Salvation, Pt. 1

Wayne Matthews

March 14, 2015

Welcome, everybody, to this seventh-day Sabbath.

Today most religions believe they need to be saved. Most of them believe they have already been saved. But they do not understand what it really means to be saved. Today, as we prepare for the Passover season, we will start to answer this question: What does it really mean to be saved? What is salvation?

The title of this sermon is Salvation, and this will be Part 1.

The truth is mankind was created needing a Savior. Most of the religions of the world (particularly in the western world), like Catholics and Protestants, believe and know they need saving. Now, the majority of them believe that they are saved once they are (so-called) "born again." So they don't see an ongoing need for salvation. They don't understand what salvation is because they just simply think that once they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, it's once, it's done, and therefore, they are "saved." But the reality is different.

Mankind was created under the penalty of sin, the death penalty: "The wages of sin is death." Now, that's something they don't understand. They don't actually understand death. They don't understand sin, and they particularly don't understand that they sin, and therefore, they fall under the penalty of sin every single day, and therefore, they have to pay that penalty. Now, they think they are saved once, and therefore, "once for all," as it says in scripture. That's the way they interpret that particular scripture.

God did predetermine that He would provide a way for mankind's sin to be covered, to be forgiven. It is this covering of sin which enables salvation to be gifted to an individual. This salvation must be based on an individual's personal repentance and the acceptance of God's sacrifice for sin. Jesus Christ was that sacrifice for sin. Now, the Protestant world and the Catholics believe that this "sacrifice for sin," the death of Jesus Christ, was virtually given, and once they simply accept it personally, that's it, they don't actually have to do any changing or overcoming of self. They don't understand it.

But God has provided great evidence in His word that He is our Savior, that God is the One that saves, and it is God that is the One that has established salvation and this course of saving. Now, we understand also that Jesus Christ, the word "Jesus" means "Jehovah is Salvation." Now, we can learn about salvation from God's word, and in particular as He set out to save Israel out of captivity, as He does now, He saves mankind. There's a path of salvation. But there is a process that needs to be followed. So we're going to learn and come to see that salvation is about a calling. We have to be called to be saved. And then it's about an ongoing process of repentance. And it's not just accepting Jesus Christ as our Passover sacrifice once; this is an ongoing process. So God has enabled a process of salvation for mankind.

Now, the reality is that God desires that all men be saved, but it is about a time order and it is about following the instructions of God, and one of those is coming to understand God's plan of salvation, which is outlined in the Holy Days. So God has set up a plan of how mankind could be saved. And this "being saved" is about a transformation from physical to spiritual, to be saved from what we are, from carnal to God's thinking, from physical to spiritual. So this is the process of salvation.

So we're going to start in Exodus 1:1. Some of the points that come out of this, going through this process (as we turn to Exodus 1:1), is the very fact that this physical points to the spiritual. And God has planned out everything because God is the One that saves. Yahweh is salvation. God is salvation, because it can only come through God because of His great plan. Now, He established Jesus Christ – we understand that – but it is all done by the power of God. Verse 1—Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob. And we understand that Joseph was already in Egypt at that time. We see Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Verse 5—All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was already in Egypt). And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. So there's nobody here now that is from that first lot of people that came into Egypt. And the generations that followed, well, they had also died, therefore, memories changed and people forget the past and don't hang on to the remembrance of things in the past – particularly what happened with Joseph and the descendents of Israel. But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, which is in number. So they have their strength because of the numbers they have. It's not that they were military strong or they were strong; it's just simply they grew in numbers. So there are a lot of them ...and the land was filled with them. So at this point there's probably over 4 million people.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. So here we have, now, a new king, a Pharaoh, who now has come and ruling Egypt and he doesn't know what actually happened with the previous Pharaohs and Joseph and the descendants here. All he can see is the fact that there are many of the children of Israel that are now growing in his land. And he said to his people, Look, the children of Israel are more and mightier than we, so there are more of them in number.

Verse 10—come, let us deal wisely with them – so they need to have a plan here because they could see they're going to be outnumbered – lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land. Now, there are a few things here with regards to fear. The first fear was that they were going to be overrun by them; there's far too many. And if Egypt did enter into a war, what would happen if Israel decided to side with their enemies? And if they conquered Egypt, well, what would they do? They would actually leave the land. They would go out and establish their own country.

Verse 11—Therefore, they set taskmasters over them to afflict them, which is to oppress them, to force them to work. So we understand that this "forcing to work," this oppression had a great affect on the Israelites. So they afflicted them with their burdens. They made them work harder. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. So this really is talking about slave labor, because they were forced. The more they afflicted, the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. So there's this fear, but there's also this loathing. They hated them! They didn't like them. Well, we can take out from this physical aspect, which is "trials come on God's people." So the spiritual trials will cause us to grow. We can grow in faith because we can be afflicted in this world (and we are afflicted in this world). We are oppressed by "Egypt," by "Pharaoh," when we understand that Pharaoh is symbolic of Satan or points to Satan on a spiritual level, and we understand that Egypt is the captivity that people can be held in within their thinking. So we can be held captive, we can be oppressed (and we are oppressed by Satan and His demons), but in all of that we still can grow. Just like the children of Israel on a physical level grew and continued to multiply, well, we, brethren, can do the same. We can grow spiritually from the oppression. It makes us stronger.

People will say that the best way to grow muscles is by resistance, so when we have to resist something. So "weights" is called "resistance," or "lifting." So when we go to weights and we lift those weights the muscle has to work harder. Well, this is the same as on a spiritual level, that when we are oppressed we have to "lift," we have to exercise our minds. By the power of God's holy spirit we can "see" where we are in life. We can see sin. We can see our thinking, whether it's in line with God's word or it isn't. Well, it's from that, from this exercising, from this testing and the trial that is given to us by our decisions in life, well, this is the testing that happens within our minds. Well, powered by God's holy spirit we see what we should do and what we shouldn't do, and therefore, we can grow spiritually by making right choices.

So spiritual growth comes from physical trials because we are put in positions where we need to make decisions based on God's word, not using our own thinking, but turning to God's word and using God's word as our guide.

Verse 13—So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor, which is "with harshness." So this aspect: They are in Egypt and they're having to be forced to work. This is "work harder, work harder." Well, God uses this system we are in now (spiritual Egypt in the sense of the oppression that is placed on God's people) and we are forced in many ways to live in this world because we have to, because that's God's desire, that we live in the world but not of the world. And we have to work out what is right and wrong based on God's word while living in this system. And as we live life in this system we soon come to see that we don't fit and that we don't want anything to do with this world. But people have to earn an income and we have to live in this society. We have to have relationships with people in this society, within "Egypt." Now, they are held captive in their thinking and they are part of the Egyptian system, the Babylonian system that exists today. Well, we have to interact with them and they can oppress us, and they can make our life hard. Well, we have to stand in the truth. We have to stand with God, with God living and dwelling in us so that we can work out what is right and wrong based on God's word, not using our own strength.

