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Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty One

Jul 10, 2022 by: John Herbert | Series: Passover to Tabernacles

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Mt 17:1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

We will continue to look at events on the Holy Mountain.

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Sunday July 10th 2022
Passover to Tabernacles
Part 31

1). Mt 17:1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

We have established in our previous weeks of study, that what occurred after six days on the high mountain was a movement forward in time to the return of the Lord at the end of the tribulation. And that which is recorded about this event in Matthew focuses on the Christ, the Jewish people and the blessings that are to come to them in that Day, in fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures.
	a). And the entirety of the prophetic Scriptures, the OT, is personified through the presence of Moses and Elijah, who picture the Law and the Prophets. Moses being the recipient of the Law and Elijah being one of the prophets.
	b). Moses and Elijah though are more than just a representation of the OT Scriptures, they are the actual historical figures themselves. Moses having been raised from the dead, which might explain the reference to the body of Moses over which Michael, the archangel, contended with the devil as recorded in - Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”,

And Elijah who was taken alive into heaven - 2 Ki 2:11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

And the presence of Moses and Elijah with the Lord at His return to the earth will open our understanding to another event – Acts 1:9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

The two men in white apparel are not identified here, but what they said makes it clear who they are, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

And as we know that Moses and Elijah will be with the Lord at His return, they would have to have been present at His ascension as He will return in like manner to His departure. And we can add to this what Luke recorded in his Gospel concerning this same event – Lk 24:50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

The Lord was blessing His disciples with lifted hands as He was carried into heaven and as He would return in like manner to His leaving, He would return with hands lifted blessing His people, Israel. And this is just what we have seen through the Lord’s return in Matthew Chapter 17. The blessing of the Jewish people represented through the presence of Peter, James, and John on the mountain. Blessings that will then flow to the Gentile nations, represented by the multitude at the base of the mountain, in fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham.
	c). And if we go back to the beginning of Luke Chapter 24, we find this – Lk 24:1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” 8 And they remembered His words.

That the Lord would suffer and die and be raised on the third day had been foretold in the OT Scriptures, the Law, and the Prophets, and had been spoken to them by the Word made flesh – Lk 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”

And so, it is no surprise to find two men in shining garments present at the Lord’s resurrection. And again, it is inevitable that these two men were Moses and Elijah.
	d). Let’s remember that the Lord’s resurrection goes way beyond the obvious, that He was raised from the dead, as His resurrection has an inextricable connection to Him receiving the Kingdom and returning to establish it – Lk 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

The significance of the Lord’s resurrection we can also see, from a Christian perspective, in – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

And as we have seen, Moses and Elijah are inextricably connected with the Lord’s return and the establishment of His Kingdom.
	e). And we had seen last week that the Lord, upon His return to the earth will be accompanied by ‘the armies of heaven’ – Re 19:14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

We also know that this is said of the Lord in – Re 19:15b He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

The King of kings and the Lord of lords will bring about the final overthrow of Gentile world power entirely on His own, but He will be accompanied by Moses and Elijah to bring to pass certain events that must take place before this happens. And He will be accompanied by the ‘armies in heaven’, His angels - Mt 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Also, to bring about certain events that must take place before the overthrow of Gentile world is completed – Mt 24:30 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.

It will be the angels who will be responsible for the regathering of the whole House of Israel from every corner of the Gentile nations into which they will have been scattered and resurrected, in fulfillment of the feast of trumpets, the fifth of the seven feasts. This will have to wait until later though.

2). Re 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 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.

As we see from the verses here, the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place immediately before the heavens are opened and the Lord returns to the earth to complete His dealings with Israel and to bring about the final overthrow of Antichrist’s decimated kingdom in connection with the opening of the sixth seal on the seven sealed scroll – Re 6:12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves 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 who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The marriage supper of the Lamb is not a celebration of the bride having become Christ’s wife, but a celebration in anticipation of the revealed bride becoming Christ’s wife as the Lord goes forth to complete the redemption of the inheritance, a celebration in anticipation of the certainty of ruling with Him in the Millennial Kingdom in fulfillment of the foundational picture given through Adam and the Woman.
	b). And the marriage supper of the Lamb finds a parallel in another foundational type, in the Book of Ruth – Ru 3:8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.” 10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

Ruth is identified on Boaz’s threshing floor ‘at midnight’ for a specific purpose and in the same way, the bride for Christ will be revealed through judgement at Christ’s Judgment Seat for the same purpose, 9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.” 10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

