Author: Ronel

Articles

Who are the Spiritual Levites

Ronel

tabernacle

This is a revisit and update of an older post based on the increase in knowledge and revelation that the Lord has given to His little flock that He is moving onto maturity as we live out the Second Death and Lake of Fire in this age.

In the next series of studies, we, will Lord willing, cover the Old Testament types and shadows hidden in the stories of ancient Israel. We learn the spiritual significance and the application for us today (1Co 10:11) of the following terms and references.

  • Who are the Levites?
  • Who are the sons of Aaron?
  • Who are the priesthood?
  • Where and what is the Camp and Tabernacle?

Types and shadows always have a positive and a negative application. It is through this system of apparent contradictions that Christ keeps the seven seals on His Word for the “many called.” God’s Word uses one type to typify exact opposites. Examples of this principle in Scripture are:

  • A lion is both Christ and the Adversary – (Rev 5:5 vs 1Pe 5:8)
  • Christ is both a lamb and a lion (Rev 5:5 vs Rev 5:6)
  • Adam is both the beast and false prophet within, a living soul, and Christ, a quickening spirit.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

In studying the Scriptures, we look primarily look and apply the Word within ourselves because the Kingdom of God (Luk 17:21) is within us. It is within the Kingdom of God that the living Word (Christ) is being lived out (i.e. experienced) by His chosen people.

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart (WITHIN).

Heb 4:12  ESV For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

But let’s also remember that the inward application of Scriptures never denies there will be an outward application also. So, both the inward and outward application of spiritual Levites and the sons of Aaron are applicable to us at our appointed times. All of God’s elect (Sons of Aaron), who are the true kings and priests of Christ, are drawn out of the gathering of spiritual Levites. We have seen this separation outwardly in recent events as the true church is sifted and only a remnant escapes and is brought onward to maturity.

2Ki 19:30  And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

What does the tribe of Levi, apart for the Aaronic priesthood, represent? 

Who are the Levites in the OT SHADOW (being given the Law) and what did they do?

  • Levites are appointed over the Tabernacle, bearing the vessels, camping around it
  • Levites keep the charge of the Tabernacle
  • Levites are given to Aaron and his sons as a gift to prepare us for our roles

Num 1:50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that [belong] to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

Num 3:6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. Num 3:7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Num 3:9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.

These truths are repeated in Numbers 18. The Levites are joined together with the much smaller flock called the sons of Aaron for a time and a season. Only the sons of Aaron can witness to the Truth and handle (rightly divide the Word) the vessels of the sanctuary within us.

Num 18:2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee (sons of Aaron only) shall minister before the tabernacle of witness

Num 18:3 And they (the Levites) shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

Num 18:4 And they shall be joined unto thee and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

Num 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

Num 18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Levi means “associated with him.” So, Levi is to be thought of as being associated with Christ and “His Christ “in the same sense as Leah was associated with Jacob.

Gen 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore, was his name called Levi.

Leah was Jacob’s first wife. She is the wife he was given deceitfully, for his seven years of his labor. Leah, thinking that her labors would win her husband’s love has now born Jacob three sons, and she names this 4th son Levi, thinking that because of all she has done for Jacob, surely, he will now be associated with her. And this is what Levi represents. Levi is “associated with Christ.” It is the spirit of the Pharisee and Sadducee within us, which are full of dead man’s bones, hearers only, having only the Law & the Prophets and not being able to walk it out because Christ has not come the second time to us yet.

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

It is the spirit of hypocrisy where we say to do but we ourselves do not do, we sit in Moses’s seat (Mat 23:2). Being a Levite is our time having been given the Law & Prophets and raised up out of the sea, yet we are still a religious beast.

Rev 13:11  Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. Rev 13:12  It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. Rev 13:13  It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,

This outward righteousness is insufficient for any man to enter the Kingdom of God. We remain in this state of disobedience, unable to overcome until Christ comes the second time with His baptism of fire when we begin our day of the Lord and dying to death  (Second Death) in the Lake of Fire. To be a spiritual Levite, we, at this stage, have only what we have been given which is the righteousness of the law. But is that enough?