Verse 14—And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. So life was not easy for them and they were being controlled and they were being forced to make a quantity of bricks, "and in all manner of service within the field," with everything they did out there as far as the growing and looking after animals. Everything they did, well, it was hard. Now, the main thing was, of course, in this "in mortar, and in bricks." All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. In other words, they were slaves and it was in hardness. There's no mercy being shown here; it's forced them. You make them tired and this will stop them breeding, basically. So this rigor turned them into slaves. They were being controlled by Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, to whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, When you go and do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So here they are, really this is quite a fearful thing, because for them (the midwives) to actually disobey the king (Pharaoh) was a dangerous thing because they'll actually lose their head if they disobeyed and if it was found out they were willingly in choosing to disobey. Here we see there is a need "to fear God is to hate evil." This aspect of what they did would have been to do with human emotion, but here God is also establishing something for His plan for salvation, because this is "the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them." So here it is, brethren, we have this same opportunity. We are to fear God. We are to fear God and not do as the king of Egypt, what Satan inspires to be done.

Verse 18—So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive? Now, this aspect is that God would have inspired this because of His great plan of salvation. It is God that saves and it is God that delivers. And how's it done? Through the fear of God, because as we fear God we learn to hate evil. Now, the midwives here are in this process, or this plan of salvation that God has; the midwives are fearing God and they are not following what the Pharaoh had commanded.

Now, this is us, brethren. We have to now learn to fear God. We have to learn not to follow the ways of Satan and this world. We're to come out of this world's system, out of Babylon, out of the Egyptian system, this way of thinking, and then we then become on a path of salvation. Because it's God that is going to deliver us by our choices. God will inspire us to "see" what sin is, but it still requires a choice in our thinking. And God has provided a plan of salvation for us.

And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and gave birth before the midwives come to them. Now this, of course, is not necessarily a hundred percent true, but this is what they're saying to Pharaoh.

Verse 20—Therefore, God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty (in numbers). And it was so, because the midwives feared God, and we understand to fear God is to actually obey God and to hate evil, because they wouldn't have wanted to be involved in killing children. They're midwives. They're there to help and support. And the last thing they'd want to be doing was killing children. ...that He provided households for them. So it is that here God has intervened, and because of the obedience of the midwives, because they feared God, they obeyed God, they chose to obey God rather than man, rather than Pharaoh, rather than the king, that God provided them households. So God here provides for those that obey. He gave them families, in other words. So it is God that provides all things. God is almighty and all-powerful and it's only God that saves. So by providing them a family of their own, they are blessed – blessings for obedience.

Verse 22—So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son who is born you shall cast him into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive. Now this, of course, is to do with power and strength as far as a military might, because the men were the ones that were going to be fighting, the men were the ones that would rise up against Egypt, against Pharaoh, and he saw it as, "Well, get rid of all the male child, therefore, there would be no army, therefore, they won't be strong as far as a military might. And if there is an invasion of any type and an enemy comes, well, there's no men to join the army, to turn against the people."

Exodus 2:1—And a man of the household of Levi (the house of Levi) went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.

Verse 2—So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. So here we see that Moses has been born and now his mother has hid him for three months. He's born as a male child. Now, if she was following the instructions of Pharaoh, she should have thrown him into the river and drowned him. But she hasn't. She's hidden him for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, so she's made it so it's waterproof and it can float, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. So it's interesting here, because when you look at the movies you can see that sometimes they've shown these films about Moses, well, the mother does this and she puts him in the river and you see him floating down the river. Well, that's not true. Because here it says, "put the child in it," into this ark which is built of this bulrush, which is like a reed, and she has "daubed it with asphalt and pitch," so it's fully waterproof. It's not going to leak; it's not going to get wet. It would float. "...and put the child in it and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank." So here it is, it's dormant. It's not just floating down the river at all; it's actually in the reeds on the river's bank. So it's right on the edge; it's by the river's bank in the reeds where the bulrushes would have been growing. And his sister (Moses' sister) stood afar off, to know what would be done to him (to Moses).

Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river. And her maidens walked along the rivers side; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, because it's not floating down, it's stuck in the reeds, it's sitting there, it's waterproof, she sent her maid to get it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. Now, God was involved here because it's God with His plan of salvation. And we can learn from this because of the meticulous detail by which God is operating. Because it's God that has inspired this and it's God that has inspired that Moses be seen by Pharaoh's daughter and that Moses ends up in Pharaoh's household, because Moses was going to have to interact with a Pharaoh in the future and he would know the customs and the way that they think. Well, here it is, God, in His plan, the detail of His plan, is preparing this. So God is involved in all of this and God is inspiring certain outcomes that He desires for His plan of salvation. Continuing on in verse 6...So she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrew children. So here it is, Pharaoh's daughter knew what she was dealing with. She knew it was a Hebrew child.

Verse 7—Then his sister (Moses' sister) said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you? Isn't this incredible? Because here it is, Moses' very sister is now giving Pharaoh's daughter a solution. She probably hasn't had time to think it all through yet, but here is a great solution for Pharaoh's daughter.

Verse 8—And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. So the maiden went and called the child's mother. So Moses' mother was going to now look after him. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed him. So now this is God's favor at work. This is God's plan of salvation at work. God is now establishing that Moses has been saved by Pharaoh's daughter, because it's God that saves. It's God that shows favor. And, of course, the outcome is that Moses has been rescued. In other words, he hasn't been killed because God is going to use him to save Israel. It's going to be through Moses that God is going to save Israel. And because of this we now see that Moses is with his mother and there's going to be a certain age where she's going to hand him back to Pharaoh's daughter, but also the fact that he's growing up in some of the aspects of God's way of life through his mother. And the other outcome is she was being paid to do it. She was being paid to do it.

Verse 10—And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, Because I drew him out of the water. So now God is the one that does call us. God is the one that actually draws us out. Because here it is, Pharaoh's daughter has done something physical; she's seen a baby and she's gone out and she said she drew it out to save it. That was the reason of being drawn out. "Because I drew him out of the water," he was called Moses.

Well, for us, brethren, to be saved we have to be drawn out too. God calls us. God draws us out of this worlds system. It's God that saves us. It's God that is saving us. Just like Moses was saved by God and God used Pharaoh's daughter to do it, well, God is saving us and it's done through Jesus Christ. So this calling from God the Father, we are placed in the hands of Jesus Christ, so we're called to be saved, and the vehicle of our salvation is Jesus Christ, the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

So Moses, here, has been called for a purpose. He's been drawn out of the world's system, out of that system. He's been drawn out of the water for a reason. Well, we can look this also from our point of view. We have been drawn out, we have been called for a reason, and that real reason is salvation. We have been called for the purpose of salvation. And God's plan of salvation is outlined in the Holy Days. And of course, the Sabbath is involved in that and so is the Passover sacrifice.

