​​
Jeremiah 18



At the Potter’s House


 This is the word

that came to Jeremiah

from the Lord: 

 “Go down to the potter’s house,

and there

I will give you my message.” 


 So I went down to the potter’s house,

and I saw him

working at the wheel


 But the pot he was shaping from

the clay

was marred in his hands;


so the potter formed it into another pot,

shaping it

as seemed best to him.

 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 

He said,

“Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?”

declares the Lord



 “Like clay in the hand of

the potter,

so are you in my hand,


 Israel


 If at any time

I announce that a nation or kingdom is

to be uprooted, 

torn down and destroyed, 

and if that nation

​
I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent

 and

not inflict on it the disaster I had planned


 And if at another time

I announce that a nation or kingdom

is to be built up and planted, 

 and if it does evil 

in my sight and does not obey me,

then I will reconsider 

the good

I had intended to do for it.


 “Now therefore say to the

people of


Judah and those living in Jerusalem,


‘This is what the Lord says: Look!


I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you.



So turn from your evil ways, 

each one of you,

and REFORM

your ways and your actions.’ 



 But they will reply,


‘It’s no use. 


We will continue with our own plans;

we will all follow

the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”


Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:

    Who has ever heard anything

like this?

A most horrible thing has been

done

    by Virgin Israel


 Does the snow of Lebanon

    ever vanish from its rocky slopes?

Do its cool waters from distant sources

    ever stop flowing?

 Yet My People have forgotten me;

    they burn

incense to worthless idols,

which made them stumble in their ways,

    in the ancient paths.

They made them walk in byways,

    on roads not built up.

 Their land will be an object of horror

    and of lasting scorn;

all who pass by will be

appalled

    and will shake their heads.


 Like a wind from the east,

    I will scatter them before their enemies;

I will show them My Back 

and

Not my Face

    in the

day of their disaster.”

 They said,


“Come, let’s make plans 

against Jeremiah;

for the teaching

of the law by the priest 

will not cease,

nor

will counsel from the wise, 

nor the word

from the prophets. 



So come, let’s attack him

with our

tongues and pay no attention

to anything HE SAYS.”


 Listen to me, Lord;

    hear what

My accusers are Saying!


Should good be repaid with evil?


    Yet they have dug a pit for me


Remember that I stood before you

    and spoke in their behalf

    to turn

your wrath away from them


So give their children over to famine;


    hand them over to the power

of the sword


Let their wives be made childless

and widows;


    let their men be put to death,

    their

young men slain by the

sword in battle


 Let a cry be heard from their houses

    when you

suddenly bring invaders against them,


for they

have dug a pit to capture me

    and have

hidden snares for my feet


 But you, Lord, know

    all their plots to kill me


Do not forgive their crimes

    or blot out

their sins from your sight

Let them be

overthrown before you;

    deal with them

in the

Time of your Anger



The Waters Are up to

My Neck


For the choirmaster

To the tune of


“Lilies”


Of David



Save me, O God,

for the

waters are up to my neck.

I have sunk into the miry

depths

where there is no footing;

I have drifted into deep waters,

where the flood engulfs me.

I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched

My eyes fail

looking for my God

Those who hate me without cause

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are

those who would destroy me--

my enemies for no reason.

Though I did not steal,

I must repay


You know my folly, O God,

and my

guilt is not hidden from You


May those who hope

in You

not be ashamed through me,


O Lord GOD of Hosts;

may those who seek

You not be

dishonored through me,


O God of Israel


For I have endured scorn for

Your sake

and shame has covered

my face

I have become a stranger to my brothers

and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,

because zeal for

Your house has consumed me

and the insults of

those who insult You have fallen

on me

I wept and fasted,

but it brought me reproach

I made sackcloth my clothing,

and I was sport to them.

Rescue me from the mire

and

do not let me sink;

deliver me from my foes

and

out of the deep waters

Do not let the floods engulf me

or the

depths swallow me up;

let not the

Pit close its mouth over me


Answer me, O LORD,

for

Your loving devotion is good;

turn to me in

keeping with Your great compassion


Hide NOT

Your face from Your servant,


for I am in distress


Answer me quickly!


Draw near to my soul and

redeem me;

ransom me because of my foes


You know my reproach,

my

shame and disgrace


All my adversaries are before You


Insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair


I looked for sympathy, but there

was none,

for comforters, but I found no one


They poisoned my food with gall

and gave me

vinegar to quench my thirst


May their table become a snare;

may it be a retribution and

a trap


May their eyes be darkened so they

cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever


Pour out Your wrath upon them,

and let

Your burning anger overtake them


May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in

their tents


For they persecute the one You struck

and recount

the pain of those You wounded


Add iniquity to their iniquity;


let them not share in Your righteousness


May they be blotted out of

The Book of Life

and not

listed with the righteous

But I am in pain and distress;


Let Your

Salvation protect me, O God.

I will Praise God’s NAME in Song

and Exalt Him with thanksgiving.

And this will

please the LORD more than an ox,

more than a bull with horns

and hooves.

The humble will see and rejoice.

You who Seek God,

let your

Hearts be Revived!

For the LORD listens to the Needy

and does not

despise His captive people


Let heaven and earth Praise Him,

the seas

And everything that Moves

in them

For God will Save

Zion

and Rebuild

The cities of Judah,

that they

May Dwell there and possess it


The Descendants

of

His Servants will Inherit it,

and

those who

Love His NAME will

Settle in it



In the Beginning God Created

the

Heavens and the Earth,

and He

pronounced that everything was very good

(Genesis 1:31)


Yet mankind sinned, marring


God’s Creation


The world was “good” no longer

From

 Genesis 3 through Revelation 20,

The Earth

and

everyone in it experiences

sin and death

(Romans 5:12)


Yet something will change

after the


 great white throne judgment


After

sin is eternally judged,


God

PROMISES

ANEW

Heaven and Anew Earth 

where


suffering, pain, sin, and death

cease

for all eternity


This future creation

gives believers hope

and affects our lives on earth as we

eagerly await

for this promise to be fulfilled:


“Behold I make all things new”


(Revelation 21:5, NKJV)


In Revelation 21,

John recounts seeing the new heaven and new earth.


He sees a magnificent


 Holy City,


where God dwells among His people.

It is here that God promises to wipe every tear from His people’s eyes.

There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.

Finally, all creation

will be free from the reign and effects of sin.

After observing all this, John sees Jesus seated on the throne

​declaring,

“Behold I make all things new.”

This new heaven and earth

is what believers long for, along with all creation

(see Romans 8:19)


When someone trusts in God

for salvation,

the

Holy Spirit indwells him,

and

he becomes a new creation.


“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the

new creation has come:

The old has gone,


the new is here!”


(2 Corinthians 5:17).

The believer is no longer bound by sin;

we become new creations,

able to please God and live in His ways.

 Galatians 2:20 

sums up our newness well:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I now live in the body,

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me

and gave himself for me.”

No longer do we live for ourselves, but we live for the One who is life

(John 1:3–4)



A transformation


occurs

in those who


surrender to God,


and of them it can also be said,


“Behold I make all things new.”


Becoming a new creation affects

the way we live.

God’s Word reminds us to put off our former, sinful ways of life

(Ephesians 4:22–24, Colossians 3:9).

Instead of living in sin

and for ourselves, we are called

to “put on the new self,


which is being renewed

in knowledge

in the image of its Creator”


(Colossians 3:10, ESV).


​Regeneration


happens at the moment

of

salvation,


but

sanctification continues

AS we grow

in faith

and in His likeness


(2 Corinthians 3:18)


To be sanctified

 is to be


“set apart.”


Synonyms for 


sanctified are holy, consecrated, and HALLOWED


The Bible speaks of things being


“sanctified,”


such as Mt. Sinai

(Exodus 19:23)

and

gifts to the temple

(Matthew 23:17);


 days, such as the Sabbath

​ (Exodus 20:8); 


NAMES,

such as God’s

(Matthew 6:9);


and people,

​ such as the Israelites

(Leviticus 20:7–8)


and Christians

(Ephesians 5:26)


For a thing to be


sanctified means it

is

set apart for a special use


Sinai was set apart from all

other mountains

for the giving of the Law


The temple in Jerusalem

was set apart from

all other

locations for the worship

of the one true God:


“I have chosen

and consecrated this temple

so that

My Name

may be there forever.

My Eyes

and

My Heart will always be there”


(2 Chronicles 7:16)



Things that ARE SANCTIFIED

are

RESERVED for God’s PURPOSES

and

should NOT


be USED for


MUNDANE TASKS


The night BABYLON FELL

King Belshazzar

“gave orders to bring in the

gold and silver goblets . . .

from the temple in Jerusalem,

so that the king and his nobles,

his wives

and his concubines

might drink from them”

(Daniel 5:2)


It was one of Belshazzar’s final acts, for he was

killed that night

by the invading Persians.



God’s


NAME is “HALLOWED
”

(Luke 11:2)


and any flippant

or

disrespectful use of His name

is profane


Jesus spoke of Himself as being sanctified in John 17:19; in other words,


He is holy

and “set apart” from sin.

His followers are to be

similarly

set apart from sin and

for God’s use


(see 1 Peter 1:16)


People who are sanctified are born again and therefore part of God’s family

(Hebrews 2:11).

They are reserved for God’s use.

They know

“the sanctifying work of the Spirit” in their lives

(1 Peter 1:2).
​

They abstain from sexual immorality

(1 Thessalonians 4:3).

They understand they have been “called to be his holy people”

(1 Corinthians 1:2)
​

To be sanctified means that God has been at work in our lives.

Under the Old Testament Law, the blood of a sacrifice

was required

to set things apart unto God:

“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (Hebrews 9:22).

Blood was sprinkled on tabernacle furniture, on priestly clothing, and on people. Nothing was considered sanctified until it had come in contact with the blood. This was a picture of the spiritual application of Christ’s blood for our salvation—we are “sprinkled with his blood” (1 Peter 1:2).

Just as the temple of old

was sanctified for God’s use, our bodies, 

temples of the Holy Spirit,

are set apart for God’s holy purposes


(1 Corinthians 6:19).

To be sanctified means that


God’s Word

has

had an effect on us.

It is


“through the word”

that God

cleanses us and makes us holy


(Ephesians 5:26; John 17:17).

God invites us sinners to come to Him “just as we are” and receive His mercy and forgiveness.


When we are saved,

the Holy Spirit begins His amazing work

of transforming us

into the image and likeness of Christ.


The apostle’s prayer is for all believers, everywhere:


“May God himself, the God of peace,

sanctify you

through and through.

May your WHOLE SPIRIT

soul and body be kept blameless

at


The Coming of

our

Lord Jesus Christ”


(1 Thessalonians 5:23)




“BLESSED are the

PURE in HEART, for they

will SEE God”


(Matthew 5:8).


Jesus spoke

this during His famous

Sermon the Mount.

So what did He mean

by “pure in heart?”



The Greek word for “pure” in Matthew 5:8 

is katharos.

It means to be “clean, blameless, unstained from guilt.”


Interestingly, the word can refer specifically to that which

is purified by fire or by pruning.


John the Baptist told people that

Jesus would baptize

with the

Holy Spirit AND FIRE

(Matthew 3:11).

Malachi speaks of the

 
MESSIAH as BEING

like

a “reFINErs FIRE”


(Malachi 3:2).


Jesus refers to believers

as being the branches

and to

Himself as being the vine

(John 15:1-17).


For a


vine to produce

FRUIT,

it must be pruned


Those who

are TRULY “pure,” then,

are those

who have been declared

INNOCENT 

because of the


WORK of JESUS 

and who

are being sanctified

by His

REFINING fire and HIS PRUNING

The Greek word for “heart” in Matthew 5:8 

is kardeeah.

This can be applied to the physical

HEART

But it also refers to the



​Spiritual CENTER


of life


It is where

thoughts, desires, sense of purpose,

will,

understanding, and character reside.

So, to be pure in heart

means to be

blameless in who we actually are



Being pure in heart involves

having a

singleness of heart toward God.

​
A pure heart has no hypocrisy,

no guile,

no hidden motives.


The pure heart

is marked by transparency and an

uncompromising

desire to please God in all things.

It is more than

an external purity of behavior;

it is an internal purity of soul.


The only way we can be

truly pure in heart

is to

give our lives to Jesus

and ask Him to do the cleansing work.

 Psalm 51:10 says,


“CREATE in me

a

PURE HEART,


O God, and renew

a

steadfast SPIRIT 


WITHIN Me


(for the one-billionth time)


God is the one who makes our

hearts pure –

by the sacrifice of His Son

and through

His sanctifying work in our lives


(see also 1 John 3:1-3)


In 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter writes to


believers,

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action,

keep sober in spirit,

fix your hope completely on the grace

to be brought to you at

the revelation of Jesus Christ.


As obedient children,

do not be conformed to the former lusts which

were yours in your ignorance,

but like the Holy One who called you,

be holy yourselves

also in all your behavior; because


IT IS WRITTEN,


“You shall be holy, for I am holy”


Peter is quoting from Leviticus 11:44 and Leviticus 19:2.


First, let’s look at God’s HOLINESS



What does it mean that God is holy?


Passages like 1 Samuel 2:2 and Isaiah 6:3 

are just two

of many examples of passages about


God’s holiness


Another way to say it is absolute perfection


God is UNLIKE any OTHER

​
(see Hosea 11:9),

and


His holiness

is the

Essence of that


“otherness.”


His very BEING

is completely absent of even a

trace of sin

(James 1:13; Hebrews 6:18)


He is high above any other, and no one can compare to Him


(Psalm 40:5)


God’s holiness pervades


His entire being and shapes all


His ATTRIBUTES


His love is a holy love,

His mercy is holy mercy,

and even

His anger and wrath

are

HOLY ANGER and HOLY WRATH

These concepts

​are difficult for humans to grasp,

just as

God is

difficult for us to understand

in His entirety


Next, what does it mean for us to be holy?

When God told Israel to be holy in Leviticus 11 and 19, He was instructing them to be distinct from the other nations by giving them specific regulations to govern their lives. Israel is God’s chosen nation and God has set them apart from all other people groups.

They are His special people, and consequently they were given standards that God wanted them to live by so the world would know they belonged to Him.

When Peter repeats the Lord’s words in 1 Peter 1:16, he is talking specifically to believers.

As believers,

we need to be "set apart"

from the world unto the Lord.

