Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.  They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet.  Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.

O LORD, I say to you, “You are my God.”  Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.  O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle- do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud.

Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.  Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise.  Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down men of violence.  I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.  Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you.

Lots of people are writing in these days, wondering if the Lord is going to trigger the Rapture before things get any worse.  Of course no one can answer that question.  But there are a couple of things we know for sure.  One is that He’s promised to rescue us from the wrath to come (1 Thes. 1:10) which He can do at any time.

There’s no question that the so-called birth pangs that lead up to the End Time judgments are getting more frequent and more intense, but I don’t think anyone believes they’ve maxed out.  And even when they do, they won’t be anywhere near as bad as what will surely follow.  And that brings us to the second thing we know for sure.  If we’ll just seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, He’ll see that all our needs are met in the time between now and the Rapture. (Matt. 6:31-33)

Seeking His Kingdom requires letting go of ours by not worrying about how things are going to work out for us here and leaving that to Him.  His righteousness we’re to seek is the one that’s imputed to us by faith (Romans 3:21-24) not by our futile works.  This is what guarantees our needs being met.

As one who has experienced it, I can tell you this is a lot harder than it looks.  Because you’ve been there too, some of you have an idea how hard it was for me to stand there helplessly while He hammered away at the foundations of my kingdom until they crumbled out from under me, but you also know it had to happen before I could begin seeking His.  And shedding my carefully crafted facade of self sufficiency to reveal the hopeless, helpless, worthless, and useless sinner I really am was the most painful thing I can ever remember experiencing.  But being caught in His loving arms made both worth while. The life He had been waiting to give me, and that I had been so strongly resisting, is better by far than anything I had ever dreamed of.

If you’re still clinging to the things of this world, my advice is to surrender now.  Don’t go kicking and screaming into the kingdom He’s prepared for us.  But seeing all these things happening around you stand up and lift up your head because your redemption is drawing near.  Remember, this is not a surrender into defeat.  This is a surrender into victory.

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The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil-an offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. (Lev. 23:9-14)

Three Spring Feasts

Often overlooked because Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread overshadow and surround it, I think the Feast of First Fruits is the most important Feast of them all—at least from a Christian point of view.  It’s easy to miss its importance, since the Gospel accounts don’t even mention First Fruits and also seem to use Passover and Unleavened Bread interchangeably. Because of this, it can be hard to tell there were actually three feasts being celebrated at once.

Although it’s not obvious from the passage above, the Lord was referring to the Sabbath that comes after the Passover. While the Passover can fall on any day of the week which also happens to be the 14th day of the first month, the Feast of First Fruits is always the following Sunday, the day after the Sabbath after Passover. Unleavened Bread begins on Passover and lasts seven days, so First Fruits comes before Unleavened Bread ends.

The year the Lord was crucified, Passover fell on a Thursday. Three days and three nights later it was Sunday morning, the Feast of First Fruits. And for several hundred years afterward, the Sunday morning after Passover was known to Christians as Resurrection Morning.

What Day Is It?

But at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, Eastern and Western bishops of the Church disagreed over the official date for the Church’s most important Holy Day. Eastern bishops favored staying with the calculation involving Passover as Leviticus describes, since many of them were of Jewish origin, and since the Gospels had placed Resurrection Morning just after Passover.

Western bishops, being mostly Gentile, favored a date closer to the beginning of spring because there were already a number of pagan festivals held during that time and a religious holiday would fit right in. Perhaps this is when the Western church began referring to Resurrection Morning as Easter Sunday, after the Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar. The Feast of Ishtar was always celebrated at the beginning of spring and involved eggs and rabbits and other signs of fertility. Even today, you can see how elements of the two have been merged together.

Eventually, (due in part to their view that since the Jews had rejected Christ Jewish traditions shouldn’t be used in selecting the date for Easter), the Western Church settled on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Soon Easter Sunday became disconnected from Passover by as much as several weeks.

The adoption of the Gregorian calendar (the one we use in the west today) in 1752 did nothing to correct this disconnect, and since the Eastern or Orthodox Church stuck with the earlier Julian calendar, we now have two dates for Easter in most years. (In 2004, the Feast of First Fruits, and Orthodox and Western Easter all came on the same day, a rare occasion.)

The Common Practice

But back to the Feast of First Fruits. Grains were planted in the fall in Israel. They germinated in the ground through the winter, shot up as soon as the weather got warm, and ripened in the spring, barley first and then wheat. The stalks were cut and stacked in sheaves for the harvesters to collect for thrashing. But harvesting or eating any of the grain was not permitted until a sample sheaf was brought to the Temple at sunrise on the first day after the Sabbath following Passover. This day was called the Feast of First Fruits. A similar ceremony for the wheat harvest took place on Pentecost, also a Sunday, seven weeks later.

As you know, the Lord required the first fruits of all their harvest be given to Him, whether plant or animal. (In the case of animals, only the very first offspring of each animal was required, not the first of each season. For humanity, a small ransom was paid at the Temple to redeem the firstborn son. (The Lord expressly forbade any form of child sacrifice.)

The priest took the sheaf of grain and waved it before the altar of the Lord as a sample of the harvest. This was called the wave offering. To be sure it was acceptable to the Lord, a year old lamb was also offered, along with about 4 quarts of flour and oil mixture and a quart of wine. The mixing fragrances of the roasting lamb, the baking bread dough, and the steam from the wine made a pleasant aroma for the Lord, and the offering was accepted. The Lord having received His required first portion, the harvest could proceed, and the grain could be ground into flour for their daily bread.

The Prophetic Fulfillment

At sunrise on the morning of the Feast of First Fruits in 32 AD, as the priests were waving the sheaf of grain before the altar, the women arrived at the Lord’s tomb to prepare His body for permanent burial. Remember, there wasn’t enough time before sunset on the day He was crucified and the following two days were both Sabbaths, so no work was permitted. (Interestingly, work was allowed on the Feast of First Fruits, although not on Pentecost.)

But the tomb was empty. He had risen, the First Fruits of them that slept. (1 Cor. 15:20) Later that day many Holy people from Israel’s past were seen in the city of Jerusalem, also having risen from their tombs. (Matt. 27:53) This was the Lord’s wave offering, a sample of His harvest of souls. I think the aroma of the Temple offering was especially pleasing to the Lord that morning. The days of substitutes were over; the real thing had come. (Hebr. 10:1)

The Ultimate Triple Play

For Christ, our Passover Lamb had been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7), and on the very day, fulfilling the Passover Prophecy. For seven days beginning on Passover, the Israelites ate bread without yeast in celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in fact went to great lengths to rid their homes of any trace of leaven. This Feast symbolized a promise that the sin of man, represented by the leaven, would be completely taken away. The Lord’s death fulfilled this one as well, for He’s the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) And take it away He did, as far as the East is from the West. (Psalm 103:12)

And right on schedule, the Lord rose from the grave, fulfilling the Feast of First Fruits. He is the First Fruits of them that slept, and His resurrection confirmed His victory over sin and death. And ours too, for if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9) Selah 4-18-04

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If you follow our “Ask a Bible Teacher” feature, you know how many comments I’ve received lately that question the Doctrine of Eternal Security (aka Once Saved Always Saved or OSAS). Based on their content I’ve concluded that many people neither understand OSAS nor have they considered the alternative.

Let’s Begin At The Beginning

It’s time to set the record straight once and for all. What does it take to be saved? I think the best answer to that question is the one the Lord gave in John 6:28-29.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Here was a perfect opportunity to list all the things we have to do to meet God’s requirements. Jesus could have rattled off the 10 commandments. He could have repeated the Sermon on the Mount. He could have listed any number of admonitions and restrictions necessary to achieve and maintain God’s expectations of us. But what did He say? “Believe in the one He has sent.” Period. It was a repeat of John 3:16, confirming that belief in the Son is the one and only requirement for salvation.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

A few verses later in John 6:38-40 He said that this wasn’t just His idea, as if that wouldn’t be enough, but that His Father was in complete agreement. And not only would our belief suffice to provide us with eternal life, but that it was God’s will that Jesus lose none of those who believe. You and I have been known to disobey God’s will, but has Jesus ever done so? And isn’t He the one who’s been charged with the responsibility for keeping us? Let’s read it.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38-40)

Just in case we missed this promise, Jesus made it again even more clearly in John 10:28-30. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” The Father and the Son have both accepted responsibility for our security. Once we’re in Their hands, no one can get us away.

I have purposely only used words straight from the Lord’s own mouth to make this case because I can already hear the choruses of “Yes Buts” mounting as those who refuse to take them at face value get ready to trot out their favorite verses denying Eternal Security, misinterpreted though they are.

The one characteristic of God’s that gives us the most comfort is knowing that He can’t lie or change His mind or contradict Himself. He can’t say something in one place and then say something entirely different in another. He’s consistent. If He says that we’re saved solely because of our belief in Him, and that He’s accepted responsibility for keeping us so, then we can count on that. As we’ll see, anything in the Bible that seems to contradict these simple, straightforward statements has to be talking about something else.

But first, since He puts so much emphasis on belief, let’s take a closer look at that word. What does He mean when He says “believe”? It must be more than just a casual thing because reliable statistics show, for example, that 85% of those who come forward to “receive the Lord” at a crusade or other evangelistic outreach never form any connection with a church or Bible Study or in any other way demonstrate a relationship with the Lord afterward.

And Jesus spoke of the seed that fell on rocky places. He said, “This is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt. 13:20-21) If these people were saved and then fell away, all His promises above have been broken. There must be more. So what does it mean to believe?

The Greek word for believe is “pistis.” According to Strong’s Concordance, it’s a “conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.” In connection with the Lord Jesus, it means “a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.”

The Apostle Paul gave us valuable insight into the nature of this belief. He wrote, If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

This isn’t just some intellectual thing that carries us away on the words of a captivating speaker, only to leave us flat a short time later. It’s a conviction that’s formed deep in our heart, the realization that Jesus is not just a man. He’s the Lord Himself, and He took upon Himself the penalty due us for our sins, which is death. And to prove that God counted His death as sufficient, He raised Jesus from the dead to be seated beside Him in the Heavenly realms. (Ephes. 1:20) Since God can’t dwell in the presence of sin, and since the wages of sin is death, every one of our sins has to have been paid for. If even one remained unpaid, Jesus would still be in the grave. We have to believe that Jesus rose from the grave in order to believe that we will.

It’s that kind of belief that gets you saved and keeps you that way, because it sets in motion a chain of events that’s irreversible. There are four links in this chain. You supply two and the Lord supplies two. You hear and believe, and the Lord marks and guarantees.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The word translated “deposit” is a legal term. Today we would say Earnest Money. It’s a down payment that constitutes a legal obligation to follow through with the purchase. If you’ve ever bought any Real Estate, you’re familiar with the term. If not, here’s another example. It’s like we’ve been put on “layaway.” The price has been paid and we’ve been taken off the display shelf until the one who has purchased us returns to claim us. In the meantime, we cannot be bought by anyone else, because we legally belong to the one who has paid the deposit. “You are not your own,” we’re told. “You were bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

All of this happened at our first moment of belief, before we could do anything to either earn or lose our position. The man on the cross beside Jesus is the prototype for this transaction. Having done something bad enough to get himself executed, he was promised a place in Paradise solely because he believed in his heart that Jesus was the Lord of a coming Kingdom.

Paul made it even clearer when he repeated this incredible promise in 2 Cor. 1:21-22. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

This time He removed all doubt as to just Who it is that keeps us saved. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. What could be clearer?

Union And Fellowship

If the Doctrine of Eternal Security is so clear then why all the disagreement about it? I’ve found two reasons. The first is the two-sided nature of our relationship with the Lord. I call one side Union. It’s eternal and unconditional, based only on our belief. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn. It’s good forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

I call the other side Fellowship, and it’s a bit more complicated. Fellowship is that state of continual closeness to God that enables Him to bless us in our daily lives, by making things happen for us and protecting us from attack. It’s like He’s teamed up with us to give us a supernatural advantage. Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:5-9 as being both Earthly and conditional upon our behavior. Even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin. Since God can’t abide in the presence of sin, our unconfessed sins interrupt our Earthly relationship with Him and may deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. We’re still saved in the eternal sense, but out of Fellowship here on Earth.

When we’re out of Fellowship, we’re legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief, just like Job was. His sin was self-righteousness and because he wouldn’t confess it, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses. For a New Testament illustration, look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Like the younger son, we’ll still belong to our Father’s family but won’t receive any of its blessings while we’re out of Fellowship. And like both Job and the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are Raptured. They don’t realize that they still need to confess every time they sin to stay in Fellowship. And so, being deprived of God’s providence, they may become discouraged and even stop praying and attending church. Other believers, who don’t understand the dual relationship either, look at the mess they’re in and think they must have lost their salvation. Like Job’s friends, they look in God’s Word for confirmation, and by taking verses out of context, believe they have found the proof.

Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas. In the Old Testament, even when Israel was obedient in thought and action, doing their best to please God, the priests still had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people. 1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. It was written for believers who are already saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship because of their sins.

The Gift And the Prize

The other reason people get confused is that there are two types of benefits in Eternity. The first is the free Gift called Salvation that’s given to all who ask in faith irrespective of merit and guarantees our admission into the Kingdom. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the model, saying that salvation is a Gift from God.

The second consists of Heavenly rewards we can earn for the things we do as believers here on Earth. Philippians 3:13-14 are good verses for explaining this. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In addition to the Gift, there’s a Prize.

A gift is something given out of love, irrespective of merit, and is never taken back. A prize, on the other hand, is something we qualify for and earn. And if we’re not careful we can lose it. (Rev. 3:11) Paul had already received the Gift of salvation, it was behind him. Now he was focused on winning the Prize as well.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he explained the difference in greater detail. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

No Olympic athlete was satisfied just to have qualified to participate in the games. Everyone wanted to win the victor’s crown. Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied just to have received the Gift of salvation. We must now live our lives as believers in such a way as to win the Prize as well.

The Bible calls some of these prizes crowns, and while the athlete’s crown soon wilted away (it was a wreath of ivy) the crowns believers can win last forever. They’re worth making some sacrifices for. That’s why Paul said, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:27) The crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19, Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.

The difference between the Gift and the Prize is also seen in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

At the judgment of believers, the quality of our work on earth will be tested by fire. Only work that survives the test will bring us a reward. But notice that even if all our work is destroyed in the fire, we’ll still have our salvation. Why? Because it’s a free Gift, given out of love, irrespective of merit.

The Lord mentioned other rewards as well. In Matt. 6:19-21 He advised us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There are things we can do as believers while here on Earth that will cause deposits to be made to our heavenly account. Some believe that this passage refers to the way we use the money we’re given. Do we use it to enrich ourselves, stacking up possessions that far exceed our needs? Or do we use it to further the work of the Kingdom? Here’s a hint. Our tithe is what we owe to God. It’s what we do with the money we have left that really counts. And with the measure we use, it will be measured to us. (Luke 6:38)

To summarize, in the New Testament there are verses like Ephesians 1:13-14 that talk about Union. There are verses like 1 John 1: 8-9 that talk about Fellowship. There are verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 that talk about the Gift and there are verses like 1 Cor 9:24-27 that talk about the Prize.

Union verses:
The verses that stress belief, explain the permanent nature of our bond with God, and are directed toward eternity are Union verses.

Gift verses:
Those that involve grace and faith are Gift verses.

Fellowship verses:
Those that require work and are directed at the quality of our lives on Earth are Fellowship verses.

Prize verses:
And those that require work and involve eternal rewards are Prize verses.

When you view Scripture from this perspective, all of the apparent contradictions disappear and you no longer have to wonder why God seems to be saying one thing here and something different there. The issue becomes one of correctly identifying the focal point of the particular passage you’re looking at. Determine the context by reading verses around it, and assign it to one of the four categories.

Give Us An Example

Hebrews 6:4-6 is a passage often cited in opposition to Eternal Security. The entire letter is to Jewish believers who are being enticed back into keeping the Law, so the context is New Covenant vs. Old. And in verse 9 the writer hints that he’s been talking about things that accompany salvation. That tells us that verses 4-6 are not related to salvation but things that accompany it. More importantly, the idea that a believer could do something to irretrievably lose his salvation is in direct contradiction to the very clear promise that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us from the very first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

So what could these believers be in danger of falling away from due to their sins? Fellowship. And what could prevent them from being restored? The practice of Old Covenant remedies for sin rather than invoking 1 John 1:9. They’d be relegating the death of the Lord to the same status as that of the twice-daily lamb. The Law was only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. Once the Reality appeared, the shadow was no longer effective. And what would be their penalty? Living a defeated life, bearing no fruit, all their works burned in the judgment of 1 Cor. 3. But still saved? Yes. Hebrews 6:4-6 is a Fellowship passage.

Suppose There Is No Security?

In closing, let’s look at the alternative. What are we faced with? If Hebrews 6:4-6 for example applies to our salvation then if we ever sin after being saved we’ll be lost forever with no way back, because the Lord would have to be crucified all over again to retrieve us. The New Covenant would be worse than the Old, not better. They were condemned for their actions. According to Matt. 5, we’d be condemned for our thoughts. They couldn’t murder. We couldn’t even be angry. They couldn’t commit adultery. We couldn’t even have a lustful thought. Think of it. No anger, ever. No lust, ever. No envy, ever. No idolatry, ever. No favoritism or discrimination, ever. No impure thoughts or deeds of any kind, ever. Is this the Good News, the incomparable riches of His Grace? Did God become man and die the most painful death ever devised only to put His children into an even more untenable position than before? Are we saved by grace only to be placed under the constraints of an even more severely administered law? I can’t believe so.

Some take a more moderate view of this saying that God would never take back the gift of salvation, but that we can return it. To justify this position they have to put words in the Lord’s mouth. When He says in John 10:28, “No one can snatch them out of my hand,” they have to insert the phrase “but us” after “no one”. Same with Romans 8:38-39.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. They have to insert the phrase “but us” after “in all creation”.

None of this defense of Eternal Security is intended to condone sin. As an indication of our gratitude for the gift of salvation, believers are continually admonished in Scripture to live our lives in a manner pleasing to God. Not to earn or keep it, but to thank the Lord for giving it to us. And to help us do that, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us to guide and direct us, and to pray for us. Since the Spirit of God lives in us we are no longer controlled by the sin nature and can choose to please God by the way we live. And even though we do this out of gratitude for the Gift He’s already given, which is Union with Him, He blesses us both here on Earth (Fellowship) and in Eternity (the Prize). Selah 10-07-06

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The Feasts of Israel have both a historical and a prophetic fulfillment. In this study we’ll review the account of Passover, the world’s oldest continuously celebrated Holy Day, from these two perspectives.

First, here’s the background. God had promised the land of Canaan to Abraham. But before Abraham could actually take possession, the Canaanite people still had 400 years to decide if they were going to repent of their pagan ways and return to God. He already knew they weren’t going to decide in His favor and He would have to evict them, but He was committed to giving them the 400 years first. So it would actually be Abraham’s descendants who would take possession of the land. In the interim, God said, they would migrate to Egypt and eventually become enslaved there.  When the 400 years were up, God would bring them back to give them the land and would also give them the wealth of Egypt, as compensation for their time of slavery (Genesis 15:13-21).

To make sure there was no confusion about this, God repeated His promise to both Isaac (Genesis 26:2-3) and Jacob (Genesis 28:10-15), Abraham’s son and grandson.

When the time came, God called Moses to be the deliverer of the Jewish people (Exodus 3) and appointed his brother Aaron to help him bring Abraham’s descendants back to the Promised Land (Exodus 4:14-17).  But when they approached Pharaoh, he flatly refused to let the people go (Exodus 5:1-3).  After nine judgments that nearly destroyed Egypt (Exodus 7:14-10:29), God told Moses and Aaron how to prepare the people so they could protect themselves from the 10th and final judgment, the death of the firstborn.

The Historical Fulfillment

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. (Exod. 12:1-5)

From the dawn of the Age of Man until that time, the month to which the Lord referred had been the 7th month, called Nisan. In the announcement above He basically ordered a 6 month shift in their calendar. The 7th month was now the 1st. Because of their dependence on agricultural cycles, the Israelites retained their original calendar, with its Fall beginning, and super-imposed this new calendar over it. From then on they had a religious calendar, beginning in the Spring, and an agricultural calendar, beginning in the Fall. (That’s why Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, comes in the Fall.)

Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. (Exod. 12:6-11)

Until the 14th means through the end of the 13th, just like a present marked “do not open until Christmas” can’t be opened until the 24th is over. Also, Jewish days begin at sunset in line with the Biblical account of Creation, “There was evening and there was morning…” (Genesis 1:5, etc.).  As the sun was setting on the 13th, the Lambs were to be slaughtered and roasted. Some of the lamb’s blood was to be painted on the lintel and post of the door to each family’s house. Then, when the lambs were cooked, they were to be eaten in haste, along with some unleavened bread and bitter herbs (horseradish). Thus, the Passover meal was the first meal of the 14th, eaten after the sunset that marked the beginning of the day. It was a quick meal, more like a sandwich really, bearing no resemblance at all to the leisurely and sumptuous festival meals of today.

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn-both men and animals-and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt (Exod. 12:12-13).

Around midnight, after their hasty meal,  the destroying angel passed through Egypt and the firstborn of man and animal perished. The angel passed over homes where the doorposts had been painted with lamb’s blood, sparing the people huddled trembling within. They weren’t spared because they were Jewish, or because they had eaten lamb for dinner. They were spared because they had the faith to paint their doorposts with blood. They were saved by faith through the blood of the lamb.

Many years later, when the Passover Seder had become a traditional celebration, it became common for the participants to dip a finger into their wine glass to collect a drop of wine which they then let fall onto their plate.  They do this for each of the 10 plagues of Egypt, each time saying, “We are saved by the blood of the lamb.”

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat-that is all you may do.

“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.” (Exod. 12:14-20)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the 15th and lasted through the 21st. No yeast could be used in any food preparation, nor could any be present in the house during that time. When they settled in Israel, since the 15th was a major feast day and special sabbath, after the ceremonial “lamb sandwich” was consumed the rest of the 14th was spent in preparation because no work could be done after sundown. Any yeast found in the house was discarded, and the bulk of the food purchasing and preparation was done. This is how the 14th became known as Preparation Day (John 19:31).

From that day in the wilderness till this, the Lord’s Passover has been celebrated, one of the most dramatic displays of His power ever seen. During the meal they drink four special cups of wine, one each for the four promises God made to Moses from the burning bush.

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD , and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians (First cup, Sanctification). I will free you from being slaves to them (Second cup, Deliverance).  I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment (Third cup, Redemption).  I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.”(Fourth cup, Acceptance) (Exod. 6:6-7).

He freed His people from the bonds of slavery, defeating the world’s most powerful country without an army, without a single casualty among His own, by the power of His outstretched arm. Over a million former slaves walked out of Egypt the next morning carrying the wealth of their former captives, back wages for their hard labor. The sick were healed, the lame walked, and the weak were made strong. Not a single one was left behind.  This detail was overshadowed by other events of the day, but it was most likely the greatest healing miracle of all time.

