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The Exodus A lot of people think that "The Exodus " is the chapter of Exodus in the Bible which tells the story of the Israelites exodus out the land of slavery Egypt and their departure under the leadership of God’s prophet Moses to the promised land in Palestine. But this falls short of the truth, because this exodus is nothing but the " symbolic exodus" which tells the story of the exodus of the Israelites out of the symbolic house of slavery Egypt and their departure to the promised land symbolized in Palestine and to be more specific to Jerusalem. The exodus is much more than that, but the people of the world did not understand the actual meaning of the real exodus. They thought that the land of Palestine together with the earthly Jerusalem is the actual promised land. So they began to fight each other for it and continued to do so. This mistake was made by all humans who wanted to get to heaven by their own works and deeds, and also by owning the land. They thought that through these things they can get God’s satisfaction and acceptance and become members of the chosen people of God, and hence God would grant them the joys of the eternal heaven. But that brought them nothing but death and misery and made them refugees for hundreds of years. Had they understood the real and actual meaning of exodus, they would have spared themselves years of pain and suffering. For in reality the earthly Jerusalem is holy and sacred but it is not the actual eternal Jerusalem. The eternal one that lasts forever is the heavenly Jerusalem where God will live together with his saints and they will be his actual chosen people. They will not enter it as conquers with swords and arrows in their hands, or with warplanes, bombs and machine guns imposing their presence on the ground through United Nations resolutions or through others. Yes, no one will enter it except through its twelve doors and by God’s full consent and for those who deserve it only. The actual living exodus began long before the birth of God’s prophet Moses, and what he and the Israelites did and the story of their exodus out of Egypt and their departure to Palestine was nothing but a symbolic story telling in symbols a living theatrical story of the actual Exodus of mankind. And anyone who understands and comprehends the meaning and the significance of the story understands immediately that God the almighty is telling us a story of the real actual exodus of mankind out of the sin which they had fallen in, which brought them not only the bodily but also the spiritual death, and which made them slaves of the devil who was the cause of their fall in contempt and sin. And as Adam and Eve fell in sin through ignorance and a trick of the devil, and because they declared that they were sorry for what they had done and asked God for forgiveness. This left the almighty God with two alternatives, the first was to throw them together with the devil who misled them in hell which they so rightly deserved in accordance with the Almighty imperial justice, or to give Adam and Eve and their offspring thereafter those who declare their sorrow for the sin that they have done, a chance to exodus out of the state of contempt and sin which they are in, and to give them a chance to return back to the actual promised land, that is to heaven and to God’s satisfaction and acceptance once more. So to do that God accepted that he himself will be sacrificed in their place in order to redeem them . So he made the redemption plan and started
to execute it immediately. The plan was not clear to mankind. They thought that death means the death of their bodies, they did not
realize that it exceeds that and it includes the death of their souls, that means that a human is thrown body and soul in the living hell of fire, and
because the soul is eternal and does not die, this made the punishment also eternal and never ending which meant eternal death for the body and soul in hell. Yes, precisely here and directly after the fall of Adam and Eve in sin the exodus started, and here also their redemption began by covering their genitals which became a symbol of lust, filth and sin with the blood and skin of an innocent animal. The blood of the animal could not take away the sin or give full forgiveness for it, but it covered and hid it for a while, till the time came when the forgiving blood of Jesus Christ was spilled on the cross for the redemption of all mankind. As St. Paul says in: Hebrews (10 – 4): 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you do not desire, but a body you have prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you take no pleasure. 7 Then I said 'Here, I have come to do your will, O God, ’as it is written of me in the roll of the book." 8 First he said, "You have neither desire nor take pleasure in sacrifices, burnt offerings and sin offerings " (which are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, "Here I come to do your will." So he abolished the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by this will, we have been purified from sin through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. This is how mankind fell in sin, and how they were thrown out of heaven. Then the great flood took place in the days of Noah, later the law and the Ten Commandments and a copy and a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary were given to Moses, and finally came the redemption of mankind by sacrificing the Son of God "Jesus Christ". And mankind moves on till they reach the Judgment Day, which is so close by. St. Paul says: Ephesians ( 3 – 8 ) : 10 that through the church the many sorts of wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. 