Exodus 14:1. We're going to jump through the plagues and the Passover and the death of the firstborn and we're going now to the crossing of the Red Sea, because we can see this is all about the salvation of Israel and how God did it. And as we go further into the Passover season we will go over some of those scriptures with relation to the Passover service and, of course, the Days of Unleavened Bread and what they mean. But at the moment we're just going to go to the crossing of the Red Sea. God saved physical Israel, which points to the saving of spiritual Israel. And we, brethren, are spiritual Israel.

Exodus 14:1—Now, this is actually on the seventh day of Unleavened Bread. And we understand about Satan being a "type" of Pharaoh, and the children of Israel a "type" of spiritual Israel, those that are called out into the Body of Christ. Verse 1—Now the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. So here they are, they're now coming up and they're actually in a particular area, and of course they are now facing an area where it looks like they're going to be trapped, of course, because of where they're being led. So Pharaoh, which is a "type" of Satan, will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ Now we see that the children of Israel have gone into a particular area and it looks like they have trapped themselves by what they had done. Well, Satan sees that we are "trapped" brethren. He thinks that he is going to get the upper hand on us at some point in time. Now, we understand many things have happened to God's Church and that we, as the children of Israel, many a time has looked trapped, have looked defeated by what God has allowed to happen to God's apostle and to God's prophets at this particular time. The children of Israel, The Church of God—PKG is trapped; in other words, it's got nowhere to go. It's finished. And the theory is, of course, "You cut off the head and the body will die." Well, the "head" is actually Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and there is nothing and no one that is ever going to "cut" Jesus Christ off because of God's great plan of salvation. Because in all of this, everything that is happening now to us, everything that is happening to God's apostle, God's prophets, everything is about a plan of salvation, the salvation of mankind. And at this particular time it just happens that we have been called out of this world, we have been called out of Egypt, we have been called out of Babylon, the Babylon of this world, the confusion of this world because we are on the path of salvation. We are being saved. And just as God saved Moses for a job (role), God will use the two witnesses to fulfill His plan of salvation. And this plan of salvation is going to be drawn now and given over to more people than just the Church that it is now, the small body that we are, because God's plan is a mighty plan and it is about the saving of mankind. Now, we are in a particular time period where we're heading into the beginning of a process where God will begin to reveal Himself to mankind. Why? For the purpose of salvation, because as we go into the Millennium, the Millennium and the Hundred-years is about salvation, the saving of mankind. And as we know, it's all done through Jesus Christ.

So here we see that Pharaoh believes that the children of Israel are now trapped, just like Satan would believe we are trapped. He has believed many of times that (I think), he has conquered the Church, that he has defeated God. But of course he can't defeat God and he never will. So God is now telling Moses that Pharaoh will think this, that the children of Israel are defeated.

Verse 4—Then I (God) will harden Pharaoh's heart, he will set his mind firmly on a particular way because that is natural for Pharaoh, the way he was, the way he thought, that God would just allow him to use his natural carnal mind for this way of thinking, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh. Now, God has gained honor already over Satan, but there is more to come, because the gaining of honor over Satan is going to take place at the return of Jesus Christ, and not allowed to have influence on mankind for 1,100 years. So God is going to gain honor over Satan at a particular time. And of course, there is another time where it will be brought to an end. ...and over all his army, which is referring to the demons, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. So here we see that in the Millennium we will see that God will provide His spirit to everybody, and then they will "see." They will then see what Satan and his demons have done during the last 6,000 years of mankind. Because it's only through the power of God's holy spirit that a person can see what Satan and the demons are doing, or in the future, what they have done.

Verse 5—Now it will be told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, Why have we done this, "Why have we let them go,” that we have let Israel go from serving us? Because this is about bondage. This is about captivity. This is about being held for service. Now, Satan is the same, where he has held us and held people in their thinking. And the moment a person is called we are no longer under bondage. We are no longer in service to Satan's system and Satan's way of thinking. We're now being brought out of that bondage. So we're being brought out of that captivity on a spiritual level. Well, on a physical level they're now walking down to the area that God had led them to, and now they're going to become fearful because of where they are in their position in life, because of they see themselves as being trapped.

So he made ready his chariots and took his people with him. So here we see Pharaoh now getting his army together and pursuing Israel, physical Israel. Well, similarly, Satan and his demons have pursued God's people, and it still goes on to this very moment. Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. So here it is, there's 600 and his entire army is now heading after the children of Israel. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. And they're walking out with boldness and with confidence. Well we, brethren, once called, can walk with boldness and confidence. We, as the children of God, the Church of God—PKG, can walk with boldness and with faith because God's word is true. God's word is true and God will do what He has planned to do all along, which is save His people. And His people are? The Church of God. God will save the Church of God from Egypt, from Babylon, from Satan and his demons, because God is almighty and God's plan is to save.

Verse 9—So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. Pharaoh and his army have actually reached them. He's come near that particular area. He hasn't actually caught up to them, but he obviously is very close that he could actually see where they were, that they are actually trapped by the sea.

Verse 10—And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they could actually look back and see all of the dust, or actually see them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Now, this is a normal human nature behavior, which is when we see distress, when we're in distress or we see trouble coming people turn to God for the answer. So this is like a "type" of a prayer. Well, we can learn from this, that we have nothing to fear. But if we are in times of distress, if we do see things coming towards us, what do we have to do? We should turn to God who can save, because it's only God that can save. So the children of Israel here are setting an example that when we come into difficulty in life – I'm not talking about physical difficulties, I'm talking about spiritual difficulties – because when we come into physical difficulties, well, that's just the process of how we can grow in those if we do turn to God. But we should be turning to God all the time on a spiritual level. We should cry out to God in prayer because of spiritual matters, of spiritual fears. And those fears are sin. We should fear to sin. So every time we sin we need to turn to God and cry out to God for forgiveness because God desires to save. God desires to save. He wants to save us. And through repentance (turning to God) we can be saved, because it's only God that can save.

Well, this is now an example of how God saves, because God is all-powerful, God is almighty, and although a person may think they're in such a difficult position even on a spiritual level that they can't be saved, well, God can save. The lesson here is we're not to fear. We should fear to sin, but we're not to fear anything on a physical level, and we should always turn to God for everything in our life. Now, God is more concerned about the spiritual aspect of our thinking, how we think, whether we will be dependent on God's word as our guide, whether we'll turn to God to be saved.

Verse 11—Then they said to Moses, Because there are no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? So this is that attitude that is now being revealed because they're starting to blame someone else. They're in a difficult position on a physical level and the first thing is, we turn around and look out and blame somebody else. We look to blame someone else for the situation. So this is an attitude that can happen easily within us, brethren, that we can start to blame somebody else. Well, this is what's happening; therefore, they're the problem. The other person's the problem rather than looking at ourselves.

