Herbert W Armstrong

   But as we go back a little bit, and we want to go back a little bit prehistory before that period of time when that happened, when God did take the lives of the firstborn in Egypt, and as we go back in that time prior to that which is pictured by the Days of Unleavened Bread, which is coming out of sin or coming out of Egypt, will we see some interesting things that we might not be aware of as we begin thinking about questions of this nature because it is important how we think about God, very important imperative as a matter of fact. And we tend to think not only have wrong thoughts at times about the great God but also about His people.

   Now we would tend to think about the Israelite people as kind of a backward slave type individual as they were in Egypt back at the time that we're portraying and have been picturing here the last 7 days. Maybe we picture them sort of like Virginia, West Virginia hillbillies at this time or something close to that, but we'd think about them as kind of a backwards type people. But what we need to realize is that the Israelites were not slaves in Egypt. Until, as you probably recall in reading the scriptures, until the time came that a king came on the scene that knew not Joseph. Or didn't know Joseph at that period of time. Until then, they weren't a slave type people.

   And as we go back in a little bit prehistoric, prehistorical to that period of time, we have to realize that God working through Joseph, God's servant Joseph caused and helped Egypt to greatness. Egypt that time, I don't know if you're aware of it or not, I assume most of you are. Egypt at that time was the greatest nation on the face of this earth. At that time and Joseph had a great deal to do with it.

   If you think back once again before the time of the exodus, before the time that the Israelites were actually slaves. In actuality, Joseph had a great deal to do with Herod's great pyramid. And when you think about pyramid, you go back to the word for pyramid, which is PYRE, and that particular word, interesting enough, has to do with wheat. Remember Joseph was the one responsible for storing up the wheat at that period of time so that they would have plenty in the 7 years of famine. During the 7 years of plenty, why they stored up for the 7 years of famine. And Joseph that time built and filled the pyramids with wheat. So a lot of this goes back to the time of Joseph, and we have to realize that and be aware of it.

   Some of these pyramids that they were building at that time, I'm sure that Joseph had the philosophy that he wanted to keep the people busy. He wanted to give them some kind of national pride, national purpose just like today. We have the space shuttle and the moonwalk and that sort of thing, things to keep people's minds occupied so that they aren't thinking about the bad things that have to do with the economy and that sort of thing. So I'm sure that Joseph planned many of those pyramids for that particular purpose.

   The historian Herodotus talks about some of the pyramids that were built back at that time in the time of Joseph, and he said that one particular one there, and many of them have more than one I understand, but this particular one in particular had a white overlay. Put on the outside surface of the pyramid it was so bright that there was no way that you could look at it in the sun. When the sun was shining on it, there was no way that you could look at it because it was so bright. It's a beautiful thing.

   There was another one built. It was had a name Labyrinth, the Labyrinth pyramid. And inside that particular one was built like a maze. And I, I don't expect you to remember what I talked about here on Pentecost last year, but I talked about an individual that had races and threw a maze with a mouse. And that you know what a maze is. It's one of those things that's kind of complicated to get through. They call them hedges at that particular time, and in this particular pyramid in the bottom of it, it had 3200 rooms. So it was a massive thing. It was big. It was huge, architectural wonder in reality, and it's one of those things that would be once you got into it, it would be very difficult to find your way out.

   Well, Herodotus, the historian, went into this particular pyramid in 450 B.C., and he was amazed at that particular time. He said it actually would put the great pyramid to shame in many ways because of the work that went into that particular one. And I've never been able to totally confirm this, but I have heard from more than one source that back at that particular time that they actually had hydroelectric projects. Now here again, you're talking we're talking about people that we might ordinarily think of as a slave type people, but these people were builders and they're engineers and they had a lot going for them and I, I know they did know some particulars about electricity at that time, not as we know it today, but I know mostly it's about it'd be like a direct current storage batteries and that type thing. They did have some knowledge of that back at that time.

   In Joseph time as well, and this can be confirmed in history, they tapped the Nile River 200 miles north of Memphis, which is Cairo at this time. They tapped into that river and they made an aqueduct or some kind of a canal actually they called it the Canal of Joseph. And they built this for a purpose, the purpose of being and they actually built a river at the end of the canal they call the Mara River, or rather Moraes be a dam today. It was a lake at that time, and the purpose for this was to keep the level of the Nile River at the same height all year round because they'd store up water and. In the dry season, then they could run it into the Nile River in the bad seasons and keep it at a certain level. And during that period of time they built actually two pyramids in the middle of that lake just to tell how high the water was, to keep track of the depth of the water in that particular lake and the canal or the river that they built was called the Canal of Joseph.