Prophetic Fulfillment

In the first chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus was introduced as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Throughout His ministry people proclaimed Him as Israel’s Messiah, but only on one day did He encourage it. On the Jewish calendar, it was the 10th day of the first month. We know it as Palm Sunday. Through out Jerusalem Passover lambs were being selected, but on the Mount of Olives The Passover Lamb was being welcomed into the city with shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 21:9)

From then until the end of the 13th He received the most aggressively intense questioning of His ministry.  He was being carefully scrutinized for some defect in His teaching until finally “no one dared ask Him any more questions” (Matt 23:46).

Sundown at the end of the 13th brought the Passover, called Preparation Day in His time.  He ate an abbreviated Passover meal with His disciples, stopping at the 3rd cup, the Cup of Redemption. It was a Thursday, the 14th of the month, and before the day was over He had been arrested, tried, convicted and executed by crucifixion. The Passover Lamb had been put to death on Passover. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed, Paul would later say (1 Cor. 5:7).

Just before He died, knowing that all had been completed and so the Scriptures would be fulfilled, He asked for a drink (John 19:28-29).  In taking the wine they offered, He drank the 4th Cup of the Passover, the Cup of Acceptance. “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” From that day forward, anyone who accepted His death as payment for their sins would in turn be accepted into the family of God and receive eternal life. They are saved by faith through the Blood of the Lamb.

Earlier a group of Jewish officials had asked Jesus for a miraculous sign to prove that He was who He claimed to be. He said, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:39-40). They would get their sign but only after they had put Him to death.  And it would be unmistakable.  No one had ever come out of the grave in a resurrection body before. 

The day following the crucifixion would be Friday the 15th, the first Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a special Sabbath where no work could be done (John 19:31).  Knowing this, the chief priests asked Pilate to hasten the deaths of the condemned men so they could get them off their crosses before sundown. But Jesus was already dead. He had died at three o’clock and though His body was still on the cross, His spirit was already in Sheol, the abode of the dead. Day one.

At sundown the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, and with it Night One, followed in the morning by Day Two. Saturday the 16th was the regular weekly Sabbath and again no work could be done. It began with Night Two and in the morning became Day Three. Then at sundown it was Sunday the 17th, Night Three.  Three days and three nights, just as He had prophesied.

At sunrise Sunday morning the 17th, the Feast of First Fruits was being observed at the Temple when the women came to the tomb where He’d been laid to rest (Matt. 28:1). It was their first chance to anoint the body for burial since both Friday and Saturday had been Sabbaths. But the tomb was empty. He had risen, the First Fruits of the First Resurrection.

The two disciples who met the Lord on the road to Emmaus that Sunday (Resurrection Day) help us to confirm this sequence (Luke 24:13-35).  At first they thought the Lord must have been a very recent visitor to the area when He asked them to explain why they were so sad.  In the course of the discussion they indicated it was the third day since the crucifixion.  It being Sunday, the previous day, Saturday, would have been the 2nd day since it happened, and Friday would have been the first day since, making Thursday the day it happened.

By His death, He freed His people from their slavery to sin, defeating Heaven’s most powerful adversary without an army, without a single casualty among His own, by the power of His sacrificial life. Billions of former slaves will walk out of this world one day soon, receiving wealth beyond measure. The sick will be healed, the lame will walk, and the weak will be made strong. Not a single one will be left behind. It’s the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover Prophecy.

Shabbat Shalom. May the peace of the Sabbath rest upon you, and may the Grace of our Lord Jesus abide within you, both now and forever more. 04-12-14

The post The Passover: History And Prophecy appeared first on Grace thru faith.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

In Matthew 12:38 Jesus was asked for a sign to show that He was the promised Messiah. The religious officials had just accused Him of using the power of Satan to perform His miracles, and so He described the only sign they would see. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,” He said, “So will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40).” By this He meant that because of their hardened hearts they would only know for sure that He was their Messiah after He rose from the dead, an unmistakably miraculous sign.  History shows they didn’t accept even as incredible a sign as this, but His response has resulted in a 2,000 year controversy surrounding the time of His death.

What’s A Sabbath?

People who were unfamiliar with the sequence of the spring Feasts of Israel determined that the phrase in John 19:31 identifying the day after the crucifixion as a special Sabbath meant that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, because everyone knows that the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday.  And almost everyone agrees that He rose again on Sunday.  But there isn’t any way you can put three days and three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.  Hence the controversy.

So let’s set the record straight. Sabbath is a Hebrew word that means means “rest” and refers to holy days when no work is allowed. There is one every Saturday in Israel, but there are also several during the year that are date specific. That means they are always observed on a specific calendar date, regardless of the day. They’re like our Christmas. Every year it comes on the 25th of December no matter what day of the week that happens to be.

The special Sabbath John referred to is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it’s a date specific holy day; always observed on the 15th of the month they call Nisan, which corresponds to March/April on our calendar. So the first thing we learn is that the special Sabbath mentioned in John 19:31 didn’t have to be a Saturday.

Originally there were four special days in the month of Nisan.  The first was Passover on the 14th.  Then the Feast of Unleavened Bread which began on the 15th and ended on  the 22nd, both of which were special Sabbaths. And finally, there was the Feast of First Fruits which fell on the Sunday morning following Passover (Leviticus 23:4-14).

Of the four, only the two that opened and closed the Feast of Unleavened Bread  prohibited work like the weekly Sabbath, but all have both a historical and prophetic purpose and like all days in the Jewish calendar they begin at sundown, following the pattern of Genesis 1 where God repeated the phrase, “and there was evening and there was morning” six times, once for each day of creation.

The Passover Lamb

The next issue we have to consider is the sequence of events in the week we call Holy Week.   In Exodus 12:1-13, where the Passover was ordained, we learn what  that sequence was.  God told the Israelites to select a lamb on the 10th day of the month and inspect it for defects until the 14th. This means through the end of the 13th. Then at twilight they were to slaughter and roast it, eating it that same evening, as the 14th was beginning.  Using some of its blood they were to paint their door posts red to protect them from the plague coming upon Egypt at midnight.

Jesus came to fulfill the prophecy of the Passover Lamb, to save from death everyone who spiritually applies His shed blood to their lives. The only day He ever allowed the people to hail Him as King was on the day we call Palm Sunday, and as we’ll see it was the 10th day of the month. He did this to fulfill the selection process for the Passover Lamb.  When the officials told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said that if they became quiet, the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). For this was a day ordained in history. It was the day He officially presented Himself as Israel’s Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). It was 483 years to the day from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet (Daniel 9:25).  A little while after the officials cautioned Him, He condemned Jerusalem to utter destruction because they did not recognize the day of His visitation (Luke 19:41-44).

The next three days were filled with the most aggressive debate and confrontation with the officials in His entire ministry.  He was being inspected for any doctrinal spot or blemish that would disqualify Him as the Lamb of God. They found none, and finally no one dared ask Him any more questions. (Matt. 22:46)

Tradition, Tradition

Some years before the birth of Jesus, the Passover celebration had been changed and in the Lord’s time called for a brief ritual meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs (horseradish) to begin the 14th followed by a great and leisurely festival meal on the 15th, when the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins.  This meal is called the Passover Seder.

The 14th became known among the people as Preparation Day , because during the day they made ready for the great feast day beginning at sundown,  after which no work was permitted.  Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:31  all identify Preparation Day as the day of the Lord’ s death, while Matt. 27:62 says the day after the crucifixion was the day after Preparation Day.   So all four Gospels agree; Jesus died on Preparation day, the 14th of their month Nisan, which is Passover.  As evening began the day, He ate the ritual meal with His disciples in the Upper Room, and then was arrested, tried, convicted, and put to death; all on Passover.  So just like the Lord had commanded in Exodus 12, our Passover Lamb was selected on the 10th, inspected on the 11th, 12th, and 13th, and executed on the 14th of Nisan.

How Do We Know This?

A little over 100 years ago a believer named Robert Anderson was head of Scotland Yard’s investigative division. He became intrigued by the three days and three nights issue and enlisted the help of the London Royal Observatory to investigate the problem since astronomers can locate the exact position of the planets and stars on any date in history. Since Passover always falls on the 14th, and since the Jewish calendar is lunar (moon) rather than solar (sun) oriented, there is always a full moon on Passover. This fulfills Genesis 1:14.

Plotting the course of the Sun and Moon they documented the day and date of every full moon. The Royal Observatory discovered that the first Palm Sunday was the 10th of Nisan, the day when Exodus 12 says to select the lamb.   Therefore Passover, the 14th, was a Thursday.  The Feast of Unleavened bread began on Friday the 15th, Saturday the 16th was the weekly Sabbath, and Resurrection Morning was also a Sunday, the 17th, when the Feast of First Fruits was celebrated.  From Thursday to Sunday there are three days and three nights.  It’s a little confusing to our way of thinking because the Hebrew day changes at sunset, which means that night precedes day.  But read carefully and you’ll see that it makes sense.

As I’ve said, Jesus had to die on Passover to fulfill the prophecy. Early that Thursday morning the Jewish leadership had gotten permission to crucify Him. (Matt. 27:1-26)  His fate was sealed and He was hanging on the cross by 9 AM, as good as dead.  His actual time of death was about 3 PM and His body was laid in the tomb sometime later, since the officials wanted it off the cross before sundown brought the Feast of Unleavened Bread, after which no work was permitted.  By then Jesus had been in Sheol for several hours.   Thursday was day one.

Because in Jewish reckoning the night precedes the day, at sundown it became Friday the 15th, night one, and the special Sabbath John mentioned began (John 19:31). At sunrise it was Friday morning, and day two began. The next sundown brought Saturday night the 16th, night two, and the regular Sabbath began. As of sunrise it was Saturday day, the beginning of day three. At sundown on Saturday it became Sunday night the 17th, night three, and sometime before sunrise Jesus rose from the tomb. Three days and three nights. When the women arrived at sunrise to anoint His body early in the morning, He was already gone.

So in the week Jesus died two Sabbaths that permitted no work were observed back to back: The Feast of Unleavened Bread on Friday the 15th, and the regular weekly Sabbath on Saturday the 16th. In Matthew 28:1 we read that at dawn on the first day of the week (Sunday the 17th) the women who were close to Jesus went to the tomb.  Luke 24:1 tells us they were going to anoint His body for burial. The two consecutive Sabbaths had prevented them from doing so earlier (Luke 23:55-56). But He wasn’t there. He had risen.  Being the Sunday after Passover, at the Jewish Temple it was Feast of First Fruits.  At the Empty Tomb it was Resurrection Morning.

How Can We Confirm This?

Some people try to equate his time of death with the burial of His body and say you can’t count Thursday as day one, because His body wasn’t laid in the tomb until sunset was upon them.  But that doesn’t make sense.  A person’s death always precedes his or her burial, sometimes by several days.  In the Lord’s case it was several hours between the time He died and the time His body was laid in the tomb.

The two disciples who met the Lord on the road to Emmaus that Sunday (the day the Lord’s resurrection was discovered) help us to confirm this (Luke 24:13-35).  At first they thought the Lord must have been a very recent visitor to the area when He asked them to explain why they were so sad.  In the course of the discussion they indicated it was the third day since the crucifixion.  “Since” is roughly equivalent to “after”.  It being a Sunday, the previous day (Saturday) would have been the 2nd day since it happened , and Friday would have been the first day since it happened, making Thursday the day it happened.

Others argue that this view doesn’t permit three full days and three full nights in the tomb but that’s not what the Scripture says. It simply says three days and three nights. If you move his death up to Wednesday to get three full days you violate the Passover Lamb prophecies, the women wouldn’t have waited until Sunday morning to prepare the Lord’s body because they could have done it on Friday, and the disciples on the Emmaus road would have said Sunday was the fourth day since the crucifixion.  So the Thursday date is the only one that will accommodate both the Passover Lamb and the three day three night prophecies. Mystery solved.

Most of us see our “day” beginning when we get out out of bed in the morning, but the reality is that it began hours before, at midnight. If you keep that subtle difference in mind, it shouldn’t be too difficult to back up a few more hours to sundown of the previous day. That’s when the Jewish calendar day began. In this calendar, each column represents one day of the week, just like your daily calendar. The top row represents the daytime hours while the bottom row represents the nighttime hours, just as you’re used to. The difference in this calendar is in the dating. Since the Jewish day begins at sundown, the first half of each day is shown on the bottom half of the calendar. To follow that day to it’s completion, you jump to the top of the next column to the right.

The post Solving the Three Day Three Night Mystery appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

He came into Jerusalem just like the prophecies said He would and the whole town lit up. Jerusalem was filling up with Passover pilgrims and they joined the locals in lining the steep street that led down from the top of the Mt. of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and then across the Kidron valley to the East gate of the Temple. They laid their outer garments and branches from nearby palm trees across the street and sang,

“Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD (Psalm 118:25-26). Hosanna in the highest!”

This is the only day He ever let them do that. Always before He had told them to be quiet or had disappeared from among them. But on this day things were different. They were singing the Psalm reserved for the arrival of the Messiah and when the Pharisees told Him to stop them, He refused, telling them that nothing could stop this from happening (Luke 19:39-40). On this day He was fulfilling a prophecy from Daniel 9 as well as the one above from Zechariah 9.

“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.” (Daniel 9:25)

A “seven” was a period of seven years. 7 sevens plus 62 sevens equals 69 sevens or 483 years. On the day He rode into the city it had been exactly 483 years since the Persian King Artaxerxes had authorized Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and rebuild it (Nehemiah 2:1-9). As Jesus approached the city He told the people that Jerusalem would be destroyed because their leaders didn’t recognize the time of God’s visitation (Luke 19:41-44).

His arrival made the religious leaders very nervous. Ever since He had raised Lazarus from the dead they’d been looking for a way to kill Him (John 11:45-53) and now He was here in their midst. They had to do something fast because everybody was talking about Him.   In desperation they agreed to let  one of His followers betray Him for money.

Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)

Jesus had reserved a room in which He and His disciples could observe the Passover, where He identified Judas as His betrayer (John 13:26). Immediately afterward Judas left to complete his act of betrayal. He would bring the soldiers to the Garden of Gethsemane where he knew Jesus would be, and point Him out to them. The other disciples remained with the Lord and received His teaching on the New Covenant. It was shortly after sunset so the day had just begun. Before it was over, He would be arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced to death, executed and buried. All on Passover.

After the meal they sang a song. By tradition it was also part of Psalm 118.

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:22-24).

It’s impossible to imagine how the Lord must have felt, knowing what was coming as He sang. Hebrews 12:2 says it was the joy set before Him that helped Him endure the cross. The source of that joy was the knowledge that He was redeeming us by paying the penalty for our sins. It took the life of a sinless man to rescue us from death and He considered the outcome to be well worth the price He had to pay. After the song they went out to the Garden of Gethsemane.

A little while later Judas arrived with the soldiers to arrest Him. Jesus convinced them to just take Him and let the others go. Only Peter and John followed behind Him while the others scattered. Earlier He had said this would happen, quoting Zechariah 13:7.

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the LORD Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”

When the chief priests made their deal with Judas they didn’t realize they would be fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah 11 in conspicuous detail.

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter (Zechariah 11:12-13)

The price was the same, the location of the transaction was the same, even the ultimate recipient was the same. After Judas had betrayed the Lord, he was filled with remorse. He returned the money by throwing it at the chief priests in the Temple (Matt. 27:5). This caused them a problem. They couldn’t take it back into the treasury because it was tainted. Since they were responsible for burying any travelers who died in the city, they used the money to buy a field they could turn into a burial ground. The man they bought the field from was a potter by trade (Matt. 27:6-7).

After trials before the High Priest and King Herod, Jesus was condemned to death. But the Jews had lost the authority to carry out an execution so they held Him over until they could see Pilate in the morning to make it official. Jesus spent the rest of the night alone in the darkness, shackled in a dungeon beneath the High Priest’s residence.

You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief. (Psalm 88:8-9)

As Pilate listened to their accusations, he realized the charges were politically motivated and not legitimate. He decided to see if having Jesus scourged would satisfy them and sent Him to be beaten and flogged with whips.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4).

Pilate’s attempts to save Jesus failed, and after his offer to set Jesus free was rejected, he washed his hands of the matter and sent Him off to be crucified. During all this time, Jesus didn’t protest His innocence or offer any kind of defense. He knew He wasn’t dying for His crimes, but for ours.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:5-7)

By nine o’clock in the morning Jesus had been nailed to the cross and consigned to die the most agonizing form of death ever devised. They had offered Him some wine vinegar laced with gall to lessen the pain, but He refused it. He had told His disciples He wouldn’t drink wine again until the Kingdom had come.

They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. (Psalm 69:21)

He hung there for several hours slowly suffocating without complaining about the excruciating pain but then something happened that changed everything. Having taken upon Himself all the sins of mankind, He actually became the physical embodiment of sin (2 Cor. 5:21). The Father could no longer bear to look at Him and turned away. As He did He took the light from the world and at noon it became like night.

“And on that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight” (Amos 8:9)

Separation from His Father is something Jesus had never experienced and could not have anticipated, and it was so much worse than the physical pain that He finally cried out in anguish.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)

Psalm 22, written 1000 years earlier, is a first person account of what it feels like to be crucified and contains several details specific to the Lord’s ordeal.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;  you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22:14-18)

Finally, after spending 6 hours in a consuming fog of pain that none of us will ever experience, He died. In the last act of His life, He asked for and received a drink of wine. He did this knowing that the work He had come to do had been completed. The Scriptures had been fulfilled. Having paid the price for our sins He knew the Kingdom of God had come to Earth. The drink of wine He took is our proof of this because He had sworn not to drink of the fruit of the vine again until it did (Luke 22:18). Then He said, “It is finished” and died (John 19:28-30). The price for all the sins of mankind had been paid in full. Light returned to the Earth.

A few hours later, the Chief Priests asked Pilate to allow the soldiers to hasten the deaths of the men being crucified. At sunset the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin and it was a special Sabbath on which no work could be done (Exodus 12:16). They wanted the men dead and off their crosses before the Sabbath began. Since crucifixion is ultimately a death by suffocation, breaking the men’s legs would prevent even their limited breathing and they would quickly die. When the soldiers came to Jesus He was already dead so they didn’t break His legs, but stabbed Him in the heart instead.

“(The Passover Lamb)must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. (Exodus 12:46)

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. (Psalm 34:19-20)

Typically, crucified men were denied burial. Their dead bodies were simply thrown on the city’s garbage dump where wild dogs consumed them. But one of the richest men in the area petitioned Pilate for the body of Jesus and laid it in his own tomb near the site of the crucifixion.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)

But that was not the end of it. Three days and three nights later, before His body even began to decompose, He rose from the grave, fully and eternally alive.

You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. (Psalm 16:10)

It was proof positive that His death had paid the full penalty due for the sins of mankind. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. It was also the unmistakable sign of Jonah. He was Israel’s Messiah.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11)

On the night of His arrest, Jesus had prayed that if there was any other way to redeem mankind, He wanted to be released from His commitment to die for us. Then He prayed that not His will but the Father’s will be done. (The Hebrew word translated knowledge above also means perception or discernment. The Lord perceived that His Father’s will was correct and chose to follow it rather than His own.)

This passage from Isaiah shows us that there was no other way. It was the Father’s will for the Son to die so we could live. But it was also His will that the Son be resurrected, because without the resurrection there would be no proof that they had been successful in redeeming us. This is why Paul said we have to believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead in order to be saved (Romans 10:9). The Resurrection is proof that all our sins have been taken away. The fact that He conquered death is proof that we will too. Therefore, belief in a bodily resurrection from the dead is absolutely essential to our salvation.

Writing to the Ephesians Paul said, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21).

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6-7)

The resurrection is the synergistic combination of power and love. Greater than the Creation or the Exodus, which required only power; greater even than the birth of the Messiah, which required only love; it’s God’s crowning achievement. Resurrection Sunday was nothing less than the greatest day in the history of human existence. He is risen! 04-23-11

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“Because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”  (John 20:29)

Note: This article is one of Jack’s Bible Through the Eyes of its Writers category, which is one of my favorites! Written in the first person as if Mary Magdalene herself is telling us her story. Enjoy! -Samantha

I am Mary of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene, so named because I came from the village of Magdala, located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, between Tiberius and Capernaum, and not far from Nazareth.  It also helped to distinguish me from the several other women named Mary who were associated with Jesus during His ministry.  Just as Peter was considered to be the informal head of the male disciples, I was considered to be the head of the females.  I was with the Lord through much of His ministry and, along with the other women, helped to provide His financial support.  Several of us came from families of means and since the men had left everything to follow the Lord, we did our part by making sure there was enough money to pay the bills.  The Lord had healed us all of various diseases so we were happy to be able to contribute to His work in this way.

I was present at the Lord’s crucifixion, and was the first one to see Him after His resurrection.  This is my story of that glorious day.

Some of the other women and I hurried quietly through the streets of Jerusalem toward the Damascus gate.  We were trying not to attract any unwanted attention in case the officials were looking for us. It was just barely sunrise on Sunday morning, the first day after the Sabbath that followed the Passover. We could hear the priests at the Temple blowing the shofar announcing the Feast of First Fruits, the dedication of the spring harvest.

Normally we didn’t wait so long before preparing a body for burial but by the time Joseph and Nicodemus had gotten the Lord’s body off the cross and laid Him in Joseph’s tomb it was nearly sundown and the special Sabbath known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread was about to begin.  When it did, no more work would be permitted.  So after seeing where they put His body, we rushed home to prepare the spices and perfumes we would need for His burial.  The day after Unleavened Bread was the regular Sabbath, and again no work could be done. But finally it was Sunday morning, the 3rd day since His death, and we could properly cleanse the body and apply the aromatic spices whose aroma would mask the smell of decay while the body decomposed.

We’d spent the last three days hiding in fear of the Temple Guard and trying to get over the shock of His death. Maybe you can imagine what an emotional time we were going through.  Just a week earlier, on the day you call Palm Sunday, we had accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna, hosanna to the Son of David … Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Then there was that incident at the Temple on Monday when He drove out the money changers, and the constant tension between Him and the officials in the days afterward.  His betrayal and arrest, and His trial and execution all took place on Thursday, and then He was gone.   Talk about extremes.  Of course, this is exactly what He told us would happen.  But believe me when I say that talking about it and experiencing it were two different things.

Among all of us, I was perhaps the only one who truly had a grasp of what this was all about, but even I couldn’t keep from glancing furtively over my shoulder to make sure no one was following, and the pain I felt at having lost Him was almost unbearable. But life goes on, and there was finally some work we could do. Maybe that would help.

The Empty Tomb

As I look back on that morning, I realize we had no idea how we were going to get into His tomb, but our tradition required that a dead body be made ready for burial as soon as possible.  So we had to find a way to get the tomb opened and we had to do it that very day.

We felt the earthquake as we were nearing the tomb, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw when we got there. The huge stone that had sealed it was rolled away, and there was a man whose clothing shone like the sun sitting on it. He told us the tomb was empty, that Jesus had risen just like He said He would. We couldn’t believe it! “See for yourselves,” he said, “Then go and tell His disciples that He’ll meet you all in the Galilee.”

I was in shock! I guess my time of emotional extremes wasn’t over yet.  I don’t remember where the other women went, but I wandered around in a daze crying my eyes out until I came upon a man I thought was the gardener.  When he asked why I was crying, I foolishly asked him where he had taken the body. “Tell me where you put Him,” I said, “And I’ll bring Him back.”