Now, as we enter the season of Passover, which involves the very Passover service and the day of Passover (we have to observe the Passover, a memorial because this is the only way to be saved), and we enter the Days of Unleavened Bread, seven days of Unleavened Bread, this is a time to look at ourselves, look at our attitude. Are we blaming others for our physical environment? Are we blaming others for our spiritual environment? Well, this is a time now to examine ourselves to see whether or not we have sin, what is that sin, and are we still living with it? Are we tolerating sin? Are we allowing sin or are we fighting sin? Are we getting into the detail of our life? Are we keeping our minds clean? Are we keeping it and caring for it? Are we guarding it? They are things we are now to look at.

So now we see that the children of Israel are turning around, because they're in a difficult position, and they're blaming someone else. They're blaming Moses. Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? In other words, "Well, you brought us up here! You're the one! You're to blame! You've put us in this position! We're trapped! And now look what's happening! We can see the army! They're coming and we're all going to die."

Verse 12—Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt. This is typical mankind about, "Well, I told you!" "Didn't I tell you this?" "This is exactly what I thought was going to happen, and look, it's actually happening!" And then they said in verse 12...saying, Let us alone, "Don't bother us, leave us as we are," that we may serve the Egyptians? So they're saying here under difficult circumstances, we're better off to stay where we are! We should have stayed in the world, in other words. Anyone of a natural mind is actually in misery. Well, self justifies itself and it does these things for the purpose of saying it's happy the more that it can get. Saying, "Leave us alone! Don't take us out of here! We're actually quite happy in this slavery. We want to stay in the world." Well, spiritually that's what happens when somebody can be called, that they can look back. They can look back. Now, this is the biggest danger of all, is this looking back, to look back to the way it used to be. "Well, I never used to have to pay tithes." Have to pay tithes. "I never used to have to give offerings." "I used to not have to keep the Sabbath." I never had to ask my boss to have time off for particular Holy Days." Well, all of this is that "looking back with regret." Now, that's the issue, looking back with regret. Rather, if we look back, to look back and see how evil we really were, how carnal we really were and regret the things that we did, the sin that was in our life. These people are now looking back desiring to go back. "You should have left us alone. I was happy back there in my slavery, in my misery." Well, it's an attitude that someone can develop within the Church, this looking back. Where the reality is the only reason we would look back would be to summarize the last day to see whether or not we have sinned, or to look back in the last week and summarize why we continue to sin in a particular way or what attitudes we might have, all for the purpose of repenting and looking forward.

Continuing on, verse 12... For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. So, "Leave us alone. Look what you've done! You've brought us out here!" Blame somebody else rather than the free choice that they made to leave. They could have stayed if they really wanted to, but no, they made a choice to leave. Now they're looking back and saying, "Well," basically, "you should have left us alone."

Now, similar to a calling, brethren. When a person is called they have a free choice. And some make the choice to go back. And even after years within God's Church some make the choice to go back, so that they could go back to the world of the Egyptians, to Babylon, to the confusion of this world. The reality is that we have to put our natures to death in this world. The things of the world have to be put to death. The natural carnal mind, the things in it, we have to fight. So we are better off to die because that's what we're doing. We're sacrificing the self. So to be part of the Body of Christ, the Church of God, we are putting to death our nature daily. We are dying. The ways of the world are being put to death within us. Isn't this exciting to come to understand, that yes, we have been called to die – that's what we've been called to do – to put to death the wilderness that is in us, which is the confusion, which is the Babylon, which is the way of the Egyptians, which is the way of Satan. This natural carnal mind is to be put to death, and we're far better off to have been called out of Babylon, out of the ways of Egypt, out of Satan's ways, out of Satan's system so that we can die while we exist within the Body of Christ. Because that's what we're doing. We're putting to death the natural carnal mind of this world, the wilderness that is in us, the natural mind that is in us. The ways of Satan in us are being put to death – that's what we should be doing – all for the purpose of having life, having God live and dwell within us. All based on how we repent and when we repent.

Verse 13—And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. Talking about something on a physical level, that when they would turn and enter into the Red Sea and cross over it, that God would destroy them so that Pharaoh would not be seen again.

So Moses virtually says to the people of Israel, "Well, do not be afraid." Well, let's look at this physically and spiritually. "Do not be afraid." Physically, "Don't be afraid, because you're going to be delivered." They couldn't see at that time, and I'm sure that most of them didn't believe it. Well, for us, "Do not be afraid." We have nothing to fear, brethren, because of the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the gift of repentance. So, "Do not be afraid." Don't be afraid of not being saved! We can be saved from what we are. We can be saved on a spiritual level because we can be saved from physical to changed to spirit. We can be saved by the way that we think, from our natural carnal mind to having God's mind. That's how we actually are saved. Another way to put it would be to be in awe of God. "Don't be afraid! Watch what God is going to do to save you." Well, we can see what God has done to save us, and we can see it through God's plan of salvation.

The next point: "Stand still." Well, the children of Israel are going to stand still and see what God would do to deliver them. Well, we are to stand still, to stand still in the truth, in God's word. Because it's through God's word that we can be saved. We're to stand still within the truth. We're not to vary. We're not to run off. We're not to go and do things outside of what God has already placed in the Church. We're to stand still in the Church of God—PKG powered by God's holy spirit. Stand in the Church. Stand with the children of Israel, the Church of God. Stand with God's people. And we do that. We stand in the truth that God has delivered to the Church. That's what we stand in. We believe God. We believe the truth. And by believing the truth and staying with the Body of Christ, using God's holy spirit, we're standing still and relying on God. We're trusting in God to deliver us. We're not trying to save ourselves by running in a different direction. No, stand still in the truth with what God is going to do. And we're not to be afraid.

And we, the next part, "and see the salvation of the Eternal." Well, brethren, that's what's happening to us. We are in the process of being saved. We are actually not saved at this point, because this is about a lifetime. To be saved is a lifelong experience and it takes time because it's a process. It's a process of changing one set of thinking for another set of thinking, which is powered by God's holy spirit, to think like God.

The salvation is, while we're physical, we're not saved. We can only be saved and say that we are saved when we're changed to spirit. So we will stand still in the truth, in God's Church, and we will see the salvation of the Eternal because this is the only place to see it, which is part of the Church of God. Because where God's spirit is, is where salvation is taking place. I'll repeat that. Where God's spirit is, is where salvation is taking place. So for somebody to leave the Body of Christ, they cannot be saved at this time. They are not on the path of salvation. So to be on the path of salvation, to see the salvation of the Eternal, one has to be a member of the Body of Christ, has to have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in them. So how will they "see the salvation of the Eternal?" Well, it's God's salvation. It's God, the One who is going to deliver.

"...see the deliverance of the Eternal." Well, we, brethren, can see God delivering us from what we are, because we have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us and we "see" the truth. We see the truth. Now, if we see the truth we are on the path of salvation. Well, the Israelites were to stand still, not to be afraid, and they were to see the deliverance that God would give them. And, it says, "Which He (God) will accomplish for you today." Same for us. "Which God will accomplish for us today." If we're part of the Body of Christ, we are on the road of salvation, we're on this path to be saved. And we can see it every day in our life, that while we stay with the Body of Christ, while we stay in the truth, while we stand still we can see God saving individuals.