Mat 5:20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Neither Levi nor “a stranger (gentile)” were ever to “come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar.” Only the priests, the sons of Aaron, those being made into doers of the Word through abiding in the lake of fire, are allowed to go into the sanctuary and handle the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar. Here is how Paul puts it in spiritual terms:

Heb 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

The sons of Aaron are to be separated from the Levites and beware partaking of their strange fire, which is false doctrines as we have seen regarding the Lake of Fire and the First Resurrection. The spiritual Levites within us [hearing the Word only] are to serve the true priests but they themselves cannot eat of the hidden manna.

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh [requires baptism in the lake of fire] will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Spiritual Levites within and those without us, are hearers only, still full of idols of the heart, divers and strange doctrines and are all that is not Christ. Spiritual Levites are us, before our Day of the Lord, before tried in the fire.

If we come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar at this stage, then both the Levites and the priests die. All of this is spiritually saying:

1Co 10:21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

Those who “serve the Tabernacle” are those who are given to us for our benefit. We are the man of sin first before we become the last Adam, a quickening spirit, through a process of fiery judgment because judgment is now on our house for each of us, if we are His. At this stage, we say we are Jews but are not. We are spiritual Levites or uncircumcised Philistines.

Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan.

The true work of God is to believe on Him and dying to death in this age and seeking the spiritual food that raises up the new man. This does not deny our outward good works (Gal 6:1), but the true sons of Aaron unlike the Levites, labor (do the work of God) to die the Second Death with Christ.

Joh 6:27  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 

Joh 6:28  Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 

The Levites are given to the priesthood, “the Lord, and His Christ,” to help minister to the priesthood, but they themselves cannot handle the vessels of service. Remember, Leah, was Jacob’s reward for his efforts just as her association with Jacob was the reward for her efforts. Neither typifies the true Christ. Listen to what Jacob says about Simeon and Levi:

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Gen 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Gen 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united : for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.

Gen 49:7 Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

“Come not into their assembly, be not united” with them, is our call to “come out of Babylon (state of death, state of disobedience, spiritually speaking) and be ye separate.” It is moving unto perfection leaving the milk behind (Heb 6) and not thinking above what is written.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her [last] plagues.

Christ is always calling His people out from the Levites who have been used to prepare us and by doing so perform a great service for the Lord.

Mat 26:12  For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 

Mat 26:13  Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman [the church of spiritual Levites] hath done, be told for a memorial of her. 

The law and the Prophets which is the shadow of the true resurrection being the resurrection to damnation where sin begins to be imputed in our lives. The law is  not able to make us perfect and is used to reveal our deep hidden sins and ultimately bring us to the living Christ seeing we are brute beasts and truly in need of a spiritual physician (a Saviour). Only the true sons of Aaron are being visited the second time by Christ in this age and given the faith which brings the true baptism by fire that is, was and will be sanctifying us within and without.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

Christ coming the second time is what makes one a son of Aaron which is symbolism for God’s elect. When Christ comes the second time and brings in grace and truth, then begins our resurrection to life. This is when we are being taught to worship in Spirit and in truth and are moved onto maturity being remade into priests of God by the working of the Holy Spirit.

Heb 7:19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a  better hope [the better resurrection] through which we draw near to God.

Heb 7:20 This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants  became priests without such an oath,

Heb 7:21 but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to Him, “The LORD has  taken an oath and will not break His vow: ‘You are a priest forever.'”

Heb 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus is the One who guarantees this better covenant  with God.

The Spirit of God is what separates the spiritual priests from spiritual Levites within and without. The brethren we have recently been separated from are the outward spiritual Levites in this age. Those in orthodoxy are a mere shadow of the true Levites. The true sons of Aaron (the very elect), are brought out of the spiritual Levites that were used to prepare us to be made ministers of the Gospel. They have and are being cutoff off for our sakes.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.  Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 

How the Levites serve the priesthood?

The Levites (the Pharisee within us) and those without keep the charge of all of the tabernacle and are used to teach us the Law and the Prophets, which is what brings us to Christ.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

They are the tutors and governors who help raise us up in Truth.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 

Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 

It is by their fall from grace, within and without, that salvation comes to the little flock the Lord has chosen in every age.

Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Inwardly, it is leaving our first love and the multitudes within us that withstand God’s Word and our time walking with Christ yet betraying Him as Judas, that all serve to keep the Levites from eating before the golden altar. Yet they perform an incredible service [to] the tabernacle.

