The Philadelphia Church

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 Day Two Not Good in God's Eyes.

Printable/viewable PDF format

 

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 Apostle Paul, employing the hermeneutics of Judaism and of Christ Himself, used typology (which is reasoning by analogy) to extract meaning from Scripture. For the Apostle, the visible world revealed the invisible attributes of God (Rom 1:20) and that which is physical preceded the spiritual (1 Co 15:46). Thus, if the visible and physical reveal and precede the invisible and spiritual, then that which cannot be seen or measured—that which is not “real” from the perspective of being observable—can be known from what is “real.” Hence, typology employs realism as its revealing limitation, thereby making what can be known philosophically meaningful. And in this means, typological exegesis is “scientific” in that someone doing research uses the presumption that reality exists and is measurable and observable and can therefore be known. Likewise, the person employing typological exegesis acts on the presumption that reality creates the informing shadow of what cannot be directly observed, causing that which has no substance to be discernable through that which has substance.

A point on a two dimensional plane when encountering a cylinder would not be able to perceive any of the cylinder’s height, for this point is confined to two dimensions and would have no means of making measurements or observations in another dimension. The point has no concept of height. Thus, this point would conclude that the cylinder is an arc, or a circle. Only by the cylinder casting its shadow onto the two dimensional plane could this point determine the cylinder’s height, and this determination would be made by observing where the light was and where the light was absent (or where it was dark). And if this point did not know to attach significance to the presence and absence of “light” then the cylinder’s shadow that reveals the height of the cylinder would have no meaning to this point.

Move the above example to more dimensions, for human beings are not points on a two dimensional plane; rather, they are enlivened jars of clay in four dimensions, with none of these four being the supra-dimensional heavenly realm. Therefore, human beings will have no more knowledge of what occurs in heaven than a point on a two dimensional plane has of height. Only through shadows can human beings “see” into heaven. Unfortunately, these shadows are not cast upon the earth’s geography, but upon the mental typography of humankind, a “landscape” that is revealed by reality with this reality being the physical geography of pre-Flood Eden. Unrighteousness, now, an action of a human being, is spiritual darkness stemming from something or someone in the heavenly realm blocking the “light” that is God from falling upon the mindset of the person. And it is the prince of this world that blocks the light.

If unrighteousness stems from the shadow of the prince of this world blocking the light that is God—a situation that can be readily perceived through the visible things of this world—then all of humankind can be consigned to disobedience or imprisoned in sin (Rom 11:32) by the prince of this world standing between God and the mental typography of human beings, thereby making an anointed cherub in whom iniquity was found (Ezek 28:12-15) visible through the actions of human kings and emperors, such as Nebuchadnezzar or even Constantine. This is especially true considering that the anointed cherub appears as an angel of light (2 Co 11:14). It is his false light that illuminates humankind’s mental typography, not the light that is God.

The role of visible shadowing—a reality that employs the presence and absence of invisible light—becomes the revealing metaphor for life in supra-dimensional realms that bear to human psyches the relationship that invisible white light has to dark shadows. Note: human psyches animate fleshly bodies. Without the psyche present and healthy, the body is in a vegetative state even when “alive” through inhaling and exhaling breath. Now, by extension, it is the human psyche that makes a person a human being as opposed to a cow or cat.

The testimony of Scripture is that the human psyche can be taken from a person instantly, as in the case of ancient King Nebuchadnezzar, who mid-sentence had his human reason taken from him and in exchange was given the mind of a beast for seven years (Dan 4:28-33). Just as instantaneously, his reason or his “humanness” returned to him (vv. 34-36), thereby disclosing that the human psyche is a gift from God … the basic nature of a human being [i.e., human nature] is received from God; thus, human nature is a received nature and is the old nature or old man (Rom 6:6) that must be crucified with Christ in order that sin might come to nothing, for it is this old nature that has been consigned to sin through being in subjection to the prince of this world.

Extending the above realities, the new man or new self that comes from a second birth [i.e., being born of Spirit] must kill the human psyche that separates a person from being a mammalian vegetable, but this new man that is born as an infant son of God cannot suddenly slay the old man without the fleshly body of the person reverting to a mental vegetative state—and crucifixion does not slay suddenly, but kills slowly through loss of breath. Thus, as the new man grows the old man must weaken and die, with this process disclosed through its shadow: death on a Roman cross. That which is flesh must die as that which is Spirit must grow and mature.

