Inspiration

A Dungeon and A Rope

(Sermon to be presented on June 14th 2014)

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.“

Romans 15:4

There are three things that jump out in the verse.  When God inspired the prophets to write, God’s purpose was to do three things:

1.) Teach us

2.) Comfort us

3.) Give us a basis for hope

They are all linked together and occur in this order.

The three F’s of the Christian experience are similar in that they should occur in order,

1.) Fact (God’s word),

2.) Faith (Faith comes by hearing God’s word) and

3.) Feeling (Joy and hope from the faith obtained in God’s word and experience)

As a famous preacher once said,

Much time with the Word of God, much faith.  Little time with God’s Word, little faith.

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It is in the teaching from the stories and words of the Bible that give us what we need to endure a wicked and deadly world.  There is no other place where hope and joy are so solid; so true; and so real.

As we read and understand from the Scripture this morning, may our hope be renewed.  If there is someone listening who has lost hope, joy,  or both are fading…may you find it again this morning through our time in Scripture.  This is my prayer.

Above everything, our hope is in Jesus to which the word of God testifies.  Wouldn’t you agree? We sing the song “…our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness.”  Have you put your hope in the Jesus as revealed in God’s word or is your hope in the grit and determination of your own works?  Perhaps it is money where your hope resides.

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When Jesus suddenly appeared to the two highly discouraged disciples walking the 8 miles to Emmaus, He gave them a Bible Study that taught them, from the Scriptures, about Himself.

This story tells us that Jesus can be found all through the scripture, but a person must desire to see him.  For God said.

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

If we fail to see Jesus, we will  be…

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Timothy 3:7

The seeking and searching cannot be casual and it must be open to the leading of God’s Spirit.

This verse regarding seeking and searching is in Jeremiah where we will be spending our time.   We will be looking to primarily at chapter 38.

The result of Jesus’ 3 hour Bible Study to the two discouraged hopeless men was dramatic.  It was life changing.  They learned so much they didn’t know or had failed to see.  They made a journey that started with hopelessness, but ended with overwhelming hope and joy! It started with teaching (From Jesus), Comfort (knowledge), and Hope/Joy (Jesus is alive!)

Luke tells us the story and describes the results which was this,

“Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”

Luke 24: 32

Here is what makes our hearts burn within us:  Opening up he scriptures and Jesus talking to us about himself from its pages.  Friends, you do this every morning, make it your first work and you will begin to find peace, hope, and joy.

As we read this small portion of scripture this morning.  Look for Jesus.  If you see Him in it, open your mind and apply the message to you as an individual, not as a church member, not as the group called Christian, but as one who desires to have hope burn within you. Because most of the time you are away from this congregation of believers and your true heart will be revealed.  It is here where your experience becomes real or pretend.

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I want to talk with you this morning about a little known character, a little known story found in the big book of Jeremiah (Chapter 38).  In this story are the  elements of faith that apply to us as individuals who make up the world-wide church as we wait for the soon return of Jesus.

Let’s begin by understanding the setting for our little known hero.

Jeremiah was a true prophet who was warning the people of God that the King of Babylon was going to burn down Jerusalem.  He particularly warned the leadership including the very last King of Judah, King Zedekiah.

It is during this time just before the fall of Jerusalem that our hero shows up.  Many of God’s people could have been saved had the leadership heeded the warning and advice of Jeremiah.  Here is our first lesson.  If we are put in positions of leadership, we will have a great responsibility to hear and respond to the word of God for the good of those we serve.  Wouldn’t you agree?  But that does not excuse us as individual followers of Jesus.

Long before we get to Chapter 38, Jeremiah had given the solution to their fate…a way of escape:

“Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.”

Jeremiah 3:  22, 23

The condition of God’s people (including the king and his officials) was that they had left God.  They were practicing the same vain worship as the heathen.  The built alters and groves and worshiped things made with their own hands. They even sacrificed their sons by fire. They had become superstitious and looked to the hills and mountains where their idols resided to protect them and give them hope.  Their hope was sadly misplaced.

 “Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind.”

Jeremiah 19: 4, 5

God’s people were no different from those around them.  They wanted to be accepted by the vast number of the majority.  They wanted to be cool like everyone else.  They desired not to follow God which would make them different, but rather adopt the ways of the majority so they would fit in. So they sold their God-given birth right for a bowl of soup.

 But, despite their backsliding, God bore long with them and extended mercy after mercy through the messages of Jeremiah.  Finally, the city was doomed and its fate was sealed. But, even then, God made a way of escape for those who chose to listen to God as individuals.

“And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.

For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.”

Jeremiah 21: 8-10

Does this not sound like Jesus when he warned the disciples of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD?

Jesus desired Jerusalem to come to him, but they would not.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

Matthew 23:37

But Jesus made a way of escape for those who would listen:

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand), ‘then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ‘ “

Matthew 24: 15-18

In 70 AD Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed by the Roman army, but those who remembered the words of Jesus escaped unharmed.

Josephus claims that 1.1 million people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved….

“The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination.”

