of the world prior to Judgment Day, but because they have already gone through and completed the judgment program of God and are being raptured out of the world at its conclusion. The fire of God’s wrath has been put to them as well as the rest of the unsaved inhabitants of the world. Only, the unsaved were destroyed by the fire. These blessed souls that are alive and remain at its end point were not destroyed by it. Instead they were purified by the experience of it.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 

13) Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

14) If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Once more, those people found to be alive and remaining at the return of Christ at the very end of the world, will be the ones that have gone through the trying fire of Judgment Day and as a result will have proven, to the glory of God, to be spiritual gold, silver, and precious stones. 

Isaiah 24:15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

Chapter 3: God’s Plan to Judge Both Saved and Unsaved Alike

So far, we have seen that by the use of the plural pronoun “we” in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the Lord is letting us know that it is His plan for the elect to make an appearance before the judgment seat of Christ. 

Also, we have learned through several Scriptures that the Bible reveals that it was always God’s intention for the elect to be left on the earth in order to go through the experience of the final judgment of mankind. 

But this information is so new to us, and it is also so enormous in its implications, that we wonder if there is anything further in the Bible that might support it. Can we find any other Scriptures to support this frightening idea that God’s elect will be left on the earth in order to make an appearance before the Lord’s judgment throne in the time of the world’s end?

The answer is yes indeed, the Bible does offer additional confirmation. Let’s take a look at some other verses that also teach this truth.

The Quick and the Dead

Acts 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

1 Peter 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

The old English word “quick” is a translation of Strong’s #2198 (zao). Besides “quick,” it is also translated as “life,” “lifetime,” “live,” “alive,” and “lively.” In fact, the Greek word translated as “alive” in  1 Thessalonians 4:15,17 (“we which are alive and remain”) is this same Greek word zao translated as “quick” in these verses. We could correctly translate these verses by saying, Christ “shall judge the alive and the dead.” 

We find that this particular combination of words (alive and dead) is also used in another very helpful Bible verse:

Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

God declares that He is not the God of the dead but of the living (#2198/zao). It’s important for us to realize how God views the unsaved people of the world: even though they may be physically alive, He views them as being dead because they have no life in their soul. This is how we can understand this seemingly contradictory statement:

Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Of course, a physically dead person cannot, in any way, bury another physically dead person. It is impossible to understand this Scripture until we realize that the Bible, at times, may speak of someone that is physically alive, yet because they are in an unsaved condition, refer to them as being dead. Once we understand that truth, we can readily understand verses like Matthew 8:22. Basically, Jesus declared, “let the (spiritually) dead bury the (physically) dead.” 

We have gained insight into the possibility that God may speak of spiritually alive people and spiritually dead people, and yet give no indicator that He is referring to the spiritual condition of people, and not their physical condition—once we understand this we can begin to understand the declaration that Christ is the judge of the quick (those people alive in their souls, or the saved) and the dead (those people dead in their souls, or unsaved). 

Let’s put this to the test. Does the Bible speak of God judging the unsaved (dead)? Yes! Absolutely. Isaiah 24:6 says the unsaved are burned. Zechariah 13:8 says they are cut off and die. 

Does the Bible speak of God judging the saved (alive)? And again, the answer is yes! Absolutely. The saved go through the fire (Zechariah 13:8) and are not burned (Isaiah 24:6). We also read that we (the saved) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 

The Biblical evidence is mounting, but is there anything else we need to look at? 

One Event to All

As we study the Bible we find that God is no respecter of persons. We are told that He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. We also find that the Bible tells us that there are not one set of circumstances for the saved and a completely different set of circumstances for the unsaved. Actually, God goes out of His way to make sure that all understand the equality of His actions: 

Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

3) This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all …

After reading Ecclesiastes 9:2-3, let’s ask a couple of questions. First, what comes alike to all? The answer the Bible gives is ALL THINGS. 

Secondly, all things come alike to whom? And again, the Bible answers TO ALL. With “all” referring to the righteous and the wicked. 

Let’s ask a third question: is there one event to the righteous, and a completely different event to the wicked? 

No, not in any way. According to the Word of God, there is ONE EVENT TO THE RIGHTEOUS, AND TO THE WICKED.  This means that the same event comes to both alike. 

This equality concerning events was tested during the Great Tribulation period. Were the righteous (elect) taken out of the world before the Great Tribulation period so they would not have to go through it while the unsaved were left and did have to go through it? No way. We read in Revelation chapter 13, “here is the faith and patience of the saints,” revealing to us that the elect were indeed present in the world and went through the tribulation just like the wicked. And since we know that the Great Tribulation period concluded on May 21, 2011, our very own experience testifies to the fact that the righteous (God’s elect) went through the entirety of it just as the wicked did (those not elected to salvation)

What about Judgment Day? Will the saved be taken out of the world in order that they might escape that awful day, while the unsaved remain behind and are punished? Again, the answer must be a resounding NO. “Here is the patience of the saints” is also found in Revelation chapter 14 in the context of Judgment Day. 

One event comes to all. One event comes to the righteous (saved) and to the wicked (unsaved). Both experience the same thing. This is why we find that the Bible also says:

Ecclesiastes 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

17) I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Notice that Ecclesiastes 3:17 tells us that God will judge the righteous and the wicked. That is, to say it another way, God will judge the quick and the dead. 

Yet again we find this same truth is stated. How is it possible that these numerous direct statements expressing God’s intention to judge the elect with the non-elect were missed for so long and by so many theologians? How is it possible that even God’s own elect people missed the Bible’s teaching on the necessity for them to remain on the earth and to go through the experience of the final judgment?  

We know that God is the One in complete control of the Scriptures and the things His people understand or fail to understand. He is in complete control of the opening up of truth to the understanding of the minds of His elect people. And He is in complete control of the times and seasons in which His people are granted understanding, by the opening up of their minds to the hidden and deep mysteries of the Word of God. 

For whatever reason, it has not been God’s will to reveal these things to generations past. He has kept them under wraps until this present time of the final judgment of mankind. We know that the Bible has revealed and broadcast to all that the Day of Judgment began on May 21, 2011. Further, the Bible insists that the world has been operating under the wrath of God since that time. And therefore, the Bible also insists that the judgment seat of Christ was set up on that date and has been in operation ever since. This means that God’s elect have also been making an appearance before the judgment seat of Christ for several years up to now, and according to mounting Biblical evidence pointing to the end of this prolonged judgment occurring in the year 2033 A.D., it is very likely we will continue to appear before His judgment seat for several more years. 

Christ Prays that His People NOT be
Taken Out of the World

In the gospel of John, chapter 17, Jesus prayed for His people in a very unusual way:

John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

To begin with, Christ prays NOT that God should take them out of the world, but “that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  This appears to be a rather strange prayer, does it not?

This verse is interesting to us because we have spent considerable time looking at several Scriptures touching on this very same idea. We were expecting to be taken out of the world, via a rapture, to escape the final judgment, and yet, that was not God’s plan. Instead, the Lord has purposefully kept His people in the world, in order for them to go through the final judgment process. Many of the things we are learning today regarding the elect making an appearance before the judgment seat of Christ and experiencing the judgment of God in a tableau, have been learned as a result of our beginning to realize that God has left us on the earth to experience these things. 

In John 17:15, Jesus also prays to the Father that His elect people should be kept “from the evil.” But what evil is He talking about? We don’t have to look very long in the Bible before we find our answer: 

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil …

The above verse is a line taken from the Lord’s prayer. Primarily, this petition is a request for salvation to escape the Day of Judgment (the evil). 

The book of Ezekiel equates evil with the time of the end:

Ezekiel 7:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.

6) An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

Judgment Day is described as an evil day because it is a time of destruction for unsaved mankind. The Bible views anything bad happening to mankind (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.) as being evil. Of course, there cannot be anything worse for mankind than the time when God executes judgment upon them. 

Now, only due to the fact that God is revealing His judgment program to us, we are able to see the enormous ramifications of Christ’s prayer. “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world…” —again, this means that the elect people of God are not to be raptured out of the world and escape the final judgment — “…but that Thou shouldest keep them from THE EVIL.” Jesus is praying for the protection and safekeeping of all of those that He saved as they go through the evil day of God’s wrath. To be kept from the evil is language expressing God’s intention to preserve His people from the destructive flaming fires of His vengeful wrath. 

The Biblical language is becoming quite clear to us regarding the people of God remaining on the earth to go through the last judgment. The Bible is also clear that it is God’s plan to judge the righteous as well as the wicked. But we wonder why? Why is this God’s plan? Why is He requiring those already saved to make this appearance before His judgment seat? 

In order to adequately answer this question, we are going to look more deeply into two things: first, what exactly is this judgment seat of Christ? And, secondly, what does God mean by His use of the word “appear” in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10?

Chapter 4: The Judgment Seat of Christ

Let’s read the verse in question from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 once again:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Due to our advantageous position of going through the entirety of the Great Tribulation period, and continuing to live on the earth in those days after that tribulation, we now know that the Bible reveals the following information concerning God’s program for Judgment Day: 

• It began on May 21, 2011 
• The door to heaven shut 
• The lights of the gospel were put out
• God ended His salvation program
• The Lord began to pour out His cup of wrath upon the wicked
• Christ began to rule the nations with a rod of iron
• The elect began to “appear” before the judgment seat of Christ

What exactly is the “judgment seat of Christ”? Does the Bible give us any indication regarding how it has been set up and functions in the world? 

We know that the judgment throne and judgment seat are synonymous. 

Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

10) A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

And,

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Also,

Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

In every verse where we find reference to the judgment throne or judgment seat, we also find that an emphasis is placed upon God “sitting” during the time of the world’s final judgment. 

Why does God emphasize the fact that He sits upon His judgment throne or seat? 

In order to answer that question, let’s first consider the spiritual meaning of “sitting” in the Bible. The Bible relates the act of sitting with that of ruling. We see this, for instance, in those that God has saved:

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

We sit together in heavenly places with Christ because He has made us to be spiritual kings with Him. Therefore, we rule as kings with Him:

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

When kings sit upon their thrones they exercise rule over their kingdom. The spiritual meaning of sitting can also be seen in the language used regarding the man of sin:

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

The man of sin (Satan) was given rule over the world’s churches and congregations. Therefore, he is pictured as taking his seat in the temple. 

Rule them with a Rod of Iron

Since sitting spiritually represents ruling, we need to consider this Scripture once again:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; 

This statement can also correctly be read this way: “For we must all appear before the judgment RULE of Christ.” 

As mentioned previously, the plural pronoun “we” is referring to God’s elect. Therefore, God’s elect must all appear before the judgment rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The idea of a judgment “rule” of Christ is an interesting idea for us to consider because the Bible has also shown us that the time of the final judgment is actually a prolonged period of time, encompassing several years. And a time in which Jesus Christ is said to rule over the nations:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2) While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

This verse in Revelation chapter 19 would not make much sense to us if we had not learned a great deal more about God’s judgment program. Before, we used to think that Christ came and the world instantaneously ended. Yet, how could an immediate end of the world (at Christ’s coming) be reconciled with the language found in Revelation 19:15? Yes, we could understand that in an immediate judgment and destruction Christ smites the nations, and that He treads them under His feet in the winepress of His wrath. All of that would still be understandable. But how could we ever have understood the phrase that “He shall rule them with a rod of iron”?

It’s only now, from our unique perspective of going through the time of Great Tribulation, and of continuing to live on the earth for quite a lengthy number of days after the tribulation, i.e., the period of years called Judgment Day, that we can clearly see how it is that Christ smites the nations, while simultaneously ruling them with a rod of iron. 

Of course, Jesus’ rule over the nations of the world in the Day of Judgment is not a beneficial rule in any way. He is not ruling them for their good. Rather, He is ruling them with the intent of punishing them for their wickedness: 

Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

The rod of iron is a weapon of destruction toward the unsaved inhabitants of the earth. Yet, amazingly, we also see something wonderful in view when it comes to the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ in the time of the world’s judgment. 

Feed them with a Rod of Iron

The Greek word used by God to describe the outpouring of God’s wrath in Revelation 19:15 is the identical Greek word used elsewhere in a positive sense concerning the spiritual feeding of the people of God. The Greek word poimano (#4165) is the word translated as “rule” in “rule them with a rod of iron.” It is also the same word used in the Gospel of John, after the great catch of fish: 

John 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed (#4165) my sheep.

The use of this word in these two places is highly significant. Both Revelation 19:15 and John 21:16 have the same time period in view. Revelation 19:15 is describing the awful events of Judgment Day, the day that came immediately after the 23-year Great Tribulation period. Revelation 19:15 is, therefore, referring to May 21, 2011, and all the days after until God destroys this universe and creates the new heaven and earth. 

Again, John chapter 21 has the same time period in its spiritual context. The great catch of fish points to the completion of God’s salvation program that was accomplished by the end of the Great Tribulation period. The great catch of fish identifies with the great multitude that were saved out of Great Tribulation. 

And that means that Jesus’ command to Peter after the 153 fish have been safely brought to Him also identifies with the days after the tribulation, or Judgment Day. 

So, we can see how the use of the Greek word poimano has everything to do with the time of God’s final judgment on this world. Yet, it is being used in two drastically different ways.  The first way, in Revelation 19:15, involves the wrath of God. When we read that Christ will smite the nations and rule (poimano) them with a rod of iron, there is nothing at all good or positive about it. 

On the other hand, when Jesus commands Peter, “Feed (poimano) My sheep,” it has nothing to do with punishing the sheep. The feeding of the sheep is meant as a helpful and good command, something that will certainly benefit them. 

How is it possible for God to use the same word and yet have two vastly different meanings attached to it, dependent upon whether an individual is saved or unsaved?  That’s the nature of the Word of God. And we do recognize that the Word of God is what is in view in both cases. It is the Word of God that rules with wrath over the unsaved people of the world in the Day of Judgment. And it is also the Word of God that serves to feed the sheep of God. One Word, yet it accomplishes two entirely different things for different groups of people. 

The Greek word poimano is used one other time in relationship to the end of the Great Tribulation period: 

Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

…

14) And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15) Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16) They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17) For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (#4165) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

We can only be astonished as we read this passage. We find similarities with John 21, in the sense that a great multitude became saved (great catch of fish), and they are said to have come out of Great Tribulation (the great catch of fish also ties in with the Great Tribulation period), and we also read that the Lamb (Christ) will feed them (feed My sheep). 

Even more astonishing is the fact that the throne of God comes into sharp focus in Revelation 7, and “he that sitteth upon the throne” is the One that feeds the sheep. Remember our earlier discussion concerning the judgment seat of Christ, or the judgment rule of Christ, as He rules upon the throne in these days after the tribulation. 

Revelation 7 illustrates the two simultaneous and great truths of Christ ruling with a rod of iron. First, He rules with His Word, the Bible, to punish and to destroy the wicked. Secondly, He uses the very same Word to feed the great multitude that He saved and brought out of Great Tribulation. The Word of God, the Bible, accomplishes this dual purpose throughout the entire prolonged judgment period. 

There is one more Scripture, in the book of Isaiah, that brings this duality into sharper focus for us: 

Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

It’s clear from this verse in Isaiah that God is speaking of His coming at the end of the world. “The Lord GOD will come” is fairly straightforward language describing the coming of the Lord at the time of the end. It matches what we read in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

After Isaiah 40:10 tells us that the Lord GOD will indeed come, and adds, “His arm shall rule for Him,” which reminds us that Jesus rules with a rod of iron at the time of the end, it goes on to state the following in the very next verse:

Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

We can only stand in awe when we see things like this in the Word of God. In the New Testament, we find that God ties together two English words (“rule” and “feed”) via the use of the Greek word poimano.  God also ties them together by using them both in the same time period of after the Great Tribulation and the entry into Judgment Day. From the manner in which God uses these two words, we discover His plan to punish the wicked (rule with a rod of iron) while simultaneously provide spiritual food for His elect people (feed My sheep). 

As though these wonderful truths were not enough, we now find as we turn back into the Old Testament book of Isaiah, that God foretold of a time when He would come in judgment (“the Lord GOD will come”) and rule (“His arm shall rule for Him”). Additionally, He also declared His plan to feed sheep at the same time (“He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd”). How can we stand before such a Wise and Holy and all knowing God? By putting these two ideas together in Isaiah 40:10-11, the Lord is clearly demonstrating to us His glorious omniscience. He truly does know the end from the beginning. 

By seeing how God uses the Greek word poimano, we can also see exactly how we are to go about feeding the sheep. The very same Biblical information about judgment—information that brings utter destruction to the unsaved—provides spiritual food and nourishment to those that God has saved, His sheep. The Scriptures that teach concerning a shut door of heaven, or a darkened spiritual sun, are instrumental in Christ ruling and smiting the nations with a rod of iron. But the identical words, the identical doctrines, not only cause no harm to the true child of God, they actually serve to accomplish the reverse. These bitter words become a source of spiritual food for those that God saved and brought out of great tribulation. 

We have one last question to answer: Why does God want His elect people to appear before His judgment seat, or before His judgment rule? We will attempt to answer that question in the next chapter. 

Chapter 5: We Must All Appear

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ …

Are only the elect being spoken of in this verse? Or do all people have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ?

We have to use some caution in answering that question. While it’s true that all the unsaved are brought before God’s judgment throne for punishment in the time of the final judgment, it is also true that only the elect (saved) people of God make an appearance before the judgment seat. 

That sounds contradictory. How is it possible for the unsaved to come before God’s throne of judgment to be punished, and yet, for only the saved to make an appearance before the judgment seat? 

The answer is found through careful analysis of the Greek word translated as “appear.” It is the word phaneroo (#5319 in Strong’s Concordance). Phaneroo is used 47 times in the Greek New Testament. Here are a few places it is found:

Mark 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested (#5319) …

The word “manifested” is the word phaneroo. We see from its use in Mark 4:22 that it is a word that describes revealing something that was previously hidden or unknown. 

This word is also used in the Gospel of John:

John 7:4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew (#5319) thyself to the world.

Again, we see that the context is referring to things that are secret or hidden, and that the Greek word phaneroo is used to express its revealing or showing. 

We find this word also used in relationship to Christ’s resurrection:

John 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed (#5319) himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

The resurrection of Christ was very mysterious. The very idea of it was strange and almost unheard of. Jesus did rise from the dead early the third day, but if He had simply gone to heaven from that point, many people would not have realized the tremendous thing that happened at His grave site early Sunday morning. Therefore, God arranged for Jesus to show Himself (phaneroo) to various people. We can clearly see that the point of this “shewing” of Himself was to demonstrate the fact that He had indeed come back to life. He had truly risen from the dead. 

So far, we’ve seen that phaneroo is a word used to reveal things previously hidden, or things secret, or things that require further demonstration (like the resurrection of Christ in 33 A.D.). 

This use of the word is fairly consistent in the following Scriptures:

Romans 16:25 … according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26) But now is made manifest (#5319) …

Ephesians 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13) But all things that are reproved are made manifest (#5319) by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest (#5319) is light.

Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest (#5319) to his saints:

Again, and again, this word is being used by God in a remarkably similar way. To show forth, to reveal, or to demonstrate something that has been previously mysterious or hidden. 

The Manifestation of Jesus in History

A few years ago, serious Bible students were astounded to learn the incredible truth that Jesus Christ had actually died for the sins of His people, and made payment for those sins, at the foundation of the world. We really should not have been shocked at all by this information, because the Bible plainly stated that this was the case:

Hebrews 4:3b … although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:8b … the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Yet it was an incredible surprise to the people of God because God did not open up the understanding of His people to this teaching until the time of the end was reached. Then, the Spirit of God showed us (through the comparison of Scripture with Scripture) that Jesus performed His atoning work from the foundation of the world. It was at that point that He died and paid the law’s demands (of death) for the sins of His chosen people. 

We also learned that Jesus’ entry into the world, as He was born of the virgin Mary, and walked as a man among the people of the earth, was done in order to demonstrate His mysterious atoning work, or hidden work, performed before this world was ever created. Since His glorious works were finished before mankind was even created, no one could have witnessed them. As a result, these works were secret things insofar as the creature man was concerned. 

However, God developed a plan to reveal the majestic atoning work of Christ to mankind, to demonstrate it to all the world. His plan included Christ, eternal God, entering the human race and becoming a man. This would produce the manifestation of the Saviour in the flesh:

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest (#5319) in the flesh …

More than this, though, God further planned to demonstrate the completed work of the atonement by having Jesus illustrate the things done at the foundation of the world in a living tableau. 

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25) Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared (#5319) to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

A proper reading of this passage helps us to see that it speaks of Christ suffering once at the point of the world’s foundation to pay for sin. And once in time (33 A.D.) to make manifest that suffering for all to see. 

Perhaps the plainest statement regarding Christ’s manifestation to showcase the atonement accomplished at the world’s foundation is seen in the first epistle of Peter:

1 Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (#5319) in these last times for you,

We see that verse 19 tells us that Jesus was as a Lamb, foreordained before the foundation of the world, which agrees with the statement in Revelation 13:8 that Christ was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Additionally, we find that 1 Peter 1:20 goes on to explain:

… but was manifest (#5319) in these last times for you.

Once again phaneroo appears. Remember it is used to shine the light on things mysterious, or secret, or hidden. Phaneroo is the word that serves almost as an illustration of whatever is being discussed. It is a word that conveys a demonstration is in progress. 

Christ made payment for sins at the foundation of the world; but made manifest (shewed forth) that mysterious work in time. 