When He spoke my name I recognized His voice and falling to my knees, I clung to Him. No one was ever going to take Him from me again if I had anything to say about it!  I hadn’t recognized Him at first because I never expected to see Him alive again, at least not in this world. But the sound of His voice was undeniable.

“Don’t cling to me Mary,” He said. “I have not yet returned to the Father.” Much later I understood Him to mean that he was on His way to the real Temple, the one in Heaven, in the role of our High Priest.  There He would sprinkle His own blood on the altar and perform His final act of atonement for our sins, just as the law required. Reluctantly I let Him go, and ran back to the disciples as He told me to.

Of course, they didn’t believe me. After all, this was a man’s world and I was only a woman. What could I know? But Peter and John went to see for themselves and finally, finally, they got it. He had risen from the dead. He was alive. In a great rush of comprehension, they finally believed in their hearts that which they previously had only considered in their minds.  Later that day two of the other disciples also reported seeing and talking with Him on the road to Emmaus, but we got the ultimate confirmation that night when He appeared to us in the upper room.

The implications were staggering. He had taken upon Himself all the sins of the world as He was nailed to the cross, and had paid their enormous penalty with His life.  Then He went to stand before the throne of God the Father Almighty. God cannot tolerate the presence of sin, so if even one tiny sin among all those that ever had or ever would be committed by mankind remained on Him, Jesus could never have escaped the tomb to stand before Him. His resurrection was absolute proof of the certainty of ours. From the first human to the last, all who accept in faith the pardon that His death had purchased for us would be forgiven and receive eternal life. It was unbelievable!

Doubting Thomas

And of course, there would always be some who wouldn’t believe it. Thomas, who had been missing that first Sunday evening, serves as their example.  Even after hearing other reports from disciples who had seen Jesus, Thomas refused to believe until he had absolute proof.  A week later we were all together again and Thomas was with us. Suddenly Jesus appeared in the locked room. “Shalom alechem,” He said, which means “Peace be with you.”

Calling Thomas over, He had him put his finger into the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side. “Stop doubting and believe,” He said.

Thomas fell to his knees saying, “My Lord and my God.”

“Because you have seen you believe,” Jesus said. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

By saying this, He was pronouncing a special blessing on those who would become part of the Church, that great body of believers who accept in faith the validity of events I witnessed first hand. In all of humanity, the church is singled out and set apart for special blessing for that reason alone.

Over the next 40 days before His ascension, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people, and later came back to personally prepare Paul to carry His message to the Gentiles.  Through this instruction Paul came to understand the essential requirements of salvation. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9). It stands to reason. I mean if you can’t believe that God would raise His own Son from the dead, how can you believe He would do it for you?  04-04-15.

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When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col. 2:13-15)

It’s an interesting passage, these three verses, and not often mentioned. But it packs a huge dose of theology.

Verse 13

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

We didn’t work our way to this reward. We did nothing to earn or deserve it.  We didn’t even make the first move, earning the right to a response. While we still hated Him, He loved us enough to die for us, as if saying, “Here’s the gift of life, reserved for you. All you have to do is ask to receive it” (Matt. 7:7-8).

Verse 14

“He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

Today we would call this written code with its regulations the list of charges filed with the court; a bill of indictment for all the crimes we’d been accused of. Since the Lord offered Himself “once for all time” the phrase all our sins means a couple of things.  Collectively it means all the sins of mankind, from the first sin of the first man to the last sin of the last one. Individually it means all the sins of our life, past, present, and future. The Greek word for all literally means each and every sin has been forgiven.

In the Lord’s day, if we had been convicted of non-capital crimes, a list of them would have been nailed to the door of our prison cell, along with the sentence we’d received. As we served our time, paying our “debt to society” as they called it, the intervals would be marked off until at last, we had served our full sentence. At that time we would be handed the list, and the Greek word tetelestai, which means paid in full, would be written across it as proof we had completed the term of our sentence.  This would be our protection against double jeopardy, in case we were ever charged again.

If we had been convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death, our crimes would have been inscribed on a placard and affixed above our head to the cross on which we hung, as a deterrent to all who passed by and witnessed our agony. Crosses were mounted along-side major thoroughfares for maximum public exposure.

As the Lord hung on His cross, the placard above His head read “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” identifying His crime as treason for all those in the temporal realm to see. But in the spiritual realm, a different sign was being displayed. It listed all the crimes against God (sins) that ever had been or ever would be committed during the entire age of mankind. Beside each sin were the names of all the people who had or would commit them. It is this sign Paul describes as being nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:14.

Verse 15

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

You see, all of humanity’s crimes against God are capital crimes, punishable by death, and we’re all guilty. Satan knew that because of this, all of humanity was forever estranged from God. Jesus had come to reconcile God and man, but now by murdering Him, Satan could make sure that no one could ever rescue mankind. We’d all be lost forever. The moment of his greatest victory was at hand.

But wait! That sign over His head said that the Lord wasn’t dying for any crime He had committed. His name wasn’t even on the list. He was dying in mankind’s place for all the crimes WE had committed. How can this be? It can’t possibly work.

From the cross Jesus cried, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” He had become the physical embodiment of sin itself (2 Cor. 5:21), and God had to turn away from Him, abandoning Him there. For the first time in eternity, the Father and the Son were no longer One. There’s hope yet, the devil must have thought. Even the Father can’t rescue Him! We’ve won after all!

But then Jesus cried out one last time. And suddenly Satan understood. He’d been set up. They were in it together, the Father and the Son. In 1 Cor. 2:8 Paul explained that Satan and his minions didn’t realize this until then, because if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. They thought that by killing the Christ they could separate us from God forever, but instead, they were guaranteeing our reconciliation (Col. 1:19-20).

Later, when John, an eyewitness to the event, wrote down the Lord’s last word from the cross, he used the same Greek word as the one the jailers wrote across the written code when they released their prisoners. “Tetelestai!” Paid in full! We were free. The terms of our sentence had been fulfilled and we could never be charged again. Our long estrangement from God, begun in the Garden, was over.

You see, before the foundation of the world was laid, the Father and the Son had entered into an agreement. Knowing all that was to come, the fall into sin and all its horrific consequences, the Father had said to the Son, “Son, if you’ll die for them I’ll forgive them.” And the Son had replied, “Father, if you’ll forgive them I’ll die for them.” It’s called the Everlasting Covenant, and because of it all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And on that central day in history, it had come to pass. The everlasting covenant was fulfilled.

Verse 15 Again

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

So what was to have been Satan’s greatest victory had become his ultimate defeat. And right there in full view of all the host of heaven. A public spectacle. Humiliated!

And what’s the proof? Resurrection Morning, 3 days and 3 nights later. On that sunny Sunday morning, the tomb broken open and empty, Mary Magdalene and the other women became the first to know for certain what mankind had dreamed about for several thousand years. The Redeemer had come, as promised from the days of Adam. And with His blood shed on the cross He had ransomed all who would accept it from death to life. The empty tomb proved it (1 Cor. 15:17).

Having become so much the embodiment of sin that God couldn’t even look at Him just three days earlier, Jesus had now come out of the tomb ready to sit at the right hand of Majesty. His death had paid in full the price for all our sins. It had to, because He took the blame for all the sin in the history of mankind and if the penalty for even one of them remained unpaid, He’d still be in the grave, still separated from His Father. God cannot abide the presence of sin!

But John called Him the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). All of it. And so here He was all dressed in white, on His way to the Throne in Heaven. His Father was satisfied, His need for justice having been met, they were One again. And as they were one with each other we became one with them (John 14:20), as righteous as God Himself (2 Cor. 5:21), as perfect as though we had never sinned (2 Cor. 5: 17), and destined to dwell in the House of the Lord forever. For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebr. 10:14). 04-11-04

Hallelujah, He is Risen!

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Wednesday 13 Nisan. The Betrayal

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. (Luke 22:1-6)

Much has been written about the motives that drove Judas to betray the Lord. Some say His intentions were honorable while others say they weren’t, but the Bible is silent on the issue. What it does say is the betrayal came as no surprise. Jesus had already predicted it. Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) (John 6:70-71).

Some of the disciples asked Jesus where He wanted to celebrate the Passover because as soon as the sun set it would be Thursday, the 14th of Nisan.

He told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” (Mark 14:13-15)

Thursday 14 Nisan. The Crucifixion, Passover

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?”

“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me (Mark 14:17-20).

John 12:26-30 confirms that it was Judas, who went out to alert the authorities as soon as he had taken the bread. His betrayal was a fulfillment of Psalm 41:9, written by David 1,000 years earlier. Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

During the meal, which was eaten at the same time Moses and the Israelites had eaten the first Passover in Egypt, Jesus introduced the New Covenant. He took bread and said it represented His body, given for us, and the wine in the cup He held represented His blood, shed for the remission of sin. He said whenever we eat of the bread and drink of the cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26). From that day to this, Christians have celebrated communion on a regular basis, each time looking back to the cross, where He died in our place, and forward to the crown, with its promise of eternal life. Paul called it the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will award to all who have longed for His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).

After the meal, they went outside the city heading east toward the Mount of Olives, where the Garden of Gethsemane was located. It was an olive orchard just across the narrow Kidron Valley from the East Gate of the Temple. On the way, Jesus reminded them of His coming death and told them they’d soon be scattered for fear of the authorities, in fulfillment of Zechariah 13:7. But He promised He’d see them again after His resurrection. Peter denied that he’d fall away, even if all the others did. In reply Jesus said “I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matt. 26:34) It happened just as He said.

When they arrived at the Garden, Jesus told them to wait while He went a little further to pray alone. 1,000 years earlier, David had described what it feels like to be crucified (Psalm 22:1-18) and Jesus knew full well the terrible suffering and pain that awaited Him. Three times He asked the Father to not to make Him go through with it if there was any other way to save mankind from their sins. Some theologians call this the unanswered prayer, but the Father’s silence was the answer. There was no other way.

Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin (Hebr. 9:22), but the blood of sacrificial animals was not sufficient to the task. It only served to remind the people of their sins (Hebr. 10:3-4). It took the blood of a sinless man to redeem sinful mankind once and for all (Hebr. 10:11-14). Jesus knew His prayer had been heard when an angel from Heaven came to strengthen Him, and He rose to face His accusers.

A couple of the most obvious indicators of the Lord’s messiahship happened during the course of His arrest. When the Temple guards arrived, Jesus asked who they were looking for, and they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said, “I am He,” which caused them all to fall to the ground (John 18:4-6). The word “He” doesn’t appear in the original text. It was added by the English translators. Jesus only said “I Am,” the name by which God identified Himself to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14).

It was a clear demonstration of His power, to single-handedly defeat them, had He chosen to. And as if that wasn’t enough, He told Peter He had more than 12 legions of angels at His disposal (Matt. 26-53). That’s 72,000 angelic warriors standing by, ready and waiting.

At that point, Peter drew a sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant Malchus (John 18:10). Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him (Luke 22:51), telling Peter to put away his sword, saying all who drew the sword would die by the sword (Matt. 26:52).

The word servant is misleading. Malchus was most likely one of the High Priest’s most trusted assistants, sent with the guards as his representative to make sure the arrest went as planned. There’s no indication he was a believer, nor did he ask to be healed. With this miracle, the Lord protected Peter from arrest by reversing the effect of his impulsive act.

By the way, Jesus was not arguing against the taking up of arms in the general sense. It was a reminder that Peter was hopelessly outnumbered by professional soldiers. If he insisted on brandishing his sword, he would surely die from the thrusts of their swords.

That night Jesus endured numerous trials, all of them illegal. The Jews prided themselves in their mercy and only rarely invoked the death penalty. Formal charges always had to be filed before bringing an accused man to trial. Trials were never held in secret or at night. Conviction required a unanimous decision by the Sanhedrin, and they had a “sleep on it” rule that meant they voted again the next day. It took the confirming testimony of two independent witnesses to establish a man’s guilt. None of this was the case in the Lord’s conviction. No formal charges were filed. The group of leaders who tried Him purposely excluded anyone who would have been sympathetic toward Him. He was convicted on His testimony alone, and confined to a cell for an early morning execution. The sleep on it rule was ignored.

When he learned Jesus had been convicted, Judas, recognizing the terrible mistake he had made, tried to undo it by returning the 30 pieces of silver he’d been paid to betray Jesus. Failing in this, he threw the money into the Temple and fled. Because it was tainted, the priests were unable to return the money to the treasury, so they purchased a field to be used as a burial ground from a man who earned his living as a potter (Matt. 27:6-7). All this had been foretold in remarkable detail 450 years earlier (Zechariah 11:12-13). In his despair Judas took his own life.

Because the Jewish leaders lacked the authority to execute a criminal, Jesus had to be found guilty of a capital crime under Roman law. So they took Him to Pontius Pilate and stated their case. But Pilate was not persuaded. He tried to have Jesus released, but the unruly crowd that had gathered around demanded that Jesus be crucified. The Jewish leaders had stirred them up against Jesus and they weren’t going to settle for anything less than His execution. When Pilate insisted that Jesus had done nothing deserving of death, they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” Finally he called for water, and symbolically washing his hands, he said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility” (Matt. 27:24).

All the people answered, “Let His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matt. 27:25) And so it has been. Pilate had Jesus flogged and turned Him over for crucifixion.

The Roman method of flogging was so brutal that many prisoners didn’t survive it. When they were finished with Jesus, He was in deep shock. Their whips had torn the skin and muscle from His back exposing the bones of His rib cage. But the worst was yet to come.

It was nine AM when Jesus was nailed to the cross, and for the next six hours, He endured the most painful method of execution ever devised. Crucifixion is essentially a death by suffocation. Because the condemned man was hanging by his arms, he couldn’t draw a full breath unless he supported His weight with His feet. But pushing against the nails that were driven through his feet was so painful he could only do it for a few seconds at a time, so his lungs slowly filled up with carbon dioxide until he could no longer breathe. Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us the magnitude of our sins made this brutality necessary to ensure our spiritual and physical healing.

At noon darkness came over the whole land. God had turned away, unable to watch, taking His light from the world as He did. 750 years earlier the prophet Amos had warned them this would happen.

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the Sun go down at noon and darken the Earth in broad daylight” (Amos 8:9).

Throughout this unspeakable ordeal Jesus had uttered not a whimper. With all the power of the Universe at His command He allowed himself to be led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). But the pain of being separated from His Father was too much for Him to bear. Finally, at 3 PM He cried out for the first time. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”(Matt. 27:46)

Knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

At the last supper Jesus said He wouldn’t drink wine again until the Kingdom came (Matt. 26:29), and He had refused a drink of it earlier in the day (Matt. 27:34). But now He was asking for one.

Also, the Greek word translated it is finished was a commonly used term that meant paid in full in standard legal and commercial affairs. The debt of sin mankind owed to God had been paid. Taken together these two things indicate that with the Lord’s death phase one of the Kingdom, later to be known as the Church, had come.

Although it would be several hours before the Lord’s body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb, by 3 PM His Spirit had departed and was in paradise. All four Gospel accounts agree that the Lord’s death took place on Preparation Day, as Passover had come to be known (Matt. 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:31). Christ, our Passover lamb had been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7) on Passover.

The Jewish leaders asked Pilate for the crucified men to be off their crosses by sunset when it became the 15th of Nisan, beginning the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was a special Sabbath, on which no work could be done, (Lev. 23:6-7) and they wanted the crosses to be empty by then (John 19:31). Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man and a believer in Jesus, asked for and received the Lord’s body. He and Nicodemus, another prominent believer, laid it in Joseph’s own tomb but were unable to complete the burial process before the sunset brought the Holy Day.

Friday, 15 Nisan. The Feast Of Unleavened Bread

For most of Israel in Biblical times, the 15th of Nisan was a day of celebration and rest, commemorating their release from slavery in Egypt. At the beginning of the 14th, they ate a quick ceremonial meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs like their ancestors had done. The rabbis said if they consumed a piece of lamb the size of an olive they had met the requirements for the day. Then they spent the rest of the 14th hurriedly preparing for the coming feast. That’s why the 14th became known as Preparation Day.

But on the 15th it was a different story because that’s when they ate a large, leisurely meal while they recounted the story of the Exodus. It was a national holiday on which no regular work could be done.

For the disciples it was a time of mourning. Their teacher, their Messiah, had been executed and it felt like three years of preparation for the coming Kingdom had been for nought. They were also afraid they might hear the sound of soldiers coming for them too, in an effort to completely stamp out the Messianic movement in which they had placed such great hope. Jesus had told them they would weep and mourn while the world around them rejoiced. He said they would grieve, but their grief would turn to joy that no one could take away (John 16:20-22). But for now there was only grief.

Unseen to the living, another group was having an even greater celebration than the Jews in Israel. The spirits of Old Testament believers who had died in the hope that a redeemer would come to pay for their sins had finally met Him. Jesus had promised one of the men being crucified with Him they’d be together in paradise that very day (Luke 23:42-43). And, sure enough, there He was, preaching the Good News that their faith had been justified. He would soon be taking them to Heaven (Ephes. 4:8).

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (1 Peter 4:6)

He wasn’t there to be tormented by the devil, as some teach, but to announce His victory, a victory in which those in Paradise would soon share. Remember, just before He died, He had said, “It is finished.” The price had been paid in full, the work was done. There would be no more suffering.

While He was there, He also proclaimed His victory to the spirits in prison who had rebelled against God in the days before the Great Flood (1 Peter 3:18-20). Some say these are the fallen angels who are being held in chains while awaiting their final judgment (Jude 1:6).

Saturday, 16 Nisan. The Weekly Sabbath

Coming on the heels of the previous day’s special Sabbath meant that the women were once again prevented from preparing the Lord’s body for burial. Had there been a regular work day between the crucifixion and the resurrection they would have prepared the body immediately, as was the custom, and would not have been there to discover that it was missing.

Sunday, 17 Nisan. The Resurrection, The Feast Of First Fruits

The Feast of First Fruits always came on the day after the Sabbath that followed Passover. As the priests were taking a sample of the harvest to the Temple for dedication, the women were preparing to finish the job Joseph and Nicodemus had begun three days earlier. But when they arrived at the tomb they discovered the Lord’s body wasn’t there. An angel told them He had risen, just as He said He would, the first fruits of the first resurrection.

Jesus appeared and spoke briefly with Mary Magdalene outside the tomb that morning, asking her not to hold onto Him because He was going to the Father. The writer of Hebrews tells us He was taking His blood to sprinkle on the altar in Heaven in His capacity as our High Priest (Hebr. 9:11-12). This would open the gates of Heaven to all believers. Mary ran back to tell the others, but by the time Peter and John got there, the Lord was gone. They both inspected the tomb carefully, amazed to find it was empty.

That afternoon Jesus came alongside two of his followers on the road to Emmaus, but they were initially kept from recognizing Him. When He asked why they appeared so downcast, they explained all that had happened concerning Jesus of Nazareth and were surprised that He hadn’t heard about it. And what’s more, they said, it was the third day since all this had taken place (Luke 24:13-21).

That comment alone should have forever put to rest the controversy surrounding the actual day of the Lord’s crucifixion. Think about it. It was Sunday, the third day since it happened. That means Saturday would have been the second day since it happened, Friday the first day since, making Thursday the day it happened.

That evening Jesus appeared to ten of the disciples. (Judas was dead and Thomas was missing.) For the first time, they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22).

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:45-49).

In these eight days the Lord lived out the essential doctrine of our faith. Paul would later write, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:3-4) Believing this is what makes us Christians. The empty tomb is proof that our faith is not in vain. Selah 04-07-12

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Tuesday 12 Nisan.  A Prophecy Lesson

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matt. 24:1-2)

How this must have astonished the disciples. Over 500 years earlier the prophet Daniel had revealed that beginning with a decree authorizing the reconstruction of Jerusalem, Israel would be given 490 years during which all necessary preparations for the Messianic Kingdom would be made. They would finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy (place). The most holy place refers to the Temple. Accomplishing this would require the Messiah to come and die for the sins of the people (Daniel 9:24-26).

The disciples knew the 483 year mark had been reached a few days earlier and that the Messiah was among them. He had explained to them that when they got to Jerusalem He would be executed but would come back from the grave three days later (Matt. 16:21, Luke 18:31-33). So there were only seven years left of the 490 years. The Temple had been undergoing a major reconstruction that so far had required 46 years (John 2:20) and wasn’t complete yet. But now Jesus was saying everything would be torn down. Not one stone would be left standing on another. How could that be?

As they began their trek up the Mount of Olives on their way back to Bethany, four of the disciples (Peter, James, John and Andrew) approached Jesus to ask Him about these things. They had three questions for Him. First, they wanted to know when this would happen. They also wanted to know what would be the sign of His coming, and what would be the sign of the end of the age (Matt. 24:3).

By their questions, we can tell they’d been discussing this among themselves. Wanting to know when the Temple would be destroyed was an obvious reaction to his earlier statement, but the Lord’s Second Coming was still a new idea to them. And if the Temple was going to be torn down how would they know when the end of the age would come? They certainly could no longer count on it happening in 7 years.

Matthew’s account of the Lord’s response does not contain an answer to their first question. But Luke’s does, so let’s go there first.

Jesus told them, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies you will know its desolation is near. There will be great distress in the land (Israel) and wrath against this people (the Jews). They will fall by the sword and be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:20, 23,24).

The disciples were to understand that when they saw the Roman Armies surrounding Jerusalem, it would mean Temple was about to be destroyed. The Jews mounted an unsuccessful revolt against Rome in 66 AD and by 70AD Jerusalem and the Temple lay in ruins.

In answering their 2nd and 3rd questions, Jesus began with an overview. In the times ahead there would be false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, but they would not signal the end. He said nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There would be famines and earthquakes in various places. He characterized these as the beginning of birth pangs, meaning they would be indicators that the time of the Second Coming was near.

He said the Jewish people would be persecuted and hated by all nations because they would be blamed for His death. There would be false prophets, and an increase of wickedness, but he who stands firm to the end would be saved (Matt. 24:4-13).

We know he wasn’t talking about the Church here because our salvation is not contingent upon standing firm to the end. Our salvation was assured from the moment we believed (Ephes. 1:13-14). God has set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing this (2 Cor. 1:21-22). Jesus had post rapture believers in mind here, because they have no such guarantee. As you’ll see, there’s no mention of the Church anywhere in this discussion because Jesus was speaking as a Jewish prophet explaining to His Jewish disciples about the end times as they concern the Jewish people. Remember, their questions to Him were about the remaining seven years of Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy, which is all about Israel.

Then He completed His overview by saying the Gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14). Now before you say, “There’s where the Church comes in,” let me take you to Rev. 14 to see the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Rev. 14:6-7)

Now the Lord gave them the first specific sign in answer to their questions. He said when the people of Judea see the abomination that causes desolation standing in the Holy place they should immediately flee for their lives (Matt. 24:15-16). The term abomination that causes desolation was well known to them even though it had only happened once previously. In one of history’s clearest models of the anti-Christ, the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes placed an image of the Greek god Zeus with his own face on it in the Temple and demanded that the people worship it on pain of death. This rendered the Temple unfit for use and started the three and one half year Maccabean revolt. The annual celebration of their victory over the Syrians is called the Feast of Hanukkah. Every Jew knows the meaning of the abomination of desolation from this celebration. It was a sign they could all could recognize.

