First
Wedding – Last Wedding
The first wedding in scripture was between holy Adam and the
holy Woman. When Adam/Man was created by the Godhead, he was holy, and because
the Woman was taken out of a holy Man, she too was holy in the beginning. No
sin had yet entered God’s Garden. The first Woman was made holy through a holy
Man. The Second holy Woman (Christ’s
Bride) is made holy through a Holy Man – Jesus. God’s ways do not change!
The Gospel of John begins with a wedding
supper at Cana of Galilee. Jesus reveals His transforming power to His mother,
His disciples and the servants at this wedding. The Bible ends in Revelation
with the wedding between the holy, eternal Christ and His holy, eternal,
transformed Bride. Between the first wedding of the holy Man and Woman in
Genesis and the last wedding of the holy Man Christ and His Bride a
transformation takes place. This is the full circle of the Word of God. What is
in the beginning, is in the end! Jesus who is God will use the transforming
power of the Word (Truth/Jesus) and
the Holy Spirit to make us into new creations who once again reflect His
holiness and light.Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Revelation 22:13 In other words, Jesus is the full Truth – the Word of God from beginning to end. Jesus, the Word of God, was with God at creation, as was the Holy Spirit. Nothing was created without the full Godhead. It will be the full Godhead who will also transform us into new creations once again. All Truth is about Jesus and should be taught as such. The Older Testament scriptures all pointed to Christ and had Christ hidden within including the Law. Galatians 3:24-25: Therefore, the Law was our tutor to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. The Law is works-oriented, but grace is faith-based through the atoning, finished work of Jesus Christ. We must believe that Christ is and that we are the righteousness of God through Him. We are not to exalt any man, woman, child or nation above Him including Israel or the Church. “He alone is worthy of all glory….”
The wedding at Cana in the Gospel of
John took place on the third day.
Significance
of Numbers in Scripture
In order to fully understand
scripture, we must know the significance and meaning of numbers consistently used
throughout scripture. God did not waste a number, word or circumstance in His
Word. He used all of it to give us a spiritual message from Him. Since the
Godhead created all they will use all things to reveal themselves to humanity.
The Divine Godhead rules from the heavenly throne and sets all
things in order including the numbers in scripture. The numbers 3 and 7 are
significant numbers in scripture. They are numbers of Divine perfection.
·
Three
is the number of the Divine Trinity – God in completeness and perfection – the Perfect
Witness. Three also speaks of the day of receiving the promises of God. Jesus
was resurrected on the third day in fulfillment of the promise of God to raise
Him up on the third day. (see Hosea
6:2) After Jesus was raised up on
the third day, He is now raising us up until the end of the third section of
scripture – Revelation – when all things are made new and eternal.
·
Seven
is the number of Divine spiritual completeness and perfection. It is the number
of perfect and complete fulfillment and restoration.
Third
Day
Significant events took place on the
third day throughout scripture, the greatest of which was the resurrection of
Jesus that brought, spiritual, life-giving, transforming resurrection power.
Events and circumstances that took place on the third day will
show us underlying messages. We get a
clue to the meaning of a particular number, word or circumstance in the
ministry of Jesus. Patterns are woven throughout scripture. Since God, Jesus
and the Holy Spirit don’t change, the Older Testament will foreshadow all that
Jesus said and did.
·
At creation, God did a miracle
involving water on the third day. He gathered the waters so dry ground would
appear. He called the dry ground “land, and the water “seas.” (Genesis 1:9) Jesus too did a miracle
involving water on the third day at this wedding at Cana. Jesus will show His
transforming power by turning the water into wine. The transformation of the
water into wine will be the first of seven miracles Jesus will perform in the
Gospel of John. His public ministry begins at the earthly wedding on the third
day (3) and will end with the eternal
spiritual wedding on the last day – the 7th day – in Revelation at
the marriage supper of the Lamb. On that day, all will be perfected and
complete in fulfillment and holiness.
·
It was on the third day that Abraham
lifted his eyes and saw the place of the Messiah’s crucifixion afar off. (Genesis 22:4) The Angel of the Lord
stopped Abraham from offering his only spiritual son – Isaac – as an atonement
offering in obedience to God. The Angel of the Lord saved Isaac from death.
Jesus fulfilled this through His death on the cross as the atonement for the
sins of the whole world, thus saving all who believe in Him from eternal death.
Jesus is the One who saves! He is also the One who makes all things spiritual.
·
It was on the third day that Joseph
set his brothers free from Egypt to return to their father Jacob with a bag of
grain to feed his family and save them from death by starvation. (Genesis 42:18-20) Joseph and his life
is a type and shadow of Jesus and his life. God uses the “natural” to speak “spiritual”
truth. Jesus is the Word of God (grain) that
feeds His spiritual family and saves all from eternal spiritual death. Joseph
not only saved his family (Jews), but
also the Egyptians and the surrounding nations (Gentiles). Jesus too came to earth to save both the Jews and the
Gentiles. He feeds our spiritual man with the spiritual food of the Anointed
Word. Jesus in the parable of the Sower and the Seed showed us that the seed is
the Word of God. Believers must feed on the Word to nourish their spirit man, just as we feed on physical food to nourish our natural man.
·
On the third day, God descended on
Mount Sinai to initiate a marriage covenant with Israel. God’s people said “we
will” to their Husband God that they would do everything He said. Their heart
was right but the weakness of their flesh would fail them. God made a vow with
the Israelites that if they would obey Him fully, they would be His treasured
possession. (Exodus 19:5-6) This was
a vow the Israelites would not be able to keep. Needless to say, the Israelites
quickly broke their vow to God. God was not taken by surprise! Our all-knowing
God knew that no human could completely live up to His high and holy standard. God
knows the heart of man. He knows that we will think that we can do all that He
asks of us and take some of the glory to ourselves that belongs solely to God. God
will do what no man can. Jesus will come in the flesh to die for our sins so
those who believe in Him will be able to approach our Holy God. Jesus fulfilled
the vow of the Israelites perfectly and completely for them and for us. Because
of God’s love through Jesus, we all – both Jew and Gentile – are restored to
right relationship with holy God. This is the heart of God. He has no
favorites. We are all equal – equally guilty and equally loved by God whether
Jew or Gentile. He poured out His love upon all flesh through the finished work
of Jesus Christ.
(to be continued)
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