https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%201&version=NIV

https://biblehub.com/revelation/13-17.htm


https://davidjeremiah.blog/the-144000-in-the-book-of-revelation/


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Is God calling you? God’s call will go to the core of who you are and what you do.

‘I have called him… and he will succeed in his mission.’ Isaiah 48:15 NIV
God told Jeremiah, ‘Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.’ (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV)
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​When God decides to use you, five things happen:
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First, there is a call. God asks common people to do uncommon things, like Peter getting out of a boat and walking on water.
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Second, there is fear. When God called Moses to stand before Pharaoh, he basically said, ‘I’m not a good enough speaker; use somebody else.’
Third, there is reassurance. The thought of filling Moses’ shoes must have shaken Joshua to the core, so God told him, ‘As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.’ (Joshua 1:5 NKJV)

Fourth, there is a decision. Sometimes we say ‘yes’ to God and sometimes we say ‘no’. When we say ‘yes’ we live with joy; when we say ‘no’ we forfeit that joy. But there’s always a decision.

Fifth, there is a changed life. Those who say ‘yes’ to God’s call don’t walk perfectly, not by a long shot. But because they say ‘yes’, they learn and grow even from their failures. Indeed, their failures often become part of their ability to minister to others. And those who say ‘no’ to God are changed too; they become a little harder, a little more resistant to His calling, and a little more likely to say ‘no’ next time.

​In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus’ command to "follow me" appears repeatedly (e.g., Matthew 8:22; 9:9, Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27; John 1:43). In many cases, Jesus was calling the twelve men who would become His disciples (Matthew 10:3–4). But other times, He was speaking to anyone who wanted what He had to offer (John 3:16; Mark 8:34).

In Matthew 10:34–39, Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him. He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

Jesus’ bringing a “sword” and turning family members against each other can seem a little harsh after words like "whosoever believes on Him shall not perish" (John 3:16). But Jesus never softened the truth, and the truth is that following Him leads to difficult choices. Sometimes turning back may seem very appealing. When Jesus’ teaching went from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–11) to the coming cross, many who had followed him turned away (John 6:66). Even the disciples decided that following Jesus was too difficult the night He was arrested. Every one of them deserted Him (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50). On that night, following Christ meant possible arrest and execution. Rather than risk his own life, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus three times (Matthew 26:69–75). 

To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." There is no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of those who were trying to obey God in their own strength. Their self-effort led only to arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of God’s Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew 23:24).

Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him, but they did not recognize it at the time. He said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing" (John 6:63). And "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them” (verse 65). The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, learning, observing, and participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper. 

Jesus promised many times that, once He had ascended to the Father, He would send a "Helper" to them—the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26). In fact, He told them that it was for their good that He was going away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit indwells the heart of every believer (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:16; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). Jesus warned His followers that they were not to begin testifying of Him "until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4). When the Holy Spirit came upon those first believers at Pentecost, they suddenly had all the power they needed to follow Christ, even to the death, if needed (Acts 2:1–4; 4:31; 7:59-60).

Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so that’s what we strive to do (John 8:29; 15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the Boss. That’s what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5). Every decision and dream is filtered through His Word with the goal of glorifying Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are not saved by the things we do for Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) but by what He has done for us. Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All this is accomplished as we allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians 5:18). He explains the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), empowers us with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John 14:16), and guides us (John 14:26). To follow Christ means we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus walked beside us in person.

God is asking for your participation; will you answer him?

"LORD, SEND SOMEONE ELSE.” EVER SAID THAT?

Do you have a favorite person from the Bible? (Besides Jesus, of course!) Moses is a personal favorite of mine. I find him very relatable. Not the plague thing or the Red Sea thing. It’s that scene at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-3), but a very specific part of it. Exodus 4:13 was actually one of my ‘life verses’; “But Moses pleaded again, ‘Lord, please! Send someone else.’” It was right up there with, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13) as long as he doesn’t ask me to do anything. It’s easy to have faith in God and trust him when we’re sitting on the couch binging Netflix. And the truth is, that’s where I related most strongly with Moses, telling God no. Well, more like dragging my feet and whining a lot, hoping that God will eventually get the message and just give up on me and change his mind.

I’m wondering if the idea of God as Father comes from us acting like children so much of the time:

• “Have you dumped the garbage yet?” “I will; as soon as I finish this episode.”
• “Have you gone to talk to Pharoah yet?” “I will; as soon as I finish roasting these marshmallows.”

THE CALL

What exactly was it that Moses was so dead-set against doing, and why?
God had gotten Moses’ attention with the burning bush and was now speaking with him. Let’s look at what God was asking.

‘Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt”’ (Exodus 3:7-10, NLT).
The first thing we notice is that there is a lot about what God has done and will do, and very little with regard to Moses.

• God has seen their oppression.
• God has heard their cries.
• God knows their suffering.
• God has now come down.
• God intends to rescue them.
• God is providing a new homeland.
• God is sending Moses.

​Moses was to go and lead. God is going to deliver his people and he wants Moses to lead them when it happens. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? So begins one of my favorite conversations in all of Scripture.


THE “CONVERSATION

"But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

Moses knew who he was. He had spent the last 40 years defining himself. He had tried to deliver his people 40 years ago, and that ended in murder and his being rejected by his people. This event is what drove him into the wilderness in the first place. He was an exiled murderer and he knew God was talking to the wrong guy.

But God tells Moses exactly who he is; or does he?
God answered, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12a).
Look at what God is saying here:

• You are the one I will be with.
• Who you are outside of that isn’t of concern to me.
• Your identity is tied to my presence in your life.

God hasn’t called you because of who you are, but because of who HE is. But Moses doesn’t get it.

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13).
Now Moses is talking to God. “Oh yeah? Well who are you?”

