Jesus' Works Evidence of the Father - Sabbath Readings - June 17, 2006

The following Scripture passages are offered to aid beginning fellowships. The readings and commentary for this week are more in line with what has become usual; for the following will most likely be familiar observations. The concept behind this Sabbath’s selection is Jesus' Works Evidence of the Father.

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Weekly Readings

For the Sabbath of June 17, 2006

The person conducting the Sabbath service should open services with two or three hymns, or psalms, followed by an opening prayer acknowledging that two or three (or more) are gathered together in Christ Jesus’ name, and inviting the Lord to be with them.

The person conducting the service should read or assign to be read John chapter 7.

Commentary: After what [first clause of verse 1]? After Jesus said that He was bread of life that had come down from heaven, the Jews in Judea sought to kill Him—the setting for Jesus staying in Galilee until the Feast of Booths is what He said at Passover, and what He said offended many. Even Jesus’ disciples thought what Jesus had said was difficult to accept.

What Jesus said was more than that He was the Son of God, for both angels and men were previously called sons of God. What He said was that He was God, a statement made to the Twelve by walking out to the boat and immediately causing the boat to cross the sea—this concept of speaking through demonstration is also used by the Apostle Paul, and the concept is central to what Jesus told John the Baptist’s disciples (Matt 11:4-6), and to what Jesus told His disciples (John 14:10-11). That Jesus is God is the disciple John’s claim in the beginning verses of his gospel. The Logos as Theos came as His son, His only (John 3:16). He caused Himself to become flesh; He gave up His life as helpmate to Theon (as in a marriage relationship, where two are one) to create a second bridge between death and life, a bridge that this time crosses dimensions (the first bridge was the construction of the first Adam from the elemental elements [dust] of the material creation). He came to finish His physical creation that would have forever remained spiritually lifeless without this causeway of righteousness.

Again, Jesus said to either believe Him or believe the works that He did (John 10:37-38); for in the works was evidence of the Father (John 5:36)…the Father doesn’t speak to human beings in a voice they can hear with their ears. He doesn’t enter this lawless world. Therefore, He speaks to His sons through the works Jesus performed—and the proclamation of these works is the “work” of disciples, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen people (1 Pet 2:9).

To fulfill all righteousness, Jesus began His earthly ministry by establishing the model for the spiritual birth of natural Israelites (Matt 3:13-17), the natural olive branches that would be broken off because of unbelief. The leaders of this natural nation said of Jesus, ‘“Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed”’ (John 7:48-49). Apparently, those who thought they knew the Law, and knew that the Messiah would be an offspring of David and would come from Bethlehem did not believe because of the knowledge they possessed. Unbelief comes from a person believing the person has knowledge when the person lacks crucial information. Unbelief comes with ignorance masquerading as intelligence. For example, Jesus said, ‘“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish’” (John 10:27-28)…if His sheep receive immortal souls at birth, then Jesus doesn’t give them eternal life, but is a liar, which decidedly is not the case. Therefore, Christian theologians are [and will be] as Jewish authorities and Pharisees were when Jesus spoke during that 1^st-Century Feast of Tabernacles.

Questions about whether humanity (and in particular, the natural nation of Israel) has an immortal soul are answered in understanding that in the supra-dimensional heavenly realm, Theos functioned in relationship to Theon as woman functions to man when married: the Two were One Spirit [YHWH], as Eve was the flesh and bone of Adam. Theos was not free to marry another in this heavenly realm until His relationship to Theon was changed by death, which cannot occur in heaven, for the presence of life and the absence of life cannot co-exist in the same timeless moment. Thus, the marriage of natural Israel to YHWH at Sinai could only occur in the physical universe, and then only if natural Israel had no life in the heavenly realm. And indeed, this marriage occurred in this world, for Moses and the elders of the nation saw Israel’s bridegroom (Ex 24:9). Thus, this marriage to natural Israel had to end in this world before the Logos as Yah [the /YH/ portion of YHWH] was free as the last Adam to marry another people, a last Eve. In addition, the relationship in the heavenly realm by which Theos and Theon were one had to also end by death before the Logos as the glorified man Jesus, the glorified last Adam, could marry again in the heavenly realm. The relationship that presently exists between Theos and Theon is that of Father and Son, not that of man and helpmate. And the Logos as now Son is free to marry another, the glorified Church, in the heavenly realm. Therefore, natural Israel can have no life in heaven until born from above as a son of God; yes, a literal son of the Father.

