The Mountain and the House

The two symbols, "mountain" and "house" are of great significance in the history of Israel. Wherever you see "mountain" mentioned in the Old Testament Scripture you can be sure it is symbolic of something. Wherever you see "house" mentioned by the prophets you can be sure it refers to God's House or God's Habitation. Furthermore the prophets and the psalmists ofter linked the Habitation of God or the House of God with mountains.

1. Isaiah the prophet said, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob; ...." (Isaiah 2:2, 3, KJV, emphasis added).

2. Ezekiel the prophet said, "This is the law of the house; upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house" (Ezekiel 43:12, KJV, emphasis added).

3. Haggai the prophet also said, "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord" (Haggai 1:8, KJV, emphasis added).

4. The psalmist said, "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever" (Ps. 125:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

5. The psalmist also said, "His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Ps. 87:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Holy mountains of Israel

There were many mountains in Israel but four of them were said to be Holy Mountains. Each of these Holy Mountains provided a foundation for God's divinely inspired structure. And each of these structures was a House of the Lord or God's Habitation during that particular period of time.

1. Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:1 - 5)

When the Flood had ceased, having fulfilled God's purpose of judgment on the wicked world, the Ark of Noah rested on the mountains of Ararat. Here we have the Ark, being a "house" of God provided for Noah and his household who were found righteous before God (Gen. 7:1), rested on a Holy mountain of God!

2. Mount Sinai (Exodus 24, 25; Hebrews 12:18 - 21)

The revelation of the Tabernacle of the Lord (commonly known as the Tabernacle of Moses) was divinely given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The divine purpose in building the Tabernacle of Moses is summed up in the key verse:

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Ex. 25:8).

In other words, the Tabernacle was a temporary "house" of God or God's dwelling place. God's desire is to dwell in the midst of His redeemed people all through the Bible.

The Tabernacle of Moses was simply a portable tent with various curtains and coverings over a wooden structure. The foundation for the Tabernacle was provided by 40 sockets of silver (Ex. 26:19). The number 40 speaks of victory over judgment and silver speaks of Christ in His redemptive ministry. So the very foundation of the Tabernacle is Christ Himself!

3. Mount Zion (1 Chronicles 15 - 17; 2 Samuel 6:1 - 19)

Again the revelation of the Tabernacle of David could not be separated from a mountain - Mount Zion.

The Lord said, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; ..." (Isaiah 28:16, emphasis added).

Mt. Zion took on a special significance from the days of David and onwards because of the order of praise and worship established there in the Tabernacle of David. The people of God offered sacrifices of praise and worship before the Ark of the Covenant (God's "House"), the only piece of furniture in the Tabernacle of David. There were no Outer Court and furniture, no Holy place and furniture, and no veil. In fact the Ark of the Covenant had been transferred from the Tabernacle of Moses to the Tabernacle of David (2 Samuel 6:12 - 23; 1 Chronicles 15:1 - 29; 16:1- 3). The Tabernacle of Moses was left without the Most Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant during that time. The people of God could simply and boldly enter to the Most Holy Place and minister to the Lord whose dwelling place was at the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Tabernacle of David spoke of the Church. As I mentioned before wherever you come across "Zion" in Scripture it always refers to the Church of Jesus Christ.

4. Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1)

"Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, ..." (2 Chron. 3:1).

Here in the building of the Temple of solomon (the House of the Lord) we are again struck by the significance of its site. Solomon's Temple was built on Mount Moriah.

Divine Significance of Mount Moriah

God spoke to Abraham, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off" (Gen. 22:2, 4, emphasis added).

Notice that Mount Moriah was called the "Mount of the Lord":

"And Abraham called the name of the place (Mt. Moriah). The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided'" (Gen 22:14).

Abraham who "willingly sacrificed his only begotten son Isaac as a burnt offering" spoke of (in type) God the Father "willingly sacrificed His only begotten Son Jesus Christ for the sin of the world". This is a perfect example in applying the principle of hermeneutics to interpret the Scripture.

The principle of hermeneutics simply means this - All through the Old Testament God gets people to do typically what He Himself is going to fulfill actually.

Abraham and his son went a 3-day journey to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Jesus later also went 3 days and 3 night's "journey" to sacrifice Himself. So the Temple of Solomon, the House of the Lord, was built on Mount Moriah on the basis of a sacrifice of God's only begotten son. Because of this fact the Temple of Solomon was a type of the Church.

Interpretation of the Mountain and the House

The Mountain

1. Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream: "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of Iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:34, 35, emphasis added).

2. An angel said to John: "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time" (Rev.17:9, 10, emphasis added).

Therefore in Scripture a mountain is symbolic of a Kingdom.

The House

1. Paul said, "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct youself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:4, 5, emphasis added).

2. The writer of Hebrews said, "... but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hop firm to the end" (Heb. 3:6, emphasis added).

3. Peter said, "... you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, emphasis added).

Therefore in Scripture a house is symbolic of a Church.

Fragments of truth revealed progressively

As we have seen God and His Habitation are revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures in the form of various structures - the Ark of Noah, the Tabernacle of Moses, the Tabernacle of David and the Temple of Solomon. All these four structures were built by God's builders who received revelations from God. The revelation we get by studying these structures is progressive and each structure reveals a certain fragments of truth. We will not get the whole truth (as the sovereign God wishes to reveal) by just studying one or two of the structures.

It is beyond the scope of this message to study any of these structures in any detail. But it was found that the Temple of solomon was the embodiment in one structure of all that has gone before.

The Ark of the Covenant

It is interesting to follow the history of the Ark of the Covenant as it moved from one structure to another - signifying the presence of God in His dwelling place, moved from the Tabernacle of Moses, through the Tabernacle of David and rested in the Temple of Solomon.

First the Ark was placed in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle of Moses and then it was taken from there and move into the Tabernacle of David where there was a whole new order of praise and worship, and singing with musical instruments. When the Temple was completed by Solomon the people brought the Ark into the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 8:6). There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets of stone which Mosses put there at Moreb (V. 9).

The Temple of Solomon

The Temple of solomon was absolutely magnificent as compared with the two Tabernacles. There was the one and the same Ark of God, one golden altar of incense, and one brazen altar and one molten sea. All these spoke of Christ as the one and only way to God. As the Temple was the embodiment of what were in the Tabernacle of Moses, there were 10 tables of showbread, and 10 brazen levers in the Holy Place and Outer Court respectively. There were also 10 golden lampstand in the Holy Place (1 Kings 7).

Notice that the number 10 speaks of govenment, restoration and law and order. Therefore the Temple of Solomon spoke of Christ but more especially of Christ in His Church.

The Heavenly Jerusalem and the Ultimate Mountain of God

All the four earthly Structures were designed by God, the Wise Master Builder, but He chose men in the actual building of them. But when it comes to the City of God, the new and Heavenly Jerusalem, this ultimate structure, it is God Himself alone who is the Architect and Builder - not man (Hebrews 11:13 - 16, 12:22 - 24; Rev. 3:12; 21, 22).

John wrote, "And he (an angel) carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ..." (Rev. 21:10, emphasis added).

So we see the Ultimate Structure of God will also be associated with a Mountain! The New and Heavenly Jerusalem is the City of Salvation. It is the Tabernacle of God where He dwells with men.

John heard a loud voice from heaven saying: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, God Himself will be with them and be their God" (Rev. 21:3, NKJV).

The Last Days according to God's Perspective

There are Christians every where saying that in the last days things are getting worse and worse. The situation of the world is going to be darker and darker. The antichrist is coming and there will not be any revival in Christianity. Instead there is coming a great falling away. The Church is going downhill and Christians are back sliding. Things are really bad.

