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Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Nine

Sep 18, 2022 by: John Herbert | Series: Passover to Tabernacles

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2 Ch 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Today we will begin to look at events that will take place after Israel has called out to the God of their fathers.

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Sunday September 18th 2022
Passover to Tabernacles
Part 39

1). Re 18: 20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”……………..24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” 19:1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”

We had seen last time how the death of the great harlot will fulfill God’s righteous requirement of blood for blood as set out in the mandate given to Noah and his sons in Genesis Chapter 9. Israel’s disobedience, unfaithfulness and rebellion, epitomized in her harlotry, must be done away with to allow the nation to be raised from the dead and cleansed from her sin, just as Lazarus was freed from his graveclothes, so that God’s adopted firstborn son can then walk in newness of life, to fulfill the purpose for which the nation has been created, within the rulership and regality of the Seventh Day.
	a). Just as Israel the adopted firstborn son, in the type, died on the night of the first Passover in Egypt, so the same firstborn son personified in the great harlot, who killed the King and slew the Lamb of God will die, out among the Gentile nations, out in the heart of the seas, in the place of death.
	b). And from that place of death, just as Jonah did, the Jewish people will cry out to the God of their fathers for deliverance – 2 Ch 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

And in fulfillment of the type in Numbers Chapter 35, national Israel in the place of death is also national Israel in the place of refuge. And with the cry to the God of their fathers, close to the end of Daniel’s seventieth week, so Christ’s present High Priestly ministry in the Heavenly Tabernacle will end, seen in the death of the high priest in the type, and He will return to the earth through an opened heaven with His angels and Moses and Elijah.
	c). And just as in Daniel’s seventy-week prophecy there is no gap between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth-week, so when Christ returns to the earth as the Great King/Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, from God’s perspective of time, the Passover Lamb will have just been slain. All the physical generations that lie between Calvary and Christ’s return are of no consequence with respect to this.
	d). In that day the Jewish people alive on the earth will look on the One whom they pierced, apply the blood of the previously slain Lamb and the nation will ‘be born at once’. They will then be in the position to be able to put the sin out of their house and avail themselves of the ransom that will cleanse them from their contact with the dead body of their Messiah.
	e). Now, if we take the fulfillment of Passover at the Lord’s return back to the foundation in Exodus there is something else about it that we need to take note of – Ex 12:12 “For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

In the type we see that Passover did not impact just Israel but Egypt as well. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt died that night, however, God had provided the blood of the slain lambs for the Jews, but not for the Egyptians. God accepted the substitutionary deaths of the Passover lambs in the place of His adopted firstborn son, but the Egyptians had no substitutionary death available to them. Consequently, the literal death of every firstborn was required of them.
	f). And this is spectacularly pictured for us at the Red Sea. The firstborn son who had applied the blood of the lambs walked into the midst of the sea on dry land and came out to newness of life on the eastern shore. The Egyptians were also buried in the sea but never came out – 
Ex 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen………… 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

And that seen in the type must be fulfilled in the antitype following the application of the blood of Christ, the Passover Lamb. This we will have to come back to later as there is some unfinished business with Israel’s seven feasts that we must take care of first.

2). Da 12:11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. 13 “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

It is in the final verses of the Book of Daniel that we find the seventy-five days that come between the end of Man’s Day and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. And as Man’s Day ends, so the Lord’s Day will begin.
	a). And it is within this seventy-five-day period that six of the seven Jewish feasts will be fulfilled, with the first four of these feasts brought to completion while the Jewish people are still out among the Gentile nations.
	b). As we have seen, it will be immediately following the application of the blood, fulfilling Passover, that Israel will acknowledge her sin of unbelief and disobedience. The sin that led to her centuries of harlotry culminating in the killing of their King and the ‘unintentional’ death of the Lamb of God. And it is the recognition of this combined sin that they will then put ‘out of their House’ that will fulfill the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And this is pictured for us in the account ofJoseph’s brothers in – 
Ge 44:16 Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants……..