   So once again we get it started in my opinion anyway, this gives me a different impression of the Israelites and what they were doing back at that time. So they had some fantastic architects and agriculturists as well, and Israel back at that time in history shows had some 600,000 fighting men and in reality Israel put Egypt on the map. Israel had a great deal to do with their greatness. But then along came a time after Joseph died that a pharaoh and a new king, a new king and a new pharaoh came on the scene that didn't know Joseph. And didn't know what he had done for Egypt and so therefore, of course, eventually the Israelites went into slavery. Which was a sad thing, but of course that just naturally came out.

   And then of course the next thing that comes on the scene is Moses. We come back to Exodus once again, Exodus the 3rd chapter. We begin reading about Moses and what was happening at this time because God saw the plight of his people and he wanted to do something about it. Exodus chapter 3 verse 1 (Exodus 3:1). Now Moses kept the flock to Jethroe, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God even to Horo, and the angel appeared to him and the burning bush and all that sort of thing happened.

   Verse 7, and the Lord said, I have surely seen the effects of affliction of my people. And verse 8, he says, I can come down to deliver them. And in verse 10, he says, come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so he's going to send Moses to Pharaoh. In verse 11, Moses makes his first excuse. Because Moses had been away for a long time, he'd been away for 40 years. Verse 11, Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go into Pharaoh and I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt. So he made his first excuse at this particular time. He said, I'm, I'm not really ready for all of this.

   Then chapter 4, verse 1 Exodus 4:1), he made his second excuse. Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me. They're not going to believe me, and you stop and think about Moses's plight about this time. Put yourself in his shoes or in his sandals and in his robe back at that particular time, and you think about what he must have been going through. It'd be kind of like you or I, having maybe been in Saudi Arabia for the last 40 years since 1940, and we come back on the scene. And we walk up to our relatives and say, Hey Mom, you know what? God called me. You know what else? I'm going to be a king. Is that neat Mom said, yeah, but I'm Julius Caesar or something of that nature. I'm sure that would come back, come back, but telling your relatives maybe after being gone for 40 years, you pop up on the scene all of a sudden and you tell them, hey, God called me and I have a purpose, and maybe you go back to your 40th class reunion after being gone out of the United States for, for that period of time. And that would probably be very interesting, but if you think about it in that way, you can probably think about how, how Moses must have felt at this time.

   Chapter 4 verse 10 Exodus 4:10). Here we have another excuse coming up from Moses. He says, Moses said to the Lord, oh my Lord, I'm not eloquent, neither heretofore, he says, I'm not eloquent now and any more eloquent than I was when you talked to me out of the burning bush. He said, I haven't grown and developed and put that sin out and ruined that habit or whatever it might have been. He said, I'm not any better now than I was then, so this was his third excuse that he had made.

   And again, we have to stop and think, well, what if we were out? Had been out since 1940 and here we come roaring back in on the scene in our little deuce coupe. Probably most of you don't even know what a deuce coupe is. It's a 1932 Ford, but maybe you had you come roaring into town with your little deuce coupe with fender skirts and full moon hubcaps on it and a foxtail. And here you come walking on the scene in your raccoon coat. I might be getting back a little before that. I'm not sure, but you come on the scene in your raccoon coat here and you say, I'm going to take you people out of here. Here you are at your class reunion. They're all dressed in 1981 clothes, three piece business suits, and here you've got your raccoon coat on and your 1940 shoes that wouldn't wear out, out there in the desert, by the way. And so here you are. You come on the scene and yeah, I'm going to take you folks out of here. And you, I'm sure you can figure out the response you'd get from your class reunion or from your relatives or from anyone else.

   You may have tried this. I don't know. Hey baby, jump in my rumble seat and we'll pitch some woo and 23 Skoo and all that stuff that was in way back then. And like I say, you're in a different age suddenly, and Moses came into a different age and a different time because he had been gone for 40 years. One time he had been next in line to be Pharaoh. And I imagine he thought of himself as being pretty eloquent at that time, but I imagine he is pretty backwards this time.

   What I meant to say there about the raccoon coach, you know, Moses, what Moses was actually saying, you say, God, I'm not suited for this. That that's, oh well, never mind. But anyway, God said Moses said you, you're gonna take my people out of there anyway, you don't really want to, but God said, Israel is my firstborn. He said Israel is my firstborn, and he told Egypt and the Pharaoh in particular, he said, You let me go. You let mine go or I'll kill yours. I'll take care of them right away.

   And of course it still seemed a little harsh. You think about God coming on the scene in this way and saying, you, you let mine go or I'm going to kill yours. And of course it seemed like there might have been another way at that particular time. But God intended for Israel to be a showcase nation, just as he intended us to be a showcase church at this particular time. He intended for Israel to be a showcase nation and show the whole world that it paid to serve God.

   Notice Exodus chapter 11, a couple of scriptures here. Exodus chapter 11 verse 1 (Exodus 11:1). And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterwards, he will let you go from hence. When, when he shall let you go, he will surely thrust you out from hence. In other words, they're going to be thrust out finally during this period of time.

