FACE TO FACE

MEETINGS WITH

JESUS CHRIST

BIBLICAL MYSTERIES REVEALED IN HIS OWN WORDS LIKE NEVER BEFORE IN HUMAN HISTORY

FELIX WANTANG

AuthorHouse™

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© 2013 Felix Wantang. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/26/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0369-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0368-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0367-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013913577

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CONTENTS

My Prayer

Acknowledgement

A day I will never forget

Introduction

Chapter 1   The fall of Man

In the beginning

The First Assignment

The Fruit

The Choice Wine

Why Satan tempted Eve

God’s Nature

Noah, the Ark, and Joseph

After the Flood

The Holy Trinity and Man

Egypt

Chapter 2   The Journey to the Promised Land

Moses and Jesus Christ

The Mission

The Woman accused of adultery

The Samaritan Woman

God tried to kill Moses

Bricks without straw

Crossing the Red Sea

The waters of Marah and Elim

Manna and Quail

The Golden Calf

The First Water from the Rock

The Second Water from the Rock

The healing of a man born blind

The power of Prophecy

Defeating the Amalekites

The Death of Moses

The Temple and the Fig Tree

Fear and Faith

Chapter 3   Entering the Promised Land

Joshua and Jesus Christ

Jesus and Jericho

The Holy Spirit

The Two Spirits of Jesus Christ

The Fall of Jericho

Chapter 4   Heaven

The Language of Heaven

God is Holy

The Bible

God’s First List

Divine number 9

Key Divine Numbers

The Mission of Jesus Christ

The Flood

Jesus clears the Temple. John 2:12-25

Jesus feeds five and four thousand

Decapolis and Bethsaida

Twelve unique miracles

Aaron

Moses

God

Naming the Ten Plagues

The Plague of Blood

The Plague of Frogs

The Plague of Gnats

The plague of Flies

The Plague of Boils

The Plague of Hail

The Plague of Locust and Livestock

The Plague of Darkness

The plague on the Firstborn

The Passover

The Lord’s Supper

The Clothes of Jesus Christ

God’s choice of Names

The Number 666

Abraham’s Table

Chapter 5   The Kingdom of God

The Church

Divine Number 17

The Passover in a stranger’s home

The Promised Land

Why Joshua did not get a staff

Why Jesus died at 33

The Role of Women

My Dream

Lord Jesus Christ, I love you with all my heart.

Dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the wonderful gift of my lovely family: My wife Jacqueline and my children Felix Junior, Malcolm, Mahalah, Matthew, Chioma, and Amarachi. I also thank you for bringing Kathleen, Hayley, and Mia into my life.

My Prayer

Father in Heaven, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; most merciful God, my unbeatable God, and my source of everything; Father I thank you for your glory, your mercy, your grace, your compassion, and your peace which surpasses all understanding. Thank you for the wonderful gift of your son Jesus Christ. Lord I thank you for everything you’ve done, for everything you are doing, and for everything you are about to do in my life, in the lives of my children, and my household. Thank you for creating us, for making us in your own image, and for giving us life. I also thank you for what you are doing in the lives of those who consider me their enemy and those who are doing the wonderful work of your glory. Father I pray for your chosen people of Israel and your Holy city of Jerusalem. I pray for the leaders of this world and their families. I pray for the children you’ve brought into the world today; give their parents the strength, wisdom, and love to raise them for your son’s glory. Father I thank you for all the blessings you’ve deposited upon me; I ask you to show me the right way to use them wisely to lift up your name, give you honor, thanks and praise all the days of my life. I pray for all the children across the nations of the world and those who are battling with terminal illness. I pray for the souls you’ve called home today. I also pray for all those who humbly call upon your mighty name in prayer; hear their cry for help, grant them the desires of their hearts, and show them your way.

Mighty Father, I ask you all these and thank you through the name of your only son Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. In his mighty name I pray.

Amen—Amen—and Amen.

Acknowledgement

I thank my Dad John for the amazing job he did as a single parent in raising me and my two younger sisters Lucy and Ada after the death of my mother when I was four years old. I give thanks and I pray for The Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, for all the contributions they made to my life. I also thank and pray for all those who made even the smallest contributions to my life. My gratitude and prayer also goes to the people who remembered me in their prayers. God bless you; I give thanks to my wife Jacqueline and all my children; I love you very much.

Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus said to Simon Peter ‘‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”. “Yes, Lord” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17. Lord Jesus I love you. From the moment he started appearing to me in 1991, my life has completely changed; the things that used to matter to me don’t matter any more because it is all about him. I also thought that seeing him face to face would make me a Holy man or reduce the number of battles I have to face in life; but I was completely wrong. I still struggle with life just like everyone else and I even face tougher battles since he started appearing to me. The biggest question that I struggle with every day is “Why me?”

The truth is something very unique has definitely changed in me; my faith in him is unshakable and I now have a complete understanding of my purpose in life. When you pick up this book to read, I strongly advise you to make sure you have a Holy Bible beside you. This book is not a story; the contents of this book are the words of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you are looking for spiritual knowledge gathered from academic years of study from a Bible school or knowledge from a famous pastor, then this book is not for you. This book is nothing but simple truth revealed to me by Jesus Christ. I give all the glory to Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior for choosing me to reveal this material to the world. I know that nothing in me qualifies me to handle this type of assignment and I also know that it is not about me; it is all about him. My biggest regret is that I waited for too long trying to do things my way before answering his call. One of the surprising changes he made in my life was when I lost interest in any other type of music other than praise and worship music. Since 2006, I listen to Hillsong, Selah, and Michael W. Smith every day.

This book is to explain one thing “As far as God is concerned, everything in the Bible is in there for a specific reason; nothing just happens”. I pray to God that this book enriches your life and take you to a deeper place in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The greatest threat to the church of Christ is not the rapid decline in young Christians, it is not the rapid growth of antichrist; it is the reluctance of most Christians to actually take the time to pick up the Bible and read. This is the only reason why false prophets are gaining a foothold in the lives of most Christians. True believers in Christ don’t even realize when Bible truth is being twisted right before their very eyes and so they fall for it hook-line and sinker.

As much as many pastors and priests are doing a wonderful job out there, God did not give us pastors and priests as the corner stone of our belief in Jesus Christ. God gave us one thing; an irreplaceable weapon called the Holy Bible. You want to know the truth then I suggest it’s time for you to pick it up and start reading. My advice to you once again is that you make sure you have your Bible beside you whenever you pickup this book to read. All Biblical references in this book were taken from the Holy Bible—New International Version. I have been blessed with the truth and I pray that you be blessed with it as well. May the Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob bless you abundantly and may you find grace and the peace which surpasses all understanding in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen—Amen—and Amen.

A day I will never forget

I was listening to a praise and worship song called “Jesus is the Light of God” by Voice of the Cross and I was employed as the Administrator of a missionary hospital—St. John of God Hospital. It was October 1991 a few minutes past midnight in a small town called Nguti in Cameroon—Africa; it started like a tornado in my bedroom, the wind was very strong concentrated at the little prayer altar but surprisingly, nothing was moving; not even the papers around the altar. While the strong wind was still blowing, he was there smiling at me from the altar; I tried to smile back or say something but I couldn’t because my tongue was zipping in and out of my mouth at an alarming speed like a flame. I could feel the size of my tongue and I could also feel the length as it repeatedly zipped in and out of my mouth; it was about a foot long. I suddenly noticed that the flames of the two candles burning at the altar were not disturbed by the high wind. The flames looked very peaceful. He looked at me and gave me a very warm smile and just as I was about to say something to him, he disappeared and the strong wind suddenly stopped.

To this day, I still don’t know what I would have said to him if he was still there. I spent the last seventeen years trying to understand what happened that night. Every time I think about it, I get the feeling like it happened yesterday. When I moved to Spain in 1995, he showed up again one night while I was sleeping and to my greatest disappointment, once again I was unable to say a word to him before he disappeared. As I moved to Canada in 1999, he started appearing on average twice a month and I was still unable to say a word to him for a couple of months until one night, as he was standing there, I suddenly said to him, “Why did God call Moses? He disappeared again, without saying a word to me. The next time he showed up, he said to me “Start writing” and before I could realize what was happening, he was gone. I got up, looked at the bedside clock and it was 4.44 am as I went looking for a note pad and a pen. I started writing, not knowing what I was writing and it was like somebody speaking to me from the back of my head; when I suddenly stopped, I realized I had just written about three pages of answers to the question I asked him concerning Moses. When he started appearing at regular intervals, I will ask him a question and he would disappear and the next time he shows up sometimes he starts with the answer to my previous question and sometimes he won’t. It takes days or weeks or even months to answer certain questions; the longest I have waited to receive an answer to a question was about eleven months. Whenever he appears with a response I have been waiting for, the first thing he does is take me to the Bible. Sometimes he would show up while am driving and I will pull over to listen to what he has to say. Because of all these, I developed the habit of having a Bible and a note pad around me at all times. I have a Bible in the prayer altar, there is one under my pillow, there is one in my car, one on my desk at work, and I carry one in my back pack at all times. To this day, I am still in search of words to understand why it all started; all I can say is Thank You Lord Jesus Christ. I do not take credit for the contents of this book, rather from the bottom of my heart Lord I honor you and give you praise for making me the channel of this wonderful revelation.

The question that I kept asking myself was, how can you see Jesus face to face and still do the stupid things I found myself doing? It then occurred to me that there is absolutely no such thing as a flawless Christian. As long as you live on earth, the world is a place that prevents us from ever becoming sinless. Since this is true, it makes no sense spending your time and energy dwelling on our sins; rather we should focus on the one person that is capable of making us sinless through his death on the cross. Confess your sins to him and he will carry you through. From the moment I had the face to face meeting with him I have experienced more battles, hate, judgment, and rejection especially from people who were very close to me. It was like going through hell and high waters; as one storm subsided, the next stronger one was just around the corner raging up the chain.

There were moments when I was physically drained and I felt like there was no energy left inside me but I thank God that he gave me the strength to move on. Two scriptures helped me as well “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Matthew 6:25-34. This scripture was basically telling me to take it one day at a time and that is where faith, hope and perseverance play a major role. The second scripture was “Jesus Walks on Water—Matthew 14:22-36. Jesus walked on water and Peter tried to do the same thing with Jesus’ permission but Peter started sinking halfway during the walk. Jesus said to Peter “Why did you doubt?” The truth is Peter partially walked on water because he had his eyes on Jesus but he started sinking because he took his eyes off Jesus. This scripture urged me to keep my eyes on Jesus regardless of what was happening around me.

I remember praying very hard to God to calm the raging storm that was overtaking my life but it felt like my prayers fell on deaf ears because nothing happened. It was like the more I prayed, the worse it got. I thought that after seeing Jesus face to face, I had this incredible relationship with him that allows me to instantly receive anything I ask for in prayer; I thought I had a direct line with him. I was completely wrong; now I know better. If I have learned one very important lesson, it is the fact that when God calls you for a mission, there will be a time frame when He will temporarily pull away from you so you can go through some very difficult experiences. When I say pull away, I am referring to the feeling He will put inside you. This feeling comes from frustration, despair, low spirit, and rejection.

God allows this moment to kick in because it is an experimental moment. It is an experimental moment that those who have been chosen must go through in order to boost your strength. The devil will ask Jesus for permission to subject you to this test and Jesus allows it because the outcome depends very much on Jesus himself not you. When he first asked me to read the Bible from start to finish in October 2005, I thought he was crazy because there was no way I could see myself doing that. I thought I was going to be incredibly bored doing it but to my surprise, the more I read, the more interesting I found the Bible. Before this, I was very familiar with the Book of Psalm as my favorite book in the Bible. Don’t ask me how I ended up finishing the Bible because all I could remember was that I did it. My biggest regret to this day is that when he first asked me to start writing I did not take it very serious because I was still busy chasing the pleasures of life. But when he stripped me of everything I thought I had, as I ended up in a homeless shelter in May 2006, I had no choice but to do whatever he wanted me to do. When he showed up again at the Corner Stone homeless shelter in Oshawa and Na-Me-Res in Toronto, that’s when I seriously started writing. I was at the lowest level in my life. Lord Jesus I thank you for the care and love that I received from these two places.

Introduction

Life is nothing if we remove Jesus Christ from the equation. “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the one and only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:16-18. Jesus wasted no time in telling us why he came. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17. While it is true that Jesus did not bring us the Law because the Law was already here before he came, Jesus however is the law and he brought grace and truth to us. We could say that while the Law is the truth and the capacity to interpret the truth, grace is spiritual wisdom that unveils the scales from our eyes. Grace is the thin line on the sand between you and an unbeliever because the scales fall from your eyes only after you accept the grace which is given to us free from God through Jesus Christ.

The Book of Genesis covers the creation of heaven and earth. It starts with God creating His kingdom called the Garden of Eden and placing man in charge of it. God gave man only one law to keep in order to stay in the garden, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Gen.2:16-17. But the disturbing selfish nature of man could not allow man to keep just one law. Through man’s disobedience of this simple law God kicked man out of the garden and this started the toil and turmoil in man’s life. God created man to have only one kind of relationship with Him; to live by His law. This is very evident in the revelation from Jesus Christ; he clearly tells us why he came to earth. He came to do everything that man failed to do properly. After Adam failed, God then gave us His only son Jesus Christ who is our Lord and Savior. Jesus spent the first thirty years of his life keeping a low profile because God’s nature of doing things is such that there is a time and season for everything under heaven. Timing is a very significant aspect of God’s nature. When the time came for Jesus to start his mission on earth, he was baptized by John the Baptist; he went into the wilderness where he fasted for forty days and forty nights with three serious temptations from the devil.

As soon as Jesus came back from the wilderness, his first official public statement that marked the beginning of his ministry was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 4:17. Jesus is saying “I bring you the kingdom of God”. He is also saying “I bring you that which was lost by Adam and Eve. God himself sent the Israelites into slavery in Egypt. “Then the Lord said to him, know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” Gen.15:13. God also delivered them from bondage at the right time and took them on a journey to a land He promised them on oath through Abraham.

The life of man inside the Garden of Eden = The birth of Jesus Christ (life with Christ)

The life of the Israelites in Egypt = The life of man outside the Garden of Eden.

The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land = What Jesus came to do.

Remember, Christ was there in the Garden with man; he is the Tree of Life

That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.”

The law Jesus is referring to is the law that God gave the Israelites from the moment He decided to deliver them from bondage in Egypt until they entered the Promised Land. The Promised Land (Israel) is God’s kingdom here on earth. God uses Israel to show us in advance what he is about to do on earth. Jesus Christ therefore came to take this journey (from Egypt to Israel). He also came to show us how to take this journey. As we read further, we will see how Jesus took this miraculous journey step by step without omitting any part of the process; for God it had to be done right with zero deviation or tolerance. Jesus came to take this journey for us because man in his sinful nature did a very poor job. This also proves beyond reasonable doubt, that the Bible is the mysterious Holy word of God. God’s decision to lead man through this journey again teaches us some basic life lessons:

1.   We all make mistakes every time we try to do something very important for the first time and God understands that aspect of human nature.

2.   But if we have a chance of doing it all over again following the same process, we definitely try not to repeat our mistakes.

3.   After the fall of man, God dispatched His only son Jesus Christ to do it for us, following the same process but changing those areas where man failed.

4.   This is what the Christian journey is all about; we try not to repeat the mistakes we made in the past when we did not know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Because man failed and Jesus succeeded, that explains why Jesus said “I am the way, the life and the truth, no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Jesus is the way to the Father and to the kingdom of God.

Chapter 1

The fall of Man

In the beginning

According to the book of Genesis, man was the last thing God created on earth; but the last thing God created before creating man were the animals and that includes livestock. “And God said,’ Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds; livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind. And it was so.”’ Gen.1:24. Basically speaking, the animals were already in the Garden of Eden when God created Adam and put him in charge of the garden. There were only two people living in the garden; Adam and his wife Eve. And there were only two people present when man fell to sinful nature in the garden.

Jesus Christ was born in a manger, surrounded by animals (livestock). This is the same livestock mentioned in Genesis 1:24. The only two people present when Jesus Christ was born; His mother Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph. It took two people to initiate man’s bondage and it also took two people to initiate man’s deliverance.

The fall of man + The birth of Jesus Christ (the rise of man) = The kingdom of God

The Bible teaches us that as soon as man fell, God acted immediately. “And the Lord God said the man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Gen.3:22-24. God placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. God did this to keep man away from His kingdom. But when He decided to bring man back into His kingdom through His son Jesus Christ God used the same cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to bring man back to Him. Keep in mind that God was guarding the way to the tree of life and not the tree itself.

The tree of life = Jesus Christ

The flaming sword = The star of the birth of Jesus Christ

God created the tree of life specifically for one purpose; to give eternal life to whoever eats from it. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51. God used the star of the birth of Jesus Christ to stop man from reaching the tree, but in the second journey, God used the star to lead man to the tree of life (Jesus). “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9. God’s idea of stopping man from reaching out and taking from the tree of life, is not a prevention strategy; rather it is a condition strategy. God created the tree for man’s redemption; He did not create the tree for Himself. God wanted man to recognize the conditions surrounding this tree:

▪   That it is a gift like no other from God

▪   That we must believe in the tree and what it stands for before eating from it.

The ability to live forever depends very much on respecting these two conditions. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. That is why Jesus said in Matt.7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. In Matthew Chapter 2, God used the Magi to show us how to come to the tree of life (Jesus Christ). In verse 2, the Magi said they came to worship Jesus because they saw his star in the east.

▪   They saw his star and believed in him.

▪   They decided to go worship him.

▪   They took gifts with them

▪   When they saw him they bowed down and worshipped him.

▪   They presented Jesus with their gifts.

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus asked his disciples to go preach the gospel to the world. This is all we have to do; just preach the gospel. On the other hand, God used the Magi to show us what happens to the person receiving the gospel message of Jesus Christ when we preach it.

a)   If they believe in Jesus Christ

b)   They will decide to go worship him

c)   They will take their gifts (their hearts) to him by accepting him as their Lord and Savior

d)   When they find him, they will bow down and worship him

e)   They will present Jesus with their gifts (their hearts).

This is what the process of coming to Jesus Christ is all about.

The First Assignment

The very first responsibility God gave man was to work and take care of the Garden of Eden. Gen.2:15. Because God is a God of details and process, He wanted man to understand the mechanics of life. By giving man a garden as the first responsibility, He was trying to teach man the following:

1.   Taking good care of the garden means you have to work it, sow seeds, keep it clean, and eat from it.

2.   God wanted to teach man that life is about sowing and waiting for some time to reap what you sowed. Life is designed to give you only that which you laboured for.

3.   When harvest time comes, you can only harvest the kind of crops or seeds that you planted.

4.   Your harvest is determined by how much work you put in the garden after sowing.

5.   Jesus summarized it for us when he said “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Matt.7:16.

The Fruit

The battle between God and the devil all started in the Garden of Eden. It is and will always be about the fruit. Jesus is the fruit of Mary’s womb. In the book of Genesis the devil gave the fruit to Eve, she ate and gave some to Adam who ate without asking any questions. This gave the devil temporary victory and brought the fall of man.

But when it was time for God to fight back, He used a fruit as well, but this time the fruit of the womb of Mary who is Jesus Christ. God gave the fruit to Mary who then gave it to her husband Joseph. The interesting thing is that Joseph refused to take it. He finally accepted it after God told him through the Angel that it was okay. God used this scenario to show us what Adam should have done to defeat the devil. He should have done what Joseph did; say no until you hear from God.

This simple life lesson appears to be the biggest mistake we all make. A lot of people have little or no patience when it comes to making critical decisions in life. Most often, we don’t even want God to have anything to do with our daily decision making; we claim to be masters of our destiny but when all hell breaks lose, we turn to God to clean up the mess we created. Fortunately for us, God never says no because we have His son Jesus Christ who is our advocate. God wants us to turn to Him for every aspect of decision making in our lives. In the Garden of Eden the following took place; Genesis Chapters 2 & 3:

▪   In the Book of Genesis, God asked Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil located in the middle of the garden.

▪   God said nothing about the Tree of Life also located in the middle of the garden. God said nothing about it because this tree was in man since God created man in His own image.

▪   The only way man could be separated from the Tree of Life was if man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; by disobeying God.

▪   The Tree of Life is the only cure or solution to the consequences caused by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

▪   God had no reason to guard the Tree of Life from man because man had no need yet for this tree.

▪   God decided to guard the Tree of Life from man only after Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In Gen.3:1 Satan said to Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Notice that the only reason why the devil presented this question to Eve in this manner was because Adam and Eve had not yet eaten from any tree in the garden; hence the first tree they ate from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan tried same trick with Jesus Christ right after his 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness. The first food Satan tried to convince Jesus to eat was by asking Jesus to turn bread into stone but Satan failed because Jesus knew better. The incident that took place in the Garden of Eden is what Jesus did when he performed his first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. John 2:1-10.

1.   After Jesus changed the water into wine, the master of banquet tasted the wine but he knew nothing about the miracle (he did not know where the wine came from).

2.   The servants who filled the jars with water knew where the wine came from (from the miracle) but they did not taste the wine.

3.   The master of banquet believed that the wine came from the bridegroom.

4.   In John 2:10 the banquet master said that the bridegroom has saved the choice wine (best wine) for the end of the wedding.

5.   The banquet master also said that the cheaper wine was supposed to be brought out at the end of the wedding, not the best wine.

6.   The cheaper wine is the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

7.   The choice wine is the Tree of Life.

The banquet master took the bridegroom aside and said to him “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” John 2:10.

The world usually brings out the choice wine first but Jesus made sure that the choice wine was brought out last. God brought Jesus as the last thing to save man from eternal destruction.

›   Eve knew where the fruit came from when she gave it to Adam to eat. She knew it was from the forbidden tree and that it came from the devil.

›   Adam on the other hand did not know where the fruit came from when he took it from Eve. Adam did not bother to ask Eve where the fruit came from.

›   Eve knew what she was doing but Adam did not. The responsibility still rests on Adam’s shoulders because God gave him specific instructions not to eat from that tree no matter what. Eve was not there when God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree.

A

1

B

2

C

3

D

4

E

5

F

6

G

7

H

8

I

9

J

10

K

11

L

12

M

13

N

14

O

15

P

16

Q

17

R

18

S

19

T

20

U

21

V

22

W

23

X

24

Y

25

Z

26

The Chart of Heaven

I want you to take a good look at this Chart of Heaven because we will be making references to it at regular intervals.

Jesus used six jars of water to make the best wine.

Water = 4

Six jars of water = (6 x 4) = 24 = 6

Six jars of water = Wine

Wine = 6

The Choice Wine

The servants knew where it came from when they gave it to the banquet master. They knew it came from Jesus Christ. The banquet master did not bother to ask the servants where the wine came from. The banquet master assumed that the wine came from the bridegroom just as Adam assumed that the fruit came from God. Just as God was solely in charge of all the fruits in the garden, the bridegroom was solely in charge of all the wine at the wedding. The choice wine was made with water from six jars used for ceremonial washing. Although it was forbidden to drink from these jars Jesus made sure that the wine was served from these jars. Remember, just as it was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was also forbidden to drink from these jars. Adam ate the fruit without asking any questions; the banquet master tasted the wine without asking any questions.

Before eating the fruit, Adam assumed that it was from one of the trees God allowed them to eat from; before tasting the wine, the banquet master assumed that it was part of the wine set aside for the wedding guests. Before Jesus made the wine, his mother had earlier complained to him that there was no wine left at the wedding John 2:3, hence the guest was thirsty for more wine. Before the devil gave Eve the fruit, he made sure that Adam and Eve were hungry. That is why the devil started his mission with the question “Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” The devil is kind of saying to Eve, “Are you starving because God asked you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” That is why the devil tempted Jesus when Jesus was hungry. Luke 4:1-2. When the devil failed, he left Jesus until an opportune time—desperate moment.

Spiritual Lesson #1

The devil will vigorously tempt you only during an opportune time in your life (when your flesh is desperate for something). The object of the temptation will be something that you desperately need.

This miracle was asked for by Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. Remember when she asked Jesus to do it, his response was “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” John 2:4. When Eve offered the fruit to Adam, his response should have been “The time has not yet come for us to eat this fruit.” Jesus performed this miracle for one reason, to show us what happened in the Garden of Eden; how the thief (devil) stole the kingdom of God from man. Jesus knew that they ran out of wine but because this miracle was designed to be a blue print of what happened in the Garden of Eden, it had to be done this way. Remember in the garden, the fruit was given to Adam by the only woman in his life who was Eve. At the wedding, the miracle was ordered by the only woman in the life of Jesus Christ; his mother Mary.

There were only two trees that God planted in the middle of the garden and there were only two types of wine at the wedding (the choice wine and the cheaper wine) John 2:10. “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Gen.2:9

God did not ask Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of life. “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Gen.2:16-17. In the garden, a law was broken; (But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Gen.2:17). At the wedding, a law was broken; “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” John 2:10. Everyone who drinks the cheaper wine will be thirsty again regardless of how much they drink. The choice wine is designed to quench your test; this is the point the banquet master was trying to make in John 2:10. This statement is confirmed by Jesus when he was talking to the Samaritan woman. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14.

The fruit started from: The devil to Eve and to Adam.

The choice wine from: Jesus to the servants and the banquet master.

When God was about to create Eve, He said “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Gen. 2:18.

Spiritual Lesson #2

Jesus teaches us what Adam and Eve should have done. The servants did not taste the wine rather they took the wine to the banquet master. The banquet master was in charge of the wedding. The servants were helpers at the wedding. God gave a direct order to Adam who was in charge of the garden and God created Eve to be Adam’s helper. Eve was supposed to take the fruit to Adam without tasting it just like the servants did at the wedding. Go to God whenever you find yourself in a tough spot in life. Unfortunately, what most Christians do is that we try to take care of the problem by doing it our way and if it doesn’t work, then we turn to God blaming Him or find someone else to blame for the problem. Adam and Eve tried this approach but it was too late to turn to God.

After the servants took the wine to the banquet master, he went straight to see the bridegroom who was the owner of all the wine at the wedding. After eating the fruit, Adam did not go to see God instead he hid from God (he waited for God to come to him). This was a big mistake. Whenever we disobey God, we should never wait for Him to come to us; it is our responsibility to go to Him as soon as possible and talk to Him about our mistakes in life. God is merciful and will surely forgive us if we humbly go to Him and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Right after the fall of man, something drastically changed in the nature of man. In Gen.3:8-10 it says that when Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden, they went into hiding. Adam said to God “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid.” This is how fear was born with the following characteristics:

→   The tree of the knowledge of good and evil created fear in man.

→   Fear makes us want to hide from God.

→   All fear is attached to the sinful nature of man.

→   Fear is the devil’s most important weapon against man.

→   Fear is good only when it brings us closer to God.

Jesus gave himself (the choice wine) at the wedding. The choice wine was not taken from the wine reserved for the wedding by the bridegroom rather, it was a unique gift from Jesus Christ and that is why salvation is nothing but a gift from God.

Why Satan tempted Eve

When God created the world, He made two people for a start; He made Adam from the dust but He made Eve by using a bone from Adam. Eve was the first human that came from another human. Even though she came from another human, she was without sin. The next time God made another human without sin was when He gave us His only son Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary was used to bring Jesus Christ to us. Therefore, Eve and Jesus Christ have two things in common:

→   They were both created using one human flesh.

→   Eve came from a man (Adam) and Jesus came from a woman (Mary).

→   They were both created without sin.

The first time God made a sinless human by using only one human was when He made Eve out of Adam. The second time God used this formula again was when He made Jesus Christ through the Virgin Mary. This time, to respect God’s process of the divine number 2, the outcome was the exact opposite of the first approach. Unlike Eve, Jesus was a man who came out of a woman. The law of God’s divine number 2 states that the members of each pair must be the exact opposite of each other. That’s what God demonstrated in the pair of Jesus and Eve.

In Psalm 34 and John 19:28-37 it says that none of the bones of Jesus was to be broken and that’s exactly what happened on the cross. Also, the bones of the Passover lamb were not to be broken. The question is why did the devil choose Eve and not Adam? The three temptations of Jesus Christ were a replay of what the devil did to Eve. God gave specific instructions to Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before He created Eve Gen.2:15-19. The only reason why the devil tempted Eve and not Adam is because the devil’s intention was to destroy God’s creation. The number (#2) is God’s divine number for creation and multiplication; it is also God’s divine number for unclean. This symbolic nature of God is even stronger when there are only two seeds from one womb. The generational blessing always rests with the #2 seed. Some examples are:

1.   Adam and Eve

2.   Adam and Jesus

3.   Cain and Abel

4.   Manasseh and Ephraim

5.   God created Darkness before Light Gen.1:1

6.   In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fall of man came from the second tree. Gen.2:9

7.   God gave us His word in two parts; The Old Testament and The New Testament. The New Testament brought salvation to man.

8.   God gave us The Ten Commandments twice. The first one was destroyed by Moses and the second one is what we have today.

9.   Jesus showed himself to John the Baptist two times in two days. John baptized him on the second day and the second time he saw Jesus. John Chapter 1.

10.   God used two people to deliver the Israelites from bondage (Moses and Aaron) and He used two people to lead them into the promised-land (Moses and Joshua). Only #2 Joshua entered the promised-land.

11.   The first creations God made through marriage were two seeds (Cain and Abel).

12.   The first two miracles Jesus performed were in the same place; Cana. Therefore, the first miracles in Cana were twin miracles. John 4:54.

The devil said to Eve “Did God really say “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Gen.3:1. Satan knew that God did not say anything directly to Eve. Remember God gave this command to Adam before creating Eve. Satan also knew that if he went straight to Adam with this question, he would have failed to twist the truth.

God did not command Eve with any law therefore Eve had a hard time defending the truth because the law was explained to her by Adam. When the devil confronted her, she was not too sure of the truth anymore. This was a verbal law from God and that explains why God chose to give us a written law called the Bible so we don’t make excuses anymore.

Satan took part of the truth away from Eve. “You will not surely die”. Apparently, this was the only lie the devil told Eve; everything else he said to her was the truth. When the devil said to Eve “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil”. Here, the devil was telling the truth, because that’s exactly what happened after they ate from the tree.

Spiritual Lesson #3

This is what happens when you don’t read your Bible. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who go to church every Sunday but never take the time to read the Bible. You cannot successfully defend the word of God without reading the Bible. If you don’t read your Bible, you are positioning yourself as a sure target of false prophets. It is practically difficult to defend anything you did not receive firsthand. That’s why Jesus used the words “It is written.” to defeat the devil and to tell him to back off. Jesus was basically telling the devil “I wrote the law, I read it, I know better, and I am the law; so back off.” God gave us the written law; The Ten Commandments because of the responses He got from Adam and Eve. Adam blamed Eve for his conduct and Eve blamed the serpent for her conduct.

Death is inevitable and no man can defeat death. Jesus Christ is the only one that successfully defeated death on the cross and that’s enough reason to believe that he is the son of God. All judgment will be carried out by Jesus Christ. “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given him authority to judge because he is the son of man.” John 5:26-27. When we die, we will all come face to face with Jesus Christ for judgment and he will ask us only one simple question. This judgment will be quick because the response he expects from us does dot require an explanation; the response he wants from us is a YES or NO. The question will be “Did anybody ever talk to you about me?” We will all have the opportunity to hear something about Jesus Christ before we die. The Bible assures us that every man will have the opportunity to hear the gospel before they die. After answering yes to his question, no matter what explanation you try to give him for not accepting him while you were on earth, he will say to you “I gave you the Bible”.

The Bible is and will always be the most translated, cheapest, and most published book in human history. The only definition for a wasted life is a life lived without Jesus Christ. It is just as if you were never born into this world.

God’s Nature

“The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever” Psalm 100:5. God’s nature remains the same forever. The Bible says it took God six days to create the world and one day to rest; in total, He put in seven days in creating the world. In Gen. 7:4 it took God seven days to prepare for the destruction of the world through the flood. Like I said before, Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law by successfully retracing the steps of Adam; except this time Jesus will do it in a systematic way that pleases God. For example:

†   Eve saw the following in the fruit: (1) Good for food. (2) Pleasing to the eye. (3) Desirable for gaining wisdom. Gen.3:6. The devil wanted Jesus to see all three things when he tempted Jesus. He wanted Jesus to see that the stone was good for food; he wanted Jesus to see that the kingdoms of the world were pleasing to the eye. He finally wanted Jesus to see that throwing himself down from the highest point of the temple was desirable for gaining spiritual wisdom.

†   Adam and Eve had twin boys Cain and Abel after they failed God Gen.4:1-2. There were two disciples that first followed Jesus (John 1:35-39). Adam had a third son called Seth and he was the 4th male that God created. Cain had 8 sons, bringing the total number of males in this bloodline to 12 hence Jesus Christ needed only 12 male disciples. Gen 4.

†   The Bible dropped every relationship and bloodline of Adam and God moved Adam’s generation forward by using his third son Seth; bringing us to the faithful Noah. God used Noah to save the world. Gen.5.

†   Just as Seth was Adam’s 3rd son, Peter was the 3rd disciple that Jesus called to follow him. As soon as Jesus saw Peter, he wasted no time in making Peter the head of his church. Jesus made Peter the rock upon which to establish his relationship with the world. John 1:31-55

†   When the flood came from Heaven, only those who listened to Noah were saved. Likewise when Jesus comes back, only those who listen and obey the gospel that Jesus entrusted into the hands of Peter will be saved.

God created each nation on earth to serve a specific purpose for a specific time. He used the Roman Empire to play a significant role in the gift of His only son Jesus Christ; to mark the beginning of man’s salvation. Likewise, He created the United States to play a major role in the second coming of Jesus Christ. As long as the United Sates maintains a healthy bilateral relationship with Israel, it will continue to be super power—leading the rest of the world. However, the day the United States decides to cut ties with Israel, that day will mark the beginning of the downfall of the United States from super power status. A lot of people think that without the United States, Israel will collapse; the truth is, it is actually the other way round. Without Israel, the United States will cease to be super power. The relationship between the United States and Israel is not natural; it is supernaturally carved from heaven.

Noah, the Ark, and Joseph

When God asked Noah to build an ark because He was about to destroy the world with flood, it was God’s indication that He was about to baptize the world for the first time. We know by faith that there is only one name that brought us baptism. John the Baptist did not play with words when he set the record straight “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I, will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Luke 3:16. Therefore the Ark of God is Jesus Christ and God created a spiritual bond to blend Noah, Joseph, and the Ark as follows:

›   Every thought of man was evil when God asked Noah to build the ark. Also every thought of Joseph’s brothers was evil before he was sold as a slave to Egypt.

›   Noah found favor with God and Joseph also found favor in the eyes of God.

›   The ark Noah built became the only place man could find refuge during the flood. The land of Egypt under the authority of Joseph became the only place man could survive because of global famine.

›   There was no water in Noah’s ark; it was built to hold off water. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and there was no water in the pit. Gen.37:24.

›   God asked Noah to take two of every living creature into the ark.Gen.6:19. The deal was to kill Joseph but two of his brothers (Ruben and Judah) saved his life. Gen.26:21-27.

›   God asked Noah to take seven of every clean animal (male and female) and seven of birds of the air (male and female), that is to say, two sets of seven. Pharaoh had a dream of two sets of seven and Joseph was the only one who could interpret the dreams.

›   The flood waters increased and lifted up the ark and it rose high above the earth. The waters came to destroy the earth and everything under the face of the earth but as the flood waters increased, the ark was lifted high above. As Joseph’s enemies increased, he was lifted high above everyone else to the point where he became the second most powerful person in Egypt.

›   The ark was made of three decks. The three decks were the three pivotal stages that Joseph went through. (a) His brothers sold him to the Midianites (b) Potiphar bought him from the Midianites (c) Potiphar and his wife put him in prison.

›   “The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.” Gen.7:18. The ark had no control of where the waters moved it to. Joseph’s troubles increased exceedingly and he had no control of his destiny.

›   In Gen.8:1, the Bible tells us that God remembered Noah and the waters subsided. Pharaoh’s butler said “I remember my fault this day.” Gen.41:9. He was referring to Joseph whom he had forgotten for two years. After this statement, Noah and his family were released from the ark and Joseph was released from prison.

After the Flood

At the end of forty days, Noah sent out a raven and a dove. The dove came back but the raven never came back. The dove came back because it did not find a resting place, for the sole of her feet. The Bible teaches us that when the dove returned, Noah put out his hand and took her into the ark to himself. When Pharaoh sent out his chief butler and baker to prison, Joseph was in charge of them. The baker found a resting place which is death; he rested in peace but the butler did not find a resting place and he returned to Pharaoh. Pharaoh put out his hand and took him in by restoring his position and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. The dove was Pharaoh’s butler. After waiting for another seven days, Noah sent out the dove the second time and when the dove returned, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth. The big question is, ‘Where on earth can anybody find fresh olive leaf in a world that has been submerged under water for forty days? The answer we all know is “NO WHERE”. When Noah sent out the dove the second time, that was Pharaoh sending out his butler to prison the second time. Except this time, he was sending out his butler on a special mission; to bring the only man that was capable of interpreting Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams.

Just as it was impossible to find fresh olive leaf anywhere on earth after the flood, it was also impossible to find anybody on earth who was capable of interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. Joseph is also the fresh olive leaf. Only God gave the fresh olive leaf to the dove and likewise only God gave the interpretations of Pharaoh’s dreams to Joseph through the butler. That’s exactly what happened when Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and he asked Joseph to interpret his dreams. “I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Gen.41:16. When Joseph interpreted the dreams, Pharaoh was very pleased. The first seven days that Noah waited to send the dove out are the first seven years that Joseph said will bring a great harvest to Egypt and that’s why the dove came back with the freshly plucked olive leaf.

The second seven days that Noah waited to send the dove out again represent the seven years that Joseph said the great famine will last and that’s why the dove went out and never came back to Noah. God is constantly bringing back the spirit of His apostles and prophets into this world to do His work. The life of Joseph clearly indicates that God equipped him with the spirit of Jesus Christ just like He put in John the Baptist the spirit of Elijah. Luke 1:17. God also put in David, the spirit of Joseph. The life of Joseph is a perfect example of how to deal with evil. The Bible teaches us to repay evil with good and that’s what Joseph did; he forgave his brothers and Potiphar’s family. We all go through situations in life where people hate and hurt us for nothing that we did. Under such circumstances, it is very tempting to seek revenge but God has a reason why He strictly encourages us to avoid that path. When you seek revenge and actually execute it, God will still hold you accountable for your actions; nothing justifies this move in the eyes of God.

Have you ever wondered whether the only reason why you got hurt was because God loves you very much and decided to put in you, the spirit of one of His apostles or prophets? The same God who put that spirit in you, will also take care of every evil that comes your way. God put that spirit in you because He wants to lift you higher than you can ever imagine. No weapon formed against you shall prosper if you obediently walk with God just like Joseph did. Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and the Bible tells us that there was no water in the pit. Now why did the Bible find it necessary to give us this little piece of information about the pit? The reason is because God is making a spiritual connection here. The pit was dry because Noah built the ark on dry land before God sent the flood. It was only after God sent the flood that the ark was lifted higher and higher. As evil as the actions of Joseph’s brothers may be, it was this collective action that started the rise of Joseph; notice how Joseph did not fight it. Be very careful if you have the habit of fighting off every battle that is thrown at you. Frankly speaking, you may be fighting off the very storm that God needs to lift you to greater positions in life. The best approach is to stay faithful and give everything back to God; He is the author of your life and He has His eyes on you at all times just like He had His eyes on Joseph.

In Gen.45:7-8, Joseph made a key statement to his brothers when he finally made himself known to them “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here but God.” This was the same statement Jesus made to his disciples when he said “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John14:2-3. The truth is, Jesus went ahead to prepare a place for all those who believe in him but at this juncture, Jesus was referring to his eleven disciples who would later join him in heaven because Judas Iscariot who would later betray him was not part of the deal. Likewise, Joseph was referring to his eleven brothers who later joined him in Egypt. Jesus made this statement as soon as he revealed the Father (himself) to his disciples. “Philip said Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:8-9. Joseph also made this statement in Gen.45:7-8, as soon as he revealed himself to his brothers. “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt.” Gen.45:4. The position Joseph held in Egypt was very powerful that anyone who has seen Joseph, has also seen Pharaoh. Nothing comes to the Father without going through Jesus and likewise nothing came to Pharaoh without going through Joseph.

Jesus also said something remarkable to his disciples “Because I live, you also will live. John 14:19; and because Joseph lived, his brothers also lived. If Joseph had died when he was sold into slavery, his brothers would have definitely died from the global famine. Also, if Jesus had died eternally when he was sold for thirty shekels of silver by Judas Iscariot, you and I would have died from the wages of sin. It was only because Jesus had the power to rise again that you and I can proudly say today that we shall live. It is true that Jesus died on the cross but John 3:16 made it very clear that we did not send him to die on the cross; God sent him. I encourage you to take a minute and examine yourself and ask yourself just one simple question “Have I truly given my life to Jesus Christ? If you have any doubt in your mind about where you stand on this issue, then I strongly suggest you do it now. This may be your last minute on earth to make things right with Jesus Christ.