Although the nation’s confession will bring Unleavened Bread to completion, the sin put out of the House will still have to be dealt with. And this will have to wait for the sixth feast, that of Atonement.

3). Following Unleavened Bread, we then come to the Feast of Firstfruits, which is a feast that is seen in connection with resurrection. Our Lord was raised from the dead on this feast day, and in the fulfillment of this feast all the eternally saved OT saints will also be resurrected. 
a). This future resurrection of all the OT saints has been foreshadowed by an event on the day of the Lord’s resurrection – 
Mt 27:52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

The first thing we can see is that it was from their graves, the very places where these saints had been buried, that their bodies, their physical bodies were raised. In other words, these OT saints were raised from the dead in bodies of flesh and bone and blood, coming out of the graves in which they had been buried and they then remained in that location, in Jerusalem. There was no appearance before Christ in Judgment immediately following their resurrection and no more is said about them beyond what we have read. And that is where it is safe for us to leave it.
	b). However, there are some important details that we can draw on from this resurrection event with respect to the raising of the eternally saved OT saints. To begin with, this event, along with the resurrection of Lazarus, demonstrates that the OT saints will all be resurrected in bodies of flesh, bone and blood and they will all be raised from the location of their burial, and that for a time, this will be the place where they will remain.
	c). And if we think about this with regards to not only all those who died in the land of Canaan, but also those who died during the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. Where will their graves be? Well throughout the geographical region encompassed by the old Assyrian and Babylonian empires, modern day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Turkey; in effect then, out amongst the Gentile nations, possibly in what today could be the middle of nowhere. And it will be at this physical location, that they will be resurrected and where they will wait for the re-gathering of the whole house of Israel, both those raised from the dead and those who will be alive at the end of the Tribulation.
	d). And a return to the land to include those alive at the end of the tribulation and those who will be resurrected is foreshadowed in foundation through the account of the body of Joseph – Ex 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you."

Here in the type, the children of Israel picture for us those Jews alive at the end of the tribulation, and as the first generation left Egypt under Moses, typifying the return to the land under Christ, they took the bones of Joseph with them. And in Joseph’s bones we see the representation of the OT saints who have died and who will be resurrected. And so, we see both the living and those who were previously dead and now resurrected, returning together to the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with a view to a restored Theocracy in the Seventh Day.
	e). And if we look at a specific detail from the account of Joseph’s bones, we can connect all this together - Jos 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem,

Joseph was buried at Shechem, and it will be at Shechem from the very plot of ground in which he was buried that he will be raised in a body of flesh and bone and blood. And it will be at Shechem, that he will wait and then be re-gathered with the rest of Israel when the Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled.
	f). And there are of course many other instances in the Scriptures when we learn of the death and burial of OT patriarchs and their families. Providing opportunity for more specific detail if we wish.
g). But before we leave specifics, one more significant detail we can add from what we have read at the end of the Book of Daniel – 
Da 12:13 "But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."

That which we have just seen with respect to the resurrection of Joseph and all the other resurrected OT saints must also be true for Daniel. And that which we see recorded with regards to Daniel in v13 shows that resurrected OT saints will receive their inheritance ‘at the end of the days’. Which can only be the seventy-five days.
	h). And with this, we should also keep in mind, that the resurrection of all eternally saved OT saints must include those who had not exercised faithfulness as Daniel had and would then have to include those from the generation who rejected the Lord at His first advent along with the first generation to come out of Egypt. Judas will also be included.
	i). And judgment for these resurrected saints with respect to their inheritance in the Kingdom must take place. That which we see recorded in Matthew Chapter 12 concerning the unfaithful of that generation must come to pass – Mt 12:32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

And that which is true for our own Judgment will also be true for these OT saints. Their judgment will not be to determine their faithfulness or lack of it, as that has already determined by their actions while they were alive. Rather this Judgment as with ours, will be with a view to each resurrected OT saint receiving their just recompense of reward. It will be to determine exactly what they deserve with respect to the inheritance within Christ’s Millennial Kingdom – Jn 5:26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