Mal 2:4  And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 2:5  My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

Mal 2:6  The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

Mal 2:7  For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

There must be a great falling away before the Lord comes with His angels. So, our inward abandonment of sound principles in rightly dividing the Word (living by every word, one event for all, etc.) is leaving our first love and is required in preparing us for the second coming of Christ in our day of the Lord (2Th 2:3-4).

Malachi continues and confirms the Levites within and without ourselves corrupt the Word of God and cause many to stumble beginning with ourselves which has us perishing in our own doctrinal corruption.

Mal 2:8  But ye [Levi] are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 2:9  Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

Levi is those who have no right to eat at our altar because the altar is the cross and we cannot go there at this stage of our walk. Levi is the spirit who slew Christ and “His Christ”.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

It is so easy to just apply these truths outwardly in looking at our fallen brethren, yet we always have to look inside ourselves first. Who is serving the tabernacle and yet have no right to eat at the altar in the holy place? Where is it that the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest? Who is it who has “dealt shamefully with the servants of the man who planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen?” Who is it who has said “let’s slay His Son and seize His inheritance?” Our day of Pentecost, our Day of the Lord, is yet to come.

Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:

Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

Levi is “another gospel, another spirit and another Jesus” which separates the Levites from the true priests. It is the leavening spirit of the Pharisee and the Sadducee.

2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Gal 1:8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 

We first look within ourselves to find the spirit of Levi who is not obedient to the Word before we look outside. Unless our own logs are pulled from our eyes, we are in no position to help others come to the knowledge of the Truth.

Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye

We are blind before the Light (Christ, the Word) comes:

Mat 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

Luk 9:45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not [Christ’s apostles]: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

The coming of the fire is what begins to teach us righteousness (Isa 26:9, Tit 2:11) and then we can see clearly and out understanding is enlightened.

Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

We are in “the seven churches” before we become the seven angels in Christ’s right hand. We are joined to and associated with spiritual Babylon (aka the spiritual Levites) before we  “come out of her.” The spirit of the Levites is exemplified in the attitude of the first workers in the vineyard and even the older son of the prodigal son (Luke 15). Here is the spirit of a Levite exemplified who believes their service in the Father’s house deserves extra pay.

Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,  Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.  Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 

We are coming out of her, meaning we are all first the disgruntled  “laborers in His vineyard” before we become “content with our wage knowing we our unworthy servants only doing what has been commanded us (Luk 17:10).

The spiritual Levite in us are being crafted in again in our day of the Lord. Those that served us in preparing us for our role as the true priests will also be grafted in again in the times appointed by the Father. Christ is dragging us to Himself now and all men in the ages to come. Think within first.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 

Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 

Levites spiritually are our enemy within (trusting in the righteousness of the law) and without for a season.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

This separation and persecution is all being used to teach us to be mercifully knowing that whatever every man does is truly given them by the Lord. The gifts and calling of God will work righteousness in every man at the appointed times and transform all into the express image of the Lord. This truth should help us deal with the loss many still grieve over.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So, when the “first” [the Levites] who are now “last” are eventually paid, this will be the final outcome of it all:

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Articles

Sects in the New Testament

Ronel

Sects in the NT

 The Pharisees were considered a sect in the NT and so were the Sadducees:

Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Act 5:17  Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

Paul was a Pharisee [Acts 26:5] in his youth and was also called a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. Christ was called a Nazarene, from the city, Nazareth [Matt 2:23]. Paul was a follower of Christ, thus called a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

Act 24:5  For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:

 Whilst in Rome as a prisoner, the Jews that came to Paul’s lodging, said this about the sect of the Nazarenes:

 Act 28:22  But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

But Paul also was under the Nazarite vow. Let us now briefly consider being under the vow of the Nazarites as given by the Lord through Moses [Num 6:1-2], seeing that Paul took the vow of a Nazarite, coming out from under this vow as he was maturing in Christ. We know that Paul in his earlier walk was keeping the feasts [Acts 18:21] and purifying himself signifying the accomplishment of the days of purification [Acts 21:26]. He was under the vow of the Nazarites, separating himself unto God.

Act 18:18  And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

This typifies us, as babes in Christ [1Co 3:1-4]. The Nazarite vow typifies the immature carnal zeal which is typical of carnal babes in Christ. A Nazarite makes his zeal known to all, by separating himself through a vow [Num 6:2]. He wants everybody to know that he is not like other men looking down on the publican [Luk 18:11]. We notice the three requirements of this vow [shadow] and what this is spiritually representing to us, Christ’s sons.

