Reasons for the Seasons 1

We celebrate this time of year as the birth of our Savior. The unbelieving crowd has began to voice their opinion and have all but taken the Christ out of Christmas. Their messages and attempts at swaying or irritating believers become more emboldened every year. There is nothing wrong with being somewhat combatant with our faith but true believers also understand that the final joke will be witnessed on judgment day. It will not be very funny for the adversaries of Christianity. It's alright to warn of the impending judgment just remember we as believers are not the judges.

In a moment not so long ago a gentleman asked yours truly “what in the world does all that Old Testament stuff have to do with salvation”? My answer will be shared in the course of this study. However the OT has everything to do with Jesus and our salvation. The studies of our faith are no different than any other type of text book studies. The Bible provides a lifetime of study in any range of subjects. The Bible provides us with explanation of man's existence, his place in the universe, and what exists beyond this life. In our studies alone on this blog we have studied by subject things God would have us to know. We have studied geography, history, math, science and for lack of a better word philosophy. There are many others we could name. However the single most important subject is God Himself revealed to us in Jesus and His salvation.

In the book of Genesis the first 4 verses one of the major subjects is set forth for eternity.

Gen 1:1-4 KJV

(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

(3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

(4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

This division of light and darkness can be applied to our faith or the lack thereof. Some may ask how do we know this. Well we have 2 ways of looking at the subject. Please take note that the sun or moon have not been created yet. This is the 1^st and common sense way we can approach the subject. The next is found in word study. Let's begin by looking at the word darkness.

Gen 1:2 KJV

(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness (H2822) was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

H2822

חשׁך chôshek

kho-shek'

From H2821; the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness: - dark (-ness), night, obscurity.

H2821 

חשׁך châshak

khaw-shak'

A primitive root; to be dark (as withholding light); transitively to darken: - be black, be (make) dark, darken, cause darkness, be dim, hide.

The actual variation of the word used in the passage are all descriptions we do not associate with God. They can however be associated with the enemy of God being Satan.

Gen 1:3 KJV

(3) And God said, Let there be light (H216): and there was light.

H216

אור 'ôr

ore

From H215; illumination or (concretely) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.): - bright, clear, + day, light (-ning), morning, sun.

In our word study we can see that the concept of light and darkness implies more than day and night in this case. These are terms associated throughout the scripture with what is good and evil. We can instantly make connections of the testaments in regard to the subject.

Joh 1:1-5 KJV

(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(2) The same was in the beginning with God.

(3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

(4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

(5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Luk 2:25-32 KJV

(25) And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

(26) And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

(27) And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

(28) Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

(29) Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

(30) For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

(31) Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

(32) A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Mat 4:12-17 KJV

(12) Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

(13) And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

(14) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

(15) The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

(16) The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

(17) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This passage from Matthew a direct fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah's words concerning our Savior.

Isa 9:1-8 KJV

(1) Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

(2) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

(3) Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

(4) For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

(5) For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

(6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

(7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

(8) The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

Now we have 1 early connection of scriptures which begins to answer a question like the one asked of me. “What does all that OT stuff have to do with salvation”? Of course there is so much more to the story and most likely we will barely scratch the surface in this series of studies but we will explore a few to say the least. As Simeon proclaims our light and pathway to God as Gentiles is lit by Jesus. Just as God divided our spiritual light and darkness in the beginning.

To once again use a couple of this ministry's favorite passages.

Ecc 1:9-11 KJV

(9) The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

(10) Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

(11) There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Ecc 3:14-17 KJV

(14) I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

(15) That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

(16) And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

(17) I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

In the process of creation God provided a perfect world called the garden of Eden.

Gen 1:21-31 KJV

(21) And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

(22) And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

(23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

(24) And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

(25) And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

(28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

(29) And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

(30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

(31) And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Gen 2:5-9 KJV

(5) And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

(6) But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

(7) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(8) And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

(9) And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The only other time this will happen again is in the last chapter of the Bible.

