The Truly Converted Status of the Israelite People in the Wilderness & the Ideals Theretofore

The Status of the Church before Backsliders

In terms of believing the Gospel that was preached via the Passover – a ceremony that was explicitly named in identification with salvation through Christ (1 Cor. 5:7), a ceremony of blood-redemption that was impossible to experience unless it is done “through faith” (Heb. 11:28) – the people did thereby become the beloved sons and daughters of God (Hos. 11:1).

In terms of believing the Gospel of the Spirit’s Baptist via the Red Sea Crossing – an emersion under water that was explicitly named as a work of salvation through belief (Ps. 106:8-12), an emersion that was assayed by the Egyptians and because of unbelief they drowned (Heb. 11:29), an emersion under water that was cited as an evidence of saving communion with Christ via being baptized by the Spirit (1 Cor. 10:1-2, 12:13), an act of God that was named as salvation and redemption, the people saying: “He is become my salvation” (Ex. 15:1-2, 13) – the people were thereby prepared to gather before God as the Church in the Wilderness (Acts 7:38).

In terms of believing the Gospel of the Imperishable Life of Christ via the Manna which rained from heaven – the eating of the food was explicitly named a spiritual experience with Christ (“spiritual meat” – 1 Cor. 10:3), a food that was in conjunction with the work of the Spirit in their midst (Neh. 9:20), a food that was explicitly named in identification with salvation through Christ (John 6:32-33, 35) – the people did thereby continue in saving communion with the pre-Incarnate Christ.

In terms of the Gospel of the Unfailing Living Waters of Christ via the Water from the Rock – the drinking was explicitly named a spiritual experience with Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), a drinking that was harmonious with the status of salvation (Isa. 48:21, Jer. 2:13, Isa. 41:18, Rev. 21:6), a water that was directly named as a status of the salvation experience through Christ (John 4:10, 13-14) and in the indwelling of the Holy Ghost (John 7:38) – the people did thereby continue in saving communion with the pre-Incarnate Christ.

In terms of spiritually becoming the Church of God through the work of salvation – this was their official title (Acts 7:38) because of their communion with God (Ex. 19:17, Amos 4:12), their spiritual adoption to God (Ex. 6:7-8), their spiritual identity in God (Ex. 19:4-5, 1 Pet. 2:9), and their present-tense standing in the sanctuary of God (Psalm 114:1-7). By all means, therefore, they were saved! This was the explicit term that inspired scripture uses to describe their experience (Ps. 106:8, 10, Jude 1:5), a salvation through belief (Ps. 106:12), a salvation that was an adoption and a redemption (Ex. 15:1-2, 13), a salvation by the presence of God who is called their Savior (Isa. 63:7-14), a salvation as the Bride of Christ in the beauties of holiness and love (Jer. 2:2-3), a salvation where they became the Lord’s portion, people, and inheritance insomuch that there was no strange God among them (Duet. 32:7-14). By all the aforementioned references and more, their saving spiritual relationship with Christ is indisputably proven in that, through Christ, they experienced a continuous spiritual sustenance as a result of their hungering and thirsting after righteousness (1 Cor. 10:3, John 6:35, 1 Cor. 10:4), and notably this was accomplished in relationship with Christ and the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 10:9, 1 Pet. 1:11, Heb. 11:19, Haggai 2:5, Lev. 26:12, Deut. 23:14, Isa. 63:14) insomuch that Christ was said to be among them and “in them” (2 Cor. 6:16). For more information, see: “Israel’s Seed in the Exodus Generation”.

Were all the People of the Exodus Generation Saved?

The answer to this question has everything to do with the doctrine of perfected holiness which is (“perfecting holiness” – 2 Cor. 7:1), in other words, congregational acceptance before God (“I will receive you” – 2 Cor. 6:17-18). Eternally consequential matters of the utmost importance depend upon the perfection of holiness and congregational acceptance (namely, the Departure & Return of the Glory of God to the Church). To be brief, though, permit me to ask the reader what is meant by the words, “all His saints”, “they sat down”, and “every one”, in Deuteronomy 33:2? What is meant by the words, “the holy place”, “Thou hast led captivity captive”, and “received gifts for men”, in Psalm 68:7-19 (see also Heb. 12:21-23)? In conjunction to Psalm 68:7-19, what is meant by the words, “of all”, “through all”, “in you all”, and “every one of us”, in correlation with the phrase, “Wherefore He saith…He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men”, in Ephesians 4:4-12? The answer to these questions will undoubtedly confirm what is meant by the words, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them”, in 2 Corinthians 6:16, in conjunction with the words, “all baptized”, “all eat”, and “all drink”, in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, revealing exactly what God meant when He said that the Exodus Generation went unto God into the Wilderness in “the love of [their] espousals”, being “holiness unto the LORD” and a “wholly right seed”, in Jeremiah 2:1-3 & 21. [For a detailed explanation of these things, see: “In Retrospect from Abraham to the Exodus Generation”.]

