Following are some understandings of various Scriptures that I have come across in my studies, but which I have not included in any writings. I have heard none of these Scriptures expounded in this way from any pulpit, so I assume that most saints are unfamiliar with them in the way they will be presented. I share these understandings in order to encourage saints to “think outside the box” of current orthodoxy, and to allow the Spirit of God to illumine their spirits to the great wealth and richness of understanding that is to be found in the inspired word of God.
Perhaps a certain Scriptural insight here will trigger those who read to make connections they had never seen before, resulting in something much greater than what is portrayed here.
I do not want to give the impression that these thoughts are all original. These are things I have come across in my studies, and I have simply given my own expression to them and in some ways I have expanded upon them. Only the last item comes solely from my own experience. May you be blessed as you are stirred to greater explorations of the unfathomable riches of Yahweh.
The Limit of Man’s Life
Genesis 2:17
“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
I have often heard this verse preached upon, and the most common understanding I have heard is that Adam died spiritually on the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit. Paul confirms in the book of Romans that death did enter into the world through the transgression of the one man Adam. Other Scriptures reveal that man must be born again, and that this birth is a spiritual birth, for we are told “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So the common sense in which this verse is taught is not objected to, yet there are often many shades of meaning to a single verse, and various manifestations.
Much has been written of a day representing varying prophetic periods of time. In some of the prophets a day was equated to one year, such as when Ezekiel lay on his side for one day for each year of Israel’s and Judah’s transgressions. It also commonly represents a thousand years, as we see in the following Scripture.
Psalms 90:4
For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by,
II Peter 3:8
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
Having this understanding, let us apply this to the verse in Genesis, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” In one sense we could say that God is telling Adam, who knew no death and was immortal at this time, that should he transgress the command of God by eating that which was forbidden, in that day (1,000 year day) he would surely die. Do the Scriptures support this understanding?
Genesis 5:5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Genesis 5:8
And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
Genesis 5:11
And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
Genesis 5:14
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
Genesis 5:17
And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
Genesis 5:20
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Genesis 5:27
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Genesis 5:31
And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
Of all the men listed in Genesis, none lived past 1,000 years. Methuselah being the oldest recorded man at the time of his death lived to an age of 969 years, thus he fell short of a full prophetic day by 31 years. In this we can see that God set the limit of man’s life to one prophetic day, and no man exceeded it, for God said, “in that day you will surely die.” All surely died. Later we see God reducing this allotted lifespan even further due to the wickedness of man.
Genesis 6:3
And Yahweh said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
As mankind became more and more leavened with sin, God responded by reducing their lifespan. We see that in the Millennial Age to come that this will be reversed, for although sin will still exist, it will be greatly reduced and the curse will be removed to a greater extent.
Isaiah 65:20
“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.”
If a youth during the Millennial Age dies at a hundred, how long might the mature and aged live? Men might once more reach pre-flood ages.
Christ’s Death at the Hands of the Jews Foretold
Matthew 27:25
And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
I do not know why I have never heard the following passage proclaimed in this way in any church. The depiction of the suffering Savior is so very graphic and remarkable. This Scripture also has a connection to the prophetic time period of one thousand years equaling a day.
Exodus 12:3-6
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household… You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.”
A lamb was selected for Passover on the tenth day of the first month. On the fourteenth day the lamb was to be slain. There elapses four days between the selection of the lamb and the slaying. Christ is our Passover Lamb, and He was chosen before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8, according to one reading understanding of this verse in Revelation). We see clearly that it was God’s plan to sacrifice His Son from the first day of man, for Abel brought a pleasing sacrifice unto God of the firstlings of his flock. In Hebrews we are told that “by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice.” We understand by this that Abel knew that God would receive a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and he looked forward in faith to the time of Christ. We are also told that,
Genesis 3:21
Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
We are not actually told what kind of animal God chose to cover the nakedness of Adam and his wife, but it is quite possible that it was a lamb for this is in keeping with the typology of Christ.
Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Yahshua Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Galatians 3:27
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
It is quite possible that God clothed Adam and Eve with garments made of a lamb as a future type of man being clothed in Christ to hide the shame of our nakedness. It is certain that Yahshua was chosen from the first day of creation to be the Passover Lamb, but it would not be until the end of four more days when He would be slain. Yahshua’s ministry was at the end of 4,000 years of man’s existence, and how fittingly the words of Scripture apply:
You shall keep [the Passover lamb] until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
This was fulfilled when the whole congregation cried out, “His blood shall be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). It is interesting how these things have been in the Scriptures for many long centuries, yet they lay undiscerned by those who were entrusted with the words of God. Even the disciples had to have these things explained to them.