Moses had been waiting for 40 years, but the Hebrews hadn’t heard from God in over 400. To them, he was literally the God of their ancestors; a people long dead and gone. They knew the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but did it mean anything to them? Was God relevant to them now? And that was all just a few hundred years earlier.

What expectations are we to have of God when we look back 2,000 years to the time when he walked the earth with the disciples? We hear stories of miracles and great moves of God from the past, but is that the same God who’s calling us now?

Is God still relevant today?
‘God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations”’ (Exodus 3:14-15).

Here, God drops the mic with this phrase, I AM WHO I AM. This is a verb, not a proper noun. It carries with it the idea of identification through action. It also transcends time and has been translation by some scholars as I will be who I will be. God is declaring himself the ever existing one; who I WAS then, is who I AM now, and who I WILL BE in the future.

This is not the name that others call God; the descriptors of his character, but what God calls himself. This is the name only God is holy enough to utter. And—just like those who saw the opening of the ark in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark—Moses’ ears should have exploded on the hearing of it and his face melted off his head.

This is God’s name yesterday, today, and forever.
Then God goes on for another seven verses, finishing out the chapter as if this should have settled everything with Moses: you’ll say this to the people and they’ll say ok, then you’ll tell Pharoah the plan, but I know he’ll say no, so then I’ll flex and he’ll finally say yes and then you’ll do this… And it should have settled it.

But Moses was too broken to fully accept that. He was still too caught up in himself to accept the power and importance of God’s presence in his life. He knew God was wrong about him.

‘But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”’ (Exodus 4:1).
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This goes back to identity, but not what we think of ourselves. Rather it’s what we think others think about us. We prejudge ourselves before others have a chance to. And doesn’t that all begin with the idea that I’m nobody that God would ever use? This false humility is the most evil form of pride because it says right to God’s face, “You’re wrong about me. I’m not the one you’re looking for. You’ve made a mistake.”

When we don’t answer God’s call, we’re saying we know better than he does.

Then God answers Moses’ concerns with three miraculous signs. God recognizes the game Moses is playing and pulls out the stops. First there’s this thing with the staff turning into a snake. Then there’s Moses’ hand turning leprous and being restored. And just to make sure there’s no longer any confusion who is God in this situation, God turns water from the Nile into blood (Exodus 4:2-9). Personally, I think this would have made me more nervous.

‘But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”’ (Exodus 4:10).

This verse is often said to have the meaning that Moses had a stutter. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think it might have had more to do with Moses being an introvert and having spent the last 40 years in the middle of nowhere, with no one but sheep to talk to. I won’t go into why I think Moses was an introvert, but we don’t know exactly what he’s referring to here. What we do know is that Moses lacked confidence in his ability to do what God was calling him to do. Again, he’s questioning God’s judgement. But I don’t really think Moses was intentionally calling God out. I think he was afraid and disparately clawing at any excuse that might get him out of God’s plan. I think he had become so comfortable with his sheep and the situation he ended up in, that he didn’t want to leave. He may have thought he had little time left in this world, so why start some new project? His time to make a difference had passed.

‘Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say”’ (Exodus 4:11-12).

I nearly weep at the graciousness behind this verse every time I read it. God is saying, I made you the way you are. I know it’s not easy. Nothing of any worth ever is. Now let’s go. I’m right here with you and I won’t leave you alone. Take my hand, we’ll do this together. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.

Does this sound familiar? Come to me; take my yoke; learn from me; I will be with you always (Matthew 11:28-30).

God is calling all of us. How will you answer the call? How did Moses?
‘But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else”’ (Exodus 4:13).
Moses finally resorts to honesty. He didn’t want to do it. Moses was simply afraid. And I think it was this honesty that God had been waiting for.

Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. 17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you” (Exodus 4:14-17).

A lot of the commentaries speak of this passage as a rebuke, that God is so angry that he’s punishing Moses by making him share the spotlight with his brother. Honestly, until I started preparing for this, I saw it the same way. It’s a great motivator, “Do what God calls you to do or he’ll get mad and punish you.” Personally, I’ve grown tired of being scared into following God.

The New American Standard Bible is a more literal, word for word translation and puts it this way, “Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses.” Looking at this more literal sentence structure and the original language, it could also be understood to say, “The face or breath (the countenance) of the LORD enflamed or blazed up.” I think this paints a vivid dual picture of God’s anger and the burning bush.

Remember the burning bush? I can imagine the gentle warming flames flashing into a raging inferno in response to Moses’ declaration, the scorching heat pushing him back in startled terror. God had gotten Moses’ attention. He was letting Moses know that he’s not going to win this argument. Moses was getting too comfortable standing there talking to smoldering shrubbery. It was time for Moses to feel the heat. Those previous signs were just that; God manipulating the world. This was an experience of the raw power of God.

What does Jesus tell us again? I will give you rest for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). Remember I AM, the same yesterday, today, and forever. And look at what follows. God, again, goes out of his way to accommodate Moses. Oh look, there’s your brother who’s “just happening” to be coming this way, and what do you know, he’s a great speaker. What luck! And it says Aaron was already coming to see Moses, before this whole thing started.

God is not going to call you to do something without providing you with everything you need to accomplish his work. You may not get everything you want. And it may not be easy. But I can tell you from experience, well, a little experience, that it’s a blessing beyond description.


ANSWERING THE CALL

How do you know you’ve been called? Right there in the second half of Exodus 3:12, “And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

The fact that you’re here today is the sign that you have been called. God has called you for something; that’s why you’re here.

What is it that God is calling you to do? What have you been trying to avoid? What Excuses have you been making? It’s nothing God hasn’t already heard. Or maybe you’re right where God wants you, doing what he has for you to do, but you’re stressed and burned out because you’re relying too much on your own ability.

