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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Kingdom of God: The New Exodus



THE KINGDOM OF GOD:  THE NEW EXODUS



This writing is based on an article by Peter Goodgame (link below)
Quotes from Mr. Goodgame will be highlighted.


THE LORD WILL RAISE UP A PROPHET LIKE MOSES
On Sinai, the Lord told Moses that He would bring forth a Prophet from among the children of Israel that would be like the Lord Himself.  That Prophet is Jesus Christ.  Everyone was to listen to Him because He would speak the words of God as God commanded Him.  The Lord would require that all obey His words.

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(Deuteronomy 18:15 KJV)

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
(Deuteronomy 18:18-19 KJV)


THE WORK OF JESUS IS EASY:  Unlike the Work of Egyptian slavery.
 The children of Israel were made slaves in Egypt; they were required to work daily with no time of rest.  Jesus is the new exodus delivering people from the sin and slavery of the world and His burden is easy and simple.  He is the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest.

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:28-30 KJV)

THE LORD WILL RETURN HIS PEOPLE:  Their hearts will be circumcised
Through Moses, the Lord told the children of Israel they would fail the covenant and be dispersed throughout the world.  He promised they would be re-gathered with a circumcised heart (not flesh).  Jesus is the New Covenant:   the complete fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants; He is the new Israel.

And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou might live.  (Deuteronomy 30:5-6 KJV)

We have to always remember that the New Covenant was made with Israel. It was announced at the last supper by Jesus to His twelve Jewish disciples and confirmed by His death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It started with Israel but it was always intended that the new and expanded definition of “Israel” in the New Covenant would also include Gentiles. Yes, as this second and spiritual “New Exodus” takes place, the Lord is gathering both Jews and Gentiles.

Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.  (Isaiah 43:5-7 KJV)

The Centurion displays his faith – Many gentiles will be saved and many of the children of Israel will be cast out due to lack of faith.
The Roman Centurion asked Jesus to save the life of his daughter.  Jesus said He would come and the Centurion stated it was not necessary that He come.  He believed his daughter would be cured at the word of Jesus.

When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.   (Matthew 8:10-12 KJV)

Isaiah has many passages referring to the nations (Gentiles / non-Israelites) as being members of the Kingdom of God (or Heaven).

And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him– for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength–he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations (Gentiles), that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” (Isaiah 49:5-7)

Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?'” Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations (Gentiles), and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 49:21-23)

The theme of a “New Exodus” appears throughout Isaiah 40-55 because at this time judgment was on its way for the both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  He looked forward to the re-gathering through a “second exodus” as predicted in Deuteronomy 30:3-5. It is the very next verse, 30:6, that speaks of the future “heart circumcision” of Israel in connection with this “New Exodus.”

And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.  (Deuteronomy 30: 6 KJV)

Paul picks up on in Romans 2:29 about the New Covenant based on spiritual “heart circumcision” as opposed to the fleshly circumcision of the Old Covenant.  What Paul teaches is that this “New Exodus” that would involve a “heart circumcision” of both Jews and Gentiles (equally united in one family: the Kingdom of God) was a process that began with the coming of Jesus, His death on the Cross, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.  (Romans 2:28-29 KJV)


Christ is the New Exodus from the Wilderness which is Babylon
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  (Isaiah 40:3 KJV)

We are in the wilderness trying to make our way to the Promised Land. While in this wilderness our only hope is Jesus Christ.  It is dark at night in the wilderness but Jesus is the Light. We get thirsty in the wilderness but Jesus has the Living Water that we need. We get hungry but He is the “Bread of Life” that gives eternal life

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.  (John 6:47-51 KJV)

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats of me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live forever.  (John 6:53-58 KJV)

The wilderness of the Egyptian captives is called Babylon in the New Testament
Ancient Babylon (under Nimrod, Ninus, Asshur, etc.) was the birthplace and propagation center of idolatry and false religious systems.  The implementation of multiple languages stopped the immediate completion of a supreme false religion but the various groups took their knowledge with them and it morphed into the various false religions available today.  The term “Babylon” was used by Isaiah and John in the Revelation to describe the worldwide scope this wilderness of false beliefs. 

Comparable to the wilderness journey of the children of Israel when they received the Mosaic Law from God, the new wilderness encompasses the entire world of idolatry and false beliefs which is referred to as Babylon.  In the Revelation, when John is taken to view the “woman”, he is taken to the wilderness, where he sees Mystery, Babylon the Great.  Currently the wilderness or Babylon is the entire world, but during the 70th week of Daniel, Babylon’s center of operation will be false messiah religion of Jerusalem.

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  (Revelation 17:3 KJV)

“Babylon,” is Isaiah’s code word for the immorality and idolatry of the pagan nations.  That’s why Isaiah can tell Israel to “Come out of Babylon” in Isaiah 48:20 at a time 100 years prior to the Babylonian exile!
When Isaiah called for Israel to “come out of Babylon” he was speaking figuratively!  Every pagan nation traces back to Babylon, and therefore Babylon represents the nations of the world and the kingdom of darkness under bondage to the devil as a whole.

The first Exodus involved one nation coming out of Egypt, but the New Exodus of the New Covenant involves all the nations coming out of Babylon!

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They have been taken from the wilderness
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.  (Revelation 7:9-17 KJV)

The Great Multitude of Revelation 7 is a picture of this New Exodus theme that finally culminates in Revelation 21-22 with the description of the Promised Land, our New Jerusalem. This glorious city is the Zion predicted by Isaiah that is the destination of the people led by God in the New Exodus.

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