The Perfection Of Forgiveness
Sections In This Study:
Part One - Forgiven Seventy Times Seven
Part Two - The Name Of Jesus
Part Three - Sevenfold Covenants And The New Covenant
Part Four - The Spotless Lamb Of God
Part Five - We Are Spotless In The Eyes Of God
Part Six - Sevenfold Forgiveness
Part Seven - Some "Perfect" Word Studies
Introduction
One thing that I have been amazed at lately is what I am going to call “the perfection of forgiveness.” There are so many verses and words used to describe the forgiveness we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, from various perspectives. As you study these out, you may come to find that these terms and passages are often connected in the Bible with the number seven itself. The significance of the number seven is that it indicates perfection or completion all throughout the Word of God, so when a seven or a multiple of seven* is used in reference to forgiveness, God is indicating the perfection and fulness of His complete forgiveness towards His children, towards those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
*Multiples of a number have the same basic meaning as that number itself, though sometimes it intensifies the meaning thereof.
When God does something seven times, states something seven times, gives a list of seven people or things (such as 14 names given in each section of Matthew’s genealogy, 14 Judges), the complete range of something is indicated, often showing something brought to completion or wrapped up. Think of the seven days of creation week, the seven dispensations of man’s history, the seven parables of Matthew 13 (showing the complete downward progression of professing Christendom), the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 (showing the complete church ages). The same thing can be seen in a word or phrase being used seven times in the Bible, a person being mentioned seven times (or seven people being mentioned in a certain context - such as the book of Genesis being primarily about seven specific patriarchs in the line of Christ - the same first seven men mentioned in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith chapter), a sevenfold promise or covenant, etc. So many illustrations, but I am sure you can see what I am getting at.
1. Forgiven Seventy Times Seven
Forgiveness is also associated many times in the Bible with sevens. Think of the following statement made by Jesus after Peter asked him a very important question:
Matthew 18:21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Seventy times seven. Not just seven times seven, but seventy times seven. Complete and utter forgiveness. If we are counting out each time someone does us us wrong and then comes back to us to make it right, adding them all up till we get to the 490th time, we are not really forgiving one another, and instead we are holding onto those faults and perhaps letting them cause us to be bitter towards those brethren.
If a person who has sinned against us truly repents, we are to forgive them completely, and let the sin go. Contrary to the modern mindset, when God says He does not remember (or forgets) our sins, it does not mean they never come back to His mind - it means He does not hold them against us, He does not act on that knowledge. God still has knowledge about our sins; otherwise, how could He justly correct us if we choose to walk in them again. BUT He does not condemn us for them, He does not accuse us of them judicially, like a judge in a court of law. They are forgiven, wiped out, taken away forever from His sight.
This is beyond the scope of this study, but look at how the word remember is used throughout the Bible. When God remembers someone (like Israel under oppression in Egypt) or something (like a covenant He made with someone), He acts on that knowledge and does something about that situation. For more on the use of this word, see the following study that looks at this theme: Genesis: God Remembered.
The opposite is also true.
Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Hebrews 10:16-17 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Here God is saying if our sins are forgiven, He will no longer hold them against us. Likewise, we are to treat our repentant brethren the same way. Even if these same sins come back to our mind, we must choose not to act on that knowledge or hold those faults against those we have forgiven.
One theme I love in the Scriptures is that God deals with us on a day to day basis. We are to seek Him each day for our daily bread (both physical and spiritual - see Matthew 4:4; 6:11), our daily needs (Matthew 6:31-34), and even for a new beginning each and every day (see Lamentations 3:21-23).
Consider the following verse from two perspectives: us towards others, and then the Lord towards us.