Those who heeded the words of Jesus to leave Jerusalem were spared the pain of suffering of a besieged city.

Throughout scripture it is the majority in the cities that are destroyed while those few faithful to the Lord escape and come out before the destruction.  We have examples of Sodom, Gomorrah,  Jerusalem, and in the end time, it will be Babylon symbolic of those who follow tradition and the majority above the word of God.  We are only safe as individuals and not as a group.

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King Zedekiah and the leaders did not want to believe Jeremiah’s hard prophecies.  They desired a more peaceful ending…a more palatable story…One of their own liking.   The story could have had a happy ending IF they listened and did what Jeremiah instructed as told to him by a Sovereign God.  He would have fought for them Himself!

But,  only Jeremiah and a remnant found hope in the words of God, the Scripture.  It gave them comfort in a time of extreme difficulty:

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 15:16

The solution to hopelessness and discouragement is found in the words of the Bible, the scripture.  Also, if you are called by God’s name (Recognized by others as a true follower) you will have joy even when it seems the world is against you. But how often are we afraid to let the world know of our name of how we are identified?  Do we want to be like those around us who have no hope?

To minimize the message of Jeremiah, there arose false prophets who told the king and the leadership the things they wanted to hear.  It gave them comfort, but it was a lie and made Jeremiah’s message hard to hear.  These false prophets said, “everything is going to be OK.”  Listen to one of them.  His name was Hananiah:

 “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord‘s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:

And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

Jeremiah 28: 2-4

Jeremiah called out Hananiah on this:

“Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord.

So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.”

Jeremiah 28:15-17

Folks it matters what we believe.  Sometimes the message will be hard to hear or we may be the only one among thousands who are proclaiming it or following it. Be careful of messages that give false hope that leads to false comfort.  Truth is always best. Beware of smooth talk, fancy suits, wealthy speakers, and those who would flatter you.  Do not be naive, but one who is led by the Lord and His words.

“For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

Romans 16:18

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It was because of Jeremiah’s hard prophecy and people’s refusal to hear it that the leadership of Judah, including the king. throw Jeremiah into a dungeon.  Here was the final message that finally put him in a dungeon:

“Thus says the Lord: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’Thus says the Lord: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’”

Jeremiah 38: 2-3

In effect, Jeremiah is telling the people to defect, to get out of the city.  If they do, they will live.  This was the same message Jesus gave to a Jerusalem some 500 years later.

There comes a time when the bad will begin to happen.  If you have your hope in God, he will give you joy a peace during that time and your life shall be as a prize. Again, I repeat Jeremiah:

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 15:16

Because of Jeremiah’s hard message, he is let down into a Dungeon that is filled with disgusting smelly mud.

“…and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.”

Jeremiah 38: 6

This dungeon was more like a deep dark confining latrine of a pit that only had enough water to make mud at the bottom.  It is likely Jeremiah had no room to lie down and even if he did, it would be in the disgusting mud.

A brother of mine, described his experience with this type of dungeon:

“Growing up in rural Kenya, I have had the ‘privilege’ of going down into a pit when I was about 10 years old, albeit not a muddy one the way Jeremiah did. Having been forewarned and prepared, the instructions were clear: Don’t look up – you just go in and continue digging to extend its depth. You can guess what happened – on being lowered to the floor of the new pit latrine we had been tasked as boys in the family to dig, I made the fatal mistake of looking up! It is freaking scary – the opening looks like a pin hole, and the walls look like they are carving in on you! I screamed, and had to be pulled off as soon as possible, as my elder siblings took over the task! I have not had to get into the pit again ever since but it is not a pleasant place to be in.”

How bad were the conditions for the man of God who prophesied the truth and not smooth words in order to be accepted!  Folks, sometimes, we are in this pit and we wonder why God is letting this happen.

Jeremiah was what the people of God should be…telling the truth regardless of how unpopular it would make him.  The message is one meant to save them from death and destruction.  One that was uttered with pathos.  But Jeremiah was comforted by the words of God.  If we do the same it will be our joy and being called by his name will give us rejoicing and comfort even when in the pit of mud.  We will be called by His name when we honor Him no matter our circumstance.  Disaster, sickness, death all are opportunities to glorify the Lord for the sake of others who have no hope.  After all, our experience with Jesus is not about ourselves, but about others.

Let me say it again, if you have the words of God and a relationship with Jesus it does not matter how bad things are, you have peace!  Do you believe that?  Have you ever experienced what I am talking about?

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At the darkest, smelliest, confining moment of Jeremiah’s experience is when our hero shows up!  His name is Ebed-Melech.  He is an Ethiopian; a heathen who is not one of God’s people, but many times it is not God’s people who come to the rescue because their salt has lost is saltiness!

Ebed-Melech is a slave to the King. He is a eunuch.  An eastern eunuch.  This clan had a terrible a reputation. The Eastern eunuchs were a pitilessly cruel race, whose delight was to wound and vex. No clan had a worse reputation for cruelty, but Ebed-melech was different. 

