Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

Christ is the fulfilment of the Type of the Passover Lamb. 1Corinthians 5:7: “Christ OUR PASSOVER LAMB is sacrificed for us.” There were 2 provisions through the Passover Lamb: (1) the BLOOD of the Lamb purchased their forgiveness for sin and deliverance from judgment, (2) eating the FLESH of the Lamb gave them strength and HEALING for their journey. Psalm 105:37: “He brought them forth (in the Exodus) with silver and gold, and there was NOT ONE FEEBLE (sick) in their tribes.” The Passover Lamb contained HEALING as well as forgiveness. The BODY of the Passover Lamb provided HEALTH and STRENGTH for their journey. EATING the Lamb is a picture of us RECEIVING our HEALING and strength for the journey of life, through faith in Christ and His Atoning Sacrifice. So if HEALING is in the Type (the Picture of Christ) how much more must HEALING be in the fulfillment (Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross as our Passover Lamb). Therefore, there is Healing in the Atonement of Jesus.

In Numbers 21 the Israelites sinned and as a result fiery (poisonous) serpents bit them, resulting in death. These SERPENTS are a picture of SIN, which contains POISON, that produces SICKNESS unto DEATH. When the people repented and asked for salvation from these serpents and their poison, God revealed His REMEDY for sin and sickness by giving a wonderful picture of the Atonement of Christ. "The Lord said to Moses: “Make a fiery SERPENT and set it on a POLE; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he LOOKS at it, shall LIVE” (Numbers 21:8). God was saying the remedy for both sin and sickness, is represented by a BRONZE SERPENT lifted up on a POLE, a picture of CHRIST on the CROSS, as Jesus pointed out in John 3:14-17. He said that what the Bronze Serpent did for Israel, He would do for the whole world through His death on the Cross. So, Jesus being lifted up on the Cross is the fulfilment of the type of the Bronze Serpent. Thus He must have taken both our sins and our sickness on the Cross, for if healing was provided in the Type (the picture of the Atonement), how much more must healing be provided in the fulfilment (the Atonement itself). When Jesus was lifted up on the Cross, He did not just take our SIN, but He also took our CURSE (sickness), so that when we look to Him in faith we can receive forgiveness, eternal life and HEALING.

When they looked upon the FIERY Serpent, they saw a representation of Jesus taking our SIN with its POISON, and its effects (the curse of sickness and death) on Himself, when He was lifted up on the Cross. Thus God's remedy for our both sin and sickness is the Atonement of Christ. When Christ was lifted up on the Cross, He become both sin and curse for us, so we could be forgiven and receive the blessing of life and health (2 Cor 5:21, Galatians 3:13-14). This Serpent was BRONZE, because this metal represents JUDGMENT. So this BRONZE SERPENT represents SIN that has been JUDGED. So the FIERY BRONZE SERPENT on the Pole is a picture of our sin and its curse (sickness) being put upon Jesus on the Cross, and JUDGED (defeated) upon Jesus. Jesus received the judgment for our sin in our place, so we could be set free from the serpent and its poison (sin) and its effects (the curse of sickness). So the serpent of sin and the effects of its poison (sickness) has been taken by Jesus and judged upon Him once and for all.

When they LOOKED upon the Bronze Serpent, they saw their sin and sickness judged (bronzed), and RECEIVED it for themselves, and so they LIVED (received forgiveness, healing and life) - they were delivered from the power of the serpent of sin. Likewise, all who LOOK on Jesus, seeing Him take all their sin and sickness on the Cross, and seeing that it was all judged on Him, will receive His forgiveness and LIFE (healing), which flows from the Cross in His grace. As a result they LIVE. The Spirit of Life flows from the Father through the Son (and His Death on the Cross), so that all those who look to God and see His Spirit flowing to them through the work of Christ on the Cross, can receive His Spirit of life into themselves, imparting eternal life to their spirits, abundant life to their souls, and healing to their bodies (John 10:10).