Okay, you might be saying, fine. We already know these things. What does Jesus’ manifestation have to do with the elect’s appearance before the judgment seat of Christ? 

Jesus’ time of being made manifest has a great deal to do with our present time period of Judgment Day. The reason it is so significant is that God uses the same Greek word phaneroo (#5319) in the verse that we’ve been looking at:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear (#5319) before the judgment seat of Christ …

The use of phaneroo drastically changes our understanding of this verse. To begin with, we can immediately see why this verse can only be speaking of God’s elect making an appearance and not unsaved people. We are going to take a little time in order to explain how we can know, with utmost confidence, that those making an appearance before Christ’s judgment seat are only those that He has saved. 

The Elect (Saved) Have Already Been Judged in Christ at the Foundation of the World

We looked at a couple of Scriptures earlier that showed that Christ died, and His works were finished, at the foundation of the world. It was at that point in eternity past that Jesus was laden with the sins of all those people (His elect) that He intended to save. The Bible tells us that God selected everyone to be saved before this world even began:

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The Bible also reveals to us that all these chosen (elect) people are counted to have died, as it were, in Christ, at that point of the world’s foundation:

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death …

When we read about baptism in the Bible it has to do with having our sins washed away. All those predestinated to salvation had their sins laid upon Christ, again, at the foundation of the world; and God then put to death God (in a way we simply cannot understand) as Christ died for the sins of His people. His death provided payment which satisfied the demands of the law of God for the many sins laid upon Him (the law’s demands for transgression is death). As Jesus made that awful payment, He cleansed all those people whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of life from their sins. As a result, we were baptized (had our sins washed away) in Him. 

Since the demands of the law of God regarding our sins was satisfactorily met, we became free from the law. By paying for our sins, God obligated Himself to apply that salvation to each and every one of us at some point during our lifetimes as history would later unfold. 

Well, if all the sins of all the elect have already been paid for, then why in the world are they making an appearance before the judgment seat of Christ at the time of the end of the world?

This is exactly the point of focus that the Greek word phaneroo brings to us. Remember, Jesus made payment for sins at the foundation of the world. He died and His death completely satisfied the law’s demand for the sins of all those that were laid upon Him. 

Nonetheless, Jesus still entered into the world and showcased the things He had done before the world was, by demonstrating them to the world in a living tableau. He made manifest His death and payment for sin by going to the cross in time and showcasing His saving work in human history. 

God’s elect people are said to be the body of Christ. The Bible closely identifies those that Christ has saved with the Saviour Himself. In fact, the Bible speaks of the body of Christ (the company of elect true believers) filling up the suffering of Jesus. 

Jesus died twice for sin—once to pay for it and once to demonstrate that He paid for it. Likewise, the body of Christ (elect true believers) also experience a two-fold process for their sin—they are judged once in Christ as He paid for their sins at the foundation of the world, and they are also judged once in time (beginning May 21, 2011) in order to demonstrate the fact that Jesus had indeed already paid for their sins. 

The Greek word phaneroo can only refer to God’s elect because it is only God’s elect that previously experienced the judgment of God (in the Person of Christ). The sins of the unsaved people of the world were not laid upon Jesus at the foundation of the world, and therefore they did not experience the judgment in Him at that point. And since the unsaved have not had any previous encounter with God’s judgment upon them, their coming before God in the time of the world’s final judgment is not a manifestation (that is, showing forth a previous judgment), because it is the first time they are experiencing it. 

Therefore, it is only possible for the elect people of God to make an appearance before the judgment seat of Christ. 

Chapter 6: We Shall All Stand Before
the Judgment Seat

When trying to discover truth in the Bible, it is necessary to always search the Scriptures in order to find all pertinent information related to the subject that you are interested in examining. In this case, our subject matter involves the judgment seat of Christ. We’ve spent some time looking carefully at the statement found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10, but there is also a similar verse recorded in the book of Romans: 

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

We see some of the same language that we saw in 2 Corinthians 5, yet there are also some differences. One main difference between Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 is that instead of appear, we find the word stand. The Greek word translated as “stand” is #3936. It is a compound word—para (#3844), a preposition, and histemi (#2476), to stand—that can also be translated as “brought before” and “present,” as we find in these two verses:

Acts 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before (#3936) Caesar …

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present (#3936) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The primary Greek word, histemi (#2476), has been placed by God in some very interesting passages of the Bible:

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

35) For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand (#2476) before the Son of man.

There’s no question that the context of these verses in Luke 21 is the time of the final judgment of this world. And it is at that point in time that the Lord makes reference to those that should watch and pray, to be accounted worthy—to “STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.”

Since we’ve been studying this issue, we are now more adept at recognizing this type of language. We see right away that the context is the end of the world and Judgment Day. And yet the prayer God encourages people to make is not to escape the judgment, but instead, it is an encouragement to pray so that you can stand before the Son of man. The implication is that one cannot escape the judgment itself. Again, as we’ve seen the Bible stress, there is one event to all. God’s plan is to judge the righteous and the wicked. The elect are not removed out of the world to escape it—they are left to go through the spiritual fire of that awful day. 

The implication we find in Luke 21:36 is that it is a good thing if one is able to stand before the Son of man. Since this kind of thinking goes contrary to what we’ve previously thought and understood, we want to slowly consider why this is so.

Who Shall be Able to Stand?

A passage detailing the end of the world located in the book of Revelation will help us to understand why the Bible is viewing the idea of “standing before the Son of man” as a positive thing:

Revelation 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16) And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17) For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

From this passage, we quickly see that the point of the question, “who shall be able to stand?” has to do with surviving or enduring the time of the outpouring of the wrath of God. If a man could stand and go through such a terrible experience, then He would not be destroyed—he would live. Of course, the sorrowful fact for all of the unsaved inhabitants of the earth is that none of them will be able to stand. None of the wicked will endure the great day of His wrath. All unsaved people will be utterly wiped out. This is what the Bible declares elsewhere as well:

Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 

5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

The ungodly will NOT STAND in the JUDGMENT! In other words, the ungodly will not endure to the end. They will not survive its conclusion. At the end of the prolonged Day of Judgment, the unsaved people of the world will be annihilated—they will be burned up, perished forevermore.

The elect believers have always known these things insofar as the wicked are concerned. There is nothing new about that. However, what is new is that we have not known nor understood that the people of God, the righteous children, the elect people, will also stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And yet, since God says we will stand before the Son of man, He is also letting it be known that His people will endure the grievous Day of Judgment. They will go through the fire and successfully come out the other end. They will endure to the end:

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand (#2476) against the wiles of the devil.

…

13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (#2476).

The Greek word histemi is found two times in the verses above. The reference to the “evil day” is a reference to Judgment Day. The fact that the elect people of God are clothed with the armor of God indicates that they are sufficiently equipped to stand, or endure, through the final judgment process the Lord has planned for this world. 

Any soul that has not been truly saved lacks the necessary spiritual armor to protect itself against the incessant fires of the wrath of an angry God. As a result, they will ultimately burn up.

The Wicked Will Burn,
the Righteous Will Endure the Fire

Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

3) And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13) Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

14) If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15) If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2) But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

3) And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Bible’s language is remarkably consistent concerning the time of God’s final judgment. The wicked will be burned up and perish. The righteous will survive. They will endure. They will stand at the day’s end. 

In Ephesians chapter 6, we’ve already seen that the reason these few will be left alive, remaining on the earth, finally to be raptured on the last day, is because they possess the proper protection or armor of God. This same truth is found in other places also, but stated a little differently:

2 Corinthians 1:24b … for by faith ye stand.

And,

1 Peter 5:12 … I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

We stand by faith, and we stand in grace. The people of God endure to the end only because of the great mercy, love, and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ in saving them. 

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We no longer have to wonder why God says that those which endure to the end will be saved. The Bible is clear: anyone that stands and remains through the fires of this terrible, terrible time, does so only because they have had their sins paid for by Christ at the foundation of the world. God has established His end-time judgment program so that no one else but the truly saved will be able to stand. And none else but those whose sins were washed away will endure to the end. 

Chapter 7: God Gets the Glory

We have come to understand God’s program of salvation and its outworking in time over the course of many hundreds and hundreds of years. Actually, God has been busy faithfully fulfilling His salvation program over thousands of years. And yet, when it comes to God’s end-time plan for an extended judgment being carried out over several years, it somehow seems to be too long for us. When some believers hear that Biblical evidence is pointing to a prolonged judgment period of perhaps as many as 22 years (23 inclusively), they sadly shake their heads at the thought of going through such a long period of time. It all sounds very discouraging to them. 

Many of God’s people hear of the things we’ve been discussing in this booklet and they wonder why it has to be this way. Why must this be such a long process? Why doesn’t God simply destroy the wicked in an instant and be done with it? And why make the elect children of God go through this terrible ordeal? 

We have tried to answer some of these questions throughout this study. But there is one aspect to this whole thing that we haven’t spent enough time on, and that is that the events of this prolonged Judgment Day have been designed by God to bring glory to Himself. 

For example, in Isaiah 24, in the middle of this frightful chapter wherein the Lord is describing the final judgment of this world again and again, the Lord makes this statement:

Isaiah 24:15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

The fires are the fires lit as a result of God’s furious anger over the sins of mankind. It is the fires of the final judgment. In those very fires, God calls out to His people that they bring glory to Him. Glorify the LORD in the Day of Judgment. 

We have spoken concerning the truly saved people of God standing before the judgment seat of Christ and enduring that awful, evil day. The fact that the elect will endure the fire is what will serve to bring God the glory due unto His name. 

Let’s take a look at a verse in Proverbs that relates to this idea:

Proverbs 12:7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

After seeing several Scriptures earlier in our study, we immediately recognize that this verse is speaking of the Day of the Lord, the time when the wicked are overthrown:

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25) And he overthrew those cities, …

And once again, we see that in the Day of the Lord’s wrath that “THE HOUSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL STAND,” which exactly matches the many Bible verses we have previously looked at. One event to the righteous and to the wicked. One event to all.

This proverb, however, reminds us of something we read elsewhere in the Bible. It reminds us of the parable that Christ spoke in the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26) And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

As we carefully examine this parable, we find Jesus making reference to two houses: one house was built by a wise man, and another house was built by a foolish man. 

We can see how the wise and foolish relate to the righteous and the wicked, or to the quick and the dead, or to saved people and to those that are not saved. 

We’re not saying too much when we say that the one house represents the people that God saved. As a matter of fact, that’s precisely the Biblical language:

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Notice that both houses—the house of the wise/righteous, and the house of the foolish/wicked—were subjected to a vicious storm. When reviewing the passage, you will find that the destructive force of the storm was equal against both houses. 

• The rain descended, the floods came—the flood of Noah’s day has taught us that rain is most definitely a weapon in which God can bring judgment. 
• The winds blew and beat upon that house—it was the wind that blew upon the house of Job’s sons and killed them; it was the wind that stirred up the storm at sea against Jonah’s ship; it is the chaff that the wind drives away. The wind is often used as an expression of God’s wrath. 

The storm that beat upon both houses was a picture of the outpouring of the wrath of God in the Day of Judgment. Christ’s parable was given to illustrate the wonderful truth that even though the righteous and the wicked alike experience the powerful forces at work in that evil day, the final result will be that only the house of the wicked is overthrown. The house of the righteous will be left standing at the end. 

Why, though? Why does one house fall and not the other? 

The Lord Jesus’ parable gives us the answer:

• Wise man’s house—and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
• Foolish man’s house—and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The only reason one man’s house stands, while the other falls, is because one house was built upon a Rock. Christ is the Rock. Christ is the foundation for the spiritual house He constructed. And since Jesus is their foundation they are able to withstand all that comes against them. Ultimately, at the end of the prolonged Day of Judgment, all the saved people of God will have endured before Him, not for any strength or power in themselves, but only because Christ kept them safe and secure and enabled them to endure the storm and see it through until its completion. Thus, the deep penetrating gaze of God upon His judgment throne was sent to look deeply within each one of them for the slightest bit of sin, and yet was unable to find any guilt or wrongdoing that had not already been paid in full. The Rock thus supported them through the storm until it ran its course. 

As the Lord’s people arise out of the depths of this judgment, and are then equipped with new resurrected bodies and souls, and are exalted to enter into the new heaven and the new earth—in that day God will receive all the glory for their continuance in the faith and endurance unto the end. 

John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

18) Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

19) This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, 

Follow me.

Scripture Index

Book / Verse(s)  Page(s)

Genesis

19:24-25 48

2 Samuel

8:2 13

Psalms

1:4-5 43

2:9 28

Proverbs

12:7 48

Ecclesiastes

3:16-17 20

9:2-3 19

12:1-2 27-28

Isaiah

24 11, 12, 13, 47

24:4-6 11

24:6 11, 12, 13, 19

24:15 15, 47

40:10 31, 32

40:11 31, 32

Ezekiel

7:5-6 22

Daniel

7:9-10 25

Book / Verse(s)  Page(s)

Zechariah

13:8 13-14, 19

13:8-9 13

Malachi

3:2-3 44

4:1-3 44-45

Matthew

6:13 22

7:24-27 48-50

8:22 18

20:16 12

22:32 18

24:13 45

25:31 26

Mark

4:22 33

Luke

21:34-36 41-42

21:36 42

John

7:4 33

17:15 21-23

21 29, 30

21:14 34

21:16 29

21:17-19 51

Book / Verse(s)  Page(s)

Acts

10:42 17

27:24 41

Romans

6:3-4 38

12:1 41

14:10 41

16:25-26 34

1 Corinthians

3:11-14 15

3:12-15 44

2 Corinthians

1:24 45

5 4, 17, 41

5:1-10 5-6

5:10 5-7, 12, 23, 25, 27, 33, 37, 41

Ephesians

1:4 37

2:6 26

5:12 34

6 45

6:11, 13 43, 44

Colossians

1:26 34

1 Thessalonians 

4:15-17 14, 18

4:15-18 3

Book / Verse(s)  Page(s)

2 Thessalonians

2:3-4 27

1 Timothy

3:16 35

2 Timothy

4:1 17

Hebrews 

3:6 49

3:8-9 3

4:3 35

9:24-26 36

1 Peter

1:19-20 36

2:5 49

4:5 17

5:12 45

Revelation

3:21 26

6:14-17 42-43

7 31

7:9, 14-17 30

13 7, 9, 20

13:7-8, 10 7

13:8 35, 36

13:10 9

14 8, 9, 20

14:10-12 8, 12

14:12 9

19:15 28, 29

19:15-16 28

20:11-12 26

22:12 31

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50 Tipos & Figuras 

Encontrados en la Biblia

Copyright © 2018 by Electronic Bible Fellowship

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Edition: October 2018

Revised February 2019

Electronic Bible Fellowship
P.O. Box 1393
Sharon Hill, PA 19079-0593
U.S.A.

www.ebiblefellowship.org

A copy of this book may be freely obtained by sending an e-mail to:
ebiblefellowship@juno.com.

‍

Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Individuals 3

Adam 3

Eve 5

Pharaoh 7

Jonah 10

Cyrus 13

The Bridegroom 16

The Bride 18

A True Jew 21

Chapter 2: Objects 23

Rock 23

Sword 25

House/Temple 27

Wall 30

The Door 32

Well 35

Chapter 3: Numbers 37

The Number 10 37

The Number 40 39

Chapter 4: Nations 41

Canaan 41

Babylon 43

Assyria 46

Egypt 48

Ethiopia 50

Amalek 53

Chapter 5: Celestial Bodies 56

The Sun 56

The Moon 60

Chapter 6: Weather-Related Elements 62

Clouds 62

Rain 65

Waters 67

Thunder 69

Lightning 71

Hail 74

Wind 76

Rainbow 79

Chapter 7: The Book of Esther 82

Ahasuerus 82

Vashti 85

Esther 88

Bigthan and Teresh 92

Haman 95

Mordecai 99

The Ten Sons of Haman 102

Chapter 8: Creatures 105

Fish 105

Donkey 108

Lion 110

Chapter 9: Other Types & Figures 113

Dragon 113

White 116

Thirst 118

Poverty 120

Hand and Foot 123

Naked and Clothing 125

Palm Tree 127

Noah’s Ark 129

Afterword 131

Scripture Index 133

About Us 139

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‍

‍

Alphabetical Index

Adam ………………………………………………….............. 3   

Ahasuerus …………………………………………………….. 82

Amalek ………………………….…………………………...... 53

Assyria………………….……………………………………... 46 

Babylon ….……………………………………………………. 43

Bigthan and Teresh …………………………………………… 92

Bride ………………………………………………………….. 18

Bridegroom ………..………………………………………….. 16

Canaan …..……………………………………………………. 41

Clothing (see “Naked and Clothing”)

Clouds ………………………………………………………… 62

Cyrus ………………………………………………………….. 13

Donkey ……………………………………………………….. 108

Door …………………………………………………………... 32

Dragon ………………………………………………………... 113

Egypt ………………………………………………………….. 48

Esther………………………………………………………….. 88

Ethiopia ……………………………………………………….. 50

Eve ……………………………………………………………. 5

Fish …………………………………………………………… 105

Foot (see “Hand and Foot”)

Hail …………………………………………………………… 74

Haman ………………………………………………………… 95

Hand and Foot ……………………………………………........ 123

House/Temple…………………………………………………. 27

Jonah ………………………………………………………….. 10

Lightning ……………………………………………………… 71

Lion……………………………………………………………. 110

Moon ………………………………………………………….. 60

Mordecai ……………………………………………………… 99

Naked and Clothing …………………………………………... 125

Noah’s Ark …………………………………………………….129

Number 10 ……………………………………………………. 37

Number 40 ……………………………………………………. 39

Palm Tree ……………………………………………………... 127

Pharaoh…………………………………………………………7

Poverty ………………………………………………………... 120

Rain ………………………………………................................ 65

Rainbow ………………………………………………………. 79

Rock …………………………………………………………... 23

Sun ……………………………………..……………………... 56

Sword ………………………………………………….……… 25

Temple (see “House/Temple”) 

Ten Sons of Haman …………………………………………... 102

Thirst ………………………………………………………….. 118

Thunder ……………………………………………………….. 69

True Jew ………………………………………………………. 21

Vashti …………………………………………………………. 85

Waters ………………………………………………………… 67

Wall …………………………………………………………… 30

Well …………………………………………………………… 35

White ………………………………………………………….. 116

Wind…………………………………………………………... 76

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Introduction

Matthew 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,    I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

When children first start to learn how to read, they come across words that are new to them.  Discovering what these new words mean is important to understanding what the writer of the book is saying.  However, the problem some people have when trying to read the Bible is this: they have learned their vocabulary in the world’s school.  They have learned English and the meaning of English words.  They may even have a college degree in English and conclude that gives them justification to discern what the Bible says.  While it is true that you can comprehend the words on one level, you cannot understand on another level.  That is because the Bible is unlike any other book: of all books in this world it alone has God as its author and the spiritual language of the kingdom of God as its native tongue.  

Other books may speak of rocks, as an example, and they are referring to literal rocks and things of that nature.  But the Bible is a spiritual Book in which God uses things as types and figures.  For example, the Lord Jesus Christ is called the “vine” (John 15:1), but is He a vine?  Jesus is also called the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29), but is He a lamb?  No, He is neither a literal vine nor a lamb, but God uses these terms to illustrate spiritual truth.  

God uses practically everything you might find on its pages as types and figures of the gospel.  People, places, and all kinds of things are used to represent various truths that God wants to convey to the reader of the Scriptures.  In order to see the deeper spiritual meaning, God must open our eyes and allow us to develop a Biblical vocabulary.  In this way, we may discern what various people, places, and things represent.  

When we read that without a parable Jesus did not speak, we know that He would tell an earthly story and the elements in that story were used to portray various aspects of the gospel.  Or to say it in another way, Christ spoke in types and figures.  By doing so, He teaches us how we are to approach the Bible.

The essence of a parable is to hide truth.  That is the reason that Jesus spoke in parables, because “they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not” (Matthew 13:13).  And since “without a parable spake He not unto them,” and Jesus is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13), therefore, the whole Bible is a parable.  It is a book of hidden truth.  Using parables is not an easier way to help someone understand; it actually serves to make it more difficult.  And yet Christ spoke in this way to teach His people how they must come to the Word of God in order to gain spiritual understanding.  

God has concealed truth all through the Bible, and it is His glory to do so (Proverbs 25:2).  One of the ways He has done this is by the use of types and figures.  The glorious teachings of the gospel are found in the spiritual realm. That’s where God encourages His people to go: they must pray that God would open their eyes (Psalm 119:18), diligently study (2 Timothy 2:15) and search the Scriptures (John 5:39), in order to dig and get below the surface level to find the truth of the spiritual teachings of the Word of God.  

Types and figures are the language of the Kingdom of God.  To understand this language, we must have become saved by the grace of God, and have the Holy Spirit of God dwell within us (Romans 8:9-11).  The Holy Spirit must be our interpreter to teach us this spiritual language and guide us into all truth.  We must be very careful and exercise caution by only listing those words that have very definite spiritual meaning, because we do not want to make an error.  

This booklet contains a collection of 50 types and figures that God, by His grace, has revealed in the Bible.  With the enormity of spiritual information within its pages yet fully uncovered, may we continue to keep in prayer that we will learn much more, and keep building up our Biblical vocabulary.  

Chapter 1: Individuals

Adam

We will begin looking at types and figures in the Bible with the first man, Adam, whom you will recall was created by God on the sixth day of creation.  

