One of the most famous events in history is when God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. He performed signs and wonders and then dramatically met the people at Mount Sinai. When Moses received the Ten Commandments, the people were shocked by the glory of God, the thunder and lightening, the very dense clouds and extremely loud trumpet blast. The people trembled with fear and begged Moses to talk to God (Exodus 19). They could feel the power of God’s presence as He descended upon the mountain in fire, as we can see in Exodus 20:
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
Exodus 20:18:19
When Jesus came, He also performed signs and miracles, He sat on the mountain to talk about repentance (Matt. 4:17), right and wrong (Matt. 5). He delivered many people from bondage. The presence of Jesus was completely consuming. The people followed Jesus, like they did Moses, and some grumbled against Him.
When Moses went up Mount Sinai, he told the people to wait until he returned (Exodus 24:14). Because Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, the people believed he was delayed in his return.
…Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you.”
Exodus 24:13-14
In comparison, before Jesus went to heaven He also told us to wait for Him.
I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:3b
Not only did Jesus say He would return, but that He went to prepare a place for us. It’s been 2000 years since Jesus came to Earth and many believe He is delayed. However, this was prophesied in Hosea 6:2 that it would be two days (meaning two thousand years), as we have learned from 2 Peter 3:8, that a day in the Bible is like a thousand years to God.
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.
Hosea 6:2
These periods of waiting are difficult which is probably why we were warned to be patient:
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
James 5:7
Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus has been gone for 40 Jubilees which we discussed in the last video. A Jubilee is considered 50 years (7 times 7 years, followed by the year of Jubilee). Fifty is also the same word for Pentecost. Jesus was with His disciples for 40 days after He rose from the dead, then He instructed them to wait for the promise, which ended up being 10 more days, for the Holy Spirit to come, which was on Pentecost.
As we know, in the story of Mount Sinai, the Israelites’ period of waiting, for Moses, did not go well.
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
Exodus 32:1
Why didn’t they gather to pray to God? Or fast? Why did they choose to return to worshiping an idol made of materials from the Earth? The people became impatient because Moses was delayed. When they created the golden calf they were trying to redefine who God was. They had just seen the mighty works of God, felt His glorious power and knew His divinity, but since Moses was delayed they took matters into their own hands. They thought they could have God and worship an idol too.
THE LEVITES
When Moses came down from the mountain he was distraught how quickly the Israelites lost faith and began to worship an idol while he was away.
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
Exodus 32:26
The tribe of Levi came to Moses. This is significant because this act resulted in their dedication as the helpers of the tabernacle in the days to come. God also sanctified the entire Levite tribe as the first born after that day. Originally, God’s plan was that every firstborn male, in every tribe, was supposed to be dedicated to the Lord. But when the people turned to worship the golden calf, this disrupted the first born right, because of their sin.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”
Numbers 3:11-13
Because of the Levite’s commitment and dedication to the Lord in the midst of everyone turning away from God’s plan, they were given the duty of the priestly body. Their hearts were with God, not just their actions. This resulted in their priestly duties in the house of God. God desired a kingdom of priests and expected His people to display this (Exodus 19). Dedicated Christians are like the Levites, Jesus is the high priest and mediator and we are the helpers. We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corin. 5:20). An ambassador establishes a relationship between its home nation and a foreign nation. We are to claim authority and promote the will of God to those who don’t know Him.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10
Because of Jesus we are given an opportunity to be part of the priestly body. But we must ask, when Jesus comes back, whose side will we actually be on? Will we be worshiping a golden calf? Let us remember that idols for us are different than they were back then. Since we have shifted from a primarily physical worship to that of a spiritual worship our idols can slither in unnoticed to the human eye. Things like lust, control, sorcery, greed, adultery, rage and things like that.
Do we do that in our time? People are constantly trying to redefine scripture, minimize sin and give acceptance to sinful acts. We take God’s truth and twist it a little bit at a time, which often goes unnoticed. This is the devil’s handiwork and another reason we must know our Bible’s well. We urgently need discernment in this hour.
LEGALISM?
The Lord’s commandments are often disregarded as legalism. Let us not forget that legalism is adding to the Word of God or believing it is our performance that brings us favor. Following the Word of God is NOT legalism. We are no longer under the law but that does not give us freedom to sin. Quite the opposite, we are to honor God’s Word and let it dwell in our hearts. We are to know the past and have a more complex understanding of God’s character because we know Jesus personally. We are not to slide into twisted beliefs such as a blurred identity or disrespecting the sanctity of marriage.
Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
1 Peter 3:11-12
In 1 Corinthians 10, Saint Paul stresses that the events that unfolded at Mount Sinai should be seen as an example to us:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
1 Corinthians 10:1-11
This scripture is laid out in the New Testament, not the Old. The world tells us that we no longer have to follow the law because it no longer applies now that Jesus has redeemed us. But if we study the text, we see that the law is still a beautiful framework that should still be understood and respected. We are considered His priests, we should know the law and we should know the Holy Spirit and how to discern between right and wrong. Without the law we would not fully understand the freedom of no longer being under the law. This applies to all Christians, not just pastors and leaders. In Colossians 3 it states:
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24
OUR INHERITANCE
Our inheritance is the Lord Himself, just as it was in a literal sense for the Levites.
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.
Joshua 13:14
Christ is our inheritance. What we desire and seek matters to Jesus. Thankfully, Jesus is very forgiving and His love is beyond comprehension. If your heart has not been right over certain matters or if you have not committed your life to Jesus, pray to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and guidance. He will welcome you with open arms.
WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE?
Moses was sent to Egypt to deliver the people from literal slavery. Just as Jesus was sent to deliver us from spiritual slavery. The people quickly turned back to their old ways. Have we done the same? Moses intervened when God’s wrath burned hot against the people (Exodus 32:7-9). Jesus has taken on the role of an intermediary and intervenes for us. However, let us not forget that Moses still asked who was on the Lord’s side when he returned. Those who chose the Lord’s side were spared and sanctified to assist the Lord.
When Moses died he gave many warnings that the people not forget about God:
Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24
THE GREAT COMMISSION
The great commission that Moses gave the Israelites was to not forget God and to go and claim the land for themselves that the Lord had promised. When Jesus came, He commissioned us to repent, remember His commandments and to make disciples of all nations. With Moses it was physical land and with us it is spiritual territory. But God wants our hearts to be right with Him so that we can hold on to these promises.
So what does this all have to do with the end times? Moses, right before he died, was instructed by God to look upon the promised land, but not go in (Exodus 34). Jesus went to be with the Father in heaven and told us to wait for the promised Helper (Holy Spirit – Acts 1:4). Both Moses and Jesus left the Earth (Moses died and Jesus ascended) right before the people received their promise – the land and the Helper.
THE CONNECTION TO MOSES
Moses died when he was 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7). This number reminds us of the scripture in Genesis 6:3.
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
Genesis 6:3
Genesis 6:3 was written around the time of Noah and the flood. If you look at the context around the scripture, it reveals that much evil prevailed in the days of Noah. If we compare this scripture to Matthew 24 it states:
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark.
Matthew 24:36-38
There are many interpretations of the 120 years described in Genesis 6. However, it’s possible this scripture has to do with the calculation of the end times. We know from the scripture that no one knows the exact day, however, we are always to remain awake and ready, recognizing the season we are in:
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
Matthew 16:3
What if the reference to 120 years is a reference to 120 Jubilees? 120 Jubilees multiplied by Pentecost (50) is 6000. If you watched the last video, you would remember that 6000 may be the timeframe that God gave man on Earth before the millennial reign for a complete 7000 years. However, I do not believe there is any way to know God’s exact divine plan. We must be open and ready to whatever He is doing. We can see from scripture that there is a divine pattern intricately woven throughout the Word of God. But His ways are above our ways. These ideas we discuss are more questions than answers. Thankfully, Jesus loves it when we wonder about His plan, it draws us near to Him and He loves being close to us.
Moses’ life may have been a prophetic profile, giving us clues to God’s plan. Often we see periods of time throughout the Bible, such as calculated years of 7, 50 or 70. Moses’ life was divided into 40 year chunks – 40 years in Egypt, 40 years in desert when he finds his wife and 40 years wandering in the wilderness with the Israelites.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He spoke with the disciples for 40 days about the kingdom of God, as a way to prepare them for the kingdom of heaven (Acts 1:3). Before He ascended to Heaven, He instructed His disciples to wait for the promise of the Father for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). This ended up being 10 more days, a total of 50 days since Jesus rose from the dead. Then the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, which means 50.
When the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in the upper room, there were about 120 of them present (Acts 1:15). The fact that this number is given, has significance. When Jesus left, He gave His followers a present, the Holy Spirit, which was a pledge of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14).
120 times 50 = 6000 years, we are approaching the 7000th year, the time of rest according to the creation plan.
ARE WE READY?
Now, the real question is, are we ready and awake? We all love the blessings but have we ignored the warnings of the curses? Our obedience to the Lord brings blessings. We are to follow His Word and let it dwell in our hearts. If we ignore conviction and sin, we are not allowing our hearts to be circumcised by the Lord. Are we acting as priests or living in the world? We all risk being deceived and must cling to God. That is why the Lord says many times throughout His scriptures – Return to Me (Deuteronomy, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc). We can see from scripture that the time of Messiah’s return in near. But most importantly we must have our lamps burning and not be deceived by immorality which has permeated our surroundings.
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
Exodus 32:26
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