You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Seven Feb 28, 2021 by: John Herbert | Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T041_20210228.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” Today we will look at Israel's failure to make the separation symbolically pictured through the 3 days' journey. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday February 28th 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 7 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… These verses of course deal with the nation of Israel and their separation from the kingdom of Egypt under Pharaoh, forming a type for Israel’s separation from the kingdom of this world under Satan. a). And although Israel was delivered from Egypt by the power of God, making a literal physical separation, and although by creation the nation was separated from all other nations within that kingdom, Israel, in a spiritual sense, did not make the separation, symbolically pictured in the 3 days’ journey. And throughout their history they continued to align themselves with Satan’s kingdom through their unbelief, despite having more than a rudimentary knowledge of God’s purpose for them. b) And we had seen last time the end of the matter with respect to their unbelief through the 3 occasions in the Book of Acts, when having continued to reject the gospel of the glory of Christ presented by Paul, God had given them over entirely to the consequences of their unbelief. c). The first occasion we will remember was in Antioch – Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of age lasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” And the 3rd and final occasion in Rome, was the terminal point that marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom by the Church to national Israel, with the offer of the Kingdom of the heavens then being taken exclusively to the Gentiles. Which has continued throughout the 2000 years of this dispensation. d). Now the terminal point reached in Rome of itself is the 3rd of three terminal points seen in Jewish history when God withdrew His hands from the Jewish people to leave them to the consequences of their unbelief. e). The first of these was at Kadesh Barnea, when the first generation to come out of Egypt turned back from entering the land that God would give them – Heb 3:16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. There were, we will remember, many times during the journey to Kadesh Barnea when this same generation exercised unbelief through their complaining and rebellion. But it is at Kadesh Barnea with the land before them that a terminal point was reached, from which there was no recovery. f). What we must keep in mind as we remember the events at Kadesh Barnea is that we are not dealing with a foolish people who made a wrong choice out of ignorance, but rather a people who had a mature understanding of God’s purpose for them, who then chose to turn away from what they knew, thereby exercising unbelief of such a nature that God withdrew His hand entirely from them to leave them to the choice they had made – Nu 13:25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit…….. 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land………..14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” And let’s be clear that the unbelief they exercised at Kadesh Barnea went far beyond just not trusting God. What they had done was to reject the purpose for their eternal redemption and to scorn the reason for God’s creation of Man. They poured contempt on all that is encompassed by the 7th Day. The Day that God had blessed and sanctified. g). This was no small thing, and the seriousness with which God regarded it is seen through the entire generation, apart from Joshua and Caleb, perishing in the wilderness, being cut off from the land and the inheritance promised to the descendants of Abraham. They were not cut off from the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, but cut off from receiving that which God had promised, going all the way back to the creation of the Man and the Woman, had they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant. And having reached this point there was no way back even though the next day, in realization of their sin, they changed their minds Nu 14:40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!” If we now jump forward in time to the 75 days following the end of the Tribulation and the fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits, when this same generation will be resurrected to judgment in the wilderness of the peoples we will see the full extent of the consequence for their unbelief – Eze 20:37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Within the historical context, this first generation did not enter the land of promise to receive their inheritance experiencing death instead, but this only foreshadowed what would be the outcome for them with respect to Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, ‘they shall not enter the land of Israel’, ‘they would not enter His rest’. Participation in the fulfillment of God’s purpose for Israel with Messiah in their midst is now lost to this generation for all time. Only ‘death’ in the age to come awaits them. 2). The first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt is not the only generation who will be resurrected to the wilderness of the peoples for judgment who will have experienced a terminal point with respect to God’s purpose for them because of their unbelief – Mt 12:41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman to an eternally saved generation of Jews with a message of repentance with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens, which was at hand – Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Kingdom of the Heavens was at hand because the King was in the nation’s midst. We will remember that the descendants of Abraham have been promised that they will possess the gate of their enemies in both the earthly and heavenly realms of the Kingdom in the 7th Day. a). It was the heavenly