Jesus told the people of Judea to pray their flight wouldn’t be in winter or on a Sabbath when that happens again because that sign would signal the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:21). It’s harder to flee one’s home in the winter, and it’s against the Law for Jews to travel on the Sabbath.

It’s hard to over estimate the significance of that statement. Even though Jesus had earlier warned the disciples the Temple was soon to be destroyed and the people would be scattered among the nations, He now said there would be a Jewish nation in Israel with a working Temple again as the End of the Age approached. From about 135 AD until 1948 there was no Jewish nation, and since 70AD there hasn’t been a Temple there.

With 20-20 hindsight we can see that with the rejection of the Messiah, Daniel’s 70 week prophecy was suspended 7 years short of it’s fulfillment. The Lord’s brother James explained to the Early Church leaders that this suspension would remain in force while the Lord took from the Gentiles a people for Himself (the Church) and after that Israel would be restored (Acts 15:13-18). Therefore, the Church Age didn’t cancel the remaining seven years, it has just postponed their fulfillment. After the Church has been raptured, Israel’s final 7 years will resume and this time all their objectives will be reached.

The 3 ½ years of judgment that begins with the abomination that causes desolation will be the worst the world has ever seen or ever will see again (Matt. 24:21) No period of time is more carefully measured in all the Bible. It’s variously described as being 3 ½ years, or 42 months or 1260 days long. And then the Lord will return and put an end to it. He said if it was allowed it to run its course not a single human being would survive, but for the sake of His elect He will put an end to it at its appointed time (Matt. 24:22).

Immediately after the end of the Great Tribulation the Sun and Moon will go dark, and the stars will fall from the sky. The world will be plunged into darkness. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear as the only light in the sky, and all the nations of the Earth will mourn. Then they will see the the Lord coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (Matt. 24:29-30).

Jesus said, in effect, the generation of people being born when the first of the end times signs appear will still be alive at the Second Coming (Matt. 24:34). Since He began by saying there will be a nation of Jewish people in the Promised Land in the end times, and since that hadn’t been the case until 1948, scholars believe the rebirth of Israel was the event that kicked off the End Times. If so, then many of the people who were born in 1948 will still be alive when He returns.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matt. 24:36)

From Matt. 24:29-30 we can tell Jesus was speaking about the day and hour of his return to Earth after the end of the Great Tribulation. And while you have likely seen different interpretations of what follows, it’s important for you to understand all of it pertains to the time immediately surrounding the Second Coming.

First, He said it would be similar to the days of Noah. Before the flood, unbelievers had no idea what was coming or why. And when Noah tried to warn them about it they just laughed, as if he was crazy. Right up to the day of the flood, they kept going about their lives, clueless to the fact that life as they knew it was about to end forever. It will be like that at the End of the Age as well. This is why Jesus said the nations will mourn when they see Him coming (Matt.24:30). They’ll finally realize that what they’ve been hearing is true and it will be too late for them to do anything in response.

He gave three examples of people appearing to be just alike and doing the same things, but one would be received into the Kingdom while the other would be sent away to eternal punishment. Matthew mentioned only two of them, the men in the field and the women grinding with a hand mill (Matt. 24:40-41). Luke added the two people sleeping in the same bed (Luke 17:34). The Lord’s point was that what differentiated them was not external and physical, but was internal and spiritual. It’s what they believe that makes them different.

The key to understanding these examples lies in the words taken and left. The Greek word for taken means to take unto oneself, or receive, and refers to surviving believers who will be received into the Kingdom. The word for left means to send away. These are the unbelievers who will be sent away for judgment. This example speaks of Tribulation survivors who will stand before the Lord upon His return to learn of their destiny.

Then He gave a warning that those who survive the Great Tribulation will not know the day or hour of His return so they should be watching for Him like a homeowner watches for a thief he knows is coming (Matt. 24:42-44).

Next, the Lord told them four parables, each one an example of how it will be just after the Second Coming. You’ll see that throughout this discussion there’s been no mention of a rapture or even of the Church itself. Nor will there be. This discussion is about Israel’s last seven years. The Church will be gone by then.

The Faithful Servant. (Matt. 24:45-51)

The first parable is about servants of a master’s house who’ve been given the responsibility of seeing his other servants are fed. Remember, a parable is a fictional story placed in an Earthly context that’s designed to convey a Heavenly truth. Every character or event is symbolic of something else. Understanding what they symbolize helps us discover the Heavenly truth.

The servants in charge are post rapture ministers of the Gospel, which is symbolized by the food they provide for the other servants, their congregations. Their master is the Lord. None of them know exactly when He will return. but when He does, those who have been faithfully preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom will be rewarded. Those who’ve misled their flocks and preached a false Gospel will be punished. James warned us that those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). By their actions, these servants will have shown themselves to be false teachers and will be judged accordingly.

Keep in mind eternal security is a blessing given only to the Church. Post rapture believers will have to maintain their own righteousness or risk losing their salvation. Rev. 14:12 says they’ll have to keep God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. And Rev. 16:15 says, “Behold I come Like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” When used symbolically, clothing stands for righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and post rapture believers will be responsible for their own. (See The Nature of Post Church Salvation for more on this.)

The Ten Virgins. (Matt. 25:1-13)

Next, He told the parable of the ten virgins or bridesmaids. Once again, He began by identifying the time frame of the parable. By saying at that time He was referring to Matt. 24:36, the day and hour of His 2nd Coming, which follows the end of the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29).

The story is about ten young women who’ve been waiting a long time for the bridegroom to come. It’s late and all ten have fallen asleep. Suddenly, they hear someone shouting the bridegroom is finally coming. They’ve all been given lamps and oil to help light the way, but five of them have run out of oil, and the other five can’t lend them any. Those without oil hurry to buy more, but while they’re on their way the bridegroom arrives and the wedding banquet begins. Arriving late, they ask the bridegroom to let them in but he claims not to know them and they’re denied entrance.

This is another example of how some tribulation survivors will be received into the Kingdom while others will be excluded. The key ingredient here is oil, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit and identifies the five who have it as faithful believers, while those without it are not.

Those who try to find the Church in this parable overlook the fact that the timing is all wrong, and the church is the bride, not a bridesmaid. A bride doesn’t need the groom’s permission to enter her own wedding banquet. Also, characterizing the five without oil as backslidden Church Age believers violates the one condition of our salvation, which is belief, not behavior. And finally, a Church Age believer cannot lose the Holy Spirit, who is sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Once again, the Lord warned those on Earth at the time to keep watch because they won’t know the day or hour of his return (Matt 25:13).

The Talents. (Matt. 25:14-30)

Using the word again to begin this parable indicates the Lord is still speaking of the time just after His Second Coming—and that means the servants are Tribulation survivors. It’s the story of three servants who were given allotments of money, five talents, two talents, and one talent respectively, by a master who was going away for a time. When He returned he called them in for an accounting. The servants who were given five and two talents had both doubled their master’s money and were commended. The servant given one talent had buried it in the ground and returned it to him untouched. This servant was rebuked. The talent was taken from him and he was thrown into the outer darkness.

Remember, in a parable everything is symbolic. The key to understanding this one lies in discovering what a talent of money symbolizes. Five talents was a lot of money, so the talents must represent something very valuable to the Lord, but there’s no indication in the Bible that money is valuable to Him. Seeing them as abilities we have is also a mistake because we don’t have anything He needs. Even the most “talented” among us can not contribute anything to His accomplishments. Out of love He sometimes lets us help, but He doesn’t need our help. Job 35:6-8 tells us our sins don’t hurt Him and our righteousness doesn’t help Him. They only affect us. However, according to Psalm 138:2 He values His name and His word above all things.

God must fulfill the promises He has made. We call these promises prophecy. He’s given His word that He will do all He says (Isaiah 46:11) because His name is at stake (Ezekiel 36:22-23). Study His word and, your faith will multiply as you read of prophecy after prophecy being fulfilled.  But ignore it, and you’ll lose even the little bit with which you began. In the Church Age we’re protected against total loss (1 Cor. 3:15), but it won’t be so afterward. If they don’t use, they’ll lose it. And they’ll lose their place in the Kingdom as well.

The Sheep And The Goats. (Matt. 25:31-46)

The Lord’s final example leaves no doubt as to its timing. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matt. 25:31) It’s the time just after the Second Coming when He will bring all the world’s tribulation survivors to stand before Him in judgment. He’ll separate them based on how they treated His brothers during the Great Tribulation. Believers, called sheep, will be placed on His right and welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom where they’ll help repopulate the Earth. Unbelievers, called goats, will be placed on His left and then thrown into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

This appears to be a judgment based on works, but as with everything else, the Lord looks at the motive behind our actions. Only a true believer would be willing to take the risks necessary to help protect the Jewish people against the anti-Christ’s determined effort to wipe them out to the last one. If he can do this before they petition the Lord’s return he will have won, so his extermination efforts will be even more relentless than Hitler’s. Anyone caught trying to thwart his effort will share the fate of the Jews. Those who help the Jews will be doing so at their own peril. But it will be as if they are helping the Lord Himself out of gratitude for all He’s done for them. Their faith will be rewarded.

After Jesus had told them all these things, they joined the rest of the disciples and continued on their short walk to Bethany, where they were staying. More next time. 03-31-12

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10 Nisan, Palm Sunday

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” (Luke 18:31-33)

The time had come for the Lord to make His official appearance in Jerusalem. Having spent the bulk of His ministry in and around the Galilee, He now set His sights on the Holy City for what He knew would be His final showdown with the religious leaders. It was a long walk and would require most of the day.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)

As they came to the twin villages of Bethpage and Bethany on the Eastern slope of the Mt. Of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead to fetch the donkey He knew would be waiting there, and as He crested the Mount of Olives, he saw the beautiful city spread before Him. Large crowds were arriving for the Passover, and many of them had already heard He had raised Lazarus from the grave. Surely this was the long awaited Messiah. Some spread their cloaks on the road while others cut palm branches and laid them in front of Him as He rode down the western slope, across the Kidron valley, and into the city. There were large joyful crowds both in front of and behind Him spontaneously shouting the portion of Psalm 118 that was reserved for the entrance of the Messiah into the city.

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:9-10)

A contingent of the ever-present Pharisees was there, and some of them instructed Jesus to rebuke His followers. If Jesus was not the Messiah—and they didn’t think He was—the crowds were committing blasphemy.

“I tell you,” He replied, “If they keep quiet the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)

It was 483 years from the day Persian King Artaxerxes had issued the decree authorizing the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem after the 70-year Babylonian captivity (Nehemiah 2:1-10). It was the day ordained in history for the Messiah King to officially present Himself to Israel (Daniel 9:25), and instead of rebuking His disciples He rebuked the Pharisees for not knowing this.

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:41-44)

It was also the 10th day of Nisan, the day when God commanded the Jews to select the Passover lamb. Then for three days, they were to carefully inspect it to make sure it had no spot or blemish that would prevent it from being used in the Passover celebration on the 14th. (Exodus 12:3,6). Over the next three days, Jesus would be subjected to the most intense scrutiny of His ministry as the Jewish leadership tried to find some proof against Him.

Matthew and Luke take us right into their accounts of the Temple clearing, leaving the impression that it might have happened on that first Palm Sunday. But Mark makes it clear when Jesus finally entered Jerusalem He went to the Temple and looked around at everything, but since it was late, He took the disciples and went back to Bethany where they were staying (Mark 11:11).

Monday 11 Nisan.  Clearing The Temple.

In the morning, Jesus left Bethany in the company of His disciples. He was hungry and seeing a fig tree went to pick some of its fruit, but there was none. He cursed the tree saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:14). Much has been made of this, the only negative miracle Jesus ever performed. Some scholars see it as a prophecy that Israel would soon wither and die, never again bearing fruit for the Kingdom. History has given evidence supporting the validity of their interpretation.

Upon reaching Jerusalem, the Lord headed straight for the Temple, and when He got there, He began driving out those who were buying and selling, overturning the tables of the money changers. He said to them, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7), but you have turned it into a den of robbers.” (Jere. 7:11)

He was referring to the fact that the pilgrims who traveled a great distance found it safer to buy animals for their sacrifices in Jerusalem than try and bring them from home. The priests would only accept Temple coinage in payment for these animals and for offerings the people made. Some say they charged exorbitant prices for the animals and also maintained an unfavorable exchange rate for foreign currency. Most likely, this is what prompted the Lord’s accusation.

Word that Jesus was at the Temple spread quickly. The blind and lame came to Him, and He healed them. The children who had also gathered around began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” a Messianic reference. The chief priests and teachers of the Law were indignant, but Jesus said, “Have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ (Psalm 8:2)? Then He left the city and returned to Bethany. (Matt. 21:14-17)

Tuesday 12 Nisan. A Long Day Of Teaching And Confrontation.

The next morning Jesus set out early for the Temple. After being challenged by the Pharisees again, He launched into a series of parables. A parable is a fictional story placed in an Earthly context that’s designed to convey a Heavenly truth. Every character or event is symbolic of something else. Understanding what they symbolize helps us discover the Heavenly truth.

He began with the parable of the two sons, one obedient and other not. One son said he would obey then didn’t. He represents the Pharisees. The other son said he would not obey but then did. He represents the tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him” (Matt. 21:28-32).

Then came the Parable of the Tenants. It’s about a landowner (God) who rented his vineyard (His Land) to tenants (Israel). But when harvest time came they refused to give him his share of the fruit (the salvation of mankind). They killed the servants he sent (prophets) and even killed his son (Jesus) to keep everything for themselves. Jesus asked them what they thought the landowner should do to them when he returns. They said he should bring them to a wretched end and rent his vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share. Jesus agreed and said, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit”

The chief priests and Pharisees understood that Jesus was talking about them (Matt. 21:33-46).

In the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, which came next, Jesus spoke of the invited guests refusing to attend a banquet celebrating the marriage of a king’s son. The banquet represents the Kingdom, the King is God, His Son is Jesus, and the invited guests are Israel. Enraged, the king sent his army and burned their city (Jerusalem). Then, as the time for the banquet approached he sent his servants to collect anyone they could find to attend as his guests. At the banquet, the king found a guest who was not properly attired and had him ejected. (Matt. 22:1-14)

Many Christians have misinterpreted this group of guests as representing the Church. But the Church is the bride, not a random group of last minute guests. And the guest ejected from the wedding is not a backsliding believer. Clothing is symbolic of righteousness, and our righteousness is by faith (Romans 3:21-22), not by works. The last minute guests are Tribulation Survivors, and the ejected guest is an unbeliever trying to gain entrance to the Kingdom in his own righteousness, which is woefully inadequate.

At the time of the 2nd Coming Jesus will gather all Tribulation survivors together. Believers will be clothed in the righteousness of the Lord and ushered into the Kingdom, while unbelievers will be escorted off the planet to eternal punishment.

In an effort to trap Him, the Pharisees asked Him if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. Responding with a question of His own, Jesus took a coin and asked them whose portrait and inscription were on the coin. When they said it was Caesar’s Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. They were amazed at His answers, so they left Him and went away (Matt. 22:15-22).

Then another group, Sadducees this time, asked Jesus about marriage in the resurrection. Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection but told Jesus a story of a woman who sequentially married seven brothers, each marriage following the death of the preceding brother. It was an outlandish exaggeration of the law of levirate marriage, which provided that the brother of a deceased Israelite marry his brother’s widow and have a child with her to produce an heir for the dead brother’s inheritance (Deut. 25:5-6).

Jesus accused them of not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God. In the resurrection, there will be no marriage. Then He attacked their denial of the resurrection. He reminded them that in the Book of Moses (the Torah) God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “He is not the God of the dead but of the Living,” He said. The people listening were astonished at His answers (Matt. 22:23-33)

Then they asked Him which of the commandments is the most important. He replied, quoting Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:37-40)

The first four commandments explain how we are to love the Lord, and the last six tell us how to love one another. Together they summarize all of God’s word.

Then He asked the Pharisees a question.

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

“‘The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet”’ (Psalm 110:1)

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Matt. 22:42-46)

His examination was complete. They had found no fault in Him. He was qualified to be the Passover Lamb.

Now It’s My Turn

Having defended Himself against all their tricks and traps, the Lord now went on the offensive with a scathing indictment of their religious practices. It was payback time for all the resistance they’d shown, all the criticism they’d leveled at him. He called them hypocrites who told the people to obey what they say but not to do what they do. He said all their actions are just for show to make themselves look pious and important. Not only would they not enter the Kingdom, but they prevented others from entering as well. He called them false teachers and blind guides, saying they were obsessed with little things but neglected the more important matters of the Law. He said they were like whitewashed tombs, all clean on the outside but full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. He called them snakes, a brood of vipers (seed of the serpent) and held them responsible for the blood of all the prophets their predecessors had killed (Matt. 23:1-36).

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” He cried, “You who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matt. 23:37-39)

Then He left the Temple and walked out of the city. But His day was not over. On the way back to Bethany the Lord gave four of His disciples a critical lesson on End Times prophecy. We’ll pick it up there next time. 03-24-12

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With the death of Haman and the elevation of Mordecai to Chief Counselor, you’d think my problems would be over, but we still had the extermination order against all my people in Persia to deal with. I fell on my knees and begged the King to rescind Haman’s order.

The King replied to Mordecai, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring – but no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”

Most English translations of my story render the last part of the King’s reply as … “for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked” instead of the way I’ve presented it above. Let me make clear what the King was saying, and you’ll see that my version is more accurate. He was giving Mordecai the authority to issue another order that would supercede the extermination order, but even he was powerless to rescind Haman’s order since it had been published over the King’s signature and sealed with his seal. The Jews were still under threat of death and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

So it is with you. When you reached the age of accountability you became liable for execution under the Law of Sin and Death. There’s nothing you can do to change that. All your attempts at self-help are futile. In fact, the harder you try the worse your plight becomes. Only the Holy Spirit can change things. With Him in your life you can appeal to a higher law, the Law of Grace. It supercedes the Law of Sin and Death. The Apostle Paul would one day write about that in his letter to the Romans, chapter 7.

Upon reading Haman’s edict again we discovered that he had forbidden Jews to organize and defend ourselves against our enemies. Here was the loophole we were looking for. Forced to leave the extermination order in place, we simply published a modification permitting the Jews to fight in their own defense. And since Haman had authorized their enemies to seize the wealth and property of any Jews they killed, we extended that same privilege to Jews who overpowered their attackers. The playing field now appeared level, but our enemies would soon discover that we had a secret weapon. Though my people would still have to fight for their lives, victory was now assured.

When Mordecai left the palace that day he was dressed in royal garments of blue and white, with a large crown of gold on his head and purple robes about him. At the sight of him, a spontaneous celebration erupted among my people in the capital city that soon spread through out the entire Kingdom. Mordecai’s power and influence grew quickly because of the edict he had published giving us the right of self-defense. Many people of various nationalities began converting to Judaism, and the governors of all 127 provinces hastened to earn Mordecai’s favor through their kindness to us.

On the day Haman’s edict went into effect, Jews everywhere banded together and went on the offense against those who had gathered to attack us; I believe you would call it a pre-emptive strike. Because of Mordecai’s power and his influence with the King, there was great fear of the Jews and no one could stand against us. All the officials of Persia helped us so as to avoid displeasing Mordecai. My people’s power was coming right from the throne. We struck down all our enemies, even slaying Haman’s 10 sons, but did not take any of the plunder to which we were entitled. Victory is only pure in the absence of personal gain.

Under the Law of Sin and Death, no defense is permitted. Everyone is guilty and must submit to punishment. The Law of Grace supercedes the Law of Sin and Death, but a pre-emptive defense is required. (You must apply the Blood of the Lamb.) So you also use power that comes right from the Throne to achieve victory over your spiritual enemy and nullify the extermination order against you.

At the end of the day the King asked me if I desired anything further, once again offering up to half the Kingdom. I replied that I wanted the edict permitting the Jews to attack their enemies extended for one more day. I also asked that the bodies of Haman’s dead sons be hanged in the public square for everyone in the capital city to see. The King happily granted both these requests.

When my story was originally written down, each of Haman’s 10 sons was listed in large letters on a separate line with the name at the beginning of the line and the Hebrew word for “self” at the end separated by a long blank space in the middle. When you see these 10 names translated into English, this puzzling manner of listing them will make sense to you. Here they are with their English meanings and the word self added at the end.

Parshandatha means “curious-self,” a busy body.

Dalphon means “weeping-self,” self-pity.

Aspatha means “assembled-self,” self sufficient.

Poratha means “generous-self,” self-indulgent, a spendthrift.

Adalia means “weak-self,” an inferiority complex.

Aridatha means “strong-self,” assertive, over bearing.

Parsashta means “preeminent-self,” ambition.

Arisai means “bold-self,” impudence.

Aridai means “dignified-self,” pride.

Vaizatha means “pure-self,” self righteous.

Publicly displaying the bodies of Haman’s 10 sons signifies putting these 10 representative sins to death. (The number 10 implies completeness of the Divine order; that nothing is left wanting, the whole cycle is complete.) Their names reveal the intensely personal value of victory over the sin nature. As you can see from the first meaning of the names, each of the 10 was originally a desirable characteristic, part of the Image of God in which we were created. But the contamination of the sin nature, symbolized by the addition of the word self, distorted them as indicated by the second meaning, and they became offensive to Him. Satan has turned all of God’s creation, which was a source of endless joy to Him, into a perversion of its original state.

Reversing this contamination is not as simple as just trying to change your behavior. Because of his sin nature, the heart of man is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (Jeremiah 17:10) Putting the sin nature to death and yielding your life to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the only way regeneration can begin, and even that will only be complete at the resurrection when our corrupt selves are once again made incorruptible, the way God designed them to be.

Finally the battle was over and the victory won. Once again peace was the order of the day. Mordecai ordered that a celebration be held and he and I chose the name “Purim” for it. It’s the plural form of our word pur, which means lot. (Remember, Haman and his cronies cast lots to determine on which day we should all be killed.) We then issued a proclamation throughout the Kingdom establishing the 14th and 15th of our month Adar (Feb.-Mar.) as the annual celebration of the Feast of Purim, and so it is to this day.

By the fact that this feast is still celebrated in Jewish communities all over the world, you can see that the events of my story actually took place. The story behind the story describes the battle between the Spirit and the sin nature and illustrates the proper order of communications between our Creator and us. It shows you why the Lord ordained that my story be a part of His Book, which after all is the Owner’s manual for humanity.

Now that you’ve read and understand my story, you’re better equipped to fight and win this battle and experience the incredible joy that only proper spiritual communications can bring. Doing this will please our Lord greatly and make it possible for you to live the life to which He’s called you.  Shalom Aleichem, peace be upon you. 12-05-04

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As Esther might have told it today…

The foiled assassination plot against the King can be likened to your salvation experience. Remember, due to Mordecai’s timely warning the two officers who plotted the King’s death were discovered and sentenced to die. Most translations of my story say they were hanged, but in those days hanging meant something different than it does today. It meant that they were nailed to a tree or wooden post and left to hang there till they died, and that’s what happened to the would-be assassins. It was an early form of crucifixion, and it saved the King from death. The event was then recorded in the Annals of the King.

Because of your sin, represented by the two officers, you too were appointed for death. But the Holy Spirit intervened and your sin was dealt with in the only way possible. It was nailed to the cross and you were saved from death. The event was then recorded in the Lamb’s book of Life.