The Figure to Come

God informs us that Adam is a “figure” in Romans 5 which says: 

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Adam is said to be the “figure” of him that was to come.  The one to come is a reference to Jesus Christ, who is actually called the “last Adam”:

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Therefore we see that as the human race all came through the loins of Adam, the new born race of God’s elect all come through the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Formed of the Dust

In Genesis 2:7, we read that Adam was formed from the dust of the ground:

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

We have learned that Christ died from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), and rose again to be declared the Son of God through the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).  Adam, formed from the dust of the ground, became the son of God, and God says that man comes from the dust and returns to the dust; therefore, “dust” indentifies with death (Genesis 3:19, 1 Samuel 2:8).  Adam rising from the dust was a historical parable of Christ rising from the dead.  

Called Them by Name

We read how Adam gave names to all the animals in Genesis 2: 

Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.  

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

As with any verse or passage, we can ask ourselves: why did God include this in the Bible?  

We are told that Adam gave each animal in the Garden of Eden its name. In John 10:3, the Lord Jesus declares that He is the Good Shepherd “who calleth his own sheep by name.”

Animals can be a picture of the elect.  One example can be found in Genesis 6:19: as God drew the animals to the ark in Noah’s day, so too He draws His elect to Himself (John 6:44).  So we see here in Genesis 2:19-20 that Adam typifies the Lord Jesus who gave names to all those He had chosen before the foundation of the world to become saved (Ephesians 1:4).  

Adam is, on occasion but not in all instances, a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

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Eve

We saw how God refers to Adam as a “figure” of Christ, but does the Bible also inform us who Eve represents?  As we follow God’s command to compare spiritual with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13), we will find that the answer is yes.  

God made Eve

When God formed Adam from the dust of the ground, He could have made Eve in the same manner, but He did not.  Everything else had been formed out of the ground, but God goes through a complicated process to create Eve. There would have been no difficulty for God to create the woman just as He had created the man, but He did things in this way to paint a spiritual picture.  

In Genesis 2, we are told how God made Eve:

Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

We know that God hides truth throughout the Scriptures, and the Bible student must look carefully at each word and see how it is used elsewhere.  In Genesis 2:22 we have an interesting word and it is the Hebrew word translated as “made,” which is not the same word for “made” used in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 up to this point.  It is Hebrew #1129 in Strong’s Concordance, which is used over 300 times in the Old Testament, and it is almost always translated as “build,” “built,” or “building.”  For example, it is used to describe the building of the house of God:

1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.  

2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD …

This word translated “built” is used many times to describe the building of the temple, the house of God.  The construction of the temple typified God building His eternal church which consists of everyone He had saved.  

This truth is further confirmed in the New Testament:

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

We also find similar language in 1 Corinthians 3:

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

In Genesis 2:22, why does God tell us that He “built” Eve?  Because as with the temple, so too Eve is a picture of the body of elect believers, the bride of Christ, who are a spiritual house.  

“Bone of My Bones”

After Eve is formed, we read of Adam’s reaction:

Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

This is very similar to what we find in Ephesians 5:30, which speaks of Christ and His elect:

Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

As Adam, a picture of Christ, calls Eve, bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, so too Christ calls all those He has saved “members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”

Eve can be a type and figure of God’s elect.  

Pharaoh

In the Bible, we read about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and we see his seemingly strong power and fierce rule.  In many instances, but not all, Pharaoh is used by God to typify Satan.  We see this, for instance, in the historical setting of the Exodus.  It is Pharaoh that enslaves the people of Israel, and it is Pharaoh that will not hearken to God and let the people go.  Israel’s bondage in Egypt pictures man’s spiritual enslavement to sin and Satan.  

Pharaoh’s House of Bondage

We read in 1 Samuel:

1 Samuel 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

Eli’s “father” would be referring back to Aaron or Levi, as Aaron was from the tribe of Levi, and they were the beginnings of the priesthood, and Aaron was the high priest.  Aaron was in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house; he was not literally in Pharaoh’s house, except at the time of the deliverance when Moses and Aaron would go to present themselves before Pharaoh.  But this is a reference to being a slave or a bondman in Egypt.  That’s what it means when it says, “they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house”: it is a synonym for being in bondage.  

We also read of Pharaoh’s house:

Exodus 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. 

24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. 

The plague of the swarm of flies that God sent entered into Pharaoh’s house, the house of his servants, and all the land of Egypt.  These are all synonyms to represent the cruel taskmasters and overseers that kept Israel in bondage.  Of course, Pharaoh was the main character that kept Israel in bondage and, even after all the plagues which God brought upon him, he refused to let the people go.  Again and again, he showed his stubbornness and rebellion against God.

“Bind the Strong Man”

We read in the New Testament:

Matthew 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 

29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

In Matthew 12:29, we find language similar to what we saw regarding Pharaoh and his house.  When it says a “strong man’s house,” it is saying the same thing spiritually as “Pharaoh’s house.”  Pharaoh was a mighty or strong man in Egypt and the “strong man” is referring to Satan, the evil one, who has a house or kingdom he ruled over that was full of bondservants.  It was the Lord Jesus who was the one that desired to spoil his house.  We know this took place at the time of the cross when Satan was bound for a figurative “thousand years” or the duration of the entire Church Age, which began on Pentecost in 33 A.D. This continued until the end of the Church Age and the beginning of the Great Tribulation on May 21, 1988, at which time Satan was loosed out of his prison for a little season (Revelation 20:2-3, 7).

We see this with the historical situation when Israel was in Egypt.  God sent Moses (a picture of Christ) to deliver the Israelites from their bondage.  In a way, the plagues served to bind the strong man as it brought Pharaoh to his knees and to the point when he would finally let the people go.  

The Great Dragon

A verse that further helps us see that Pharaoh is a type of the devil is found in the book of Ezekiel: 

Ezekiel 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

By identifying Pharaoh as “the great dragon,” we have additional confirmation that he is a picture of Satan, since Satan is referred to as a “dragon” in Revelation 12:9 and elsewhere.

Most of the time, but not always, when we find the title of Pharaoh in the Bible, we will also find a spiritual picture of Satan.  

Jonah

The story of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by the whale is an exciting Bible story that has fascinated children and adults all over the world for centuries.  A strange Hebrew man becomes a passenger on a ship as he flees from God, and yet he cannot get away fast enough as a tempestuous storm arises at sea.  It is soon discovered that the only way to save the lives of all those on the ship is to throw the mysterious passenger, Jonah, overboard.  

Certainly the book of Jonah is one of the most dramatic true stories ever recorded, and yet there lies hidden within this adventurous account even more fascinating truths.  

Cast into the Sea

The Lord came to Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh to prophesy against them but Jonah disobeyed and fled.  Jonah goes with the mariners away from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3).  Since mankind’s fall into sin, he has been going away from the presence of God—he prefers the darkness.  Man is going away from God and hiding himself (Genesis 3:8).  

When Jesus became man, He took upon Himself a human nature and He went with mankind away from the presence of the Lord. He did this (fled to Tarshish, or became a man and entered into the human race), because the Lord is a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger. In other words, when we look at it spiritually, it paints a wonderful picture of Christ's mindset before He entered into the world to demonstrate the things He had done from the foundation of the world.

When Jonah is on board the ship with the mariners, and the Lord sends a great tempest against them, the mariners cry:

Jonah 1:11 … What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? …

Jonah responds in the next verse:

Jonah 1:12 Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

The circumstances of the storm were for Jonah’s sake.  Likewise, the circumstances that God set in motion at the crucifixion in 33 A.D. were to bring Christ to the tableau of the atonement.  Therefore, Jonah said, “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you.”  The sea can be a type of the wrath of God.  If the sea is calm, it means that there is no more wrath of God against all that have transgressed His laws reaching from the “sea” to bring everyone down and destroy them in order to have satisfaction.  Jonah was going to provide the satisfaction.  He would be the substitute for everyone else on board the ship.

Then we read:

Jonah 1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

There was no other way—no alternate religion and no other gospel.  There is only one way for man to have peace with God and to enter into heaven and that is through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Reluctantly, the crew casts Jonah into the raging sea, and the storm immediately quiets.  We read how the mariners reacted: 

Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

These men on board the ship become a picture of God’s elect, whom Christ made payment for their sins.

Jonah is a Sign

A whale suddenly appears and swallows up Jonah which saves him from drowning, but his ordeal continues as he spends the next three days and three nights in the whale’s belly (Jonah 2).  The Lord Jesus makes the identification of Jonah in the whale’s belly with Himself:

Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This helps us to see that the period of time Jonah spent in the whale’s belly was used by God as a figure of Christ enduring the wrath of God in His final days upon earth.  

The next time you’re reading the true historical account of the book of Jonah, keep in mind that in the deeper spiritual meaning, the prophet Jonah can be a type and figure of Jesus Christ experiencing the wrath of God.  

Cyrus

In the Scriptures, we find that God uses various men to typify or portray the Lord Jesus Christ.  The men that the Lord has chosen to use to represent Christ are often very faithful men of God, such as David or Joseph.  But on occasion, the Lord may also use a man to typify Christ that doesn’t fit that kind of mold, and instead use someone whom we would never associate with the Lord: King Cyrus, the king of the Medes and the Persians, is that kind of man.  He is a king that did not rule over Israel but over a heathen nation, and, in all probability, was unsaved himself, yet God used Cyrus as a type and figure of Christ.  This can be readily shown once we read a couple of verses in the book of Isaiah.

My Shepherd

We read in Isaiah 44:

Isaiah 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Cyrus is here called “my shepherd” by God, which is a title used by Christ:

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Anointed

We also read in Isaiah:

Isaiah 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him …

The Hebrew word translated as “anointed” here, which is Strong’s #4899, is the same word translated as “Messiah” in Daniel 9:25-26.  And of course, Jesus Christ was God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, that the Jews were long expecting to come.  

Took the Kingdom

In Daniel 5, we read of the end of the kingdom of Babylon and of king Belshazzar.  

Daniel 5:30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

If you remember, Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall and they called for Daniel to interpret, which was not a good interpretation for this king because he was slain that night.  It continues:

Daniel 5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

We are saying that Cyrus is the one who conquered Babylon, and yet here it says that it was Darius.  How do we reconcile this?  A verse which helps us is found in the next chapter:

Daniel 6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

This sounds like it is talking about two kings, that maybe Cyrus came after Darius?  But no, this is not the case.  The word “and” in the Hebrew is the vav prefix and can also be understood as “even,” so this would read:

So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, [even] in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

That is, they are not two different men or two different kings, but they are the same man.  Some of the names that we read of in relation to the kings of the Medes and the Persians could be a title, in the same way that “Pharaoh” or “Caesar” are titles.  One of their names could also be like this, and according to 2 Chronicles 36 as well as Ezra 1, we know that Cyrus, who is also known as Darius, is the one who set Israel free.

Cyrus (Darius) came as a thief in the night upon Babylon and took the kingdom in one night.  The Babylonians apparently had no expectation of being under assault or that danger was lurking, and the next thing they knew, the enemy army marched into the city and overcame them.  That is exactly what Christ did when He came spiritually upon the world on May 21, 2011.  He took the world unaware, because He came spiritually, which means He came in the invisible realm.  Since (unsaved) man cannot perceive spiritual things but can only see physical things, it seemed as though “nothing happened.”  Nevertheless, Christ came and took the kingdom of Satan and He began to rule from that point in time with a rod of iron over the nations of the world (Revelation 2:27).  

So it was Cyrus who conquered Belshazzar and the kingdom of Babylon at the end of the 70-year tribulation period, which typified Christ conquering Satan and the kingdom of Satan at the end of the Great Tribulation, which was on May 21, 2011, the beginning of the Day of Judgment.

Cyrus, king of the Medes and the Persians, is a type of Christ. 

The Bridegroom

The Bible is incredibly wonderful at what it was designed to do, which is to teach the gospel of God.  The Scriptures waste nothing: every book, every chapter, every passage, every word, every jot and tittle of every letter in the Bible, is utilized by the Lord for the purpose of teaching mankind truth.  

The marriage relationship is part of this world’s everyday life.  Just about every society and culture in the world has men and women join together in the marriage union.  Yet the world’s most cherished practice of marriage comes right out of the Word of God.  God is the One that established the marriage relationship between a man and a woman right at the very beginning of the creation:

Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Since marriage originated from God we should not be surprised to find that the marriage relationship itself is used by Him to represent various parts of the gospel.  For instance, the bridegroom—we still call the man the “groom” even in our modern day—is a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This was pointed out in John 3:

John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Another proof text which confirms that God is the bridegroom is found in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 

The Voice of the Bridegroom

Now that we understand who the bridegroom is, we can understand Revelation 18:23 which says:

Revelation 18:23 … and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee …

Christ is the bridegroom and the voice of Christ is His Word.  He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), so the voice of Christ is the Bible.  The context of Revelation 18 is the Day of Judgment upon the world.  The Word of God is the voice of the bridegroom, so if the voice of the bridegroom is no longer being heard, it means the Word of God, the Bible, is no longer being “heard.”  And if the Bible is not being “heard,” there cannot be salvation: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), or by the voice of the bridegroom.  

This does not mean that Bibles have been removed, or that you cannot find the written Word, or that you cannot find the Word preached.  The Bible can still be widely found in abundance in the world.   Anyone today can even find the Bible online and hear it.  Many poor people have phones today and they can find a Bible site and listen to the Bible through their phone.  Yet all the while they are listening to or reading the Scriptures, they are missing one necessary ingredient for salvation, which is the Holy Spirit to open up the ears of the hearer.

In time past, while it was the Day of Salvation, God would send forth His Word and it would be physically heard, and if that individual was one of God’s elect, the Holy Spirit would work through the hearing of the Word to create “spiritual ears” so the person could hear on a whole different level; the individual could hear the “voice of Christ” and be drawn to Him and receive a new heart.  But it is not happening any more.  During the present Day of Judgment, the voice of the bridegroom is not heard any more at all in the world (Babylon).

The bridegroom is a type and figure of Jesus Christ.  

The Bride

We have seen how Jesus is pictured as the bridegroom in the marriage relationship.  The next obvious question then is: if Christ is the bridegroom, then who does the bride represent?  

Thankfully, the Bible does provide the answer to this question.  We read of brides in the Bible in several places, but there are a few places that are very helpful in instructing us concerning the spiritual figure of the bride.  The first passage we will consider is the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:

Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

It continues in verses 6 through 10:

Matthew 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

In this passage, we find that all that are called to meet Christ (once again typified as the bridegroom) are those that respond to the gospel’s call.  In other words, the ten virgins would all be considered Christians, but not all that profess to be Christians are true Christians.  This is why five were wise (truly saved Christians) and five were foolish (not truly saved, but “Christian” in name only).  Only the truly saved wise virgins finally enter into the bridegroom’s chamber and become His bride.  This teaches us that the bride of Christ is only comprised of those truly saved (God’s elect).  

Clothed with the Garments of Salvation

The second passage we want to look at concerning the bride of Christ is found in Revelation 19:

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Here again the bride is made up of all those that God has saved throughout history: His elect people, those chosen to salvation, are the spiritual bride of Christ for evermore.  Notice how the bride is adorned with “fine linen, clean and white,” which is explained to be the “righteousness of saints.”  It is the righteousness of Christ that God accounts to everyone He saved.  Jesus paid for their sins and His righteousness became their righteousness, so all are pure, holy, and white, and that is the glorious bridal gown of all of God’s people.

The elect are the bride of Christ that are made ready through salvation and the same picture applies in Revelation 21, where it says in verse 2 that the holy city, new Jerusalem, is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”  The adorning of the bride is her covering, the salvation that God (her husband, the Lamb) has adorned her with.

An interesting verse where God speaks of a bride and adornment is in Isaiah 61:

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation …

This is exactly what the fine linen represents, and that is the “garments of salvation.”  It goes on to say in this verse:

Isaiah 61:10 … he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 

Do you see the beautiful picture God is painting?  Salvation is as a bride decking herself with jewels in order to look very beautiful on her wedding day.  What makes the bride of Christ beautiful in God’s sight?  It is her pure garment, her righteousness.  It is the garment of salvation because God sees no sin.  He sees His bride dressed in white and it is a lovely picture because all her sins are gone; they have been removed as far as the east is from the west, cast into the depths of the sea, to be remembered no more (Psalm 103:12, Micah 7:19).  Her pardon is complete; as it says in Romans: 

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.  

This is all language the Bible applies to the blessed people of God, those that God has saved, and it is all based upon His good pleasure (Ephesians 1:5).  It has nothing to do with anything they have done—it is not by works or merit, and they did not deserve it (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).  It is all according to the grace of God that the bride is adorned properly for her husband.

It is wonderful that as we watch a marriage ceremony, we can see the gospel illustrated by the bridegroom (Christ) and the bride (body of elect believers), and even the very dress of the bride teaches an element of God’s gospel.  

The bride typifies all those that Christ has saved.  

A True Jew

As is the case with the best of mysteries, things in the Bible are often not what they appear to be.  For example, if you or I were to define what a “true Jew” is, we would say that it is a person that is a physical descendant of Abraham, someone that takes upon themselves the sign of circumcision.  That would be our natural definition of a Jew, however, that is not exactly the Bible’s definition. 

Although it is true to say that the Scriptures recognize the physical descendants of Abraham as being physical Jews, it is also true that the Bible reserves the definition of a “true Jew” to another group of special people.  We read about God’s definition of a true Jew in Romans 2:

Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

At first, this seems very strange to our ears. We wonder if God is really saying that the physical descendants of Abraham are not true Jews, and instead that true Jews are individuals that have been circumcised in heart? 

The answer is yes. God is indeed telling us that His criteria for being a Jew is one in which a person must be circumcised in heart, i.e., a recipient of a new heart through salvation (Deuteronomy 30:6, Ezekiel 36:26).  We find this same type of language in Galatians 6:

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.  

16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

From God’s perspective, when someone becomes born again (a new creature), they are then spiritually circumcised in their heart, and at that moment become a part of—or a member of—the Israel of God, spiritual Israel.  They become a spiritual Jew. 

This is true even if the person who was saved happened to be a Gentile (physically, a non-Jew), as we read in these Scriptures:

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.  

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: …

The Israel of God consists of the elect people from all nations, Jews and Gentiles.  Romans 11:25-26 is revealing to us that once God has saved the last of the Gentiles (people of the world), then in that manner “all Israel” (all the elect) will have become saved. 

A true Jew is a type and figure of all those that God saves and makes new creatures in Christ.

Chapter 2: Objects

Rock

In the Bible, God may use a person, a place, or a thing to picture some part of the gospel.  A rock, for instance, is an inanimate object and a lifeless thing, but when we read the Word of God, we need to pay close attention to everything we read.  This is because God hides truth throughout the Scriptures, including with rocks.

“That Rock was Christ”

We see an example of hidden truth in Exodus 17:

Exodus 17:5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.  

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

Some read this account and wonder at the glorious miracle of water gushing forth out of a rock (which, it should be observed, that there was enough water that it satisfied a thirsty nation), but they fail to go beyond the historical narrative and dig deeper into the spiritual dimension of this amazing event.  Christ’s tendency to speak in parables instructs us to always look for more spiritual depth in the things we read in the Bible.  In this case, God helps us by expounding upon the spiritual meaning of this passage in the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

In this verse we find a fuller explanation of Exodus 17:5-6.  The rock that Moses smote with his rod and gushed out a river of water to satisfy the thirst of so many, that Rock was a spiritual representation of Christ: the One to come who would quench the spiritual thirst of all His elect people sojourning throughout time in the barren wilderness of this world.  

There are other verses that make the identification of God as the rock, such as:

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

“He Smote the Rock Twice”

Later on in the historical account, God commanded Moses to speak to the rock and water would gush forth (Numbers 20:8).  Instead of following this command to speak, we read that Moses smites the rock:

Numbers 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

If we consider the spiritual meaning of this passage, Moses represents the law of God, and Christ is the rock.  

The word “smote” (Strong’s #5221) in Numbers 20:11 can be used to mean to “kill,” and is found in connection with Christ:

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten (#5221) of God, and afflicted.

We are aware that Christ was struck by the law of God as part of His payment for sin.  Why then is the rock (Christ) smitten twice?  Only when we realize that Christ was first struck at the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), and then a second time at the cross when He made a demonstration of what He did, do we come to a full comprehension of this historical parable.  

The rock is a type and a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sword

The Bible records many exciting and dramatic historical battles, and also describes numerous and varied weapons that warring men used against each other while these battles raged.  One very prominent weapon in the Bible is the sword, which is first mentioned in Genesis 3, the chapter that describes mankind’s fall into sin:  

Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Certainly at such an early stage of earth’s history, there were no swords even in existence, and yet the Lord refers to a “flaming sword” which kept the way of the tree of life.  

Of course, when the Bible refers to a sword (in whatever context), we have learned that we must look for an underlying spiritual meaning.  Thankfully, the Lord has provided a verse which helps us to see a likely deeper spiritual meaning for the word “sword”:

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The Lord doesn’t always provide such a neat spiritual definition as He has with this verse.

The Word of God is further identified with the sword in the book of         Hebrews:

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

The Judgment of God

In Jeremiah 50 we read:

Jeremiah 50:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

God is speaking here of those who are fleeing for fear of the oppressing sword.  There is a similar verse that is worded slightly differently in an earlier chapter in Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 46:15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.  

16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 

This helps us to see that it is flight or running from the sword of God.  The “oppressing sword” would be the Word of God, as God likens His Word to a sword, as we saw in Ephesians 6:17.   So it is the Word of God that is declaring judgment upon Babylon and the unsaved inhabitants of the earth.  