Now, we also know that 144,000 over 6,000 years have already been saved, because they have been sealed – those that are alive and now remain have been sealed – those that are dead are part of the 144,000 as God has determined. Well, they are saved. They already have salvation. It just hasn't been revealed yet. But they are actually saved.

Continuing on in verse 13..."For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever," because God was going to drown them in the Red Sea by bringing the waters down on them. Well if you look at this as a "type" of Satan, there's going to come a point where those that are spirit beings will no longer see the "Egyptians" (Satan and his demons) forever again no more. They won't exist. Because there's only going to be spirit in God's family, and the angelic realm that are following God and Jesus Christ, the angels that have made the right choice to follow God. And outside of that, there is not going to be anything that is going to be against God. So the "Egyptians," which is Satan and his demons whom we see today, we see their influence today, "you shall see again no more forever." They are going to be destroyed. This world's system is going to be destroyed and Satan and his demons are going to be destroyed.

Verse 14—The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. So they were to stand still because God is the one that is going to fight the battle. God is the one who is going to deliver. God is the one who is going to save them. And they were to "hold their peace." They were to be quiet. They were to just stand still and watch. Well, for us it is God that will fight for us. It is God that fights for us. Now, the way that God has already fought for us is the fact that He's given us a Passover sacrifice, Jesus Christ, for the covering of sin. So God has already provided the sacrifice so that our sin could be forgiven so that we can be saved, because it's only through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Savior that we can be saved.

Now, those in the world that say that they, "accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior," and don't obey His voice, they're not saved. They're not on the path of salvation because they haven't been called to it. They actually are deceived because of Satan's system. But we know, brethren, that God is fighting for us. God is helping us, to strengthen us, by the power of His holy spirit and we're to stand still and we are to watch the deliverance by staying within the Body of Christ, the Church of God. And we are to hold our peace. We are to be quiet. We're not to do anything of and by ourselves. We are to quieten the self. We're to bring the self into control. And that's how we "hold our peace," is that we have to hold our natural carnal mind. We have to discipline it. We have to actually bring it into check, because our natural carnal mind won't hold its peace. It will always have an opinion. It will always be loud, because it's natural to be self, to be selfish. Well, God is saying He will fight for us by the power of God's holy spirit. We'll begin to see the truth. We'll begin to see ourselves. And therefore, we are to learn to control, to manage self.

Verse 15—And the Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel, go forward.  Well, this is the same as the Church, where we are to go forward, brethren, in the truth. We are to follow the lead that Jesus Christ is giving.

Verse 16—But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

Verse 17—And I (God) indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. So it was God that was going to harden the heart of all the Egyptians—not just Pharaoh—all of them so that they would follow their natural carnal mind, which is one of getting even. They wanted to bring the Israelites back to captivity. And this was all done for the purpose of God giving the honor, gaining the "honor over Pharaoh," which is He's going to conquer them.

And why? Verse 18—Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Eternal, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. Well, all of the Egyptians that were left alive in Egypt after the army and Pharaoh had been destroyed, they would come to know that God is almighty, that God is all-powerful and it was God that saved Israel from their captivity, from the hands of the Egyptians. It was God that saves. God is the Savior. God is the one that delivers. And, of course, in the resurrection to come, in the Hundred-years, the Egyptians then will know what happened to them and they will know that it was God that was all-powerful, that was almighty, and that God was magnified because of this event. And they will come to see that.

Verse 19—And the angel of the LORD, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So this is that protection. This is this deliverance, this part of this deliverance. It requires God's intervention. So we can see from this that without God, what would have happened? The Red Sea wouldn't have opened and the children of Israel would not have been saved. Well, it's the same for us, brethren. Without God we cannot be saved. It does require God to move in our life. It requires God to take a position, and that is a choice to call us, a choice to call us to repentance, to be baptized and to receive God's holy spirit...for God to honor that, to give us the eyes to "see," the ears to "hear" so that we can "see" ourselves. Because the most important thing of a calling, really, is about repentance. Because we have to be called to "see" what sin is. Because prior to a calling a person may have a rough knowledge only, knowledge only of what they think sin is. It doesn't mean to say that it is sin. It is what they have worked up in their own mind as what sin might be.

Now, the world today doesn't even consider the word "sin." They'll use the word "sin," but it's a throw-away word, because they say, "Everyone has sinned," or "Somebody is sinning," or "You're a sinner." But they don't actually know what it really means. But to be called, for God to move in a person's life, that is when a person "sees" what sin is. And based on that "seeing" a person can repent and accept the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ which God provided so that a person can be saved from the penalty of sin, because the penalty of sin is death, and we have to be delivered from it. We have to be saved from that penalty. And the only way is through a sacrifice for sin, or a covering of sin.

So there's two parts to this. The first part is that God the Father has provided a way for us to be saved through acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Passover sacrifice, the covering of sin. Our part in it is that we have to do something; we have to repent. We have to choose to repent once we're called to see what sin is. So here the children of Israel were now being protected. They've been given this opportunity of salvation because the pillar of cloud has gone from before them (which they were following) and has now stood behind them to protect them.

Verse 20—So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. So there it is, they are now protected. Thus it was a cloud of darkness to one, which was the Egyptians, and it gave light by night to the other, so that one did not come near the other all that night. Now, we understand that the truth is the light. We understand that God's word is light, that truth is light. So here we have the darkness of the world, which is Satan and his demons, are in darkness, in spiritual darkness just like Pharaoh and the Egyptians were in darkness. But the Church, God's people, those that are called to be delivered, those that are called to be saved, they have the truth. It's because we see spiritually. So one's in the darkness, they don't have the truth. The other's in the truth, in the light because they have the truth, they see spiritually. "So that one did not come near the other all that night." Well, we know that 6,000 years of mankind is that night. And the Church of God—PKG should not go near the darkness. And therefore, what does separate us? It's the light; it's the truth that separates us. So we're not to come near the darkness. And the way we do it is to stay in the truth, to stay with God's Church.

Verse 21—Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night. So during that night portion there was an east wind that caused the sea to rise up on either side so that the ground would also be dried over the sea, or on the base of the sea. ...and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the waters have parted and the bottom of the sea has now become dry land so the children of Israel could pass over it.

Verse 22—So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. So now they're about to cross over the Red Sea and go out on the other side.

Verse 23—And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now, we understand that the children of Israel, there was about 4 million or more, and they would have had children and livestock. They were to cross over. So it would have taken a fair while to cross over. And then, once the Egyptians could see the daylight — because the pillar of cloud that was blocking them was darkness to them — once that pillar had moved and daylight had come, the Egyptians would have been able to see that the children of Israel were no longer at the camp where they thought they were and they were crossing the sea. Now, one would think that they would stop and think about this, but obviously, with God hardening their hearts, leaving it to the natural carnal mind, they would have thought, "Well, we can do this! We can actually catch up with the children of Israel and bring them back into bondage."

