Israel And The Mountain Of Darkness

This is the first of a three-part series of journals on the three prophetic voices Israel heard during Her history - Moses at Sinai, Samuel during the days of the Judges and John the Baptist the forerunner of Messiah. This journal deals with the prophetic voice of God at Mount Sinai and how He wanted to deal with Israel in grace, not law. What happened to Israel at Sinai foreshadows a serious problem in the church. God wanted to deal directly with the people of the nation but they elected to have Moses become their mediator and accept God's Law instead of His grace. If the church of the last days is to see the fulfillment of her destiny for this hour we must know God intimately ourselves - not through the experiences, anointing and testimonies of someone else's ministry or church. In the end, no one will be there standing before God but US! We must KNOW HIM for ourselves!

By Chris McDonald

Text: Exodus 19:7-9 - And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. [8] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. [9] And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. 

Exodus 20:18-23  - And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. [19] And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. [20] And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. [21] And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.  And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

          The prophetic word of the Lord is vital for the church of these last days to know God. While we never cease to want to read and study the written word of God, it is the PROPHETIC, or revelatory word of the Lord that gives life to His written word. Israel missed her Messiah because she became so engulfed in the "LETTER" of Law Of Moses, she missed the LIFE of a personal relationship with God that would have changed the course of events in her future history.

John 1:16-19  -And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. [17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
 

        Israel fell into Egyptian slavery following the era of the patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Jacob's son, Joseph, as a result of God's providence and care during a horrible time in his own life, became a great ruler over Egypt and brought Jacob and his other 12 sons down to Goshen. As the tribes grew, another Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph and place the Jewish race under severe persecution and servitude. During this time, the Lord sent a deliverer named Moses. Moses spent 40 years under the tutelage of Pharaoh as a result of divine intervention and deliverance during the days when the innocent slaughter of Jewish first-born males took place at the time of Moses' birth. God did more than just pull a Baby from the bulrushes - He saved a nation.

        Israel was a nation God strictly wanted to bring to HIMSELF. He didn't choose any other nation but this. That's powerful! Israel was a nation whom He had chosen to be HIS OWN a  "special treasure" to carry His Word to the nations of the world and a nation through whom the World's redeemer would come - the Lord Jesus.

Exodus 19:8 - And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

             After 430 years of hard bondage and slavery, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders - culminating in the supernatural slaughter by a death angel sent by God to kill every firstborn baby in Egypt including the son of Pharaoh. On the night of this solemn act of God, the Lord gave instructions to the children of Israel to kill a lamb and place the blood of the lamb on their doorposts to protect them from the horror that would envelop Egypt. Anyone who was not protected behind the doors sprinkled with blood was subject to the death angels march through the night.

        It was on this night that the Lord  brought Israel out of Egypt through BLOOD. I t is through the BLOOD He brings us out today. My oh my. When I see the Blood, I will PASS OVER YOU! Judgment is coming all will be there, who have rejected, who have refused, oh, sinner hasten, haste to His call, THEN HE WILL PASS HE WILL PASS OVER YOU! When I see the Blood, When I see the Blood, When I see the Blood, I will pass, I will pass over you! I feel the anointing of the Holy Ghost!

        God's purpose for delivering the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage was to bring them to HIMSELF so that He might dwell among them. God was not seeking a time to "visit" Israel, He was looking for HABITATION! There is a big difference.

Exodus 29:46  - And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.

        God desires a dwelling place, which the apostle Peter would call a "spiritual house" in the New Covenant. We are living building blocks of this abode in which God Himself desires to abide.

1 Peter 2:4-5  - To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
 

Exod 19:1 - In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain

The Third Day

        After Israel left Egypt the Lord brought them to Mt. Sinai to worship Him and to reveal to them His GLORY. Two days would stand between deliverance and a crossroads in Israel's history which she would make a choice that would alter her destiny even to this day. God told Moses that in three days He would come down upon Mt. Sinai in the sight of the people. For this reason they were to sanctify themselves before Him:

Exodus 19:10-13  - And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, [11] And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. [12] And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever touches the mount shall be surely put to death: [13] There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.



        They were to prepare themselves because on the third day, the Lord would come down upon Mt. Sinai in the sight of all the people. For God to come in the sight of all the people was for Him to come in His glory!  They had seen His miracles, His signs and wonders and loved their benefit, but would His glory be the same? Was it going to be possible for Israel to be comfortable in the atmosphere of miracles and yet still be unprepared for the revelation of God's GLORY on Sinai? Two days stood between the people of Israel and the glory of God. Suddenly a dark cloud descended out of nowhere. The sight of it alone was terrifying enough, yet preceding its appearance was a very loud sounding of a trumpet. Louder and louder it blew. As the cloud descended on the mountain, out of it came brilliant flashes of light and roaring thunders. The constant thunderings were different from anything the people had ever heard. They were accompanied by lightning flashes so bright that the sun seemed to darken from their intensity. The children shook with fear. Moses himself  shook and trembled.

