THE LOVE OF MONEY

 

CONT., page 2

 

BURIED IN A RICH MAN'S TOMB

It is important to realize that all that Yahshua did, from His birth in a stable and journey to Egypt, to His time in the temple at the age of twelve, His baptism by John and going out into the wilderness for forty days, all of His various miracles and teachings, as well as His crucifixion on the cross while under a Nazirite vow, were both intercessoral as well as prophetic acts relating to the kingdom. Raising Lazarus from the dead, healing the deaf and the blind, rebuking Peter, going to the Mount of Olives to pray while His three disciples slept, everything had intercessoral as well as prophetic meaning. Considering this, as well as the undoubtedly certain significance of His death, is it not equally certain that Yahshua's burial for three days was also significant, both intercessorally as well as prophetically?

We have noted many times the great significance of the number three's association with the 3,000 year period granted to Christianity. Thus, when Yahshua was to be in the grave for three days, do we not once again see this period of the body of Christ that was to likewise be in the grave, or dead, for three days, or 3,000 years? Even as we read of the corruption of the church with wealth per the message to Laodicea, likewise we find Yahshua's true characterization of the church in its condition of being equally dead, by His message to Sardis - "I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and you are dead" (Revelation 3:1). Though Christianity has a name of being alive, it is dead, evidenced thus far by two days, or 2,000 years, of death.

But what about its foreshadowed three days of death? Do we therefore have to wait through another 1,000 years of death before all of this can be over?

The body of Christ that has died for 2,000 years, is in fact the fulfillment of Yahshua's own prophetic pattern per His physical body which was legally dead for three days and three nights, though in fact chronologically it was in the grave for only two days - an evening, a day, and a morning. This difference gives hope and credence that we can expect the body of Christ's own days in the grave to be likewise cut short from the legally required three, to a chronological two, or 2,000 years.

Now for something MOST telling. We have already seen the clear testimony that Yahshua's death was, in type, foreshadowing the death of the body of Christ; and we have also seen that though the first Remnant beginning of the church strictly followed His teachings of giving up everything in order to receive the kingdom, following Stephen's death, the breach period of Christianity did not follow those teachings and has in fact amassed substantial worldwide wealth, insomuch that it is truly rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing.

Thus we see that Yahweh spoke once again in living parable when we read in Matthew 27:57-60 that the dead body of Christ was laid in a rich man's tomb, the name of that man being the same as that of His natural father - Joseph. We thus find here the foreshadowing and prophetic message regarding the spiritual body of Christ, that it is not only dead, but in light of the wealth that has been amassed by the church, it is equally buried in a rich man's tomb! What could be more descriptive of the church for the last 2,000 years?

And what is it that Yahweh might be speaking to us in the fact that this rich man's name was the same as that of Yahshua's natural father - Joseph? It seems quite evident that the implication here is that the church remains in the house of the natural and not the spiritual. Joseph was the name of Yahshua's natural father, not His spiritual father, and anything Joseph could have provided would have remained in the natural, following in the curse of the natural. This is in fact the problem inherent with the church for 2,000 years - it has been plagued with remaining in and absorbed by the natural, doing the will of the natural. The great need of the church has been, and is today, to get out of this natural and enter into the spiritual, being born from above, even as Yahshua told Nicodemus.

Furthermore, is it not obvious that the mere fact that Yahshua's burial in a rich man's tomb was recorded in the Bible, is evidence that it unquestionably bears specific prophetic meaning? Out of all the things pertaining to Yahshua, the sum of which John says "the world itself would not contain the books which were written," is it only by mere meaningless chance that this was recorded in Matthew? Everything, every event, was recorded in the Bible to bear truth, to have meaning, and Yahshua's burial in a rich man's tomb is clearly no exception.

Thus we see one more foreboding and revealing testimony of the state of the church, specifically in relation to wealth. By Yahweh's own testimony, it is the dead body of Christ buried in a rich man's tomb! But this is not all, evidencing that this matter is quite important to Yahweh. Let us look at another revealing testimony.

 

Continue to page 3 of The Love of Money for A RAM CAUGHT IN A THICKET

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