The much bandied-about plan of God that so many would-be teachers of Israel claim to understand is the plan YHWH, as Theos and Theon, have for their procreation following iniquity being found in an anointed cherub, who was the pinnacle of angelic creation. And this plan contains within itself its shadow through which infant and adolescent sons of God can see what is happening and what will happen, and can thereby “help” as a human child helps his or her parents.

The complete plan of God is manifest in the Sabbaths of God, beginning with the weekly Sabbath and continuing through the annual high days [the festivals], followed by the new moons (Col 2:16). The Apostle Paul told Gentile converts at Colossae not to allow anyone to pass judgment on them for their observance of these Sabbaths that form a single shadow of Christ—these visible Sabbaths reveal the invisible Christ (Rom 1:20), and the person who doesn’t acknowledge these 70 annual Sabbaths doesn’t grasp the extent or complexity of the “simple” plan that will see two harvests of God, one of firstfruits at Passover, and one of the main [wheat] harvest of humanity on the Last Great Day. Thus, the entirety of the plan of God is symbolically represented in the spring holy day season, as well as again symbolically represented in the fall holy day season, with both harvests governed by the new moons that show the reflected light of the sun in the darkness of men. Two representations of the plan of God corresponding to the two harvests of God; two harvests corresponding to the greater light that rules the day and the lesser light that rules the darkness—these two harvests will see the creation of humankind in the image of God, male and female (Gen 1:27), with the two being of one Spirit as, again, the first Eve was of the same flesh and bone as the first Adam.

Then [1^st-Century CE] present day Jerusalem was a shadow of the heavenly city, with the stone temple being a copy and shadow of the living house of God, which, like a hologram, contains in each living stone a complete copy of the ever-living temple. Thus, the change of geography from the shores of the Sea of Galilee at Passover to the temple represents a change of mindsets, or mental topography, with the heavenly Jerusalem representing the holy nation of Israel. So Jesus saying, ‘“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here’” (v. 6), creates a condition of salvation that has the temple open to His brethren at the beginning of the Feast. Jesus, Himself, would not go up to the temple until midweek (John 7:14). This midweek appearance at the temple [the temple also being a representation of the throne of God] corresponds, in the fall presentation of the entire plan of God, to His Ascension to the throne of His Father, and His God (John 20:17) as the midweek Wave Sheaf Offering…in the spring presentation of the plan of God, the glorified Jesus ascends midweek (of the festival) as the Wave Sheaf. At the same time, He ascends on the first day of the week that represents a spiritual Feast of Unleavened Bread that will continue forever, as spiritual Israelites are to be without sin just as the physical nation of Israel, by covenant, was to keep the laws of God. (It cannot help but be confusing to have midweek also being the first day of the week. One weekly cycle is governed by the giving of manna, and hasn’t been broken since Israel left Egypt; the other cycle is governed by the new moons with its weekly cycles beginning with the full moons on the 15^th day of the month.) Thus, as no sin was reckoned to natural Israelites [this was a form of “natural” grace] prior to the giving of the Law (Rom 5:13), no sin is now imputed to spiritual Israelites who are under Grace until this holy nation is liberated from the law of sin and death that presently dwells in the members of disciples (Rom 7:25) as the natural nation was liberated from physical bondage to Pharaoh.

The concept of Grace is poorly understood at best: prior to the giving of the Law from atop Sinai, human beings, including all of the descendants of the patriarch Israel, died because of their consignment to lawlessness (Rom 11:32) when the first Adam was driven from the garden of God. This first Adam never ate of the Tree of Life (Gen 3: 22-24); this first Adam was under sentence of death, and without any life but that which came from his physical breath, this Adam could not convey to his progeny any life but that which comes from the cellular oxidation of sugars. By the affirmation of Scripture, human beings are not born with an immoral soul, but born consigned to disobedience or sin, the wages of which are death (Rom 6:23). The gift of God is life in the timeless heavenly realm through birth-from-above, or birth by Spirit. Therefore, even though all of humanity died prior to the giving of the Law, no sin or lawlessness was reckoned to, or counted against human beings, for God had consigned them to Satan and to disobedience. God did this; God gave them to Satan so that Satan would be responsible for their lawlessness. And because God did this, He didn’t/doesn’t hold their lawlessness against them.