We need to be living by God’s standards, not the world’s. God isn’t calling us to be perfect, but to be distinct from the world. First Peter 2:9 describes believers as "a holy nation." It is a fact! We are separated from the world; we need to live out that reality in our day-to-day lives, which Peter tells us how to do in 1 Peter 1:13-16.

Finally, how can we become

holy?

Holiness

only results from

a RIGHT 

relationship with God

by believing

in

Jesus Christ as Savior

(accepting His gift of eternal life).

If we have not

placed our faith in God’s Son

ALONE

to save us from our sins,

then our PURSUIT of holiness

is in VAIN

So, we must first

make SURE we are born-again believers

(see John 3).

If we TRULY

are believers, then we recognize that

our position in Christ

automatically sets us apart from the world

(1 Peter 2:9)



After all,


we have a RELATIONSHIP

with

the LIVING God!


Then we must daily live a set-apart life,

not trying to "blend in" with the world,

but instead

living according to God’s Word as we study the Bible and grow in it.

Second Peter 3:18 tells us to


“Grow in the grace and knowledge

of the


Lord Jesus Christ.”


To grow in grace is to mature

as a Christian.

We are saved by grace through faith

(Ephesians 2:8–9),

and we mature

and are

sanctified by grace alone.

We know that grace

is a

blessing that we don’t deserve.

It is God’s grace

that justifies us, sanctifies us, and

eventually glorifies us in heaven.

The sanctification process,

becoming more like Christ,

is synonymous

with growing in grace


We grow in grace

by

reading God’s Word

and

letting it “dwell in us richly”

(Colossians 3:16)

and by praying.


Those actions by themselves don’t mature us, but God uses these 

spiritual disciplines to help us grow.

Therefore,

maturing in our Christian life is not

about what we do,

but about

what God does in us,

by His grace.


Understanding and applying God’s grace in our lives is important.

We are not to impair it by being proud,

because

God says that He resists

the proud

but gives grace to the humble

(James 4:6).

Grace is that attribute of God that enables us to break free of our sinful nature and follow Him. It gives us strength and protects us. Without God’s grace, His favor, we would be hopelessly lost in this world.


The more grace we have and ask God for,

the more

mature as Christians we will be


To grow in grace does not mean gaining more grace from God. God’s grace never increases; it is infinite, it cannot be more, and according to the nature of God, it could never be less.

He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should be saved (John 3:16).

How much more grace could there possibly be than that?

But to grow in grace is to grow in our understanding of what Jesus did and to grow in our appreciation of the grace we have been given. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we will appreciate all He has done, and the more we appreciate His love and sacrifice for us, the more we will perceive the never-ending grace of God.

Peter also confirms that we need to

grow

in our knowledge of Jesus

and to have that intimate relationship

with Him

because the more we know of Him,

the more of Him

will be seen in our lives.

Paul said in Colossians 3:1–4:


“Since, then, you have been

raised with Christ,

set your

hearts on things above,

where Christ is

seated at

​the RIGHT hand of God


Set your minds on things

above,

not on earthly things


For you died, and your life

is now

hidden with Christ in God


When Christ, who is your life,

appears, then you

also will

​appear with him in glory.”



The Scriptures contain

all the

knowledge we will ever need

to learn of God,

His Son, and His Spirit,

at least in this life.

God`s desire for those He has saved

is their

sanctification and transformation


He wants us to become more holy like Himself.

He wants to

transform us into the image of His Son.

The way to do this is by

meditating on the Scriptures and applying their principles

to our lives as we yield to the

conviction and power

of the

Holy Spirit who dwells within us.


Then we will prove 2 Corinthians 3:18:


“We, who with unveiled faces

all

reflect the Lord’s glory,

are being

transformed into his likeness

with

ever-increasing glory,

which

comes from the Lord.”


In a challenging teaching on holy living

(Ephesians 4:17—5:21),


the apostle Paul emphasized the importance of the

believer’s mental outlook.

He reminded the Ephesian Christians what they had

learned in their relationship with Christ:

“To put off your old self,

which belongs to your former manner of life

and

is corrupt through deceitful desires,

and to be

renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to

put on the new self,


created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness“


(Ephesians 4:22–24, ESV)

The phrase be renewed

 is derived from the Greek verb (ananeousthai)

meaning

“to be or become reestablished in a new and often

improved manner.”

By entering a

relationship with Jesus, the believer is

reestablished

in an

improved standing

as a “new creation” in Christ


(2 Corinthians 5:17)

At the same time, Christians are daily,

continually being renewed by the

indwelling Spirit of God:

“Therefore we do not lose heart.

Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly

we are being renewed day by day”

(2 Corinthians 4:16).


“The spirit of your mind”

refers to the

believer’s thoughts and attitudes.

In the New Living Translation,


 Ephesians 4:23 says,


“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”

The mind is the arena where

the

Holy Spirit constantly works on renewal.

Paul urged the Romans,


“Do not conform to the pattern

of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing

of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and

approve what

God’s will is--

his good, pleasing and perfect will”

(Romans 12:2).

Spending time daily in

fellowship with Jesus Christ

is vital to being

renewed in the spirit of our minds.


We are

renewed in our internal nature

as we

“learn to know [our] Creator and become like him”


(Colossians 3:10, NLT)



In fact, this is the believer’s destiny:


“For God knew his people in advance,

and

he chose them

to become like his Son,

so that his Son would be

the firstborn

among many brothers and sisters”


(Romans 8:29, NLT; see also John 13:15; Philippians 2:5)


The more we know Jesus, who reflects the very nature of God

(Philippians 2:6),

the better we can see and understand the heavenly Father

(see Colossians 1:15)

“The Son is the

radiance of God’s glory

and the

exact representation of his being,

sustaining all

things by his powerful word”

(Hebrews 1:3)


As we follow in Christ’s footsteps and arm ourselves

with the same attitude He had,

our lives become a pleasing “sacrifice to God”


(Ephesians 5:21; Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 4:1)


God’s Word is essential

to being

renewed in the

spirit of our minds.



Jesus prayed to the Father for

all believers,


“Make them holy by your truth;

teach them your word,

which is truth”


(John 17:17, NLT).


As we

develop in our understanding

of the

truth in Scripture,

our minds

are renewed and transformed

by God’s Spirit,

and our

lives reflect that change


“Physically, you are what you eat, but spiritually, you are what you think,”

writes 

Warren Wiersbe in The Bible Exposition Commentary

 (Vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, p. 40).


As we meditate on God’s Word “day and night” and “delight in the law of the Lord,” we become firmly reestablished “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do”

(Psalm 1:1–3, NLT).

Prayer is also necessary to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.

Paul prayed for the Colossians to be filled

“with the knowledge

of [God’s] will

through

all the wisdom and understanding

that the Spirit gives,

so that

you may live a life worthy

of the

Lord and please him in

every way:

bearing fruit in every good work,

growing

in the

knowledge of God”

(Colossians 1:9–10).

After David

confessed his sins of adultery with Bathsheba

and the murder of Uriah,

he prayed,

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me”

(Psalm 51:10, ESV)


​In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prays to His Father, saying,


“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”

(John 17:17)

In this verse,

Jesus communicates two important facts:


God’s Word is truth--

God’s Word equals truth--

and it’s by

that truth that God sanctifies us,

or sets us apart

for holy service to Himself


In the same prayer,

Jesus prays for His disciples and all who will

believe in Him through the gospel

(John 17:20).

Believers accept God’s words

(John 17:6) and

accept Jesus as God’s Word

(John 17:8).

God is truth, and His truth brings salvation to all who accept it (Titus 2:11).

Further,

God’s written and living Word

will sustain

believers as they are in the world

(John 17:14).

In the High Priestly Prayer in 

John 17,

Jesus confirms that He brought the message of salvation to the world:

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”

(John 17:3).

Jesus’ mission of bringing the truth has been accomplished (John 17:4), and

He turns the focus of His prayer to God

working through the disciples and other believers.

He confirms that believers will be rejected by the world for believing

“Your word is truth,”

but believers are also assured joy,

God’s protection from the evil one, and sanctification

by God’s Word

(John 17:13–19).

The Old and New Testaments both affirm

that the

words recorded in the Bible are


Gods Words and that they

are TRUE

Since God cannot lie,


His Word is TRUTH:


“As for God, his way

is PERFECT:


The Lord’s word is flawless”


(Psalm 18:30)



Since God is eternal and unchanging, His Word is always the same: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35; cf. Isaiah 40:8). Jesus uses the Word as He rebukes the devil who was tempting Him: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).

If we want to know truth, we will look in God’s written Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17) and look to Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 1:3). John refers to Jesus Christ in John 1:1–2, saying, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” The Word is God’s total message, and Jesus embodied that full message, which is why He is called the “Logos,” or “Word,” of God (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). God is truth. His Word is truth. Salvation comes by accepting Jesus and agreeing that “Your word is truth.”

Jesus said, “Your word is truth.” When we look at the Bible, we see truth. The Bible does not merely contain the truth; it is the truth. Every word is truth, in every part of the Bible.

“The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times”

(Psalm 12:6).

This is the doctrine of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture.



How we respond to God’s written Word

and the Word made flesh

has an eternal impact on us.


Since God’s Word is truth,

rejecting the Bible

and

rejecting Jesus is rejecting God

Himself.



Believing, cherishing, studying, and obeying God’s Word is the key to salvation, understanding God,

and living abundantly (John 10:10).

No matter what we may face in this world, we are sustained by the truth prayed over us in Jesus’ prayer:

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”

(John 17:17)

After Paul explains to the Colossians their


new position in Christ,

he

exhorts them to keep

seeking the things above 

where Christ is seated

at the

right hand of God the Father

(Colossians 3:1).

This means that believers should value what Christ values, and one of those things that believers should highly value is to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16, ESV). Believers should be setting their minds on things above, not on the things of earth because of where Christ is and because our lives are hidden in Him (Colossians 3:2–3). One day we will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4), but in the meantime we ought to consider the members of our bodies as dead to sinful things (Colossians 3:5–9). We ought to put on the new self—to actually walk according to our new natures—and be renewed according to the true knowledge of Christ (Colossians 3:10).

The lives of believers ought to reflect newness of life in every area of our lives (Colossians 3:10–13), and we especially ought to be exhibiting Christlike love (Colossians 3:14). We ought to be filled with His peace, which is part of our calling, and we ought to be filled with thankfulness (Colossians 3:15).

Paul urges his readers to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”


God’s Word—His MESSAGE 

about CHRIST--

should be at home in us.


It should be OVERFLOWING

in us


To let the

word of Christ dwell

in us richly,

we must spend a great deal

of time

in the Bible learning

about Him.


We must

cherish His Word in our hearts,

as the

psalmist put it in Psalm 119:11.

Paul adds that there are some ways that we ought to express the word of Christ dwelling richly in us. We ought to be teaching and challenging each other with thanksgiving and songs (Colossians 3:16). Ultimately, letting the word of Christ dwell richly in us should help us to do everything in the name of Jesus, that is, according to what He has communicated that He desires (Colossians 3:17). Paul explains in the context what it looks like to

let the word of Christ dwell richly in us.

In the exhortation to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” Paul provides a vital way to assess whether we are walking according to God’s design. Recall that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). God has a design for our lives, and He has revealed that design in His Word. If we aren’t spending time in the Bible, listening to what God has said there, then we are missing out on the riches of walking according to our calling (see Ephesians 4:1).


We ought to be known

as people in

whom God’s Word dwells richly.

To counter the false teachers 

who were

misapplying and undermining

the truth of God’s Word,

the apostle Paul

urged Timothy to work hard and

study diligently

to be sure that he had

God’s approval

when handling the Scriptures:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God,

a workman

that needeth not to be ashamed,

rightly dividing the word of truth”


(2 Timothy 2:15, KJV)



“Study to shew thyself approved unto God”

is antiquated language that challenges the understanding of current-day Bible readers.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved”

(NIV) and

“work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval”

(NLT)

are more modern renderings that bring transparency to the original text for today’s readers of the Bible.



False teachers were a

problem

in the early church,

just as they are now


Pastors and church leaders are charged with the responsibility of keeping God’s people safe from gangrenous teachings that spread and choke out the truth of Scripture and lead to ungodly living

(2 Timothy 2:16–17).

Paul tells Timothy to warn God’s people “before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen” (2 Timothy 2:14). Timothy was to command the people in the presence of God to stop fighting over words and stop listening to those who were stirring up trouble with their pointless, hair-splitting debates. The result of getting caught up in such ideas—building theological mountains out of mere foolish talk—would be spiritual ruin.

Show thyself approved means to present yourself to God in such a way that you receive His approval.


Followers of Jesus Christ and

especially

pastors and teachers

are to work persistently to

understand and explain the

truth

of God’s Word correctly


In the original language, the word rendered “approved” in 2 Timothy 2:15 carries the idea of being

“tried and true,” or tested and proven genuine.

Receiving God’s approval seems to suggest having passed a vetting process

(see 1 Thessalonians 2:4).



God’s approved workers handle

the word of

TRUTH CORRECTLY


Rightly dividing literally means “cutting straight” in the original Greek. Pastors and teachers are to be skilled workmen of God’s Word who carefully and thoroughly search the revelation of God in Scripture, not deviating from or distorting its message in any way (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:5–6; Revelation 22:18–19).

They cut straight lines and help build a stable foundation that will stand the test of time

(2 Timothy 2:19).

The approved worker is like the Bereans who “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). He studies God’s Word and then seeks to apply it to his own life.


The unapproved worker swerves from the truth,

cutting crooked lines with

meaningless talk, godless chatter,

false knowledge, and departures from the faith


(1 Timothy 1:6; 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16–18)


Christian teachers

who

have proven themselves

and

received God’s approval have

no reason

to be ashamed


Paul’s target as a

minister of Jesus Christ

was to

“never be ashamed, but . . . continue

to be bold for Christ”

and

“bring honor to Christ”

for the rest of his life

(Philippians 1:20, NLT).


Paul’s directive to Timothy to

“show thyself approved”

echoes in his

unapologetic commendation of himself before

God as his witness:


“Therefore, since through

​God’s mercy we have this ministry,

we do not lose heart.

Rather, we have

renounced secret and shameful ways;

we do not use deception,

nor do we

distort the word of God.

On the contrary, by setting forth the

truth plainly

we commend

ourselves to everyone’s conscience

in the sight of God”


(2 Corinthians 4:1–2)


In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul contrasts the

 letter and the Spirit

 as he argues for the legitimacy of his


apostleship


At the end of the section, he characterizes

all who

believe in Jesus as having an “unveiled face”: “

But we all, with unveiled face,

beholding as in a

mirror the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed

into the

same image from glory to glory,

just as by

the Spirit of the Lord”

(2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV)


The significance of having an unveiled face is unveiled as the chapter unfolds.

