In this passage (Part 5), I will continue to describe important prophetic indicators and lessons from Moses’ day as these apply to today’s end times ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant. To this point, in prior passages, I have addressed the following prophetic indicators and lessons for God’s people: Maintaining independence; God’s provisions; God’s protection; the Lord’s fighting while amongst them; and their obedience and faith.
In this current passage, I will conclude in addressing these prophetic indicators. Herein, I will address the final topic:
- Cleansing and sanctification
As I have done with other prophetic indicators, I will address this topic from the days of Moses as it applies prophetically to today’s ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant people. And remember that the themes that apply for the ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant will in many cases also apply in general terms to the larger house of Israel remnant as well as Christ-believing Gentiles.
Cleansing and sanctification
So, another major prophetic topic that was significant in Moses’ day that might be considered for our current end times period is that of the cleansing and sanctification of the people. First, we have the benefit in our day of knowing that Christ already fulfilled the law when he came and lived among us. And because of him, we are told that we now have a better law and that we can be sanctified through our faith in him and the sacrifice that he made. The following scriptures make this clear:
- “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor 6:11)
- “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Heb 8:6)
- “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” (Heb 7:27)
God’s end times remnant people have Jesus’ example from two thousand years ago who is the reason (along with his Word and his holy spirit) that God’s ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant can maintain strong faith in the midst of their anti-Christ Chaldean enemy’s attacks and can continue to persevere even before they see the Lord himself.
This remnant is likely on the path to personally experience God very soon once they are delivered into the wilderness in the Tribulation period. If you were given signs that you would soon be meeting the Lord in his coming, would you not want to be prepared and counted worthy? If you knew that you would be sitting down to eat with the Master, would you not want to be clean?
In ancient days, after Jacob was saved by God and had seen him “face to face” in his dream, he built an altar to him in Bethel, and at this time he instructed his household:
- “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.” (Gen 35:2)
We are told that, even at this time, Jacob’s family was full of these false gods and idols and that they discarded them. They were unclean.
Then, several centuries later, Moses told his people the following at God’s request at the time before God was going to appear to them on Mount Sinai:
- “And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.” (Ex 19:10)
Next, just prior to crossing the Jordan into the land of inheritance, and prior to Joshua announcing to his people on the other side that the Lord was among them and would deliver their enemies into their hands, Joshua spoke to them as follows:
- “And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Josh 3:5)
So, again, the repeating message for God’s people is to be sanctified and clean in their anticipation of seeing or experiencing the Lord among them. I described in Part 2 of this series how God was among his people in Moses’ day. God promised them, “And I will walk among you and will by your God…” (Lev 26:12). He further advised that his people should be clean in his presence. You can see this in the following scripture:
- “For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” (Deut 23:14)
This same message will apply for God’s end times remnant people. They are to be found “clean” and separate from false and strange gods and their associated idolatrous practices. For these end times, Jesus instructed his people in the book of Revelation to be found wearing “clean” garments when he comes.
God’s remnant people who are true Christ believers can be assured of their sanctification through Jesus’ blood, through his death and resurrection, and through his holy spirit. We are given additional indications that, just as they should be obedient and righteous as discussed in Part 4, that they should also be sanctified.
Jesus instructed us to be awake and ready for his coming. And he also told us that in the end times we should pray so that we may be counted worthy to “escape all these things that shall come to pass” (Luke 21:36). Clearly, Jesus desires to see his people walking in obedience and according to his commands.
The following scriptures are from Jesus and the apostle James, respectively, and have application for God’s people being clean and sanctified through their obedience, especially in these last days:
- “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Rev 16:15)
- “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8)
Put simply, Jesus in his message desires that we repent, “go and sin no more,” and try to “be perfect” even as the Father in heaven is. This means to fully obey Jesus’ commands.