When the King made Haman his chief counselor and empowered him to act on the King’s behalf, it symbolized man giving his sin nature authority over his behavior. Believers are sometimes surprised when they discover the extent to which the sin nature still controls their responses to events in their lives. They don’t realize that while being saved gives them the right to choose a new Counselor, they have to make that choice daily and then follow His advice in order to attain the victorious life. (If you’re starting to suspect that my story is a model of the Book of Romans, you’re catching on.)

One of Haman’s first official acts was to mount an effort to wipe out Mordecai and all the Jews, symbolic of the sin nature’s attempts to undo all the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.

When Mordecai told me what Haman had done, I was sick at heart. And when he said that I had to help save our people by going to the King, I was scared to death. I reminded him that no one, not even the Queen, could approach the King with out first being summoned. Barging in on him unannounced was an offense punishable by death, and the King hadn’t sent for me in over 30 days. Who knew if he ever would again?

Mordecai was not impressed. He curtly explained to me that God doesn’t miss out on an opportunity to advance His Kingdom just because of our reluctance, we miss out on the opportunity to be involved. If I didn’t help save my people, the Lord would raise up someone else who would. But, he said, I shouldn’t think I would escape this danger just because I was the Queen. I was still Jewish after all. And besides, who could say that I wasn’t elevated to my royal position for just such a time as this?

“OK,” I said. “Have all the Jews in the city fast for 3 days and 3 nights. My maids and I will do the same. At the end of that time, I’ll go see the King even though it’s against the law. If I perish, I perish.” Mordecai went out and did all that I asked.

On the third day, with my heart beating so loudly that I’m sure everyone around me could hear it, I put on my royal robes and stood just outside the King’s Hall. He was sitting there on his throne facing the entrance. When he looked up and saw me his eyes lit up and he smiled as he motioned me into his presence. My life had been spared, at least for that day.

“What is it?” he asked. “What’s your request? Even if it’s for half the kingdom, I’ll grant it.” By law, half the kingdom is the most the King was permitted to give someone, so that was a good sign. But all I asked for was the pleasure of his company at a private luncheon that afternoon, along with permission to invite Haman as well. He happily agreed.

After the meal, as the King and Haman relaxed with me over drinks, the King again asked what I wanted him to do for me, and again offered half the kingdom. “Come dine with me again tomorrow, the two of you,” I responded. (I wanted to make absolutely sure the King was being sincere in his offer to do anything I asked.) “If this is agreeable, then tomorrow I’ll tell you what I want.” They both accepted my invitation and left.

Haman was really full of himself after the luncheon. “The Queen invited only the King and me,” he bragged to any one who would listen. But later as he passed by the King’s Gate, Haman noticed that Mordecai refused to bow down and was enraged all over again. Complaining long and loud to his family about Mordecai’s insubordination he was finally cheered by his wife’s suggestion that he have a giant gallows constructed and first thing in the morning ask the King’s permission to hang Mordecai on it for refusing to obey the King’s order. He rounded up the workers and had the gallows built that very day. (As I explained earlier, hanging him on it meant nailing him to it.)

That night the King couldn’t sleep, so after tossing and turning for some time, he had the historical record of his reign brought and read to him thinking that would help him relax. But when he heard the part about the assassination plot Mordecai had discovered, saving his life, he sat up in bed and asked how Mordecai had been honored for this act of loyalty.

“I don’t think we did anything,” his attendants replied. By then it was nearly morning, so the King asked if there were any officials in court yet. After looking around they reported, “Haman has just come in”. (Haman was there early to get permission to hang Mordecai as soon as he could.)

Calling Haman in, the King asked him how he would suggest they honor someone who had done a great service to the King. Haman assumed the King was planning to honor him, and said, “Put one of your own robes on him and seat him on one of your own horses. Then have one of your most trusted officials lead him through the city loudly proclaiming that this is what is done for someone the King delights to honor.”

“Great idea,” the King exclaimed, “Before you do anything else, go yourself and do this for Mordecai!”

Haman was speechless! He had come in early thinking he’d get permission to execute his archenemy Mordecai first thing, and now he was being ordered to personally honor him in the King’s name, in broad daylight and in front of the whole city. How humiliating! He was still moaning and groaning to his family after carrying out the King’s order when my servants arrived to bring him to the luncheon.

Little did he know, his problems were just beginning. After we had eaten, the King again asked for my request, and for the third time offered me up to half the kingdom. By now I knew he was sincere, so although my stomach was turning flip-flops, my voice was steady as I told him how my people had been placed under an extermination order and scheduled for annihilation. I said that if we had merely been ordered into slavery, I wouldn’t have thought to bother him, but I couldn’t stand by and let my family and all my people be slaughtered without speaking up.

I could see Haman’s astonished look as for the first time I revealed my true nationality. He had no idea he’d condemned the King’s beloved to death in his dastardly plot against the Jews.

The King was furious! “Who is the man who has dared to do such a thing?” he demanded.

“The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman,” I replied.

Haman was white with terror. The King jumped up and stormed out of the room. Haman knew what was coming and, throwing his arms around me, begged me to spare his life. The urgency of his plea threw us both back on the sofa where I was seated, and he landed on top of me. Just then the King returned. It looked for all the world like Haman was trying to molest me, and for the King this was the last straw. As he roared in anger, the guards grabbed Haman and pulled him off me.

One of them told the King that Haman had just constructed a giant gallows for the purpose of executing Mordecai. Pointing a condemning finger at Haman, the King shouted, “Hang him on it instead!” No due process here, no endless arguments on the finer points of the law, no jury deliberation. The King’s word was the law.

That very day they hanged Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the King’s fury subsided. He confiscated Haman’s substantial estate and gifted all of its money and property to me. I introduced Mordecai to the King and for the first time revealed our family relationship. Remembering his loyalty, the King named Mordecai to Haman’s now vacant position as chief counselor giving him the official signet ring he had taken from Haman’s finger. This authorized Mordecai to act in the King’s name. I made Mordecai administrator over all my newfound wealth as well.

Listening to his spirit, man finally learns of the true intentions of the sin nature. But putting the sin nature to death isn’t enough. The Holy Spirit has to be installed as Chief Counselor, and empowered to act. Even though He was sealed within you at the instant of your salvation, you still have to put Him in charge. You see, it’s never a question of how much of the Spirit is in you. The question is always how much of you is in the Spirit. Mordecai was always there for the King. His increasing influence over the affairs of the Kingdom represents the Holy Spirit moving from being with you, as He was before you were saved, to being in you, as He became at the moment of your salvation, to being upon you as you authorize Him to govern your behavior. Only then will you begin to act in His power.

As the Lord Jesus would one day tell His disciples, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Matt 12:43-45)

You can’t leave the position of Chief Counselor vacant. Either you appoint the Holy Spirit, or the sin nature will return to re-appoint itself.

This is not the end of my story; it’s only the beginning of the end. My people are not out of danger yet. We still have to overcome the problem of the extermination order against us that even the King cannot rescind. And as we’ll see, the sin nature has offspring that must also be put to death. Stick around. What happens next will astound and amaze you. 11-28-04

The post Esther’s Story … Part 3 (Chapters 4-8) appeared first on Grace thru faith.

As Esther might have told it today…

As I mentioned last time Mordecai is my cousin, although he’s so much older than I am that he actually remembers life in Jerusalem before the Babylonians destroyed it. When my parents died he took me in and raised me as his own. Our age differences made him seem more like a grandfather to me than a cousin and I loved and trusted him completely.

As soon as news of the King’s search for a replacement Queen was made public, Mordecai convinced me to enter the competition and sent me to Hegai, the man in charge of the King’s harem. Hegai took a liking to me right away, recognizing that there was more to me than just a pretty face and pleasing figure. He arranged for me to have extra beauty treatments and a special diet, assigned 7 maids to look after me, and gave me the best apartment in the harem.

Mordecai had warned me not to reveal my nationality, so I didn’t keep to the “kosher” diet or other unique traditions of my people while in the harem. (My “Jewishness” was something else hidden in my story, at least for the time being.) Somehow, Mordecai was certain I would be selected from among all the candidates to be the next Queen of Persia, even though at this point the King didn’t even know I existed. I guess he thought that if my Jewish heritage became known, it would hurt my chances in the competition.

As I reflect on Mordecai’s certainty, I’m reminded of the debate in your time over predestination vs. free will. The King was going to exercise his own free will to make a random selection from among all the girls in the competition, but my cousin already knew what his decision would be and had made sure I was available and prepared.

When you chose to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you were exercising your own free will, but God, Who sees the end from the beginning, knew what your decision would be before He laid the foundations of Earth, and made sure there was a place for you in His Kingdom. From His point of view, it was predestination. From yours, it was free will. Once you understand that God simply knew in advance what decision you would make, the problem goes away.

Before any of the harem girls were permitted to visit the King, we underwent 12 months of beauty treatment with herbs, perfumes, and cosmetics and were also given other training and preparation to make certain we were absolutely our most attractive selves possible. Then, one at a time we would be taken to the King in the evening, returning the following morning to another part of the harem. We would never see the King again unless he specifically asked for us by name. Needless to say, this put a tremendous amount of pressure on each girl since her one night audition would determine whether she would be chosen to live a life of unimaginable wealth and privilege as the Queen of Persia or spend the rest of her days confined in a “gilded cage” with no hope of a normal life.

Every day of that long year, Mordecai walked along the courtyard just outside the harem, checking with officials to find out how I was and what was happening to me. Remember I told you last time that Mordecai is a model of the Holy Spirit in my story. He was watching over me before I was chosen, making sure everything was going all right and that nothing would hinder the success of my audition with the King. In just this way the Holy Spirit watched over you every day of your life, even before you chose to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, making sure nothing would interfere with your opportunity to make that choice when the time came.

Finally it was my turn to visit the King, and just as Mordecai had known it would be, the King found me more attractive and more pleasing than any of the other virgins who had been brought to him. He placed the royal crown on my head and proclaimed me Queen of Persia. Then he hosted a huge banquet in my honor. He invited all his princes and nobles, made the banquet day a holiday throughout the kingdom, and distributed gifts to his subjects with royal liberality. It was the kind of day that girls like me don’t even dare dream about.

But you’ve had one just like it. My coronation celebration was a model of each believer’s salvation experience and the rejoicing that took place in heaven on that wondrous occasion when your spirit was united with the Holy Spirit of God. The King of Kings and His Heavenly Host stopped everything to sing and shout for joy! Did you know that the Bible records only five events that are cause for such celebration? They are the creation of the Earth, (Job 38:1-7) the birth of the Messiah, (Luke 2:13-14) the decision to finally unseat Satan from the Throne of Earth, (Rev. 5) the Messiah’s victorious 2nd Coming (Rev.19) and the welcoming of a new believer into the Kingdom. (Luke 15:7) That shows how important your salvation is to the Lord!

Now in those days the main gate of a city was actually a building, constructed as part of the city wall. This building usually became the major commercial and legal center of the city and ours was no exception. It was called the King’s Gate and most of the important men in the city gathered there every day. Mordecai was often there and one day happened to overhear a private conversation that troubled him greatly. Two of the officers who guarded the King’s Gate had become so angry with the King that they were actually plotting to assassinate him!

Mordecai rushed to tell me and of course I informed the King, crediting Mordecai as my source. (In obedience to my cousin, I was still keeping our family relationship secret so I didn’t tell the King anything about that.) When Mordecai’s claim was investigated and found to be true, the two officers were tried and convicted and hanged on the gallows. The entire event, including Mordecai’s part in it, was recorded in the Annals of the King.

This is an example of the spiritual communications I described last time working properly now that the lines were open again. By placing a queen on the throne the order was restored and warnings of impending danger could come from the Holy Spirit (Mordecai) to man’s spirit (the Queen) to man’s soul (the King) where it could be translated into behavior. Things were functioning the way they should again and peace was the order of the day.

But the sin nature doesn’t give up so easily, and unfortunately can often enlist the soul in its efforts to rule over us. Man’s soul has the power to act autonomously and can take advice from any source. It’s where our freedom of choice, sometimes called agency, resides. Before we’re saved, our soul has only the sin nature to advise us on how to behave, but once salvation has taken place, it’s the role of the Holy Spirit to resist and displace that once trusted advisor. What happened next is another example of the harm that comes from ignoring the promptings of the Spirit and acting on our feelings instead.

One day, for no particular reason, the King decided to honor a friend of his, a noble named Haman. He named Haman to a position of special counselor and made him superior to all the other nobles in his court. Even though Haman hadn’t done anything to deserve this honor, the King required everyone to bow down and pay homage to Haman whenever he passed by. Mordecai was incensed and refused to do so.

Perhaps a little history lesson will help explain the contention that existed between Haman and my cousin Mordecai. Haman was a descendant of Agag, King of the Amalekites, traditional enemies of the Jews. Years earlier, Israel’s King Saul had spared Agag in disobedience of the Lord’s command. The Amalekites had attacked the Jews when Moses was leading them through the wilderness and the Lord had sworn to wipe them off the face of the Earth for doing so. Saul was commanded to carry out the Lord’s judgment. (1 Samuel 15:1-9) By sparing Agag, he permitted the Amalekites to survive and their animosity toward the Jews to remain. Even though the Prophet Samuel killed Agag a few days later, the damage was done. As we’ll see, Haman was determined to show God just whose people would be exterminated.

When Haman learned of Mordecai’s refusal to bow before him, he was furious. Then he found out that Mordecai was Jewish, and this enraged him even more. Not being satisfied with just killing Mordecai, Haman conceived an evil plot to rid the entire kingdom of all of its Jews. Casting lots with his co-conspirators, he chose a day on which all the people of Persia were to rise up as one against my people to completely annihilate us from the Kingdom. Using his new found influence to poison the King’s mind against us, Haman got the King to issue a decree giving his plan the force of law, and promising the Persian people the property and possessions of all the Jews they killed for carrying out this heinous act. Finally, Haman pledged 10,000 talents of silver to the King’s Treasury to seal the bargain.

The King, who was already rich beyond measure, replied, “Keep your money, but do with the people as you please.”

Well, as you might guess, the King’s edict put the whole kingdom into a turmoil. Everywhere you went, Jews were wailing and tearing their clothes, throwing dust in the air and wearing sackcloth, and Persians were perplexed by this seemingly uncalled for extermination order. No one knew quite what to do.

Remember, Haman is a model of our sin nature. When our sin nature is elevated above the Holy Spirit in terms of influence in our lives, it immediately works to nullify all the fruits of the Spirit’s regenerative work in us. Both our spirit and our soul suffer anguish, and those around us become perplexed by our contradictory behavior. As the Apostle Paul would later write, “The sin nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sin nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want.” (Gal. 5:17) So it was between Haman and Mordecai.

In our next episode, Mordecai confronts me with the frightening truth that only I can save my people, and to do so I’ll have to risk everything, my prestige, my crown, even my own life. Little Hadassah, still in her teens, will be forced to confront the most powerful ruler on earth, a man who literally holds the power of life or death over her. My secret identity will become known and I’ll have to count myself among those scheduled for extermination. See you then.

The post Esther’s Story … Part 2 (Chapters 2-3) appeared first on Grace thru faith.

(NOTE: Ray C. Stedman’s book “The Queen and I” was a major source of inspiration for this series of articles on the Book of Esther.)

This is part of Jack’s, Bible Thru the Eyes of Its Writers series where he tells the stories in first-person—as if the authors were telling the story themselves.

As Esther might have told it today…

Although my Hebrew name is Hadassah, which comes from our name for the myrtle tree, most people know me by my Persian name, Esther. This is the story of how I rose from an orphaned captive Jewish girl to become Queen of Persia, the most powerful nation of my day. Many “learned” people (Martin Luther was one) have expressed doubt that my story should even be in the Bible because it seems to have such a secular theme. As evidence of this they claim that the Name of God is never mentioned. But as I’ll show you His Name appears five times, although each time it’s hidden in the Hebrew text. In fact “Something Hidden” is a good sub-title for my story because as it unfolds you’ll see that there is much more hidden than just the Name of God. It was all placed here for your learning, as a reward for the diligent student.
Many years before I was born, my parents had been brought to Babylon from Jerusalem with all the other Jews during what’s now called the Babylonian Captivity, a 70 year judgment that began in 586 BC with the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple.  My parents died there when I was still a young girl, so my older cousin Mordecai raised me as his own. My story takes place after Cyrus the Persian had conquered Babylon and released my people from our servitude but before Ezra left with a large group of volunteers to begin rebuilding our Temple in Jerusalem and reestablishing our nation.

It was a glorious time of peace in the Persian Kingdom and the air felt fresher, the sky looked bluer and the stars brighter because of it. All of Persia’s enemies had been conquered, including the great Babylon, long thought to be invincible. With no external threat present, King Ahaseurus, also called Xerxes, decided to host a grand celebration honoring the peace. Inviting his governors and other officials from all over the kingdom (it stretched from India to Egypt and encompassed 127 provinces) he threw a bash that lasted a full 180 days and was capped off by a lavish 7-day banquet! On the last great day of the banquet the King was feeling no pain and after extolling the flawless beauty of his Queen, Vashti, he commanded his servants to bring her into the banquet hall so all his princes and nobles could feast their eyes on her and envy his good fortune.

You’d think the Queen would be thrilled to receive all that attention, but to everyone’s amazement, she refused to appear before them. To say the King was beside himself with anger would be a massive understatement. Nobody disobeyed the King of Persia and lived to tell about it! He and his nobles quickly agreed that if she wasn’t punished, all their wives would soon become disobedient. They advised him to banish Queen Vashti from his presence and find a new queen to replace her, and he agreed. That very day he issued the decree deposing Vashti, vowing never to see her again.

In the Hebrew text describing this event the first hidden appearance of God’s name appears. The first letters of the Hebrew words for “all the women will respect” in what is now called verse 20 of chapter 1 form the acrostic acronym YHVH, the initials of God’s Name. There are a total of four such appearances. This one is spoken about the queen. The next will be spoken by the queen (5:4) and like it is made up of first letters. In both cases where the acronym consists of first letters the initial facts of an event are being revealed.

The third one will be spoken about Haman, (5:13) and the fourth by Haman (7:7). These two are made up of the last letters of the Hebrew words in the respective passages, and both times the final stages of events are being described. All four of these acronyms consist of the letters YHVH.

The first and third acronyms are spoken by gentiles and read left to right like all languages west of Jerusalem. The second and fourth are spoken by Israelites and read right to left like all languages east of Jerusalem.

There is also a fifth one (7:5) made up of last letters but in reverse order, and in this one the letters used are EHVH, another form of the Name of God, the one He used at the burning bush and that we translate “I am”. That makes five concealed appearances of God’s name. Five is the number of grace and indeed my story is a beautiful illustration of the Grace of God, concealed in the Old Testament, but revealed in the New.

But back to my story. It wasn’t till later that I discovered Queen Vashti’s reason for disobeying. She had refused the King’s command to parade before all those drunken nobles at the banquet because he had commanded her to appear wearing her crown, and only her crown. No wonder she declined.

After the party ended and the King had sobered up, he remembered how much Vashti had meant to him, and he regretted banishing her. Her absence created a great longing in his heart, and he missed her sorely. But Persian laws cannot be reversed, even by the King, so he was stuck with his decision. His advisers, seeing how sad and lonely he was, suggested combing the Empire for beautiful virgins they could bring to the capital city to be carefully prepared for him. After auditioning them, he could choose his favorite and she could help him forget Vashti. The King agreed, and that’s how I came into his life.

Now’s a good time to stop and introduce something else hidden in my story. In addition to being an actual historical event, the highlights of which are celebrated among Jews even today in the Feast of Purim, my story is also an amazing model of man’s proper relationship with God. It’s like a parable where every character also represents someone else.

To reveal these hidden mysteries, we’ll have the King represent our soul; our mind, will, and emotion. The Queen represents our spirit, our eternal essence. My cousin Mordecai, who we’ll meet soon, represents the Holy Spirit. Haman, an evil adviser to the King who we’ll also meet next time, represents our sin nature, or flesh, under the influence of Satan. The Capital City is our body, and the Kingdom, our world; the surroundings over which we exert influence.

The proper order for spiritual communications has God at the top, and in descending order the Holy Spirit, our spirit, and then our soul. As created beings, we’re designed to operate on the basis of the revealed Word of God, communicated through the Holy Spirit to our spirit and then to our soul, where it’s translated into behavior. When that’s happening we’re at peace.

When our story opened, the King and Queen were on their thrones. There was peace in the Capital City and indeed throughout the Kingdom. This represents man, functioning according to design, ruling over his kingdom within the parameters of God’s revealed Word as communicated through His Spirit.

But in his impaired state, the King reversed the order of communications, allowing the emotions emanating from his soul to govern his behavior. His lust prompted an improper command, and his anger at her disobedience caused him to banish the Queen. He soon regretted it, feeling sad and lonely, but the damage was done. This is what happens when we let our feelings replace the Word of God as the guide for our behavior. The line of communications is broken and we begin to feel sad, and alone. We’ve lost contact with our Counselor. And as we’ll see, once that happens there is no peace, either within us or in our surroundings, because it opens the door for the sin nature, or flesh, to take charge.

Next time the search for a new Queen begins, Haman and Mordecai begin their battle for the King’s ear, and a conspiracy to assassinate the King leads to an even more sinister plot to destroy my people, the Jews. We’ll also see how ruthlessly the flesh battles to maintain authority over the spirit once we permit it. So hang on, we’re just getting started.

The post Esther’s Story … Part 1 (Intro and Chapter 1) appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Some of the confusion regarding the permanence of our salvation comes from our failure to distinguish between the two facets of our relationship with the Lord: union and fellowship.

Basis and Status

Union describes the basis of our relationship and is explained in John 17:20-23. The summary of the passage is verse 23; “I in them and You in Me.”

Ephesians 1:13-14, and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 clearly state that at the moment of belief we’re united with God and the Holy Spirit is sealed inside us as “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” In John 17:23 Jesus claims to be in us as well. And since the Father is in the Son and the Son is in us then the Father is also in us. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; all in us. Union.

Fellowship defines the status of our relationship at a given point in time. Are we together frequently and conversing often, or has something come between us, causing us to be estranged from one another?

The Need for Both is Clear

The Lord wants us to learn the lessons taught by Israel, first that the most concerted effort ever put forth by man could not produce a single life good enough to meet God’s standards for righteousness.

But even so He still wants us to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, obeying His laws and receiving His blessings. He knows we’ll be happier and live longer, better lives that way. And that’s the second lesson.

Of course we can only be truly free to live happy blessed lives if we’re not constantly afraid of losing everything, and yet our sin nature will cause even the best of us to fall short on many occasions. So He made sure that His promise of Eternal Life could be kept irrespective of our merit by paying the whole price Himself, and then made it irrevocable by sealing Himself inside us. The old hymn calls it “Blessed Assurance.” He calls it union.

And He made sure that when we continued to sin by breaking His laws even after being saved we could restore our relationship simply by confessing our sins and asking His forgiveness. Its called maintaining fellowship and He made it possible by paying for all the sins of our lives in advance.

Who Are You Calling Stubborn?

