STARS AND SAND

(NOAH'S DAY RETURNS - APPENDIX C)

In Genesis 22:17 we find a strange blessing pronounced upon Abraham by God. He tells Abraham that He (God) will multiply his (Abraham's) seed as "the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore ...." Before we continue, let's review who all comprises the "seed of Abraham". We will find that it is not limited to his descendants. Galatians 3:29 clearly states that "... if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, ...." By being grafted into the Hebrew "olive tree" of Romans 11:17-24, we are counted among Abraham's seed! Thus, we are among those who compose this number, and those who will continue to multiply it. Next, we must look at all of the people represented by all of the generations of all of the seed of Abraham (of both the "natural" and the "grafted" branches). If we were somehow able to calculate the number, would it be equal to the stars of the heaven, or the sand upon the seashore?

Now it would be a pretty insurmountable task to count the grains of sand upon the seashores. We might even say that the amount would be innumerable. However, it is a fact that the stars are not only counted, but named by God (Isaiah 40:26 and Psalm 147:4). In the Milky Way alone, there are 100 thousand million stars. It would take us 2500 years just to count them at the rate of 1 per second, and the Milky Way is just a freckle upon the face of our universe, a mere drop in the bucket when compared to the total number of stars created by our God!!

It should be easy to determine that this blessing has not and will not be fulfilled while we are in the short 7 millennial span of time allowed upon this Earth. How and when then would God propose to complete the fulfillment of this blessing? Maybe there is a clue within this text. He shows us two distinct realms of comparison. In one He refers to the sands of the seashore. Now apparently the seashore is present only upon this Earth during the 7 millennial period we know as time. We are told in Revelation 21:1 that we will inherit a "new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea"! If there is no more sea in our new earth, there would be no more seashore! If the current studies of "heaven" are in any way valid, what there will be in this new existence is plenty of stars! We would also note that God sometimes refers to stars as angels (Revelation 1:20). Could God intend to continue the multiplication of the seed of Abraham after the sand of the sea are no more, and the handiwork of the multitude of God's stars (and angels) are more visible to us?

Now some will quickly remind us that the Bible says we will not reproduce in heaven (i.e. the Father's Eternal Kingdom). But does it really? When asked where this comes from, they would direct us to the passage in Matthew 22: 23-33 regarding the question of the Sadducees. They asked Yeshua who the husband would be after resurrection for the woman who had been repeatedly married, widowed, and remarried. Yeshua answered them as follows: "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." The last verse of this passage then says, "And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine"!

There are a few things in this answer worth noting. First of all Yeshua in no way addresses reproduction here. He simply says we will NOT MARRY (inference here is marry one another). However, we do know that we WILL indeed marry. Otherwise, what is the Marriage Supper all about? It says here that we will become "as the angels of God in heaven". (This is especially interesting in view of their link to stars in Revelation!) I believe we have already conclusively deduced that angels CAN INDEED reproduce! In order to do so, however, they must take on blood. We have also conjectured that the blood would be caused by the eating of the grape.

Now what does Yeshua say in Matthew 26: 29? "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". We should note that the Greek word for "with" here is "meta" in the Greek, which means "in the midst of" (per Zodhiates). Thus the passage here would indicate "when I drink it new in the midst of you in my Father's Kingdom". Maybe there is a similar but new cup of the grape (a very special cup) to be consumed in this kingdom!

Now here is where things get to be a bit sticky. From our limited way of thinking, we would say the Bride should be chosen based upon merit and would include the most worthy of all generations, past and present included. However, we find in Isaiah 55:8-9:

Our work titled Who are the 144,000? explains the concept of the split rapture. There are special promises made to overcomers of the Philadelphian church in Revelation 3:10-12. Among them is the promise to be delivered from the hour of temptation in a Pretribulational (First Fruits) Rapture. From a dispensational perspective, this church is found only in the end days, and the promise of becoming a pillar applies only to them, a special link between those taken home in this Rapture and their home to be within the holy city of the New Jerusalem. Could there be a unique role for those who are found to be alive and waiting for the Bridegroom? In the shadow of the Jewish betrothal and wedding, the bridegroom did not retrieve a bride who had died. She was alive and well and ready to go with him; her lantern was lit (a sign of life), and her oil supply was plentiful (a sign of readiness).

Referring back to our Matthew 22:23-33 passage, we recall that it says that our "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living"! It is always thought that this means that we will live again, and indeed it does. But could it be saying somewhat more than this? We are reminded that the thrust of this passage a discussion of marriage! Maybe even the Sadducees realized the depth of this statement, as the next verse says that they "were astonished at his doctrine". (Though I do not share the thoughts in any of these writings as statements of doctrine, it is likely that many may also be astonished re: the information presented!) This seems to be a strange statement in light of the subject at hand. Could he be making reference here to the idea that the Bride (one to participate in the actual marriage) must be a "living" Bride (one who is alive when the Bride is called to her Bridegroom)? Maybe this new cup will be shared only with the Bride. (Indeed we see that symbolized in the Jewish wedding when the bride and the Groom share the cup, and then the cup is broken!) Could there be something we do not understand regarding the chemical change that occurs with the new cup of wine which only one who has never experienced physical death can experience? Whereas those from eras past who are worthy of great honors will be honored in other ways, maybe the Bride is an exclusive group (those of the living "redeemed from the earth" in the "First Fruit" Harvest Rapture) because never tasting death is a prerequisite for this unique role!