Ebed-Melech was as faithful a servant to God as he was to king Zedekiah. He loved the prophet Jeremiah and risked his own life to save the man of God.

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Ebed-Melech begins his ministry by interceding for Jeremiah.

“When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: ‘My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.’ ”

Jeremiah 38: 7-9

When Ebed-Melech heard that the man of God was in a deep dungeon, he risked his own life, occupation, reputation by approaching the king and accusing the king’s more honored and sophisticated supporters of being and doing evil.

Here is the first of the Christ-like actions of Ebed-Melech. His life is of little concern.  He has an agape type love that puts the other person’s life ahead of his own.  He approaches the king interceding for Jeremiah, as does Jesus for us.

But, there is a big difference.  Jesus went into the pit (death) for us so that we might not have to.

“Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies”

Jeremiah 38: 10

Like Jesus, Ebed-Melech, is given the resources to go and save the man of God from an apparent hopeless situation.

“So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.”

Jeremiah 38: 11-12

As we know, these old clothes and rags represent our own righteousness.  It is not our rags that save us, but the one who pulls us up despite the rags to save us.

Here it was an effort of 30 men.  Often when someone needs pulling from the pit of despair, it takes a group effort to bring them up.

Those rags have to be under our armpits….A secure place, otherwise we may slip and fall as we are headed up.

The rags that pulled us up from discouragement, hopelessness, and death were not old dirty rags, but the precious cloth of Jesus’ robe of righteousness.  He purchased these cloths at the cross and it is ours to keep if we are willing and chose to exchange our filthy rages for his soft comforting robe.

This was the experience of the prodigal son who came home dirty, tired, discouraged, and doubting whether his father would take him back, but the father was looking for him and came running to him shouting this command to his servants as he ran:

‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Luke 15: 22-24

Are you following the instructions of your savior and in a secure position?  Is it Christ pulling you out of the mud into a firm place?  Are you looking at the tattered rags or upward to the one who has promised to never let you fall.

Is this your experience?

“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.”

Psalm 40:2

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Although  Ebed-Melech appears for only a short time in Scripture, his actions for the man of God have been preserved for all who read and understand .   Some 2500 years later, I am telling his story and  how he  brings hope to all of us who seem to be looking at the pit we are in rather than trusting in the character of our Lord.  

Ebed-Melech’s actions spared the life of a man of God.  What little he knows about the true God, he uses.  He doesn’t wait for any sign or more information.  He is moved by the Spirit of God and acts.

There are many Ebed-Melchs in this world.   They may have  little worldly influence or possessions.  They may be without a family and  less educated.  They may know little about the true God of heaven, but, unlike the religious, they have a heart that can be moved by the great Creator to perform His will and participate in the promotion and preservation of God’s work.  While they are ordinary and often go unnoticed, they do extraordinary things.

Because of Ebed’s actions, his life was spared.   While big things were going on with the nation, God remembers the  man who likely had no family and would never have any descendants.  God remembers the man who was small in influence until the day he stood up for what was right.  God inspired him and he moved into action.

 “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

Go and speak to Ebed Melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.”

Jeremiah 39: 15-18

What is your dungeon?  Do you have a Ebed Melech in your life?  Where is your hope?  Is it in the rope of filthy rags, the hills, the money or in the strength of the  one pulling you up?

Would you choose today to let God be the source of your joy, peace, and comfort by surrendering to Him?  You may say, I am too weak and my sins too strong.  I am too depressed.

Does this sound like you?  You hold the one thing God gives you in the plan of salvation-Choice

Choose to surrender and put the rope of God’s word under your arm pits.  Lean back and look up at the light of freedom.  Let the Lord’s strong arm pull you up into the glorious light of His presence.

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“The temptations of Satan are grater now than ever before, for he knows that his time is short and that very soon every case will be decided, either for life or for death.  It is no time now to sink down beneath discouragement and trial; we must bear up under all our afflictions and trust wholly in the Almighty God of Jacob.  The Lord has shown me that His grace is sufficient for all our trials; and although they are greater than ever before, yet if we trust wholly in God, we can overcome every temptation and through His grace come off victorious.”

Early Writings-Trial of Our Faith, Chapter 8 

Prophecies for Our Time

Part 5-Second Coming Predictions-The End of Sin

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“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

The second coming of Christ means some will perish!  Not live in hell, but perish!

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

John 3:16

Those who believe have eternal life, those who don’t believe perish!

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

What are the wages of sin? Death! The penalty for sin is eternal death (perish)  not eternal life.

Is the end of sin as simple as death or is it eternal life in flames? Which one of these is just and fair?

 Is the end of sin and its consequences a place of living torture throughout eternity as described by Bill Wiese in his book 23 Minutes in Hell?

Again, as mentioned in earlier posts, many choose to believe man and his books instead of God and His books.

Is Mr. Wiese’s description really the end of sin?  As long as there is sinful beings being tortured under the earth or in a corner of the universe has sin been eradicated?   Do those being punished have flesh that is constantly burning?  Eyes constantly melting?, Do they breathe oxygen or flames? Do they have a body that does not have one square inch that is free from fire and pain?