Hebrews 12:20-21  - (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: [21] And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

        Despite this fear, Moses assumed his role as leader:

Exodus 19:17-19  - And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. [18] And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. [19] And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.


        The One who came down upon that mountain was the One who created the universe. The One who put the stars in their places with His fingers. The One who through knowledge and wisdom laid the foundations of the Earth. God's glory was being revealed to the nation for the first time. You say, well wasn't His miracles and signs He did in Egypt His glory? Not even close. They were part of His provision, but what all of Israel beheld on this third day was what made God, GOD!

        The Hebrew word for glory is kabowd. It is defined in Strong's dictionary as "something weighty, but only figuratively in a good sense." Its definition speaks of honor, splendor, abundance and honor. When Moses would ask God later to "show me Your glory," God responded not with brilliant flashes of lightning but proclaiming, "MY GOODNESS WILL pass before you." Oh, Glory to God. Can't you feel that. The Glory of God is the radiance of His goodness and GRACE. The Hebrew word for "goodness" is tuwb, which means "nothing is withheld." In addition, God added, "I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you."

        Before an earthly king enters the throne room, the herald announces his name. The trumpets blow, then he enters the throne room in all his splendor. The king's greatness is revealed, and in his court there is no mistake about who is king. However, if this monarch were wearing ordinary clothes and walking on a city street of his nation, without any attendants, people might pass by him without realizing his identity. In essence, that was exactly what God did for Moses. He was saying, "I will proclaim My own name and pass by you in ALL MY SPLENDOR."

        The Glory Of God Is Revealed To Us Through Jesus Christ

2 Cor. 4:6  - For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

        Many have claimed to have seen Jesus and saw His face, and that is possible. But believe me, no one has seen Him yet in His full glory. John the Beloved  saw as close of glimpse of His full glory as anyone living today - AND HE FELL AT HIS FEET AS DEAD. Paul said we "see through a glass darkly," and thus, we only are getting "glimpses," "shadows," "peeks," of the WONDERFUL GLORY of our LORD JESUS. The disciples looked into the face of Jesus after He rose from the dead but He did not openly display His glory.

        Jesus appeared to Abraham in the Old Testament by the terebinth trees of Mamre, but not in His glory. Jacob wrestled with God, but not in His glory. Joshuah looked into the face of the Lord before invading Jericho. The Lord appeared to him as a man of war. Joshua did not realize who he was for he asked, "are you for us or our enemies?" The Lord answered him and said He was the Commander of the Lord's host and that Joshua was to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. Many saw Him without realizing His full glory.

        In the New Covenant, Mary Magdalene was the first person to whom Jesus spoke and she thought He was the gardener (John 20:15-16). The disciples ate a fish breakfast with Jesus along the seashore (John 21:9-13) and two disciples walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, "but their eyes were restrained." All of them beheld His face because He didn't openly display His glory. The glory of God is everything that makes God, GOD. All of His characteristics, authority, power and wisdom - literally, the immeasurable weight and magnitude of God. Nothing is HIDDEN or held back. This is the One who came down upon Mt. Sinai on the third day. This is the one who ROSE FROM THE DEAD on the THIRD DAY. This is the glory Israel beheld and made her make an eternal decision she has never came back from today and never will until her Messiah comes once again and reveals Himself to her in the very near future

The Crossroads At Mount Sinai - Law Vs. Grace

        Many of the children of Israel probably thought they were ready for this third morning. They had seen God's delivering power work on their behalf time and time again. Yet they had NEVER seen His revealed glory. Their response was NOT what they, nor Moses, thought it would be:

Exodus 20:18-19  - And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. [19] And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.


        The people trembled and drew back. They did not want to hear God's AUDIBLE VOICE, and they did not desire to stand in His glorious presence. The children of Israel had seen some of the greatest miracles that any generation had witnessed. But yet, when they saw the GLORY OF GOD, they begged Moses, "You go tell us what God says to us and we will hear, but don't let Him speak to us 'face to face lest we die.'"
 