The revealing of the bride for Christ will set in motion the redemption of the inheritance because there will then be an identified group found worthy to receive the inheritance. And the redemption process begins with the opening of the first seal on the seven sealed scroll which marks the starting point for the tribulation, remembering that the tribulation, from a Jewish perspective, has to do with bringing the nation to repentance for the purpose of restoration, it is the time of Jacob’s trouble.
	d). These same events of the tribulation though, from a Christian perspective, have to do with the redemption of the inheritance for the previously revealed bride as the seven sealed scroll contains the terms of the redemption.
	e). The marriage supper of the Lamb comes just prior to the end of the seven years of the tribulation, with the Lord then returning to the earth to bring the redemption to its completion.
	f). The parallel to the marriage supper in the Book of Ruth is seen in v14-15 from Chapter 3 - 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

Ruth waiting in the city while Boaz went to redeem the inheritance for her equates with the bride, following the marriage supper, waiting in the heavens for her prospective Husband to complete the redemption of the inheritance on the earth for her.
	g). This is the same picture as we have seen through the type of Joseph’s wife, Asenath, waiting in another part of the palace while Joseph deals with his brothers. And Zipporah, Moses’ wife, only coming part of the way with him before Moses goes on his own to deliver Israel from Egypt.
	h). Waiting in another part of the palace, traveling part of the way, and entering the city are all suggestive of Christ’s bride waiting in the New Jerusalem to become Christ’s wife as He returns to the earth with His angels and Moses and Elijah to complete the redemption of the inheritance 
Ru 4:9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

The redemption of the inheritance will be completed through the final overthrow of Gentile world power at the battle we have come to call Armageddon. But before that battle can take place, and the redemption completed, Moses and Elijah must fulfill the purpose for which the Lord will bring them to the earth with Him.

3). We have just looked at the Lord’s return to the earth immediately following the marriage supper of the Lamb. Let’s keep in mind though that the Lord’s return is triggered by the cry for deliverance from the Jewish people scattered among the nations, just as we see in the type in Exodus –
Ex 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

In the type, Moses was sent to deliver Israel from the hands of the Assyrian Pharaoh and in the antitype, the One greater than Moses will be sent to deliver Israel from the hands of the Antichrist. And it is this same Moses who will accompany the Lord to accomplish this task.
	a). The Lord’s return to the earth is pictured again through Moses in another type in Exodus Chapter 32. A return that reveals another facet of that which is to be accomplished – Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Moses on the mountain pictures the Lord in the heavens at the right hand of the Father, the ‘certain Nobleman’ who has gone ‘into a far country to receive for Himself a Kingdom and to return.’ 
	b). The time seen through Moses’ delay coming down from the mountain covers the time from the Lord’s ascension to His return, a time when Israel is described as the great harlot because of her assimilation into the kingdom of this world. Although really, this is characteristic of the nation’s entire history.
	c). And following the type, in a panoramic sense, Moses’ return from the mountain and the subsequent dealing with the nation’s spiritual corruption was followed by the establishment of the Theocracy when the glory of God filled the Tabernacle at Sinai.
	d). And the same can only be found in the antitype. The great harlot’s spiritual corruption will be judged – Re 17:5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

And because of this judgment at the hands of the Gentile nations the cry for deliverance will come. And following the Lord’s return in response to the cry, the nation’s spiritual corruption will be dealt with and the Theocracy, the Millennial Kingdom, will be established.
	e). As Moses came down from the mountain with the old covenant with a view to the Theocracy, so the Christ will come down from the heavens with the new covenant with a view to the Theocracy of the Millennial Kingdom.
	f). Now, we had also seen last week that the spiritual corruption exemplified in Exodus 32, which finds its zenith in the great harlot of Revelation Chapter 17, had also been pictured through the nation having turned to Baal worship under Ahab and his pagan queen, Jezebel – 
1 Ki 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.

Not only did Ahab turn God’s people to Baal but he was also responsible for rebuilding Jericho, something the Lord had expressly forbidden – 
Jos 6:26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

And into this spiritually corrupt and demonically inspired arena the Lord sent Elijah – 1 Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

Re 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

And it is of course, this same Elijah who will return with the Lord and Moses to a spiritually corrupt people whose hearts must be turned back to the God of their fathers and to the prophetic Scriptures which have been made flesh in the One whom they pierced and upon whom they must look
Ge 45:4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Ge 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

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

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty One

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty One

Jul 10, 2022

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: Passover to Tabernacles

Category: Sunday Morning

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A Recap from the Sermon