The next time that you’re reading the Bible and you come across the word “sword,” try applying the spiritual definition of “the Word of God.”   

House/Temple

In the Scriptures, we read quite a bit about the preparation, the construction, and finally the worship of the house of God.  This was a glorious temple first built in the days of Solomon.  King David long made preparations for its building, and enormous expense went into its construction upon the death of David and during the reign of his son Solomon.  

The temple was outwardly magnificent and all were impressed with its splendor, but few were aware that, in all of its elaborate decorations and costly array, it was all put together by the Lord to paint another picture of the Bible’s truth.  In other words, the temple was a historical type and figure, an actual building designed to illustrate a truth, just as Christ’s parables were words designed to illustrate various truths of God’s gospel plan.  

After Solomon completed the building of the temple, we read:

1 Kings 8:12 Then spake Solomon, the LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. 

The house that Solomon built was a physical, earthly construction, and there was no way that house would continue forever.  As a matter of fact, when the Babylonians entered into Jerusalem in 587 B.C., they destroyed the temple, so it was certainly not an eternal dwellingplace.  It can be proven from the Bible that the physical temple was destroyed, and yet God spoke here of it being a house for Him to dwell in forever.  It was far from forever—it was just a matter of a few hundred years until that house was destroyed.

Since we know that God cannot lie or make a mistake, He could not have been speaking of that physical house because He knew that house would be destroyed.  But He is using this language in order to paint a picture—the eternal habitation of God would not take place in a physical temple, but it does occur in the spiritual temple.  

What did the temple represent?  We can discover the answer to this question as we search the Bible for clues.  We find some help in 2 Corinthians 6:

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

It says that the elect believers are the temple of the living God.  We see some further support for this truth in this Scripture:

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, …

We also read:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  

17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

From these verses we learn that, spiritually, the Lord views those He saved as being part of His house or temple.  Therefore, we also understand that the Bible likens God’s salvation plan to the construction of the spiritual house of God, and once all of those to be saved (the elect) have become saved, the house is then completed, and ready for the Spirit of God to enter in and dwell for evermore.    

No Work Done Inside the Temple

While describing the specific details of the construction of the temple in Solomon’s day, we read:

1 Kings 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

It is very interesting that God gives us this information that the stones were made ready before being brought to the temple, indicating that there was no hammering or cutting done inside.  This is a picture of the fact that the elect did not do any work for their salvation.  Instead, all the work had been done by the Lord Jesus who made payment for sins from the foundation of the world.

The temple is a type and a figure of the body of elect true believers.  

Wall

One key principle in uncovering these types and figures is that we must allow the Bible to define its own spiritual terms.  For example, we may read of something like a wall in the Bible.   A plain, simple wall; but what does it mean?  The Bible will not permit us to just assign any spiritual meaning we might want to that wall, we are never to do that.  Instead we are obligated to search the Bible itself—and only the Bible—to seek its own spiritual definition for a wall.  

In this case, we do find two very helpful verses:

Isaiah 26:1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Isaiah 60:18 … but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

We have God Himself making the spiritual connection as to what the wall in the Bible means.  The plain and ordinary wall is related to the incredibly glorious spiritual reality of salvation.  

Now once we have learned that this kind of spiritual identification of the wall exists in the Bible, it suddenly gives a great deal more meaning to passages found elsewhere, such as in the book of Nehemiah, as Nehemiah and the Jews returning from exile put forth tremendous effort to re-build the wall of Jerusalem.  We have Biblical authority to view the building of that wall as a type and figure of God’s salvation plan.  

The Walls are Broken Down

We also read of walls being broken down.  In 2 Kings 25, we are told that the army of Babylon broke down the walls of Judah:

2 Kings 25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 

9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. 

10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 

What a terrible day that was.  What an awful grievous time.  The Babylonians burnt the house of the Lord, they burnt every great man’s house, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.  What did that represent?  

The tearing down of the walls of Jerusalem points to the end of salvation within the churches and congregations, when Satan and his emissaries came against the churches, which began on May 21, 1988.  They tore down the walls, which typified the reality that salvation was no longer to be found in any churches or congregations in all the world.  It did not matter what denomination the church was, where they were located, or how large or small they might be: there was no more salvation.  The walls were torn down, and the walls fell.

The wall is a type and a figure of God’s salvation.

The Door

A door is a very common thing.  Every modern home has a front door, bedroom door, bathroom door, and so forth.  Ancient homes also had doors.  Doors are also found in the Bible.  The Lord could not have picked a more common and known object than a door to convey spiritual truth.  

We do not just look at a word and assign our own spiritual definition to it—  we do not pick an idea out of “thin air” to assign a meaning.  That would be “private interpretation” which would be interpretation out of our own mind and our own understanding.  We must follow the Bible’s guidelines and that means that we allow God to provide His definition for the spiritual meaning of words.

“I am the Door”

The Bible has this to say about “the door”:

John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  

8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

According to this passage, Jesus Christ is the Door.  The Scriptures declare that it is only through Him that a sinner may pass into the kingdom of God and live forever.  

We see that entry through the door (Christ) relates to salvation: “If any man enter in, he shall be saved.”  Therefore, salvation through Christ is the “door.”  Where does that salvation lead?  It leads to the kingdom of God, and to the heavenly city of Jerusalem to be seated at the right hand of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The “door” is Christ Himself.  

The Bible speaks at times of an open door: “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me,” as God directed the Apostle Paul to say in 1 Corinthians 16:9.  When the door is open, people may enter in, and this is another way of saying that they may become saved, but their salvation is through Jesus.  It is always through Jesus because He is the only “door.”  That is why God only made one door into the ark in Noah’s day; there was only one way to enter into that ark and you could not enter another way—you had to use the door (Genesis 6:16).  And Christ is that door, spiritually, and if the door is open then people can go in.  Of course, not just anyone can enter in, but only those elect that were chosen by God to obtain salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).  The elect have a pathway, as Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).  It is through Him that we could travel from an unsaved condition to a saved condition, and we can leave this world and enter into the next.  He is “the door,” and the definite article “the” is in view because He is not just “a door,” but the only door by which people can enter into heaven.

“The Door of Faith”

We can see the spiritual tie-in with the gospel that brings the message of the Lord Jesus:

Acts 14:27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

God opened the door and this displays a Biblical principal.  If a door is opened, it must be God that opens it.  There is no one else that can open the door to heaven since it is God’s kingdom  (Revelation 3:7-8).  It is His domain, and He has complete rule and authority over the kingdom of heaven and, therefore, it is absolutely necessary that God open the door if anyone was to be translated from this world (of darkness) into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13).  

The Bible speaks of the elect true believers as doorkeepers in Psalm 84:10 and that is our task as messengers and servants of God.  God opened the door in particular “times and seasons” of His salvation program.  The door could have been slightly opened, with relatively few being saved, like it was during the time of the Old Testament; or the door could have been widely opened like during the Church Age; or it could have been tremendously wide open like it was during the second part of the Great Tribulation period when God sent forth the Latter Rain to save the great multitude.  

Tragically, the door can also be shut by God as He did with Noah's ark (Genesis 7:16), and did again one last time at the completion of the Great Tribulation period on the date of May 21, 2011. Of course, since an open door allows entry into heaven and pictures salvation, a shut door would illustrate the exact opposite: there is no entry into heaven since it is the end of salvation for mankind.

Each one that God saved entered through the “door,” or through Christ, as it said, again, in Acts 14:27: “they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”   The Bible teaches us that Christ is faith (Hebrews 11, Revelation 19:11), so the “door of faith” tells us it is the “door of Christ.”  They are synonymous.  Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the faith, so it is the door of faith.  

It is not that man would “exercise” faith to believe on Jesus and thereby enter in.  That is not possible because no man is justified by the works of the Law and faith is a work (1 Thessalonians 1:3).  The Bible calls belief a commandment as it commands us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Any attempted obedience to any commandment of God is a “work.”  That is the definition of a “work,” and we are not justified by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).  It is impossible for anyone to have entered into the kingdom of heaven by exercising their own faith – it is not our faith, but the faith of Christ.  It says in Galatians 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,” so it is Christ’s faith.  It is Christ’s door, and He drew people through that door, as it says in John 6:44: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”  

So let’s keep this in mind the next time we’re reading the Bible and we come across a seemingly plain and simple statement referencing a door, remember at that point Jesus’ words found in the gospel of John: “I am the door.”  And consider for a moment if the deeper spiritual meaning to the passage might relate to Jesus Christ as the entry way, or portal, into the wonders of eternity future.  

Well

Have you ever fetched a pail of water from a well of water?  It is not as common today for us to obtain our water from a well because much of the world in our time has indoor plumbing, and we simply turn on our tap to get water whenever we want it.  But for thousands of years, in fact, for much of earth’s history, indoor plumbing wasn’t possible if even thought of.  For thousands of years the way that many people received their water was through a well. 

The Bible uses this picture of fetching water from a well to typify an aspect of the gospel.  We read in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

In this verse we see how God uses the most common picture (common to all pre-modern generations) of drawing water out of a well to illustrate the wonderful salvation that He wrought for His elect people.

The Lord Jesus also used this illustration when speaking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well:

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?  

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?  

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

We will look at this a little more later in this booklet, but water often represents the water of the Gospel.  When there are travelers in a dry and thirsty land, they would delight in the prospect of there being water in the well.  They would see a well off in the distance.  They were thirsty, and their lips were dry and parched.  They would pull up the bucket in the well, and if there was water in it, what a blessing!  

That is the picture God uses of salvation in the spiritual wasteland of this world where the cool Gospel water could quench the thirst for righteousness of the sinners that were God’s elect.  God drew them to the water where they would drink and experience salvation.  Then they would have the Holy Spirit and they would never thirst again for righteousness because they had the righteousness of Christ—He became their righteousness.  It was an everlasting internal spring of water that God placed within them.

A well of water represents the pure water of life of God’s salvation.  

Chapter 3: Numbers

The Number 10

Every number in the Bible is a word, and as a result, we can be sure that it too carries spiritual meaning like every other word in the Bible.  But how can we find the spiritual meaning of a number?  The answer is, the same way we find the meaning of other words in the Bible: by examining its context and the way it is used elsewhere.  

Once we search things out, we will find that the number 10 is used in the Scriptures to represent “completeness.”  We see this in many places, but it is especially evident in these verses found in Matthew:

Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

The ten virgins are used in this parable to represent those that profess to be Christians, the bride of Christ.  Of that total number, some are saved (the five wise), and some are not saved (the five foolish), but the number 10 points to the completeness of them all.  

We also find that the number 10 maintains the spiritual meaning of “completeness” even as it is multiplied by itself.  That is, multiples of 10 do not change the meaning.  The number 100 (10 x 10) or 1,000 (10 x 10 x 10), etc., keep the same spiritual meaning of completeness.  We see this in Psalm 50:

Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Let’s ask the question: does God only own the cattle upon a thousand hills, or does He own all the cattle upon all the hills?  Of course, He owns all the cattle on every hill.  It is His creation.  Therefore we can see that the completeness of all cattle is in view by the use of the number 1,000.  

Finally, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes at the end of time, it says:

Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Is Jesus coming only with “ten thousands” of His saints, or is He coming with them all?  The Bible tells us He is coming with them all:

Zechariah 14:5b … and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

The “ten thousands” is a figure of speech used by God to typify the completeness of all His saints.  

The Number 40

If we read the Bible often enough, we will soon discover that particular themes begin to occur again and again.  What we will find through our constant Bible reading is that patterns begin to emerge which we may recognize as types and figures of various gospel truths.   

For example, we find that the number 40 is used in a very interesting way in the Bible.  From the Old Testament’s historical information, we learn that, after Israel came out of Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for a period 40 years (Numbers 32:13).  This was a period of time in which they were severely tried by God to see if they would serve only Him, their deliverer.  We read of this trying time in the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.

The number 40 is described in connection with a “day of temptation” or a time of trial of the Jewish people while they traveled through the wilderness.  

Jesus was Tempted for Forty Days

We also learn more about the number 40 from the New Testament gospel accounts.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, God records a time in which the Lord Jesus Himself is tried.  We read in Luke 4:

Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 

2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

Jesus was tried, or tested, of the devil for 40 days.  The similar theme between Christ’s period of testing in the wilderness (for 40 days) and Israel’s period of testing in the wilderness (for 40 years) cannot be missed: both involved the testing of faithfulness to God, and both involved the use of the number 40.  Therefore, from these verses (and from others also), we quickly see that the number 40 is used in the Bible as a number that spiritually points to testing.  

The Flood and the Day of Judgment

Another place we find the number 40 is during the flood of Noah’s day.  God declares in Genesis:

Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights …

The number of days and nights it rained is not a coincidence.  It was not accidental that the judgment of the flood began with rain for “forty days and forty nights.”  The judgment continued beyond that because we know it was about one year before Noah, his family, and the animals could depart out of the ark onto dry land again, but God very pointedly emphasized that the rain fell for “forty days and forty nights” beginning on the “seventeenth day of the second month,” a date that identifies with May 21, 2011, the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the Day of Judgment against all the inhabitants of the earth.  He is emphasizing that it is not only a time of judgment, but it is also a time of testing.

When we look at this, historically, in Noah’s 600th year, once the rain began and continued to rain for forty days and forty nights, were the unsaved people outside the ark being tested?  No.  Many of them would have died anywhere from the first day on and, perhaps, the vast majority of people on the earth would have been dead by the end of the forty days and forty nights of rain.

And yet there were eight people that were alive on the earth inside the ark, along with certain of the animals, so the forty days and forty nights really impacted the inhabitants of the ark, and that is what we find when we look at all the Bible has to say about the “testing” that accompanies the Day of Judgment.  The testing is not for the unsaved people in the churches, and it is not for the unsaved people outside the churches in the world, but it has to do with God’s trying and testing of the elect, and with those that identify with the elect.  

The number 40 typifies testing or trial.  

Chapter 4: Nations

Canaan

Searching the Scriptures for the deeper spiritual meaning of a verse, or a passage, is not merely an interesting pastime for us to engage in, but it is a necessary pursuit for the sincere and diligent student of the Bible.  It is only after we have looked into the spiritual dimension, and have discovered the underlying gospel meaning to the verse we are reading, that we can then say that we have finally found truth.  

For instance, let’s consider a verse in the book of Genesis that simply does not make any sense until we dig deeper and see the spiritual meaning of what is in view:

Genesis 17:8 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.

In this verse we read that God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed for an “everlasting possession.”  There is no difficulty with this verse until we start to think about other information that God has given us elsewhere in the Bible.  After reviewing these other passages, such as 2 Peter 3, we realize that it is simply not possible for God to have given the literal, physical land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession.  Why not?  It is because the Lord states very definitely that this world will not continue forever, and that there will be an end that will bring about this earth’s destruction (2 Peter 3:10-12), which would include the land of Canaan in the Middle East.  

“Heir of the World”

In the New Testament we read of Abraham:

Romans 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 

But didn’t we read that Abraham was to inherit the “land of Canaan” for an everlasting habitation?  This is a proof verse that when God made that promise in Genesis 17, He had in view the “world,” meaning the “new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). 

If we were to understand the promise given to Abraham as a literal reference to the physical land of Canaan, we would have an enormous contradiction.  The Bible would be teaching two very different things, and that is not possible, since the Bible never teaches things that contradict each other.  

It is not until we realize that the land of Canaan is being used by God as a type and a figure of the kingdom of heaven that we understand the true meaning of the verse, and the contradiction disappears.  Understanding the deeper spiritual meaning clarifies things and there is no longer any contradiction.  

Again, we see the superiority and necessity of understanding the Bible’s deeper, spiritual dimension.  If you fail to look into the Scriptures for the spiritual teaching, you will come up with wrong conclusions.  Those that only look for a literal meaning of the Bible are a million miles away from truth.

Entering into the Land of Canaan

Another passage which we can see the land of Canaan as a type of the kingdom of heaven is in Joshua 3.  We read of Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan river and into Canaan.  Joshua, whose name in Hebrew is the same as “Jesus,” is a figure of Christ, leading the Israelites (who typify God’s elect) through the Jordan river (a picture of the wrath of God) into the land of Canaan (kingdom of heaven).  

When reading the Scriptures, we can keep in mind that the land of Canaan may be used by God as a type and a figure of the kingdom of heaven.  And it is the kingdom of heaven that God gave to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession.  

Babylon

The nation of Babylon is featured prominently in the Bible during the accounts when they besieged and overcame Judah. 

Go into Babylon

In the book of Jeremiah, when God told the people of Judah that they must go into Babylon, spiritually, Judah is a type of the churches, so leaving Judah and going into Babylon represents going into the world.  The 70 years of tribulation that followed, from 609 B.C. to 539 B.C., is a picture of the Great Tribulation because it was a period of great affliction for the people of God; God raised up Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who is a type of Satan ruling over the churches, and brought Babylon against Judah and caused Babylon to be victorious.  That is why the figure of the Jews going into Babylon represents the end of the Church Age when God’s people departed out of the local congregations.

“Babylon is Fallen”

Then Babylon falls and it is taken by King Cyrus, a type of Christ, and they take the kingdom of Babylon in one night by complete surprise.  We read about this in Daniel 5, where the King of Babylon is with his lords and they have no idea that in that very night Babylon will be taken.  It very much illustrates the Lord Jesus Christ coming “as a thief in the night” on May 21, 2011, when the Great Tribulation ended and the Day of Judgment began.  Historically, the King of the Medes and the Persians became the King of Babylon, so that is another proof that Babylon represents the world, or the kingdom of Satan, at the end of the Great Tribulation period.  

“The Vengeance of His Temple”

Babylon falls historically at the end of the 70-year tribulation just as the world falls into spiritual condemnation at the end of the Great Tribulation period beginning on May 21, 2011.  It is the time of their judgment and that is why God speaks of punishing Babylon for “the vengeance of His temple,” because they had already destroyed His temple (the churches) throughout the 23-year Great Tribulation, as Babylon had destroyed Judah during the 70-year period, and then it was time for vengeance on Babylon.

The Burden of Babylon and the End of the World

In Isaiah 13, God shows us how Babylon is a representation of the world in the Day of Judgment.  

Isaiah 13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

So this chapter concerns the “burden” of Babylon and we read:

Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  

10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 

We recognize this, and the verses that follow, as describing the Day of Judgment.  Then notice in verse 17:

Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 

Now why is God referring to the Medes?  It is because, historically, at the end of the 70-year period, it was the Medes and the Persians that God raised up to conquer Babylon (Daniel 5:30-31).  In this description of the final judgment of this world, God suddenly reverts back to talking about the Medes being stirred up “against them,” which has to be Babylon, because it goes on to give us confirmation of that:

Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.  

20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation …

“Babylon” is mentioned again by name.  The fact that it “shall never be inhabited” means that it is desolate, which points to the absence of God the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 6:8), because God has abandoned the world concerning salvation, just as He did the churches; it is the same “cup of wrath” that He is delivering to them (Jeremiah 25:15 and following).  

In Isaiah 13, God begins in verse 1 regarding “the burden of Babylon,” and then He goes on to transition into judgment on the world—and then He smoothly transitions back to speaking of Babylon and its fall.  We can see from this that Babylon is a representation of the world in Judgment Day.

The Slain of the Earth Fall at Babylon

Another verse that further emphasizes this truth is found in Jeremiah Chapter 51:

Jeremiah 51:49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall …

Spiritually this is pointing to Satan’s kingdom that judged the churches.  Satan, as typified by the King of Babylon, has caused “the slain of Israel to fall.”  Babylon came against Israel, historically, just as Satan came against the churches at the time of the judgment upon the congregations.  The “slain of Israel” are spiritually referring to the churches.

Then it continues in this same verse:

Jeremiah 51:49 … so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. 

Who is going to fall at Babylon?  Is it the slain of Israel?  No—it is the “slain of all the earth.”  The whole world will fall at Babylon, and that is what Jeremiah Chapters 50 and 51 describe, as God is going into specific details concerning the judgment of Babylon, in order to instruct us about the judgment upon the world at the time of the end.  

So we see that Babylon is a spiritual reference to the kingdom of Satan, the kingdom of this world, which would include, at this time, all of the churches; the churches have become part of the kingdom of this world.  Babylon was used by God to bring destruction on the churches, but now they are receiving their just end (Jeremiah 25:12, Revelation 18:6).

Babylon is a type and figure of the world.

Assyria

When we search the Bible, we find that Assyria, like Babylon, represents the kingdom of Satan or the kingdom of this world.  

“The Rod of Mine Anger”

God raised up the Assyrians as a rod of His anger to inflict punishment upon His rebellious people of Israel, the ten tribes in the North, whose capital was Samaria:

Isaiah 10:5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 

6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

It was the Assyrians that defeated Israel in the North and overcame them in 709 B.C.  This assault by the Assyrians against Israel spiritually teaches the same thing as the Babylonian assault against Judah.  When God brought the Babylonians against Judah, He raised up that fierce nation to bring judgment against the rebellious people of Judah.  They were the rod of God’s anger.  These are both figures of God’s judgment against the apostate church when the Church Age ended, which began on May 21, 1988.

Assyria in the Days of Hezekiah

We can see that God used the Assyrians as an instrument of judgment to destroy Israel in the North, but then we read in the book of Isaiah that they went beyond that: 

Isaiah 37:10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.  

11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

This was a spokesman from Assyria addressing Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem, warning them that they should not be deceived into thinking that Jerusalem would not be given into the hand of the Assyrians.  Assyria had already destroyed several nations, including Israel in the North and, as we noted, this was a picture of God bringing judgment on the corporate church.  