The Holy Trinity and Man

God said to Moses “Then say to Pharaoh, this is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.” Exod.4:22. God repeatedly describes Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord blessed Jacob with twelve sons and the Bible tells us that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children and therefore he made a coat of many colors for Joseph.Gen.37:3-4. It is very important to note that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and the twelve sons of Jacob are the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the days of Noah, God loved him more than anyone else on earth because He found Noah righteous. God made a covenant with Noah, using the rainbow which in turn is the coat of many colors that Israel made for his son Joseph.

Group 1

Group 2

Adam

Abraham

Seth

Isaac

Noah

Jacob

Tab. 1

From Adam to Noah, there were many seeds that came out of these three generations but God decided to build a covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:8-9. The Bible tells us that Noah had three sons that came out of the ark with him after the flood; they were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah cursed his youngest son Ham because he saw his father naked. Noah said “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” Gen. 9:25. Remember, Adam also had three sons and God cursed one of them—Cain because he killed his brother Abel. Noah eventually blessed his other two sons who then multiplied as follows:

Shem

5 Sons

Japheth

7 Sons

Total:

12 Sons

Tab. 2

The book of Genesis teaches us that from the sons of Noah, nations spread out over the earth and that the descendants of Ham became the evil generation of the world that spread as far as Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen.10:19. We know that because it did not take very long for evil to spread across the earth once again, God made a new covenant with man through Abraham. God extended this covenant to include two generations of Abraham, namely Isaac and Jacob. Remember, God`s first covenant was with Noah but extended to his two sons Shem and Japheth who both had twelve sons. God`s second covenant was with Abraham and extended to Isaac and Jacob; at the end Jacob had twelve sons.

God`s nature within the Holy Trinity is God in three persons; a mystery that is beyond human understanding. This is the principle that God used in making covenants with man. The table below will help us understand God`s principle.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

(The Holy Trinity)

Adam

Abraham*

(2nd covenant)

The Father

Seth

Isaac

The Son*

(3rd covenant)

Noah*

(1st covenant)

Jacob

The Holy Spirit

Tab. 3

The first covenant was made with Noah, who corresponds to the Holy Spirit across the table in group three. The second covenant was made with Abraham who corresponds to the Father in group three. The last covenant God made with man, was actually made with His son Jesus Christ and this is the last covenant God will ever make with man. It stops with Jesus Christ. The covenant God made with Noah corresponds to the Holy Spirit because it explains why God used the flood to destroy the world. In Luke 3:21-22 when Jesus was baptized with water, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. We know from Genesis 1:2 that the Spirit of God hovers over the waters and that is why we baptize with water as a partial fulfillment to receive the Holy Spirit.

The fact that the covenant with Abraham corresponds to the Father (God) explains why when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, it was nothing but a test of faith. That explains why God Himself provided the ram for Abraham to sacrifice to Him. Notice how, for each covenant to be binding, man had to give something. With Noah, God asked Noah to build the ark and God baptized the world with the flood; with Abraham, God asked that every male child be circumcised in the flesh; and with Jesus Christ, God wanted man to be sinless and since no man can afford to pay this price, that is why God made the covenant with His son Jesus Christ. God used the covenant with Abraham to show us a blue print of what He was about to do for us. After Lot had parted with Abraham, the Lord asked Abraham to lift up his eyes to look south and north, east and west; God promised to Abraham and his offspring, all the land that Abraham saw from where he was standing. Gen.13:14-15.

The remarkable thing is that God was actually using the eyes of Abraham to design the cross upon which He will send His son to die for the sins of the world. The covenant God made with Abraham was the exact same covenant that God made with His son Jesus Christ. God provided the ram and Abraham slaughtered the ram as a sacrifice. By the same token, God provided the lamb (His son) to the world and man slaughtered the son of God through crucifixion. It is very important to understand that because every covenant was originally designed to be made with the blood line from group one and two, it means that every covenant must be established with man. This brings us to the reason why Jesus came to us in a very special way. After making the covenant with Jesus Christ, it was absolutely necessary for God to bring Jesus here on earth in the shape of man—in flesh. That is one of the reasons why Jesus always referred to himself as the son of man; it was because of the specific mission that he came here to accomplish. To die on the cross as a fulfillment of the covenant God established with man.

This is what Abraham did with his eyes

Fig. 1a

Egypt

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that we serve is a God of details. God is always in the business of holding the wicked responsible for the persecution of His prophets and apostles. God designed the ten plagues not only because of the persecution the children of Israel suffered in the hands of the Egyptians and Egypt being a symbol of the wicked generation, He also designed it to honor His son Jesus Christ. Jesus also made this very clear in the book of Luke “Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.” Luke 11:50-51.

Before starting the ten plagues in Egypt, He made sure that the center stage was set. It was very necessary to approach it from this stand point because the freedom of Israel from bondage in Egypt is where the life of man hinges as far as our relationship with God is concerned. The Bible tells us that everything about man started with God’s creation of the first man called Adam. God then created Eve by using Adam’s bone and Adam’s wife Eve gave birth to twin boys, Cain and Abel who were completely polar opposites of each other because of God’s divine number for creation, the number 2. We also know that Cain who represented evil, killed his brother Abel who was God’s favorite and the second seed of Adam.

After Cain killed Abel, Adam’s bloodline multiplied through Cain’s children in the following order:

1.   Enoch (Male)

2.   Irad (Male)

3.   Mehujael (Male)

4.   Lamech (Male)

5.   Jabal (Male)

6.   Jubal (Male)

7.   Tubal-Cain (Male)

8.   Naamah (Female)

From this list, we can see that there were seven male seeds from Cain’s bloodline before God gave Adam his third son—Seth. We also know that Seth is the 9th male seed of Adam’s bloodline. The Bible reveals one very important nature of Cain’s bloodline—God cursed it. “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Gen.4:11. Since Egypt represents the world and Israel is God’s son, in order to set Israel free, God meticulously set the stage to demonstrate His unbeatable power. To accomplish this, God said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle’, then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh’, and it will become a snake.” Exod.7:9. That’s exactly what happened. The Bible teaches in Genesis 7:8-13, that Pharaoh summoned his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians who also did the same thing by their secret arts. “Each one threw his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.” Exod.7:12. The Bible however did not tell us how many staffs were swallowed by Aaron’s staff. This is the kind of mystery that only Jesus Christ can reveal.

In the book of Genesis 5:1-32, the Bible gives us a comprehensive list of Adams bloodline but ironically, Cain’s bloodline is missing from that picture. The only reason why Cain and his bloodline are missing from that picture is because Cain’s bloodline represents Egypt and the seven male seeds from Cain’s bloodline accounts for the number of snakes (staffs) that Aaron’s staff swallowed. Notice how God used Seth to move Adam’s bloodline forward and that’s why Aaron’s staff represents Seth. For God to move the mission to free Israel forward, it was necessary that only one staff remain visible (Aaron’s staff) in that room where the confrontation took place in the presence of Pharaoh. This battle was all about Cain and Abel. From the beginning of life in the book of Genesis to the moment when Israel entered the promised-land, there were a total of ten people with whom God had a very special relationship with. They were:

1.   Abel

2.   Seth

3.   Noah

4.   Abraham

5.   Isaac

6.   Jacob

7.   Joseph… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jesus

8.   Aaron… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jesus

9.   Moses

10.   Joshua

Chapter 2

The Journey to the Promised Land

Moses and Jesus Christ

Jesus said in Matthew5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” God gave man the first law through Adam and He gave us the second law the ten-commandments through Moses. These two attempts to connect with man in a unique way both failed. So when God decided to make the third attempt of connecting with man, this time God made sure that it was done by someone who will not fail Him; so He entrusted this mission into the hands of His one and only son Jesus Christ. God in the first two attempts spoke to Adam and Moses but during the third try, He not only spoke to His son Jesus Christ but He also put all His laws in His son. Jesus Christ is the law. “For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luk.19:10. If we want to see and obey God’s law, all we have to do is look at Jesus Christ. The new law is called Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus said “The work of God is to believe in the one He has sent.” John 6:29

Before God created Moses to play the role of Jesus Christ God made sure that Moses and Jesus had certain things in common:

1.   They were both born at a time when the King passed a decree to kill all new born males. Exod.1:15-16 and Matt.2:16-17.

2.   These two babies were the only babies that survived the massacre.

3.   They both sought refuge in Egypt

4.   They were both assigned the same mission by God—to deliver God’s people.

5.   God sent Moses back to Egypt after the death of Pharaoh.

6.   God asked Jesus’ parents to take him back to Nazareth after the death of King Herod.

7.   God made Moses like God and He made Jesus like God.

The Mission

God charged Moses with the responsibility of delivering his people from bondage. This is the same mission that God charged His son with—deliver God’s people from the bondage of sin. Both missions are one and the same. When Jesus left for Galilee, he had mentioned that “A prophet has no honor in his own country.” John 4:44. Now why would he say that in Galilee or why would the Bible talk about it in connection with his visit to Galilee especially knowing that he is not from Galilee? The only reason is because this statement had to do with his mission here on earth. At this point, he was referring to Moses and Aaron. When Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt under God’s command, God knew that the Israelites would not believe in Moses unless they see miraculous signs and wonders to prove that God sent them. That’s why in John 4:48 Jesus said, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe”.

In Exod. 4:1-9, God gave Moses and Aaron three miraculous signs and wonders to perform before the Israelites to make them believe that Moses and Aaron were sent by God to deliver them. The three signs were:

1.   Staff turned into a snake and back to a staff

2.   Hand turned leprous and then healed

3.   Take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it will become blood.

These three signs were the first three miracles that Jesus performed in the Book of John:

†   Turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana

†   Healing of the officials son

†   Healing at the pool.

Fig. 1b

The first two miracles of Jesus took place in Cana in Galilee. John 4:54. His third miracle “Healing at the pool” John 5:1-15 however, took place in Jerusalem where he was crucified. Jesus asked the man in John 5:6 “Do you want to get well?” the man’s response clearly shows that he believes that the only way for him to get well is by getting into the pool. The man said “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” John 5:7. Moses was to take the water from the Nile and poured it on the ground and it will become blood. Jesus by healing this man, he was essentially taking the healing that the man believed to be in the pool and then pouring it on the man on dry ground. Jesus also demonstrated that what gave the man healing on dry ground was his blood which he will shed for the world. This was the third sign God gave Moses and this was the third miracle Jesus performed.

Out of the three signs God gave Moses to perform before the Israelites, two of them God performed with Moses at Mount Horeb but the third one (using water from the Nile) was to be performed by Moses in Egypt. The first two miracles of Jesus Christ took place in the same town (Galilee) but the third miracle took place in a different town (Jerusalem) after some time. This was the time it took Moses to travel from Mount Horeb to Egypt to perform the third miraculous sign. The disabled man at the pool represents the Israelites in bondage in a very hopeless situation and this is the same type of bondage we all go through before receiving Jesus.

Notice in Exod. 4:8 “Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second”. This is exactly what Jesus was saying in John 4:48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe”. There was no specific reason here for Jesus to say this. These people did not ask Jesus for a miracle to believe in him. Jesus only said this because of the spiritual connection that moment had with his mission here on earth, to the mission of Moses. Because of the signs that God gave Moses, the Israelites believed. They believed not only in God but also in Moses and Aaron whom God sent. In John 6:29, Jesus defined the work of God as “To believe in the one He has sent.” God sent Moses and Aaron just like He sent Jesus on the same mission, except that the mission is to be executed in two different ways. Moses was charged with the mission of leading God’s people from bondage to the Promised Land. Moses failed in the process but Jesus on the other hand did a perfect job. After the Israelites believed Moses, the next step was their baptism which is what crossing the red sea, was all about. This is exactly what Jesus was teaching Nicodemus; Jesus said to Nicodemus “I tell you the truth; no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5

Spiritual Life Lesson #4

When God sends you on a mission, He already knows the obstacles you will face and He arms you with all the weapons you need to overcome your obstacles. God’s desire is for you to succeed and your job is to move on in faith, trusting that He will see your through because God is a finisher who never abandons His own.

The Woman accused of adultery

When the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman they claimed was caught in adultery, the Bible teaches us that these people were looking for a way to trap Jesus when they said “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.” John 8:4-6. The question is not whether this woman committed adultery. The truth is, if the Pharisees were telling the truth and they actually wanted to apply the Law of Moses quoted to Jesus, they would have done what the Law says “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife; with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” Lev.20:10. The question is why did the Pharisees not bring the man involved in this adultery? It was this Law in Lev.20:10 that Jesus was writing on the ground. The Pharisees knew that they were guilty of lying. Although in the eyes of Jesus the woman was still a sinner regardless of the fact that she was innocent of the accusation from the Pharisees.

The first time God gave man the power to judge and punish by death, for sins committed, was in Exodus Chapter 19 and the Jews took pleasure in this law—stoning to death. This encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees was designed to rid man of this power (the power to judge and punish by stoning to death). When God gave Moses the ten-commandments, there is no place where He gave us the power to kill anybody for breaking the law.

The Samaritan Woman

When we look at the story of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, there are a few spiritual connections that bring Jesus and Moses into play:

•   Moses left Egypt where he was born and fled to Midian. Exod. 2:11-25.

•   Jesus left his birth place Judea and set out for a journey to Galilee. John 4:3.

•   Moses was certainly tired and sat down by the well.

•   Jesus was tired and sat down by the well. John 4:6.

•   Seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to the well and Moses gave them water to water their father’s flock.

•   Jesus offered to give water to the Samaritan woman who came to the well to draw water

•   The seven daughters of the priest of Midian were God fearing.

•   The Samaritan woman was God fearing.

•   The seven women thought Moses was an Egyptian—they did not know his real identity. The Midianites don’t associate with Egyptians. Exod. 2:19.

•   The Samaritan woman did not know who Jesus was. Although she knew that Jesus was a Jew, the Samaritans don’t associate with the Jews. John 4:10.

•   From this well, the seven daughters watered the flocks of their father

•   We also know that the Samaritan woman is a descendant of Jacob and she talked about how all the sons of Jacob watered their flock from the same well.

The Samaritan woman said something very critical and this is the connecting link between Jesus and Moses. She said “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” John 4:20. The mountain this woman was talking about is the same mountain where God called Moses through the burning bush. “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.” Exod. 3:1-2.

The mountain of God is the name used to refer to the mountain where all the descendants of Jacob worshiped God. The well Jesus sat by to rest was the same well that Moses drew water from to water the flocks of the priest of Midian. Jesus first talked about drinking his blood in John 6:54, and now he is talking to the Samaritan woman about drinking water that will lead to eternal life. These two items—blood and water are very unique in nature. From a natural perspective, man cannot manufacture them. These two items only come from God and man cannot survive without these two items.

Notice how Jesus suddenly said something unrelated to the conversation he was having with this woman. They were talking about how and where to worship God and Jesus suddenly changed the subject when he told her ‘Go call your husband and come back.” John 4:16. Jesus made this statement because of the connection this stage in his life had with the things that took place in the life of Moses at the same stage. Remember in Exodus 2:11-25 when Moses drew water for the daughters of the priest of Midian, when these women got home and told their father about Moses, he said to them “And where is he? He asked his daughters. Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” Exod. 2:20. In other words, go call him. The Bible teaches us that Moses accepted the invitation and later became the husband of one of his daughters—Zipporah. When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman to go call her husband, she responded by saying “I have no husband.” John 4:17. The reason she made this statement was because it was Zipporah who was asked to go bring Moses to her father. At that point, she had no husband because she was not yet married to Moses.

Jesus used his meeting with the Samaritan woman to put God’s divine number 2 into action. The marriage between Moses and Zipporah was a perfect one for they were together till death. On the other hand, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman when she said she had no husband “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:17-18. The Samaritan woman had a series of marriages that were completely the exact opposite of what Zipporah had with Moses. The marriage lives of these two make a complete pair of God’s divine number 2. Again, since the Samaritan woman had five men in her past, and was living with the sixth, Jesus used her as a perfect case to demonstrate his mission here on earth. Remember the divine number 6 is God’s number for man and sin. That is why Jesus used six jars to turn water into wine during his first miracle. Jesus also used this meeting with the Samaritan woman to show us that he came to save those of us who have lived a messed up life. He did not come for the righteous. To prove this, Jesus used this woman to change the town where she came from “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” John 4:39.

God tried to kill Moses

After God commissioned Moses to go free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, the Bible tells us that “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses` feet with it. Surely you are bridegroom of blood to me, she said. So the Lord let him alone.” Exod. 4:24-26. The Bible also teaches that this action refers to circumcision. This incident is exactly what Jesus was demonstrating in John 5:16-30—Life through the Son. Life was given to Moses through his son. What happened to Moses was God showing us that a new kind of circumcision is coming to the world and that circumcision will be done on His son Jesus Christ, to give life to the whole world. Personal circumcision that God once asked Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to perform on every male child will no longer be the case. One circumcision will be carried out on His son to save the world. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” John 5:21. Jesus also said “I tell you the truth whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24. God was using this moment to reveal to Moses that the mission to free the Israelites from bondage is held together by His son Jesus Christ. Just like the life of Moses depended on Moses’ son, likewise the life of the Israelites depended very much on God’s son.

Bricks without straw

In Exod. 4:29-31 it says that Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders and performed signs before the people and they believed and worshiped God. In John 6:2, it says that a great crowd of people followed Jesus because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Keep in mind that one of the signs God gave Moses to perform before the people was the miracle of healing—the leprous hand.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said “Let my people go so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert”. Notice that the first statement Moses made to Pharaoh was “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’” Exod.5:1. The first words that came out of the mouth of God when He created the world were, “Let there be light” Gen. 1:3. The festival that Moses and Aaron are referring to is the same festival that is mentioned in John 6:4 “The Jewish Passover feast was near.” In Exodus 5:3 Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh for three days journey to go celebrate this festival because it was near. Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” Exod. 5:5. This is what happened in John 6:5; it says that Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him.

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and the foremen in charge of the people. “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.” Exod.5:6-8. “So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.” Exod.5:12. By using stubble for straw, the Israelites failed to meet the quota. This is what took place when Jesus fed the five thousand in John 6:1-15. Jesus said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” John 6:5 and Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite.” John 6:7.

The Israelites had no straw and when they used stubble, they failed to meet the quota of bricks for each day. Jesus and his disciples had no where to buy bread, that is to say, there were no bread suppliers around there just like the straw suppliers were not there for the Israelites any more. If Jesus and his disciples had found a place to buy bread for the crowd, they still could not afford to meet the quota of bread required to feed the five thousand people because they did not have enough money to buy the quota required.

In Exod. 4:30. The Israelites believed that the Egyptians were their only source of supply for straw; the disciples of Jesus also believed that having enough money was their only source of supply for enough bread to feed the crowd. Jesus performed this miracle to demonstrate what the Israelites should have done—they should have asked God for straw to make bricks and God would have definitely answered their request.

Before confronting Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron had just completed the miraculous signs God gave them to convince the elders of the Israelites. It was during this confrontation that Pharaoh issued the decree of making bricks without straw. God gave Moses three miraculous signs and Jesus had just completed his first three miracles before feeding the five thousand. In Exod. 4:31, it says that after Moses performed the signs before the elders of the Israelites, the people believed. This is the same thing that happened to Jesus “After the people saw the miraculous signs that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14. Not only did the elders of Israel view Moses and Aaron as messengers, they also considered them as prophets from God.

Crossing the Red Sea

God gave Moses a staff to perform all kinds of miraculous signs as he carried out the duty of leading the Israelites out of bondage. The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt for 400yrs when God finally came to their rescue. One of the most remarkable miracles that God performed for the Israelites was the crossing of the Red Sea. When Moses stretched out his staff over the sea, a strong east wind started right away and it lasted for all the time that the staff was over the sea. This is what Jesus was demonstrating when he walked on water. Jesus started walking towards his disciples from dry land; but as soon as his feet touched the water, a strong wind started and that’s when his disciples started having trouble with their boat and Jesus kept walking towards his disciples. Both winds are the same and the staff of Moses is Jesus Christ.

As soon as Moses stretched out the staff over the sea, the water started separating to expose dry land. This is exactly what happened as soon as Jesus stepped into the water. From a natural perspective, Jesus was walking on water; but from a supernatural perspective, he was actually walking on dry land. The staff stretched over the sea is symbolic of Jesus stepping into the water. Remember, both miracles took place at night and at the same time. In John 6:18, it says a strong wind was blowing before Jesus walked on water; the same wind was blowing before the red sea separated. “During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. Exod. 14:24. In Exod.14:21-30 it says that it was during the last (fourth) watch of the night that both the Israelites and the Egyptians stepped into the red sea. It was the same thing with Jesus “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth (last) watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake.” Mark 6:48. Before this miracle happened, Moses first cried out to God for help when he saw the Egyptian army coming to kill the Israelites. “Then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” Exod. 14:15-16. After successfully crossing the sea on dry ground, then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Exod. 14:26. Because God is a God of details, notice how He empowered the staff He gave to Moses:

•   To divide the red sea, God asked Moses to raise the staff and stretch out his hand over the sea.

•   But in order to allow the waters to flow back, God asked Moses to only stretch out his hand.

If you go to Exod. 17:8-16, when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, every time Moses raised the staff high, the Israelites were winning the war but every time Moses lowered the staff, the Israelites were loosing. God therefore designed the staff to create a positive action whenever it is raised, and to create a negative (counter) action each time it is lowered. In Exod. 14:21, the Lord drove the sea (held back the sea) with a strong east wind for just enough time for the Israelites to cross on dry land. And in Exod. 14:27, it says that Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. This is exactly what happened when Jesus climbed into the boat. “Then Jesus climbed into the boat with his disciples and the wind died down.” Mark 6:51. It is clear that:

1.   Moses raising his staff over the sea was Jesus walking on the water.

2.   Moses raising just his hand and not the staff over the sea was Jesus climbing into the boat.

3.   Jesus did not rebuke the wind before it stopped.

Fig. 2

Crossing the Red Sea was the first baptism God performed on man. When Jesus was teaching Nicodemus, he said “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5. Jesus also said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. All Jesus is trying to say is that he is the cross and no one comes to the Father except through the cross. The vertical path of the cross represents our birth in the Spirit, while the horizontal path represents our birth with water.

The waters of Marah and Elim

After the Israelites left Egypt, they travelled for three days without finding water to drink. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter but the Lord miraculously made the water sweet for them. Exod. 15:22-27. The Lord showed Moses a piece of wood and he threw it into the water and the water became sweet. “The Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.” Exod. 15:25.

This miracle is a duplicate of the test Adam and Eve faced in the Garden of Eden. Remember, crossing the red sea sets the Israelites completely free from Egyptian slavery. This miracle is also a duplicate of the miracle of Jesus changing water to wine.

•   The Garden of Eden was created on the third day. “Then God said, let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” Gen. 1:11. “And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.” Gen. 1:13.

•   The Marah miracle took place on the third day.

•   The miracle of Jesus changing water to wine took place on the third day after the baptism of Jesus Christ. John 2:1.

•   The Israelites crossed the red sea on the first day of their liberation from Egypt and this was their baptism. Jesus was also baptized on the first day of his ministry.

•   God made the water sweet at Marah, to symbolize the sweet wine Jesus would make when he comes.

•   The sweet water was the first drink God gave the Israelites; the sweet wine was the first drink Jesus gave to man as well.

Our journey with Christ after accepting him starts with baptism. That explains why John the Baptist was baptizing many people. It is during baptism that your confession and acceptance of Jesus Christ is made public and because baptism defines the first step of our walk with Christ, God made sure that the Israelites crossed the read sea on the first day of their journey to the Promised Land.

Manna and Quail

God gave the Israelites manna and quail and he described it as follows “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the lord your God.’” Exod. 16:12. “That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.” Exod.16:13-14. Remember Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh (meat) which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51. Jesus was trying to make a distinction between physical food and spiritual food. The day God gave the Israelites manna and quail for food was very significant because it was on the 15th day of the second month. Remember they celebrated the Passover on the 14th day of the first month and left Egypt the next day which was the 15th day of the first month. That explains why God gave them meat at twilight which is also the exact moment when the Passover lamb was slaughtered.

The Golden Calf

In John 7:25-52, Jesus talks about the Jews being divided; some believed in him and some did not. “Still many in the crowd put their faith in him.” John 7:31. When we read this area, we see that the Jews were trying to arrest Jesus but because his time had not yet come, they did not do it. In John 8:31, the Bible says that there were many Jews who had believed in Jesus Christ and in John 8:42-47 Jesus described those who did not believe in him as ‘The children of the devil.’ This was the stage in the life of Jesus when Moses was dealing with the Golden Calf that the Israelites made for themselves because of their lack of patience when God called Moses up in the mountain to receive the ten-commandments. The Israelites built the golden calf because they did not believe in Moses as the one sent from God, just like the Jews tried to arrest Jesus because they did not believe that he was sent from God.

When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the gross misconduct of the Israelites, he said to them “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” Exod.32:26. Surprisingly, only the Levies rallied to him. The Levites represent the group Jesus described in John 8:30-31. The rest of the people that refused to rally to Moses are the ones Jesus described as ‘The children of the devil.’ Jesus then said “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47. Jesus said to them “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” John 8:44. That’s exactly what those Israelites who rallied to make the golden calf were trying to do; they were carrying out the desires of the devil. My question to you is:

‘Who do you belong to?’

The First Water from the Rock

As soon as the Israelites were done eating the manna and quail, they were thirsty again; see Exod. 17:1-2. This time, God gave them real water; not sweet water. God gave them water from the rock and this was the only kind of water God gave them to drink for the rest of their journey. The water from the rock was designed by God to make the Israelites not to thirst again for a long time. That is why Jesus said “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35. Jesus was just repeating what God said to the Israelites in Exod. 15:26 “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”

God said to Moses “Strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Exod. 17:6. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the only thing that grants us entry into the Promised Land which is the kingdom of God; it also guarantees us eternal life with Jesus Christ. The water from the rock is what Jesus was talking about in John 6:53-54 when he said “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The Second Water from the Rock

When Jesus discovered that his friend Lazarus was dead, he decided to go back to Judea but his disciples out of fear, said to him “But Rabbi,” a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” John 11:8. And Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:16. The disciples were very convinced that Jesus will be killed if he goes back to Judea. In the book of Exodus, the Israelites cried to God for water to drink and God instructed Moses to strike the rock and water will come out for the Israelites to drink and Moses obeyed God’s command. “Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So, Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Exod. 17:5-6.

But in the book of Numbers when the Israelites cried again to God for water to drink, Moses disobeyed God’s command. “Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, ‘If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord.’” Num. 20:2-3. When Moses consulted God with this problem, the Lord said to Moses “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” Num. 20:8. Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit by speaking it. Because this water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, the Israelites did not thirst again for water during the rest of their journey to the promised-land. In Exodus 17, the staff striking the rock for water to come out is an indication of the death of Jesus on the cross which gives us his blood to drink as living water. But holding the staff and speaking to the rock for water to come out symbolizes the coming of the Holy Spirit. It takes two things for the Holy Spirit to come to us; firstly the staff which is Jesus on the cross and secondly the word of God which raised Jesus from the dead. By holding the staff before speaking to the rock for water to come out, God is telling us that:

•   When the staff struck the rock in Exodus 17, God Himself bruised His son for our sins.

•   The only way for us to receive the Holy Spirit is by holding or embracing the staff which is the cross where Jesus left all our sins.

Although the second water from the rock was designed by God to take place without the staff striking the rock, it was still done by using the staff. God knew what the staff stood for and that is why He told Moses to take the staff with him. God designed the staff in such a way that each successive action compensates or counteracts the other. When the staff strikes the rock, water comes out and that indicates the death of Jesus Christ on the cross but by holding the staff and speaking to the rock, water comes out and that indicates life (the opposite of death). This life is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that gave birth to the Holy Spirit.

What Moses did not understand was why God told him to speak to the rock instead of striking the rock again for water to come out as he did earlier. It was not the intention of Moses to disobey God; he was only thinking from the perspective of man. Unknowingly, Moses by disobeying God, was actually trying to crucify Jesus on the cross one more time. God designed His son to die on the cross only once for all our sins. Even though Moses disobeyed a direct order, God still allowed water to come out of the rock for the people to drink. The question is why?

Spiritual Lesson #5

When God directs us to do something, it is very important that we do it exactly the way He wants it done even if it doesn’t make sense to the human mind.

Because the mission of Jesus here on earth was to retrace the steps of Moses and Joshua, let us see how Jesus handled this disobedience that Moses showed towards God. After Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus was dead, he also said “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” John 11:4. Jesus was basically saying that the sickness will end in life instead of death. The resurrection of Jesus is what glorifies God and the ascension of Jesus to Heaven is what glorifies Jesus. When Moses struck the rock and because the staff is designed to cause death when it strikes a rock, Lazarus had to die—someone very close to Jesus just like Jesus was very close to God. And when Jesus went to raise Lazarus from the dead, he spoke only the words to demonstrate what Moses failed to do in Numbers chapter 20.

Jesus waited for four days after the death of Lazarus before raising him to life. Jesus did it because the number 4 is God’s divine number to bring a failed process to an end. Some examples are the 40 days and 40 nights of flood with Noah and the fasting of Jesus Christ before he started his ministry. Moses was also on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights to receive the ten-commandments. Jesus had to wait for four days before raising Lazarus back to life as a symbolic gesture that destroys the failed disobedience process of Moses.

Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, “Your brother will rise again.” John 11:23. And Martha replied by saying “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” John 11:24. Martha simply didn’t get it. She did not understand what Jesus was talking about. Jesus was talking about the present while she was talking about the future. Jesus even went further to help Martha understand what he was trying to say to her but she still didn’t get it. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26. Martha’s response to this question still revealed that she was completely clueless of what Jesus was talking about. She responded by saying “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who was to come into the world.” John 11:27. Unfortunately, this was not the response Jesus was looking for. Jesus expected Martha to just say ‘yes I believe that you are capable of bringing my brother back to life right here before this crowd’. How many times have we heard people say something like “I believe in Jesus Christ” but their actions at the same time is saying the exact opposite of the words that just came out of their mouth? If Martha really believed, then why was she still weeping before Jesus?

As the conversation continued, Martha demonstrated her complete lack of faith in Jesus Christ. “When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” John 11:33; and “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. Martha was weeping because she did not believe that Jesus is the resurrection and Jesus wept because Martha did not believe. Some people believe that Jesus wept because of Lazarus. There is no truth in this because Jesus of all people knew that Lazarus would live again.

o   If Jesus wept because Lazarus was dead, then he would have wept four days earlier when he received the news of his death.

o   If Jesus wept because Lazarus was dead, then he would have started weeping the moment he walked into the house to meet the two sisters.

o   If Jesus wept because Lazarus was dead, then he would have even wept more when his cousin John the Baptist was beheaded.

Jesus had so much love for Lazarus and his sisters and he wanted to prepare them at all cost to inherit the kingdom of God like every other believer. Jesus did not want them to inherit the kingdom of God by cutting corners because the rules are the same for everybody. Jesus did not come to change the rules. Just because Jesus had dinner with you doesn’t guarantee you a free ticket to heaven; you have to earn it just like everyone else because Jesus is an impartial judge. It was very painful for Jesus when Martha demonstrated her complete unbelief in the power of Jesus as the son of God. When Jesus wept, it also shows us the kind of pain God went through when Moses disobeyed Him. Moses did not believe that water will actually come out of the rock just by speaking to the rock. Experience tells us that it is always very painful when a loved one disobeys a direct command that enriches their life and when a loved one shows a complete lack of trust and confidence in us.

Jesus spoke to the cave (the rock) where Lazarus was buried. “Lazarus come out.” John 11:43. This is exactly what Moses was supposed to say, three words “Water come out.” The closest person to Moses was Aaron his brother and the closest person to God is Jesus Christ His only son. When Moses doubted God and struck the rock with his staff for water to come out, since the action of striking the rock with the staff is an action reserved only for the death of Jesus Christ, somebody had to die because of the actions of Moses. Since Moses already struck the rock in Exodus 17 for the death of Jesus Christ, this time around when he disobeyed God and struck the rock again in Numbers 20:8, God killed his brother Aaron. “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.” Num. 20:24. For Jesus to fulfill what Moses failed to do, somebody very close to Jesus had to die, hence his best friend Lazarus.

The resurrection of Lazarus symbolizes the water that came out of the rock. The remarkable thing is that whenever God promised to kill the Israelites because they grumbled or disobeyed Him, Moses always intervened and begged God to spare the lives of the people. But when God promised to kill Aaron, Moses made no attempt to plead to God for his brother’s life. The reason is that at this juncture, Moses came to realize the gravity of the consequences of his actions. Moses knew that there was no way out of it. What Moses initiated must be completed by God. That also explains why when Jesus arrived at Martha’s house the people who were gathered there said “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” John 11:37. These people were just wondering why Jesus couldn’t prevent Lazarus from dying because they knew all the other miracles that Jesus had performed. Just like Moses was capable of pleading to God to spare the life of his brother Aaron, Jesus was also capable of stopping Lazarus from dying even if he was miles away from Judea. The reason Moses did nothing was because God designed the staff in such a way that any process from the staff is unstoppable. Once an action has been initiated with the staff, nothing on earth can stop it.

We know that the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, in the house of Lazarus was to mark the death of Moses and the rise of Joshua. From the moment Jesus was anointed, he did not perform any more miracles until he died on the cross. The reason is that miracles are designed for man—for the flesh. Raising Lazarus from the dead was Jesus’ last miracle just as the second water from the rock was Moses’ last miracle.

We also know that when Jesus went to raise Lazarus from the dead, he wept and before weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. John 11:33-35. The only other time Jesus was once again troubled in spirit was when the time came for the second spirit in him—the spirit of God to go to the cross. This spirit is not physical; it is supernatural. “He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.” John 13:18. Jesus was referring to his betrayal by Judas Iscariot. “After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” John 13:21.

The healing of a man born blind

Jesus said “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34. Jesus also said “Anybody who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28. By these statements, we know that:

→   Sin enters the body through the eyes of the mind.

→   Sin is committed not when we physically act, but rather when we look and embrace the thoughts.

→   The eye influences the heart.

→   The heart is the store house of everything the eye sees.

Jesus gave us a vivid definition of the work of God when he said “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:28-30. In essence, you will be doing the work of God only if you believe in the one He has sent; and he is Jesus Christ whom He sent to die for our sins. Jesus had a tendency of making one very important statement every time he healed somebody:

1.   Go and sin no more.

2.   Your faith has made you clean.

But in the case of the blind man in John Chapter 9, Jesus handled it in a different way. It started when his disciples asked him “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind.” John 9:2 and Jesus replied “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” John 9:3. From this conversation, we gather the following;

†   Spiritually speaking, we are all born just the same way this man was born—blind from birth.

†   Our blindness is the sin that started from Adam and Eve.

†   The only reason why we are here on earth is for the work of God to be displayed in our lives.

As we know, Jesus already described the work of God in John chapter 6—to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus concluded his response to his disciples when he said “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5. The night Jesus is referring to is the period, from his death to his ascension into heaven. This is a period of forty days. Within this period, no gospel was preached to the people. When he ascended into heaven, he was no longer in the world but he sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us (not in the world). With the Holy Spirit in us, we became the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Jesus Christ is the only thing that holds the universe together both scientifically and spiritually.

Common sense dictates that when our physical sight fails, we use glasses to help improve our vision. Jesus used mud (saliva and ground) to give sight to this blind man. By this, we learn the following:

•   Glass is made with water and sand

•   By putting mud in the man’s eyes, it physically increases the pain

•   In life, it gets worse before it gets better. Take pregnancy for instance, labor and delivery are the most painful moments in pregnancy and these two moments take place just before the baby is born. The joy that comes from a new birth outweighs the pain.

After doing this, Jesus told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The Bible tells us that the word Siloam means Sent. The Bible also said that the man went and washed and came home seeing. By sending him to this pool, Jesus was baptizing this man. If you are doing the work of God, then you have to believe in the one God sent who is Jesus Christ and if you do believe, then you have to fulfill the two conditions Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:1-21, (baptism and confession of Christ)—born of water and spirit

Notice that when Jesus described the work of God in John 6:29, the last word he used was SENT. Also notice that the last place he asked this man to go wash himself to receive his sight was a pool called SENT. Jesus also performed this miracle to challenge the Jewish law “For already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.” John 9:22. This Jewish law was essentially antichrist; it was the direct opposite of the description of the work of God. The Pharisees were furious when they learned of this miracle; they challenged the blind man and tried to convince him that nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. They told the blind man that Jesus is a sinner and that he is not from God. The man responded by saying “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” John 9:33.

This is exactly how Jesus described the work of God—we must believe just like the blind man that Jesus Christ is from God even under life threatening circumstances.

Because of the spiritual importance of this miracle, it attracted a lot of attention and investigation from the Pharisees. Jesus paid very close attention to this man’s movements. The Bible says that Jesus knew instantly that the Pharisees have thrown the man out of the synagogue, in compliance with the Jewish law. Jesus then went to find the man and when he found him, the first thing Jesus said to the man was very remarkable. Jesus said to him “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” John 9:35 and the man replied “Who is he, sir? tell me so that I may believe in him.” John 9:36. Jesus responded “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” John 9:37. Notice how the question Jesus asked this man also hinges around the definition of the work of God.

Jesus was demonstrating to us, exactly how to do the work of God. Our job is to tell people about Jesus so that they may believe. As soon as they believe in Jesus, he will show himself to them. He will do the rest. This is what gospel preaching is all about. Then the man said to Jesus “Lord, I believe and he worshiped him.” John 9:38. Jesus used this miracle to show us the process of eternal life.

The process

1.   When we believe, Jesus becomes our Savior but we have to worship him before he becomes our Lord; that’s why the man used the word Lord when he worshiped Jesus as King.

2.   Jesus used this miracle to tell us what judgment before him is going to look like.

3.   First you must accept that you are blind from birth—that you are a sinner. You must believe in the son of God—Jesus Christ as your Savior.

4.   You must be born of water and spirit

5.   You must worship Jesus Christ as Lord

6.   Unless you do all these, Jesus is saying that your guilt remains—you will face judgment that will lead you to hell fire.

That is exactly how Jesus put it to the Pharisees who were investigating this miracle “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9:41.

The power of Prophecy

In the process of healing the man born blind from birth, Jesus made some very interesting statements. “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5. Jesus was speaking about:

Day = Light = Light of the world = Jesus Christ

Night = Darkness = Prince of darkness = the devil

Jesus was basically saying that a time is coming when the prince of darkness will be given temporary powers to stop everyone from doing the work of God. This is the period from the arrest of Jesus Christ to his ascension into heaven. From the moment Jesus started his ministry (doing the work of God) right after his baptism by John the Baptist, there was no interruption. Nothing was capable of stopping Jesus from doing the work of God. As soon as Jesus was arrested, the one person that was supposed to keep the disciples together and continue preaching the gospel, disowned Jesus. Everything came to an abrupt stop. Jesus had spent time and effort training Peter and preparing him for the future but Jesus also knew that temporary powers will be transferred to the devil that will stop the entire world from doing the work of God.

In preparing his disciples for the future, Jesus had a very special way of dealing with disappointments from them. In Matt.4:1-20 when Jesus was teaching them about the parable of the sower, his disciples did not understand the meaning of the parable. To his disappointment, Jesus said to them in verse 13, “Don’t you understand this parable?”

In another incident, Jesus and his disciples were in a boat going through a serious storm. His disciples were very terrified and they woke him from sleep. Jesus rebuked the storm but he said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?” Mark 4:40. But when it came to Peter disowning him, Jesus did not make a big deal of it. He did not even ask Peter about it after his resurrection. When the disciples disappointed Jesus in their lack of understanding of the parable and their lack of faith during the storm, these were exposures of human weakness. But when Peter denied Jesus, this was a fulfillment of prophecy. Although Peter wept and could not forgive himself for committing such a crime against Jesus, what Peter did not know was that you cannot fight the fulfillment of prophecy in your life.

Spiritual Lesson #6

There are so many stupid things that we’ve done in the past; sometimes we spend the rest of our lives trying to understand why we did them. Remember, if you have sincerely given your life to Jesus Christ and accepted him as your Lord and Savior, everything that happens in your life is under his control. Also, remember what Jesus said to Peter when Jesus realized that Peter was for real. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31. This means that absolutely nothing happens in your life without the permission of Jesus Christ; you are his property and nothing can touch you. With this truth, you can spend all your life trying to figure out why you did something stupid in the past and you will never be able to understand it. It was nothing but a fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus allowed to happen so he can move you higher in life. You had nothing to do with it; Jesus had everything to do with it because you belong to him. On the other hand, if human weakness was responsible for it, then ask for forgiveness and move on. Jesus will not make a big deal of it because you addressed it.

