God brought Moses on a journey to the future to witness something incredible ! Yes, time travel ! Follow me on a journey now as we decode the future of the past using the scriptures and the scriptures alone !

God brought Moses on a journey to the future to witness something incredible ! Yes, time travel ! Follow me on a journey now as we decode the future of the past using the scriptures and the scriptures alone !

Previously we discussed how Abraham saw Jesus on the cross at Calvary as the Lamb of God and Abraham rejoiced according to what Jesus said in (John 8:56). God shows the prophets a vision or two or maybe just bring them straight to the future to witness the Glory of God. The important points from the previous discussions are the words, ‘afar off’ & ‘the place’. Abraham saw ‘The Place’ which is Calvary's cross in the distant future, ‘Afar Off’. Now let’s talk about the most bizarre incident in the bible that has got to do with the Prophet Moses who was the greatest prophet that Israel had ever known.

 

Number 12:3 (KJV)

Now the man Moses was very meek (humble), above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

 

Surely he had to be meek to handle almost 3 million people in the middle of the desert. Think about toilet management in the desert and that’s just one aspect of cleanliness. Hence the, so many rules of Moses to manage these people. Just giving you an idea of how things were back in the days of Exodus. Let’s get back on track.

 

Moses goes up to the mountain to hear from God and receives the commandments and upon coming down from the mountain he witnesses the people worshiping the golden calf and he breaks the commandment tablets. Moses then goes back up the mount to meet God, seeking forgiveness and grace for the people. God forgives and gives Moses a new set of commandment tablets, instructions and blessings. The verses below summarizes the aforementioned story.

 

Exodus 24:12

And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

 

Exodus 24:18

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

 

Exodus 31:18

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 

Exodus 32:7

And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

 

 

Exodus 32:19

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

 

Exodus 32:30

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

 

Exodus 33:12

And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

 

Exodus 33:17

And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

 

Moses sought for God’s grace and favor to lead these people whom God brought out of the Land of Egypt to the promised land. God had mercy on them as Moses found grace with God. And Moses said show me your glory !

Something interesting and weird happened in between Exodus 33:18 and Exodus 34:7 ! Let’s read !

 

Exodus 33:18

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

 

Moses says,”Please show me your glory”. The word for glory in Hebrew is ‘כְּבֹדֶֽךָ’ - ‘kevodecha’ which means glory or ‘where your honour dwells’. Let’s keep that in mind. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/kevodecha_3519.htm

Let’s read the rest of the passage and analyse !

 

Exodus 33:18-23

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

 

Exodus 34:1-7

And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 

Alright, before we discuss the details of these verses, let’s understand that Mount Horeb mentioned in Exodus 33:6 is one of many mountains at the Sinai Peninsula. That’s why Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, Mountain of God are mentioned. Let’s not get confused as they refer to the same region of mountains at the Sinai Peninsula.

 

The first thing that made me wonder is when Moses asked God to show His Glory after all the miracles Moses had seen and experienced. God called Moses from within a burning tree which was not consumed by the fire (Exodus 3:2-2), God performed wondrous miracles against the Egyptian Pharoah (Exodus 14:21-29), God led the people out of the Land of Egypt by parting the red sea, God showed them the way by appearing to them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22), Moses saw the finger of God writing the commandments (Exodus 31:18) and still, that was not enough glory ?! If it was me in Moses’ sandals, I would have dropped on my face worshiping God for His glory.

 

The second thing that perplexed me is what God meant by saying, “I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by and I will take away mine hand, and you shalt see my back parts but my face shall not be seen”. Wait a minute. Put Moses behind a rock ? Cover Moses and show the back parts ? Definitely there’s something wrong here, perhaps a Hebrew word study could help us understand what God is trying to say.

 

Back Parts - אָחוֹר - achor - back, of time, hereafter, afterward

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/268.htm

 

Face - וּפָנַ֖י - upanay - face, of time, present, from before

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/ufanai_6440.htm

 

So, when God said I will show you my back parts and not my face, God actually meant to say, I will show the time hereafter and you wouldn’t be able to see the time from before. It has got nothing to do with looking at God’s back parts, I meant the shoulders. Let’s discuss regarding Moses not being able to see God’s face.