Toward a new law and spirit in the Millennial Kingdom
We are told in scripture about God’s restoration of his house of Israel remnant people when he brings them into the wilderness in the last days. He says that he will cause them to “pass under the rod” and will bring them into the “bond of the covenant.” Then, upon God’s people’s subsequent and final return into the land of inheritance, God says the following:
- “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.” (Ez 20:40)
So, there will be offerings made again to God. We know from scripture in Ezekiel (Ch. 43) that sacrifices will begin again in the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus is on his throne. However, God’s people will also get a “new spirit” and will be under a new covenant. God says that he will “circumcise thine heart” so that his people will love him with all thy heart and all they soul…” (Deut 30:6).
The following prophetic verses from the old scripture in Jeremiah, with the latter repeated later by the apostle Paul, apply to these last days:
- “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” (Jer 24:7)
- “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” (Jer 31:33, Heb 8:10)
It remains to be seen how worship and offerings will look in the Kingdom. The important thing is that God says in scripture such as in the ones above that he will desire his people’s hearts and minds at this time; this is so that they will love and obey him.
The following verses apply to the ancient time at which God’s people had completed their journey through the wilderness and were about to cross the Jordan into the land of inheritance. Although the law and worship at the end of this age and for the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom will be made new, as just discussed, there are still a few similarities found in ancient scriptures like the following in what God told his people in the day of Moses and Joshua:
- “Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice.” (Deut 26:17)
- “Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord.” (Deut 12:11)
In Joshua’s day, once the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, then they made an altar to God as a symbol for their obedience to the law, the words of which they inscribed on an altar. After Joshua and the tribes had already won a couple of battles, the people of Israel “renewed” God’s covenant as Joshua read all of the words of Moses in the book of the law before the congregation. The ark of the covenant law, symbolic of God’s presence, was traveling along with them in their journey in the land of inheritance.
In these last days, might the Lord himself be traveling among his people as they re-enter the land of inheritance? Might his own words and spirit constitute the renewal of his returning remnant’s hearts and minds? At this time, they will be given his new law and spirit as described above.
Sanctification and God’s chosen holy leaders in Moses’ day
It is logical to consider the concept of sanctification and cleansing in Moses’ day in terms of how it might apply for the end times remnant in these last days, prior to the Millennial Kingdom. The ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant will likely remain in the wilderness during the seven-year Tribulation period. In thinking about how this time may compare, we might keep our eye on the original, ancient “small flock” within the larger house of Israel that was in the wilderness in Moses’ day.
In so doing, we might naturally look to Moses himself and to the house of Aaron, who represent ‘types’ of those who will be among the last days small flock remnant and will represent the core of the ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant in the wilderness. Between Moses, Aaron and the Lord himself who were among the ancient tribes, this represented a prophet, a priest and a king altogether in those days; of course, the Lord comprises all of these in of himself. These were those who were the “first call” of the assembly of the congregation; they were holy and anointed. In general terms, these can be seen as an ancient days representation of today’s last days ‘Jacob’-Judah “small flock” remnant who will have some holy leaders among them in the wilderness; these are the ones who it appears will be spiritually “birthed” and given an “extra helping” of the holy spirit in their highly unique end times situation that I have described in prior passages on this site.
Meanwhile, consider the following from Moses’ day. Moses and Aaron were Levites, those who God claimed for himself. Moses and Aaron were in charge and assigned over everything in the tabernacle. This included the most holy things, the charge over offerings, etc. And everything in the tabernacle was a symbol of purity, cleanliness, and was a place where God himself could meet with them (i.e. the holy of holies). They were given holy garments, which I mention here due to the discussion about “clean” garments in this passage above.
God also made a “statute” and ordinance with Aaron and his sons forever “by reason of anointing,” and Aaron’s house was given the office of the priest by God. The house of Aaron represented God’s firstfruits and the firstfruits of his people; they were made holy by God. This is shown as follows:
- “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee. And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it. Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine.” (Num 18:12-14)
Aaron and his sons were sanctified themselves in front of the congregation of the people, and sanctified by God to “minister to (him).” The Levites (tribe) as a group were given as a “gift” to Aaron and his sons. Then they were all made separate from the children of Israel.
The anointed house of Aaron, in turn, was chosen to “make atonement” for all of the children of Israel. God said through them, the children of Israel would be, “sanctified by my glory.” Of course, the children of Israel would bring and present their various offerings for God to Aaron’s priests at the tabernacle according to the law.