Is there a place where people are now suffering unmercifully desiring death and finding no relieve from the intense pain of fire because they must live like this forever?

Does this sound like the  God who so loved the world…..?

Recently, there were a bus filled with students that crashed and burned.  One of the students who survived the wreck, but was drenched in flames ran screaming for help towards another person who saw the wreck. Of course the kind  bystander mercifully put out the flames and injured herself in the process.  If you were that bystander would you have tried to put out the flames?  Most all people (regardless of religion or not) have a heart that does not like to see anyone or any animal suffer, but yet our modern churches have painted God as one who will not put out the flames, but actually perform a miracle moment by moment to keep a person alive so they can suffer because they rejected his son.  This they call justice.

To believe in this kind of  vindictive God, you must skip over some important verses like those described above or re-write them to say,

The wages of sin is eternal life in hell.

Instead He is patient with you not wanting anyone to live in hell.

As we shall see, there is a hell, but it is not what has been taught and preached.  It is God’s merciful way of putting an end to sin and its consequences

Indeed, sin and its consequences has an end!  The scriptures describe it well for all who will listen.

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The beginning of sin is important.  It helps us  to understand the end of sin and its consequences.

Many are tempted to think sin began with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, the word of God lets us know it started before!  Before Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit an enemy of God was at work as demonstrated in the contradictions of Satan disguised as a  strange animal sitting in the tree forbidden by God Himself.

The first parents  were deceived by Satan.  He contradicts God in his conversation with Eve and tells the  very first lie recorded in the Bible.  It has to do with death and being like God.

God told the first pair the penalty for disobedience is death.  Satan says,  No!  there is no death!  In fact, he asserts, God knows their eyes will be opened and they will be as gods!

In many  Christian pulpits we hear the same lie.  You do not die, you will live eternity in one of two places!

After the short discussion with Satan, Adam and Eve used logic that seemed right.  The fruit does looks good for eating and it does have the potential for a better more wise life than the one God had provided.  This nice creature told us! He would not lie to us.

Thus sin, the consequences (unhappiness,  wars, sickness, confusion) and its penalty (death) came into the world.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men,”

Romans 5:12

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The prophets and writers of the Bible are quick to name the serpent as Satan who is given many other symbolic names to identify him and his character.   While the names are symbolic, he is not.  His work can easily be seen and detected in the world  today.  If there is an eternal torture place, Satan is not there.  He is here with us.  Even if this torture chamber started at the end of time, there remains contradictions in the fate of the lost and of Satan.

Who is this Satan anyway?

Ezekiel 28 summaries Satan’s story.  Ezekiel uses the King of Tyrus to paint a picture of Satan.  From this passage, we learn about Satan, sin, and his ultimate fate:

“You were the signet of perfection,
    full of wisdom
    and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, topaz, and jasper,
    chrysolite, beryl, and onyx,
sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald;
    and wrought in gold were your settings
    and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared.
With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you;
    you were on the holy mountain of God;
    in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,
    till iniquity was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and the guardian cherub drove you out
    from the midst of the stones of fire.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
    I exposed you before kings,
    to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities,
    in the unrighteousness of your trade
    you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought forth fire from the midst of you;
    it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes upon the earth
    in the sight of all who saw you.
All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
    and shall be no more for ever.”

Ezekiel 28: 12-19

From these verses we can see that:

  1. Satan was beautiful and wise
  2. He was in the Garden of Eden
  3. He was created
  4. He was in heaven near God (mountain of God)
  5. He was blameless until iniquity was found in him
  6. His heart became proud because of his beauty and splendor
  7. God casts him from the holy mountain of God
  8. His trade is in iniquity and unrighteousness.  (The opposite of God’s character)
  9. Eventually God will send a fire from the midst of him that will consumer him.
  10. He will come to a dreadful end and will be no more
  11. His fate is ashes

His fate is found in not only death, but ashes and non-existence forever.  His fate is the same fate of those others who chose to believe Satan and chose to  rebel  against God and chose a path of sin and disobedience:

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.…”

Malachi 4:1

 “Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.”

Malachi 4:3

If He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

2 Peter 2:6

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Satan’s sin:

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,  on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;     I will make myself like the Most High.”  But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

Isaiah 14: 12-16

From these verses we see:

  1. As in Ezekiel, Lucifer (Satan) is removed from the mountain of God (heaven) and cast down to the earth.
  2. He wants to make himself like the Most High. He desires the worship.  (It is not strange that the battle between truth and error has to do with worship.)
  3. His fate is death.

Before Satan was cast out of heaven, there was a war.  It was unlike any on earth.  The war did not include any physical injuries or death, but a war of allegiance.  Sides were chosen and angles lined up behind Michael (Christ) and Satan.

 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.“

Revelations 12: 7-9

From these verses we see:

  1. There was a war in heaven between allegiances to Michael and to Satan.
  2. Satan and his angels did not prevail and they were cast out.
  3. Satan and his angels were cast to this earth.

