According to 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, does the Red Sea in Exodus 14:22 represent Jesus' Blood?

Question

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Paul gives an interpretation of what happened from the OT Exodus 14:22 & Numbers 20:11 as something that leads to baptism and Christ Himself. With that in mind, would it be wrong or is allegorical to say that the Red Sea would represent the blood of Jesus that washes away, which provides a path to heaven?

Answer 1

The Idea in Brief

The image of blood and water appears in the Red Sea crossing in addition to the crossing of the River Jordan into the Promised Land. That is, each crossing occurred in tandem with the Passover Sacrifice and Feast, and therefore appear as parallel chronological events (since they occurred in tandem with Passover). In the former instance, the crossing of the Red Sea occurred through Moses, and in the latter instance, the crossing of the River Jordan occurred through the Glory of the Lord (that is, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had led the people, and not Joshua).

In the first instance, the Red Sea crossing was immediate deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and in the latter instance, the Jordan crossing was immediate deliverance into the rest of the Promised Land.

What lies between both events on the Hebrew calendar (Passover to Passover) is the Day of Atonement, where blood covers the sins of all the people. In tandem with the Day of Atonement is the Feast of Tabernacles, which marks the time spent from slavery in Egypt until the time of entrance into the rest of the Promised Land. This period of time was the testing of faith, and most Israelites delivered from Egypt did not proceed into the rest of the Promised Land.

In the Christian New Testament, the death of Jesus occurred on the same dates as Passover and its Feast. The resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on Sunday, appears to be the same Sunday when the Egyptian Army was destroyed in the Red Sea - that is, in the Hebrew Bible the Red Sea crossing by the Israelites appears to have occurred on the seventh day of the week (Saturday); the destruction of the Egyptian Army then followed.

In brief summary, within the Christian New Testament, the image of the blood of the Passover sacrifice and Feast (Jesus is the Passover sacrifice in 1 Cor 5:7) appears in direct correlation with the water of the Red Sea (and with the water of the Jordan River). So while blood atones, or provides deliverance from the condemnation of sin, water in the Christian New Testament provides for eternal life, or the deliverance into the rest (or peace) of heaven.

Discussion

The Crossing of the Red Sea Occurred on Saturday (the Sabbath)

The Hebrew Bible indicates that Moses was the hand of the extended arm of God from heaven in order to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. Thus the literal hand of Moses was the agent of power, which had inflicted the plagues and was what caused the parting of the Red Sea. The following passage from Isaiah clarifies this point.

Isaiah 63:12 (NASB)
¹² Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name....

When Moses lifted his hand, the sea was divided. The hand of Moses was the agent, by which the outstretched arm from heaven exercised power on earth. The same hand caused the sea walls to collapse, and thus destroyed the Egyptian Army.

Exodus 14:21-26 (NASB)
²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. ²² The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵ He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”

The parting of the Red Sea occurred on the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday (the Sabbath). In other words, the parting and closing of the Red Sea was the last instance when Moses had used his hand in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt.

Deut 5:15 (NASB)
¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

The inauguration of the Fourth Commandment (observation of the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week as noted by Deut 5:15, above) was in direct reference to the deliverance by Moses, when he had used his hand to divide and then to close the Red Sea, and thus delivered the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt. That is, Moses was the hand of the outstretched arm from heaven.

The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement occurs in the "middle" of the year, and therefore appears between the two events of Passover, when viewed through the lens of the crossing at the Red Sea and the crossing at the River Jordan. That is, the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs in tandem with the Day of Atonement, commemorates the time spent from slavery in Egypt until the time of entrance into the rest of the Promise Land. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles places the Day of Atonement in the logical "middle," since the escape from Egypt occurred with one Passover, and the entrance into the Promised Land occurred in tandem with a second Passover. The following diagram provides the suggested understanding.

The Festival of the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of Booths) captures the collective span of time spent from slavery in Egypt until the time of entrance into the rest of the Promise Land. The Day of Atonement appears in contrast to Passover. That is, the blood sacrifice is efficacious for all. (Even Egyptians participated with the Israelites in the Exodus according to Ex 12:38 and Deut 29:11.) The Day of Atonement covers sins of all people, with emphasis on sins committed in ignorance.

Finally, the Christian New Testament brings connects the Day of Atonement to water. The following passage mentions the Day of Atonement and the water filtered through the ashes of the Red Heifer.