During the arrest of Jesus Christ, Peter took out his knife and cut off the ear of one of the Roman guards. Just this crime alone was enough for Peter to receive a death penalty from the Romans and Peter was very much aware of the Roman law. Peter did it because he had so much faith in Jesus Christ but a few hours later, his faith suffered a complete blackout when he denied Jesus three times. This brings us to the key question that I asked Jesus, “How do you distinguish the two actions?

•   Actions caused by human weakness and

•   Actions caused by the fulfillment of prophecy.

Jesus made it very clear that with actions caused by human weaknesses, your faith in God is still there; you can feel it and you can sense it. You will experience internal battles that you can fight off with the word of God. But with prophecy fulfillment, Jesus superimposes on your faith and your faith will suffer a temporary blackout; you can’t fight it. That’s why Jesus told Peter ahead of time, that he has prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail. Prophecy fulfillment usually occurs at a time when your faith is at its highest. That’s what happened to Moses when he disobeyed God and struck the rock for water to come out in Numbers 20:1-12. Moses was already very familiar with the staff God gave him and Moses had used the staff to perform all kinds of miracles. He was also familiar with what God is capable of doing. When God said “Speak to the rock for water to come out.” there was no reason for Moses to disobey God. Under normal circumstances, there was no reason for Moses to doubt God at this point in his relationship with God. It all happened because prophecy fulfillment is so powerful that it takes over everything about you. It overrides your entire system; that’s what God used to send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus knew it and that’s why he said “Father let your will be done, not my will”. Prophecy fulfillment regularly kicks in when we develop the habit of making one simple prayer to God “Let your will be done in me always.” I have experienced some in my own life. God does not hold prophecy fulfillment against us; that’s why God still sent Moses to go be with Jesus during the transfiguration and that’s why Jesus still decided to use Peter to build his church. From the arrest of Jesus Christ not a single gospel was preached by anybody on earth until he ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, the gospel has been preached (the work of God has been done) every day on earth.

Defeating the Amalekites

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites; this was the first attack that came upon them since they left Egypt. The truth is, the battle we all fight in life is usually designed this way; God’s people don’t usually attack the devil, rather the devil constantly attacks God’s people. As a child of God, you don’t just all of a sudden decide to go out there looking for the devil to start a fight. If you do, then something is seriously wrong with the source of your salvation. The lamb doesn’t attack the serpent, rather it is the serpent that attacks the lamb. God used this stage to show us a new face of the battle we all face in life and how He wants us to fight it. The Amalekites are the gates of Hades that Jesus talked about in Matthew 16:18. Remember, the staff of Moses is the cross of Jesus Christ, see Exod. 17:11. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hands, the Israelites were winning but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. In effect, as long as Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection remains the foundation of our faith, we will be winning but whenever we focus only on his burial, the enemy will be winning. The cross was taken down for Jesus to be buried but he defeated the devil on the cross, not in his tomb. The cross is the only place we can fight the devil; without the cross, we have nothing. Just like a toggle switch again, when the staff is raised up, it produces a positive action, but when it is lowered, it produces a negative action. This was more or less the same drill when the Israelites crossed the red sea.

The Bible says, “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” Exod. 17:12. Jesus said to Peter “I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18. This is the rock Moses sat on and the church of Christ is the cross; without his cross, there is no church. Moses was holding the staff but Aaron and Hur were only allowed to touch Moses’ hands and not the staff.

The staff was the only thing God gave Moses to lead His people out of bondage; Jesus is the only thing God gave us to bring us out of sin and likewise the only thing Jesus gave us to bring us to the Father is his body and blood on the cross. Therefore, the staff is Jesus and Jesus is the cross. After defeating the Amalekites, Moses built an altar and called it “The Lord is my Banner.” Exod. 17:15. A banner is like a flag, designed to be raised high and that is why the cross is the flag of the church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19. The keys Jesus is referring to is the cross or the staff Moses was holding because that’s exactly what Moses did with the staff. In effect, Jesus was saying to Peter, I will give you all the powers that come with the cross. The cross is the connecting rod that links heaven to earth.

The Death of Moses

After the fall of man and the flood, God decided to put a limit to the life span of man here on earth. “Then the Lord said, my spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal, his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” Gen.6:3. For those who doubt the Bible and the omnipotent nature of God, it is very clear that no man can live for more than 120 years. Moses said to the Israelites “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to lead you.” Deut.31:2. Moses therefore lived the maximum number of years God allowed for any man; God gave Moses a full life. After God had put this limit, He said to Moses that he will die because he disobeyed Him. “There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on mount Hor and was gathered to his people. This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. Therefore you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” Deut.32:50-52.

The truth is that there is no way Moses would have lived for more than a hundred and twenty years because he died at the age of 120 years—the maximum limit permitted by God for any man. Remember Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26. Jesus was trying to show us one very important mystery—that Moses would have lived for more than 120 years even though he died, if he believed the command God gave him that had to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The command was to speak to the rock. From this mystery, we can also learn the following:

›   That God’s original plan was for Moses to enter the Promised Land after the age of one hundred and twenty years.

›   We can enter the kingdom of God only after our life here on earth has come to an end.

›   To enter the kingdom of God, we have to keep the faith—not broke faith with God as we take our last breath on earth.

›   We have to believe in the four core aspects of Jesus Christ as the son of God (his birth, his death, and his resurrection, and his ascension).

There are many churches today that focus on one or two of the four corner-stones of what makes Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior—his birth, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension. My advice to you is if for some reason you are sitting in any church where one of these four is ignored, disputed, or refuted, please do not hesitate to get up and walk away. That would be an indication to you that you are definitely dealing with a false prophet. This in effect, puts your salvation in great danger if you continue to be a member of such congregations.

Fig. 3

The number four is God’s divine number to bring a failed process to an end; it is like tearing down a structure to prepare for rebuilding.

The Temple and the Fig Tree

After Jesus sent two of his disciples to go untie a colt for the triumphal entry, Jesus entered the temple, looked around at everything and left. The next day, as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry and seeing in the distance, a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When Jesus got to the fig tree, he found nothing but leaves because it was not the season for figs. Now why would Jesus of all people knowing that it was not the season for figs, expect to find fruits on this tree, and even took the time to walk to the tree?

Out of anger, Jesus rebuked the tree by saying “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Mark 11:14. Immediately, Jesus went back to the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling at the temple. Jesus started to teach them by saying “Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:17. The Bible tells us that the chief priests and the teachers of the law were all present at the temple. The next day as Jesus and his disciples went ahead, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.

Jesus knew that since it was not the season for figs, there was no way he could have expected to find fruits on that tree. Regardless, he went along because he wanted to teach us something that had nothing to do with the fig tree. Jesus knew what was happening at the temple and so he used the fig tree to display his anger for the situation at the temple. The fig tree represents the temple of God which is you and I, as soon as we come to Christ. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were using the temple for prayer only on Sabbath day but they used it for business for the rest of the week. God wants the temple to be used for prayer every single day, just like Jesus expected the fig tree to bear fruit in every season.

When Jesus rebuked the fig tree, he was demonstrating to us what happens to those Christians who come to God on special seasons. God wants your heart at all times; not just Sundays when you go to church. Moreover, you body doesn’t belong to you. The fact that you did not create yourself should serve as a warning bell to you every time you are tempted to put up an arrogant attitude towards God; it is not uncommon to hear people say “It’s my body and I can do whatever I want with it.” My response to you is “No it’s not.” Your body belongs to God and it is His temple. There is no indication of temporary positioning when Jesus was teaching Nicodemus on the requirements for entry into the kingdom of God in John 3:1-21. Once you become born again, God expects you to stay there for the rest of your life; there is no grey area. You are either born again or you are not. You can still go to church every single day of your life and still end up in hell. God wants your heart always.

It is true that it is not easy to navigate through life. The seemingly insurmountable circumstances we go through while struggling to live a faithful life, accounts for one of the reasons why many Christians spend a substantial part of life dancing on the fence. It is very dangerous to try to have one foot in the Kingdom of God and the other foot firmly rooted in the world. What that does is that at regular intervals, we are engulfed with fear and because God wants both legs inside His camp to allow you entry into His Kingdom, you will easily be admitted into the devil’s kingdom who cares less if you believe in him or not. You don’t have to believe in the devil to belong to him. All it takes to become the devil’s property is if you do not truly believe in Jesus Christ.

Fear and Faith

All teachings in the Bible that start with the words “Do Not or You shall not” are strictly direct commands just like in the military and that’s why the Ten Commandments is full of this command. Jesus gave one such command “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27. I cannot begin to tell you what this verse has done for me and how its negligence made life a living hell for me. This single command from Jesus revolutionized my life more than I could have ever imagined. In Mark 4:35-41, when Jesus and his disciples were facing a serious storm, the Bible tells us that there were other boats in the water when the storm started but the question is “Why did the storm attack only the boat carrying Jesus and his disciples? The spiritual reality is that the water is the world that we spend each day navigating. This particular boat is you and I, as soon as you give your life to Jesus Christ; all you’ve done is send an open invitation to the devil with the caption “Bring it on”. Under normal circumstances, the storm will attack everything floating in the water but under spiritual circumstances, the storm was sent to attack just the boat carrying Jesus and his disciples.

The reason is because the devil will never attack its own, just like every intention God has for all his children is nothing but a good one. Remember when Jesus was accused of using Beelzebub to cast out demons? He set the record straight “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? Luke 11:17-18. Jesus was sleeping when the storm started and his disciples were afraid; they woke him up. Jesus rebuked the wind, spoke to the waves, and everything was completely calm. Jesus did one very important thing here; he showed us how to overcome anything that is thrown at us.

›   First, you rebuke the source—in this case, it was the wind.

›   Second, you speak to the product of the source—in this case it was the waves.

Interestingly, Jesus did not stop there; he revealed the mistake his disciples made and he also gave them the solution.

→   Mistake = Fear

→   Solution = Faith

This is the number one mistake made by most Christians. Whenever fear replaces faith, you are in serious trouble. It is like darkness overcoming light. This is also what happened to Peter when he denied Jesus three times. Fear will paralyze your faith if you allow it to take control of you. That is why in the Bible, whenever an angel of the Lord appears to a human, the first thing the angel will say to you is “Don not be afraid.” Fear invites the forces of darkness and fear is your worst enemy. A lot of times, when Christians are going through very tough situations in life, and you happen to ask them how they are doing, they respond with something like “I am very scared but I have faith that God will see me through this.” The truth is, fear and faith are not partners; they cannot dwell together in the same place. When one is present, the other is absent. This is like trust and doubt; you can’t say you trust God and at the same time doubt Him.

Trust gives birth to faith while doubt gives birth to fear. Adam and Eve doubted God’s command and by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the first fear in human history was born. Adam confirmed it when he said to God “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” That explains why the last thing Jesus said to his disciples before calming the storm was “Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4:40. The lack of fear was all David needed to confront Goliath the giant, and faith is all you need to come to Jesus Christ. Fear is the devil’s most important weapon; he may start by attacking everything you own but make no mistake about it, he is not interested in your belongings. The devil’s ultimate goal is your faith; that’s all he wanted when he tempted Jesus three times.

Fear is the only reason why Jesus was bruised beyond human recognition before they put him on the cross. The torture was designed to rob Jesus of his personal relationship with God (faith), but it did not work. Every time you allow fear to rule your life, you should practice asking yourself just one simple question “If I am afraid, then why did Jesus die on the cross?” Every time you freely give fear the power to rule your life, you are making a mockery of the cross. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of no fear. What exactly are you afraid of? Remember that absolutely nothing can touch you without the permission of Jesus Christ. When you come to Jesus and accept him as your Lord and Savior, that very faith that brought you to him will be tested. You cannot graduate from college and be handed a diploma without a subsequent field test of what`s in you.

Chapter 3

Entering the Promised Land

Joshua and Jesus Christ

After the death of Moses, the first thing God said to Joshua was “Get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to the Israelites.” Josh. 1:2. God described this land as a land flowing with milk and honey. Exod.3:18. Once again, God’s divine number 2 is being used. The reason I say this is because milk is the exact opposite of honey. Milk and honey are both natural food items. However, milk is a food item that goes bad within the shortest time frame while honey is a food item that never goes bad—it lasts forever. But before crossing the Jordan, Moses laid hands on Joshua as seen in Deut. 34:9 “Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him.” God also anointed and empowered Joshua. “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.” Josh.1:3-5.

All the anointing Joshua received from Moses and God were synonymous with the anointing of Jesus Christ at Bethany—Mark 14 and John 12. It was not a coincidence that God used two people to successfully lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. God used Moses and Aaron because the number 2 is God’s number for creation, for everything here on earth. When the woman poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ head, this was to mark the end of Moses and the beginning of Joshua. This symbolic gesture also marked two other things: (a) the exit from bondage which had to do with Moses, and (b) the entry into the Promised Land, which had to do with Joshua. It also marks the two phases of Jesus Christ as connected to man. That explains why the anointing at Bethany had to be done by man, and not God. It was not an anointing to strengthen Jesus Christ in any way, shape or form; rather, it was an anointing that symbolizes the true weakness of man (the flesh) and that is why Jesus said “She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” Mark 14:8. And in John 12:7, Jesus said, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”

The truth is, the day this woman poured the perfume on Jesus, was actually not the day of his burial; as you can see, John 12:12 says that the next day, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. The mystery is that the burial Jesus was referring to was the burial of the first of the two phases of man embodied in Jesus Christ. This first part of Jesus stands for both Adam and Moses. The Bible makes it very clear that Adam and Moses both disobeyed unique instructions from God. Adam was kicked out of the Garden of Eden (the Promised Land) and Moses was barred from entering the Promised Land. Joshua on the other hand, obeyed God and faithfully led the Israelites into the Promised Land by continuing from where Moses stopped. “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua.” Josh. 24:31.

The life of the Israelites under Moses’ command was full of disobedience towards God. Jesus came to fulfill one mission: to successfully lead us back into the Promised Land, which the devil stole from Adam. The second phase of man embodied in Jesus Christ, had to be perfect, blameless, and flawless. That explains why God made Jesus the way He is and why Joshua was very faithful.

Jesus and Jericho

“On the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” Mark 14:12. Jesus, in response to this question, sent two of his disciples saying “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?. He will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there” Mark 14:13-15.

The disciples left, they went into the city, and they found things exactly the way Jesus had told them and so they prepared the Passover.

Joshua said to the Israelites “Three days from now, you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.” Josh.1:11. After this statement, the next thing Joshua did was send two spies to Jericho. The two spies are the two disciples Jesus sent to prepare a place for the Passover. In Mark 14:13, Jesus told his two disciples that a man carrying a jar of water will meet them. In Joshua 2:1 the two spies went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. Just like Jesus told his disciples about the man carrying a jar of water, Joshua also secretly told the two spies that a woman carrying a scarlet cord will meet them. Just like the two disciples were led into the chosen house by the man carrying the jar of water, the two spies were also led into the chosen house by Rahab who was carrying a scarlet cord.

According to Mark 14:15 the Passover was prepared in a large upper room furnished and ready and in Joshua 2:6 Rahab hid the spies in the roof (upper room) in her house. “Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.” Josh.2:8-13.

“When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” Mark 14:17.

The Bible teaches that both events took place in the evening. Just as the owner of the house knew that the upper room in his house was reserved for Jesus before the arrival of the two disciples, Rahab also knew that the upper room in her house was reserved for the two spies before the spies arrived in Jericho. Rahab had this room ready and that’s why she had laid out stalks of flask in the room, to hide the spies in anticipation of their arrival. Rahab knew without a single doubt in her mind that the spies were coming and she also knew when they will arrive. The owner of the house also knew when Jesus was going to celebrate the Passover at his house and that’s why Jesus told his disciples that the room will be ready by the time the disciples get to the house.

Jesus took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples; he called the bread his body. He took the cup offered it to all his disciples and they all drank; he called the cup his blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. Matthew 26:28. This is the covenant the two spies made with Rahab. The Bible tells us in Josh.2:17 that the two spies swore an oath, which is a covenant with Rahab. The spies said that for the covenant to be binding on them, Rahab had to do two things. First, tie the scarlet cord she was wearing on the same window used in letting the spies down—out of the house. Second, Rahab must bring all her family into her house. The oath is the body of Christ and the scarlet cord is the blood of the covenant that Jesus mentioned. Jesus said that the blood will be poured out for many. The many is basically Rahab’s family; the scarlet cord will save many. In Joshua 2:14, the spies said to Rahab “If you don’t betray us, then we will treat you kindly.”

To be able to successfully bring her entire family under her roof, Rahab had no choice but to discuss the covenant she made with the two spies. By doing so, the covenant was not only binding on Rahab, but was also binding on every member of her family who now had a full knowledge of what the Israelites were about to do to the city of Jericho. Ironically, none of Rahab’s family betrayed the Israelites—they kept their mouth shut. Rahab and her entire family represent the twelve disciples minus Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Just like the disciples will later become the first group of people to spread the gospel across the nations of the world, Rahab at some point will also become the first person to play a very major role in the life of Jesus Christ.

When the spies came back from spying the land of Jericho, the only conversation they had with Joshua was the fact that the land has surely been given to them by God. They did not mention anything in connection with the covenant they made with Rahab. The truth is, they didn’t have to say anything to Joshua about this because Joshua told them everything about Rahab when he commissioned them to go spy the land of Jericho. There is no way the spies would have taken authority into their own hands to make a covenant on behalf of Israel without Joshua’s prior consent. Remember the pledge of the Israelite community to Joshua when he took over from Moses, “Whatever you have commanded us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.” Josh.1:16-17.

It is clear that the two spies went to where Joshua sent them, which is Jericho and they did what Joshua commanded them to do, which is the covenant they made with Rahab. That is why when the spies came back from Jericho, they gave Joshua only information that he did not have; that the people of Jericho were melting with fear and to Joshua, that was a clear indication that God has given the land of Jericho to Israel. This told Joshua that Israel will not have to fight for Jericho.

Unlike other cities, Jericho was very unique in God’s plan. Jericho was designed to be a gift to the Israelites. God did this because He picked Jericho for the first Passover celebration in the Promised Land. Also, God wanted us to understand what was about to happen: That salvation and everything that comes with it is nothing but a gift from God. The Passover celebration is essentially our salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation is a bundle of two gifts, Jesus Christ himself and the Holy Spirit. Joshua 2:22 says that when the spies left, they went into the hills and stayed there for three days until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. After Jesus was buried, no one set eyes on him until after three days, just like the spies. In Mark 14:18 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me” ; in other words, one who is participating in this covenant with me will betray me. Unlike Rahab and her family who were saved because they did not betray the spies, Jesus knew and accepted the fact that one of his own will betray him. The covenant between Rahab and the spies was a playback of the old covenant God had with man were salvation hinged around the behavior of man in adhering to certain laws of the old Testament. It was very significant for Jesus to be betrayed because God was using this to repeat what He said in John 3:16 “For God so loves the world that He gave His only son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life”. Salvation is a gift; not something we worked for. God did not give us salvation (His son) because of anything that we accomplished. On the contrary, we are constantly disobeying Him from time immemorial—from Adam to this day, we are all completely messed up.

The covenant the spies made with Rahab was based on God’s original law—the wages of sin is death. Although that is still true today, the original did not give man a second chance. On the other hand, the new covenant gives us countless opportunities to fix our mess in the name of Jesus Christ. By tying the scarlet cord on the window that the spies used to leave the house, the scarlet cord represents the blood of Jesus on the cross. For Rahab’s family to take refuge in her house, first they had to believe that her house was definitely the only safe place in Jericho. The house of Rahab was the only location that made the covenant binding on the Israelites to spare the lives of Rahab and her entire family when they come to take over Jericho. Jesus gave his blood on the cross for many. You have to believe that the cross is the only location where you can find safety in life. The cross is the only location that makes the covenant binding on Jesus Christ. Without the cross, you have no covenant with Jesus Christ. Rahab had to believe the spies in other to believe in the location which is her house. By the same token, we have to believe in Jesus Christ in other to believe in his cross. These two are inseparable as unfortunately, some false prophets have tried to separate them.

“On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover” Josh.5:10. The whole purpose of sending spies to Jericho was for one reason, to prepare for the celebration of the Passover. They had to celebrate the Passover in Jericho and for this to happen, first they had to capture the city. Remember, Jesus Christ is the Passover lamb. Jesus is an embodiment of two mysteries that God gave to man:

a.   His death on the cross is a gift God gave to the world.—John 3:16. Man had to play a significant role in the death of Christ. That is why God gave the staff to Moses and Aaron which symbolizes the cross. God created everything on this planet in pairs of two. The number 2 is God’s divine number for everything that dwells on earth. Jesus constantly addressed himself as the son of man but on the other hand, we constantly address him as the son of God; these two extremes complete the pair.

b.   His resurrection is something that God did without the influence or participation of man. God therefore called Moses to play the part of Jesus that has to do with his death hence God gave Moses the staff which represents the cross. On the other hand, God called Joshua to play the part of Jesus that has to do with the Holy Spirit hence Joshua was not given a staff because this part of the mystery does not require any participation from man. God will do it Himself.

In John 12:1, Jesus was anointed at Bethany, six days before the Passover because this was to mark the end of that part of Jesus that makes him the son of man. The number six, is God’s divine number for man and sin. This anointing was done on behalf of the world which is full of sin. But in John 12:12, the triumphal entry took place the next day, that was five days before the Passover because the number five is God’s divine number for victory and this ceremony was done on behalf of Heaven which rules earth.

The Israelites camped at the Jordan for three days before crossing over. The three days represent the three days from the death of Jesus on the cross to his resurrection. Remember, after the death of Moses which marks the death of Jesus on the cross, the first move the Israelites made was from Shittim to Jordan, Josh. 3:1. Jesus stopped talking about his death in John Chapter 13 and he started talking about his resurrection in John Chapter 14 because Moses who had everything to do with his death was no more. The spiritual or heavenly part of Jesus started with Joshua and that’s why God did not give Joshua a staff to help lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The only thing God gave Joshua for this mission was His word, Josh.1:7-8.

The world (earth) had everything to do with the death of Jesus on the cross because it embodies the sins of the world. On the other hand, the world had nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus. God had everything to do with it.

†   He died for the world and for man.

†   He resurrected for Heaven and for God

The three binding ties are as follows:

•   God and man,

•   Heaven and earth,

•   Death and resurrection.

In John 14, Jesus told his disciples that he is going away. “In my father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going”. John 14:1-4. Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”. John 14:5. On behalf of the disciples, Thomas was basically saying to Jesus “we don’t know the way”. Then Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

This was the same conversation Joshua had with the Israelites. “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go since you have never been this way before.” Josh. 3:3-4. The ark of the covenant of the Lord is Jesus Christ.

God’s divine law for the world allows only one God head to dwell here on earth at any given time. The three God heads—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sum up to God’s nature and the Holy Trinity. When He created the world, He the Father, dwelt amongst us as we can see by looking at His relationship with Adam and Eve. After the fall of man, God used His angels to communicate with us as we see from His relationship with Mary the mother of Jesus. God sent His angel to inform Mary that she was going to be the mother of His only son. When God sent His son to come dwell with us on earth, Jesus himself communicated with us and this marked a very close relationship between God and man. As long as Jesus was with us here on earth, God did not use any angels to communicate with man.

After Jesus died and ascended into Heaven, God sent us the Holy Spirit who now dwells with us until the second coming of Jesus Christ. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush at a time when He used His angels to communicate with man and that’s why he used an angel to get Moses’ attention. “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.” Exod.3:2. God sent His only son to die because of the love He has for the world, but God sent the Holy Spirit into the world because of the love He has for His son Jesus Christ. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another counselor, to be with you forever—the spirit of truth”. John 14:16-17. “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”. John 16:8.

Amazingly, the Holy Spirit will be doing what the world did to Jesus; the world convicted Jesus of guilt in regard to sin. This is in fulfillment of God’s divine number—2. God made sure that He created everything here on earth in a pair of two, and making each member of a pair an exact opposite of the other. Examples include, heaven and earth—sin and flesh live on earth while the spiritual body and righteousness dwell in heaven. Other examples are light and darkness, male and female, life and death, health and sickness, angels and demons, good and evil. I can go on and on but I will reserve this topic for the later part of this book when we will look at everything Jesus showed me regarding God’s divine numbers and how they operate in human life, here on earth. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, God’s divine plan for the world is now complete: Man—Jesus Christ—Holy Spirit.

Looking at the equation, Jesus Christ is caught right in the middle and that also explains why he has the image of both man and spirit. Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth”. Like I mentioned earlier, God choose Moses to play the part of Jesus that is Man and He choose Joshua to play the part of Jesus that is spirit. The part of Jesus that is man walked the face of the earth only until his death on the cross. On the other hand, the part of Jesus that is spirit walked the face of the earth from his resurrection through his ascension into heaven.

Jesus Christ was completely flawless in fulfilling the law handed to Him by the Father. He told us from the beginning, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law. I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it”. He was referring to the divine laws God gave Moses and Joshua to lead the Israelites from bondage to the Promised Land. After crossing the Jordan in Joshua Chapter 3, the Israelites celebrated the Passover before they captured Jericho. “On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover”. Josh. 5:10. This celebration marked the death of Jesus on the cross.

Note that the Israelites celebrated the Passover in Egypt before crossing the Red Sea on dry land under the leadership of Moses. With Joshua, they crossed the Jordan with the same miracle that God used at the Red Sea—crossing on dry ground. The significant difference here is that unlike the Red Sea, the Israelites celebrated the Passover after crossing the Jordan; why the change of process? Why not celebrate the Passover first and then cross the Jordan later? The reason is that crossing the Red Sea was designed for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross hence God used the staff of Moses to perform the miracle at the Red Sea. On the other hand, the crossing of the Jordan was designed for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, hence Joshua and the Israelites were not supposed to do anything for this miracle to take place—God did it all.

Exit from bondage = Celebrate the Passover and Cross the Red Sea

Entry into the Promised-Land = Cross the Jordan River and Celebrate the Passover

Again God’s divine number 2 is in action. Jesus said to his disciples “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God”. Mark 14:25. Jesus said this during the Lord’s Supper which is also the Passover celebration. He said this in fulfillment of the law of God. Remember, the Passover celebrations that took place in Egypt and Gilgal both represent the world, but the Passover celebration that will take place in Jericho will represent the Kingdom of God. Crossing the Red Sea is an exit point, from the world—from death to life and that’s exactly what the cross gives us. That also explains why it was necessary for God to use the staff of Moses to perform the miracle of the Red Sea. Crossing the Jordan, on the other hand, is an entry point, from death to life—the kingdom of God. The way to the kingdom of God is very simple, we have to exit the world through the cross of Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit. The Bible talks about a spiritual body that awaits us after death.

Jesus Christ died for our sins because God asked him to. God did not give any conditions before offering His son to die for our sins. Nothing in the eyes of God qualified man to receive this unique gift and that is why before the Israelites crossed the red sea, God did not ask them to do anything in preparation for this miracle. On the other hand, before crossing the Jordan, Joshua said to the Israelites “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you”. Josh. 3:5. Joshua was referring to the Holy Spirit that God was about to send to the Israelites. There was only one way for the people to consecrate themselves; by listening to the word of God and believing everything they hear from God. Joshua made it very clear to the people when he said “Come here and listen to words of the Lord your God.” Josh. 3:9. This is the divine law of God. He made salvation a two step process:

•   Step one is given to us free through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Whether we accept it or not, God has given it to all of us free of charge in equal proportion. God has made it a part of every human being’s DNA.

•   Step two is the gift of the Holy Spirit which comes with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To receive this, we have to do something. Unlike step one that is given to us with no conditions attached; step two comes with one condition. The condition is very clear, we have to listen to the word of God and believe it. Before sending the Holy Spirit to his disciples, it was not enough that the disciples of Jesus believed in his death on the cross. It was also very important for them to believe in his resurrection as well. That is why Jesus showed himself to all of them and thereafter gave them the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, as soon as they believed in his resurrection, he said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:22-23. The Bible tells us that Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came and when the other disciples told him that they have seen the Lord Jesus, his response was “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” John 20:25. Remember this is the same Thomas who was prepared to give his life for Jesus when Jesus told his disciples that he was going back to Judea because Lazarus died. Because the people of Judea had tried to kill Jesus, his disciples did not understand why he wanted to go back there. “So then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” John 11:14-15. Then Thomas called Didymus said to the rest of the disciples “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11: 16.

There is no doubt that Thomas had a very strong faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God but when it came to his resurrection, Thomas had no faith. But because Jesus wanted Thomas to also receive the Holy Spirit, he had to appear to his disciples the second just for Thomas and Jesus even tried to convince him. “A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:26-27.

In John 16:14, Jesus said the Holy Spirit is coming to the world for one purpose; to bring glory to him just like Jesus came here to bring glory to the Father. Even before his death, while he was still with his disciples, Jesus gave them a clear definition of the work of God. He said it is to believe in the one God has sent—God’s son. After spending more than two years with Jesus, the disciples still had a hard time believing that Jesus was from the Father. They confessed their doubt when they said to Jesus “Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God. John 16:30. Then Jesus responded “You believe at last.” John 16:31.

This happened very close to his arrest and subsequent death on the cross. By the way Jesus responded to his disciples, it is very clear that this was something that had been bothering him for a very long time and something he had been looking forward to see happen. The Bible clearly shows us that it took a very long time for his disciples to give him the response he had been waiting for.

Spiritual Lesson #7

Jesus is very patient and he clearly understands that we all have weaknesses that tend to pull us back from him. He also understands that it takes time for us to come to that place where we finally believe without further doubts in our hearts that he is the answer to all our problems in life. Jesus also understands that in our journey with him in this sinful world, we would face numerous troubles. In fact, there is no place in the Bible where Jesus promises a safe smooth ride for us as we go through life. On the contrary, he said “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-33. It doesn’t matter how many times we fail, as long as we are ready to get up and seek him with our heart and strength, he is faithful and very patient to welcome us into his arms.

The Holy Spirit

Jesus said in John Chapter 16, that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt in regard to three offences: Sin, righteousness, and judgment.

1.   In regard to sin because men do not believe in Jesus. Remember Jesus said the work of God is to believe in the one God has sent; basically to believe in Jesus Christ.

2.   In regard to righteousness because Jesus is going to the Father where the world can see him no more. The Father and Jesus Christ are one and both of them are the only righteous people that exist. While Jesus was in the world, he was the only thing that made the world righteous. Righteousness leaves the world when Jesus leaves. In John 17:25, Jesus addressed God as “Righteous Father.” No human being is righteous. We are all sinners.

3.   In regard to judgment because the prince of this world now stands condemned and all those who worship him will be condemned as well. Remember Jesus said in John 14:19 “Because I live, you also will live.” He is saying that all who follow him will not be condemned.

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ Neither he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. Then Joshua fell face down to the grown in reverence and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so.’” Josh. 5:13-15. God has designed each God-head with a specific responsibility. Jesus is the one that fights all our battles and the Holy Spirit steps in to protect that which Jesus has conquered for God’s glory. That’s what the man with the sword was trying to tell Joshua; he was not there to fight any war, rather he was there to protect what belongs to God. Jesus made it very clear that he fought all the battles on our behalf and worn. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. There is no place in the Bible where God commands us to consult the Holy Spirit when we face battles in this world. The reason is because that’s not the job of the Holy Spirit.

The blood of Jesus fought all the battles for mankind when he went on the cross and that is why God gave Moses the staff to fight for exit from Egypt. On the other hand, the word of God solidifies the position that grants us entry into the promised-land—the kingdom of God and that’s why God fought the battle against Jericho just by using His word. “The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout’ for the Lord has given you the city.” Josh. 6:16.

It is not enough to call upon the name of Jesus Christ whenever you are facing tribulations in life. What happens when you call upon his name is that yes, he will answer you but you have to complete the process by moving to the second step which involves believing in the word of God. You must complete the two steps for Jesus to grant you entry into the kingdom of God—eternal life. Jesus said to Nicodemus “I tell you the truth no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5. God demonstrated the two processes with Moses. In the first water from the rock in Exodus 17, God asked Moses to strike the rock that bruised the wooden staff—the cross. This is the water Jesus is referring to. In the second water from the rock in Numbers 20, the water that came out of the rock is the Holy Spirit that comes from God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the Spirit Jesus is referring to. As a flame, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush to protect Moses and the Israelites from any possible harm from Pharaoh; the battle for exit from Egypt was fought using the staff that God gave Moses. Once again, when it came time for the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, the Holy Spirit appeared to Joshua as a sword, to protect Joshua and the Israelites from any possible harm from the people of Jericho.

Since Joshua represents the part of Jesus that is Spirit, the man Joshua saw was the Holy Spirit in the image of God. Remember this encounter took place as soon as the Israelites were done celebrating the Passover which depicts the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus had to first die on the cross, resurrect on the third day, and go back to the Father in Heaven before the Holy Spirit can be activated in the world.

•   The angel and the flame = Jesus Christ

•   The man and the sword = The Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ

•   The flame and the sword = Jesus Christ

•   The angel and the man = Jesus Christ

The flame and the sword are the two fundamental elements that surround the nature of Jesus Christ. God revealed this to us when He kicked man out of the Garden of Eden. “So the Lord God banished man from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man, He placed on the east side of the garden of Eden, Cherubim and a Flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Gen.3:23-24. The tree of life is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is in the world to convict the world and also protect that which belongs to Jesus Christ for everything that belongs to God also belongs to Jesus Christ. In describing the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus added by saying “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.” John 16:14-15. Because the work of the holy Spirit here on earth is so unique, that is why when Joshua asked him the question “Are you for us or for our enemies?, the Holy Spirit replied ‘Neither’.” Josh. 5:13-14. Because the Holy Spirit protects the Tree of Life in Gen. 3:23-24, Jesus after promising the Holy Spirit to his disciples, immediately started talking about the Tree of Life in John 15. “I am the vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruits, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2.Remember, Adam and Eve were not fruitful, hence God cut them off from the Garden of Eden.

God said to Moses “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exod. 3:9-10. After Moses brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, it came a time when God told him that his mission was over. Then Moses summoned Joshua in the presence of all Israel and said to him “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.” Deut.31:7.

After the death of Moses, God said to Joshua “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.” Josh. 1:2. It is God’s nature to create things in pairs, where each member of the pair is the exact opposite of the other. This is God’s divine number for creation, the number 2. Also the number 2 is God’s number for unclean and the number 1 is His number for clean. The sword that guarded the east side of the Garden of Eden was created with this unique characteristic. It was a flaming sword and the east side of the garden was the only way in and out of the garden. The flame was created for exit purpose from the garden while the sword was created for entry. That explains why when God was about to send Moses to Egypt which symbolizes exit from the Garden of Eden, God appeared to Moses in a flame; but when God was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land through Joshua, God appeared to Joshua in the shape of the man with the sword. Moses was charged with one mission, to go to Egypt and get the Israelites out; Joshua’s mission was also very specific, to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

The Holy Spirit has a protective nature. The flaming sword that God used to guard the way to the Tree of Life in Genesis 3:24 is also the star that guided the Magi from the east to baby Jesus right after birth. Remember God placed the flaming sword in the east side of the Garden of Eden to protect the Tree of Life. Likewise, God also placed the star over the manger to protect baby Jesus. Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life and the flaming sword is the star that brought the Magi to see Jesus. The star was not there to fight any war. God originally designed the Garden of Eden as a place where the life of man begins and for that reason, when His only son was about to be born to redeem man from the bondage of sin, it had to start at the very same place where the life of man began. That explains why God set the stage for Jesus to be born in a manger—among animals, just like the Garden of Eden where God placed many animals.

The Two Spirits of Jesus Christ

The part of Jesus Christ that was man represents Moses. As long as this part was still alive, Jesus handled fear just like any man would. Every time there was a plot to kill him, Jesus would try to stay away from the danger zone by hiding himself. This is in conformity with the way God has designed man to handle threats to life. “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.” John 7:1. “So from that day on, they plotted to take his life. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead, he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim where he stayed with his disciples.” John 11:53-54. The reason why Jesus was acting this way was because the spirit of man—Moses was operating in Jesus during those moments.

However, as soon as the spirit of man in him died—the death of Moses, Jesus was ready to go to the cross. This spirit died when Jesus was anointed at Bethany. From that moment, Jesus was no longer afraid of any threat to his life. The only spirit left inside Jesus after the anointing in Bethany, was the spirit of God. That is why after he was anointed at Bethany, his disciples made it public that he was going to Jerusalem at a time when the plot for his life was still on. “The next day, the great crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna’ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” John 12:12-13. This ceremony took place in full view of the same people who were looking for an opportunity to kill Jesus.

Death has no power over the spirit of God and this is the spirit that Jesus promised to give all those who believe in him when he comes back to judge the living and the dead. God made sure that the part of Jesus that forms the spirit of man dies first before Jesus heads to the cross. The only spirit left inside Jesus before he was crucified was the spirit of God. That explains how Jesus successfully left all our sins on the cross to this day. Yes, Jesus took all our sins with him but when crucifixion time came, it was only our sins that stayed on the cross. The only spirit living in Jesus at that time—the spirit of God, was never crucified because man does not have the power to bind this spirit. That also explains why while on the cross, when it was time for our sins to finally die on the cross, Jesus separated his spirit from our sins when he said “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46.

When Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried, he was able to rise on the third day because there was no spirit of man left inside him. Remember, he was born with the spirit of man. To this day, all the sins of mankind are still hanging on the cross and that is why the cross of Jesus Christ remains the only place to get rid of our sins by believing in him. If you want to successfully resist the devil the only place to do that is the cross.

The Fall of Jericho

God’s divine plan was designed to use Jericho as a symbol of His kingdom within the Promised Land. God planned the fall of Jericho like no other city in the Bible. The Israelites did not have to fight for Jericho; it was handed to them by God even before they got there. Everything about the fall of Jericho was perfect; it took seven days, seven priests, seven trumpets, and the Ark of the Lord’s covenant to bring the city down. Seven is God’s divine number for perfection, holy, and complete. “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout.” Josh. 6:10. This was God’s war. In Josh. 6:1, the Bible says that Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. Only God could bring the walls down. By the same token, the war that allows us entry into the kingdom of God is God’s war and He is the only one who can fight it. The war against Jericho was a Holy war and on the seventh day when God brought the walls down. The seventh day represents the Sabbath day that God commanded us to keep Holy. It is the day of victory.

Remember the journey started when God drove man out of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:24; and life outside the Garden is equals to life in Egypt. Right from the beginning, God always wanted the best for us but, our disobedience is what pushes us away from His abundant blessings. When God placed the Cherubim and flaming sword at the only way in and out of the garden, He made sure that the Garden remained shut; nobody went in and nobody came out. The Bible says the Cherubim and flaming sword were guarding the way to the Tree of Life; it therefore implies that if you were to go visit the Garden and as you go closer, the first thing you will see or come against would be the Cherubim and the flaming sword. By the same implication, because Jericho was symbolic of the Garden of Eden, that’s why the Bible says “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, ho looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand.” Josh.5:13. This man and the sword represent the Cherubim and the flaming sword. The Bible also said “Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.” Josh.6:1. The Garden of Eden was tightly shut because of man and as we know, God uses Israel to show us the things that He is about to do in this world.

God uses His divine number 2 for creation of everything here on earth. Like I said earlier God uses this number in such a way that He creates everything in a pair such that the members of each pair are exact opposites of each other. Because the journey to the Promised Land was designed to show God’s nature of doing things, He clearly showed us again, how this works. In Genesis 3:23-24, it says that God drove man out of the Garden and this move basically started the journey for man away from the Promised Land. But in the journey that takes man back to the Garden, God made an opposite statement to Joshua “Then the Lord said to Joshua, see I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its kings and its fighting men.” Josh.6:2. To give Jericho to the Israelites, God also used the divine numbers that were in place when He created the Garden of Eden. “March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.” Josh.6:3. Remember, God created the world including the Garden in six days and He rested on the seventh day.

Remember what God said about the seventh day—He called it the Sabbath and He commanded us to keep it Holy. “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it Holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” Gen.2:1-3.

Notice how the priests were actively involved to bring down the walls of Jericho by blowing the trumpets. For seven days the armed men, the seven priests, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant were involved but only the priests played an active role by blowing the trumpets as they marched around the city. For the walls to collapse, the participation of the armed men was just passive. It took a long blast of the trumpet for the city to collapse. The trumpets represent the voice of God. “When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.” Josh.6:5. This loud shout happened on the seventh day—the Sabbath. This loud shout represents the combined praises given to God by Christians across the world every Sabbath in fulfillment of His command to keep it holy—Sunday to most people.

Spiritual Lesson #8

Although it is a good thing to pray to God whenever we can, there is no doubt that every time a group of people gather together to praise God, it is more powerful than trying to do it alone. That explains why it is very important to do whatever it takes to belong to a Bible-believing church where you can benefit from group worship. Remember Jesus said “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew18:20. If it were not so, God would have asked only Joshua to shout for the walls of Jericho to collapse.

Because of the Holy nature of Jericho and its significance as the Promised Land, Joshua said to the people “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into His treasury.” Josh.6:17-19.

