SCRIPTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF TWELVE (III)
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus (Heb 3:1)
(…continues from part two…)
3) Revelation 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Who came down from heaven to judge the sin of Adam? Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:” Genesis 3:17 “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” the Judge is none other than Jesus Christ, in His pre-incarnate manifestation: for God the Father does not vacate the celestial throne. So that they would not take of the tree of life then and be ineligible for salvation, “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” (Genesis 3:22): but after the restoration of man and the renovation of this world, the replenishment and the air of salubrity must bear the “Twelve” mark of “…he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13).
Abraham, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.
This is my conclusion. God told Abraham that the entire land he was sojourning was his own forever. Abraham himself did not move away from the land. Isaac his successor lived all his days on the land like his father. What led to the acquisition of the land began when Jacob travelled away from the land. The reason why Jacob had the honour of bringing Israel to the Promised Land was because of his fatherhood establishment of twelve sons. The entire twelve tribes of Israel had to ritualize this number by applying the blood of the Actuator of number twelve. Who led Israel with strong arm out of Egypt? Is it not the pillar of cloud and of fire by day and night? Exodus 14:19 “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:” another title of the Christ is the Angel of the LORD. Jacob’s twelve must be protected by the Actuator of His number.
Isaiah 63:9 “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” It was important for Israel to have a spiritual link with number twelve to attract the redeeming grace for the prince standing by His side. The scriptural documentation makes it plain as day who this enigmatic Being is.
1Corinthians 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The goings forth of Jesus has been from of old. One of such goings from heaven to our earth is His shepherding of Israel to the Promised Land, a promise He made to His friend, Abraham. Israel must drink of her Creator. 1Corinthians 10:9 “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.” In the Book of Numbers 21:5 and 6, the recalcitrant Israel spoke against the LORD God and His Providence, loathing the bread – the signification of the body of Jesus broken for our redemption. So, in the 6th verse God sent fiery serpents against disbelievers of the Actuator of what they represent: twelve.
They did not even know that it was the Redeemer of Israel that they spoke contumaciously against. And what was the solution to the serpentine blitzkrieg: for heaven above dealt with them using the wickedness of terra firma? His anger would not let Him destroy them utterly; knowing the manner in which He will save the world, the Lord chose its adumbration. Numbers 21:8 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
Numbers 20:11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” This Mosaic uncalled for act adumbrates the preposterous ignorance of Jews that will lead to the injustice done to Jesus that culminated in the Golgotha substitutionary death for mankind. Jesus, in His pre-incarnate manifestation, allowed Himself to be hit, to set as a future precedence. The number twelve is indeed soteriological. Amen.
The number twelve is too significant to be left in the polluted hands of Adamic orchestration. The disciples of Jesus, not in true awareness of the fact that they were still in the Old Testamentary order, decided to actuate the mystical number of the LORD’s apostles. In between verses 23 and 26 of Acts of the Apostles chapter one the apostles prayed, asking God to show whom He had chosen in place of Judas. Acts 1:23 “And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.” That they appointed more than one former disciples shows that they had a problem of knowing the mind of Jesus concerning a replacement for Judas, who proved unworthy of the divine number twelve.
Spiritual acquittal and discharge takes place only when one is born again. To be born again, say, with all your heart, this simple prayer:
“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”
(…to be concluded…)
Read part II here
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