I hope that you noticed the word-play in my title today. Water [baptism/mikvah] is a Kippur, Oil is a Kippur, and light (Or) is a Kippur. There are more ways that God covers us through our daily tribulations. In lieu of coming tribulations, let’s examine God’s Kippurim (plural of covering).
In my estimation, my father was the best pastor ever.
However, he missed the mark in a few important theological interpretations.
What he taught me in Confirmation and Sunday school was that Jesus’ Atonement
was “At-One-Ment” with God. By sanctification in the Holy Spirit we can be one
with God. Can we be one with God, and is that what God means by Kippur?
Sadly, everybody fails at being one with God, for He
is holy, and we are sinful. Then, if we are sinful, how can we have a
relationship with God? We need to be covered by the blood of Yeshua. Yeshua’s
covering may come in different shapes and sizes, but, it is always Yeshua’s
covering, according to the Bible.
If I list the examples found in the Bible, you’ll
see a pattern, from the beginning.
The Lamb: And it was given unto him [the Beast/Antichrist]
to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over
all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. Revelation
13:8-10 (KJV) God is preparing us for this eventual tribulation by noting our Messianic covering, slain from the beginning.
Adam and Eve: And the LORD God made for Adam and for
his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Genesis 3:21
To cover their sins and nakedness, God covered them
with skins.
Cain: Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is
greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground,
and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on
the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not
so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the
Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain
went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of
Eden. Genesis 4:13-16 (ESV)
God covered murderous Cain with a mark.
Noah: And God said to Noah, “I have determined to
make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.
Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher
wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. Genesis
6:13-14 (ESV)
Both the ark and the pitch (oil) are coverings.
Moses: The woman conceived and bore a son, and when
she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide
him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with
bitumen and pitch. Exodus 2:2-3 (ESV)
Both the ark and the pitch (oil) are coverings.
The list goes on about God covering us, and not rapturing
us before a crisis. There was no emergency with Enoch or Elijah that caused God
to rapture them.
I defer to the Expert: What does David Wilkerson say
about this topic?
EMERGENCY PLANS FOR CRISIS! Wednesday, June 12, 2013
http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2013/06/emergency-plans-for-crisis.html
No matter how unsettled the world becomes, God's
people can relax and keep their joy flowing, because our Lord has promised
special protection when it is most needed.
Didn't God have an emergency plan for the children
of Israel during the worldwide famine? He sent Joseph ahead to Egypt and
promoted him to prime minister. He filled the warehouses with enough grain to
last out the raging famine and then transported his people within walking
distance of those storehouses and fed them to the full.
Didn't God have emergency plans for Elijah? While
his nation reeled under the impact of an economic collapse and food was scare
because of severe famine—and a wicked king had a ransom on his head—God put His
emergency plan for Elijah into effect. He hid him by a quiet brook and fed him
by having a bird deliver his food. The survival plan also included a mysterious
barrel of grain that never ran out.
What about Noah? What a detailed survival plan God
had for him and his family—an ark that floated him and his family safely above
all the death and destruction of a worldwide flood!
And Lot? God actually sent angels to personally pull
him and his children out of the doomed city of Sodom. God's hands were tied
until Lot was safely out of the suburbs. It was more than a loss of his job,
more than a collapse of the economy, more than a downfall of the government. It
was total annihilation of his society—but Lot was delivered safely.
Paul proved God's emergency contingencies over and
again. This apostle was shipwrecked, chased by thieves, imprisoned, accused of
treason, plotted against by assassins and yet, in every crisis, God had a
contingency plan for deliverance.
We, too, have an emergency plan for
survival—designed specifically for each believer.
Let there be no question about it. God will see us
through every crisis. No crisis Satan can throw against the children of God can
bring them down. Not depression, not famine, not a job loss, not sickness or
suffering of any kind. God will deliver His children and there is not one
single reason to fear. “Take therefore no thought [do not be anxious] for the
morrow.” (Matthew 6:34).
Amen! Reading Eph 6 after starting on the Torah journey, a deeper meaning jumps right off the page. The big one for this discussion is the helmet of salvation-Yeshua-our covering. The sword of the Spirit-the Word (Yeshua), and praying for each other is also cover. Let's keep digging, memorizing, meditating on it, and holding each other up. This is war, we are called to stand-in unity, against the evil powers, and for our amazing God.
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