Luke 24:25-27
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
I would not be surprised to learn that this Scripture from Moses was one of those which Christ explained to these disciples on the road to Emmaus.
The Three Pentecosts
Joel 2:28-31
“It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes.
Yesterday morning I was asking the Father to reveal the outworking of His plan for this present time to me that I might have understanding and that I might know when we would see the fulness of Christ’s words “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I was desiring to know when the Millennial Kingdom might begin that I might labor in anticipation of it. Confusion does not make for solid labor, and with so many saying the third day has already begun, and others anticipating the appearing of the Lord at any moment, the work and labor of the saints has been confused and haphazard.
Immediately after praying I picked up an old book that a brother had brought over to share with me. The book has no copyright notice in it, and consequently no date, but it appears to be at least fifty years old, and perhaps older. The book is called “The Bridehood Saints” and it is written by George D. Watson, D.D.. I picked up the book and began where I had left off on page 80. The next chapter (chapter 8 – 8 being the number of new beginnings) was titled “The Fulness of Pentecost,” and this man brought forth insight I had never seen before. I will quote.
- The History of Pentecost
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all together with one accord in one place.”
There are to be three great Pentecosts in the history of the world. The first was at the beginning of the Jewish Age, the second was at the beginning of the Church Age, and the third will be at the beginning of the Kingdom Age, or Millennium. The Scriptures tell us of three dark days, days of supernatural darkness, that are to mark the history of the world, and these dark days are days of judgment, and are connected with Pentecost, as they form the prelude to Pentecost. The first was the dark day in the land of Egypt, described in Exodus 21:23. That was the close of the tribulation judgment sent on Egypt, and in that darkness the firstborn of the Egyptians died, and the Passover lamb was slain.
The second supernatural dark day was when Christ died on the cross; described in the Gospels, and that darkness was God’s judgment on the sin of the world, which was put upon the Lord Yahshua, and He bore in His body the judgment of the world’s guilt as well as natural depravity. In that darkness God’s Firstborn died, the Just for the unjust.
The third dark day will be at the close of the great tribulation judgment, and just before the opening of the millennial reign of Christ.
Our Lord says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). Now it will be in this last day of supernatural darkness that the antichrist is to be taken, and cast into the Lake of Fire, for we see in Revelation 19:17-21 that the very last event of the great tribulation judgment, and the one that precedes the opening of the Millennium, is that the beast, that is, the antichrist, was taken, and with him the false prophet, and they were cast into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. Now it is wonderful to compare these three dark days, and also to note that in the first dark day man’s firstborn was slain; in the second dark day God’s Firstborn was crucified; and in the third dark day the devil’s firstborn, the antichrist, goes down into the Lake of Fire…
There is another set of threes in the history of Pentecost in this – there were three outpourings from God. At the first Pentecost there was the outpouring of divine truth in the form of the Ten Commandments…
At the Pentecost in Mount Zion the Holy Spirit was poured out, and He wrote the law of God in hearts of perfect believers, and filled them with divine grace, enabling them to obey the law in the spirit of perfect love, so that the same law which was written on tablets of stone at the first Pentecost, was at the second Pentecost written on the tables of believers’ hearts, and this is what Paul refers to when he says, “What the Law could not do, through the weakness of the flesh, God sent His own Son, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4).
At the third Pentecost, at the opening of the Millennial Age, there will be another great divine outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and then the law of God will not only be written in the hearts of believers, but, according to St. Paul in Romans 8, it will be written in all nature, and the lower creation, which is now subject to bondage, shall be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and, according to Isaiah, the lower animals will not be hurt, and there will be nothing injurious in all of creation, for “the glory of God shall fill the earth as the waters fill the sea.”
All this is expressly taught in Joel 2:28-32. The prophecy in Joel of Pentecost was only partially fulfilled in Jerusalem, for you will notice that he speaks of an outpouring of the Spirit in connection with showing wonders in the heavens and in the earth, “blood and fire and pillars of smoke, when the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, in the terrible day of the lord,” showing that at the close of that last dark day in the Judgment time, there is to be a great outpouring of the glory of God on all flesh, and at the same time the curses shall be taken away from the lower orders of creation. When we thus trace out the great plan of God running through different ages, we see a vastness in the Pentecost as it refers to the Jewish Age, and then the Church Age, and then the Millennial Age, which thrills our hearts with admiration and praise at the wisdom and goodness of God.