realm of the Kingdom, rulership from the heavens over the earth, that Jesus came to offer to the Jewish people. Rulership that could have been established had the nation chosen to repent, ushering in the fulfillment of the 7th Day. b). And as with the first generation at Kadesh Barnea, the ‘fruit’ of the ‘heavenly land’ promised was available for all to see – Mt 12:22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” This was the second sign given on one particular Sabbath, pointing to the spiritual healing that awaits the Jewish people in the 7th Day, following national repentance. c). But that which can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit in relation to the 7th Day was attributed to ‘Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons’, by the nation’s religious leaders. d). And as we saw with the first generation at Kadesh Barnea this was not just the expression of petty spite against the Lord. The nature of their intentional unbelief here was such that they also rejected the purpose for their eternal redemption and scorned the reason for God’s creation of Man. They poured contempt on all that is encompassed by the 7th Day. The Day that God had blessed and sanctified. The Day, the age to come, that God had made through the Man Christ Jesus who had given them the sign on that Sabbath day – Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds [the ages]; The events recorded in Matthew Chapter 12 mark the same terminal point as that seen at Kadesh Barnea. A terminal point that was given expression in – Mt 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. A terminal point, the significance of which, came from the Jews own mouths – Mt 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Jn 19:15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” What this generation of eternally saved Jews turned away from at the Lord’s first advent, as with the generation at Kadesh Barnea, was of such a serious nature that they could never recover that which had been rejected. 3). Just as an aside, it is interesting to note what is recorded following the rejection of the first sign given on the Sabbath in Matthew Chapter 12. The sign first – Mt 12:10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. Now what was recorded following this – Mt 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. And of course, it is on the same day, the Sabbath, following the terminal point seen in Matthew Chapter 12, that the Church, to come primarily from among the Gentiles, is introduced in Matthew Chapter 13 Mt 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And it was through the Church, called into being to be the recipient of the Kingdom of the Heavens which national Israel had rejected, following the Lord’s resurrection, ascension and glorification, that the Kingdom of the Heavens was then re-offered to national Israel, bringing us to the terminal point of the rejection of this re-offer seen in Rome in Acts Chapter 28 – Acts 28:25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say:“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. This terminal point of rejection in Acts Chapter 28 was preceded, in the same way the announcement of the withdrawal of the Kingdom of the heavens in Matthew Chapter 21 was preceded by the events of Chapter 12, by events recorded in Acts Chapter 7 – Acts 7:54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. These verses tell of the death of Stephen following his Holy Spirit powered and dramatic sermon, in which he laid out the whole of Jewish history bringing his audience, through the Scriptures, to the Christ and His Kingdom. And so powerful was this sermon and the call to repentance that the heavens were opened, the glory of God was seen and ‘the Son of Man’ who had returned to heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand was standing in anticipation of an imminent return. a). Again, all of that seen in the Scriptures that the Jews were to keep ever before them, as we had seen in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 and Exodus Chapter 31 last week, was irrefutably laid out for them, but unbelief prevailed. b). And the consequences for turning away from the truth that had been presented to them in the 7th Chapter of Acts is spelled out through the exercise of the same unbelief in Chapter 18 - Acts 18:5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Paul’s words, ‘your blood be on your own heads’ provides a chilling echo of the nation’s own words on the day of the Lord’s crucifixion. c). As God withdrew His hand from the Jewish people seen at the end of Acts Chapter 28 so they were left to follow the path where their unbelief would take them. Not only to the inevitable horrors of the great tribulation, but also separation from Messiah and His Kingdom for the age to come. And again, that which was rejected through unbelief is God’s stated purpose for the 7th Day. And having rejected this, it was lost to this generation for all time and can never be recovered. The words recorded by Ezekiel at the wilderness of the peoples will be for this generation just as it was for the first. d). And also consider this, out of this unbelief, as the Jewish people have been allowed to tread their own path has come a divided nation that is secular on the one hand and religious on the other. But because of having turned away from the nation’s Messiah, the Jewish nation from that time on, whether secular or religious, as it is today, it makes no difference, is consigned to the lake of fire for the endless ages, except for those who at the end of the Tribulation will look on the One whom they pierced. e). The ramifications of turning away from an understanding of God’s purpose for them with respect to the 7th Day is quite staggering. But let’s keep it in its proper context – Ro 11:15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? What national repentance by the Jewish people in that future Day will bring to the world in the age to come is also quite staggering. f). However, Romans Chapter 11 doesn’t end with the verses we have just read, rather it continues with an address to Christians – Ro 11:6 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. Even though this is something we may know well, let’s not take casually or be careless with the contrast that is drawn between unbelief and the faith in these verses as both center on one thing only, standing away from or adhering to, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of the glory of Christ. All that God has said concerning His Son and the 7th Day. Beginning with Moses. 