Hebrews 9:11-14 (NASB)
¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; ¹² and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

This passage from the Book Hebrews is in reference to the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest presented the blood of goats and bulls on the Mercy Seat of the Holy of Holies. The comment about "ashes of a heifer sprinkled" is not in reference to blood, but in reference to WATER. The water of the Red Heifer is not what removes the defilement of sin, but the defilement of spiritual death. That is, blood and water provided complete cleansing (the former concerned sin, and the latter concerned death).

For example, the atoning death of Jesus (blood) was just as important as his resurrection (water). If there were no resurrection, then the atoning death of Jesus Christ would have been in vain.

1 Cor 15:14-19 (NASB)
¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. ¹⁵ Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Thus in the following verses, the Book of Hebrews correlates blood (atonement) and water (eternal life).

Hebrews 9:19-20 (NASB)
¹⁹ For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”

The reference in this passage was to the Hebrew Bible (verse, below); however, the verse in question in the Hebrew Bible makes no mention of the water of the ashes of the Red Heifer in the chapter!

Exodus 24:8 (NASB)
⁸ So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

This chapter in Exodus mentions nothing about water, much less the water filtered through the ashes of the Red Heifer, which removed the defilement of death. In other words, the Christian New Testament amplifies the idea of "blood" to include not the idea of mortal life, but eternal life as well. Thus the image of water and blood emerging from the dead body of Jesus (John 19:34) would seem to indicate that both his mortal life and eternal life had departed his human body. The image of the water and blood operating in tandem with the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:6-8) also indicates how this eternal life was conceived and robed in human flesh.

Jesus is the Second Moses leading the Second Exodus

When Jesus appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses mentioned the following to Jesus.

Luke 9:28-31 (NASB)
²⁸ Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

In the Greek (NA28) the last verse is as follows -

οἳ ὀφθέντες ἐν δόξῃ ἔλεγον τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἤμελλεν πληροῦν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ.

The word for "departure" is ἔξοδος, which is the same Greek word for the Exodus from Egypt in Hebrews 11:22. Arndt, et al. (2000) indicate the wider usage of this word in antiquity that includes the Exodus from Egypt.

In summary, the following diagram depicts the suggested model for understanding the death (blood) and resurrection (water) of Jesus Christ in contradistinction to the Exodus from Egypt. This Exodus was the "departure from Jerusalem," which Moses (and Elijah) had mentioned to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Please click the image to enlarge.

Thus Jesus would have died on Thursday, according to the Biblical Texts. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ would make him "the Prophet" (mentioned in Deut 18:15), who would follow Moses (as fulfilled in Acts 3:22). That is, like Moses, Jesus Christ "saves" his people through blood and water. But not all people who follow Jesus embrace him through faith, and thus like the Israelites in the desert who were delivered from slavery in Egypt, many do not make the Jordan River crossing, which is final deliverance into the rest of the Promised Land.

Conclusion

The Israelites who escaped from the bondage of Egypt were circumcised. That is, they had the Israelite "sacrament" of circumcision, but they did not enter into the rest of the Promised Land notwithstanding. On the other hand, the Israelite males who did cross into the rest of the Promised Land did not have the "sacrament" of circumcision. That is, they were circumcised AFTER they had crossed into the Promised Land (Joshua 5:1-9).

In like manner, the Israelites who had crossed the Red Sea through the hand of Moses were "baptized" through him. Moses was the agent, who led the Israelites to Sinai where they received the Law from heaven (on the day of the celebration of the Feast of Weeks, which is Pentecost). These Israelites also partook of "spiritual food" (bread) and "spiritual drink" (cup) in the wilderness wanderings (where they had lived in tabernacles or booths). In other words, in 1 Cor 10:1-4, the Apostle Paul had indicated that these Israelites had the analog "sacraments" of baptism (and circumcision), "the spiritual food" (Eucharist Bread, or Body of Christ), and "the spiritual drink" (Eucharist Cup, or Blood of Christ). Thus they were "sacramentalized," but they were not saved in the ultimate sense. That is, they never made the crossing into the rest of the Promised Land.

In summary, the blood of Christ is for all men everywhere (as was evident on the Day of Atonement, or even the Passover, when Egyptians also had escaped from Egypt with the Israelites). However, not all receive the eternal life of Jesus Christ, which is living water. Not all make the crossing into the rest of the Promised Land.