   Verse 5, he says, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh, Pharaoh wasn't going to escape escape this. Either the firstborn a pharaoh that sits upon his throne, even to the firstborn of the maidservants that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts, and there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was was none like it, nor shall any more be like it. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast that you may know how that the Lord does put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Israel was God's people and of course he was making it very obvious, showing that there was very definitely a difference between them and the Egyptians.

   So they were finally thrust out or going to be thrust out, and this was the final coup de grace, I guess you'd have to say. And one of the strange things about this is that this was also the undoing of Egypt, the total undoing of Egypt. Remember, before this period of time, Egypt was the greatest nation on the face of the earth. After this time, you hardly ever heard anything about Egypt. It was kind of a it became a minor nation almost overnight. And of course in order to understand why God was killing the firstborn, you have to understand some of these things that was happening to Egypt back at that particular time. Egypt was number 1 before that period of time, and we also already read that Pharaoh's son wasn't going to be left out in this.

   But notice chapter 12 and verse 29 (Exodus 12:29). Came to pass at midnight. The Lord smote all was firstborn in the land of Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne and to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon and the firstborn of the cattle. So and there was a great cry went up at that period of time because the Pharaoh and everyone else had lost children and young, not necessarily just young people. I'll explain that in a minute.

   Verse 30, and Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in in Egypt. There was not a house, not one house. Where there was not at least one dead, and I say at least one dead because this is something I think we have to think about. It might give you a worse impression as far as God is concerned and thinking about this, but I don't think we have any idea how many people actually were killed at this period of time.

   I know I'm thinking about this. I came from a pretty large family. There were 9 children in my family, my parents' family, I should say. And I was thinking about this this morning, and out of our family, because of the number of children of grandchildren and great grandchildren that are in the family, there would have been at least 100 killed, 100, 1st born or right it would have been reaching that that number anyway, 100 in my family. Because you know, and of course the Jewish tradition actually says that that a woman could have 10 children and all of them could be killed because of the promiscuity was going on in Egypt at that particular time. They could all be firstborn to some guy.

   Now I don't necessarily, I don't just read it in that particular way because as far as Pharaoh was concerned, you think about him. Now. Solomon had 1000, 1000 wives. Now Pharaoh may have had 1000 as well. And if he had one child with each one of those people, all of the sons anyway would be dead, be 1000 out of the Pharaoh's family, not just his son, but this is what this says. It says each house, at least there wasn't one house, it wasn't a house that not at least one person was dead. In that house. So you have to realize what extent the firstborn carries on.

   I could ask you how many of you are firstborn. Quite a few of you, quite a bunch of you. And I, if I were to ask you if you knew a firstborn or if there was a firstborn in your family, why there would be even more hands, and I did, I see a little girl down there, you know, you're not a firstborn, you're a firstling. But nevertheless, it is interesting to stop and think about how what a great thing this was, and you can imagine why you would and cry, but most people just think about the baby aspect of it, you know. What about the little babies who ghastly, there could have been, there must have been firstborn people there dying. They were 100 years old. Or more. So it wouldn't just be the babies as far as that's concerned, so we have to stop and think about those things.

   And So there were many anyway, thousands, thousands of people in Egypt killed at that particular time, at least one in every house, as verse 30 here says in Exodus chapter 12. And those killed, one of the things you have to realize now first of all, of course, God was telling Egypt, he says, You let mine go or I'm going to kill yours. But the thing that really caps us off is that Egypt never recovered from this. Egypt has never recovered from what happened on that particular night.

   And here again you have, it goes in, you have to stop and think about what this would affect. The firstborn being killed and what a vastly affect. A dastardly effect that it must have had on the nation of Egypt at that particular time because those killed represented the elite. Those killed represented the kingly, the heirs. And of course the heads of the tribes, you'd have to say the commanders, the leaders, the kings, the princes, those are the people who were killed. Especially those, of course there were others as well, and right down to the cattle, but, but the leaders in the land were all killed. The heads of the tribes as firstborn, those that were dedicated to gods.

   So you have to contemplate some of those things to really get the full impact that all of the leaders of Egypt were dead. On the night of the Passover, they all died, the heads of the tribes and all those individuals. And so, and of course you think about this and you can realize why Egypt had such a time massing troops to chase the Israelites. Now they did do it. But it took them a few days to get to get their act together, and mostly of what was left in Egypt was women and children and old men. Of course some of the old men were dead too because they were firstborn too, but nevertheless they were really cut down.

   First of all, God of course struck at their religion through the Nile River and of course the frogs and the bulls and different gods that the Egyptians had back at that particular time. But then then finally, of course, he struck at their firstborn, and there are certain things I think we need to contemplate and think about in regard to that as well.