At the same time some other Christians are saying that there will be a great revival in the last days. There will be a great harvest and in-gathering of souls. God is going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. The first outpouring happened at Pentecost and the second outpouring is coming soon and many Christians will receive the double portion. The Church is going to be victorious and God is preparing a glorious Church.

The question is - which group of Christians is right? My answer is both are right. Things are going to get worse in the world, but at the same time things are going to get better in the true Church - the house of the Lord or God's Habitation. But when you allow the world to get into your Church then you are in darkness and things will get worse for you!

Isaiah's prophecies concerning the last days

"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains. And shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His way, and we shall walk in His paths" (Isaiah 2:2, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you" (Isaiah 60:1, 2, emphasis added).

Notice that there are two prophetic streams in the last days - light and darkness. In Old Testament time the glory of the Lord has something to do with the Ark of the Covenant in the tabinacles and Solomon's temple. Right now the Church and His people, the Christains, are the habitation of God. But while God's light and glory is rison upon His people, darkness and gross (deep) darkness covers the world and the people of the world. So darkness and light flow parallel together all the way in the last days.

Questions concerning the last days

Isaiah said something about the last days in Isaiah 2:2, 3. Three questions come to mind as we read these verses - What is meant by the last days? When the last days began? And what is going to happen in the last days?

What the Scripture says about days and year?

Before we can understand what "last days" means we have to understand what "days" and "years" in God's viewpoint.

Let us look at the prophets because all prophets were caught up in God's perspective. In other words, they were caught up in the Spirit and they started to see things from God's viewpoint and God is not limited by time. This is very important because when Adam sinned time began for all mankind. But God is not bound by time - He is the eternal God. He is the past, present and the future and He is always at one eternal present. He works in time but He is not limited by time. When God deals with men He deals in what we referred to as time. Time is a little fragment of eternity in which God is working out His purposes in relation to creation and in relation to redemption.

Moses, the first of God's prophet, wrote a Psalm:

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generation. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man to destruction, and say, 'Return, O children of men.' For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night" (Ps. 90:1 - 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

It is very important to note that to man a "day" has only 24 hours. But to the Lord a day is "1000 years" - based on man's 24-hour days. Sometimes we call the Lord's day as 1000 years period of time.


Notice what Peter wrote to believers: "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:4).

Let us pick up the key words "years" and "days" in Psalm 90:

"For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sight" (V. 9).

"The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, ..." (V. 10).

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (V. 12).

"Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (V. 14)!

"Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil" (V. 15).

The outworking of people's years and days after the Fall

Let us go back to Genesis to see how long it took Adam to die after he sinned.

God said to Adam, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).

The question is, did Adam die within a 24-hour day or within the day of the Lord which is 1000 years? The answer is, Adam died two deaths when he sinned. He died spiritually in a 24-hour day and he died physically within the day of the Lord - "All the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died (Gen. 5:8).

It is interesting to note that the oldest man ever lived was Methuselah, Enoch's son - 969 years (Gen. 5:27). Therefore no one ever lives the full day of the Lord of 1000 years.

A picture of redemption

One of the most beautiful pictures of redemption is found in Exodus 12:1 - 7. God wanted each family of Israel to take a lamb on the 10th of the month and to keep it until the 14th of the same month. In other words, the lamb should be kept for 4 days before it was killed at twilight.

Why would God want the lamb be kept for 4 days?

Actually, from God's perspective, this is a picture of God's plan of redemption when Adam sinned. When Adam sinned, when time began, God immediately took His Lamb (John 1:29), the Lord Jesus, and kept Him for 4 days. From God's perspective this was 4000 years. The fact is, from Adam through to Jesus we have 4000 years approximately. And when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4).

Revelation of the last days

The writer of Hebrews said, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ..." (Hebrews 1:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Two time periods are mentioned:

1. Sundry time (KJ), time past, and time before the Cross mean the same thing. During this time period God spoke to His people through His Old Testament prophets.

2. Present time, latter days or time after the Cross is called the "last days". God speaks to us by His Son Jesus Christ through His Spirit. His apostles wrote the New Testament in the last days by the inpiration of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah's prophecy

Let us go back to Isaiah 2 where he gave a prophetic view of the last days. Isaiah was seeing things from God's viewpoint.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it" (Isaiah 2:2, KJV, emphasis added).

Isaiah prophetically talked about the coming of the Lord Jesus in the last days to build His Church, the Lord's house.

Creation of man and redemption of men

There is a parallel truth running concerning the creation of man and the redemption of men. God worked 6 days in creation and on the 7th day He rested after creating a perfect man (male and female). Adam and Eve could have spent an eternal "honeymoon" in the Garden of Eden. But they blew it and messed it up by sin.

Similarly, God is working 6 days (6000 years) in full redemption. God's people had 4000 years before Christ came and He spends 2000 years to prepare His bride and then we have 1000 years of Kingdom rest. He already had a perfect bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and He is preparing His bride, the glorious Church (Eph. 5:25 - 27). Jesus is not going to marry a bride inferior to Himself. In the Bible He laid down certain marriage laws. And God is not going to give us marriage laws that He Himself would not keep. One of the marriage laws is, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbeliever" (2 Cor. 6:14).

Light and darkness in the last days

As mentioned earlier in the last days light and darkness are flowing together. Let us consider some passages (negative and positive) of New Testament Scripture concerning the last days.

Negative (darkness)

1. In 2 Timothy 3:1 - 7 Paul listed 18 moral blemishes in the last days - beginning with self-love and ends with lovers of pleasure. Also God's people will only display external form of godliness. Many will not maintain an intimate relationship with the Lord.

2. In 1 Timothy 4:1 - 3 Paul said in "latter times" some God's people will be deceived by wrong spirits and wrong doctrines.

3. Peter said, "... knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ..." (2 Peter 3:3 - 8).

Positive (light)

1. In Acts 2 Peter quoted Joel, an Old Testament prophet concerning things happening in the last days. At that time the New Testament has not been written yet and Luke has not written Acts yet.

Peter said, "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; ..." (Acts 2:16, 17, emphasis added).

2. Isaiah said, "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established ..." (Isaiah 2:2, emphasis added).

Notice that the Lord's house, the present day Church is established by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit prophesied by both Joel and Isaiah. Therefore the purpose of Joel's prophecy is to lead us to Isaiah 2. If you only have Joel without Isaiah you have missed the purpose of Joel. That is where most Charismatic Christians missed it. God is telling us, our Charismatic "honeymoon" is over and He wants us to get back into the house of the Lord. He wants us to build (spiritually) a true New Testament Church - His end-time Church! But many Charismatic Christians take Joel's prophecy concerning the out pouring of the Holy Spirit to mean to build more Churches (physically) and have more Charismatic "honeymoon"!

The Way of Approach to God

The Tabernacle of Moses sets forth a pattern of how sinful men approach the Holy God. The New Testament Scripture gives many reasons why we should study the Tabernacle of Moses. Here are some reasons:

1. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV, emphasis added).

"All Scripture" includes the Old Testament Scripture.

2. "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

3. "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11).

4. ".... which are the shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ" (Col. 2:17, emphasis added).

5. ".... who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle" (Hebrews 8:5, emphasis added).

6. "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect" (Hebrews 10:1, emphasis added).

The Tabernacle of Moses together with its articles of furniture, furnishings of curtains and veils and its measurements are the shadows to bring us to the substance - just as the purpose of prophecy is to bring us to fulfillment. Our job is to keep on following the shadows through and eventually we will come to Him, the substance.

The purpose of the Tabernacle of Moses

The key verses of the whole purpose of the Tabernacle of Moses are found in Exodus 25:

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the furnishing, just so you shall make it" (Exodus 25:8, 9).

The whole purpose of God is to dwell among His people - He is Emmanuel, "God with us" (Matt. 1:23). This is being shadowed here.