Paul explains that the Corinthians themselves are Paul and Timothy’s letter of commendation (2 Corinthians 3:2). Their new life and fruitfulness are evidence of the veracity of the ministry of Paul and Timothy. The letters sent to the Corinthians were not written with ink or on stone but were written by Christ and by the Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 3:3). Their having an “unveiled face” was evidence of that (2 Corinthians 3:18). Paul and Timothy had confidence in God and recognized that their adequacy came from God (2 Corinthians 3:4). They knew that the fruit borne in the Corinthians’ lives was from God and that the ministry God had entrusted them with was reliable.

God had made Paul and Timothy servants or ministers of a new covenant

(2 Corinthians 3:6).

It is important to note that Paul never suggested that the New Covenant was being fulfilled in the church or among the Corinthians--

that covenant was made exclusively with Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 31:31).

If God keeps His word, then He would have to keep that commitment

with ethnic Israel and Judah

in a literal sense.


Paul explained elsewhere that he thought his ministry

was important in part because

God’s message of salvation would ultimately make Israel

jealous for their Messiah,

and they would one day call upon Him and be saved

(Romans 11:11–12)


When that happens, the

New Covenant will be fulfilled. Paul’s proclaiming of the gospel to the Gentiles

(which many of the Corinthians were)


was all part of that plan to ultimately bring the fulfillment of God’s word and His New Covenant.

That the Corinthians had unveiled faces was important for them and also for the big picture of Paul’s ministry.

Paul contrasts the letter and the Spirit,

observing that

the letter kills but the Spirit gives life

(2 Corinthians 3:6b). When referring to the letter, Paul was talking about the Mosaic Law, which did not bring life but rather was a ministry to expose death (2 Corinthians 3:7). Paul notes that, if the messenger of that ministry (Moses) had glory or a face that shone (2 Corinthians 3:7), how much more the ministry of the Spirit would be associated with glory (2 Corinthians 3:8).

Paul compares the glory of the two ministries

(death and life, and the two covenants for Israel)


and asserts that

the

ministry of the Spirit

comes with

greater and lasting

glory,


while the glory associated with the Law of Moses faded away
​

Paul reminds his readers that


Moses wore a veil 

not
​

to cover the glory

that

shone on his face


but to cover

the
​

fading of that glory


(2 Corinthians 3:13)


Paul adds that those original hearers

of the

Mosaic Law

had a similar veil over their

hearts

and had hardened minds

so as not to

acknowledge their need for


God’s righteousness


(2 Corinthians 3:14–15)


But when a person turns to the Lord,

that veil is lifted,

and Paul describes

believers

as having an unveiled face


(2 Corinthians 3:16–18)


Paul rounds out the contrast by making

it clear that

the letter

referred to the Mosaic Law

and the


Spirit referred to Christ


(2 Corinthians 3:17)


Jesus has a superior

and

everlasting ministry,

bringing life,


while the Law of Moses

was designed

to expose sin and death

and

direct a person to Christ


(Galatians 3:24)


Because Paul and Timothy were able to


SERVE

such a

great MINISTRY,

they had

CONFIDENCE

and

would not lose heart

(2 Corinthians 4:1).


Because

believers in Christ all have

unveiled faces,

we can likewise take heart.


We can have confidence

in the

One who renews us

and

will raise us up

with

Christ one day


(2 Corinthians 3:14–18)



Paul writes,


“A Jew is one inwardly,

and

circumcision is a matter

of


the heart,

by the


Spirit, not by the letter.”


These words conclude a sometimes confusing passage of Scripture

regarding circumcision

and the Christian. Verses 25-29 provide context:



“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law,

but if you break the law,

your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.


So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law

For no one is a Jew who is merely one

outwardly,

nor is circumcision outward and physical

But a Jew is one inwardly,

and circumcision is a

matter of the heart, by the Spirit,

not by the letter.


His praise is not from man but from God.”
​

Paul is discussing the role of the Old Testament Law as it relates to Christianity.

He argues that Jewish circumcision is only an outward sign of being set apart to God.

​However, if the heart is sinful, then physical circumcision is of no avail. A circumcised body and a sinful heart are at odds with each other. Rather than focus on external rites, Paul focuses on the condition of the heart. Using circumcision as a metaphor, he says that only the Holy Spirit can purify a heart and set us apart to God. Ultimately, circumcision cannot make a person right with God; the Law is not enough. A person’s heart must change. Paul calls this change “circumcision of the heart.”

This concept was not original with the apostle Paul. As a Jew trained in the Law of Moses, he was certainly aware of this discussion from Deuteronomy 30. There, the Lord used the same metaphor to communicate His desire for a holy people: “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Physical circumcision was a sign of Israel’s covenant with God; circumcision of the heart, therefore, would indicate Israel’s being set apart to love God fully, inside and out.

John the Baptist warned the Pharisees against taking pride in their physical heritage and boasting in their circumcision: “Do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9)


True “children of Abraham” are those who follow Abraham’s example of believing God

(Genesis 15:6).


Physical circumcision does not make one a child of God;


faith does


Believers in Jesus Christ can

truly say

they are children of

“Father Abraham.” “

If you belong to

Christ,

then you are

Abraham’s seed,

and heirs

according to the promise”


(Galatians 3:29)


God has always wanted more from His people than just external conformity to a set of rules. He has always wanted them to possess a heart to love, know, and follow Him. That’s why God is not concerned with a circumcision of the flesh. Even in the Old Testament, God’s priority was a spiritual circumcision of the heart: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done” (Jeremiah 4:4).

Both Testaments focus on the

need for

repentance and inward change

in

order to be right with God.

In Jesus,

the Law has been fulfilled

(Matthew 5:17).

Through Him, a person can be made right with God and receive eternal life

(John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).


As Paul said,


TRUE

circumcision is a matter of

the heart,

performed

by the SPIRIT of God.
​

Some ways We Grow

are through

studying God’s Word, praying,

having

fellowship with other believers,

and suffering


“Behold I make all things new”

is a statement that affects

the way we live when we


trust Christ for salvation.


“Behold I make all things new”

is a truth

anticipated from the beginning


When Adam and Eve sinned, God gave glimpses of this promise as He meted out judgment on sin and promised the Messiah (Genesis 3). The prophet Isaiah declares that salvation is found in God alone and that He will certainly judge sin, and he prophesies of the new heaven and new earth: “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered” (Isaiah 65:17).


This sinful, depraved world

is not

God’s ultimate destiny for those

who trust in Him,

and we, like Paul,

long for the time when

God will

“bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ”

(Ephesians 1:10).

Decay, destruction, death, and evil are all part of our lives on this earth.

Even nature groans to be delivered from the curse

(Romans 8:22).

Yet Jesus’ declaration, “Behold I make all things new,” affords the hope that one day we will be free from the consequences and effects of sin and will live with Him in a new heaven and earth. This truth makes us live with eager expectation,

seeking to know Him more, become more like Him, and make Him known.

Our hopeful future is what

changes

how we live as we

await

Jesus’ making all things new.




​The basis of

the

Christian Faith

is the

Death and Resurrection of Jesus,


without which there

would be

no


Christian Faith or Salvation


These truths are recorded in the Bible. However, as a reaction to some people who question the relevancy and reliability of the Bible, some believers take a different approach, pointing people away from the Bible to focus their faith on Jesus alone. Is it correct to say that the Bible is the foundation of our faith—or is it Jesus?

Undoubtedly, Jesus is the object of our faith. John 3:16 says, “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” (emphasis added). Acts 16:31 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (emphasis added). So, we place our faith in Jesus. The question then becomes, can we believe in Jesus apart from the Bible?

A foundation is the basis or groundwork of something.

The Christian faith has the person and work of Jesus Christ as its foundation: our faith is built upon Christ, the rock of our salvation (Psalm 62:1) and the chief cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16–17; 1 Peter 2:6).

Jesus, God in the flesh, is a real person who came to earth at a specific time in history. His death and resurrection are historical events.

At the same time, the person and work of Jesus cannot be understood apart from God’s Word, the Bible. Ephesians 2:20–21 tells us that our faith is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (emphasis added). Christ is the cornerstone of our faith, and our understanding of this is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—i.e., what they recorded in the Bible

(Matthew 23:35; 2 Timothy 3:16).

The entire Bible points to Jesus (see John 5:39): the Old Testament reveals our need for a Savior, predicts His coming, and sets the stage for the significance of His sacrifice; and the New Testament describes His coming, His death and resurrection to bring salvation to our sinful world, and His ongoing work as we await God’s kingdom and the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21; Revelation 21:1).

​The Bible sets Jesus as our foundation and leads us to understand salvation

(2 Timothy 3:15).

Romans 10:17 reveals that our faith comes from hearing God’s Word: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Likewise, 1 Peter 1:23 tells us that we are born again “through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” What saves us? First Corinthians 15:3–4 indicates that it’s the gospel and then spells out what the gospel is: “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. . . . 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” (emphasis added). Notice how the work of Christ is linked to the Scriptures. The foundation of our faith is the person and work of the historical Jesus, and we know that through what God, in His grace, has revealed to us in His Word.

We cannot have saving faith or believe the essentials of the faith without the Bible, because we would not know who Jesus is and what He did for us without the Bible. In that way, the Bible is the foundation for our faith. At the same time, we must be careful not to fall into bibliolatry (Bible worship). Believing that the Bible is true and authoritative is not bibliolatry, but we must remember that the Bible is not God. Rather, the Bible reveals to us who God is and points to the object of our faith: Jesus Christ.

Some attempt to separate Jesus from the Bible, but the implications of this approach have far-reaching consequences. If we remove the Bible as the foundation of our faith, what can we believe? What is true about Jesus, and what is false? What do we base our understanding of Jesus on?


God gave us His Word

so we could know and believe in Him


Praise God that He has given us His Word!


Jesus is the object of

our faith;

we place our trust

IN CHRIST


HE is the FOUNDation of our Faith


The Bible is also the foundation

of our faith

in that it LEADS us to

KNOW

God and HIS PLAN of salvation.


Having Jesus and

the

Bible as the Foundation

of our faith

is not a contradiction.


As we Seek God through

His Word,


we are Led

to

Saving Faith in Jesus



The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. The actual covenant is found in Genesis 12:1–3. The ceremony recorded in Genesis 15 indicates the unconditional nature of the covenant. When a covenant was dependent upon both parties keeping commitments, then both parties would pass between the pieces of animals. In Genesis 15, God alone moves between the halves of the animals. Abraham was in a deep sleep. God’s solitary action indicates that the covenant is principally His promise. He binds Himself to the covenant.


Later,

God gave Abraham the rite of circumcision

 as the

specific sign of the Abrahamic Covenant

(Genesis 17:9–14).

All males in Abraham’s line were to be circumcised and thus carry with them a lifelong mark in their flesh that they were part of God’s physical blessing in the world. Any descendant of Abraham who refused circumcision was declaring himself to be outside of God’s covenant; this explains why God was angry with Moses when Moses failed to circumcise his son

(Exodus 4:24–26)


God determined to call out a special people

for Himself,

and through that special people

He would bless the whole world.

The Lord tells Abram,

“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you”


(Genesis 12:2–3)


Based on this promise, God later

changed

Abram’s name from

 Abram (“high father”) to Abraham

 (“father of a multitude”)

in Genesis 17:5


As we’ve seen, the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional.

It should also be taken literally.

There is no need to spiritualize the promise to Abraham. God’s promises to Abraham’s descendants will be fulfilled literally.

The Abrahamic Covenant included the promise of land (Genesis 12:1). It was a specific land, an actual property, with dimensions specified in Genesis 15:18–21. In Genesis 13:15, God gives Abraham all the land that he can see, and the gift is declared to be “forever.” God was not going to renege on His promise. The territory given as part of the Abrahamic Covenant is expanded in Deuteronomy 30:1–10, often called the Palestinian Covenant.

Centuries after Abraham died, the children of Israel took possession of the land under Joshua’s leadership (Joshua 21:43). At no point in history, though, has Israel controlled all of the land God had specified. There remains, therefore, a final fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant that will see Israel occupying their God-given homeland to the fullest extent. The fulfillment will be more than a matter of geography; it will also be a time of holiness and restoration (see Ezekiel 20:40–44 and 36:1—37:28).

The Abrahamic Covenant also promised many descendants (Genesis 12:2). God promised that the number of Abraham’s children would rival that of “the dust of the earth” (Genesis 15:16). Nations and kings would proceed from him (Genesis 17:6). It is significant that the promise was given to an aged, childless couple.


But Abraham

“did not waver through unbelief”

(Romans 4:20),

and his wife Sarah


 “considered him faithful


who had made the promise”

(Hebrews 11:11)
​

ABRAHAM was JUSTIFIED by his FAITH

(Genesis 15:6),


and he and his wife

welcomed Isaac, the son of promise,

into their home when

they were 100 and 90 years old, respectively

(Genesis 21:5).

God reiterates the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac and

to his son Jacob,

whose name God changes to Israel.


The great nation is EVENTUALLY

established

in the land where Abraham

had DWELLED



King David,

one of

Abraham’s MANY descendants,

is given

the Davidic Covenant

 (2 Samuel 7:12–16),

promising a “son of David” who would

one day

rule over

the Jewish nation—and all nations--
​

from Jerusalem.


Many other Old Testament prophecies

point to the


blessed, future fulfillment of that promise


(e.g., Isaiah 11; Micah 4; Zechariah 8).


The Abrahamic Covenant

also included a

promise of blessing and redemption

(Genesis 12:3).


All the earth would be blessed through

Abraham


This promise finds its fulfillment in the 

New Covenant 


(Jeremiah 31:31–34; cf. Luke 22:20),


which was ratified by

Jesus Christ,


the son of Abraham

and

Redeemer who will one day

“restore everything”


(Acts 3:21)


Five times in Genesis 12, as God is giving the Abrahamic Covenant,

He says, “I will.”

Clearly, God takes the onus of keeping the covenant upon Himself.

The covenant is unconditional.


One day, Israel will repent, be forgiven, and be restored to God’s favor

(Zechariah 12:10–14; Romans 11:25–27).


One day, the nation of Israel will possess the entire territory

promised to them.

One day, the Messiah will return to set up His throne,

and through His righteous rule the whole world will be blessed with

an abundance of peace, pleasure, and prosperity.