All three passages from Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelations describe conflict in heaven and Satan along with his angels being cast out.  They are cast to this earth. The next place we see Satan is in the Garden of Eden conversing with Adam and Eve.

So sin began in the heart of Satan and was transferred to angels and then to God’s creation, Adam and Eve

Mystery of mysteries:  Sin.  To explain it, is to excuse it. All we can see is where and with whom it started.

Mysteries of mysteries:  The love of God to send his only Son to become one of us and to pay the penalty for sin:  eternal death.

 Sin is now like a disease, but God sent His son to make a way of escape from sin and its consequences.  It is trusting in the life, death,  and resurrection of his only begotten son Jesus that gives us hope.

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We have seen in earlier studies (Parts 1-5) that when Jesus returns there are only  4 types of people who ever lived:

Saved Alive

Saved Dead

Lost Alive

Lost Dead

The Saved Dead and Saved Alive meet the Lord in the air.  From there he takes us back to where He is now. But the Lost Alive are slain by the brightness of the His coming.  For 1,000 years, there is no one on this earth except for Satan and his angels.  There is no one to deceive until the 2nd resurrection that occurs and judgment begins. Please read the earlier studies for detail and the related Bible verses.

At the end of the 1,000 years something very dramatic occurs that puts an end to sin and begins eternity. Let’s read about it as given to us by Peter, Paul, and John:

“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

2 Peter 3:7

This earth and ungodly men will end with fire.

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

2 Thessalonians 1: 7-9

Notice that the punishment is everlasting destruction, not everlasting life in hell.  The punishment is everlasting in its effect not in its duration.

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelations 20: 14-15

Death and hell is cast in the lake of fire.  Death is not a person nor is hell (the grave), so why are these two signified as being thrown into the lake of fire?  Can they be punished?  This lake of fire is the fire that does a work of ending both death and its home (grave).  Anything that would remind us of death is destroyed. Those who are lost are also ended.  They perish as shown in the verses we discussed at the beginning.

This is God’s sorrowful and strange work, but He does not stop there.  He is the Creator.  So He creates! He is a comforter, so he wipes away the tears of those who lost loved one.  This time sin will not raise its head again.  All have experienced the sting of death and sin and who developed a saving relationship with Jesus now understand the danger of rebellion. With this experience and the love of their Creator they still have the freedom to choose, but it now operates on the great principle of love, experience, and understanding.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Revelations 21: 1-5

A new earth and new sky free of pollution.  God, Himself, will dwell here with those who made Him their God.  He wipes away the tears.  No one will ever experience the consequences of sin: sickness, sorrow, death.

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.  

Isaiah 66:22-23

It is a glorious thought to think the saved will be able to watch our great Creator God make a new heaven and a new earth!  Perhaps, He will take 6 days like the first time.

Also, it will be a wonderful day each week when all gather to Worship our Creator and Redeemer on the Sabbath–the day God blessed the first time as a tribute to His creation and redemption.  Maybe the Sabbath will then be a celebration of the new heavens and new earth  He spoke into existence as we watched!

During eternity we will ever be learning and building and enjoying the works of our hands:

“And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. “

Isaiah 65:21-22

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse….  Revelation 22: 1-3

The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love. Great Controversy, p. 678

__________________________The End of Sin_____________________________

With our next study, we will examine the  passages used to construct the idea of unending torture.  Until then…Blessings to you and your family.

In An Hour As You Think Not, Rapture, The Soon Return of Jesus

40 Days-Before Going Home

“…He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.  Acts 1:3

For 40 days after the cross and His resurrection, Jesus  was seen  with “infallible proofs” and spoke about things of the kingdom of God.  The big question on the disciples mind was:

 “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Verse 6

Jesus answer was blunt:

“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Verse 7 

How ever you want to interpret the answer, Jesus made it clear that the timing belonged to the Father only.  Jesus used similar words another time in Matthew 24 about His second coming:

 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24: 36

But just before verse 36 and after, he Jesus also made it clear that we, as watching Christians,  can know His coming and the end is near even as a person who is at the front door.

 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!

Verse 32, 33

Jesus goes on to explain the conditions of the world before the coming of Christ.  His coming will be one of surprise for those who have become a lover of this world.  Many will be going about the everyday events of this earth when Jesus will visibly come back.

 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24: 38-39

I will come back to verse shortly.  A relevant question concerns what the angels said  about His return in Acts 1?  They said you will see Him, just as they saw Him go:

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Verse 11

This begs the question as to why so many people teach that the church is secretly raptured at His coming.  When He comes, as shown in Matthew 24: 39 above, those who were caught by surprise  (eating, drinking, marrying, etc.) are “took away.”  This is not a translation  or a rapture but something different.  Luke describes the same scene, but uses different language for those who are “took away.”

They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Those that are “took away” are taken by the destruction that takes place when Jesus returns. Peter described this destruction.  It is by fire:

 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

1 Peter 3:10

The second coming is loud and destructive, not silent.  The reference to the “thief in the night” can’t be related to something secret since His coming is visible and with much fire.  A thief catches its victim by surprise and takes their belongings.  They don’t expect it.