Now the question you might ask is that if Jericho symbolizes the Promised Land, how come the inhabitants did not believe in God? The answer is not far-fetched. Remember that Satan stole the promise of eternal life from Adam and Eve. Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of God and eternal life is one and the same thing. Before allowing the Israelites to settle in Jericho, God did a spiritual cleansing of the city “When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” Josh.6:20-21. The devil used a woman—Eve as a principal player for man to lose the Garden of Eden; God also used a woman—Rahab the prostitute as a principal player to take back the Garden and offered man a second chance of dwelling in it. This also explains why God used a woman—Mary the mother of Jesus to play the principal role of giving us His son Jesus Christ to come die for our sins. Rahab was also the first female seed mentioned in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17

When man lost the Garden of Eden, God pronounced a punishment for the principal player—Eve. “To the woman He said “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen.3:16. But when God gave back the Garden—Jericho to man, He declared a blessing for the principal player—Rahab. “Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her. So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.” Josh.6:22-23.

The actions of Eve affected her entire family and future generations; on the other hand, the actions of Rahab blessed her entire family. It was an act of disobedience that drove man out of the Garden of Eden but when the time came for God to put us back in the Garden, there was no act of disobedience from man. That is why when God appointed Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, they promised to obey Joshua “Then they answered Joshua, whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.’Josh.1:16-17. The people kept this promise until they entered Jericho. However, Achan disobeyed the commands of Joshua after they had entered Jericho and Israel paid a very high price for his actions. Achan took some of the devoted thing for himself when Israel marched into Jericho. Joshua had to clean this mess by wiping out the entire Achan family. That’s exactly what God wanted Joshua to do. In the Garden of Eden, God merely pronounced the punishment for disobedience but in Jericho, God put the punishment into effect when Joshua wiped out the entire Achan family. The wages of sin is death.

Chapter 4

Heaven

The Language of Heaven

Have you ever wondered why God gave us detailed information on certain issues in the Bible but gave us very little information on some events as well? Have you also wondered why God changed the names of certain people in the Bible like Abraham, Sarah, Jacob and Jesus also changed Simon’s name to Peter? What about troubling questions like:

•   Why did God create the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, why not two, three or even four days?

•   Why did Jesus choose twelve disciples; why not some other numbers like 9, 10, or 20?

•   Why did Jesus fast for 40 days and 40 nights; why not 10, 50, or even 100, after all he is God and he can handle anything?

•   Why did Jesus wait until he was thirty years old to start his mission on earth and why did he die at the age of 33?

•   Why did the devil choose the number 666?

•   Why do you do things in a very unique way, completely different from others?

The truth is, every piece of information in the Bible is there for a specific supernatural reason. Before you read any further, I like you to take a look at Tab.4; we are going to be making references to this chart as we move along.

Tab. 4

God uses numbers to control the world because this is the language of Heaven. Numbers play a very significant role in our lives by way of their values and their positions. The numbers 2, 6 and 9 are reserved for earth, while the numbers 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 17 are reserved for heaven. The Bible teaches us in Genesis chapter one that in the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth. Heavens = 29 =11 =2 (The number 2 is God’s divine number for creation). Also God created two things in the beginning, the heavens and the earth, but the heavens were the first things God created above.

Earth = 52= 7 (The number 7 is God’s divine number for complete). Also, the number 7 is God’s number to make things holy on earth; to make them spiritually acceptable to heaven. God created the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested and called it the Sabbath day and commanded us to keep it Holy. The world is to dedicate this day as a special day to pay tribute to Heaven. The Bible also tells us that the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Water = 13 = 4

Blood = 12 = 3

Water + Blood= 7; these are the two components of baptism. God destroyed the world with water in the days of Noah but He later saved the world with blood through His only son Jesus Christ. This makes a complete process. The first word that came out of God’s mouth was “LET” when He said in Genesis 1:3 “Let there be light”. God used the word “LET” 12 times in creating the world.

LET = 37 = 10. This is the divine number for Heaven. That explains why God used 10 plagues to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt; it also explains why God gave us the 10 commandments and not 11, 12, or any other number. The first thing God created using the word “LET” was light.

Light = 11 = 2.

Day

Above

Below

1

Light

2

Sky

3

Land, Seas, and Vegetation

4

Sun, Moon, and Stars

5

Creatures of the sea and birds

6

Living creatures, Livestock, Wild animals, and Man

Tab. 5

Total for Above = Day 1+2+4 = 7

Total for Below = Day 3+5+6 = 14

Because God’s divine number for a new beginning is the number 8, we have the eight sections as follows:

Above

Below

Just like above and below, the number 7 which is the holy number reserved for heaven, is the exact opposite of the number 14 which is in conformity with God’s divine number 2 for creation. The number 7 is God’s divine number for complete. Notice how darkness was already here before God started creating everything. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said let there be light”. Gen.1:1-3. From this information we are able to understand the following:

a.   The earth had two qualities, (formless and empty).

b.   Two things existed, (the heavens and the earth)

c.   There were two things that existed on earth from the beginning, (darkness and water). This is also another illustration of the divine number 2.

When God created the first pair of things, (darkness and light) God loved light more than darkness. In Genesis 1:3-4, the Bible teaches us that after God created light, He saw that the light was good and He immediately separated light from darkness. Remember in this pair, light was the second to be created by God, darkness was already here before God created light. As we move on further into the Bible we will see that God’s nature is to always move His divine plan forward by using the second seed in a pair.

After God was done with the job of creating the world and man, Genesis chapter two teaches that God planted a Garden which He called the Garden of Eden and He put Adam in charge of this garden, to work the land. With respect to this garden, the Bible also revealed some very interesting details. “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” Gen.2:10-14. Notice how God gave us plenty of information on the first headwater, Pishon but then gave us almost nothing on the other three headwaters.

Eden = 28 = 10. (Remember I earlier mentioned that the number 10 is God’s divine number for Heaven. So this is the Garden of Heaven. The Garden of Eden = The Garden of Heaven. Now why did God use four different headwaters to water this garden? Why not use just one headwater to do the job? After all He is God Almighty. The reason is because God was trying to make a supernatural statement.

Name

Value

Pishon

9

Gihon

8

Tigris

10

Euphrates

5

Total:

32 = 5

Tab. 6

Life = 5

The four headwaters gave life to the Garden of Eden. The number 4 is God’s divine number to start a process and God systematically uses it in the form of a pair. Remember, when Moses went to the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God, he was up there for 40 days and 40 nights. Also, before Jesus started his ministry here on earth, he went to the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.

God used these four headwaters to water the garden because they each had a supernatural significance.

Pishon = 9, was for the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Gihon = 8, was for a new beginning

Tigris = 10, was for Heaven

Euphrates = 5, was for the Tree of life.

Life = 5

Serpent = 7

Death = 2

Serpent + Death = 9

Good = 5

Evil = 3

Serpent = 7 (He was originally one of the holy angels)

Good + Evil + Serpent = 15 = 6

Sin = 6

Adam = 10

Eve = 5

Good + Evil + Serpent = Adam + Eve

(5+3+7) = (10 +5)

15 = 15

6 = 6

God knew that Adam and Eve will at some point disobey him.

Good + Evil + Serpent = Sin

5+3+7 = 6

The wages of sin = Death

Death = 2

Good + Evil = Sin + Death

(5 + 3) = 6 + 2)

8 = 8

The number 8 is God’s divine number for a new beginning.

Serpent + Death = The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

If we add all the components of the devil, we get:

Serpent + Evil + Sin + Death = 7+3+6+2 = 18 = 9

The number 18 = 9 is therefore God’s divine number for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This divine number is death without the Holy Trinity. The divine number for the Holy Trinity is the number 3.

Death + the Holy Trinity = 2+3

Death with the Holy Trinity will give you everlasting life with Jesus Christ.

The number 5 is God’s divine number for victory and the tree of life. It symbolizes everlasting life.

Life = 5

The number 9 is the divine number for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for the following reasons:

1.   The serpent took the fruit from this tree

2.   The fruit gave birth to sin

3.   When you die without giving your life to Jesus Christ, death does not exonerate you from the bondage of sin.

4.   Death without Jesus Christ means you will spend eternity with the serpent who in this case is the devil.

5.   Your final destination will be hell fire which is (Serpent + Death) = 7+2 = 9

Jesus said the following:

•   “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:33-35.

•   “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” John 6:53-55.

Bread = 3

Blood = 3

Heaven = 10

Jesus Christ = 7

We will eat the bread and drink his blood that came down from heaven.

Bread + Blood + Heaven = Jesus Christ

3 +3 +10 = 16 = 7

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil will eventually become the serpent’s weapon to bring death into the world through Adam and Eve.

Notice how God gave us lots of information about the first headwater, Pishon and a lot of it has to do with wealth. Because this river represents the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was also the only tree in the garden that God decided to have a lengthy conversation with Adam. That is because the number 9 is God’s divine number for prosperity.

Sin = 6

Death = 2

Remember when Jesus was on the cross, the Bible tells us that something remarkable happened “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45-46. The details given to us at this stage of the life of Jesus Christ are very significant. The Bible not only tells us that Jesus cried on the cross; it also tells us the cry was loud. The exact words that Jesus used during this cry were also given to us. Let’s not forget that Jesus came to die for our sins because Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and sin entered the world. Jesus came for one thing, to reverse the process that took place in the garden. While in the Garden of Eden, it started with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is 9; sin which is 6, entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. When Jesus came and went on the cross to reverse the action, he took our sins back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, when he paid the price on the cross. That is why the Bible said that darkness came over the land from the 6th to the 9th hour.

The Bible teaches us that when you die, everything about you does not necessarily come to an end. There is definitely life after death; it all depends on what kind of life you will face after death. Since Death = 2, it once again shows us how God uses this number for creation. Remember that I said God uses the number 2 for creation and His creation always involves a pair with members of the pair being the exact opposite of each other. Take a good look at death; the Bible tells us that when you die, you are faced with either Heaven or Hell and we know that there is a stack difference between Heaven and Hell. Death is what marks the end of your life here on earth.

Life + Death = 7

We know that 7 is God’s number for complete; death will only show up when your life here on earth is completed. “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.” Gen. 11:1

The Bible teaches us that after God destroyed the world with flood and subsequently made a covenant with Noah, there was only one language and the population of the world started to increase again. It did not take long for man to start disobeying God again. The Bible teaches that men came together to build the Tower of Babel. Their plan was to build a tower that reaches to the heavens so that they can make a name for themselves. God made man and He knows what man is capable of doing because He put all the powers in us. “The Lord said, if as one people speaking the same language and they have begun to do this then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. So the Lord scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.” Gen.11:6-8. God stopped man for one reason; earth was originally designed by God to be controlled by Heaven. There is only one language in Heaven which is part of what makes Heaven very strong. The multiple languages on earth is something God created to weaken man. We can see that in the way the world functions; a nation that speaks one language is far more united and stronger than a nation that speaks different languages.

God is Holy

After God was done creating the heavens and the earth, he decided to rest on the 7th day and He declared it Holy. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Gen.2:2-3. What God did was setting the seventh day apart and calling it His day because everything that God chooses for Himself is immediately declared holy. Not only did God rest on the seventh day, but He also commanded us to keep it holy in the manual He gave us—the Holy Bible. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” Exod. 20:8-10. God gave us the Bible to help us understand His nature, what He expects from us, to help us properly communicate with him, and to help us know how to keep the seventh day holy. If the seventh day is holy, therefore the manual that God gave us to observe the seventh day must also be holy. If God’s divine number for holy and complete is the number 7, then God himself is a Holy God. Since God is in three persons—The Holy Trinity, therefore all three Godheads must be holy. Trinity is the inseparable unity of the three Godheads—The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ = 7

Holy Spirit = 7

Trinity = 7

The Bible

Number

Name

Value

Section A—The Old Testament

1

Genesis

78 = 6

2

Exodus

88 = 7

3

Leviticus

120 = 3

4

Numbers

92 = 2

5

Deuteronomy

155 = 2

6

Joshua

74 = 2

7

Judges

66 = 3

8

Ruth

67 = 4

9

1 Samuel

72 = 9

10

2 Samuel

73 = 10

11

1 Kings

61 = 7

12

2 Kings

62 = 8

13

1 Chronicles

107 = 8

14

2 Chronicles

108 = 9

15

Ezra

50 = 5

16

Nehemia

55 = 10

17

Esther

75 = 3

18

Job

27 = 9

19

Psalms

80 = 8

20

Proverbs

115 = 7

21

Ecclesiastes

120 = 3

22

Song of Songs

150 = 6

23

Isaiah

47 = 2

24

Jeremiah

69 = 6

25

Lamentations

143 = 8

26

Ezekiel

73 = 10

27

Daniel

45 = 9

28

Hosea

48 = 3

29

Joel

42 = 6

30

Amos

48 = 3

31

Obadiah

40 = 4

32

Jonah

48 = 3

33

Micah

34 = 7

34

Nahum

57 = 3

35

Habakkuk

66 = 3

36

Zephaniah

88 = 7

37

Haggai

33 = 6

38

Zechariah

79 = 7

39

Malachi

47 = 2

Old Testament Total:

2902 = 4

Section B—The New Testament

40

Matthew

90 = 9

41

Mark

43 = 7

42

Luke

49 = 4

43

John

47 = 2

44

Acts

43 = 7

45

Romans

80 = 8

46

1 Corinthians

131 = 5

47

2 Corinthians

132 = 6

48

Galatians

84 = 3

49

Ephesians

96 = 6

50

Philippians

129 = 3

51

Colossians

126 = 9

52

1 Thessalonians

157 = 4

53

2 Thessalonians

158 = 5

54

1 Timothy

111 = 3

55

2 Timothy

112 = 4

56

Titus

89 = 8

57

Philemon

92 = 2

58

Hebrews

80 = 8

59

James

48 = 3

60

1 Peter

65 = 2

61

2 Peter

66 = 3

62

1 John

48 = 3

63

2 John

49 = 4

64

3 John

50 = 5

65

Jude

40 = 4

66

Revelation

121 = 4

New Testament Total:

2336 = 5

Total:

9

Tab. 7

The Bible therefore is the Holy manual that God gave us to fight the forces of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as soon as sin entered the world. If Adam and Eve did not use this tree to disobey God, there would have been no need for a written law.

God called section A the Old Testament and He called section B, The New Testament.

Old Testament = 4

New Testament = 6

The Old Testament deals with all kinds of processes to manage our relationship with God. The New Testament on the other hand establishes Jesus Christ as the ultimate recipe to eradicate sin.

Testament = 9

Old + New + Testament = (4+6+9) = 10

Heaven = 10

The first law God gave man was a verbal law given to Adam and that law was also called Adam just like Jesus Christ is the Bible.

Adam = 10

The second law was the first written law and God called it the 10 Commandments. Both laws came from heaven and for that reason they are both surrounded with the divine number for Heaven which is the number 10.

God’s First List

1.   Adam = 19 = 10

2.   Abel = 20 = 2

3.   Seth=52 = 7

4.   Noah =11 = 2

5.   Abram =35 = 8; Abraham =44 =8 (God changed his name to Abraham)

6.   Sarai= 48= 3; Sarah= 2 (God changed her name to Sarah)

7.   Isaac= 33= 6

8.   Jacob=31= 4; Israel= 10 (God changed his name to Israel)

9.   Joseph= 73= 10

10.   Moses= 71= 8

11.   Aaron= 49= 4

12.   Joshua= 74= 2

TOTAL= 71 = 8

This list of names is what I would commonly refer to as God’s first list. This is the first group of people that God used to accomplish His mission on earth. Adam was God’s original plan for the nation of Israel but when that plan failed because Adam disobeyed God, in order to put plan B into effect, God sent His only son Jesus Christ to finish the job. The liberation of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt started with the 10th person on this list—Moses and the mission was completed with the 12th person on the list—Joshua. When Jesus came to liberate us from the bondage of sin, he picked 12 disciples. Out of this list, God changed the names of three people, Abram, his wife Sarai, and Jacob.

“No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. Gen. 17:5. “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.” Gen. 17:15-16

“God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. So he named him Israel.” Gen. 35:10. Take a look at the two households, Abraham and Jacob with respect to what God accomplished in changing the three names.

Abraham’s household: Abraham + Sarah = 8+2 = 10

Jacob’s household: Israel = 10. Remember 10 is the divine number for Heaven.

Notice how Isaac is the only one with the number 6 in this list. Remember when God was about to test Abraham’s faith, He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. This was a sacrifice for the atonement of sin. The number 6 is God’s divine number for sin and man.

When God called Abraham, it was His way of making a new beginning with man. After the call of Abraham, God established a covenant with him and thereafter started addressing Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the process of creating a nation God said to Abraham “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen.12:2-3. This covenant was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In this very short verse, God used the word “Bless” five times.

Abraham + Isaac + Jacob = (8+6+4) = 18 = 9

Everything God made on earth from the beginning was designed for one single purpose; God’s divine plan for the world points to the nation of Israel. Notice in God’s first list the names with the number 2.

•   Abel

•   Noah

•   Sarah

•   Joshua

Abel + Noah + Sarah + Joshua = 8 = A new beginning. The nation of Israel was born.

Remember we talked about the number 2 as God’s divine number for creation. His original plan was to multiply Adam’s bloodline using Abel but unfortunately, he was killed by his brother Cain. After the flood, God used Noah to create a whole new world. He promised to create a nation through Abraham and He did by using Abraham’s wife, Sarah. God used Moses to start a new beginning of liberating the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and He finally used Joshua to accomplish the mission of establishing the nation of Israel when they entered the Promised Land.

The center of God’s plan when He created the world was to create a nation here on earth that will serve as the embassy of Heaven. It is the nation of Israel and that’s why throughout the Bible, Israel is the only nation that was named by God. It is also the only nation that God referred to as “My people”. The Lord said “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering”. Exod. 3:7. Adam’s disobedience did not come as a surprise to God. When you make something, you know the strengths and weaknesses of it and besides, we are talking about God the creator of the whole universe who knows all things; the past, the present, and the future. God knew that Adam was going to disobey Him and He also knew that as a result of that, He needed a plan B for the creation of the nation of Israel. From God’s perspective, the nation of Israel was not going to start and stop with Adam.

A closer look at God’s first list reveals four groups. See Tab. 8 for details.

Group

Name

Value

1

Adam

10

Abel

2

Seth

7

Total:

19 = 10

2

Noah

2

Total:

2

3

Abraham

8

Sarah

2

Isaac

6

Israel

10

Joseph

10

Total:

36 = 9

4

Moses

8

Aaron

4

Joshua

2

Total:

14 = 5

Gross Total:

26 = 8

Tab. 8

The number 8 is God’s divine number for a new beginning and this list is God’s divine process to create the nation of Israel. Remember that the number 5 is God’s divine number for victory. It is another way of saying mission accomplished. When young David confronted the giant Goliath, he took five stones with him even though he ended up using just one stone to kill Goliath. Also, while Jesus was on the cross, his last words were “It is finished” = 5.

In each group, God either commanded someone to carry out a mission, made a covenant, or both.

›   In group one God commanded Adam to keep a law.

›   In group two God commanded Noah to build the Ark and He also made a covenant with Noah.

›   In group three, God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

›   In group four, God commanded Moses, Aaron, and Joshua to carry out a mission and promised to be with them throughout the mission.

As Christians, we know that God is in three persons; the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us that we should pray to the Father by using the name of the Son, Jesus Christ. The truth is, there is no place in the Bible where we are told to channel our prayers through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came to us because Jesus after his death on the cross and resurrection, asked the Father to send us the Holy Spirit. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth”. John 14:16-17. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. John 14:26.

According to the scriptures, we know that the Holy Spirit is the sum of the Father and the Son.

Father = 4

Son = 3

Holy Spirit = 7

Father + Son = 7

In group one, God established a relation between Heaven and earth; it was His first relationship with man and Adam was put in charge of the Garden of Eden otherwise known as the Garden of Heaven.

Adam = 10

Heaven = 10

Eden = 10

It was all about Heaven, using His divine number 10.

In group two, God’s main purpose was to create a new world and He used Noah to accomplish the mission.

Noah = 2

It was all about creation, using His divine number 2.

In group three, after the fall of man through Adam and a failed process in the new world that He made through Noah, God wanted to establish a faith-based relationship again with man. This was a new beginning in a new world. God made a covenant with Abraham and for the first time revealed His original plan of creating a nation that will be blessed and be a symbolic image of Heaven. This was God’s way of redeeming what originally appeared to have been lost through Adam. In the covenant God made with Abraham, He promised to bless Abraham and this is the group where God demonstrated abundant prosperity

Abraham = 8

It was all about a new beginning using His divine number 8. It was a new beginning with God’s sole intention of addressing what originally started in the Garden of Eden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In group four, we see God practically putting this plan into action by appointing a leader Moses to start the process of leading them to the Promised Land where the nation of Israel will finally settle. After a failed process in Egypt God started a new beginning with His people, the process of redemption.

Moses = 8

When it was time to execute the final phase of the plan, God appointed three people in group four whom He used to complete the mission. Jesus came to retrace the entire process of God’s first list. The nation of Israel is the only nation on earth that was named by God Himself. He picked the name when He changed Jacob’s name to Israel because He was about to create the embassy of Heaven.

Israel = 10

Heaven = 10

When God started a new beginning with Abraham, He made a covenant with Abraham during which He promised to give him a son through his wife Sarah. This was the first and only covenant that God made with man that also involved the creation of a seed. For the creation process to start, God brought Sarah into the equation. Sarah = 2; God’s divine number for creation. By bringing Sarah into the covenant, God was trying to repeat the relationship He originally had with Adam and Eve. In the relationship with Adam and Eve, two seeds were involved—Cain and Abel. God used the second seed to move the blessings of that relationship forward. When He promised Abraham a son, Abraham of all people still went ahead and took the deal his wife gave him by sleeping with his maid. This act produced the second seed Ishmael. As much as Abraham’s behavior was that of direct disobedience to God, not much of a big deal was made about it in the Bible. God still went ahead to bless Abraham with a son—Isaac. The reason is because whenever God’s divine number 2 is activated a pair of seeds is always used. In the pair, each member is the exact opposite of the other and God always uses the second seed of the pair to move His blessings forward. Even though God promised Abraham a son through Sarah, God knew that there had to be a second seed. It was the same God who closed Sarah’s womb all these years and He also had the power to close Hagar’s womb if He wanted only one seed in Abraham’s life. After Abraham had the two sons, God told Abraham that His covenant will remain with Isaac and not Ishmael. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, there was a harsh punishment that God pronounced for Eve but notice how God did not pronounce any punishment whatsoever for Sarah. Ishmael was not Abraham’s idea it was Sarah who came up with the idea. If God did not want Ishmael anywhere near the plan He had for Abraham, He would have stopped it or given Abraham a son before Sarah could come up with the idea. God allowed it because His plan for Abraham had everything to do with the second seed—Isaac.

If God did not want the second seed in the picture, He would have closed Hagar’s womb just like He closed Sarah’s womb for many years. Even though Abraham’s actions clearly indicate that he showed a lack of faith by not waiting for God, do this day Abraham is still considered the father of faith because God did not pronounce any punishment for Abraham like He did with Adam. Notice how in God’s first list Isaac is the only one with the number six. After the fall of Adam, God decide to make His redemption process to include a test of faith and so He decided to use Isaac to test Abraham’s faith. God also used Isaac to tell us what was about to happen in the future. He not only used Isaac as a test of faith but also as a sacrifice of redemption from sin; the original sin that started with Adam.

Isaac = 6

Sin = 6

After Abraham passed the test, God started the process by using Jacob to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham. Everything about Jacob had to be moved to Egypt to undergo some spiritual and physical makeover.

Joseph = 10

Israel = 10

Heaven = 10

God used Jacob to name Israel but He used Joseph to start the process of building the nation of Israel. God had to gather His people in one place and allow them to experience life without Him so that when He eventually calls them back to Himself, they would be able to know the stack difference between the two lives—living with Him and living without Him. Israel is the embassy of Heaven on earth and that is why Joseph was able to know things that no one else knew because he was the appointed ambassador. Joseph had direct access to Heaven. God’s mission of moving Joseph to Egypt was also to gather the people of Israel in one place while preparing a permanent home for them—the Promised Land. There are times when God moves us to a very uncomfortable situation because He wants to use that time to build a new home for us. A home that is better than anything we’ve ever seen. It is not a good habit to fight every uncomfortable situation that comes your way in life because sometimes you may find yourself unknowingly fighting off your blessings.

The Israelites were supposed to keep the faith that was originally demonstrated by their father Abraham. While in Egypt when they turned away from God and were subjected to Egyptian bondage they finally remembered their father Abraham and the God of their fathers. They cried out to God and He stepped in to rescue them. God immediately called onto Moses to lead the mission. Remember we talked about God using the divine number four to start a process. After Abraham passed the test using Isaac, God started the process of His covenant by using Jacob who was the second seed of Isaac. God moved Jacob’s bloodline to Egypt and when it was time to move them out of Egypt to the Promised Land, God called two people, Moses and Aaron to lead the mission. By calling these two men, did God change His nature of doing things? We will find out.

God’s divine number to start a process = 4

Jacob = 4

Moses = 8

Aaron = 4

To answer the question, God did not change His nature of doing things. It is remarkable that even though the Bible tells us much about the call of Moses through the burning bush to lead this mission, God actually started the process with Aaron which is in conformity with God’ nature. Aaron is Moses’ brother and God did not want Moses to go alone because this had to do with the creation of the nation of Israel. In this pair, Moses was not good with words but Aaron was an eloquent speaker. When God spoke to Moses through the burning bush, Moses said to the Lord “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exod. 4:10. It looks like Moses was afraid and looking for a way to back out of the assignment. In response to his fears, the Bible tells us that the Lords anger burned against Moses and He said to Moses “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.” Exod. 4:14-15. From God’s response, we know there are two reasons why Aaron was already on his way to meet Moses while God was still trying to convince Moses to take the job:

1.   The first reason is because God had already spoken to Aaron about the mission, before he called Moses through the burning bush.

2.   The second reason is because Aaron already said yes to God regarding the mission.

God therefore did not change His way of doing things because He effectively started the mission of liberation with Aaron and not Moses. He started the process of leading them to Egypt by using Jacob and He started the process of bringing them out by using Aaron. God completed the mission with Joshua.

Joshua = 2; creation of the nation of Israel.

What happened when man (Adam and Eve) decided to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The Bible tells us that you will be like God. “And the Lord God said; the man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Gen.3:22. Remember that Jesus once said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3. When God said “the man has now become like one of us” the big question is, who is us? The truth is, man was created to be the child while God remains the Father. In a child parent relationship, the child doesn’t have the capacity to distinguish between good and evil or right and wrong. But when a child gets to a certain age, they start to understand the difference between good and evil. Children in most cases run to their parents while adults on the other hand in most cases tend to move away from their parents.

When God said us, He was referring to the Holy Trinity, the Father; the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve were not supposed to know what good and evil looks like. Only the three Godheads were supposed to know this.

Serpent + Death = 7 + 2 = 9

Adam + Eve = 6

Sin = 6

Father + Son + Holy Spirit = 14 = 5

The cross of Jesus Christ is a symbol of victory and when you do the sign of the cross, these are the words you say—In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When God talked about not allowing man to reach out his hand and eat also from the Tree of Life, God knew the result of the combination because He added that if it happens, then man will live forever.

Life = 5

The Holy Trinity lives forever and that’s exactly what God was talking about. The number 5 is God’s divine number for victory. God was referring to victory over death and the tree of Life gives you that power. As a recap, remember we talked about the characteristics of the number 2 that God uses for creation? We said that in each pair, each member is the exact opposite of the other member. Eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not necessarily mean death on the spot; rather it is the consequences or the punishment that God brings upon man for disobeying Him that causes death. The Bible tells us that “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23.

Eating from this tree made man very knowledgeable. It gave man the capacity to distinguish between good and evil and it is this capacity that God uses to pass judgment on our lives here on earth. I am not saying that we are as knowledgeable as God himself. What I am trying to say is that it is the same kind of capability that God uses to govern man except in this case, on a much higher supernatural level.

Everything God created from the beginning was created for the god of man; it just depends on when and how we use them. The two trees that were in the middle of the Garden of Eden were planted there for the benefit of man in the future; the only difference here is that God himself was going to decide the appropriate time to inject these trees into the life of man. Considering the creative mechanics of God’s divine number 2, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the exact opposite of the tree of life. They were both created by God to be given to man at specific moments; when God deems it necessary. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was designed to destroy life while the tree of life was designed to restore life.

One of the most important aspects of God’s nature is timing. Notice how God did not restrict Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life. But as soon as they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God immediately stepped in because He did not want them to also eat from the tree of life. The reason is because everything about the tree of life was already in man. The tree of life was part of man’s DNA when God created man. This was the main component that God used when He created man but that component was destroyed as soon as man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From a Biblical perspective, when the time came for God to inject the tree of life into man, He gave it to us as a gift with no strings attached. God gave His only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins as a gift of salvation. Let’s put it in a different context. A sinless soul remains sinless until sin is injected into that soul; and a sinful soul remains sinful until something that can erase all sins is injected into that soul and the only thing that can accomplish that goal is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ restores the damage caused by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because Jesus Christ is the tree of life.

Divine number 9

As much as the number 9 represents the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is also God’s divine number for prosperity. When I say prosperity, I am referring to God’s blessings in every aspect of life, not just money. You can have a lot of money and still not be prosperous in life. The true definition of prosperity is the way God sees it. Prosperity does not come from the world; it comes only from God and the true definition was given to us by Jesus Christ in the book of John.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27. What the world gives you is nothing but fake prosperity and that is what the devil was trying to offer Jesus Christ during his temptation. “Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All these I will give you’, he said, ‘If you will bow down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8-9. True prosperity is the unquantifiable relationship that exists between you and Jesus Christ. To put it in simple terms, when you find favor with God and your mind is rich in Jesus Christ then you are prosperous.

The Tree of Adam

We have seen some of the ways that God uses His diving numbers to move things around. We are now going to take a look at how God moves prosperity. When God found favor with Adam He gave him three sons, Cain, Abel, and Seth.

Cain = 9

Abel = 2

Seth = 7

Total = 18 = 9

In this bloodline two were blessed and one was cursed (Cain). God moved His blessings forward by using Seth.

The Tree of Noah

When God found favor with Noah, He gave him three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Shem = 9

Ham = 4

Japheth = 5

Total = 18 = 9

In this bloodline two were blessed and one was cursed (Ham).

The Tree of Abraham

When God found favor with Abraham, He made a covenant with Abraham after which God started referring to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Abraham = 8

Isaac = 6

Jacob = 4

Total = 18 = 9

Remember that in Abraham’s bloodline, there were two other males, Esau and Ishmael. These two guys were also cursed because Esau’s blessings were stolen from him and Ishmael was sent away. Remember God called Abraham and God gave him the following seeds:

•   Ishmael

•   Isaac

•   Esau

•   Jacob

God asked Abraham to send Ishmael away because that seed was a seed of choice. So we are left with Isaac, Esau, and Jacob. Out of these three, God repeated His divine nature by using two of them to move His blessings forward. He used Isaac and Jacob. Just like Cain and Ham, Esau was also cursed. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” Malachi 1:3. Ishmael was sent away because God did not want him to be a part of the covenant. As far as the covenant is concerned, God used Isaac and Jacob to move it forward. God said to Abram “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase you numbers.” Gen.17:1-2. This was the first blood covenant God made with man and as a part of this covenant, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. God also made this promise to Abraham “The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you, and I will be their God. As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” Gen.17:8-10. This covenant took place in Canaan.

Canaan = 7 = Complete, Perfect,

Circumcision = 10. This was a command and a name introduced by God for the first time.

Holy = 6

Heaven = 10

Spirit = 10

Holy Spirit = 7

Remember man was created on the sixth day; the Holy Spirit therefore, is the perfect spirit that came from Heaven to dwell in man. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24. It was on the sixth day that God gave man dominion over everything He had made on earth. The Holy Spirit can be described as “The dominant spirit from heaven.”

Key Divine Numbers

Adam produced 13 seeds from Cain to Enosh in Genesis chapter 4.

Number

Name

Value

1

Cain

9

2

Abel

2

3

Seth

7

Cain Produced:

4

Enoch

9

5

Irad

5

6

Mehujael

3

7

Methushael

4

8

Lamech

6

9

Jabal

8

10

Jubal

10

11

Tubal-Cain

2

12

Naamah (The only female)

2

Seth Produced:

13

Enosh

7

Total:

74 = 2

Tab. 9

From Enosh came the following seeds:

1.   Kenan

2.   Mahalalel

3.   Jared

4.   Enoch… . He walked with God for 300 years

5.   Methuselah

6.   Lamech

7.   Noah

The Bible teaches in Gen.4:17-26 that the total number of seeds produced by Adam and his three children would give you 13,; twelve males and one female. The Bible also tells us something new about man after the thirteen seeds were produced by Adam’s bloodline; it marked the beginning of a time when men began to seek God. “At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.” Gen.4:26. God gave Jacob the following children:

1.   Reuben = 2

2.   Simeon = 3

3.   Levi = 3

4.   Judah = 8

5.   Dan = 10

6.   Naphtali = 9

7.   Gad = 3

8.   Asher = 6

9.   Issachar = 6

10.   Zebulun = 2

11.   Dinah = 9… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the only female

12.   Joseph = 10

13.   Benjamin = 5

Total = 4

Once again, God repeated the cycle, with twelve males and one female just like He did with Adam’s bloodline. Total number of seeds in each group is 13.

13 = 4

The number 4 is God’s divine number to start a process and it is also God’s divine number to mark the end of seasons—you have winter, spring, summer, and fall. It was on the 4th day that God created lights in the sky and commanded them to serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years. “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.” Gen.1:14-19. In the beginning, God was the God of Adam when He created the universe.

Adam = 10.

At this stage, man was sinless and Adam was created in the image of God. After the fall of man as a result of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God changed His title when He made a covenant with Abraham and His new title became the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The divine number of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil = 18 = 9

Abraham + Isaac + Jacob = 18 = 9

What Adam and Eve did when they disobeyed God now became a part of every man because sin entered the world through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After thirteen seeds from Adam, God marked the end of season and used Seth to start a new chapter in His relationship with man. Noah came from the bloodline of Seth. God used Jacob to establish the nation of Israel when He changed Jacob’s name to Israel. After thirteen seeds from Jacob, God marked the end of another season by using the 12th seed—Joseph to move the Israelites to Egypt.

Seeds from Adam:

1.   Cain = 9*

2.   Abel = 2

3.   Seth = 7

Total =18 = 9

From this group, two were blessed and one (Cain the first seed) was cursed.

Seeds from Noah:

1.   Shem = 9

2.   Japheth = 5

3.   Ham = 4*

Total = 18 = 9

From this group, two were also blessed but one (Ham the youngest) was cursed.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil left a permanent mark in the human race; a mark that will always live in us as long as we remain in the world. When Jesus comes back, for us to be able to enter the kingdom of God, Jesus will give us new bodies—spiritual bodies. This is just an idea of how impossible it is to restore our bodies to its original state when God gave it to Adam. To understand this better, even after God made a covenant with Abraham to spark a tremendous new beginning in His relationship with us, He still did not erase the mark left in us by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After the covenant, God started addressing Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Abraham = 8

Isaac = 6

Jacob = 4

All three were very spiritually blessed but the total remains the same; 18 = 9. This is the divine number of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

When God made the covenant with Abraham, a test was introduced to make the covenant binding on Abraham and God. It was like no other test in the Bible and because this test had everything to do with the sins of man, God used Isaac for the test. Abraham’s faith was vigorously tested and he passed the test. Since our God is a God of details, He made sure that everything surrounding this covenant had the word sin written all over it. The covenant was God’s first major step to deal with the sins of man in a compassionate fashion. Remember God’s divine number for sin is 6.

Isaac = 6, and he was at the center of the test that ratified the covenant.

Before the covenant, God demonstrated to man that because of our disobedience, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will always be at the center of His relationship with man until Jesus comes to fix it.

Name

Firstborn

Value of Firstborn

Adam

Cain

9

Noah

Shem

9

Abraham

Ishmael

4

Total:

4

Tab. 10

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil will always mark the center of God’s relationship with man even though it changed with Abraham because of the covenant. It is important to remember that the first conversation God had with Adam was about this tree and the last conversation God had with Adam was also about this tree. The coming of Jesus Christ was about this tree and his second coming will also be about this tree. God declared the covenant He made with Abraham as a covenant of circumcision; a covenant of cleansing that deals with the sins of man. As the first covenant God made with man regarding sin, Jesus also followed the same process when he performed his first miracle of water and wine with six jars used for ceremonial cleansing. Jesus used 6 jars instead of five or four because he knew what the number 6 was all about. When Jesus performed the wine miracle, he was trying to also tell us that he came to fulfill the changes God made to His relationship with man. God through Abraham changed His divine number for dealing with man from 9 to 6. God used Mary to be the mother of Jesus Christ and God gave him the name Jesus. “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Luke 1:31. He was to be called Jesus the Christ. The book of Matthew gives us a road map of the bloodline of Jesus Christ in what it described as the Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus. I call it the bloodline of the son of God:

This is the male bloodline:

1.   God

2.   Adam (position =2)

3.   Seth

4.   Enosh

5.   Cainan

6.   Mahalalel

7.   Jared

8.   Enoch

9.   Methuselah

10.   Lamech

11.   Noah (position = 2)

12.   Shem

13.   Arphaxad

14.   Cainan

15.   Shelah

16.   Eber

17.   Peleg

18.   Reu

19.   Serug

20.   Nahor

21.   Terah

22.   Abraham (position = 4)

23.   Isaac (position = 5)

24.   Jacob (position = 6)

25.   Judah

26.   Perez

27.   Hezron

28.   Ram

29.   Amminadab

30.   Nahshon

31.   Salmon

32.   Boaz

33.   Obed

34.   Jesse

35.   David (position = 8)

36.   Nathan

37.   Mattathah

38.   Menan

39.   Melea

40.   Eliakim

41.   Jonan

42.   Joseph

43.   Judah

44.   Simeon

45.   Levi

46.   Matthat

47.   Jorim

48.   Eliezer

49.   Jose

50.   Er

51.   Elmodam

52.   Cosam

53.   Addi

54.   Melchi

55.   Neri

56.   Shealtiel

57.   Zembbabel

58.   Rhesa

59.   Joannas

60.   Judah

61.   Joseph

62.   Semei

63.   Mattathiah

64.   Maath

65.   Naggai

66.   Esli

67.   Nahum

68.   Amos

69.   Mattathiah

70.   Joseph

71.   Janna

72.   Melchi

73.   Levi

74.   Mattat

75.   Heli

76.   Joseph

77.   Jesus (position = 14)

The question you have to ask yourself when you look at this long list is that why would God take the time to supply us with this names? Like I said earlier, God is a God of details and we should pay very close attention to where God is leading us with this. I have highlighted some names by bold-marking them on the list because of the position they occupy. One of God’s remarkable ways of doing things is His positioning of events in our lives. God said His son will be called Jesus the Christ.

Christ = 77

He will be called Jesus the 77th because he will occupy position number 77 in the bloodline and he will be the sacrificial Passover lamb that is slaughtered on the 14th day of the month.

He is also the second 7 in the Holy Trinity which makes him the 77th because there are three sevens in the Holy Trinity—777. He is the second Adam as we all know and Adam is position number 2.) Later on, we will revisit this list. Jesus was made man to live on earth and God described him as His own son; Jesus was therefore both man and God. This was also in line with God’s divine number 2, which stands for creation. In every manifestation of the use of this divine number, a pair is created and each member is the exact opposite of the other. The part of Jesus Christ that was man was therefore completely opposite of the part of him that was God. The God part was supernatural, while the man part was natural. The Bible tells us that before the birth of Jesus Christ, God sent angel Gabriel to visit the Virgin Mary. “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke1:26-27. When you read further in this chapter of the Bible, you will notice the lengthy conversation between Mary and angel Gabriel; towards the end of the conversation, the angel said to Mary “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.” Luke 1:36. The angel was talking about the birth of John the Baptist. The interesting thing here is that the divine number 6 surrounds the birth of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist and both men are cousins. The angel visited Mary in the 6th month and Elizabeth was 6 months preganant.

Jesus = 2

John = 2

When John the Baptist was born his father Zechariah was asked to provide a name for the child, all he could say was John. This was a man who had been dumb for more than nine months since the visitation of the angel of the Lord. There is doubt the name John was given to him by the angel. Both Adam and Noah were used to create a new world. In the first world, God put Adam in charge but in the second world, He put Noah in charge. God’s covenant started with Abraham and ended with Jacob.

Abraham = 8 (divine number for a new beginning)

Jacob = 4 (divine number to end a process)

Previously we saw that:

•   God gave Abraham two seeds with a total value of 10

•   He gave Isaac two seeds with a total value of 5

•   He gave Jacob thirteen seeds with a total value of 2

10+5+2 = 17=8

From this revelation, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also the God of Abraham.

