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| A visit from Robert & Miranda |
This week has just been amazing for me and my
spirituality. I have learned a ton and
have been able to receive so much inspiration and revelation. It is crazy how if you make church, praying,
and reading your scriptures a priority how much you can learn.
This week the theme for my email is about how
ALL things lead and point towards Jesus Christ – especially the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Below is an
excerpt from a document I recently studied that really strengthened my testimony
of the Savior Jesus Christ:
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Let’s look at Moses as a symbol or type of Christ and compare
the two “deliverers.” Moses was Israel’s
physical deliverer. Jesus is our
spiritual deliverer.
Moses’ first plague to get Israel out of Egypt was
turning water into blood. Jesus’ first
miracle in His ministry was turning water into wine. Moses’ last plague was the death of the
firstborn. Jesus’ last
miracle was the resurrection of the Firstborn.
How did Moses free Israel from Egyptian bondage? He had the Israelites take a lamb—male, unblemished,
firstborn, with no broken bones—and sacrifice this lamb by shedding its blood. The Israelites then put the blood of the lamb
on the lintel and the two side posts of each of their doors. When they did that, the destroyer passed over
them. The blood of the lamb saved them
from physical death. In our lives, we
have to accept the Lamb of God—Jesus Christ—and symbolically put the blood of
His Atonement on the doorframes of our lives. The blood of the Lamb of God will save us from
spiritual death.
Those lambs used for sacrifice had to be firstborn. I don’t know if you have considered Jesus’s
birth in the light of His being the Lamb of God. To whom did the angels go to announce the
birth of the Lamb of
God? Specific shepherds were assigned to
tend the flocks of sheep to be used in temple sacrifice. Only certified firstborn lambs could be used. The shepherds were the eyewitnesses of which
lambs were
firstborn. So when the Lamb of God was
born, where did the angels go? To the
shepherds. Why? Because that was their
job—to witness the birth of firstborn lambs.
Moses tells us in Leviticus 1:11 that the lambs to be used for sacrifice
were to be slain on the north side of the altar. Where do you suppose Jesus, the Lamb of God,
was sacrificed? The Crucifixion took
place just north of the temple altar in Jerusalem at a place called Golgotha. The Lamb of God was sacrificed north of the
temple altar. ALL things testify of
Christ.
After Israel left Egyptian bondage, they went to the
borders of the Red Sea. In the movie The
Ten Commandments, Yul Brynner played the part of Pharaoh and said, “The God of
Moses is a poor general to leave him no retreat.”
Not really. Moses went there on purpose. Why? Because they had to go through the Red Sea. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:1–2 that
Israel passing through the Red Sea was a symbol of a baptism by water and a baptism
by fire. Israel was saved by water. That
is why there had to be a wall of water on each side. Israel was “baptized by immersion” in the Red
Sea. The fire held the Egyptians back. Hence
Israel was also saved by fire. It is the
same with each of us. We need to be
saved through a baptism of water and a baptism of fire.
When Israel got to the borders of the Red Sea, the pillar of fire came around
behind them. There was first a separation
of light and darkness. It was light to
the Israelites going through the Red Sea, but it was darkness to the Egyptians.
What did God do on the first day of
creation? He separated the light from
the darkness. What did God then do on
the second day of creation? He separated
the waters from the waters. What did Moses do? He separated the waters from the
waters, and Israel went through on dry ground.
They went into the wilderness. The wilderness is a symbol of purification. They were there forty years. When we get into
the Millennium, we will have a thousand years of purification.
What did they eat while they were in the wilderness? They ate manna. What is manna? It is bread from heaven. Who is Jesus? He is the Bread of Life. Where
did He come from? Heaven. And where was
He born? He was born in Bethlehem. And
what does the name Bethlehem mean? Bethlehem
means “House of Bread.” By chance? I don’t think so.
What did they drink? They drank water. Who is the Living Water? It is Jesus (see John 4:14). Where did they get the water? From a rock (see
Exodus 17:6). Who is the rock? The Rock is Christ (see Helaman 5:12). By chance? I don’t think so.
When Israel went into the promised land, they went through the Jordan River. Why go through a river? You have to be “born
again” (see John 3:1–5). Who led them
through the river? It was Joshua. Joshua is the Hebrew name for the Greek word
Jesus. It was “Jesus” who caused them to
be born again and led them through the Jordan River back home to the land of
their fathers. They crossed the river at
Bethabara—the same place where Jesus would later be baptized. That section of the Jordan River is the
lowest body of freshwater on earth. Elder Russell M. Nelson taught that Jesus’s
baptism at Bethabara symbolized His descending below all things (see “Self-Mastery,”
Ensign, November 1985,32). ALL things
testify of Christ.
Consider names—simple names, like Joseph Smith. Joseph in Hebrew is Yoseph. Yoseph means “may God add sons.” A “smith” is someone who forges or fashions or
beats something out of raw material. So
if you are God and you want to establish a kingdom out of raw material and then
add sons to it, how do you describe that? “Joseph Smith.”
What does Hyrum mean? Hyrum means “my brother is exalted.” By chance? I don’t think so.
Consider the seasons. When was Joseph
born? Joseph was born at the winter
solstice, when light is coming into the world. What was the sign to the
Nephites when Jesus was born? It was three days of light. When was Joseph killed? Joseph was killed at the summer solstice, when
light is going out of the world. What was
the sign to the Nephites at Jesus’s death? It was three days of darkness. ALL things testify of Christ.
Moses 6:63 states, “All things . . . bear record of [Christ], both things . . .
in the heavens above, . . . on the earth, . . . in the earth, and . . . under
the earth.”
The sun itself is a type of Christ. It
comes from the east. Christ will also
come from the east. The sun gives light and life to all things. Its heat can also consume all things. (Those who live in Arizona understand that.) It does both. The Light of Christ gives “life to all things”
(D&C 88:13). Christ’s glory will
also consume the wicked at His Second Coming (see D&C 5:19). People whose lives are filled with darkness
will be destroyed by the light. People
whose lives are full of light will be saved by that light—“as by fire,” to use
Nephi’s words (1 Nephi 22:17). Doctrine
and Covenants 88:25 states that “the earth abideth the law of a celestial
kingdom.” Well, what does the earth do? The earth revolves around the sun (s-u-n).
What should we do if we are to abide by the law of a celestial kingdom? Our lives should also revolve around the Son
(s-o-n).
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Everything points to Christ, and I would encourage you to
look up and read the whole talk of “True Doctrine, Understood, Changes
Attitudes and Behavior” by Todd B Parker in Jan 2015.
Love,
EP
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(I searched the document he referred to and below is a direct link to it on the internet in case you want to read the other parts of the speech that was given:
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| Lunch at an Italian restaurant |
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| It's getting warm here! |
