Animals, Colors, Metals, Numbers and Signs in Scripture.

Five – Death

Five Loaves of Bread 

In all four gospels we read of how that the Lord fed the multitude with five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  The Lord had the multitude to sit down in companies of fifty and hundred.  He then took the bread and blessed it and brake it and gave to the disciples who in turn gave to the multitudes.  They all ate of the bread and of the fishes and were filled.  They gathered up the fragments that remained and took up twelve baskets of fragments. 

The Lord performed this great miracle.  By his great miraculous power, he fed five thousand men, and their wives and children of five barley loaves and two small fishes and they all ate until they were full.  A similar miracle happens each time a God called minister preaches the true gospel of Jesus Christ to God's waiting people.  Only the Lord can give spiritual food to satisfy the spiritual hunger of his people.  He must bless the message and open it to our understanding in order for us to feast upon it. 

The five loaves teach us of the type of food that will satisfy the spiritual hungering of God's people.  Bread is a symbol of the body of Christ:

    1.  Mat 26:26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body."

    2.  Mark 14:22 "And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body."

    3.  Luke 22:19 "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

    4.  1 Cor 11:24 "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."

    5.  John 6: 32 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."

Through the pure broken body of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to redeem us from our sin, we have a hope of heaven's glory world.  We feast on the gospel message of salvation through the broken body (bread) of Christ.  Christ's suffering and death for his people was the result of a five-part covenant made by God before the world began: Rom. 8:29, 30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."  The five loaves Jesus fed the people with are typical of this five-part covenant.  It is according to this covenant Jesus came down from heaven and suffered, bled, and died to redeem us from our sin.  Our spiritual inner man feasts upon this covenant work of Christ.  Any so-called gospel that does not conform to the principles of this five-part covenant cannot spiritually feed the children of God.

Five Changes of Raiment

Gen. 45:21 "And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment."

Israel had twelve sons. Eleven of those sons sold Joseph, the next to youngest of the sons, into bondage in Egypt. They also told Jacob that Joseph had been slain. In Egypt, Joseph had risen to be second only to Pharaoh in authority. When a great famine had come upon the land, Jacob sent his eleven sons to Egypt to buy food. Joseph recognizing them as his brothers disguised himself and took them captive, but later revealed himself to his brethren. Afterwards, he sent to bring his father, Jacob, and the families of the brethren to Egypt.
Joseph was a very strong type of Christ. As Christ brought deliverance to the elect family of God, so Joseph brought deliverance to his family. Joseph gave gifts to his brethren, even as Christ gave gifts to his children. Joseph gave a change of raiment to each of his brethren, but he gave five changes of raiment to Benjamin. Benjamin received something that his brethren did not receive. Joseph chose to give Benjamin something more than he gave to his other brethren. Joseph's choice was according to his sovereign will. Similarly, Christ has given deliverance to all the elect family of God. All of the elect family will someday live in heaven's glory world, without the loss of a single one.

Most members of the elect family do not have full understanding of how Christ delivered them from their sins. To a small remnant of His people, Christ has given understanding of the covenant of redemption. They have far greater understanding of how Christ redeemed from their sins. This covenant of redemption, like Benjamin's five changes of raiment, has five parts: Rom. 8:29, 30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." The understanding of this five part covenant and how that through the death of Jesus Christ we have been redeemed has been given to the Lord's church known as Primitive Baptist. Jesus Christ through his sovereignty has chosen to reveal these precious truths to a small portion of His people.

Five Smooth Stones

     In the battle of David verses Goliath, King Saul had tried to place his armor on David, but David laid it aside and gave the excuse that he had not proved it. Instead David took his sling and selected five smooth stones out of the brook to go and do battle against the giant: 1 Sam 17:40 "And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine." Now we know that David only used one of the stones in destroying Goliath. The stone stunned Goliath and David slew the giant with the giants own sword.

Why did David take five stones and only use one stone? What do the five stones represent? Many have asked these questions down through the ages.

There is a parallel between the battle of David and Goliath and the battle between Jesus Christ and Satan. David represented the children of Israel in the battle and Goliath represented the Philistines. Similarly, Jesus represented the elect children of God in his battle against Satan. As David slew Goliath with Goliath's own sword, so Christ slew the works of Satan with the sword of death through which Satan thought he could destroy Christ. That sword was Christ's death on the cross. Satan thought to destroy the works of Christ by the murder of Christ, yet Christ "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Thus, Christ slew Satan with his own sword.

There were five in Goliath's family including Goliath. These five were all enemies of Israel. Goliath had four sons:

2 Sam. 21:16 "And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.  18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants."

