Part 1: A Ram Caught in the Thicket and Armageddon

The Word of God found in the majority-text is the anchor of the soul. It is the Light that shines in darkness, a path to my feet.  It is the perfect comforter in times of grief and the antidote to Satan’s poison.  It is even the book of adoption where the fallen sons of Adam become children of God. It is the book of eternal life and the navigation instructions to get there.  The Word of God is the inerrant truth authored by the God of creation—the God above all gods.  There is nothing like this beautiful book, absolutely nothing. 

The world is in a constant state of flux and turmoil and it waxes worse and worse.  Carnaldom is in a constant state of gradualism—the stacking of, the evolution of evil—and that when it matures, it finds its end in eternal, cognizant damnation.  But, thanks be to God, in His beautiful Book, there is a way—even a highway, a very literal route—of escape.  The name of the highway is Born Again.  The King of Glory says in John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Have you been born-again—born a second time, this time of the eternal Spirit of God? Will today be the day your name is recorded in God’s book of birth certificates, the Lamb’s Book of Life?  Revelations 20:12-15:

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Today, there are multitudes in the valley of decision and you are one of them.  Today, you will be delivered and forgiven for all your sins and shameful deeds, or you will not.  Today, all of Satan’s bondages—every single one—will be broken, or they will not.  Today, you will accept God’s extended hand of salvation, or you will not.  Which will it be?  Follow this prompt and everything changes today: Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the invisible Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Genesis 22:6-18:

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

GOD SAID, Zechariah 14:1-3:

1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

GOD SAID, Romans 9:33:

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

GOD SAID, Hebrews 10:7:

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

MAN SAID: Wise men have concluded that absolute truth does not exist and the idea that the Bible is absolute truth is passé.  God is a thing of the past in the community of the learned. 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 926, and yes, that will once again prove the divine authorship of the words found in the Holy Bible.  All of these powerful features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the saints and as a platform from which to convince the gainsayers that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Glory.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.  Thank you for coming.  May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth. 

Nothing is happenstance in the Word of God.  Everything has its place, everything has its purpose, and everything, by necessity, revolves around Jesus Christ. Every deed and every thought revolves around Jesus Christ—they are either pro-Christ or anti-Christ.  A thought or deed that is good, wholesome, and true is pro-Christ; those that are not are anti-Christ.  He is the solution to every problem because every problem is the product of casting off Christ.  Everything revolves around Jesus Christ—even today and yesterday are dated in His name: B.C. for Before Christ and, the year of this writing, 2018 AD—2018 Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. 

Of John the Baptist and Christ Jesus, John 1:7-9 declares:

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  

Microbiologists were shocked to discover the amazing, literal truth of the passage just read.  When sperm and the human egg come together in the mother’s womb, a spark of light shoots forth marking and energizing the beginning of life. Science has inadvertently certified the strange grouping of words in John 1:9:

 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world in every physical and spiritual way. 

Colossians 1:15-19 speaks of Jesus Christ:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Life, in all its complexities, is actually a singularity that pivots around Jesus Christ.  Life is traveled on a single highway.  I like to call it Route 7.  You can travel Rt. 7 North (Obedience), following Jesus Christ unto life and life everlasting, or you can refuse Christ and travel Rt. 7 South (Disobedience), following Satan to an existence full of bondages and finally eternal, cognizant damnation in the lake of fire.  Man chooses direction. 

Nothing is happenstance in the Word of God.  Everything has its place, everything has its purpose, and every word, by the Father’s good pleasure, revolves around Jesus Christ.  Keep in mind Revelation 19:13, which speaks of Christ and says, “and His name is called The Word of God.” Every living Word is interwoven into a glorious mosaic that is truly breathtaking to behold—every single word with its place and its purpose.  Those looking for proof need look no further. 

