Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
COVENANT AND OATHS - 2011-02-22
In the Bible Numeric confirmed Chronology by Ivan Panin, there are 245 deducible dates from Bible evidence - which are then confirmed by the discovered Bible phenomenon in 1890.
Three of these dates stand out unusually - upon which all of Bible History hangs as it were - and which makes unusual sense in the understanding of this History.
The first of these three is the Abrahamic Covenant of 1896 B.C. It is in Genesis 17, not Genesis 12 or 15, that the actual Covenant that God makes with Abraham takes place. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me, and be perfect. 2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Circumcision is the sign God required to make His covenant with the Hebrew people - to become effective. And - Abram was accepted in the “righteousness which is by faith” priorto circumcision. Abraham was 99 after his Covenant name change, when this, the Abrahamic Covenant, was made between God and man, and accepted by Abraham. Isaac was born the following year to Abraham and Sarah.
So in Genesis 17:1-2, this most significant covenant was enacted. But in Genesis 22:9-18, the LORD swore by His oaththat what He had initiated with Abraham by Covenant, He nowis confirming with His oath. “And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11and the angel of Jehovah called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do anything unto him; for now I knowthat you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind hima ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh (He will see and provide): as it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided.15And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16and said, By myself have I sworn, says Jehovah, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.” (ASV '01)
To understand the deep significance of these 2 sovereign actions initiated by God, it is important to see Hebrews 6:13-20. “For when :God made promise to :Abraham, since he had none greater to swear by, he swore by himself, 14saying, Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. 15 And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. 17Wherein :God, intending to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his :counsel, mediated with an oath;18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: 19which we have as the soul's anchor, a hopeboth sure and firm and entering into what is within the veil; 20where as forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest unto the age after the order of Melchizedek.” (NNT)
This passage by the apostle Paul - ties together the Abrahamic Covenant and the Oath of God in a manner that cannot be misunderstood or mistaken.
And notice: Though God had Abraham spare Isaac from sacrifice by providing a ram - yet in the case of HisOnly Begotten Son - for our sakes- He spared Him not - but through the sacrificial death of the Son of Man - the Second Adam - all the human race has the opportunity and privilege of forgiveness of sin, from which there is no other source for such forgiveness.
But the Second great date in Bible History is the Temple of Solomon in 986 B.C., 480 years following the Exodus. It is the beginningof the Temple that God marks out as especially significant, not its completion. God calls the things that are not, as if they already were! The Temple in His sight is as good as done once it has its beginning! See 1 Kings 6:1 for this documentation: “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah.” (ASV '01)
For me, the two significant aspects of the Temple were the two pillars at its entrance, Jachin and Boaz. See 1 Kings 7:21 (13-22) for the history behind these two pillars. “And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name of it Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called the name of it Boaz. 22And upon the top of the pillarswas lily-work: so was the work of the pillars finished.” These pillars were not on the porch of the Temple as supporting pillars- they were there as “witnessing” pillars. They hearken back to the Abrahamic Covenant as Boaz (It is strength) - and to the oath in Jachin (He shall establish). Every time the priests entered the Temple, they passed between these two huge “witnessing” pillars, looking back 1000 years to the Abrahamic Covenant. They also by faith looked forward to Jesus, who is God's Living Covenant to us, and ourCovenant from God. “Boaz” spells this out, and “Jachin” established the New Covenant in Jesus by the oath of God. The Lily-work bowls at the top of these two pillars contain oil. First the blood through sacrifice - then the oil of the Holy Spirit.
The Third great date, and the last of the 245 deducible Bible dates - is 4032 A.D. - Calvaryand the Resurrection supremely - followed up by the Ascension and the Giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection.
These 3 dates are intertwined. The Abrahamic Covenant is fulfilled in the New Covenant which is Jesus! The Temple Pillars are an illustration or Parable of both - looking back 1000 years to the Abrahamic Covenant, and looking forward 1000 years to the New Covenant.
There are 21 significant dates including these 3 most significant ones - all multiples of “7”. They too shed light on these 3. And all 245 deducible dates and the 8 deducible periods - throw light on God's historic unfolding of His purposes to completely offset Satan's machinations, and prepare His Son's return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Nebuchadnezzar's first dream, as supernaturally interpreted by Daniel, comes next in importance to the above 3. It unfolds history from the 4 great empires seen in the dream Image - and leads us to see the final Kingdom-empire of God, led by His Son, that will obliterate all memory as it were - of the preceding 4 empires.
I have preached sermons on the 21 significant dates referred to above. In the beginning I pondered why God would mark the Temple of Solomon out so significantly. But as I let Him unfold His thinkingon this event, I wound up with over a dozen messages on the Temple of Solomon. One day I returned to a church in Portland where I had previously introduced to them this great event. As I walked up the aisle to the pulpit to continue, I heard a little boy say to his mother, “Mother, look! There's the Temple-man!”
I challenge each of us to look into these 3 great events. Let us read up on them; meditate upon them. God will open our eyes to His thinkingbehind them. Jim Watt
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