In Romans 11 Paul makes a compelling observation--

an affirmation he refers to as a mystery--

that a partial hardening has happened

until

“the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”

(Romans 11:25, ESV).

The context helps us understand the meaning

of the partial hardening and

what is the fullness of the Gentiles.

In the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul catalogs the

mercies of God in

God’s provision of righteousness

through the gospel.

First, in Romans 1:1—3:20 

Paul considers the universal human need

for God’s righteousness,

as all are

unrighteous and separated from God.

Then in Romans 3:21—4:25 

Paul lays out how God applied righteousness through faith to all

who believe in Jesus,

outlining three different and significant

types of descendants of Abraham:


1) ethnic Israel (Romans 4:1),

2) believing Gentiles (Romans 4:11), and

3) believing Jews (Romans 4:12).


These three sets of descendants

of Abraham

are especially important for

understanding the partial hardening

and the

fullness of the Gentiles

that Paul talks about in Romans 11.


Romans 5—8 discusses the implications of that

righteousness applied in freeing believers from the penalty and bondage of sin

(Romans 5—7)

and assuring them of a present and future of reconciliation and peace with God

(Romans 8)


At the end of Romans 8 is a powerful

affirmation of

the believer’s eternal security--

God will keep His promises

to those

who have believed in


Jesus Christ,

and

they will never

be

separated from the


love of Christ


(Romans 8:35)


While discussing these mercies of God, Paul seems to anticipate that his readers might wonder why, if God is so faithful to restore those who believe in Jesus, God’s promises of restoration to Israel do not seem to be fulfilled yet.

Simply put, if God is faithful, and if His promises to believers are trustworthy, then why is He not keeping His promises to Israel? It is to answer this concern that Paul writes Romans 9—11, as he introduces the ideas of a partial hardening of Israel and the fullness of the Gentiles (Romans 11:25).

In Romans 9 Paul expresses his love for his Jewish brethren (Romans 9:1–5) and recognizes that the covenant promises are to be fulfilled to a specific group of Abraham’s descendants.

Paul shows the distinct groups by highlighting

God’s choosing of

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and affirms that

God’s blessing would be

for those descendants who believe in the Messiah

(Romans 9:33).

Salvation would not only be for believing Jews, though, as Gentiles

could also call upon

the name of the Lord for salvation

(Romans 10:12–13).


While there are believing Jews and Gentiles,

Paul explains that


the nation of Israel

as a whole has not yet

received her Messiah


(Romans 10:18—11:10),

but they will one day be saved through believing in their Messiah

(Romans 11:26).

In the meantime, Paul explains that there is a partial hardening of the nation—that many will refuse the Messiah—until the fullness of the Gentiles occurs. Israel’s hardening will continue until the divinely set number of Gentiles are saved: “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ” (Romans 11:25, NLT).

Paul recognized that Israel’s failure to accept the Messiah when He came offering the kingdom represented blessing for the Gentiles because, instead of setting up that kingdom on earth at that time, Christ died to pay for the sins of all. In so doing, Christ fulfilled the promise God made to Abraham that in Abraham’s seed all the peoples of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3b). That partial hardening of Israel also represented a shift in focus to the announcement of salvation to the Gentiles. Paul acknowledged himself as an apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) and sought that many Gentiles would come to know Christ so those promises could be fulfilled and then the Jewish people might return to their Messiah (Romans 11:14–15). Paul alluded to this in 2 Timothy 4:17 when he expressed gratitude for God’s sustaining him so that Paul might fulfill his ministry and that all the Gentiles might hear.

Even though God’s promises to save the nation of Israel are not presently being fulfilled, Paul recognizes that God will keep those promises after the fullness of the Gentiles. Paul seems to be building on the foundation of Daniel 9, in which is revealed a 490-year prophetic timeline after which God will accomplish His covenant blessings for Israel. After the first 483 years of the timeline, the Messiah was cut off (Daniel 9:26a), signaling a shift in the focus away from Israel as Gentiles (Rome) would dominate, and there would be wars and desolation. But one day in the future, the ruler who would be known as the Antichrist would make a seven-year agreement with Israel. That last seven years of the timeline would begin to return the focus back to Israel and would conclude the times of the Gentiles of which Jesus spoke in Luke 21:24.

The fullness of the Gentiles in Romans 11:25 reminds us of God’s global focus (with the universal proclamation of the gospel of salvation) and chronology (with the times of the Gentiles not yet complete). One day, the fullness of the Gentiles will be complete, and God will deliver the nation of Israel. Anyone who might have doubts about God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises can consider these passages as important reminders that God has a detailed plan that He is fulfilling patiently and carefully.

​

Jesus the True Vine

(Isaiah 27:1–13)



I am the true vine,

and

My Father

is the keeper of the vineyard. 


He cuts off

every branch in Me that bears no fruit,

and every branch that does bear fruit,


He prunes to make it even more fruitful.

you are already clean

because of the word I have

​spoken to you. 

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.

Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself

unless it remains in the vine,

neither can you bear

fruit unless you remain in Me



I am the vine and you are the branches.

The one who remains in Me,

and I in him, will bear much fruit.


For apart from Me you can do nothing.


 If anyone does not remain in Me,

he is like a branch

that is thrown away and withers.

Such branches are gathered up,

thrown into the fire, and burned. 

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

this is to My Father’s glory,

that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves

to be My disciples.




No Greater Love

9As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. 10If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

14You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 17This is My command to you: Love one another.



The Hatred of the World

18If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’a If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. 21But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

23Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. 24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’b
26When the Advocatec comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. 27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
​



The Wedding at Cana

1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

4“Woman, what is that to you and to Me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

6Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.a 7Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.

8“Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk.

​But you have saved the fine wine until now!”

11Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee.

He thus revealed His glory,

and His disciples believed in Him.




Jesus Cleanses the Temple

​
(Matthew 21:12–17; Mark 11:15–19; Luke 19:45–48)


After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples,

and they stayed there a few days.

When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables. So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”

His disciples remembered that it is written:


“Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”

​
On account of this, the Jews demanded,


“What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”


Jesus answered, 


“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”



“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. 

After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all. He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.






Isaiah 44:6


Thus said the

LORD the King of Israel,

and his

redeemer the LORD of hosts;


I am the first, and I am the last…

​

This affirmation of God's existence

appears more

comprehensive than the similar one,

made by Him to Moses,


"I am that I am."


It is true, when we say that He is by His own absolute will and power, we assert by implication all that belongs necessarily to the essence and character of the Almighty.

We assert His eternity; for He who so exists could have had no beginning, and can have no end: we assert His creation of all other beings, and His sovereignty over them; for He who alone is from eternity, must have given existence to all things that are besides Himself; and, as the Author of all, in and for whom all exist, must be the sovereign Ruler and Disposer of all.

Nevertheless the ampler form of expression,


"I am the First and I am the Last,"


implying comparison with and precedency to all other existences, would seem to convey-to- the mined more distinct notions of the eternity, the omnipotence, the creative will and beneficence, of that infinite Being


"who is above all, and before all, and in all."

​

​
The LORD Has Chosen Israel

But now listen, O Jacob My servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is the word of the LORD, your Maker,
who formed you from the womb and who will help you:
“Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and currents on the dry ground.
I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants,
and My blessing on your offspring.

They will sprout among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.

One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’
another will call himself by the name of Jacob,
and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
and will take the name of Israel.”

Thus says the LORD,
the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last,
and there is no God but Me.

Who then is like Me?
Let him say so!
Let him declare his case before Me,
since I established an ancient people.
Let him foretell the things to come,
and what is to take place.

Do not tremble or fear.
Have I not told you and declared it long ago?
You are My witnesses!
Is there any God but Me?
There is no other Rock;
I know not one.”

All makers of idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend,
so they are put to shame.

Who fashions a god or casts an idol
which profits him nothing?

Behold, all his companions will be put to shame,
for the craftsmen themselves are only human.
Let them all assemble and take their stand;
they will all be brought to terror and shame.

The blacksmith takes a tool
and labors over the coals;
he fashions an idol with hammers
and forges it with his strong arms.
Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength;
he fails to drink water and grows faint.

The woodworker extends a measuring line;
he marks it out with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He fashions it in the likeness of man,
like man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.

He cuts down cedars
or retrieves a cypressc or oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

It serves as fuel for man.
He takes some of it to warm himself,
and he kindles a fire
and bakes his bread.
He also fashions it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.

He burns half of it in the fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
Indeed, he warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it and says,
“Save me, for you are my god.”

They do not comprehend or discern,
for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see
and closed their minds so they cannot understand.

And no one considers in his heart,
no one has the knowledge or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
and I baked bread on its coals;
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

He feeds on ashes.
His deluded heart has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
Jerusalem to Be Restored

Remember these things, O Jacob,
for you are My servant, O Israel.
I have made you, and you are My servant;
O Israel, I will never forget you.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this;
shout aloud, O depths of the earth.
Break forth in song, O mountains,
you forests and all your trees.
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and revealed His glory in Israel.

Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer who formed you from the womb:
“I am the LORD,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by Myself spread out the earth,

who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who confounds the wise
and turns their knowledge into nonsense,

who confirms the message of His servant
and fulfills the counsel of His messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,
‘She will be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah,
‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’

who says to the depths of the sea,
‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

who says of Cyrus,


‘My shepherd will fulfill all

that I desire,’

who says of Jerusalem,


‘She will be rebuilt,’

and

of the temple,


‘Let its foundation be laid.’”




the King

Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Isaiah 43:15
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
Malachi 1:14
But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
his redeemer
Isaiah 43:24
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

​Isaiah 43:1,14
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine…

Isaiah 48:17
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

I am the first

Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Revelation 1:8,11,17,18
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty…

Isaiah 44:8
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isaiah 37:16,20
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth…

Isaiah 42:8
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Isaiah 41:4
Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”

Isaiah 43:10-11
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come. / I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.

Isaiah 45:5-6
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me, / so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9
Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.

Deuteronomy 4:35
You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

Psalm 86:10
For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.

Psalm 102:27
But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

​He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

John 8:58
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

Romans 11:36
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

​


God comforts the church with his promises

The vanity of idols

And folly of idol makers

 He exhorts to praise God for his redemption and omnipotence




​
Briah Chadashah


Rosh Hashanah and the New Creation


בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה


The Hebrew phrase for


"new creation"

is

 b'ri'ah hadash'ah (בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה)


The concept of "new creation"

is found

in both the Old and New Testaments

of the Bible


 It refers to the idea that through


Jesus's death and resurrection,

anew creation

has been brought about


 In this new creation,

the defaced image

of God

within people is restored




The term

"new creation"

appears twice in the

New Testament,

in

2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15. 


The verb


"create"


(ktizo [ktivzw])


is used in

several passages in Ephesians

to describe

the


new existence in Christ




In the Bible,

the Hebrew verb

bārā' (בָּרָא)

means "[he]-created"


It appears

54 times in the Old Testament and 11 times

in the Book of Genesis.


In Jewish thinking, Rosh Hashanah 

commemorates

the

creation of Adam and Eve,


and therefore it may be regarded

​ as their "birthday" of sorts.

However, on the soon after Adam and Eve were created, they disobeyed God and were sent into exile from the orchard, and therefore Rosh Hashanah commemorates humanity's rebellion against God as well... As such, this holiday has an inherent ambivalence about it. On the one hand we rejoice over the gift of life and acknowledge God as our Creator and King

(the sound of the shofar is intended to remember the coronation of God as our King),

while on the other hand we tremble over God as our holy and righteous Judge.

Consequently, in Jewish tradition Rosh Hashanah is associated with the Day of Judgment (יוֹם הַדִּין) when God decrees who will be "written in the Book of Life (סֵפֶר הַחַיִּים)" for another year of life. According to the sages, we can "affect" the divine decree by turning to God (i.e., teshuvah: תְּשׁוּבָה), by honestly accounting for our actions (i.e., cheshbon ha-nefesh: חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ), and performing acts that demonstrate penitence (such as making amends to others and giving charity).

The notion that we can merit God's favor during this time is clearly expressed by Abraham Heschel, who wrote, "No word is God's final word. Judgment, far from being absolute, is conditional. A change in man's conduct brings about a change in God's judgment"

(The Prophets, 194)



The Scriptures clearly state that

"it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment"

(Heb. 9:27),


and they further warn that on the

Day of Judgment,

anyone's NAME not written

"in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain"

(בְּסֵפֶר חַיֵּי הַשֶּׂה הַטָּבוּחַ)

will be thrown into the lake of fire

(Rev. 13:8, 20:15)


Indeed, Yeshua Himself

is the none other than

the Judge of mankind to whom every

knee shall one day bow


(Isa. 45:22-23; Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10)


Yeshua is the Judge of all the earth

(John 5:22; 12:48; Acts 10:42, 17:31; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 20:11-15),

including the judge of all those who profess to obey Him

(Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 7:22-23).

As Messianic believers, we maintain that our personal "Judgment Day" has come and justice has been served through the sacrificial offering of Yeshua for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21)

He is the perfect fulfillment of the Akedah of Isaac, and the sound of the shofar recalls the sacrifice of the promised seed.  However, even though we believe that we are made acceptable in God's sight solely by the finished work of the Messiah

(Titus 3:5-6),

we understand that we will one day face our own personal judgment.


Even in the


glorious light

of

the cross,

we all must give account

for our lives

(2 Cor. 5:10):



"Every man's work shall be made

 manifest: 

for the day shall declare it,

because it shall be revealed

by fire;

the fire will test

(δοκιμάζω)

what kind of work each has done"


(1 Cor. 3:13)



Yeshua

is the

Judge of all people,

both for

those who are trusting

in Him and for

those

who spurn his salvation




Isaiah 45 

God Calls Cyrus

(2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4)

This is what the LORD

says to Cyrus

His anointed, 

whose right hand I have grasped 
to subdue nations before him, 

to disarm kings, 

to open the doors before him, 
so that the gates will not be shut:

I will go before you 
and level the mountains;a
I will break down the gates of bronze 
and cut through the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness 
and the riches hidden in secret places, 
so that you may know that I am the LORD, 
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

 For the sake of Jacob My servant 
and Israel My chosen one, 
I call you by name; 
I have given you a title of honor, 
though you have not known Me.

I AM the LORD, and there is no other; 
there is no God but Me. 
I will equip you for battle, 
though you have not known Me,

6so that all may know, 
from where the sun rises to where it sets, 
that there is none but Me; 
I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7I form the light and create the darkness; 
I bring prosperity and create calamity. 
I, the LORD, do all these things.

