Matthew 4:1-11 KJV Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. (3) And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (5) Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, (6) And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (7) Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (8) Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (11) Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
These three temptations for Jesus occurred immediately before Jesus would begin ministering and immediately after Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God came down and anointed him in the baptismal waters.
And just as the Jordan marked the Exodus journey's end, where Israel would enter the promised land and set up a kingdom of God in the earth, the three responses from the Word that Jesus gave to the devil's temptations were spoken by Moses just by the Jordan River.
Here are the three references Jesus quoted to the devil when he said IT IS WRITTEN. (1) Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (2) Deuteronomy 6:16 KJV Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. (3) Deuteronomy 6:13 KJV Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Jesus knew what the devil was trying to do.
Satan saw all of this pattern in Adam and Eve at the beginning.
This started up again! BEGINNING John 1:1 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. LIGHT John 1:4-9 KJV In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. SPIRIT ON FACE OF WATERS John 1:29 KJV The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Matthew 3:16 KJV And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: DAY BY DAY John 1:29 KJV The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:35 KJV Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; John 1:43 KJV The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. John 2:1 KJV And the third day ... JESUS IS THE NEW ADAM.
1 Corinthians 15:45 KJV And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:47 KJV The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. And after the beginning, the Spirit moving on waters, the light, the days, -- THERE IS A WEDDING. Just as God took Adam's rib and made woman and the two were married. John 2:1 KJV And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And with every marriage must follow BIRTHING of children. John 3:3 KJV Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:5 KJV Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And in the same chapter about birthing children, we read John the Baptist again speak of Jesus. John 3:26-31 KJV And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. (27) John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. (28) Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. (29) He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. (30) He must increase, but I must decrease. (31) He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. THE BRIDEGROOM JESUS MUST INCREASE.
But we read in 3:3 that Jesus comes from ABOVE, and is not earthly but comes from heaven.
The three temptations were recognized by Jesus enough for Him to quote three scriptures given to Israel just before they entered Canaan.
(1) Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
(2) Deuteronomy 6:16 KJV Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
Psalms 106:14-15 KJV But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. (15) And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
(3) Deuteronomy 6:13 KJV Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. This third one was not referring to something they did in the wilderness, like the complaint for food, and the tempting God for water. This is the context: Deuteronomy 6:10-13 KJV And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, (11) And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; (12) Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (13) Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. They would receive houses they never built and vineyards they never planted. THIS IS LIKE EDEN'S GARDEN. Genesis 2:8-10 KJV And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (9) And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (10) And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. FOOD, WATER and BLESSINGS THEY NEVER PROVIDED FOR THEMSELVES.
AND ALL THREE THINGS ARE MENTIONED BY JESUS IN JOHN 4, after the Beginning, Light, Day by Day, Spirit on the waters, Marriage and birthing. John 4:10 KJV Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. John 4:14 KJV But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Into everlasting life!
JUST LIKE IN LAST BOOK. Revelation 22:1-2 KJV And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (2) In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. WATER SPRINGING UP INTO EVERLASTING LIFE: John 4:31-37 KJV In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. (32) But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. (33) Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? (34) Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (35) Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (36) And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. (37) And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. FOOD UNTO EVERLASTING LIFE. Just like the pattern seen in temptations.
All pointing back and associated with GARDEN OF EDEN AND ADAM. Now the last temptation of Jesus was heaviest.
Matt 4: (8) Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (11) Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. What is interesting is this corresponds to the following part of the EXODUS before Israel entered Canaan. Deuteronomy 32:48-49 KJV And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, (49) Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: Deuteronomy 34:1-4 KJV And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, (2) And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, (3) And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. (4) And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. LIKE GOD TAKING MOSES UP THE MOUNTAIN, TO GIVE THE LAND TO ISRAEL, SATAN TOOK JESUS UPON A MOUNTAIN TO GIVE HIM THE KINGDOMS, .... IF JESUS WOULD BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP HIM. Satan was giving Jesus an ALTERNATIVE EXODUS FINISH.
He acted like God and took Jesus up a mountain to show him the promised land into which His exodus would cause Him to enter.
And God is trying to get a message across to us about WINNING SOULS.
Jesus spoke of the water of the Spirit to the woman at the well. He then heard the disciples ask him if he was hungry.
While the woman had gone to the other Samaritans, and as they were coming towards Him because they sought Him out after hearing the woman testify, He said: John 4:34-35 KJV Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (35) Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. HIS FOOD WAS DOING GOD'S WILL.
THIS IS WHAT THE DEVIL WAS TRYING TO STOP!
In this GARDEN Promised Land kingdom of God, SATAN DOES NOT WANT JESUS TO MULTIPLY.
And that is just the start.
We have bigger fish to fry than just little old planet earth. FRUIT OF LIFE WATER OF LIFE KINGDOM OF LIFE WITH CHILDREN BEING BORN INTO IT The devil's three points of attack in the Exodus. The purpose of the garden of Eden. The pattern of the elements in Jesus' three references "IT IS WRITTEN" is so wonderful!
Many come to church for a feeling or blessing or a local Grand Ol' Opry sing-song...
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