The question therefore is whether or not one accepts not only the deliverance from the slavery to sin (analog here is to crossing the Red Sea by God's appointed leader and the "sacraments"), but whether or not one enters into the Promised Land (analog here is to crossing the River Jordan by the Spirit of God with or without the "sacraments," since uncircumcised Israelites had indeed entered the Promised Land). The discriminator therefore is not the forgiveness of sins, but faith as is evident through the trials and tests that occur in the "middle" of the desert.

References:

Aland, K., Aland, B., Karavidopoulos, J., Martini, C. M., & Metzger, B. M. (2012). Novum Testamentum Graece (28th Edition., Lk 9:31). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 350-351.

Answer 2

Typological-theological perspective

My understanding from this passage and other NT texts is that the blood of the Passover Lamb represents Jesus' blood, while the Red Sea represents baptism.

The reason this can be confusing (if I'm following your question) is that both the Red Sea crossing (type) and baptism (antitype) seem to be salvific in texts like this one, as if a person's salvation were concurrent with (if not equivalent to) baptism. In other words, "baptism into Moses" seems to be set in typological parallel with "baptism into Christ" (cf. Romans 6). This apparent difficulty is cleared up once it is recognized that (A) baptism was the preferred method for committing yourself to Christ in the NT era, and (B) Jesus' work on the cross precedes our activities of embracing His work at baptism. In other words, the Passover Lamb can represent the work of Christ on the cross for all mankind, while the crossing of the Red Sea represents our embrace of His work personally at baptism.

Paul's intent

Of course, none of this has to do with Paul's primary intent in the passage. He simply wanted to make it clear that we ought not to think that we are safe from idolatry, failure, and judgment simply because we're currently "in" the church. Take communion all you want... if you're an idolator you will not enter the "Promised Land".

Answer 3

Yes it would be wrong to say that the Red Sea represents the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The baptism takes place because of the cloud that guided the Israelites.It was a cloud of Water and Fire and Jesus would baptise with fire as recorded in The book of Matthew .The Israelites were not under the sea-but they were under the cloud (baptism).The sea has more to do with the birth of the Nation of Israel.

Some people say that the waters were divided but my view is the waters were broken.See this question.The broken waters came before the birth of a nation.Israel was born through water and blood and out of this nation one would be born who would rule the nations with an iron sceptre , who also came through water and blood when he was born.See first comment to this Question.

1 John 5:6 New International Version

6 This is the one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

Conclusion

The water and the blood that Israel had to pass through before the nation was born, is symbolic of the spiritual and human birth of Jesus Christ.

Answer 4

The text is saying that all were baptised "into Moses" in the cloud and in the sea:

2 καὶ πάντες εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ⸀ἐβαπτίσαντο ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, (SBLGNT 1Co 10.2)

It appears as both baptisms, cloud and sea, together represent one baptism: that "into Moses".

The New Testament talks about a baptism of all believers in a body (of Christ) in 1Co 12:13. This baptism is a work of the Holy Spirit and happened spiritually when Jesus was lifted up in the cross, acc. to Joh 12:32-33 and Joh 11:52.

During Jesus ministry, after having been baptised in the baptism of John, Jesus spoke of a certain baptism he was looking forward to take part, acc. to Luke 12:50. Well, he wasn't going to be baptised into himself, nor in water, but in death, as a result of Him voluntarily giving up his life on the cross.

Since he died and was raised from among the dead ones after being lifted up in the cross, the believers that were placed in Him (by virtue of the previous baptism in His body) were also baptised into this same baptism of death (followed by ressurection). See, for instance, how Jesus includes the family of Zebedee (v.20) in his death baptism in Matt 20:22-23. This is fully confirmed by Rom 6:3.

Finally, the New Testament most frequently speaks of believers as being "in Christ", the familiar expression "ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ" and it's equivalents.

Since Moses' ministry was several times a type of Jesus', the New Testament drawing several comparisons between them, Joh 1.17, Joh 3:14, and Heb 3:1-6, to list a few, it seems accurate to recognize the following parallels:

The baptism in the cloud being a figure of the baptism in the body of Jesus - a baptism into that which is lifted up (recall Joh 12:32-33).

The baptism in the sea being a figure of the baptism in death. This is also supported by Jesus comparing His 3-day stay in the place of the dead with the sign of Jonah, who spent 3 days under sea-level, Matt 12:40.