8Drip down, O heavens, from above, 
and let the skies pour down righteousness. 

Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout 
and righteousness spring up with it; 

I, the LORD, have created it.

9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker--

one clay pot among many. 
Does the clay ask the potter, 
‘What are you making?’

Does your work say, 

‘He has no hands’?

Woe to him who says to his father, 
‘What have you begotten?’ 
or to his mother, 
‘What have you brought forth?’”

Thus says the LORD, 
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: 

“Concerning things to come,
do you question Me about My sons, 
or instruct Me
in the work of My hands?

It is I who made the earth 
and created man upon it. 
It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, 
and I ordained all their host.

I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, 
and I will make all his ways straight. 
He will rebuild My city 
and set My exiles free, 
​
but not for payment or reward, 
says the LORD of Hosts.”

This is what the LORD says: 

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

along with the Sabeans, men of stature, 

will come over to you 
and will be yours; 
they will trudge behind you; 

they will come over in chains and bow down to you. 

They will confess to you: 

‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; 
there is no other God.’”

Truly You are a God who hides Himself, 

O God of Israel, the Savior.
They will all be put to shame and humiliated; 

the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.

But Israel will be saved by the LORD 
with an everlasting salvation; 

you will not be put to shame or humiliated, 
to ages everlasting.

For thus says the LORD, 

who created the heavens—He is God; 
He formed the earth and fashioned it; 

He established it; 
He did not create it to be empty, 
but formed it to be inhabited: 
“I am the LORD, 
and there is no other.

I have not spoken in secret, 

from a place in a land of darkness. 
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, 

‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ 
I, the LORD, speak the truth; 
I say what is right.

Come, gather together, and draw near, 
you fugitives from the nations. 
Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood 
and pray to a god that cannot save.

Speak up and present your case--
yes, let them take counsel together. 
Who foretold this long ago? 
Who announced it from ancient times? 

Was it not I, the LORD? 
There is no other God but Me, 
a righteous God and Savior; 
there is none but Me.

Turn to Me and be saved, 

all the ends of the earth; 
for I am God, 
and there is no other.

By Myself I have sworn; 
truth has gone out from My mouth, 
a word that will not be revoked: 
Every knee will bow before Me, 
every tongue will swear allegiance.

Surely they will say of Me, 

‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” 
All who rage against Him 
will come to Him and be put to shame.

In the LORD all descendants of Israel 
will be justified and will exult.




John 3:14-15
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, / that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

Acts 4:12
Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, / that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 14:11
It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”

John 12:32
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”

Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

Romans 10:12-13
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, / for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:4
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

John 6:40
For it is My Father’s will 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.”

Psalm 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.

Zechariah 14:9
On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.

Joel 2:32
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

Psalm 86:9
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.

Numbers 21:8-9
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” / So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.

Numbers 21:8,9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live… 

2 Chronicles 20:12
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

Psalm 22:17
I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

Isaiah 45:12
I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

John 10:28-30
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand… 

Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;



Isaiah 45
​
God calls Cyrus for his church's sake

By his omnipotence he challenges obedience

He convinces the idols of vanity by his saving power




Jesus and Nicodemus

(Genesis 22:1–10; Romans 5:6–11)


1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.a”
4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said, ‘Youb must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

'How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? 

11Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.

12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.

​14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and onlye Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”


John’s Testimony about Jesus

After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside,

where He spent some time with them and baptized.

23Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized. 24(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

25Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jewg over the issue of ceremonial washing. 26So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

27John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’ 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must increase; I must decrease.

31The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.h 32He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful. 34For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
35The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”i



Numbers 21:8-9
on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” / So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.

John 12:32-33
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.” / He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

John 8:28
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.

John 19:37
And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”

Romans 8:3
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Philippians 2:7-8
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. / And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Hebrews 2:14
Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,

1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, / you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Psalm 22:16
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.

Isaiah 53:5
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 stripes we are healed.

Numbers 21:7-9
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people… 

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

John 8:28
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

John 12:32-34
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me… 

Psalm 22:16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.


John 3

1. Jesus teaches Nicodemus the necessity of being born again,

14. of faith in his death,

16. the great love of God toward the world,

18. and the condemnation for unbelief.

22. Jesus baptizes in Judea.

23. The baptism, witness, and doctrine of John concerning Jesus.



Let's return to the "birthday"

of

Adam and Eve and consider

it in light

of the birthday of

Yeshua,

that is, his advent

as the

"Son of Man," our "Second Adam,"

and

the

Savior of the world


Adam was a pattern of the king to come

(Rom. 5:14).

The Apostle Paul presents him as

"the first man," adam ha-rishon

 (אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן),

while he calls Yeshua

"the second man," or adam ha-sheni

 (הָאָדָם הַשֵּׁנִי)


Adam is regarded as "first" in the sense of temporality and legal succession as God's vice-regent for the physical order, whereas Yeshua is regarded as "second" in the sense of being the climactic expression of God's redemption of that lost regency in


the advent

and

victory of the Messiah


Adam was created by a direct act of God -- not by any kind of "reincarnation," as it says, "Then the LORD God formed (יֵצֶר) the man of dust from the ground and breathed (נָפַח) into his nostrils the breath of life

(i.e., nishmat chayim: נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), and the man became a living soul (i.e., nefesh chayah: נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה)." 


The word yetzer ("formed") refers

to something shaped,

like pottery

fashioned by the hand

of a potter




Just as a potter purposes a shape before forming an object, so God consciously intended the image of man. Regarding the impartation of the soul, the sages use the analogy of a glassblower who creates a glass vessel.

Just as a glassblower blows into a tube to form a vessel from molten glass, so the "breath of God" (i.e., neshamah:נְשָׁמָה) becomes spirit (i.e. ruach: רוּחַ) to form the human soul (i.e., nefesh: נֶפֶשׁ).

The Targum states that God breathed into Adam the ability to think and to speak. In other words, thought and speech are two primary characteristics of the image (tzelem) and likeness (demut) of God.

The very first creative act of God, then, was to impart the divine "image" to mankind, which primarily involved giving people the ability to experience God's awesome transcendence, to reason, to use language, etc.

Adam was made "like" God, but his soul was created, that is, it was not eternal or preexisting.



Only Yeshua is the


"Word made flesh," the "image of the invisible God,"

and the

"radiance of the glory of God and the

exact imprint


(χαρακτήρ, 'character') of his nature"


(Col. 1:15)



​All of creation is being

constantly upheld

by the word of His power

(Heb. 1:3):

"All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua),

and for Him"

and in Him all things consist

(συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together")


(Col. 1:16-17).


The miracle of the incarnation

- the Absolute Paradox -

is that the Creator Himself

"emptied himself"

by freely

choosing to be clothed

"in the likeness of sinful flesh"

to become a

sacrificial offering for our sin

so that

the righteousness of God

could be fulfilled in us

(Rom. 8:3-4).

It is for this reason that the Word of God became flesh and "tabernacled" with us

(Isa. 45:22-23; Phil. 2:6-7; John 1:1,14).

Both Adam, the first man of the earth, and Yeshua, the second man of heaven, were "sons of God," born sinless and in unhindered communion with God, and both were subsequently tested by God

(Gen. 2:16-17; Matt. 4:1; Heb. 4:15).

The first man failed the test, however, which led to the fatal disease of sin infecting his progeny (Rom. 3:23; 5:12-ff), whereas the second man passed the test which led to eternal healing and life to his progeny

(1 Cor. 15:21-23; Rev. 2:7).

Yeshua is called the "second man" in the sense that he was God's beginning for a recreated humanity, and through him humanity would be restored to the paradise of God. "The life was inHim, just as it was originally in the first Adam

(John 5:26).

Yeshua is called the "Son of Man"

(בֶּן־הָאָדָם),

the new High Priest of humanity,

who comes "with the clouds of heaven" to

offer up his life

for our reconciliation with God

(Isa. 53:5; 1 Pet. 3:18; Heb 2:9).


Yeshua's sacrificial death destroyed the power of death

and undid the

curse that befell fallen human nature

(Rev. 22:3).

Just as Adam is the

"federal head" of the (fallen) human race,

so Yeshua

is the "federal head"

of anew creation

of

redeemed humanity

(Eph. 5:23)


Through Adam comes the transmission of physical human life (i.e., the "Adamic nature"), whereas through Yeshua comes the transmission of eternal life (i.e., the "new nature" given through divine inheritance).

Yeshua is the "first fruits" from the dead - a new "type" of resurrected human life that is restored to heaven's fellowship. Adam was given dominion over creation (Gen. 1:26), whereas Yeshua is Adon ha-kol

 (אֲדוֹן הַכּל),

the
LORD over all (Acts 10:36)



If the title

"Son of man" (בֶּן־הָאָדָם)

reveals the

continuity of humanity

in Yeshua

with the humanity represented

by Adam,

it also reveals the new step

that humanity

has gained in the victory

mediated to us

in the

"Man, Yeshua the Messiah"

(1 Tim. 2:5).

The incarnation of Yeshua was intended to lift us up from the old, Adamic nature, to be partakers of the divine nature, and therefore Yeshua is called "the firstborn (הַבְּכוֹר) among many brethren"

(Rom. 8:29).

Yeshua is not only called the "Second Man," the founder

and head of a new race,

but also "the Last Adam" (i.e., adam ha-acharon: אָדָם הָאַחֲרוֹן)

because there is no other man to succeed Him, and His victory is entirely sufficient for our everlasting deliverance. 


Thus it is written,


"The first man Adam

became a living being";


the LAST Adam

became

a LIFE-giving

SPIRIT


Jesus Christ

is both Man and God,

God made flesh, Incarnate

He IS

The FIRST and LAST


But it is not the spiritual

that is first

but the natural, and then the SPIRITUAL

The first man was from the earth,

a man of dust;

the second man is from heaven.

As was the man of dust,

so also are those who are of the dust, and

as is the man

of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,

we shall also

bear the image of the man of heaven

(1 Cor. 15:45-49).


"For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah shall all be made alive"


(1 Cor. 15:22)



The


"new seed"

of life

given to us in

Yeshua makes us

into

"anew creation"


(בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה)


that fully restores the defaced image of God within us

(2 Cor. 5:17).


We are "more than conquerors" (ὑπερνικῶμεν, lit. "hyper conquerors) through Him that loved us

(Rom. 8:37)

Just as God produced a bride from the wound he made in the sleeping Adam

(Gen. 2:22),


so a spiritual bride

was produced when Yeshua

suffered

the "sleep of death"

for everyone upon the cross,

as evidenced

by his

pierced side after his death


(John 19:34)


Just as Adam's dream was fulfilled in Eve,

so Yeshua's is fulfilled

in the

"bride of Messiah,"

his called-out assembly that follow him


(Eph. 5:27)


Human beings by nature are all connected

with the

first Adam as the "legal head"

of the human race and are

thereby subject to

the sentence of death that was pronounced on him;

however,


all who are connected with the

Second Adam


are given the

free

GIFT of God's righteousness,

and


"have passed from death to life"


(Col. 1:14; Rom. 5:17; 1 John 3:14).


It is customary to partake

of

ANEW food item,

usually


ANEW FRUIT


during the Rosh Hashanah Seder,

which symbolically can represent

for us

the

FIRST FRUITS of Yeshua

and our

​
NEW CREATION in HIM



For example, when we say,


"May it be your will,

LORD our God

and

God of our fathers, that

our merits be

numerous as the seeds of a pomegranate,"

may we

understand this to be in reference

to the fruitfulness

we now have in

the new life

our Messiah gives....


A lot more could be said on this subject, of course,

but this will have to suffice for now. 

Just as

God opened Adam's eyes

on the

very first Rosh Hashanah,

so our

Eyes will be Opened

when we are

Called Up

to obtain our Inheritance

in the Messiah

during the time of the rapture

​ (1 Thess. 4:16-17).


This is the great teruah and

Sound of

The Shofar to Come

(1 Cor. 15:51-53)


Meanwhile,


"The God of Peace

will

SOON crush Satan

under your feet


The Grace of our

Lord


Yeshua the Messiah

be


With You"


(Rom. 16:20)

​



Walking by the Spirit


(Ezekiel 36:16–38; Galatians 5:16–26)


Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.



Heirs with Christ

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.



Future Glory

(2 Corinthians 5:1–10)

I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.



God Works in All Things

(Ephesians 1:3–14)

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.


More than Conquerors

(Psalm 44:1–26)

Who shall separate us from the

love of Christ?

Shall trouble or distress or

persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, 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.


​

John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

1 Corinthians 15:45

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

Ephesians 2:1-2

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, / in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

Colossians 1:13-14
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, / in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 2:14-15
Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, / and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. / And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Isaiah 42:6-7
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, / to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house

​
Romans 3:27

Where is boasting then? It is excluded.

By what law? of works?

Nay: but by the law of faith.


John 8:36

If the Son
therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.

Romans 8:10,11

And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin;

but the Spirit 
is life because of righteousness…

John 4:10,14

Jesus answered and said
unto her,
If thou knewest the gift of God,
and
who it is that saith to thee,

Give me to drink;
thou
wouldest have asked of him,
and he would
have given thee living water…

John 6:63

It is the spirit that quickeneth;

the flesh profiteth nothing:


the words that I speak

unto you, 


they are

spirit, and they are life


Romans 6:18,22

Being then made free from sin,
ye became

the

servants of righteousness…

Psalm 51:12

Restore unto me

the joy of thy salvation;
and

uphold me with thy free spirit.

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth,

and

the truth shall make you free

Romans 5:21

That as sin hath

reigned unto death, even so might


Grace


Reign through


Righteousness

unto

Eternal Life

by


Jesus Christ our Lord


Romans 7:21,24,25

I find then a law
 that, when I would do good,
evil is present with me…



Walking by the Spirit

(Ezekiel 36:16–38; Galatians 5:16–26)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those

who are in Christ Jesus.

For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.


Heirs with Christ

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.


Future Glory
​
(2 Corinthians 5:1–10)

I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. 

The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. 

For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. 

Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 

For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 

And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.


God Works in All Things

(Ephesians 1:3–14)

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 

And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things? 

Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 

Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.


More than Conquerors

(Psalm 44:1–26)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 


As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, 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.



​The River of Life


Then the angel showed me

a river

of the water of life,

as clear as crystal,

flowing from

the throne

of God and of the Lamb 


down the middle of the main street

of the city.


On either side of the river stood

a tree of life,


bearing twelve kinds of fruit

and

yielding a fresh crop for each month.

And the leaves of the tree

are for

the healing of the nations.