1] The Nazarite was forbidden to drink wine or strong drink or touching anything made of the fruit of the vine.

Num 6:3  He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

This sounds so special. Here is the NT witness or parallel to this exclusiveness:

1Co 1:4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

1Co 1:5  That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

But is this holiness really so glorious or is there something that excels?

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

As spiritual Nazarites at the beginning of our walk, we too, do many wonderful works under this vow [type] [Matt 7:22-23] while we spiritually walk this out in our immaturity. We are blind as bats, as Samson, the lifelong Nazarite [Judges 13:5], whose eyes were put out [Judges 16:21] to then see, being made blind first [John 9:39-41, NT parallel]. Paul was three days without sight [Acts 9:9]. The symbolism of not being permitted to drink, eat or touch anything concerned with the vine tree or the fruit of the vine, is the symbol of Christ and His Words [Matt 26:26-29].

Luk 22:20  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

After the days of our separation [type and shadow], we now partake of the fruit of the vine. We are now mature enough to partake of Christ, eat His meat and drink His blood [John 6:53].

2] The Nazarite could not cut the locks of his hair [Num 6:5] which symbolizes his own self-righteous works.

We know we have to exceed the righteousness of the law.

Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 What is the spiritual reality for us, after our vow [type] is fulfilled [when we mature in Christ]? We can cut our hair and live by a much more mature law. The symbolism of not being permitted to cut one’s hair, short hair being the symbol of the man who is the head of the woman, means in the spiritual language that Christ’s Spirit in us is ruling over our souls. This only comes as we are maturing through much sorrow of having fiery trials.

 1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1Co 11:4  Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

 1Co 11:14  Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 

 3] The Nazarite could not touch a dead body until the days of his vow was fulfilled.

Num 6:6  All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

Num 6:7  He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

 As spiritual Nazarites in type and shadow, we, are not able to eat all things or esteem every day alike at the beginning [Rom 14]. But as maturing sons, we reckon ourselves dead with Christ, dying daily [1Co 15:31] [Gal 2:20] and make ourselves unclean for Christ’s Body [type and shadow] filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ.

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 

 Paul, as a Nazarite, in the beginning, did not understand that the Lord is making Himself one new man and only whilst in Rome, not being under this vow anymore, now declares these Words:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ………. Eph 2:19   

 Coming out from under the Nazarite vow, all spiritual Nazarites Lord willing, will get past the need for any vows [type and shadow, when our separation is fulfilled] and will be made able and ready to follow Christ who says this concerning any vows:

Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

 Summary

We, as the sons of God, members of the many membered body of Christ, only have the Truth and His Spirit to ward off the fiery darts of our enemies. The Words of Christ never puts us to shame. Christ’s Words are Life [John 6:63]. The carnal world does not understand the Truths we hold and cherish [Joh 12:38].

2Co 13:8  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

We, as the true Bride of Christ, are not members of a cult, but reformers as is Christ because as He is, so are we [1 John 4:17]. We rest in Him because He is our Sabbath.

 

Studies

Marriage Part 1 – The Spiritual Significance

Ronel

The Spiritual Significance of Marriage

Introduction

Today we look at the spiritual significance of the many facets of marriage not only to our physical spouses but to our Husband, Christ, which Bride we are as a Body collectively. We know most of these teachings but it behoves us to think and ponder upon our spiritual and physical marriages as it is in our own days of the Lord.

Why do we need marriage? Are there spiritual lessons to be learned? Why was Adam given a woman instead of another man, which is the weaker vessel?

1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Let us lay the foundation, starting at the beginning:

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Marriage is the mystery Paul speaks about:

Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

The spiritual meaning of “she was taken out of the man” reveals to us this hidden meaning of this verse:

Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

God, the Father, created Christ and in that sense Christ came out from His Head, for the specific purpose of creating the physical universe and for the specific purpose of creating all men of all time, and becoming the Saviour of all. Think giving life.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Christ was “the firstborn of every creature BECAUSE by him were all things created that are in heaven and in earth…”

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

The spiritual meaning of “sleep” is made clear in the NT.

Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Being in “a deep sleep”, is a symbol of being dead. If we are given the understanding that the first Adam is a type of the last Adam, then we will know that the first Adam had to, “in a figure”, die before he could be given a wife who would, just like the last Adam, be given a wife who also must come “out of [Himself]”. Being dead is being in our natural state of unbelief and disobedience.

Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Spiritually, we are collectively being the espoused “chaste virgin”, who is the Bride.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

It is being accomplished only as Adam’s “deep sleep” typifies, “through death”.

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Christ brought Adam’s wife to him, what is the spiritual lesson?

Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Who gave Christ His wife? It is clear that the Father is, was and will be giving Christ His wife, each in His own order.

Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

The first Adam (a living soul), and Christ (quickening Spirit), the last Adam, both willingly died and die for their respective errant, sinful wives. As He is, so are we [1 John 4:17]:

1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman [as the type of Christ’s called out ones] being deceived was in the transgression.

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Only the sons of Christ understand how integral Christ’s espoused wife is to His own purpose, death, resurrection, and inheritance.

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The word “for”, translated from the Greek word “dia”, which means “through”. Christ was delivered up to be crucified through our offenses, and was raised from the dead through our justification. The Bride is being given to Christ “through death”.

When looking at the spiritual meaning of flesh and bone, we ask where does Eve come from?

Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Eve coming “out of Adam”, reveals that Christ Himself is the one out of whom Adam came. Christ IS the Word who said, “Let us make man in our image…”

Col 1:16 For by him [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Scriptures teach that when God creates another, a second, for that which He created first, under those circumstances, that which is first, becomes the stronger, and becomes the Head of that which was created for the first and preeminent creation.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

Christ was created before the man, Adam was created before the woman, and the Father is He “of whom are all things” (1Co 8:6). This is the lesson of the institution of marriage. It is through death that the Bride become “bone of [His] bones, and flesh of [His] flesh”. The purpose of showing us that a married couple are to be “one flesh”, spiritually typifying the one spiritual mind of the one body of Christ and His Bride.

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

The earthy type is created in a “marred… made to be destroyed” condition, the spiritual anti-type is being made to be of an “immortal” condition, “a spiritual body” [1 Cor 15:44].

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made [” marred… in the Potter’s hand”] subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Adam called her Eve because she is the mother of all living. She is the weaker vessel.

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

The wife is being made for the husband for the purpose of giving life to others by her husband. The headship of God over Christ, and Christ being the Head of the man, and the man being the head of the woman, is all ordained to be symbolized by a man having short hair and thereby having an “uncovered… head”. The same symbol of submission to God’s ways is also symbolized by a woman having her head covered by her long hair. Please study 1 Co 11:4-7.

What is the point being made?

1Co 11:8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. [and Christ for His Head]
1Co 11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. [As the man was created for Christ]
1Co 11:10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels [the messengers of Christ].

1Co 11:11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
1Co 11:12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

1Co 11:13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

What does “uncovered” mean?

1Co 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
1Co 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

This lesson reveals the submissive, fruitful function that Christ fulfils for His Head.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

Col 1:15 Who [Christ, whose “head… is God”] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 

 Christ is the Firstborn of every creature:

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

We are being taught by the institution of marriage that there is no trinity. The invisible things are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made [Rom 1:20]. We sit at the Lord’s table in a prescribed manner.

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

Christ is integral to His Head and we are integral to Christ:

1Co 11:12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

The man is by the woman tells us that Christ is a woman to His Head. Marriage teaches us that we are the weaker vessel, the called-out bride of our Husband and   reveals to us that Christ is the weaker vessel, in His relationship to His Head, by whom the Father has chosen to give life to all men. We are being saved by giving birth, not only to be married to Christ but giving Him children [a renewed mindset].

1Ti 2:15  Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 

Likened it unto getting married to Christ as being given faith as a gift, and bearing children is grace working through faith, in other words becoming doers of the true doctrine of Christ. So, faith comes by hearing [as a gift] and grace comes through trials. Our trials are to die to self.

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 

 Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 

How do we find a wife [new mindset]?

Pro 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Remember, it is a good thing finding a wife, we still have to walk the marriage out! Let us look at how not to find a wife:

“Falling in love” is nothing more than falling in lust because every man is drawn away by his own lust.

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

We certainly need to be in love with our Husband, Christ, but never out of control, meaning not to give in to seducing spirits:

1Co 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

So, godly love is something we are dragged to, through fiery trials, and that we do not just naturally fall into loving our spiritual husband Christ.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Twice in the life of Samson we are shown what our uncontrolled emotions will produce within our lives. The first was his Philistine wife and the second was his experience with the harlot Delilah. Here is Samson’s out-of-control, impatient, rebellious words to his parents [The Father and Christ], after “falling in love”. This is us spiritually in our seasons.

Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

We are as blind as bats when we are under the law, having false doctrines in our heavens listening to men [lies], tickling the ears and having many idols of the heart whilst and after being married to Christ. We lose our first love.

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Samson and the Pharisees are types of us when we place our trust in the old covenant and the law of the gentiles to the exclusion of Christ’s Words concerning whom we are to marry. Israel, a spiritual type of God’s called-out people, was commanded to marry only another Israelite, and they were specifically prohibited from marrying anyone who was of another way of thinking and that is foremost within and without.

Deu 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Deu 7:3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

These nations were driven out, and we receive faith as a gift. Now we are not to lose our first love but we do and then the miraculous work of Christ within us takes place, destroying that which just naturally submit to the “seven nations greater and mightier than [we are]”. Those seven nations, idols of the hearts, in our heavens, is what turn us away from our spouse, Christ. We have many mindsets, before through fiery trials, our minds are being renewed day by day.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 

 We are being forced to acknowledge our blindness, and die to self, before we are being delivered from the people [emotions] who are in the land of God’s people without the benefit of true circumcision. Going from hearing to doing is what is symbolized in this example. We have mixed multitudes within us that needs circumcision.

Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Falling in love produces the works of the flesh, and is, was and will be in every case, the opposite of “listen[ing] diligently to the voice of the Lord. In every case “the voice of the Lord” was/is completely ignored by those who “fell in love”, and the voice of the “the tempter… the devil is being heard and obeyed.

David lay with [another man’s wife] because he “fell in love with her”. He was supposed to go forth to battle, but sent others and in type he took a break from diligently listening to the voice of the Lord” [2 Sa 11;1-5]. When we diligently listen to Christ, and keep his commandments, we are doing spiritual battle. We take a break, trust in our own vision and pay a terrible and humiliating price in our days.

Recap:

Christ teaches us “the manifold wisdom of God”, and how to strengthen our marriages and how to grow in Spirit “by the church”, and that His Body of called-out believers speak in His behalf:

Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

We learn that there is no such thing as falling in love, we are dragged to love our mate through the trials of marriage, which teach us that we do not live to ourselves, nor do we die to ourselves. In much patience, we are being saved by grace through faith, a process until the end.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me [Love our husband, Christ], except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek – hello, meaning ‘drag’] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

 We learn that not everyone who says they are “in the Lord” is really in the Lord.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Although not discussed, we learn through the examples of Adam, Isaac, and Boaz in the OT Scriptures that God has all of our wives [mindsets] “written in His Book” before we are being born in our day of the Lord, and in His time, He brings our wives to us and renews us. Look with spiritual eyes within. This is also true for the physical.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

We saw through the examples of these three men that it is in our long suffering that we possess both our souls and our marriages:

Psa 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

We see verses of Scripture which forbid believers from marrying unbelievers who are not of the same mind. Be diligent and look within first, we are not being able to have two mindsets, because we will love the one and hate the other!

Amo 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

1Co 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

An “unbeliever” includes not only a professing Christian who is not of the same “one mind” of Christ in the physical but foremost the ungodly thoughts we entertain.

2Co 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

In the examples of Samson and David, we learn that outward beauty alone [knowledge and tickling of the ears] provokes nothing more than the lust of our flesh [in our tongues and doings], leading us to disobedience and causing us to turn our knowledge of His sovereignty and His grace into a self-righteous, lascivious and permissive spirit.

Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

We do that by being disobedient to what we know, we should be doing.

Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Finally, we learn that those who marry an unbeliever before they come to know that marriage is “only in the Lord” are never to put away their spouse because that union is also a work of the same God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will for our good. What this says in hidden spiritual language is that the law is good in that it brings us to Christ [Galatians 4].

1Co 7:12 But to the rest [couples where one spouse is not a believer] speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
1Co 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
1Co 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

Lord willing, we will look at more shadows typifying our union with Christ, our Husband, and learn to pay attention to the things He says concerning how to preserve and strengthen the institution of marriage.