The king of Assyria and the Assyrian army showed themselves to be proud and arrogant because they had been victorious in conquering many nations.  This relates to the beast in Revelation 13: he rose out of the sea and was worshipped by everyone whose name was not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life – all the nations came under his rule (Revelation 13:7-8).  The beast was Satan who had been loosed at the time of the Great Tribulation, and he overcame all the nations, including the outward representation of the kingdom of God on earth, the New Testament churches.  Therefore, he was “puffed up” in his pride and arrogance (see Isaiah 14:13-14).

In Isaiah 37, after God raised up Assyria to bring judgment against the “hypocritical nation,” and accomplished the judgment upon the corporate body of Israel, then they came against Judah, but it is a different picture.  It is as if Satan and his emissaries had accomplished the judgment on the corporate body and then they were attempting to bring judgment upon the spiritual body of God’s elect, and we find that God will not allow it.  

In this account, King Hezekiah is a type of Christ, and Jerusalem is a picture of the elect or “Jerusalem which is above” (Galatians 4:26).  The people of Jerusalem were on the verge of destruction, but God entered the fight.  Notice that Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem did not fight.  They woke up early in the morning and the angel of the LORD, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, had smote 185,000 Assyrians, an enormous number of soldiers that were destroyed (Isaiah 37:36).  This army had been round about Jerusalem and they would have destroyed it.  They were an experienced army that had won many battles, but they were as nothing against the Lord.  

And so it is that the kingdom of Satan, typified by the nation of Assyria, seeks to destroy Christ and His people, but they shall never prevail, and will be destroyed (Revelation 12:17, Mathew 16:18).

Egypt

There are hundreds of references to Egypt throughout the Bible, and our interest here is to look at the spiritual meaning to see what this nation represents.  

“The House of Bondage”

As we read about Egypt, we find that it is normally a picture of the world or the kingdom of Satan, with Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, as a type of Satan, and the Egyptians being figures of the unsaved.  But there is a particular characteristic which God assigns to Egypt and He mentions it frequently in the Old Testament.  In Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are being recorded, God declares:

Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

Egypt is associated with bondage and with being a slave.  The Israelites were in captivity in Egypt and were referred to as “bondmen” (Deuteronomy 6:21).  Again and again, Egypt is identified as the “house of bondage.”

Exodus 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

Deuteronomy 6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Remember, historically, that wicked Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go out of Egypt.  In his stubborn rebellion, he would not hearken to the commandment of God to let the Israelites go.  Pharaoh very aptly is a picture of Satan since Satan also held captive the elect people of God which had been chosen to salvation from the foundation of the world.  These elect were in their sins out in the world and under the wrath of God and, therefore, they were held captive by their own iniquity (Ephesians 2:1-3).  They were serving sin and, as a result, they were serving Satan in his kingdom of darkness in that “house of bondage,” until the Word of God came and delivered them from sin.  That is why Jesus said in John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

The deliverance from Egypt was a picture of the salvation of God’s elect, spiritual Israel, a deliverance from sin and Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

Ethiopia

As we continue to look at the nations of the Bible, we are now going to turn our attention to Ethiopia.  

Ethiopia and Egypt

As we search the Scriptures, we find that God speaks of Ethiopia in a similar way to how He refers to Egypt, and that is that they are both types and figures of the world or the kingdom of Satan.  In fact, there are many places in the Bible where Ethiopia is mentioned along with Egypt.  For example, we find in Isaiah 20: 

Isaiah 20:3 … a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia.

And then in verse 5: 

Isaiah 20:5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

Egypt and Ethiopia go hand in hand.  In some places the Lord mentions Ethiopia, but not Egypt, and vice versa, but they carry the same spiritual picture.  We have a good explanation for why this is the case from the genealogy in Genesis 10:

Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim …

The name “Cush” here is the same Hebrew word translated as “Ethiopia” (Strong’s #3568).    We know exactly where the line of descent for the people of Ethiopia originated: they were descendants of Cush and they can be traced back to his father Ham who was one of the sons of Noah.  

The Hebrew word translated as “Mizraim” is Strong’s #4714 and is the same word that is translated elsewhere as “Egypt” or “Egyptians.”  So the Egyptians are also sons of Ham, just like the Ethiopians.  Cush and Mizraim are brothers and, therefore, Ethiopia and Egypt are connected and they go hand in hand.  

Noah and his family disembarked from the ark and started civilization anew.  One line was Egypt and one line was Ethiopia.  If you look at a map of Africa, you will see the land of Egypt and right next to it is its neighbor Ethiopia.  It makes sense that they would dwell close to each other in proximity because they are brothers.

King Asa and the Ethiopian Army

Let’s now consider a passage in 2 Chronicles 14 where Ethiopia comes into view.  Concerning King Asa, we read:

2 Chronicles 14:6 And he [Asa] built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. 

7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

We then read that a large Ethiopian army comes against Asa:

2 Chronicles 14:9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.

This Ethiopian force greatly outnumbers Asa and Judah, but Asa beseeches the LORD, and He grants them victory.  The Ethiopians are overthrown, and we read that the men of Judah carried away much spoil, including sheep and camels in abundance (2 Chronicles 14:14-15).  

We can see this passage as a picture of the gospel going forth in the Day of Salvation during the Church Age.  Where Asa took away the high places, built cities and made walls, and that they “built and prospered”: this is language of salvation and building the kingdom of God.  The men of Judah were victorious in the battle over the Ethiopians, just as the gospel went forth victorious from the midst of the congregations at various times over the course of the 1,955 years of the Church Age (Revelation 6:2).  As Ethiopia was conquered in this account, so too the kingdom of Satan was overcome, as Christ bound the “strong man” at the cross, which enabled Him to spoil his house and ransack his kingdom, freeing the elect who were in captivity to sin and Satan (Matthew 12:29).

Ethiopia is a picture of the world and the kingdom of Satan.

Amalek

Another nation where we can see a spiritual meaning is Amalek.

“Blot Out the Remembrance of Amalek”

We read about Amalek in Exodus 17:

Exodus 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 

12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 

14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 

We read here that Amalek will not be remembered.  The historical reason was because they assaulted Israel when they were tired and weary (Deuteronomy 25:18).  They came against the weak and that would point to God’s elect, the weary ones of the earth.  The Amalekites had no pity or mercy and, therefore, God had no pity on them, and their judgment was to be destroyed and not even to be remembered.  The remembrance of them must be blotted out.

We also read about Amalek in this passage:

Deuteronomy 25:17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;

18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.

19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

Here God speaks again of blotting out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.  This was King Saul’s point of failure that we read about in 1 Samuel 15.  Through the prophet Samuel, Saul was instructed to “utterly destroy” the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2-3).  The focus is on the annihilation of the Amalekites that they might cease to exist because they are representative of the unsaved people of the earth.  Saul’s sin was that he spared the king of the Amalekites and some of the best of the flock, but God had wanted them to be utterly destroyed because it paints a picture of the final and complete judgment and destruction of the unsaved.  Nothing can be spared, not even a memory or what you may think is a “good” thought from this earth, like a recollection of your family or a happy day.  It must be utterly blotted out with no remembrance of any kind; no speck of sin can enter into the new heaven and new earth.

“The First of the Nations”

In Number 24, we see why God used Amalek as this example: although all nations did sinful things, God singled out the Amalekites as a figure for annihilation and to be no more remembered.  The reason is given as God gives Balaam words to speak:

Numbers 24:20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. 

In an interesting way, God speaks of Amalek in a similar manner as He does the earth.  Notice that Amalek is called the “first of the nations.”  In Isaiah 65:17, we read that when God creates the new heavens and the new earth, the “former”—which can also be translated as the “first”—shall not be remembered nor come into mind.  It must be like this.  There is no way that anything from this sin-cursed earth can be remembered in the world to come.  

And so Amalek was the first of the nations and thus is a type and figure of the first earth—and the unsaved people of this earth—that will perish forever, and never come into mind.  

Chapter 5: Celestial Bodies

The Sun

As we acquaint ourselves more and more with the Bible, it becomes evident that its Author, Eternal God, has wisely chosen to use ordinary things of this world, things which mankind has common identification with, in order to represent gospel truth.  

The sun, for instance, shines all over the world: it illuminates every village, every city, and every nation on earth.  People everywhere know how vital the sun is for their existence, and for the survival of all life on earth.  

From the very beginning of the Genesis account recording its creation, all the way through until Revelation, we read quite a bit about the sun in the Bible.

As we have seen with many other things in the Scriptures, the sun also has spiritual meaning.  It says in Psalm 84:

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield:

In this verse God identifies Himself with the sun.  Of course, the sun is that great light that lightens the earth, and the sun gives life to mankind and to all creatures upon the earth, so it would be a type and figure of God who is    these things, spiritually.  God is the one that enlightens the minds of men through His Word.  God is the one that gives eternal life to those that He saved.  The sun is a representation of Eternal God and the Lord Jesus, as He shines the light of the truth of His Word into this world.  

We can look at several more verses that will prove beyond any doubt that the sun identifies with God:

Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 

Here we see that the Lord Jesus Christ’s “face did shine as the sun.”  God chooses His words very carefully; He chose the shining of the sun because the sun represents the Lord God and so does Christ, as Christ is the Everlasting Father and Eternal God.

Also, in the book of Revelation we read:

Revelation 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 

When we look at the context, we realize that this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the one who has the seven stars in His right hand, and “his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”  Again, Christ is connected to the shining of the sun.

It’s no wonder then that we read these amazing statements about Jesus Christ:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Once we understand that the bright shining sun in the sky typifies God, then Jesus’ declaration that He is the “light of the world” makes perfect sense.  Just as the sun brings life to all in this physical world, the Lord Jesus brings life to all His elect people in the spiritual realm.  

The Sun is Darkened

We read in Matthew 24:

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 

How can the “sun” be darkened and what does that mean?  “Oh,” the natural mind might say, “this is just telling us that on the last day at the end of the world, God is going to darken the sun—that sun you see up there in the heavens, that will just be dark.”  If that is so, why does the parallel passage in the Gospel of Mark tell us:

Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 

25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 

This verse is revealing that there is a period of “days” in which the sun is darkened and the moon is not giving her light.  We have learned that God created the sun, moon, and stars as timekeepers to keep track of times and seasons, and days, weeks, months, and years.  So if the sun is dark, and the moon is not giving her light, and the stars are fallen, that would mean there are no more timekeepers and, therefore, there could be no more “days.”  Yet God is using the language of time: “in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,” and immediately we are put on guard that He is not talking about the literal sun and the literal moon and the literal stars.  It must be what they represent.  It must be the deeper, spiritual meaning of those things: the sun represents God, and the Light of God is the Light of the Gospel.  How can God put out the Light of the Gospel from the world over a course of days?  How is that possible?  

When we read Luke 21, which is the parallel passage to Matthew 24 and Mark 13, we find confirmation that it is not literal:

Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 

God gives us this verse to help us understand that it is not to be literally understood.  No – you could not have “days” after the tribulation with a literally darkened sun or the moon literally turned to blood or the stars falling to earth – of course not.  These things are types and figures teaching us that there is no more “light,” and since God identifies light with salvation, it is instructing us that that there is no more salvation for mankind.  The world lieth in “darkness.”  

The absence of the sun would wreak havoc upon the earth, and even if one star fell anywhere near the earth, it would destroy the earth in a moment.  So we are forced to understand, by the Bible and its language, this statement: “there shall be signs in the sun.”  Of course, if all those things are literally happening, that would not be a “sign.”  That would actually be the end of all things.  But a “sign,” according to the Bible, is something which you do not look for outwardly, like something in the sky.  The only “sign” that will be given to this evil generation is “the sign of the prophet Jonah,” and in order to discover what that “sign” was, you have to turn to the book of Jonah in the Bible and read it; that is, God is saying that in order to receive a legitimate Biblical sign, you must find it in the Bible and nowhere else.  There is no other sign.  

One thing is consistent throughout the Bible when God is referring to the Day of Judgment and that is “darkness.”  God declares in Isaiah 13:

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 

Light is not shining.  We also read in another Scripture:

Amos 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 

Psalm 80 states three times that God shined the light of His face or His countenance and we will be saved (verses 3, 7, and 19).  But here, there is no light of any kind that is shining on the earth.  This shows us that during the Day of Judgment, there is no salvation of any kind.

The next time you are reading the Bible and come across a verse which mentions the sun, think to yourself that perhaps the sun that you are reading about is a type and figure of Almighty God.  

The Moon

Along with the sun and all the stars, the moon was created by God on the fourth day of creation, and it was called the “lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16).  In the natural world, the moon has no ability to shine light of itself, so it shines at night by reflecting the light of the sun.  

When we look at all the verses in the Bible that speak of the moon, we are able to determine that the moon is a figure of the Law of God or the Word of God.  We read in Psalm 89:36, which is speaking of Christ:

Psalm 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 

We saw how the sun is pointing to Christ, as we read in Psalm 84:11: “The

LORD God is a sun and shield.” Then it says of this throne of Christ:

Psalm 89:37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. 

This is God’s throne, representing the reign of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is seated on that high and lofty throne in the heavens.  He is the Everlasting God that inhabits eternity and His throne is “established for ever as the moon.”  Obviously, the physical moon is not going to last forever but will be destroyed with this creation – the literal sun, moon, and stars, and all the celestial bodies that occupy the heavens above us.  This whole creation that God spoke into existence will be destroyed on the last day, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth, so this present moon is certainly not going to endure forever.  But it refers to the moon that relates to the Law of God, or the Word of God, the Bible, which is also said to endure forever (1 Peter 1:25).

“The Moon Under Her Feet”

With this in mind, let’s now consider Revelation 12:1, which says:

Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

This woman represents the elect of the Old Testament.  Why is the moon under the feet of the elect?  We know that the Law of God condemns the sinner.  The Law of God is over and above the sinner since the sinner is “under the law,” and the weight of the Law comes down upon the sinner because we are in our sins, if we are not saved and God’s wrath is upon us.  

The Law of God is normally typified as being “above” us.  Yet when we are saved, and God has washed away all our iniquity, and clothed us with the “sun” (Christ) to cover our nakedness, then the Law is no longer above us to condemn us to death, but the Law has come under our feet, and it has no more condemnation to pronounce against the child of God.  So this is actually a wonderful figure that God is giving us to illustrate that the Law of God (and the whole Bible is a law book) no longer demands our death, and no longer condemns us.  We are free from the Law and it is under our feet.

As we read in Romans: 

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The moon is a type and a figure of the Law of God or the Word of God.  

Chapter 6: Weather-Related Elements

Clouds

The weather has a big impact on our lives in this world.  It is something that is constantly being monitored and that people are interested in.  There are references to weather throughout the Bible, and we will see that it too can have spiritual meaning.  

As we read the Scriptures, we find that there are some types and figures that have more than one spiritual application.  We are going to take a look at clouds in the Bible, and there are at least three spiritual pictures that can be in view.  

The Word of God

God will associate the cloud with His Word, and we can see this clearly in Numbers 9.  When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, we read about a cloud covering the tabernacle by day:

Numbers 9:17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. 

18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. 

19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and
journeyed not.

In this passage, God is speaking of the cloud and its movements.  When the cloud moved, Israel moved; when the cloud stayed, Israel stayed and encamped.  Then God said, “At the commandment of the LORD,” Israel journeyed and, “At the commandment of the LORD,” Israel pitched their tents.  Yet we do not read of God actually speaking to Israel, saying, “Let us go forth,” and then after a couple of days, God would speak again, saying, “Let us pitch our tents here.”  God did not verbally issue those commandments, but He issued His commandments through the movement of the cloud – when the cloud moved, that was the commandment of the Lord for Israel to move, and when the cloud stayed, that was the commandment of the Lord to pitch their tents.  We see that it was the commandments of the Lord, and the Bible is full of the commandments of the Lord; the Word of God is the commandment of the Lord.  God is associating and closely identifying the cloud and its movements with His commandments. 

The Judgment of God

We also find clouds in the context of the judgment of God.  There is a passage in Revelation 14 where the clouds are very prominent and emphasized by God in the Day of Judgment:   

Revelation 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 

There are four references to “cloud” in this passage and the Son of man “sat upon the cloud” because the cloud represents the judgment of God.  The Lord Jesus is seated and as we know sitting has to do with rule: so He is sitting in the judgment seat ruling over all the earth – over Satan and over the kingdom that Satan had ruled over.  During this prolonged Day of Judgment, which began on May 21, 2011, Christ is ruling over the unsaved people of the earth with a “rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15). 

The Presence of God

The cloud can also identify with the presence of God.  For example, in Exodus 24, when Moses goes up to mount Sinai, we read that God was in a cloud:

Exodus 24:15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.  

16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.  

17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.  

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. 

We see here that Moses goes into the mount and God is in the midst of the cloud on the mount.  Moses went into the midst of the cloud in order to speak to God, relating the cloud to God’s presence.    

Another place we can see this is at the end of 2 Chronicles 5, where we read that a cloud filled the temple after it was completed, and the cloud represents the presence of God:

2 Chronicles 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 

14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

We see in the verses we have looked at how the cloud can identify very strongly with God Himself, whether it be His Word, His Judgment, or His very presence.

Rain

In certain parts of the world, people regularly struggle through long periods of drought.  These dry seasons can be extremely grievous days to the people affected by them.  As we all know, sufficient rainfall is essential for mankind to live and survive upon this earth.

In other parts of the world, rainfall may be more plenteous, and as a result of receiving abundant rain, these lands enjoy fruitful harvests and experience greater levels of prosperity.  

Given the vital nature of rainfall to mankind’s daily existence in this world, and its connection to the quality of life that people enjoy, it’s no wonder that God uses rain in the Bible as a type and figure of His holy Word.  This spiritual tie-in can be seen in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

In this instructive passage, God likens the rain that comes down from heaven with His Word.  

The spiritual meaning of rain can also be seen in these verses:

Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Just as a lack of rain in any part of the world can result in a famine in which many may lose their lives, so too would the language of a lack of rain in the Scriptures point to a spiritual famine in which many souls would die.  On the other hand, seasons of rain would spiritually indicate the rich blessings of the Word of God coming down from heaven above:  

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.  

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Spiritually, the Word of God is also essential and vital to man’s survival.  Without the Word of God, there is terrible spiritual famine and the people perish (Amos 8:11-12).  But with it, as the Bible teaches us that God sent forth His Word as the early and latter rain, it produced a glorious and abundant harvest of souls.  God likens those saved during the seasons of rain as being like the precious fruit of the earth (James 5:7). 

The next time you are reading the Bible and come across the word “rain,” stop and consider if it might be a spiritual reference to the Word of God.  

Waters

Now we are going to look at how “waters” are used spiritually in the Bible in at least three different ways.  

The Gospel

To start with, waters can be a type and figure of the gospel:  

Psalm 105:41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

This is referring to when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, and the rock here is a type of Christ (Exodus 17:6).  The water that flows forth and gave life to the people is a representation of the gospel that gushes forth from Christ and was able to bring spiritual life to a sinner when it was the Day of Salvation.

This same picture is found in this Scripture:

Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Here the Lord is speaking to those that He is working in to thirst after His righteousness.

The Judgment of God

Waters can also be a picture of the judgment of God.  

For instance, when God brought the flood upon the world in Noah’s day (Genesis 7), the waters were a picture of His wrath, so we can see how the waters of the flood represent the judgment of God.  Also, in Exodus 14:26-28, when Pharaoh and the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea, it was a picture of being under the wrath of God.  

People

Additionally, waters can represent people.  In Isaiah 57, God connects the wicked to the waters of a troubled sea:

Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 

We can see God directly define “waters” as “people” in Revelation 17:

Revelation 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 

The great whore sits or “rules” upon many waters.  The “great whore” is Babylon, the kingdom of Satan that ruled over the unsaved of the world.  We see that we are correct in that understanding as we read further down in this chapter:

Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

There are four references which points to the universal aspect or worldwide nature of what is in view.  It has to do with the peoples of all the earth.  They are the “waters” that the whore sitteth upon or that Satan and his kingdom ruled over when he won the right of conquest over mankind in the Garden of Eden and, especially, his rule at the end during the Great Tribulation, when God gave him rule over the unsaved peoples of the world.

When encountering “waters” in the Bible, we can ask: is the water pointing to the gospel, the judgment of God, or to people?  We must pray for wisdom, and look carefully at the context, to help determine which spiritual picture is in view.

Thunder

There is not a human being that has not heard the mighty thunder during a storm and it is so loud that everyone, at least momentarily, stops and takes notice of that terrifying voice of God – it comes from God, as does all weather.  By looking at what the Bible declares, we will see that thunder can be a figure of the powerful Word of God.  God’s Word in the spiritual realm is as mighty and as powerful as the thunder sounds in the physical realm.

The Voice of God

In the Bible, God will often link His voice with thunder.  We read in Job 37:

Job 37:2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.

3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.  

4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.  

5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. 

We can also find this connection between “thunder” and “voice” in Psalm 29:

Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 

So thunder is a figure of the voice of God.  What is another term for the voice of God?  It is the Word of God.  

Thunder is a wonderful figure because it catches our attention.  Everything can be rather still and quiet and, all of a sudden, the sky “booms,” and sometimes the thunder is so loud it is frightening.  That is a good representation of the powerful Word of God, as God says in the book of Hebrews: 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.