Luke 17:3-4 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Why does the Lord emphasize forgiving our brethren daily? Because He forgives us daily! If we are being honest and examining ourselves in the light of God's Word, we will have to admit that we falter daily, we sin daily - sometimes on a seemingly small scale (to ourselves), and other times we walk right into sin, allowing sin to influence our hearts and lives.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
According to these verses, even a righteous (ie. just) person, a believer who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, is still a complete failure in the eyes of the Lord (NOTE: this is not our identity in Him, but a statement of our proneness to wander day by day - more on how God sees us later in this study). We still have a sinful nature, we still think wrong thoughts, we still compromise and allow sin to come into our lives) - BUT if we have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work upon the cross of Calvary, the blood of Jesus Christ has completely washed our sins away - past, present, and future. When God the Father looks at us in Christ, He does not see the Law we have broken, but He sees us through the blood of Christ, through the perfect, sinless blood of the perfect, spotless Lamb of God which taketh away (not just “took away”, past tense, but “taketh away” - ongoing present tense - continually) our sins.
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.
Every single day, we are to offer true forgiveness to the brethren who have done us wrong and who have since repented of that wrongdoing toward us. Complete forgiveness - just like the Lord Jesus Christ offers to us.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
We are to strive against sin, but when we do falter and allow sin into our lives, we are to go to our Advocate, and seek His forgiveness to restore our fellowship with God the Father and with our brethren.
1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Consider the following passage about the purpose for Daniel's 70th Week, as found in Daniel 9:24-27.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
The seven purposes of Daniel’s 70 weeks:
1. To finish the transgression,
2. And to make an end of sins,
3. And to make reconciliation for iniquity,
4. And to bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. And to seal up the vision
6. And (to seal up) prophecy,
7. And to anoint the most Holy.
In various passages, a prophetic week indicates seven years, a day for a year. (See Numbers 14:33-34 and Ezekiel 4:4-6.) These 490 prophetic years (seventy times seven weeks) regarding the nation of Israel are to deal with their sin completely - to finish transgressions, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity - multiple words used to describe the sinfulness of Israel (and of all mankind!) All 490 years are set aside to deal with their sins (and ours). After 483 years, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and died upon the cross to pay for the sins of the world literally four days later.
Daniel 9:25-26 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
The first seven weeks were to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple (49 years to do so, counting from 445 BC, from the decree found in Nehemiah), and the next sixty two weeks (434 years) were to be counted from that time until the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
“It was Nisan 10 (April 6), A.D. 32, the very day the prophets had declared that this amazing event would occur — 483 years to the day (69 weeks of years as Daniel 9:25 foretold it) after Nehemiah, in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (465-425 B.C.) had received (on Nisan 1, 445 B.C.) authority to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1)!” - Taken from A Woman Rides The Beast by Dave Hunt.
There is still one final week left - seven years of Daniel's prophecy remaining - to deal with Israel's sins as a nation.
Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This final seven years is what Jeremiah refers to as the time of Jacob's trouble (see Jeremiah 30:7) - the final seven years of this 490 years is the tribulation period, in which the nation of Israel will finally be saved.
Romans 11:25-27 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
This mystery is completed in the book of Revelation, at the exact end of the seven years in which the Antichrist rules the whole world (but still thirty days before Armageddon - see Daniel 12:11).
Revelation 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
By the time the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives, this prophecy will be completely fulfilled for the Jewish nation - though it comes at such a great cost. Two thirds of the nation will die during those seven years (see Zechariah 13:8-9), but the rest (ie. the remnant) will get saved when they see Jesus Christ face to face in the wilderness and realize that He is the Messiah, yea that Saviour, that they have so long rejected.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Ezekiel 20:35-38 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
The ever-flowing fountain of Jesus' blood, long since applied to all true believers since the time of Christ, will now be applied to the remnant of the nation of Israel. Daniel's 70 weeks will be completely fulfilled - seventy times seven years - and then they will be completely forgiven because then that remnant will finally know the Saviour, will finally receive the Lord Jesus Christ, will finally bow to Him in their lives.
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Truly, Jesus is the name above all names, above every name!
Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2. The Name Of Jesus - Used 980 Times (70 times 7 times - 490 - times 2)
There are seven people in the Bible that the Lord God named before they were born. One of which is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus is the same as the Old Testament name, Joshua, and means, "The LORD Is Salvation." Jesus came to be the Saviour of mankind, and He died for the sin of all mankind. Many will not receive the Saviour or the Gospel of salvation that tells of His finished work of redemption and His death, burial and resurrection. But those that do receive this Good News, this Gospel of salvation and the Saviour it tells about, become the children of God - they become the people of God (see John 1:12-13).