4). We might remember from last week that the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome during the period of time covered by the Book of Acts, while the re-offer of the Kingdom to national Israel was still being made. As we would witness from the fact that Paul’s message, the gospel of the Glory of Christ was to the Jew first – Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. It is the same message that Paul took to the Jew first that he also took to the Gentiles, and it is in relation to this message concerning the Christ and His coming Kingdom in the 7th Day presented to eternally saved Gentiles that Paul wrote about 2 decidedly different groups of Christians. a). It is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the message concerning the faith that had been received by all. And we are not dealing with eternally saved Christians who have no knowledge of these things, but rather those who have an epignosis knowledge of them and then have responded to this mature knowledge in different ways – Ro 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. The Christians in Rome are commended by the Lord through Paul for their faith to the saving of the soul which ‘is spoken of throughout the whole world.’ b). But for others, still eternally saved, still having had an ‘epignosis’ knowledge concerning the faith, there is no commendation – Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. As we consider this though we ought to remember one thing. Paul was writing to the first century Church at a time when the gospel of the glory of Christ was the only message being taught. If we bring this scenario into the 21st century we will easily realize that this message is not being taught universally throughout Christendom and therefore, for the greater majority of Christians it is impossible for them to stand away from the truth through unbelief when they have never stood with the truth in the first place. However, unbelief remains unbelief whatever its origin and the consequences for it remain the same. c). Now, maybe we might be bold enough to consider that over the years we have come into an ‘epignosis’ knowledge with respect to the faith. And if that boldness will allow us then we will realize that what Paul set out in this first Chapter of Romans is something we must take careful note of – 1 Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. As we could stand away from the truth we have been taught. We will continue with this next time though – If the Lord is willing. You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Seven Feb 28, 2021 Speaker: John Herbert Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T041_20210228.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” Today we will look at Israel's failure to make the separation symbolically pictured through the 3 days' journey. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday February 28th 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 7 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… These verses of course deal with the nation of Israel and their separation from the kingdom of Egypt under Pharaoh, forming a type for Israel’s separation from the kingdom of this world under Satan. a). And although Israel was delivered from Egypt by the power of God, making a literal physical separation, and although by creation the nation was separated from all other nations within that kingdom, Israel, in a spiritual sense, did not make the separation, symbolically pictured in the 3 days’ journey. And throughout their history they continued to align themselves with Satan’s kingdom through their unbelief, despite having more than a rudimentary knowledge of God’s purpose for them. b) And we had seen last time the end of the matter with respect to their unbelief through the 3 occasions in the Book of Acts, when having continued to reject the gospel of the glory of Christ presented by Paul, God had given them over entirely to the consequences of their unbelief. c). The first occasion we will remember was in Antioch – Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of age lasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” And the 3rd and final occasion in Rome, was the terminal point that marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom by the Church to national Israel, with the offer of the Kingdom of the heavens then being taken exclusively to the Gentiles. Which has continued throughout the 2000 years of this dispensation. d). Now the terminal point reached in Rome of itself is the 3rd of three terminal points seen in Jewish history when God withdrew His hands from the Jewish people to leave them to the consequences of their unbelief. e). The first of these was at Kadesh Barnea, when the first generation to come out of Egypt turned back from entering the land that God would give them – Heb 3:16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. There were, we will remember, many times during the journey to Kadesh Barnea when this same generation exercised unbelief through their complaining and rebellion. But it is at Kadesh Barnea with the land before them that a terminal point was reached, from which there was no recovery. f). What we must keep in mind as we remember the events at Kadesh Barnea is that we are not dealing with a foolish people who made a wrong choice out of ignorance, but rather a people who had a mature understanding of God’s purpose for them, who then chose to turn away from what they knew, thereby exercising unbelief of such a nature that God withdrew His hand entirely from them to leave them to the choice they had made – Nu 13:25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit…….. 