11 this was in accordance to the eternal purpose which he has achieved through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, God the Almighty took a living example and showed it to mankind, but mankind did not think deep enough to understand the intention and the significance of the example, they did not even try to understand its meaning. So God made Abram a living example of Adam and made Sarai a living example of the doubtful Eve, who was the cause of Adam’s temptation and fall and that of all the human race. As Adam’s story and his fall began in the heaven, here also the story of Abram began in the promised land , and God said : Now the Lord said to Abram, "Leave your land and your tribe and your father’s house to the land that I will show you . 2 And I will bless you and make your name great and make of you a great nation, and you will be a blessing. 3 …..6 Abram traveled through the land until he came to the oak tree of Moreh in Shachem. At that time the Canaanites were still in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said ,"To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an alter to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And in Genesis ( 15 – 1 ): 2 …… 3 And Abram said," Behold, you have not given me any children; and a slave born in my house will be my heir." 4 Then the word of Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir." 5 And he brought him outside and said ,"Look toward the heaven and count the stars , if you are able to count them. "Then he said to him," So shall your descendents be." 6 And he believed the Lord; and God reckoned it to him as righteousness. We notice that God brought Abram outside and said to him " Look your descendent will become too many like the stars of heaven in numbers, and that God here did not mention any thing else with the stars, because up to this point Abram had not made any mistake. God makes here a covenant with Abram to give the possession of the promised land to his descendents as inheritance, and that was a promise and a set date. But God stayed away from Abram and his wife Sarai deliberately, he stayed away for thirteen years and left Abram waiting in expectation, hoping for the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. God had to stay away from Abram, so that the living example who is playing Adam’s role will fall in doubt and temptation, that is till the doubt in Sarai’s heart became a full sin, exactly as the doubt in Eve’s heart had become a full sin before. So both of Eve and Sarai made Adam and Abram who is playing Adam’s role fall in doubt and sin. Genesis ( 16 – 2 ) : Yes this is how the doubt in Sarai’s heart became a full sin, which made Abram doubt God’s arrangement. So Abram and his wife began to think of possible ways that will help God to fulfill his promise to Abram . As if God was helpless and unable to fulfill his promise to him. So he slept with his wife’s maid Hager, and the result was the birth of the son of the flesh Ishmael who became thirteen years old before God appeared again to Abram and when he was ninety-nine years old and said to him : Genesis (17 – 1): 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 " behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6…...…7…….…8……….9 And God said to Abraham , " As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendents after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendents after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in flesh of your foreskins, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you . 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house, or bought with your silver from any foreigner who is not of your offspring , 13……. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." 15 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16....17… 18 And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live in your sight !" 19 God said, "No but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Issac. I will establish my everlast- ing covenant with him and his descendents after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and
make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the
father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. Here we see that God says to Abram, "Walk before me and be perfect ". Because he had made a mistake, so God asks him to be perfect. And God makes a covenant with Abram after his mistake and fall , and he gives him a sign for this covenant and says, "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, " and any male who is not circumcised in flesh of his foreskin will no longer be one of my people, because he has broken God’s covenant, and also here we see Abram falling on his face in front of God because he had fallen in sin. And we notice that God asks that every one who is eight days old in Abraham’s house to be circumcised, he did not say: wait till the boy is old and mature enough before you ask him to make a choice whether he wants it or not. Here God gives Abraham a covenant exactly as God had given Adam a covenant and a promise to redeem and save him from the slavery of the devil which he had fallen in, that is when God covered Adam’s and Eve's genitals which became a symbol of their sin with the skin of an innocent animal which was killed and whose blood was spilled to redeem and cover them. But the plan made by God was not well understood by mankind because they were still suffering from the expulsion out of heaven. And finally Abel understood the essence of the plan and he brought of the firstling of his flock of sheep as an offering, and the Lord accepted it and had regard for it because it symbolized and pointed to the redemption offering that was prepared for the redemption of mankind. But Cain did not understand the plan and brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, which was not accepted. So Cain was furious and his countenance fell, and when they were in the field. Cain rose up against his brother and killed him. This was the first murder on earth, but murders and sins became more frequent and blood