Daily Devotional, Year 3 – August 29 (How To Understand The Old Testament: “What Do The Old Testament Nations Represent?”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – August 29
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How To Understand The Old Testament:
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“What Do The Old Testament Nations Represent?”
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“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
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saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land,
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from the river of Egypt
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the great river, the river Euphrates:”
Genesis 15:18
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Many truth-seeking Bible students are perplexed as how to understand the Old Testament, with all its various references to nations and kingdoms, many of which no longer exist.
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Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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NO LONGER RELEVANT?
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So just how are we to understand all these Old Testament references? 
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Or are we to simply dismiss them altogether, as many of today’s Bible teachers recommend?
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Yes, maybe those teachers are correct when they tell us that those Old Testament prophecies have no relevance to the New Testament Church.
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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“GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE”
2nd Thessalonians 2:11
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Well, God wrote the Bible in such a way, that those who, “are without”, cannot 
understand the deeper spiritual truths of the Bible.
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Listen to the words of Jesus…
“And He said unto them,
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Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:
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but unto them that are without,
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all these things are done in parables:”
Mark 4:11
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Here is revealed a giant clue to how the Bible is to be understood. The Bible is a spiritual Book. It has been written largely in parables, types, symbols, and allegories.
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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“BUT THE NATURAL MAN RECEIVES NOT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT…BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED”
1st Corinthians 2:14
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And it must also be fully understood that to properly understand all these parables, etc., requires the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, even as it is written…
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“Which things also we speak,
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not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth,
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but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
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comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
1st Corinthians 2:13
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Here is revealed that it requires the presence of the Holy Spirit to properly discern Bible truth, and to comprehend the spiritual nature of the Bible.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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Now all this leads us back to the question,
“Just how are we to properly understand the Old Testament with all its various references to nations and kingdoms, many of which no longer exist?”
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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GOD’S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
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Today’s signature Bible verse is a quote by God Himself to Abraham in the form of a
promise…
“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
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Unto thy seed have I given this land,
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from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:”
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Genesis 15:18
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Now this promise has never been literally fulfilled. Oh yes, it was partially fulfilled when the Jews moved into the earthly Promised Land becoming known as the nation of Israel.
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But never did they gain rule over Egypt. Nor did they gain rule over Syria and Babylon.
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And let’s face it! Israel did not rule over the other nations, such as Philistia, either.
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Schnorr von Carolsfeld – 1860 – Abram counts stars – Wikipedia – Public Dom. (2)
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“DO YE NOT HEAR THE LAW?…WHICH THINGS ARE AN ALLEGORY!”
Galatians 4:21, 24
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Well, the Apostle, Paul, was disappointed and incredulous with the churches at Galatia saying…“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” Galatians 4:21
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Paul here, was asking those churches why they could not truly hear what the law was saying, instead of merely attempting to keep the letter of the law.
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THE ALLEGORICAL NATURE OF THE LAW
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So just what was the law truly saying? Paul goes on to say…
“Tell me, ye that desire to be under
the law,
do ye not hear the law?…
Which things are an allegory:
for these are the two covenants (Hagar and Sarah);
the one from the mount Sinai,
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia,
and answereth to Jerusalem which now is,
and is in bondage with her children.
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
Galatians 4:21, 24-26, 31
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So Paul here is asking why the Galatians cannot hear what the law is truly saying.
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In other words, the law is actually all about the Gospel of Salvation. But quite often, God has veiled the Gospel of Jesus within various allegorical accounts, such as this above account concerning Hagar and Sarah, each representing both the apostate portion and the faithful portion of the Church, respectively.
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ALLEGORIES ABOUT THE CHURCH
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And so it is also, with the nations which God promised to Abraham. Even though those heathen nations were never a part of literal Israel, they nevertheless were allegorical 
references to God’s people, both the apostate portion and the faithful portion of the New Testament Church.
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For example, Moab represents the apostate portion of the Church (see the article…June 6 (Cease Ye From Man! Part 5: A Heath in the Desert! Who is Moab?)).
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Yes, not only Moab, but also Babylon, Philistia, Assyria, and the other pagan nations are actually to be understood allegorically when attempting to rightly divide God’s Word of truth.
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Gideon and His (Bible Card) www.thebiblerevival.org – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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EARS TO HEAR
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Well, this certainly gives us enough to meditate on, and enough to study on. But God never claimed His Word is easy to be understood.
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And only those who have received “ears to hear” will understand these deeper spiritual truths, veiled within the various parables, types and shadows and allegories found throughout Scripture.
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Harold-Camping – courtesy Family Radio
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to understand the allegorical nature of the Bible, so that I can progress further up the pathway of truth! Give me a love for studying my Bible, so that I may become changed into the image of Jesus…
Prayer – Mother and Daughter – Wikipedia – (cropped image) the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…” March 14th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian!)”, or you can also read… “June 12th (Jig-Saw Puzzle Jesus!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
which took their lamps,
and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
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And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps,
and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
Matthew 25:1-4
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WIKIPEDIA STAR-CHART
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This constellation was identified on May 22nd, 2014. It is simply five stars, two from the Serpens Constellation, and three from the Hercules Constellation.
Wikipedia Star-Chart – Corona Borealis
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What gives this constellation impetus and significance is that it appears as five evenly positioned stars, in a slight oval pattern, as if they were sitting in a meeting, listening, or perhaps watching someone.
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Second, they appear to be gathered in front of The Crown of Revelation 12 Constellation. (just below Corona Borealis in this Wikipedia star-chart, in which the editor of this site sketched in these two constellations)
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The ‘Five Foolish Virgins’ Stars”
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TOMORROW…
August 30 (“Planet Earth: Our Burial Plot or Our Highway To Heaven?”
Highway-To-Heaven-Wikipedia-Fair-Use-Rationale
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #239 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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