Moses was faithful to the Lord in all the things he made (Heb 3:5). He made everyting according to the pattern - the blueprint given by God. When everything is finished the vey presence and glory of God come into the tabernacle. Similarly, God's Glory in His fullness can only come upon a Church that is built according to His blueprint.

Man's approach into the presence of God

Not only did God want to dwell amongst His people, but there was a way of approach that God wanted to teach men - how men were to approach into the presence of God.

Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NKJV).

It is clear that Jesus is the only way to God the Father. In fact Jesus is the only way back to God after Adam sinned and consequently, everyone after him lost the way, lost the truth and lost the life. We lost the way because Adam was cast out from the presence of God; we lost the truth because Adam believed the lie of Satan; and we lost the life because death (both spiritual and physical) settled in.

God's redemption plan from the beginning of time

Let us go back to Genesis 3 and let us take a serious look at what exactly happened after Adam and Eve sinned against God. The moment that happened time began - our clocks started to tick! Let us pick up the last four verses of Genesis 3:

"(V. 21) Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. (V. 22) Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever' - (V.23) therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. (V. 24) So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Edan, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life" (Gen. 3:21 -24, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. In Gen. 3:21 we have the first evidence of sacrifice. God Himself killed an animal for Adam and Eve's "tunics of skin".

2. Were Adam and Eve saved? I think they were. Between God and Adam was the blood and body of a sacrificial animal and the very fact that both Adam and Eve were willing to accept the coat of skin provided through the sacrifice of another, they were saved.

3. If Adam had eaten of the tree of life he and Eve, together with all those born after him, would have lived forever in an unredeemable state. And so God drove Adam out of the Garden of Eden (Vs. 23, 24).

4. Let us pick up some words from Verse 24:

(a). The word "placed" comes from the Hebrew word "shakan" which literally means "dwelling place", "lodging" or "habitation". In other words, the first tabernacle was at the east of the Garden of Eden - where God dwelled. Notice also that the tabernacle of Moses also faced east.

(b). God placed "cherubim" at the east of the Garden of Eden. In the tabernacle of Moses there were cherubim at both ends of the Mercy Seat where God dwelled. Cherubim were the guardians of the holiness of God.

(c). The "flaming sword" speaks of the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And the Word was Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:1, 14).

Restoration of the Way, the Truth and the Life

It is a Biblical fact the what we have lost through Adam has been completely restored in Jesus Christ. This is what redemption means. In order to return to the Garden of Eden, in the presence of God, we have to go through the sword. Because to go through the sword means death someone has to die for us. The death of Jesus, the Lamb God (John 1:29) opened the way for us so that we can come to the presence of God again.

It is interesting to note that the early believers were called "the Way" (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 22:4). It is a paradox that we have Jesus Christ Himself gurarding the way to the tree of life. In fact the Bible says unless you come to jesus you have no life (John 5:40; John 10:10; John 20:31).

John also said, "He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12).

The Tabernacle of Moses as a Pattern to approach God

The tabernacle shows us how to come to the Throne of God which was on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place. As the sinner comes to God, he must begins at the Gate of the Court, accepts the Blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. From there on he progresses with a walk of faith, step by step, until he comes to the ultimate, the full Glory of Gos as seen in the Most Holy Place.

The Gate of the Court

The Court Gate was the one and only way and entrance to the Court. Everyone has to come the same way. As we have seen, God had provided only one Gate in the tabernacle because there is only one way for man to approach God (John 10:1 - 10).

We could not reach the presence of God by doing good work, by Church membership and Church attendance or by the act of water baptism. The only way that leads to heaven is by the way of the Cross.

The Brazen Altar

The Brazen Altar was a place of burn offering. it was the place where the lamb was taken and was slain. It signified the flaming sword that guarded the Garden of Eden. It is a picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God to be slaughtered as a sin offering for us.

The Brazen Altar was made of acacia wood which was white, durable and "incorruptible". This speaks of Christ's sinless and incorruptible humanity. The structure was also overlaid with brass which is the symbol of strength and judgment against sin.

The Brazen Laver

The Brazen Laver was a place for washing and cleansing. The ministry of the laver points up to the ministry of the Word of God in our lives. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to convict sinners of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:6 - 12). It speaks of the cleansing that comes as the Word exposes areas of our lives that are not in conformity to the Standard of God. It also speaks of the washing of water by the Word (Eph. 5:26).

The Holy Place

The Holy place was the first part of the tabernacle. The second part was the Most Holy Place. The entrance to the Holy Place was called "The Door", and the entrance to the Most Holy Place was called "The Veil".

The Door which was the one and only entrance to the Holy Place speaks of the Lord Jesus as the one and only Way to God and into His Body, the Church. The Church is the place of priestly ministry, for we who are in Christ are made kings and priests unto God (1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 1:6).

The Golden Candlestick

The Golden Candlestick was actually a lampstand with seven branches, including the central shaft, upon which were seven lighted lamps. It was made wholly of gold, which speaks of the deity and Divine nature of Christ.

The purpose of the Candlestick was to give light and the light was sustained by pure olive oil. Jesus is the only light of the world and His light reflects and shines through the Church. Just as the candlestick needed oil to give light, the Church needs the Holy Spirit to give light to the world.

The Golden Altar of Incense

The Golden Altar of incense was for the burning of Incense unto the Lord and was positioned in the Holy Place before the veil. In Scripture, incense speaks to us of the prayer and intercession of believers which ascent unto God (Psalm 141:2; Rev. 8:3, 4).

The Table of Showbread

The Table of Showbread which was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold was placed opposite the Golden candlestick in the Holy Place. Upon this Table were placed twelve loaves of unleavened bread which were for the priests of the tribe of Levi to partake.

The word "Table" speaks to the believers today the Fellowship and Communion provided for us by the Lord. Just as God had provided the Table for His priests in the Holy Place, He has also prepared a Table in Christ for His redeemed people, the priests of His Church.

There were twelve loaves of Showbread on the Table before the Lord, one loaf for each tribe in the camp of Israel. All the tribes were represented before the Lord. Similarly, the Church is represented before the Lord as members of His Body. Every member of the Body of Christ participates in that One Bread.

The Inner Veil

The Inner Veil was a thick curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. It was to hide the Shekinah Glory from the eyes of men. It acted as a partition to separate sinful men from the Most Holy God. Only once a year, on the Great Day of Atonement, did Aaron, the high priest entered within the veil making atonement for his own sins and for the sins of the people.

The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets of the Law, the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod that was budded, was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place. On top of the Ark was the Mercy Seat, with cherubim of gold at both ends (Ex. 25:18 - 20). It was from here, from above the Mercy Seat that God spoke to Aaron (Verse 22).

The Veil was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, shedding His Blood, as both Sin Sacrifice and High Priest, as both Offering and Offerer, God, by a miraculous act, rent the dividing Veil of the Temple (a type of the tabernacle) in twain (Matt. 27:51). This was a divine act of God.

The Way to the Glory and presence of God was now opened - thus restoring what was lost through Adam's sin.

The Time of the Apostles and the New Creation

We are at the final stage of the restoration of God's pattern of creation seen in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Adam not only brought sin and death to the world but also created a gross unbalance to the teaching and practice of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Let us recapitulate what we have learned when we apply it to the Church. Genesis 1 teaches that in the Church all ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are opened to both men and women. Genesis 2 teaches that in the Church only men take responsibility in the areas of doctrine and discipline. The Ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the early Church showed that women should never hold an authoritative position where they tell men what to do. It is the will of God that this original pattern be fully restored. Otherwise, in the eyes of God, the Church is not fully redeemed!

The Apostles' Doctrine

After Peter's first sermon Luke recorded, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer" (Acts 2:41, 42, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul (or rather God) has given us the ingredients for a healthy Church growth. The primary requirement is upholding the apostles' doctrine (or teaching). The trouble is, the contemporary Local Churches practising all these - fellowshipping, breaking of bread and having prayer meetings except "steadfastly" following and upholding the apostles' doctrine.