God wanted them all to be forgiven and healed, so He provided a salvation for them all, but they had to receive it by looking on the Bronze Serpent in faith. Likewise, God wants us all to be forgiven and healed, so He has provided Salvation for us all through the Atonement of Christ, but we have to receive it by looking in faith to Christ and His finished work on the Cross. Thus, both forgiveness from sin and healing from sickness are freely available to us all by God's grace, received by trusting in Christ and His atoning death for us on the Cross. If healing was provided from the serpent's poison in this Type of Salvation, how much more must healing be provided in its fulfilment in Christ, when He was lifted up on the Cross for us all!

The Jubilee is the type of the Gospel. The Gospel is the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee. The whole basis of Jesus’ ministry (including His healing ministry) was the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee, which speaks of the blessings of grace released on the basis of the Atonement. Jesus claimed He made healing available to all because He was the fulfilment of Jubilee, for in the Year of Jubilee every blessing of freedom and restoration was for all, for it was based on the Atonement.

Derek does a study of the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. It was a year of GRACE, on the basis of Atonement, when they were (1) set free from their debts and slavery – a Year of Liberty, and they could (2) return to and reclaim their inheritance, lost through sin. Jubilee means 'trumpet blast' signifying the proclamation to all, that it’s now the Acceptable Year of the Lord, your debts (sins) are forgiven, you are set free from slavery and can reclaim your lost possessions. It was GOOD NEWS to the POOR (the Gospel). All who heard and believed the Jubilee Trumpet could claim their forgiveness and freedom and could return to reclaim their lost inheritance.

These Jubilee blessings were released on the Day of Atonement, signifying they were released on the basis of the Atonement. The Day of Atonement is one of the greatest pictures of the Atoning Sacrifice of Christ - the basis of all our Jubilee blessings in Christ. God uses the Jubilee to be the Type of the Gospel, which is the proclamation of Jubilee based on the Cross and we are all called blow the Jubilee Trumpet.

Derek shows how Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Day of Atonement and the Jubilee through His Death, Resurrection and Great Commission.

Isaiah 53 is the classic prophecy of the Atonement of the Messiah. Then following Isaiah 53 is Isaiah 61, a prophecy of Messiah proclaiming the Great Jubilee, releasing to all men the blessings purchased in His Atonement - a prophecy of the ultimate fulfilment of Jubilee in our salvation through the Messiah. The blessings of this Great Messianic Jubilee include HEALING for all sick and brokenhearted, the setting at liberty of all those held captive by sickness, the restoration of life, beauty and joy, for all under the heavy burdens of sorrow, sickness and pain.

In Luke 4:18-21, Jesus declared He was fulfilling Isaiah 61, claiming that He was the Messiah, who had come to fulfil this Great Jubilee. Jesus came preaching the Gospel, blowing the Jubilee Trumpet, proclaiming the Year of Jubilee. The Jubilee Gospel of Good News to the poor included HEALING (Isaiah 61, Luke 4:18ff), and it was the basis for Christ's Healing Ministry. Since all the blessings of Jubilee are based on the Atonement, it follows that HEALING must be in the ATONEMENT, purchased by the Blood of Christ and therefore available to us today by grace, for us to receive by faith. Today, it is still the Jubilee (Acceptable) Year of the Lord (2Corinthians 6:2).

The GOSPEL is nothing more or less than the PROCLAMATION of JUBILEE – that all the Jubilee blessings (including HEALING for the soul and body) are now released to us and are freely available for all to receive by faith, because they have been paid for by the ATONEMENT of CHRIST.

The Bible gives us a number of Pictures of Salvation that prove healing is the Atonement. In this teaching we look at the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-15). This is the first of 4 Messianic Miracles, which were specific signs of the Messiah. The others are casting out a dumb spirit, healing of a man born blind, and (4) resurrection after 3 days - the sign of Jonah. The special significance and symbolism of Leprosy in the Bible explains why it was a Messianic Miracle. God uses leprosy to teach us about sin. That’s why it was treated differently from all other sicknesses. Leprosy is a picture of sin (Isaiah 1:18), which is why the Bible only talks about the cleansing of a leper. Derek shares all the ways in which leprosy is a picture of sin. The healing of a leper is a picture of Messiah saving us from sin, for we were all spiritual lepers. Since only Messiah can save us from our sin, it was appropriate that only Messiah can cleanse lepers, which is why it was a Messianic Miracle, so when Jesus healed lepers it was a special sign proving He was the Messiah.