I love the word Saviour as it is spelled in the King James Bible - seven letters, perfection.
The first part below came from several of Brandon Peterson’s videos and articles, though this is my summary of what he was saying. (Check out his Truth Is Christ and KJVCode websites and his Truth Is Christ Youtube channel for some truly amazing number patterns that are found in the King James Bible. I am referring specifically to these two videos: Jesus 70×7 in Odd & Even Books (980x Total), and Sin + Forgiven 70×7 in the Bible)
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Brandon points out Jesus' only stated numerical calculation during His public ministry was this passage in Matthew:
Matthew 18:21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Jesus says we are to forgive our brother seventy times seven times. That equation adds up to 490 times. Let me say that again, the pattern for forgiveness is seventy times seven - 490 times.
Now here is the amazing part: The name Jesus (which He was given in reference to the fact that He is THE Saviour who came to save) is used in the King James Bible 980 times. That is seventy times seven times two (ie. 490 x 2). Remember a multiple of a number gives the same meaning and symbolism of the number itself. Forgiveness in Jesus is more than enough. Seventy times seven - complete and utter forgiveness twice told. (There are 983 times the name Jesus is used altogether in the Bible. If we exclude the three references to the name Jesus that are not referring to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, but to other saved individuals - two are in reference to Joshua in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8, and one is in reference to another believer named Jesus called Justus in Colossians 4:11 - then we find that there are exactly 980 times that the name of Jesus is used in reference to Jesus Christ, 980 times the name of the Saviour is stated.)
The name Jesus - The LORD is Salvation - used 980 times (70 x 7 x2). More than enough grace and forgiveness to completely forgive His people - to save them to the uttermost!
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Another interesting calculation Brandon points out is the number of times sin AND forgiven show up in the Bible. (You can use The King James Pure Bible Search to verify all the counts he mentions on his sites. With this program, you can actually search for several words at once and it will give you the total of them.) The words sin AND forgiven occur a total of 490 times in the whole Bible when added together. (Notice, this is the word sin, singular, not sins, plural.) You can't deny the pattern and how the forgiveness of sins is associated with the number 490.
The amazing aspect of God's forgiveness is how it totally counteracts the sin of man. Jesus paid the complete penalty for our sin upon the cross, and when we trust in Him for salvation, His blood covers us, washes and cleanses us, blots out our sins forever. Consider the following phrase from the book of Romans:
Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Man sins, man has missed the mark of God's will for his life, but God made a way for man to be redeemed, reconciled, forgiven. Man has fallen short of the glory of God - but God provided a plan to save man - if they will but trust Him. Man fails - but God never fails. He is always faithful; He always keeps His Word, His promises, His covenants. BUT God!
Part Three - Sevenfold Covenants And The New Covenant
One thing I noticed this past year while going through the book of Genesis with my online Bible study group is that many of the covenants God made with man are sevenfold - meaning there are seven parts to each one of them.
Also, unlike God’s promises - which contain our parts and His parts (ie. if we fulfill our part of the promise, the Lord will fulfill His part) - God’s covenants only depend upon God Himself.
The Hebrew word for covenant is Strong’s #h1285. “ḇerîyṯ; from 1262 (in the sense of cutting (like 1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh).”
Compare these two covenants - Abraham making a covenant with Abimelech, and Abram (Abraham) making a covenant with God.
In Genesis 21, we see Abraham making a covenant with Abimelech.
Genesis 21:22-24 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.
The Hebrew word for swear or to make an oath means “to seven oneself, i.e. swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times).”
Genesis 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Beersheba means “Well of the Oath.” This oath involved both making a covenant with each other. They would have both walked through the animal sacrifices together, pronouncing a curse on either party if one or both parties forfeited or broke the covenant.
But now consider the following passage where God makes a covenant with Abram:
Genesis 15:7-12, 17 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him… And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
God made a covenant with Abram (later changed to Abraham). As stated before, usually Biblical covenants involve the cutting up of animals (ie. sacrificing them), and both parties walking between the pieces. The significance of this means they are swearing to each other that if either side forfeited their part of the covenant that the same thing that happened to the animal sacrifices would also happen to the party that broke the covenant.