He knew that being stubborn and rebellious creatures, we would sometimes deny our sins, justifying our behavior and refusing to repent. Since He never could tolerate sin, He knew that this would interrupt our fellowship and require Him to withdraw His blessing temporarily (its called discipline). He hopes this will prompt us to repent and confess our sins so we can be forgiven and restored, having no fear of being refused or rejected. (1 John 1:8-10)

There are two reasons so many Christians live defeated, fruitless lives:

1. They’ve been taught a doctrine that omits any reference to Holiness so they live out of fellowship and don’t even know it.
2. They’ve been convinced that they’re somehow beyond God’s forgiveness and therefore can’t restore their relationship with Him.

Both ignore the admonition and promise of 1 John 1:8-10 and are the main battery weapons in Satan’s artillery against us.

The Lord’s Prayer

So next time you pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” you’ll know you’re asking to be restored to fellowship after being angry with someone who’s wronged you.

You’ve forgiven them and can now be forgiven for your anger (Matthew 6:14 ). Justified or not, anger’s a sin (Matthew 5:22)

And Then There’s Hebrews 6:4-6

And the next time you read this famous passage, you’ll know that the writer was warning Messianic Jews that if they went back to sacrificing lambs for their sins (falling back into Jewish ritual) it would be impossible for them to restore their fellowship with the Lord. The shadow had been replaced by the reality. He wasn’t threatening them with irretrievable loss of salvation but with loss of fellowship.

How Do You Know This?

There are several places we could look to for support for this idea, but perhaps the clearest is in the parable of the Prodigal son. It’s found in Luke 15:11-32 if you want to review it.

Two points are critical:

1. When the son demanded the right to leave his father’s house and go his own way, he didn’t stop being his father’s son
2. and when he finally came to his senses and returned, his father welcomed him back with celebration. Union was never broken and fellowship had been unconditionally restored.

When you gave your heart to Jesus He gave you the authority to become a child of God (John 1:12).

Since you are His child, you are also His heir (Galatians 4:4-7) and your inheritance is eternal life (Titus 3:7).

Your unconfessed sins will interrupt your fellowship with God, but you can never stop being His child.

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Since 9/11,  it has been popular to identify Mystery Babylon as New York City.

Consider, though, the following:

1. You can connect the Scriptural dots and come clearly and directly to Babylon in Iraq.
2. There’s not a shred of Biblical evidence to support the New York City view.
3. There’s no compelling reason to spiritualize the Biblical passages on the subject.

The above three points against this don’t seem to bother those in favor of this view.

The late Dr. David L. Cooper advised, “Where the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate text clearly indicate otherwise.” It’s come to be known as the Golden Rule of interpretation. We’ll apply it to see what the Bible says about Mystery Babylon.

The first place to look is the only place it’s mentioned, Revelation 17. There the words “Mystery Babylon the Great” appear, written on the forehead of a symbolic woman seated atop a symbolic beast with seven heads and ten horns in a vision John was given. We know they’re symbolic because in the passage the angel describing them says so, and tells us what they symbolize. This fits with Dr. Cooper’s rule.

The angel explained to John that the beast symbolized Satan, who would become the object of worship in the world and manifest himself in one we call the antichrist. The seven heads were seven hills and also seven kingdoms. Five of these had fallen when John was writing (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece) one was currently in power (Rome) and one was still to come (hold that thought). The ten horns were ten kings who didn’t yet have a kingdom but would each receive one for the purpose of serving the antichrist and making war against the Lord. And finally, the woman was the city that in John’s time was ruling over the world.

When In Rome …

So far we have three references to Rome. It sits on seven hills, it was the kingdom currently in power, and it was the city from which the world was ruled. Most scholars accept the fact that in John’s time, when the Revelation was written, the vision of the woman on the beast represented Rome, and that’s why she was called Mystery Babylon.

(In the Greek language, the word we translate mystery literally means a revealed secret. The pagan religious system first practiced in Babylon had been transplanted to Pergamus in Biblical times (see Rev. 2:12-17) but in the 4th century AD would be merged with Christianity in Rome. That’s the secret John was revealing.)

Throughout much of church history Mystery Babylon has been a euphemism for Rome. But what about today?

The Roman Empire was never really defeated in the sense that the other ancient kingdoms were. It was split up and parts of it were overcome, but in the 300’s it was transformed into the Holy Roman Empire and for all practical purposes ruled over Europe until the 1500’s. And even after that parts of the old Roman Empire were pre-imminent in the world for a time, specifically Spain and England.

Currently the USA is the undisputed super-power, but lately, the European Union has begun challenging the USA for leadership in the world. This turn of events is particularly interesting to prophecy buffs because of Daniel 9:26. “After the sixty-two ‘sevens, the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.”

Those of us who believe that this portion of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy is still in the future, knowing that the Romans destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (The Temple) in 70 AD, believe that it predicts a ruler emerging from a revived Roman Empire at the end of the age. This ruler is called the antichrist by most, who also see the European Union as a revival of the Roman Empire. That being the case, the kingdom described to John in Rev. 17 as the one that was still to come would be the European Union, a modern version of the Roman Empire.

When the antichrist comes to power, we believe he’ll divide the world into 10 regions and place a leader over each of them, hence the 10 kings loyal to him.

But Wait There’s More

Seeing Rome as both the 4th and 5th kingdoms of John’s vision fits with other prophecies as well. For instance, in Daniel 2&7 we’re given two views of Gentile Dominion, the time in world history when gentile powers are superior to Israel. In both, the dream Daniel interprets in Daniel 2 and his parallel vision of monsters coming out of the sea in Daniel 7, there were only four gentile kingdoms identified from Daniel’s day to the Kingdom Age. By comparing the symbolism of the visions with what we know of history, we can identify the first one as Babylon, in power when Daniel was alive having conquered both Egypt and Assyria. Then came the Medo-Persian Empire, followed by Greece and finally Rome. The only kingdom after Rome is the Kingdom of our Lord, a Kingdom that will never be defeated or given to another. So Rome is the last Gentile world power before the Lord’s return.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) of the huge poly-metallic statue that symbolized the four Gentile powers, the two legs of iron represent Rome’s Eastern and Western components that ultimately became the Holy Roman Empire’s Catholic and Orthodox churches. The feet and toes of iron mixed with clay stand for the End Times Revival of the Empire and signify the problems that have plagued Europe’s attempts to unite (iron and baked pottery neither mix nor adhere well) as well as the 10 regions (the toes) into which the Antichrist will divide the world. Interestingly, it was the Treaty of Rome that in 1957 gave the European Union its beginning. So the clear hints of the two incarnations of Rome have now been verified in history.

What’s The Point?

So how does all that relate to literal Babylon? Rev. 18 claims that in the final days the City of Babylon will once again be a world center for government, commerce, and religion and describes the worldwide distress caused by its destruction just before the Lord’s return. For years scholars, believing Babylon to have been destroyed long ago, searched for the modern city they believed the passage to be symbolizing, and many chose New York. But during the first Gulf War, they discovered that ancient Babylon had never been destroyed in the way the Bible describes. Further research showed that it’s been continuously inhabited since the days of Nebuchadnezzar and that Saddam Hussein had expended much effort in restoring it. More on this below.

But before we go on, let’s understand a little more about why some believe Rev 18 describes New York City. Being home to the UN it could be considered the center of world government, the New York Stock Exchange has a tremendous influence over world commerce, and of course, it’s located in the USA, the most obviously Christian nation in the world today which connects it with a major religion. And then there’s the indisputable fact that having been so richly blessed, the US certainly deserves to be judged, and New York is arguably its most prominent city.

What Makes You So Great?

Biblical scholars from other countries complain that only the arrogance of Americans causes us to look for ourselves in the Bible. Sure we’re on top now, but the US is such a newcomer on the world scene, barely over 200 years old in a history that at its most conservative estimate stretches back over 6000 years. And the battle between the city of Satan (Babylon) and the city of God (Jerusalem) had been raging for several thousand years before America was even discovered. In a nutshell, the long view of history argues persuasively for reading Rev. 18 literally. If so, how does Babylon get to be center stage again after so many centuries of obscurity?

He’s Up In The Night

In the Book of Zechariah, a series of night visions concerning the end times occupies the first six chapters. The one recorded in Zechariah 5 gives us the answer. Zechariah describes being told in this vision to inspect a large basket with a lead cover. An angel tells him the basket contains the iniquity of the people throughout the earth. When he looks inside, he sees a woman, who the angel identifies as the symbol of their wickedness. Then two other women, each with the wings of a stork, lift the basket and begin to fly away with it. (According to Lev. 11:19 storks would be able to carry this load of wickedness without becoming defiled by it because they’re already unclean.)

“Where are they taking the basket?” Zechariah asks. “To the country of Babylon,” the angel replies, “To build a house for it.” (Literally to the plains of Shinar, the location in ancient Mesopotamia of the City of Babylon). “When it’s ready, the basket will be set there in its place.” (Zech. 5:5-11). The fact that an actual physical location is given for the basket’s final destination should discourage anyone from spiritualizing that part of the passage. Again we’ve applied Dr. Cooper’s Golden Rule of interpretation.

Where Are They Coming From?

OK, so we know where the basket is going, but where will the stork-women be taking it from? According to many scholars, the woman in Zechariah’s basket is the woman from Rev. 17, Rome. At the end of the age, after all its true believers have been whisked away in the Rapture, the religious system currently headquartered in Rome will be returned to Babylon from whence it came, to be absorbed into antichrist’s one world religion. (The End Times Empire will also be absorbed, but into antichrist’s one world government, bringing the world’s political, commercial, and religious power together under one central authority.)

Zechariah’s visions followed Babylon’s defeat by the Persians. And almost from his day to ours, Babylon was a forgotten city. Although Alexander the Great later lived and died there, his plan to dredge a big harbor to lure Persian Gulf boat traffic to Babylon was never implemented. After his death, a natural harbor was found on the Tigris River and soon became the regional center of commerce Alexander had envisioned. The city that grew up around this harbor was named Baghdad. Although only about 62 miles (100 km) away, Babylon slowly faded into obscurity dwindling to as few as 10,000 inhabitants. It was never again a center for government, commerce, and religion, but neither was it ever destroyed as Revelation 17-18, Isaiah 13-14 and Jeremiah 50-51 all prophesy. These events are still in our future.

Babylon Re-born

As I indicated earlier, Saddam Hussein spent millions restoring ancient Babylon into a ceremonial city, perhaps unknowingly preparing it for its final role in world events. Since the Lord is committed to doing all that He’s promised (Isaiah 46:8-11), when the time is right, the basket symbolizing the world’s wickedness will be set in the place prepared for it on the plains of Shinar. And then the ancient City of Babylon will once again become the world headquarters for the three great evils of mankind’s design:

1. Government: which enslaves men politically.
2. Commerce: which enslaves us economically, and
3. Religion: which enslaves us spiritually.

Does the City of New York deserve to be judged? Absolutely, along with the rest of America, and most of the world for that matter. But is New York the Mystery Babylon of Rev. 17-18? I hope this article has persuaded you otherwise. But to be sure, become a Berean and search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things be true. (Acts 17:11) 05-16-04

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Part 2. The Gospel Of Grace

The word “grace” appears 170 times in the English translation of the Bible, 37 of them in the Old Testament. Of the remaining 133, only four are contained in the gospels and they all refer to the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:40, John 1:14, 16, 17). The Book of Acts contains 10 appearances, and 2 others can be found in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:4, Rev. 22:21) where they essentially open and close the book. That leaves 117 references to grace in the various Epistles.

As it’s used in the New Testament, grace is clearly a word that is meant for the Church. It comes from the Greek word charis, which in the Biblical context is defined as “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”

Much has been written about the different approaches taken by Peter and Paul in presenting the Gospel of Grace to their audiences.  The Bible makes it clear Peter believed in salvation by grace.  In Acts 15:11 he said, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we (Jews) are saved, just as they (Gentiles) are.”  But some claim that Peter didn’t mention having our sins forgiven by the Lord’s sacrifice but instead preached a message of repentance and baptism.

In contrast, they say Paul emphasized the redeeming power of the Lord’s blood, shed on the cross. He didn’t say much about baptism, claiming the Lord hadn’t sent him to baptize but to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17), and spoke even less about repentance.  From this some have concluded that Peter and Paul preached two different gospels.

Let’s take a closer look at this opinion. We’ll use Peter’s first public message after the Ascension as an example. Remember, he was talking to the crowd on the Temple Mount during their observance of the Feast of Pentecost. All of them were Jews and many of them were well versed in their scriptures. Let’s join the conversation.

“Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36-38)

To repent actually means to change our mind about something. While it can bring about a change in behavior, none is necessary to fulfill the meaning of the word. In the case of Peter’s audience the Jews had to change their minds about what it takes to be saved. They had been taught that obedience to the law is what makes one righteous and that was wrong. Peter said it’s believing in Jesus that brings forgiveness. It’s exactly what he had heard the Lord Himself say on numerous occasions (John 3:16, John 6:28-29, John 6:38-40). Later Peter would say, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Believing in Jesus means believing He was the Son sent by the Father to die for the sins of the people. He was both Lord and Christ.

Then Peter told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. According to my concordance, the Greek phrase translated “in the name of” invokes every thought or feeling that is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, or remembering the name being referenced. It can be used to establish one’s rank or authority, and to convert a request into a command. A servant acting in the name of his master had the authority of the master himself.

To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to recognize His authority to do what He came to do and promised to do (to save us from our sins). It means we believe He has such authority and has exercised it on our behalf. That’s why John’s baptism didn’t bring either salvation or the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). He had no authority to save us from our sins. Only Jesus had that authority (Mark 2:6-12).

And finally Peter promised them the Holy Spirit. There’s only one way to receive the Holy Spirit and that’s to believe that the Lord’s death paid the full price for all our sins as confirmed by His resurrection. The Holy Spirit was not given to anyone until the Lord’s atoning sacrifice had been perfected in His victory over death (John 7:37-39, John 20:19-23) .

Somewhere in our past, legalistic preachers began teaching that repentance means to change our behavior, and without a change in behavior there was no repentance. But if that was the case, the phrase “repent and be saved” would require us to stop sinning before we could ask God to save us. (It amazes me that some of the same preachers who preach this also lead their congregations in singing “Just As I Am” while issuing an altar call.)

In his answer to their question, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter did not invoke the Law or their traditions, nor did he set forth any other preconditions. He simply said, “Repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.” To his Jewish listeners these few words carried the full impact of the Gospel of Grace.

A Matter Of Perspective

I’m convinced that the whole debate over whether Peter taught a different Gospel than Paul can be resolved by a clearer understanding of the vastly different perspective of their two audiences.

Peter didn’t speak of the blood because the Jews already understood the idea of shedding innocent blood for the remission of sins. Untold thousands of innocent animals had shed their blood in the previous two millennia to set the sins of the people aside and stay the hand of judgment against them. Their Temple was called a house of blood because at times blood had flowed like a river from beneath the altar. They needed to change their minds and understand that all those animals they sacrificed were but a temporary substitute for the sacrifice the Messiah made on their behalf, and while the blood of animals had set temporarily aside the peoples’ sins, the blood of Jesus washed them clean forever (Hebrews 10:1-4, 11-14).

On the other hand, Paul didn’t speak of the need to repent because Gentiles didn’t need to change their mind about the way to salvation. They had no way to salvation. They needed to learn that there is a God and they were sinners destined for His judgment. They needed to know that this God had made a way for them to be saved from the penalty of their sins, and that way was the blood shed by the Lord Jesus for the remission of their sins.

Put another way, Peter summarized the Gospel like this.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1 :18-21).

While Paul said it this way.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

It sounds like the same gospel to me. Please remember that although these two men certainly had their differences in the flesh, when they preached or wrote about the Gospel they were both under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, who cannot contradict Himself. The idea that Peter and Paul taught different gospels is not supported in Scripture.

A New Race Of Human

Whether Jew or Gentile, here’s what the Gospel of Grace means to us.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Ephes. 2:14-16).

In building His Church, God was taking some from among the Jews and some from among the Gentiles to create a new race of mankind. We’re saved only by His grace, through faith (Ephes. 2:8-9), for the purpose of demonstrating the manifold wisdom of God to the heavenly beings (Ephes. 3:10-11). All the sins of our life have been forgiven (Colossians 2:13-14) and we’ve been invested with the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephes. 1:13-14). We’ve also been given the authority to become the very children of God (John 1:12-13) and heirs with Christ in His inheritance (Romans 8:17).

Being in Christ, we’ve become a new creation in God’s eyes. The old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). From His perspective we’re already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, in order that in ages yet to come He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephes. 2:6-7). To this end God has taken ownership of us and accepted responsibility for making us stand (1 Cor. 6:19-20, 2 Cor. 1:21-22). There’s no power in Heaven or on Earth that can do anything to change that (John 10:27-30, Romans 8:38-39).

Soon he’ll descend into the upper atmosphere and with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, He’ll call us up to His side (1 Thes. 4:16-17) and carry us off to the place He has prepared for us in His father’s house (John 14:2-3). From that time on and forever we’ll always be with Him, joint heirs with Him in the inheritance His father has given Him (Psalm 2:8).

Meanwhile, Back On Earth

At the time of our departure the Gospel of Grace will see its fulfillment and the pause between the 69th and 70th Weeks of Daniel will come to an end.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)

By saying the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world again the Lord provided us with another confirmation that the Age of Grace will have ended and Daniel’s 70th Week will have begun.

In the New Jerusalem, the incredible home our Lord has been preparing for us, the Church will be enjoying the first chapter of our eternal life with Him, hidden away like a bride in her bridal chamber. But on Earth Daniel’s 70th Week will bring horrific judgments as God prepares the creation for its restoration.

Then the Times of the Gentiles will end, the creation will be restored to its original splendor. The Lord will assume His rightful place as King of the whole Earth, and the Kingdom Age will begin. The New Jerusalem will descend out of Heaven to take its place as the source of light for the world (Rev. 21:24). The Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace will have both found their fulfillment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Selah 11-03-12.

The post The Gospel of the Kingdom Vs. The Gospel of Grace, Conclusion appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Part 1. The Gospel Of The Kingdom

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt. 3:1-2)

Prophecies of a Messianic King appear throughout the Old Testament and many in the Jewish leadership saw John’s arrival on the scene as their fulfillment. They sent representatives to the place where John was baptizing to see if he was the promised Messiah. He said he wasn’t, but that the one they had been expecting was even then in their midst (John 1:19-28).

750 years earlier Isaiah had said when the Messiah came He would reign on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:6-7) but when John appeared on the scene the throne of David had been vacant for 600 years.  He had come to tell them the time was finally at hand and they had better get ready for Him.

When Jesus began His ministry, John introduced Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:8) and publicly testified that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:34). Right from the beginning Jesus began teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven was near (Matt. 4:17), and sent His disciples through out the land to alert the people to this fact as well (Matt. 10:7-8).

But even with Isaiah’s prophecies, John’s testimony, and the Lord’s teaching, the Jewish leaders refused to accept the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. They questioned His claims, His doctrine, and His miracles in spite of the fact that all were clearly foretold in their prophecies.

Isaiah had also said when the Messiah came He would have no beauty or majesty that would attract them to Him and that nothing about His appearance would make them desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). Even so, the fact that Jesus was not like they expected Him to be was a big problem for them. They were looking for a conquering King, like David, and He didn’t fit the description.

Just before John was executed, He had sent a delegation of his disciples to confirm for themselves that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

In reply Jesus said, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)

Jesus fed the multitudes, walked on water, healed the sick and raised the dead and still they asked for a miraculous sign. Finally in frustration He responded, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:38-40). They would get their sign, but only after they had executed Him.

Later, just a few days before His execution, He warned them again. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matt. 21:43). He was speaking of the coming Church.

After the resurrection, having performed the miraculous sign He promised them, Jesus waited 40 days for them to acknowledge it. But upon being informed of the empty tomb the Jewish leaders bribed the soldiers to keep them quiet and refused to recognize the Lord’s fulfillment of the sign of Jonah (Matt. 28:11-15).

At the end of the 40 days His disciples asked if He was now going to restore the Kingdom to Israel. Jesus said it was not for them to know the times or dates the Father had set by His own authority (Acts 1:6-7) and after telling them to wait for the Holy Spirit to appear  He ascended into heaven (Acts. 1:8-11).

An Ambivalent Answer?

Some have criticized His response as being ambivalent, but I disagree. The disciples knew 69 of Daniel’s 70 weeks had passed, and there was one week (7 years) left to fulfill. They knew the Messiah had been cut off (put to death) like Daniel had prophesied (Daniel 9:26) and from His teaching they knew why. It was to fulfill three of the six objectives the angel had set forth when he gave Daniel the 70 weeks prophecy over 500 years earlier.

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy”. (Daniel 9:24)

The purpose of the Lord’s death was to finish transgression, put an end to sin and atone for wickedness. What was left was to bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the Most Holy. Bringing in everlasting righteousness is a reference to Isaiah 9:7 which says the Messiah will reign with justice and righteousness forever. Sealing up vision and prophecy means to bring them to their conclusion by fulfilling them. Anointing means to consecrate or sanctify, and the Most Holy probably refers to the Temple.

By telling the disciples it wasn’t for them to know the timing of the kingdom’s restoration and immediately changing the subject to the coming Holy Spirit, I think the Lord was saying the offer of the kingdom was still on the table for Israel, but His focus was about to change. Obviously God knew they had rejected the kingdom at that time, but He was leaving the door open for them to accept it at some point in the future.

This is borne out by a prophecy He spoke through Hosea 750 years earlier.

“Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me” (Hosea 5:15). Please note the word “until” because it conveys the notion of “not now” rather than “not ever.” The door was still open.

A Parenthetical Statement

10 days after the Lord’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, and for about 20 years what would become the Church remained mostly an offshoot of Judaism.  Then James, the Lord’s half brother, revealed that the Lord was first going to take from among the Gentiles a people for Himself before moving to restore Israel (Acts 15:13-18). This was a clear promise of a future for Israel apart from the Church.

But shortly after that Israel ceased to exist as a nation and has been absent for most of the past 2000 years while God’s focus has been exclusively on the Church. Because of this many scholars began to express doubt that Israel would ever return, even asserting that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan and all the unfulfilled promises to Israel have been inherited by the Church. As far as they were concerned, there was no longer a reason for Israel to exist.

I’ve been going to church all my life but I was nearly 50 years old before I realized that the Age of Grace, aka the Church Age, only exists in a parenthesis between Daniel’s first 69 weeks and the coming 70th one. It began when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost after the Lord’s Ascension and will end with the Rapture, which James also hinted at.  The Greek words translated “taking from the Gentiles” in Acts 15:14  can mean “to carry away, out of the nations”   Once the Church has been carried away the Lord will turn back to Israel to fulfill Daniel’s 70th week and implement the kingdom Daniel prophesied.

“In the time of those kings (the Gentile powers who control the Earth) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).

In Daniel’s time it was already understood that this kingdom would be headquartered in Israel, but would have authority over all the Earth. Speaking through David, God said, “I have installed my King on Zion, My Holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).

He was referring to His Son, to whom He said, “Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the Earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8).

Have You Forgotten Anything?

Those who teach that there’s no future for Israel have forgotten that James had foretold of one that would begin after the Lord finished with the Church (Acts 15:13-18). They have also forgotten that Paul confirmed this in Romans 11:25-27. And they’ve forgotten (or ignored) all the unconditional promises God had made to Israel.