   If you'll all take your Compendium and… You don't all carry your Compendiums with you. Oh shucks. Anyway, turn to page 68. If you have your Compendium with you, the first volume of the Compendium. I just want to read something to you here. I'm telling you what it is so that you believe it, that this is the work of Dr. Hoeh, our historian, and it is very interesting, I think. Concerning this particular case concerning the Egyptians and what happened and why God killed the firstborn, because there are many things I don't think we're aware of and maybe when you read the Compendium, and if you ever did, why you might have skipped over some of this, but this particular king that I'm going to be reading about was contemporary with Pharaoh. They had a king and they had a Pharaoh as well, and this particular king's name was Eunice.

   And I'll read some of actually what he put on his tombstone here and a little bit from the from history first says with Yunus this dynasty comes to a catastrophic end. That's what we were just talking about what happened to Egypt, a catastrophic end. He was contemporary of the Pharaoh who perished at the Red Sea. The king died the night of the Passover because he was firstborn. Yunus was a firstborn. He was also a cannibal. This king of Egypt at that time was a cannibal. After Moses left Egypt, he commenced the frightful practice of eating. This is when Moses left the first time, went out the desert for 40 years. He commenced the frightful practice of eating the firstborn of his enemies. This is one of the reasons God slew the firstborn of Egypt.

   From the pyramid tomb of Yunus, one may read this horrible account of his life, his blasphemous claims, and his deeds, and this is what it says on his tombstone. Behold, Yunus has arrived at the height of heaven. He was a megalomaniac, and he thought the entire world revolved around him. He thought of himself as the supreme god. This Eunus, the king of Egypt, says Raz on one side, Raz the sun god. And Horus, that's a bull god of Egypt, was on the other, and Eunice is between them. Yunus has weighed this word with a hidden god who has no name on the day of hacking in pieces of the firstborn. Yunus devoured men. He cut off hairy's scalps. The chord master has bound them for slaughter. Konsu, the slayer of, they had, he had his own special hired killer for this job. Konsu is a slayer of, has cut their throats and drawn out their inward parts, for it was he whom Yunus sent to drive them in, and Shihem has cut them in pieces and boiled their members, so he had his own special butcher as well as a special cook for his cannibal kitchen.

   He's quite a guy, and I mean, where was I? OK. He boiled our members in his blazing cauldrons. Like I say, he had a special kitchen set up to cook the firstborn and these individuals. Yunus has eaten their words of power. He believed that if you'd eat an individual, you would inherit all of his good qualities. That's what he was in the process of doing. Yunus has eaten their words of power. He has swallowed their spirits. The great ones among them serve for his meal at daybreak. The lesser serve for his meal at eventide. And the least among them served for his meal at night. The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his furnace, so he burnt the old ones just to get rid of them.

   The mighty ones in heaven shoot out fire under the cauldrons which are heaped upon with the haunches of the firstborn. You know, so that's talking about burning the bones. And he that makes those who live in heaven to revolve around Eunice has shot into the cauldrons the haunches of their women. Eunice is the great form, the form of forms, and Eunus is the chief of the gods invisible form. Yunus is the firstborn of the firstborn. And that's what it says on his tombstone. goes on and says the period of his life is eternity, however, he died the night of the Passover, and the duration of his existence is everlastingness, and the offerings made to him are more than those made into the gods.

   So it's interesting to think about this individual who thought of himself as being God himself back in that period of time, the firstborn of the firstborn, he thought that if he were to eat a man, then he would possess that individual's power and ability and brains and whatever else it might have been. Quite an interesting guy. This is one of the individuals that died on the night of the Passover at that particular time, and there's a remarkable analogy, of course you think about this in II Thessalonians, the 2nd chapter, verses 3 and 4 (II Thessalonians 2:3-4), where somebody sitting in a temple claiming to be God. And of course that fits very well with Yunus and what he was claiming to be back at that time.

   Then we stop and think, well, God punished his eye for an eye, firstborn for a firstborn, and he spared the firstborn of Israel. And God not only spared it, but God claimed it as his own, and rightfully so, of course, but in the Exodus chapter 13, Exodus chapter 13. Verse 1 (Exodus 13:1). And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, sanctify unto me all the firstborn whatsoever opened the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beasts. It is mine. So God claimed the firstborn is His own.

   Verse 11. It shall be when the when the Lord shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swear unto you to give to your fathers and shall give it to you. You shall set apart, the Lord, to all that opens the matrix, and every first thing that comes of beasts which you have, the males shall be the Lords. So the first one that God was making claim to them and going on, he says, verse 13, every first ling of an ass shall you redeem with a lamb, and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break his neck, and all the firstborn of man among your children shall you redeem.

   And it shall be when your son asks you in the time to come, what does this mean? And he says, by strength of hand, the Lord brought us out from Egypt from the house of bondage. Verse 15, and it come to pass when Pharaoh could hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, was the firstborn of man and the firstborn of peace. Therefore, I sacrifice the Lord, all that opens the matrix being males. All the firstborn of my children, I redeem. So going on and it brings back that same story of what happened back at the time of the first Passover was being invoked.