Paul and Matthew encourages us to watch for  the “thief” so we won’t be surprised.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:4

But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Matthew 24: 43

Let go back to the scene in Acts 1 as Jesus was ascending to heaven.

Where was He during this time of 40 days?  It must of been of such little consequence that Luke made no reference to His whereabouts.  But, one thing is clear.  After the 40 days, he ascended to His Father as described six verses later by Luke:

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,  who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 9-11

And where did Jesus Go?

After the crucifixion and His resurrection, Jesus stayed on this earth for 40 more days.   There is a seeming odd statement by Jesus to Mary when she went to the tomb and did not find Him in it.  She then asked someone she thought to be a gardener about the body of Jesus, but it was Jesus.  Then Jesus said something that lets us know that He had not yet been to Paradise where Heaven and the Father are  located:

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.  John 20:17 KJV

Jesus clearly states He has not yet ascended to the Father, at least not up until that point.  Many think that Jesus went to Paradise the day He died on the cross because he said to the repentant thief:

“And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  

Luke 23:43

There are also many that think that Jesus went to hell during his death and resurrection, but there is no evidence in the Bible of any such think happening.  Also, what would be the purpose?

He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living…”  Mark 12:27

But if Jesus had not gone to Paradise, where God the Father and all the holy angels are located, then is there a contradiction?  The answer is simple.  The original language of the Bible did not contain punctuation.  When the translators were translating it into English, the comma was placed at the wrong place in the sentence without considering the verse in Luke and other passages that let us know he did not go to paradise until He ascended to God after about 40 days.   With the comma in the right place, it brings harmony to the other verses in the Bible:

“And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you today, (comma is at the right location here)  you will (future tense) be with Me in Paradise.”  

Luke 23:43

With the comma in the right location,  it states that Jesus is promising him today while everything looks hopeless that he will be with Him in paradise. Jesus did not go to paradise that day.  The  answer Jesus gave the thief is in context of the desire of the thief when he said to remember him when he comes into His kingdom.

 “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

Luke 23:42

When does Jesus come into his Kingdom?

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

 Mathew 25: 31-34

Even as the death dew was upon the brow of Jesus, He was in His Father’s will of bringing compassion and salvation to any who responded to the tug of the Holy Spirit and the words of Jesus.  The thief had likely heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God and desired to be part of it.  *Jesus talked more about the Kingdom of Heaven or God than He did about hell, so likely the thief was familiar with Jesus teaching on the kingdom.

*Note:  for more study, go to this link, Did Jesus Teach More about Hell than Heaven

In this account of Mary weeping at the empty tomb of Jesus demonstrates how hopeless the disciples of Christ felt.  She is so immersed in the pain of losing Jesus that she is unable to immediately recognize that Jesus is there with her.  It is not until he says her name, “Mary” that she realizes that her grieve and sorrow have turned into inexpressible joy.

The same occurred when the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They were so discouraged and were in a frame of mind that to believe He was resurrected.  They could not believe that the resurrection of Jesus was possible.

In a favorite book, called, Desire of Ages, the author puts it this way:

“…the disciples thought upon His empty tomb, and mourned and wept. The day that was a day of rejoicing to all heaven was to the disciples a day of uncertainty, confusion, and perplexity. Their unbelief in the testimony of the women gives evidence of how low their faith had sunk. The news of Christ’s resurrection was so different from what they had anticipated that they could not believe it. It was too good to be true, they thought. They had heard so much of the doctrines and the so-called scientific theories of the Sadducees that the impression made on their minds in regard to the resurrection was vague. They scarcely knew what the resurrection from the dead could mean. They were unable to take in the great subject.” p. 792, 793

There is a lesson here for us.  There will be times when we have heard what the Word has to say, but we are so despondent that we cannot believe.  But, God in his mercy and love for us, will appear in the darkest part of our time and gently say our name.  Then we will turn and our grief will be turned to joy.  Then we will remember the words of encouragement that were spoke to us before our time of trouble came.

We  will be on our journey away from the discouragement of Jerusalem and the crucifixion on a dusty road about to give up all hope, when Jesus will suddenly appear and teach us things we did not know.   Our hearts will burn within us as we listen and understand.  Faith will begin to grow, but we won’t know it is Jesus talking to us until we least expect it.  That is how Jesus works sometimes.  He just shows up!  We didn’t pray for Him to do that.  He just shows up!  We weren’t looking for Him, but He just shows up!  Why?  Because God loves and cares for those who are downcast and hurting.  This is the type of God we serve!

 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Isaiah 41:10

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 31:3

There is a verse in the New Testament that is hardly ever mentioned.  I have never heard a sermon on it,  but it is an impressive event that fits well with the train of thought here concerning the activities of Jesus during the 40 days on earth before he returns to His Father.

