Treasures: Secret Or Dark Sayings

By Keith H Hepworth  Part of web site  biblesecrets.org

A noteworthy example of  secret or "dark sayings" is the following words of Isaiah, which seem to say one thing yet mean quite another: 

                "And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen,
                and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine:
                 let us eat and drink;  for to morrow we shall die" (Isa. 22:13).
 

Most people see only pessimism and failure in this verse, thinking it means there is no chance to be right with God and so we might as well throw in the towel and quit trying.  Actually, this verse is quite optimistic and refers to the Third Principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. It means that a feast should be prepared, that we should kill the fattened calf and eat and drink and be merry, celebrating in joy and gladness because tomorrow we shall be BAPTIZED; that is, tomorrow we will symbolically die, buried in the waters of baptism, which will bring a spiritual rebirth. The verses just before and after confirm this interpretation. The verse before talks about the steps leading up to baptism, which are grieving over our sins, repentance, and humility.  The verse after points out the reason for baptism: "Surely this [your] iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die" (till ye are baptized).  After all, does our literal death purge our iniquities in the eyes of God, or does our repentance and baptism? Our sins are not shed like dirty clothes when we die. If we are filthy WITH SINS when we die, we will still be filthy there, but "there" will not be in a righteous kingdom with a righteous Father in Heaven.  Our sins are only forgiven through and by repentance and the ordinance of baptism ("the gate")--followed up by continual improvement and additional repentance (the narrow way).  In this way, God's grace cleanses us step-by-step on our climb to perfection.  Otherwise, if God's grace were granted willy-nilly, requiring no repentance and the forsaking of our sins, it would rob justice, which simply cannot be.  Our baptism must be done either now or later vicariously by someone else on earth in our behalf--  "Else. . . why then are they  baptized for the dead?"(1 Cor. 11:29).  When you know these verses contain these deeper meanings, that they are talking about baptism and rebirth instead of giving up to Satan in a last wild fling, the whole chapter can be read with the same positive view. It's not real easy but can be done (see Isaiah commentary for full explanation). Hidden TREASURES  (see text box) like this are abundant in the scriptures, and the Lord has promised to reveal them to us if we will search diligently.http://www.biblesecrets.org/first_principles.htm