​
No longer will there be any curse.


The throne of God and of
the Lamb

will be within the city,

and


His servants will worship Him. 

They will see His face,

and His NAME

will be on their foreheads


There will be no more night in the city,

and they will have


no need for

the light of a lamp or of the sun


For the Lord God will shine on them,

and they will reign forever and ever.




Jesus Is Coming

Then the angel said to me,

“These words are faithful and true.

The Lord,

the God of the spirits of the prophets,

has sent His angel to show

His servants what must soon take place.”

“Behold, I am coming soon.

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”


And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when

I had heard and seen them,

I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 

But he said to me,

“Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets,

and with those who keep the words of this book.


Worship God!”


Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near. 

Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile;


let the righteous

continue to practice righteousness,

and the

holy continue to be holy.”


“Behold, I am coming soon,

and

My reward is with Me,

to give to each

one

according to what he has done. 




I am the

Alpha and the Omega,

the

First and the Last,

the

Beginning and the End.”


Blessed are those who wash their


robes,

so that they may have the

RIGHT to

the tree of life and

may enter the city by

its gates. 


But outside are the dogs,

the sorcerers,

the sexually immoral, the murderers,

the idolaters, and everyone

who

loves and practices falsehood.


“I, Jesus,


have sent My angel

to give you

this testimony for the churches.

I am the Root

and the

Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”


The Spirit and the bride say,

“Come!”

Let the one who hears say,

“Come!”

And let the one who is thirsty come,

and the one who

desires the water of life drink freely


Nothing May Be Added or Removed


I testify to everyone

who hears

the words of prophecy in this book:

If anyone adds to them,

God will add to him the plagues described

in this book. 

And if anyone takes away

from the

words of this book of prophecy,

God will take away

his

share in the tree of life and

the holy city,


which are

described in this book.

He who testifies to these things says,



 “Yes, I am coming soon.” 


Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!


The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.


Amen.



Isaiah 44:6

Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.

Isaiah 48:12

Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.

Revelation 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

Revelation 1:17
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

Revelation 21:6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. / He was with God in the beginning. / Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. / He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:10-12
And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. / They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. / You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”

John 8:58
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Psalm 102:25-27
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. / They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on. / But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

Revelation 1:8,11
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty…

Revelation 21:6
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.


Isaiah 41:4

Who hath wrought and done it,

calling the


generations from the beginning?


I the LORD,



the first, and with the last;


I am he.


The Davidic Covenant

refers to

God’s promises to David

through

Nathan the prophet

and is found

in 2 Samuel 7 and later

summarized in


 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16


This is an

unconditional covenant made between


God and David

through which God promises

David and Israel

that the Messiah (Jesus Christ)

would come

from the lineage of David

and the tribe of Judah

and would establish

a kingdom

that would endure forever


The Davidic Covenant

is unconditional

because God does not place any conditions

of obedience upon its fulfillment.

The surety of the promises made rests solely on

God’s faithfulness

and does not depend at all on

David or Israel’s obedience.

The Davidic Covenant centers on several key promises

that are made to David.

First, God reaffirms

the promise of the land that He made in

the first two covenants with Israel

(the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants).

This promise is seen in 2 Samuel 7:10, “I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore.” God then promises that David’s son will succeed him as king of Israel and that this son (Solomon) would build the temple. This promise is seen in 2 Samuel 7:12–13, " I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name.”

But then the promise continues and expands: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (verse 13), and “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (verse 16). What began as a promise that David’s son Solomon would be blessed and build the temple turns into something different—the promise of an everlasting kingdom. Another Son of David would rule forever and build a lasting House. This is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, called the Son of David in Matthew 21:9.

The promise that David’s “house,” “kingdom,” and “throne” will be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and that He will establish a kingdom from which He will reign. The covenant is summarized by the words “house,” promising a dynasty in the lineage of David; “kingdom,” referring to a people who are governed by a king; “throne,” emphasizing the authority of the king’s rule; and “forever,” emphasizing the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel.

Other references to the Davidic Covenant are found in Jeremiah 23:5; 30:9; Isaiah 9:7; 11:1; Luke 1:32, 69; Acts 13:34; and Revelation 3:7.

The Old Covenant that God had established with His people required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law. Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), the Law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices in order to atone for sin. But Moses, through whom God established the Old Covenant, also anticipated the New Covenant. In one of his final addresses to the nation of Israel, Moses looks forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand” (Deuteronomy 29:4, ESV). Moses predicts that Israel would fail in keeping the Old Covenant (verses 22–28), but he then sees a time of restoration (Deuteronomy 30:1–5). At that time, Moses says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (verse 6). The New Covenant involves a total change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing to Him.

The prophet Jeremiah also predicted the New Covenant. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. . . . This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (Jeremiah 31:31–33). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and to establish the New Covenant between God and His people. The Old Covenant was written in stone, but the New Covenant is written on hearts. Entering the New Covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Luke 22:20 relates how Jesus, at the Last Supper, takes the cup and says, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (ESV).

The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26–27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel lists several aspects of the New Covenant here: a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness. The Mosaic Law could provide none of these things (see Romans 3:20).

The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, God in His grace brought the Gentiles into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth during the Millennial Kingdom, and in heaven for all eternity.

We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8–9). Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).



 Genesis 49:10

Fulfillment: Matthew 2:6, Matthew 2:11, Romans 1:5, Romans 15:18, Romans 16:26, Hebrews 7:14, Revelation 5:5
This prophecy is part of Jacob’s prophetic blessings on his sons; the full blessing on Judah is found in Genesis 49:8–12, in which Jacob speaks of the preeminence of that tribe. We can mention three highlights of the prophecy blessing:

1. The promise of the “scepter” and “ruler’s staff” indicates that Judah would exercise rulership. This was fulfilled in King David and his descendants, ultimately being fulfilled in the rule of the Messiah. In the New Testament, Hebrews 7:14 explicitly traces Yeshua’s descent from Judah, while Revelation 5:5 calls Yeshua “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Matthew 2:6 also cites Micah 5:2 (Hebrew, v. 1), which speaks of a coming ruler from the land of Judah.

2. One phrase in the blessing is not easy to translate. Depending on your particular Bible translation, you may see “until Shiloh comes,” or “until he comes to whom it [that is, the scepter] belongs,” or “until tribute comes to him,” or some other variation for Genesis 49:10. These variations should not be a major concern; they all refer to the rulership of Judah. If the verse means “until he comes to whom the scepter belongs,” then it refers to the Messiah’s ultimate, final rule which is very different from the rule of secular authorities. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17), said Jesus, when asked if it was right to pay the temple tax to Rome. To rephrase it, “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Caesar may have ruled with an oppressive iron scepter, but the scepter that belongs to the Messiah is one of peace, justice, and righteousness.

Or if the phrase means, “until tribute comes to him,” we remember that the magi from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Yeshua and his family (Matthew 2:11). Since the magi were not Jewish, this intimates that the Gentiles, and not only the Jews, will worship Jesus the Jewish Messiah. This leads into the third highlight.


3. The ruler from Judah will receive the “obedience of the peoples”

that is, nations that are not Jewish.


 Paul, known as the apostle to

the Gentiles,


could well

have been thinking of this verse when he wrote,

“…we have received grace and apostleship to

bring about the


obedience of faith

for the sake of

his name among all the nations”

(Romans 1:5),

and,

“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what

Christ has accomplished through me

to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed.”


(Romans 15:18; see also Romans 16:26).


The word “until,” by the way,



does not imply that Judah’s rulership will end

when the ruler arrives.

The compendium Hard Sayings of the Bible notes that:


“The until is used not

in an exclusive but in an inclusive sense.

That is, the coming

of Shiloh

does not mark the limits of Judah’s domination

over the nation of Israel,

for if it did it

would constitute a threat and not a blessing.

Instead, the idea is that the

sovereignty of Judah is brought to

its highest point

under the arrival and rule of Shiloh.”




The Root of Jesse

Then a shoot will spring up from the

stump of Jesse,

and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him--

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and strength,

the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

And He will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what His eyes see,

and He will not decide by what His ears hear,

but with

righteousness He will judge the poor,

and with equity

He will decide for the lowly of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth

and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.

Righteousness will be the belt around His hips,

and faithfulness the sash around His waist.



The wolf will live with the lamb,

and the

leopard will lie down with the goat;

the calf and

young lion and fatling will be together,

and a little child will lead them.

The cow will graze with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion

will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play by the cobra’s den,

and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.


They will neither harm nor destroy

on all My holy mountain,

for the earth will

be full of the knowledge of the LORD

as the sea is full of water


On that day

the

Root of Jesse will stand

as a

banner for the peoples


The nations will seek Him,

 and His place of rest will

be glorious. 

On that day the Lord

will extend His hand a second time

to recover the

remnant of His people

from

Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, 

from Elam, from Shinar, 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 collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.

Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,

and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off

Ephraim will no longer envy Judah,
nor will Judah harass Ephraim.

They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west;

together they will plunder the sons of the east


They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

The LORD will devote to destruction

the gulfi of the Sea of Egypt;

with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand
over the Euphrates.

He will split it into seven streams
for men to cross with dry sandals.

There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
who remain from Assyria,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt.




Accept One Another

We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you

harmony with one another in Christ Jesus, 

so that with one mind and one voice you may

glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ the Servant of Jews and Gentiles

Accept one another, then, just as

Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God. 


For I tell you that Christ


has become a servant of the circumcised on

behalf of God’s truth,

to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,

 so that the

Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy.


As it is written:



“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles;

I will sing hymns to Your NAME.”

Again, it says:

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

And again:

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and extol Him, all you peoples.”

And once more, Isaiah says:


“The Root of Jesse will appear,


One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles;

in Him

the Gentiles will put their hope.”

Now may the God of hope fill you

with all joy

and peace as you believe in Him,

so that you may


overflow with hope

by the power of the

Holy Spirit.


Paul the Minister to the Gentiles


I myself am convinced,

my brothers, that you yourselves

are full of goodness,

brimming with knowledge,

and able to instruct one another.


 However,

I have written you a bold reminder on some points,

because of the

grace God has given me

 to be a


minister of Christ Jesus

to the

Gentiles in the priestly service of

the gospel of God,


so that the Gentiles might

become an offering acceptable to God,

sanctified by the Holy Spirit.



Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 

I will not presume to speak of anything

except what Christ has accomplished through me

in leading

the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,

 by the power of signs and wonders,

and by the power of the Spirit of God. 


So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum,

I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

In this way

I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,


so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 


Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about Him will see,

and those

who have not heard will understand.”

That is why

I have often been hindered from coming to you.




Paul’s Travel Plans

(1 Corinthians 16:5–9)

But now that there are no further opportunities for me in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to visit you, I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. 

For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 

They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.



So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them,

I will set off to Spain by way of you. 

I know that when I come to you,

I will come in the

fullness of the blessings of Christ.


Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 


Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea,

and that my service in

Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, 

so that by God’s will I may

come to you with joy and together with you

be refreshed.


The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.




Revelation 22

The river of the water of life.

The tree of life.


The light of the city of God is himself


Jesus Is Coming



Revelation 14 describes a group of Jews during the tribulation period who will “follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb” (verse 4). This group of men, numbering 144,000, will have a special commission during the tribulation.


They are faithful

to complete their divine task,

and they are, in some way,

“firstfruits” to God.


In general, firstfruits are the beginning of the harvest—literally the first fruits that the farmer gathers out of the fields, orchards, or vineyards. The Feast of Firstfruits, which is described in Deuteronomy 26:1–11, is celebrated in spring, when, in ancient times, the wheat and barley harvest took place.

In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Christ is said to be the firstfruits of all who will later be resurrected. His resurrection was just the “first of the harvest,” and there will be much more to come. The fact that many more will be resurrected is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection (see John 14:19).

In Revelation 14:4, the 144,000 are said to be the firstfruits of the redeemed. To use another metaphor, the 144,000 are but the “tip of the iceberg.” There are many, many more who will come to faith in Christ during the tribulation.

As to the question of “who” they are, that is a point of disagreement among interpreters. We view the 144,000 as a literal Jewish men, who fit the description given in Revelation. They are sealed “servants of God,” which means they have the special protection of God (Revelation 7:3). They are kept safe from the divine judgments of the tribulation and from the wrath of the Antichrist. They are virgins (Revelation 14:4). They follow and obey Christ. They are redeemed, “and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” (verse 5, ESV).

The 144,000 are said to be “redeemed from the earth” and “purchased from among mankind” (Revelation 14:3–4). Since they are “offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb” (verse 4), we know that there will be many others to follow who will also be redeemed. The Bible predicts that Israel will one day repent and turn back to God (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25–27), and the 144,000 Jews are the “firstfruits” of that redeemed Israel.

With God’s protection, these “firstfruits” of salvation can freely perform their mission during the tribulation. Their job seems to be to evangelize the post-rapture world and proclaim the gospel. As a result of their ministry, “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9) will come to faith in Christ. Sinners are saved, and God is glorified.

These future missionaries will go throughout the earth spreading the gospel. They are the firstfruits—men who are saved early on in the tribulation and help bring in a great harvest of souls to the glory of their Redeemer.

John records in his Revelation of Jesus Christ the things that he had seen, the things that were then, and the things that would take place after those things (Revelation 1:19). As he writes about the events in the latter part of the period called the tribulation, John describes two kinds of people, those who follow the beast and those who are faithful to Jesus Christ. It is in this context that John writes, “Here is the patience of the saints” (Revelation 14:12, KJV).

The tribulation period is revealed using a number of different terms in Scripture: Jacob’s distress (Jeremiah 30:7), the seventieth seven (Daniel 9:24–27), the tribulation (Matthew 24:15–22), and the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:2–10; 2 Thessalonians 2:2–5). As John narrates this cataclysmic time, he describes a series of angels and their messages. One proclaims an eternal gospel for all who live on the earth (Revelation 14:6–7), another declares the fall of Babylon the Great (Revelation 14:8), and a third angel announces that anyone who worships the beast and takes his mark will encounter God’s wrath eternally (Revelation 14:8–11). Immediately after this pronouncement of judgment, John observes that “here is the patience of the saints.” He identifies the saints as “the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).