Verse 24—Now it came to pass in the morning watch that the Eternal looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and the cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. He (God) took off their chariot wheels so that they drove them with difficulty. Now, we can understand as a wheel comes off that the chariot becomes wobbly and the horses are trying to drag wagon with just one wheel or no wheels. It'd be almost impossible. It'd slow them down and it would become quite difficult to handle the chariot. ...and the Egyptians said, so they've now started to see what's happening, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for the children against the Egyptians. So now they've started to see, "Ah, this is God at work. This is God saving Israel."

Verse 26—Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen. So this is God at work, because it's God that saves. It's God that is almighty. Because no man, no one can divide waters and make the ground dry – no one. Only God can do it. Well, it's like us, brethren. A calling – only God can do it. Only God can call somebody and place them in a position of salvation. Only God can bring us out from one world (out of Egypt) into another world (into the Church of God), in fellowship with God and God's people. Only God can do it. God is almighty.

Now, this is something here, what we're seeing, is on a physical level, but when we look at this on a spiritual level it's only God that can do it. And that's why it's impossible to deal with or communicate with somebody about God's way of life unless they are called. It's actually a pointless exercise, because they're in the darkness, we're in the light. So we shouldn't seek to have people to understand because they can't unless God calls them, because it's God that does it. It's God that divides the Red Sea. It's God that gives light and gives darkness, or allows darkness to be seen, because that's the way God has established the path of salvation. There is only a few that are going to be saved.

Now, we understand that there's the 144,000 that have been saved; they just haven't received their outcome, the outcome which will be given at the return of Jesus Christ. There are others that are in the process of being saved now, and we understand that's anybody that is in the Church of God—PKG at this time. But God is soon to reveal Himself more to mankind, and He will begin during this last 3½-year period, to begin the process of calling many for the purpose of being saved, of deliverance from one way of thinking to another way of thinking.

Verse 27—And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth; in other words, it's crashed back down to its original level, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So here they are, they've gone down into the sea. They've seen this first light and now they've fled down into it and now Moses has stretched out his hand and the sea's come back and destroyed them. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Now, this is "The Eternal (Yahweh Elohim, the One True God, the Almighty God, the Savior) has delivered Israel by destroying the Egyptians." Well, look at that on a spiritual level. It's the same, brethren. God is the one that will deliver us. God is the one that can overthrow Satan and his demons. God is almighty and is all-powerful. And at some point they will be destroyed; they will be completely overthrown and destroyed.

Verse 28—Then the waters turned and covered the chariots, which was about 600 or more there, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. Every single one of them died. This is exactly the same as what God will do at the end, at the end of 7,100 years, not so much as one of them. Anyone in rebellion against God, the rebellious, the wicked will be destroyed. Not so much as one of them will remain.

Verse 29—But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters a wall to them on the right hand and on the left. So that they had been provided protection. Just like, brethren, we are being provided protection. Once we are called and placed in the Body of Christ, on this path of salvation, we are also being protected. We're being protected and we can "walk on dry land" if we stay in the truth, if we stay connected to God.

Verse 30—So the LORD saved (so it was God that saved) Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. It's God that saves out of the hand of Satan and his demons. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. So we can be delivered. It's the LORD that delivers. It's the LORD that delivers Israel, the Church of God—PKG. It's God's Church. It's God that does the works.

Verse 31—Thus Israel saw (witnessed it) the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses. Well, this is where we face something, brethren. "Thus Israel," spiritual Israel, "witnessed it," saw it, "the great work of the LORD." Well, this is what we're approaching, "that which God has done in Egypt," what God is going to do in the world now because this is all about government. "So the people," God's people, "feared the Eternal, and believed the Eternal and His servant Moses." This is similar to what we are now facing, that we, brethren, we believe God now. Because we have already seen the great works of God, what God has done in His Church and what He's delivered to His Church and the truth that He's placed in His Church. And we, brethren, can fear God, we can respect God, we can hold God in awe of what He is. And we believe God. We believe God and we believe His servants, the two witnesses, because this is all about God's government.

So we are in a position now where we are being saved. We are in the process of being saved, of being delivered. Well, the world is moving into this very position. Although it's going to be humbled it's going to be moved into a position of being saved. So God is doing what He is doing for the purpose of salvation.

Exodus 15:1—Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Eternal, and spoke, saying: I will sing to the Lord (I will sing to the Eternal), for He has triumphed, He has raised up, gloriously! Because it's His victory. It's God that delivered. It's God that saves. The horse and its rider He has thrown (cast) into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation (He has become my deliverer). Now, this is something that we can look at. "The Lord (the Eternal) is my strength," because it's God living and dwelling in us that makes us strong. We're only strong if God lives and dwells in us, if we yield to God's holy spirit. So God can be our strength, and God is our strength if we are yielding to God, if we're working hard and diligently at yielding to God. "And my song," He is our praise. We give God all the credit for everything that He does. So, "The Eternal is my strength," the Eternal is our strength, "and our song." He is our praise. We give Him all the credit for everything with regards to spiritual works within us. "And He has become my salvation," He is our salvation. He has become it because we've been called. So once we are called, yes, we can say, "God (Yahweh Elohim) has become my Deliverer, my salvation." Because this really is a victory song. So we can sing this, brethren, because we're on this path of salvation. We are being saved.

He is my God, and I will praise Him. We will lift Him up and give Him all the credit for everything in our life. My father's God (Elohim), and I will exalt Him. "I will give Him credit for everything," because He is the one that saves. Now, remembering this is Moses and the children of Israel giving God the credit for delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. Well, we can do the same. We have to give God the credit for delivering us. We have to exalt Him and give Him the credit for delivering us from the hands of the Egyptians, from Satan and his demons, from this world's system because it's God that does it. He has called us out of this world.

Verse 3—The LORD is a man of war, and this is really not "a man" but "an individual." It's saying, "Is an individual of war." The LORD is His name. Yes, He is Yahweh Elohim. That's His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He cast into the sea, because it's God that did it. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Sea. This is "Pharaoh's chosen captains were drowned in the Red Sea." Well, this is symbolic of and pointing to the very end, the end of 7,100-years when Satan and his demons will be destroyed. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone. So they were destroyed.

Now, talking about God: Your right hand, O Eternal, has become glorious in power, because this all points to God's authority, God's power, because God is almighty. Now, we often use this word, "God is almighty," and it's just almost like a saying, but we have to come to understand, brethren, that we are nothing compared to God. God created the universe. God created billions and billions and billions of stars. He calls them all by name. He created the earth. And man, after 6,000 years, is still studying into one or two aspects of the creation. And when they get into it they struggle to understand it. But they see the glory of a mathematical equation. Everything is in order. Everything works. Just like the human body. It's a staggering thing that you have thousands and thousands of people studying, dissecting humans, looking under microscopes, looking at cells, trying to work things out. And after all this time of doing it they still don't know a lot of things. They're only just scratching the surface of how the human body works, and they're in awe of it! Just one minute thing, like the eye. How does the eye work? How does it grow to work to see? That it communicates through electronic signal to the mind that an eye can see? This is incredible! And they can't understand the human brain. Just that one piece of the human mind, they can't understand it. They don't understand how it works. They've studied it. They've come up with patterns of behavior, which they call psychology or psychiatrist, which are simply regular patterns. But they don't understand it because they don't believe God because they haven't been called to "see" the spirit in man, what makes a man think and why a man is the way that he is.