Danger of taking a verse of Scripture out of its context

Paul's teaching is totally consistent with the pattern we dealt with in the first two Chapters of the Bible. On the one hand Paul upholds the equality of status, value and worth of every individual person, either male of female. On the other hand he makes a distinction between the male and female in their respective role and responsibility in the Church.

Confusion and trouble come when we take a verse of Scripture out of its context. In the original translation the books of the Bible were written without paragraph and verse number. These were put in by the translators. It will be better if we can read a book of the Bible through like a story without worrying about taking a sentence out of its context.

False basis of support for the feminists and the homosexuals

Let us look at a statement of Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28, emphasis added).

The above verse taken out of context is now becomes almost the sole basis for the Christian feminists because they take it to mean that there is no difference whatever between the male and female in the eyes of God. What men can do, women can do equally well or even better.

If you take that text and apply it to the relationship between men and women, can can prove that it is perfectly acceptable for homosexuals to get married provided they are both Christians. If that verse means now that we are Christians, if there is no difference between men and women then there is nothing wrong with homosexual marriage. A man can therefore free to marry another man or to a woman. Homosexual Churches actually use that verse to justify their existence. It is obvious that is the wrong meaning.

If you want to find the meaning of a text you have to look at the context - other part of the same chapter or other part of the same paragraph, usually one or two verses before and one or two verses after the text in question. So if you look at Galatians 3:38 in the context you will realize that the apostle Paul was not talking about role relationship (teaching of Genesis 2). He was talking about sons and heirs through faith in Christ Jesus. He was explaining the nature of the Abrahamic Covenant whereby the blessing of salvation came to mankind - both men and women.

Paul said, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26, emphasis added).

Notice that he did not say sons and daughters. Never in the New Testament was the early Church addressed Christians as brothers and sisters - always brothers. Never in the New Testament is a Christian fellowship described as sons and daughters of God - always sons. And all female Christians are also sons in Christ.

Paul further said, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Verse 27).

In other words, when I am baptized I have put on Christ -The One who is a free Jew. Once I am in Christ I am in a male Jew who is free, whether I am a Jew or a Gentile. Because I am in Christ I am Abraham's seed and I can claim the promise made to Abraham (Verse 29).

Galations 3:28 shows that Paul's teaching was totally in line with Genesis 1.

Paul maintained the teaching of Genesis 2

When Paul discussed family life, marriage and the role of men and women in the Church he applied Genesis 2.

Therefore in 1 Cor. 11 he said, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3).

Notice the chain of divine order of authority comes from the top downward - Christ, man and then woman. Paul did not say the head of every Christian man is Christ, nor did he say the head of every Christian woman is man. So, this divine order of authority is mandatory to all men - Christian or non-Christian.


Furthermore Paul continued to say, "For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels" (1 Cor. 11:8 - 10).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Here Paul picked up the whole basis of the teaching of Genesis 2 - woman was made from man; woman was made for man; woman was made after man (please read again my earlier message - "God's Pattern of Male-Female Role and Relationship").

2. A woman needs to have a symbol of authority over her head - spiritually it is the man; physically it is her long hair (Verse 15). Notice there is not one word in the original Greek about a woman wearing a hat in the Church. The length of a woman's hair is sufficient to reveal that she is accepting her identity in Christ.

3. The angels are watching whether the Church is following the divine order and that the women are covered by men in that congregation in worshiping, praying and prophesying (Verse 5). Whenever we are gathering together in a Church the angels are watching us. The women in the Church are vulnerable to supernatural influence because there are bad angels as well as good ones. The bad ones are demons and they are looking around for women who do not accept male protection!


So we see Paul was totally consistent in his teaching (based on Genesis 1 and Genesis 2). He summed this up:

"Nevertherless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of men, in the Lord" (Verse 11).

Therefore there would never be a Church made up of men only, or women only.

Paul's teaching in 1 Cor. 11 is very clear. The man needs to be masculine toward his wife and the womans need to be femine toward her husband. On the one hand, as the husband leads his wife he himself needs to be led by Christ. But on the other hand Paul and the other apostles' teachings say that whatever the woman's husband is like, he is the woman's head. In other words, whether the husband is a believer or a non-believer he is still the head of the woman. We must repect the head of the home whether he is a believer or a non-believer.

Peter also maintained the Creation Pattern

It is interesting to realize that Peter taught exactly the same thing as Paul. Both of them were utterly consistent with the whole Bible.

The first calling of a wife, after loving the Lord, is to love her husband and not the Church. The Church comes third. In a redeemed relationship the wife submits to her husband whether he is a believer or not and whether he is matured or not.

To the wife Peter said, "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear (1 Peter 3:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Paul said the same thing regarding the wife's submission to her husband (Eph. 5:22).

2: Sometimes both the husband and the wife heard the Gospel together but the husband would not obey, whereas the wife obeyed and got converted. By the show of chaste conduct of the wife, even without the wife having to say anything, her husband would fear God and would soon accept the Gospel.

To the husband Peter said, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understand, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7, emphasis added).

Notice that the above verse is quite similar to what Paul said in Galatians 3:28. Both Paul and Peter upheld the teaching of Genesis 1.

Equal in ministry but unequal in office

According to the apostles' doctrine every ministry is opened to women in the New Testament but not every office - there is a difference.

Paul said, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11, 12, emphasis added).

The five offices listed: Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are Christ's gifts to His Church for the purpose of preparing Church members to take up the various ministries in the Body of Christ. Each of these five gifts listed can be an office or a ministry.

For example Paul asked Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4:5). Obviously Timothy did not hold the office of an evangelist but able to minister and do the work expected of an evangelist. Similarly any Christian, male or female, can be anointed and called to minister, to serve and to function in all these offices except that a woman cannot hold the office of a Pastor - simply because she cannot be in a position to have authority over men, to teach men and tell men what to do (1 Tim. 2:11 -15).

There are women who prophesy. For example, we have Philip's four daughters. There are also women teachers (Titus 2:2, 3). There are women who are given the name of apostle. For example, a woman called Junia:

Paul said, "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who were in Christ before me" (Romans 16:7).

In fact, Paul, in Romans 16, listed 26 of his helpers and companions and 9 of them were women. But, no where can you find in the entire New Testament that a woman is called to be a Pastor or an elder or a teacher in an opened congregation where both men and women are present.

This is the balanced teaching of both Paul and Peter based on the pattern set out by God in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. How I wish the contemporary Churches have balanced teaching as well!

The New Creation

In heaven the sexual difference will go. Neither will men marry nor will women given in marriage (Matt. 22:30; Mark 12:25). That is because there will be no need for reproduction and the population in heaven will not increase. We shall be like the angels. Angels are created beings and they never reproduce; they are of fixed number. You will never be united with your marriage partner. Your marriage ends when one of you dies; and you will never be put together again. You and your wife will be brother and sister in heaven. And we all will have closer relationship with every one else.

The best news is, you will get a new body in heaven and your body will be of age 33! - the same age when Jesus died.

John said, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

That is when you are fully redeemed (Romans 8:22, 23). The whole creation will be on the eighth day of creation. God is preparing us for a whole new world. He is restoring what is meant to be in the beginning. That is the whole Gospel! Amen.

New Testament's Attitude toward Women

We have seen in my previous message that the Old Testament's attitude toward women failed to get back to God's creation order. It was less than God's best because it fell short of God's original order. It is interesting to discover what happened when Jesus and the early Church came into the picture.

Jesus' attitude toward women

When Jesus came it is very obvious that for someone who is called a Rabbi (Mark 9:5; John 1:38) He had an extraordinary attitude toward women. In the days of Jesus no rabbi would teach a woman anything. In fact even to this day this still spplies. The Jewish rabbi considers women beneath teaching. That is why in the synagogue women are being segregated. They usually sit at the gallery area because it is the men who are addressed by the rabbi.