In the use of the divine number 8, there has to be a failed process for a new beginning to come into play. After the covenant with Abraham, why did God chose to end it with Jacob and not Esau? Why not chose the two sons of Isaac—Esau and Jacob? The reason is that when it comes to creation, God’s way of applying His unique favor to move a generation forward is done in such a manner that the favor rests with the second seed of every pair. When He created Adam and Eve, God used Eve to multiply the human race. Eve was the second seed of the pair of Adam and Eve. The devil understands this language very well and that is why he went after Eve and not Adam. Other examples of this principle are as follows:

Pairs

God’s favor was on

Cain and Abel

Abel

Esau and Jacob

Jacob

Manasseh and Ephraim

Ephraim

Darkness and Light

Light

Tab. 11

One of the most striking demonstrations of God in using this system was when Jacob was about to give his last blessings to his grandchildren—the two sons of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim). When Joseph brought his two sons before his dying father Jacob, Joseph was under the impression that things should be done customarily the way it is on earth. The custom was that the older would receive the right hand blessings while the younger will receive the left hand blessings. Have you ever wondered why God did nothing by way of punishment to Jacob when he deceived his father Isaac and eventually was given the blessings that were originally reserved for Esau? The reason is because this is how it works in the language of Heaven and Jacob took what was originally designed for him by Heaven, even though he thought he was doing the wrong thing. Joseph was convinced that the right hand blessings would go to his first son Manasseh and so since his father Jacob was almost blind Joseph decided to place his children in their rightful positions in front of his father. “Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right towards Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left towards Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to him, ‘No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said ‘I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” Gen.48:10-19. Although Joseph thought that his father was making a terrible mistake by placing his right hand on the younger son, his father on the other hand understood very well how the language of Heaven works. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel as an indication that the children of Jacob will establish the nation of Israel. With the twelve tribes of Israel in mind, God made Joseph the corner stone of the nation of Israel. When you look at the children of Jacob, his son Joseph is the number 12 seed. Everything about the nation of Israel had to be perfect and everything had to lineup with the language of Heaven. God started the covenant with Abraham but He ended it with Jacob leaving an unmistakable mark of His divine number 4, to start and end a process. A review of the life of Joseph shows us that his divine number was 2. This was also the divine number of the part of Jesus Christ that was human. That explains some of the reasons why God used Joseph in Egypt to play the part of Jesus Christ.

Joseph = 10. He was the 12th seed = 3

Joseph did almost everything using his divine number 2. When Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt for the first time, Joseph decided to take one of his brothers and put him in prison until they bring their youngest brother Benjamin. “If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving household.” Gen.42:19. By operating with his divine number, Joseph knew exactly who he was going to take as prisoner. “He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.” Gen.42:24. Notice that in the chronological list of the children of Jacob, Simeon is number 2 and that makes him a perfect choice for Joseph.

How Joseph’s divine number 2 shaped his life

1.   God gave Joseph two dreams about his destiny.

2.   His life was saved by two of his brothers (Reuben and Judah)

3.   His mother had two children ( himself and Benjamin)

4.   He was sold into slavery two times (first by his brothers to the Ishmaelites and second by the Ishmaelites to Portipha).

5.   His brothers sold him for twenty shekels of silver. 20 = 2

6.   He was number 2 in command in Portipha’s house

7.   He was 2nd in command in prison.

8.   He was 2nd in command in Egypt.

9.   The closest people to him while in prison were two inmates; 2 of Pharaoh’s former top officials (the baker and the butler)

10.   He interpreted 2 dreams in prison

11.   He interpreted 2 dreams for Pharaoh when he got out of prison

12.   He was forgotten by Pharaoh’s butler for 2 years

13.   He revealed himself to his brothers when they came to Egypt the 2nd time

14.   He had 2 children (Ephraim and Manasseh)

15.   He spoke 2 languages fluently (Hebrew and Egyptian)

16.   He accused his brothers 2 times with the same statement “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” Gen.42:9-12.

17.   During his brothers’ 2nd Journey to Egypt, they took 2 times the amount of silver to give to Joseph.

18.   There had been 2 years of famine when his father and brothers came to settle in Egypt.

19.   His mother Rachel was the 2nd wife of his father even though his father’s original intention was to make Joseph’s mother his first and only wife.

20.   Joseph lived 110 years. Gen. 50:22. 110 = 2.

Joseph was very successful, surmounting all obstacles because he constantly operated with his divine number 2. By the same token, when Jesus was about to start his ministry, he operated with his natural divine number 2 by choosing two disciples in Matthew 4:18-22 and John 1:35-42. My question to you is “Do you know your divine number?” When you don’t’ know your divine number and you constantly navigate life without it, you become like a powerless boat trapped in the middle of an ocean. It is spiritually dangerous not to operate with your divine number. From the moment Jesus revealed my divine number to me and I started using it, every aspect of my life has changed tremendously. When I look back at some life changing circumstances in the past when my divine number made all the differences to turn things around, it just blows my mind away. As simple as it may sound or look, your divine number is that personal supernatural key that unlocks your spiritual destiny. When you know it and operate with it, nothing under the phase of this planet can stop you from reaching the greatest heights of what you were created to do. Jesus knew the secret behind this and that is why he operated exclusively with his divine numbers of 2 and 3.

How Jesus used his divine numbers (2 and 3)

1.   Jesus started his ministry at the age of 30 = 3.

2.   He was tempted by the devil 3 times.

3.   He went to the temple for the first time at the age of 12 = 3.

4.   He chose 12 = 3 disciples.

5.   The total number of people crucified with him on the same day was three. Himself and two thieves.

6.   Jesus made a unique prayer to God three times “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Matthew 26:36-40.

7.   He saw two boats in the sea when he called his first disciples. Luke 5:1-3.

8.   His first two miracles were performed in the same place—Cana in Galilee. John 2:1-11 and John 4:43-54.

9.   He had two favorite disciples (Peter and John). He used Peter to build his church and he used John to prepare his return.

10.   He performed two miraculous fish catch.

11.   He rose from the dead on the third day.

12.   After his resurrection, he appeared to his disciples three times.

13.   Everything about Jesus before he came was written in three books—the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

14.   He came to us in the third generation from Abraham. Matthew1:17.

15.   He was visited at birth by three wise men (Magi) and they brought him three gifts.

16.   He preached on earth for three years.

17.   He gave us three ways to communicate with God (Ask, Seek, and Knock) Matthew 7:7.

18.   His mission was divided into three categories. He preached, he taught, and he healed.

19.   He built his church on the third disciple—Peter. John 1:35-42.

20.   He was crucified on the cross with three nails. One on each hand and the third one on his feet.

21.   During his last hour of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, he formed a body of three people (himself plus two of his disciples)

22.   He is an embodiment of three miracles—his birth, his life, and his death.

23.   He died at 3.00 pm.

24.   His last statement before death was three words “It is finished.”

25.   He was sold for 30= 3 shekels of silver.

26.   He spoke three times on the cross. (John 19:26-30)

27.   He was one of three spirits that came together before his arrest—himself, Moses, and Elijah.

28.   While on the cross, darkness came over the land for three hours; from the 6th hour to the 9th hour.

29.   There were three people who first visited his tomb and were informed that he is risen. They were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.

30.   Peter denied him three times.

31.   While on the cross, Jesus was insulted three times; Matthew 27:39-40, Matthew 27:41-43, and Matthew 27:44.

32.   After his resurrection and during his third manifestation to his disciples, Jesus asked Peter the same question three times “Do you love me?”

33.   It was at the 6th hour (the hour of sin) on the day of preparation for the Passover that Jesus was condemned for crucifixion. Pilate wrote an inscription on the cross “Jesus the Nazareen, the king of the Jews.” It was written in three languages—Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

34.   There were three spiritual bodies in his tomb before his resurrection—himself plus two angels. John 20:12.

35.   There were three spiritual bodies present when he ascended into Heaven—himself plus two angels. Acts. 1:10.

36.   He was crucified at the third hour. (Mark 15:25)

37.   He was betrayed by the 12th disciple. 12 = 3

38.   The plague on the firstborn in Egypt which signifies his death was unleashed at midnight = 3

39.   For the Passover feast which is all about him, God named three locations where they should put the blood of the animal—the left, the right, and the top of the door frame.

40.   With regards to how to eat the meat, God also mentioned three parts of the Passover animal—the head, legs, and inner parts

41.   God mentioned three conditions of preparation as they eat the meat:

•   Eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt

•   Eat it with your sandals on your feet

•   Eat it with your staff in your hand

42.   His last miracle on earth was during his third manifestation to his disciples. It was a miraculous fish catch of 153 = 9.

43.   When the soldiers came to visit the three people that were crucified on that day to break their legs, Jesus was their third visit. John 19:34

44.   The first disciples Jesus called were two disciples of John. John 1:39-40

45.   Jesus took three things with him on the cross, but he gave up two of them on the cross for our salvation. He took his flesh, blood and bones. He gave up his flesh and blood for us to eat and drink.

46.   Jesus fed people two times miraculously with fish

47.   There were two miracles that Jesus performed on water; the calming of the storm and the walking on water.

Remember Jesus came to fix once and for all the original sin that started with Adam and Eve. It is important to also remember that it all started with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first move God made to tackle the birth of sin into the world was when He made the covenant with Abraham. The miracle item that was at the center of this covenant was Abraham’s son Isaac. When we look at the whole picture, it is clear that it all started with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and God addressed it by using Isaac.

The divine number of tree of the knowledge of good and evil = 9

Isaac = 6

One thing we know for certain is that Jesus came to reverse the consequences of sin; in other words, he came to wipe it out and by doing so, he will have to start from the opposite end of the process in order to accomplish the task. Instead of starting from 9, that’s why Jesus decided to start from 6 to address the issue. The Bible tells us that when God asked Abraham to sacrifice a lamb for Him, Abraham looked around and realized that there was no lamb available but God surprisingly provided the lamb. By the same token, when Jesus was at the wedding, when the host realized that there was no wine left Jesus provided the wine for the wedding to continue. Remember, a wedding is a holy covenant. Jesus used six jars of water to miraculously make more wine for the wedding, just like God miraculously provided Abraham with the sacrificial lamb. To complete the mission, Jesus used the 153 = 9 miraculous fish catch and darkness coming over the land from the 6th to the 9th hour because it all started with the divine number 9 for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.

The miracle of darkness for three hours that ended at the 9th hour was the last miracle on the cross while the 153 = 9 fish catch was the last miracle Jesus performed on earth.

In John 14:27 Jesus summarized everything he came to give us in one word “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

PEACE = 30 = 3 (He gave us his supernatural divine number)

Jesus the Christ = Jesus the 77th

The number 7 is God’s divine number for perfection and it is the divine number for each member of the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit).

Jesus Christ = 74 + 77 = 7

Holy Spirit = 60 + 91 = 7

If God was to give us one universal name to address him with, it will be 7 as well because the Holy Trinity is inseparable. We know for certain that the number 7 is very important to him because that’s the day He decided to rest after creating the world and He called it holy. We also know that Jesus told us that He is one with the Father. “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30. Therefore, if Jesus Christ = 7, then The Father = 7.

God in three persons is 777 = 21 = 3. This is the divine number of the part of Jesus Christ that was supernatural, while the divine number for the part of him that was natural—human, was the number 2. This had to do with his position (number two in the Holy Trinity). There is also a supernatural aspect of his position in the Holy Trinity and that happens when you combine them.

The Father = The Son = 77 = 14 = 5 = Victory

If we also add his natural divine number 2 to his supernatural divine number 3, we also get 5 for victory. Remember the first time God gave the world a sign that He was about to do something big through His son Jesus Christ was when He rescued the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The number 14 was a very significant component of God’s plan in Egypt.

“The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.” Exod. 12:5-6.

God used the animals mentioned here to spiritually represent His son Jesus Christ. The last words Jesus said on the cross also remind us of the importance of the number 14, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With this, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30.

It is finished = 14 = 5

The Bible teaches us that after Jesus was born, Magi from the east came to worship him and they brought him three gifts.

Gold = 2 (That he is the king of all creations)

Incense = 6 (That he came to take away our sins)

Myrrh = 10 (That he came down from Heaven)

Total = 18 = 9 = Divine number for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The value of the three gifts put together, tells us what Jesus was born to accomplish. God sent his son Jesus Christ to finally deal with the destructive effects of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus was God himself brought down from Heaven to live with us. The part of Jesus that was man is what died on the cross. On the other hand, the part of Jesus that was God never died on the cross and that’s what resurrected on the third day and ascended into Heaven. He died at age 33 because it was only the part of him that was man that actually died.

33= 6. This is also the divine number for man, sin and dominion. If deep inside your heart, you have truly given your life to Jesus Christ, and he is satisfied with the steps you’ve taken, he will assign you a divine number that the Holy Spirit uses to operate in you. When I say divine number, I am not talking about a lucky number or anything that has to do with the world. Your divine number is strictly supernatural and that’s what spiritually sets you apart from the rest of the world. This is the number that enables you to navigate life overriding all hurdles because you are operating in the supernatural spectrum. There are absolutely no dictionary words to explain what this number can do for you.

The Mission of Jesus Christ

The spiritual world God originally gave Adam and Eve was a very perfect world that God designed to be a carbon copy of Heaven = 10. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve through disobedience allowed sin to enter the world and changed it to a 6, by using the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is the number 9. When Jesus came to us, he used his first miracle to tell us what his mission was all about—that he came to take away the sins of the world which is rooted in the number 9. He wasted no time in demonstrating this during his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. The Book of John is clearly one of the gospels that details the way Jesus meticulously navigated with his divine numbers. According to the Book of John, it was on the second day at the tenth hour that Jesus started his ministry with two disciples.

From the Book of John, we know that after the baptism of Jesus Christ, three things happened:

›   On the first day, John introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29-31.

›   On the second day, two of John’s disciples followed Jesus and that started his ministry. John 1:35-42.

›   On the third day, Jesus, his mother, and his disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana.

He was baptized on the first day because the number 1 is reserved for Heaven. He started his ministry on the second day because 2 is God’s divine number for creation—to start things on earth. He attended the wedding on the third day because the number 3 is his supernatural divine number and it was perfect timing for this supernatural miracle at the wedding.

“When the wine was gone Jesus’ mother said to him ‘They have no more wine.’ Dear woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My time has not yet come.” John 2:3-4. Notice how Jesus’ mother was trying to convince Jesus to do something that he was not yet ready to undertake. The response from Jesus was in fulfillment of the divine plan God had for man in the Garden of Eden regarding the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Regardless of the fact that God asked Adam and Eve not to eat from this tree, He did not plant that tree in the garden to tempt or harm man. Everything in the garden was original designed by God for the benefit of man at designated times in the future. Jesus came to the world to execute a detailed plan handed to him by the Father in Heaven. Every single miracle and word that Jesus gave to us was nothing but a package that was meticulously put together for him by Heaven. When Jesus gave his mother that response, he was referring to the detailed time table given to him from Heaven to perform every single miracle on earth. The shocking thing was that even after he gave his mother that response, he still went ahead and performed the miracle. From a spiritual perspective, was Jesus disobeying God’s time table when he performed this miracle? The answer is No. The reason is because Jesus was just demonstrating a replay of the events that took place in the Garden of Eden and this miracle was a preview of the mission he came to accomplish on earth—take away the sins of the world. Just as it was not yet time for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil but they went ahead and ate from it anyway, it was also not yet time for Jesus to perform the wine miracle but he went ahead and did it.

Water = 4

Wine = 6

Water + Wine = 10

Remember the number 4 is God’s number to start a process, the number 6 is for man and sin, while the number 10 is for Heaven. When God started creating the world in the book of Genesis, water was here on day one and when He was done with the work of creating everything He then created man on day six. Jesus was trying to tell the world that he came down from Heaven. Before God started creating the world the Bible teaches us that the earth was formless. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Gen. 1:2

The waters were here before God started creating the world and the waters were also there before Jesus made the wine. God used His spirit that was hovering over the waters to create the world and likewise, Jesus used the same spirit that was hovering over the waters to make the wine. Jesus repeated this miracle just before he went on the cross. As he was seated at the table celebrating the Passover, he declared that the wine will become his blood. “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying ‘Drink from it all of you.’ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:27-28.

This miracle was to tell us that he came to die for our sins.

Wine = Natural and made by man

Blood = Supernatural made by God

Wine + Blood = 9

Jesus came to rescue us from the bondage of sin which came upon man through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To balance the equation, his mission must sum up to what gave birth to sin in the beginning. His mission must sum up to the value of the divine number of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1.   He came to be crucified—Crucify

2.   He came to die on the cross—Death

3.   He came to be buried—Burial

4.   He came to resurrect on the third day—Resurrection

Crucify = 4

Death = 2

Burial = 9

Resurrection = 3

Crucify + Death + Burial + Resurrection = 18 = 9

Crucify + Death + Burial + Resurrection = The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

His mission on earth also reveals a very important spiritual demarcation. The first three steps—Crucify, Death, and Burial were responsibilities that God entrusted into the hands of man; in other words, man was physically responsible for his crucifixion, death, and burial. When the time came for his resurrection, man had nothing to do with it. God took care of his resurrection on the third day.

STEPS

RESPONSIBILITY OF

VALUE

Crucify

Man

4

Death

Man

2

Burial

Man

9

Sub Total:

6 = Sin (Natural)

Resurrection

God

3 = (Supernatural)

Total:

18 = 9 = The divine number for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Tab. 12

The four steps that Jesus had to take to redeem man had to clearly depict the language of Heaven. When he was crucified on the cross, this was in line with God’s divine number 4, to start a process. When he died on the cross there was no doubt that he will go back to the Father. Unlike the rest of the world, when we die, our fate is entirely in the hands of Jesus Christ. A pair of options is immediately created; depending on the decisions of Jesus Christ who is the ultimate judge, we either go to hell or we go to Heaven. This is in conformity with God’s divine number 2, for creation of a pair in such a way that each member is the exact opposite of the other. The sub total of the responsibilities of man is also in conformity with the divine number for man and sin which is 6.

Sin = 6

When Jesus was buried, it was a symbolic manifestation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the last phase of the natural process. Remember, the last miracle Jesus performed on earth was in John 21:11; the miraculous fish catch of 153 = 9. You might be wondering why burial and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil have the same value. Let’s recall that God said to Adam “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Gen.2:16-17. God was referring to natural death. The human system is made of two components, the body and soul. The body is natural while the soul is supernatural which is why your soul never dies; and because the soul never dies, it cannot be buried either. After the body dies, it is subjected to burial and the only reason why the body dies is because of the effects of sin which started in the Garden of Eden. The first three steps were all natural steps while the last step—resurrection was very supernatural. The sum of the natural steps is 6, marking the natural state of man. The sum of the supernatural step is 3 and the sum of all four steps is 18 = 9 which proves that his mission definitely sums up to the divine number of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Remember the number 3 is the supernatural divine number that Jesus used to operate in the world and it is also the divine number for the Holy Trinity—God in three persons.

The Flood

The Bible tells us in Genesis Chapter 6-9 that Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came on the earth and God sent the flood because He could no longer tolerate man’s evil behavior on earth. “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” Gen. 7:11-12.

The divine number 17 is a very powerful unique number that God uses on very special cases to bring Heaven on earth for the purpose of a new beginning that will end with the establishment of peace—the kind of peace that brings every spiritual storm under control.

Heaven = 10

Earth = 7

Heaven + Earth = 10 + 7 = 17

Since God’s main purpose was to create a new world, He started the flood on the second month because the number 2 is His divine number for creation. In Gen.17:24, the Bible tells us that the waters flooded the earth for 150 days = 6. This is the divine number for man and sin. Remember when Jesus came to give us the opportunity for a new beginning, his first miracle was changing water to wine with 6 jars of water originally used for ceremonial cleansing from sin. “The waters receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. By the 27th day of the second month the earth was completely dry.” Gen.8:3-14. God created a new world on the 27th day of the second month.

27 = 9.

Notice how God used His divine number 2 for creation but the divine number 9 that was originally introduced by Adam and Eve is still there. God will later use His son Jesus Christ to take care of it.

Ararat = 5 (Victory and mission accomplished).

Remember David took five stones to fight Goliath even though he ended up using only one stone to accomplish the mission. Also when Jesus accomplished his mission here on earth by dying on the cross, before he took his last breath, his last words were “It is finished.”

Ararat = It is finished = 5

From the information given to us by God, we know the following:

1.   The flood started on the 17th day of the 2nd month.

2.   The waters flooded the earth for 150 days

3.   The ark came to rest on the 17th day of the 7th month.

4.   The ark sailed for 150 days which is about 5 months—mission accomplished.

5.   The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat.

6.   On the first day of the 10th month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

7.   The earth was completely dry by the 27th day of the 2nd month.

8.   Noah and his family came out of the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month; same day the earth was completely dry.

9.   The waters flooded the earth for 150 days = 6 to kill every living thing. The wages of sin is death. Sin = 6.

10.   The waters dried up from the earth on Noah’s 601 birth day.

601 = 7 (This was the same day that God rested from creating the first world in Genesis 2:2)

The Bible teaches that the floodgates of Heaven and the springs of the deep were opened for 40 days and 40 nights.

40 + 40 = 8 (God’s divine number for a new beginning)

Remember Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights when God called him to receive the Ten Commandments in Exodus 24:18 and Jesus fasted for 40 days and forty nights when he was about to start his ministry in Matthew 4:2.

The waters from the flood gates of Heaven were moving south bound. (Water from Above)

The Earth

The waters from the springs of the deep were moving north bound. (Water from Below)

What we see here is a clear demonstration of the use of God’s divine number 2 which he uses for creation on earth. Remember we talked about how it works. God creates a pair in which each member is the exact opposite of the other. Notice how the waters from Heaven are moving in opposite direction to the waters from the springs of the deep. The flood started when Noah was 600 years old.

600 = 6

Remember in Luke 1:26, Jesus was conceived in the 6th month and in John 2:1-11 he performed his first miracle with 6 jars of water originally reserved for ceremonial cleansing. From a supernatural standpoint of His divine numbers, God started the process on the 17th day of the second month and He finished on the 17th day of the 7th month. The second month is for creation and the seventh month is for complete, perfect, and holy.

Jesus clears the Temple. John 2:12-25

When it was almost time for the Passover, Jesus walked into the temple and did something very unique that revealed the key aspect of his mission on earth. In the temple courts, he found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. Jesus made a whip out of cords and did the following:

†   He drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle.

†   He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

†   To those who sold doves he said “Get these out of here.”

The big question is “Why did Jesus treat the dove sellers different?” In Luke 3:21-22 the Bible says that when Jesus was baptized, Heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.

Cattle = 7

Sheep = 8

Money = 9

Dove = 10

7+8+9+10 = 34 =7 (Complete and perfect)

Heaven = 10

Notice that out of these four items, Jesus took care of the cattle, the sheep, and money but he did not touch the doves because he asked the dove traders to take them away.

Cattle + sheep + money = 24 = 6 (man and sin)

Jesus did not visit the temple because he came from Heaven to save the building. The church is the house of God and will always be a holy place but the members will always be sinners. The confrontation that took place at the temple was a symbolic presentation of what was about to take place in the real temple of God. We are the real temple of God. His dwelling place is located in our hearts and souls. Jesus used this moment to reveal his mission on earth and that is why he said “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:19. He came to die on the cross to take away our sins and subsequently give us the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. It is true that what happened at the temple appeared to look like a storm between Jesus and the temple traders but let’s not forget that Jesus came to trade with us because he bought our sins in exchange for the Holy Spirit. The major difference in this transaction is that while Jesus paid for our sins with his blood on the cross, we as sinners paid nothing to receive the Holy Spirit; Jesus also paid for it. We are the temple of God and what Jesus did with the temple is exactly what he did with us; he made a whip out of cords and drove the sheep and cattle out of the temple, he also scattered the money. Jesus drove away and scattered our sins with his blood on the cross. He overturned the table of the money changes because he came to overturn the effects of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and also to overturn the divine number of prosperity which is also rooted in money. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins

Whip = 2

Cords = 5

Whip + Cords = 7 (Perfect and Holy)

When he told the dove sellers to take the dove away, he was demonstrating the gift of the Holy Spirit. Remember, you can only receive the Holy Spirit after your sins have been taken away by Jesus Christ and that explains why instead of taking care of the dove sellers at the beginning, Jesus decide to deal with it at the end. He made sure that he first addressed the cattle, sheep, and money which add up to our sins before addressing the doves which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Remember when Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit for the first time he said “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22. Jesus was saying, take the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, it is not an indication that sin disappears from our lives; the Holy Spirit is there to help us fight the influence of sin as we take the journey with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit takes the front seat in our lives while sin takes the back seat and as much as the Holy Spirit shines in us, sin still lives in us as well. This spiritual reaction is also what Jesus was trying to reveal to us. When the dove is added to the sum of the cattle, sheep, and money, we get the overshadowing effect of the Holy Spirit. Your heart becomes a dwelling place for God only when the Holy Spirit overshadows everything in your life. When this happens, the Holy Spirit takes precedence over everything else in your life and the result will appear as if there is no more sin in you. The truth is we are still sinful lost souls but Jesus Christ makes us perfect through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Cattle + Sheep + Money + Dove = 7

Holy Spirit = 7

Before the death of Jesus Christ, while he was still on the cross, the Bible teaches us in Luke 23:44-46 that darkness covered the land from the 6th hour to the 9th hour; the sun stopped shining; and the curtain of the temple was turn in two. All these took place before he was about to take his last breath on the cross. This was a playback of the temple visit.

→   The 6th hour represents the sum of the cattle, sheep, and money. This represents the sins of the world.

→   The 7th hour represents the cattle

→   The 8th hour represents the sheep

→   The 9th hour represents the money

After the 9th hour, the very next hour to experience light was the 10th hour which represents the doves and the Holy Spirit. The temple curtain was turn in two because of the way Jesus divided the events at the temple. He grouped them into two. The cattle, the sheep, and the money were one group that he took away, while the doves formed the second group that he asked the sellers to take away. Remember that with the divine number 2, each member of a pair is the exact opposite of the other. In this case, group one which represents our sins is the exact opposite of group two which is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus feeds five and four thousand

These two miracles reveal some of the most interesting mysterious aspects of the mission of Jesus Christ. When he fed 5,000 people, the following took place:

›   He used 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish

›   He healed the sick

›   The leftovers were 12 basketfuls of broken bread

›   There were 5,000 people excluding women and children

›   The people had been with him for one full day.

When he fed 4,000 people, the Bible reveals the following:

›   He used 7 loaves and a few small fish

›   He healed the sick

›   The people praised the God of Israel for the healings

›   The leftovers were 7 basketfuls of broken bread

›   There were 4,000 people excluding women and children

›   The people had been with Jesus for three days.

The amazing thing about these two miracles is that after feeding the people, Jesus asked his disciples to gather the leftovers. Why would Jesus of all people do something like that? Did he do it to teach us that we should always gather leftovers for the future? Was he planning on using them to feed his disciples or another group of people? The truth is with what we know about Jesus, these assumptions make no sense as to the reasons why he did it. If he did it for any or all of these reasons, then Jesus essentially came to teach us common sense. Jesus came to the world to die for our sins and common sense is something God already equipped us with when He created us. There is no place in the Bible that explains what happened to the leftovers from the two miracles. If Jesus gathered the leftovers for the purpose of using them later, he would have used the first leftovers to start feeding the 4,000.

If Jesus gathered the leftovers for future use, then he would have performed the miracle of 4,000 people with fewer loaves. If it took him seconds to come up with more than enough food for 9,000 people, why would he care about leftovers? If Jesus gathered the leftovers for future use, then something is seriously wrong with his teachings because this is the same Jesus who said in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Jesus came to revisit the journey of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. This is the same journey that leads us to the kingdom of God. If Jesus came to the world just to die on the cross, then he would have just stayed low out of sight and wait for that day when God will find a way to make it happen—his crucifixion. When the Israelites took this journey, it was full of disobedience; Jesus came to show us how this journey is flawlessly accomplished. In both miracles, the Bible excluded women and children from the number of people Jesus miraculously fed.

We know that both God and Jesus Christ love women and children and we also know that the Bible was not trying to minimize the importance or the love Jesus has for both women and children. There is no doubt that both women and children were also fed during these two miracles. The Bible excluded them from the count because of what the miracles were designed for. We also know that the 4,000 people praised the God of Israel for the healings but the 5,000 did not. Why did the 5,000 not praise God, were they ungrateful and selfish? The truth is, this group decided not to praise God for the healings but the reason the Bible chose not to make a big deal of it was because the praises from the 4,000 is what really matters in the supernatural connection of these two miracles. For more people and with fewer loaves, his disciples collected 12 basket full of broken bread leftovers; that is 5 more than what they collected when he fed fewer people (4,000) with more loaves. One will expect that in the second miracle of 4,000 people, sine Jesus had more loaves and fewer people (1,000 less) to feed the leftover should be more than 12 basketfuls. Instead, his disciples collected 7 basketfuls—that was 5 less than they collect from the first miracle of 5,000 people. Was the second miracle less effective? No, I don’t think so. Jesus allowed this to happen because these two miracles were a replay of Bricks without Straw in Exodus 5:1-21.

Prior to Pharaoh issuing the law for the Israelites to make bricks without straw, Moses and Aaron had just finished meeting with the Israelites where Aaron performed some miracles before the people and these were some of the three signs of healing that God gave Moses when He called him through the Burning Bush. In Exod. 4:29-31, the Bible tells us that the Israelites praised the God of Israel. That’s exactly what happened when Jesus performed the miracles of healing when he fed the 4,000. The miracle of 4,000 people depicts the life of the Israelites in Egypt before Pharaoh passed the law of bricks without straw. Pharaoh and his officials usually supply the Israelites with straw to make bricks and the number of straw given to the Israelites daily was just enough to meet the quota for that day. That is why when Jesus fed the 4,000 people with 7 loaves, the leftovers were exactly 7 basketfuls of broken bread.

›   The 7 loaves represent the supply of straw

›   The 7 basketfuls of leftovers represent how many days the supply was used

The one mistake the Israelites made was that when Pharaoh decided to make their life more difficult, they pushed God away. The miracle of 5,000 people was designed to reveal what the life of the Israelites would have looked like if they had approached Moses and Aaron after Pharaoh passed that law. In this miracle, Jesus used fewer loaves to feed more people and the leftovers were 5 basketfuls more than the miracle of 4,000 people. This outcome is what the Israelites would have experienced.

•   They in fact had fewer straw to meet their daily brick quota

•   They would have produced more than their daily quota

•   The only reason why they failed to experience this outcome was because instead of praising God as they did in Exod. 4:29-31, they walked away from God. That’s why the 5,000 people did not praise God.

Moses and Aaron knew what was going on and they were prepared to help the Israelites overcome the hurdles. That is why the Bible tells us that these two men were waiting to meet again with the Israelites. “When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, ‘May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’” Exod. 5:20-21. As you can see, the Israelites attacked Moses and Aarom with some very harsh words.

Spiritual Lesson # 9

One common mistake we all make as Christians, regardless of how long we’ve been serving God is that during severe stormy periods in our lives, we tend to shift our position from God. Our prayers are filled with all the good things we want from God but we fail to understand that the blessings we are asking for always starts with a storm. When you see the storm, it is an indication that your blessings are on their way.

When Pharaoh passed the new law of bricks without straw, the Israelites immediately lost faith in Moses and Aaron. They thought “If God really appeared to these guys, then why would He let Pharaoh get away with making our lives more miserable?” This is a very common mistake in life; we do this all the time. When King Herod beheaded John the Baptist, the people should have asked the same question about Jesus Christ; a simple question like: “If Jesus is who he claims to be, how come he couldn’t stop King Herod from killing John the Baptist?” Instead, they trusted Jesus even more because they followed him even as Jesus tried to get away; King Herod’s actions did not sway the people’s faith in Jesus Christ. That’s how the Israelites should have reacted as well. The Bible excluded women and children from the count because back in Egypt, bricks were only made by men. Just like Jesus broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to give to the 4,000 and 5,000 people, straw was supplied by Pharaoh’s officials to slave drivers who then gave the straw to the Israelites to make bricks.

Before Jesus fed the 5,000, he had just received news of King Herod beheading John the Baptist. The Bible tells us that in Matthew 14:13-21 that as soon as Jesus heard the news, he withdrew privately to a solitary place and when the crowd heard the news, they followed Jesus to the solitary place. It was no secret that John the Baptist was working for Jesus and that they were cousins. You would expect that the death of John the Baptist should have created a lack of spiritual credibility about Jesus in the minds of the people. One would expect questions like—how come you didn’t save your own cousin?. Amazingly, that was not the case; the crowd followed Jesus to the solitary place. This action was a demonstration of what the Israelites should have done as soon as Pharaoh passed the law of bricks without straw. The Israelites should have followed Moses and Aaron to experience the following:

†   God would have given them straw to meet their daily quota with leftovers

†   They would have produced more bricks above their daily quota

†   They would have been free from the pain of looking for straw.

Remember, the miracle of 4,000 people depicts the life of the Israelites before Pharaoh passed the law, while the miracle of 5,000 people stands for the life God had in plan for the Israelites after the straw law. When the 4,000 praised God, they did not just praise any God, the Bible makes it very clear that they praised the God of Israel. “The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:31. We should keep in mind that the people that praised God in this miracle were not the same people that Jesus healed. This was an indication of the same praises that the Israelites gave their God when Moses and Aaron performed two of the three miracles that God gave Moses in Exod. 4:29-31. God asked Moses to perform these miracles before the people so that they may belief that the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has appeared to Moses and Aaron.

Although God gave Moses three miracles of healing to convince the people, he ended up using only the first two. The third sign was designed as a last resort, to be used only if the Israelites refused to belief the first two signs. The Bible makes it very clear that the after Moses performed the signs, the Israelites believed, bowed down and worshiped their God. Although Moses and Aaron performed two signs of healing, the people gave God one praise for both miracles. That explains why after Jesus performed the two miracles of feeding 5,000 and 4,000 people only one-praise was given to the God of Israel and because the Israelites praised God before Pharaoh passed the law; that also explains why the praise came from the miracle of 4,000 people which stands for the life of the Israelites in Egypt before Pharaoh passed the law of bricks without straw.

Decapolis and Bethsaida

The first blind man Jesus healed was the man who was born blind in John 9:1-12 but the first time Jesus physically looked up to Heaven before performing a miracle was when he healed the deaf and mute man in Decapolis in Mark 7:31-37. When Jesus healed the man born blind—not in Bethsaida, he did not look up to heaven before performing the miracle, he just went ahead and did it; he touched the blind man once but when he healed the blind man in Bethsaida in Mark 8:22-26, he touched him twice. The miracle that took place in Decapolis for the deaf and mute and the miracle that took place in Bethsaida for the blind, both have something in common:

→   Jesus took the men aside, away from the crowd

→   Jesus used his saliva for the miracles

→   The people begged Jesus to touch these men.

You might be wondering why Jesus had to first look up to heaven before healing the deaf and mute man. Did he look up to heaven because he ran out of steam to perform miracles at that moment? Did he take the two men away from the crowd because he felt there were some negative powers in the crowd that could interfere with the outcome of the miracles? Did Jesus lack enough powers to heal the blind man with one touch? The answer to all these questions is No. If you say yes to any of these questions then you make Jesus to be less than what the Bible teaches us about him. The Bible teaches in John 3:16 that Jesus is the only son of God. Jesus said in John 14:9 “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”. Before Jesus came to the world, there was only one person that God made like Himself for a temporary period—and that was Moses. The Lord said to Moses “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet”. Exod. 7:1. Every miracle Moses performed was a detailed instruction from God. The only time Moses seriously failed to follow such detailed instructions was when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it for water to come out for the Israelites to drink, This act of disobedience did not only disqualify Moses from entering the Promised Land, it also took his life. This is just an example of how serious it gets when we try to dance around detailed instructions from God. Moses was charged with the mission of leading the Israelites out of bondage and successfully taking them to the Promised Land. God sent His only son Jesus Christ to show us how the mission is to be carried out without flaws, from departure to arrival. The whole idea of coming to Jesus and living a Christian life to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is essentially taking this spiritual journey from Egypt. Israel is the Embassy of Heaven.

If Jesus came only to die on the cross, then he would have lived just for the length of time that it takes to prepare him for it and he would not have taken the time to do miracles. His death on the cross, his resurrection, and his ascension are way bigger than all other miracles he performed on earth. Every miracle he performed and every word he used were all detailed plans from the Father. “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work”. John 14:9-11. Just like God gave specific instructions to Moses on what to do at every stage of the journey, God also gave specific instructions to His son Jesus Christ on what to do at every stage of the journey. Moses physically took this journey but Jesus came to take it on a supernatural level because the journey was originally designed from Heaven. When they brought the men to him in Decapolis and Bethsaida, Jesus knew exactly how he was going to tackle the situation. Remember, the spiritual blue print of this journey has not changed, it is the same one God used when He called Moses. The reason Jesus isolated the two men by taking them away from the crowd was because Jesus was now dealing with the time when God called Moses and Aaron for the mission to go to Egypt. Jesus isolated the two men just like God isolated Moses and Aaron.

The miracle of the deaf and mute man in Decapolis and the miracle of the blind man in Bethsaida were the spiritual extreme makeovers that God gave Moses and Aaron to prepare them for the mission. As Jesus was looking up to heaven, the Bible said he released a sigh and said “Ephphatha” which means be opened. Jesus looked up to heaven before healing the deaf and mute man because when God was talking to Moses through the burning bush, heaven was opened. When Jesus said be opened, he was not referring to the man’s ears, he was communicating with heaven. If he was referring to the man’s ears, right after that Jesus would have also said “be loosed” to the man’s tongue. It is always a common practice for heaven to be opened when God is speaking to the world; a good example was when Jesus was baptized. “When all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22. The sigh from Jesus was an indication of God’s reaction when Moses was trying to argue with God in an attempt to convince God that he was not the perfect man for the job. “But Moses said ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it’” Exod. 4:13. Moses also said to God “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exod. 4:10. Moses was basically saying to God that he was mute. Moses was not only mute, he was also partially deaf. The blind man in Bethsaida represents Aaron, while the deaf and mute man in Decapolis represents Moses.

When Moses complained that he was mute, God responded by saying “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exod. 4:11-12. Notice how Moses complained of one thing—just mute but God responded with three things—mute, deaf and blind. God responded this way because He was about to change these three things in Moses and Aaron from natural to supernatural. Moses was mute and partially deaf while Aaron was blind. For Moses, it was giving him a new mouth and new ears; for Aaron, it was giving him a new set of eyes. God was about to make these two men the most powerful men alive. God first called Aaron for this mission to deliver the Israelites but God gave Aaron very little information about the mission and that’s when Aaron complained of being blind and also tried to convince God to send someone else. Aaron did not just jump up and say “Yes Lord I am ready to go.” God mentioned blindness in His response to Moses because it was Aaron’s excuse to back out of the assignment. When Jesus asked the blind man “Do you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Mark 8:23-24. The image this man was describing was the image God used to get Aaron out of Egypt. God gave Aaron this image to guide him out of Egypt and Aaron followed this image out of Egypt as it led him into the desert where God finally restored his sight. Why did Jesus touch the blind man twice in order to complete the miracle? In view of what we know about Jesus in John 14:9, will it be indisputably correct to say that the first touch on the blind man lacked enough supernatural powers to complete the miracle? No, it does not necessarily follow. Unlike the deaf and mute man, Jesus touched the blind man twice because the first touch was designed to get Aaron out of Egypt while the second touch was designed to finally restore his sight out of Egypt.

We know that Moses was a prince in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house and when he killed an Egyptian and Pharaoh heard of it, Pharaoh tried to kill Moses but he fled to Midian. Moses was able to leave Egypt because he was a prince and had no problems going through the city gate armed with guards. Keep in mind that the Israelites where slaves in Egypt whose only occupation was to build Egypt with hard labor. Blind slaves were of no use to Pharaoh and his officials. Any slave who was blind became a liability to the Egyptian government and for that reason, Pharaoh and his officials had no interest whatsoever in what blind slaves did with their time or where they went. That’s why Aaron was able to walk out of Egypt past the guards by following the image God showed him—people walking around like trees. God’s plan from the beginning was to use something very strange to call these men for the mission; for Moses it was the burning bush and for Aaron, it was men walking around like trees. When the Egyptian guards saw blind Aaron walking out of the city, they thought to themselves “This blind man will certainly not go very far before he dies in the desert, we have no use for him anyway.” We know from all indications in the Bible that Pharaoh did not allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. And so God had the best plan to get Aaron out of Egypt.