What might you need to let go of? Or maybe you’re doing God’s will and are constantly blessed and joyful. In that case, you really need to be up here sharing with us your secret.

What does answering the call look like? I can show you one example of what answering the call looks like. It looks like me following through on God’s call for me to share this message with you.

What will it look like for you? I have no idea. Maybe it’s to go to another country with the Gospel. Or maybe just next door. Maybe it’s going to the homeless on the street, or maybe a family member you haven’t spoken to in a while. Maybe God’s given you a testimony and he wants you sharing it, or maybe he’s leading you to serve in some other way. What God has called you to do is between you and God and whoever he might have called you to.

What is God saying now? I have come down to this earth, I have seen through your eyes, I have heard through your ears, I have experienced your suffering. I came to rescue you from the power of sin in your lives and lead you into a new kingdom flowing with mercy and grace.

Now go! God is sending you out into the world to lead people to him. I want to leave you today the way Moses left the people of Israel he had been leading for 40 years. Passing the mantle of leadership to Joshua, Moses—the man who was afraid to talk to Pharoah—stands before hundreds of thousands of Hebrews and declares, “be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid. The Lord will prepare the way and be with you”

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

​God is calling you, but it’s up to you to respond.

In 1 Timothy 2:4 it says: “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God has an incredible plan, and He wants to use you! He wants to save you from a life of sin and unhappiness, to a life of true peace and joy. He wants to prepare you for eternity. He wants to use your life to glorify His name. God is calling you. He loves you and wants to help you!
So how does God call you? Maybe you meet someone whose godly life challenges you, or you read or hear something that creates a longing for something more. Maybe you try to live a good life and react in a good way, but always fall short, and you feel empty deep down inside. This is God calling you. He is drawing you, but it’s up to you to respond.

In Hebrews 1:1-2 it says, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a human being, where He experienced the same temptations and trials we do, but never gave in to sin. In this way He left us an example to follow.

Now He is inviting you to let Him into your life, to guide, strengthen and help you live the same overcoming life. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.

This call of love is like a powerful magnet, always pulling in one direction; to turn completely from everything that is bad, corrupt, evil and self-seeking (sin) towards God’s Son Jesus Christ, to follow His example and come to a life of righteousness, peace and joy. But the choice is always yours, because God has given you a free will.

Opening your heart to Jesus is making a decision to stop living for yourself completely, and giving Him full control, as your Lord and Savior. It is a totally life-changing decision. You don’t have to carry on sinning, losing your temper, being irritable, being offended. Jesus came to save you, and make a way out of all these things, and this amazing new life is what God will lead you into, step by step, if you will answer His call.

Don’t let anything hinder you from making life’s most important choice – open the door of your heart to Jesus today!

''While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message" (Acts 10:44).

When we read verbs like "fell upon" to describe the Spirit's activities, we all too easily think about the Spirit of God in terms of a non-personal force or power. Surely such unbiblical thoughts must grieve the Spirit of God! Were it not for the Spirit of God personally speaking to God's people, the gospel would have never left Jerusalem. It was the Spirit who told Philip to go to the Ethiopian eunuch (8:29).

The Spirit was the one who assured Peter he sent the three Gentile men from Caesarea (10:19; 11:12). And it was the Spirit who spoke to praying believers to set Paul and Barnabas apart to preach the gospel to the nations (Acts 13:2–4). The gift of Holy Spirit, dear friends, is not a "thing" we receive.

The gift of the Spirit is a divine person who comes to live inside us, to speak with us, and who is eternally one with the Father and the Son. He who has ears to hear, therefore, let him listen! "

​The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost" (Rev 22:17).

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Most people are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were given a command not to eat from a tree, which they did not follow and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

One act of disobedience put mankind on this path that has led us to where we are today. This all started with some fruit, but what was that forbidden fruit in Genesis 2 where this account takes place? While there are no specifics on the type of fruit, there are some lessons we can learn from their experience.

Do We Know What the Forbidden Fruit Was?While we don’t know what that fruit was, somehow in many pictures and imageries an apple gets portrayed as that fruit. To clear up any confusion, here is what Genesis actually says about the fruit.
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

Here is all we know about the forbidden fruit in Genesis. It was good for food, meaning it was edible. It was pleasing to the eye, which means it was attractive. Finally, they thought it was desirable for gaining wisdom, which means they thought they would gain something from it. By the way these are the same trappings of sin that we are faced with today (more on that later). 
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Because there are so many different types of fruit that grow on a tree, there really is no way of knowing what type of fruit it really was. (Sorry apples you have been blamed for something that you may have had nothing to do with.)

In all honesty the type of fruit doesn’t matter. When you are reading the story, your focus should not be on what the forbidden fruit in Genesis was. It should be on the act of disobedience that Adam and Eve committed.

What Does the Bible Say about the Tree of Knowledge?When you read the creation story you discover from Genesis that there were plenty of trees in the garden.

“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8-9).

God put them in the garden and provided them with plenty of choices of food to eat. I would imagine that every type of tree bearing fruit was probably represented in the garden. This is only my speculation, but I would say think of any fruit that grows on a tree and it was probably available in the garden. I don’t have proof of this, but it is a reasonable assumption.

There were however two important trees in the middle of the garden that were different from the rest. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life as it states gave life, particularly eternal life. The other tree would produce death.

A question that often comes to mind is why was the tree of knowledge in the garden to begin with? For many Bible scholars the main answer is about free will. God created man for intimacy and fellowship with him, but from the very beginning this was not a forced fellowship, it is a chosen fellowship. From the beginning until today God gives every human the same free will. We can choose to follow and obey or we can choose to go our own way.