In the spiritual realm, when God’s Word goes forth, it accomplishes His purpose, and it is like a mighty “boom” in this world, doing the things that God would have it to do.

“The Sons of Thunder”

Understanding what thunder represents helps us to understand Mark 3:17.  When listing Christ’s disciples, we find this:

Mark 3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

James and John are called the “Sons of Thunder,” which we can now understand to mean “Sons of the Word.”  Who else are “Sons of the Word”?  Everyone that is born of the Word of God are “Sons of Thunder,” because “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).  So James and John represent all the elect that are born by the Word of God.

Thunder can be a type and a figure of the Word of God.

Lightning

We are now going to look at the spiritual meaning of lightning in the Bible.  We previously considered thunder, and we will see that these two things are closely related, since it is lightning that produces the thunder by God in the natural world.  

The Word of God

As with thunder, lightning also represents the voice of God:

Job 37:2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.

3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.

4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 

Another passage that ties God’s voice to lightning is in Revelation 4:

Revelation 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.  

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Like with thunder, we see this connection between the voice of God and lightning, and the voice of God is the Word of God, and the Word of God is the Bible.

The Wrath of God

In other verses, lightning can more particularly represent the wrath of God or the judgment of God:

Psalm 144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.

We also see lightning with the judgment of God in view in this passage:

Psalm 97:3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.  

4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.  

5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

Since lightning causes destruction, it is a good representation of the judgment of God and His wrath.

God Himself

Lightning is also used as a figure of God Himself:

Ezekiel 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.  

14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

The living creatures represent God.  It is God who is light.  As a flash of lightning lightens up the sky, so it is God who lightens the darkness of this world.  

We also read in Daniel 10, when Daniel was receiving a vision from God, that God is described as having the appearance of lightning:

Daniel 10:4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;

5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

This man that appears to Daniel is the Lord Jesus and He is giving the appearance of lightning.  It is a brilliant intense shining that is coming to Daniel as God is giving him revelation.  Lightning is a good description of divine revelation, since it is the brilliant shining of spiritual light in a world of darkness.

Another passage to consider is in Matthew 28:

Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week [this should read, “at the end of the sabbaths, as it began to dawn toward the first of the sabbaths”], came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

The Angel of the Lord is said to have the appearance of lightning.  If you do a search on this name by going through the Old Testament, there is no question that it is an appearance of God.  The Angel of the LORD is another name for God, and the Angel of the LORD is none other than Jesus Christ.  

So we see that lightning is very much associated with God, whether it is His voice or His Word, His wrath, as well as His very being, since He is light.  

Hail

We are continuing to look at the spiritual pictures of weather-related elements, and now we are turning our attention to hail.  In the physical world, hail comes during thunderstorms, and we are going to see it is a similar picture to thunder and lightning.  

Hail is one of the expressions of God’s anger in the Bible.  We can see the connection between “hail” and “anger” in Isaiah 30:

Isaiah 30:27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

…

30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

We read about God sending hail in several places in the Scriptures, and it is something that is falling upon the enemies of God and it is bringing destruction.  We are familiar with the historical account in the book of Exodus when God brought judgment upon Egypt, where hail was one of the plagues brought against the Egyptians:

Exodus 9:22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.  

23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.  

24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 

The hail was a very destructive force that the Lord sent to further destroy Egypt because Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.  

It continues:

Exodus 9:25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.  

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

We see the wrath of God here as the hail is brought forth, causing destruction.  The hail served to destroy the herbs, the trees of the field, and their fruit.  Note how the Israelites are not harmed; they are a picture of God’s elect that do not experience harm from God’s judgment.

With many of these judgments that are occurring in Exodus, like the darkening of the sun or the turning of the waters to blood, it relates to the judgment of the removal of God’s Holy Spirit and the removal of the possibility of salvation.  So, too, the hail accomplishes the destruction of the fruit.  If there is no fruit, the picture is that there is no salvation, and this is one of the things that God points to here.

We also read of hail being sent by God in Revelation 8, a chapter which describes the wrath of God upon the churches during the Great Tribulation:

Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Here the “third part” and the “trees” are referring to the local congregations, and the hail and the fire burning them up points to God’s wrath being upon them, fulfilling 1 Peter 4:17, that judgment must begin at the house of God.

Hail is a type and a figure of the wrath of God.

Wind

As with all weather, God is the one who has created the wind and He has total control of it (Psalm 147:18).  

The word “wind” in Hebrew is Strong’s #7307 and is often translated as “spirit” or “breath.”  For instance, it is the word used in Genesis 1:2:

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The word “spirit” is the equivalent word that is translated as “wind.”  The same word identifies with the Holy Spirit.  We find it as “wind” in this verse:

Job 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

This is referring to Job’s children that died in the house.  It was a “great wind” that came from the wilderness and destroyed the house.  We could translate it as “great spirit” because we know it was at God’s allowance and it is related to the will of God.  When Job lost everything he was a picture of Christ who emptied himself of His glory when He entered into the world to demonstrate the atonement.  

The word “wind” is the same as we read in Psalm 1:4, where the ungodly are like the chaff that is driven away by the wind.  It is also found in Psalm 11:

Psalm 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

The word “tempest” here is the word translated as “wind.”  It identifies with judgment.  God sends the wind and the chaff is carried away.  Psalm 11:6 is speaking of the cup of God’s wrath that is given to the wicked in the Day of Judgment.  The Lord ties the wind with the “fire and brimstone” which is coming from God and is bringing destruction.

A Tempestuous Wind

In the New Testament, we read in Acts 27 about the ship that was wrecked, and this ship typifies the corporate church at the time of the end.  The church had gone 1,955 years without shipwreck and, even though it had difficulties, it was not completely destroyed until the end of the Church Age in 1988.  What caused its destruction?  

Acts 27:14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

The storm and raging sea finally destroyed the ship and the people onboard made it safely to land, but the ship was wrecked and that was a picture of the end of the Church Age.  The assault of Satan and his emissaries against the churches was typified by the storm that wreaked havoc and caused destruction, and all the elect true believers were commanded to flee out of the midst or be destroyed in the judgment (Matthew 24:15-16).  

A Destroying Wind

In our present time, we have passed through the Great Tribulation and have entered into the period of the final judgment of the world and, again, we find the wind is in view.  In Jeremiah 51, the Bible details the judgment of Babylon, which, as we saw earlier, typifies the kingdom of Satan or the kingdom of this world:

Jeremiah 51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 

2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

God raises up a “destroying wind” against Babylon and He sends fanners that shall fan her, just as we find in Matthew 3:12.  It is the fan in Christ’s hand, the body of elect believers, that are presently fanning or threshing her, as God moves His people to proclaim truth in the Day of Judgment.    

The Winds Blew and Beat Upon the House

One last passage that we will look at, where we again find the winds in the context of Judgment Day, is in Matthew 7, where Jesus declares:

Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

The “wise man” is Christ (Ecclesiastes 9:15).  The “house” is the whole body of the elect (Hebrews 3:6).  That the house is “built” (and not “builds” or “is building”) indicates it is complete, which occurred when God finished saving all of His elect on May 21, 2011.  The “winds” are a spiritual reference to the Word of God which is pronouncing judgment in the Day of Judgment, and it is the fierce winds that are blowing and bringing forth this news from the Bible that is bringing destruction and spiritual hurt to the inhabitants of the earth.  However, the house built upon the “rock” is secure—the elect are not harmed by the winds—because they stand in the judgment.  The reason this house endures and is able to go through the storm has nothing to do with what was built upon the foundation, but it has to do with the foundation itself – which is Christ, the rock – and this brings great glory to God and to Him alone.

Rainbow

Sometimes, after it rains, if you look up, you will see a colorful rainbow that is an arc in the sky.  God is the author of the rainbow.  He designed it and causes it to appear.  When we see a rainbow it is a wondrous thing.  It is full of colors and really catches our attention, causing our eyes to look up to the sky.

A Token of the Covenant

In the Bible, we first read of a rainbow in Genesis 9.  After the flood has ended and Noah and his family are off the ark, God explains to Noah about the covenant that He is establishing.  Note that the “rainbow” is referred to as a “bow” in this passage:

Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.  

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

God has set His bow in the cloud and it means the same thing today as it did then – that God will not destroy the earth with a flood, ever again; there will be no worldwide deluge to drown the people of the world.  It is not God’s plan to drown the entire world again, but to destroy the world by fire on the very last day, as we read in 2 Peter 3.

So this “bow,” which is a “token” of the covenant, that God calls an “everlasting” covenant, can only point to Jesus.  It is Jesus who prevents God from destroying the earth with a flood.  This is just a picture which is that through Christ (through God’s bow, the covenant which is between man and the Lord Jesus Christ), there will not be destruction for the people of the world.  Of course, this is only true of God’s elect, those whom Jesus has saved and for whom He has entered into a covenant with, by dying for their sins.  God has obligated Himself only to those individuals, but He uses the occasion of establishing the rainbow to paint a picture.

The word “bow” that is found in Genesis 9 is a typical word used many times in the context of a “bow and arrow.”  It is used one other time in regard to the “rainbow,” in the book of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. 

By making the connection between the “bow” in the “day of rain” with the “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD,” God is giving us clear evidence that the rainbow identifies with Christ.  It is Christ who is the “glory of the LORD.”  

A Rainbow Round About the Throne

We also find two references to a rainbow in the New Testament.  We will just look at one:

Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.  

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 

4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting …

So the rainbow is round about the throne of God where we also find the twenty four elders.  The twenty four elders are a representation of the twelve tribes of Israel to represent the Old Testament believers, and the twelve apostles of the Lamb to represent the New Testament believers.  They are all seated beneath the rainbow which would be arched over above them.  We can see how that relates to Christ since He is our covering.  It is through the everlasting covenant that He has developed with the Father on our behalf that we are able to live at all, let alone to enter into the throne room and into the presence of the great God of the Bible.  And yet, that is where His people are and where they will be for evermore, because of what Jesus has done.

This rainbow that is in the cloud has a deeper spiritual meaning that is addressed directly to every elect child of God.  We can remember that earthly, physical covenant and how God was faithful to it when He promised that He would no more destroy the earth with a flood.  But beyond that, the rainbow is a “sign” of God’s covenant with His people: since Christ has paid for their sins and received the judgment of God, the rainbow is the guarantee to His people that God will not demand or exact a second payment.  The law has no further demand against the elect people of God.  The rainbow typifies this reality.  

So the rainbow is really a glorious and amazing thing.  It is something we see outside the Bible as we look up into the clouds, but in order to understand the bow as a “sign,” spiritually, we must read Genesis and other places in the Bible.

Chapter 7: The Book of Esther

Ahasuerus

We have observed how God uses various men to typify Himself.  Sometimes they are not what you would expect, as we noted when we looked at King Cyrus.  Now we are going to turn to the book of Esther and look at King Ahasuerus.  

127 Provinces

Let’s begin with the first verse in Esther:

Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

We notice in this verse that Ahasuerus ruled over 127 provinces.  This number, 127, is only found in one other place in the Bible, and it is a noteworthy place, where we are told that Sarah died at the age of 127:

Genesis 23:1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba …

So Sarah died when she was 127 years old.  Why is it unusual that we know this?  Because this is the only woman in the whole Bible whom God tells the age of her death. We read of a number of dates of men and the years that they died, but only with Sarah does God let us know that she died at the age of 127. Right away we should ask: Why is this? Why would God give us only Sarah’s age? 

To understand why this could be, we will go to Galatians 4, where we read of two covenants that are typified by the bondwoman (Hagar or Agar) and the freewoman (Sarah):

Galatians 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.  

25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

In this passage, Sarah, the freewoman, is identified as the “mother of us all.”  She is the mother of the free and the only ones who are free are the elect, the children of God.  Sarah is a picture of all of God’s elect.

Ahasuerus ruled the greatest kingdom of that day.  These 127 provinces are a representation of the whole kingdom of God that the Lord rules over.  

Shushan

We learn that Ahasuerus ruled this vast kingdom from his palace in Shushan:  

Esther 1:2 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,

If we investigate the word “Shushan,” we find that it is basically the word “lily.”  We find this word “lily” in Song of Solomon 2:

Song of Solomon 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. 

This is Christ who is speaking, and so Jesus is the lily, and “lily” is the same word as “Shushan.” “Lily” identifies with Christ, and so Shushan identifies with Jesus. 

Could Not Sleep

Another thing to note concerning Ahasuerus is found in Esther 6:

Esther 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

We read of similar language concerning God Himself:

Psalm 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.  

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

King Ahasuerus is a type and a figure of God Himself.  

Vashti

Queen Vashti was the wife of King Ahasuerus, who we previously saw is a type and figure of God Himself.  By comparing Scripture with Scripture, the Lord has allowed us to see who it is that Vashti represents.

Vashti’s Beauty

During a time of a great feast, it was the king’s desire to bring forth Vashti to show everyone her beauty.  We read that Ahasuerus issues a command:

Esther 1:11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.

We learn in the next verse that Vashti did not obey the command:

Esther 1:12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

Once we see that Vashti represents national Israel, the spiritual meaning of this passage opens up, and we can have a better understanding of what God is teaching us here.  

Concerning Vashti’s beauty, in the case of Israel, Jerusalem, or Judah, God looks at them as being very beautiful.  Zion is spoken of as being beautiful in the Psalms.  So Vashti had a special beauty and she was “fair to look on.”

We find this same word “beauty,” which is Strong’s #3308, when we read of the judgment upon Judah:

Lamentations 2:15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

Vashti’s Refusal to Obey the King

Vashti refused to obey the king’s command to come forth.  This one seemingly insignificant sin to us today who are immersed in a sea of sin seems, of course, like nothing, because sin is everywhere around us.  How small her sin might seem to us.  And yet in a perfect world, in a good world where sin has never been, we can see how evil a thing it was.

Disobedience is not a light thing in the Bible:

Nehemiah 9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 

17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage …

Certainly, Vashti felt she had her reasons for disobeying the king.  But God, whom Ahasuerus typifies, gives us all many commandments in the Bible.  Is there ever a sufficient enough reason to disobey God and the commandments found in His Word?  We may think that we have reason to disobey Him, but the truth is that there is never justification for disobeying God.    Disobeying God is just another way of saying that we are sinning or that we are transgressing His Law, and we never have justification for doing this.

We do not read that this was Vashti’s habit.  Actually, it seemed like she had never done this before because the king was so furious.  It sounded like he was surprised that she would refuse. But how many times does it take for us to disobey one of God’s commandments before He can legally and justly and rightly put us away?  It only takes one:

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

How many sins did it take Eve and then Adam to commit before the whole human race was cast down?  It took one sin.  One sin of disobedience is all that it takes.  Of course, that one sin would destroy all mankind, each one of us, except God provided a way of salvation for certain individuals, His elect whom He predestinated to save from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Vashti is Put Away

As a result of her disobedience, we find that Vashti is to be put away from the king:

Esther 1:19 … let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

We can see how God did this with Israel.  When Jesus went to the cross and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, He divorced national Israel (Matthew 27:51).  He put Israel away.

The parable of a certain householder who planted a vineyard, which begins in Matthew 21:33, concerns Israel.  After Jesus concludes the parable, we read:

Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

This is Israel.  If you read through the parable (Matthew 21:33-45), this is very apparent. 

So here Vashti is put away and then a search will begin for her replacement.  

We will next turn our attention to who takes the place of Vashti as queen, and who it is that she represents.

Queen Vashti is a type and a figure of national Israel.

Esther

In the book of Esther, after King Ahasuerus put away Queen Vashti because of her disobedience, a replacement was sought.  To find this replacement, a command was put forth to call virgins to the palace of Shushan, where the king resided.  The figure here is that after God divorced Israel, He then established a plan to send the gospel into all the world in order to find a new wife.  That would be the Bride of Christ.

It really helps a lot when we are reading about Shushan in the book of Esther, which is the central location of King Ahasuerus’ kingdom, and Ahasuerus typifies God.  We can see why Shushan is so important because it is the word “lily” which relates to Christ.

A Virgin

Now as we think of this we read in Esther 2:

Esther 2:3 … that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace …

Esther is one of the virgins that was brought to Shushan.  This is as we find in 2 Corinthians 11:

2 Corinthians 11:2 … that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

It is the same thing here.  The gospel call goes forth, and the virgins are gathered to Shushan, which is a figure of the elect being gathered to Christ.

We also find this verse:

Esther 2:17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

And so Esther obtained grace in the king’s sight and becomes queen, as the elect obtained grace and become the Bride of Christ.

Esther’s Beauty

In Esther 2:7, Esther is described as being “fair and beautiful.”  This Hebrew word translated as “fair” (Strong’s #3303) is often used to describe someone who typifies the body of elect believers.  This is because when God saves a person, He washes away their sin and cleanses them from their filthy deeds, and they become without spot or blemish.  The ugliness of sin is removed from them and they become as a “fair” woman in His sight. 

Hadassah

We also read something concerning her name that is of note:

Esther 2:7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther …

Esther also had the name “Hadassah,”  which would probably be her Hebrew name, and “Esther” would be a name that she would have taken on because she was in a foreign land.

We find a related word to “Hadassah” in Zechariah 1:7-11, where it is found three times as “the myrtle trees.”  “Hadassah” (Strong’s #1919) is the feminine form of this word for “myrtle tree” (Strong’s #1918).

Does God use trees to typify people?  Yes, He does.  He used certain trees to typify believers, but not all trees.  

If we look at myrtle trees in other places in the Bible, we see how it is always used in a positive sense, in relationship to a blessing:

Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:

20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

Isaiah 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree …

Esther Obtained Favour in His Sight

Esther 5:2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand …

The king could have put Esther to death since she broke the law (see Esther 4:16).  If she went into that inner chamber, she could die.  That was the law, and God can put any of us to death because we have broken the Law.  

And yet, Esther obtained favor in the king’s sight.  The word “favor” here is also translated as “grace” (see Strong’s #2580). Is it not something that in the law of the Medes and the Persians, they made a provision for grace?  They made allowance for the king to grant favor.

After having found grace in the king’s sight, Esther approaches him and she touches the golden scepter of the king.  In relation to this, let us look at a verse in Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

The scepter represents the righteousness of God, Christ’s righteousness.  By touching the kings’ scepter, God is painting a picture of Esther finding grace in his sight.  The king’s favor towards her is spiritually illustrating how God granted pardon to undeserving sinners when it was still the Day of Salvation.

Historically, Esther’s boldness in coming into the king’s throne room, and finding grace to approach him in order that she might touch his scepter, all points to those blessed and chosen people of God that were granted grace so that they might approach the Holy God of the Bible, and obtain pardon of sins, and the tremendous favor of the Lord Jesus Christ’s righteousness being bestowed upon them in salvation.  In this Biblical figure, it is as though God is imparting the righteousness of Christ to Esther, thereby allowing her to live, and to then be able to beseech Him and to make her request for her people and herself.  A verse in the book of Hebrews sums it up well: 

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Esther can be a type and figure of the body of elect believers.

Bigthan and Teresh

At the end of Esther 2, after Esther becomes the bride of King Ahasuerus, we find that two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, were wroth with the king, and sought to kill him:  

Esther 2:21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.  

22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name.

23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

We will see that Bigthan and Teresh are a picture of all the churches and congregations that were brought under the judgment of God beginning on May 21, 1988.  

Identification with the Churches

There are three things here that identify with the church.  One is that there are two men, because the number two has to do with the caretakers of the Word of God (e.g., Mark 6:7). 

The second thing that relates Bigthan and Teresh to the apostate church is the fact that they were rebels.  They were not faithful doorkeepers, because they had plotted against the king. 

And the third thing that relates them to the church is that they were doorkeepers.  Christ is the door as we read earlier in John 10:9.  If Christ is the door, His elect are the doorkeepers, and this was the position that the church had during the Church Age.  It was the task of the true believers who were in the churches and, therefore, the task of the churches, to keep the door, that is, the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Sought to Lay Hand on the King”

In Esther 2:21, we read that Bigthan and Teresh sought to kill the king.  Can we really think that the churches and congregations would desire to kill God since King Ahasuerus typifies God?  Remember in Matthew 21:33-45 there was a parable that Jesus gave of Israel when God the Father sent his servants to the husbandmen, but the husbandmen beat one and killed another.  Then, finally, he sent his son, and they killed him:

Matthew 21:38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

The son is Christ, and this is referring to Israel.  They desired to kill God and they actually took Jesus to the cross.

So the rebellious nature of man certainly can go as far as actually wanting to rebel against God and to be rid of Him.  And these two doorkeepers fit this mold and are a good illustration, a spiritual picture, of the church at its end.

“Known to Mordecai”

In Esther 2:22, we read that this rebellion by Bigthan and Teresh was “known to Mordecai.”

Mordecai is a picture of Christ, as we will consider more closely later.  Of course, the rebellious nature of the church has always been completely known by Christ.  He has always known the true hearts of so many who were in the churches.  They were never truly the people of God, only in name. 

“Inquisition was Made”

Esther 2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree …

When did God make inquisition of the sins of the church?  He did this at the end of the Church Age.  They had always had sin; but, finally, He established a time.  He gave space to repent, but when they did not repent, He comes, makes inquisition, finds many high places, many sins and rebellious things – and judges the church, making them a public shame.

This is what we have had since the end of the Church Age.  Since May 21, 1988, the church has been under the judgment of God.  When God ended the Church Age, He no longer uses the church as doorkeepers. 