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Matthew 27: 52, 53

When Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain, the rulers’ daughter, and Lazarus, they were not clothed with immortality. They must have died again  in the future after growing old to wait for the great resurrection morning.  This is only speculation on my part.  But, those that were resurrected on that Sunday morning with Jesus were the “first fruits” of the resurrection.  They were the trophies of His victory over death. They represented the sacred truth of the resurrection and the hope for all those putting their trust in Jesus to resurrect them one day.

There is no record of Lazarus talking about being pulled out of heaven to return to the earth.  No, they slept in the dust and waited for the day when Jesus would have victory over death and be resurrected and clothed with immortality.  Of them it was prophesied:

“Thy dead men shall live, together with My dead body shall they arise…”  Isaiah 26:19

The verse continues…

“…Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”

Isaiah 26:19 (last part)

Christ and these risen saints became the first fruits of those who sleep in the dust waiting for the resurrection,  But it was Jesus that was the real first fruit of being raised and then going up to paradise.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.”  

1 Corinthians 15:20

Jesus’ favorite term for describing those who die is sleep.  So were the other writers such as Paul and Job.   Not once does Jesus or the disciples say what we say at funerals such as:

“Well, they are in heaven with their beloved spouse.”

“He  went to be with Jesus.”

“She is up there enjoying the fruits of heaven.”

“God must have wanted him more than we do, so He took him.”

If a person wants to be comforted by words from the Bible about the passing of a loved one, here are a couple of them from Paul who seemed to understand this topic better than anyone other than Jesus:

This verse ends with the words, “Comfort one another with these words.”  What words?  Here they are:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18

The words we are to comforted one another is the second coming of Jesus and the fact that those who died “in Christ.” will be resurrected.  They will rise from dusty graves and meet those who are left from the destructive events of Jesus’ coming.  We will meet the Lord in the air at the same time!  No one is there already.  We go at the same time!  What a comfort to know our loved ones are not looking down on us!  They have a brief sleep of death and then rise when Jesus resurrects them!

The resurrection is so important that Paul states the following:

 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

1 Corinthians 15: 16-19

Our hope is in the return of Christ!  In fact, belief and trust in the resurrection of Christ is what saves us as much as believing He died for our sins.

if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Romans 10:9

Like the thief on the cross, I want to pray that Jesus will remember me when He comes again.  Don’t you?  For forty-days, Jesus was encouraging His followers and reminding them that they must go away, but that He would return to take us where He is now.  In Paradise!

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14: 1-3

His promise here gives me comfort knowing He has promised to return,  give me immortality and take me to paradise.    Doesn’t it you?  Paul tells us that we will be changed in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.  This is when we become immortal.  Until then we are mortal.  I pray you will receive you comfort in Jesus and the resurrection:

 We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality ,then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15: 51-54

Reasons to Believe

The Day Jesus Gave a Bible Study

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A Jesus Journey

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. John 5:46

He gave sermons, taught parables, and read passages in the synagogue, but there is only one time recorded where Jesus gave a Bible study to prove who He is; why He must die on a cross; and that He would be resurrected the third day.  Because of the amount of  scripture He covered, we have no way of knowing what else  he discussed, but this we know for sure, it was all about Him!  What a powerful study that must have been!

At first, the study was given to only two disciples, but later that day, Jesus repeated it to all His disciples except Thomas.  Thomas would meet the live Jesus  8 days later.

This story is found in Luke 24: 13-45 and  is the basis for the following first person account.

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It was early afternoon, the sun was high in the sky as I walked the dusty road speaking in low tones with my friend Cleopas about the things that had transpired over the last few days.  So many things!  All very bad!

It started with the arrest of Jesus in the Garden east of the city.   During the night and into the early morning of the Preparation Day (Friday) the soldiers and mob began to move Him between the governor and religious leadership. Then they beat Him to a pulp and eventually crucified Him on a Roman cross on the hill outside of Jerusalem later in the afternoon of the Preparation Day.  I watched from afar as He hung His head and took his last breath.  He said something at the end, but I was unable to hear because I was trying to stay far enough away so that no one would try to connect me with Him .  I would certainly be labeled as a fanatic believer in this prophet who the clergy labeled as a blasphemer.  I think I saw Peter off in the distance.  He appeared to be on his knees with his face in his hands.  His disappointment must be very great!

There had been an earthquake and the sun refused to shine.  Darkness took over the land like a thick smothering blanket.  Everything seemed out of place…frightening.  The large curtain in the temple had been ripped from top to bottom by some unseen hand. There were even reports of  people, considered saints,  coming out of their graves and appearing to many in the city! (See Matthew 27: 51-53)

My personal disappointment was great, because I believed everything He said and was amazed at His great miracles and works of kindness. His followers thought Him to be the Messiah prophesied by many of the prophets hundreds of years ago.  He was going to set up His kingdom and deliver our people from the iron rule of Rome.

He was the coming king upon which I hung all our hopes.   But, it seemed like He did not want to be king.  I had left everything to follow Him and learn His teachings, but all this seemed to come to nothing on that Friday afternoon when He died.  Now only doubt, sadness, and disappointment hung on Cleopas and me like a heavy smelly cloak belonging to someone else.  I  want explanation, but the reality of deception was creeping into my thoughts and it made me feel sick and foolish.