       It was at this moment in Israel's history she signed her death warrant. She chose LAW over GRACE. She wanted God to tell her WHAT TO DO instead of allowing God to DWELL AMONG HER and lead her into a personal and eternal COVENANT that would produce true holiness and character before HIM.  God loved Israel so passionately that He unleashed the most horrific plagues upon the most powerful nation in the universe at the time to free her from slavery in the Egyptian mud pits. God had supernaturally opened the Red Sea and destroyed the pursuing armies of Pharaoh before their very eyes. He had literally brought her out of bondage "on eagles' wings."

Exodus 19:5-6 - And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

        The people were not so very different from our modern church system today. As for salvation, they came out of Egypt, which typifies the new birth experience. As for freedom, they experienced deliverance from their oppressors. In the same respect, "God has FREED US from the power of darkness, and he brought us into the KINGDOM of his dear Son." (Col. 1:13) As for miracles, Israel experienced the BENEFITS of the miracles of God, as have many in today's church. They were also blessed with prosperity and experienced the wealth of the sinner God had laid up for the just: "He also brought them out with silver and gold" (Psalms 105:37).

        The Lord even granted divine healing to the entire nation - "there were none feeble among His tribes" (Psalms 105:37). Moses left Egypt with three million strong, healthy people. Can you imagine a city of three million with no one sick or in the hospital? The Israelites had suffered such hardship and toil for 400 years. Can you imagine the healings and miracles that took place as they ate the Passover Lamb? These people were no strangers to God's saving, delivering, healing, miracle-working power. They celebrated passionately whenever God moved on their behalf. They danced and praised God much as many do today in the church (Exodus 15:1,20). They were without question DRAWN to His miraculous manifestations because they benefited from them but they were SCARED and drew back when His glory was revealed.

        Why were the people so comfortable and even excited in the atmosphere or miracles, yet UNCOMFORTABLE to the point of retreating in the presence of His glory? One simple answer - THEY COULD HIDE THEIR SIN THE ATMOSPHERE OF MIRACLES BUT IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD'S GLORY - ALL WAS REVEALED!

        No one can hide sin in the presence of His glory because His light exposes all things. We as the modern church as under the New Covenant and yet we live as Israel did at the foot of Mt. Sinai - running from the glory but embracing miracles and signs!

John 3:20  - For every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Luke 12:2-3  - For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. [3] Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

        As the people fled from it, Moses encouraged the people to not fear because God had come down to test them - to prove what was in their heart. Yes, God already knew what was in their heart, but He wanted to show Israel how utterly sinful she was without HIM in the light of His glory.

Exodus 20:20-21  - And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. [21] And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

        Moses drew NEAR to the light of God but the people drew away. When this incident would be rehearsed again to the younger generation - the generation that would enter the Promised Land, the horror of Israel's decision was underscored in Moses' address:

Deut. 5:24  - And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he lives. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. [26] For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? [27] Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

        The sight of Mt. Sinai was meant to instill a Godly fear into Israel so she wouldn't sin. Yet she chose what so many choose today to compensate for the fear of God - a written Law on tables of stone that outlined for her "dos and don'ts," which never caused her to fear God - it just kept them in contact with God without having to deal with the condition of their hearts. It kept them in contact with God while keeping darkness and hidden sin buried in the deepest recesses of their soul. And the Law did not produce righteousness in Israel for in 1500 years of walking under the Law of Moses, the nation still wandered aimlessly looking for its way. Sinai was a voice to the nation. Sinai spoke to Israel that GOD WANTED TO DWELL AMONG HER and TALK TO HER DIRECTLY, not through a man. But they wanted Moses to go hear from God and tell them what to do. He wanted intimacy with Israel the same way He desires intimacy with us today. When we're intimate we will not sin against God. Sin results whenever we draw away from Him.

         The Pentecostal world today chases after manifestations hoping these manifestations in themselves will produce intimacy with God in our lives. THEY WONT! The only source of intimacy with God is through the cross of Jesus Christ where sin's debt was paid and the blood was shed and man was once again reunited with his lost lover - THE LORD!  Sinai was more than just a mountain of fire that burned with God's presence. It was Israel's darkest hour in some ways because she has never come back from this decision to have God lay down His LAW  instead of letting Him lead them by His Grace. She wanted to know what to DO instead of wanting to KNOW HIM! Are we any better today? Are we afraid to hear His voice that lays bear the condition of our hearts? Are we concerned if we draw too close, something may be revealed that we want to remain secret? If it is secret, we don't have to confront it, and we don't want to confront what we still enjoy. Do we get God's word from others but withdraw from the mountain of God?

         Israel, along with the rest of fallen humanity, has been trying to "DO" ever since not realizing that the Law of God, as holy and just as it is, could never redeem sinful man from his fallen state.