We saw the Church Age in Esther Chapter 2, and now we have moved to the end of the Church Age as described by the rebellion of these two men, Bigthan and Teresh.  They are caught and exposed.  They were judged by the king and put to death, and made an open shame and a curse, which is exactly what God did with the churches and congregations when He judged them.  They were under His judgment throughout the Great Tribulation and they became a curse.

Bigthan and Teresh are a type and a figure of the apostate church at the end of the Church Age.

Haman

In the book of Esther, Haman is the adversary and the enemy of Esther and of all the Jews.  As such, we will see he is a very clear type and figure of Satan.  

The Adversary

In multiple places, Haman is referred to as the “enemy” and the “adversary.”  Who is the elect child of God’s enemy and adversary?  God tells us that it is the devil:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Haman was Promoted

Haman is introduced in this verse:

Esther 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

It starts by saying “after these things”—that is, after Bigthan and Teresh, the two rebel doorkeepers, who represented the apostate church at the end of the Church Age, were exposed and hung (Esther 2:21-23).  

As we have previously learned, King Ahasuerus is a type of God Himself.  If Haman represents Satan, we have to ask: did God ever promote Satan, and if so, when?  Yes, God did indeed promote Satan: it was at the end of the Church Age and the beginning of the Great Tribulation, which began on May 21, 1988.  This is when God loosed him, and this is when Satan entered into all of the churches and congregations and became the ruler over them.

In 2 Thessalonians, we read about the man of sin, the son of perdition:  

2 Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Satan took his seat in the churches, which means that he began to rule.  At the start of the Great Tribulation in 1988, he began to rule in all the churches, which was a fulfillment of Matthew 24:15, when the abomination of desolation began standing in the holy place.  

Haman’s Desire to Kill the Jews

In Esther 3:5-6, we read that Haman was full of wrath because Mordecai refused to bow or give reverence to him.  As a result, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people who were the Jews.  This is a picture of the fact that it has always been the desire of Satan to destroy Christ and His people.  We can see this in Revelation 12, where the woman represents the elect of God, and the dragon is Satan:

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This is the enemy.  The devil is making war against the elect.  As Haman desires to kill Mordecai and all the Jews, so it is that Satan desires to destroy Christ and His people.

Haman’s Desire to be Like the King

In Esther 6:6-9, notice how Haman, thinking he was the man to be honored by the king, sought to wear the king’s royal apparel and the king’s crown:

Esther 6:6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?  

7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, 

8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: 

9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

That Haman desired to be like the king points to the fact that Satan desired to be like God: 

Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

It has always been Satan’s goal to be like God.  That is why he entered into the Garden of Eden to deceive man.  If man would obey him, rather than God, then he would be the one that received the worship of man; and this has been the case all through history.

Haman is Deposed

Haman was ever-prospering and increasing in power until a particular day, and if we were to go through it carefully, we would discover that the book of Esther reveals that day as being the seventeenth day of the second month.  That was the turning point for Haman, the day when his rule was taken away, and the king commanded for him to be hanged on the gallows (Esther 7:10).  

What is so important about the “seventeenth day of the second month”?  That is the same date when the flood began in Noah’s day.  In Genesis 7:11, we read that God began to pour out the waters of the flood on the “seventeenth day of the second month” in Noah’s 600th year.  

That is also the underlying Hebrew calendar date for May 21, 2011—exactly 7,000 years after the flood—which was the beginning of the Day of Judgment: the day when Satan’s official rule was taken away, and the kingdoms of this world that he ruled over became the kingdoms of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 11:15).  

Isn’t it amazing that we find this same date in all three of these events, each one pointing to the start of Judgment Day?  We know that nothing is accidental in the Bible, since God is the author.  

Haman is a type and a figure of Satan.

Mordecai

We have been looking at the spiritual pictures in the book of Esther and we have come now to Mordecai, who sat at the king’s gate, and prevented the two doorkeepers from succeeding in their rebellion against King Ahasuerus.  As we look at Mordecai, we will see that he is a wonderful type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Adoption

Previously we have learned that Esther is a type of the elect children of God.  From Esther 2:7, we are informed that Esther is an orphan and that Mordecai has adopted her.  In the Bible, God typifies the elect as orphans, who are normally referred to as the “fatherless.”  

As Mordecai adopted Esther, so all the elect are adopted into the family of God.  This is mentioned a few times, for example in Galatians:

Galatians 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

This is also found in this verse:

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself …

So when Christ saved His people, they were adopted into the family of God.  They became the children of God by adoption.  Mordecai adopted Esther, and so we can see that relationship here.

“Mordecai the Jew”

In multiple verses in the book of Esther, Mordecai is called a “Jew.”  Again and again, we read of “Mordecai the Jew.”  We ask, why is this?   It is because Mordecai represents Jesus Christ.  And Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  Into what nation was He born?  He was born into Israel.  He was a Jew.  He was not a Samaritan, even though some accused Him of this (John 8:48).  He was not a Roman.  He was a Jew and Mordecai was called a Jew.

We read in the book of Zechariah:

Zechariah 8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

This is a prophetic and Messianic reference to Christ.  He is the Jew and, of course, all nations want to take hold of Christ’s skirt.  The churches throughout the world want to be identified with Jesus because they have heard that God is with Him.  This verse in Zechariah is speaking of Christ, it is a prophecy of the Lord Jesus, who was born a Jew.  Mordecai, the Jew, typifies the Lord Jesus.

Refuses to Bow

Continuing on in the book of Esther, we read in Chapter 3:

Esther 3:2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him.  But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

We see here, and later in Esther 5:9, that Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman.  We have learned that Haman is a type and figure of Satan.  Does this now remind us of anything?  In Matthew 4, where Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness, we read:

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

As Mordecai refused to bow down before Haman, so too Christ refused to fall down and worship Satan.

Receives the Kingdom

Later, after Haman was deposed and hanged, King Ahasuerus gives Mordecai everything Haman had ruled over:

Esther 8:2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai.  And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

This is the same picture as King Cyrus taking everything the king of Babylon had ruled over, that we read of at the end of Daniel Chapter 5.  We can ask, what is this pointing to?  Does Christ ever receive Satan’s kingdom?  The answer is yes.  Since the Day of Judgment began on May 21, 2011, the Lord Jesus Christ presently rules over everything Satan had ruled over.  This is what we read of in Revelation 11: 

Revelation 11:15 … The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

May 21, 2011 was a great day of exaltation for the Lord Jesus.  It was a great day of victory for the Kingdom of God.  The book of Esther is presenting this through types and figures, as Haman (representing Satan) is put down, and Mordecai (representing Christ) is exalted and honored.  That all of this is occurring on the seventeenth day of the second month—the same underlying Hebrew calendar date as May 21, 2011—gives us further assurance that we are understanding this correctly.

Mordecai is a type and a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ten Sons of Haman

We have been going through the book of Esther and observing the spiritual chronology that the Lord has allowed us to see.  We have noted how Haman, the enemy of Esther and all the Jews, is a type and figure of Satan.  When he was exposed and executed by the king on the seventeenth day of the second month, it was a picture of Judgment Day which began on May 21, 2011, which was also the seventeenth day of the second month on the Hebrew calendar.  This was when Satan was put down and his official authority was taken away.  Everything that Haman ruled over was then given to Mordecai, who we saw is a type of Christ.  It is Christ who is now ruling over all the kingdoms of the world in this present Day of Judgment.

By continuing to look at the book of Esther, we will now see how it is that, even though Satan has been put down, he still exists, although he has been deposed and has lost all official authority.

In Esther 9, Haman has already been hanged, Mordecai is now ruling, yet we read in this chapter that Haman has ten sons who continue to live.

We should first note that God tells us that Haman had ten sons.  Earlier in this booklet, we examined the number 10 and saw how it represents “completeness.”  In this case, what is in view is the completeness of Satan’s activity on earth.

God allowed Haman’s ten sons to continue to live for several months more after their father’s death by hanging. Of course, their lives after his death were markedly different than they were before. After their father was hanged by the king, his house was given to Mordecai the Jew, and they had also lost all power and authority that they once possessed.  Like Haman, these ten sons also represent Satan, just as we read that the beast, in Revelation 13:1, had “seven heads and ten horns.”  

By having Haman killed and allowing his sons to live for months longer, God is showing us that, on May 21, 2011, the power of Satan was destroyed and his dominion was taken away, but he will continue to exist until the final day of the Day of Judgment.  

“Their Lives Were Prolonged for a Season”

In Daniel 7, we find something that is parallel to this:

Daniel 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

That settles it, right?  That gets rid of Satan, the beast, doesn’t it?   It is all over with now.  The beast was slain and his body destroyed.  But we read in the next verse:

Daniel 7:12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 

We can see how perfectly this matches what happened in the book of Esther:  Haman (the beast) is killed, and yet the ten sons of Haman continue to live for a time.  

So the ten sons of Haman are also a picture of Satan and, certainly, they lost their dominion – their rule was of their father’s power.  When Haman lost all his power and rule, so did the ten sons.  Yet their lives were prolonged; they were not killed along with their father, but were killed and then hung at a later time.  

The same thing happened, spiritually, on May 21, 2011, when Satan was deposed and lost all official rule over the churches, the world, and all the kingdoms of the earth.  All that dominion and rule was turned over to the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 11:15) and yet there remains “the rest of the beasts”: that is, Satan still exists, typified by these beasts.  They had their dominion taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

During our present day, Satan can be active in the churches or in the world, but he is doing so without any official rule because Christ has taken his authority away from him.  This was a devastating blow to Satan and a severe judgment upon him, because it hit him in his pride and his stout heart (Isaiah 14:11-15). He was in his glory during the Great Tribulation, ruling in an unparalleled manner, but now God has brought him down from ruling over the nations and the corporate church that had the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as Christian churches.  Satan had shown himself to be god after God loosed him and commissioned him to come against the congregations, turning them over into his hands (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).  It was all official but all that official rule was taken away from him.  Now Christ rules in the churches and in the world with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15).  

The ten sons of Haman teach us that Satan still exists until the very end of the world, until God causes all of His enemies to perish (Matthew 25:41).  At the end of this prolonged period of judgment, he will be destroyed.  

The ten sons of Haman are a type and a figure of Satan in the Day of Judgment.

Chapter 8: Creatures

Fish

As we have seen time and time again, the language of the Bible is unique and distinctly set apart from the language of the world.  While it is true that the Bible uses the same words as found in the world’s writings, it is also true that in His piece of literature (the Bible), the Lord has developed a complex system which serves to hide truth from those He does not want to understand.  He does this by using the same words as any other book might, but by defining those words within the Bible itself.  God has written the Bible with a built-in dictionary equipped to define words only within His book.  

For instance, consider the word “fish.”  It is an extremely common word all over the world. People eat fish all the time.  Many villages and even nations have found their livelihood through the fishing industry.  Say the word “fish” to people and immediately they think of various types that they are familiar with.  It is a popular food.  

We find fish referred to in the Bible, and as we read about fish, we have to remember that God will apply His own spiritual definition to that word.  In our search of the Scriptures, it turns out that fish can be used to typify men:

Habakkuk 1:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

Now once we have this Biblical (or spiritual) definition in view, we can see clearly why the Lord Jesus called fishermen to be His apostles:

Matthew 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Two Fishing Expeditions

The sending forth of the gospel into the world can be seen as an enormous fishing expedition.  

The Bible speaks of the disciples undertaking two major fishing expeditions. In both a great catch of fish is caught. In the first, however, the net breaks:

Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.  

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

But in the second, found in John 21, the net does not break:

John 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Why did the net break the first time but did not break the second?

The reason for this is because the Bible speaks of two outpourings of the Holy Spirit.  It speaks of two major periods of rain (early rain and latter rain) and two gatherings of God's elect: (1) during the Church Age (33-1988 A.D.) and (2) during the second part of the Great Tribulation (1994-2011).

During the Church Age, God used the churches to gather those who were saved during the outpouring of the early rain, and within the churches many were called but few chosen. That is, all gathered in the net could not be taken into the kingdom of heaven since many were not truly saved.

But the second time, that was a different story. That great catch of fish in John 21 typified the great multitude that were saved out of great tribulation. They were all saved outside of the churches as God dealt with people on a one on one basis. There were no unsaved taken in that net.

Therefore, after the second great catch of fish, wherein the net did not break, Christ is teaching the disciples (His people) of things that related to “those days after the tribulation.” It is then that God's program shifts from seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to one of feeding the sheep that have all been safely found and brought into the heavenly kingdom (the net).

Fish can represent men in the Bible.  

Donkey

At times, God may use a spiritual figure in the Bible that is not very flattering to mankind.  One such image the Lord uses to represent mankind is the donkey (also known as a mule or an ass).  The donkey has a reputation for being an extremely stubborn animal, and therefore it is a good picture of man’s sinful stubbornness towards God.  The term “mule-headed” is applied to a particularly stubborn person, but it is also an apt description of man’s sinful condition.  

In the book of Exodus, the Lord utilizes the donkey in order to instruct us of His gospel plan.   Once again the Bible takes us by surprise as God discusses the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ by using the unlikely figure of an ass:

Exodus 13:13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. 

Of course, redemption is language we associate with God’s salvation plan.  We would be puzzled by the Lord’s interest in redeeming an ass with a lamb; that is until we realize that the Bible uses an ass as a type and figure of man himself.  Once we understand this, then we quickly see why God is speaking of it being redeemed with a lamb: Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29).  The ass (a figure of a man) must be redeemed by a lamb (the Lord Jesus) or else have his neck broken (come under the judgment of God).  

“Ye Shall Find an Ass Tied”

Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 

In Matthew 21:2, the Greek word translated as “tied” (Strong’s #1210) is also translated as “bound,” so this verse could say, “Ye shall find an ass bound, and a colt with her: loose them and bring them unto me.”  We find the language of being “bound” and “loosed,” as we do in other places (John 11:44, Revelation 9:14-15).  So here we have an ass that is bound and a colt with her and the Lord Jesus commanded they be “loosed” and brought unto Him.  Then it continues:

Matthew 21:3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 

This is a beautiful spiritual picture of salvation.  Christ “loosens” the prisoner.  He “looses” the one which was “bound” (Isaiah 61:1), like this donkey.  So even in this seemingly casual historical reference, “Loose them, and bring them unto me,” we find God using this occasion to illustrate salvation; the once “bound” creature is “loosed” and then Christ sits upon her.  As we have noted previously, in the Bible, to “sit” is to “rule,” so when Jesus takes his seat upon the ass and the colt, the foal of an ass, He is picturing what He does in the life of a sinner, like the woman that was “bound” eighteen years to Satan and then Christ “loosed” her (Luke 13:16).  Christ has “loosed” the ass and now He takes His seat.  He rules in the life of that person; He rules over the sinner; He is now the one that is in charge of that person’s life.

The donkey can be a type and figure of man.  

Lion

As we read the Bible looking for spiritual truth, sometimes we will find that God may use a type and figure that has more than one spiritual application, as we have noted before.  Another example can be seen as we find references in the Scriptures to what is commonly known in the world as the king of beasts: the lion.  

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

A thorough search of the Bible for clues regarding the deeper spiritual meaning of a lion reveals that this glorious animal is used to represent Jesus Christ Himself: 

Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

From this verse in the book of Revelation, there is no question at all that Jesus is the One being referred to as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”  This is a reference to Genesis 49:8-10:

Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.  

9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?  

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.  

In this passage, Judah is spoken of as a “lion’s whelp.”  It is a prophesy referring to the Lord Jesus who would come forth from the tribe of Judah.  He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  These are the words that God had Jacob speak long ago, before his death in Egypt, as he said these things to his son and to Judah himself; it is pointing to the Lord that would come through the loins of Judah (in the sense that he was a son of David through Mary) and will be born into the tribe of Judah many centuries from this point.

Samson and the Lion

We read an interesting account in Judges 14:

Judges 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.  

6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.  

7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.  

8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

The lion is slain and then a swarm of bees and honey is found in the lion’s carcase.  This is a historical parable.  The lion is pointing to Christ.  The word “swarm” (which is Strong’s #5712) is usually translated as “congregation,” pointing to the eternal church (Psalm 74:2).  “Honey” identifies with the Word of God (e.g., Proverbs 16:24).  A swarm of bees and honey came forth from the dead lion, just as the body of elect believers and the Word of God are a result of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.   

This shows us that when we read of a “lion” in the Bible, we have to stop and ask ourselves the question: is this lion a picture of Christ? 

A Roaring Lion Seeking Whom He May Devour

But again, as we search the Word of God concerning this word, we discover that there can be another spiritual application:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

After reading this verse we see that the lion may also be used as a figure which represents Satan.  That complicates things when coming across the word “lion” in the Bible since we see that there are at least two possible spiritual meanings.  Therefore, when encountering this word in the Bible, we have to ask: is the lion in view in this particular verse used as a type of Christ, or as a type of Satan?  

Normally the context the verse is found in will help to determine which spiritual picture is in view.  

Chapter 9: Other Types & Figures

Dragon

Earlier in this booklet, we saw that the Bible uses a sword to typify the Word of God.  Now we are going to look at how the Lord uses His sword to slay the dragon.  

In the realm of children’s fictional tales, we may have heard of the story of the noble knight that slays a dragon with his faithful sword.  Someone may read the fairytale and think that the author must have had an excellent imagination to have come up with such a story, but the fact is that very image comes right out of the Bible:

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Instead of a noble knight, it is the Lord that takes His sword and slays the dragon in the sea.  Of course, God didn’t literally take a sword and slay a dragon.  As we have been learning more about types and figures, we are seeing that nothing in the Bible is as it seems.  This language is teaching us some spiritual truths.  We have seen how that the sword can represent the Word of God, but what does the dragon represent?  We find our answer to this question in Revelation 20:  

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

This angel or messenger is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then we read in the next verse:

Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

We can see that the dragon is Satan.  The name “serpent” goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden; it was the serpent that deceived Eve (Genesis 3).  Satan was “bound” when he was given a death blow by Christ at the cross in 33 A.D. (Revelation 12:9-10).  The number “1,000,” as we saw earlier, points to the completeness of whatever is in view and, in this case, it is the completeness of Satan’s binding during the Church Age, which lasted from 33 A.D. to 1988 A.D.  Satan was bound during this time, as God established the Church Age and established His Word by sending the Bible all over the world.  

Now we know another piece of the Bible’s spiritual puzzle.  Therefore Isaiah 27:1 is pointing to the day when the Lord is victorious over the enemy and adversary of the kingdom of God.  The dragon that the Lord slew with His sword, the Word of God, was the devil.  God is the One who deposed Satan of his official rule on Judgment Day, May 21, 2011, and cast him into the spiritual fire of the Day of Judgment, which will result in his eternal destruction.  Through the Word of God, the Bible, God has done this.

Pharaoh the Dragon

In the Old Testament, the word “dragon” is Strong’s #8577, which is translated in some interesting ways, such as “serpent,” sea monsters,” and “whale,” and we find that it often refers to Satan.  

Ezekiel 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. 

In this verse, God is bringing together two types and figures that confirm each other, because we also know that Pharaoh, as we saw earlier, is often used as a picture of Satan in the Bible, as he refused to let the Israelites go and kept them in hard bondage in Egypt.  Of course, the dragon also comes into view when it says, “Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon,” and we also see this in Revelation 12 when the dragon identifies with Satan who is opposing Christ.  This lets us know that both “Pharaoh” and “dragon” are words that point to Satan and helps us to make that spiritual connection.  We then have a big piece of information as we continue to read and look for the spiritual truths that God has hidden here.

Also, it says in Ezekiel 32:

Ezekiel 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their river.

Again, it mentions Pharaoh and this word that was just translated as “dragon” in Ezekiel 29:3 is translated here as “whale.”  It could be read: “Thou art like a dragon in the seas.”  Also, we see that God refers to “seas” and “rivers,” and Pharaoh, this dragon, “troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their river.”  This is another bit of spiritual information; we are able now to understand that the waters, rivers, and seas that Satan fouls, are the Gospel waters. 

The dragon can be a type and a figure of Satan.

White

As we have searched the Scriptures, we have seen how the Lord uses people, places, and things to typify various aspects of His gospel.  God even uses numbers in the Bible to spiritually represent truth. Therefore we are not surprised at all to discover that the Bible also applies spiritual meaning to colors.  

Just about everyone has a favorite color.  Some colors are considered to be “good colors” by people, and others are not viewed in such a favorable light.  God also utilizes some colors in a favorable way, and uses other colors in an unfavorable way.  We are going to look at one color which is used by God in a most positive manner in the Bible.  

Purity

The color white is almost always used by the Lord in a good way.  As we analyze the many places this color is found in the Word of God, we see that it denotes purity or holiness:

Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The woman in view in this verse is the bride of Christ.  She is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, which is language the Lord is using to describe the fact that all the sins of those chosen to receive salvation in Christ have been washed away.  The color white here is being used to describe that which is without sin.  

The Color White and the Lord Jesus Christ

Since “white” describes holiness, or that which is without sin, we are not surprised to find that it is often the color used in association with the Lord Jesus Christ:

Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  

14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow …

We also find Christ riding on a white horse: 

Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 

Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

In addition, we find Christ sitting on a white cloud in Revelation 14:14. And in Revelation 20:11, Jesus is seated on a great white throne.

The next time you’re reading the Word of God and come across a color that is being mentioned, keep in mind that the color white points to holiness or purity.  

Thirst

Have you ever been thirsty?  Of course you have!  Everyone has experienced thirst to one degree or another at some point.  And in some places where water happens to be scarce, quenching one’s thirst is a matter of life and death.  