   And of course we stop and think about what it means to be first. We think about the first and the firstborn and what God had in mind, and of course all you have to do is look in the dictionary and you see many definitions concerning the first. First it means foremost in rank and has and the firstborn as well, and all of this is fitting. It means foremost in rank, foremost in place, foremost in dignity, foremost in time, foremost in excellence, foremost in any other quality. That you might possess and of course most important or chief as well. Firstborn means and stands for that which is most excellent, and this is what God was claiming.

   The firstborn back in the time of Israel at the time that they had their family priests, the firstborn was the priest of the whole family. And of course had many advantages and firstborn does connote advantage and privilege. They also received a double portion of the estate. So they got many things extra. They inherited certain rights and privileges. And they had authority over all of those that were younger than them, the firstborn. So it's interesting when you stop and think about that, and of course you think about people not firstborn necessarily, but those first in the United States, and we might think about Commander Young bringing that space shuttle in it was such a beautiful job as he did the other day, first time that ever happened. He will be forever famous for that. And he will have certain advantages because of that.

   Neil Armstrong's big step, or his one, one little step for mankind and or little step for man and big step for mankind, however it was he said it. He will always be famous for that. And he had a good name to do it too. His last name Armstrong, but nevertheless, Charles Lindbergh will always be remembered for flying across the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart, the Wright brothers, and their first flight in 1903, the Fulton steam engine, Edison, and I, I have one statistic here you love the most sloshed individual that ever lived. And this individual consumed 4 bottles of Ruby Port every day of his life, and in 61 years he consumed 35,668 bottles of Ruby Port wine, and he was the most sloshed individual in the whole world. And so you know I, I don't know how famous he is for that, but nevertheless, that's true.

   The heaviest person in the world weighed 1,069 pounds, but that's nonsense. It has nothing to do really with the firstborn necessarily, but still they're famous for what they did. They were the first ones to accomplish those particular feats, and they'll always be famous for that.

   Now let's not something else that God did with ancient Israel and move over to Numbers. Numbers of the 3rd chapter. Where God made a little bit of a difference here as far as the firstborn was concerned. He traded some of them for the Levites. Numbers chapter 3 and verse 12 (Numbers 3:12). He says, Behold, I have taken a Levite from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that opens the matrix among the children of Israel and therefore the Levites shall be mine. And he goes on talking about. The firstborn and what they meant to him.

   Verse 15, he says, Number the children of Levi after the house their fathers by their families, every male for a month old and upward. See, verse 13 is what I wanted to read (Numbers 3:13). Behold all the firstborn are mine, for on that day that I smote the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed into me all the firstborn in Israel. The God again pointing out that they are his.

   In verse 40 of this same chapter, verse 40 to 43 (Numbers 3:40-43). Says the Lord said to Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males and the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names, and you shall take the Levites from me. I am the Lord instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel. Verse 42, Moses numbered as the Lord commanded him, the firstborn among the children of Israel, and all the firstborn males by the number of their names from a month old and upward are those that were numbered out of them 22,243.

   And so I was showing in verse 47 he showed how you could redeem them and I won't get into what how much a shekel is, but Dr. Hoeh said at one time this would be something like $3.25 apiece, and I won't contest that with inflation it might be a little higher, but that's how much it would cost you to redeem your son or whatever it might be you're trying we're trying to redeem.

   Verse 50 of the firstborn of the children of Israel, he took. The money 1,000, $1,335 anyway. In verse 51, Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed in Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord as the Lord commanded Moses. So the firstborns at this point were the heads of the family, something that once again carried a great deal of weight, a great deal of right, and let's notice as Deuteronomy chapter 21.

   Deuteronomy chapter 21. Verse 15 (Deuteronomy 21:15). It's kind of an interesting story, here it says if a man has two wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, if the firstborn son be hers that was hated, then it shall be that he, when he makes his son to inherit what he has, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated. So in this particular case, the firstborn has a right, even if the wife doesn't love him or if he's the least loved son, whatever, the firstborn still carries a right and of course it's interesting here too we won't get into that, but verses 18 through the remainder of the chapter tells what happened to dead kids. I mean they did them in. They flat stoned them, took care of them, but nevertheless, the prestige and the wealth went to the firstborn.

   And so that's interesting to stop and think about, especially as we begin to think now of how this might apply to us in our particular situation because so far we've talked about ancient Israel. We've talked about the Egyptians and what happened to them and what what's going to be happening in the future to a certain extent, but we need to think about how it applies to us in all of these particular things because we realize God is interested in family. And so far this is an unfulfilled concept in his mind. It's something that he has a type of. He stated this, and he did create angels and we see that angels are always going to be a servant class. They're never going to be god. They're never going to be born directly into the God's family.

