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From faith to faith, part 2

The steps toward ever-increasing faith are set forth in the journey of “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38 KJV) from Egypt to the Promised Land. They left Egypt at Passover, received the law at Pentecost, and were supposed to enter the Promised Land at the feast of Tabernacles.

Each of these events, commemorated as feast days, exhibited faith on a new level, except that the people lacked the highest level of faith when they were supposed to enter the land from the south at Kadesh-barnea. This too set the pattern for the church as it has existed in the past 2,000 years.

Note that the Hebrew word kahal is usually translated “congregation” or “assembly,” implying people who are called out to assemble somewhere. In the New Testament, the Greek equivalent is ekklesia, “called out, called forth.” Israel was called out of Egypt, a type of the world system. Christ’s disciples too have been called out of the world system as well.

Under Moses, the church of Israel came out of Egypt on the day later commemorated as the feast of Passover. On a personal application, Passover signifies justification by faith in the blood of the Lamb. Those who keep the Passover in a New Covenant manner, where the true Lamb of God is the focus of their faith, are, by biblical definition, part of the church.

Israel’s Baptism

The Israelites journeyed from Egypt, crossed the Red Sea (where they were baptized “under the cloud and in the sea,” 1 Corinthians 10:2 KJV). From there they journeyed to Mount Sinai, where glory of God (Christ) descended as a fire and spoke the Ten Commandments on the day later known as Pentecost. This time the church of Israel failed to draw near to God, as they were afraid of dying (Exodus 20:18-21). In refusing to “keep” Pentecost, the fulfillment of that feast was postponed for another 1400 years until 120 disciples kept it in the upper room in Acts 2.

Pentecost and Faith-Obedience

At Sinai, the people stood at a distance from God and sent Moses up the Mount to hear the words of God and to then return to tell the people what God had spoken. Faith comes by hearing, and the people were unable to hear the law, other than the Ten Commandments. Hence, their next level of faith—a Pentecostal level—was experienced only partially. This set a pattern for the church in the past 2,000 years, which has taught the Ten Commandments but lacks a revelation of the rest of the law.

The result is that many in the church today have been able to achieve an increased level of faith, yet this has not included the revelation of the law itself. The law is an expression of the nature of God and defines His will (Romans 2:18). The transgression of the law, or “lawlessness,” is sin (1 John 3:4). Hence, studying the law teaches us what sin is. So Paul says in Romans 3:20, “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Without such knowledge, the church remained in danger of moral degeneration in contradiction to the nature and will of God. This ignorance has caused most churches and denominations to support the prison system and the banking system (usury). In some extreme cases, churches have supported the right to kill babies in the womb and even the LGBTQ movement.

The point is that the church consists of people who are lawless to one degree or another, and this largely depends on their view of God’s law. The purpose of Pentecost was to bring people into agreement with the will of God and to transform them into the image of God by hearing the voice of God and by learning obedience. Paul has a word for this level of faith. Romans 1:4, 5 says,

⁴ … according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake.

Dr. Bullinger tells us in his notes that “obedience of faith” is better rendered “faith-obedience.” In other words, it is an obedience-level faith that is distinct from justification-level faith. Obedience requires a response (works), whereas justification does not. Romans 3:28 says,

²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

To achieve Passover-level faith does not require a knowledge of the law. Note that the Israelites under Moses kept Passover seven weeks before the law was given at Sinai. Therefore, the people were justified by faith alone. Yet when they arrived at Sinai, hearing the revelation of the law (God’s nature) was a requirement to achieve Pentecostal faith-obedience.

Miracles

The Israelites witnessed miracles even before they left Egypt. They saw the ten plagues upon Egypt, as God worked to bring them to the place of justification by faith. Miracles continued while they journeyed to Sinai, as seen by God’s deliverance at the Red Sea, the “healing” miracle at the waters of Marah, and the victory in battle over the Amalekites. All of these happened prior to that original Pentecost at Sinai.

Israel’s victory over the Amalekites was secured as long as Moses raised his arms in the form of a cross (Exodus 17:11-13). This shows (by typology) that non-Pentecostal believers can attain a victorious life in Christ even by the sheer power of the cross and can see miracles through prayer based on a Passover-level faith. Miracles are not limited to the feast of Pentecost.

The Israelites were led by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire from the beginning of their journey. Exodus 13:20, 21 says,

²⁰ Then they set out from Sukkoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud to lead them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

The pillar represents the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is upon all believers who have a Passover-level faith. Nonetheless, Passover cannot substitute for Pentecost. Pentecost is a higher-level faith and involves an enhanced experience with the Holy Spirit. Passover (i.e., justification) is sufficient to leave Egypt and become part of the church, but it is not sufficient to bring anyone all the way to the Promised Land. The divine plan is set forth in three feast days, not just one or two, and experiencing miracles is a blessing along the entire route.

Faith in Men

When the Israelites left Egypt, most of them followed Moses because they had faith in him. They believed his word that they would inherit the Promised Land. Few would have left without the promise of a destination.

Faith in men puts believers in a precarious position, especially when God tests their faith. We see this especially at Sinai, when the people refused to draw near to hear the rest of the law. They felt safer by sending Moses up the Mount so that he could return and tell them what God said. Faith comes by hearing, but whoever one hears is the object of one’s faith. The people, then, preferred to have faith in Moses, rather than God.

From Egypt to Sinai, the people had faith in Moses, but when they came to Sinai for Pentecost, they were required to step up to a higher level of faith. We may view this as a transfer of faith from men to Christ. In practice, they were to abandon their indirect relationship with God and to hear God for themselves. Unfortunately, the people failed to fulfill Pentecost at that time, and so they established the pattern of the rule of men, as if believers were forbidden to have a direct relationship with Christ.

Disaster at Kadesh-barnea

About a month after receiving the Ten Commandments, God finished giving the rest of the law to Moses (Exodus 21-31). It was time to enter the Promised Land. The story is recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. The people moved north from Sinai to the southern border of Canaan, stopping at a place called Kadesh-barnea (Deuteronomy 1:2). There they sent 12 spies to search out the land.

When they returned, they gave glowing reports about its fruitfulness (Numbers 13:25-27). But they also told the Israelites that there were giants in the land who were too powerful for the Israelites to conquer. Only two of the 12 spies had faith in the promise of God and insisted that giants were not a problem with God. But the people believed the ten spies who gave the evil report, because they lacked the third-level faith required to enter the Kingdom.

The fact that most of the Israelites at Sinai had failed to move up to Pentecostal level of faith ensured that they would also fail to achieve a Tabernacles level of faith. Their faith was weak and insufficient to overcome giants in the land. The examples of Caleb and Joshua, who urged the people to have faith in God, show that they were the overcomers of their time. Their faith was stronger than that of the vast majority in the church of Israel.

Even so, they were prevented from entering the Promised Land apart from the rest of Israel. They had a direct relationship with Christ and had a Tabernacles level of faith, but they were also part of the body of people whose lack of faith postponed the Kingdom to a later time. Individuals may have great faith, but God also works on a group level in long-term prophecy.