The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2/The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO/spirit/cleanbst.zip/CLEANBST.TXT

Text File | 1992-10-28 | 27KB | 488 lines

The following is  provided by The Bible Study Center of Irvine,
Kentucky as a thought starter from one of over 2200 in-depth
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**************** THE CLEAN AND UNCLEAN BEAST TYPE ****************

Some people may find it difficult to understand why we are spending
so much time in this book writing about symbols that do not appear
in the book of Revelation. However, after they learn a little more
about Revelation, they will come to realize that since Jesus is the
"WORD" and the entirety of the Bible is about him (Psalms 40:7,
Hebrews 10:7), and the book of Revelation is to "REVEAL" Jesus and
his true spiritual "body", then we need some help from the rest of
the Bible. WE HAVE ALREADY SHOWN THAT THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THE
REVELATION IS THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE "BRIDE OF CHRIST" AND THE
FALSE SYSTEMS WHO PROFESS TO BE THE "BRIDE OF CHRIST". We need to
at least cover a few details to help the reader discern between the
false and the true. In the last chapter we mentioned briefly about
the types of the clean and unclean beasts. There are several beasts
in Revelation, and we need to look more closely at this type if we
are to have a solid Biblical foundation for interpretation.

As we mentioned in the last chapter, the clean beasts were those
that God allowed His people to eat for food, and therefore a type
(primarily) of those pastors (word means a pasture or place of
feeding) WHO GOD SENDS to provide food for His people. Many people
today FOOL themselves by trying to BLIND AND CONVINCE THEMSELVES
THAT THEY DO NOT NEED A TRUE GOD SENT PASTOR. They say "God will
feed me everything that I need". It is SAD that they do not look to
the scriptures to see if that is true, because IT IS NOT. Just
because there are MULTITUDES OF FALSE "PASTORS" AND PREACHERS does
not change the fact that God ordained that His people should be LED
AND FED by one whom He would send them. Stop and think. If it were
not so obvious that God uses such, then the DEVIL would not work so
hard to produce so many FALSE COUNTERFEITS.

Most people will NEVER attend a church where there is a TRUE GOD
SENT pastor because they are not willing to travel far enough to
find such, or else to move to a town where there is one. When such
is the case, it is obvious that they do not have spiritual life,
for if they did, they would be "hungry" enough to GO ANYWHERE THAT
THEY MIGHT BE "FED" SPIRITUALLY.

Stop and think a moment; if you were left out in some desert
region without food for several days, certainly you would take
advantage of any opportunity to be able to get some food.
Let's say you were out searching and didn't think that you had
enough strength to go another step. Then you saw far off in the
distance a place where you could receive food and water.  Surely
you would put forth every effort to reach that place.

You will find that a person who has gone without food or water for
some time might even be willing to drive all the way across a state
to obtain LITERAL food.  But when you begin to go a long distance
to church, people tell you that you're crazy?  Yet, if those same
people were scattered in all different parts of Ohio and the only
place they could get physical food was Dayton, I guarantee you they
would drive to Dayton to get it.  It's sad to see people willing to
put forth great effort for the physical food, and yet unwilling to
really concern themselves with the spiritual needs.  That is the
condition of lost mankind. Lost people are only concerned for the
things of the FLESH and material realm.
What we need more than anything in our spiritual life is to be
able to feed upon the word of God. Hopefully by now you have
studied enough to realize that we "feed" spiritually through the
preached word.  However, even as God provides "food" in this
manner, the devil "counterfeits" TRUE FOOD, and "feeds" UNCLEAN
"FOOD". You can go down to your grocery store and buy physical food
that is not good for you.  Just the same you can go out here in the
"spiritual supermarket" and obtain any kind of spiritual "food" you
want to.  Most of the food available in the spiritual world is
actually poison or poisoned food.  It is food that is being left
laying around to spoil, if we look at the picture in the "type" of
the manna.  Remember, the manna had to be eaten while it was fresh
(Exodus 16:20). SPIRITUAL MANNA that has been allowed to "age" has
been turned into the "traditions and doctrines of MEN".  People are
still saying, "It was good enough for grandpa, so it is good enough
for me;" OR "It was good enough for the old brethren so it is good
enough for me."