   And God tells us in Genesis 1:26, he says, we will make man in our image. So we see the process starting and as God gets a type of his family going here and actually a physical type going and just actually in the beginning. He shows us also that Jesus Christ is the first begotten. Let's turn over to Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews 1:5. Says for to which of the angels, says God said he at any time, you are my son this day I forgotten begotten you. So God has never said that to any of the angels that they were going to be a son. And again he says, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a son.

   In verse 6, and again when he brings in the first begotten into the world, he says, but all the angels of God worship Him. So this is a start beginning to talk about us and our particular status as first begotten. And it's interesting to see some of the privileges that go with being the firstborn go as well to the first begotten. So God has a family in the making. That's known as Colossians chapter 1. There's a couple of scriptures here very quickly and as quickly as I can find them anyway. Colossians 1:14. Say in whom we have redemption through his blood, even a forgiveness of sin, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, and this is talking about Christ, of course, and he is the firstborn of every creature, and he is the one whom we have redemption through.

   Now let's notice Romans chapter 8. Most likely a familiar scripture to you. Yet one that's very, very telling. has to do with one of the most important doctrines in the Church of God, and that is that you can become a God. Romans 8:29. He says for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. So we have to keep in mind the blessings that go with being a firstborn, and Christ is a firstborn among many brethren. That means there are many more to come. There are going to be many more births, many more born into the family. Christ is just the first of the firstborn.

   Now Yunus, whom we talked about earlier and earlier in Egypt, was a counterfeit firstborn. He was the firstborn of the firstborn counterfeits. It's about what we could say as far as he was concerned, but he was definitely a counterfeit. Notice Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12:22. Says, but you, you shall come into Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Verse 23 to the General Assembly of the Church of the firstborn. That's us, whether we realize it or not. We never better who had better realize it during these Days of Unleavened Bread and a time coming up in the future, says to the General Assembly and the Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven and to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect. So this is Britain actually to us, the Church of the firstborn ones, as the Greek shows this to be.

   Notice Hebrews 11:35. Says women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Now that better resurrection is what we're talking about as far as we're concerned, and we have to realize that the firstborn is always going to be the firstborn. Those at the top are always going to be at the top. Those that have that higher position are always going to have that higher position, of course, unless they lose it in some particular way, which obviously God is not going to let that happen to us after we become spirit beings, but those at the top are always going to be at the top. These are never going to be eclipsed in any way. No one else can be the firstborn after you have a firstborn.

   Christ is the firstborn of many brethren, showing that many of us are going to be able to follow along with that particular position. And it's not necessarily, I suppose you could say that God would necessarily love the firstborn more so than those that are born later on, but the fact is that the position or the honor goes with the title, and if you have the title, you have that particular position. And so that's, that's incredible.

   Let's go back to Romans 8 again, something else I want to pick up there. Romans chapter 8 verse 16. We probably ought to read the whole chapter here, but we'll just suffice it here with a couple of scriptures. Romans 8:16, the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Verse 18. Well, let's read verse 17 too, and if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. And then he goes on to verse 18. He says, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

   So the suffering is not going to be compared, even though it might be difficult at this time to attain to that status of being a firstborn. Nevertheless. The suffering is not to be compared that we go through at this time. It's all going to be worth a great deal more than what we have to go through, and it may be more difficult now than it has ever been before for us to attain to that status because later on we have to realize there won't be any Satan. And of course when when people disobey at that time, there will be a spirit being come up behind him and say, hey, don't do that, go the other way. Don't smoke that cigarette. Put that out. Don't do that anymore. You know that's going to make you sick. It's going to kill you or whatever the problem might be. Don't break the Sabbath. That's going to cause you to be killed eternally.

   So there will be other aspects of it right now may be the hardest time because we don't have that. We have God's spirit. And one that goes alongside with us, the peroglatous helping us, working with the spirit in man and helping us to attain these things, but it's not going to be as easy in this life or for us as it's going to be for those individuals later on. But also they're not going to have the glory. They're not going to have the same reward because they're not going to be the first. We are going to be first if we stick with it.

   At that time, of course, you have to realize there's not going to be lost jobs because people take off for the Feast of Tabernacles. There won't be any false religion. There won't be any people dying from diseases, and it's going to be easier, but the reward, as I stated, is going to be far less. And of course our chance now, our time is to get out on the ground floor of a tremendous thing. Our opportunity is to be the Commander Youngs of the Space shuttle or the Neil Armstrongs, and in our case we're talking about the God family. The Neil Armstrongs are the Lindberghs of the God family, the firstborn. What a fantastic calling God has given us an opportunity.

   We have the opportunity to be the foremost in rank, the foremost in place, the foremost in dignity, the foremost in time, the foremost in excellence. And status of importance we're to receive a double portion. As of being firstborn and authority over all younger individuals that come along later, so it's really, it's really interesting and when you stop and think about it, amazing what God has called us to.

