The Crimson Thread: Christ Through The Ages

Introduction

This book follows Christ throughout the entire bible—the thin crimson thread of Christ woven throughout scriptures, from the promise to Eve to the returning King in Revelations. Follow the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the promised Messiah as he is mentioned and foretold all the way through all the books of the bible.

The entire bible points to and purpose is to point humanity to Christ. Saint Paul stated that He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the creator and savior; therefore who else would all these prophesy of scriptures be about. In addition, the majority of the geologies listed in the bible point to Christ.

The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the travelers map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

The above quote was taken from the inner jacket of the pocket Gideon bible I was given by a Navy Commander when I joined the Navy on August 25, 1982. I still have it in my possession, it led me to Christ and helped me throughout 21 years military service and two wars.

Most verses are from the KJV or MKJV; however, I switched from various translations such as ASV or RV for the ease of the reader. My goal is to educate and edify the readers and to inspire those who read this book to delve into the Bible and seek answers for themselves.

"The unexamined Life in not worth living" Plato

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And they are the ones witnessing of Me (Jesus: John 5:39).

At the end of this book I added as a supplement the book "Avoiding Adultery" which was my first Christian book, a look at Solomon's teaching on the subject. The appendixes are various key concepts of the Old and New Testament to aid in teaching and to provide ready resources of biblical doctrine, which can be utilized for bible studies, teaching and edification.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Chapter One Genesis Page 1

Chapter Two Exodus and the Law Page 27

Chapter Three Pre-captivity Page 42

Chapter Four Psalms: Songs of Praise Page 51

Chapter Five Isaiah Page 84

Chapter Six Jeremiah Page 139

Chapter Sever Ezekiel Page 144

Chapter Eight Daniel Page 149

Chapter Nine Minor Prophets Page 159

Chapter One

Genesis

Adam and Eve

What better place to start unraveling The Crimson Thread of Christ throughout scriptures, than the beginning, in Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. (Gen 1:1-2)

In the second verse the Spirit of God is first referred to, for in verse 1 it speaks God (the Self-Existent one), and in verse 2 the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit is referred to. Looking at all of scriptures the Spirit of God is the creative force, God commands or speaks things into existence—let there be light and there was light. Here the Spirit is moving and forming and some say reshaping or recreating the Earth. This will be a subject brought up later.

And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth. (Gen 1:26)

In verse 26 God is now referred to in the plural, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." This when viewed with verse 2 clearly reveals the Triune nature of God—the Father (Ancient of Days Dan 7:9), the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19.

God created man and placed him in the Garden, God referred to man as Adam, in Romans Christ is the second Adam, sin entered by one man and eternal life gained through the other.

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:17)

The first prophesy of the Messiah is in Genesis 3:15, this was right after God confronted Adam and Eve on eating of the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. God confronted Adam, the man who is supposed to be the spiritual head of the woman. This is symbolic of Christ as the head of the church, the church is referred to as the bride and as we are, all know that a bride is a woman. Then Adam shifts the blame to the woman, who then claims that the serpent beguiled her. After God cursed all women with painful childbirths, he prophesied about Eve’s offspring and Satan’s fate.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Gen 3:15)

This passage speaks to Christ stomping on Satan’s head, and Christ's heel being bruised from it. Satan incited a riot or mob mentality which stirred the crowd in Jerusalem to demand that Jesus be crucified. Jesus was crucified, and died on the cross—his heel bruised. Three days later, he rose from the dead, this victory over the death and the grave is what bruised Satan’s head. For during those three days Christ went to hell to finish his mission.

Therefore He says, "When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He who descended is the same also as He who ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. (Eph 4:8-10)

Christ had to be the first one fully resurrected and taken to heaven, all the saints that died prior to Christ were held in Abraham’s bosom or paradise until Christ won the victory over death and hell.

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

(Rev 1:18)

It is important to remember that when Adam sinned he lost dominion over the earth, for God gave him dominion over everything, even the serpent. This is why Satan had to be cunning and use deceit to steal dominion away from humanity. Therefore it was part of Christ plan to not only die in our place but to also defeat the old serpent, in order to take back the keys to death and hell, once he had the keys he was able to set the captives free.

Throughout the history of man, the devil has tried to kill the offspring of the woman to prevent Jesus from being born or kill him as a child. Once the Messiah was revealed Satan inspired man to kill Jesus, but this back fired and the devil no longer has dominion over the earth. I will attempt later to explain the roll of the church, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and how prayer plays a vital role in it.

After the first prophesy of the Messiah, bruising the head of the serpent the first sacrifice happened.

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them. (Gen 3:21)

God made clothes for Adam and Eve, coats of skin, it is implied that these animals were killed and then skinned to make clothes. Two things are significant here, first is that there are consequences for committing sin.