Why Did Eve Eat the Fruit?This is the question of the ages, but I don’t want to hate on Eve too much. Eve fell victim to temptation in much the same way we do. I want to show you what happened to Eve because this still plagues us today. To keep it simple, Eve rejected what God had provided in search of something else or something different.

I want you to consider the similarities between the fruit on all the trees in the garden. In Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 3:6 you see that the trees were good for food (edible) and pleasing to the eye (attractive). What was different about the fruit on the tree of knowledge? She thought she would obtain something that the other trees did not provide her. The serpent influenced her to believe that God was holding out something from her. Remember what she said that highlights the difference. The fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye and – here’s the difference – desirable for gaining wisdom.

I don’t believe Eve ate the fruit simply because it was edible and looked good. There were plenty of other trees that had those characteristics. She ate the fruit because it promised her something she did not have and wanted to gain or experience. Often this is how sin works in our lives. God has provided everything we need for this life, just as he did with Adam and Eve. So what is it about sin that looks so attractive to us? It promises something that we have not experienced or something that we can gain from it. The problem is that this is an empty promise and the consequences never live up to the expectations.

What Was the Result of the Forbidden Fruit?The result of eating the forbidden fruit was sin entering the world and all the pain and suffering that happens as a result. As God promised, death happened. This was not physical death, but spiritual death that caused a separation between God and man because of sin.

Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden. I know Adam and Eve did not know the gravity of the action they committed when it happened. However, I think it is safe to say they came to understand quickly how bad a decision they had made. I believe they experienced remorse just like we often do when we endure the result of our sinful decisions. Remember they were the only ones in human history who ever lived on this earth in a sinless environment. I am sure they longed for the days when they could go back to Eden as it was. Unfortunately, with sin, sometimes it costs us more than we want to pay and there are some things you lose that you can’t get back.

The Silver Lining:

If the story of Adam and Eve was just about fruit and getting kicked out of the garden that would be a tragedy. Yet there was something else that happened in that garden that gives us hope. The choice of Adam and Eve set in motion God’s plan of redemption. While eating the forbidden fruit might have been a decision Adam and Eve did not know they would make, it was one that God knew they would make.

From the moment the forbidden fruit in Genesis was eaten, the promise of the savior who would redeem mankind was made. In Genesis 3:15, God made a promise about the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent. We know that seed is Jesus who would come and redeem us back to the Father. Through Adam we lost it all, but in Christ we gained back all that was lost.
“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

The ultimate end of our righteousness in Christ is that one day we will be able to eat from the tree of life and so be with our Lord forevermore. Never again will we have to deal with the issue of sin for all eternity. Yes, Adam and Eve set the sin wheels in motion, but thankfully Jesus has turned it all around.

“Then the angel showed me the 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 great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every 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 in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).
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Author: John 21:20–24 describes the author of the gospel of John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and for both historical and internal reasons this is understood to be John the Apostle, one of the sons of Zebedee (Luke 5:10).

Date of Writing: Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around AD 135 require the gospel of John to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. And, while some think it was written before Jerusalem was destroyed (AD 70), AD 85—90 is a more accepted time for the writing of the gospel of John.

Purpose of Writing: The author cites the purpose of the gospel of John as follows: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Unlike the three Synoptic Gospels, John’s purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the life of Christ but to display His deity. John sought to strengthen the faith of second-generation believers and bring about faith in others, but he also sought to correct a false teaching that was spreading in the first century. John emphasized Jesus Christ as “the Son of God,” fully God and fully man, contrary to a false doctrine that taught the “Christ-spirit” came upon the human Jesus at His baptism and left Him at the crucifixion.

Key Verses:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . 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 1:1, 14).

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’” (John 6:29).

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”(John 11:25–26).

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” (John 14:9).

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:29).

Brief Summary: The gospel of John includes only seven miracles—John calls them “signs”—to demonstrate the deity of Christ and illustrate His ministry. Some of these miracles and stories, such as the raising of Lazarus, are found only in John. His is the most theological of the four Gospels, and he often gives the reason behind events mentioned in the other gospels. The gospel of John shares much about the approaching ministry of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension. There are certain words or phrases that create a recurring theme in the gospel of John: believe, witness, Comforter, life – death, light – darkness, I am, and love.

The gospel of John introduces Jesus Christ, not from His birth, but from “the beginning,” before creation. John calls Jesus “the Word” (Logos) who, as God Himself, was involved in every aspect of creation (John 1:1–3) and who later became flesh (verse 14) in order that He might take away our sins as the spotless Lamb of God (verse 29). The gospel of John includes several spiritual conversations, such as Jesus’ talk with the Samaritan woman that shows Him as the Messiah (John 4:26) and Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus that explains salvation through His vicarious death on the cross (John 3:14–16). In the gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly angers the Jewish leaders by correcting them (John 2:13–16); healing on the Sabbath, and claiming traits belonging only to God (John 5:18; 8:56–59; 9:6, 16; 10:33).

The last nine chapters of the gospel of John deal with the final week of Jesus’ life. Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming death and for their ministry after His resurrection and ascension (John 14–17). He then willingly dies on the cross in our place (John 10:15–18), paying our sin debt in full (John 19:30) so that whoever trusts in Him will be saved (John 3:14–16). Jesus then rises from the dead, convincing even the most doubting of His disciples that He is God and Master (John 20:24–29).

Connections: The gospel of John’s portrayal of Jesus as the God of the Old Testament is seen most emphatically in the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus. He is the “Bread of life” (John 6:35), provided by God to feed the souls of His people, just as He provided manna from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:11–36). Jesus is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12), the same Light that God promised to His people in the Old Testament (Isaiah 30:26; 60:19–22) and which will find its culmination in the New Jerusalem when Christ the Lamb will be its Light (Revelation 21:23). Two of the “I Am” statements refer to Jesus as both the “Good Shepherd” and the “Door of the sheep.” Here are clear references to Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23:1; 80:1; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:23) and, as the only Door into the sheepfold, the only way of salvation.