Now, within the hierarchy of life that begins with an ex nihilo [out of nothing] creation that has the first Adam formed from red mud on “the day that [YHWH Elohim] made the earth and the heavens” (Gen 2:4 – cf. Gen 1:1; 2:4 and answer the question, What part of the heavens and earth is not created in 1:1?) — a human vegetative state exists between mud and God. This human vegetative state would exist before the new creature or new self or new nature overwrites (as one computer program overwrites another) the nature of the old self that is imprisoned in sin; for Adam was created as a breathing creature [nephesh] when there was “no bush of the field” or “small plant” on the earth (Gen 2:5). The base element of this visible world is dust [the elements of the periodic table]. In typology, the base element of the intertextual, invisible spiritual creation is living human beings (animated dust). Thus, the first Adam—dust to which moisture (to transform the dust into mud) and breath received from God (Gen 2:7) are added—is a type of the last Adam, the one who was to come (Rom 5:14; 1 Co 15:45).

Water, now, in the form of rain becomes typologically significant: in the song by which the Moab covenant is ratified as an everlasting covenant, the covenant to which better promises are added and the covenant which has its mediator changed from Moses to the glorified Christ, Moses as God to Israel has his “teaching drop as the rain … like gentle rain upon the tender grass, / and like showers upon the herb” (Deut 32:2). In this song, the doctrines of God that Moses gives “fall” upon Israel as rain falls upon grass and herbs, thereby introducing through a hard link the metaphor of Israel being vegetative growth when compared to the doctrines or teaching of God that come through Moses as a type of Jesus.

The Moab covenant (Deut 29:1) requires Israel to obey the voice of God and to keep the statutes and commandments written in Deuteronomy (Deut 30:10). Israel was to consider the greatness of God, who physically liberated a physical people from physical bondage, and how He parted the waters of the Sea of Reeds to let Israel walk across on dry land, then brought these waters together again to drown Pharaoh and his army.

Rain comes from the sky, from the heavens. The Sea of Reeds existed as rain that had long since fallen elsewhere and had collected in the low spot … God was able to both cause dry land to appear in the sea, and to bring the sea back together again once Israel was no longer on the dry ground. And when the Sea of Reeds comes back together, it incorporates as part of itself Pharaoh and his army. Thus, this shallow sea stands as a metaphor for both death and for that which destroys sin. By extension, death devours sin and breaks all that is sinful to pieces, trampling on even the last of sin. But death cannot harm Israel when this nation is led by God.

The separation of both the Sea of Reeds and the River Jordan are types of God separating the waters from the dry land (Gen 1:9) that is the earth. And without forcing onto Scripture a figure of speech that God does not first use, the vegetation (plants yielding seeds and trees bearing fruits) that is brought forth on the earth is as Israel was when it crossed over both still, and forty years later, flowing waters on dry land.

Water represents death through the loss of breath as in drowning. Baptism is unto the death of the old self or nature. Thus, submersion in water comes as the wages for sin (cf. Rom 6:23; Gen 6:5-7, 11-13, 17). The world was baptized into death when God brought the Flood of Noah’s day upon the earth.

The Ark built by Noah according to the instructions God gave served as a type of the doctrines Moses gave Israel that allowed Israel to walk across the sea on dry land. Now, again not introducing that which God doesn’t first introduce, the boat in which Jesus’ first disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee becomes a type of the Ark.

*

The person conducting the service should now read or assign to be read Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 through 33; Mark chapter 6, verses 45 through 52; and John chapter 6, verses 16 through 21.

Commentary: A person does not long survive in water, especially when weighted down by the armor of this world as Pharaoh and his army was. Jesus did not need to part the waters of the Sea of Galilee through the doctrines of Moses, but could walk atop this troubled sea; for He was neither weighted down by sin or death. Likewise, as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and not upon either the storm or the waters, he too could walk atop sin and death. Thus, the doctrines of Moses now serve as a physical means to walk through a landscape of sin and death without being harmed by either … the doctrines of Moses serve as a type of the faith and teachings of Jesus.

The doctrines of Moses part sin and death and allow Israel to walk dry shod through a “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4). Sin and death are stayed, even though sin and death tower over Israel. And the difference between doctrines of Moses and the teachings of Jesus is the difference between walking on the dry sea floor and on walking atop the waves. In both cases, a person passes alive through sin and death.

Even plants when submerged in water for a long period die, but plants can withstand occasional submersion. Therefore, the analogy of Israel being like plants allows for Israel to be temporarily covered by sin and yet still live. But to bring forth seeds and fruit, Israel must be out of the water.

*

The reader should now read or assign to be read Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 through 33.

Commentary: Within the context of not being anxious about what one eats or drinks or wears—or even adding a single hour to a person’s life—Jesus uses the analogy of clothing being like flower blossoms, and disciples being like the grasses of the fields. Lilies neither toil nor spin for their clothing … disciples are to be clothed with the garment of Christ Jesus (Gal 3:27); with Christ’s righteousness. They do not labor for this righteousness, which causes them to be arrayed in more glory than Solomon knew.