Derek shows how the healing of the leper in Mark 1:40-44 is a picture of how a sinner receives salvation from the Lord, who is full of compassion for us.

2 chapters are devoted to what the priests should do with lepers. Leviticus 13 told them how to diagnose leprosy. Leviticus 14 told them what to do when a leper was healed. While the priests constantly practiced Leviticus 13, they never practiced Leviticus 14, for no leper was ever healed in Israel! They came to conclude that only Messiah will heal lepers. There was a prescribed Ceremony for leprosy that was ordained in the Leviticus 14, that the priests had to fulfil whenever a leper was healed. When Jesus sent the leper to go to the priests to verify his healing and perform the Ceremony, that was a testimony to them that the Messiah was on the scene.

Derek describes this Ceremony which involved 2 BIRDS. It revealed the basis upon which leper was healed (Leviticus 14:1-7). This Ceremony gives us a wonderful picture of the Atonement of Christ. God is declaring that the cleansing and healing of the leper was accomplished through the Atonement. Since leprosy represents both (1) sin and (2) sickness, this Ceremony shows both (1) that we are CLEANSED from SIN, and (2) that we are HEALED from SICKNESS through the ATONEMENT of Christ. This confirms that Healing is in the Atonement. Healing from sickness and cleansing from sin is only possible through Christ's Atonement - that is what the ceremonial Law of the Leper proclaimed.

God dealt with SIN and SICKNESS in the same way, because they are connected together. Likewise, FORGIVENESS and HEALING often go together in the Bible, which is consistent in declaring that Jesus bore our sins and our sicknesses on the Cross (Psalm 103:1-3, Isaiah 53:3-5,10-12, 1Peter 2:24). Sin and sickness belong together, because sickness is part of the curse of sin, so Jesus had to deal with them together. Jesus was (1) made sin with our sinfulness, so that we might be made the righteousness of God, and also (2) He was made sick with our sicknesses, so that we might live in Divine Health. Jesus came to give us a full salvation of abundant and eternal life, so on the Cross He did not just pay for our forgiveness, He also paid for our abundant life (which includes health). He had to overcome our sin, and its curse (sickness), if He was to accomplish a perfect work of Atonement on the Cross (Galatians 3:13-14). Sin and sickness are connected together by their very nature, and so there is no remedy for either sin or sickness except for the Cross. When Jesus said on the Cross: “It is finished!” = “Paid in Full” (John 19:30), He declared that He has paid for our forgiveness and our healing. Both Forgiveness and Healing come to us on the same basis - the Atonement of Christ.

One application of this is that our ability to receive healing depends on how close we walk with the Lord, which requires us receiving His forgiveness and cleansing (James 5:14-16). To understand the dynamics of how this works, Derek explains the difference between Positional or Relationship Truth, which is unconditional, and Experiential or Fellowship Truth, which is conditional, and operates according to the principle of reciprocity. Derek shares examples in the Bible of forgiveness and healing going together (Luke 5:22-25, Mark 5:34, John 5:14). Finally, he shows that there is one sin above all others that will prevent you from receiving from God - unforgiveness (Mark 11:24-26, Matthew 6:12, 18:34-35). Forgive them from the heart (from your will), that is, make it your quality decision to forgive them (Matthew 18:35). Pull all bitterness out of your heart by its roots!

The foundation for our faith to receive our healing is the very same foundation as for receiving our forgiveness – the Atonement of Christ. Because Jesus died for all of our sins, therefore forgiveness is available to all of us. In the same way, Jesus died for all our sicknesses, so healing is available for all of us (Psalm 103:1-3, Isaiah 53:4-6, Matthew 8:16-17, 1Peter 2:24). Jesus took the CURSE of SICKNESS for us on the Cross, so that the BLESSING of HEALING might be released to us in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:13-14). Healing is a covenant benefit that belongs to us in Christ. Knowing that healing is in the Atonement settles the issue of God’s will to heal, and so provides a firm foundation of faith for you to receive your healing, as faith begins when the will of God is known.