The Judgment of the Church in Situations of Backsliding

Who was overthrown amidst the Church of the Wilderness and why?  
How does this correlate with the Church of the Civilization?

Remember, only those with whom God was not well-pleased perished in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:5-6): the lustful (1 Cor. 10:6), the idolaters (1 Cor. 10:7), the fornicators (1 Cor. 10:8), the tempters (1 Cor. 10:9), the murmurers (1 Cor. 10:10), and such like men. The Judgments that “the Glory of God” executed by divine plague to the vanquishing of idolaters (Ex. 32:25-29), complainers (Num. 11:1-3), lustful men (Num. 11:33-35), rebels (Num. 14:26-35), proud men (Num. 16-17), and such like, were the same judgments that were in operation from thenceforth in every generation of Israel that was keeping God’s instituted rules of holiness. In the Wilderness, only those who didn’t continue to savingly believe in God suffered death at the judgment of God (1 Cor. 10:5, Jude 1:5, Hebrews 4:1 [see the wider context in Hebrews 3:7-4:11])! Even so, approaching the prospect of inheriting the Promised Land so as to become the Church in the Civilization, only those who were not perfect (seeking and serving God with wholeness of heart) were to be slain (they were forbidden inheritance in the Promised Land: Num. 32:12, 14:24, Deut. 1:36, Heb. 4:1, Prov. 2:21, Deut. 4:1-10, Num. 15:22-31). Hereby, the doctrine of inheriting and inhabiting the Promised Land unfolds! Hereby, the Church transitioned from the Wilderness to the Civilization. Can you believe it, my reader? Every of-age individual in the Church of the Promised Land must be righteous and holy (Prov. 5:21, 19:16)! Even so, Solomon told the story of Church Purity: namely the vanquishing of unlawful sex-offenders, thieves, covetous persons, those who didn’t love God, those who didn’t love the Brethren, those who didn’t bridle the tongue (Theme 2, Ch. 7), and more. Every Household in this Holy Land needed to be HOLY, my reader (Prov. 12:7, 14:11, 15:25, 27, 21:12)! Therefore, through the aforementioned course of the Church and God’s dealing with backsliders, what should we expect of the transition of the Church from the Wilderness to the Civilization? Through the aforementioned events the doctrine of inheriting/inhabiting the Promised Land became manifest, so should we be surprised about the following elaborations provided to the doctrine? It is the same Church but in different locations, hence the rules of holiness are harmonious. [For more information on the judgment of the Church, see: “2-Stage, Populous Distinct, Chronology of Judgment”.]

The Church of the Civilization

What was the status of the entire population of the Land by Doctrinal Rule? According to Doctrinal Rule, the people who populated The Land of Israel & Judah were exclusively: “the upright”, “the perfect” (Prov. 2:21), those who put their “trust” in the LORD (Isa. 57:13), “the faithful”, “he that walketh in a perfect way” (Ps. 101:4-8), and those who were “clean” (Isa. 52:11). The people who were eradicated from the Land of Israel & Judah via the Death Penalty were: false prophets (Ezek. 13:9), rebellious Israelites (Hos. 9:3), “the wicked” (Nah. 1:5, Ps. 101:8), “the transgressors” (Prov. 2:22), “the rebels” (Ezek. 20:38-40), unconverted and forbidden “strangers” (Hos. 7:8-9, Isa. 1:7), “a froward heart”, “whoso privily slandereth his neighbor”, “him that hath an high look and a proud heart”, “he that worketh deceit”, “he that telleth lies”, “wicked doers” (Ps. 101:4-8), “the uncircumcised”, and “the unclean” (Isa. 52:1). The same rich and peculiar identity of the people is demonstrated a-new in each of the aforementioned titles or places of the Promised Land.

