Secrets and similitudes

II Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

“Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and then God caused that word that He spoke by those prophets to be in-scripted,” explains Jordan. “The word ‘scripture’ means script; written down.

“The verse says, ‘And all scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ It comes right out of the mouth; it’s the breath of God. That’s why it’s called ‘in-SPIRED.’ ‘In-spirit-ation.’ He takes His breath (His spirit) and puts it in some words and causes them to be written down.

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“So God says in Hosea, ‘I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.’ Not only did He give them the Written Word, but He’s given them visions to reveal secrets.

“Amos 3:7 says, ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’

“God kept Israel abreast of what He was doing. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, ‘The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.’

“Now, He had some things that He didn’t tell them. For example, He didn’t tell them how He was going to take the old covenant away and make them who He chose them to be.

“It’s fascinating. God told Israel all along He had some secrets. The boast about Satan in Ezekiel 28 was ‘there is no secret that they can hide from thee.’ I love that verse. No secret THEY could keep from him. It didn’t say God couldn’t keep one from him. But God even put him on notice that He had some secrets. Satan knew he needed to go figure out God’s strategy and he still couldn’t figure it out! And Paul said that’s what the mystery was about.

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“God gave them visions, revelation. The point He’s making in Hosea is He kept them thoroughly—they knew exactly what His spoken prophesied plan was.

“And He used similitudes, which is a comparison that uses ‘like’ or ‘as.’  A metaphor is a comparison that does not use ‘like’ or ‘as.’

“Look at the end of the verse 9 in Hosea 12: ‘as in the days of the solemn feast.’ That’s a similitude. God gave to the nation Israel a whole series of similitudes. Those feasts back in Leviticus are a similitude. What that verse in Hosea does is it tells you, ‘When you go back and read those feasts, you’re seeing prophetic events God is using to simulate the doctrine associated with the redemption of Israel.'

“They start with the Passover. Well, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, and He dies at the Cross, you know what He’s doing? ‘He’s Christ our Passover which is sacrificed for us.’ Then you have Pentecost, which is the coming of the Holy Spirit; the witness of His resurrection.

“Jesus Christ ascends back into heaven and receives the Father’s testimony that He is the risen one and then He sends the Holy Spirit because of His session at the Father’s right hand; His acceptance there.

“The Blowing of the Trumpets is the regathering of the nation Israel; calling Israel back from the nations. Then you have the Day of Atonement, which is the Second Advent of Christ when He comes back, their sins are blotted out (Acts 3:19), and then there’s the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the kingdom.

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“When he says ‘as in the days of the feasts,’ that’s the one where he’s talking about how all of them are similitudes. So all of a sudden you realize all this stuff in your Old Testament is not just unique little ditties that Israel did.

“It’s all there to teach them, to rehearse with them, what the future reality is going to be. Now you teach children with those kinds of methods. You know, visions.

“My grandchildren don’t pop in a video of Grandpa teaching. They love their Grandpa but they watch cartoons; little plays.

“In God’s Word, you teach children with the similitudes, but that’s what Galatians 3 says when it says ‘the law was a schoolmaster.’ Who has to be under a schoolmaster? Children. So that’s how He’s teaching them.

“But when you and I go back here and read these things, which are there for our learning, you look at them and see some marvelous things.

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“Did you ever go watch a Disney animated movie with your children and you, as an adult, see one thing in it and they see something else? You know, there’s that animated movie ‘Up,’ where the funny-looking little guy gets the house and they float off in it. If you, as an adult, watch that, you take away something different from what kids do.

“You take ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ It was a written as a religious social parody. Now, you never saw a kid get any of that out of it. But if you study it; I mean, they have college courses that study ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ They study the similitude of it. Well, God did that.

“There are only 33 original plots in all of drama, theatre, literature and arts and every one of them comes out of the Bible. That Book in your lap is the only scientific textbook to explain to you the symbols and the activities on this planet.

“That’s some Book, folks, and I know people don’t have much appreciation for it, but the more you spend time in it and the more you stay with it, the more you realize that all that discussion about, ‘Is it true? Is it really that way?’ just comes from people who really don’t sit and take it in, and take it in, and take it in, and take it in. They read Books about it but they don’t read it.

“There are similitudes about the Second Advent. Malachi 4:2 says, ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.’

“That’s S-U-N, not S-O-N, but when the S-O-N arises, it will be like the S-U-N arising and you can go through the Scripture and you can watch the sun. God back and read Psalm 19 about the sun.

“Stars in the Bible are pictures of angels. Read Psalm 19 thinking that when you read about the stars and the heavenly bodies, and the thing it says about the sun, and think about that in the context of a similitude about the Second Advent. All of a sudden Psalm 19 takes on a whole different picture for you.”