   Now I want to make one final point. If I made any yet, I want to make one more anyway, whether, whether I made one or not, I'll maybe I'll just make one if I make this one. But anyway, I showed how Israel, as they were in Egypt actually built the nation of Egypt. And at that time, the point that I wanted to make, I hope that I made it, was the fact that Israel was a high caliber people at one time. Later on, it became slaves and something else happened. But nevertheless, even at the time that they left Egypt, these people were skilled. They had built the nation of Egypt. And their finesse and their acumen, whatever you might want to call it, caused Egypt to be a great nation at that time.

   And actually when they left Egypt, it's no wonder the Pharaoh didn't want them to go because they were a quality people. They were a skilled people in many, many ways. And after they left at that time they had to have architects and draftsmen and you name it, they had them, but they left Egypt skilled and then after they went out of Egypt, why they sent spies into the land that God had set up for them. The promised land, as we call it today, and in that land there were big grapes. It was a beautiful country, but also there were big people.

   And of course that stopped them and made a stumbling block to them and as it says in the Psalms, they were afraid and they limited the holy One of Israel. They limited God. They said, wait a minute God, sure that's a beautiful country, but look at those monstrosities over there. be like facing the Cleveland East basketball team or the Cleveland West or something, a bunch of Melekites out there or Can't think of the other name for for giants. It does say there were giants in the land and that. That's how I proved that baseball was all right. There were giants in the land in those days, but nevertheless there were in these. Oh, you like that? How about in the, in the big inning, you like that too. Oh well, that has nothing to do with it, but these people were big. They were enormous people.

   And the Israelites were afraid and as God says, they limited the Holy One of Israel, but you know we can do that as well. We can limit God as well. But what happened to them since they limited God, they said we can't go in there and face those huge monstrosity of people, they'll kill us all off. So they limited God. So God said, All right, you go back out in the wilderness and spend another 38 years out there wandering around. Which they did. They weren't ready and so they stayed out in the desert until all of the people that had been over the age of 20 when they left Egypt died.

   And when all of them died, why then things changed. Let's notice Deuteronomy chapter 29. But all of the men over 20 died in the wilderness. And we see a little bit of a different, different kind of people at this point in time. And those that came out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 29:5. It says the Lord has not, wait a minute, verse 5, and I have led you 40 years in the wilderness. Your clothes are not waxed old upon you and your shoes are not waxing old upon your foot. So here are these people wearing around these 40 year old clothes. Of course they were all in style back at that time, and I guess they didn't have to face anybody at this point, so maybe they didn't care, but you can imagine the vanity of the women wearing 40 year old shoes. I don't have anything to wear. I can't. They didn't get to go to church back then anyway, so I guess it didn't matter anyway, these shoes are not waxing old upon my foot.

   Verse 6, you have not eaten, you have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or a strong drink. You might know that I am the Lord your God. So they, they were lacking a lot of things there at this time. So while they were out on the desert, they didn't have all the amenities that they might have even had in Egypt, and of course they didn't have at all what God had in mind for them to have.

   So what did they do out on the desert? All of this period of time for 40 years, and whenever they got hungry, why God would send down a little manna, which means what is it and maybe some quail once in a while make them sick on, but he was always giving them something to eat. And they didn't have to do really any work to provide it. The water, the food was provided, and of course these people were running around here in their 40-year old clothes that wouldn't wear out, but they didn't wear on wheat fields. They weren't on farms. Here we have somewhere around 2 1/2 to 3 million people wandering around out here in the desert, as we just read, no wine, no brandy, none of these amenities of life that they should have been having. And the reason that they didn't have them because there were no makers of such refinements such as that at that period of time.

   Now they were out there for 40 years. Now if they had done what God intended for them to do, they would have been able to go into the promised land just prior to the Feast of Tabernacles in that same year, which of course they weren't ready to do it and where they could have had the big grapes, the good land, and they would have had an educated, experienced people. A capable bunch of people, a capable type of people, this is Joshua chapter 5 verse 1. Joshua 5:1.

   It came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the east side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel until they were passed over, their hearts melted. They could have gone and they could have done this 40 years before this period of time, but they weren't ready at that time.

   So verse 2 at that time, the Lord said to Joshua, Make sharp knives and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time, and Joshua made him sharp knives and circumcised them. And of course at that time they were getting ready to go in, but before that time they weren't ready, and now they're being circumcised in order to be God's people at that particular time.

   Notice verse 6 though. For the children of Israel walk 40 years in the wilderness till all the people that were men of war. He would give us a land that flows with milk and honey, so they, they disobeyed and they had their problems. They weren't ready before to go in to take Canaan to take Gibea and the other places there at that time, but if they had obeyed in the beginning. They would Israel would have gone into the promised land, a top notch people. An educated, highly skilled type individuals, architects, civil engineers, draftsmen, you name it, and they could have gone in. They could have started with a high degree of civilization at that point in time, but the people that went into the land, you have to remember, were the people that grew up out in the desert.