This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:

“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:21-22).

I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God (Amos 9:14-5).

There are probably dozens of others, but I’m sure you get the idea. Only by refusing to read these promises as they’re written can one deny that they are meant for Israel.

The Offer Still Stands

So the offer of a Kingdom to Israel was never rescinded, it was only set aside while the Lord builds His Church. Following that, He will turn His attention once again to Israel for the final segment of Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy. To say this will be a difficult time would be a gross understatement because Israel has to atone for the sin of rejecting the Lord’s earlier offer. Jesus called it the worst time of trouble the world ever has or ever will see (Matt. 24:21) but just as Hosea had prophesied, in their misery they will earnestly seek Him.

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence” (Hosea 6:1-2).

God will hear their prayer and pour out His Spirit of grace and supplication, allowing their hearts to be softened and their eyes to be opened to the fact that the one they put to death was their promised Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). After a period of intense mourning, they will admit their sin, and the blood guilt that He has not pardoned, He will pardon (Joel 3:21). It will be national conversion and it will change everything. Remember, it doesn’t matter who you are, no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6).

Thy Kingdom Come

Then the Lord will appear over Jerusalem and fight against all the nations of the Earth, who have gathered against His people (Zech. 14:3). He will strike them with a plague that causes their flesh to rot while they’re still standing. Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. Those who survive will be stricken with great panic and actually begin attacking each other (Zech. 14:12-13). At the end of the day the victory will belong to the Lord, and He will be King over the whole Earth. There will finally be only one Lord and His name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9).

After that, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it (Isaiah 2:2).

From all over the world people will say “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

 The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:3-4).

This will be a time of rejoicing for Israel such as the world has never seen. The creation itself will join in the celebration.

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God (Isaiah 35:1-2).

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).

The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 35:10).

For this is what the Lord says, I will extend peace to her like a river and the wealth of the nations like a flooding stream. When you see this your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass (Isaiah 66:12,14).

The promised kingdom will have come to Israel, and the world will finally be at peace. Next time, the Gospel of Grace. 10-27-12

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“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matt.20: 1-16)

What’s That All About?

I’ve been a management consultant most of my life and before I became a believer I thought the Lord had violated all kinds of motivational principles, not to mention the theory of fair compensation, with this story. Seemed to me like the landowner in the parable was training his workers to show up late. They’d still get paid for the full day.

Then I was born again and learned that the Lord’s objective in teaching through parables was to enlighten His followers on the ways of the Kingdom while confusing everyone else. (Matt. 13: 11-13) It had sure worked with me.

I learned that a parable is a heavenly story put into an earthly perspective, and that all the characters represent someone or something else. This one was no different. As usual, the landowner represents the Lord, the workers His followers, and the vineyard, His Kingdom. The pay stands for the rewards of salvation. The work is what His followers do to deserve the reward, and the day is the length of time they’re given to do it, normally their lifespan. This parable wasn’t meant to be a management seminar. It was given to illuminate three critical principles having to do with the Kingdom of Heaven.

Three Principles

First, no matter when in your life you decide to join His Kingdom, you are entitled to all the rights and benefits pertaining thereto the moment you do. (Ephe 1:13-14) The last ones hired got the same pay as the first.

Second, you have to sign up before the end of the day. (Hebr. 4:7) No one was hired after the end of the day and as I said, the day represents our lifetime.

Third, if you think you deserve more in the Kingdom because you worked longer or harder or lived a better life than someone else, then you’ve forgotten how you got in. You weren’t saved because of your merit or worthiness, but because of His mercy and grace. Thinking He owes you something extra is a sin that if left unconfessed won’t get you thrown out, (remember every worker is a believer) but it could put a strain on your relationship with the Lord during your life and will certainly diminish your joy at having been accepted into the Kingdom.

Is Your Work All Done?

So what about the work that everyone, whether first or last, had to do to earn their pay? I thought salvation was free, and couldn’t be earned. Earlier, the people had asked the Jesus, “What is the work God requires of us?”
“The work of God is this,” He replied. “Believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

What a perfect opportunity to point out all the things required of us; the 10 Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, or some new list that combined them both and added regular church attendance, tithing, with maybe some missionary work thrown in. No. “Believe in the One He has sent.” Period. End of Story.

The workers who worked all day represent those who have believed in the One He has sent, but then for the rest of their lives have labored long and hard for the Kingdom. Nothing wrong with all their hard work, and it has probably achieved much good, but at the end of the age, if they think they’ll be in for some extra credit, their true motives will be exposed. The jealousy they feel when a terrible sinner makes a last-minute confession and is saved without any good works to his credit shows they haven’t been working to express their gratitude to the Lord for what they’ve already been promised, but to earn something more for themselves. (1 Cor. 4:5)

And The First Shall Be Last

When the Lord said, “The last will be first, and the first will be last,” He was describing the spiritual equivalent of being sent to the end of the line. Something like that happened to me once. I arrived early for a popular seminar, found a good parking space, took my place near the head of the line that was already forming, and began mentally selecting the great seat I’d head for when the doors opened. As the line quickly got longer and longer, I began gloating over the fact that I wasn’t going to be one of those losers who always arrive at the last minute and get terrible parking and worse seats. No sir, not me.

Finally the doors did open and to my shock, I discovered I’d been standing in the wrong place. The first ones there had been misinformed and had started the line in front of the wrong door. The real entrance was at a different door and suddenly I was nearer the end of the line than the beginning. Bummer! I had been feeling so smug and superior, and now I was the loser. I mentally missed the first 15 minutes of the seminar trying to calm down and never did get over the fact that I had waited all that time to get preferred seating and now my seat was no better than anyone else’s. Going from first to last stole my joy that day, and my superior attitude made it all the worse.

Take Home Pay

If you’re one of those believers the Lord could accuse of being jealous of what someone else is getting, confess and do it now. Don’t let another day go by, estranged from Him by your jealousy.

And here’s one way the parable is different from life. Everyone knew the workday was 12 hours long, so all could predict its end. But who among us can predict the end of our lives? If you’re someone who hasn’t yet fully committed to becoming one of His followers please heed the advice from Hebrews 4:7: “Today if you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart,” and from 2 Cor. 6:2 “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” Join Him now, the wages are great, and they pay eternal dividends. Selah 2-7-04

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You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were blameless in your ways until wickedness was found in you (Ezekiel 28:12,15).

There is nothing in the Bible to tell us when the angelic realm was created. However, Job 38:4-7 speaks of the angels shouting for joy when God laid the Earth’s foundation, so they had to have been created before Earth existed. Neither is there a mention of the timing of Satan’s rebellion. All we know for sure is it had to have preceded Genesis 3, when the serpent convinced Eve to disobey God. Satan was already God’s adversary by then, although there’s no mention of his rebellion in connection with the creation. For this reason, I’ve concluded it also happened before the creation story begins.

Here’s How It All Began

The wickedness in the one we call Satan was no surprise to God. He knows the end from the beginning after all. And like all the angels, Satan had been created with the power of choice, which gave him the potential for evil.

Since God knew Satan would rebel, many have wondered why He let it happen? Others have asked, “Why didn’t God just destroy Satan at the time? Why let him cause all this trouble?”

The Bible doesn’t answer those questions directly, but maybe after reading this you’ll conclude, as I have, that if God had not allowed things to unfold as they did, you and I might never have come to be, and would not be able to look forward to an eternity that surpasses all human understanding.

We have no way of knowing how long it took for Satan’s wickedness to reveal itself, but through Ezekiel we learn that it was his pride in his beauty and splendor that triggered its appearance (Ezekiel 28:17).

His pride apparently caused him to believe that exalted as it was, his assigned place in the order of creation was inadequate for someone of his talent and potential. Since no created being was higher, he determined to make himself like the Most High God (Isaiah 14:13-14).

As I said, this introduction of a second will into the universe was no surprise to God, but He couldn’t let it stand. Knowing that one third of the angelic population had cast their lot with Satan, He moved to put down this revolt and pronounced judgment on Satan and those who had joined him.

Some have speculated that in response Satan accused God of being unjust and having no love. I believe this speculation has merit based on what God did next. Remember, the following was not God’s reaction to Satan’s accusation, but His rebuttal to an accusation He already knew Satan would hurl at Him.

The Rebuttal

First, He created man, a being vastly inferior to the angels but having intellect, the power of choice (free will), and eternal life just like they do.

To demonstrate His justice, He established a set of Laws with which to govern man’s life. These laws reflected His own standards of righteousness. He declared that all men would be judged according to these laws and those who kept them faithfully would inherit eternal life with Him. However, even one violation would condemn the offender to an eternity of punishment. There would be no exceptions, and no appeal. From the highest to the lowest, all of mankind would be equally subject to these laws and would reap the reward or punishment due him or her according to its provisions.

Of course, God knew that mankind would not be able to meet the requirements of His Law and left to their own devices everyone would be found guilty and condemned to death. But the Law defined His righteousness, and to live in His presence man’s righteousness had to equal it. Also, in order to be just, the Law could tolerate no deviation from its standards. Every violation had to incur the death penalty.

God didn’t want all of mankind to be lost, but unless He lowered His standards, something His righteousness would not permit, He couldn’t change His Law. His solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem was to pay the penalty Himself for all of mankind’s violations. He would come to Earth in the form of His Son and die for the sins of the world. His death would pay for all of man’s violations of His Law (John 1:29, John 3:16).

Just like the penalty for violating the Law would be the same for everyone, so would the remedy. Anyone, from the highest to the lowest, who accepted the Son’s death as payment in full for his or her sins would be granted a full pardon and a place in eternity with Him. It would impute to them a righteousness equal to His own (Romans 3:21-24). Because He had created man with the power of choice, He wouldn’t impose His solution on anyone, but would grant it without exception to everyone who asked to receive it (Matt. 7:7-8).

These two actions, implementing a Law no one could keep, and offering a pardon no one could earn, were God’s rebuttal to Satan’s accusations. It combined perfect justice with perfect love. Man was free to choose either alternative. He could strive to live up to God’s impossibly high standards and earn His way into eternity through his own works or he could accept the Son of God’s death on his behalf and be granted eternal life by faith.

The Implementation

After creating man, God implemented the Law portion of His plan to provide an example for all of humanity to study. His purpose was two-fold. He wanted mankind to see the blessings that came from the level of obedience we are capable of, but He also wanted us to learn that the level of obedience His Law required for our salvation was unobtainable (Romans 3:20). These two points were quickly proven when the first two humans broke His Law soon after being placed in the most blessed environment humanity has ever enjoyed.

This was also no surprise to God. To prevent mankind from becoming obsolete before we got started, He initiated a sacrificial system to teach mankind that we would ultimately be saved through the shedding of His innocent blood. In the mean time, the shed blood of certain innocent animals would set their sins aside temporarily.

Protecting them from destroying themselves through their own sinfulness was no small task. It took the most elaborate religious system ever devised and the sacrificial deaths of untold numbers of innocent animals. He chose one people, the descendants of Abraham, to be the principal participants in this religious system, blessing them enormously when they obeyed and punishing them without mercy when they didn’t, all as an example from which the rest of the world could learn about His nature (Romans 15:4).

When the time finally came for God to send His Son to die for our sins, He made His one sacrifice sufficient for all time (Hebrews 10:12-14). Those who died in faith before He came would receive eternal life along with those who died in faith afterward. The Son’s one righteous life was of sufficient value to save all of mankind’s unrighteous ones, from the first one to the last (1 Peter 3:18).

The Judgment

God determined that His plan would have a fixed expiration, after which He would bring it to a conclusion. At that time all of mankind will stand before Him. If they have died He will bring them back to life, never to die again. Everyone will be shown the point in his or her life when the two choices available were made clear to them. Remember, part of God’s plan is to demonstrate that He’s a just God (Deut. 32:4). Therefore He can neither reward nor punish anyone who didn’t get an opportunity to choose. The one exception involves those children whose lives came to an end before they had become intellectually mature enough to understand their choices. A just God cannot punish those who are unable to comprehend, so He declared all such children innocent and counted them as His own (Romans 7:9).

Those who have accepted by faith the pardon He purchased for them will be granted an eternity of unparalleled blessing. Those who have chosen to earn their place in eternity through their own works will be shown their shortcomings and condemned to eternal punishment (Rev. 20:15). Since these are the only two choices available to mankind, those who will have opted out altogether will receive the same destiny as if they had refused the pardon God made available. Receiving the pardon requires a conscious choice to accept it (Romans 10:13). Refusing to choose at all is equivalent to rejecting it.

At that time Satan will receive his final judgment and will be condemned to eternal punishment along with all those who had refused to accept the pardon (Rev. 20:10).

The Conclusion

It’s sad to think that many who chose to earn their own way or refused to choose at all will have thought they were preserving their independence, exercising their freedom of choice. When it’s too late to change their minds they will finally realize that they were actually following Satan’s will, not their own. Remember, there have only ever been two wills in the universe, God’s and Satan’s. If we don’t choose God’s will for us, we’ve chosen Satan’s will by default. In the spiritual sense, free will is simply the option of choosing between God’s will and Satan’s. God wants us all to choose His will (2 Peter 3:9), but He won’t force us to do it.

I believe this is the secret of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which God commanded Adam not to eat (Genesis 2:16-17). As I’ve said, there was only one will on Earth at that time, and that was God’s will, which was “Good.” Eating the fruit of the forbidden tree introduced a second will, which was “Evil.” This was Satan’s will. By getting Adam and Eve to disobey God’s will, Satan was getting them to obey his will. In doing so, they acquired the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Somehow this altered their genetic make-up in such a way that this knowledge was passed to all their progeny. Today we call this the “flesh” or the “sin nature.” But I think it’s really the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the realization that there are two wills in the universe. We can choose which one to follow, but if we don’t consciously choose God’s will, Satan’s will becomes the default choice.

1 Cor. 15:24-28 tells us that the Lord Jesus will reign until He has put all of God’s enemies under His feet, including death.

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule, authority and power (1 Cor. 15:24).

Before the Lord turns the kingdom over to His Father, He will destroy all rule, authority and power. The primary meaning of the Greek word for destroy is “to put down, deactivate or render inoperative.” The one for rule is “the origin, or active cause.” The one for authority is “the power of choice, the liberty of doing as one pleases” and the one for power includes “strength” or “ability.”

This means in eternity we who have accepted the pardon He purchased for us will no longer have the ability to disobey God’s will. The origin and active cause of our disobedience will have been rendered inoperative. The disastrous effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience will have been reversed.  The Knowledge of Good and Evil will be no more and there will finally be only one will in all of creation again, the will of God. That’s God’s plan in a nutshell. 01-31-15

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If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study titled OK, I’m Saved. Now What?  Having shown that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, and the Lord no longer counts our sins against us, we now turn to the logical follow up question.  How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?

Paul devoted much time to describing the appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life and it’s summed up in his admonition “Only let us live up to what we’ve already attained” (Phil 3:16). By the wording he used we know this is not something we do to achieve or maintain our salvation. He said we’ve already attained that. We do this as an expression of our heart felt gratitude for having been given the gift of eternal life. Make no mistake here, as unbelievers we were surely destined for the fires of hell.

In Ephesians 2:1-5 Paul laid this out in no uncertain terms.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And just in case we missed it there, he repeated it in his letter to Titus.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.(Titus 3:3-7)

Paul took pains to describe the way God saw us before we were saved. But now, because of the cross, He sees us as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), having attained the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) by faith in His completed work (Romans 3:21-22). And once again, please notice the past tense of Paul’s statements above.

Knowing that all this has already been done for us and can never be taken away no matter what, let’s see what our appropriate response should be.

The Practice Of Christian Living

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Someone once said, “Life is what you make it. It’s not what happens but how you take it.” Everything about the practice of Christian living is within our control. We don’t have to behave like everyone else. We can be transformed and it begins with choosing to behave differently.

Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephes 4:25-32).

I believe Paul was in effect, the first behavioral psychologist. He taught that while we can’t always control the circumstances of our life we can control our response to them. We have such a glorious future awaiting us that we don’t have to worry about gaining the approval of others by acting the way they do. Our primary goal is pleasing the Lord.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)

Choosing to become more tolerant, forgiving and generous will have such a remarkable effect on our life that others will want to know what has happened to transform us. Instead of stuttering and stammering through an embarrassing attempt to “witness” to friends and neighbors we’ll find that our very life has become a witness to what God can do, and people will be drawn to us.

This is because the practice of Christian living is not all don’t do this or don’t do that, at least not in the negative sense. Remember Jesus said that He came so we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

To that end the Bible says we shouldn’t worry about how we’re going to get by, letting the Lord take care of that for us (Matt. 6:25-34). We shouldn’t let what Paul called the light and momentary troubles of this world get us down. We should no longer fix our eyes on the temporary things we can see, but focus on the eternal things we can’t see instead (2 Cor. 4:17-18). This is even more true for us than it was for the people of Corinth 2000 years ago because very soon we’re going to step out of this world and into the next one where the eternal things we’ve only been able to dream about will suddenly become our new reality.

In the mean time, do you hate your job because of a boss who’s hard to please? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Are your neighbors or associates hard to put up with? Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18)

We who’ve been given everything don’t have to worry about anything.

The Privilege Of Christian Living

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7).

Because we’ve become children of the Creator of the Universe we can rejoice in everything that happens to us because we know that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We can always be at peace, even when our world seems to be crumbling around us. We fear nothing, we pray about everything, and we’re thankful for anything.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

This world is a dark and evil place, and though we are children of God the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Nowhere does the Bible promise us a trouble free life. What it does promise is a life of peace regardless of the circumstances. The Lord is our over comer and because of that we are privileged to be at peace. No matter what.

I’ve heard the Christian life compared to a roller coaster ride. Once we buckle into our seat we yield control of our circumstances to someone else. But because of our faith in the operator’s ability to bring us safely through the experience, we actually enjoy the scary unknowns we encounter along the way.

So it is with our life in the Lord. He didn’t promise that there would be no trouble, On the contrary He said there would be trouble. But when we encounter it we can be at peace, knowing He has promised to see us safely through it.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2,6)

Think about it. We can engage the Creator in conversation any time it suits us. He’s always in, we never need an appointment, and he’s never too busy for us. Whether it’s asking for a parking place on a crowded street or guidance on whether to pursue a career opportunity, He’s always available to listen and help.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:6-11)

God has given us the privilege of helping Him distribute His endless resources to those in need. He so loves a cheerful giver that every time He finds one He makes them rich in every way so they will always have more than enough for themselves with sufficient excess so they can be generous to others on every occasion. Next to the gift of eternal life there’s no more remarkable promise anywhere in Scripture.

The Power Of Christian Living

Resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. (James 4:7)

Although Paul called him the God of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), Christians needn’t fear the devil because of the power we’ve been given.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

Jesus showed us how to do this in the wilderness temptations (Matt. 4:1-11). Using nothing but Scripture He demolished every one of the devil’s arguments and sent him packing. This same power is available to us. We just have to know the Bible well enough to activate it.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven (James 5:14-15).

As is the case with everything James wrote, this is a clear promise without exception or equivocation. The Bible doesn’t promise we won’t get sick, but it does promise we can be healed. It’s a power the Lord died to give us.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:23-24)

And it’s not just healing. With sufficient faith we could literally move mountains. But faith is like our physical muscles. The more we exercise it the stronger it becomes. This is a case where the American lifestyle has become our enemy. It’s been too easy to get the things we want without the Lord’s help. It’s been hard to remember that opportunity does not equal mandate. But just because the banks will loan us more than we can repay doesn’t mean that we should go into debt to buy things we don’t need and can’t afford. Maybe the Lord is stripping those things away now to help us practice living by faith.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

Charismatics often misuse their gifts in immature excesses of self glorification while fundamentalists avoid theirs like the plague refusing to acknowledge they even exist. But if the gifts of the Holy Spirit were ever used in the manner Paul described, the world would not be able to stand against their power.

Each of us has been gifted and could use the power our gifts contain to have significant effect on the little corner of the world we inhabit. Romans 12:1-8 tells us how to discover and use our gifts.

The Protection Of Christian Living

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

So we come full circle. Never let it be said that although God has the power to save us, He lacks the power to keep us.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

A US insurance company says we’re in good hands with them, but believers enjoy the ultimate example of being in good hands. Our policy is paid in full and our coverage can never expire. Not even we ourselves can snatch us out of their hands.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephes. 6:10-12).

A soldier’s armor can only protect him when he wears it, and he would never think of going into battle without being fully protected. We’re aliens behind enemy lines and as such are combatants in an ongoing battle. We’ve been given impenetrable armor, but in order for it to protect us we have to put it on and keep it on.

The Point Of Christian Living

All this leads to achieving the goal we all want most in life. Earlier I said that after becoming saved, our primary goal becomes pleasing the Lord.  But when we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4).  By combining the practice, the privilege, the power, and the protection of the Christian life we can finally achieve complete personal freedom. Although we are still in the world we will no longer be of the world. Following the instructions for Christian living frees us of all the negative emotions that have afflicted us in the past. No more worry, no more stress, no more feeling out of control. We no longer have to be concerned with having enough money, or getting ahead, or keeping up.

The uncertainties of life that so preoccupy the thoughts of others won’t bother us any more. It doesn’t matter who gets elected to what office, or how bad the economy is getting, or whether the government will continue to break its promises. We’ll finally understand the full meaning of the Lord’s words, “When the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36) Praise the Lord. Selah. 04-13-13

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 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).

These two verses summarize everything the New Testament has to say about life after salvation. Once we’re saved, God sees us as a new creation. Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained it. We don’t make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation. It’s not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice. It’s not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. It has already happened. Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord’s once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)

Ephesians 1:13-14 says this took place at the moment we believed, and the seal of the Holy Spirit was given to us at that time to guarantee our inheritance. 2 Cor.1:21-22 adds that from then on it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

This is an expansion of 1 Cor. 6:19-20, where Paul said we are not our own but have been bought at a price. It means our destiny is no longer under our own control but has been taken over by God Himself.  If we try to wander off, He will hunt us down and bring us back, just like a shepherd brings back the sheep who wander off. Sheep don’t decide their own destiny. The owner determines that, and it’s the shepherd’s responsibility to make sure it happens. Read again what Jesus said about this.

I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39).

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:3-6).

Don’t get the idea from this that I think God decides who will be saved and who won’t. That goes against Scripture (1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9). Remember, we don’t become sheep until we choose to become believers.

As believers, we’re part of the Good Shepherd’s flock. The destiny He has determined for us will come to pass and believe me when I say it defies description. He has been working for 2,000 years preparing the place where we’ll live with Him forever. The primary building materials for our new home are pure gold and precious gems (Rev. 21:18-20). At a time that is unknowable in advance, except that it will precede the coming end times judgments, He will call us up to meet him in the air and take us there, after which we’ll always be with Him (John 14:1-3, 1 Thes. 4:16-17).

All this is well known to long-time followers of gracethrufaith.com and is repeated here for review, to refresh our memories. The point of this study is to focus on our life as believers between now and when He takes us to our new home. If Jesus has done everything, and God has taken ownership of us to make our destiny certain, what is there for us to do?

Becoming What We Already Are.

This is where the second reference I quoted above comes in. In Phil 3:16 Paul wrote, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” Once again, note the past perfect tense in the phrase “we have already attained.” We don’t have to work to get this. We have already attained it. So what is it we’ve already attained?