 

Exodus 33:20

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

This verse has three distinct meanings;

 

1. Because we sinned, we were cast out of Eden and we were not able to eat of the tree of life and live forever because the sin would have remained in us. That is why a sacrifice was needed to wash away our sins before we could eat of the tree of life. The penalty of sin is death, and so Jesus Christ became sin himself and died on the cross on our behalf and redeemed us to God Almighty. That is why God said Moses can’t see His face. Whose face exactly ?

 

2. Because God wanted to show Moses the time hereafter, the future, so Moses won’t be able to see the present or the time from before.

 

3. Because of what God was going to do. Moses would not be able to handle the sheer power and intensity of God. That is why God covered Moses with His hands (Exodus 33:22).

 

Now let’s expound on point number 3 above.

Exodus 33:21-22

And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock and it shall come to pass, while my glory pass by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.

 

Remember Moses in on Mount Horeb with God (Exodus 33:6) when this was happening. Something else happened on that very mount earlier in Exodus Chapter 17 ! Let’s read an excerpt !

 

Exodus 17:1-6

1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

 

2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?

 

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

 

4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

 

5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

 

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Did you see that ? God said,”I will stand before you upon the rock in Horeb !!

There was no water for the people to drink, the people were murmuring and wanted to stone Moses, even after witnessing the wondrous things God has done for them. God said (actually that’s Jesus too) said,“I will stand before you upon the rock of Horeb”. That’s a shadow of Jesus being the rock, Jesus being the cornerstone that the builders rejected. The rock of Horeb has more significance than you could possibly imagine. That’s a holy place, the rock of Horeb represents our Lord Jesus Christ and our God !

 

2 Samuel 22:32

For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

 

That is why the first time (in Exodus 17), God asked Moses to smite the rock which represents Jesus dying on the cross and water gushed out of the rock which represents Jesus being the giver of the water of life. The second event in (Numbers 20) at a different time and place, when the people did the same thing demanding for water and God asked Moses to speak to the rock for water but Moses smote the rock again in anger towards the people. And because of that, Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because he represented God in a wrong way, in anger. Jesus came to this world as a humble servant to suffer and die for us the first time (as in the first time Moses smote the rock) and the second time Moses was only supposed to speak to the stone because Jesus accomplished His mission and will return as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and every tongue will confess that He is God and as His children, we just have to ask and we shall receive. So, Moses hitting the rock a second time was wrong representation because God had already revealed His secrets to him. As I was studying this part, the Holy Spirit put this in my heart and I’m so glad to be able to share this with you. Now, let’s get back on track.

 

Hebrew word study;

 

The Rock - הַצּוּר֮ - ha-tsur - rock, cliff

(‘tsur’ is rock, ‘ha-tsur’ is The Rock)

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6697.htm

 

Cleft of the rock means a narrow opening in the rock.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cleft

(klɛft ) Word forms: clefts plural. 1. countable noun. A cleft in a rock or in the ground is a narrow opening in it.

 

Back to point No.3 above. God had to cover Moses when He passed by to protect Moses from the original sin and the sheer intensity of the light of God. So, figuratively speaking, when Moses smote the rock of Horeb representing Jesus (Exodus 17), it created a narrow opening for Moses to see through the goodness of God just like how Jesus getting wounded for our transgressions brought us everlasting life and made us worthy to see eternal life and the face of God through his wounds and the cross. God is amazing, He tells His-Story so wonderfully.

 

When we come to God, repenting of our sins, God places us in a "cleft of the rock." Jesus provided this "cleft" when He was beaten, wounded, and crucified. Just as God covered Moses with His hand (verse 22), the blood of Jesus covers all our sins. It is in this "cleft" that we find safety, salvation, and refuge. Amen !

 

The Lord found favor with Moses, and when he asks to see His glory, God passed in front of him. The sheer power and intensity of God's goodness, though, required Moses to be hidden, God placed him in a cleft and covered Moses from the danger until he was able to see the Lord's presence passing by him.

 

For a deeper understanding, you can refer to this link;

The Rock of Horeb Represents Jesus Christ

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-rock-was-christ

 

And notice right after Moses asked God to show His glory, God said,”I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee” (Exodus 33:19). Not some goodness but all goodness to pass before Moses (God reveals all his goodness to those who love Him) and God said He will proclaim the Lord. God proclaim God ?

 

Let us continue reading the scriptures to understand because His Words are alive and His Words will speak to us.

