Chapter
5
The things of the earth and the things of your heart are a similitude of
the things in heaven. All things are
made according to His works, therefore, all things are comparable--whether
things of heaven, of earth or things
of the heart.
Moses went up the mountain and he saw the similitude of the Lord.
And he was told to see to it that
he made all things after the works of the pattern.
And he made the tabernacle and the altar and established
the priesthood and gave the law--all according to the pattern of the works of
the Lord. The works of the
Lord are the heavens and the earth and us, for He made all things. And the law is
a pattern of the works of the Lord--a shadow of good things to come,
predetermined into history; and God
speaks of things that are not as if they already were.
We are plainly told that the earth will be destroyed and we are also
promised that the world will last
forever. This has caused much debate, as it seems to be a
contradiction. But if God says that
we must die, and also that we will
live forever, no one sees a contradiction in that.
All things are under the authority of God and must obey Him--even the
moon and the stars. If we are told
that we must die and be resurrected, then all things must die and be
resurrected; and the stars will fall
from the sky and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll.
All things will be made new
again and there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
The nation of Israel died and was resurrected; the Hebrew language died and was resurrected;
Jesus
died and was resurrected.
And, what about the Father? Like
the law of the Meads and the Persians, does even the King obey
His own rules? God's rest on the seventh day, what manner of rest is it?
All things must be put under
the feet of the Son, and Satan must be locked away for a thousand years.
After the millennia, the
Kingdom will be handed back to the Father and Satan released again.
Much preparation is taken for
His rest. Heaven, earth or
heart; all things conform to His word, even God keeps His Word.
The earth was baptized in Noah's flood and the wicked perished; it was a
figure of the end. We, in a like
figure of death, are baptized--signifying death to the desires of the
flesh--death with Him that we may
walk with Him according to the Spirit. As
it is with the world, it is with us.
The law said they were to be circumcised on the eighth day.
The seventh day is God's rest--the millennial
reign of Christ. On the eighth day,
the wicked will be thrown into the lake of fire; the flesh will
be cut off from the world--circumcision of the world on the eighth day.
But we are told to circumcise our hearts.
Just as Joshua circumcised the people again when they entered
the promised land, the Lord will circumcise our hearts to love the Lord.
The promised land of the
millennial reign is God's Sabbath. But, as Jesus taught, the Priest is allowed
to circumcise on the Sabbath and be
held blameless.
The circumcising of our hearts is the cutting off of the veil of flesh.
You can't be a disciple unless
you forsake all your worldly possessions; dispose of all your worldly
covetousness, then you have removed
the camel (dumb beasts are ruled by instincts of the flesh) from your eye to see
clearly.
The flesh is a veil, the lust of the flesh and the deceitfulness of sin
is a cloud on our hearts which prevents
us from seeing the truth. Moses put
a veil over his face so the children of Israel couldn't see the
end; the veil still remains on their hearts so they can't see the true meaning
of the scriptures.
The law and the ordinances of the temple are made after the same likeness
of His works. And the
veil of the temple which was rent from top to bottom at His death opens the way
for us into the sanctuary of His
truth.
There is a veil over the whole world which will be removed; There is a
veil spread over all nations and a
covering over all people which will be destroyed.
These figures apply to all things-- heaven,
earth, and heart--likewise, all His words.
The heavens and the earth are reserved for fire.
Likewise, we are reserved for the fiery law which
consumes all wickedness. But as those who were in the ark were saved, so those
who are in Jesus (the true ark and
the true sanctuary) will be saved.
As those who did not believe Noah didn't enter the ark, those who walk
after the flesh and don't believe
the Lord will not enter; that choice is their judgment.
And judgment will flood the earth like water,
(Amos 5:24).
The lesson is written into the world.
As it happens to the world, it happens to us according to the
same likeness.
The Father shows the Son what He does and the Son does what He saw the
Father do. And He testifies
what He has seen and heard. We must
all be like Him; you must be holy for He is holy; you should
be perfect as the Father is perfect. The
life of Jesus in the flesh, exampled the way to us; we follow
the example of what the Father does in heaven.
Our works are the same as His and, as touched
on in Chapter 2, the history of the world also complies with the same likeness
of His works-- Like heaven, like
earth, like us.
The Morning Star (Jesus) rose as King and flooded the world with the
knowledge of the truth and He
referred to those who didn't believe as "the dead."
And the Morning Star will rise on the world
and the knowledge of God will cover the world as the waters cover the sea.
In another place we are told the Morning Star should rise in our hearts.
We know in part and we see in
part, as in a glass darkly, but when that which is perfect is come, the whole
body will be filled with light--both
your body and the body of Christ (the church), and the law will be written in
our hearts.
Again, as it is with the world, it is with us.
The eternal temple is in heaven; the church is the temple made of fleshy
stones on earth; your body is the
temple of the Lord. The teaching of
the temple applies on all three levels--heaven, earth and
heart.
The idols of the nations are the lusts of the flesh.
Your lusts war in your members. The wars of the
Jews and the Gentiles are the wars of our flesh and spirit.
The wall of contention is brought down to make peace between the Jews and
the Gentiles, and also brought down
to make peace in our hearts.
War and rebellion are in heaven, on earth and in our hearts.
The kingdom of heaven is also in the world, and within you.
The generation of His Word grows in the world and also in your heart.
The priesthood on earth is a shadow of heavenly things and we are to be
kings and priests.
All these things are figures and we obey in a figure, but the pattern is
purified by the pattern. Jesus
lived the way to us by example and, when He comes the second time, it will be to
salvation. All things comply with
the pattern and His blood reconciles all things, whether things on earth or things
in heaven, (Col 1:20).
The point of this chapter is this: When searching for your own spiritual path, all the words of God apply to you, regardless of whether they speak of you, or the world or heavenly things, for the pattern is the same for all things and the pattern is Jesus Christ. He is all things and in all things and all things in Him.