Jesus broke all that culture and He addressed in teaching, equally to men and women. When He told a parable He told one for the men and one for the women.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Jesus said, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it" (Luke 15:4, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Parable of the Lost Coin

Jesus said, "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it" (Luke 15:8, emphasis added).

Jesus allowed women to minister to Him

You will find throughout His life Jesus gave as much attention to women as to men. Furthermore when He traveled to the country side He took women with Him as well as men.

"Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities - Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance" (Luke 8:1 - 3, emphasis added).

Jesus allowed women to minister to Him which no rabbi had ever done. In fact Joanna and Mary Magdalene were two of the women who witnessed the empty tomb and announced Christ's resurrection to the unbelieving apostles (Luke 24:1 - 10).

When Jesus' disciples found Him spending hours in the heat of the day talking about theology with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well they could not believe it (John 4). Jesus did not think it strange that Mary sat at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple. In fact He suggested to Martha that she should do likewise (Luke 10:38 - 42).

Therefore, Genesis 1 is clearly applied in Jesus' Ministry that men and women are of equal value. Jesus, the Son of God, could have chosen to come straight from heaven at the age of 30 but He did not choose to do that. Instead He chose to be born of a woman. He was the only Person who ever chose to be born! At the other end of His life, it was Jesus' choice that women should be the first to know that He has risen from the dead. That is totally against all the Jewish culture of His days.

Amazing encounters of Jesus and women

The Gospels are full of amazing encounters of Jesus and women in which He gave them nothing less than utter repect. Let us look at just one incidence.

When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery Jesus handled the situation with utter wisdom (John 8). The Law of Moses said you have to stone the woman, but it also said you have to stone the man too. But they did not bring the man which was typical of unfairness. They caught the woman in the very act of adultery so they must have caught the man too. When Jesus saw that shameful injustice He could not even look at them. He simply scribbled on the ground with His fingers.

He said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).

He did not mean, "He who is without any sin". Otherwise no judge could ever operate because there was no human judge who was not a sinner in some area. He was referring to the sin they wanted to condemn the woman for because they were of the same mind which the world usually was to blame the woman and not the man - not knowing it is the man's reponsibility to protect the woman. It is interesting to note that the older men left first. I believe the older men knew the truth about themselves better than the younger men. But even the younger men finally admitted their injustice and left.

Women owed so much to Jesus who came with a different attitude. Nobody has a higher view of women than Jesus and no woman had ever come to Jesus and felt He could not understand her.

Jesus maintained the teaching of Genesis 2

Having said the above, Jesus also maintaned the teaching of Genesis 2 by making sure that men took the reponsibility and not the women. Jesus chose 12 men to start His Church. He was not under cultural pressure to choose 12 men. He had only one reason - He was founding the new poeple of God on the same basis of the old. The old was founded on the 12 sons of Jacob, and the new was founded on the 12 men. When you get to the New Creation and see the New Jerusalem you will find 24 names engraved on the gates and on the walls. They are all Jewish men, 12 from the old and 12 from the new (Rev. 21:12 - 14). The names of the 12 sons of Jacob will be engraved on the gates of the New City. The names of the 12 apostles will be engraved on the walls with 12 foundations.

The male leadership responsibility was practiced by Jesus in choosing 12 men to lay the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ today. At the same time Jesus showed utter respect for every woman He met. He did it because it is God's will that His people, at anytime and dispensation, follow the teaching of Genesis 2.

Jesus would not allow a woman to tell Him what to do

Though Jesus gave such respect and such time and such love for women He always reacted strongly against a woman telling Him what to do. Let us look at two examples:

1. The wedding at Cana (John 2)

Almost immediately after His baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit, Jesus and His disciples and His mother were invited to a family wedding at Cana. His mother tried to get Him involved.

He said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4).

Notice Jesus would not call her "mother" but call her "woman" reminding her of her sex and indicating it was not her place to get Him involved. And then, having said that, and put her very firmly in her place, He then had compassion on His relatives and turned the water into wine.

2. Jesus' encounter with a Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7:24 - 30)

A Syro-Phoenician woman came to Jesus asking Him to cast out the demon from her daughter. This gentile woman was telling Jesus what to do.

Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (Mark 7:27).

Jesus was obviously rude to her - what an insult to be called a dog! Jesus put her firmly in her place first and watched her reaction. That clever woman said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs" (Verse 28).

Jesus must have smiled and granted the desire of her heart because of her faith.

So we see it is important to note that Jesus would not let women tell Him what to do. He talked to them, ministered to them and loved them, but He would not allow them to have authority in His life. Jesus not only chose men as the base of His people, but He also would not let women take any position of authority over men. We shall see the teaching of the apostles is totally in line with Jesus' own teaching and attitude.

The Early Church

We find the threat of Genesis 1 and 2 continued into the early Church. On the one hand it is quite obvious that in the early Chapters of Acts, women were of equal value, and worth and status as men. They joined together in prayer in an upper room for the coming of Pentecost - for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Women were there with the men praying together. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was praying with the others when the Pentecost came. The Holy Spirit was given without distinction of class, age or sex.

The Scripture says that "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4, NKJV, emphasis added). Therefore Mary, the mother of Jesus also spoke in other tongues. Notice that Mary was not mentioned again after this - indicating she had completed her ministry. And now the Church took over. The Church was to carry the Christ to the world. The Church was to embody the Christ. Mary's work was completed. But she was an outstanding example of a charismatic believer. She was willing to let the Holy Spirit to do anything with her regardless of social consequences.

Right through the early Chapters of Acts, men and women were equally filled with the Holy Spirit, equally in prayer; they were together in the Church taking a full and active part. Also women were disciplined as well as men in the Church. Ananias and his wife Sapphira were both condemned to death because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1 - 11).

So, the early Chruch was totally in line with the teaching of Genesis 1 (the vertical relationship). This means men and women were created equal; they were all called disciples, they were all treated as able to receive the Holy Spirit in fullness and receive His gifts. For example, the four daughters of Philips were prophetess (Acts 21:9).

The Early Church maintained the teaching of Genesis 2

Just like the Ministry of Jesus, the early Church maintained the teaching of Genesis 2 by making sure that men took responsibility in the Church. Here are some examples:

1. A replacement for Judas (Acts 1:15 - 26)

When Judas went to his own place (committed suicide) they replaced him with a man and not a woman. That was the first indication that the Church is going to carry on with the dual strength of teaching right from Genesis 1 and 2, through the Old Testament, right through the Ministry of Jesus - they just carry the pattern set out by God in total consistency.

2. Feeding the widows (Acts 6:1 - 7)

When a crisis arose over the widows they were feeding, they chose "seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" (Verse 3) to be in charge of catering. I think we should do likewise. But the contemporary Church is likely to choose women.

3. Planting of new Churches and Christian communities (Acts 13, 14)

When they sent out pioneering teams to plant new Chruches and Christian communities they always sent out two men with the team. A good example is Paul and Barnabas. The last thing they would do, unlike what modern society often do, is to send woman out to plant Chruches. This practice is against the Word of the Lord, against creation order and it is going to distort the Church from the very foundation of it!

4. Doctrinal dispute (Acts 15)

When they had a doctrinal dispute; when there was an argument over the teaching, it was settled by men. A classic example is found in Acts 15. The main issue was whether Gentile believers need to be circumcised in order to be saved. They settled rightly by gathering the whole Church together and listened to all the points of view. The apostles and the elders settled this issue and reported back to the whole Church their discussion and that pleased the whole Church. When the men had setted the doctrinal dispute they sent out 2 men to carry their decision to other Churches and shared it. The men took resposibility not only to settling it, but for spreading the result of their judgment. This is in line with the teaching of Genesis 2.

