Biblical Forensics©


“Deliverance before Judgment”

Part 17


The theme of “Deliverance before Judgment” as revealed in the Exodus from Egypt is the topic for this segment. The book of Exodus has “40” chapters, an interesting number given what was covered in the last segment concerning the Biblical number of 40. The key in this book is “Redemption” (deliverance). All theologians and Bible scholars are in total agreement, with the exception of those who reject the historicity of the Exodus. Exodus contains 1,213 verses with 32,692 words. The pivotal passages are Exodus 6:6 and 18:5-8. (Moses acknowledges it was God who delivered them from Egyptian slavery).

“Therefore say to the children of Israel: “I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments”. –(Exodus 6:6).

The climax of the entire Old Testament is recorded in chapters 12-15 of Exodus. The salvation of Israel is through the blood and through the Red Sea. Blood and water were necessary for their deliverance.

An interesting aside to think about is that humanity had no archeological proof outside the recorded story in the Bible that the event we know as the Exodus from Egypt was a real occurrence. Up until the early mid-1990’s, we did not have a single stitch of evidence to confirm that the Exodus event was true. In 2002, Dr. Lennert Moller published ‘The Exodus Case’ which contains incredible information on the land-bridge that extends across the Red Sea where the Israelites were miraculously delivered from certain death by the Egyptians at the Red Sea. (1,2,3,4) The land-bridge is approximately 260 meters below the surface of the Red Sea where the Israelites crossed over to Yom Supf or Nuweiba. On either side of this land-bridge the Red Sea drops off to a depth of 5,000-feet on the north side and to a depth of 8,000-feet to the south of the land-bridge.

Atheists have attempted to discredit Dr. Moller as part of an effort to deny the existence of Moses, but there is related evidence to support that the Exodus was a real historic event. In 2003 Dr. Moller was a guest on “Prophecy in the News” and he shared many fascinating discoveries. YouTube links to his interview are provided under Notes at the end of this segment. Archeologists, underwater filming, and other researchers have been hampered in their attempts to investigate and conduct further research because of the geo-politics that continues to exist between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Jim and Penny Caldwell made several explorations in Saudi Arabia confirming that the real Mount Sinai is in Saudi Arabia and not in Egypt, as originally claimed by church researchers over the past couple of centuries. Dr. Moller also confirms this in further detail.

While Jim worked for over ten years with Arabia-Amoco Oil, the Caldwell’s used their vacation time to explore the surrounding area. They published a DVD and a book of their exploration experiences titled “The God of the Mountain”. Egyptian tourist authorities would like the world to believe that Mount Sinai is in Egypt solely for the tourist business it produces for the country, but there is now new convincing evidence confirming that the real route of the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea is located elsewhere. Furthermore, there is no archaeological evidence in the area presently claimed in southern Egypt to be the so-called Mount Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula. The real Mount Sinai is in northwest Saudi Arabia at Jebel Lawz. This fact is also validated by the fact that the Apostle Paul spent three years in the Saudi Arabian desert to learn from the Lord, noted at Galatians 1:17-18.

The Caldwell’s video depicts a burial site where 3,000 are buried and stones laid out in the form of a cattle pen with a chute to slaughter animals for food. They found signs of human sandal prints carved into the stones, as a reference to the fact that wherever they walked God would be given all the land they covered –(Deuteronomy 11:24). At one point they found a huge 65-foot tall Split Rock that revealed where water had gushed forth which provided them water in the desert on their journey to the Promised Land. The huge 65-foot tall Split Rock is split in two and shows erosion at the base from rushing waters. (5)

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The consistent purpose of every true prophet in the Bible was:

This prophetic message is borne out in God’s dealings with man and the historic evidence is recorded in the pages of the Bible. From Noah’s flood to Jonah’s mission to preach to Nineveh, from the destruction of Jerusalem to the Babylonian exile: all confirm that God’s judgment is inevitable, BUT there is also strong evidence that He saves those who put their trust in Him.

The “Passover” or the “Pesach” story is another lesson in “Deliverance before Judgment”. It is the deliverance element that is dutifully celebrated in the annual Seder meal. Jews rarely think of the Passover remembered from the perspective of God’s impending judgment. It took an expectation of judgment for the Israelites to comply with the Passover instructions. After the outpouring of the first nine plagues, the Israelites became fully persuaded that the death of the firstborn was no empty threat. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” –(Exodus 12:12).

