In the Middle

The 10 Commandments are recorded in two places, in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5. I like the Deuteronomy passage because it starts in the middle — of the fire.
It’s a bit strange, but I’ve observed that the design of scripture does not appear to begin at the beginning and end at the end. It begins in the middle and it ends in the middle. These two passages are a great example.

In Revelations, Jesus stands in the middle of the 7 churches (Revelation 1:13), which are described as 7 lampstands (Revelation 1:20), with 7 lamps of fire (Revelation 4:5). Hence, Jesus stands in the middle — of the fire. It appears to be the same fire of the 10 Commandments passage in Deuteronomy 5, which I find fascinating.

Look at the beginning: “God spoke with you face to face, out of the middle of the fire,” which appears to be the middle of the city of light illuminated by the glory of Christ. (Deuteronomy 5:4)

Standing: In the Fire

Next, “I stood between God and you to show you the word of God, because you were afraid of the fire.” This is the same place where the nations, “walk in its light,” and bring the glory of the nations, “into it.” This is likely why Jesus’ feet glow like burnished brass or molten metal — he walks through the fire.

Next we come to the inner gate that is never shut, where Deuteronomy 5 reads, “I am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” The connection is unmistakable.

Main Entrance

Then comes the first commandment, “You shall have no other Gods before me.” I, Jesus, am the entrance. If you want to enter the city, I am the way.

The second commandment continues, “do not bow down nor serve idols, for I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity…” which connects to the place where nothing, “profane, who causes an abomination or who lies” shall ever enter the city.

The third commandment is to not misuse the  name of God, which matches the promise of those whose are  written in Jesus’ book of life. The suggestion is something like, “if you bear my name, don’t abuse my name.”

In the Middle

This part of the passage ends with the fourth commandment, to observe the Sabbath, and keep it holy, as God commanded us. The revelation ends where the river of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb in the in the middle of its street. This must be a place of holiness. Notice that it also ends in a middle.

In this example, the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5 are threads (passages), that have two parts. You’ve just read the first part. The second part contains the rest of the commandments, and ends in a very interesting place. We’ll see that shortly.

Written in Loops

Before we proceed, another thing I’ve discovered about scripture is that it doesn’t appear to be linear. The bible’s not written like a big long book, some passages older than others, progressing from Genesis to Revelations. Rather, it seems to be written in loops, like word-wrap for scripture. The 4th commandment is where the scripture wraps around and begins again.

That means the end, the 4th commandment, should align with the beginning of the City of Light passage. The second part of the 10 Commandments should also align just as neatly and intricately. Let’s take a look.

To get to part 2, click the right arrow or the “pt.2 link” below.