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land………..14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” And let’s be clear that the unbelief they exercised at Kadesh Barnea went far beyond just not trusting God. What they had done was to reject the purpose for their eternal redemption and to scorn the reason for God’s creation of Man. They poured contempt on all that is encompassed by the 7th Day. The Day that God had blessed and sanctified. g). This was no small thing, and the seriousness with which God regarded it is seen through the entire generation, apart from Joshua and Caleb, perishing in the wilderness, being cut off from the land and the inheritance promised to the descendants of Abraham. They were not cut off from the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs, but cut off from receiving that which God had promised, going all the way back to the creation of the Man and the Woman, had they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant. And having reached this point there was no way back even though the next day, in realization of their sin, they changed their minds Nu 14:40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!” If we now jump forward in time to the 75 days following the end of the Tribulation and the fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits, when this same generation will be resurrected to judgment in the wilderness of the peoples we will see the full extent of the consequence for their unbelief – Eze 20:37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Within the historical context, this first generation did not enter the land of promise to receive their inheritance experiencing death instead, but this only foreshadowed what would be the outcome for them with respect to Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, ‘they shall not enter the land of Israel’, ‘they would not enter His rest’. Participation in the fulfillment of God’s purpose for Israel with Messiah in their midst is now lost to this generation for all time. Only ‘death’ in the age to come awaits them. 2). The first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt is not the only generation who will be resurrected to the wilderness of the peoples for judgment who will have experienced a terminal point with respect to God’s purpose for them because of their unbelief – Mt 12:41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman to an eternally saved generation of Jews with a message of repentance with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens, which was at hand – Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Kingdom of the Heavens was at hand because the King was in the nation’s midst. We will remember that the descendants of Abraham have been promised that they will possess the gate of their enemies in both the earthly and heavenly realms of the Kingdom in the 7th Day. a). It was the heavenly realm of the Kingdom, rulership from the heavens over the earth, that Jesus came to offer to the Jewish people. Rulership that could have been established had the nation chosen to repent, ushering in the fulfillment of the 7th Day. b). And as with the first generation at Kadesh Barnea, the ‘fruit’ of the ‘heavenly land’ promised was available for all to see – Mt 12:22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” This was the second sign given on one particular Sabbath, pointing to the spiritual healing that awaits the Jewish people in the 7th Day, following national repentance. c). But that which can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit in relation to the 7th Day was attributed to ‘Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons’, by the nation’s religious leaders. d). And as we saw with the first generation at Kadesh Barnea this was not just the expression of petty spite against the Lord. The nature of their intentional unbelief here was such that they also rejected the purpose for their eternal redemption and scorned the reason for God’s creation of Man. They poured contempt on all that is encompassed by the 7th Day. The Day that God had blessed and sanctified. The Day, the age to come, that God had made through the Man Christ Jesus who had given them the sign on that Sabbath day – Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds [the ages]; The events recorded in Matthew Chapter 12 mark the same terminal point as that seen at Kadesh Barnea. A terminal point that was given expression in – Mt 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. A terminal point, the significance of which, came from the Jews own mouths – Mt 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Jn 19:15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” What this generation of eternally saved Jews turned away from at the Lord’s first advent, as with the generation at Kadesh Barnea, was of such a serious nature that they could never recover that which had been rejected. 3). Just as an aside, it is interesting to note what is recorded following the rejection of the first sign given on the Sabbath in Matthew Chapter 12. The sign first – Mt 12:10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. Now what was recorded following this – Mt 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. And of course, it is on the same day, the Sabbath, following the terminal point seen in Matthew Chapter 12, that the Church, to come primarily from among the Gentiles, is introduced in Matthew Chapter 13 Mt 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And it was through the Church, called into being to be the recipient of the Kingdom of the Heavens which national Israel had rejected, following the Lord’s resurrection, ascension and glorification, that the Kingdom of the Heavens was then re-offered to national Israel, bringing us to the terminal point of the rejection of this re-offer seen in Rome in Acts Chapter 28 – Acts 