am starting a new board for this study on the Fall of the Old Testament.  I truly believe this is one of the most important subjects in all the Word of God.  I hope everyone of you will study this.  Even if you read it when I first posted it,  take time to read it again.  I am reading it as I prepare it,  and I can tell you,  I am re-learning some important things I had forgotten. 

If any of you know others out there,  invite them in here to read these messages.  It is so important to salvation, to see this truth and be sure you come out of that Old Testament Covenant of Law,  and come into Grace.  There will be no salvation in that law covenant.  That is how important this study is.

Fall of the Old Testament .. By: Jo Smith (part one)

Lamentations

Lam. 1:1- How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

1:2 -She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

1:3-Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

1:4-The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

1:5 - Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

1:6 -And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

1:7Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her Sabbaths.

1:8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.

1:9-Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.

1:10 - The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.

1:11- All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.

1:12- is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

1:13- From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day.

1:14 - The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the LORD hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.

1:15 - The LORD hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the LORD hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.

1:16 - For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.

1:17 - Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.

1:18- The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

1:19 - I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.

1:20 - Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.

1:21- They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me.

1:22- Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

Let’s take this book a verse at a time. Do not attempt to ‘judge’ this message at the start; instead study it as I find time to do a section; pray for the truth to be opened up to you. Wait and study the next section, etc. until I post this entire book. Then, I will give many more Scriptures proving this message. This is the most exciting message I know of. I fully believe this is the greatest message given to man since the days of Paul.

Verse one: the city sitting solitary is the Old Testament. Please understand that when I say ‘the Old Testament’ I am NOT meaning the written Scriptures called the Old Testament: no, I mean the Old Covenant, which is the Old Testament. The Scriptures contain the Old Testament; but the Testament refers to the Covenant he made with the Israelites under Moses.

’She’ became as a widow -- why? Because God forsook her.

Verse two: all her friends dealt treacherously with her, they became her enemies. Who are her ‘friends’? The people who once were faithful to the laws - to the old Covenant. These include Peter, James, John, Paul, and all the other New Testament Christians who came out of the law into Grace. Those who were filled with the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost.

Verse three: her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The straits meant her ‘way’ of serving God had been done away with. Her persecutors were the New Testament ministers; the ones mentioned above. Why are they ‘persecuting’ her? Because they are fervently trying to bring her people into the New Covenant of Jesus’ blood. They are teaching the truth that God tore down that old law way of serving God. God never was pleased with it. He never wanted people under law. The Law was only added to them because of their many sins. God wanted to give grace, mercy, and forgiveness and love all the time. But they had provoked him to anger so much with their idolatry and other sins that He had to place them under that law to deal with their sins.

Verse four: Her ways ‘mourn’ -- because God forsook that. None come to the solemn feasts of the OT anymore; it is done away with as far as God is concerned. It is forsaken by God and the true people of God, the Christians. Her ‘gates’ are desolate = meaning, no one can now come to God through the ‘gates’ or way of the OT covenant. Her priests sigh, because they are not the ministers of God anymore.

Verse five: her adversaries are the chief = Paul, Peter, James, and all the other NT ministers. They are her adversaries and they are the chief ones God is now using. Her enemies (them) prosper--- why? Because God is with them. They are the ones now bringing people into the Kingdom of God; they are the ones bearing fruit; not the OT.

Her children went into captivity before the enemy. Who is this enemy? The NT Church. So, ‘her’ children were the ones who received Pentecost. Did not Peter say this promise of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was to your ‘ children’? Did he not say Elias would come and turn the hearts of the ‘fathers’ (the OT group) to the Children (the NT group)? Did not Jesus say this was John The Baptist?

So, their ‘children’ are those who received the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.

V6-No beauty is left to the OT. Her princes are like harts who find no PASTURE. In other words, there was no longer any ‘spiritual food’ in the OT Covenant. No one could find God here anymore. They have no strength before their pursuers = the NT ministers seeking to convert them to Jesus.