Click Here to see the listings of the entire Marriage Series Study Series

Your questions and comments are welcome and encouraged.  Please comment here as you are led or you can email us directly (in confidence) also at peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Studies

Book of Esther Part 2 – Favor Given the King’s Wife

Ronel

Book of Esther Part 2 – Favor Given the  King’s Wife

We have seen that Esther coming before the king contrary to the law, is a type of Christ laying down His life for us. Esther, is faithful in her calling and willing to lay down her life for her people. She is a type of Church, the truly elect. How do we know we are God’s elect and have indeed “passed from death unto life”? Here is the way to know we love our brethren, and at the same time know we are passing from death unto life.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Many say they are the elect (Esther) of Christ, but it becomes clear that few know what the love of God is. Here is one of Christ’s commandments which very few men who claim they come in Christ’s Name is teaching or keeping.

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Esther, as type of God’s elect, is only doing so, is only accomplished by Christ Himself living His life of resisting the devil within her. When we love our brothers in accord with the scriptural definition of love, then we lay down our lives for our brethren.

1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer  hath eternal life abiding in him.

1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and  we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Esther appears before the king

Est 5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and  stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king  sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

Esther puts on her royal apparel, our royal apparel, which is the anointing we receive  from Christ. It is upon Aaron (type of Christ) and upon his sons, types of the sons of  Christ. It is the faith given us by Christ, a gift.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need  not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and  is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may  have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Exo 29:21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

The king saw Esther standing as a type of us, standing not adding or taking away from  the Word of God. We tarry in Jerusalem …. until endued with power from on High … Luke 24:49

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this  book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that  are written in this book:

Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,  God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from  the things which are written in this book.

We obtain favour in Christ’s sight, here shadowed by Ahasuerus, the king. The king  extend his hand (H3027 meaning an open hand indicating power), extend the sceptre, a  rod of empire, drawing her near.

Est 5:2 And it wasH1961 so, when the kingH4428 sawH7200 (H853) EstherH635 the queenH4436  standingH5975 in the court,H2691 that she obtainedH5375 favourH2580 in his sight:H5869 and  the kingH4428 held outH3447 to EstherH635 (H853) the goldenH2091 sceptreH8275 thatH834 was  in his hand.H3027 So EstherH635 drew near,H7126 and touchedH5060 the topH7218 of the  sceptre.H8275

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The King gives Esther (His Bride) Half of my kingdom

Est 5:3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy  request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.

Psa 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

Half of my kingdom means only in the throne will I be greater …… Esther is replacing  Vashti and rules over Egypt. Remember the story of Pharaoh and Joseph as another  shadow of this principle, comparing spiritual with spiritual (1 Co 2:13).

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my  people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

Gen 41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of  Egypt.

Esther devises her plan to act upon the destruction of the Jews by petitioning a banquet for the king and Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Christ, Shiloh, and His angels has to come so that Haman is being destroyed.

Est 5:4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman  come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.

Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;

A thief in the night

Haman has to make haste. Christ comes as a thief in the night. Haman has no idea what is going to befall him.

Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Est 5:5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath  said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Est 5:6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and  it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it  shall be performed.

Est 5:7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is;

Est 5:8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant  my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet  that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said.

At the banquet of wine, we think of Christ turning the water into wine, read John 2:2- 10). We hear what we have heard from the beginning ……

1Jn 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment  which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have  heard from the beginning.

1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and  in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until  now.

1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of  stumbling in him.

1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and  knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

It is an old commandment (love your enemies, turn the other cheek …… etc.) which we  are hearing from the beginning. We have to obey Christ in order for Haman, our man of  sin, to being destroyed.

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will  let, until he be taken out of the way.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with  the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

In the meantime ……… Haman thinks he is the one

Est 5:9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when  Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he  was full of indignation against Mordecai.

Est 5:10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and  called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.

Est 5:11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his  children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had  advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Est 5:12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the  king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow am I invited  unto her also with the king.

Est 5:13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at  the king’s gate.

Est 5:14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made  of fifty cubits, high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be  hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Babylon in us does not know that it is Babylon. We perceive ourselves as God’s elect. Knowledge puffs up. We read earlier on in this OT shadow:

Est 3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore, it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

It is almost as if …… The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil (Prov 16:4).

Haman in us, the self-righteous Pharisee, thinks he is making it and this is the great deception……  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2 Th 2:3

Luk 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s  life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Luk 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man  brought forth plentifully:

Luk 12:17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no  room where to bestow my fruits?

Luk 12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater;  and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

Luk 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many  years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of  thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Haman the Pharisee in us, does not know the times ………

Mar 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and  lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the  signs of the times?