Rev 22:1-7 KJV

(1) And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

(2) In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

(3) And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

(4) And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

(5) And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

(6) And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

(7) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Just in case someone might have a problem with the actions taking place in Genesis concerning spiritual light and darkness check out verse 5. Just as the wisdom God enlightens us with in Ecclesiastes here we have a perfect example of prophetic mechanics taking root once again. Again we have this prophetic connection as a reward for us as believers to embrace that takes us way beyond this world. It all has to do with a God who was willing to sacrifice His Son in order that we who believe upon the miracles, blood, death and resurrection of Jesus can obtain this coming paradise.

The next demonstration of OT pictures of salvation we will explore concerns the great flood. A global judgment brought about by a world so filled with wickedness God only found Noah and his family worthy of existence. In other words Noah had not lost either the traditions of the patriarchs or his fear of God.

Gen 6:11-13 KJV

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

(12) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

(13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Gen 6:16-22 KJV

(16) A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

(17) And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

(18) But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

(19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

(20) Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

(21) And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

(22) Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

In order to call Noah and his family onto the ark God would be where? Of course He was on the ark. This makes the ark a type of heavenly escape. They enter the side door God commanded be built and exited a world about to be destroyed because of man's wickedness. One of Jesus' warnings for the end of the age was as follows:

Mat 24:35-39 KJV

(35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

(36) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

(37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

(39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Mat 7:13-14 KJV

(13) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

(14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

We have a scenario which is identical to the escape Noah had from a world gone mad all around him. In this case we discover Jesus is the narrow and straight way which will lead us out of the world gone mad. We may enter through carrying our faith to death or we may escape one of the greatest events to soon be witnessed in the history of the world. This is the rapture in which those chosen souls which are alive at the arrival of our Lord Jesus shall be taken to meet in the clouds of the air. We will study this subject in detail in our upcoming studies.

Now some may question what is it we are going to escape from? Well the Bible as with any other subject provides the answer. One passage in which we get a firm glimpse into the future is found in 2^nd Peter.

2Pe 3:1-13 KJV

(1) This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

(2) That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

(3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

(4) And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

(5) For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

(6) Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

(7) But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

(8) But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

(9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

(10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

(11) Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

(12) Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

(13) Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

In another passage from 1^st Thessalonians we get a glimpse into the narrow door or gate which will allow the great escape from the fiery judgment which is coming.

1Th 4:13-18 KJV

(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

(17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

(18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Joh 10:1-9 KJV

(1) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

(2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

(3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

(4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

(5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

(6) This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

(7) Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

(8) All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

(9) I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

In our final look at this part of Reasons for the Seasons we will return back to the time of the ark for one more glimpse of things that pull the worlds of the OT and NT together.

Gen 8:6-12 KJV

(6) And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

(7) And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

(8) Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

(9) But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

(10) And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

(11) And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

(12) And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

It's interesting to note that it was a dove that showed the stages of the flood waters settling. Please note that the first sign of dry ground and safety comes in the dove's mouth carrying the olive branch. It is also a dove that descends from Heaven at Jesus' baptism by John.

Mat 3:16-17 KJV

(16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

(17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mat 4:1-2 KJV

(1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

(2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Please notice that after 40 days Noah releases the dove and Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days after being baptized. It's an interesting thought purely of the Holy Spirit that the same dove which did not return to Noah might actually be the same one that descends upon the Savior. The world was baptized with water just as the Lord Jesus was. Noah waited 40 days in a wilderness and Jesus wandered 40 days in the wilderness. Then we have the appearance of the dove with an olive branch as a symbol that the tribulation of the flood was just about over. The same applies to the Holy Spirit descending upon the Savior after He was baptized with water.

Act 1:1-12 KJV

(1) The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

(2) Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

(3) To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

(4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

(5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

(6) When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

(7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

(8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

(9) And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

(10) And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

(11) Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

(12) Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

Jesus appears unto the disciples for 40 days and ascends into heaven from the Mount of Olives. An olive branch was a symbol of safety to Noah. Jesus the Savior and safety from judgment ascends into heaven with the promise of returning to save all who believes in Him from the Mount of Olives.

At the beginning of the study it was mentioned that a question was asked “what does all that OT (Old Testament stuff have to do with salvation”? Unfortunately my time at that moment was too short to share all of the above with the gentleman. However rest assured that in answering “it has everything to do with salvation” I had my reasons and these are just a few of them. Please keep in touch for part 2.

As always God Bless and merry “Christ” mas.