The Jews believed in the resurrection and, in fact, used the doctrine to try to trick Jesus into making statements they could use against Him. But His statement at the tomb of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), must have astounded them. He was claiming to be the cause of resurrection and in possession of the power of life and death. None other than God Himself could claim such a thing. Similarly, Jesus’ claim to be “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) linked Him unmistakably to the Old Testament. His is the “Way of Holiness” prophesied in Isaiah 35:8; He established the City of Truth of Zechariah 8:3 when He was in Jerusalem and preached the truths of the gospel. As “the Life,” Jesus affirms His deity, the Creator of life, God incarnate (John 1:1–3; Genesis 2:7). Finally, as the “true Vine” (John 15:1, 5), Jesus identifies Himself with the nation of Israel, who are called the vineyard of the Lord in many Old Testament passages. As the true Vine of the vineyard of Israel, He portrays Himself as the Lord of the “true Israel”—all those who would come to Him in faith (cf. Romans 9:6).

Practical Application: The gospel of John continues to fulfill its purpose of evangelizing the lost (John 3:16 is likely the best-known Bible verse) and is often used in evangelistic Bible studies. In the recorded encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus and the woman at the well (chapters 3—4), we learn much from Jesus’ model of personal evangelism. His comforting words to His disciples before His death (John 14:1–6, 16; 16:33) are still of great comfort in sorrowful times. Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” for believers in chapter 17 is also a wonderful source of encouragement for believers. John’s teachings concerning the deity of Christ (John 1:1–3, 14; 5:22–23; 8:58; 14:8–9; 20:28) are helpful in apologetics and provide a clear revelation of who Jesus is: fully God and fully man.

No other verse in the Bible so succinctly summarizes God’s relationship with humanity and the way of salvation. Some consider John 3:16 as the "theme verse" for the entire Bible. John 3:16 tells us of the love God has for us and the extent of that love—so great that He sacrificed His only Son on our behalf. John 3:16 teaches us that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, will be saved. John 3:16 gives us the glorious hope of eternal life in heaven through the love of God and death of Jesus Christ.

John's Gospel is rather different from the other three. Whether or not he knew them (or any one of them) continues to be debated. In any event, his witness to Jesus goes its own way, highlighting matters that in the other Gospels remain implicit and underdeveloped. The literary style of this witness of Jesus is also unique among the Gospels; here focus is on the "signs" of Jesus' identity and mission and on lengthy, theologically rich discourses.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/john/
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John begins with the profound announcement that Jesus is the "in the beginning" creative Word of God who had become embodied (incarnated) as a human being to be the light of life for the world. After this comes the proclamation that this Jesus is the Son of God sent from the Father to finish the Father's work in the world (see 4:34 and note). God's own glory is made visible in him ("Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father," 14:9), and what he does glorifies the Father. In him the full grace and truth of God has shown itself. Strikingly, a series of "I am" claims on Jesus' lips echoes God's naming of himself in Ex 3:14, further strengthening the link between the Father and the Son (see 6:35; 8:12; 9:5; 10:7,9,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5).

Jesus' words to Nicodemus nicely summarize this Gospel's central theme: "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" (3:16). Although a variety of motivations for the composition of John's Gospel have been posited by interpreters (such as to supplement the other Gospels, to combat some form of heresy, to oppose the continuing followers of John the Baptist), the author himself states his main purpose clearly in 20:31: "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
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For the main emphases of the book see notes on 1:4,7,9,14,19,49; 2:4,11; 3:27; 4:34; 6:35; 13:1 -- 17:26; 13:31; 17:1-2,5; 20:31.
Outline

• Prologue: The Word Became Flesh (1:1-18)
• The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry (1:19-51)
  • John the Baptist's Testimony about Jesus (1:19-34)
  • John's Disciples Follow Jesus (1:35-42)
  • Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael (1:43-51)
• Jesus' Public Ministry: Signs and Discourses (chs. 2-11)
  • Changing Water into Wine (2:1-11)
  • Cleansing the Temple (2:12-25)
  • Jesus Teaches Nicodemus (3:1-21)
  • John the Baptist's Final Testimony about Jesus (3:22-36)
  • Jesus and the Samaritans (4:1-42)
  • Healing of the Official's Son (4:43-54)
  • Jesus' Visit to Jerusalem at an Annual Feast (ch. 5)
  • Feeding the 5,000 and Jesus' Claim to Be the Bread of Life (ch. 6)
  • Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles and Disputes over Who He Is (chs. 7-8)
  • Healing of the Man Born Blind (ch. 9)
  • Jesus is the Good Shepherd (10:1-21)
  • Conflict at the Feast of Dedication over Jesus' Identity (10:22-42)
  • The Raising of Lazarus (ch. 11)
• The Passion Week (chs. 12-19)
  • The Anointing of Jesus' Feet (12:1-11)
  • Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem as King (12:12-19)
  • Jesus Predicts His Death (12:20-36)
  • Belief and Unbelief among the Jews (12:37-50)
  • Jesus' Farewell Discourses and Prayer (chs. 13-17)
    • At the Last Supper (chs. 13-14)
      • Jesus washes the disciples' feet (13:1-17)
      • Jesus predicts his betrayal (13:18-30)
      • Jesus predicts Peter's denial (13:31-38)
      • Jesus comforts his disciples (14:1-4)
      • Jesus is the way to the Father (14:5-14)
      • Jesus promises the Holy Spirit (14:15-30)
    • On the way to Gethsemane (chs. 15-16)
      • The vine and the branches (15:1-17)
      • The world hates the disciples (15:18-25)
      • The work of the Holy Spirit (15:26;16:15)
      • The disciples' grief will turn to joy (16:16-33)
    • Jesus' prayer (ch. 17)
      • For himself -- that he be glorified (17:1-5)
      • For his disciples (17:6-19)
      • For all believers (17:20-26)
  • Jesus' Betrayal and Arrest (18:1-11)
  • Jesus' Trials before Jewish and Roman Officials (18:12-40)
  • Jesus' Crucifixion (19:1-27)
  • Jesus' Death and Burial (19:28-42)
• Jesus' Resurrection (20:1-29)
• Statement of the Gospel's Purpose (20:30-31)
• Epilogue: Jesus' Recommissioning of the Disciples (ch. 21)