Since all people have experienced thirst on a hot day, God has chosen this image as an excellent figure to illustrate an extremely important spiritual truth:

Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

In these verses, God is picturing His Word as the ultimate thirst quencher.  Men realize that when they thirst physically, water is necessary to satisfy their body’s longing for a drink.  Likewise, in the spiritual realm, there is a necessity for a man created in the image of God to drink in God Himself.  

Since the Word of God is likened to water elsewhere in the Scriptures, we can see how a person would go about doing this.  The Lord has developed His salvation program by saving certain people and giving them new souls.  Now within the new spirits of these men and women a thirst for God has been built in; it is a thirst that can only be satisfied by the words of the Bible.  

The things of this world will not—and cannot—satisfy this spiritual longing for Christ.  No riches, no pleasures, no love for or from other people, will ever quench the deep seated desire of the soul of the redeemed sinner.  Nothing but God through His Word, the Bible, can ever quench this spiritual thirst.  

The Lord also assures us that this intense spiritual thirst of the soul of His elect will indeed be quenched:

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Thirst at the End of the World

Another verse to consider concerning thirst is in Revelation:

Revelation 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 

In Revelation 21, the context is the end of the world.  If thirst has to do with salvation, we can wonder how God can speak of quenching thirst in this context.  What would that have to do with a new heaven and new earth?  Would it not rather have to do with a sinner still in their sins that desires salvation?  Yes, it does, on one level, but that is not everything that the Bible has to say about “thirsting” or being “athirst.”  Remember what we read above in Psalm 42:1-2, how the elect desire to be with God.

It so happens that God brings up this thirst at the point when He ends the world and when He brings in the new creation—and when He brings in His bride, the body of elect believers, and they have all been made new creatures in body and spirit: “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”  Now you may drink of righteousness for evermore.  Now you can learn of the Righteous One forever into eternity future.  Now righteousness dwelleth with you and you can drink of it freely.  

Christ is not doing what some think: He is not calling out to sinners who are still in their sins and inviting them to drink and be cleansed from their sins.  Christ is not talking to the ones that never experienced salvation, but He is speaking to the ones that have partial salvation.  They are the ones that have experienced the salvation of their souls and have experienced the first resurrection: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).  Now there is total and complete salvation with the salvation of your bodies.

The next time the heat index climbs and you begin to think of having a nice cool glass of water to satisfy your thirst, consider the Bible’s exclusive ability to satisfy the longing soul of a sinner.  

Poverty

Certainly many people are aware that the God of the Bible has a great love and concern for the poor of this world, but you may not be aware of the Bible’s definition of an impoverished person. 

People may naturally tend to think that when the Bible speaks of caring for the poor (which it often does), that this means that God is concerned about the economically poor of the nations, and with such things as physically housing the homeless and feeding the hungry with physical food.  Although it is true that the Lord has a particular concern for all men and their physical welfare, this is not the primary focus or concern of the Bible.   The Bible’s overwhelming concern is not man’s physical circumstances but his spiritual condition.  

“The Destruction of the Poor is Their Poverty”

We find the Bible’s definition of a “poor” man in the book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 10:15 The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

In this verse we see that man’s true poverty is not his lack of money, or the fact that he has torn and old clothing, nor is it even said to be his lack of proper housing, but the Bible declares that man’s true poverty is the awful truth that since a man (or a woman) is a sinner, and as a result of his sin he is subject to be eternally destroyed by the wrath of God.  This is the spiritual poverty of mankind that God has always had an enormous concern about, and this type of poverty is not only found in poor rundown neighborhoods but in places where men and women have great earthly riches.  Some may be well off in the things of this world, and yet because they do not have a Savior, they are bound for destruction.  That destruction makes them poor souls in God’s sight.  

We can look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 as an example of this.  Despite having much of this world’s goods, the rich man was impoverished and poor in God’s sight – he was a picture of an unsaved man.

Let Them Drink and Forget Their Poverty

We also read in Proverbs: 

Proverbs 31:7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

Strong drink can represent a false gospel (Isaiah 28:7).  This verse is saying, Let those professed believers drink the false gospel and forget their poverty, i.e., that they are bound for destruction.    

“Preach the Gospel to the Poor”

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Was the gospel only to be preached to the physically poor?  No, it was the spiritually poor, all those who were lost.  It was not the task of the elect true believers, during the Day of Salvation, to physically feed the poor in a soup kitchen or to physically build them a house.  These things were not wrong to do but they were not truly bringing the gospel.  The true gospel was brought through the faithful declaration of the Word of God which carried the enormous riches of salvation to the spiritually destitute sinner. 

Christ’s Poverty

Understanding the Bible’s definition of poverty opens up a verse in 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

People have tended to think that Christ’s poverty was that He was born in a manger and lived His life as a humble carpenter, but that is not what the Bible is telling us here.  Once we understand the true definition of poverty, we see that Christ’s poverty is that He suffered destruction for the sake of His people as He took their sins and God poured out His wrath upon Him.  It is through that work that His people became rich.  Through salvation, a spiritually poor person became spiritually rich because of the work of Christ.  

The Bible defines poverty as being under the wrath of God.  

Hand and Foot

If you have been following along in this booklet, by now you have probably realized that things we read about in the Bible are not always as they appear to be.  Practically everywhere we look in the Scriptures we find that God is encouraging us, the reader, to look deeper into His Word in order to discover the underlying spiritual meaning.  

At times, the Bible will even force us to move away from a literal understanding of the things we are reading, and towards searching for the spiritual meaning.  For instance, we read these unusual statements of Christ in the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 

44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Obviously Jesus does not want anyone reading His Words to literally cut off their hand or their feet.  God would never require something like that of a man.  

Then what does it mean when Jesus uses such shocking language of cutting off the hand or foot?  

We find our answer once we realize that the hand and the foot are figures of speech used to represent a man’s will.  After all, it is the sinner’s will that causes his hand to reach forward and pick up the drink of alcohol, and it is the sinner’s will that causes him to move his feet and travel in a sinful path.  

Therefore, Jesus is saying, if your hand or your foot (your will) offend you, cut them off.  That is, cut off your sinful desires that cause you to offend against the law of God.  Of course, this is actually a command to become born again.  It is only through the salvation of God that a man can spiritually cut off his hand or feet.  

“Turn Away thy Foot from the Sabbath”

We read in Isaiah 58:

Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

What this verse is saying is that we are to turn away our will (the foot represents man’s will) from polluting God’s Holy Sunday Sabbath day. If we are involving ourselves in the usual things of the world rather than spending the day in spiritual activities, then we have violated the law of God regarding the Sunday Sabbath. 

The next time you are reading in the Bible and you come across the word “hand” or the word “foot,” ask yourself if perhaps the Lord is pointing to a person’s will.  

Naked and Clothing

We never want to lose sight of the fact that everything in the Bible is important and possesses great significance.  God, the author of the Bible, uses every word in the Scriptures to teach the reader various aspects of His gospel.  Even the everyday state of dress or undress has spiritual meaning in the Bible.  

Nakedness

We read in Genesis 3:

Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

The very first thing Adam and Eve realize after they sin is that they were without clothes, they were physically naked.  From this point on in the Bible, whenever we read of nakedness, we should be asking ourselves the question: is the nakedness in this verse or passage pointing to man’s sinful condition and his spiritual nakedness before God?  Often times we will find the answer to this question is yes. 

Clothing

As we consider clothing, we can see how covering this spiritual nakedness is a picture of salvation:

Psalm 132:8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.  

9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

We can read a parallel verse and compare them:

2 Chronicles 6:41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

Notice in Psalm 132:9 it said that the priests, who are a type and figure of God’s elect, are clothed with righteousness, but in 2 Chronicles 6:41, it said they are clothed with salvation. We can easily see how this substitution can be made, since Christ is righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and Christ is also the Saviour, the essence of salvation.

The Man with Legion

We have an example of the dual picture often associated with a man’s nakedness by the covering of his nakedness with clothing in Luke 8.  The Bible uses this picture to illustrate the sinner’s sins being covered over by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This can be seen in the case of the man that was possessed by a legion of demons: 

Luke 8:27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

In this verse, the man with legion is said to wear no clothes.  He is naked because he is picturing a man in his sinful condition.  But then Christ works a miracle in this man’s life:

Luke 8:35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Christ’s miracle is typifying the saving work of God’s gospel.  Once the Word of God (Christ) heals the man, he is no longer naked, but now is clothed.  Spiritually, this is teaching us that the man’s sins are no longer naked and open to the eyes of God.  

Palm Tree

Imagine you are reading the Bible and you come across a passage describing palm trees.  What are the things that might go through your mind as you read about the palm tree?  Perhaps you immediately get a mental image in your mind, and you might begin to drift away and think of some tropical location where palm trees gently sway in the ocean breeze.  Although nice, these types of thoughts are of no spiritual benefit.  When reading God’s Word we have to constantly pull ourselves back from our tendency to think naturally.  

We can avoid the path of thinking literally or naturally about the Scriptures by constantly asking ourselves this question: what could this thing I am reading about mean spiritually?  In this case, what could the spiritual meaning of a palm tree possibly be?  

Remember, this is the Bible.  And yes, in the Bible, even palm trees are spoken of by God in order to teach us some aspect of truth.  As we read in Psalm 92:

Psalm 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 

13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 

14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

In Psalm 92, the Lord makes the spiritual connection between the righteous and the palm tree.  Of course, in the first instance, “the righteous” would refer to Jesus Christ, but since Psalm 92:14 uses the plural word “they,” we can also understand the palm tree to be a type and figure of those made righteous by Christ: the body of elect believers.  

Exodus 15:27

For instance, in Exodus 15, we see a historical event recorded during Israel’s wilderness sojourn in which many palm trees are in view, thereby pointing to the elect:

Exodus 15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Earlier we saw how wells of water point to salvation (Isaiah 12:3).  Palm trees (the righteous) therefore go quite perfectly with wells of water (the salvation which those made righteous by Christ receive through Him).  

The seventy psalm trees would point to God’s elect drinking of the gospel waters that the Lord Jesus has provided His people through His atoning work from the foundation of the world.  

The palm tree is a type and figure of the righteous.  

Noah’s Ark

Several thousand years after creation, the Lord looked down upon the world and saw mankind involved in constant evil doing:

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

God determined to bring destruction to the world by a flood:

Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

The Lord commanded Noah to build an ark. Through this ark God would preserve each animal species that had the breath of life.  Additionally, the ark would be used to deliver Noah and his family, as we find in this verse:

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;

Even by today’s modern standards, the ark would have been a huge ship.  It measured 450 feet in length, 75 feet wide, and stood 45 feet high.  It had three stories within it to house all of the animals taken aboard as well as Noah’s family members. 

The fact that the ark was a vessel used by God to bring deliverance to people (and animals) from destruction is instructive, and it points to an underlying spiritual meaning.  The ark’s construction and later use during the flood proved to be an enormous historical illustration of God’s salvation program through the saving (atoning) work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As all inside the ship found refuge and safety from the destructive flood waters ravaging the earth, so too have all inside of Christ found refuge and safety from the wrath of God upon sin.  All in the ark had their lives spared and did not die in the flood; all in Christ have their lives spared eternally and will not die in the time of God’s final judgment on the world. 

Pitch it Within and Without

The Lord gives us a spiritual clue regarding the deeper level of meaning attached to the ark:

Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

The Hebrew word translated as “pitch” (Strong’s #3722) is not the word you would expect to be translated that way.  It is a word that is usually translated as “atonement.”  For example, it is the word found in Leviticus 16:16 as God describes the ceremony for the “day of atonement”: 

Leviticus 16:16 And he shall make an atonement (#3722) for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins …

It is the “pitch” (atonement) that keeps the water (wrath of God) out of the ark.  By using a word commonly associated with “atonement,” the Lord is showing us that the safety and security of those inside the ark points to those that find safety and eternal security in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Noah’s ark is a wonderful type and figure of salvation in Christ. 

Afterword

Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

As we have learned, the sun typifies God, and the moon typifies the Law of God, the Bible.  If this is so, then as we read about the heavenly Jerusalem, we must be wrong regarding the spiritual understanding of the sun and moon, since,  obviously, this heavenly city that is made up of everyone God has saved must have God there, so wouldn’t the “sun” be there?  And if the Word of God is there, would not the “moon” be there as well?  How can we understand why it says, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it”?   

There is something interesting occurring in Revelation 21:22-23.  The “temple” that is not in the new heavenly Jerusalem is the actual temple that is in the world.  Likewise, there is no physical sun or moon to shine in the new heaven and new earth and in this heavenly city.  There is no need for the physical celestial bodies that God placed in our skies.  They served their purpose well as they declared the glory of God during this earth’s existence.  The heavens showed forth His handiwork and it is a figure of that great Light, Christ the Lord God Almighty.  

When this world is passed away, the types and figures are also passed away, and that is the point God is making in these verses.  There is no temple, and the city had no need of the sun or moon to shine in it.  God no longer has need to use types and figures and parables to paint pictures of spiritual truths.  He does not need to use illustrations from this creation, which He has done a great deal of in the Bible.  The creation was used to point to deeper, spiritual truths, but in the new heavens, the spiritual truths have come to pass.  

One of the reasons that Christ spoke in parables was stated in Matthew 13:11: “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”  At the end of this world and the beginning of the next, there are no more strangers or uncircumcised people in the kingdom of heaven; there are no more unsaved people.  There are only the elect children of God that have been adopted into the royal family, and the Lord has formed a new creation.  

All is perfect, once again.  All is good.  The people of God have received their new resurrected bodies, and they have a love for God and a perfect desire to obey Him, along with a perfect ability to carry out that desire.  And it will always be so.  

So God is speaking with His people, plainly, and face to face.  He is not speaking in parables or using allegories or riddles.  He is speaking plainly, and the light is God and the Lord Jesus Christ: He is the One that is lighting the new wondrous heaven and earth and this holy city Jerusalem, and will do so, forever and ever.

Scripture Index

Book / Verse(s)   Page(s)

Genesis

1:2 76

1:16 60

2:7 3

2:19-20 4

2:21-22 5

2:22 6

2:23 6

3 113

3:6-7 125

3:8 10

3:19 3

3:24 25

6:5-7 129

6:14 130

6:16 33

6:19 4

7 67

7:4 40

7:11 97

7:16 33

9:13-16 79

9:23 69

10:6 50

17:8 41, 42

23:1-2 82

49:8-10 110

Exodus

8:23-24 7

9:22-24 74

9:23 69

9:25-26 75

13:3 48

13:13 108

14:26-28 67

Book / Verse(s)   Page(s)

14:26-31 11

15:27 127-128

17:5-6 23

17:6 67

17:8-14 53

19:16 71

20:2 48

24:15-18 63-64

Leviticus

16:16 130

Numbers

9:17-19 62

20:8 24

20:11 24

24:20 54

32:13 39

Deuteronomy

6:12 48

25:17-19 53-54

30:6 21

32:1-2 65

Joshua

3 42

Judges 

5:15 14

14:5-8 111

1 Samuel 

2:2 24

2:8 4

2:27 7

15:2-3 54

1 Kings

6:1-2 5

6:7 28

8:12-13 27

2 Kings

19 46

25:8-10 30-31

2 Chronicles

5:13-14 64

6:41 126

14:6-7 51

14:9 51

14:14-15 51

32 46

36 14

Ezra

1 14

Nehemiah 30

9:16-17 86

Esther

1:1 82

1:2 83

1:11 85

1:12 85

1:19 87

2 94

2:3 88

2:7 89, 88, 99

2:17 88

2:21 93

2:21-23 92, 93, 95

3:1 95

3:2 100

3:5-6 96

4:16 90

5:2 90

5:9 100

6:1 83

6:6-9 96-97

7:10 97

8:2 101

9 102

Job

1:19 76

37:2-4 71

37:2-5 69

Psalms

1:4 76

1:5 78

10:14 99

11:6 76

18:2 24

18:13-14 71

29:3-4 69

42:1-2 118, 119

48:2 85

50:2 85

50:10 37

68:5 99

74:2 111

80:3, 7, 19 59

84:10 33

84:11 56, 60

89:36 60

89:37 60

92:12-14 127

97:3-5 72

103:12 20

105:41 67

119:18 2

121:2-4 84

132:8-9 125

132:9 126

144:6 72

147:18 76

Proverbs

10:15 120

16:24 111

25:2 2

31:7 121

Ecclesiastes

9:15 78

Song of Solomon

2:1 83

Isaiah

10:5 46

10:6 46, 47

12:3 35, 128

13 44, 45

13:1 44

13:9-10 44

13:10 59

13:17 44

13:19-20 44

14:11-15 103

14:13-14 47, 97

20:3, 5 50

26:1 30

27:1 113, 114

28:7 121

30:27, 30 74

37:10-11 46, 47

37:36 47

41:18-20 89

44:28 13, 43

45:1 13, 43

53:4 24

55:1 67

55:10-11 65

55:13 90

57:20 68

58:13-14 124

60:18 30

61:1 109

61:10 19

62:5 16

65:17 42, 54, 55

Jeremiah

6:8 45

25:12 45

25:15 45

29:4 43

46:15-16 26

50 45

50:16 26

50:28 43

50:29 47

51 45, 77

51:1-2 77

51:11 43

51:49 45

Lamentations

2:15 85

Ezekiel

1:13-14 72

1:28 80

29:3 9, 114, 115

32:2 114-115

36:26 21

Daniel

5 43, 101

5:30 14, 44

5:31 14, 44

6:28 14

7:11-12 103

9:25-26 13

10:4-6 72-73

Joel

2:23-24 66

Amos

5:18 59

8:11-12 77

Jonah

1:3 10

1:11 10

1:12 10, 11

1:13 11

1:16 11

2 11

Micah

7:19 20

Habakkuk

1:14 105

Zechariah

1:7-11 89

8:23 100

14:5 38

Matthew 

3:12 77

4:8-9 100

4:18-19 105

5:6 119

7:24-25 78

12:26-29 8

12:29 52

12:39-40 12

13:11 131-132

13:13 2

13:34-35 1

16:18 47

17:1-2 56

19:4-5 16

21:1-2 108

21:3-5 109

21:33-45 87, 93

21:38 93

21:43 87

24:15 96

24:15-16 77

24:29 57

25:1-2 18, 37 

25:6-10 18

25:41 104

27:51 87

28:1-3 73

Mark

3:17 70

6:7 92

9:43-45 123

13:24-25 58

Luke

4:1-2 39

4:18 121

5:5-6 106

8:27 126

8:35 126

13:16 109

16:19-31 120

21:25 58

John

1:14 17

1:29 1, 108

3:29 16

4:10-14 35

5:39 2

6:44 4, 34

7:37 119

8:12 57

8:36 49

8:48 100

10:3 4

10:7-9 32

10:9 92

10:11 13

11:44 109

14:6 11, 33, 34

15:1 1
21 106

21:11 106

Acts

7:47 78

14:27 34

27:14 77

Romans

1:4 3

2:28-29 21

4:13 41

5:14 3

8:1 20, 61

8:9-11 2

10:17 17, 70

11:25-26 22

1 Corinthians

1:30 126

2:13 5

3:9 6

3:16-17 28

10:4 23

15:45 3

16:9 32

2 Corinthians

6:16 28

8:9 121

11:2 88

Galatians

2:16 34

4:5 99

4:22-26 82-83

4:26 47

6:15-16 21

Ephesians

1:4 4, 33, 86

1:5 20, 86, 99

2:1-3 49

2:8-9 20, 34

5:30 6

6:17 25, 26

Colossians

1:13 33

1 Thessalonians

1:3 34

2 Thessalonians

2:3-4 104

2:4 96

2 Timothy 

2:15 2

Titus

3:5 20

Hebrews

1:8 90

3:6 28, 78

3:8-9 39

4:12 25, 70

4:16 91

11 34

11:17 129

James

2:10 86

5:7 66

1 Peter

1:25 60

2:5 6

4:17 75

5:8 95, 111

2 Peter

3 41, 79

3:10-12 41

Jude

14 38

Revelation

1:6 126

1:13-14 116

1:16 57

2:27 15

3:7-8 33

4:2-4 80

4:4-5 71

4:5 69

5:5 110

6:2 51, 117

8:7 75

9:14-15 109

11:15 97, 101, 103

12 96, 114

12:1 60-61

12:9 9

12:9-10 114

12:17 47, 96

13 47

13:1 102

13:7-8 47

13:8 3, 24

14:14 117

14:14-16 63

17:1 68

17:15 68

18:6 45

18:23 17

19:7-8 19

19:8 116

19:11 34, 117

19:13 2

19:15 63, 104

19:18 116

20:1 113

20:2 113

20:2-3, 7 8

20:11 117

21 119

21:2 19

21:6 119

21:21-23 131

About Us

E Bible Fellowship was named for the following reasons:

Electronic: We believe that the Lord has used the electronic medium (radio, internet, etc.) in a tremendous way to save a great multitude of people outside of the churches and congregations of the world. Now the task at hand is to “feed His sheep” so that all those God has saved will be edified with the Gospel.

Bible: The Bible is our authority. No man-made confession, or creed, or doctrinal statement of any kind, has any authority above the Bible. We are living at a time when the Bible is being highly exalted by God. The Word of God is supreme in all it declares.

Fellowship: We are a fellowship of believers whose desire is to have fellowship with God through His Word. The Bible teaches us that the Church Age has come to an end; therefore, we have no affiliation or identification with any church or denomination of any kind.

1 John 1:3: That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Other booklets:

The Elect’s Appearance Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

Yet Forty Days!