In summary of this section, I only discuss the holy leaders of Moses’ day and God’s sanctification of the people through them for the purpose of providing background pertaining to the general principle of this type of scenario, which could repeat again in the last days; that is, the general need for God’s people to become spiritually prepared by God’s holy spirit.
Separation and consecration
Consider the following to begin this section on the concept of sanctification through spiritual separation and consecration. Jacob’s life was saved by God from his brother Esau. After they had briefly met up again, they remained separate from that day, with Jacob going forth with God’s inheritance. Several centuries later, in Egypt, the firstborn of Israel were saved by God, who God claimed for himself as a representation of his people as a whole being saved out of Egypt. God then appointed the Levites in place of the firstborn as his own holy, firstborn who were made sanctified and then separated as just referred to in the section above. And of course, I described in Part 2 of this series how God’s house of Israel people, as nation, have always been meant to be separated and to remain separate from other peoples.
In Moses’ day, and through God’s law, the principle of separation and consecration appears many times as it related to the people of ‘Israel,’ and through their acts of worship in order to be sanctified, cleansed, purified and holy. And we see the time period for certain acts of this worship was sometimes seven days- a period of ‘seven.’ An example of this kind of separation and purification for the purpose of holiness with God can be seen in the Nazarite’s vow (Num Ch. 6).
As another example of sanctification, as part of the sacrifices of the high priest, Aaron took two goats, both of which can be prophetically and symbolically attributed to Jesus the Messiah (Lev Ch. 16), and presented one of the goats for a sin offering, and it was killed. The other goat, presented alive, and then let go into the wilderness as an atonement for all of God’s house of Israel’s congregation for their sins and iniquities.
The “scapegoat” that was kept alive was released into the wilderness, into an uninhabited land. So it was separated, thereby representing the removal of the sins of the people from the congregation. God’s people were thereby sanctified and cleansed. Another example of this same principle was seen as part of the cleansing process for a leper (Lev Ch. 14), with two birds presented; one was sacrificed and the other bathed in that bird’s blood prior to being released into the open.
The ‘Jacob’-Judah small flock remnant in these last days will be separated at the time that they are delivered out of ‘Babylon’-U.S. and into the wilderness. The larger house of Israel will begin to separate and wander during the same period. The principle and continuing pattern of separation is a natural, self-regulating process for the beginning of holy sanctification. God’s people as a group in their longstanding journey have always been delivered out of or driven out from among their enemies in order to become separate again. Jesus himself, who we know was “hated without a cause,” said:
- “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” (Luke 6:22)
Of course Jesus demonstrated the example of separation several times during his life and ministry. It is Jesus, the bridegroom, who will be taken again and separated just as he forewarned the Pharisees in his own day that he would be going to a place where they would not be able to find him.
End times ‘Jacob’-Judah’ remnant- aspects of cleansing and sanctification
I mentioned earlier in this passage, and in this series, how God’s people are continuing on the path to the holy land and to ultimately be regathered and given a new spirit. I provided scripture about both God’s law and spirit that will be placed on them. I also showed the parallel comparison of this anointing between how it was in the day of Moses when God’s people were about to cross the Jordan versus what it will be like in the current end times when God’s inherited people return back to the land for the Millennial Kingdom.
Cleansing and sanctification for the ‘Jacob’-Judah small flock remnant in the last days will look a little different from ancient times for obvious reasons, since Jesus has already come and established himself as the atoning Messiah. But there still remains an important principle of cleansing as I demonstrated earlier; and we saw earlier that this was prophetically referred to by Jesus himself.
For the ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant in the last days, first, they will have already been at least partially purged, cleansed and refined as a result of their affliction at the hands of the anti-Christ Chaldean persecutors. Many will have been saved and remaining alive, only by God’s grace. Their humbling process in ‘Babylon’-U.S. will be a type of first-stage sanctification process. Here is what God says about his remnant’s initial refining and cleansing in ‘Babylon’-U.S.’s “furnace” of persecution:
- “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” (Is 48:10)
You will note that this is very similar to the description of the people of Moses’ day who we are told were “brought forth out of the iron furnace” in Egypt.