Since the elders' tasks in the New Testament Church primarily concerns with doctrine and discipline, the responsiblity for eldership is always given to the men. Every Church needs a group of men who are able and willing to see that the standard of belief and behavior are properly upheld. Women should never have to carry that responsibility.

You will find that in a Church where the elders were mixed men and women, they will not discipline the Church correctly. That is why a woman cannot be a Pastor or an elder of a Church.

The Restoration of God's Pattern

The restoration of God's pattern of creation as seen in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 takes place in stages - in particular the Old Testament, the New Testament, the time of Jesus, the time of the apostles and the New Creation. This message deals with the Old Testament.

The Old Testament's attitude toward women and their role and relationship with men was a gigantic leap forward from that of the ancient world of Egypt, Babylon and Assyria. But it did not get back to God's creation order. For example, polygamy was accepted by God in the Old Testament. Abraham was a polygamist, so was king David and king Solomon. God's original pattern was monogamy which means being married to one wife. God never intended that a man has more than one wife. So the Old Testament was less than God's best because it fell short of God's original order.

Paradox of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2

The same paradox or ambiguity between Gen. 1 and Gen. 2 carried all the way through the Old Testament. On the one hand the responsibility of leadership was given to the men. But on the other hand the women were treated better in Israel than in the other nations of the ancient world.

The maleness of the Patriarchal Society

Throughout the Old Testament we have what we called the Patriarchal society, one which the male took responsibility and in which therefore inheritance was passed down through the male. So both the responsibility and the privilege were given to the men.

Right from the beginning God said, "(I Am) the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ...." (Exodus 3:15). He did not call Himself the God of Sarah, God of Rebekah, God of Rachel. God had tied Himself to the names of those three men. We called them the patriachs - because those three men began the people of God. And it was a male-led people of God. God is the God of the men. The 12 tribes of Israel were named after Jacob's 12 sons. There was not a single tribe named after Jacob's daughter. The whole maleness of the Old Testament society is very obvious.

Deborah, a prophetess and a Judge

There is a very interesting story in the Book of Judges (Judges 4). All the seven Judges raised up by God except Deborah were men. Not only Deborah was a woman; she was a prophetess as well. In fact from the beginning of the Old Testament to the New Testament the prophetic ministry was opened to woman. God often used women to speak to His people, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Examples are, Miriam, Moses' sister (Ex. 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8, 9).

In the case of Deborah, she brought the Words of the Lord that danger was threatening the people of God. She called for a man named Barak to deploy troops for battle. But Barak refused to be a man and he replied Deborah, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go" (Judges 4:8, NKJV). He was abdicating his responsibility as a man to protect Deborah. God was so angry with Barak that He gave Deborah another prophecy (Verse 9) indicating that a woman would defeat God's enemy and the name of Barak would go down in history in disgrace!

Eldership in the Old Testament

Eldership in the Old Testament was the male responsibility for the people of God.

When Moses needed help to carry responsibilty for the 3 million people he brought out of Egypt he heeded his father-in-law's advice and selected "able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness" (Ex. 18:21, 22) and apointed them as elders.

Many nations of the ancient world had queens - queen of Sheba for example (1 Kings 10). But Israel was never to have a queen because the king was to represent the divine side of the divine-human relationship (please read my previous messages). The king was the representative of God and so Israel could only have kings. The wives of the kings of Israel were never called queens.

God's special concern for widows and orphans

God has a special concern for widows and the fatherless and apparently He has no concern for widowers. He shows not just a concern for the bereaved but also a concern for those whose bereavement has robed them of a man. It is for those who do not have a man to provide for them and to protect them that God has a special concern. This includes the single ladies as well as the fatherless.

God seems to say to those He shows concern, "I make a promise - the the widows I will be a husband and to the fatherless child I will be a father". But He never says to the widower that He will be his wife.

A good example is the raising of a widow's son:

"And when He (Jesus) came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow" (Luke 7:12).

The widow was losing her only son and Jesus had compassion on her for the reason that that she was losing her man.

Similarly, Lazarus, whose sisters were Mary and Martha, was dead (John 11) and Jesus come to raise him up because these women were losing their man.

So Jesus was not haphazard in raising the dead. He was providing a man for those who are losing their man. It was all because of the Jewish background of Jesus and He understood what the Old Testament taught about the responsibility of men.

Women's place of honor and respect

There are a lot of Old Testament Scriptures about the patriarchs' wives. The three of them, Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel were so attractive to look at that when they went with their husbands to a foreign country, the husbands, in order to protect themselves, had to say the wives were their sisters. Abraham told a half lie to Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. He said this so as to save his own life (Gen. 20). What Abraham said however also a half truth because Sarah was his half-sister. Isaac did exactly the same with his wife Rebekah (Gen. 26:7).

The Scripture says that the patriarchs' wives were attractive to look at and attractive to live with. In fact these two qualities are picked up at the New Testament as models for Christian wives.

Solomon and his women

I thought solomon was the wisest man in the Old Testament but I do not believe it now. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and most of them were foreign women who turned his heart to follow other gods (1 Kings 11:1 - 4). For this reason I will not say Solomon was wise. He broke God's Law and married outside the people of God. This Law is also repeated in the New Testament. If you are a Christian you cannot marry someone who is not a Christian.

Solomon had wisdom for everybody except for himself. He learned wisdom in a hard way - through all his women. You can read about his wisdom in the three books he wrote - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Someone said solomon actually wrote 3000 proverbs but we have only a sample of which in the Book of Proverbs. He wrote 1005 songs but we have only one of his songs. I believe he wrote a song for every one of his women. The Song of Solomon was the only one published because it was about the woman that God chose for him!

You can almost guess Solomon's age by reading the books he wrote. He was an old man when he wrote Ecclesiastes.

Chapter 12, the last Chapter says, "Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:6, 7, NKJV).

The Song of Solomon is a young man's poetry. Solomon wrote this when he was a young man deeply in love with a young girl. But allegorically, this book pictures God' betrothed wife as depicted by Hosea (Hos. 2:19, 20). It also pictures the Bride of Christ. As human life finds its hightest fulfillment in the love of man and woman so spiritual life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of God for his people and Christ for His Church.

When you read Proverbs you will read about Solomon's experience with all the women in his life, both good and bad. All the first Chapters are all about the bad women he got mixed up with. But he finished up with a beautiful Chapter concerning an ideal wife.

The virtuous wife

"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain" (Proverbs 31:10, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).

The word "virtuous" comes from the Hebrew word "chayil" which means resourceful, able, worthy, ideal and fine. Literally the question asked is "Who can find a fine wife?"

As you read Proverbs 31 notice that the ideal wife puts her home and family first (Verse 15). But she is not limited to do only housework. She goes out to work, she trades and she does business and makes a profit. She actually manufacturing things and sells them. And then as if that does not fill her time she goes out to the poor and the needy (Verse 20). She does the work of mercy all over the place. Surely this a marvelous description of a very full and busy life for a wife.

But when you read it again you will find something missing in her daily life. She does not attend any women's fellowship meeting; she does not attend any prayer meeting or Bible study group or open her house for home-cell group. She is much too busy in three more importnat areas - her home and family, her business and work outside, and her care for the poor and needy. Furthermore, "her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (Verse 23). In other words, her husband holds an honored position among the elders. The virtuous wife knows that it is the responsibility of her husband to teach her the Scripture and any spiritual things at home if she wants to learn.

The trouble of the married Christian woman going to endless Church meetings is that she got so far ahead of her husband that both her husband and she are no longer traveling together as one flesh in the spiritual way.

General Comments

The Old Testament was still not God's pattern of role and relationship between the male and the female - there was still plenty of unbalance. For example in the Old Testament a man could divorce his wife but the wife could not divorce her husband (Deut. 24:1 - 4). This unequal justice would be put right in the New Testament.