The significance of the Passover lamb is that it reveals God’s mercy. The Israelite families were not any less deserving of death (for the consequences of sin are death, and all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory –(Romans 3:23; 6:23). Were it not for God’s mercy, Moses would himself have lost his firstborn son. God’s “mercy” prevailed, even when we learn in Exodus 4:24 that God sought to kill Moses for failure to observe the covenant of circumcision -(Gen 17:14). The Bible demonstrates God’s uncompromising justice, from which no one is exempt. Note:

The slaughtering of the lamb showed quite graphically that the Israelite families would not escape the judgment of death, but in their case the death would be required through a substitute. Those who fail to appreciate God’s mercy or His desire to bring “Deliverance before Judgment” do not fully appreciate the New Testament message of the Cross.

The Passover lamb served as a ransom for the firstborn of Israel. This was the price by which the nation was redeemed. In this way, God purchased Israel for Himself. Consequently, the firstborn of every Israelite – both their firstborn son and the first of their livestock belonged to the LORD. It would be redeemed or killed –(Exodus 13:2, 13) and the observance was to be a continuing ordinance in Israel to serve as a reminder to every generation that they were indebted to God for their life and their posterity.

The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 6:19-20: “You are not your own: you were bought at a price.” On several occasions Paul refers to the sexual perversion that was prevalent in the new church in Corinth, initially made up of Jewish believers emphasizing that theirs was a holy and dignified calling. Had they forgotten that their bodies were a temple of the Holy Spirit? That is the solemn truth of Scripture, that every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God. How could we ever think of taking a body in which the Holy Spirit dwells and use it for vile purposes? Not only is our body the shrine of the Holy Spirit, but in addition, we are not our own. It is not for us to take our bodies and use them the way we desire. In the final analysis, they do not belong to us; they belong to the Lord.(d) Paul’s central point was that they were redeemed by the same God who reclaimed the Israelites through the Passover at the time of the Exodus. The Apostle Paul is the apostle who explained the transition from the laws that were ‘shadows’ in the Old Testament Law -(Hebrews 10:1) and shows how their expanding fulfillment leads to Christ and is taught in the dispensation of Grace, which is central to the Age of the Church.

The point is that the miracle of the Passover was experienced by a people who understood that deliverance meant freedom from judgment. The Israelites who later relied on deliverance based on the criterion of their ethnic identity as descendants of Abraham were caught off guard when God’s judgment came upon their own people.

The Word of God contained in the prophetic writings is not intended to give the clearest and most unambiguous indication of future events, BUT it is intended for salvation to those who accept God’s righteous judgment and at the same time becomes a trap or snare of damnation for those who don’t. This concept can be understood when we grasp the message in the “carrot and stick” method of teaching. Because God is righteous and just, He cannot condone or wink at sin. But a plan for redemption was created to ransom humanity. The matter of sin is so serious in God’s economy that God created an avenue whereby His absolute justice could be satisfied thereby covering for man’s sin.

Paul reminds us in the New Testament, “It is by grace we have been saved” –(Ephesians 2:8). We must however, remember that grace has a price! If taken lightly, a consequence could result instead: “many will say to me in that day, Lord! Lord!.... And then I will say to them I never knew you!” -(Matthew 7:22-23). On judgment day only a person’s relationship with Christ - acceptance of him as Savior and obedience to him - will matter. That day will be the final day of reckoning when God will settle all accounts, judging sin and rewarding faith. Notice that Jesus placed Himself as judge – “many will say to me”.

Jesus exposed those people who sounded religious and did religious deeds but had no personal relationship with him. False prophets will be able to prophesy (referring not just to telling the future, but to teaching), cast out demons, and perform miracles. Claims to great power, invoking the name of Christ, and powerful deeds will be no guarantee for heaven. Jesus will send those away who do not know him personally. They may have done impressive deeds, but Jesus will say, “I never knew you. Go away.” In other words, “I never had a personal relationship with you, and I never went with you to do these deeds you claim. You can have no part in my Kingdom.” (b)

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel deliberately uses the Passover idiom to prophesy God’s judgment over Jerusalem: “And God called to the man clothed in linen, with the writers’ inkhorn by his side. And the LORD said to him, Pass through the midst of the city. Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men who are groaning and are mourning because of all the abominations that are done in her midst. And He said to those in my hearing. Cross over the city after him, and strike. Let not your eye spare, nor have pity. Destroy old men, young men and virgins, and little children and women. But do not come near any man on whom is the mark. And begin at My sanctuary” -(Ezekiel 9:3-6). The action of the scribe conjures up several parallels. The mark is the Hebrew letter taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which was used as a signature in some periods of Israelite history -(Job 31:35). In the script used during Old Testament times it was either an X shape or a + shape. It may represent God's ownership of the remnant of the people who deserved to survive the coming destruction. Certainly, marking those who will survive God's wrath is comparable to the blood on the doorpost during the Exodus event -(Exodus 12:11). The same mark used in Ezekiel was early on associated with the blood mark on the doorposts at Passover. (c)