What was the status of the entire population of the Kingdom by Doctrinal Rule? From a different angle of emphasis, the identity of the Church in the Old Testament is revealed by the term, The Kingdom of God, which was in fact The Land of Israel & Judah, and, as you will soon see, the people who dwelt therein were exclusive from the very beginning according to Doctrinal Rule. The Land of Israel & Judah became a settlement of the Israelite people BECAUSE God was KING: of a people, a territory, by Law, through Government, by war through battles in which God commanded and fought! The commissioning of the battle by the KING reveals the exclusivity of the Church in The Kingdom of God: “thou shalt save alive NOTHING that breatheth: but thou shalt UTTERLY destroy them”, “thou shalt consume ALL the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have NO PITY upon them… (Deut. 20:16-17, 7:16). In other words, God was saying that the native inhabitants of the Promised Land were exceedingly great sinners (Lev. 18:24-30, 20:22-27, Deut. 9:1-5), and because the Promised Land had been chosen by the KING as His Dominion, the Church, sinners had to be eradicated from the domain. There were no sinners allowed in the Church – in the places or among the people where the Church gathered before God – according to the Dominion of the KING. If Israel allowed the native inhabitants to live and, thus, they were allowed to settle within the Promised Land at the same time as the conquering Israelites, the result was a mixture of saints and sinners in the Church --- a thing which God forbade at the pain of death! The KING said, “it will surely be a snare unto [the Church]” (Ex. 23:33, 34:12, Deut. 7:16, 25, 12:30, Num. 33:55, Judges 2:3). To be “snared” meant that they would eventually “perish” on account of this inordinate mixture (Josh. 23:13, Deut. 7:4, 20:18, Ex. 23:33, Deut. 7:26). The settlement of the Israelites in the Land of Israel and Judah was, in fact, the settlement of the Church; and because this settlement would be accomplished by war to the establishment of a Kingdom, Church Purity was demanded in the language of war (Ex. 23:23-24, 31-33, Ex. 34:11-17, Num. 33:51-56, Deut. 7:1-6, 16-21, 25-26, Deut. 12:1-4, 29-32, Deut. 18:9-14, 20:16-18, Josh. 23:1-16). Even so, on the contrary, Church Impurity was expressed in the following words and the like: “Judah…could not drive out” (Judges 1:19, 21, 27-28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34). God’s warnings proved true and, indeed, the remnant of sinners who mixed in the Church did utterly destroy the Church, according to scriptures (Judges 2:1-15). Therefore this people, the Church, must be sanctified, holy, and sinner-free… or else God would forsake them (Josh. 7:11-13). All sinners, Canaanite Sinners or Israelite-turned-Canaanite Sinners must be killed and thereby expelled from the Church, The Kingdom of God (Deut. 13:8-9, 11, Deut. 13:5, 17:7, 12, 1 Cor. 5:13, Deut. 18:10, 13, 2 Cor. 6:17, 7:1, Deut. 29:18, Heb. 12:15, Hos. 7:2, 4, 7-10, 1 Cor. 5:2, 6-7, Ps. 106:34-39). The unholy and sinful chaos which ruled within once-born mankind worldwide – it was unwelcome in Israel. The passions and persons of hell were given their boundary point---stopping at the borders of Israelite settlements which encompassed the entirety of the Promised Land (Isa. 26:1-2, 60:18-19). My reader, Israel was sanctified to God as a “peculiar” and “separated” people (Ex. 19:5, Deut. 14:2, Lev. 20:24-25) above all other peoples on the face of the earth! Like the crest of earth was appointed by God and fixed with immovable fortitude before the whelming and untamable sea, the borders of Israel were appointed to withstand the untamable chaos of depravity that it would pass no further (Zech. 2:5, Isa. 4:5, 60:18-19, Psalm 48). As God “gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth” (Prov. 8:29), even so, likewise, God gave sin and sinners His decree that they should not pass into the camps, settlements, cities, or Lands of Israel – when He appointed the foundations of The Kingdom of God amidst the people of Israel (Isa. 26:1-2, 60:18-19). That which was expelled without would die if it was found within. Therefore if, in an overarching sense, the Church was known to be holiness unto the LORD according to the rules of the location, The Land of Israel & Judah, and by the rules which were consistent with the title, The Kingdom of God, then surely the more specified regions within these wider areas are holiness unto the LORD in like manner of exclusivity!