It would appear that when David selected five smooth stones, that he expected not only to slay Goliath, but also to slay the sons of Goliath also. Ultimately, they all were destroyed. When Christ destroyed Satan on the cross, he not only slew Satan, but he also destroyed sin, death, hell, and the grave. Thus, he was victorious over all five of our enemies that were against us.

In parallel to the five smooth stones that David had selected to destroy the giant and his four sons, Jesus took the five fundamental principles of the covenant of redemption and destroyed the works of Satan, sin, death, hell, and the grave. Through the covenant work set forth in Rom 8:29, 30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" Jesus brought forth for those he represented the victory over Satan, sin, death, hell, and the grave.

Unlike David who only slew Goliath and his servants slew the offspring of Goliath, Jesus alone slew all five of our enemies.

Five Cubits by Five Cubit Brazen Altar

Ex. 27:1 "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass."

This brazen altar is where the animal sacrifices were most often burned. The blood of the sacrifices was poured out beside the altar. The furniture of the tabernacle included the brazen altar, the washbasin, the candlestick, the table of showbread, the incense altar, the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. The brazen altar was foursquare. When we studies the phrase, foursquare, we noted that it was associated with the covenant of redemption.

Five is associated with death, and the brazen altar is where the bodies of the dead animals that were sacrificed were burned. These animals were all a type of the body of Christ. The fire of the altar was to be burning continuously: Lev. 6:12 "And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."

The brazen altar, five cubits by five cubits, and foursquare, with a continual burning fire and the place where the sacrifice was burned parallels the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ, who suffered the eternal wrathful judgment of God for the sins of the elect, according to the covenant of redemption. This atonement was made at the cross and his blood was poured out beside the cross. While Jesus was on the cross, he had five puncture wounds through his body: the nails through his hands and his feet, and the spear through his side.

When approaching the furniture of the tabernacle, the first piece of furniture you came to is the brazen altar. The utility of the other pieces of furniture were dependant on the sacrifice made at the brazen altar. Likewise, the church (seven golden candlestick), the gospel (table of showbread), the washbasin (place where the priest washed), the golden incense altar (typical of the intercessory work of Christ), and the mercy seat (God's mercy toward us) are all dependant on Christ's sacrificial atonement of which the brazen altar is a figure of.

Satan's Desire

The desire of Satan for power, authority and worship is set forth in Isaiah chapter 14: 12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

The desire of Satan or Lucifer is set forth for us in the form of five "I wills" showing us what Satan is trying to accomplish.

The first is "I will ascend into heaven." This is consistent with the doctrine the serpent set forth in the Garden of Eden when he told the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

Thus, he said to the woman that by an act of the creature the creature could attain to be like God. This is also the doctrine of most of the religious world today. They believe that by an act of will or action that man can attain to eternal life. This is a satanic doctrine and is a lie. The truth is that eternal life is the gift of God and the creature cannot do anything to get it.

The second is "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." This shows forth the desire of Satan to reign over the stars of God. In the scriptures, the "stars" frequently depict God's children. It is Satan's desire to reign as a King over the children of God. In order for Satan to reign over the children of God, he must convince them that he is the true King and that they should obey him in his kingdom. This requires much subtlety and deception.

The third is "I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north." In the scriptures, Mount Zion is known as the "mount of the congregation." We read about the "sides of the north" in Ps. 48: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." The "sides of the north" are therefore, "the city of the great King." The church is known as the "city of God." Satan desires to sit at the top of the kingdom of God and be worshipped by the Lord's church. Again, this can only happen where people are deceived and believe that Satan is God.

The fourth is "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds." In the scriptures, the clouds are associated with the glory of God. It is Satan's desire that he have more glory than God does in that he desires to ascent "above" the heights of the clouds, which depict the glory of God. Again, this is done through subtlety, as God's children would not glorify Satan unless they believed Satan to be God.

The fifth is "I will be like the most High." The obstacle that Satan has in being like the most High is that Satan is a fallen creature and God is the creator. Satan is also an imitator. He uses the mirror image principle to be like the most High.

I will illustrate the mirror image principle by using myself as an example. When I look in the mirror in the morning, I see what at first glance appears to be the almost perfect image of myself. However, the image in the mirror is the closest to being the exact opposite of me. My left ear in the mirror is my right ear. My left eye in the mirror is my right eye. Everything in the mirror is exactly opposite of me.

Satan tries to be the exact opposite of God. God is the God of all truth. Satan is a liar and the father of liars. God is the giver of life. Satan is a murderer from the beginning. God has a bride (His church) that is pure and a virgin. Satan's bride (so-called church) is a harlot and the mother of harlots. God is love but Satan is hate. God is light but Satan is darkness. God is a Spirit, but Satan is a multitude of false spirits.

Using the mirror image approach, Satan tries to be like the most High.