BIRDS, GOATS, AND THE TWO WORKS OF CHRIST
Judah, the son of Jacob, was the holder of the dominion
or scepter promise. The genealogical linage
can be seen in the first chapter of Matthew and the third chapter of Luke. This was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus,
of the tribe of Judah, who is the current and eternal holder of the dominion or
the kingship of the entire earth, not just Canaan.
Aaron was of the tribe of Levi, therefore the priests are
referred to as Levites or Aaronic priests.
The priests of the temple fulfilled the sacrificial duties and therefore
the Levites or Aaronic priests of the 1st century Jerusalem temple unknowingly
offered up Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice for sin.
However, a human being from either the linage of Judah or
Levi were never given the work of establishing the Kingdom of God, which will
be done at the return of Christ. The
birthright promise was given to Joseph and then to Ephraim and Manasseh. The current nation of Israel, even if there
is an authentic tribal member of Ephraim and Manasseh among them is not
qualified to bring forth the birthright or the Kingdom of God. Only the leaders and the majority of the
tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh can constitute the birthright. It will also require the entire tribes of
Israel and God will search and find them.
The birthright promise does not involve kingship (which is the dominion
promise) but a family or kingdom of righteous people in total agreement with
Jesus Christ and the laws of God.
Ezekiel 34:11 KJV For thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them
out.
Cleansing Ceremony
for a Healed Leper
Leviticus 14 details the ceremonial law for the cleansing
of a leper. The cleansing process was
performed during the same day the leper was healed. There is more to the process than the coped
verses below but the primary point is the two live birds.
Leviticus 14:4-7 KJV Then
shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar
wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: (5) And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over
running water: (6) As for the living bird, he shall take it, and
the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed
over the running water: (7) And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be
cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall
let the living bird loose into the open field.
Leviticus 14:4-7
KJV: Highlights concerning the two birds
Two birds alive and
clean / one of the birds to be killed over running water / dip the living bird in the blood of the bird
that was killed over the running water / let the living bird loose into the
open field.
The live bird is dipped into the blood of the sacrificial
bird over water which is the basis of Baptism.
The leper had to be already healed and the ceremony was priestly
recognition proclaiming the leper had been healed. Likewise Baptism is a public testimony the repented
sinner is now a Christian justified by faith in Christ. The two birds are a symbolic type of Passover
and Tabernacles. Jesus was sacrificed or
crucified on Passover and thus fulfilled the work of the 1st
advent. Fifty days after His
resurrection He sent the Holy Spirit as a partial fulfillment of Pentecost. The Pentecost event and the receiving of the
Holy Spirit today is not receiving the fullness the Holy Spirit or the complete
filling as some claim today. It is only
a partial filling, an earnest, or a down payment.
The complete finished work of Christ is in two stages or
junctures with the two birds as a symbolic type. The first stage involves the death or
sacrifice of the first bird and the death sacrifice of Jesus fulfilled the
first stage or the first sacrificed bird.
The live bird was dipped into the blood of the sacrificed
bird over a bowl of water. The second
appearance of Jesus will represent the live bird with smeared blood or drops of
blood on His robe. Revelation chapter 19
pictures the returned Jesus on a white horse with His robe (or vesture) dipped (the
Greek word bapto defined as baptized)
in blood. This is symbolic of the live
bird set free in the field (world).
Revelation 19:13 KJV And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Isaiah 63:3-4 KJV I have
trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I
will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood
shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. (4)
For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed
is come.
The death, or first work of Christ imputes or credits
eternal life to the believer but at the second work of Christ we will be given
eternal life. The sacrifice of animals
only covered sin as did the sacrificial death of Jesus, but the return of Jesus
will remove sin completely.
The leper was pronounced clean of the eighth day and was anointed
with oil. Recall the parable of the ten
virgins and oil? The
Ten Virgins The pouring of oil on
the healed leper is a type and shadow of the future fulfillment of the eighth
day of Tabernacles, not the partial fulfillment at the Pentecost
event.
