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THE CLOUD AND THE PILLAR OF FIRE
THE GUIDES FOR THE EXODUS FROM SIN
AFTER CHRIST'S PASSOVER
Carlos Padilla, Passover 2010 - 14 Nisan
5770
When we meet God in our lives, or should we better
say, when God casually sets up His encounter with us, placing us before the
entrance Door to His presence for a relationship with God like the one Adam had
in the garden of Eden – understanding that the Door is His Son Jesus Christ – if
we enter through that Door we start a new journey in our lives, our very own
exodus guided by the cloud and the pillar of fire; an exodus that starts in
Passover, where His Son Jesus Christ is also the centre of the celebration, of
whom it was said: ... Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world...
Jesus Christ is our Passover, sacrificed once and for all. Those who believe in
His work on the Cross of Calvary which we celebrate at this time of the year,
like every year, and also when we take Holy Supper, breaking the bread in our
homes and churches, we are living the privilege of entering into the Lord’s
presence, and His presence guides us along the Way, and that Way is Christ. Thus
we are baptized in the cloud (1Corinthians 10:2) and in the Holy Spirit and fire
(Matthew 3:11) which makes us be born again through faith, which is God’s gift,
to be able to see the Kingdom of God now (John 3) in our daily lives.
Passover, as well as being the start of our exodus from sin towards holiness,
consecrates the firstborns of the Lord and is the start of that exodus, that
journey that leads us to the Promised Land, to the presence of the Lord in
Christ, a land where milk and honey flows; that pure milk of the Word of God and
the sweetness of the honey of eternal love from God’s heart: ... For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
In this new journey, just like the people of Israel when the Lord took them out
of Egypt, we are now guided during the day by the cloud that covers the
tabernacle and at night by the pillar of fire that protects us from the enemy.
Numbers, chapters 9, 10 and 11 give us five keys that we can use as a guide
along the Way: the celebration of Passover itself, the cloud, the pillar of fire
and the two trumpets of silver. But the fifth one is previous to Passover, I am
referring to the announcement of the death of the firstborn, which for the
people of the Lord after Passover it means that their firstborn remain alive and
consecrated through the blood of the lamb on the upper post and on the two side
posts of the door. Likewise, today, we, the firstborn are the Church that is
consecrated in the Holy Supper. But, how do we see the cloud and the pillar of
fire of the Lord and we blow the two trumpets for God to hear us in our lives
today?
THE CLOUD AND THE APPEARANCE OF
FIRE
When YHWH, the Lord, called Moses, He appeared in the burning bush, “but the
bush was not consumed” and the Lord spoke to Moses from the bush. The fire of
the bush is a symbol of the presence of the Lord before man; the fire that
provides light, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. The Father and the Son
reveal themselves as fire to speak to and guide the people of the Lord, Israel,
the Church. Similarly, when the Lord took the people of Israel from Egypt He
guided them at night with the pillar of fire, and the fire was their guide
and also their protection from the enemy.
In the same way, Christ, the Light of the world, makes the Church – and every
single Christian – be the light of the world, a reflection of that pillar of
fire. Jesus Christ is our pillar of fire that guides us or protects us from
the enemy, and who at the light of His Word and His presence guides us and
illuminates us in the midst of the darkness of everyday life. At night, the Lord
reveals Himself with dreams. When we do not understand something, the Lord
reveals Himself in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, answering His will with
understanding and revelation, as well as in our daily life and events.
One of these nights when I asked the Lord to speak to me in dreams or to wake me
up to teach me about Passover and the events around it, He woke me up
at about four in the morning. I looked out the window and all the lights were out,
there was not one single light to be seen, and the skies were in absolute
darkness. A few days later I was told that the strong winds and rains had caused
a general blackout. In the midst of the dark the Lord told me: write the
revelation about the cloud and the pillar of fire: the cloud is My Holy
Spirit and the fire is My Son Jesus Christ. I am now writing this for all of us
to understand how this works in our lives, not only to understand Moses’ story,
for this Passover we are living whilst in Jerusalem another fire is lighting up
– the attacks between Israelis and Palestinians. This fire started 4000 years
ago, we can read about it in Genesis 21:9, and will be put out when the great
Fire comes, which they will all receive, the Son of God, the Holy Fire that will
come on a cloud, just like He left 2000 years ago, and they will all say: ….Baruj
Haba B’shem Adonai … Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. The Fire
will come on the Cloud.