Conflict in Israel has been a reality whenever Israel has existed as a nation. Whether it was the Egyptians, Amalekites, Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, or Romans, the nation of Israel has always been persecuted by its neighbors. Why is this? According to the Bible, it is because God has a special plan for the nation of Israel, and Satan wants to defeat that plan. Satanically influenced hatred of Israel—and especially Israel’s God—is the reason Israel’s neighbors have always wanted to see Israel destroyed. Whether it is Sennacherib, king of Assyria; Haman, official of Persia; Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany; or Rouhani, President of Iran, attempts to completely destroy Israel will always fail. The persecutors of Israel will come and go, but the persecution will remain until the second coming of Christ. As a result, conflict in Israel is not a reliable indicator of the soon arrival of the end times.

However, the Bible does say there will be terrible conflict in Israel during the end times. That is why the time period is known as the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, and the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). Here is what the Bible says about Israel in the end times:

There will be a mass return of Jews to the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:3; Isaiah 43:6; Ezekiel 34:11-13; 36:24; 37:1-14).

The Antichrist will make a 7-year covenant of "peace" with Israel (Isaiah 28:18; Daniel 9:27).

The temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 11:1).

The Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, and worldwide persecution of Israel will result (Daniel 9:27; 12:1, 11; Zechariah 11:16; Matthew 24:15, 21; Revelation 12:13). Israel will be invaded (Ezekiel chapters 38-39).

Israel will finally recognize Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). Israel will be regenerated, restored, and regathered (Jeremiah 33:8; Ezekiel 11:17; Romans 11:26).

There is much turmoil in Israel today. Israel is persecuted, surrounded by enemies—Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, etc. But this hatred and persecution of Israel is only a hint of what will happen in the end times (Matthew 24:15-21). The latest round of persecution began when Israel was reconstituted as a nation in 1948. Many Bible prophecy scholars believed the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967 was the "beginning of the end." Could what is taking place in Israel today indicate that the end is near? Yes. Does it necessarily mean the end is near? No. Jesus Himself said it best, "Watch out that no one deceives you. . . . You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come" (Matthew 24:4-6).

Signs of the TimesMost Believers I speak to today firmly believe we are in the Last Days. Many have become almost obsessed with trying to interpret and unravel the Bible’s mysterious End-Time prophecies, and keep a keen eye on politics and world events—especially those that involve Israel or the Middle East. The news is scrupulously analyzed by many watching for specific prophetic signs: a ten-nation confederacy, the Antichrist’s emergence and identity, the mark of the beast, the rebuilding of the Third Temple, the Bear of the North—Russia— and the cataclysmic rise of catastrophes and natural disasters. Although these signs are indeed found in the Scriptures, they are apocalyptic texts—veiled and cryptic. Not even scholars of eschatology can interpret these texts with a great deal of certainty.

While all the above signs are certainly important, there are other clear signs taking place today that are to varying degrees overlooked or ignored. Yet they are some of the clearest signs we have pointing to the end of the age and the soon return of Yeshua. Indeed, God has given us clear signposts, and He desires we be wise as the men of Issachar, who understood the times . . . (1 Chronicles 12:32 NIV).

The term Last Days actually has a dual application, referring first to the time period following the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), and second to the days immediately preceding His return. Looking at Luke 21, one can clearly see this principle: “And while some were talking about the Temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, Yeshua said, ‘As for these things you are looking at, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!’” (Luke 21:5-6). Herod’s Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem sacked in 70 A.D., fulfilling Yeshua’s words. As you continue reading through the terrible warnings of what is to come, much is applicable to the horrific Roman devastation that occurred at that time. However, verse 24b, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” was not fulfilled until 1967 with the reunification of Jerusalem after the Six-Day War. And verses 25-28 are looking forward to a time yet to come, when Yeshua returns: “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars. And upon the earth nations will be confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. People will lose heart from fear and anticipation of what is overtaking the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, stand straight and lift up your heads, because your salvation is near!”

SIGN 1:A RESTORED ISRAEL AND JEWISH JERUSALEMA predominant prophetic sign that we are in the “Time of the End” is the re-establishment of Israel, and Jerusalem returning to Jewish sovereignty. These major, and seemingly implausible, events for nearly 2,000 years have to occur before Yeshua’s return. According to the Bible, Yeshua is returning to Israel, and specifically to Jerusalem.

• Israel Rebirthed. . . in a DayAfter nearly two millennia and a succession of foreign rulers, on May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion declared the restoration of the Jewish State, Israel, saying, “In order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” Isaiah seemed just as incredulous, challenging: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:8). We have seen it—in our lifetime!
• Jerusalem Restored into Jewish HandsYeshua himself declared that “Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). In June, 1967 Israel won a miraculous victory by defeating vastly superior Arab armies surrounding her in what came to be known as the Six-Day War. The Jewish people took back the city of Jerusalem after almost 2,000 years, fulfilling this important prophecy. Some argue that because Israel returned sovereignty of the Temple Mount to the Arabs following this victory, this prophecy is not fully realized. I would argue to the contrary.
• The Desert Will Bloom and BlossomThe prophet Isaiah saw a time when “The wilderness and dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a lily” (Isaiah 35:1). It’s almost impossible to believe, but the fledgling State of Israel has developed such revolutionary agricultural methods, that even the sand produces lush crops! In her short time of existence as a modern State, Israel became one of the largest exporters of roses to Europe.
• The Hebrew Language RevivedAccording to the prophet Zephaniah, God would “restore to the people pure speech, so that all of them may call upon the Name of ADONAI and serve Him shoulder to shoulder” (Zephaniah 3:9). In the late 1800s, Russian immigrant to Israel, Eliezer Ben-Yehudah, revived the ancient Hebrew language, giving the returning exiles of Israel a common language.

