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Wikipedia identifies the “wilderness” or “wildlands” as “natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity… The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments.”(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness)

The common thought of a wilderness is often considered a fearful place where the wild animals live. Yet, each of the different animals, birds, and insects in the wild live at peace within their own species in general, and thrive.

The engineered world of civilizations on Earth is often a place of corruption, hostility, greed, hatred and carelessness. Which environment is the better?

THE ESSENTIAL SEPARATION

God Almighty has an opinion. When He is working with repentant people, He takes them into the wilderness—out of the engineered world of the ungodly and the corrupt nations on earth. In ancient times, God physically took His people out of rebel Egypt, so they could develop a relationship with Him and mature spiritually. At that time, God Almighty separated them from all the people on Earth and took them in the wilderness where they left the ways of civilized man, which is often actions filled with selfishness, greed, hatred, undercover theft hidden in their economic activities and abusive leadership, to learn God’s way of love.

Almighty God was very successful with the children of the Israelites who left Egypt. The children learned to trust Almighty God and obey. All of the children who left Egypt with their parents entered the Promised Land with Joshua and Caleb. They matured spiritually and for forty years they were sustained by food from heaven—manna, provided by God.  During this time, they learned God’s law, His ways and walked with Him.

THE BELOVED CHURCH

A church, referred to by Apostle John as “the woman”, will flee into the wilderness in the future. The body of men and women will be nourished, that is, taught God’s law and His ways for 3 ½ years. They will be brought into perfection when they enter that “prepared place by God”. They will be separated from the civilized world, full of corruption, deceit and ungodliness, to be taught the pure word of God. This body of men and women is the Bride of Christ and she will be made ready. All of her misconceptions of God’s word, the continued practice of Christianized pagan traditions with the Jews continuing in the traditions of their elders, and the many misunderstandings of the scriptures are imaged as spots, wrinkles and blemishes, which will be removed during that time.

“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:6).

JOHN THE BAPTIST BAPTIZED IN THE WILDERNESS

John the Baptist declared himself to be a voice calling out in the wilderness.

“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord’” (John 1:23).

He had separated himself from the Jewish priesthood to initiate the process of conversion. He taught baptism with water. Water symbolizes God’s Holy Spirit. He was preparing the people for the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit soon to be available to everyone after Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. The door was opening for people to be reborn and grow into the spiritual maturity to form the body of Jesus Christ. This process begins by being separated from the ways of the world to stand with John the Baptist in the wilderness—in the place untouched by human activity, to draw close to God and live His law and ways.

It is no surprise that Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus was very close to Almighty God. He had fasted forty days and forty nights. The number forty is symbolic of being very close to Almighty God. Jesus is God, specifically the Son of God, who only has seen our Father in heaven, the Almighty God (John 1:18).

The temptation could only take place in the wilderness because Jesus had entered into a spiritual war that can only be won by being close to Almighty God who directs and guides. He pours out His Holy Spirit and great strength is given to combat Satan’s sway into darkness.

THE FIRST TEMPTATION

Satan tempted Jesus in satisfying his hunger from his 40-day fast by challenging him to use his superhuman powers and turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:1). This temptation also alludes to the thought that Satan was tempting Jesus to use his superhuman powers to teach his way—his ideas—his word over Almighty God’s word. Jesus knew that only the Father, the Almighty God has all knowledge, understanding and wisdom—the everlasting word.

Jesus responded by quoting the latter part of Deuteronomy 8:3. “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

There are two types of food: earthly and heavenly—one is temporary, the other is eternal.

The ancient Israelites were fed by God while they journeyed through the wilderness with food from heaven—manna. The heavenly food was intended to expose them to the concept of daily spiritual nourishment. Satan was unable to tempt Jesus to change his priority. Through his 40-day fast, Jesus became a power-house of eternal strength.

Satan entraps people into a world of ignorance and deceit. They are blue-pilled in a physical world of earthly knowledge and temporary pursuits void of their Creator and the life-exciting knowledge of their spiritual calling.

The lesson of the first temptation: earthly food or heavenly food. Ancient Israel failed to understand the value of spiritual knowledge, understanding and wisdom. They kept falling back into this earthly world focusing on temporal living. Jesus never left his spiritual focus; he was not tempted to question the everlasting word of God as Satan did, who produced his own knowledge which is a mixture of good and evil.

THE SECOND TEMPTATION

Satan took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and challenged him to jump. Satan knows the scriptures and he quoted Psalm 91, which vows if you make God Almighty your dwelling place, giving your allegiance to the Great God, then no harm will come to you.

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone…’Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation’” (Psalm 91:11-16).

All so true and what a wonderful promise God, our Creator and Father in heaven gives to all who love Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.

In the 21st century language, Satan was saying, “Go on! If you are loved by the Great God, show me—show everyone—prove to us that God loves you!”

Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test.”

This quote referenced the rebellious behavior of the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Despite all of the miracles God Almighty performed for them, they still disbelieved and distrusted God, perpetually putting Him to the test. Their hearts were hard, rebellious and defiant. God concluded, “For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So, I declared an oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest’” (Psalm 95:10-11).

In the 21st century language, Jesus replied, “I trust in my Father in heaven and I have no need to question Him. The Great Creator of all living is faithful and I have no need to assess Him.”

The lesson of the second temptation: trust in yourself or trust in God. The ancient Israelites could not let go and put their complete trust in God. Jesus put his life in the hands of God, without question—fully and completely.