V7 (very important verse)-The adversaries (Peter, Paul, etc)- did MOCK AT HER SABBATHS.

V8-Jerusalem (OT) hath GRIEVOUSLY SINNED; therefore she is REMOVED: all that honoured her despise her, because they see her NAKEDNESS; (no spirit of God to Cover her sins). She sigheth and turneth backward. She fell backward = those who refused to come into the NT Covenant and forsake the Old Way of the law. She fell back to the law therefore Christ was of no effect to them.

V9-she had no comforter = she did not have the Holy Ghost = which Jesus said was our comforter. Her enemy = Jesus= hath magnified himself.

V11-her people are seeking ‘bread’ = truth of Word= (Jesus is the truth = his teachings)--she became vile. They seek bread in the old covenant instead of coming to the true light, the Grace Covenant. This is why and how she became vile = she trampled the blood of Jesus and did despite to the Spirit of Grace by trying to be righteous by their own works of keeping law; especially keeping that seventh day Sabbath. Thus they refused Jesus and His Baptism of the Holy Ghost as their true rest -- the rest to the soul.

V 12-the Lord afflicted her in the day of his fierce anger = when she refused Jesus and the Holy Ghost = the NT. This is what brought all her persecutions against her. It was God raising up adversaries against her. He has promised by Moses that if they rebelled against Him He would bring all the curses of the Book upon them. So they procured all these curses upon their own selves by their disobedience. It is true for everyone today. If you still rebel against God and His chosen way of salvation = the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and being baptized in water in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ, then you too will receive the curses of the Book. If you add one word to the Word of God, He will in turn add all the curses of His Book to you. This is why so many are being destroyed with all kinds of evil, they have added to His Words and made up false doctrine to ensnare unstable souls.

V13-He turned her back: he made her desolate.

This was shown when Jesus said to her, behold your house is left unto you desolate.

Isaiah 28:7-18-this tells of the coming Baptism of the Holy Ghost evidenced with speaking in the tongues God had scattered before. Those who refused this TRUE REST, v13, fell BACKWARD. That is what is being spoken of here that she fell backward. She refused the NT.

V20 Her ’bed’ is too short; = her resting-place - the old Sabbath. Her covering too narrow to cover with = the Law, instead of the Holy Ghost.

V14-God made the strength of the OT Law to fall. He delivered them into THEIR(apostles) hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.

Verse 15: Notice, this said The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men. He called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the LORD hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah.

See, here God did this to the OT. HE trod them under foot; he crushed them. Now, I saw something here I had not realized before: that ‘virgin’ here is those ‘foolish’ virgins. Remember there were two = 5 foolish and 5 wise. One was saved; the other one was lost; but remember that the foolish ones had, at one time had a light. This is when God dealt with the OT.

V16: This is MIGHTY! “The comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: (meaning they did not receive the Holy Ghost, which is the comforter.) “My children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.”

This means the OT children were left; this is set into motion when Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, “behold, your house is left desolate”. They are ‘desolate’ because they did not come over into the New Covenant and God left them in their darkness.

V17-This shows again that they did not have the comforter, the Holy Ghost. The LORD commanded that his adversaries (the apostles and disciples) should be round about him; Jerusalem, the law is shown as an unclean woman.

V18-Shows that this OT group rebelled against his COMMANDMENT. Notice that this is a single COMMANDMENT; NOT COMMANDMENTS, AS IN THE TEN.

This is the new commandment of LOVE. They rebelled against this; for it is done by the Spirit of God; not our own works of keeping the law. They wanted to be ‘saved’ by their own works; not the finished ‘work’ of Jesus at Calvary. Peter gave the one commandment of the NT> Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. They rebelled against this commandment and clung to the 10 commandments of Moses. The world is full of people today who are still in that rebellious condition.

V19-Her ‘lovers’ (those who love the law)--the priests and elders of the OT, deceived her. They gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their ‘meat’ to relieve their souls. See, there was no longer any ‘food’ in that old law; so they starved to death, SPIRITUALLY.