The baptism (or being) into Moses being a figure of the baptism (or being) into Christ, the overall operation that places believers forever ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ, in a similar manner Israelites were placed under the Law (to this day!).

While the people of Israel stayed in Moses or under the Law, Christians remain in Christ, under Grace. The entering on the sea (not getting wet but lowering below sea-level) represents all Christians' death with Jesus, while leaving the sea (getting out of the region below sea-level) represents the resurrection, spiritually on the believers, physically to Jesus and to the first-fruits.

It can't be a reference to Jesus blood as nowhere in the Bible Jesus blood is used as a baptism (immersion) medium, but as a washing spiritual agent - a very important distinction!

To sum up, the red sea would be a representation of death. The joint one Jesus and those in union with Him experienced.

Answer 5

Peace.

The “Reed” Sea (Red Sea)….speaks metaphorically of the papyruses (reeds) that the ancient Egyptians used to write on of which they probably used reed pens to do so.

Hence, we have a picture of Christ (in the crossing of the Reed Sea) taking away the “handwritings” of ordinances (that are against us and contrary to us) which keep us in bondage (Egypt) to men.

If we are dead with Christ (in His “baptism”) from the rudiments of the world…..the orderly arrangements of the fundamentals of the world (their authoritative documents such as constitutions, documents, etc)….,

….why as though living in the world, we are subject to ordinances….which are the commandments and doctrines of men (the handwritings of ordinances found in the churches of men). There are many church documents….a sea of them being preached by men….a Reed Sea. Don’ t let a man bring you into his bondage as Christ has made us free.

Colossians 2:20-23 KJV (20) Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (21) (Touch not; taste not; handle not; (22) Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? (23) Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

Pharaoh pursued the children of Israel. Those who see our freedom in Christ want to bring us into their bondage….into the serving and worshipping of their church handwritings of “ordinances”….that is, “dogmas” which means ( in ancient Greek) “what one thinks is right or true”.

An example is a church’s “statement of faith”….what one believes is true….the dogmas.

Many serve and worship their handwritings which a church scribe had written. God did not command them. He did not speak them.

But instead, some man in his puffed up fleshly mind thought he saw or understood something in the Scriptures and put them into his own handwriting for others to serve and worship.

Men avow of and teach their documents and brings many (who think those writings are “true” in their own minds) into their bondage.

Christ has made us free and we should not become entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Egypt). Christ is the Head….and not a document that is placed high up in the church which is being esteemed by all in the church.

Galatians 5:1 KJV (1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Men come forth with the same thought of Pharaoh: “They are entangled in the land or earth”….that is, with the “rudiments of the world”.

It is easy then to deceive others who want to serve a handwriting. But we must stand firm in the faith that Christ has made us free.

The world serves and fights over their handwritings….their documents….their sea of reeds… such as their constitutions which are their aggregates of fundamentals that they bow down to. Church documents are patterned after worldly documents. They are images likened to outside man’s documents.

Exodus 14:3 KJV (3) For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

False brothers have crept in to the churches of men where they seek to bring us into their bondage….the serving of their handwriting of ordinances.

Galatians 2:4 KJV (4) And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

Beware lest any man may spoil you through his philosophy and vain deceit….after the transmission (tradition) of men which are patterned after the “rudiments of the world” and not after Christ who is the true Head of all principality and power. A church document is not our head….Christ is and always will be. We must stand it faith…established in faith in Christ who teaches us.

Colossians 2:6-23 KJV (6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware of deceitful men and their church handwritings of church scribes that come forth to lead us into the keeping of them….the bondage of Egypt.

(8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (9) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

We are complete in Him which is the Head of all principality and power.

The “rudiments of the world” …the nations’ constitutions are the head of the world ….their “principality and power” which Christ shall supersede as the kingdoms of this world shall become His.

(10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

He blots out the handwriting of church dogmas that are against us and are contrary to us. We are forgiven for our trespasses as they are nailed to His cross. Moses held out the staff....the branch.

(14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

He spoils the “principalities and powers”…..as Pharaoh and his horsemen were overcome.

(15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Men put things into their handwritings of church dogmas of what they thought they understood in the Bible for us to keep.

They have intruded (trespassed) into those things in the Scriptures of which they did not see/understand but in their vainly puffed up fleshly minds thought these things were true….true enough to put into their own handwritings for others to serve and worship (bondage).