However, with the coming of the Law, one nation, Israel, God’s natural firstborn son (Ex 4:22), now knew what sin was (Rom 7:7), and with knowledge of sin came responsibility not to sin. As a result, this nation was given the means by which its lawlessness could be reassigned to living creatures that were truly innocent, with the lives of those living creatures (bulls and goats) being given for the lawlessness of God’s natural firstborn son. Hence, animal sacrifices, with the morning and evening sacrifice foreshadowing the prayers of the saints made in the name of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God.

But the lives of bulls and goats cannot change humanity’s consignment to disobedience.

Despite its knowledge of sin, Israel continued to sin, and the need to continually reassign this nation’s lawlessness remained year to year—only on one day a year could the high priest enter the Holy of holies to make atonement for Israel, for after the giving of the Law only in the Holy of holies was the mercy seat, the representation of Grace. Thus, except on one day a year, the Law and the knowledge it gave of sin separated Israel from the natural grace the nation, along with all of humanity, had been under since Adam was driven from the garden of God. For with knowledge of sin, and through an action of faith, under the second covenant mediated by Moses (Deu 29:1) the promise of ever-lasting life could be obtained (Deu 30:15), even though the natural Israelite would not precede in birth-from-above the last Adam. (This means that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel [all of whom lived before the giving of the Law], Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, others did not have life in the heavenly realm in that they were not born of Spirit, but they obtained the promise of everlasting life, and they had the Spirit of God with them to use to accomplish either a specific purpose, as with Bezalel and Oholiab [Ex 31:1-6], or to reveal a message from YHWH.)

The last Adam was/is a quickening, or life-giving spirit (1 Co 15:45). It was through His breath that the first Adam became a nephesh, a breathing creature (Gen 2:7), and it was through His Breath that the last Eve received the Holy Spirit [Pneuma ’Agion] (John 20:22), the divine Breath of God. Two breaths: psuche and pneuma, the shallow breath that fuels the cellular oxidation of sugars and the deep breath that gives life in the heavenly realm. Thus, as two acts of the Logos were necessary before a natural firstborn son of God had knowledge of sin (i.e., the giving of shallow breath, and the giving of the Law), two actions of the Father are necessary before the spiritual firstfruits [Jesus was the first of the firstfruits] are liberated from sin and death. These two acts are birth by Spirit (i.e., the giving of life in the heavenly realm), and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as natural grace ended with the giving of the law, spiritual Grace will end with empowerment by the Holy Spirit, for no longer will the flesh of a disciple be consigned to sin and death. With empowerment, the born of Spirit disciple will not just know what sin is [the situation of natural Israel under the Law], but will no longer be subject to sin. Therefore, this liberated disciple, if he or she takes sin back inside him or herself, will commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—and this blasphemy will not be forgiven.

The above cannot be said too powerfully: as natural grace ended with the giving of the Law, spiritual Grace ends with empowerment [i.e., liberation from the law of sin and death] of the born of Spirit disciple on a Second Passover.

The giving of the Law from atop Sinai doesn’t occur at Pentecost, for when the Law was given there was no harvest of God. Moses will, a week later, enter the cloud to join the Lord as a type and shadow of the Prophet to come (Deu 18:15-19), Christ Jesus, the First of the firstfruits. Thus, Moses enters the cloud midweek; the Law is given midweek of the seventh week after Israel left Egypt. Pentecost would have occurred, if the festival had been given, on the first day of the week during which Moses entered the cloud. To minimize confusion, the Feast of Weeks would have occurred, if it had been commanded, halfway through the six days that the cloud covered Sinai (Ex 24:15-16); it would have occurred three full days after the Law was given, for both the giving of the Law and Moses entering the cloud occurred midweek. So when Jesus went up to the Feast (again, John 7:14) forms a shadow of when Moses entered the cloud, with the week of Tabernacles forming a copy and shadow of the week following the completion of the harvest of firstfruits—the first high day of Tabernacles would, therefore, represent the harvest of firstfruits at Christ Jesus’ Second or Spiritual Coming. And by extension, day five, six, and seven of the Genesis one creation account are represented in the half-week that Jesus teaches in the temple, with day four (Gen 1:14-19) representing the Second Coming and wedding feast, when the harvest of firstfruits are glorified as the Body of the Greater Light that rules the day.