There were other inequalities in the Old Testament. Sometimes the wives were listed together with the men's property:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shell not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's" (Ex. 20:17, NKJV, emphasis added).

That is the kind of language you will not find in the New Testament. Even though under Moses' Law there were unequal justice, but it was a gigantic leap ahead of the contemporary attitude toward women. One reason is that Christians are not under the Law of Moses. We have the highter Law of Christ which takes us right back to God's original pattern. This we shall see in my next message.

The Fall of Man

In my last two messages we have seen that Genesis 1 and 2 describe God's original plan of creation. Now let us consider what happened when sin came in. Genesis 3 describes the temptation and the fall of man.

What happened in Genesis 3 is the beginning of the alienation between the male and female. All competition between the sexes is due to what happened in Genesis 3. Instead of just to give direction the man began to give domination and became a dictator. In any home where the man is treating his wife as a slave, in that home sin is ripe. Sin actually pushed the man too far toward being a little god in his home. The result is, the woman instead of deferring to him, becomes defiant and competitive and fights him. We are now living in a world where there is an intense competition between the male and the female; in where women are saying, anything that men can do they can do as well and even better. The high rate of divorce is primarily due to competition between male and female; between two wills striving for mastery - the man wants to dominate and the woman wants to defiant.

How sin came in - according to Genesis 3

Satan got hold of the wife without the husband, and he did it quite deliberately because that is his evangelistic method - he gets her away from the man. Satan was deliberately ignoring God's pattern of the man taking responsibility. She was unprotected, she was vulnerable and she was deceived. Satan seduced her mind.

Someone said it is quite impossible to convert a Jewish wife without her husband. You can do it with the Gentiles but you cannot do it with the Jews because the Jewish wife knows the Old Testament and she knows what happened to Eve when Satan got her away from her husband.

Satan twisted the woman's thinking. She quoted the Word of God at him, but he also quoted the Word of God at her with a little twist. Satan's deceptive quotation of the Bible is always the same. Here are his 3 favorite tricks:

1. He takes a little away from the Word of God.

2. He adds a little bit to it.

3. He then changes it around.

Satan used the same tricks on Jesus Himself (Matthew 4:1 - 110). Beware of satanic Bible teachers - and most of them are women Pastors and women Bible teachers.

The Tempter and Adam

The two main activities with which Satan directs his power against us are temptation and accusation.

Notice that before the Fall, Adam's helpmeet (given by God) was named by Adam himself as "woman" (wife-man or female-man) (Gen. 2:23). But after the Fall, Adam's wife was called "Eve" - mother of every living person (Gen. 3:20). For the sake of clarity we shall refer her name as Eve even before the Fall.

In the Garden of Eden, the serpent approached Eve with an innocuous-sounding question: "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the garden'?" (Gen. 3:1, NKJV).

On the surface the question sounded silly, but it actually involved an obvious distortion. God had given Adam and Eve free use of the garden - with one exception. One tree was placed off limits. The rest were fully available. Here we see the subtlety of the serpent. His thinly veiled suggestion is that if God places one limit on human freedom, He has taken freedom altogether. The serpent's question was more than a question. It was an accusation against the fairness and kindness of God.

Eve was quick to set the Devil straight: "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die'" (Gen. 3:2, 3).

Satan's question was an indirect assault on the integrity of God. Satan then moved quickly from an indirect attack to frontal assault. After Eve set the record straight Satan boldly declared: "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4, 5).

Here the temptation is wrapped in a bold-faced lie: "You will not die." Not only did Satan accuse God of lying, but he also provided Eve with a reason for God's lie. He charged God with a kind of divine jealously. God did not want Adam and Eve's eyes to be opened. He wanted to keep His level of knowledge to Himself. He did not want to share His deity. He was afraid that the fruit of the tree would make Adam and Eve divine. His prohibition was both unfair and selfish.

The whole strategy of Satan is very clear - First, he made sure Adam was not around. Then he got Eve confused in her thinking until she could not actually remember what God actually said to her.

Notice that not only Adam did not repent of falling into sin with Eve, but he also accused both Eve and God Himself: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (Gen. 3:12).

Lessons we should learn but failed to learn them

God's punishment for Adam ought to have warned us clearly that a man should not heed the voice of a woman without confirmation from God (Gen. 3:17).

A woman needs a man to protect her thinking and reasoning. That is one of the reasons why in the New Testament Paul said: "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church" (1 Cor. 14:34, 35, NKJV).

In my opinion, the above is a practical outworking of Genesis 3. Satan loves to get hold of a woman alone. He twists her thinking and gets hold of a woman's desire to compete with men. That is why so many "Christian" cults and false religious sects have been started by women's teaching. The whole New Age movement began with women, without mentioning Christian Science. You will find in almost every case, these women are either not married, separated from their husbands or have stronger personality than their husbands.

There is evidence in Church history where a denomination makes a lot of women into Pastors and Bible teachers and sooner or later doctrine slips. The majority Pastors and Bible teachers and home-cell leaders of the Churches in China, Hong Kong and South Korea are women.

There are two areas in which men must carry full responsibility in the Local Church. One is in the area of doctrine and the other is in the area of discipline. And if men do not carry those two responsibilities both will slip, because both are not natural for women to exercise. All through the New Testament (especially in Paul's and Peter's epistles) testified this fact. Women taking leadership in any congregation is foreign to the teaching of the Bible. Any Local Church that does not recognize this fact is the evidence of the outworking of the unredeemed Adamic race.

Adam brought sin and death to the human race

Paul said, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression" (1 Tim 2:14, NKJV).

The fact that Eve was fooled by Satan but Adam was not, and yet he still took it when Eve gave him the fruit, he had denied his God-given responsibility to watch over Eve and the responsibility to protect her. That is why Adam brought sin and death to the human race. What Adam should have done was to question Satan and argued it through to see if it was the right thing to do. Because of what he failed to do he carried all the resposibility for what happened.

The Punishment

1. Punishment for Adam

The Lord said to Adam, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife ....." Gen. 3:17).

The primary reason why Adam (and all male after him) was punished was because he heeded the voice of Eve. The result of which Adam saw work as a drudgery (Verses 17 - 19).

The nature of Adam's punishment is very interesting. Because of the Fall many people failed to realize that their daily work is their prime vocation for God. Whether your calling is a plumber or a preacher both callings are equally holy and sacred to the Lord. You do not need to enter fulltime ministry to please God - unless of course you are called by God to enter fulltime ministry.

Paul said, "Who (God) has saved us and called us with a holy calling ..." (2 Tim. 1:9).

In other words, every calling that a Christian received from the Lord is holy to the Lord. Only when you are into sin you see your calling as a plumber a secular employment. In God's eyes there is no such thing as secular calling except sin! Everything else, including your employment as a plumber, is sacred and holy to God. Your prime calling is to do your daily work as to the Lord and not to your boss. Your daily work is God's sacred calling for you.

2. Punishment for Eve

The Lord said to Eve, ".... in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Gen. 3:16, emphasis added).

The nature of Eve's punishment consists of two parts - as a mother and as a wife. As a mother sorrow would be multiplied in her pregnancy and in the bearing and bringing up of children. As a wife "her desire shall be for her husband".

The phrase, "Your desire shall be for your husband" is very interesting. Many people think that women will be so desired of sex that they have to have a man. Recently I discovered what it really means. The key to understanding is found in Genesis 4.

In Genesis 4 after Cain's offering was rejected, God said to him:

"If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" (Gen 4:7, NKJV, emphasis added).

The use of the word "desire" above is the same as that used in Genesis 3:16. In other words, sin's desire is to take control over Cain and he should overcome it.

In the case of Eve and in all cases of women born after her, they have the desire to control and manipulate their husbands - unless the husbands are capable of overcoming this problem.