4). The next feast, following First Fruits, is Pentecost. And on the Day of Pentecost, following the Lord’s ascension, the prophecy given in Joel Chapter 2 began to be fulfilled. But complete fulfillment was not possible then because the nation did not follow that which Peter had instructed them - Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Just as there was only a partial fulfillment of the resurrection of OT saints following the Lord’s resurrection, so there would only be a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. Neither of these events can be completed apart from national Israel coming to repentance and being ‘born at once’. And this will not happen until the end of the tribulation, some 2000 years beyond Peter’s words recorded in Acts Chapter 2. But we will notice the inextricable connection of Joel’s prophecy to the fulfillment of Pentecost.
a). And Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled, in its entirety, in that future day when Israel having had their blindness removed, will experience the fulfillment of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits - Joe 2:25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. 28 ¶ "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

And if we follow the order in which the feasts have been given to Israel, we will realize that Pentecost and Joel’s prophecy must be fulfilled while the whole house of Israel remains out among the Gentile nations.
	b). The Feast called Pentecost in the NT is called the Feast of Weeks in the OT, and both names have to do with counting a specific period of time – De 16:8 "Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it. 9 "You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 "Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 "You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.

Weeks/Pentecost then, is associated with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest and a feast associated with the ingathering of that harvest, and as we see from Deuteronomy, it is a feast when Israel would receive God’s blessing.
	c). And we will remember that the OT saints will be raised in fulfillment of Firstfruits, and along with those alive at the end of the tribulation they will all constitute the main harvest. And together they will be ingathered to the land, following the judgment at their regathering. And following this judgment the whole house of Israel itself will comprise the ‘freewill offering’ seen in v10. And the blessing of God will come from the pouring out of His Spirit in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
	d). Here then, within these details, is where we find the OT type of the Feast of Weeks and the NT Day of Pentecost brought to completion in the days that are counted beyond Unleavened Bread following the Lord’s return to the earth.

5). Following Israel’s national conversion at Passover, the putting away of sin out of the house at Unleavened Bread, the resurrection of OT saints at Firstfruits and the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy at Pentecost, feasts that are all fulfilled while Israel is still out among the nations, we then come to the fifth of the seven feasts, that of the Feast of Trumpets. And Trumpets marks the time when Israel, both those alive at the end of the Tribulation and all the resurrected OT saints will be re-gathered from the Gentile nations where they had been scattered.
	a). Now, with a view to the re-gathering of Israel at this time let’s remember the detail given to us concerning Christ’s return to the earth in response to Israel’s cry as seen in - Re 19:11 ¶ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war…….14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

Here in these verses, we have seen that Christ is to be accompanied on His return to the earth by ‘the armies in heaven’, which we know to be angels, and it is these angels who will then be responsible for bringing the repentant Jewish nation, along with the resurrected OT saints out from among the Gentile nations.
	b). And the work of the angels in regathering the whole house of Israel we have seen prophetically described for us in – 
Mt 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

And the regathering of the nation has also been prophetically described by Jeremiah - Jer 16:14 ¶ "Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be said, 'The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,'  15 "but, 'The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.' For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. 16 "Behold, I will send for many fishermen," says the LORD, "and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

And we can see from that recorded in v14-16 that no Jew will be overlooked, no Jew will remain outside of the re-gathered nation, no matter how obscure their hiding place or how remote the site of their resurrection.
	c). And this is something that the Lord had promised the nation and was recorded by the hand of Moses in - De 30:3 "that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 "Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

The certainty of a regathered Israel is beyond question. God has promised and it must come to pass. And this future regathering of the Jewish people will be such an amazing event that it will surpass the Exodus from Egypt in the days of Moses. Something Jeremiah recorded in Chapter 16 and again in – Jer 23:3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD. 5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”

And for this we can praise the Lord.

If we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed we will continue with this next time.

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Nine

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Nine

Sep 18, 2022

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: Passover to Tabernacles

Category: Sunday Morning

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A Recap from the Sermon