What was the status of the entire population of the City of Jerusalem according to Doctrinal Rule? Even so, narrowing our focus of study, the Empire City of the Kingdom of God - The City of Jerusalem - was known by Doctrinal Rule in Old Testament Israel as: “the City of our God”, “the City of the Great King”, and “the City of the LORD of hosts” (Ps. 48:1, 2, 8)! And because the Presence of God was valuable to the people of Israel and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people determined to “cut off all the wicked doers from the City of the LORD” (Ps. 101:8) so as to secure the presence of God (Ps. 101:2). With all scripture heretofore considered, applied, and fulfilled, the inhabitants of The City of Jerusalem were not “the wicked doers” (Ps. 101:8), “the adversary”, or “the enemy” (Lam. 4:12). By no means! On the contrary, every citizen was a saint, every sinner they did morally hate (Deut. 23:1-8, Num. 15:30-31), and judgment was the filter of the populous who passed through the Gates (Isa. 26:8, Ps. 48:11, Zech. 8:16-19)! This City was a place in which “the heathen” would NOT come except in the case when the unholy sons of Adam broke through the boundaries which God had ordained by Law that none should trespass (Ps. 79:1, Isa. 26:1-2, 60:18-19). The walls and Gates of this City were not meant as mere barricades of defense in times of war, oh no! They were meant to be of old what they will invincibly and everlastingly become in the Consummation: The Walls and Gates of Salvation (Isa. 26:1-2, 60:18-19, Rev. 21:22-22:5, Rev. 22:11-15)!

What was the status of the entire population of Mount Zion by Doctrinal Rule? Finally, and with all things considered, what exclusivity of Doctrinal Rule shall we expect existed in what was known in the Old Testament as, Mount Zion? Mount Zion was called the Mountain that God “loved” (Ps. 78:68), and what was so lovable about it? According to the Doctrinal Rules exhaustively covered in the Chapter, the inhabitants and visitors of Mount Zion were exclusively: speaking in the present tense of that time, “He that putteth his trust in [the LORD]” (Isa. 57:13), he that has “clean hands” and a “pure heart” who has not “lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sword deceitfully” (Ps. 23:4), He that “walketh uprightly” and “worketh righteousness” (Ps. 15:2), that “speaketh truth in his heart” and “backbiteth not with his tongue” (Ps. 15:2-3), He that does not do “evil to his neighbour” (Ps. 15:3), He who hates “a vile person” and “honoureth them that fear the LORD” (Ps. 15:4), “He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not” (Ps. 15:4), “He that putteth not out his money to usury nor taketh reward against the innocent” (Ps. 15:5), even these people, and none other, did “receive the blessing from the LORD” which was “righteousness from the God” (Ps. 24:5), which was, furthermore, the privilege to circuit Mount Zion and especially appear before God Almighty! Therefore was Zion remembered by God to be, metaphorically speaking, pure silver and un-mixed wine (Isa. 1:22). This means that The City of Jerusalem and Mount Zion was a “faithful City” which was “full of judgment” so that “righteousness lodged in it” (Isa. 1:21), before the silver became dross and the wine was mixed with water (Isa. 1:22), and after Mount Zion was defiled, God said: “I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin” (Isa. 1:25-26). This metaphorical purging and taking away was, in other words, the destruction of “the transgressors”, “the sinners”, and “they that forsake the LORD” (Isa. 1:27-28). Naming names, we know who the people of the Church at Old Testament Mount Zion were.

What was the status of every Assembly and Congregation within the aforementioned places of the Civilization? In reference to the Assemblies of the Church in the Old Testament, this meant: every individual’s name who attended the assembly was written in the Book of Life; and, this being the case, this population of people were identified as “the upright” and “the saints” (Ps. 89:7) who were assembled in separation from “the mockers” (Jer. 15:17); and to be in separation from “the mockers” meant, in principle, the assembly was exclusive to “holy” and “clean” people and, therefore, “profane” and “unclean” people were excluded (Ezek. 44:23-24). In reference to the Congregations of the Church in the Old Testament, this meant: they were “the congregation[s] of God” (Neh. 13:1-3) that were bound by one supreme “ordinance” (Deut. 33:4-5, Num. 15:15) which necessitated that every individual in the congregation was holy (Num. 16:3, Lev. 19:2), “righteous” (Ps. 1:5), saintly (Ps. 89:5, 149:1), and belonging to God (Ps. 68:10, 74:2); hence, this congregated people was separated from all the accursed things and people who brought contempt upon the congregation (Josh. 7:13, Ezra 10:11-14). Therefore, all those whom God spoke of and named in various ways throughout scripture, saying, for example, “A…shall not enter into the congregation” (Deut. 23:1-8), were expelled – and this list of names included: “the adversary”, “the heathen” (Lam. 1:10), “the ungodly”, “sinners” (Ps. 1:5, Num. 15:30-31), “evil doers” (Ps. 26:5), “the dead” (Prov. 21:16), “vain persons”, “dissemblers”, and “the wicked” (Ps. 26:4-8, 12).