Meanwhile, a significant part of today’s last days remnant’s affliction in the fire is that end times ‘Jacob’ himself becomes a sacrifice and an atonement on behalf of his people. God calls on ‘Jacob’s last days enemy to surround him and makes the following points in scripture as to his reason for doing so:
- “Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.” (Is 42:24)
- “For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?” (Mic 1:5)
End times ‘Jacob’ is a sort of human sacrifice for God’s house of Israel people in last days ‘Babylon,’ Israel’s last days northern kingdom (i.e. Samaria), as well as for those in the country of Israel. This is because of their transgressions and wicked ways. I have described in the past on this site that while the well-known Isaiah Ch. 53 figure pertains to Jesus, there appear to be indicators for a last days figure as well. The kind of atonement and intercession made by end times ‘Jacob’ may be what is referred to in the following scriptures found in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 53:
- “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Is 53:6)
- “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…” (Is 53:10)
You can see that the last days servant in Isaiah, Chapter 53, is given as an offering for his people. Of course, Jesus is the proven and established saving Messiah; our God who offered his own life. But certain parts of prophetic scripture in Isaiah, Chapter 53, also appear to fit a last days servant such as ‘Jacob,’ especially considering that these descriptions are consistent with those that are given about him elsewhere in scripture.
The Kingdom of God is at hand
Regardless, there is atonement that is made for God’s remnant people and believing Gentiles again here in these last days. It will still be up to God’s people, the larger house of Israel, each on an individual basis, as to whether he or she will be humbled, turn back, and accept the grace that is offered. In fact, scripture tells us that some will not be able to turn from their corrupted, false-god-influenced ways. The following words of Jesus will echo again during this period:
- “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt 3:2)
I have written prior on this site about how we are told that the Lord will have to plead with his people once they are delivered in the wilderness. Not all will be righteous. We are told that their sins, likely false-god, false-idol-related, will be uncovered. For example, we are told that God will have to “wash away” the “filth” of the daughters of Zion and the bloodshed of ‘Jerusalem’ (Is 4:4). The following verse from the prophet Isaiah will apply:
- “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” (Is 1:16)
I mentioned the scapegoat story in the section above so that we might consider its prophetic meaning for these end times, possibly representing the Lord again (such as the holy spirit in the person of the Restrainer who is removed) or his servant ‘Jacob’ who is among the small flock remnant. This remnant will have been cast into the wilderness and there is a righteous segment of them who may generally be considered to have made atonement for the larger house of Israel. They will find themselves separated again as a people, likely for a period of ‘seven,’ the time (in years) of the Tribulation period; we saw the time period of ‘seven’ (in days) in our example above of the Nazarite’s cleansing by separation.
The question will be who among the remnant can separate themselves, spiritually, so that they can become sanctified and cleansed to qualify to enter the coming Millennial Kingdom under Jesus’ reign. The apostle Paul, in saying, “the Lord knows them that are his,” furthermore says in his letter to Timothy:
- “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2 Tim 2:20-21)
Overall, God’s end times remnant people will first be purged “out of” and separated from ‘Babylon’-U.S., as well as from the ‘Babylonian’ kingdom worldwide. But an additional purging and cleansing will likely still be necessary in order for them to be sanctified for the coming Kingdom. This will be the case for the “small flock” remnant who will be set aside as God’s holy royal inheritance. But it will also be the case for the larger remnant in what will be a harvest during which the wheat is separated from the tares.
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Between this current point in time, and prior to the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, when God and his son Jesus will pour out a new spirit onto the people, there is a likely need for all Christ believers to not only be obedient, as I addressed in Part 4, but to also become sanctified. This includes being spiritually separated from the current day, evil world kingdom and its powerful institutions that impact all of us, at the individual level, every day. Meanwhile, we can take comfort in knowing that the current anti-Christ kingdom will only be temporary before its destruction.
Grace & Peace,
Lion’s Lair (LL)
Lion's Lair 