Throughout Scripture, justification before God—righteousness—is always and only by faith in Him (e.g., Habakkuk 2:4; Genesis 15:6; John 6:47; Hebrews 11:6; etc.). In each era or administration, God has engaged people in a different way, but He has always commanded them to believe in Him. Recall that God walked with Adam in the garden, and God spoke directly to Abraham. God spoke to many people in many different ways but most recently has spoken through His Son (Hebrews 1:1–2). Abraham believed in the Person he knew as Yahweh (Genesis 15:6) and who later came to earth as a man named Jesus (Luke 1:31–35; Philippians 2:6–8). In the latter days of the tribulation, people will still be commanded to believe in Jesus, and those called saints (or holy ones) will obey by having faith or belief in Jesus (Revelation 14:12b). John notes that here is the patience or perseverance of the saints, referencing the saints’ steadfastness in refraining from worshiping the beast (the Antichrist) and taking his mark (the mark apparently being the definitive sign of Antichrist worship).

We do not believe the “saints” with the patience or perseverance in the tribulation are the church. Earlier in the book of Revelation, John describes the activities of the churches, and it is notable that they are part of the “things which are” (Revelation 1:19, KJV), and they are described and exhorted specifically in chapters 2—3. In Revelation 4:1, John opens by saying, “After these things,” and the church is not mentioned again until we see them returning with Christ in Revelation 19:14. This is consistent with the idea that the event often referred to as the rapture will take place before the beginning of the Day of the Lord (see John 14:2–3; 1 Corinthians 15:50–52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17; 2 Thessalonians 2:2–3).

With the church era complete before Revelation 4:1, and the Day of the Lord described after that, it is evident that the saints commended for their patience in Revelation 14:12 are saved during the tribulation. During that period of time, people who believe in Jesus will have a very difficult time. The world will be governed by the Antichrist, who will demand worship and severely persecute anyone who believes in Jesus (Revelation 13). Perhaps because of the extreme difficulty, there is a special blessing promised to those who believe in Jesus during that time, and they will receive rest from their labors when they die (Revelation 14:13). It seems that this is what John refers to as the patience, steadfastness, or perseverance of the saints (Revelation 14:12). The faith of these tribulation-era believers in Jesus Christ will cost them dearly while they are on the earth, and their end will most likely be martyrdom.


God has always had two witnesses. Even though we could trace this back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, in this study we will focus from the point of Moses and Aaron forward, mentioning only a few examples.


First there was Moses and Aaron. Moses represented YHVH's civil and moral authority by which mankind was to live, and Aaron represented the priesthood authority, or the means by which mankind could approach unto a holy God.


We also have Joshua and Caleb. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim (Joseph) and Caleb was from the tribe of Judah. They were the only two spies who brought back a good report regarding the land of Canaan. It is not by coincidence that these two men were from Ephraim (Joseph) and Judah. Nothing is a coincidence with God. There is a much deeper meaning.


In addition, we have Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon and heir to the throne, while Jeroboam was the founder of the northern kingdom of Israel. Rehoboam was of course from the tribe of Judah, and Jeroboam was from the tribe of Ephraim (Joseph). Here we see again- Judah and Ephraim. Coincidence? I don’t believe so!


In Zechariah 6:9-13

we read about


the “Branch”

who is to come and the coming together

of


the “King” and “High Priest”


Zechariah 6:9-13; “ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” (KJV)


Most Bible scholars agree that this prophecy is speaking about Zerubbabel, governor of Israel, true heir to the throne of David, and Joshua the High Priest. While this is a truth, Bible scholars also understand that there is a deeper meaning to these scriptures and that is that they are giving a prophecy concerning Yeshua our coming King and High Priest.


In Psalms 110:4 we read that Yeshua is a king forever after the order of Melchizedek. This scripture is repeated regarding Him in the book of Hebrews (Chapter 7). Melchizedek was both priest and King, as will be Yeshua.


The High Priest, Joshua, who is mentioned in these scriptures and was indeed the High Priest at the time, was never a king on this earth. The scriptures here speak about the crowning of the High Priest. Never in the history of Israel has one man ever been both a High Priest and King of Israel. Priests and Kings came from two different tribes in unified Israel. The priests came from Levi and the Kings from Judah. Something much deeper is being spoken about in these passages.


These scriptures clearly speak about the Messiah who is the “Branch” and He will clearly be both High Priest and King of Israel in the future. This will be the first time that this has ever happened.


Therefore, we have here a testimony, or sure Word of Prophecy, that TWO signs will take place, the TWO SIGNS are that the coming “Branch” will be both High Priest and King.


Yet, one could ask, how do we get

two witnesses/anointed ones out of this?


In Zechariah 4:11-14

we are given some more prophecy concerning this same event -

“Then answered I, and said unto him,

What are these two olive trees

upon the RIGHT side of the candlestick

and upon the LEFT side thereof?


And I answered again, and said unto him,

What be these TWO olive branches

which through the

TWO

golden pipes empty the golden oil

out of themselves?

And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he,


These are the


TWO ANOINTED ONES,



that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

(KJV) (Capitalization and boldness added by me)


The words

“anointed ones”

in

Hebrew would be:


“bane yitshar”


meaning


“sons of oil”


The further meaning would be that these are the



two anointed

“sons” 


that are being



 “PRESSED”



 to make OIL

or

 to bring forth




LIGHT

to


 the Menorah


 into 


which they are dripping


In Messianic understanding,


the Menorah

is represented in Yeshua who is

the light of the earth,

and further

signifies the seven ways in which


the Spirit of YHVH rests upon Him

as He is manifested

in the flesh throughout the earth.


Read Isaiah 11:1-2.


These two “sons of oil” relate/OR WITNESS

to Messiah's holy ministry on earth

and His righteous judgments on earth.


They represent two sons of authority on earth.

Zechariah said that these

two sons

“stand by the Lord of the whole earth”.


In Ezekiel 37:15-17, 24-27 we read:


"The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. ….. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”


This scripture speaks of the TWO sticks of Judah and Joseph/Ephraim becoming ONE, and having ONE King to rule over them forever. It also mentions that they will both be keeping Yah’s statutes and judgments (Torah) forever. Please understand that Ephraim and Joseph are the same thing.


These two witnesses, Judah and Ephraim, relate to the dual anointing of Yeshua as a King and as a High Priest, forever. This is showcased in our scripture passage in Zechariah chapter four.

In Jewish literature the Rabbi’s understood the concept of two Messiah’s: Messiah ben Yoseph or Ephraim (Messiah son of Joseph) and Messiah ben David ((Messiah son of David). Messiah ben Joseph was the suffering Messiah and Messiah son of David was the Kingly Messiah. In Zechariah these two Messiah’s become one again. Truly, there is but one Messiah (Yeshua) who came once as the suffering Messiah but will come again as the Kingly Messiah.

Is there a greater mystery here that has gone unnoticed?

Zachariah saw two olive trees, one representing the King and the other the High Priest. Both of them were supplying the oil of anointing to a bowl. The anointed ones/witnesses were the ones being pressed to supply the oil to the bowl supplying the seven branched candlestick or menorah, the true symbol of Israel and representation of Yeshua and the seven spirits of Yahweh that were upon Him.


The pressed oil from the two sons of fresh oil gave

life to the Menorah

(Yeshua)


They kept the light of Yeshua bright through

their witness in all the earth.


The son Judah represents or witnesses to the coming Messiah and His righteous rule as King?

The throne of David is in the royal Jewish tribe of Judah. Out of Judah comes the Lawgiver, ruling the Throne of David. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our coming King. Judah (the Jews) have always witnessed to the Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah, lineage of David, and that He will be King and lawgiver (Torah giver); in His righteous rule over all of the earth. In Micah chapter 4 and Isaiah chapter 2 we read how Messiah will be teaching from His throne in Jerusalem and how that His Law (Torah in Hebrew) will go forth throughout the whole earth. It is Judah (the Jews) that we have to thank for maintaining the integrity of the scriptures, as witnessed to by Yeshua Himself. This has been the hope of the Jews (Judah) throughout the ages, that their King Messiah will come. They have held tightly to this and they have been a good witness about His coming kingship throughout the world. Yeshua is coming back as a Jewish King.


Judah was separated from Israel in the breach of Jeroboam. Judah became the southern kingdom who went off into captivity in Babylon. These people, the Jewish nation, returned from their exile. They restored the royal and holy city of Jerusalem. The Jewish people never forgot their heritage.

They know and remember their earthly roots in Israel.


And what about the other witness?


Looking back to the two sticks of Ezekiel, we see that it is the stick of Ephraim who is the second witness. Ephraim testifies to the ministry of Yeshua as High Priest. Ephraim testifies to Yeshua's grace and mercy in the shedding of His blood and the forgiveness of our sins. Ephraim took Messiah Yeshua the High Priest to the world as salvation; the redeemer of the world, the mediator between mankind and the Father.


While Judah is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Torah and the truth, Ephraim is responsible for spreading the atoning work of Yeshua around the world.


The two sons of authority need each other and each have a separate witness to make to the world. Judah has traditionally witnessed of Messiah the Jewish King to come and Ephraim witnesses of Messiah the High Priest to come; who alone gives us salvation.


Historically, Ephraim has rejected Torah (most Christians believe Yeshua destroyed or canceled the Torah) and Messiah Yeshua as a Torah giver, and most of Ephraim doesn’t truly understand the concept of kingdom and a coming King. Judah has rejected Yeshua the High Priest/bringer of salvation.


Historically, there has been rivalry between these two brothers. In I Kings 12:19 we read how Ephraim rebelled against the House of David. Look at the same antisemitism that exists in the world today.


Yahweh has used both “sons” as witnesses in this present world. Judah without Yeshua Messiah and Ephraim who wants to reject Torah and a coming JEWISH KING.


Who is Ephraim? Christians/Followers of The Way/Nazarenes are Joseph/Ephraim. Just as Joseph was carried away into Egypt and took on Egyptian qualities, likewise, Christians today have forgotten about the origin of their faith.


Yahweh will bring the two sticks back together. All of Joseph will accept and obey Torah when the lawgiver teaches from His holy mountain in Jerusalem and Judah will accept Yeshua as High Priest and bringer of salvation. Does not the scripture say, “and all Israel shall be saved?”


In Revelation we read about the two witnesses.

​This word “witness” means “judicially, witness, martyr, record.” These two witnesses are being martyred for their testimony of Yeshua and for keeping Yahweh's commandments. These two witnesses represent “Judah and Ephraim” as people groups not just two individuals. His two witnesses in the world have not changed. Just as Joshua came from the tribe of Ephraim and Caleb came from the tribe of Judah.


The problem with most people today is that

they have an identity crisis.

They don't really know who they are.




The Apostle Paul


speaks to us in the

book of Romans about

the

cultivated olive tree and the wild olive tree.

Notice that they are both

olive trees.


In the Scriptures, Israel is referred to as

an olive tree


The cultivated olive tree

is Judah.



Judah

has always

remained with Yahweh

and He has

cultivated or pruned them.


He is the elder son in the

Parable of the Prodigal Son.


Ephraim is the wild olive tree.

He (the northern kingdom)

has been scattered all over

the world and they lost their identity.


A wild olive tree

or one

that doesn’t bear fruit

is analogous to

a disobedient people group




The book of Hosea and Amos tells

all about this.


He has floundered out there with Torah –


the truth.


A wild growing olive tree.


He is the youngest son in the parable of the Prodigal son.



Yeshua

stated from His own mouth

that


“He came not but to the lost sheep

of

the house of Israel”


(Matthew 15:24)

​

​The word shekinah

 does not

appear in the Bible,

but the

concept clearly does.

The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression,

a form of a Hebrew word that literally

means “he caused to dwell,”

signifying that it was a

divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of the Lord God on this earth.

The Shekinah was first evident when the Israelites set out from Succoth in their escape from Egypt.

There the Lord appeared in a cloudy pillar in the day and a fiery pillar by night: “After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people” (Exodus 13:20–22).

God spoke to Moses out of the pillar of cloud in Exodus 33, assuring him that His Presence would be with the Israelites (v. 9). Verse 11 says God spoke to Moses “face to face” out of the cloud, but when Moses asked to see God’s glory, God told Him, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (v. 20). So, apparently, the visible manifestation of God’s glory was somewhat muted. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock, covered him with His hand, and passed by. Then He removed His hand, and Moses saw only His back. This would seem to indicate that God’s glory is too awesome and powerful to be seen completely by man.

The visible manifestation of God’s presence was seen not only by the Israelites but also by the Egyptians: “During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt’” (Exodus 14:24-25). Just the presence of God’s Shekinah glory was enough to convince His enemies that He was not someone to be resisted.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of God’s glory. Colossians 2:9 tells us that “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” causing Jesus to exclaim to Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). In Christ, we see the visible manifestation of God Himself in the second person of the Trinity. Although His glory was also veiled, Jesus is nonetheless the presence of God on earth. Just as the divine Presence dwelled in a relatively plain tent called the “tabernacle” before the Temple in Jerusalem was built, so did the Presence dwell in the relatively plain man who was Jesus. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). But when we get to heaven, we will see both the Son and the Father in all their glory, and the Shekinah will no longer be veiled (1 John 3:2).

The star of Bethlehem is associated with the birth of Christ and the visit of the magi (wise men) as recorded in Matthew 2:1–12. The text implies the star of Bethlehem appeared only to the magi in the East (most likely the area of Persia, or modern-day Iran). There is no biblical record of anyone else observing the star of Bethlehem.



The magi in the East

saw

something in the heavens


—the star of Bethlehem--


that alerted them to the fact that the Jewish Messiah was born. The magi do not call the star of Bethlehem by that name; in Matthew 2:2 they refer to it as being “his star,” since it was a sign to them that a king was born. The star prompted the magi to travel to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. This would be the logical place to start looking for the birth of the King of the Jews for someone who did not know of Micah’s prophecy about Bethlehem.

In Jerusalem, the magi visited King Herod and were told that the new king they were looking for would be born in Bethlehem, not in Jerusalem (Matthew 2:5). The wise men left Herod’s palace, and the star of Bethlehem appeared to them once again. In fact, the star “went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (verses 9–10). The star of Bethlehem, apparently mobile, led the magi to the precise place where they could find Jesus.

Modern portrayals of the Christmas nativity scene usually show the wise men visiting Jesus on the night of His birth. That is likely not what truly occurred. King Herod discovered from the magi the “exact time” the star of Bethlehem had first appeared to them (Matthew 2:7), and he later ordered all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem to be killed (verse 16). Herod obviously thought the star of Bethlehem had first appeared when Christ was born; if he was right, then Jesus could have been up to two years old when the star of Bethlehem later guided the magi through the streets of Bethlehem. The Greek word translated “young child” in Matthew 2:9 can mean anything from a newborn infant to a toddler.