Well, God is all-powerful. God is glorious in power! Now, the one thing that we have to do is not limit God. We're not to limit God in what He can do, because God is almighty and God cares for His Church. God has placed Jesus Christ as the head of the Church and He's placed an apostle in His Church (and prophets) for the purpose of supporting and guiding the Church. So God is all-glorious. He is all-powerful. He is almighty. And nothing can be restrained from God. God is our salvation.

Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. So this points to God's strength and power. It's God that can do it and God can do anything that He desires to do. Now, we understand our life is about being saved, this process of salvation.

Now verse 7—And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You, because that is how God works. God is all-powerful. Nothing can resist God. You sent forth Your wrath, which consumed them like stubble, which is pointing to a second death. So although they were destroyed here physically, this is pointing to a second death where they will be destroyed – those that resist God, that go up against Him, that rise up against Him. This says here, "who rose up against You." Well, anybody that rises up against God in rebellion against God will be "consumed like stubble." They will be destroyed. And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap, because they were firm on both sides, and the depths congealed, which is like a thickness, in the heart of the sea, which we've been through previously in verse 14.

The enemy said, I will pursue and I will overtake. Now, this points to Satan and his demons, that Satan is pursuing to destroy us. He believes that he can overtake us. And continuing verse 9... I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied on them. So here we see Satan and his demons with pride at work because "I will pursue. I will overtake." Fighting against God is futile. Fighting against God is actually futile.

Isaiah 14:12, just quickly... Hold your place there. This is that "I will" comes from Satan's thinking, about taking to self, which is really a deception of self. Isaiah 14:12—God talking about Satan here through Isaiah: How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, which is "Daystar" or "Light-bringer," son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations, the spirit realm, which are the angelic realm, and this is done through deception. As we understand a third of them, well, he weakened them by this deception, by this attitude that he broadcast to them. And they aligned themselves with him, one third of the angels. For you have said in your heart (in your inner thinking), I will, so this goes back to where we are now in Exodus. I will ascend into the heavens. I will –isn't this an incredible attitude. "This is what I will do." This is not relying on God. This is not setting a heart to believe God or follow God, but this "I will ascend into heaven. I will take the government. I will have the authority." I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; "I will exalt my authority. I will be in charge of government over the angels of God." This, we understand, is simply pride at work, the "I will."

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. "I will take power and authority of God and I will rule." I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like (I will become like) the Most High in authority. "I will replace Elohim and I will be in His place. I will be a resemblance of this same authority." It's not that he would be like God, like Elohim, but he would be like God in authority. He would have authority over them. He would resemble this rulership that he wanted.

Yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to the depths of the Pit, so a lifeless constraint. He will be destroyed.

Going back to Exodus 15:9—The enemy said, I will pursue. I will overtake. So this is the same attitude, which is one of pride and rebellion. Continuing on in verse 9...I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them. So this attitude that is taking place is really one of pride, because he wanted to rule, he was going to destroy Israel.

You blew with Your wind, this is talking about God, "You blew with your wind," and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, O Eternal, among the gods, among the el? So this is a good question. "Who is like You?" Who is like God? Who is like Yahweh Elohim? No one. There is nothing like God because God is love. God is all-powerful. God is almighty. So this question is: "Who is like you, O LORD, among the el?" ...among the mighty ones? Well, the answer is none. Who is like You, glorious in holiness. Who is like God's character? Who is honorable? Who is love? Who is righteous? Well, there's none; there is only Yahweh Elohim. There has only ever been one Yahweh Elohim. So there is nobody like God. Fearful in praises, doing wonders? So this is a good question: Is there anyone like that? Is there anyone that can act like God, to save? Can anyone save but God? The answer is no. There is only one Savior and it is Yahweh Elohim. You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

Verse 13—You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed. Well, this is us, brethren, because here physically, yes, that's true for Israel. But now God in His mercy has led us (people of God) because of a calling, "the people whom You have redeemed (delivered)." So we're in the process of being delivered because we've been called to be saved. We've been redeemed (we've been purchased) because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We have been saved if we yield to God's holy spirit for the rest of our life. But God has actually redeemed us. He's done His part by providing Jesus Christ as our Redeemer.

You have guided them in Your strength, we've been led by God's holy spirit, to Your holy habitation. So it was God that's going to deliver us. It's God that's going to lead us.

Now, this points us back to the shepherd and the sheep. Verse 13 says, "You and your mercy have led forth," which is what a shepherd does, "the people whom you have redeemed," because we're being saved. We've been called to be saved. We're being delivered. "You have guided them in your strength." "You have led them by the power of Your holy spirit to your holy habitation." So this word "habitation" is like "a fold." So God leads (shepherds us) in "a fold," which is the flock, which is the Church of God—PKG. So God dwells in us. God dwells in His temple, "to Your holy habitation." So we, brethren have been led by God by the power of God's holy spirit, by His strength in us to His holy habitation, to His fold, to the Church. This is where we dwell.

So we have been called to be saved. We have been redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So we have this opportunity; we're a "purchased possession," as it says in scripture (which in Part 2 we'll go into). So, brethren, we have been called for a purpose, and that purpose is salvation.

Verse 14—The people will hear and will be afraid, they will tremble, sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Palestine. Then the chiefs of Edom, now, we understand that is the twin brother of Jacob, will be dismayed. The mighty men of Moab, which is Lot's son from his daughter, from his eldest daughter, trembling will take hold of them, because this is really a prophecy about what would happen to these various nations when they see Israel, who have been delivered by God, who have been saved physically by God. What would happen? In verse 14, it says, "The people will hear of it and will be afraid." They will tremble because they'll realize that it is God that is delivering them, that this nation has God leading it, because God is leading them. And they're going to come into these various lands and the people will fear them. And that's exactly what happened. All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. We understand Canaan was the fourth son of Ham, but it's talking about the sons or the descendents of Ham which were dwelling in Canaan at that time. Fear and dread will fall on them. By the greatness of Your arm, because of this deliverance, this strength, they will be as still as a stone. They're going to be fearful. Till Your people pass over, O Eternal, till the people pass over, until they move through that area everyone is going to be in fear, whom You have purchased.