Why don't you eat out of that same pot of beans that your grandpa
had left over from dinner years ago?  Why don't you feed on that?
Is it because it is rotten?  Then why are people so satisfied to
eat the same spiritual food that he had to feed on?  Personally, I
would rather have some fresh food (literally), and I would MUCH
rather have the light (SPIRITUAL FOOD) that God has for us today.
Thank God for whatever Grandpa had to eat, but if the Lord can give
us something fresh so we don't have to eat what Grandpa ate, then
thank God for it.

WE MUST learn how to determine what we should be "feeding" on
and what we shouldn't be ""feeding" on (spiritually).  The Lord
gave us an example in the clean and unclean beasts, clean and
unclean fish, and clean and unclean fowl.

Leviticus 11:1 thru 7:
 11:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto
them,
 11:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These [are]
the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that [are]
on the earth.
 11:3  Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, [and]
cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
 11:4  Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew
the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: [as] the camel,
because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is]
unclean unto you.
 11:5  And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth
not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you.
 11:6  And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth
not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you.
 11:7  And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to
you.

This tells us that whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven
footed, "that shall ye eat".  The scripture stresses that it is not
only necessary to part the hoof, but to be "cloven footed". If he
hadn't specified this in this manner, dogs would have been clean
beasts.  Dogs part the hoof in several sections but they are not
cloven footed.

It is not sufficient then (as the type shows us), to have a
partially separated walk.  Now remember, the cloven foot is a foot
which is totally split or separated,  such as a cow, a
sheep, or a goat.  This shows us someone might have a partially
separated walk; a partially separated life; AND STILL NOT BE
SUITABLE TO BE A PASTOR IN THE EYES OF GOD.

When we speak about a separated life, we aren't talking about
never coming into contact with a lost person.  Jesus did that and
he certainly was a "clean beast" (spiritually).  His disciples came
in contact with the lost, and they were clean beasts (spiritually).
When the Bible teaches about a separated walk, it is talking about
a life that is separated from the contamination of the world.

Another qualification is the ability of chewing the cud. All
animals that chew the cud are non-carnivorous. These would picture
creatures that are not devouring creatures (i.e. that feed on meat
or other beasts). God didn't specify an unclean beast as one that
didn't eat certain kinds of animals, but rather one that doesn't
feed on ANY kind of animals, clean or unclean. When the Bible
speaks of people "biting and devouring one another", it is speaking
of those who are not clean beasts.

Chewing the cud is a process of assimulation of the food that
has been eaten. Animals who do so are said to be "ruminative". This
means that they RECHEW the food from their first stomach and
thereby improve the digestive process. It is one thing to "look at"
the word of God and another thing to assimulate it.  An animal that
chews the cud actually brings it back up into its mouth and chews
on it some more.  It provides much more nourishment than if that
wad of "grass" (or whatever) just passed right on through. The food
actually becomes a part of the animal rather than being passed off
as waste.

We are what we eat, and we need to fully DIGEST the word of God so
it becomes a PART OF US. People OFTEN sit under the truth for years
without getting anywhere either because they are lost, or else they
are saved but simply do not know that they need to "chew their
cud".  If we chew the cud (spiritually) the word of God is going to
assimulate.  It is going to become a part of us.

I have seen people who didn't grow even though they ate. The
problem was that as a little child they weren't assimulating their
food.  It was passed out of the system, so it didn't do the child
any good.  Spiritually speaking many people do the same thing.  The
WORD OF GOD never becomes a part of their spiritual "bloodstream"'.

The Bible shows us different ministries, different abilities, and
different works that Christian people are capable of doing.  There
are many Godly people that can work as a camel who cannot work as
an ox.  The ox is also a beast of burden. Paul used the ox to
symbolize the PASTORAL ministry in 1 Corinthians 9, but the ox is
also a clean beast that chews the cud and has a divided hoof. It
would symbolize the HIGHEST CALLING of the work of the ministry.
Whereas someone that had only a partially divided hoof, but still
chewed the cud might be able to work in some other aspect of God's
work.  They couldn't be a TRUE pastor in the sense of fulfilling
the teaching or "FEEDING" position, but they could fulfill the
burden bearing position. Just because you might not be able to be a
pastor, don't think that God can't use you.  It doesn't mean that
you can't help to bear a burden, or carry water.  A camel can hold
lots of water.  A camel can carry a big load. It can go a long ways
bearing its load;  even through desert places.

God gives us another example in the "coney" and the "hare", He said
the coney (and hare) cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof,
"he is unclean". He doesn't have a "separated walk" (in type), but
he sits there with his little cheeks full and chews the cud.