   These people lived out in the desert for 40 years, or whatever portion of that 40 years that they were alive during that period of time, and the leaders, most of the ones that had already died, were the only ones that even knew about the labyrinth, that had known about the maze, that had known about the great pyramids, that had known about the architectural wonders that they had performed back at that time, the canal of Joseph, and so on and so on.

   So God had taken care of them for 40 years. You know what their question might have been. So God's going to let her shoes wear out now. How do you make a shoe? They didn't know how to make a shoe. They didn't have to. God took care of them for 40 years. They didn't know much of anything. How do you prune a grove, you know, when I get my grove growing down here my grapes, how am I gonna to prune it? I don't know how. It's kind of interesting.

   Let's notice the scripture here in in I Samuel. I Samuel 13:19. Now there was no smith found throughout all of the land of Israel, no blacksmith either. I mean how do you shoe the horse, they didn't have shoes on their horses. I don't know if they did or not. Anyway, there was no blacksmith throughout for the Israelites for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords and spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share and his colder and his ax and his Maddox, so they had to go to the Philistines to even find out how to sharpen these things.

   In verse 22 it says, so it came to pass on the day of battle. There was neither a sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were Lasal or Jonathan. So these individuals even had to go to the Philistines in order to find out how to sharpen an ax or sharpen a spear or whatever it was they needed to use at that time. They couldn't pass their trade on to their children in the wilderness or in the desert. There was no leather to work with. There was no iron to work with. They couldn't pass their trade on. They couldn't train their children to do the same things that they had done.

   And so therefore, when Israel went into the promised land, they were simply a desert people. Like the Bedouins or someone of that nature, they're just a desert people without any of the skills that they possessed in the land of Egypt when they lived there. And so now we come down to another difference between them and us. I hope, I hope it's a difference between them and us, because you see, they went in as a desert people, as an unskilled people, even though they had been skilled and had all of these abilities in the past, and God wants us to go in, not into heaven. But into the promised land, into the kingdom of God, and family fully developed.

   He doesn't want us to go in as a desert people, a bunch of people that don't know anything. He wants us to learn and to grow and develop, and he wants us to be fully developed, mature individuals with our human potential at the apex. At the Xena of its potential. That's where God wants us at this particular time. And we go back to John chapter 15. I won't read the whole thing. God Christ actually talking about growing a garden there. He says you can't do anything without me, and this is what Mr. Evans was saying as well this morning. Mr. Engelbart was talking about growing a garden as well, and Christ says in this garden, he says, I want you to grow, and what what is over there in verse. I believe it's verse 16.

   Maybe we better go read it, but you want to know how to glorify God at this period of time. People have asked me that, and I always turn to the same scripture because it says how to do it. It's verse 8 there of John 15 (John 15:8). It says, Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit. He doesn't care how many apples and oranges you grow, but he cares how much you grow and develop as a Christian, how much you become like God, how much you develop your own human potential and become more to the zenith of what you can become. That's what God wants you to be and what He wants you to become.

   He says in verse 16, he says, You haven't chosen me, I chose you. I chose you, and so it doesn't really matter whether you're going up against the Melekites or Philistines or whatever it might be because God's on your team. He chose you and He gave you a job to do, and he intends for you to do it. He intends for you to produce. He intends for you to increase. He intends for you to develop to the maximum amount, and that's the lesson of the last Day of Unleavened Bread.

   As we get to this point in time, God says go on to perfection. He says, don't stand still. Don't be like the children of Israel out in the desert, not doing anything for 40 years, losing all of your abilities and all of your skills. God wants me to be a better minister. He wants you to be a better lay member. He wants you to be a better husband, a better wife. He wants you to be a better spokesman, a better graduate club member. Whatever it is you're doing, he wants you to do and do better. Whatever your profession is, He wants you to be better with it. Whatever your work is, he wants you to have your skills fully developed. As fully developed as they can possibly be, he wants you to improve. He wants you to advance. He wants you to increase. He wants you to think and be better.

   To coin a recent book that I was looking at and read actually. He wants you to be better and to do better in every way. Ancient Israel went into the land in bad shape. Because of Sin. Now in our case, if it's the same way, we just won't go in. That's all there is to it, but they went in in bad shape because of sin and we have to look back in I Corinthians chapter 10, the apostle Paul says all of these things happened to them for examples. So that we whom the end of the ages come on wouldn't sin as they did, wouldn't lust as they lust, wouldn't make the same mistakes that they made, OK, when we realized that they went in as an uneducated people at really maybe the bottom of their zenith, you might say, that was one of the mistakes God doesn't want us to make.

   He wants us to think about that and learn for it. That was for our example. So let's not limit God. Let's not limit the Holy One of Israel. Let's learn. Let's go forward. Let's make 1981 the most productive. The most learning, the most human potential developing year. In our lives Let's be real firstborn leaders.