Note that God will indeed retrieve those who have died in Christ. We are assured of this in I Thessalonians 4:15. It confirms that they will not be forgotten. They will indeed be retrieved! However, this particular reference is linked only to the second Ingathering Harvest Rapture. The wording here does not exclude the possibility that the graves could also release the worthy dead at the First Fruits Rapture, but it certainly doesn't infer that this occurs. Neither does anything here indicate that their role will be as "Bride". The indication seems to be that they are at peace for a time, and will be resurrected when the balance of the church is taken to the heavenlies for the Bema Seat Judgment. God has planned everything out in perfection. If those who are most worthy of honor from God are not honored in one respect, they will be honored in another.

We are told in Romans 9:21 that God creates our vessels according to His purpose! This would in no way dispute their "worthiness" spiritually to be included in the "Bride". In fact, there will be many of these prior dispensations (such as Paul) who will seem much more "worthy" spiritually than many of those who comprise the living Bride. However, if never tasting death is a prerequisite chemically, then those who have died must essentially be excluded from this particular role of honor. Whereas these too would have been created as "vessels of honor" for a particular role, it would be a slightly different role than that of the Bride. God's plan is perfect. Maybe this is simply not be the manner in which He has chosen to honor them!

Rachel had a special place of intimacy in the heart of Jacob. Her relations with Jacob produced Joseph (and thus Ephraim and Mannaseh) and Benjamin. These children represent the various aspects of the Yeshua's "church", the portion of God's creation who accept Yeshua as their Savior. Genesis 35:18 speaks of Rachel's "death" it says that "her soul was in departing". Nowhere else in God's word is this type of description mentioned relating to death. Maybe it was a shadow of a the Bride of Christ whose souls would depart without seeing death in the First Fruits Rapture. We might also note that verse 20 says that Jacob set a pillar upon her grave. It is interesting that those overcomers of the Philadelphian church alone are promised in Revelation 3:12 that they will be pillars in the temple of the Father. Maybe the Bridegroom (who took on Himself the seed of Abraham per Hebrews 2:16 will continue the fulfilling of God's blessing to Abraham by continuing the multiplication of his seed with the pillars (Bride) of the living church)! God has put you here at this particular time. Who knoweth whether thou art come to this Present Kingdom for just "such a time as this"?

When we get to the Father's Kingdom, we will never again face death. We will become eternal beings. The essence of the eternal body is light. Our dense mortal bodies seem to be vibrating at a lower frequency than a light body would vibrate. This is probably determined to some degree by the type of fluid within us. In the third dimensional mortal body, this fluid is blood. The fluid within the body may be scheduled to change. This change would allow a higher vibration rate, and enable the change in our body consistency to occur. The Bible shadows this in the parable of the wine and the wine bottles in Matthew 9. This "mortality" will begin to put on "immortality" (I Corinthians 15:54). This "terrestrial" will begin to put on the "celestial" (I Corinthians 15:40). I believe our God of pattern has a few changes to be performed incrementally. Each stage (metamorphosis) will bring us closer to our eternal spiritual light body, which will be received at the conclusion of the Father's Kingdom when it is time for Him to usher us into eternity. As these incremental changes occur, I believe the fluid within us will change to a different quality of blood, then back to a form of living water like Adam may have had before the fall. (God's patterning is circular in nature.) The living water may restore to mankind the ability to vibrate at such a high frequency that we can again become immortal (eternal) light beings, no longer bound by time or matter in any fashion.

Now Genesis 3:24 tells us that after the fall the Cherubim were assigned to guard the Tree of Life with a flaming sword. It is commonly understood that for mankind to eat of it after the fall would enable mankind to live eternally in his corrupted state. We would note that Revelation 2:7 says overcomers will be able to "eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. We would also note that no such promise is made to anyone who has not overcome. In fact, we see here that this tree is found in the MIDST of the paradise of God (the center of the holy city). In Revelation 21:27 it specifically states that some (who are in the Eternal Kingdom) will not be able to enter here! A quick look at their description here will show us that they are those who never became overcomers (those who inherit the Eternal Kingdom of the Father in spirit only, having lost their bodies in Gehenna - being viewed by God as filthy in Revelation 22:12 and naked in Revelation 16:15, and having no access to the Tree of Life). Only after we are totally purified will we be allowed to eat from this tree.