Broad meadows

I mentioned in the last installment that I would begin to examine the cases of Gideon and Samson after a brief rundown of the goat in the law, but I came to realize the conflict that might arise in the mind of the believer over the implications of this section and the length of the writing would be longer than would be practicable. So we will look at these places in the law and try to understand their implications.

The goat is found in the covenant God made with Abram in Genesis 15.

Goats are part of Jacob’s wages from Laban in Genesis 30.

Joseph’s robe was dipped in goats blood in Genesis 37.

The tabernacle has as part of its construction is covered with goat hair in Exodus 23, 25, 26, 35 and 36.

Goats are the sin offering in Leviticus 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10.

The goat is the animal of sacrifice on the day of atonement in Leviticus 16.

The goat is called a clean animal in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

The Israelites were to, “Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.” on Passover. Numbers 28:22.

At the dedication of the Tabernacle, the sin offering is “one male goat” in Numbers 7:16, 22, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 58, 64, 70, 76 and 82 by each of the tribes. For some reason, they are all exactly 6 verses apart.

The goat is called holy in Numbers 18:17.

The goat is called the sin offering throughout the book of Numbers.

Now one might look at that list and think that either something is wrong with the Gospel or something is off about the law. I don’t think that’s the case at all. I do think there is a lot of confusion about this in the church and that’s why they don’t teach very much in the law. We were clearly able to see from earlier interpretations in the “Following the cup. . .” series that Jesus, and only Jesus can be the promised Messiah. So what are we to make of this?

I think part of the problem exists because of how much emphasis the church places on John 19:30 when the Lord says, “It is finished.” There is no detailed explanation of this by Jesus after his resurrection or by the disciples. The church, however, takes this to mean that God’s plan is now complete and there is nothing left but evangelism until the Rapture to accomplish and then we all go to heaven in a little rowboat (to borrow a phrase).

Perhaps the best way to look at what was “finished” is by looking at the symbol that Jesus is most closely associated with in the law, the Passover lamb. The Passover is a remembrance of when the Jews left Egypt. It was the beginning of their exodus, not the end. His symbolic sacrifice in the law is what leads to the crossing of the Red Sea, which symbolizes the first resurrection referred to in Revelation 20:5&6.

”They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

We subsequently see a thousand year reign of Christ on earth, a rebellion (after Satan is released from the abyss), and a second resurrection and judgement. What the Lord Jesus bought for us is contained in the above verse and it is glorious. Its implications for the rest of mankind, past and present, however, would be catastrophic. Let me illustrate the problem in the form of a parable I call “the Game”.

Two men were seated at a table, one vastly wealthy while the other had nothing. The wealthy man challenges the other to a game of chance. The man with nothing points out that he has nothing with which to gamble, so the wealthy man hands him two coins with which to start. At the end of the game, the man with nothing walks away with about three quarters of all that the wealthy man had. Which of these two won the game?

In a sense, that is what the church implies in the way it has interpreted the Bible that most of humanity is “taken” from God. It doesn’t deal directly with the idea of those who never had the opportunity to accept Christ or heard of the things in the Bible. Though the answer given is correct, that people go to hell because of their sin, it’s an answer that lacks compassion in regard to the gospel. The Lord asks for forgiveness for those killing him, because “they know not what they do.”

So this brings me to what I think Jesus is saying to us in Luke 15 where he give 3 parables to point to what God’s desire is regarding this issue. The first parable concerns one sheep wandering away from the other 99 and the joy of the shepherd when it’s found. The second parable is like it when a woman who lost one of her ten coins and her joy at finding it. Jesus says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

This brings us to the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable there are two sons of one man. Common church teaching on this parable is that the man represents God the Father, the elder son represents Israel and the younger son, penitent sinners (the church). On the surface, this would appear to be what the Lord means and would not be incorrect, but the symbols present point to something else.
Recall that in Genesis 38, Judah had two sons by Tamar, the first Perez, the ancestor of Christ and Zerah, the one marked with the scarlet thread. In that writing, we then merged Zerah with the young goat and the young goat appears, for the last time in the Bible, in the prodigal son. So let’s look at the parable.

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Upon repentance, the younger son has a robe placed on him (think of the fifth seal), representing the righteousness purchased by Christ. This would make the younger son part of the church. The elder son, the one who “never disobeyed,” then represents Jesus, the fattened calf that was killed. This comports with the original symbolism expressed in Genesis 15 where the heifer is killed first. So what is the elder son asking for from his father? Luke 15:28-30 says, “‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’”. It appears that he is asking for the death of the young goat, in accordance with the law as stated above and is part of the covenant made with Abram in Genesis 15. Given the fact that the rest of Luke 15 is about bringing in the last of the sheep, we can assume that that will be part of the young goats ministry.

The last thing I would point to is when the Father says, “‘But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” I believe this corroborates my original thesis of a prophet who is resurrected (twice). Once, when he dies at the sixth seal in Revelation 6 and the other time in Revelation 11 as one of the two witnesses, triggering the last trumpet and the Rapture.