God put Abram to sleep, then took on the form of a burning lamp and went through the pieces of the sacrifices by Himself, indicating the covenant depended only upon Himself - not on both Abram and God together, but only upon God.
The Bible also states that God swears by Himself, vows to Himself alone because there is no one greater. God sevens Himself!
Seven passages where God swears by Himself:
A. Hebrews 6:13-20 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
B. Genesis 22:16-18 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: 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; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
C. Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
D. Isaiah 45:23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
E. Jeremiah 22:5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
F. Jeremiah 49:13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
G. Amos 6:8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
The following is a list of seven sevenfold covenants made by the Lord God with various men He has chosen or with mankind:
A. Covenant with Abraham - Genesis 12:2-3
1) And I will make of thee a great nation,
2) and I will bless thee,
3) and make thy name great;
4) and thou shalt be a blessing:
5) And I will bless them that bless thee,
6) and curse him that curseth thee:
7) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
B. Covenant with Jacob - Genesis 28:13-15
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
1) the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
2) And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south:
3) and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
4) And, behold, I am with thee,
5) and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest,
6) and will bring thee again into this land;
7) for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
C. Covenant with Israel - Exodus 6:6-8
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and
1) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,
2) and I will rid you out of their bondage,
3) and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
4) And I will take you to me for a people,
5) and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
6) And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob;
7) and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
D. Covenant with Israel regarding the possession of the Promised Land - Joshua 21:43-45
1) And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers;
2) and they possessed it,
3) and dwelt therein.
4) And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers:
5) and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them;
6) the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
7) There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
E. Covenant with David - 1 Chronicles 17:12-14
1) He shall build me an house,
2) and I will stablish his throne for ever.
3) I will be his father,
4) and he shall be my son:
5) and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:
6) But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever:
7) and his throne shall be established for evermore.
F. The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:33-34
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD,
1) I will put my law in their inward parts,
2) and write it in their hearts;
3) and will be their God,
4) and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD:
5) for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD:
6) for I will forgive their iniquity,
7) and I will remember their sin no more.
G. Covenant regarding the Messiah’s birth - Luke 1:31-33
And, behold,
1) thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
2) and shalt call his name JESUS.
3) He shall be great,
4) and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
5) and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
6) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
7) and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Notice, not a single one of these covenants depend upon man. Yes, God chose Mary as a willing vessel to bear Jesus in her womb - but it was the Holy Ghost Himself who would cause her to conceive without having relations with any man (see Luke 1:35).
To sum up, the Lord God made these seven sevenfold covenants with man, sevened Himself and swore by Himself to keep them - put the responsibility solely upon Himself - upon penalty of death.
And man continually broke God's covenants, over and over again.
Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Then to save us, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bore the penalty of Israel’s (and man’s) repeated breaking of His covenants, by bearing the penalty of those broken covenants Himself. Jesus became a Man so He could die for man’s sins - He was sacrificed on the cross for us to reconcile us to God the Father!
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
What love the Saviour showed to us on the old rugged cross!
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Part Four - The Spotless Lamb Of God
Everlasting implies something has always existed and will always exist - from eternity past to eternity future. The word everlasting is associated in various places with the covenants God made with man, including the Gospel of salvation. We can see this from the beginning of the Word of God to the end. From the first covenant made with man after the flood to the last one emphasized in the book of Revelation - from Genesis 9:16 to Revelation 14:6. Though this is not a complete list, consider the following references to everlasting:
Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Isaiah 45:17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (With the Gospel of John being the one main Gospel so many Christians print and distribute to present the Lord Jesus Christ to the lost in the communities they are trying to reach, it is no wonder the phrase "everlasting life" is used seven times in it: John 3:16, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:27, 40, 47.)
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 14:6-7 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
The everlasting God loved us with an everlasting love and promises everlasting life (everlasting because we share in the life and love of God, which existed from all eternity) to all those who will believe in the everlasting Gospel, to all who will trust the Saviour (the Lord Jesus Christ) alone for salvation. This can also be seen in the Bible’s references to the foundation of the world.