Israel and Jerusalem are back in Jewish hands. The people of Israel scattered throughout the world are returning to their biblical Land and to their God.
The time of His return is near!


SIGN 2:ISRAEL SURROUNDED BY CONFLICT AND THE RISE OF GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISMAnti-Semitism has existed since the time that Abraham was set apart by God’s call to be a blessing to the families of the earth. There has never been a time when the Jewish people have not been victimized by Satan’s savage attacks against them. Even today in America, the Anti-Defamation League reports the highest level of anti-Semitism since World War II ADL Global 100- Index of anti-Semitism http://www.adl.org).
At its core is Satan fomenting hatred among men against the Children of the God of Israel, generation after generation. He cleverly disguises each campaign with a compelling lie wrapped in a plan designed to rid the world of a perceived ill blamed on the Jews. From the very first attempt to destroy the Jews—Pharaoh’s murder of all the male Hebrew babies—to Herod’s order to kill all male babies under two years old 2,000 years ago, the serpent’s scheme was to defeat God’s plan to bring forth the Messiah of Israel. He failed—miserably!

Yet, the campaign of hatred marches on because the great redemption story is not over. Because the Jewish people and Israel play a major role in Last Days prophecy, Satan is still hard at work opposing God’s plan. The impetus he is using to rally hatred against the Jewish people today is a powerful anti-Israel (and pro-Palestinian) deception, wrapped in false humanitarian claims and causes. Understand: Deception is a hallmark of the Last Days (Matthew 24:11). For the minuscule size of the country, the lack of natural resources, or strategic seaport, one has to question why Israel is always at the center of world controversy—her existence continually hanging in the balance. We see Israel at the epicenter of a boiling cauldron of increasingly violent factions rising up within the vast Arab lands surrounding her. The world has been told, and has almost mindlessly accepted, claims that all unrest in the Middle East is Israel’s fault—that if the Jews would give the Land “back to the Palestinians,” there would be peace in the world, and terrorism would end. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The stage is set to draw all nations into a final cataclysmic showdown in the Middle East; the nations may think it is against Israel, but they will find out it is against her God!

“Moreover, in that day I will make Jerusalem a massive stone for all the people. All who try to lift it will be cut to pieces. Nevertheless, all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against her” (Zechariah 12:3).


SIGN 3:THE REGATHERING OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE PHYSICALLY BACK TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTHIsrael should not exist. She should have disappeared hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago with the rest of the “ites” of the Bible: the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Canaanites, etc. These and all the other great nations mentioned in Scripture, including the mighty Philistines, have vanished, yet Israel remains—against all odds. For two millennia the Land has been overrun by foreign aggressors, and her people scattered to the far reaches of the earth, and threatened with expulsions, persecution, and annihilation.

Without a homeland until 1948, Israel should have assimilated and ceased to be a recognizable people group. That they did not disappear completely into the cultures in which they settled throughout the world stands as evidence for God’s existence and faithfulness. The Scattered Tribes of Israel are a fascinating mystery to the world, but they are not really lost. The Lord knows where they are. He promised to regather them in the Last Days, and He is doing that in our time!

“’Therefore, the days are quickly coming,’ declares ADONAI, ‘when it will no longer be said. “As ADONAI lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.” Rather, “As ADONAI lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.” So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers’” (Jeremiah 16:14-15).

It will also come about in that day that my Lord will again redeem— a second time with His hand— the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. He will lift up a banner for the nations, and assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth(Isaiah 11:11-12).

These are the Children of Abraham scattered to Africa, Asia, India, Europe . . . the remote corners of the earth. God is gathering them today, back to Israel—miraculously restored to receive her returning Children: Ethiopian, Chinese, Sephardim, Asian, Russian, and on and on!

Through Jewish Voice you are witnessing this miracle and touching the lives of many of the Remnant of Israel that God is regathering—the Beta Abraham, Beta Israel, and Gefat of Ethiopia; the Yibir Jews of Somaliland; the Lemba Tribe of Zimbabwe; and the Bnei Menashe—the Sons of Manasseh, discovered in far northeastern India!

This aliyah, or return of the Jews to their biblical homeland, is yet another important sign that the Messiah’s return is approaching.

SIGN 4:THE GOSPEL IS PROCLAIMED TO THE NATIONS“This Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

The word used in this passage of Scripture is the Greek term ethnos, which actually means “a race,” “a tribe,” or “a people group.” Modern technology makes it possible for the Gospel to be preached to every ethnos—people in the most remote areas of the planet. This is yet another important sign that the Last Days are upon us.

Today the Gospel is being preached to ethnos throughout the world, yet only a handful of ministries are reaching out to the Jews. This is tragic, not only because the Jewish people need to hear the Good News that Messiah has come, but because God has put a high priority on reaching the Children of Israel with the Gospel. Consider Paul’s commitment to this mandate: “After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went to the Jewish people; and for three Shabbatot, he debated the Scriptures with them” (Acts 17:1-2).

Paul not only wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16 NIV), he lived it out on his journeys around the Mediterranean sharing the Gospel. Unfortunately, over the centuries, this mandate to take the Gospel to the Jew first has been lost.