Disciples are Israel, now a nation circumcised of heart by Spirit and not outwardly by hands (Rom 2:28-29; Col 2:11), and disciples are as the grasses of the field which are alive today but will be thrown into the oven tomorrow where they will either perish or survive through the mortal flesh having put on immortality.

*

The reader should now read or assign to be read John chapter 15, verses 1 through 11; followed by Galatians 5, verses 22 through 24.

Commentary: Jesus used the analogy of Him being the true vine [i.e., vegetative growth] and His Father being the vinedresser, with the Father taking away every branch that does not bear fruit.

The fruit of the Vine is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, a single fruit of nine facets.

In Jesus’ analogy, the vine cannot bear fruit by itself, but must have branches that are pruned by the Father. In this analogy, those branches who do not abide in Jesus are as the servants of the nobleman who would not be ruled by the nobleman were (Luke 19:14, 27), and are as the false grasses of the field were (Matt 13:30, 38-42).

Jesus’ disciples are to bear much fruit—and how do they bear this fruit? Jesus told His disciples that if they kept His commandments, they would abide in His love, just as he, Jesus, kept His Father’s commandments and abode in His Father’s love.

To keep Jesus commandments is to believe the writings of Moses (John 5:46-47).

The gospel of Christ is as simple as that: the teachings of Jesus, built on the doctrines of Moses, will cause sin and death to part to allow spiritually circumcised Israel to walk unharmed through the fire separating the dimensions (Isa 43:2) as ancient Israel walked dry shod through the sea and through the river.

*

The reader should now read or assign to be read John chapter 12, verses 20 through 26.

Commentary: Jesus compared Himself to a grain of wheat that must fall to the earth where it “dies” yet lives again as a stalk of wheat that bears many wheat berries.

Judea brought forth two harvests annually, the early barley harvest, watered by the early rain and the latter wheat harvest watered by the latter rain (Deut 11:14). Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren (Rom 8:29); thus, Jesus was the First of the firstfruits. He was the reality of that first handful of barley that constituted the Wave Sheaf Offering. So consistently throughout Scripture, Israel is represented as plant life: branches of a vine, branches of an olive tree (Rom 11:16-19), barley, wheat, with false Israelites being tares (i.e., false grain). Judea now, is that portion of the earth upon which Israel grows. Egypt represents sin, and Assyria death.

*

The reader should now read or assign to be read Isaiah chapter 11, verses 11 through 16.

Commentary: At a second Passover liberation of Israel, God will “extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people” (v. 11). He will do this by parting the Sea of Egypt, and the River (v. 15), thereby allowing the remnant to walk through these representations of sin and death in their sandals.

Typology is the basis for intelligently understanding the unity of the Old and New Testaments, for everything Jesus spoke was in figures of speech. He was not a grain of wheat. He was not a grape vine. Yet through these visible types the unseen things of God become observable.

*

The reader should now read or assign to be read Genesis chapter 1.

Commentary: Working backwards, beasts and men are created on day six, with humankind being given dominion over the earth and over the fish in the sea … but God has consistently compared Israel, both physically and spiritually circumcised as vegetative growth, not fish or beasts.

It is easy to presume that the man and woman created in the image of, and after the likeness of YHWH Elohim is the first Adam and first Eve. To do so reveals that the person is a poor student, a lazy scholar, and a false teacher—the first Adam was created before there was any other life, including that of plants, fish, fowls, or beasts. If this is not so, then the Bible is not to be trusted as the word of God.

Jesus is the light of day one (cf. 2 Co 4:4-6; John 12:35-36; 8:12; 1:4-14). Born of Spirit Israelites are the plants and trees of day three. The resurrection of firstfruits occurs on day four: as the spiritual Body of the Son of Man, they are when glorified the greater light that rules the day, while Israel [those who did not take judgment upon themselves before Christ returned] here on earth in the Millennium forms the lesser light that rules the darkness. The great White Throne Judgment occurs on day six, thereby placing Christ’s millennia reign on day five. The coming of the new heavens and earth begins day seven, when Elohim enters into His rest.

On every day but day two, God saw what was created and declared it good.

Day two is singularly different from every other day, for only water exists, with this water vertically divided by an expanse that is called heaven (Gen 1:6-8).

When Israel crossed the Sea of Reeds, God horizontally divided the sea so that Israel could pass over dry shod. God divided sin and death, separating sin from death. All of Israel would die, but Joshua and Caleb would not die before they also crossed the Jordan and entered into God’s rest (Ps 95:10-11). So the vertical separation of the sea of humanity that occurred on day two is typologically a separation from sin through the cross, with those who have been born of Spirit [i.e., born of heaven] to still die physically but with their spirits sleeping under the altar as men sleep through the darkness of night.