Romans 7:11-13  - For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. [12] Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. [13] Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Galatians 3:23-29  - But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. [24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. [25] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. [26] For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. [27] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

        Paul declares the Law of God was not evil. It was HOLY, JUST and GOOD. But it brought DEATH to those who lived under it because in a fallen state, NO ONE COULD keep the law. James would say later in his epistle that if one broke even the tiniest part of the law, he had broken the entire law:

James 2:10  - For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
 

        The Law of God was a schoolmaster that was destined to bring humanity to Christ who would FULFILL the LAW and its demands and make it possible that through FAITH, not the works of the LAW we would be justified before God. Giving Israel a Law to live under was NOT God's first intention. His first intention was to DWELL AMONG HER and reveal to her the GLORY He showed her on Sinai so she would walk in His fear and ways as two lovers would do in a relationship. He sought intimacy with her just as God seeks intimacy with us today. Remember this well. God gave Moses two things in the mountain of darkness - a blueprint for a tabernacle and a set of Laws that the people had asked to be placed under to govern their lives. The tabernacle was God's first desire, the law was the people's! He wanted to build a tabernacle so He could "DWELL among His people." The Law was given so sinful man would see how utterly sinful and hopeless he was and how he must depend TOTALLY on an awesomely holy, yet passionately merciful God to save him from his fallen state. It only stated what God already knew - MAN WAS A SINNER! It only stated the transgressions man was already committing. The penalty of breaking the LAW was death!

        Israel accepted the Law without hesitation and with prideful folly later boasted she would be obedient to its demands. However, Israel never caught on then and we have never caught on today that God wants to do more with us than just give us a set of  rules to live by - He wants to DWELL IN INTIMACY WITH US! He wants to love us passionately through His Son Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost! All He asks us to do is LOVE HIM by LOVING THE SON! Glory to God! God knew the utter hopelessness of Israel trying to do what she elected to do - but they CHOSE TO LIVE UNDER THE LAW and neighbor they who LIVE BY THE LAW must DIE BY THE LAW!

Exod 24:3-8 - So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do."

Hebrews 10:26-28  - For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, [27] But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. [28] He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
 

        The person who was under the law and despised it DIED WITHOUT MERCY under two or three witnesses. Israel lived in fear of the penalty of the law for 1500 years. Yet they voluntarily chose to have this burden placed on them instead of embracing the GLORY OF GOD they saw that day on Mt. Sinai. It was a prophetic voice that cried from the mountain to "come into MY PRESENCE."  You see, God knew that without Him dwelling IN HIS PEOPLE, they would NEVER be able to keep His Law. One day, God would fulfill that desire through the New Covenant and the Blood of Christ.  When Israel accepted this system of governing themselves, Moses took blood from burnt offerings and sprinkled it on an altar. It was the blood of the covenant of Law Israel made with God. It brought death as in contrast to the blood of another covenant that would be cut some 3500 years later on Calvary. The blood of this covenant brought LIFE. Israel heard the words of the Lord AND ALL THE JUDGMENTS and still elected this path they chose to embrace the LAW.

 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient." And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words."

        When the Lord spoke through Moses at Sinai, He was prophetically speaking to Israel that her only hope was to be INTIMATE WITH HIM!  The problem with Israel of then is the problem with us today. Man wants a go-between and a set of rules to compensate for a lack of personal contact with God. We hire preachers, song directors and professional worship leaders then ask them to be super spiritual enough to lead us into a place of intimacy and communion with God. Friend, ONLY WE OURSELVES can do that! Our pastor cannot be the Holy Spirit for us. Our song leader cannot really teach us to worship God. Our Sunday school teacher cannot teach us to really love God. There are no formulas for love.

        And when we love God, we will fear Him. His fear will keep us on the path of life. It's not that we become "afraid" of Him like Israel became, our hearts will BURN with passion for Him to the point we'd rather die than sin against Him. His fear will control us, His love will consume us and His grace will enable us to keep His commandments.  It's like the love between two people who are married - it's either there or it isn't. You can't force attraction and the sparks it takes for two people to unite in love no more than you can ignite the sparks it takes for fallen sinful man to reach out to a loving God - ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN DO THAT! It's the love of GOD shed abroad in our HEARTS by the HOLY SPIRIT!