One of the greatest proofs that Healing is in the Atonement is in Exodus 15:22-26, when God revealed His Covenant Name, His unchanging nature: Jehovah Rophe (the Lord is our Healer), at the Waters of Marah. Exodus 15 gives one of the great pictures of healing in the Atonement: (1) God reveals WHO He is – He is our Healer, (2) He also reveals HOW He heals us – through a TREE (a picture of the Cross). "Himself bore our SINS in His own body on the TREE - by whose stripes you were HEALED" (1Peter 2:24).

God demonstrated He is our Healer, by healing all of Israel from sickness through a TREE. The bitter waters of Marah represent the bitter waters of humanity because of sin. The waters of the human heart and body have been made bitter (SICK) and need healing. God’s remedy for this sickness was a divinely ordained TREE (a picture of Christ on the Cross), which was cast into the bitter waters (Christ was sent into the waters of humanity), and it made those waters sweet. The TREE soaked up all the bitterness in the waters and released sweetness. Likewise JESUS on the Cross took on Himself all the bitterness (sins and sicknesses) of humanity, and released the sweetness of healing to us. When you receive the atoning work of the Cross by faith into the bitter waters of your heart and body, then your bitterness and sickness is taken away by the Cross, and it releases to you the sweetness of healing.

SEE Jesus and RECEIVE your healing. Receive the TREE (Christ’s atoning work) into the bitter waters of your heart and body. Let Jesus soak up your sickness of soul and body and let Him release His sweet healing power into you. Receive His words, as He says to you: "I am the LORD your HEALER."

Healing (along with forgiveness) is God's will for His people (Psalm 103:3). This is made clear from the fact that healing is in the Atonement. The book of Isaiah is the Mount Everest of Bible Prophecy and Isaiah 53 is the peak - being the greatest prophetic proclamation of the Atonement of Christ, which makes it abundantly clear that physical healing is in the Atonement, as well as forgiveness of sins. Both forgiveness and healing are purchased for us through the Blood of Christ, and made freely available for us to receive by faith. We study Isaiah 53 to demonstrate this truth, as well as its confirmation in the New Testament, when it quotes from Isaiah 53 in reference to healing (Matthew 8:16-17, 1Peter 2:24).

In the same way that Jesus bore all our sins on the Cross, He also bore our sicknesses. He paid the price for us to be both fully forgiven and fully healed. Just as forgiveness has been purchased for us and is now freely offered to us by God on the basis of the Atonement (Blood) of Christ, for us to receive by faith, so likewise, healing has been purchased for us and is now freely offered to us by God through His atoning Blood, for us to receive by faith. Therefore, physical and emotional healing and health is God’s will for all His children. He wants us all to believe that, and to come to Him in faith to receive our forgiveness and healing.

In Nahum 3, God spells out the righteous reasons for His total judgement of Nineveh, including her constant cruelty, harlotry, sorcery, deception, robbery and slavery. We explain her sin of harlotry as leading nations into greater idolatry and worship of false gods, and how it relates to the harlot sitting on the beast in Revelation 17.

God describes His judgement on Assyria in terms of the Babylonian custom of the time of humiliating and disgracing a harlot by uncovering her in public, so that men would no longer be captivated and seduced by her. Likewise, God declared that He would remove His covering of protection over Assyria, so that her apparently strong defences will quickly evaporate before His invading armies, in order that her harlot religion would be exposed to all as corrupt and empty, and all her gods, goddesses, and occultism as powerless before God, so that they would turn from the Assyrian gods and idols, and instead worship and serve the living God.

Nahum's vivid description of his vision of the fall of Nineveh gives a blow by blow account of the sequence of events, including the flood of water, which breached her walls and made her destruction inevitable. We explore the execution of a just war, and why it is right for God to judge evil. We see how the proclamation of Good News that the Divine Warrior has triumphed, resulting in peace for His people (1:15), is a picture of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 52:7), that through His death and resurrection, He has judged and defeated our enemies (sin, satan, and death), so that we can live in peace forever.

Nahum gave detailed description of how Nineveh would be completely destroyed, including the special role of a flood of water and a consuming fire. We see how the historical records and archaeology confirm that Nahum's prophecy was fulfilled exactly.

We also see that one major reason for God's judgement upon Assyria was that her kings set themselves and conspired against the Lord and His people, and that, in this and other ways, Assyria represents the rising satanic end-time world-empire, which the antichrist will ultimately control.