Therefore, when our understanding is clear, it is the Spirit, His presence, that
guides us, because when we see clearly it is the result of prayer, intercession,
request and plea before God, it is then that we walk as in the middle of the
day. At night, Christ is Who guides us, our intercessor, like Melchizedek
(Hebrews 7 and 8), who says that He is on the mountain of myrrh and on the hill
of frankincense until the day breaks (Songs 4:6) when He comes in His Kingdom.
In the meantime, let us blow those two silver
trumpets that are the symbol of our two knees, and their sound is the prayer
before God in the name of Jesus Christ. Through prayer everyday, if we blow the
two silver trumpets, we have a way of life in permanent communion
with God, in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who speaks to us and reveals to
us, who intercedes for us, for those of us who pray, for His Church, for
succeeding in throwing down the walls of many a Jericho that we face, but
specially to cry out for the spiritual awakening of His and our Church, which
our Lord died for.
Thus, the whole story of Passover is connected from that first celebration in
Egypt, through the main one, which was a symbol of the one in Mount Calvary,
outside the Temple, outside the Tabernacle, on the Cross, until our own exodus
when we celebrate Passover in the Holy Supper awaiting the last Passover, the
most glorious one, the one where the Lord says: ... And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,
and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks,
and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the
new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say
unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day
when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:26-29.
BIBLE TEXTS
THE CLOUD
... I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it
shall be for the sign of the covenant
between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:13.
... And the Lord went before them
by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way,
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day
and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of
fire by night from before the people. Exodus 13:21-22.
... And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went
behind them; and the pillar of cloud went
from before them and stood behind them.
20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel.
Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the
other, so that the one did not come near the other all
that night. Exodus 14:19.
... Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the
children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and
behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
Exodus 16:10.
... Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud
covered the mountain. 16
Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai,
and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out
of the midst of the cloud. 17 The
sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of
the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 So
Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain.
And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:15.
... Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
35 And Moses was not able to enter
the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36
Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the
tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.
37 But if
the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was
taken up. 38 For the
cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by
night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Exodus 40:34.
... I was watching in the night visions, and behold,
One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds
of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought
Him near before Him. 14
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one
which shall not be destroyed.
15 “ I, Daniel,
was grieved in my spirit within my
body, and the visions of my head troubled me. Daniel 7:13. ...
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly
a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
6 And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
7 But Jesus came and
touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” Matthew 17:5.
... Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was
taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their
sight. Acts 1:9.
... Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that
all our fathers were under the cloud, all
passed through the sea, 2
all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea, 3 all ate the
same spiritual food, 4 and all
drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that
followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 1Corinthians 10:1.
... Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who
pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so,
Amen. Revelation 1:7.
THE PILLAR OF FIRE
... For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a
jealous God. 25 “When
you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act
corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in
the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger,
26 I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land
which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in
it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27
And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few
in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.
28 And there you will serve
gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor
eat nor smell. 29
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you
will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
30 When you are in
distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn
to the Lord your God and obey His voice
31 (for the Lord your God is a
merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant
of your fathers which He swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:24.
... For thus says the Lord: “ Behold, I will extend
peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing
stream. Then you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried, and be
dandled on her knees. 13
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be
comforted in Jerusalem.” 14
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall
flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord shall be known to His
servants, and His indignation to His enemies.
15 For behold,
the Lord will come with fire and
with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and
His rebuke with flames of fire. Isaiah 66:12.
... O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily;
everyone mocks me. 8 For
when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence and plunder!” because
the word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a derision daily.
9 Then I said, “I will
not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But
His word was in my heart like a burning fire
shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.
