Sermons - Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

Beginning at Moses and All the Prophets - Part Two

Nov 12, 2023 by: Joseph Pampalone | Series: Messages by Joseph Pampalone

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Luke 24:25-27 - 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?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Today we will have part 2 of Joe's message series, 'Beginning at Moses and All the Prophets.'

The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button.

In our last study we had seen how the Lord Jesus opened the Scriptures to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus to help them understand the central truth of all Scripture; all Scripture is about Him, His coming Kingdom and rulership in that Day.

Upon examining the first six Days of the restoration of the ruined material creation presented by Moses in Genesis 1, we discovered, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, that we are able to see the complete redemptive process for all who would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ laid out in the examples (types) in Days 1-6.  To quickly review: Day 1, through a sovereign act of the Lord, showed the light of the Lord shine out of darkness with light and darkness now being divided.  This pictures for us, the free gift, Salvation by grace through faith.  Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Day 2, through the type, shows how the individual in possession of spiritual life is then able to discern the division between heavenly things and earthly things.  The wisdom so eloquently described in James 3:17-18 - 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Receiving this wisdom from above seen in Day 2, we find in Day 3 the type for being brought forth from that place of death pictured in the Red Sea crossing for Israel and the ordinance of Baptism for the Church.  Writing to the Church in Colossae, Paul teaches, Colossians 2:11-12 - 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with [Him] through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Days 4, 5 and 6 provide the foundational type for the process that leads to rulership in the 7th Day, as we make the distinction between that associated with darkness (Satan’s kingdom) and that associated with light, the coming Kingdom of Christs (Day 4), see abundance and fruitfulness in relation to the Word of the Kingdom (Day 5) and The Lord creating man in His image and likeness (Day 6), male and female for one purpose, to have dominion, to rule.

Paul sums this up quite nicely in Ephesians 1:3-6 - 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Let us keep in mind from Scripture, sonship is synonymous with rulership.  Only first born sons may rule and reign with the Lord Jesus in His coming Day.  If we have faith [to the saving of our souls] and follow the process seen in Days 1-6 of Genesis, we will be recognized as first born sons and therefore be worthy to be in a position of rulership in the 7th Day, the Millennial Kingdom.

We may now turn our attention to the 7th Day, The Day of the Lord. Beginning in foundation; Genesis 2:1-3 - 1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

With this statement, the full scope of the redemptive process was set unalterably in foundation.  There would be six days of restorative / redemptive work followed by a 7th Day of rest.  Though the days in Genesis are seven 24 hour days, we may know from later scripture the redemptive process for man would last six thousand years (six days), followed by one thousand years of rest (7th Day).

We are assured of this by way of Peter reminding the early church in, 2 Peter 3:8-9 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The 7th Day is the focus of the Lord’s revelation to man as well as being the foundational type of the faithful Christian experience.  It is the day when the Jewish people will look upon Him whom they pierced, mourn and repent.  The Lord spoke of this through Hosea the prophet; Hosea 5:15 15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."

For the Christian it begins with the time when we will all stand before the Lord Jesus Judgment seat to determine our faithfulness or unfaithfulness to rule as coheirs with Christ from the heavenly places. Revelation 1:10-16 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send [it] to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands [One] like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair [were] white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet [were] like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance [was] like the sun shining in its strength.

The 7th Day has to do with the redemption of the inheritance, rulership over the Earth from both the heavens and the Earth.  The right of man to rulership was lost in the garden when Satan brought about the fall of newly created man.

Genesis 3:1-6 tells us: 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make [one] wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

For the second time in Scripture, Satan had caused a ruin to befall the Earth.  The first, during his initial rebellion and again when he intervened to discredit man from rulership, thus leaving him with dominion until the Lord appointed a new successor.  The Lord, however, did not make a new creation or appoint angels to rule in Satan’s stead.  Rather, He began the redemptive process He set forth in the very opening of Scripture to redeem man and allow him to hold the scepter of rulership at a time yet future.

The beginning of this can be seen just after the Lord confronts the man and woman, as well as Satan.  Genesis 3:21 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. The Lord here establishes another unalterable aspect of the redemptive process, the need for death and shed blood to bring about eternal salvation, or salvation of the spirit.