28:25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say:“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. This terminal point of rejection in Acts Chapter 28 was preceded, in the same way the announcement of the withdrawal of the Kingdom of the heavens in Matthew Chapter 21 was preceded by the events of Chapter 12, by events recorded in Acts Chapter 7 – Acts 7:54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. These verses tell of the death of Stephen following his Holy Spirit powered and dramatic sermon, in which he laid out the whole of Jewish history bringing his audience, through the Scriptures, to the Christ and His Kingdom. And so powerful was this sermon and the call to repentance that the heavens were opened, the glory of God was seen and ‘the Son of Man’ who had returned to heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand was standing in anticipation of an imminent return. a). Again, all of that seen in the Scriptures that the Jews were to keep ever before them, as we had seen in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 and Exodus Chapter 31 last week, was irrefutably laid out for them, but unbelief prevailed. b). And the consequences for turning away from the truth that had been presented to them in the 7th Chapter of Acts is spelled out through the exercise of the same unbelief in Chapter 18 - Acts 18:5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Paul’s words, ‘your blood be on your own heads’ provides a chilling echo of the nation’s own words on the day of the Lord’s crucifixion. c). As God withdrew His hand from the Jewish people seen at the end of Acts Chapter 28 so they were left to follow the path where their unbelief would take them. Not only to the inevitable horrors of the great tribulation, but also separation from Messiah and His Kingdom for the age to come. And again, that which was rejected through unbelief is God’s stated purpose for the 7th Day. And having rejected this, it was lost to this generation for all time and can never be recovered. The words recorded by Ezekiel at the wilderness of the peoples will be for this generation just as it was for the first. d). And also consider this, out of this unbelief, as the Jewish people have been allowed to tread their own path has come a divided nation that is secular on the one hand and religious on the other. But because of having turned away from the nation’s Messiah, the Jewish nation from that time on, whether secular or religious, as it is today, it makes no difference, is consigned to the lake of fire for the endless ages, except for those who at the end of the Tribulation will look on the One whom they pierced. e). The ramifications of turning away from an understanding of God’s purpose for them with respect to the 7th Day is quite staggering. But let’s keep it in its proper context – Ro 11:15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? What national repentance by the Jewish people in that future Day will bring to the world in the age to come is also quite staggering. f). However, Romans Chapter 11 doesn’t end with the verses we have just read, rather it continues with an address to Christians – Ro 11:6 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. Even though this is something we may know well, let’s not take casually or be careless with the contrast that is drawn between unbelief and the faith in these verses as both center on one thing only, standing away from or adhering to, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of the glory of Christ. All that God has said concerning His Son and the 7th Day. Beginning with Moses. 4). We might remember from last week that the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome during the period of time covered by the Book of Acts, while the re-offer of the Kingdom to national Israel was still being made. As we would witness from the fact that Paul’s message, the gospel of the Glory of Christ was to the Jew first – Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. It is the same message that Paul took to the Jew first that he also took to the Gentiles, and it is in relation to this message concerning the Christ and His coming Kingdom in the 7th Day presented to eternally saved Gentiles that Paul wrote about 2 decidedly different groups of Christians. a). It is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the message concerning the faith that had been received by all. And we are not dealing with eternally saved Christians who have no knowledge of these things, but rather those who have an epignosis knowledge of them and then have responded to this mature knowledge in different ways – Ro 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. The Christians in Rome are commended by the Lord through Paul for their faith to the saving of the soul which ‘is spoken of throughout the whole world.’ b). But for others, still eternally saved, still having had an ‘epignosis’ knowledge concerning the faith, there is no commendation – Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. As we consider this though we ought to remember one thing. Paul was writing to the first century Church at a time when the gospel of the glory of Christ was the only message being taught. If we bring this scenario into the 21st century we will easily realize that this message is not being taught universally throughout Christendom and therefore, for the greater majority of Christians it is impossible for them to stand away from the truth through unbelief when they have never stood with the truth in the first place. However, unbelief remains unbelief whatever its origin and the consequences for it remain the same. c). Now, maybe we might be bold enough to consider that over the years we have come into an ‘epignosis’ knowledge with respect to the faith. And if that boldness will allow us then we will realize that what Paul set out in this first Chapter of Romans is something we must take careful note of – 1 Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. As we could stand away from the truth we have been taught. We will continue with this next time though – If the Lord is willing.