10 For I heard many
mocking: “ Fear on every side!” “ Report,” they say, “and we will report
it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “ Perhaps he
can be induced; then we will prevail against him, and we will take our
revenge on him.” 11
But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my
persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly
ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will
never be forgotten. 12
But, O Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous, and see the mind
and heart, let me see Your vengeance on them; for I have pleaded my
cause before You. Jeremiah 20:7.
... Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he
rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did
we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They
answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I
see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not
hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Daniel 3:24.
... “I came to send fire
on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 But I have a baptism
to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!
51 Do you suppose that I
came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather
division. 52 For from now
on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against
three. 53 Father will be
divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and
daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Luke 12:49.
PASSOVER
... Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land
of Egypt, saying, 2 “This
month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of
the year to you. 3 Speak
to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On
the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb,
according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
4 And if the household is
too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take
it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s
need you shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be
without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the
sheep or from the goats. 6
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day
of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it at twilight.
7
And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts
and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.
8 Then they shall eat the
flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with
unleavened bread and with bitter
herbs they shall eat it.
9 Do not eat it raw, nor
boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and
its entrails. 10 You shall
let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until
morning you shall burn with fire.
11 And thus you shall eat
it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on
your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it
in haste. It is the
Lord’s Passover.
12 ‘For I will pass
through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the
gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 Now
the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses
where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over
you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the
land of Egypt. Exodus 12:1
... And Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 Then, behold,
the veil of the temple was torn in two
from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the
rocks were split, 52
and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who
had fallen asleep were raised; ... ...
62 On the next
day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests
and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,
63 saying, “Sir,
we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After
three days I will rise.’
64 Therefore
command that the tomb be made secure
until the third day, lest His disciples come by night
and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen
from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the
first.” 65 Pilate
said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure
as you know how.” 66
So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and
setting the guard. Matthew 27:50.
... After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
29 Now a
vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they
filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and
put it to His mouth.
30 So
when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It
is finished!” And bowing His head, He
gave up His spirit.
31
Therefore, because it was the
Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on
the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath
was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Then
the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of
the other who was crucified with Him.
33 But
when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already
dead, they did not break His legs.
34 But
one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and
immediately blood and water came out.
35 And he
who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true;
and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you
may believe. 36
For these things were done that the Scripture should be
fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”37
And again another Scripture says, “They
shall look on Him whom they pierced.” John
19:28.
CONCLUSION
The following Bible Text in Hebrews is the perfect conclusion to the above, in
God’s Words:
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that
burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,
19 and the sound of a trumpet
and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should
not be spoken to them anymore. 20
(For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast
touches the mountain, it shall be stoned
or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so
terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and
trembling.”) 22 But you have come
to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an
innumerable company of angels, 23
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in
heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 to Jesus the Mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things
than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:18.
Once we understand that the Word of God is alive, let us celebrate Passover in
His remembrance, receiving the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,
in remembrance of the Blood of the New Covenant by taking the wine, entering the
Door to God, through the side posts and upper post marked with that Blood of the
Lamb of God. Let us come out of the bondage to sin in our very own exodus to
look for the guide of the cloud in the Holy Spirit and the fire in Jesus Christ,
in whim we were baptized, blowing daily the two silver trumpets that the Lord
gave us. Let us enter into the presence of God in the Heart of the Father, that
Holy heavenly place, once the veil that separated us from His presence has been
torn by the Cross of Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Glory and honour be to you,
Yahshua, forever and ever. We shall celebrate Holy Supper for You, until we take
it again with You in the Kingdom of our Father. Preserve us until Your coming,
when you come with the clouds of Revelation 1:7 and every eye sees You. Amen.
Additional readings for Passover:
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SIMON OF CYRENE - CARRYING THE
CROSS OF CHRIST ... Simon
took the cross, covered with Christ’s Blood ... ... Jesus then stood up and when
He was side by side with Simon, just like under a yoke, looked at him. The
friendly look, filled with the deepest love, from His eyes must have riveted in
Simon’s heart... ...
What would we tell Jesus
if we had been in Simon’s place? Now we know
the life of Jesus and how He has changed our life, but then,
not knowing, what would we say to Him?
... Come to Calvary...
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PASSOVER
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RESURRECTION
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