THE THIRD TEMPTATION

The devil took Jesus to the highest mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). This temptation was by far the most tempting. With all of Jesus’ heart, he wanted to rescue mankind from the strangle-hold of the devil.

Jesus replied, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the LORD your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10).

In the 21st century language, Jesus said, “I worship only my Father in heaven, the Creator God. I trust in His plan and His timing.”

The lesson of the third temptation: Rulership under Satan or rulership under God Almighty. The great promise to the nations ruled by these rogue gods was self-glory, self-reliance, and self-determination. The ancient Israelites looked at the wealth and glory of Egypt; they wanted to be like the nations around them and all the glory of greatness. But, God wanted a humble people, a non-self-serving people BEFORE rulership could be offered. That would take time and a carefully designed, strategic plan.

Jesus was aware that God had a plan—from the beginning. While every detail is not shared with him, he has no reason to question God. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

Spiritual warfare will always take place in the wilderness. Satan cares not war against mankind in their world by destroying their physical bodies. Satan is bent on destroying the spiritual lives of mankind; He works day and night to keep mankind from repenting, being baptized and committing to obeying Almighty God—keeping His law and living righteously.

The Apostle Paul said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

Eventually, all of mankind will enter the wilderness to draw close to the Father in heaven to nurture and develop a deep, everlasting relationship with Him.

GOD FOUND JACOB IN THE WILDERNESS

“But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance. He found him in the land of wilderness and in the wilderness of the deserts He brought him out, and he cherished him and he protected him as the pupil of the eye” (Deuteronomy 32:9-10).

Recorded in the Song of Moses is the reminder to God’s people that God is their King; they are His inheritance—He is their ruler and they are His subjects. The God of Israel defined His inheritance clearly. From Abraham, then Isaac, then of the two twins, God chose Jacob and his descendants are the inherited subjects of God. Esau is not part of God’s inheritance given to Himself at the time of Babel. This story is quite a conundrum for many.

When God divided the nations at the time of Babel and gave them their inheritance, heavenly rulers like God Himself—a heavenly ruler over Jacob and his descendants, Abraham wasn’t yet born. The once-trusted heavenly rulers given kingship over the nations rebelled against Almighty God and chaos swept the over Earth. God described it. “He found him in the land of wilderness and in the wilderness of the deserts He brought him out, and he cherished him and he protected him as the pupil of the eye.”  God protected the descendants where now spiritual chaos and confusion had entered the place untouched by human activity. The heavenly rulers over the nations brought rebellion against the Great God and He had to shield His subjects from the false teachings of the rebel heavenly rulers.

Not only are God-fearing and God-serving people persecuted in the civilized world led by arrogant, ungodly mortals, now, the wilderness was corrupted by rebel heavenly rulers. These rulers, though they are spiritual, will be destroyed, yet still a future event.

“I said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High. But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler” (Psalm 82:6).

It will be easy for Almighty God to destroy them as easy as destroying mortals.

Almighty God has been battling these heavenly rebels. Many of them have been overthrown, their rulership over the nations taken and they are presently imprisoned awaiting sentencing and destruction.

“In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below. They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days” (Isaiah 24:21-22).

The wilderness—that place outside of human activity, remains the image of the place where the Great Creator can be found.

AARON MET MOSES IN THE WILDERNESS

“The Lord said to Aaron, ‘Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.’ So, he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him” (Exodus 4:27).

God continues to use His imagery to describe the spiritual world. Aaron found Moses in the wilderness—that place outside of human activity at the mountain of God. The mountain is God’s imagery for government—the highest level of government. Moses was with God and under His government, submitting to His law. God was preparing Moses for the great exodus of His people out of sin into the wilderness to learn the ways of the God of Israel.

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WILL BE SHEPHERDS IN THE WILDERNESS

God’s people who exited Egypt under Moses’ leadership struggled to trust in the God of Israel—the Almighty God. They had been entrenched with the ways of the god of Egypt where no mortal could have a relationship with the gods. They all lived in fear.

It was the children of these people who believed the God Israel and obeyed, for the most part. The children would teach their parents through their obedience to God, while suffering the extended wanderings because of their parents’ disbelief and until all of them died.

“And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure” (Numbers 14:32-33).

GOD PROVIDED FOR THEM IN THE WILDERNESS

Obeying and serving God brings blessings and God’s total care. The Israelites wandering in the wilderness were completely provided for.

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing” (Deuteronomy 2:7).

HAGAR WITH ISHMAEL SETTLED IN THE WILDERNESS

Under the care of Almighty God, there is peace and safety; He provides and protects. God provided for Hagar and her son, Ishmael in the wilderness.

“So, Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba” (Genesis 21:14).

She left with her son and wandered in the wilderness. When their supplies are all gone, Hagar gave up and the boy cried.

“Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, ‘What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies. Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer. And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt” (Genesis 21:14-21).

Hagar and Ishmael settled in the wilderness. They established a relationship with God. Ishmael is the father of the Arabian people. God did not neglect them. They will have a place in God’s kingdom, along with all the other nations on earth.

GOD IS ACTIVELY DOING A NEW THING

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).

Christ’s redemptive sacrifice paid the price for the sins of all mankind. That is the way in the wilderness. God now has opened the door for repentant mankind to receive His Holy Spirit. God has made a way in the wilderness for anyone to enter and forge an eternal relationship with Him. God is giving His Holy Spirit and soon, He will pour it out for all of mankind. Time is close now when the new thing of God is visible to all peoples, tribes, tongues, nations.

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

The wilderness is the place to be.