Again, the concept of “midweek” also being the first of the week remains central to the harvest of firstfruits: the weekly cycle that is governed by the giving of manna spiritually differs from weekly cycles governed by the appearance of new moons by half a week. And in this half a week difference is the ripening of the main crop harvests of God.

Note, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, ‘“Leave here and go to Judea [where the Jews’ were seeking to kill Him], that your disciples also may see the works you are doing”’ (John 7:3)—many of Jesus’ disciples were not with Him, and perhaps, hadn’t been with Him for six months; hadn’t been with Him since He said He was the bread of life. The difficulty of accepting Jesus as the reality of the manna that came from heaven exceeded the ability of even His supporters to believe…Jesus saying that He was the bread of life separated the Twelve from His other disciples (John 6:66-71). Taking the Passover sacraments on the night He was betrayed separates the oil and the wine (Rev 6:6) from firstfruits sold unto death by sin—separates endtime disciples represented by the Twelve from other disciples, who were/are offended by taking the sacraments on the 14^th of the first month. Those endtime disciples that do not take the Passover sacraments also do not see the present works that Jesus is doing. Instead, they see the works of the cross, and they proudly identify themselves with the cross, never imagining that they will be sold as merchandise by sin unto death when the mantle of Jesus’ righteousness is removed, thereby revealing all of the Son of Man, Head and Body.

Jesus’ time had not yet come when this Feast of Tabernacles began (John 7:6); Jesus’ time to come as the Messiah wasn’t the first day of the Genesis one creation week, when He came as the light of men (John 1:4 & 2 Co 4:6, citing Gen 1:3). Thus, the first half of Tabernacles’ week long observance is analogous to Jesus’ three and a half year earthly ministry.

The reader should now read 2 Corinthians chapter 3, all, and chapter 4, verses 1 through 6.

Commentary: Working backwards through this passage, the light that shines in hearts is not the light of the sun, but the light of men that is Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul links the light of Genesis one’s first day to Christ Jesus. Whether deliberately or inadvertently, Paul tells disciples through letters written on human hearts (2 Co 3:3) that disciples should realize the Genesis one creation account isn’t about the physical world. Unfortunately, too many teachers of iniquity have failed to realize that they received a veiled gospel because of the unbelief [or disbelief] of their spiritual ancestors. Thus, building with the bricks of the spiritual king of Babylon, these teachers of iniquity have constructed a spiritual Ishtar Gate through which they parade in their Easter finery. They have been unable to read the invisible letters Paul wrote, but they have dogmatically twisted Paul’s public words into meat hooks and skewers on which they hang and roast themselves.

The foundation that Paul laid calls for disciples to renounce the disgraceful and underhanded ways of charlatans who have tortured Paul’s words until his epistles bleed with their blood. Therefore, The Philadelphia Church proclaims that the gospel concealed by a veil from those Israelites who are perishing isn’t Dispensationalists’ gospel of iniquity, the false message delivered by and to those who are perishing, but rather, the good news that what was written on stone is now written on the tablets of human hearts, thereby transforming the lives of disciples into living letters to be read by all. As Jesus’ works form the words of the Father, those disciples Paul instructed form silent letters that are akin to the works of Jesus.

False ministers, false prophets, false disciples—all focus on what is physical; i.e., of this world, such as the reemergence of a united European coalition as the endtime beast power, or upon the reconstruction of another stone temple in present day Jerusalem, or upon the new moon sighting at present day Jerusalem. These false ministers, rejecting both the letter of the law that kills and the Spirit that gives life, do to spiritual Israelites the inverse of what Pharisees did to the natural nation. Instead of binding impossibly heavy burdens upon the backs of natural Israelites, they loosen the tethers of the Spirit, thus sending spiritual Israelites floating, drifting back into lawlessness.

Jesus has gone to where all who lack being born of Spirit cannot go. He has left behind a legacy of inscribed works that form the words of the Father. The Apostle Paul left letters written on the hearts of Gentile converts. But the prophet Isaiah, when speaking of the natural nation of Israel also speaks of the spiritual nation when he says that despite having eyes and ears, Israel is blind and deaf. Never have any people been more unwilling to see, or harder of hearing than the endtime great Christian Church. They are a holy nation that resents being holy as God is.

The person conducting the Sabbath service should close services with two hymns, or psalms, followed by a prayer asking God’s dismissal.

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