<TITLE>18. Par 141-148</TITLE>L-141 Now, and going... he was going to change nature, to make it work for them. Watch the pole, watch the serpent, watch the Red Sea, and whatever that He did, now. Look at that shepherd's goad making a way for them to go. That stick that was in the shepherd's hand, bypassed every bit of theology and all the things the priests had said, and that shepherd's rod led them right on down through every impossible thing (to man). When Pharaoh tried to think that "the cataracts erupted up in the mountains and throwed the water, then made it turn it into blood," then God rained fire out of heaven. And He rained hail out of heaven, and He--and He rained lice upon the earth, and everything.

L-142   What did He do? By that shepherd's staff, not a--a textbook. Not a theologian's idea, but a shepherd's staff! We're coming to it in a minute; a shepherd's staff, He did it. Not a--a denominational's prayer book, but a shepherd's staff. Shepherd's rod guiding his sheep, making the way clear as they went towards the promised Word in the land. What a beautiful thing that is today of the shepherd's staff, today, guiding His sheep to the Promised Land; bypassing all theology and everything else of this world, and the things of the world, and the denominations, everything; opening up the way, and proving His Word to be the Truth; the shepherd's staff going ahead.

L-143   And notice, that same shepherd's staff that was guiding the sheep... Do you believe that? He certainly did guide the sheep, he delivered them out of Egypt with that staff in his hand. We could say much more about it. But to hit the highlight, he guided the sheep and sent judgment upon the rejecting of It! The same staff that become a blessing to one, become a curse to the others. The same waters (of Noah's preaching) that saved him, condemned the world. The same staff that led Israel to the promised land, condemned those who refused to follow the prophet-shepherd. That's right, become a stick of judgment.
Nature; notice how God speaks in His nature. If we just had time. I wrote a note there: God speaking in His nature. We haven't time to prove it.

L-144   But proving later, by the brass serpent on the shepherd's sheep-goad (that he wrapped this snake around, in the wilderness), this speaks of true atonement coming for sickness and sin.

L-145 That staff itself had turned into a serpent before Pharaoh, and the same Pharaoh tried to mimic by magicians. And so does the modern Pharaohs of today, and make-believers, carnal impersonators of the Message, try to mimic the same thing without knowing where it's coming from; and throw It into some denominational something, when It's as free from it as the air is from being penned up. Sure! But try to mimic, make a mimic.

L-146 But, notice, this same shepherd's staff eat up the other snakes. Where was them snakes at? They were rods on the floor, and there was only one rod picked up. "Both heavens and earth will pass away," said Jesus, "but My Word shall not." Speaks of true atonement coming for sin.

L-147   Also, Israel's future offered... and there where I spoke of Israel, now in the future... There they were offered deliverance from bondage of death by a prophet-shepherd. They were brought out of bondage by a prophet-shepherd with a staff. See? It was speaking of Israel's future Deliverer, from death and hell, by a Shepherd-prophet that we'll speak of.

L-148 Now, to all that... all as we know Israel, did not receive the prophet-shepherd's Word, all of Israel didn't receive It. Now, notice, they was complaining. "Oh," when he was performing the miracles, "he was a great fellow," but when it come to his Message, "that was different." All great signs follows a new message coming. We know that. In the wilderness they complained, in the wilderness, and died by the thousands. Frankly, there wasn't only two of them that ever went through that was saved out of a two and a half million, two out of two and a half million.


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