Having set this in place, the Lord then drove the man and woman out of the garden to bar their having access to the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24 22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

This, thankfully, was not the end of the matter.  The Lord, knowing all that was to come had prepared His Son before the foundations of the world to be the slain lamb to enable man’s redemption as well as the redemption of the inheritance.  Last time we noted the redemption encompasses the world in a broad sense and in more specific sense, it encompasses, Israel, the Church, and the material creation and could only be accomplished by a Divine act, with the blood of God Himself.  This is made more apparent as we bring Genesis 3:21 into view.  The scripture states, “… the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

The making of these tunics to cover the nakedness of the man and woman necessitated the death and shed blood of animals.  The redemption of man could only begin with the death and shed blood of the Lamb, a Divine and Sovereign act, as seen at the beginning of the six days in Genesis, “Then God said,”.  It is the Word of the Lord, Jesus, speaking which results in action on each of the previous six days.

The Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, alone is able to redeem man and the only one worthy to redeem the inheritance. And the fulfillment of both of these is confirmed in Matthew’s gospel, Matthew 17:1-5 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. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

The Father declaring Jesus as His beloved Son denotes more than just kinship.  More than Jesus being a part of the triune God, He is being declared as the one with the rights of the first born to rule over His Father’s house.  In our previous study we noted Jesus the Christ is the beginning and the end of God’s complete redemptive work with respect to the earth and Man.

This was seen in, Revelation 5:1-5 - 1 And I saw in the right [hand] of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.

The verses which follow confirm all that was laid out in foundation.  Revelation 5:6-14 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power [Be] to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" 14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

Let us back up here and look from the beginning of the redemptive process leading to the 7th Day and man exercising rulership as originally intended.  This was given originally to the descendants of Abraham through whom the Nation of Israel would come via Isaac, Jacob and the twelve sons, shown in the Promises given to Abraham.

For this purpose, the Lord came to Abraham, then Abram, and said in Genesis 12:1-4 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram [was] seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Abraham is sent on a journey to be undertaken by faith arriving in a land the Lord showed him.  He did so with a promise from the Lord to make of him a “great nation” to receive blessings and to be a blessing for others. Hebrews 11:8-19 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as [in] a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.

In this moment in time, the Lord was beginning the process of creating a new nation for the purpose of being adopted as a first born son.  First the faith of Abraham had to mature and be tested as ours does in our daily lives.

I am certain we are all familiar with the verses in Genesis where, Genesis 22: 1-3 1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.  By faith, Abraham took his only son Isaac, whom he loved and went to offer him as a sacrifice as the Lord commanded.  He at this point in his life trusted the Lord so completely he did not even question Him.

Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him, he, and Isaac both believing the Lord would fulfill His promises given to Abraham.  Hebrews 11:17-19 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

They had faith the Lord would raise up Isaac himself from the dead to fulfill His promise.  This is seen played out in Genesis 22:9-12 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”  The Lord stops Abraham before any harm may come to Isaac having seen the faith of Abraham and accounting him righteousness as a result.

This act of faith and righteousness led to the Lord making even more abundant promises to Abraham, and said: Genesis 22:16-18 16 “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  Through this one man the Lord promised to bless all the nations of the earth, “…because you have obeyed My voice.”

The Lord (Jesus) spoke, and action resulted as we saw exemplified in the six days of Genesis.  The result of this action is the beginning of the nation of Israel and the Lord’s plans for man’s redemption moving forward.

We see the next phase of The Lord’s Divine Plan as we move forward into the book of Exodus.  The Lord appearing to Moses as the burning bush gives him a commission to retrieve the children of Israel from Egypt.  Exodus 3:7-10 7 And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 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."

This of itself is extraordinary, the Lord God, creator of heaven and earth is stepping into the affairs of man to intervene for one group of people.  The reason for this is revealed by the Lord in the very next chapter, when He tells Moses, Exodus 4:22-23 22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel [is] My son, My firstborn. 23 "So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn."

This is no simple statement of preference for the children of Israel.  By adopting the Nation as His first born Son, the Lord is declaring His purpose to all the powers of the Earth (including those powers ruling from the heavenly places), there will be a change in rulership.  The Lord is announcing His intentions to destroy the gentile power of the day, bring Israel out into the Land of Promise and make them rulers over the earth with God as their King.

There is far more to this, but it will have to wait for next time, when we will delve further into the roles of Israel and the church in the Lord’s redemptive plan.  We will also move beyond the letter of Scripture and explore the Spirit, exploring the types showing the Christ throughout all Scripture.

This we will do, if the Lord is willing, we remain and we all continue to pray.

Beginning at Moses and All the Prophets - Part Two

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

Beginning at Moses and All the Prophets - Part Two

Nov 12, 2023

Speaker: Joseph Pampalone

Series: Messages by Joseph Pampalone

Category: Sunday Morning

Refresh
A Recap from the Sermon