This writing struck me with an added impact since I had just been praying about the timing of God’s plan and asking for understanding. In reading this I came to see that each of the great ages of God working with an elect people has begun with Pentecost. The giving of the Law was at Pentecost, and the sending forth of the Spirit was at Pentecost as well. Each of these times was preceded by a time of supernatural darkness. In Exodus 10 the darkness lasted for three days (though the above author correlates the night when the death angel went throughout Egypt as this dark period). In the Gospels of Christ, during the crucifixion the darkness lasted for three hours, and preceding the Millennial reign the sun shall once again be turned into darkness.
Each of these periods was also preceded by tribulation. The time of the plagues of Egypt was a time of great trouble, culminating in the freeing of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. It is written of this time:
Exodus 11:6
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
The time of Christ’s passion was a time when the Son of God was greatly troubled, resulting in the freeing of mankind from the bondage of sin. Yahshua declared, “Now my soul is troubled,” and we read:
Luke 22:44
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
A third great tribulation is coming, and it will result in a further freeing of the creation from the bondage in which it has been held.
Romans 8:20-21
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
What a magnificent pattern is seen in these things. Those who are proclaiming that we have entered the third day need consider these matters, for the third day of the Millennial reign of Christ will only occur after the great tribulation, the sun being darkened, and a subsequent work of the Spirit to break asunder the bonds in which the creation has been held. These things have not yet occurred.
The Unpardonable Sin
Matthew 12:24-32
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” And knowing their thoughts Yahshua said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
This entire discourse began with the Pharisees accusing Yahshua of casting out demons by Satan (Beelzebul – the lord of the flies). We know that Yahshua was casting out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, for His ministry began after the Spirit came upon Him at His baptism in the river Jordan. Yahshua’s life was one guided by and empowered by the Spirit. The Pharisees were attributing the work of the Spirit through Yahshua to Satan.
This is the sin Yahshua says is so grievous. To say that the works of the Spirit are works of Satan is blasphemy against the Spirit. The word for blasphemy in the Greek comes from a root word that means “to vilify.” To vilify means to declare something as evil or wicked. The Pharisees were painting the work of the Holy Spirit as an act of wickedness, and Yahshua responded by declaring that, although they would be forgiven for calling Him an evildoer, they would not be forgiven in this age or the next for calling the works of the Spirit evil acts originating from Satan.
When Christ was on the cross, He was being falsely accused by all of the people as an evildoer. They accused Him of blasphemy and of violating the Law of Moses. Yet on the cross Yahshua said, “Father forgive them. They do not know what they do.” In this we see that any sin against His own person would be forgiven, yet blasphemy against the works of the Spirit would not.
When we say that this particular sin will not be forgiven, we do not mean to imply that such a person cannot be saved. Paul was a member of this same group of Pharisees, and we know that he agreed with the Pharisees that Christ was an evildoer. As Saul, he went around seeking to imprison and punish all who called on the name of Yahshua. I have no doubt that Paul also spoke against the works Christ had done, saying they were works of the devil. Yet we know that Paul was saved, however, he described himself as “the chief of sinners.” Paul’s blasphemy against the Spirit did not lead to his eternal damnation, as many churches teach that committing this sin will. Yet blaspheming the Spirit will always have consequences in our lives.
The Spirit has given me personal revelation in this matter. About 40 years ago, through a sovereign work of God, I came into contact with a man who was the grandson of G. Campbell Morgan. G. Campbell Morgan was a theologian who was highly regarded back around the turn of the past century. He lived in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This grandson of G. Campbell Morgan contacted me to build a model ship that had been handed down to him from a previous generation. After I had built the model and presented it to him, he asked me to come to his house so that he could treat me to dinner. I was about 20 years old at this time, and this man was probably around 40. As soon as I arrived at his house it became very apparent to me that this man was a homosexual, and that he had other thoughts on his mind than just treating me to dinner. He would have been pleased for a relationship to have started that night, but I would have none of it.