In Galatians 4:4-7 Paul said Jesus came to redeem us so we could receive the full rights of sons. This confirms John 1:12-13 which says,

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Paul went on to say that since God has accepted us as His children, He has also made us His heirs. And that’s not all. After telling us we were formerly objects of God’s wrath, Paul wrote the following in Ephesians 2:4-7;

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

And again, please notice the past tense of these verbs. He made us alive, He raised us up with Christ. He seated us with Him. From God’s perspective, these things have already been accomplished.

By saying that God seated us with Christ, Paul was making reference to Ephesians 1:20-21 where he said,

“He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

So that’s what we’ve already attained. We’ve become God’s children and His heirs, and we’ve been seated with Christ at His right hand, above every authority, every power, and every name.

As members of God’s royal family, we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). But such freedom carries great responsibility. In 1 Cor. 10:23 Paul wrote,

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.

Then he said, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Cor 10:24).

As part of the royal family, we’re admonished to set the standard for appropriate behavior, but not because we have to protect our status. Our status has been guaranteed by God Himself. We do this as representatives of our Lord, who put the good of others above His own to the ultimate extreme. Paul said although He was God Himself, He didn’t demand to be treated as God’s equal. Instead He became the humblest of men, a servant to others, and was obedient even to death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).

Contrast that with the attitude of some men, who can never be God but demand to be treated as if they are. The anti-Christ is the Bible’s ultimate model of that behavior, exalting himself above everything that is called God or is worshiped, setting himself up in God’s Temple proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thes. 2:4).

What If I Don’t Do It?

Now before you get the idea I’m trying to guilt you into cleaning up your act, let me state clearly that in the ultimate sense there’s no penalty for neglecting to live up to what you’ve already attained. You may live an unfruitful life here, but there is no power in Heaven or on Earth that can ever take away your status as a child of God. Paul said even if everything you ever do as a believer is burned up in the fires of judgment, you’ll still be saved (1 Cor. 3:15).

According to Romans 12:1, living up to what we’ve already attained is a voluntary act of worship, an expression of our gratitude for the mercy God has shown to us. Through all of Paul’s instructions on how to live a Christian life, there’s never a threat that failure to behave in a certain way will cause us to be kicked out of God’s family. We can’t ever lose our royal status. By offering His body in payment for our sins the Lord was performing a voluntary act of service to His Father (Psalm 40:7-8). Had He refused to do so, He would still be the Son of God.  In the same way, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, is our spiritual act of worship. If we refuse to do it we’ll still be one of His Children.

I can’t tell you how much I wish this had become the predominant teaching of the Church in regards to Christian living, instead of the hellfire and brimstone rants so many of us grew up hearing every Sunday. To hear them talk, it seems like God loved us enough to die for our sins while we still hated Him, but as soon as we declared our love for Him, He became determined to make us toe the mark and pay for every sin we ever committed afterward. And if we didn’t we would be disowned.

Maybe some of you are thinking of verses you’ve heard that appear to refute this idea of freedom in Christ. But if they did, the word of God would be contradicting itself, something that’s impossible for God to do. We’re not saved by grace, then kept by our own works. As soon as you add work to the equation, grace is canceled out. If our behavior could be good enough to keep us saved, it would have been good enough to save us in the first place, and God would not have had to send His Son to die for us.

Why Did He Do That?

Jesus didn’t die to make bad men good. He died so dead men could live. And He didn’t just get us started on the road to eternal life and then leave the rest to us. He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).

Some would have us believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit within us makes it impossible for us to ever sin again. But all we have to do is observe the Christians around us to see that’s not true. The truth is that the Holy Spirit came to restore our power of choice. Unbelievers have no choice about their behavior because they’re only getting input from their sin nature. Believers get input from both their sin nature and the Holy Spirit and can choose which to accept.

But even then it’s not a level playing field, because our sin nature’s input is our default choice. It’s what will always feel most natural to us. We have to consciously choose to override the sin nature’s input to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s why some call following the Holy Spirit’s input making a “contrary-to-feelings” choice. It’s not natural to us. Sometimes we forget to consider our choices before acting and other times our natural inclination carries such strong feelings that we ignore the Holy Spirit’s counsel. This is when we sin.

Afterward, the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin, we’ll feel remorse, and we’ll ask the Lord to forgive us. If we confess our sins, the Lord is just and faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The sin will immediately be forgiven and forgotten. God can do this because His son has already paid the penalty for it, and every other sin we ever have or ever will commit.

Listen to Paul’s testimony of his own experience with sin. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sin nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I can’t carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20).

Paul said it was as if his spirit and his body were at war. One delighted in God’s law, while the other made him a prisoner of the law of sin. After admitting what a wretched man he was because of this conflict, He concluded by expressing his thanks to God for rescuing him from his body of death through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:21-25). You can feel the emotions behind his words shifting from extreme frustration to extreme gratitude.

This is a remarkable testimony and explains why being saved does not mean we are no longer able to sin. Being saved means when we do sin, God no longer counts it against us. He is able to separate the believer from the behavior. He sees the believer (us) as a new creation, free from sin, and attributes the behavior to our sin nature, which is not part of the new creation. Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that King David understood this would be the case a thousand years before the Lord came to earth. Quoting Psalm 32:1-2 he wrote,

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him (Romans 4:7-8).

When Paul admonished us to live up to what we’ve already attained, he was telling us to stop and think before we act and listen to the counsel of the Holy Spirit. From his own experience, he knew we couldn’t completely rid our lives of sin, but he also knew that living in a manner that’s pleasing to God is the very best way of expressing our gratitude to Him for making us a new creation and giving us the incredible gift of eternal life. Selah 04-06-13

The post OK, I’m Saved. Now What? appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebr. 11:1-2

Last time we confirmed the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth beyond a reasonable doubt. Even by our very conservative estimates we concluded that there’s only a 1 in 9 x (10 to the 45th power) chance that Jesus or anyone else could have coincidentally fulfilled the 7 Messianic prophecies we chose. And remember, He fulfilled over 300 others that we didn’t even consider. 1 chance in 9 with 45 zeros after it exceeds the limit of statistical probability by a wide margin, so there’s really no reason to doubt that Jesus is just who He claims to be, Israel’s Messiah and the Church’s Savior and Redeemer. We should also remember that although we only looked at Messianic prophecies, there are lots other things that God has promised and then performed as well. And He has a perfect track record in all these other things, too.

So then, since God always has fulfilled prophecy with 100% accuracy isn’t it logical to assume that He always will? After all, Hebrews 13:8 says He’s the same, yesterday today and forever. Let’s review a few of the 500 prophecies concerning our times and see. We’ll take some that have been fulfilled to prove that He’s still doing this and then some that haven’t been to get a feel for what’s coming.

The Re-Birth Of Israel

Beginning with Moses, several Old Testament prophets wrote that Israel would be uprooted from their land for disobedience. It’s happened twice. The first occasion took place in 586 BC and resulted in the 70 year Babylonian captivity. The second one followed the Lord’s crucifixion and is the one about which Isaiah wrote in 750 BC. (The Lord had Amos promise that after the 2nd re-gathering they would never be dispersed again. Amos 9:15)

Prophecy: In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11-12)

Fulfillment: After over 50 years of a growing desire to re-gather in their ancient land the Jews were finally given formal approval to become a nation again in May of 1948. From North, South, East and West they have come in increasing numbers throughout the 20th Century. When the concentration camps were liberated at the end of WW2 a massive influx of Jewish refugees from Europe swelled their number into the millions. The prophecy’s fulfillment was begun and continues to this day. Many believe God’s timepiece had stopped in 70 AD when Judea was overrun by the Romans, the Temple destroyed and the people dispersed. But now it seemed that with his people back in the Land the stage was being set for the progressive fulfillment of the other End Times prophecies as well.

Jerusalem Becomes A Jewish City Again

In the first re-gathering, after the Babylonian Captivity, the Israelites had received permission to resettle their lands and rebuild their Temple but had not been given the go ahead to reconstruct the walls around the City of Jerusalem. This proved to be a great handicap since in those days a city wall was the only protection against enemy attack. Work on the Temple came to a standstill because of the continuous interference of hostile neighbors. Later, when Nehemiah was given authority to rebuild the city walls the work of reestablishing the nation progressed more rapidly and the 2nd Temple was finally completed.

In the second re-gathering Israel’s Arab neighbors attacked the fledgling nation soon after the UN had formally recognized it. Jordanian troops attacking from the East captured the Old City and Temple precincts and for 19 years Jerusalem was a divided city.

(Some scholars see this nineteen years as a parallel to the 19 years separating the date of Nebuchadnezzar’s first attack on Israel in 605BC and his third and final one in 586. The result of first siege is sometimes referred to as The Servitude of the Nation since Jewish sovereignty effectively ended then, and the third is called the Desolations of Jerusalem since that’s when the city was burned to the ground and Israel ceased to exist. Prophecies from Ezekiel 4:4-6 can be used to tie 605 BC to 1948 and 586 BC to 1967. It takes a lot of math but it works.)

Prophecy: When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24)

Fulfillment: This is a companion prophecy to the one from Luke 19:41-44 that we reviewed last time. There Jesus had said that the Romans would surround the city and destroy it. Here He warned them that when that happened, Jerusalem would become a Gentile city until the period of Gentile Dominion ended. Indeed when the Roman Emperor Hadrian put down the bar Kochba Rebellion in 135 AD finally defeating the Jews for good, he made it illegal for a Jew to enter Jerusalem. As I stated above, in the 1948 War of Independence Jordan captured the Old City and Temple Mount and Jerusalem became a divided city. It wasn’t until June of 1967, toward the end of the six-day war, that Jewish troops broke into East Jerusalem and re-captured the Old City including the Temple Mount. The Star of David flew over the unified city for the first time since the nation had been dispersed by the Romans. The times of the Gentiles had come to an end, further indication that the End Times had begun.

All End Times Prophecies Fulfilled Within A Single Life Span

All the prophecies of the 1st Coming were fulfilled within the lifetimes of those being born around the time of the first Christmas. They began with the birth of John the Baptist, who was only 6 months older than Jesus, and ended with the destruction of the Temple and Holy City. In the passage below, the Lord explained that the 2nd Coming prophecies would be fulfilled in the same manner.

Prophecy: Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matt. 24:32-35)

Fulfillment: The fig tree is the last to come out of its winter dormancy. It doesn’t sprout buds and leaves until the warm weather has come to stay, making it a reliable sign that summer is truly near. So it is with End Times prophecies. When their fulfillment begins, it means that the end is coming soon. In fact in the next sentence, the Lord explained that some from the generation being born when the first signs are fulfilled will still be alive at the end.

Since that sentence is surrounded by controversy, let’s look at it again, more carefully. We want to make absolutely sure it says what we think it does. The controversy centers on the word translated generation in verse 34. In Greek it’s genea, and can mean generation or race. It’s the word from which we get generation and genealogy.

There are three major interpretations of the passage:

1.

The End Times would occur during the life spans of the generation to whom Jesus was speaking. Some believe the Great Tribulation and 2nd Coming had occurred by 70 AD, and the Millennium began in Heaven then. They’re called Preterists and they believe there are no more End Times prophecies to be fulfilled.

2.

The Greek word genea should be translated race and should be applied to the Jewish people. This is the view of those called Idealists and in fact the Jews have endured in spite of all efforts to eradicate them. But does the Idealist view accommodate all the End Times prophecies? Sadly, no. Idealists don’t believe in a literal fulfillment of prophecy.

3.

The generation being born as the first of the End Times signs were being fulfilled would live to see them all fulfilled. This is the most logical view and the one held by those who take the Bible literally. It’s easy to prove that the Lord hasn’t come again in the manner indicated by Scripture, and after 6000 years of literal fulfillment of prophecy, why would the Lord suddenly switch to an allegorical method of fulfillment, especially where it concerns making good on His promises to His people?

The big mistake made here by many who follow a literal method of interpretation is to assume the word generation describes a span of time as well as a group of people born during a particular period. Making this mistake led them to predict that all End Times signs would be fulfilled within the span of one generation, nominally 40 years. Connecting this assumption to the re-birth of Israel, they predicted the Lord would return in 1988, and of course they were wrong.

What the Lord said was that the generation alive when the fulfillment of End Times signs begins would not pass away until all was fulfilled. A Biblical lifetime is 70 years according to Psalm 90:10. There’s also a question as to whether the 1948 re-birth of Israel began the final count down or whether is should begin with the 1967 recovery of Jerusalem. After all, the prophecy from Daniel 9:24-27 concerning the Lord’s first coming was timed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, not the first re-gathering of the nation.

Our best estimate, at least for now, is to expect that all the End Times prophecies will have been fulfilled as early as 2018 (70 years from 1948) and no later than 2037 (70 years from 1967). So the question is, what has to happen between now and then.

Well, there are over 500 unfulfilled prophecies concerning the 2nd Coming. We’ll just take some of the major ones and put them into their proper sequence so we’ll always know what to look for next as we go.

I believe the next sign to be fulfilled will be the disappearance of the Church as foretold in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. This one could happen at any moment since there’s nothing that has to precede it.

Right on its heels will come the battle foretold in Ezekiel 38-39, causing two critical events to happen as a result. One, the Lord will use that battle to re-instate His covenant with Israel, and two, the Anti-Christ will emerge with a plan to restore peace in the Middle East. A central provision of his plan will permit the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, as required by Israel’s renewed covenant with the Lord. Daniel 9:24-27 indicates the duration of the anti-Christ’s plan will be seven years, and that in the middle of it, he’ll stand in the new Temple and commit an abomination that causes the Temple to become desolate. (In 2 Thes. 2:4 Paul wrote that the abomination is the anti-Christ proclaiming himself to be God.)

In Matthew 24:21, Jesus said that the anti-Christ’s proclamation will kick off the Great Tribulation, a period of judgments 3&#189 years long (Daniel 9:27). During that time the Earth will be shaken and bombarded to a point that will make the recent tsunami seem like child’s play and &#189 of the world’s remaining population will perish.

But some will survive to see the Lord’s return in Glory, and those who’ve come to believe in Him will be ushered into His Kingdom (Matt 25:34). They will have lived the most harrowing and dangerous life of any generation ever born, having seen all the End Times prophecies fulfilled right before their eyes.

After judging the survivors from the nations the Lord, now King of all the Earth, will commence a 1000 year reign of peace (Rev. 20:4). Earth will have been restored to the way it was created, a beautiful sub-tropical garden paradise, and His people Israel will once again be its pre-imminent nation (Isaiah 2:3).

Meanwhile believers from the Church age will dwell with Him in the nearby New Jerusalem, a place where only those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life may enter (Rev. 21).

During the 1000 years Satan will have been bound and imprisoned, no longer free to deceive man and afflict God’s people. (Rev. 20:1-2) But at its end, he’ll be released and will immediately recruit a large army with which to attack God. God will defeat him of course and he’ll be thrown into the place of eternal judgment with all those who sided with him (Rev. 20:10). At that time, the unsaved dead will be brought to life and judged before being thrown into the Lake of Fire to join the Devil, the anti-Christ, and his false prophet (Rev. 20:11-15).

After that, all who believe in the Lord and are called by His name will embark on an eternity filled with blessing in the presence of the Lord.

This is just a summary of events, listed in the sequence I believe the Bible gives us, to permit a glimpse of how the end will unfold. If you’re a believer, you’ll observe all of this from your vantage point in the New Jerusalem, safe and secure. If not, you’ll be able to predict just how close the Lord’s return is by witnessing these signs as they occur on Earth. Better keep your head down though, you’ll only have a 50-50 chance of surviving to the end. I strongly recommend that you make your peace with the Lord now, while you still have the option of being hidden away with the rest of us. For if you listen closely you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 02-04-05

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When asked what work God requires of us, Jesus replied, “The work of God is this. Believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:28-29) Because He’s told us so many things in advance and has always been right, He expects us to believe in Him. His view is that He’s proven Himself so far beyond any reasonable doubt that people who say they don’t believe in Him are really being disobedient by refusing to believe. And belief is a requirement. That’s why in the New Testament the Greek word translated unbelief also means disobedient.

The Old Testament is so chock full of the proof of God’s existence that there’s simply no justification for unbelief. (In my article Proving The existence Of God I used the examples of Cyrus the Persian and Alexander the Great to show that anyone with a Study Bible and a competent history book can verify the existence of God simply by comparing fulfilled prophecy with world history.)

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”(Psalm 14:1). Only a fool can say that. But even a fool can’t say it logically, with his mind, because there’s too much evidence to the contrary. He has to say it emotionally, in his heart. Foolish opinions based on emotion don’t need to be true.

What’s The Point?

Of all the things we should believe about God, the most important one is that He sent His Son to die for our sins so we could spend eternity with Him. The first prophecy of this appears in Genesis 3:15 and it’s repeated throughout the Old Testament.

Can we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that He’s done this? After all He’s asked us to risk our entire eternity on this issue alone, and by the time we find out for sure if He was telling the truth or not, it’ll be too late. We’ll be dead. It’s pretty important that we know for certain.

So let’s review a few of the better known prophecies relating to Jesus of Nazareth and see if we can prove that He’s the One God sent. And while we’re at it, let’s see if there’s any possibility that he could have fulfilled these prophecies accidentally. Chance is always the rival conjecture. Could this have all happened by coincidence, or can we know that Jesus is the promised Redeemer?

It’s About Time

By the way, all the prophecies we’ll be looking at are from the Old Testament. I’ll give you the approximate date of each one, but if you’re worried about the differences of opinion surrounding these dates, make it easy on yourself. It’s a fact of history that Ptolemy Philadelphus II had the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek beginning in about 282 BC. They didn’t do it all at once, but by 150 BC the work was pretty much complete and so each prophecy we’ll look at was a matter of public record at least 150 years before the fact. With that, let’s get started.

Born Of A Virgin

The Lord had Isaiah tell us that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. This would make Him unique among all men and clearly identify Him as the One God was sending. Isaiah wrote the following passage about 750 BC.

Prophecy: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Fulfillment: The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:30-35)

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: Impossible to calculate. But since there were about 300 million people alive on Earth when Jesus was born, let’s say 1 in 300 million. (See The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy for an explanation on why the virgin birth was necessary).

Born in Bethlehem

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah’s, also writing about 750 BC. The Lord had him identify the place where the Messiah would be born.

Prophecy: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2)

Fulfillment: So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-7)

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: Bethlehem has always been a small town. Of Earth’s total population, if 3000 people lived in Bethlehem at that time, then the likelihood of a child being born in Bethlehem would have been about 1 in 100,000.

Rides Into Jerusalem On A Donkey

Zechariah wrote after the return from Babylon. His first 8 chapters were written at the beginning of his ministry in 519 and 518 BC and chapters 9-14 at the end of his career, around 480 BC.

Prophecy: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9)

Fulfillment: As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.'”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:29-39)

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: The population of Jerusalem 2000 years ago was about 50,000 but it being Passover, pilgrims from all over the Middle East would be arriving and would have swelled the number to many times that. It’s said that 100,000 lambs were sacrificed that Passover so using the ratio from Exodus of one lamb for every 10 people would mean that upwards of 1 million people crowded into Jerusalem and its surrounding area for the Passover. (Remember every able-bodied Jewish male in the world was required to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.) Now, what’s the likelihood that any one of them, while riding into town on a donkey that first Palm Sunday would cause the crowd to spontaneously hail him as the Messianic King of Israel? We can only guess. 1 in 1 million?

Betrayed For 30 Pieces Of Silver And The Money Used To Buy A Potter’s Field

Again, this prophecy of Zechariah’s was written about 480 BC.

Prophecy: I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”-the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter. (Zech 11:12-13)

Fulfillment: Then one of the Twelve–the one called Judas Iscariot–went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (Matt 26:14-16)

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said,”for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. (Matt 27:3-7)

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: This one’s also impossible to calculate. It’s hard enough to get someone to write about you 500 years before you’re born, but then you have to get your betrayer and your sworn enemies to cooperate in fulfilling what’s been written. Someone once said that the likelihood of coincidental fulfillment of this prophecy would be like covering the State of Texas with silver dollars to a depth of three feet, randomly marking one of them, and then having a blindfolded person wander around across the state and on his first try, pick up the marked coin. But let’s be generous and give it a 1 in 1 million chance.

Though Innocent Made No Defense

This prophecy comes from the Book of Isaiah, written about 750 BC.

Prophecy: He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

Fulfillment: Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge–to the great amazement of the governor. (Matt 27:11-14)

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: As with the previous example, I don’t know of a single person who wouldn’t defend himself before his accusers, especially if he was innocent. I know I would protest long and loud at the injustice of false accusation. Above all, it’s a violation of the 9th Commandment. If there were 1 million people in Jerusalem that day and if He was the only one who wouldn’t defend himself when charged with a capital crime then the probability is 1 in 1 million.

He Was Punished For Our Sins

This is another promise the Lord had Isaiah write down in about 750 BC and one of the most crucial for us to prove.

Prophecy: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Fulfillment: This had been described as a primary goal of the Messiah through out the Old Testament and from the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was identified as the One Who takes away the sins of the people (John 1:29) But did he?

After His death the Apostle Paul would write, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21) and When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14) The Apostle Peter agreed. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18) Both these men died horrible deaths rather than change even a word of their testimony and are reliable witnesses. As Peter said, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”

Probability of coincidental fulfillment: Using our 300 million number for the inhabitants of Earth, could you find 300 men who had never sinned and could be convinced that by dying the horrible death of crucifixion, the sins of mankind would be forgiven? If so the probability is 1 in 1 million.

The Clincher

In Daniel 9:26 we find the most specific prophecy of all. It was written just as the Babylonian captivity was ending, about 530 BC. In it The Angel Gabriel explained to Daniel that the Messiah would come to Israel and be executed in a narrow window of time between the 483rd year after permission to rebuild Jerusalem was granted and the subsequent destruction of the city and Temple. From history we know that this time frame was 38 years in duration.

Prophecy: Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. (Daniel 9:24-26)

Fulfillment: When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:37-42)

It was the first Palm Sunday, the only day in His entire ministry when the Lord allowed the people to call Him Israel’s King. It was the 10th of Nisan, 483 years to the day after Persian King Artaxerxes Longimonus signed a decree authorizing Nehemiah to go and begin rebuilding Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:1-6) It was the day ordained in history for the Messiah to arrive in Jerusalem. When they missed it, He prophesied the destruction of the city.

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:43-44)

38 years later the Romans destroyed the city and tore the Temple apart stone by stone until not one was left standing on another. Another case of predictive prophecy fulfilled.

What’s It All Mean?

If you’re looking for the Messiah, you have to find someone who fulfilled not only the seven prophecies we’ve listed here but all the 300 or so others given in the Old Testament as well. And then He had to give His life for us within the 38 year window of time God revealed to Daniel.

The probability of one man fulfilling just these seven prophecies by chance is 1 in 9 X 10 to the 45th power. That’s 1 chance out of 9 with 45 zeros after it. In other words it’s so small as to be unworthy of consideration. The true identity of Jesus of Nazareth is that He’s Israel’s Messiah and our Redeemer. That fact can be proven with greater certainty than you can prove that you are who you claim to be.
Next time we’ll apply what we’ve learned here to the more than 500 prophecies having to do with His Second Coming. See you then.

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