Jesus healed a lot of people without touching them, all he did was say the word and healing appeared right away but when it came to these two miracles, everything was different. After Jesus healed the blind man, Jesus sent him home saying “Don’t go into the village.” Mark 8:26. Before healing the blind man, Jesus took him outside the village; if the blind man was originally from the village and after the healing process Jesus sent him home but asked him not to go into the village, which home was Jesus referring to? If the man was originally from the village then the word home is not the man’s home in the village, it is a different home. Why would Jesus send him home? The man was not a child; he knows where to go and what to do with his time. Besides, Jesus had just finished healing the deaf and mute man but he did not send him home like he did with the blind man. When God restored Aarons sight out of Egypt, that’s when God said to him “Go into the desert to meet Moses.” Exod. 4:27. When Aaron met Moses, that’s when Aaron was briefed with the details of the mission. “So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.” Exod. 4:27-28. After God spoke to Aaron and restored his sight, he did not go back to his home in Egypt; God sent him to go meet Moses at the mountain of God. This mountain was God’s home—Mount Horeb. The home Jesus was referring to after healing the blind man was the home God sent Aaron after speaking to him and restoring his sight—that home is God’s home. This home became the new and permanent home for Moses and Aaron as they served God for the rest of their lives. Jesus did not send the deaf and mute man home because the man was already home when Jesus healed him—this man represents Moses.

It was out of the mountain of Horeb that God spoke to Moses and after speaking to him, Moses stayed there to wait for Aaron because God told him that his brother Aaron was on his way to meet him. When God said to Moses “See I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.” Exod. 7:1, He was not talking about healing Moses from all infirmities, God was talking about a new creation—a complete makeover. When God first made Moses, He made him man not like God. To get a better understanding of what God is talking about, let’s go back to how he created man. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Gen. 2:7. From this verse, we can see that man was made from two components:

→   Component one which comes from the dust—the world.

→   Component two which comes from God—Heaven.

These two components are in conformity with God’s divine number 2, for creation—both components are the exact opposite of each other. The only component of heaven that exists in us is the breath of God which is the mechanism that powers life in man. This is the soul of man that Jesus came to rescue. That explains why when we die, our flesh goes back to the dust where it originally came from and our soul also goes back to God in Heaven for judgment. Component one is the flesh while component two is the soul.

Differences between the two components

Component One

Component two

Perishable

Not perishable

Has a physical shape

No physical shape

Any damage can be fixed by man

Man cannot fix any damages

Depends on food from the world

Depends on food from Heaven

Is visible

Not visible

Is natural

Is supernatural

Is mortal

Is immortal

Has a gender and color

Has no gender or color

Needs component two to survive

Doesn’t need component one to survive

Designed to live on earth

Designed to live on earth and in Heaven

Tab. 13

Following God’s mechanics of creation, if the breath of God is our soul which also represents the image of God in us, therefore God’s plan to make Moses like Him will require some extreme makeover. If the breath of God had to be physical injected into our nostrils for life to begin (God’s breath + dust = Man) then something needs to change in this equation to make Moses like God. That is what Jesus was trying to demonstrate when he used his saliva on the deaf and mute man and also on the blind man in Bethsaida. Jesus had to spit, touch the man’s tongue, and put his hands into the man’s ears. This was necessary for Moses to speak, see, and hear like God. For the same reason, Jesus had to spit into the blind man’s eyes so that Aaron can see like God. If Aaron is to be made like a prophet to Moses then he should be made in such a fashion that will enable him to foresee the future because this is what prophets do. Remember, the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus is God. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:8-9. With that said, the above equation now changes.

(God’s breath + God’s Saliva + God’s touch) + Dust = Like God. This is what Jesus did.

3 Supernatural components + 1 Natural component

Moses and Aaron were God’s ambassadors for this unique mission to Egypt. Although God promised to make Aaron like Moses’ prophet, but not necessarily like God, if Aaron was going to speak for Moses then he had to be able to see like Moses. Jesus healed many blind, deaf, and mute people but these two miracles were completely unique in the way he approached the process. These were the only miracles in the Bible where he had to spit directly on the people. In another occasion when he healed a man born blind from birth in John 9:1-12, Jesus did not spit on the man. It was completely different because Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva and then put the mud in the man’s eyes. The major difference with the two approaches is that the ground had nothing to do with the two healings related to Moses and Aaron. Remember, the ground is what we described earlier as component one in Tab. 13. The healing of the blind man using mud from the ground was a miracle that had to with the creation of natural eyes—the eyes of man. On the other hand, the healings related to Moses and Aaron were miracles involving the creation of supernatural eyes, tongue, and ears. When Jesus healed the blind man with mud, he used a combination of component one—the dust which is natural, and component two—Jesus’ saliva which is supernatural which is also in conformity with God’s divine creation process to make man.

1 Natural component + 1 Supernatural component

For the healings related to Moses and Aaron, Jesus only used component two—his saliva and touch which are both supernatural. He used nothing from the dust or natural.

Twelve unique miracles

In the process of establishing the nation of Israel, God used the Israelites to fight many battles but the greatest battle the Israelites will live to remember is the battle of freedom from Egypt. God knew how important this battle was and that’s why He meticulously planned for it. God divide the mission into three sections.

1.   Section one: Aaron’s assignment

2.   Section two: Moses’ assignment

3.   Section three: God’s assignment

It took 12 unique miracles and 10 plagues to free Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and it also takes twelve unique miraculous signs and ten plagues to free us from the bondage of sin because Jesus Christ is the twelve miracles and the ten plagues. We know that God made Moses like God while He made Aaron like Moses’ prophet. We also know that prophets are humans and if Moses is like God then the mission no longer embodies three sections but two.

•   Section one: The human assignment to be executed by Aaron

•   Section two: God’s assignment to be executed by Moses and God

This new breakdown is in conformity with God’s divine number 2 which He uses for creation on earth because He was about to embark on the most important creation, since the creation of the world; He was preparing to create the nation of Israel. The first miracles God performed in Egypt were two of the three signs that He gave Moses in the burning bush and God performed these signs before the elders of Israel. The reason God gave Moses these signs was not to free the Israelites; God’s main purpose for these signs was only to convince the Israelites to believe that God appeared to Moses and Aaron on their behalf because He heard their cry for help. “Then the LORD said, if they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.” Exod. 4:8. The two signs were:

•   The staff of Moses turning into a snake and back to a staff

•   The second sign was Moses’ hand becoming leprous when he puts it inside his cloak and takes it out.

We know that when these signs were performed before the Israelites, they believed. “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed.” Exod. 4:29-31. It is very important to note that even though God gave these signs to Moses, when these two men appeared before the elders of the Israelites, it was Aaron who performed the signs. Keep in mind that Aaron was Moses’ prophet and Moses was like God. What God did was that He transformed Moses in such a way that the power for Aaron to do anything including his staff was in the mouth of Moses. It was so powerful that when Moses speaks, consider it done. That also explains why throughout the plagues, when God wanted Aaron to do anything, God will basically tell Moses what to say to Aaron. Before God introduced the ten plagues, He started with an introductory miracle performed before Pharaoh when Aaron’s staff became a snake.

In Exod. 7:8-13, the Bible teaches that when Aaron’s staff became a snake, Pharaoh then summoned his Egyptian magicians; each one threw their staff and it became a snake as well. Unfortunately for Pharaoh, Aaron’s staff swallowed the magicians’ staffs. This was the same miracle Aaron performed before the elders of Israel—his staff became a snake as well. We now know that Aaron’s staff was used to perform the same miracle twice; the first time was before the elders of Israel and the second time was before Pharaoh and his officials. This miracle that God repeated in Egypt was in fact the summary of the purpose for which the mission was intended.

Aaron’s staff = Jesus Christ through his cross

When Aaron’s staff became a snake and swallowed the staffs of Pharaoh’s magicians, it was an indication that Jesus Christ will become sin and also take away the sins of the world. This miracle was first performed before the elders of Israel because salvation will first come to the Israelites before the rest of the world can see it. When God was finally ready to free Israel, He subjected Egypt to ten rigorous plagues. Involving twelve unique miracles as follows:

1.   Aarons staff becomes a snake (before the elders of Israel)

2.   Aaron’s hand becomes leprous

3.   Aaron’s staff becomes a snake (A repeat of number one but this time, before Pharaoh)

4.   The plague of Blood

5.   The plague of frogs

6.   The plague of Gnats

7.   The plague of flies

8.   The plague of Livestock

9.   The plague of Boils

10.   The plague of Hail

11.   The plague of Locusts

12.   The plague of Darkness

13.   The plague on the Firstborn

Name

Miracle Number

Sum

Aaron

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

21 = 3

Moses

4, 9, 10, 11, and 12

46 = 10

God

7, 8, and 13

28 = 10

Tab. 14

When you look at the complexity of this mission, it is very interesting as to the reasons why God decided to use these individual miracles to create the nation of Israel. Why the number 10, 12, and 13 why not 2, 5 and 6, or even 6, 8, and 9? The number God used in this very important mission is a number that we have not yet talked about. God specifically used the number 12 to free His people because this is His divine number for freedom. Jesus understood how this works and that is why as soon as he became 12yrs old, even though it was not yet time for him to start his ministry, he disappeared from his parents—It was the sign of freedom. The Bible tells us in Luke 2:41-52 that after three days, his parents found him in the temple courts sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them all kinds of questions. Not only did they find him, but it was after three days—a fulfillment of his supernatural divine number.

•   Jesus called twelve disciples to start his ministry that brought us freedom from sin

•   God established twelve tribes in Israel

•   In Matthew 9:20-21, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak and she was healed—she became free

•   In Matthew 19:28, Jesus promises to set up twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel on the last day.

In total, God introduced thirteen miraculous signs in Egypt to start the process of liberating His people from bondage.

13 = 4 (God’s divine number to start a process and to mark the end of a season)

Before God created the universe, He already had a divine plan to create the nation of Israel; a plan that is like no other plan for creating any nation on earth. To accomplish this task, God designed three weapons:

1.   The staff of Moses

2.   The hands of Moses

3.   The staff of Aaron

God said to Moses “Israel is my firstborn son.” Exod. 4:22. Therefore everything about Israel is also about Jesus because Jesus Christ is God’s firstborn son.

Miraculous signs

13 Miraculous signs

12 Unique miraculous signs

10 Plagues

Aaron’s staff becomes a snake

1

1

Aaron’s hand becomes leprous

2

2

Aaron’s staff becomes a snake

3

1

The plague of Blood

4

3

1

The plague of Frogs

5

4

2

The Plague of Gnats

6

5

3

The plague of Flies

7

6

4

The plague of Livestock

8

7

5

The plague of Boils

9

8

6

The plague of Hail

10

9

7

The plague of Locusts

11

10

8

The plague of Darkness

12

11

9

The plague on the Firstborn

13

12

10

Tab. 15

Tab. 16

God used His son Jesus Christ to hold all these miracles together. From this table, we can see some interesting results.

Moses’ staff and hands = (8+2) = 10

God + Moses = (9+8+2) = 19 = 10

God + Moses + Aaron = Jesus Christ

God + Moses + Aaron = (10+6) = 16 = 7 (The mission was all about Jesus Christ)

Jesus Christ = 7

In Genesis 6, 7, and 8 when God used the flood to destroy the world, He protected Noah and his family inside the ark. When the waters had gone down, the ark came to rest. “At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” Gen.8:3-4. The ark is Jesus Christ and God used it to baptize the world through the flood. When God introduced His son Jesus Christ through the plagues in Egypt, He used the same approach. Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh seventeen times before Pharaoh could let Israel go. In other words, the Israelites came to rest from slavery on the seventeenth appearance of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh.

The Number 7 is God’s divine number for complete, holy, and perfect. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:1-4. Everything about the miracles God performed in Egypt sums up to Jesus Christ because it was all about Jesus in the beginning when God created all things and it was also all about Jesus when God moved in Egypt. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Gen.2:2-3. God could have picked any other day to rest from all his work of creating the universe; He could have rested on the 8th, 9th, or even the 11th day. The problem is that none of these days represent His son.

Jesus Christ = 7

God performed the first six miracles in Egypt using Aaron whom He made like Moses’ prophet with the exception of plague number one. Aaron was man and the number 6 is God’s divine number for man. When God planned the mission in Egypt, He had a divine plan that He did not share with Moses and Aaron. On one hand He is asking Moses and Aaron to go before Pharaoh and command him to let Israel go; on the other hand He is also telling Moses that Pharaoh will not let Israel go no matter what because He will harden Pharaoh’s heart. Under normal circumstances, it absolutely makes no sense but within the divine plan of God, it makes perfect sense. God had control of Moses and Aaron who were working for Him and He also had control of Pharaoh whom He was planning to destroy. God said to Moses “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let Israel go.” Exod.4:21. Moses must have been confused with this statement because in his mind, he did not understand why God will harden Pharaoh’s heart. God decided to harden Pharaoh’s heart because He had a perfect plan that was built around His son Jesus Christ. It all started with the choice of names God used for the thirteen miracles. The last time God destroyed something very big was when He destroyed the world using Noah’s ark and the flood. His plan to destroy Egypt was the next big thing related to His son after the flood. The principal divine number used for destructions built around His son is the divine number 17 and the plan must be perfect and holy which is divine number 7. That is why the ark rested on the 17th day of the 7th month. The divine number 17 is one of the most powerful divine numbers before God as it also produces the divine number 8 for a new beginning. God picked unique names for the 12 unique miracles He performed in Egypt.

Number

Miracle

Value

1

Snake

50

2

Leprous

106

3

Snake

50

4

Blood

48

5

Frogs

65

6

Gnats

61

7

Flies

51

8

Livestock

116

9

Boils

57

10

Hail

30

11

Locusts

109

12

Darkness

91

Sub Total:

834 = 6

13

Firstborn + Passover

236 = 11

Total:

17

Tab. 17

Unlike other miracles that God performed in Egypt, the Passover was not an independent miracle, rather it was a covenant that God introduced to boost the plague on the Firstborn. That’s why God said that when He sees the Passover blood on the door frames of the Israelites, He will spare them from this plague. God also knew how many times He wanted Moses and Aaron to appear before Pharaoh because the plan was perfectly put together like no human being can ever imagine. God started the first plague in the morning and in more than one occasion, He asked Moses to confront Pharaoh early in the morning. “Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him.” Exod. 7:15. The reason God was very interested in this time of the day was because that’s when his son was convicted by the religious leaders. “Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.” Mark 15:1.

Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh

1st

Exodus 5:1

2nd

Exodus 6:10

3rd

Exodus 7:20

4th

Exodus 8:1

5th

Exodus 8:8

6th

Exodus 8:20

7th

Exodus 8:25

8th

Exodus 9:1

9th

Exodus 9:10

10th

Exodus 9:13

11th

Exodus 9:27

12th

Exodus 10:1

13th

Exodus 10:8

14th

Exodus 10:16

15th

Exodus 10:24

16th

Exodus 11:4

17th

Exodus 12:31

(Final appearance)

Tab. 18

When God unleashed the last miracle in Egypt which was the plague on the firstborn, it brought the sum of all the names used for the thirteen miracles to 17 and that’s when Moses and Aaron made their 17th appearance before Pharaoh. The Exodus started because at this juncture, Israel was set free from the bondage of slavery.

Aaron

In Tab. 15, thirteen miraculous signs number four, Moses’ staff struck the water of the Nile and the water turned to blood. Aaron stretched his staff over the canals, streams, reservoirs, and ponds. They all turned to blood as well. In 13 miraculous signs number five, Aaron’s staff was stretched over the streams, canals, and ponds; frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. Finally in 13 miraculous signs number six, with Aaron’s staff stretched out, he struck the dust of the ground and gnats came upon men and animals. Every single plague that God used Aaron to perform was done with Aaron’s staff. Of the six miraculous signs God used Aaron to perform, five of them were done using his staff and one was done with his hand when it became leprous before the elders of Israel. The power was released from his staff.

When Aaron and Moses appeared before Pharaoh for the first time and performed the miraculous sign of turning Aaron’s staff to a snake, God was sending a very loud message. Sin in its natural state cannot live inside Jesus Christ. For sin to be able to live inside him, Jesus had to commit sin. But since he was sinless, God must transform him into sin so that sin can safely find its way into Jesus Christ. That way, his body will be prepared to assume the sins of the world and no sin will be left unaccounted for. When Aaron’s staff became a snake and swallowed all the snakes made by Pharaoh’s magicians, it was an indication that Jesus will become sin and thereafter take away all the sins of the world. That’s why God made sure there was no snake left in that room; Aaron’s staff swallowed them all because the snakes made by Pharaoh’s magicians represent the sins of the world. In plague one, Aaron’s staff was stretched over the waters of Egypt, in plague two Aaron’s staff struck nothing, and in plague three Aaron’s staff struck the dust of the ground. When his staff turned the waters to blood, it marked the beginning of the ten plagues. It started with the blood because the ten plagues were all about Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ will be shed on the cross for the sins of the world. Remember we talked about Aaron being used by God to carry out the section that represents man, God also made sure that Aaron took care of everything in the mission that represents what happened to Jesus before he was crucified; for the periods when he was arrested, beaten, mocked, and handed over for crucifixion.

Moses

The first plague God performed in Egypt was 12 unique miraculous signs number four when the Nile was turned to blood using the staff of Moses. God used the staff of Moses to perform the first plague because Moses was in charge of the mission to free His people and the staff of Moses was the first weapon God designed for this mission. Although God called Aaron first, the staff of Moses was the first weapon God designed because all powers vested in the staff of Aaron came from Moses. In plague number six, Moses and Aaron took soot from a furnace and in front of Pharaoh Moses tossed the soot in the air. After Moses did this, festering boils broke out on men and animals.

In plague number seven, the Lord said to Moses “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” Exod. 9:22. In response, Moses stretched out his staff. “When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.” Exod. 9:23-24.

In plague number eight, the Lord said to Moses “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.” Exod. 10:12. In response to God’s command, Moses stretched out his staff. “So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning, the wind had brought the locusts.” Exod. 10:13.

In plague number nine, God said to Moses “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” Exod. 10:21. This time, in response to God’s command, Moses stretched out his hand. “So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days.” Exod.10:22.

God understands when we make genuine mistakes in life because He knows our hearts better than anyone else. He created us and formed us in our mothers’ wombs. Although Moses clearly misunderstood God in plagues number seven and eight by stretching out his staff instead of just his hand, God still allowed the miracles to take place because by Moses stretching out his staff, he was also stretching out his hand which was holding the staff. Regardless of the makeover Moses went through in the hands of God, there was still the human part of him that was never taken away by God. If God suddenly appears to you and without notice transforms you into His son Jesus Christ and hands you a staff to do whatever you want with it on earth, you will be very nervous. Chances are, your whole life will be centered on that staff. You will have a hard time going to sleep, you will be super conscious of the staff, and most likely lose your mind. All God cared about was that Moses’ hand was stretched out regardless of what Moses was carrying. As much as God gave Moses the staff for this mission and for that moment, what Moses did not know was that his staff was not designed for more than one miracle inside Egypt. Moses did not willingly disobey God’s command in plagues number seven and eight and that’s why God ignored his reactions. The only staff that God designed to be used in Egypt after the plague of blood was Aaron’s staff and the powers vested in Aaron’s staff came directly from Moses’ mouth. Jesus preached the gospel to the Jews because he originally came for the Jews. He made it very clear when the Canaanite woman came to him crying “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Matthew 15:22. In response to the woman’s request, Jesus answered “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Matthew 15:24. Aaron’s staff was designed to perform all the miracles before Pharaoh after the plague of blood because salvation was preached to the Gentiles through the disciples of Jesus Christ and since God made Moses like Jesus Christ, Aaron was also a disciple of Moses. That explains why Jesus never preached the gospel to the Gentiles. The disciples preached the gospel that was give to them by their master and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. That’s why God never gave Aaron direct orders on how to use the staff. God always passed on the command through Moses because God never spoke to the disciples of Jesus Christ.

God

In plague number four, God poured dense swarms of flies into Pharaoh’s palace and into the house of his officials, and throughout Egypt and the land of Egypt was ruined. In plague number five, God killed all the livestock of the Egyptians. In plague number ten, the Lord killed the firstborn son of the Egyptians including the firstborn son of Pharaoh. God performed only one miracle inside Egypt using the staff of Moses before Pharaoh could let Israel go. As much as God gave Moses the staff as a principal weapon for this mission, God ended up using Moses’ hands to perform almost all the miracles that He used Moses to perform in Egypt. The reason is because the staff of Moses is essentially the son of God; the staff is Jesus Christ and for that reason, God designed it to be used only three times in the entire mission of leading the Israelites from Egypt and into the Promised Land. God designed the staff of Moses to be used only three times in the following order:

1.   When Moses truck the Nile, it turned to blood (Exod. 7:14-24)

2.   When Moses stretched it over the Red Sea the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land. (Exod.14:15-31)

3.   When Moses struck the rock, water came out for the Israelites to drink (Exod. 17:1-7)

When God made Moses like God Himself, He was essentially saying to Moses:

•   I give you every authority under heaven

•   You are now the ambassador of heaven on earth

•   I have made you in the true image of my son Jesus Christ.

If these were the qualities God injected in Moses to carry out the mission of leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, then the staff of Moses should be everything that Jesus Christ came to do on earth for us. There is not a single doubt that God designed the staff of Moses to also carry the weight of the new found qualities that He introduced in Moses:

›   When Moses used the staff to strike the Nile, it was a demonstration of the death of Jesus for the sins of the world.

›   When Moses divided the red Sea with his staff, it was a demonstration of our baptism in the Holy Trinity.

›   When Moses struck the rock with his staff for water to come out in Exod, 17:1-7, it was a demonstration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

When God asked Moses to strike the rock for water to come out, God used a very unique phrase to give Moses the command because He knew that in the past, Moses had not completely followed His commands properly. So when God was about to bring water out of the rock using the staff of Moses, God said “Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile.” Exod. 17:5. God wanted to make sure that Moses understood which staff to use in this case. In the process of leading the Israelites to the land God promised them on oath, Moses used his staff again inappropriately. It was a moment that Moses would live to regret. The Bible tells us that when the Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin, they were thirsty for water and the glory of the LORD appeared to Moses and Aaron with specific instructions on what to do. God said to Moses “Take the staff and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” Num. 20:8. How did Moses handle this? “So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.” Num. 20:9-11. Notice that not only did Moses fail to follow instructions from God he actually made it worse by striking the rock twice and God wasted no time in expressing His disappointment and anger.

Just like God allowed the miracles to still take place in the past when Moses failed to follow proper instructions in two different plagues, God still brought water out of the rock. Right away, God said to Moses and Aaron “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” Num.20:12. What Moses did not know was that God designed the staff to be used only three times in the entire mission because the staff is Jesus Christ Himself. The first time the Israelites cried for water to drink in Exod. 17, God asked Moses to take some of the elders of Israel and walk on ahead of the Israelite community. God asked Moses to strike the rock in the sight of the elders of Israel. However, the second time the Israelites cried out for water in Number 20, instead of gathering just a few elders, God asked Moses to gather the entire community and speak to the rock before their very eyes. Also notice that Aaron did not take part in the meeting of the elders. God planned these two episodes differently because it all came down to His son Jesus Christ.

When God asked Moses to gather the elders, it was at Horeb; this was the same place God called Moses and assigned him the mission of leading his people out of Egypt. God gathered the elders away from the Israelite assembly because the first time Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, it was right after his resurrection and he gave it first to his disciples who in this case represent the elders. This was the first dose of the Holy Spirit and Jesus made sure that his disciples get it first before the rest of the world can have a taste of it. When Jesus did this, he firmly established the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world which came to us as a result of his death. That is why God asked Moses to strike the rock. When God was speaking to Moses after the Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin, Moses was angry because he addressed the Israelites as rebels. One simple rule in life is that good decisions are never made out of anger. “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” Psalm 37:8. Anger clouds spiritual wisdom. When God asked Moses to speak to the rock for water to come out in the sight of the Israelite community, it was because God was about to demonstrate how the rest of the world will receive the Holy Spirit; it will be completely different from the way Jesus gave it to his disciples. After Jesus gave it to his disciples as first dose from his death, the rest of the world will receive it from the dose that now lives in the world. The rest of the world will receive it from the word of God—the gospel. The rest of the world will receive the Holy Spirit not by Jesus physically appearing before them like he did with his disciples. The rest of the world will receive it by speaking the word of God and that word is now Jesus Christ. God gathered the elders as a symbol of the disciples and He also gathered the whole assembly of the Israelite community as a symbol of the world. God’s anger and disappointment towards Moses and Aaron was unforgiveable because He stopped them from completing the mission. What Moses did not know was that by striking the rock twice, he had just tripled the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. That explains why God took the action very serious. In God’s plan, His son Jesus Christ will die on the cross for the sins of the world only once, not three times.

Salvation starts when you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross and you are ready to invite him to come take absolute control of your life because of what he did for you; this is step one. When you successfully complete this stage, then you are ready for step two. Unfortunately, some churches have made salvation look like a walk in the park. God did not send His son to be humiliated and crucified on the cross just so you can walk in front of a church, sing a few songs, shout, give a cash donation, repeat a few phrases from a preacher with your hands lifted in the air, and thereafter proclaim that you’ve been saved. My advice is this “Stop deceiving yourself and take this very seriously like you’ve never taken anything in your life. If you don’t, you are in for the biggest shock of your life because Jesus Christ is not playing games. This is serious business that no one else can save you from.” When you seriously embrace step one, your journey to step two is your baptism in the Holy Trinity—The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Your baptism must be done with water because Genesis 1:1-2 makes it very clear that the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The third step is completely out of your control. As much as steps one and two calls for concrete actions on your part, step three works in a different way. In step three, Jesus Christ will look at what you did in the previous two steps and he will make a determination as to where your heart is. It is all about your heart—that’s all he wants. If he is satisfied, he will send the Holy Spirit to come dwell in you and the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. Everything you need to know about what God expects from you and how He wants you to live your life will be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. You can’t say you have given your life to Jesus Christ and still live the same life you had before you committed yourself to him. If you do, then I suggest you seriously do it all over again because the first time you did it, you were just fooling yourself. It is also the Holy Spirit that gives you the spiritual wisdom to understand the Bible. These three stages summarize the reasons why God sent His son to come die for our sins. The staff of Moses was designed for the sole purpose of these three stages and that explains why God’s plan was to use the staff only three times.

Naming the Ten Plagues

Why did God give specific names to each plague like frogs, blood, flies, darkness, locusts, hail, and firstborn? Why did He not use names like elephant, sheep, horse, lion, fish, or even dove? Everything God used for the ten plagues, was designed to not only free His children, but also to systematically reflect what His son Jesus Christ will go through in the final hours when he comes to take away the sins of the world because the plagues mark the final hours of the Israelites in Egypt. God divided the ten plagues in two sections:

•   Section 1 covers the plagues that were carried out using the staff of Aaron. These plagues cover the period from when Jesus was being tried to the period when he was about to be crucified.

•   Section 2 covers the plagues that God performed through Moses and God Himself. It covers the period from when Jesus was crucified to the period when he resurrected from the dead.

The Plague of Blood

While Jesus was been led away for crucifixion, the Bible tells us that he was offered a drink at some point. “They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.” Matthew 27:33-34. There is no doubt that Jesus was thirsty; that’s why he even tasted the drink in the first place otherwise he would not have done it. Later, while on the cross, when Jesus was offered a drink the second time he did not refuse to drink it. “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of those standing there heard this, they said, ‘He is calling Elijah.’ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.” Matthew 27:45-48. Moses’ staff was used to strike the Nile while Aaron’s staff was only stretched over the rest of the waters of Egypt.

Nile = 4

Golgotha = 4

When the Nile turned to blood, the Egyptians couldn’t drink from the Nile and the Bible says they dug around the Nile for water because they were very thirsty since God took away their only source of water supply. This is when Jesus refused the first drink they offered him. When the Egyptians dug around the Nile, they drank the water they found around the Nile even though it was still not good for drinking. This is the second drink that was offered to Jesus while on the cross. The plague of blood was the first miracle that God called a plague, even though it was not the first miracle God performed in Egypt. It was the only plague that God performed using the staff of Moses and the staff of Aaron. This plague was carried out by both Aaron and Moses because it specifically deals with the blood of Jesus Christ. It started with the staff of Moses because God appointed Moses to be the leader of the mission and Moses was also made like Jesus Christ. The staff of Aaron covers the period when Jesus was being beaten, while the staff of Moses covers the period when Jesus was crucified. In both moments, the blood of Jesus was spilled. The only reason why Aaron was a part of this plague was because of the blood of Jesus that spilled when he was struck and beaten by the crowd. After this plague, God used the hands of Moses to perform plagues number 6,7,8, and 9. This also explains the reason why darkness came over the land from the 6th hour to the 9th hour. Notice that plague number 9 is what God called the plague of darkness. Plague number 6—the plague of boils is for the moment when he was crucified, while plague number 9 is for the moment when he was about to finish his job on the cross.

The Plague of Frogs

God introduced the frogs to depict the tremendous noise that surrounded Jesus during his trial.

Remember while he was being tried, all he could hear were countless accusations against him and the crowd shouting “Crucify him.” There were lots of people there shouting and screaming to his ears. Now, to get a better picture of the scenario, God decided to use millions of frogs. Think about how much noise one frog makes and multiply that by millions of them singing all over the city non-stop? They will drive you crazy. That explains why Pharaoh had no choice but to cry out to Moses and Aaron to beg God to take the frogs away. Notice that instead of God taking the frogs away by sending them back into the Nile, He killed all the frogs and the Bible says that the land of Egypt reeked of them. This is completely different with the way He treated the flies when Pharaoh also cried out for help. God killed the frogs because they represent all those who were shouting for Jesus to be crucified. They also represent the sinners who willfully reject Jesus Christ.

The Plague of Gnats

God used the gnats to create the pain and discomfort that Jesus suffered from the spitting, flogging, and punching from the crowd. Remember Jesus did not put up any form of resistance. He was the sacrificial-lamb of God.

The plague of Flies

God used the plague of flies to bring diseases in Egypt. The flies were also introduced in Egypt to represent the flies that settled on the areas where Jesus’ blood was spilled. Remember before he went on the cross, he was flogged, they spit on him, they struck him with the staff on the head many times. During these moments, his blood was spilled all over the ground. But when he was crucified, there was even more blood and hours later, flies visited all these places because this is very normal.

The Plague of Boils

God used the boils to create the bruise and severe pain that Jesus experienced. This was another plague the God used both Aaron and Moses to perform. Before Jesus was finally crucified, he went through a lot of pain from physical abuse by the crowd. In this plague, God asked Moses and Aaron to take some soot from a furnace and Moses was to toss it in the air before Pharaoh. It was to be carried out with the hands of Moses because this is the point when the nails where being driven into the hands and feet of Jesus on the cross. God used the furnace for this plague because He wanted to depict the excruciating pain that His son was going through. It was almost like spending time inside a furnace.

The Plague of Hail

This was the only plague that took away human life before God introduced the plague on the firstborn. It was also the only plague that God gave the Egyptians the choice of saving themselves from His wrath. When God issued the warning, some Egyptians who took it very seriously were spared from this plague including their livestock and slaves. “Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside” Exod. 9:20. This group of people complied to the warning not because they suddenly decided to believe in the God of Israel; it was only because they were afraid. This is what happened when God warned Pilate through his wife. “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” Matthew 27:19. He obeyed the warning from his wife when he said to the crowd: “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” Matthew 27:24. His actions clearly showed the same kind of fear the Egyptians had when God issued the warning regarding this plague. It was a time that God used to offer one of the judges who handled the case of Jesus Christ the opportunity of sparing his household from God’s wrath. With the hands of Moses, God sent thunder, lightning, and hail all over Egypt. For the first time, God made a very powerful statement regarding this plague. “For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Exod. 9:15-16. This declaration from God brings us back to His divine number 2.

→   God raised Pharaoh from life to death

→   God raised Jesus from death to life

When God said He raised Pharaoh for this purpose, He was talking about raising Pharaoh for destruction. Also when He talked about showing His power for the first time in this mission, He was not referring to just another miracle like the ones He did so far. God was referring to something way bigger than all the other miracles or plagues. For His name to be proclaimed in all the earth, He was definitely referring to something very unique. This plague was in reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that lightning flashed down to the ground. This was the first plague that God gave the Egyptians a condition that would spare some of them from His wrath. The punishment for sin and for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross will be brought upon those who willingly refuse to obey God’s command. “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples.’” Matthew 28:1-7. The angel of the Lord coming down from heaven, his appearance like lightning, his clothes as white as snow, and the violent earthquake were all put together by God as a play back of the features that accompanied the plague of hail. That explains why God made such a big deal of this plague, more than any other plague. It was that unique moment in human history, a moment that man will never live to see again, and a moment that the world will never forget. It was the moment that Jesus conquered the grave.

The Plague of Locust and Livestock

God sent the locust to finish what was left from the hail storm. Before the plague started, God asked Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt and when Moses stretched out his staff, God sent an east wind that blew across Egypt all day and all night. By morning, the wind had brought locusts that covered the land of Egypt. In the early phase of his ministry, Jesus cleared the temple in John 2:12-24 during which he had a very bitter confrontation with the Jewish leaders. Out of anger, the Jews asked for a miraculous sign of authority from Jesus and he replied by saying “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:19. The Jewish leaders were determined not to forget because Jesus attacked their wealth when he drove all the traders out of the temple.

Have you ever noticed how friendly people might seem to be but as soon as you touch their money, they become like angry lions? Part of God’s plan for Israel was to attack the wealth of Egypt as well. The locusts came from the east because salvation which is Jesus came to us from the east. After the arrest of Jesus Christ, they brought him before The Sanhedrin to build some false evidence against him “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.” Matthew 26:59-60. The Bible tells us that finally two witnesses came forward with the kind of false evidence they were looking for. “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” While Jesus was on the cross, they once more reminded him of this accusation. “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God.” Matthew 27:40. This accusation resonated very well with the Jesus haters because they were very angry when Jesus cleared the temple. They wanted everybody to believe that they cared so much about God and the temple and that Jesus was clearly not from God. However, deep inside them, it had nothing to do with God it was all about money—wealth. That’s were their bitterness was coming from. To them, it was not so much of what Jesus said at the temple rather it was more of what he did at the temple. The temple had become a place where they go to make money and the money was good. They turned it into a stock market. They made it the wall street of their time. That’s the reason why God used the plague of livestock, locusts, and hail to attack the wealth of Egypt.

The Plague of Darkness

This was the last plague God performed in Egypt using the hands of Moses. “So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.” Exod.10:22. God used this plague to cover the period when His son was on the cross and darkness covered the land for three hours. “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.” Matthew 27:45. This happened on the cross when Jesus cried out and was about to take his last breath and give up his spirit to God. The plague of darkness also happened when God was about to introduce the last plague which is the plague on the firstborn. God used the hands of Moses to perform plagues number 6, 7, 8, and 9 because Jesus was on the cross for six hours and it was at the ninth hour that he cried out. “About the ninth hour Jesus cried in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. The plagues that God used Moses’ hands to perform were an indication of the three hours of darkness on the cross and the three days of darkness in Egypt.

•   From 6 to 7 = 1 hour

•   From 7 to 8 = 1 hour

•   From 8 to 9 = 1 hour

Total number of hours = 3 hours

The plague on the Firstborn

This was the last plague in Egypt that finally brought Pharaoh to his knees. After this plague the Israelites were free from the bondage of slavery. “About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.” Exod.11:4-5. God was sending a clear message because this plague had to do with the death of His son on the cross; this was the moment when Jesus gave up his spirit to the Father. This was the moment right after Jesus cried out to the Father. “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.” Matthew 27:50. The killing of the firstborn of Egypt was the killing of the firstborn of God on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price for our sins and gave us our freedom from the bondage of sin. When God killed the firstborn of Egypt, he immediately released the Israelites from the bondage of slavery. Of the thirteen miracles that were performed in Egypt, two of them were for the Israelites and eleven of them were for the Egyptians. The first two miracles Aaron performed in Egypt were designed for the elders of Israel to specifically make the Israelites believe that the God of their fathers heard their prayer and decided to send Moses and Aaron to rescue them from the bondage of slavery.

Group

Number of Miracles

Purpose

1

2 for Israel

To lift Israel up

2

11= 2 for Egypt

To bring Egypt down

Tab. 19

As you can see, because God was about to create the nation of Israel, He was once again displaying the use of His divine number for creation—the number 2. The first miracle performed for Egypt using Aaron’s staff was when his staff became a snake and it was done before Pharaoh. But the last miracle performed using the same staff was the plague of Gnats and it was not performed before Pharaoh. The first miracle Moses performed in Egypt was The Plague of Blood using his staff which was also done before Pharaoh. But the last miracle Moses performed in Egypt was the plague of darkness which was done using his hands and also not before Pharaoh.

The Passover

The supernatural process God used in the creation of the nation of Israel is beyond human imagination and comprehension. The influence of Israel on this planet cannot be overemphasized. In Genesis 1:3, the first thing God created was light when He said “Let there be light.” When he sent Moses and Aaron to appear before Pharaoh, He gave them the exact words to say to Pharaoh. “Let my people go.” Again the first word was LET.

LET = 10

HEAVEN = 10

Let there be light = 3 (The supernatural divine number of Jesus Christ)

Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12. The Bible teaches that the first thing God did after He made light was that He separated light from darkness. “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” Gen. 1:4. By doing this, God introduced twilight.

The nation of Israel is a world that God established within the first world He created. Back in Egypt, after 10 plagues, 12 unique miracles, and 13 miraculous signs, it was time for God to separate His people from the rest of the world—it was time to separate light from darkness once again. God decided to do it with miraculous sign number 14 which He called The Passover and the lamb for this miracle will be chosen on the 10th day of the first month to be slaughtered on the 14th day. Every single miracle that God performed in Egypt—the thirteen miraculous signs were designed to remember the period of darkness. They were for the dark days of the children of Israel in Egypt and the darkness that existed before God created the light.

Fig. 4

As soon as the miracles were completed, light was born and it was time to march the Israelites out of Egypt. It was time to cut the cord and it was also time to separate light from darkness.

To create the heavens and the earth, God used the word “LET” eight times because it was a new beginning. In the process of creating Israel, God also repeatedly used the word “LET” again when He said to Moses “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.’” Exod.8:1. This time around, God did not use this word eight times because this mission to free His people from Egypt was all about His son Jesus Christ. He was using Egypt not only to show us what was to come but also to show us that the only path to freedom for the human race will be through His son Jesus Christ. Philip once said to Jesus “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” And Jesus replied by saying “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:8-9.

Jesus Christ = 7

Holy Spirit = 7

If Jesus and the Father are the same, therefore the father = 7

The Father + The Son + The Holy Spirit = The Holy Trinity

7+7+7 = 21 = 3 (The divine number for the Holy Trinity)

In revealing Himself in Egypt, not only did God use the divine 7 to wrap up the thirteen miracles in Egypt, He also used the word “LET” seven times in Egypt.

LET

Exodus

1st

7:2

2nd

7:16

3rd

8:1

4th

8:20

5th

9:1

6th

9:13

7th

10:3

Tab. 20

Every plan God designed for Egypt was a perfect plan from heaven. There is no doubt that the plan He used to set up the nation of Israel had Heaven written all over it. He used ten plagues to cripple Egypt after which He set up a plan for the Israelites to celebrate The Passover before leaving Egypt. God picked the 10th day of the first month to choose the lamb for this feast. With ten being the divine number for Heaven, this feast was going to be all about Heaven and not Egypt. As part of the command for this feast, God said to the Israelites “For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do not work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do.” Exod. 12:15-16. Jesus had The Lord’s Supper the same day that God asked the Israelites to hold a sacred assembly in Egypt. That explains why when Jesus was having this supper, there were no invitees—only him and his disciples. “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” Matthew 26:17.During this stage, God was about to display the moment when the world passed judgment on His son Jesus Christ—when he was led away to be crucified. The Bible makes it very clear when Jesus was convicted. “It was the day of preparation of Passover week about the 6th hour Pilate said to the Jews—here is your king. But the people shouted ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” John 19:14-15. Jesus was taken away for crucifixion just like God asked the Israelites to take a lamb on the 10th day and have it ready for slaughter on the 14th day. With God’s plan, God asked the Israelites to celebrate The Passover on the 14th day. This command will not only mark the 14th and last miracle in Egypt, it will also mark the last words of His son Jesus Christ while on the cross. In God’s plan, Egypt was a representation of the dark world we live in today. The last miracle in Egypt was the 14th miracle and the last words of Jesus while he was on the cross were “It is finished.”

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30.

It is finished = 14

The entire mission to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt was all wrapped inside this supernatural bubble called the Passover because it was all about Jesus Christ. It was all about him and it will always be all about him.

Passover = 7

Holy Spirit = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

The Lord’s Supper

When it was almost time for Jesus to complete his mission here on earth, he gathered his disciples to celebrate the Passover. “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” Matthew 26:17. In response Jesus told them what to do right away. Keep in mind that this meeting was in conformity with what God asked the Israelites to do back in Egypt. “On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do not work at on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do. Celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.” Exod. 12:16-17. That is the reason Jesus decided to hold this sacred assembly with his disciples to eat the Passover. After his disciples made preparations for the Passover, while in this sacred assembly, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples. He then said “Take and eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:26. He took the cup of wine and gave thanks again; he offered it to his disciples to drink saying “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28.This was one of the most remarkable moments of his life and he did it in such a way that supernaturally set the tone for his journey to the cross. Notice how when he gave them the bread after giving thanks, Jesus made no mention of the word “Sin” in connection with the bread that we know represents his body.