The above will be a mental stretch for those who remain physically minded.

What is not seen on day two or ever again is the return to earth of the waters above the expanse that is heaven. The remaining waters that were under heaven (and as such not born of Spirit) still covered the earth. Humankind remained imprisoned in sin and death. Thus, day two ends without God declaring anything “good.”

Why? Because the Church is dead—the spiritual Body of Christ, like His physical body, was crucified and died for want of breath. This had to happen, but it is not good. It is a necessary part of the plan of God, known and declared so beforehand. It is not however anything that God can celebrate.

Of the waters that covered the surface of the earth when day three begins, God will cause a separation to occur, this time a horizontal separation as occurred when Moses led Israel across the Sea of Reeds; for this separation will be through Moses, the shadow of the One who was to come. This time, those who will be born of Spirit will come to repentance before they are circumcised of heart: dry land will appear, with this dry land being the keeping of the commandments by faith.

A person can stand gazing into the heavens, unable to ever see those waters that are above the expanse, unable to believe that those waters are now souls sleeping under the altar of God. This person can confidently dismiss the Genesis one creation account as myth; for logic prohibits trees from bearing fruit on day three when the sun is created on day four. Likewise, the person can dismiss the creation account of Genesis chapter two, for evolution holds that man is of the highest taxonomical order. Thus, this person can dismiss the Bible as the word of God, with this person’s rejection of God beginning with the person’s rejection of typology from lack of faith. This person will hold that “realism” consists only of those things that can be seen—and the world covered with water on day two in the same manner as the world was covered with water in the days of Noah cannot now be seen and is necessarily rejected by scholars.

But the physical precedes the spiritual: the world covered with water in Noah’s day must, therefore, precede the world being covered with water following day one of the Genesis one [the so-called “P” account] creation story, especially when the “light” of day one is God [Theos]. Therefore, day two fully occurs between Calvary and when the spiritual Body of Christ dies for want of divine Breath [Pneuma ’Agion].

The dark portion of day three begins with the world baptized into spiritual death as God baptized the ancient world into physical death when He brought a flood upon the earth.

The analogy of rain in Judea being a type of the Holy Spirit, and of waters of the sea being a type of death is reconciled in Jesus walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. A person can, by faith and by keeping the person’s focus on Christ, walk over the top of death as if these turbulent waters were solid ground. But to keep one’s mind focused on Christ and not on the things of this world requires being born of Spirit. Peter was not yet so born when he got out of the boat, and for a while he could keep his mind focused on Christ by force of his will. But he was as good seed sown on poor ground: the cares of the world [the reality of what he was doing] soon caught up with him, and he started to sink. Only when a person has been born of Spirit can the person stay focused on Christ, and this person will inevitably keep the commandments of God (Rom 8:7).

Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th-Century undermined typological exegesis, for the Roman Church used typology to support its blatant paganism. Typology functions as chain-binders to unite revelation with reality through intertextuality [i.e., where one portion or passage of Scripture refers to another portion], but it also transforms reality into prophecy when hypertextuality [where Scripture refers to that which is outside of Scripture] is employed. And the foremost example of this is the sign of Jonah, the only sign Jesus gave.

The prophet Jonah was swallowed by the great fish and was in the belly of this fish for three days and three nights (Jon 1:17). This is the reality to which Scripture testifies.

Jesus said that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt 12:39-40). And He was: He was crucified midweek on the 14^th of Abib, the Preparation Day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and He was in the grave all of the 15^th, the High Sabbath, all of the 16^th, all of the 17^th, the weekly Sabbath, and was resurrected and gone from the grave before daylight on the 18^th, the first day of the calendar week, but the mid-week day of Unleavened Bread. Thus, under the Sinai covenant (Ex 20:11), the Sabbath stands as a weekly memorial to the creation of all that is; whereas under the Moab covenant (Deut 5:15), the Sabbath stands as a weekly memorial to liberation from bondage.

The intertextual relationship between the Jonah account and account of Christ’s resurrection now forms the basis for a hypertextual relationship to the Spiritual Body of Christ being resurrected from death after the third day, with this “third day” being day three of the Genesis one creation account. Thus, the conjoined intertextual realities of what has already happened forms the prophetic revelation of what will happen during the seven endtime years of tribulation, with this second text not now being an inscribed text but a text generated in the disciple’s mind.

When plants bring forth seed and fruit on day three, God declares the day good. It is only on day two, when no longer does anyone born of Spirit remain here on earth that God fails to declare the events of the day good. And through typology, a disciple can understand why God is not pleased with what occurs on day two.

*

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

* * * * *

"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

---