Many voluntarily go and humbly submit to and worship the churches handwritings (the angels or messengers) that are written by church scribes. Let no man beguile you of your reward: the eternal life of Jesus to be made manifest in our mortal flesh in this earth.

(18) Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

They do not hold the Head…the mind of Christ…as they preach for doctrines the commandments of men to serve and worship.

(19) And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

The outside nations serve their own handwritings of men…their constitutions. They are placed up above all people to serve….the documents of the fundamental principles that are highly esteemed. God has divided unto all nations which are under the heaven to serve and worship their handwritings.

We as His people are free though from them as God is our King whom we serve and worship.

The constitutions and the many documents of the outside nations rule over them who do not profess to know God. They are their “principalities and powers” of which all of them serve.

We are not to see the “sun and the moon and the stars”….all the host of heaven…so that we are driven to worship them and serve them.

The sun (which rules over the day) and the moon and the stars (which rule over the night) all rule and speaks of government. We are not to see the world’s government by handwritings and want to do our own for our churches.

Christ is our Head….He is our government….and not some document that we are to voluntarily submit to in our own will-worship (professing ourselves as “wise” and so go to voluntarily and humbly keep man’s handwritings).

Again, we are not to see the “sun and the moon and the stars”….all the host of heaven…so that we are driven to worship them and serve them. the outside nations place their documents of men in high places (the heaven so to speak) and there they rule over men (their governments). Their heaven...their highly esteemed documents that rule over them.. rules as iron.

Deuteronomy 4: KJV (19) And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

We are not to make an image ….a document….to rule over us as a church like the outside world does. There should be no church “constitutions” or by-laws or statements of faith, etc ruling over us.

We have been taken out of bondage (out of Egypt...the iron furnace). We are made free in Christ who is the Head of all principality and power. Why subject ourselves willingly to the sea of ordinances?

(20) But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

Do we desire to be in bondage again to the “weak and beggarly elements” ?

Galatians 4:8-11 KJV (8) Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (9) But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

The Galatians observed intensively “days and months and times and years”.

(10) Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. (11) I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

This is the functions of the lights in the firmament of the heaven…..to rule over the day and night and let them be for signs, days, years, seasons.

We have the 2 greatest commands of God to serve….and not man’s documents with its many ordinances. God is our government (the kingdom of God) and not man’s handwritings.

Genesis 1:14 KJV (14) And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

The handwriting of church dogmas is the “image” of the beast….the handwriting that supports the worshipping of “another Jesus”….which is instituted by false prophets for us to serve and worship. They worship "another Jesus" the antichrist... instead of the true Christ...through the serving and worshipping of their handwritings of the church scribes which divide us into the denominations of churches and are not gathering us together as one man in Christ.

We then use our documents (of which we think is true) of men’s commandments to “kill” others with evil speaking (judging others) who do not keep them. This is serving the sin.

Revelation 13:15 KJV (15) And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Don’t let another man bring you into bondage where many serve and worship their handwritings of which we think is true. Christ has made us free from the handwritings as He is the Head of all “principality and power”.

Fear not those who come to seek to bring us back into bondage (Egypt) and “stand still” in Christ. Stand firm and do not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. They use fear and persecutions to keep us in their bondage whereas we need to escape from them.

Exodus 14:13-14 KJV (13) And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (14) The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (those who will persecute us), I will fear no evil for You are with me….they rod and thy staff comfort me. We keep His sacrifice and die to sin...not returning evil for their evil as we walk on the "dry"....drying up all evil in our words.

Psalms 23:4-5 KJV (4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Be not afraid of their “terror” neither be troubled by those who will persecute us for leaving their churches where they are serving and worshipping their handwritings of dogmas.

1 Peter 3:12-17 KJV (12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (13) And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? (14) But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; (15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (16) Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. (17) For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

The children of Israel went in the middle of the sea upon the dry. The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left…and not a wall dividing them….

Exodus 14:22 KJV (22) And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

….as Christ Jesus makes us all one (walking together in the middle on dry ground...in peace with one another and not warring with one another in hostility of evil words) and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us have abolished in His flesh the hostility (the roaring sea of evil words) which is caused by the “law of commandments” contained in dogmas (ordinances) that separate us and are contrary to us getting along. This law of commandments of contained in dogmas as preached by men separate us all and is like the Reed Sea.

Ephesians 2:13-18 KJV (13) But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (14) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (15) Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; (16) And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: (17) And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. (18) For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father

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