“For the time has come for judgment to begin with the house of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God? And if it is hard for the righteous person to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner.” -(1st Peter 4:17-18). This time for judgment refers both to final judgment and also to God’s refining discipline -(Hebrews 12:7). Peter warned that God judges all people according to their deeds -(1st Peter 1:17). He also disciplines and judges His own children in order to refine them (1st Peter 1:6-7). This judgment purifies and strengthens believers, readying them for God’s Kingdom. But for those who have never believed God’s Good News, the judgment will be a terrible fate. Reinforcing his rhetorical question, Peter continued by quoting from Proverbs 11:31. If the righteous (believers) experience difficulty in their refining process, how much more horrible will be the great disaster experienced for eternity by the godless and sinners who chose to reject Christ.

The phrase ‘barely saved’ means “with difficulty.” Peter was not introducing uncertainty to the believers’ salvation. Instead, he was talking about the difficult road believers must travel. It is not easy to be a Christian; we must count the cost. (b)

Many people were blind to Ezekiel’s warning. It may prove true for some today that an unwillingness to humble oneself before the sovereignty of God can lead to an undesirable and inescapable outcome for those who have been forewarned: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fail” –(Proverbs 16:18). This is just one of similar admonitions found in the Proverbs.

Those Israelites who thought that judgment was an empty threat, and who relied solely on being God’s chosen people to guarantee their deliverance or those who were righteous by their own estimation – all fell into a trap and a snare which ultimately led to famine, disease, and the sword of Babylon. I use this term as a term for what the Jews faced once taken into captivity in Babylon for “seventy” years. Their future failure to observe the Sabbatical rest was what caused them to be led into captivity –(Daniel 9:24-27).

Similarly, the Messiah can also be understood and viewed in the same manner. It is through His sacrifice and the shedding of His blood on the Cross that results in the saving grace and freedom from God’s pending final judgment. This must be made perfectly clear so that no one is confused by the contrast between grace and judgment just as the Israelites assumed by thinking that being God’s chosen automatically afforded them with a free ticket relieving them from the risk of judgment. God knows the “heart” and so the genuineness of the “born-again” believer and can clearly identify righteousness from that of the insincere carnal soul that pretends to be something they are not –(Jeremiah 17:10). To those who may feel that this is too harsh an indictment of their heart, we quote an extended but needed exposé by Matthew Henry:

There is that wickedness in our hearts which we ourselves are not aware of and do not suspect to be there; nay, it is a common mistake among the children of men to think themselves, their own hearts at least, a great deal better than they really are. The heart, the conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen state, is deceitful above all things. It is subtle and false; it is apt to supplant (so the word properly signifies); it is that from which Jacob had his name, a supplanter. It calls evil good and good evil, puts false colors upon things, and cries peace for those to whom peace does not belong. When men whisper to them in their hearts that there is no God, or he does not see, or he will not require, or they shall have peace though they go on; in these, and a thousand similar suggestions, the heart is deceitful. It cheats men into their own ruin; and this will be the aggravation of it, that they are self-deceivers, self-destroyers. Herein the heart is desperately wicked; it is deadly, it is desperate. The case is bad indeed, and in a manner deplorable and past relief, if the conscience which should rectify the errors of the other faculties is itself a mother of falsehood and a ringleader in the delusion. What will become of a man if that in him which should be the candle of the Lord give a false light, if God's deputy in the soul, that is entrusted to support his interests, betrays them? Such is the deceitfulness of the heart that we may truly say: Who can know it? Who can describe how bad the heart is. (d)

The point of this series is to show that God will bring “Deliverance before Judgment” for those who have sincerely surrendered to Jesus Christ and His Gospel of Grace. God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to Christ Jesus for what only He can do. His is the relationship that no one else can offer!


Pastor Bob

Notes:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MShdUvcLcLE = PITN – with Dr. Lennert Moller Part 1

  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6fXrqzw2cw = PITN – with Dr. Lennert Moller Part 2

  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wBwom44hb0 = PITN – with Dr. Lennert Moller Part 3

  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj1lj_3pazk = PITN – with Dr. Lennert Moller Part 4

  5. http://splitrockresearch.org/content/100/field_reports/the_split_rock

Commentaries:

  1. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

  2. Life Application New Testament Commentary

  3. IVP Bible Background Commentary

  4. Believer’s Bible Commentary

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