Romans 5:4-8 - And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. [6] For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

        That's the power of the new birth experience. It was while we were still under the burden and condemnation of Sinai that God commended His LOVE - not HIS LAW towards us! Man was sinful LONG before the Law came along. The Law just brought the knowledge of how man wronged God and put a name on man's sin. Man was guilty and condemned before God LONG BEFORE THE LAW! Adam and Eve sinned without  Law. Cain sinned without Law. Wicked Nimrod built an idolatrous tower of Babel which sought to unseat God in heaven before the Mosaic Law was given as well. So it was not the Law that brought on man's nature - it was disobedience and a eternal break of a love-relationship between God and His ultimate jewel of Creation - MAN. When sin entered the world, love turned to fear. Fellowship turned into man's hiding from his Creator. Communion turned into Adam and Eve blaming each other for their own sin. The connection between God and man was forever broken - without the GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST! Praise the Lamb forever. Whew, man, don't you feel that? I feel the unction of the Holy Ghost as I write this.

        It took the GLORY OF GOD that rested on Mount Sinai to be brought into the  HEARTS of the New Covenant believer through the Holy Ghost to rekindle man's love flame for God. When Pentecost came, the very fire of heaven "filled them and they began to speak with tongues as the Spirit of God gave them the utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)  Heaven came down and GLORY filled their souls! We sing the song with those words in it, but that is EXACTLY what happened as a result of the shed blood of Jesus. Man became a fit habitation again for God's GLORY that separated Him from His chosen people at Sinai.

       Paul said we ALL have "sinned and come short of the GLORY of God." What GLORY? The Glory that rested on Sinai that Israel fled from! The Glory that made the mountain shake with the very presence of God. The GLORY that was so great and powerful that even Moses trembled and quaked when he saw it. The same Glory that  when Moses went into the mountain and communed with God for those 40 days he himself came down a glow from its power that blinded the eyes of Israel which in type was a foreshadowing of the blindness that descended upon their hearts for centuries and now milleniums.

Exodus 34:30-35  - And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. [31] And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. [32] And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. [33] And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. [34] But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. [35] And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Go To Your Tents

        Moses was disappointed with Israel's response. He couldn't understand how a nation who had seen so much of the power of God fled from the same God's GLORIOUS presence. Why would they exchange a live audience with a living God for a set of rules written on stone? When Moses asked God about the nation, God basically said, "give them what they want."

Deut. 5:28-30  - And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. [29] O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! [30] Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

        The Lord wanted them to come to His holy mountain to behold Him. He wanted to REVEAL Himself to them, but they lacked what they needed to stay in His presence - HOLY FEAR. It grieved God as well to see this response from His covenant people. In remorse, He told them through Moses, "go back to your tents." THIS WAS ISRAEL'S DARKEST HOUR! That same choice is before the church today!

        The GLORY ON SINAI, which is in type a picture of the Holy Spirit, has been given to us to lead us into a place of intimacy with OUR BRIDEGROOM! I want to say that again. The power of the Holy Spirit was given to the church to point us back to our BRIDEGROOM and burn an intimacy in the church's heart for Jesus.

        We have asked preachers to do our praying for us. We have asked pastors to listen to God for us and tell us what to do and not to do. We have asked preachers to read the Bible and tell us what it says instead of us pursuing a PERSONAL and intimate relationship with Jesus! Paul called the glory that rested on Sinai the ministration of condemnation. Why? Because at Sinai when Israel told God she wanted Him to tell her what to do through His Law they condemned themselves! The mountain could no longer be touched anymore when God was upon it. The glory that God intended to bring man TO HIM now SEPARATED MAN FROM HIM! But yet it was glorious! The fire that rested on Sinai did nothing except cause Israel to flee from the same God who had showed her miraculous signs and wonders unlike any other group of the people on the planet at the time.

        The glory of the New Covenant is so much better but yet we live in a church system  today where we opt out for God's glory for rules and regulations - just as Israel did so long ago. It's almost like we treat the New Covenant as just another law. We seek to bring men under bondage to our own ideas and theologies while the whole purpose of the New Covenant was to place the law of God INSIDE OUR HEARTS and allow us the freedom and liberty to love God without fear! Our Covenant is based upon better promises and a better hope. Paul said it was "even more glorious" than that which caused Moses to put a veil over his face. When we behold the Christ in ALL HIS GLORY- that's when we truly changed for eternity, not just for a service. Moses had to put a veil over his face when he came down from this moment in time - but the glory had already put a veil over Israel's heart. Paul said when they turn to the LORD JESUS it shall be taken away. AND WHEN THE CHURCH GETS ITS FOCUS OFF EVERYTHING ELSE AND RETURNS TO JESUS CHRIST THE VEIL WILL BE TAKEN OFF OUR FACE AS WELL!!!!