V20-Shows that ‘at home’ = in the old Covenant, there is only DEATH. (This is the Death, with Hell, which is riding that fourth horse in Rev.)

V21-This is powerful! Again showing she had no comforter; all her ‘enemies’ = the apostles, and NT Christians, are GLAD THAT THOU HAST DONE IT. Yes, they and we are glad that God did away with that old way of serving God; a way where death was the immediate punishment for failing.

But, watch this next sentence; it is prophecy for the day when this modern day, polluted church, which rebelled against God the same as that OT bunch did, will be punished as they were: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and THEY, (who? her enemies, the church)--shall be like unto me.

There you have it: prophecy that God will also do away with this polluted church and make her just like he made that old polluted law group.

V22-This is the continuation of that prophecy; this is great:

Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

What was the wickedness of the OT group? Serving idols. So, this is where the church today is polluted: with idols. Even today, that whole church world is messing with idols; they are out there deceiving little children instead of teaching them truth of God. They take them into idols such as worshipping ‘rabbits’, eggs, the rising sun, and all such foolishness. You say, we do not worship these things? Yes you do!

Even just honoring these things amounts to worship. All you have to do is just gaze at something in admiration for it to be worship.

Look up the word, ‘regard’ and you will see. In Jonah we are told that if you regard lying vanities, you forsake your own ‘ mercy’. So look up ‘regard’ and ‘vanities’. Regard has a meaning of just standing and gazing at something. So how many of you are guilty of riding for miles just to gaze at x-mas lights and decorations? This is worship. You will find vanities are such things as Santa Claus and Easter bunnies and eggs.

You are filled with idolatry. You are full of wickedness. You reject the New Covenant which God loved and in your heart returned back to the Old Covenant, which he hated.

God brought a ‘woman’, his wife, Israel, out of EGYPT (a type of sin; of evil; or worldliness; and of the LAW). But then, he said, in their hearts they TURNED back into Egypt.

Then he put the Law into a deep sleep (Is. 29) and took a rib out of that dead law = Jesus in the grave- and from that he made a ‘woman’ = the Church. Jesus was part of the law; he was made under the law; he was part of the OT- the Esau- but, - God took him ‘out’ of that old way, put them into a deep sleep (Is. 29:10)- and took Jesus out of there = the resurrection.

Jesus did not ‘resurrect’ back into that old law; or the OT. No! No! No. He resurrected into a NEW DAY. He resurrected into the NT. He resurrected into GRACE not LAW.

He became the HEAD of a woman = the Church, or Eve. The MOTHER OF US ALL --the MOTHER of all LIVING. = Those with the life of the Holy Ghost.

But, at the end of this age (the Laodicean Church) once again, they turnedBACK in their hearts to the LAW, from which God had delivered them. They turned BACK into Egypt. So they, too, will be left DESOLATE.

When they brought that old LAW into the church, it made them desolate. They set this abomination up in the church and it polluted them as it had polluted that old T. Group.

Back to that last verse: she said my heart is ‘faint’. This is meaning she could not go on with God. In Isaiah we are told that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their ‘strength’ and not ‘faint’. This is what it means = not fall away from the move of God for our day.

People, there is a very important ‘principal’ in the whole Word of God. It is this: the elder shall serve the younger.

Remember, that is says -- God HATED Esau -- but LOVED Jacob?

God said the elder = Esau, shall serve the younger = Jacob-but what does it really mean? Much, much more than the lives of these two men.

They are only ‘types’ of what this really means. We are to ‘read’ the types and shadows of the OT and find the true, spiritual meaning. All of the OT were these types.

Esau represents:          Jacob represents:

1. Adam & Satan         1. Eve & Jesus

2. The flesh                   2. The Spirit

3. The law                     3.Grace

4. Sin                            4.Rightneousness

5. The OT                     5.N.T

6. The foolish virgins    6. The wise virgins

7. The rebellious          7. The obedient

The book of OBADIAH, written hundreds of years after these two men lived, shows that they type the OT/ NT.

By: Jo Smith