Coming Up
Out of the Grave
By Pastor F. M. Riley
March 13, 2021
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;
And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:
Which are a shadown 0f things to come; but the body is of Christ,” Colossians 2:14-17.
INTRODUCTION
Is there a type (shadow) of the resurrection in the Old Testament, when Israel and all of mankind were living in and under the Dispensation of Law? Only One! Read on…….
THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL
Read Exodus 14. The people of ancient Israel had fled from Egypt three days and three nights previously. They were standing on the beach on the Western shore of the Red Sea. High rock mountains were to both sides of them on the North and South. The wicked Egyptian army was pursuing them from behind, and wasn’t far from overtaking them. The Red Sea was directly in front of them.They were trapped! They had no place to flee to. In order to escape certain death.
Then they began to murmur against Moses, their God appointed leader. It is not recorded that Moses knew in advance what God was going to do, yet he had an unshakeable FAITH in the Lord God. Moses answered the people by saying,
“…Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever,” Exodus 14:13.
Putting this statement into today’s vernacular, Moses bluntly told those who were murmuring,
“SHUT UP! STAND SILENT, AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD WHICH HE WILL SHEW TO YOU TODAY…..”
Dear readers, when we who are true believers are confronted with situations which we just cannot, or do not, know how to handle, getting angry and murmuring against God, is not the solution to your problem. If you really are a true believer, just SHUT UP your murmuring and anger, and trust the Lord. He is an ever present help for His people in time of need, Psalm 46:1.
From the human viewpoint, the situation Israel was in, meant certain DEATH for the Israelites. So what do we do with a dead body?
We BURY it! And that is what God did with the Israelites.
God instructed Moses to lift up his rod and stretch forth his hand over the sea, Exodus 14:16. When Moses obeyed, the sea waters parted and stood up like walls on both sides of the people, Exodus 14:21-22. The sea floor was exposed and made dry enough to support the weight of the people. The sea floor was obviously lower than the surface, so the Israelite people went down to the sea floor as they left the shore.
As the Israelite people, in their circumstances at that time, were staring DEATH in the face, the people obeyed Moses, their God appointed leader at that time, and went down to the sea floor. There the waters were heaped up as walls on both sides of them, and the pillar of cloud was above them. They were BURIED in a watery GRAVE. Yet none of them drowned or died while crossing. Not one of them who had entered that watery GRAVE by faith, were lost. Not one! What the Lord God had created for them was both a GRAVE and a long tunnel in the water, stretching clear across to the Eastern shore of the Red Sea. As they journeyed through the tunnel, they were going towards the LIGHT on the other shore. They all came up out of that tunnel and watery GRAVE, to stand safely on the Eastern shore of the Red Sea.
Does this tell our readers anything about the grace and mercies of the Lord God for those who believe and place their faith in Him? It should! Our God is gracious and full of mercy,
In the resurrection of Christ so many centuries ago, the Lord God assured His believing church and people, that for us, death and the GRAVE is not the end of our existence. Just as ancient Israel, coming up out of their GRAVE in the Red Sea, foreshadowed the bodily resurrection of Christ, so all who have died in the faith will likewise come up out of their GRAVES. And even as Christ was resurrected with a new body, never to die again (Hebrews 10:10), so every true believer, both deceased believers and believers living at the time of the resurrection, will all be “caught up” with a new body. This is part of “the blessed hope,” Titus 2:11-15.
When ancient Israel came up out of the Red Sea, and stood safely on the Eastern shore, they no doubt praised the Lord God for their deliverance. By the GRACE and MERCY of the Lord, they had come forth from the GRAVE, and now had VICTORY over the certain death they were facing. Their watery GRAVE was not their destruction, but only a means of passing safely from one shore to the other. Now read what the inspired Apostle had to say about the VICTORY of ALL true believers in 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. So every true believer is going to gain VICTORY when the resurrection and rapture occurs, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
SO WHEN IS IT GOING TO OCCUR?
Ah ha! That question has been asked by true believers throughout this entire Dispensation of Grace.
The inspired Apostle, in 2 Peter 3:10 plainly stated that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…..” The Lord Jesus Himself verified this truth in both Revelation 3:3 and 16:15. This means suddenly and unexpectedly, exactly as a thief fulfills his evil desire to steal what is not his. This is the way the Lord will come upon lost, unbelieving, mankind on the earth. But it is also the way the Lord will come upon true believers who are disobeying His command to “Watch,” Mark 13:35-37.
These Scriptures do not teach nor mean that the Lord is a thief! Not at all! If readers haven’t figured it out yet, Satan is the god of this present evil world, 2 Corinthians 4:4. Read this Scripture and believe what it says. Satan, through the centuries has attacked world leaders again and again, until today he is controlling the whole lost, unbelieving world. But the prize Satan really wants is to capture and destroy the Lord’s church and people. If he could do this, he would be in control of every human on the earth.
Our gracious Lord knows what Satan wants to do, and the Lord is coming “as a thief” to take what is rightfully His out of this filtly, sin cursed, world; His own blood bought Church and believing people. Acts 20:28. Glory to God!
When speaking of Christ coming “as a thief” upon the unbelieving world, the inspired Apostle went right on to tell the Lord’s blood bought church,
“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness,” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5.
How much plainer could it be stated; that the Lord’s church is not in darkness as to the coming of the day of the Lord? Does the reader believe all of God’s Word, or do you just pick out the Scriptures you want to believe and ignore the rest? Well…??
Now let’s go back to Israel being delivered from their GRAVE in the Red Sea…. What day did that happen? It happened on THE THIRD DAY after Passover; three days after they had sacrificed their lambs on the 14th day of Abib (Nisan). They came up out of their watery GRAVE just as the 17th of Abib was ending, and the 18th day of Abib was beginning; the THIRD DAY after Passover.
The deliverance of the Israelites typified (foreshadowed) the resurrection of Christ. So what day did Christ arise from the GRAVE? He arose exactly three days and three nights after He had been crucified on Passover. And He arose exactly as the 17th day of Abib (the Jewish Sabbath) was ending, and the 18th day of Abib was ending, Matthew 28:1.
These two historical events were separated by more than a thousand years, yet they both occurred on exactly the same days of the same month. Is the Lord trying to tell us something? If He is, are our readers listening?
Strangely enough, the days on the Jewish calendar THIS MONTH fall exactly as they did the year and month our LORD was crucified and arose three days and three nights later after Passover. Is this a “God thing,” or is it just “coincidence? Be careful! Matthew 12:36 is still in the Bible!
From all the “signs” the Lord gave, telling His church and believing people to “Watch,” I am personally convinced the Lord is coming for us this year and this month three days after Passover. Passovr this year falls on March 27th. That date is Abib 14 on the Jewish calendar. Three days later is MARCH 30TH, Abib 17, the same day ancient Israel came up out of the Red Sea, and the same day the Lord was resurrected from the dead.
As I write…..IT IS ONLY 17 DAYS UNTIL MARCH 30TH.
DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS!
<<<<<<< O >>>>>>>