spilling was followed by more blood and murders. God changed Abram’s name to show his distinct intention of making Abram a living example and a symbol of Adam who had failed. And said, " No longer shall your name be Abram but it shall be Abraham for I have made you the father of multitude of nations . And also Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai but Sarah shall be her name. So here God indicates his intentions to Abraham and says, " As of this moment you became a living example and an actor in a living theatrical play. Your role is that of Adam and like him you will be a father of multitude of nations. And as of this moment your name and that of your wife’s are changed and a living theatrical play of mankind’s life on earth begins telling in a living manner the plan which God had prepared for the salvation and redemption of mankind. But mankind did not understand the essence of the plan as it was told. We notice that God tells Abraham, "I have made you the father of multitude of nations" and not the father of your descendents or the descendents of Abraham. And this time nothing keeps God away or delays him, so he says, " Sarah shall bear to you Isaac at this very same season next year . Later on the maid Hager and her son Ishmael were casted out, and when the
matter became displeasing to Abraham because of his son’s loss, God
intervened and said: But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendents be named. And St. Paul says in: Galatians (4 – 22): 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. 24 Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hager. 25 Now Hager is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written," Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who never felt the pain of childbirth; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married. " 28 Now brothers we like Isaac, are children of the promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so it is now. 30 But what does the scripture say? " cast out the slave and her son; for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. 31 So. Brothers, we are not the children of the slave but of the free woman. And after Ishmael and his mother were casted out, God returned and asked
Abraham for: God said," Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted his eyes up and saw the place afar off. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men," Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go over there and worship, and come back to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac
his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went
both of them together. When God tested Abraham and asked for Isaac to be offered as a burnt offering upon a mountain in the land of Moriah, Abraham did not withhold his son or refuse. So here we ask a question, " Why did Abraham lay the wood of the burnt offering on his son’s back? Why didn’t he himself carry the wood, as Isaac was too young?" As an answer we see that Abraham did that without thinking and that was to complete the prophecy that was to take place and make it come true without knowing it. So, why did God ask Abraham to offer his son Isaac, when he had a prior knowledge that Abraham will not say no, and that he himself will prevent Abraham from harming Isaac. So what was the purpose of the test? Here we see that God the Almighty wanted Abraham and mankind to understand that he himself will offer his son Jesus Christ as an offering on the cross, and this is why Isaac was substituted by the ram which was but a symbol for Christ. The place where Abraham offered the ram as a substitute to Isaac became later on the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite, which king David bought, and on which the temple was later on built. And from this very place Jesus Christ was to carry the cross on his back and go with it to Golgotha where he was to be offered and crucified for the redemption of mankind. This is in fact why Abraham laid the wood of the offering on Isaac back as it symbolized the cross. We notice that God promises Abraham, "I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendents as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And says, "your descendents shall possess the gate of their enemies". For the first while this promise seems to be one promise, and means that the number of the descendents of Abraham shall be uncountable, but in fact the promise consists of two parts. The first is: As the stars of heaven which could not be counted, and this is intended for the descendents of the promise who have faith similar to that of Abraham, that is the redeemed descendents of the heavenly Jerusalem , that is the actual real chosen people of God . And this can be clearly seen in: Genesis (26 – 1): 2 And the Lord appeared to him, and said, " Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Live in this land and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you
and to your descendents I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the
oath, which I swore to Abraham your father. Also this is what prophet Moses said in: " At that time I said to you, ‘ I am not able to bear you alone; 10 God has multiplied you, and made you numerous as the stars of heaven . And in: Daniel (8 – 9): 10 It grew even great against the elements of the heaven; and it threw some stars to the ground and trampled on them. That is it grew so great that it trampled on and crushed the descendents of the promise. And also in: Daniel (12 – 1): 2 Many of those who have died will live and rise again: some for eternal life and some for eternal shame and ever lasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who taught many righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. And Revelation (12 – 4): says: That is, he killed one third of the actual chosen people of God.
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