For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)

The other is the fact that sacrificing an animal is symbolic of Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. There is one significant thing that must take place before our sins can be forgiven and washed away, there must be the shedding of blood. When God killed the animals to make clothes for Adam and Eve, blood had to be shed first and then the animals died, after the animal were dead, then they were skinned to make clothes. A sacrifice had to be made, but it was still accomplished humanely.

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb. 9:22)

It was this act of sacrificing animals to make clothes that stuck was Adam and Eve for up to this point they only ate from the garden, Adam named all the animals which God brought them to him to see what Adam would name them. This lesson of sacrifice was passed down to his descendents.

In Genesis 4:1 Eve had a son, here she emphasized the fact that she had a man with the help of the Lord, the significance of this is that Eve was expressing that she finally had a son. Was this finally, the fulfillment of God’s prophesy that her seed was bruise his heal while bruising the serpents head. Remember that God created Adam and Eve as adults and Adam lived for 930 years, with that long of a life span the number of children Adam and Eve had is easily dozens. The point here is that Cain and Abel were her first male children, not necessarily her first child. For the purpose of genealogies in the Bible is to track the linage of Adam to Christ. In Genesis chapter 5 the genealogy traces Adam to Noah, in a sense everyone else is irrelevant, for there has to be traceability from the first Adam to the second Adam—the son of man.

Cain and Abel made sacrifices to the Lord, Abel offered the first of his flock and Cain offered fruits and grain, but his offerings were not accepted. On the surface, it may appear that God only accepts animal scarifies, but here is the concept of tithing, returning to God a portion of what he provided. Cain was a tiller of the soil, a farmer therefore he had to offer the first fruits of his labor not Abel’s, otherwise if Cain offered an animal sacrifice it cost him nothing. Samuel taught King Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice; here God is looking at Cain’s heart not what he is offering.

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:12)

The Ark

One could say the genealogy from Adam to Noah is unimportant; however, God included it, by doing so he ensured that there was no question of Christ’s lineage. As mentioned earlier there is a direct line from Adam to Seth…to Noah…and to Jesus, an unmistakable Crimson Thread.

Furthermore, there are significant events in Seth’s family tree that provides insight into God’s plan for the church and provides the precedence necessary to establishing doctrine. For a key concept in scripture is that finding only one verse on a subject or topic does not make it a doctrine. God stated that there needs to be two or three witnesses and this concept carries over to understanding scriptures—find another verse to support the other.

And Enoch walked with God, and then he was not, for God took him. (Gen 5:24)

There have been many books on the second coming of Christ and the rapture of the church. My intent is not to go into great detail on this subject, but just to point out that Enoch is a part of the Crimson Thread, he is a descendant of Adam via Seth not Cain. Therefore, God ‘took’ a direct ancestor of Jesus; Enoch represents the true and righteous church that Christ is returning for, it is significant the Enoch was seventh from Adam. Seven is God’s perfect number, Enoch was the 7th generation from Adam, and God took him is symbolic of perfection and the pure bride of Christ (the church).

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for before his translation he hath had witness borne to him that he had been well–pleasing unto God.

(Heb 11:5)

In Paul’s writing in the book of Hebrews, there is no mistaking what happened to Enoch; he was translated by God and taken up to heaven without experiencing death. The Old Testament is an excellent commentary of the New Testament and the book of Hebrews is an excellent commentary on the Old Testament.

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

And where I go you know, and the way you know.

(John 14:1-4)

Noah was a descendant of Enoch and a descendant of the oldest man Methuselah who lived for 969 years. Noah has three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, his three sons will have to repopulate the earth and one will be the linage that Christ will come through.

During this time-period the world became corrupt and wicked, those who should have preserved the true religion or teaching of God married non-spiritual woman. Remember God walked in the garden with Adam, and Cain talked to God as well, there was a direct link between God and man. Just as Christ is the mediator between God and Man and under the dispensation of Grace, we (every believer) are able to go boldly before the throne of grace. Noah was found righteous but the rest of humanity—the entire population of the earth was wicked and did evil continuously. See Genesis 6:5-8.

Noah would become the Ark building and the Ark represented life, a type of lifeboat, Noah was righteous and he foreshadowed Christ, he was a type of Messiah. Once the Ark was completed and the proclamation went out to the world that God was going to destroy the world by flood and those that wanted to live all they had to do was hop aboard. Noah waited by the entrance and nobody showed up, just the animals two by two. Noah offered an invitation to who so ever would come, just as today Christ offers a similar invitation.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. Rev. 3:20

The Ark is symbolic of Salvation, in Genesis 6:14 God told Noah to build an ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. The word for pitch here is kaw-far' which also means atonement. Over in Exodus Moses’ mother built