You will find that all over the religious realm today there are
people chewing the cud, but because they don't have a divided walk
God's people cannot feed upon them. Some so called "christians" are
well known for being "Bible Students".  They take the Bible and
they spend a lot of time with it.  In a sense they are chewing the
"cud", but what they've got in their "cud" isn't good food in the
first place.  What they've got inside their "spiritual mouth" is
something that has been contaminated by false religion.

The swine is cloven footed, but he doesn't chew the cud.  One of
the hardest things for people to picture in the Bible is how that a
swine could be a picture of a separated walk (life).  A pig is a
creature that is easy to clean up. He doesn't have enough fur on
him to give you problems getting him clean.  A pig gives us a
picture of the type of person who has an easily separated (cleaned
up) life, but doesn't chew the cud. As a result, they quite easily
go back to the wallow that they come from. Peter used them for that
same kind of symbol.  In 2 Peter 2:22 it shows a picture of those
who having been washed, return back and wallow in the mire of sin
all over again.  So the sow or swine is a pretty good picture
then of this type of person.  They have a separated life and quit
their bad fleshly habits. They're all cleaned up just like a
nicely washed pig, but they don't chew the cud.  They sit there in
church "grunting" and "oinking" about the difficult studies and
longs sermons instead of saying "amen". They use their "nosey"
snouts to poke around in "places" they don't belong, AND IN GENERAL
CAUSE ALL KINDS OF COMMOTION. It usually doesn't take long before
they are back wallowing in the mire again.

Leviticus 11:8:  "Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their
carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you."

Many people do not realize that it is not only WRONG to "feed" on
these false preachers, we should not have anything to do with them
in connection with their FLESHLY (carcase) false ministries. Look
at the type here. Many people look at other people in the
congregation and find the ones who have the least understanding of
truth to pattern their lives after. You should NEVER follow the
FLESHLY example of anyone's life except those who are "CLEAN
BEASTS". If the other person is a child of God who hasn't learned
to "walk" separate from the world and we follow their example, we
will have to suffer chastisement from God as they do. They might
even be chewing the cud; able to carry heavy loads; and have a
PARTIALLY separated walk (as does the camel), but we STILL must
STAY away from the influence of their "carcase". In other words,
don't come in contact with that which defiles or contaminates.
The "dead carcase" does a lot more harm than people realize.

Leviticus 11:9  "These shall ye eat of all that are in the
waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas,
and in the rivers, them shall ye eat."

That means there is something in the (spiritual) "sea" to "feed"
you.  If there wasn't anything in the sea to feed you, then it
would be impossible for a person to get saved in false religion.
That does not give anyone an excuse to STAY in the "sea" upon which
false religion is built. God is calling, "Come out of her my
people" (or "my fish").  He is trying to get all the "fish" that
have (spiritual) scales and fins out of the sea. Though there are
spiritually "edible" fish there, the Bible shows you need an "OX"
for a Pastor, and he can't survive in the "sea".

Salmon are born where the water is clear and flowing clean. That
is where the Salmon lays its eggs. After he is born, he backslides.
He heads out to sea.

God set this all up to portray spiritual lessons.  Romans 1:20
shows us there is a great deal of preaching in the things of nature
if people would just "see" it. Nature shows us that a Salmon has
more sense than most people. Before he dies he tries to get back to
where he started from.  I have seen people who don't have enough
sense to battle the SPIRITUAL "rapids" and the spiritual
"waterfalls" in order to "swim" their way back to the PURE WATERS.
They have found themselves "swept downstream" by the currents of
the "river" of their spiritual life, and they LIVE OUT THEIR DAYS
IN THE "SEA" and are LOST IN THE END.

The "sea" symbol is used in Revelation.  Isaiah 57:20 says that
the wicked are like the troubled sea.  Jude verse 13 speaks of the
lost preachers and their being like waves of the sea; tossed
about with the "winds of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:11-15).

God is saying to the "fish" in the "sea", "COME OUT OF HER MY
PEOPLE". He is saying in effect,"You fish that have scales and fins
out there in the sea water MUST clear out and head for the fresh
water"!  There are those that have life in the sea. This is the
meaning of the scripture in Revelation 8:9. The second TRUMPET
sounds and there are many spiritual "fish" in the "sea" who have
salvation, but they do not move into PRESENT LIGHT, and therefore
they DIE SPIRITUALLY.