2 Cor. 3:8-18  - How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? [9] For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. [10] For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels. [11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious. [12] Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: [13] And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: [14] But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. [15] But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. [16] Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. [17] Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

        A Dark Hour For Israel - A Sad Exchange For The Church

        This was without question Israel's darkest hour. A man's darkest hour is not when he gets into bed with another woman or steals money from his employer. It happens when he refuses the invitation from the Lord to lay aside the desire of the world and come into the King's chamber for fellowship. Had he drawn near, the other never would have happened! A young person's darkest hour is not when he/she gets drunk or stoned, it's when the reject the voice of God to draw near and the popularity of their friends override the popularity and power of an invitation from the KING - our Bridegroom whose heart beats for us so deep and passionately.

        We no longer preach a simple love for  JESUS and HIS CROSS. We offer our people a mixture of law and psychology as the remedy for their ills. If they're sinning, we attempt to deal with their symptoms instead of dealing with the root cause of the problem - a loss of passionate love for God and a lukewarm attitude toward His ways. Sin is the result of a heart that has been wooed away from pure love for  Jesus to a love for something else. Whatever you love the most, that is what will control your life! If we love money more than God, then the temptation to steal will always win out in the realm of our soul. If we love pornography more than Jesus, then the temptation to look at a dirty movie or magazine or masturbate over explicit images in our mind will always win out. If we love our anger more than Jesus, then the temptation to grow bitter and resentful will always win out in the realm of our emotions. THE CHURCH'S METHODS WILL NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF A BURNING HEART OF LOVE FOR JESUS IN ONE'S HEART, MIND AND BODY! The problem is SIN and we can't deal with it through psychology and counseling. It's a heart issue and only the FIRE OF THE HOLY GHOST or the GLORY OF GOD that rested on SINAI can lay bare a person's true condition and quicken them into a burning love for Jesus. 

Whoever Touches The Mount Shall Die

     The church today condemns those who it sees or feels does not measure up to its "standards." Quite honestly, those standards are no different than the standards Israel brought upon herself 3500 years ago. When our church methods don't cure a person's sin - we then place the offending party under the burden of the law - and condemn them from our fellowship and faith. And that was the burden at Sinai - when the people touched the mountain of fire - THEY WERE TO BE STONED!

Exod 19:9-13 - And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. "And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 'Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.'

         When the Mountain was on fire, anyone who "touched" the mountain would be put to death.  Once you exchange grace for law - you DIE! And when you reject the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit you are in essence rejecting the GRACE of God and placing yourself under the BOUNDS of a human system or effort which always seeks to carry out the LAW OF GOD without the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.  NO CHURCH, DENOMINATION, or PERSON WANTS TO BE IN THAT PLACE!

         Denominations who fight the Holy Ghost always wind up in legalism! Mark it down. If a church or movement is not teaching its people to love Jesus and depend on the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit to keep them on the path of life, then it has no other alternative but to revert to legalistic means to "keep people in line."  LAW NEVER SAVES and LAW will never keep us saved! The Law was for the lawbreaker and those who with a willing heart refused the covenant of the Lord. No one is justified by the law nor are they granted salvation by their attempts to find favor with God through keeping it. We find favor with God by LOVING THE SON who fulfilled the LAW OF GOD for us so we would be made RIGHTEOUS and HOLY before Him as a result of His shed blood. The Holy Spirit comes as a result of us loving the Son and helps us overcome sin which is disobedience to God's law. It's that simple. Rules and regulations may change behavior, but only the GLORY OF GOD will change hearts!

        The only remedy for sin is the blood of Jesus as a result of His Death, Burial and Resurrection. When the Risen Christ lives in our heart and we love with all our heart, soul and mind, we then partake of that suffering and his exaltation through the power of the Holy Ghost. You can't get a person who is passionately in love with his wife to cheat on her. We try to tell couples on the verge of divorce they need to go through counseling instead of leading them back to an intimate love for Jesus which will in turn produce an intimate love for one another again. And you can't get a person who is passionately in love with Jesus to deliberately sin against Him. That person may fall, stumble, and even lay flat on their face for a season, but there will be something burning deep within one's heart that says' "JESUS means more to me than anything else in this entire world." That's what God wanted from Israel. He did not want them looking into a book of rules and regulations He already knew they could not keep just so they would feel justified before Him. HE WANTED TO POSSESS THEIR MINDS, SOULS and SPIRITS!