Hebrews 10:7:

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

The volume of the Book revolves around Jesus Christ.  Galatians 3:24 teaches us that the Old Testament law was a schoolmaster bringing us unto Christ, who is the fulfillment of all things.  Colossians 2:17 tells us Old Testament customs and observances were but a shadow of the Christ to come.  Jesus speaks of the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

An excellent example of the fulfillment principle is seen in the Jewish Passover.  The final plague that came upon Egypt which triggered the full release of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage was the slaying of the firstborn of all of Egypt.  The Hebrew people were instructed to sacrifice a lamb, and to take its blood and apply to the doorposts and lintel of their door.  When the death angel passed over Egypt that fateful night of the last plague, he slew the firstborn of all the land with the exception  of those who were within dwellings where the blood was applied.  The death angel was commanded to pass over dwellings where he saw the blood had been applied, hence the term Passover.

God’s people were commanded to remember the Passover continually, which all Christians do as the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion, which commemorates the last supper and the crucifixion of the Jewish Messiah.  The Hebrew people were delivered from Egyptian bondage as a result of the last plague and the death angel seeing the blood applied and thus passing over the obedient.  This event foreshadowed the coming Christ, who, with His shed blood reconciled unto God all who believe upon His name.  Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Passover. 

🐑 John the Baptist and John 1:29:

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

🐑 I Corinthians 5:7-8:

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

🐑 Jesus Christ was crucified on the Jewish Passover.  When Satan sees the blood of redemption applied to the doorpost and lintel of your heart, he must pass over you.  Christians the world over observe the fulfillment of the Passover. 

Nothing is happenstance in the Word of God.  Everything has its place, everything has its purpose, and everything, by necessity, revolves around Jesus Christ.  Abraham, Isaac, and the ram caught in the thicket by his horns will make this point ever so clear.  This is Part One in a two-part series that will take us to Armageddon and beyond.

Abraham is known in the Scriptures as the father of faith and also the father of Israel; in him is found God’s plan of salvation.  From his loins sprang forth Isaac, from Isaac came Jacob, and from Jacob came the 12 tribes.  One of the 12 tribes is Judah, from which Jesus Christ came forth. 

The world—past, present, and future—turns on an event that took place 4,000 years ago between God, Abraham, and Isaac in Genesis 22:13-18:

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

This feature will discuss in particular the rams horns of Abraham and Isaac that were caught in the thicket and how pervasive a role they play in Holy Scripture. 

👉 The famed Jewish shofar is a ram’s horn and it was blown at the walls of Jericho, Joshua 6:4-5:

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams'' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram''s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

👉 The Jewish shofar marked feast days, was blown on the Day of Atonement, and in the Jubilee Year to signal the release of slaves and debts. 

👉 The shofar, the ram’s horn trumpet, is blown to announce the new year and to commemorate the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. 

👉 The ram’s horn was blown as the trumpet of war. 

👉 The shofar was also used to contain the anointing oil which God’s prophet Samuel used to anoint kings.  I Samuel 16:1:

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

👉 You’ll find the symbolism of the ram’s horns on the altar of sacrifice.  Holman’s Bible Dictionary reports:

Hornlike projections were built onto the corners of the altar of burnt offerings in the temple and in tabernacles (Exodus 27:2).  The horns were smeared with the blood of the sacrifice, served as binding posts for the sacrifice, and were clung to for safety from punishment.

I Kings 2:28:

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. [End of quote]

Have you ever asked, “Why horns?” Think Abraham and Isaac.  Think atonement.  Nothing is happenstance in the Word of God.  Everything has its place, everything has its purpose, and the ram caught in the thicket by its horns continues to speak. But how do the ram’s horns caught in the thicket take us to Christ and Armageddon and beyond?  Prepare for a staggering oneness, a Biblical singularity. 

GOD SAID, Genesis 22:6-18:

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

GOD SAID, Zechariah 14:1-3:

1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

GOD SAID, Romans 9:33:

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

GOD SAID, Hebrews 10:7:

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

MAN SAID: Wise men have concluded that absolute truth does not exist and the idea that the Bible is absolute truth is passé.  God is a thing of the past in the community of the learned.

 

 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Holman Bible Dictionary, Holman Bible Publishers, 1998

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