 

Exodus 34:1-8

 

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

 

2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

 

3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

 

4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

 

5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

 

6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

 

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

 

Again we see in verse 3 above, God is very particular with His instructions that no man should be seen throughout the mount because of the sheer intensity of what’s about to happen. The Lord descended and passed by Moses and proclaimed the Lord ? Who did God proclaim ?

We know verses 6 & 7 obviously describing Jesus our Messiah. David quotes this in his psalm.

 

Psalm 86:15

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

 

There is another verse similar to this in the bible;

 

Psalm 110: 1-2

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

 

The Lord speaking to the Lord means God the father speaking to His Son our Messiah and that’s plainly said in the new testament;

 

Mark 16:19

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

 

Another bizarre thing happened. Let’s read !

 

Exodus 34:28-35

 

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

 

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

 

30 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.

 

When Moses came down from the mount, his face shined and the people were afraid of him. They put a veil to cover his face. In Hebrew, the word for ‘shine’ used is ‘קָרַן’ - qawran which means shoot forth rays !

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7160.htm

 

Wait a minute, the first time Moses went up and came down with the tablets and broke it, his face did not shine. Why is this time (the second time he went up) so different ? What is this glory that made his face shine ? Where was Moses taken and what did Moses witness ?

 

Let’s summarize what we know so far before going forward;

 

1. Moses the greatest prophet found grace with God.

2. Moses and the people are at Sinai Peninsula with surrounding mountains.

3. Moses hit the rock for water and God passed by, both at Mount Horeb.

4. Back parts mean future time, face means present time.

5. God covered Moses with the rock and God stood by the rock.

6. The rock of Horeb represents Jesus / God.

7. Moses asked to see ‘The Glory’ meaning ‘where your honour dwells’.

8. God proclaimed God meaning The Father proclaiming The Son !

9. Moses face shined and shot out rays that they had to cover his face.

10. Moses worshipped The Glory !!

 

With all these information in mind, let’s read and understand THE GLORY OF GOD THE ALMIGHTY HEAVENLY FATHER, THE MOST HIGH !!

 

Exodus 24:15-18

 

15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

 

16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

 

17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

 

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and got him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

 

Moses went up into the mount and a cloud covered it for six days and on the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud and the sight of the Glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on top of the mountain and in the eyes of the children of Israel. Moses went into the midst of the cloud and Moses was on the mount 40 days and 40 nights. Now this is Old Testament story !! Let’s bring this home by reading something from the New Testament !! Read carefully with me;

 

Matthew 17:1-6

 

1 And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart,

 

Commentary: Note after six days !! Just as Moses waited for six days before God called him up at the Mount of Horeb !!

 

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

 

Commentary: Again, just like Moses, Jesus’ face shined !!

 

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him.

 

Commentary: I rest my case !!!!!!! And there appeared Moses from the past into the future !!!!!!

4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

 

Commentary: This happened during the feast of sukkoth (tabernacles) which is symbolic to God dwelling with men in the tent !!

 

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

 

Commentary: And, THE LORD PROCLAIMED THE LORD !!!

 

6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

 

Commentary: Just as Moses worshipped ‘The Glory’ (Exodus 34:8) !!!

 

God made all His goodness pass by Moses (Exodus 33:19), God taught all His secrets to Moses (Amos 3:7) !!

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

 

That is why Moses was able to write about Abraham and foreshadow other events in the bible which were hundreds of years in the future !!

 

I would like to present something to you that when God turned his back and covered Moses and said, son let me show you my glory. God brought Moses to the future and Moses stepped out onto a mountain in Israel and stood beside a man called The Lamb before He ever appeared there 1,500 years later. Moses literally stepped out to meet Jesus Christ whom God would proclaim as what was heard through the voice that was heard from the sky in whom God is well pleased and that's how Moses in the wilderness after this experience could tell you that in the mountain of the Lord it shall be seen when he described the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac on Mount Moriah. And we can be a hundred percent sure about this because the scriptures align magnificently. Moses came back with his face glowing the same manner that the Garment of Jesus was glowing and the face of Jesus was shining because when he stepped out into The Glory of God, The Glory of the Father Jesus is the Manifest Glory of The Son called Jesus The Messiah. That is why Jesus said;

 

John 14:9

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

 

In the Precious name of Yahshua. Amen !!

 

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