Well, we can look at this from a spiritual aspect. "Fear and dread will fall on them, by the greatness of Your arm," because people are going to come to see that it does require a calling, that God is the one that calls. And because of His great Church, people are going to be in fear and dread because of the greatness of God's Church, the strength of God's Church, which is God living and dwelling in a person makes a person strong. It's God's strength that does it. "They will be as still as a stone." People are going to come to see what God is doing during this last 3½ years, the people are going to come to stand still. They're going to be in fear of it all "till Your people pass over, O LORD." Till the people "pass over." Now, this is pointing to something spiritual. Because we accept the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and therefore, people are going to come to the point of coming to see what the Passover was really all about. Because this is a physical thing where the people were going to pass over or pass through the land. Well, this on a spiritual level, "until the people Passover," until they accept Jesus Christ as a Passover sacrifice for their personal salvation they are not saved; they are not being saved or delivered. They're not on the path of salvation until they accept the Passover. "Whom You have purchased," which is talking about the people. We have been purchased. We are not our own. Because it's by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are "a purchased possession." "Whom You have purchased." God has purchased us through the death and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Passover.

You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance. Now, this is talking physical, of course, that they were going to go into the promised land. But talking to us, "You (God) will bring them (the Church of God, those that have God's holy spirit,) bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance," in the Church, but more importantly, the next part, "in Your inheritance," the spiritual Kingdom, in the Kingdom of God, because it's God that's going to do it. It's God that's going to deliver. It's God that's going to save, because He has purchased us and our purpose of life is salvation, to be saved. In the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling, because God wants a family. God wants to dwell in His family. We are now the temple of God because God lives and dwells in us. Well, God is going to do all of this. He has purchased us and He will bring us and place us in His Kingdom because He desires to dwell in us for eternity.

Continuing on, verse 17...The sanctuary, O Eternal, which Your hands have established, because it's God that has done it all. The LORD shall reign forever and ever. "The Eternal shall reign forever and ever," within us! He will reign within His own Family.

Psalm 74:1—O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture, Your called out ones? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, because this was talking about Israel, that they were purchased. They were brought out from slavery, from captivity. Well, we're being purchased as well. ...the tribe of Your inheritance, which is talking about Israel, but it's also referring to the Church. "The tribe of Your (God's) inheritance," the Church of God, which You have redeemed. So we have been purchased. This Mount Zion where You have dwelt. So we are the Temple. So God has purchased us. We are God's inheritance. We have been redeemed; we've been purchased. "This Mount Zion," talking about something spiritual, "where You have dwelt," because it is God living and dwelling in us.

Acts 20:28, cutting into a flow of the story here: Therefore, take heed to yourselves, to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has made you overseers, because it's God's spirit in a person that helps them to guide and shepherd, to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood. So we, brethren, have been purchased. This is instruction for the ministry to support and feed, to provide direction by example. Now, it's God that appoints the ministry, and the purpose is to support and feed the flock, to provide for the flock. And it says here, "which He purchased with His own blood," referring to Jesus Christ. So we, brethren, have been purchased. We are a purchased possession, because if we accept the blood, the shed blood of Jesus Christ for the covering of our sin we have been purchased.

So we no longer are our own. So we can no longer just go off and live a life as we would on a selfish human nature way of life. We can't do that because we're owned by somebody else. We've been purchased. Now, it was God the Father that did it, because it's God the Father that saves. It's only that He saves through Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ was created as a man for the purpose of the saving of mankind, part of the process. Now, the process is seen through God's Holy Days. So anybody that does not keep the Sabbath and anybody that doesn't keep the annual Passover cannot be saved at this particular point. They're not on the path (the road) of salvation.

Ephesians 1:3—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly in Christ, because we understand that all blessings come from God the Father who dwells in heaven, but it's all done through and via Jesus Christ. So we're blessed through Jesus Christ.

Verse 4—just as He (God the Father) chose us, spiritually He's separated us, He's called us, He's chosen us for this calling on this path of salvation, in Him (in Jesus Christ)... so just as God chose us in Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world, because it was part of God's plan, that we should be holy, we should be separate, and without blame before Him in love. So we, brethren have been called to be blameless. It's been predetermined beforehand that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ would be given so that we could have our sins covered, so that we could be without blame, because of repentance and the forgiveness of sin before God the Father in love. So that is the purpose of our calling. It's us being called, us being separated by accepting the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, the covering of sin. ...having predetermined (predestined) us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (to God the Father), so we can be atoned or sin can be covered through Jesus Christ, through this adoption because we are sons of God, we're begotten sons of God, "to Himself," to God the Father, according to the good pleasure of His (God's) will, because it is God's will and purpose that He called someone, puts them on the path of salvation to be saved through Jesus Christ, because it's the only way to be saved.

Verse 6—to the praise and glory of His (God's) grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved (in Jesus Christ), of course, through Passover. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, because it's all done by God through Jesus Christ, which He made to abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence...

Verse 9—having made known to us the mystery of His will, which is God's will. And what is that mystery? "To bring many sons to glory." To save mankind from what he is, to put mankind on the path of salvation, to live and dwell within somebody for the purpose of saving them from what they are. ...according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, so it was in God's thinking. It's the way that God has set up the plan of salvation for mankind. And this all comes from God's thinking. It's His will. It's His desire to save mankind.

Verse 10—that in the dispensation of the fullness of time, which is all part of God's plan, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. So this "gathering together." So God's plan really is to "gather together in the fullness to make everything at one, to be at one, to be in unity of spirit." "All things in Christ," so everything was going to be done through Jesus Christ. That's why the Passover season and the Days of Unleavened Bread are so important because it's the beginning of the path of salvation.

Verse 11—In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined (predetermined), being set out in God's plan, according to the purpose of Him (God the Father) who works all things according to the counsel of His will, because it's "God's will be done." It's God's will that we be saved from what we are "to bring many sons to glory."

Verse 12—that we, talking about the Church, who first trusted in Christ, we believe God, we believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done, should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, because we were called to it, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the holy spirit. So we are called and we have heard the gospel, the good news of our salvation. We can be saved. This is what we are in the Church for. This is what the Church is all about. This is what God's plan is. God's plan is to save us. The good news (the gospel) is about salvation, our salvation – from going from being physical and full of sin to being spiritual and sinless, having God live and dwell within us.

And finishing up here on verse 14—which is the guarantee, talking about God's spirit, because it's "sealed with the holy spirit of promise," which is the guarantee of our inheritance, which is this down-payment that's been given of a promise, until the redemption of the purchased possession, which is us because we are being redeemed, we're being saved, we're being delivered. "Of a purchased possession," that's us. We're the "purchased possession." ...to the praise of His glory.

So this, brethren, is the key point, that we are a purchased possession. We have been purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We are on this path of salvation. We have a down-payment, which is this "guarantee of our inheritance," the power of God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us, "until the redemption," until the deliverance, "of the purchased possession," us, "to the praise of His glory," because God is doing it all. It is God that saves!

Well, we'll finish Part 1 there and next week we'll pick up Part 2. □

Table of Contents

Chapter 1