Haman prepares a gallows and the king is troubled

Haman, as the type of the ten horns of the beast, prepares a gallows on which he intends to ask the king to hang Mordecai (Est 5), and at this point, the king’s sleep is taken from him, resulting in a late-night reading of the chronicles revealing that Mordecai, has not been given His due reward for having saved the life of King Ahasuerus.

Est 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of  records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

Est 6:2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two  of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king  Ahasuerus.

Est 6:3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for  this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for  him.

This is we hear again what we have heard from the beginning. Faith comes by hearing,  we now delight to worship/obey what we hear. Remember Mordecai saved the king from  death earlier on in type. Mordecai saving the king typifying the spirit of Elias (John) as  we have seen earlier on.

Luk 7:26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much  more than a prophet.

Luk 7:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,  which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a  greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is  greater than he.

In a moment

Est 6:4 And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into  the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang  Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

Est 6:5 And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court.  And the king said, Let him come in.

Est 6:6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the  man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom  would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

Est 6:7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to  honour,

Est 6:8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse  that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:

Est 6:9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most  noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to  honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim  before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

Est 6:10 Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse,  as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let  nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.

Est 6:11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and  brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him,  Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

This story is a type of this NT prophecy:

Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

The problem with Haman is his pride. Haman within is under the law which is not the law of Christ.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Haman within, is the daughter of Zion, walking with an outstretched neck with wanton eyes and mincing as we go.

Isa 3:16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and  walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

But even the Pharisee within us all, is beautiful in its time “is, was and will be”, it has to be for the kingdom of God to be ushered in.

Ecc 3:11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in  their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning  to the end.

The Lord sets up, the Lord removes

Haman is shamed and Mordecai is honoured typifying the old being replaced by the new. The Law of Christ is replacing the law of Moses (Ten Commandments) and the law of the gentiles (Rom 2:15) which are one and the same thing. The carnal mind are not subject to Christ (the poor) but only Christ is able to bring us out of death/disobedience.

Jud 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Psa 14:6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.

Psa 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD  bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Continuing…. Haman has his head covered, he is hasting to his house.

Est 6:12 And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house  mourning, and having his head covered.

Est 6:13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had  befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of  the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail  against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

Est 6:14 And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and  hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the  head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1Co 11:4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth  his head.

Haman does not acknowledge Christ as His Head and therefore great shame comes to him. This is us in our seasons.

Job 8:22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

Isa 33:10 Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come  to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle  shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall  teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall  do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

To recap

In the book of Esther, we have thus far see the spiritual realities of the OT shadows:

Ahasuerus, the king, makes a feast, all the kingdoms of this world (Vashti, a type of Egypt) does not satisfy……… to be carnally minded is death.

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that  are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and  peace.

Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law  of God, neither indeed can be.

Lev 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile  thyself with her.

We are not able to serve God and Mammon, we have to come out of her My people.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

We, though rich in knowledge (Egypt) think we can escape the judgments of God not knowing that we are and will live by every Word proceeding out of the mouth of God.

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth  him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and  worship me.

Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt  worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Ahasuerus, the king marries Esther, a virgin……called unto the marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the  marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Ahasuerus loses his first love and falls away, setting up Haman, the abomination of desolation in the Temple of God which Temple we are……

Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy  covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the  sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets  and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou  wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of  the stones of fire.

Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till  iniquity was found in thee.

1Co 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech  of them which are puffed up, but the power.

1Co 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

Esther, as types of us, has to lose and is losing her life, appearing before the king, she, through fiery trials and judgements, is coming to see that faith without works is dead.

Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have  not works? can faith save him?

Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;  notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what  doth it profit?

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Esther requires Ahasuerus and Haman to come this day to a banquet of wine (Est 5:4), Christ is resurrected in us again, what we have heard from the beginning at the banquet of wine typifying the first resurrection………Ahasuerus sleep is taken and he remembers Mordecai and delights to honour him.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look  for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Esther petitioned the king and Haman to attend the banquet the next day that she is preparing which is going and is destroying the man of sin…… with the brightness of Christ’s coming typifying our Day of the Lord is, was and will be.

Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

2 Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

In our next study, we will see how the mystery of the kingdom of heaven within us is revealed when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of Christ and His Christ within first and at the appointed time for all humanity.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal (age abiding life), that they might know thee the only  true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.