So, the magi may have first observed the star of Bethlehem the night of Jesus’ birth, or they may have first seen it up to two years beforehand. Either way, they found Jesus still in Bethlehem when they arrived. Joseph and Mary almost surely stayed in Bethlehem until Mary could travel again. In fact, they probably stayed there for the 40 days necessary to complete Mary’s purification. From Bethlehem, they could easily make the five-mile trip to Jerusalem for the sacrifice for Mary’s purification (Luke 2:22). The fact that the magi came to a “house” (Matthew 2:11) rather than the stable makes sense because Joseph naturally would have moved his family to a more protected place as soon as possible—the morning after Jesus was born, in all probability.

After seeing the star of Bethlehem, the magi traveled to Jerusalem to look for the Messiah.

The question arises, how would Persian magi know about the Jewish Messiah? Undoubtedly, they would have been exposed to the writings of the Jewish prophet Daniel, who had been the chief of the court seers in Persia. Daniel 9:24–27 is a prophecy that gives a timeline for the birth of the Messiah. Also, they may have been aware of the words of the pagan prophet Balaam (who was from the town of Pethor on the Euphrates River near Persia) in Numbers 24:17. Balaam’s prophecy specifically mentions “a star” and “a scepter” rising out of Jacob.

What exactly was the

star of Bethlehem?

The Greek word translated “star” in the text is the word aster,

which is the normal word for

a star or celestial body.

The word is used 24 times in the New Testament, and most of the time it refers to a celestial body. It can be used to denote angels, as in Revelation 12:4, where aster seems to refer to the fallen angels who followed Satan’s rebellion. Basic rules of biblical interpretation state that we should take the normal sense of a word unless there is compelling evidence to suggest otherwise. In that case, the star of Bethlehem should be considered an actual heavenly body. Many Bible scholars suggest a natural explanation for the star of Bethlehem, their theories ranging from a supernova to a comet to an alignment of planets. Something in the heavens provided a brighter-than-normal light in the sky.

However, there is evidence to suggest that the star of Bethlehem was not a natural stellar phenomenon, but something unexplained by science. First, the fact that the star of Bethlehem seemed to appear only to the magi indicates that this was no ordinary star. Also, celestial bodies normally move from east to west due to the earth’s rotation, yet the star of Bethlehem led the magi from Jerusalem south to Bethlehem. Not only that, but it led them directly to the place where Joseph and Mary were staying, stopping overhead. There is no natural stellar phenomenon that can do that.

So, if the normal usage of the word star doesn’t fit the context, what does? The star of Bethlehem in Matthew 2:1–12 was likely an angel or a manifestation of the Shekinah Glory. The Shekinah, which literally means “dwelling of God,” was the visible presence of the Lord. Prior to this, the most notable appearance of the Shekinah was the pillar of cloud that led the Israelites by day and the pillar of fire that led them by night (Exodus 13:21). The Shekinah can obviously lead people to specific locations, and it was seen later in connection with Christ’s ministry (e.g., Matthew 17:5; Acts 1:9). Either an angel or the Shekinah would fit the evidence. It shouldn’t surprise us that God would use a miraculous sign to signal the advent of His Son into the world. Those with eyes to see joyfully beheld His glory.

God made a conditional covenant with the children of Israel through His servant Moses. He promised good to them and their children for generations if they obeyed Him and His laws, but He always warned of despair, punishment, and dispersion if they were to disobey. As a reminder of His covenant, the Lord had the Israelites make a box, according to His design, to house the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This box, or ark, was to be kept in the inner sanctum of the wilderness tabernacle and eventually in the temple when it was built in Jerusalem. This chest is known as the ark of the covenant.

Moses instructed Bezalel, God’s anointed craftsman, to build the ark of the covenant (see Exodus 37:1–9; 25:10–22). The “sacred chest” was to be a rectangular wooden box made from acacia wood, overlaid “inside and out with pure gold,” measuring approximately “45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high” (Exodus 37:1–2, NLT). The chest was fitted with two pairs of gold rings on either side in which permanent poles were inserted for transporting the ark. No one was allowed to touch the ark out of reverence for God’s holiness. The poles were also fashioned with acacia wood and overlaid with gold.

The ark of the covenant was built to contain the two tablets of the law given to Moses by God (Exodus 25:16, 21). These tablets were also known as “the testimony,” and thus, the ark was also called “the ark of the testimony” (see Numbers 4:5, Joshua 4:16, ESV). In the original Hebrew, the word translated as “testimony” refers both to the terms of God’s covenant with Israel as written on the tablets of stone and to the covenant itself. Later, Moses had Aaron place inside the ark a jar of manna to remember God’s faithfulness in providing miraculous bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4, 33) and Aaron’s staff that had budded as a warning against rebellion (Numbers 17:1–13; Hebrews 9:4).

A lid called the “mercy seat” or “the place of atonement” was constructed for the box (see Exodus 25:17). The mercy seat was made of pure gold and covered the entire length and width of the chest. Bezalel crafted two cherubim from hammered gold and molded them atop each end of the mercy seat so that the whole lid was one solid piece of gold. The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the mercy seat with their wings spread wide, overshadowing and protecting it.

The real significance of the ark of the covenant involved the mercy seat. The Hebrew word for “mercy seat” meant “cover, appeasement, or place of atonement.” Once a year, the high priest entered the holy of holies where the ark of the covenant was kept, and here he atoned for his sins and the sins of the Israelite people (Leviticus 16:2–16). Seven times, the priest sprinkled the blood of sacrificed bulls and goats onto the mercy seat. This atonement on Yom Kippur appeased God’s wrath and anger for past sins committed.

The lid of the ark of the covenant was termed a “seat” because this sacred place was considered God’s holy throne (see Psalm 99:1). Here, the Lord spoke to Moses from between the winged cherubim (Numbers 7:89). Here, where the sacrificial blood was sprinkled and God’s mercy was dispensed, was the only place in the world where atonement could take place.

The mercy seat on the ark was a symbolic foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice for all sin—the blood of Christ shed on the cross for the remission of sins (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12–14; 1 Peter 1:18–19). The apostle Paul, a former Pharisee and one familiar with the Old Testament, knew this concept quite well when he wrote about Christ being our covering for sin in Romans 3:24–25: “And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.”

Just as there was only one place for atonement of sins in the Old Testament—the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant—so there is also only one place for atonement in the New Testament—the cross of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:2; 1 Peter 3:18). As Christians, we no longer look to the ark but to the Lord Jesus Himself as the One who covers, cleanses, cancels, and atones for our sins (1 John 4:10).

As the Israelites traveled from Mount Sinai to Canaan, the ark of the covenant was to be carried before them through the wilderness as a constant reminder of God’s holy, living presence (Numbers 10:33–36). The ark played a central role in Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land (Joshua 3:3, 6, 15–16; 4:9; 6:4–16) and the life of God’s people there (Joshua 8:33; Judges 20:26–28).

Eventually, Israel lost sight of the ark’s true significance. In 1 Samuel 4, the nation was battling the Philistines. When the Israelites suffered a loss, rather than deal with the real problem—sin—they fetched the ark and took it into battle. They viewed the ark as little more than a talisman or ceremonial token that would ensure God’s help. As a result, they suffered another defeat, and God allowed the ark to be captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1–11, 17–22; 5:1–12). But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Philistines, so they returned the ark (1 Samuel 6:1–3, 10–15, 19; 7:1–2).

Much later, King David had the ark brought to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–12, 17), and when his son Solomon completed the temple, the ark and all the tabernacle furnishings were placed inside the temple (1 Kings 8:1–12).

The Bible doesn’t say precisely when the ark of the covenant was lost to history. Some speculate it was destroyed or potentially removed during various raids (see 1 Kings 14:25–28; 2 Kings 14:8–14). The last time the location of the ark is mentioned in Scripture is when King Josiah ordered the caretakers of the ark to return it to the Jerusalem temple (2 Chronicles 35:1–6; cf. 2 Kings 23:21–23). The ark is not cited in the list of temple spoils that Nebuchadrezzar took to Babylon when Jerusalem was sacked (2 Kings 25:13–17; Jeremiah 52:17–23).

The origins of Israel’s ark of the covenant are as mysterious and fascinating as its current whereabouts and final destiny. Archeologists and treasure hunters have sought to find it for centuries. In Revelation 11:19, John sees the ark of the covenant as part of the future heavenly temple. However, this is probably not the same ark Moses built; instead, the heavenly ark is more likely a symbolic representation of God’s holy presence.
​The coupling of grace and truth is found in numerous places in the Bible, including Colossians 1:6 and 2 John 1:3 in the New Testament, and 2 Samuel 15:20 and Psalm 86:15 in the Old Testament. Then there is John 1:14, 17, which says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

There is a strong possibility that John is referencing the Hebrew terms hesed (“mercy” or “lovingkindness”) and emet (“truth” or “faithfulness”), found together in Exodus 34:6: “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.’” Note that the attributes of God in the Old Testament are applied to Christ in the New. At the beginning of his gospel, John is making a subtle statement regarding the divinity of Jesus. The rest of John’s gospel will expound on that truth.

It is important for grace and truth to work in tandem. An emphasis on grace alone can dissipate into a shallow and sentimental foundation where justice or truth is discarded. However, a focus only on truth can devolve into a cold, hardened dogma. Jesus’ character demonstrates the perfect balance of both grace and truth. He is “full” of both.

Grace and truth meld together in the gospel message to form a key distinction of Christianity over other religions. In all other religions, grace and truth are never balanced. Instead, the deity being worshiped either dispenses justice at the expense of grace or dispenses grace at the expense of justice and truth. Christianity is unique in that God delivers grace through His justice and truth.

The truth is, everyone has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and deserves God’s justice. However, God’s justice is satisfied, and His truth upheld, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That act delivers God’s grace to those who will accept it by faith.

In this way, Christianity stands alone as an ontological faith—one that is fully dependent on a person—Jesus Christ—who perfectly balances and embodies both grace and truth in His very being.

The first chapter of John’s gospel elaborates on the incarnation of Jesus Christ more than any other passage in the Bible. John wanted his readers to know that Jesus was the absolute revelation of God in human form: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NKJV).


“The Word”


is the Logos,


Jesus Christ Himself


He became “Flesh,”

meaning the


Divine Son of God became

Human,


like us


(Romans 8:3; Philippians 2:7; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7).



God revealed Himself to the people of the world through His Son, Jesus.

Christ showed us God’s glory.

“We have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son,” 

The author of Hebrews further illuminates:


“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God”

(Hebrews 1:3, NLT).

The statement that “we beheld His glory”


links Jesus to the Old Testament wilderness tabernacle.


At this earthly tent of meeting,


Yahweh’s divine presence and glory dwelled and visibly manifested

among the people of Israel.

They saw His glory in the fire, pillar of smoke, and cloud


(Exodus 40:34).


In the New Testament,

God’s glorious presence

was made visible in the living Word,

who was clothed in flesh


and “tabernacled” among us in the

person of Jesus Christ.

 John 1:14 actually uses a form of the Greek word

for “tabernacle”

to describe Jesus’ taking on human flesh.


Jesus revealed

His glory for the first time publicly

at the wedding in Cana,


and, as a result, “his disciples believed in him”


(John 2:11, NLT).


Mathew and Luke recorded the scene of Christ’s transfiguration when Peter, James, and John beheld a glimpse of His unveiled glory (Matthew 17:2; Luke 9:32). Peter testified firsthand to the transfiguration: “For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy’” (2 Peter 1:16–17, NLT).

When John said, “We beheld His glory,” he was giving eyewitness testimony to the incarnation—that God Himself had come to earth embodied in the Son: “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life” (1 John 1:1, NLT).

Not only John, but all the disciples had seen Jesus and beheld His glory with their own eyes. These apostles could all testify that the Father had sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). Other teachers were likely spreading false ideas about Jesus and contradicting the truth of the incarnation. But the teachings of John and the other disciples were trustworthy because these men had firsthand experience hearing, seeing, and touching Jesus (John 19:35).


The miracles of Jesus revealed

God’s glory


(John 11:4, 40)


The word for


“glory”

in John 1:14 means


“a state of high honor.”



Those who witnessed

Christ’s miracles—those who beheld

​ His glory

—saw and

understood that

God was worthy

of the highest honor and praise


(John 4:53; 9:38; 20:29).


The suffering and death of Jesus also revealed God’s glory


(John 17:1, 5; Romans 8:18).


Everything Jesus did brought praise and honor to God

so that all who beheld His glory

and believed in Him received His gift of salvation


(John 12:16; 13:31–32; 20:30–31; Philippians 2:9–11; Ephesians 1:12).


Paul taught that Satan

blinds the eyes

of

unbelievers so they cannot

behold

God’s glory or understand

the message of salvation

in

Jesus Christ


They “are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NLT). But praise God, who through Jesus Christ our Lord lets His light shine in our hearts so we can “know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT).


The New Covenant is the promise that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise (Luke 22:20). The New Covenant was predicted while the Old Covenant was still in effect—the prophets Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all allude to the New Covenant.


The Old Covenant that God had established with His people required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law. Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), the Law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices in order to atone for sin. But Moses, through whom God established the Old Covenant, also anticipated the New Covenant. In one of his final addresses to the nation of Israel, Moses looks forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand” (Deuteronomy 29:4, ESV). Moses predicts that Israel would fail in keeping the Old Covenant (verses 22–28), but he then sees a time of restoration (Deuteronomy 30:1–5). At that time, Moses says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (verse 6). The New Covenant involves a total change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing to Him.

The prophet Jeremiah also predicted the New Covenant. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. . . . This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (Jeremiah 31:31–33). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and to establish the New Covenant between God and His people. The Old Covenant was written in stone, but the New Covenant is written on hearts. Entering the New Covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Luke 22:20 relates how Jesus, at the Last Supper, takes the cup and says, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (ESV).

The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26–27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel lists several aspects of the New Covenant here: a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness. The Mosaic Law could provide none of these things (see Romans 3:20).

The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, God in His grace brought the Gentiles into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth during the Millennial Kingdom, and in heaven for all eternity.

We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift

(Ephesians 2:8–9).


Our responsibility is to exercise

faith in Christ,

the One who

fulfilled the Law on our behalf

and brought an end

to the Law’s sacrifices

through

His own sacrificial death.


Through the




LIFE GIVING



Holy Spirit


who


lives in all believers

(Romans 8:9–11),


we share in

the

inheritance of CHRIST


and


Enjoy a



​PERMINENET,


UNBROKEN RELATIONSHIP


with God


(Hebrews 9:15).