The problem of control and manipulation

As discussed above, one of the results of the Fall is that women have the natural desire to control and manipulate men. Instead of looking to a man for a lead there is a desire in fallen female nature to have a man so that she can control and manipulate him. But since she is a weaker partner the man will be able to rule her just as she will want to rule him. That is the direct result of sin - competition and clash between two opposite personalities in the home. The wife wants to change the husband but he has the power not to change. This is the scenario with all the seeds for divorce - not a part of redemption.

There are cases of Christian women asking for prayer for their husbands to be converted. Some Christian women are praying for their husbands to change to the men they want them to be. The use of prayer to change someone you want him to be is a subtle form of control and manipulation.

Peter said, "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives" (1 Peter 3:1, NKJV).

In other words, in order to win over the unbelieving husband, the wife needs to change herself first - from a manipulating person to a submissive person with holy conduct.

The main result of the Fall is clear. In any marriage if the wife is dominating the husband and running his life and taking his place as a spiritual leader at home, it is contrary to God's original creation order and pattern.

Divine-Human Love Relationship

Continuing the theme of God's pattern of role and relationship between male and female it follows naturally that it is God's desire that the love of a man for his wife follows the same pattern of God's love for His people. This is true all through the Bible. In fact the Bible is a divine love letter for all of us.

Relationship between the vertical and horizontal relationships

The vertical relationship represents divine-man relationship and the horizontal relationship represents male-female relationship. There is a direct anology or likeness between the divine-human relationship and the male-female relationship. If you understand one you will understand the other. If you understand how God and man relate you will understand how male and female relate. In the male-female relationship, the man is called to model the divine side of the divine-human life, but the woman is called to model the human side of the divine-human life. For example in a marriage the husband must model the divine side and the wife should model the human side.

How does a man love his wife? He should love his wife as Christ loves the Church.

Paul said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25, NKJV).

In other words, the man is to model God and the woman is to model man in the divine-human relationship, so that from the understanding of the human relationship we can understand what is like to relate to God. That is the reason why the love song - "Song of Solomon" is placed right in the middle of your Bible. In this, Solomon depicted the love between a man and a woman as the love between God and men (Israel). If you understand the love between man and women you are well on your way to understand the love between God and men. That is why right through the Bible the relationship between God and men is presented in sexual terms in which God is always called He in the entire Bible and that is why Israel and the Church always called she.

The he-she relationship is the same in many regards - in the relationship between God and man and the relationship between man and woman. The woman is to trust and depend on her man. The man is to protect and provide for the woman. In this the man is modeling God protecting and providing for us.

Pictures of God's love for Israel and Christ's love for His Bride

There are amazing messages depicting God's love for His people right through the Bible. Let us deal with three examples:

1. Hosea

Let me not only paraphrase Hosea 1:2 - 11 but also to dramatize it to show how much God loves Israel despite her unfaithfulness toward Him:

Once there was a preacher called Hosea and he said, "God is there anything you want me to do?"

God said, "Yes, Hosea I want you to go out and find a prostitude."

"But God, I'm a preacher."

"Yes I know but I want you to find her."

"What do You want me to do with her?"

"I want you to marry her."

"Me, marry a prostitute?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Alright Lord, but what you want me to do then?"

"I want you to start a family with her. Hosea, you'll have 3 children. The first she will love and so you'll call it 'love'; the second she'll not want and so you'll call it 'not love'. And the third child will not even be yours for another man will be the father. So you'll call it 'not mine'."


"And then what Lord?"

"She'll go back on the streets as a prostitute again and you'll lose her."

"Lord, what do I do with the three children?"

"You go and look for her and when you find her on the streets you'll buy her back with money from the pimp who is running her. And then you'll start all over again and love her again and you'll rebuild the family."


"And then what Lord?"

"Then Hosea, you must go and tell Israel that is exactly how I feel about them. They have gone after other gods and producing children who are not mine. That is how I feel but I just can't give her up and I'm going to love her back again."

What a touching message!

2. Ezekiel

Ezekiel 16:1 - 22 is also another message depicting God's love for Israel.

Israel was seen like a child born in a polluted land, abandoned from its birth, left by its parents to the chance regard of any passer-by. On such a child the Lord looked with compassion, tended and adopted it. Under the Lord's tender loving care the child grew up to be comely and beautiful and later the Lord joined her in marriage union.

The Lord said, "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful .... When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, ..." (Ezekiel 16:6 - 8).

That is how God feels about Israel and that is why Israel is a chosen wife of God.

3. Christ's love for His Bride

The whole appeal of the Bible is on the basis of a covenant which is of a Marriage between God and His people - the people are the wife and God is the Husband. The same is true in the New Testament - Jesus is the Bridegroom and we are the bride.

Paul wrote to the believers in the Church in Ephesus concerning the preparation of the Bride:

"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25, 26, NKJV, emphasis added).

The love of Christ toward the Church models the love of a husband toward his bride. The love of God toward Israel, as depicted by Hosea and Ezekiel above also models the love of a man toward his wife.

God Himself found and prepared His own betrothed wife, Israel. Later He sent His Word (Jesus) to prepare, sanctify and cleanse the Church to make her fit to be His Bride.

What beautiful and perfect analogies!

Practical Applications

I wonder if you have noticed that it is far easier to lead a woman to Christ than to lead a man.

If you read my previous message again you will realize that according to Genesis 2, woman was made for man, from man and after man. Because of this fact it is always easier to get a wife to trust Christ, the same way she trusts her husband. In other words, a wife, by nature, is fitted to take the human side of the divine-human relationship. By nature she is submissive and dependent. Therefore she does not have to change her nature to accept Christ. The same attitude she has toward her husband she can now transfer to Christ.

Whereas the man has to make a huge adjustment because he is by nature aggressive, independent so that he can fight for the woman he loves and at the same time to protect her and to provide for her. It is the man's nature not to depend on someone else but to have other depend on him. Therefore for a man to receive Christ and become a Christian he has to change from being musculine to become feminine - change from an aggressive independent person to a submissive, dependent, obedient and trusting person. This is certainly a huge adjustment for the man to make. It takes the grace of God to do it. He will suffer ridicule, persecution; sometimes his business will be affected, he may go bankrupt and his marriage may even be in danger of breaking up. In the midst of disasters, only the grace of God is able to tell him he is not self-sufficient and he needs help.

The problem

Because of the fact that it is easier to lead a woman to Christ than to lead a man, in the average Local Church there ar usually more women that men. This problem arises because we have our priority wrong; we have evangelized wives apart from their husbands. The is the root problem that is creating so many Christian women without Christian husbands.

In my opinion it is wrong to evangelize the wife away from her husband. When the wife becomes a Christian and goes to Church you are beginning to break up that marriage.

Paul said, "And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him" (1 Cor. 7:13).

In other words, if you make the wife a believer and the husband does not like it he can leave!

I believe the easiest to convert are the children, and then women and the hardest are men. Therefore go for the hardest, men. When you get the men converted their whole households will be converted.

Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi. At midnight they were praying and singing. Suddenly the whole place was shaken and all the doors were opened by an angel. The keeper of the prison (the jailer) was in fear and wanted to commit suicide. Paul and Silas ensured him they would not escape and put the jailer in danger of being executed. Later the jailer said to them, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved" (Acts 16:30)?

"So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household'" (Acts 16:31, emphasis added).

We need to have men's evangelistic meetings in all of our Local Churches. When you go for the men you will get the whole family saved. If you really believe man and woman are one flesh you cannot evangelize them separately. Furthermore it is such a joy to see a husband ahead of his wife spiritually so that she can look to him and trust him, look after him and respect him.

This is the outworking of God's pattern of Divine-human love relationship. This is also the outworking of Genesis 2.