But when he took the cup and gave it to his disciples to drink from it, he mentioned the word “Sin”. This is in conformity with God’s way of assigning more powers to the second or last member of a pair. Remember God called Aaron first before Moses but He put Moses in charge of the mission. It is the same way God treats twins. The blood of Jesus Christ is way more significant than his body because it is his blood that was used to pay for our sins. Jesus started the ceremony with the bread which represents his body to respect God’s divine number for starting a process—the number 4.

Bread = 3

Body = 10

Bread + Body = 13 = 4

His body also represents the Passover lamb that God asked the Israelites to take on the 10th day of the month.

When he took the bread

That was his arrest

When he broke the bread

That was him being tortured

Tab. 21

He started with the bread because for them to get to his blood which he came to shed for our sins, they must first go through his body which houses his blood. Remember Jesus started his mission on earth when he was thirty years old and that’s why he also used bread to start the ceremony.

Bread = 30

When he picked up the cup of wine, he mentioned sin and the liberation from the bondage of sin through his blood.

Sin = 6

Wine = 6

Blood = 3

Wine + Blood = 9

Of all things that God has made, blood is the one thing that God asked His son to use for our salvation and with reference to how sacred blood is before God, it is the one thing that no amount of advanced medicine or technology will ever bring man to that place where man can manufacture blood. It is embedded with the supernatural divine number of Jesus Christ. Jesus mentioned sin when he picked up the cup of wine because 6 is the divine number for sin. Remember that sin started in the Garden of Eden through the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil with the divine number 9. If the blood of Jesus is capable of taking away the sins of the world, then we should end up with an equation that brings us to zero—no sin left.

(Wine + Blood) - (The tree of the knowledge of good and evil) = 0

9 - 9 = 0 (This is what Jesus did for us)

The Clothes of Jesus Christ

Something very strange happened when Jesus was crucified on the cross. “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.” John 19:23. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” John 19:24. Why would they do this? These guys hated Jesus with a passion and you would think that with such hatred for Jesus built inside them, they would just take his clothes burn them or throw them in the garbage. God has a remarkable way of putting things together in such a unique fashion that blows the human mind away. The attitude of the soldiers brings us back to a special miracle that occurred to a woman. “A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him.” Mark 5:24-30. Jesus dumfounded the crowd with his reaction when he said “Who touched my clothes?” Mark 5:30. We know from the Bible that Jesus had some clothes on him when he was arrested—his undergarments and his clothes. For this woman to suck power out of Jesus, that power has to travel through a channel to get to his clothes. The power will travel in the following order:

From this picture we also know that the degree of power stored in each of these three locations is exactly the same. These three locations are the same because healing occurred when the woman touched location number three and location number one knew immediately that power had gone from him. Therefore if all three locations have the same supernatural powers, then:

Location 1 = Location 2 = Location 3 because they are not mutually exclusive in any way shape or form.

The only atmosphere where this type of supernatural relationship exists is in the Holy Trinity where The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are the same—inseparable. The relationship in the Holy Trinity is uniquely shaped in such a way that The Son brings glory to the Father because He sent The Son to come die for the sins of the world. The Holy Spirit brings glory to The Son because The Son asked The Father to send The Holy Spirit to the world to manage everything that belongs to The Son. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are one and the same thing goes for Jesus, his undergarments, and his clothes; they are inseparable. When God designed the ten plagues in Egypt to free His people from bondage He divided the mission into four sections with four weapons.

Section

Weapon

1

The staff of Aaron

2

The staff of Moses

3

The hands of Moses

4

God Himself

Tab. 22

Each section was designed as a weapon to be used for a designated part of the ten plagues. The plan to kill Jesus came from the religious leaders but the people that actually executed the judgment passed upon him were the soldiers. By the same token, God planned the ten plagues but He used Moses and Aaron to execute the plan in Egypt. The soldiers divided his garment into four sections because of the four weapons that God designed for the mission in Egypt. Remember when we analyzed the locations scenario of healing through Jesus’ garments? His undergarments represent The Son. As much as God divided the mission into four sections, they were all closely woven together for the same purpose. It was all about His son Jesus Christ and you cannot separate one section from the other. The Staff of Aaron, the Staff of Moses, the Hands of Moses, and God himself are inseparable. What holds them all together is Jesus Christ. They all point to Jesus Christ. That explains why when the soldiers took his undergarment they discovered it was seamless and woven in one piece from the top to the bottom. It was part of God’s plan that they couldn’t divide it like they did with his clothes because Jesus Christ is what held the four weapons together back in Egypt. The only reason why God allowed them to divide his clothes was because his clothes are symbolic of The Holy Spirit. Remember when Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples? He gave them The Holy Spirit. He distributed The Holy Spirit to his disciples in such a fashion that each person had the same share of it and that goes for us as Christians. We all have the same proportional share of the Holy Spirit regardless of when you came to Jesus Christ or how long you have known him.

God’s choice of Names

When God created the first man—Adam, the Bible teaches in Gen.1:26 that God made man in the image of God—in the image of heaven. But when God made the second human, He used Adams’s rib and when He was done creating her, Adam named the woman Eve.

Adam = 10

Heaven = 10

Eve = 5

When Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of the devil, God called their act of disobedience SIN.

Adam + Eve = 15 = 6

Sin = 6

Back in Egypt, there were many people in the Jewish community who strongly believed in God and still practiced the system of worship handed to them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One would think that if God was looking for a perfect candidate to use for the mission of delivering His people from bondage, He will be looking in the Jewish community of Goshen. This systematic approach appeals very well to the human way of thinking because it makes perfect sense. But with God, it makes little or no sense at all. Why would God call an idol worshipper and a murderer to lead a holy mission? God made us all and He knows our hearts better than we know ourselves. His decision to use Moses and Aaron for such a unique mission was perfect. God has a tendency of changing peoples’ names when He calls them for a big mission like He did with Abram and Sarai. He changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. Since the call of Abram and Sarai, the next call God made to two people at the same time was the call of Moses and Aaron. The first call was a couple while the second call was a call of siblings.

Why did God not change the names of Moses and Aaron? When He called Abram and his wife Sarai, it was a call to be the Father of all faithful believers in God and that is why when Abraham passed the test of attempting to offer his son Isaac to God, Abraham became the father of faith—the father of those who will inherit the kingdom of God in Heaven. When Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, it was a confirmation of the title God gave to Abraham. However, when God called Moses and Aaron to use them to free His people from bondage in Egypt, this was not a call of faith; it was a call of freedom. When we think of faith, we think of God in Heaven but when we think of freedom from the slavery of sin, we can only think of Jesus Christ. Man’s faith in God has always existed from the beginning. It was the first relationship that God established with Adam and Eve although it did not end very well. On the other hand, freedom from the bondage of sin only came to man through Jesus Christ when God sent him to come die on the cross for the liberation of our sins. When God called Abram and Sarai, the sum was the divine number 2.

Abram = 35 = 8

Sarai = 48 = 3

Abram + Sarai = 2 (God’s divine number for creation)

When God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah, they became:

Abraham = 44

Sarah = 47

Abraham + Sarah = 91 = 10 (God’s divine number for Heaven)

We can now see why Jesus told the story in Luke 16:19-31 to give us a picture of what your journey to heaven looks like when you die. Your first place of rest is Abraham’s side. When God called Moses and Aaron the combination was:

Moses = 71

Aaron = 49

Moses + Aaron = 120 = 3 (Supernatural divine number for Jesus Christ)

The call of Moses and Aaron was a call for freedom and man’s freedom from any kind of bondage in this world which is all rooted in sin, has been entrusted in the hands of Jesus Christ. The mission to free the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt and bring them to the land promised on oath to them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was all about Jesus Christ. From the sum of the two names and the supernatural reasons surrounding their call, God had no reason to change the names of Moses and Aaron. When God gave Moses and Aaron a staff each for the mission, both staffs were designed to be used in very strict compliance with the supernatural divine number of His son Jesus Christ. That explains why God allowed Aaron to use his staff to perform only three plagues in Egypt while the staff of Moses was designed to be used only three times for the entire mission.

Number

The staff of Aaron

The staff of Moses

1

The plague of Blood

The plague of Blood

2

The plague of frogs

Crossing the Red Sea

3

The plague of Gnats

Water from the Rock

Tab. 23

The Number 666

When the serpent came to Eve and started a conversation about which fruits they were not allowed to eat, the conversation was centered on food for the physical body, not the spiritual body. The spiritual body is fed with supernatural spiritual food from God. Before God created man, God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Gen.1:26. With this statement, God proceeded to create the first human on the 6th day and God called this first creature man and named the first of its kind Adam.

Man = 10

Adam = 10

Heaven = 10

Notice that the two names that God came up with both make strong references to Heaven because of what God said earlier in Genesis 1:26. When God said us, He was referring to the creatures in Heaven. When God created the second human, using the man’s rib, God took her to the man to find a name. The first thing the man said was “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.” Gen.2:23.

Woman = 66

From this statement “Flesh of my flesh”, if man’s flesh = 6

Then the woman’s flesh = 6 of 6 which gives us 66

Therefore the third creature which will be coming from the combination of man and woman will be the flesh of the flesh of man and woman. That will be the woman’s seed. That will give us flesh of 66 which is 6 of 66 = 666

6

6

6

Father

Mother

Child

Tab. 24

The entire human race is encapsulated in the Father, Mother, and Child circle.

666 = 18 =9

Remember earlier, we talked about the divine number for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as being 18 = 9. God who knows us even before we are formed in our mothers’ womb knew that man was going to disobey Him. Gad had this knowledge even before He created the woman; He knew the heart of man and that is why He commanded man not to eat from that tree.

When Adam did this, he instantly established a divine generational code for the human race. The number 666 is a divine code for self worship and that is why the devil was quick to embrace it as his mark. When God was about to create and name man, God talked about Heaven where the Spirit of God came from but when man was about to name the woman, he made no mention of the spirit of God; all he did was talk about himself. God was in no position to stop man from making this disastrous mistake because God’s nature is so perfect that He will never break a promise or a covenant. The first covenant God made with man was when He put man in charge of everything He created and that includes the woman. This covenant gave man the power to chart the course for the human race and everything God made.

Jesus said to Nicodemus “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but The Spirit gives birth to spirit.” John 3:6.

When sin entered the world, it was through the woman that the devil found an opportunity to tempt the human race. Without sin, there would have been no need for God to give us a manual on how to fight it. This manual is the Bible. God has a systematic way of programming things in such a way that they always reflect where they originally came from, like the human DNA. It also explains why certain things in your blood line never change, regardless of how long or how many generations have been dealing with it. Man originally had a perfect relationship with God. When the devil made the woman the target gateway for sin into the world, God also used the same target gateway in His plan to fight and eradicate sin from the world. God therefore gave us the Bible with 66 books in it as a reference to the woman—the gateway. The devil used food from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to go through this gateway. This tree with the divine number 9 is what God also used to design the mission for His son when He sent him to die on the cross for the sins of the world. That explains why Jesus took his last breath on the cross at the 9th hour. It also explains why the last miracle Jesus performed on earth after his resurrection was a miracle of food as well—the 153 miraculous fish catch in John 21:11.

153 = 9

After God was done creating everything in the world, He put Adam in charge. By putting him in charge and because of their close relationship, Adam had pertinent information on everything God had made including the fact that God made him on the 6th day. When Adam decided to pick a name for the second creature, he decided to pick a name that attaches her to him. In Adam’s mind, the name was very easy to find because he was only thinking of the day he was made—it was all about him. The woman’s seed is the multiplication miracle of the human race and that explains why the devil; decided to pick this number as his mark because his intention is to wipe out the human race. The devil was able to steal this number because there is no supernatural power attached to this number since Adam was only thinking of his flesh when he made the decision to name the woman. It also explains why the devil decided to go after the woman and not Adam when he was planning to tempt the human race. God created man and named him in the image of Heaven but Adam was only thinking about himself when he had the opportunity to follow God’s step. God has established some permanent principles in life that no human being can change. One of them is the fact that whenever we deviate from God’s divine law, we pay a heavy price for it because nobody gets away with anything. God decided to use the pattern Adam established to move the human race forward as man continued to display this behavior in future generations.

Adam’s Children

Number

Name

Value

1

Cain

9

2

Abel

2

3

Seth

7

Total:

18 = 9

Tab. 25

Noah’s Children

Number

Name

Value

1

Shem

9

2

Ham

4

3

Japheth

5

Total:

18 = 9

Tab. 26

When God made a new covenant with Abraham, that’s when God was prepared to change the old system. In this new covenant God described it as a covenant to honor Abraham’s faith for the generations to come as well. God then described Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Covenant with Abraham

Number

Name

Value

1

Abraham

8

2

Isaac

6

3

Jacob

4

Total:

18 = 9

Tab. 27

When you look at the value of the new covenant, it doesn’t look like anything has changed from what Adam originally established—the value is still 18 = 9. That is not true, the thing is whenever you plan to modify a contract in life reference must be made to the old contract to help you understand where the new contract is coming from and where it is going to as well. It also helps you to clearly see the changes that have been made. That is exactly what God was doing here. Also, keep in mind that while the table of Adam and Noah’s children show direct seeds, Jacob is Abraham’s grandson, not his son. To clearly understand the changes God made, the values of the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were no longer 9.

Abraham’s Table

Number

Jacob’s children

Isaac’s children

Abraham’s children

Name

Value

Name

Value

Name

Value

1

Reuben

9

Esau

10

Ishmael

4

2

Simeon

3

Jacob

4

Isaac

6

3

Levi

3

4

Judah

8

5

Dan

10

6

Naphtali

9

7

Gad

3

8

Asher

6

9

Isaachar

6

10

Zebulun

2

11

Dinah

9 (female)

12

Joseph

10

13

Benjamin

5

Total:

2

14 = 5

10

Gross total:

2 + 5 + 10 = 17

Tab. 28

In Tab. 28, to mark the end of the covenant, God used His divine number 17 which He also used to mark the end of the flood with Noah and the end of the Israelites in bondage in Egypt. Isaac was Abraham’s second seed and Jacob was Isaac’s second seed as well. Light was the second seed from God in Genesis 1:1-3 and Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12. God made the covenant with Abraham but He used two second seeds to move the covenant forward—Isaac and Jacob.

Isaac’s seeds + Jacob’s seeds = (5+2) = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

Abraham = 8

The process started with Ishmael, the number 4 but the covenant was with Isaac the divine number 6. Likewise when God called Moses and Aaron, the process started with Aaron whom He called first but the power of the mission was vested in Moses.

Aaron = 4

Moses = 8

From the values in Tab. 28, after the covenant was made with Abraham, God started addressing Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now what does He mean by that? From the values in the table, God was trying to say the following:

1.   I will setup a throne for you in heaven and make you the father of faith. This is the throne Jesus was talking about when he narrated the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19.

2.   I will setup a feast called the Passover which I will use to sacrifice my son Jesus Christ just like you tried through obedience to sacrifice your son Isaac to me. This sacrifice of my son will be carried out on the 14th day of the first month for the sins of the world.

3.   I will setup a process to create a new nation out of the seeds of Jacob and they shall be my people.

The covenant God made with Abraham using Isaac as the sacrificial lamb was so important that with Isaac’s seeds being 14, this covenant was actually a blue print of the real covenant that was to come when God will use His son as the lamb for the Passover feast. Isaac’s seeds have a value of 14 and the Bible teaches in Matthew 1:17 that from Abraham to David, there were 14 generations and Jesus was described as the Son of David.

From this point, the divine number 9 disappeared from God’s plan.

What moved God was that Abraham demonstrated unshakable faith before God when he did not hold back from sacrificing his son Isaac. This was a different way of thinking. Abraham put God first unlike Adam who put himself first. A way of thinking that shows what Adam should have done when he had the opportunity. Are you putting God first through Jesus Christ in everything you do in your life? In this new covenant with Abraham, it was necessary for God to go back to where it all started—the flesh with the number 6.

Abram = 35

Abraham = 44

Faith = 44

God had a perfect plan in mind when He changed his name from Abram to Abraham because God crowned him the father of faith. The new covenant God made with Abraham was all about the sins of man and the number 6 because that’s where it all started and God was determined to go back to the beginning in order to completely eradicate what Adam did. That also explains why God sent Ishmael away and when it was time for His son Jesus Christ to come fulfill this covenant, Jesus followed the steps of God. The first miracle Jesus performed on earth was the wine miracle using six jars of water because he had to make reference to where it all started. When Jesus died on the cross at the end of his mission, every covenant that had ever existed was instantly replaced with the covenant of his death on the cross. Our new covenant that will always be is called Jesus Christ and the value is 7; it has nothing to do with the flesh.

Jesus Christ = 7 (Perfect, complete, and Holy)

When man was in the process of naming the woman, he should have thought about the 7th day that God declared as Holy. As children of God, Jesus has now given us the opportunity to live with a new generational code—777 for the Holy Trinity. This is the only thing that can set you free and guarantee you life everlasting. Do you have it? If not I suggest you do that while you still have time otherwise you are stuck with the devils code of 666 which leads to eternal condemnation because Jesus said it very clear “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:18. When Angel Gabriel visited Mary, not only did he tell her that she was going to carry a child who will be the son of God but he also gave her the name of the child. God decided to name His only son Jesus Christ. If names don’t matter, God would have left that choice with Mary to decide what name she would give to her child. God knew right from the beginning that He will send His son to come die on the cross for the sins of the world.

Jesus = 74 = 2

Cross = 74 = 2

His mother’s name was Mary = 3 and he was anointed at Bethany.

Bethany = 3

When Jesus died on the cross with the last words “It is finished”, salvation was born to the world.

It is finished = 5

Salvation = 5

Jesus said to the repented thief that was crucified beside him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. What did he mean by paradise? He was definitely referring to the Kingdom of God—Heaven.

Paradise = 10

Heaven = 10

Chapter 5

The Kingdom of God

The Church

Lord Jesus, help me deal with the pain of what your church has been reduced to. I am very sorry that it has come to this. Give the true Christians the courage to fight for your name and please I beg you to come back quickly to your people. In your name I pray; Amen, Amen, and Amen.

When I look at the modern day church, I feel like throwing up because most of them have completely lost their way and I seriously don’t think they can find their way back because of how deep the pit they have dug for themselves. This is not what Jesus had in mind when he set up the church through his disciples. Tell me one home that you will walk into and not find a picture of who lives there or the owners of the home. Also show me one embassy that you will walk into and not find the picture of the leader of that nation hanging on the wall as you walk in. If the church is the embassy of Jesus Christ on earth and Jesus Christ is the President of the church, then you have no choice but to have his pictures and images plastered all over the church. The only reason why many preachers are shying away from this is because deep inside their hearts, they know that the church they are leading has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ. It has everything to do with their bank account. It belongs to the devil that is helping them deceive the members to enrich the preachers. The sad part of it all is that because most Christians don’t read the Bible, a lot of them are under the spell of the devil and they just can’t help themselves but keep coming back to places like this. Just because a preacher is holding the Bible and talking to you about Jesus doesn’t mean he or she believes in Jesus. Remember what Jesus said “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain” Mrk.7:6-7. In fact, the devil reads the Bible and he knows it inside out better than you do; the only difference between you and him is that he does not believe it because it will mean bowing down to Jesus which he is not prepared to do. It was the same Bible that the devil used to tempt Jesus three times but because Jesus knew it better and because Jesus himself is the Bible, he knew exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to tell the devil to back off. It’s about time for you to start spending more time reading your Bible and eventually tell these people to back off. You are being deceived; it is not a church. It is a meeting room from hell. When I talk about pictures and images of Jesus in the church, I am not referring to what you find in some churches where they go to a carpenter to buy two pieces of wood put together. That means nothing because it says nothing. It could be the cross of any body or it could be the cross of the thief that mocked Jesus while on the cross—in this case, the cross of the devil. It has to be the crucifix of Jesus Christ. Every church on this planet must have three images that remind them of the following:

1.   Jesus carrying the cross

2.   Jesus crucified on the cross

3.   Jesus resurrected.

These blood sucking devil worshippers will try to convince you that the reason they don’t have these images in the church is because Jesus is no longer hanging on the cross. Please listen to me very carefully; this kind of statement is the biggest lie from the pit of hell. You cannot rule out Jesus on the cross. What he did for us was not temporary; it is for time everlasting. Without Jesus on the cross, there is no eradication of sin. If these three images are there in front of the church, they will be very uncomfortable performing the signs of the devil as they constantly do without you even noticing. They do it so fast that unless you know your Bible very well, you will not even realize what is going on. It is a sign that they use to deliver the entire congregation into the hands of the anti-Christ kingdom. This sign is done by lifting the thumb and the little finger of the right hand up while putting the other three fingers down. It is the sign of the beast in the book of Revelation. “Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” Rev.13:11-14. These are the miracles you see being publicly displayed in most of these anti-Christ churches today. The two fingers represent the two horns of the dragon. “This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” Rev.13:18. The Bible said the beast had two horns like a lamb but spoke like a dragon. What the Bible is saying is that the beast looks like a lamb but it is actually a dragon. Because of the deceitful counterfeit nature of the devil, the beast will disguise to look like the lamb who is Jesus Christ but in actual fact, it is a dragon; not a lamb. Does this remind you everything we’ve been talking about? These people will disguise in the image of Jesus followers but actually, they don’t work for Jesus; they work for the devil. The sacred heart picture of Jesus Christ shows him lifting up the three fingers that devil worshippers are putting down. This is Jesus after his resurrection. The three fingers are for the Holy Trinity. 777 = 21 = 3. There is a reason why God picked the cross as the only way to kill His Son for the sins of the world.

Cross = 74

Jesus = 74

It’s all about the cross and there is also a reason why instead of one cross, God allowed three of them on the day His son was crucified.

Three Crosses = 74 x 3 = 222 = 6 = Sin.

Most preachers will tell you that the reason they don’t have the crucifix of Jesus hanging in the church is because Jesus is no longer on the cross and that he is alive. Don’t believe it. Well if that is the case, how come they don’t have an image of him whatsoever in the church if he is the owner? When two people are engaged in a battle, victory cannot be proclaimed for both of them at the same time. Only one of them will be declared the winner. In this case, Jesus Christ defeated the devil on the cross and God did it with the power of the Holy Trinity and that’s why Jesus raised the three fingers. It is victory for The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. But when these disciples of the devil perform their sign, they are saying to you that Jesus was defeated on the cross—that victory is for their master the devil. Christians wake up! The five fingers of your right hand are for victory because the number five is God’s divine number for victory and that’s why David picked five stones to fight the giant Goliath.

When I talk about having the crucifix of Jesus Christ in the church, I am not talking about an empty piece of wood most people call the cross. It means nothing and it says nothing to God because for all we know, that piece of wood could be the cross of anybody because Jesus was not the only one hanging on the cross on that faithful day. The true crucifix must have his image on it. Pastors who really want to do the right thing should take Jesus seriously for once because he means business. Show me a home or an embassy without a picture or anything to show what the owners look like and I will show you a church without Jesus Christ. The divine number five is also very important because Jesus had to go through five rigorous steps to bring victory to us. The three images I am talking about are symbolic of what he went through. He was tried, crucified, died, buried, and he resurrected on the third day. These are the things that completely set him apart from everyone else in the history of mankind:

1.   Trial = 6 = Sin

2.   Crucifixion = 5 = Victory

3.   Death = 2 = Creation

4.   Burial = 9 = The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

5.   Resurrection = 3 = Supernatural = The Holy Trinity.

The process brought to us the following:

›   It started with his trial using the number six just like he started his mission on earth with the first miracle of changing water to wine using six jars of water. He was tried for our transgressions—our sins.

Sin = 6

›   His crucifixion gave us victory over sin.

›   His death was the creation of a new life—everlasting life.

›   His burial was the burial of the flesh that Adam created in the beginning (666) = 18 = 9); the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

›   His resurrection was carried out by using his supernatural divine number 3 which is from the Holy Trinity.

Trial + Crucifixion + Death + Burial + Resurrection = 7 for complete, Holy, and Perfect.

Remember Jesus Christ = 7

It was all a plan from Heaven, that’s why God used ten plagues to do it in Egypt.

Just because pastor “Give me your money” is holding the Bible and preaching doesn’t make him a Christian. If you don’t have the spiritual wisdom asked of you in Revelation 13:18 to know who your pastor is worshipping, at least you should have the simple wisdom to know whose house you are sitting in. The signs at the door mean nothing but the signs and images of what Jesus did for you are very significant. Like I said before, the devil reads the Bible and he knows it inside out better than you and the only thing that gives you an edge over him is if you have truly given your life to Jesus Christ. When I say given your life to Christ, I am not talking about what I see in most churches today where salvation has been reduced to look like a cheap talk from a used car sales man. They tell you to just say it; go ahead just proclaim his name as your Lord and Savior and instantly you are saved. It is a big fat lie. I repeat a big fat lie. Jesus did not leave Heaven to come here and die on the cross just so you can toy around with the magnitude of what he did for you. I get a very bad taste in my mouth each time I see the way modern day churches toss salvation around like kids toss french-fries in a fast food restaurant. What the devil has done is select a few verses to deceive you with from the Bible like he tried to do with Jesus. Satan has equipped his disciples with these verses and they have been fully trained to use them in such a crafty way that makes you believe them so that you can keep coming back to finance the empire of the anti-Christ. The popular ones are: (1) “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

(2) “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, ‘Says the LORD Almighty,’ and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10.

In Luke 6:38, Jesus was talking about something very simple—what you sow is what you will reap. He was not referring to money as they will try to make you believe; he was referring to your life in general. The reason Jesus touched this topic was to let us understand that God has designed the laws of life in such a way that no good measure goes unrewarded and nobody gets away with anything I don’t care who you are. A good example is to examine the lives of most powerful leaders in the past and take a good look at how they all ended. It means nothing to God if you gave the church one million dollars last week but just last night, you cheated on your spouse. It means nothing to God if you gave one hundred million dollars to the church last Sunday but yesterday you walked by a homeless man who needed a meal but you turned your face the other way because he looks very dirty to you.

In John 6:1-15 when Jesus fed the five thousand people, while his disciples were concerned with how they were going to get enough food or money to feed the crowd, Jesus already had a plan on exactly what he was going to do. Notice how Jesus did not ask his disciples to tell the crowd to make donations for money to take care of the problem. You want to tell me that there was nobody there with money in that large crowd? No I don’t think so. Instead God touched the heart of a little boy who out of his own will came forward with five small barley loaves and two small fish. While his disciples looked at it as not being enough to take care of the problem, Jesus on the other hand knew it was more than enough because it was a sincere gift from a pure heart. These are the type of gifts that God uses to meticulously take care of His church. Jesus used that little gift to feed the crowd and they even had lots of leftovers. What the church is doing today is exactly what the Israelites did back in Egypt when Pharaoh passed the law of bricks without straw. They pushed God aside and decided to take care of the problem in their own way which didn’t get them very far.

Most churches today don’t have the patience to go through tough times and wait for God to do his work in meeting their needs. They want it all now because they want it for themselves and not for God. Christians wake up! Anytime a church is very desperate in getting money out of you, it is definitely not for God because with God there is no such thing as time is running out for anything. Time was not running out when He took His time to execute every single miracle to get Israel out of bondage in Egypt but with the modern churches of today, time is always running out for every single proposed project. The truth is with God, He wants you to be still and allow Him to show you how mighty He is. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exod. 14:14. “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

In every instance, God wants you to be still so He can work out the plans for you and it is a tremendous opportunity for you to show Him that you trust Him to do His will in your life and in the life of the church. I have never seen a situation where an employee is more worried about a company’s future than the owner. If Jesus Christ is really the owner of your church then why do you give the impression that you are more worried about the projects of the church than Jesus himself? The only reason these people give such impressions is because their church has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. They give you that impression because the money goes straight into their bank accounts. As a parent, will you be happy if while you are waiting for the green light to cross a busy street with fast moving traffic and your three year old child who is standing by your side suddenly without warning starts to cross the street walking into the danger of the moving traffic? That’s what refusing to wait for the LORD looks like. If God could send Jesus to the cross with everything he had to go through in the hands of wicked men who killed him and on the third day he resurrected, what makes you think for one second that God cannot take care of any monetary problems a house that belongs to Him is going through? A true church of Jesus Christ should have no problems sustaining projects that are truly erected to glorify Jesus Christ. If God could raise His son from the dead then the same God can effectively sustain His church. Remember God unleashed the ten plagues in Egypt to destroy Egypt. When the Israelites were about to leave Egypt, God told them to ask for articles from the Egyptians. “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed towards the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.” Exod. 12:35-36. Everything God did in Egypt was to cripple Egypt. Jesus Christ is so gracious that his plan for all those who sincerely believe in him is that you meet your needs in life. There is not a single promise that he made in the Bible that you cannot harvest today; not even one. It is up to you. Driving a very expensive car is not a need, flying a private jet is not a need, living in a million dollar mansion is not a need, and having your bank account flowing with unlimited amount of money is not a need.

They will tell you that having a lot of money is called “Being blessed.” And that it is the greatest gift you can expect from God. They are full of shit. If that’s what it is, then I am sure Jesus would have made it the greatest promise before he went back to Heaven. Instead, he told us the greatest thing he is giving us in the book of John. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27. This is the one thing you will never find in a false preacher. They have no inner peace in their soul regardless of what you see outside. They can smile one million times when they lie to get your money but one thing is very certain, when they are alone at night, they face the conviction of the Holy Spirit because they have no peace in their souls. Jesus did not set up his church so that greedy bastards with expensive outfits carrying the Bible and flying on private jets should send you flyers to come see them in a crusade while you walk, take public transport, or drive in a car you struggle to make monthly payments. Jesus never arrived at any crusade riding on a chariot; not even the cheapest one in those days. Jesus knew that such behavior has no place in what he came to give us and that is why he did not allow his disciples to bring it up in a conversation. I was also a victim of this scam until Jesus finally told me to stop giving to these people.

With the kind of miracles Jesus performed when he was here, you and I know very well that if he wanted donations from people, he would have been richer than Solomon. If he who is the President of the church didn’t do it, then why should anybody who claims to work for him embark on such a behavior and expect that they will even smell the gates of the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourself—you are going to hell. Repent now or your direct flight to hell is waiting to take off. Jesus knew that this type of behavior will hunt the church when he talked about the gate of Hades and that’s why he tried to address it in the story of the widow’s offering. “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.” Mark 12:41-42. After watching this, Jesus called his disciples aside and said to them “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44. Jesus started addressing this issue when he previously talked about the teachers of the law in Mark 12:38-40 “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the market places, and have most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely” Does this remind you of your pastor? These false preachers will try to convince you that this woman gave all that she had and for that reason you should give them all your money. There is not a single truth in this ideology. It’s a fat lie bigger than anything you’ve ever heard or seen. First if you say Jesus went there to look at money then you are telling me that the same Jesus that said you cannot serve both God and money is now contradicting himself. Jesus did not go there to look at money. He went there to look at the hearts of the people because your heart is the only thing God wants you to bring to his house. When he said the woman put in more into the treasury than all the rich people, he said it because that woman gave with all her heart. She gave in faith and she gave not because somebody asked her to; she gave according to how God touched her heart. That is what measures your level of giving.

Jesus was trying to make a distinction as to what it takes to sustain the house of God. He was saying that the large amounts from rich people is not what it takes to make God`s treasury rich; it is the little gifts from the heart of God fearing people that God uses to do his work. It was the same little gift from that boy that Jesus used to feed the five thousand people. If he can feed five thousand people with almost no money then I believe he can do greater things for his church. Jesus listed 7 principles that make a good disciple of him. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26. Notice how Jesus paused and then said yes before he finished the statement. He knew that anybody who hears this will definitely raise eyebrows. Jesus was just trying to say that for you to be his disciple you must put him first above everything else in your life. These pastors that keep taking your money and buying themselves million dollar mansions with private jets, do they look like they are putting Jesus first before themselves? Of course not; just the idea of constantly asking you for large sums of money under the pretext of doing the work of God makes a mockery of what Jesus did for us on the cross. They make it sound like if you don’t give them your money, the church will collapse. To them, without money, the church will die. It will stop to exist. Are you kidding me; if Jesus can raise people from the dead and that includes himself, what makes you think he cannot support his church through supernatural powers. If he has to send angels from Heaven to bring the money the church needs to survive he will do it because he can.

They deceive you with miracles telling you it is from God and that they can strongly feel the anointing of God all over them. The truth is what they feel is the anointing of the devil they worship; it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. What you need to know is that the devil also has supernatural powers that are designed to deceive as many souls as possible because he knows very well what is waiting for him on judgment day and he doesn’t want to be there alone. If they have the anointing to do miracles so you can be healed from your diseases, then how come they can’t use the same anointing to do financial miracles to support their church? Frankly speaking, if they have such supernatural anointing then they should be performing miracles to give you money, not the other way round. The reason their system is all messed up is because in the true miracle world of Jesus Christ, miracles come from Jesus Christ only when there is a need. Remember when Jesus asked Peter to go catch a fish and out of the mouth of that fish, came the money that Jesus used to pay taxes for him and his disciples? “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my taxes and yours.” Matthew 17:27.

4 drachma coin

Drachma = 48 = 12

4 x 12 = 48 = 12

This coin gave Jesus and his team freedom from taxes because the number 12 is God’s divine number for freedom. Remember when Jesus was accused by the Pharisees that he drives out demons by using Beelzebub the prince of demons in Matthew 12:24? The reason they falsely accused Jesus was because this is a system that really works in the satanic kingdom. The devil has the power to perform miracles to cast out the demons that work for him because he is the one the put them there in the first place and he is also the one that is in charge of moving them from place to place. A good example is the story of Simon the Sorcerer in the book of Acts. “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low gave him their attention and exclaimed ‘This man is the divine power known as the Great power.’ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.” Acts 8:9-11. It is this same sorcery or magic from the pit of hell that you see on national television and crusades all in the name of miracles from Jesus. These people are nowhere close to Jesus Christ. Do not believe any of it and please walk away and stay very far away from these people. If you need a miracle from Jesus Christ, go to him and pour out your heart to him and he will surely give you the miracle you need—not the miracle you want. One of the easiest things to receive from Jesus Christ is a miracle.

They tell you to give one tenth of your wages for offertory using Malachi 3:10 to convict you. The sad thing is even some very honest pastors have bought into this false interpretation. There is no bigger revelation than what Jesus said in John 14. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:12-14. Jesus used two key words here (whatever and anything). There is no better place that I have seen this promise manifest itself like I have seen in my life. I don’t remember anything that I ever asked him that I desperately needed that he did not give me. He has virtually answered every single prayer I have made to him in desperate moments. With this powerful promise from him, there is no justification for these pastors to constantly ask you to fund their churches. What Jesus is trying to say is that he is ready to give you whatever you need to bring glory to him because it also brings glory to the Father. He is also making it very clear that what it takes to keep his church going is none of your business because he will take care of it. Now what these empty vessel preachers are doing is that instead of going to him because they can’t even find him in their hearts, they turn around and come to you. Are you Jesus? If you answer no then stop being taken for a ride. The next time they come to you, tell them to go talk to Jesus.

Just because somebody went to Bible school doesn’t make them a true pastor; Judas Iscariot also went to Bible school and he graduated with a degree in theology on how to sell Jesus for thirty shekels of silver. In Malachi 3-4, God was not only talking about tithes; He was talking about everything and that’s why He concluded the message with this statement “Remember the law of my servant Moses the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.” Malachi 4:4. This law is summarized in the Ten Commandments and I don’t remember the word money written all over the Ten Commandments. There is nothing wrong with having enough money to meet your daily needs; but when you have more than you need and you are living a life style that mocks the people who donated all that money then the Bible has a problem with that.

Remember the story of the rich young man and how Jesus dealt with it in Matthew 19:16-30? Jesus asked him to go sell his treasures, give the proceeds to the poor, then come back to follow him. And of course he went away sad because he obviously loved his money more than he loved God. Jesus did not say to him “Go sell your treasures, bring the money to me and follow me.” He did not say “Go give ten percent to the priest and come follow me.” Jesus told him to give it all away. There is absolutely no place in the Bible where money and God are sharing the same dining table let alone a chair.

When Jesus visited Zacchaeus the wealthy tax collector in Luke 19:1-9, he knew that this man was ready to repent. The Bible teaches that Zacchaeus said to Jesus “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Luke 19:8. And Jesus replied by saying “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:9. Jesus did the math and he knew that Zacchaeus was doing exactly what he expected from him—give it all away to the poor. Tax collectors usually collect more than what was required from the people by the Roman Empire and they would keep the difference for themselves. That’s how Zacchaeus built his wealth. Now let’s do the Math.

Let’s say the Roman Empire asked them to collect $100 of taxes from each citizen and let’s also assume that the tax collectors turned around and collected $125.00 from each tax payer. The $25.00 difference is what they would illegally keep for themselves. Let’s also assume that the tax collector was legally paid $20.00 for every $100.00 tax. This will bring the tax collectors income to $25 + $20 = $45.00

If he gives away half of his income, he will be left with 50% of $45.00 = $22.50

Now, out of this balance, if he has to pay back (4 x $25.00) = $100 he will be left with a minus or he will have to work for the difference or borrow money to meet this obligation.

To get a better picture of this story, let’s try to bump up his figures by assuming that he was legally paid 100% of whatever he was authorized to collect from the people. This will change his total income as well.

Lawful income = $100.00

Unlawful income = $25.00

Total income = $125.00

If he gives 50% to the poor, he will be left with (50% of $125.00) =

$62.50

If he pays back (4 x $25.00) = $100.00

He will be left with a net balance of ($62.50-$100.00) = -$37.50

Once again, he will end up with a negative balance.

As soon as Zacchaeus made that promise, Jesus knew that if you do the math either way, Zacchaeus will end of with a net balance of not greater than zero. For Zacchaeus to break-even, he will have to receive a lawful income of $202.34 from each tax payer and also defraud each tax payer to the tune of $28.906. This will mean that he will be making more than the Roman Empire—a very unlikely outcome. His income scenario will look as follows:

Lawful income = $202.34

Unlawful income = $28.906

Total income = $231.246

Less 50% to the poor = $115.623

Less (4 x Unlawful income) = $115.624

Net Balance= $115.623-$115.624 = 0

When God made the covenant with Abraham using Isaac as the center of the new relationship for a tested faith, not only did God reveal what was to come in the future; he was also using this covenant to define a new divine number for prosperity. What was to come was Him sending His one and only son to die for the sins of the world on the cross. As long as the price for sin was not yet paid, the number 9 was still the divine number for prosperity. But as soon as Jesus paid the price of sin on the cross, God instantly replaced the divine number 9 with the blood of His son. Jesus Christ became the new divine number for prosperity.

Jesus Christ = 7.

If you have Jesus Christ and your heart is in good standing with him as your Lord and Savior, then you are absolutely prosperous regardless of what is going on around you. Jesus gave us a glimpse of what the new prosperity looks like when he said “So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:31-34. Jesus did not say “Gather as much wealth as you can for tomorrow and for the rest of your life.” From the statement from Jesus, one thing is very clear—if you are a member or follower of any of these false prosperity preachers out there then you are a pagan because I don’t care how you frame it, you are not yet saved. You are still of the world because you are running after all these things that Jesus just talked about. It is not yet late for you to turn around before you end up at the same destination like the preachers themselves. That destination is the lake of unquenchable hell fire.

Jesus Christ is the kingdom of God; seek him first and he will take care of all your needs. Surrounding yourself with material possessions and a fat bank account is the type of prosperity that is rooted in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus once said “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world. Yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36. If prosperity is dependent on wealth or living a luxury life, then how about the old lady in a remote village in Africa with ten children, no electricity, no good drinking water, and no money but loves Jesus Christ with all her heart? You want to tell me that she is missing the big picture as far as life is concerned? I don’t think so. I can tell you for sure that she is more prosperous than all these preachers and their lost followers who are selling you the false prosperity gospel. Prosperity is not a point in life when all or most of your needs are met and prosperity is not any one of the following:

1.   When you are in good health

2.   When your needs are met

3.   When you lack pain in life

4.   When you have enough money

5.   When you look good

6.   When you are happy

Prosperity is when you have the peace Jesus described in John 14:27. That peace is given to you only by Jesus Christ when he is satisfied with your soul. That peace has nothing to do with anything you can find, feel, or even see around you in this sinful world. The gospel you hear from all these false preachers is the same gospel that existed before Jesus came to die on the cross and it is a gospel that leads to the unquenchable fire in hell. Remember what Jesus said when a teacher of the law wanted to follow him? Jesus said “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matthew 8:20 You didn’t hear Jesus say “Hey I live in a mansion and I fly around the world in a private jet; come on in and follow me.” What Jesus was trying to show us here was one very simple message—follow what is inside me, not what you see around me.