Seven things are stated to have happened from or before the foundation of the world:
From the foundation of the world:
A. Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Though this prophecy is specifically applied to those who become believers during the tribulation period, all who have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation throughout history will be resurrected and have a part in His Millennial kingdom. This kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the world.
B. Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
God’s work of creation and the physical rest found in Him (ie. the sabbath and what it pictures in Christ) have been finished since the foundation of the world - though our spiritual rest (the work of redemption) was finished upon the cross of Calvary.
C. Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Before Adam and Eve ever fell into sin, the Godhead (ie. the Trinity) planned man’s salvation. Before there was ever any sin, there was a Saviour chosen, and the plan of salvation (the everlasting Gospel) was set in motion. Jesus was the Lamb of God - the chosen sacrifice - slain from the foundation of the world. This redemption was planned and nothing could prevent it from happening in due time. In the eyes of God, the plan of salvation was as good as done, though Jesus Christ dying upon the cross for the sins of the world was still yet many years off. Mankind had to wait for seventy seven generations (see Luke 3:23-38) before the Messiah finally came in the fulness of time.
D. Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
God knows the end from the beginning. In His perfect foreknowledge He knows all who will ever receive the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him. If you are saved, your name was written down when the Lord God was creating this world. If you have chosen to trust in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, you were not a surprise to God - your salvation was planned, just like the Gospel was planned from the foundation of the world.
Before the foundation of the world:
E. John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
The Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world - from all eternity - and Jesus wants all true believers to know and understand that everlasting love. See John 17:26.
F. Ephesians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
No, this is not Calvinism - but the Bible teaches that all those whom God foreknew would trust in Jesus Christ have been placed in Christ, accepted in the Beloved. He did not indiscriminately choose people to go to Heaven or Hell apart from any response on their part, BUT He has chosen that all who will receive Christ will be made like Christ (conformed to His image, holy and without blame before Him), will be given eternal life in Him, will have a future inheritance laid up for them in Heaven. Read the first three chapters of Ephesians and notice how many times believers are stated to be in Christ Jesus, in Him, in the Beloved.
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
G. 1 Peter 1:18-20 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
This is similar to the earlier passage we read about Jesus being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Here the Bible also states that God planned from before the foundation of the world that Jesus would be the perfect, spotless Lamb that would shed His precious blood for our sins. Precious indicates something is very valuable because it is rare. (The word precious is used seven times in the books of 1 and 2 Peter: 1 Peter 1:7, 19; 2:4, 6, 7; 2 Peter 1:1, 4.)
Ever since mankind’s sin in the Garden of Eden, the Lord has promised and prophesied of the coming Substitute, who would be God’s Lamb - in fact, who would be God Himself. God didn’t plan that man would be a savior or be able to save themselves, but that God Himself would be that Saviour, the Redeemer, the Lamb of God.
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Notice the progression in the following passage about the Passover Lamb:
Exodus 12:3-7 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Notice, the Israelites were to choose a young male lamb (in the prime of its life) that they would bring into their house for four days, to examine it, to make sure it was perfect. The lamb was to be without blemish or spot. By keeping the lamb in their own homes, they would then become endeared to it and it would become their lamb.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to present Himself publicly to the nation of Israel. The whole nation examined Him for the next four days. This included the multitude, the Herodians, and the religious crowd - consisting of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and lawyers - and then Pilate and Herod themselves. Their conclusion was that there was no sin or fault in Jesus, despite the false accusations against Him. It is interesting to note that the religious leaders sought to find fault with Jesus during much of His public ministry, and this only increased during those final days. (See Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2; and Luke 11:54.)
During Jesus' trials and on the cross, there are seven people who declared Jesus was innocent (ie. not a criminal) - notice, even Pilate himself stated this fact seven times:
1. Pilate - Matthew 27:24; Luke 23:4, 14, 22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6
2. Judas - Matthew 27:4
3. Pilate’s wife - Matthew 27:19
4. The Centurion - Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47
5. Those with the Centurion- Matthew 27:54
6. Herod - Luke 23:15
7. The penitent thief - Luke 23:41
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
1 Corinthians 5:7 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:
Perfect, complete salvation; perfect, complete forgiveness - because Jesus Christ is our perfect, sinless Passover Lamb!
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.