On top of everything else, the body of Jesus is missing!  The women said He was alive, confirmed by a couple of other disciples, but I know better.  It is just wishful thinking on their part. No one could have survived the beating, the nails, the loss of blood, and finally the sharp sword in the side.  I saw it and refuse to believe anything but what my eyes can confirm. There was no mistaking… the vision of so much blood and the pale appearance of death was real.

We are on our way to Emmaus to start over;  a walk of about 7 miles. It will take me the usual 2 1/2 hours or so to walk…maybe longer today because of our conversation and heavy heart. This will give us plenty of time to try and put all the pieces together….to try to understand and make sense of everything and to decide what to do with the rest of our lives.

All of a sudden and unexpected, a stranger walks up from behind and joins us.  He asks,

“Why are you so sad and what are you discussing?”

I find these two questions odd in the light of the excitement and well-known events of the weekend. Slightly agitated and amazed Cleopas speaks before I can open my mouth and he answers the question with a question.  He throws in some sarcasm  for good measure.

“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem that does not know the things which happened there this last few days?”

 I am even more amazed when the stranger asks,

“What things?”

In disbelief, we began to explain to the stranger the events of the weekend.  Reviewing everything does not help my disappointment and we rush through them as a courtesy to the stranger.

About Jesus of Nazareth,” we replied in unison! “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.  In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning  but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

Then the stranger calls Cleopas and me “foolish ones” and that we are “slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken”  This is certainly not so! I have always believed the prophets.  I have come from a family who believes in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and I have read it often.  The prophets said, that the Messiah would come and deliver Israel from its enemies.  But the stranger began to recite the writings of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy) and all the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, Malachi, etc)  of the Tanakh and explain things I had missed before.

The stranger clearly points out passages that were references to Jesus.  For the next 3 hours, I am amazed at the knowledge and clarity of the stranger’s words.  As I listened to the stranger recite our ancient books, I begin to see that it was necessary for Jesus to die for the sins of the world, but that He would be raised up the third day!  How had I missed that?  Why had we not believed Jesus when He said it was necessary for Him to die and that he would rise again?  It was like I had been reading the scripture the way I wanted it to read instead of letting it talk to me!  Indeed, we felt foolish, but encouraged by the words of the stranger.  My heart burned within me!  I wanted to hear more!  This was all exciting and new to me!

As we get near the village where we are going it is almost dark. I don’t want the stranger to go and I look for excuses for Him to stay the night so we can hear more. Thankfully, He agrees to have supper with us.  As He breaks the bread, I recognize those hands and the manner in which He breaks the bread!  I finally look across the table into his eyes about the same time as Cleopas.  It is Jesus!  As soon as we recognize him, He disappears!  We had been talking to Jesus the whole time and we didn’t recognize Him!

With intense excitement and joy, Cleopas and I jump up and run the 7 miles back to Jerusalem in the dusk that eventually turns our path to darkness!   We must tell the 11 and the others who were behind closed doors when we left them. They, too, share our confusion and disappointment.

When we arrive,  we find them excited and questioning  Simon Peter about his encounter with! There is a strange mixture of doubt and hope in the room.  We then  begin to tell them what had happened over the last several hours.  Still some doubt, but hope is getting brighter by the moment.  As we are talking with them and answering their questions, Jesus appears in the room!

Everyone jumps back.  They think they are seeing a spirit, but Jesus tells them it is Him and that He is not a spirit. To prove it, He invites them to touch Him and He asks for something to eat.  We give Him some  fish and some honeycomb.  My heart beats fast!

After everyone settles down and the scales of their eyes begin to fall away as it did with Cleopas and me, Jesus repeats  the same type of study we heard on the road to Emmaus.  This time, He uses the entire Tanakh including the Psalms to explain how He is found all through scripture. All the disciples begin to understand that He had to die, but that He would rise on the third day.  How could we have missed this?  It was right there!

Then He said to us,

“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.  that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.  And He opened our understanding that we might comprehend the Scriptures.”

Now our hearts are filled with joy and conviction!  We spend the next hour or so talking with Jesus.  Then He tells us that the Father will send us the gift of the Holy Spirit, but we must wait for it and stay in the city.  Our message will go to the world in power.  It will be a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins!

He is risen!

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Do we need  Jesus to open our understanding of Scriptures?  Have we missed Jesus as we have read the Old Testament?  What detail did Jesus teach these disciples when He explained passages from all the books of the Old Testament?  Is the Old Testament not relevant to New Testament Christians?  Have we missed something in our understanding of Jesus?  Thomas was the only one not there in that room when Jesus appeared and taught them from the scripture about himself.

 Next, we will take a look at Jesus through the eyes of a well-known doubter,  Thomas.  We will attempt to understand why the resurrection of Jesus is an absolute cornerstone of the Christian faith. In fact, without it, Paul says we are most pitiful of all men. But, after we see through the eyes of Thomas we will exclaim as he did:

“My Lord and My God.”  John 20:28 

"He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Colossians 1:28