Israel Stood Afar Off

Exodus 20:18-23  - And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
 

        When Israel saw the mountain smoking and the power of God's glory - they removed and stood afar off. Moses on the other hand stood near God because he feared God. Any of the others could have been there too, if they had cleanses themselves from the filth of Egypt in the fear of the Lord. Israel believed they could not afford to have their hearts exposed by the light of His glory, so they retreated to a place where they felt safe. God's light would have only healed what it revealed, had they had the hearts to draw near, but they loved their state and did not desire to change. God did not do all the miracles He did in Egypt to have Israel get to this place in their history and draw back. He had a GREAT LOVE AFFAIR planned for them but they rejected the voice of the Lord.

Deut. 5:4-5  - The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, [5] (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to show you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,


        Israel had known God ONLY BY THE MIRACLES He had done in their lives. They may have experienced healed bodies, met needs, financial breakthroughs and a host of other answered petitions. But they refused to go into the mountain burning with fire and learn God's ways. They wanted to let Moses tell them what God was saying and obey Him at a distance.  That is the picture of the modern church. We are pulling away from God in an hour that we should be pursuing Him with everything in us. .

        As Sinai rumbled so long ago, there is a rumbling in the distance friend that says "judgment is coming to planet Earth." We have not even begun to see what is going to happen soon. The 1990s saw revival movements break out in certain places across North America - Brownsville, Smithton and the outpouring of holy laughter in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sure there were elements of these movements that were of man's flesh but a great deal of it was from God. The last 24 months has seen two of those movements wane simply because man removed himself from the intimacy those revivals were producing and we started trying to make the revival into a movement and denomination! When you remove yourself from intimacy with God - you are only left with one of two things - corruption or legalism. Israel brought the judgment of God upon herself when she told Moses - "go speak to God and tell us what He says."  It didn't help Israel keep from missing God's greatest plea to her to dwell with Him and He with her - and it will cause us today to miss out on Him as well! God would speak to her twice again in her history through the prophetic word - Samuel and then John the Baptist prior to Christ.

        He was preparing her heart for her redeemer - CHRIST. But she refused to listen to God on all three occasions and ended up rejecting the one who had come to deliver her not so much from Rome's bondage - but from something more sinister - the bondage of Satan.

        You may say, well that sounds rather melodramatic since nothing like that would happen to us today. But that is exactly what is happening in the church world today and it's a scary trend. We are teaching and preaching on everything under the sun - prophecy, finances, prosperity, prayer, laying on of hands, healing, miracles, how to be a good steward, etc. and those things are vital and important - don't get me wrong. But we are missing something that is more vital than life itself - we are not producing people in our churches who want to be intimate with JESUS!

        Israel stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, saw the glory of God and removed herself from it! We have read about Jesus, preached about Jesus,  talked about Jesus, sang about Jesus, raised our hands to Jesus, laid hands on people in the name of Jesus, passed out tracts in the name of Jesus, and despite all of this many still DO NOT KNOW HIM! When we stand before him at the judgment, He is not going to ask us about our 10-step programs on Bible study - He's going to show us the times He wooed us and tried to draw us into a glorious relationship with Him full of intimacy and love - and yet we removed ourselves and stood afar off! It's the most dangerous part about being Pentecostal I think. So many within our denomination have seen some of the greatest moves and miracles of God that beggars the mind.  Yet instead of these things drawing us closer to Him they have just blinded us to our need FOR MORE OF HIM! We have somehow erroneously thought that because He has sent those miracles and blessings He was pleased with the fact we didn't pursue Him more than we did. Or we had hidden sins in our heart that we refused to repent of. Or we had idols we worshipped more than Him. Or we held hidden anger/unforgiveness and resentment to others while at the same time basking in the "GLORY" of Sinai - yet being afar off and removed from God.

        You say how is that possible? It's very possible. It happened to Israel and it will happen to us if we don't start focusing on HIM and stop our pursuits of these other trivial matters. The beauty of the Lord Jesus is hard for the human mind to comprehend. He can only be comprehended THROUGH THE HOLY GHOST. When a church turns off the Holy Ghost - like it or not - they are turning off JESUS!

Speak With Us, And We Will Hear: But Let Not God Speak With Us, Lest We Die

      As come to the close of this lengthy journal, I want to look at those words a little closer. Just reading these words sends chills up my spine. How could Israel say such after beholding all the miracles and power of God they had witnessed in Egypt? They wanted to live off the miracles without knowing God.