There are a lot of enemies in the "sea". For example, one of the
types of fish that doesn't have scales and fins is the shark.  He
has fins but he doesn't have scales.  He is an unclean beast.  A
lot of people go around professing to be Christians but they have a
mouth full of teeth like a shark, spiritually speaking. Talk
about "biting and devouring one another", they will take your head
off in one bite. The "clean" fish can rest in the thought that
there are NO sharks in the clear waters upstream.

The type of fish that have fins are those that are capable of
maneuvering against the tide.  A fish without any fins is going to
have a hard time trying to swim upstream in the rivers to get
out of the sea.  That certainly pictures a lost person.  A lost
person is in the sea without any fins (symbolically speaking).
He can thrash and flop around a whole lot but he can't get very
far.  You will find that those fish without fins and without scales
are most commonly found in muddy water and SLOW MOVING or STILL
water. THEY ARE UNCLEAN!

For example, a cat fish doesn't have scales. You more commonly find
him where the water stinks and is muddy.  Generally, the muddier the
water, the more cat fish you find.  That is the way it is
spiritually.  That is an unclean fish.  We're not saying that you
can't eat cat fish (literally), because God put this law in effect
for the purpose of the spiritual lessons.

The fish that are in the freshest, cleanest, clearest water are
fish like the Rainbow Trout and the Arctic Grayling.  The Grayling
has a high dorsel fin with a multi colored rainbow on it.  He likes
the clearest, cleanest, coolest waters he can find.  This is why
God  uses these types of fish as symbols.  He gives us a picture of
those fish who would have the cleanest of surroundings; the ability
to maneuver well and to "direct their path" because of their fins;
and would also have scales for protection. What precious "pictures"
of spiritual things.

Leviticus 11:
 11:13  And these [are they which] ye shall have in abomination
among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they [are] an
abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey,
 11:14  And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
 11:15  Every raven after his kind;
 11:16  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and
the hawk after his kind,
 11:17  And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great
owl,
 11:18  And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
 11:19  And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the
lapwing, and the bat.

You realize that when he talks about birds or fowl, he is talking
about a creature that is commonly known to  "pick" and devour.  But
not all birds pick and devour.  Some birds sing.  Some birds would
rather sing for you than "pick" at you.  Some birds would rather do
something else useful, like providing food for you (Like eggs or
meat). There are two different types of birds just like there
are two different types of fish and animals.  There is the clean
and there is the unclean.

In verse 14 he mentions the vulture. Most everybody has seen or
heard about the vulture.  The vulture likes to hang around where
people and animals are dying or dead.  Now friend, who wants to
feed (spiritually) on people who hang around with spiritually dead
folks (or dying folks) all the time?  How would you like to feed
from a preacher that just spent all his time fellowshipping with
hypocrites and with lost people.

How would you like to eat a vulture, knowing what he had just
eaten?  How would you like to feed on a preacher that had just been
out eating the dead?  (Spiritually)  We are living in a world
where there are all kinds of books being published for preachers to
give them their sermons. They are worthless because they won't
teach you anything that is truly the WORD OF GOD.  They might teach
you some true historical details or other SURFACE information, but
they don't get into the real MEAT of the word. How would you like
to feed from a preacher that gets his "food" from a book written by
some spiritually dead fellow?  A lot of people are doing that.
Most churches today are serving "vulture" for dinner.

Leviticus 11:19: "And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the
lapwing, and the bat."

The old saying, "Blind as a bat" ought to show us something.  How
would you like to spiritually feed on somebody that is SPIRITUALLY
as "blind" as a bat?  What is that going to do for you?  It will
turn you into one.  How would you like to feed on somebody that
flies like bats, managing quite well in the DARK but HATING the
LIGHT? Jesus said, "men love darkness rather than light because
their deeds are evil".  Bats love darkness rather than light because
their deeds are evil.  They carry diseases, filth, germs, etc.

Verse 14: "And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;"  This
kite mentioned here is from Hebrew word that means a "screecher".
A bird that goes around screeching all the time.  It was some kind
of bird that was going around making these noises to scare its
prey. That is so different from Jesus, who taught on the doctrine
of hell, but he never went around "screeching", or scaring people
into following him. People talk about the need for fire and
brimstone preaching. They don't understand what "brimstone"
symbolizes. Preachers holler "hell fire and damnation" and try to
scare folks so they will wake up, but that is like these kites.
They look down and see a little mouse running along and the kite
starts to screech.  The mouse comes to a sudden halt nearly
paralyzed with fear.  The mouse is scared; he doesn't want to
change his ways; he is just scared.  This same tactic is commonly
used in the false religions that claim to be "Christianity".