As this man was cooking dinner I looked around his living room and I noticed on a bookshelf that he had the complete works of G. Campbell Morgan, and these works were very extensive. I could not understand why this man, who was evidently very immoral, should have a copy of these theological writings in his house. When I asked him about these books, he told me that G. Campbell Morgan was his grandfather. This fact sat in my mind until I read some things about G. Campbell Morgan some years later.
G. Campbell Morgan lived during the time of the Azusa Street Revival, and he visited the revival that was occurring at the time. As in the current revivals that one hears about in Toronto, Canada and in Brownsville, Florida, and other locations, there were peculiar signs associated with it. Undoubtedly, there was also flesh involved as there is today, yet much of what was occurring was a genuine move of the Holy Spirit. After visiting the Azusa Street Revival, Morgan gave an interview where he said that the revival was merely “the last vomit of Satan.” Morgan was repulsed at the signs he was seeing. He was a very scholarly man and had no patience with things he did not understand. His words constituted blasphemy against the work that the Spirit was doing.
When I read what Morgan had said, the Spirit quickened to me my encounter with his grandson. I saw why Morgan’s offspring, just two generations removed had degenerated into homosexuality. Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven in this age. It will bear results.
Later, the Spirit gave me an example that served to reinforce what He had taught me. I read about the life of Jonathan Edwards who was a theologian and minister who lived about a hundred years before Morgan. During Edwards’ time another revival swept America, particularly New England, which we refer to today as “The Great Awakening.” It was during this revival that the groups “The Shakers” and “The Quakers” first began. These groups got there name because of the manifestations that accompanied this revival. Some people would shake violently, and others would undergo a quaking experience. There were many ministers and saints who were offended due to these manifestations, and some called them works of the flesh and the devil. However, Jonathan Edwards wrote a lengthy treatise where he defended such manifestations, and he cautioned others to not attribute these things to the devil lest they should offend the Spirit of God.
About this time I read another thing about Jonathan Edwards. The following excerpt speaks of two men who lived at the same time, one being godly, and the other ungodly. It speaks of their descendants and how godliness can leave a godly heritage.
I quote from Al Sanders in Crisis in Morality!
“Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from the union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars.
“But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a single penny. ‘The memory of the just is blessed’ (Prov. 10:7).”
With this information in hand, the Father showed me the danger of calling those things that are works of the Spirit, works of Satan. G. Campbell Morgan transgressed in this area and in two short generations he had homosexuals among his descendants. Jonathan Edwards refused to enter into the same error, and he had a wealth of godly offspring. Again, I would state that this sin does not necessarily lead to a lost state, nor does it imply eternal torment. It simply means that there will be consequences to those who transgress in this area. It is a serious matter to speak evil of a work of God’s Spirit.
II hope these words will minister to you in some way. If a person has transgressed in this manner, then they should repent and make confession of their error. Beyond this, it would be wrong for the person to then continue in fear of the consequences of their action. Satan would like to debilitate people with doubts and fears about what they have done in the past. But we should always keep the words of Scripture in mind:
I John 1:8-9
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have all sinned. There was formerly a time when we all denied Christ, for He died for us when we were yet His enemies (Romans 5). If we confess our sin, He will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The ultimate sin is a failure to repent. When one understands the Scriptures correctly they will discern that there is no sin that will not ultimately be forgiven for “all things whether in heaven, or on earth will be reconciled to God through the cross of Christ.”
Thank you for the interesting article, brother. I do have one question about the “violent shaking” being a manifestation of the holy spirit. For years, I have seen believers assure me of various “uncontrollable” movements being a sign of being under the influence of the Spirit. But if one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control, why would this same Spirit manifest as a lack of self control? I have been baptized in the Spirit myself, but the whole experience, ecstatic as it was, was orderly, and manifested the actual given fruit of the Spirit. Nor can I find any scriptural precedent for anyone become uncontrolled when they fell under the influence of the Spirit. Not only that, but many in these meetings appear to fall backwards, a sign of judgment in the scriptures, rather than forwards, a sign of worship.
To summarize, if the Spirit may act in ways counter to the way it’s fruit it is described, how are we to discern anything? If the Spirit of self control may act in an uncontrolled manner (such as the shaking violently described above), could not people also argue that other manifestations counter to the scriptural fruit are also from the Holy Spirit? If someone does not believe a manifestation to be of the Holy Spirit because it runs against the described fruit of the Spirit in the scriptures, would it not be harsh to curse that person’s descendants when they were testing the spirits according to the scriptural standard?