       How many times have we looked to our pastor or another preacher to tell us what God is saying without taking the time to hear from God ourselves? How many times have we looked to a worship leader to come up with a formula to make us magically want to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. We love to use religious activity to cover up a heart that is cold and void of any love for a God that we never talk to. The truth is that we, like Israel, do not want to hear what God is saying to us personally so we try to hang on to the coattails of everyone else's' experience to get us through without personally drawing into the thick darkness where God dwells and allowing His glory to reveal our motives, our sins, our weakness and our darkness.

        I believe that is one reason the prophetic ministry is attacked so much today in the church. We just can't fathom that a God who created us would want to speak to us directly.  And then when we see this ministry gift in operation - we are told by backslidden preachers those things are of Satan and don't exist in these modern times.

        Hear me neighbor. The time is on the horizon soon when we will no longer be able to live on someone else's anointing and ministry. I love Benny Hinn to death. I listen to Brother Ken Copeland every chance I get. I also enjoy the ministry of T.D. Jakes and Jimmy Swaggart. I love these men and these men have shaped a great deal of the beliefs I have today about God. But when I was younger I would sit down every Sunday morning and listen to Rev. Swaggart and take every single word he said as law and began to mimic him as a preacher at a small church I pastored in the late 1980s in North Florida. I was thinking I could hear from God by listening to him and never taking the time to get a word from God myself. THAT'S A FORMULA FOR DISASTER! As much as God has used these men - they are but men - and they are human. As I have gotten older I have realized that Chris McDonald must get intimate with God for myself - nobody else. I'm not advocating a "Lone Ranger" type mentality either. When you get intimate with God, He always leads you to others in the Body who share this same intimacy! Intimacy with God always breeds intimacy with others and a deep love for the fallen human race. It's impossible to love God and not want to be with fellow Christians! It's impossible! But being in fellowship with Christians is different than basing your entire life on the teachings of other men instead of basing your life on the intimacy that Jesus so desires to have with us! We are the BRIDE OF CHRIST and HE IS THE BRIDEGROOM!  This is not the hour to remove ourselves and stand afar off. It's time to draw as close as we can to Him - no matter the costs!

We No Longer Come To The Mountain Burning With Fire

Exodus 24:9-16 -  Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
 

 Hebrews 12:18-29 -  For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, [22] But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, [23] To the general assembly and 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, [24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. [25] See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: .
 

        As I bring this first part of this three-part series to a close I want to discuss what Paul said in Hebrews 12 about Mount Sinai briefly. He said we are no longer coming to a mountain burning with fire with boundaries around it that prohibit us from communing with God. Israel put those boundaries around that mountain by her unbelief. We can do the same today. Paul said they "could not endure what was commanded." Paul likens the walk of the New Covenant believer to a walk that bring us to Mount Zion - an innumerable company of angels; the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven; to God, the Judge of all; to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to JESUS - the mediator of the NEW COVENANT and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. We are no longer under a Covenant of restricted access to God. Jesus has made the way plain for us to have complete and total intimacy with the Father through the blood of His cross!

        God is speaking to us today just as He did to Israel so long ago. The church of this generation is also standing at a crossroads. We can choose Sinai or we can choose Zion. The voice of the Lord is shaking the earth. There is a shaking that is coming. We are seeing small pieces of it in different places but there is a shaking that will shake everything we believe if we are not INTIMATE WITH THE SOURCE of our beliefs - THE LORD JESUS! God is wanting to shake loose everything from off of us that is keeping us from that intimacy! Satan don't really care too much if you know 1800 scriptures by heart or you're wearing a WWJD bracelet to work everyday. That's not what changes hearts. What changes our hearts is a pursuit of God to find HIS HEART and HEAR HIS VOICE that will usher in a kingdom one day "that cannot be moved." We are part of that kingdom if we know JESUS! Paul said, "LET US HAVE GRACE," not LAW. This grace does not come cheap - it was paid for by blood - and it doesn't' give us the right to sin. It gives us the ability to overcome sin and serve God with a reverence and godly fear - NOT BECAUSE WE ARE NOT SURE WHETHER HE LOVES US OR NOT - but because we KNOW HIM SO INTIMATELY THAT WE KNOW AND RECOGNIZE HIS AWESOME POWER AND KNOW THAT IF WE DISOBEY HIM HIS JEALOUS LOVE FOR US BURNS SO DEEP THAT HE WILL DO WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING US BACK TO HIM! Our God is a consuming fire!

        We must HEAR what the Spirit is saying to the Church today and if we are hearing what He is saying - He's saying "come away my fair one, come away my beloved." It's a call to passion in this last hour. It's a call to the burning passionate heart of God. Once we taste it - we won't want ANYTHING this world has to offer! We will be in such love with Jesus NOTHING else will matter to us - in this world or in the world to come!