Another creature mentioned in verse 13 is the ossifrage. That word
is translated from the Hebrew word which means to "claw in pieces".
What kind of "Christian" goes around tearing people apart?  Is that
one of God's people?  Friend, if there is one thing that God hates
terribly, it is this condition of grouching, griping, murmuring,
complaining, tearing down, and destroying.  God is for the
upbuilding and the edification, but not the destruction of His
people. While it is TRUE that we must TEAR DOWN the false SYSTEMS
that are so spiritually destructive to the children of God, WE
NEVER HAVE A RIGHT TO RAIL ON OR TEAR DOWN ANY HUMAN BEING NO
MATTER HOW WRONG OR HOW LOST THEY ARE. Don't feed on such people!

The ospray means in the Hebrew, "strong in force".   That is
something else God doesn't want HIS preachers to be.  God doesn't
want a preacher to force people to do ANYTHING! He wants people to
be nurtured into living according to the will of God; To be "fed"
so that they grow up to be what God wants them to be. You'll find
that there are some people who can be forced into anything, but
that's NOT God's plan.  God didn't save people to be forced; He
saves people to be "sheep" so they can be led.

The other UNCLEAN birds are either creatures of the dark (owls) or
creatures with the other characteristics we have already mentioned.
Each one has its own peculiar version of character, but they all
fall into these basic catagories. For example, the raven is BLACK
as the darkness of Hell, but he is still basically a "picking and
devouring" bird which is very similar to a vulture in nature.

Leviticus 11:20-21: "All fowls that creep, going upon all four,
shall be an abomination unto you.  Yet these may ye eat of every
flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs
above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth."

He went on to say you can eat the locust, the bald locust, the
beetle, the grasshopper, etc. God said the clean "creeping fowl"
are the kind that have legs above their feet that cause them to
"leap withal upon the earth".  Those kind, even though they are
creeping fowl, still aren't bound in their "walk" to crawling and
creeping along on the earth.  They leap above it.  They don't stay
bound to the earth even when they go crawling along. They break the
pull of gravity every little bit as they "walk".

Flies eat filth and are UNCLEAN.  God doesn't want us to eat
anything that eats filth.  We also can't eat mosquitos because they
feed on blood, and as Genesis 9:4 commands us to not eat of blood
for it is the life of the flesh (Leviticus 17:11-12).  We could go
on and detail many more "creeping fowl" but each conveys a
spiritual lesson to us as to what we should "feed" on and what we
shouldn't feed on (spiritually).

I hope that this short excursion into the area of typology which is
portrayed by living, earthly creatures will be of help to the
reader in understanding better the symbols used in the Book of
Revelation. For example, when we read in Revelation 18 about
"Babylon" being a "cage of every unclean and hateful bird", we
should be able to know how to study the "unclean" birds of the Old
Testament time and therefore to learn what kind of people we can
expect to find in Babylon. We should not be shocked to learn that
there will be MANY like today's TV evangelists who, though they may
never be exposed to such a degree, are still of the same basic
nature. There will be many who are "filthy", and yet profess to be
God called and sent preachers. There will be many who are
"carnivorous" who claim to preach the gospel. There will be many
"vultures and ravens" who are just waiting to "attack" the weak.
There will be many who "blindly fly" about in darkness, using their
demonic spirit "radar" to guide them as they seek for PREY. There
will be many who claim to be "Christian" pastors and preachers who
cannot walk a separated walk and fulfill God's requirements for the
ministry given in 1 Timothy 3. There will be multitudes who will
not take the TIME to "chew the cud" and dig into the deep things of
God in order to provide proper spiritual nourishment for their
congregations.

WE MUST FACE THIS FACT:     SPIRITUAL "BABYLON" (FALSE
CHRISTIANITY) is an UNCLEAN BEAST system which has all of the
following:    A MARK, NUMBER, NAME, AND IMAGE OF THE BEAST.

THE UNCLEAN BEAST "TYPE" IS TO TEACH US THAT REVELATION'S "BEAST"
IS A FALSE SYSTEM PRETENDING TO SPIRITUALLY "FEED" GOD'S PEOPLE.