The Day of
Atonement and Two Goats
As stated earlier, the second work of Christ is the
removal of all sin. The atonement
ceremony with the appropriate information can be found in Leviticus chapter 16. There is much more to the sacrifices and ceremony
than what is given in the 4 copied verses below, but the current understanding is
the two goats.
Leviticus 16:7-10 KJV And he
shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation. (8) And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;
one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. (9)
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer
him for a sin offering. (10) But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the
scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with
him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
The ceremony of the Day of Atonement involved two
goats. The first goat was to be sacrificed
outside the tent (or temple) and the blood of the sacrifice was to be brought
into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat for the atonement of
the sanctuary as a covering for sin. The
second goat was to remain alive. The
priest was to lay his hands of the head of the goat while imputing all the sins
of the people onto the goat. A different
man was to take the goat and release it into the wilderness (or an uninhabited
area). In this manner the sacrificed
goat covered all sin and the live second goat removed all sin for all people.
The first goat, a shadow and type of Jesus’ death,
covered sin or imputed righteousness in the eyes of God. The second, a type and shadow of the return
of Christ, will forever remove sin and make us completely righteous before God.
When Jesus returns, He will come as the Son of Joseph
with His robe dipped in blood as the King of the Judah linage and will fulfill
the birthright promise as the son of Adam through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The second coming will also fulfill the type
and shadow symbolism of the second live bird released in the field and the type
and shadow symbolism of the second goat carryings the sins of the people into
the uninhabited places.
The first bird and the first goat represent the dominion
(scepter) work of Judah which was to bring forth the Messiah as the suffering
servant and sacrificially dying to cover the sins of the people. The second bird and the second goat is a work
of Joseph (or Ephraim and Manasseh) which would save the world or remove sins
as if they never happened although a complete and total removal will not take
place until the second coming of Jesus Christ when the birthright promise is
fulfilled.
Reversal of Jewish and Christian Eschatology
The nature of the two works of the Messiah in the Bible
is that Jesus would first appear as the suffering servant and claim the
dominion or scepter promise as initially given to Judah and be a sacrificial
sin offering to cover the sins of the believers (or all people if they repent
and believe). This kingship promise was later
given to David by God as an everlasting covenant referred to as the Davidic
Covenant. This covenant was fulfilled by
Jesus at His first advent when He became King of the Kingdom. At His second appearance, Jesus will inherit
and fulfill the birthright promise by bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to the
earthly domain.
It was apparently
inconceivable to the Jewish mindset (then and now) that the Messiah could be a
conquering eternal ruler of the world and at the same time show evidence of
weakness, failure and death. To resolve
this contradiction, the concept of two messiahs was developed by the Jews, with
the names of “Messiah ben Joseph” for the first one who would die and
afterwards, the second would appear called “Messiah ben David.”
Jesus Christ
first appeared as the suffering servant, preaching meekness and the coming of
the Kingdom of God. He was despised by
the majority of Jewish leaders, was put to death by crucifixion, rose from the
dead after three days, and prophesied to
return, as the ruler of the world.
As stated in, “Jewish Expectations of a Messiah” the Jewish
intellectuals do not promote a messiah on an installment plan. If Jesus had started the Kingdom of God
immediately after His resurrection and drove out the Romans, He may have been
immediately accepted by the religious leaders.
According to Talmudic writings, after 2000 years, the Jews are
attempting to be their own messiah and establish their own dominion with a one-world-system
and total control. Jesus first appearance
was to inherit the dominion or kingship of the Kingdom of God as promised
through Judah, die as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world, and
establish a basis of salvation and righteousness.
It is my
understanding that medieval Jewish eschatology has named (or invented) a person
called Armilus (or Armilius), with a description that is comparable to the
Christian antichrist. Armilus will,
according to legend, apparently kill Messiah ben Joseph who is the first
appearance of the Jewish messiah. Ben
Joseph will then be replaced by Messiah ben David, or to explain it another way,
ben Joseph will be supposedly resurrected and become ben David. This, of course, is the opposite
understanding of the New Testament scriptures (with the added Jewish feature of
an Armilus type of antichrist).
For more
information concerning Messianic Jewish eschatology, go to the following
link:
The
Life & Times of the Antichrist - Part 3