According to our modern day preachers, when you come to their churches to follow them God will bless you just like He has blessed them with lots of money. They tell you Jesus Christ lives inside them and that they can feel his anointing when they lie to your face to get to your check book. Their egotistic insatiable love of money completely robs them of any form of compassion for their victims. These shameless spiritual vampires will do anything to get your money because they have no genuine interest in Jesus Christ. If this gospel is true, then the only people that should be begging food in the world should be those who openly mock Jesus. Unfortunately, we know there is no Biblical truth supporting this junk philosophy. We also know that some of the most evil people that walk the face of this earth are also very wealthy. Unfortunately, these false preachers have redefined heaven to be that place where you try to accumulate as much wealth as possible here on earth and when it is time for you to die, you electronically transfer all your wealth prior to your departure. This is the most laughable thing I have ever come across in my life. When Jesus made the statement in John 14:27, Jesus was basically saying that anything the world can give you is absolutely useless in measuring your relationship with him—and that includes money and material possessions. This statement from Jesus in itself makes the prosperity gospel a false gospel because there is no money in heaven.

The preachers of our modern day churches are trying to have it all both ways and they will do anything to justify it and call it prosperity from God. No it is not because Jesus said “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24.To clarify things, Jesus knew that Christians would be concerned about this statement and how to meet their needs after he had just condemned money. That is why right away, he said “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27.

Whenever a preacher starts to brandish wealth in any way shape or form, just walk away before he or she takes you to hell. Some of them will tell you that God has nothing against being wealthy because He made Solomon the richest man. What they don’t understand or do understand but won’t tell you is that God gave Solomon wealth just to show us the damage it can do to our lives anytime we place wealth side by side with God. It never works and will never work. Jesus said: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” Luke 6:24. Solomon in all aspects was a complete spiritual failure. He blew it. Solomon ran a spiritual race with wealth on one hand and God on the other hand. When he learned that the devastating outcome of this approach is a lesson that neither circumstances nor time is capable of obliterating from his memory. He then said “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” Prov. 21:21. Solomon came to the realization that prosperity has nothing to do with wealth because righteousness is what true prosperity is all about.

One thing that was not in David’s favor was the behavior of most of his children; from incest to murderer, greed, lust, insatiable sexual desires, just name it. Solomon wanted anything and everything that pleased his eyes. Jesus also said “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24. There is absolutely no place in the Bible that justifies the wealth these preachers are gathering for themselves. They have all been marked for eternal condemnation in the lake of fire. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. Jesus is not looking for quantity; he is looking for quality. If you have any doubts about the church you attend—whether it belongs to the anti-Christ gang, then I suggest you pray this simple prayer and mean it.

Father in heaven, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, my only God, my source of everything. Thank you for allowing your son to die for my sins on the cross. Father if the church (mention the name of your church) that I currently attend does not belong to your son Jesus Christ, I ask you to pull me out. Show me your light and direct my steps to the house of worship that belongs to your son Jesus Christ. Let your will be continuously perfectly manifested in my life. In Jesus name I pray; Amen, Amen, and Amen. If you mean it, God will not hesitate to answer your prayer because it is a prayer that genuinely seeks Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not give you the church to replace him; he gave you the church as a part of him and when you take away Jesus from any church, that church is no longer a church but like any other place out there without God. Jesus Christ is the Bible and as a Christian, your number one responsibility is to have an unbreakable bond with Jesus Christ. When you have a relationship with somebody, you feed that relationship. By the same token, you have to feed your relationship with Jesus Christ by studying the Bible to know what he expects from you because the Bible is essentially Jesus Christ. You don’t go to church to study the Bible; you go there to participate in group worship and of course every praise and worship that is directed towards Jesus Christ must have the Bible at the center of the worship. The greatest mistakes most Christians make is that they depend 100 percent on their pastor to study and understand the Bible. The danger in doing this is that when your pastor stops believing in Jesus Christ or for some reason preaches the wrong gospel, you will not realize it because you don’t know any better. You are solely responsible for studying your Bible and the Holy Spirit will help you understand everything you need to know from the Bible. If you don’t develop the habit of spending some time each day reading your Bible then I can guarantee you that your relationship with Jesus Christ is on shaky ground and that makes you a prime candidate and a victim of false prophets. When you face Jesus Christ on judgment day, there are two things you will not hear him say to you:

•   I gave you the church

•   I gave you a pastor

Instead, there is one thing you will definitely hear him say: I gave you the manual—I gave you the Bible. You have to know your Bible even better than your pastor because that’s the only way you can successfully navigate this world especially during these dangerous times. The disciples of the anti-Christ are everywhere and they are multiplying and spreading like wildfire. They are also studying the Bible very hard to find out the easiest way to suck you in. Their master—the anti-Christ is not an atheist, it is somebody who understands the Bible very well and he is someone who proclaims Jesus with his lips but not his heart. If prosperity gospel is what Jesus expects from us then the twelve disciples and apostle Paul would have been presented as the wealthiest people in the Bible, not Solomon. The gospel that is being preached today in most churches is not the gospel of Jesus Christ; it is the gospel of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, it is the gospel of greed and deceit, and it is the gospel that leads to hell.

Divine Number 17

We have talked about the divine number 17 on many occasions; we are now going to define it. Divine number 17 is the number that God uses to bring peace to a series of miraculous events that He puts together for the sole purpose of honoring His son Jesus Christ. It is like placing an overshadowing heavenly effect upon the earth. Remember Jesus said in John 14:27 that his peace is something the world cannot give us. For that same reason, every time God uses the number 17 He also uses the number 7 to go with it. We saw how God used the divine number 17 to bring the Ark to rest during the flood with Noah on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. God used it to wrap up His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first time God introduced the divine number 17 in Egypt was when He used Aaron’s staff to perform the plague of Gnats.

Snake = 5

Blood = 3

Frogs= 2

Gnats = 7

Total = 17

All four miracles were performed for the Egyptians. When God started performing miracles before Pharaoh using Moses and Aaron, Egyptian magicians were able to emulate each miracle because God’s nature in battle is to give the devil early temporary victory. As soon as God introduced the plague of Gnats, He also introduced His divine number 17 which is used to bring a series of events to a final stop. From that moment, God neutralized the power of Pharaoh’s magicians. Also, because the number 4 is God’s divine number to start and end a process, as soon as God performed the first four miracles before the Egyptians, He made Pharaoh’s magicians powerless. “But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not.” Exod.8:18. We also saw how He used it to wrap of events in Egypt when he assigned the divine number 7 to all the miracles He performed in Egypt. On the 17th appearance of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, God gave the Israelites rest from slavery. The remarkable thing is that God did not stop there. God also used this number to seal the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If the miracles He performed in Egypt to prepare the departure of the Israelites from bondage were wrapped up with the divine number 17 as preparatory steps for the Exodus to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would He also prepare their entry into this land with the same divine number? The series of miracles He performed in Egypt to set them free were not the only miracles God needed to successfully bring them into the land he promised them. After the Israelites left Egypt, they had to fight a lot of wars as they journeyed to the Promised Land and God miraculously gave them victory over all the nations that were on their way. Before Moses died, he defeated two kings.

While in Egypt, the Israelites celebrated the Passover for the first time as they were getting ready to leave Egypt. When they arrived at Gilgal in the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover before making final preparations to enter the land. “On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day they ate some of the produce of the land; unleavened bread and roasted grain.” Joshua 5:10-11. When Jesus was celebrating the Passover with his disciples he said something remarkable. “After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’” Luke 22:17-18. Jesus was basically saying that he will not celebrate the Passover again until he is in the Kingdom of God. Although the Israelites celebrated the Passover in Egypt, Sinai, and Gilgal, the two most important Passovers were that of Egypt and Gilgal. The one in Egypt marked their exit from slavery while Gilgal marked their entry into the land.

Egypt = The world

Jericho = The Kingdom of God

When God gave the Israelites instructions on how to celebrate the Passover for the first time, He asked each household to take a lamb on the tenth day and take care of it until the fourteenth day. “Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.” Exod. 12:6. The lamb was to be slaughtered at twilight because God was about to separate the Israelites from Egypt forever just like He used the twilight to separate light from darkness when he created the world in Genesis 1:3. Not only was God determined that the divine number for the value of all the miracles He performed in Egypt would be the number 7 for His son Jesus Christ, He also made certain that the number of years spent by the Israelites in Egypt was also the divine number for His son Jesus Christ as well—not even a day more. “Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’S division left Egypt.” Exod. 12:40-41.

430 = 7.

God was responsible for hardening Pharaoh’s heart and as soon as Moses and Aaron made the 17th appearance before Pharaoh, God stopped hardening Pharaoh’s heart. “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.” Exod. 7:3-4. When God pulled Moses and Aaron from the mission after they broke faith with Him, He appointed Joshua to finish the mission of leading His people to the land He promised their forefathers on oath. Joshua’s first assignment was to cross the Jordan River and conquer the city of Jericho. But before Joshua could start anything, God made this very long speech in Joshua 1:1-9 as an assurance and also because he was about to undertake a very crucial part of the mission which involves stepping into the land they have been waiting for all these years. God wanted to make sure that Joshua made no mistakes in executing every single part of the plan. After crossing the Jordan and before Joshua could attack Jericho, an angel of the LORD who described himself as the commander of the LORD’S army appeared to Joshua and he used the same greetings that God used when His angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” Josh.5:15. God gave Joshua specific instructions on how to capture the city of Jericho. “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.” Josh.6:2-5. When Joshua finally entered the Promised Land, God gave them rest from war and the Bible teaches that Joshua defeated 31 kings, while Moses defeated two kings.

Moses Defeated

Number

King of

Value

1

The Amorites

100

2

Bashan

45

Total:

145 = 10

Joshua Defeated

3

Jericho

68

4

Ai

10

5

Jerusalem

104

6

Hebron

72

7

Jarmuth

91

8

Lachish

60

9

Eglon

53

10

Gezer

61

11

Debir

38

12

Geder

39

13

Hormah

63

14

Arad

24

15

Libnah

46

16

Adullam

64

17

Makkedah

54

18

Bethel

52

19

Tappuah

83

20

Hepher

60

21

Aphek

33

22

Lasharon

88

23

Madon

47

24

Hazor

84

25

Shimron

161

26

Acshaph

56

27

Taanach

48

28

Megiddo

57

29

Kedesh

52

30

Jokneam

68

31

Dor

37

32

Goyim

69

33

Tirzah

82

Total:

1924 = 16 = 7

Gross Total:

10 + 7 = 17

Tab. 29

The divine number God assigned to the number of kings Moses defeated was the number 10 and He assigned the divine number 7 to the kings Joshua defeated. When the divine number for all the kings that God miraculously used Moses and Joshua to defeat came to the value of 17, God finally gave the Israelites rest from war. When they entered the Promised Land, even though there was still land that they had to fight for, God did not want them to fight any more wars because His divine plan for the number 17 has been accomplished. Instead God told Joshua that He will capture the remaining land for them. “As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out before the Israelites. Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.” Josh. 13:6-7. That gives us a total of 10 tribes for this land. Notice how God cautiously avoided the number 9 by adding half of the tribe of Manasseh to the list. For Moses it was all about the divine number 10 that God gave him to work with because remember God gave him direct access to Heaven. But with Joshua, God gave him the divine number 7 to work with because He gave Joshua the Holy Spirit to guide him through the mission.

Heaven = 10

Holy Spirit = 7

With Moses, God did the following:

•   The 10 plagues in Egypt

•   The Passover lamb was chosen on the 10th day

•   God gave us The 10 Commandments

•   God appointed him to lead the mission in Egypt (Egypt = 10)

•   The value of the kings Moses defeated was 10

With Joshua, God did the following:

▪   Joshua was the first leader to celebrate the Passover inside Israel (Passover = 7)

▪   God gave Joshua 7 priests

▪   God gave Joshua the number 7 to capture the city of Jericho

The Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of the first month and the first war for Joshua was to capture the city of Jericho. (Jericho = 14). Before the Israelites left Egypt, God already knew which city He was planning to use for the first Passover in the Promised Land. He already had Jericho mapped out in His divine plan. When God designed the entire mission, He made it very clear that it was all about His son Jesus Christ by using the divine number 7 to group all the miracles He performed in Egypt to prepare for the release and departure of His people. When He finally brought them to the plains of Jericho, just before they could enter the land, God arranged everything about their entry to be all about His son once again. That explains the number 7 in the series of instructions He gave Joshua concerning the city of Jericho.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:3-5. By the time the Israelites arrived at the Promised Land, the total number of kings defeated was 34.

34 = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

Kings Defeated

God Himself defeated:

Pharaoh—King of Egypt

Moses defeated:

2 kings

Joshua defeated:

31 kings

Total:

34 kings

Tab. 30

If you were in Joshua’s position you probably would have been scratching your head wondering why God would ask you to march round the city once for six days and seven times on the seventh day. Why not march round the city just once and bring the wall down or why not just shout and bring the walls down because God is capable of doing anything anytime? Why six days and seven times and why not ten, five, three, or even two? These are reasonable questions that would occupy your mind because with God, nothing is impossible. The problem with these questions is that as much as God can snap His fingers or sneeze and things happen, it is also God’s nature to do things in such a way that they perfectly line up with His divine plan. That explains why God doesn’t do miracles to prove anything to anybody. God is not a magician and God does not do things to please anybody. If He decides to do something, it is because He already planned it many years back.

The Israelites fought many battles on their way to the Promised Land and God miraculously gave them victory over all their enemies. However, Jericho was the only city that was captured in such a unique way and it was also the most fortified city with huge walls surrounding the city. It was the one city that the Israelites didn’t have to do much at all to bring down the walls because God had a plan that blew their minds away; all they had to do was obey God’s command for the city to be handed over to them. After celebrating the Passover at Gilgal—in the plains of Jericho, God immediately introduced plans for the first Passover in Jericho. The first Passover in Egypt and the Passover in Gilgal were both celebrated using the animals that God prescribed for the Israelites—sheep or goat. “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.” Exod.12:5. As much as God allowed the Israelites to celebrate the Passover each year, we should not rule out the fact that this feast belongs to God because He originally designed it for Himself. “Eat it in a haste; it is the LORD’S Passover.” Exod. 12:11. The Passover in Jericho will be celebrated by God Himself using the real lamb who is His son Jesus Christ.

•   The animals for previous Passover feasts were without defects

•   The lamb for the Passover feast in Jericho will also be without defects—without sin

This is the Passover Jesus celebrated with his disciples and the Bible described it as the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 26:17-30. It is very important to remember that before Jesus celebrated this Passover with his disciples, he had just been anointed in Bethany. “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John 12:1-3.

Jesus arrived at this dinner and anointing ceremony because he knew exactly what the Father had planned for him at that hour, place and time. When God asked the Israelites to march round Jericho once for six days, it was because God wanted to anoint the city where he was planning to celebrate the most important Passover involving the death of His son. After the anointing of Jesus six days before the Passover which is also six days before the fall of Jericho, Jesus finally sat down with his disciples to celebrate it. The day Jesus was anointed was the same day God asked the Israelites to start marching round the city once every day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march round the city seven times because the Passover lamb will be Jesus Christ. God wanted to make sure that from the moment He decided to give the Israelites rest from war, the first Passover they celebrate in Jericho will be one where His son Jesus Christ will be the sacrificial lamb for the feast. In God’s plan, since Jericho represents the Kingdom of God, no weapon or human input was needed to bring down the walls of the city. Likewise, no weapon or human input is required to bring down the walls of sin in the world—only the blood of Jesus Christ. When God gave the city of Jericho to the Israelites in preparation for the third Passover celebration, He was essentially giving us the Passover celebration of His son Jesus Christ on the cross and that is why the king of Jericho was the 34th king to be defeated in the journey to the Promised Land.

34 = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

For you to enter the kingdom of God, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the only ticket you need. God did all the work with his son Jesus Christ just like He did all the work to bring down the walls of Jericho. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, confessing all your sins to him and you will have the opportunity of eternal life. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior confessing your sins to him from the bottom of your heart and he will bring down the walls of sin in your life so you can just walk into the kingdom of God like the Israelites did in Jericho. To honor His son, God waited for seven days after He introduced the first plague in Egypt—the plague of Blood. “Seven days past after the LORD struck the Nile.” Exod. 8:1. It was also God’s way of saying that He will use His son to paralyze Egypt. God’s plan to free His people from bondage in Egypt was wrapped around the Passover and that is why He introduced it as the last miracle in Egypt. It also explains why the value or divine number for all the miracles He performed in Egypt was the number 7.

Passover = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

Jesus Christ was the reason why God waited for seven days before introducing the second plague. It also explains why He made the Israelites wait for seven days outside the city of Jericho before they could enter it.

Fig. 5

The Passover was the last miracle performed in Egypt—the exit point and it was the first miracle performed in the Promised Land—the entry point. This is in conformity with the use of God’s divine number 2, for creation. God was about to create the nation of Israel.

The Passover in a stranger’s home

Unlike the Sabbath, the Passover was the only Jewish feast that Jesus did not use to challenge the Jewish leaders. We know that in very many occasions in the Bible, he challenged the Jewish leaders on how they observed the Sabbath day. But when the Passover came, Jesus took it more serious than any other spiritual feast. He had twelve disciples who abandoned everything including their families to follow him and they had been with him for almost three years. You would think that for such an important event, Jesus would choose the home of one of his disciples to celebrate the Passover. When his disciples said to him “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” Mark 14:12, they were expecting him to choose one of their homes, most likely Peter’s home. But to their surprise, he sent two of them to this strange place. “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready, Make preparations for us there.” Mark 14:13-15.

Jesus wanted a place where nobody will disturb him or even suspect that he was there. Jesus wanted to celebrate the Passover in a hiding place in an upper room prepared by his two disciples because what the two spies did with Rahab in her roof which was also an upper room while in hiding in Jericho was an indication of how Jesus will celebrate the Passover. The Passover the Israelites celebrated before they entered Jericho were all celebrated at lower levels—on the ground as an indication of the Passover feasts that God designed to take place here on earth—before the death of Jesus on the cross. However, the Passover that Jesus celebrated with his disciples in the upper room was symbolic of the Passover God designed to be celebrated in Heaven which marks the death of His son Jesus Christ. That also explains why the spies had to exit Rahab’s house through the only exit from the upper room which was the window. God also made sure that Jesus celebrated the Passover at a time when the Jewish leaders were desperately looking for Jesus and making plans to arrest and kill him. As soon as Jesus was done celebrating the Passover, he was arrested shortly after that. The same case applied to the spies because as they were in Rahab’s roof making the covenant with her, the King of Jericho was looking to arrest them. When Joshua sent the two spies to Jericho, he did not ask them to make the covenant with Rahab; yet what the two spies did was like two diplomats travelling to a foreign country and during their visit they engage in signing a treaty with the enemy country without the authorization of the President. Have you ever wondered why Joshua was not livid with the spies for taking such actions? The reason is because when Jesus asked his disciples to go make preparations for the Passover in the upper room, he did not tell them how to prepare the room. It was up to the two disciples to prepare the room in any way they see fit for Jesus to celebrate the Passover. When Joshua asked the spies to go spy out the city of Jericho, he was basically saying to them “Go prepare the city for us to come celebrate later.”

The Promised Land

When God first introduced the Passover in Egypt, He called it the Lord’s Passover and He commanded the Israelites to celebrate it every year in commemoration of how He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”. Exod. 12:26-27. God asked them to slaughter the animal on the 14th day and put some of the blood on their door frames because that night He will pass over Egypt killing all the firstborn of Egypt. This Passover was strictly dedicated to the freedom of the Israelites from slavery.

Egypt = 10

Blood = 3

Door = 7

Blood + Door = 10

Although God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Passover on every first month of the year, He also gave them restrictions regarding locations for the celebration. “You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.” Deut.16:5-6. When they arrived at the desert of Sinai, the Lord asked them to celebrate the Passover there but some Israelites did not take part in the celebration because they considered themselves ceremonially unclean. God asked Moses to tell the unclean group of individuals to still celebrate the Passover. God said to Moses “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the LORD’s Passover. They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.’” Numbers 9:10-11. God picked the 2nd month for this celebration because the number 2 is God’s divine number for unclean. Remember God said to Noah “Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate.” Gen.7:2. The reason for the celebration at Gilgal was also in honor of how God brought them out of bondage. They used the same type of animals for this celebration just like in Egypt but the only difference between the two Passover celebrations is that at Gilgal, God did not Passover the city to kill the firstborn of Gilgal and for that reason there was no blood on their door posts where they camped. They were living in tents because their camping was for a very short period of time.

Gilgal = 3

Unlike in Egypt where you had the blood and the door, only one item was involved at Gilgal—the blood of the animal.

Blood = 3

When it was time for God to put the final Passover together, He used the city of Jericho to demonstrate that the third Passover will be different from the previous ones. Unlike all previous celebrations the final Passover will be a Passover that will take care of the sins of the world because the blood will not be that of an animal; it will be the blood of His son Jesus Christ. To show us the magnitude of His grace and what the blood of His son is capable of doing, God used a prostitute—sinner to set the stage for a new kind of Passover that will be celebrated just once. God used the city of Jericho and items like a scarlet cord, roof, and window to show us how the celebration will be shaped.

In Jericho, two components were used:

Scarlet cord = 10

Window = 7

Scarlet Cord + Window = 17

The final and most important Passover will be sealed with God’s most powerful divine number 17.

To supernaturally shake things up, because this Passover was going to symbolize the death of His son on the cross for the sins of the world, God introduced a third component—sin.

Sin = 6

Scarlet cord + Window + Sin = 23 = 5

Jericho = 5

The Passover in Jericho will be the last Passover because Jesus will also take his last breath on the cross with the final statement “it is finished.” = 5. The last Passover will be the Passover to celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death.

In preparation to celebrate the Passover in Egypt, God unleashed 10 plagues and the Israelites didn’t have to do anything; all they had to do was sit tight and watch God move. To celebrate the Passover at Gilgal, God commanded the Israelites to do three things as follows:

1.   Choose 12 men from each tribe

2.   The 12 men should take up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing.

3.   The Israelites should put the stones down at the place where they camp for the night.

“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Joshua 4:2-3.

In preparation for the Passover in Jericho, God commanded the Israelites to do 5 things:

1.   March round the city of Jericho once for 6 days.

2.   Seven priests should carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark.

3.   On the 7th day they should march round the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets.

4.   The priests carrying the trumpets will sound a long blast.

5.   When the Israelites hear this long blast, all the people should give a loud shout for the wall of Jericho will collapse.

“March round the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day march round the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.” Joshua 6:3-5. When the Israelites left Egypt, they crossed the Red sea on dry land under Moses’ leadership as a symbol of their baptism but under Joshua’s leadership when they were about to cross the Jordan river, God gave specific instructions to Joshua on what to do. “Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing down stream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” Joshua 3:12-13.

When the Israelites finished crossing the Jordan, God concluded the command by saying “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Joshua 4:2-3. Looking at the command from God, it almost looks similar to the miraculous experience God gave them to cross the Red sea on dry land when the water separated into two as well. After the plague of blood in Egypt, God waited for 7 days before He introduced the next plague because the plague of Blood summarizes everything that Jesus came to do. It explains why it was the only plague that called for the use of the two staffs. This plague alone covers the seven days period from when Jesus was anointed in John 12:1 to the period when he was crucified. For the same reason, the Israelites had to march round Jericho for seven days before the wall collapsed. Because Jericho symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, that’s why Joshua said to the Israelites “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD.” Joshua 6:17. Also, blood was hovering over the waters of Egypt because when Jesus took his last breath on the cross after shedding his blood for the sins of the world, he said “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46. The spirit of Jesus Christ which is also the spirit of God went back to where it originally came from. The plague of blood was God essentially saying “My son will shed his blood for the sins of the world and his spirit will return to me.” We saw God’s Spirit in the book of Genesis. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Gen.1:1-2. Jesus also talked about the Spirit of God when the Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well; Jesus said to her “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24. Water plays a very significant role in human life.

When the Israelites arrived at Gilgal, God asked them to circumcise every male using a flint knife in Joshua 5:2-6. From God’s perspective, He asked them to do it because after travelling for 40 years in the desert, most of the males who were originally circumcised all died in the journey and new uncircumcised males have been added to the population. Since God decided to repeat the circumcision process, was His miracle of crossing the Jordan on dry land also a repeat of their baptism? No, it does not necessarily follow. Crossing the Jordan was a completely different manifestation that had nothing to do with the Red sea miracle. The Red sea and the River Jordan each play unique supernatural roles in the journey of the Israelites and the mission of Jesus Christ.

The Jordan River is where Jesus started his ministry. In Matthew 3:1-4, while John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus Christ by preaching the good news and baptizing the people in the Jordan River, Jesus came to him and John baptized him. This marked the beginning of the mission of Jesus Christ. But before Jesus was baptized, as John was preaching the good news he said “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Matthew 3:11. That was the baptism that God performed on the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan on dry land—it was baptism with the Holy Spirit, unlike the baptism with water that God performed on them under Moses and that explains why the priests carrying the ark of God had to stand inside the Jordan. The twelve stones represent the twelve disciples that Jesus would later choose after his baptism. Notice how after Jesus was baptized, unlike the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan, Jesus did not camp by the Jordan right away. He went ahead with his ministry but not long after that, he went back to the Jordan to observe the camping that God commanded the Israelites to do by the Jordan. “Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him.” John 10:40-41.

After the Israelites celebrated the Passover at Gilgal, the plan to take over Jericho was put into effect and after Jesus celebrated the Passover during the Lord’s Supper with his disciples, the plan to arrest and kill him was put into action. “Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to a decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.” Matthew 27:1-2.The seven priests marched in front of the Ark of God because Jesus is the Ark. This happened because the chief priests will in the future march in front of Jesus as they lead him to Pilate to be crucified. The long blast from the priests carrying trumpets of rams’ horns is to depict the statement from Pilate when he said to the Jews “Here is your king.” John 19:14. The loud shout from the people in response to the long blast of trumpets is the response of the people to Pilate’s statement when they said “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” John 19:15. After this statement from the people, Jesus was crucified and after the loud shout from the people, the wall of Jericho collapsed. When they said ‘Crucify him’ God took away the supernatural shield He had placed over His son so that sin can make its way into Jesus Christ to save the world and that’s when the wall of Jericho collapsed. After the wall collapsed, the Israelites marched freely into the city just like sin freely made its way into the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Kingdom of God and God also used Jericho to give us a picture of His kingdom. Because God momentarily took off the supernatural shield from Jesus so that sin could make its way into his son, that’s why Jesus cried out on the cross at the hour of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—the 9th hour. “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?—which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Matthew 27:46. As soon as Jesus sensed the absence of his supernatural spirit, that’s when he questioned God’s actions. The supernatural part of Jesus will never question God’s decisions. This was to demonstrate the weakness of the flesh. To take away the sins of the world, God used the same mechanism that sin used to enter the world. Remember what happened to Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God and sin entered the world for the first time? When God called Adam from where he was hiding, Adam said “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Gen.3:10. Adam and Eve were spiritually naked because the supernatural shield of God was lifted from them as soon as they sinned against God and sin made its way into their system. For many centuries, Biblical scholars and religious leaders have successfully convinced Christians with the teaching that God cannot look at sin. They claim that since God cannot look at sin, when Jesus assumed all our sins while on the cross, God refused to look at him by turning His face away from His son. They claim that because God turned His face away, that’s why Jesus cried out on the cross when he said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. This teaching is simply not true because it lacks the basic principles of God’s nature. We serve a very merciful God. God will never take His eyes off His son, not even for a second. If God cannot look at sin then:

•   God would not have used someone like Moses who was raised in an idol worshipping home for a holy mission.

•   God will not look at us because we are nothing but a bunch of sinners.

•   God would have barred Satan from attending the meeting of angels that took place in Job 1:1-9.

•   Then God would not have gone to the Garden of Eden to look for Adam after the fall of man. If He did not do that to Adam then why would He do that to His son Jesus Christ?

God looks at sin but He does not tolerate it. If God used Jericho to depict his kingdom and Jesus came to give us the kingdom of God, then the city of Jericho should reveal some very interesting supernatural connections to this mystery. When Jesus was 30 years old, after his baptism with John the Baptist and his temptations from the devil Jesus started preaching by following the way that was started for him by John the Baptist. The first statement Jesus made to the public was in Matthew 4:17 when he said “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near.” Jesus was trying to say the following:

•   That we are very close to the kingdom of God

•   That the kingdom is within our reach

•   That the kingdom is almost here

•   That we should repent so that we can receive it

•   That the kingdom has been given to us

•   That all we need to do in preparation to receive it is to repent from our sins

This was the same statement that Joshua made to the Israelites when they came close to the city of Jericho as they made preparations to cross the Jordan. He said to the Israelites “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5.

The repentance Jesus was talking about is the genuine repentance that transforms your entire being because you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. A lot of times we see people accept Jesus Christ and thereafter become baptized but when you look at their lives, nothing has changed in the way they navigate the world. This group of people are the Israelites who after miraculously crossing the Red sea and promised to obey God on several occasions still continued to show a complete lack of faith in God. We saw how these people gave Moses a very hard time. On the other hand, the Israelites that crossed the Jordan under Joshua to mark the true repentance that Jesus was talking about were actually the Israelites that finally became very obedient to God and Joshua. That is because they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When you become baptized with the Holy Spirit, there is no way you can continue to live the same life style you had in the past—you cannot stand on the fence when this happens. My question to you today is “Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?”

Being baptized with the Holy Spirit is a very important step in the life of every Christian and Jesus takes the job of the Holy Spirit very serious. “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come.” Matthew 12:32. Jesus said this because he came to die for our sins to save the world—John 3:16. To do this, he had to go through the following steps:

†   He was doubted even by his own brothers—John 7:5

†   He was insulted on numerous occasions

†   He was mocked, beaten, and crucified

†   He died, was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead

†   He ascended into heaven where he was glorified by the Father

†   He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be with us

†   The Holy Spirit came to convict us of sin.

Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable because unlike Jesus, the Holy Spirit did not come to save the world but to convict it for what Jesus did for us—to hold the world accountable for it. Jesus was willing to go through all the steps mentioned above and he understands that the world put him through those steps because we did not know any better and the world did not believe that he came from the Father. But if after you have seen, heard, and read all that he did for us and you still have the nerve to try to subject the Holy Spirit to what Jesus already took care of, then such sin is unforgivable. What else do you need to see, hear, or feel in order to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died for your sins on the cross? If you have come, this far, bypassing all that he did for you only to arrive at a point where you start saying trash about the Holy Spirit, then what you’ve done is basically saying out loud that:

•   Jesus is not the son of God

•   Jesus did not die on the cross for your sins

•   Jesus did not defeat death

•   Jesus did not ascend into heaven

•   The Holy Spirit did not come from the Father through Jesus Christ.

•   You do not believe in the Holy Trinity—The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

When the two spies entered the house of Rahab the prostitute in Jericho, she said to them “I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” Joshua 2:9. When the spies left Jericho and returned to Joshua, he immediately prepared the Israelites to get ready to cross the Jordan. Joshua knew that as soon as they cross the Jordan, it will be a matter of time before they capture the city of Jericho—the Promised Land. When Rahab said that she knew that God already gave the city of Jericho to the Israelites, it was the same thing that Jesus was trying to tell the people in his first public statement. Jesus was also saying like Rahab that God has already given us the kingdom because He sent His son to come pay the price of our sins so we can enter the kingdom debt free. God’s strategic plan for Jericho started with Rahab because it was during the Lord’s Supper—the Passover feast that the spiritual phase of what Jesus came to do for us actually kicked in. Also in The Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17, not only is Rahab the first woman on the list, she is also the only one on that list that was a part of what happened in Jericho. God is a mighty God who can do anything including making His son start his mission at the age of even three or four but God decided to make him wait until he was 30 years old to start his mission on earth. It was because God always works with a divine plan unlike the plans of man. Jesus came to give us the kingdom of God and when the Israelites were within the borders of the kingdom—Jericho, God used Rahab to give them entry into the city. Rahab marked the beginning stage of entry into the Promised Land and Jesus waited until he was 30 years old to start the process of giving us entry into the kingdom of God.

Rahab = 30

Since Jericho was very significant in God’s divine plan and it was going to be the city where the Israelites would celebrate their first Passover without any pending wars, God made certain that Rahab played a significant role. Rahab is the 14th name in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17 because the Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of the first month. The city of Jericho is the only city that supernaturally connects the three dots:

1.   Why Jesus started his mission at the age of 30

2.   How we enter the kingdom of God

3.   Why Jesus died at the age of 33

Why Joshua did not get a staff

Previously, we saw that God gave Moses and Aaron each a staff for the mission to free His people from bondage and lead them to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the process of planning the mission, God made certain that the three God-heads of the Holy Trinity were used to create the nation of Israel and successfully lead His people to the Promised Land which depicts His kingdom. Because this mission was designed by God to show us what was to come and to reveal his future plans for the world during which the three God-heads will play unique roles but still held together with Jesus Christ, God put some very surprising demarcations in the process. From Egypt to Gilgal, two God-heads were used so far:

1.   God himself did some of the miracles in Egypt

2.   Moses and Aaron were used as God-head number two—Jesus Christ

3.   God-head number three was not used yet—The Holy Spirit.

When Moses and Aaron died, whoever God was going to appoint to complete the mission from that point will be assigned with God-head number three. Since Jesus will come to die on the cross for our sins, Moses and Aaron were therefore given a staff each to represent his symbolic death on the cross but because the Holy Spirit will not come to die on the cross, there was no reason for Joshua to have a staff. Previously I mentioned that only one God-head is allowed to dwell on earth at any given period of time. Before Jesus came to us, God communicated directly with man through His angels like we saw when He spoke to Moses and Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came, the angels were pulled back and he communicated directly with man. But when Jesus died and wet back to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit who now dwells with us. When it was almost time for Jesus to be crucified, he described the Holy Spirit as the Advocate and he said to his disciples “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:17.

Because Moses and Aaron represented the second God—head—Jesus Christ, when they broke faith with God, they had to die for the Holy Spirit to come. With Joshua, instead of giving him a staff, God gave him the powers of the Holy Spirit as an indication of what will follow after the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and that explains why Joshua’s first assignment was to cross the Jordan river where Jesus would be baptized when he comes and where the Holy Spirit will descend upon Jesus. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Bible teaches that heaven was opened. Because of God’s holy nature and the fact that the Ark of God represented Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, God asked seven priests to carry trumpets of rams’ horns when they marched round the city of Jericho. God also asked the priests carrying the Ark to go inside the Jordan because of His divine plan for the future when His son comes. Since Joshua represents the Holy Spirit, his first mission was to cross the Jordan river because this is the first place the Holy Spirit will visit on earth when Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist.

Holy Spirit = 7

Jesus Christ = 7

“Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” Joshua 3:8.

Looking at this command from God, He wanted to make sure that the priests do it right by not standing on the edge of the river because when His son comes and it’s time for him to be baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus will be standing on that same spot inside the river.

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:16. When the Israelites were camped at Gilgal to celebrate the Passover, they could see Jericho but could not enter the city because they still had to cross the Jordan. “On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.” Joshua 5:10. Everything we need to know regarding the expectations from God for our journey into His kingdom was displayed to us through the journey of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. In the early part of his mission, Jesus tried to set the record straight on what it takes to enter the kingdom of God when Nicodemus came to him to find out the truth. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” John 3:3. “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5.

We should keep in mind that all the Israelites were baptized with water as they crossed the Red sea when they left Egypt which represents the world. We know that after their baptism, they never stopped grumbling against Moses and God and they showed their lack of trust in God on many occasions to the point where they decided to make their own God—the Golden Calf. God made certain that all the Israelites that were not spiritually qualified to enter the Promised Land which represents His kingdom, all died during the journey. This is a clear testimony that confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior plus your baptism with water is not enough to grant you entry into the kingdom of God—Heaven. The only Israelites who successfully entered the Promised Land were those who crossed the Jordan because that was their baptism with the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus was trying to teach Nicodemus. Being born with the Holy Spirit is a surrender of principle where you allow Him to take absolute control of your life as you struggle to pull away from all the cravings of this sinful world. This is where the rubber meets the road. A lot of people think that all it takes to become saved and go to heaven is that you publicly confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, get baptized with water and just keep living the same life style you’ve had in the past. For your information, you will not cross the Jordan. Going to church every Sunday is not going to cut it, donating large sums of money to the church is not going to cut it, charity work is not going to cut it, and nothing can save you until you give your heart completely to Jesus who will then hand you over to the Holy Spirit for cleansing. Without the rubber stamp of the Holy Spirit authorized by Jesus Christ, you are not going to enter the kingdom of God; I don’t care how long you’ve been preaching the gospel, your religious titles mean nothing, and how much money you’ve donated to the church also accounts for nothing; Jesus Christ is not a beggar and God is not money-hungry. God is only hungry for a contrite heart. Wake up while you have time because this is serious business. Today may be your last day here on earth.

Why Jesus died at 33

A lot of times I hear people talk about the will of God in their lives and they get it all mixed up with all sorts of material possessions and career goals but Jesus clearly defines the path to the will of God in our lives. It has nothing to do with this sinful world. “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me; that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life; and I shall raise him up at the last day.” John 6:38-40. Therefore, the work of God will lead you to the will of God.

The work of God = Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him.

The will of God = Eternal life and be raised on the last day.

The will of God will be manifested in your life only as long as you are doing the work of God.

Moses came to prepare the way for Jesus and John the Baptist also came to prepare the way for Jesus. In Luke 1:169-17, the Bible teaches that John the Baptist was filled with the spirit and power of Elijah. So when Jesus was about to complete his mission here on earth, the two spirits that prepared the way for him to start his mission, also had to reunite with him to mark the end of his mission. This is what happened during the transfiguration “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” Matthew 17:1-3.

After the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they defeated many kings before they could finally rest from war. “So Joshua took the entire land just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.” Josh. 11:23. To enter the Promised Land, the Israelites conquered two kings under the command of Moses; Sihon the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan. See Josh. 12:1-6. Under the command of Joshua, the Israelites conquered thirty one kings. Josh. 12:7-24. This brings the total number of kings to thirty three (33).

These are the thirty three years that Jesus Christ spent here on earth. As soon as these thirty three kings were defeated, the land had rest from war; and at age 33 Jesus had rest from the war he waged against sin and at that very moment he said on the cross “It is finished.” John 19:30. If it was all about demonstrating supernatural strength, God would have sent thousands of angels to come take the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land on behalf of the Israelites. This journey was all about the actions of man that gave birth to sin in the Garden of Eden. The mess was created in the first place by man and with respect to God’s nature the mess will also be cleaned by using some actions from man. That is why God appointed men like Moses and Joshua whom He made like God to carry the task. It also explains why Jesus Christ had to be made man in order to also take the journey. As soon as the number of kings defeated by these two men that God made like His son became 33, the mission was accomplished. Also, as soon as Jesus reached 33 years of age, his mission on earth was also accomplished as he committed his spirit back into the hands of the Father. The mission of Jesus Christ here on earth was designed by God to last for 33 years from the moment Jesus was born. God always works with a perfect plan. The mission to free the Israelites from bondage was tightly held together using Jesus Christ in the three men that God commissioned for this assignment.

Moses + Aaron + Joshua = 8+4+2 = 14

Moses + Aaron + Joshua + Jesus Christ = 21= 3

Earlier, we saw that the Holy Trinity = The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

We also saw that the three God heads are the same.

Holy Trinity therefore = 777 = 21 = 3 (Supernatural divine number of Jesus Christ)

Therefore, Moses + Aaron + Joshua + Jesus Christ = The Holy Trinity because God made Joshua like the Holy Spirit and He also made Moses like God.

The Role of Women

The Bible teaches that when Jesus was being led away to be crucified, many people followed him but women in general made a significant impact in his life by doing the following:

›   Women shared his pain as he was led away for crucifixion. “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.’” Luke 23:27

›   He was anointed at Bethany by a woman. Mark 14:1

›   God sent Angel Gabriel to visit a woman concerning his birth. Luke 1:26-38

›   It was a woman who stood outside his tomb crying after his resurrection. John 20:10-13

›   The people that wept for Jesus as died on the cross were women. Mark 15:40-41

›   The first person that saw Jesus after he rose from the dead was a woman. John 20:10-13.

›   The greatest threat to the devil is a woman. That is why the devil did not try to directly deceive Adam.

›   None of the men who followed Jesus watched him die on the cross; just the women. With the exception of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, women also brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus Christ after his death. Mark 16:1-3.

If all these doesn’t make you show more respect and love to your mother, sister, wife or any female in your life then I strongly suggest you think again.

My Dream

Thank you for taking the time to read this book and I pray that it enriches your life to bring you closer to Jesus Christ because at the end of the day, that’s what life is all about. A wasted life is a life spent without Jesus Christ and only those who have him will live a fulfilled life. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. My dream is to someday open a facility to take care of troubled youths. My goal is to provide them with food, shelter, education, teach them a trade, and at the same time bring them to Jesus Christ.

God bless you and thanks again for reading.