The Gospel is to be preached to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles. That’s what Paul did, and that’s what we do at Jewish Voice. I believe that every time a Jewish person turns to faith in Yeshua, we move that much closer to Messiah’s return. In fact, Scripture seems to indicate that Jewish people embracing Jesus as Messiah is actually key to His return! “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you [the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem] say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Matthew 23:39 NIV).


SIGN 5:THE BLINDNESS COMING OFF THE EYES OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE“For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be ignorant of this mystery—lest you be wise in your own eyes—that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25).
Another astonishing indicator is the phenomena of Jewish people coming to faith in Yeshua all over the world—in numbers not seen since the book of Acts. Through the ministry of Jewish Voice alone, we have seen some 55,000 Jewish people respond to the Gospel since 1999! For more than nineteen centuries, the number of Jews openly professing faith in Yeshua was extremely small, and most were assimilated into the Church. All that changed after 1967. The miraculous return of Jerusalem to the Jewish people sparked a great revival. Often called “The Jesus Movement,” this revival was unique from all previous revivals, as Jews started coming to faith—in significant numbers. The Jesus Movement gave birth to the modern Messianic Movement. Before 1967 there was not a single Messianic Jewish congregation in the world. Today more than 350 Messianic Jewish congregations—nearly 100 in Israel alone—proclaim Messiah with a visibly Jewish witness. And from a trickle over the past 2,000 years, today there are tens of thousands of Jews in the United States who express some level of faith in Yeshua!

In the same way the miraculously restored State of Israel is a visible declaration of divine fulfillment of physical restoration, the Messianic Jewish community is a visible declaration of divine spiritual restoration to all the world. God always keeps His covenants. Satan would like to eradicate the Jewish people, thereby proving God and the Bible untrustworthy, but it will not happen!

God is opening long-blinded eyes and softening thousands of Jewish hearts just as the Scriptures promised. This is an obvious fulfillment of biblical prophecy—and a clear indication that the Last Days are upon us.

Through Jeremiah, God promised Israel a new covenant: “’No longer will each teach his neighbor or each his brother, saying: “Know ADONAI,” for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.’ It is a declaration of ADONAI. ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, their sin I will remember no more’” (Jeremiah 31:33). At the Last Supper, a Jewish Passover Seder, Yeshua lifted the cup of Redemption and, sharing it, announced it was the cup of the New Covenant in His blood. There is a misconception that all the Jews rejected Jesus. In reality, the entire initial community of faith was Jewish. The Jews took the Gospel to the Gentiles, and eventually the Church became almost entirely Gentile and unrecognizable to the Jewish people. However, we are living in a time of Jewish revival!

IN CONCLUSIONAll around us, there are signs that the world is being made ready for Messiah’s return. The most important of these, as we have seen, is the restoration of the people of Israel to a right relationship with God. Do you want to know what’s next? God has promised a glorious salvation for the remnant of Israel!

Then I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, when they will look toward Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son and grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for a firstborn
- Zechariah 12:10“In that day a spring will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity” (Zechariah 13:1).

I’m convinced that we are not very far away from this time.


Revelation 16:12 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓]Revelation 16:12, NIV: The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

Revelation 16:12, ESV: The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

Revelation 16:12, KJV: And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Revelation 16:12, NASB: The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

Revelation 16:12, NLT: Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.

Revelation 16:12, CSB: The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

What does Revelation 16:12 mean? [⇑ See verse text ⇑]This verse tells us the sixth angel poured his bowl on the river Euphrates. The contents of the bowl caused the river to dry up. Prior bowl judgments have either corrupted or destroyed most of the water on earth (Revelation 16:1–4). This judgment is not about corrupting or removing the use of this water. Rather, it seems to be about removing a barrier used for defensive purposes: preparing the way for invading kings from the east. 

The Euphrates is called "the great river" five times in Scripture. It was the eastern boundary of Israel's inheritance (Deuteronomy 1:7; 11:24). To some extent the river provided protection for Israel because it was difficult to cross and a wilderness to the west separated it from Canaan, the Promised Land. It flows almost 2,000 miles toward Palestine before making its way southeast to the Persian Gulf. In the first century, when Revelation was written, the Euphrates divided East from West, and the kingdoms of China and India lay beyond it to the east. 

Centuries earlier, the armies of Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon by diverting the Euphrates that flowed through the city. They were able to march into Babylon on the dry river bed and capture the city. In the great tribulation, the eastern invader will cross the Euphrates, march through Babylon, and enter Palestine.

Context Summary
Revelation 16:8–16 reports what happens when the fourth, fifth, and sixth angels emptied their bowls of God's wrath. It continues the apostle John's description of the bowl judgments which began in Revelation 16:1–7. The fourth and fifth bowl judgments resemble some of the events of the trumpet judgments, but are much more intense. These events occur just prior to the return of Christ to subdue His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth (Revelation 17—19).

Chapter Summary
This chapter explains the bowl judgments, which are the last and most severe of God's outpouring of wrath on earth. The first three bowls bring sores, seas of blood, and rivers of blood. After a declaration of God's justice come the next three bowl judgments, involving scorching sunlight, darkness, and a drying of the Euphrates to clear the way for an invading army. In the final, seventh bowl judgment, an earthquake tears Jerusalem into three parts, levels cities worldwide, and displaces islands and mountains. Hundred-pound hailstones fall, but unbelievers refuse to repent and instead continue to curse God.

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Jonathan Cahn joins Erick Stakelbeck on TBN's Praise to discuss the restoration and significance of Israel, as well as Jubilee events. Listen as they encourage you to dig deep into the Word to see all that the Bible has correctly predicted, and to see that everything God says is true...





Watch here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs33Fvj4Fqg





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Harry Truman played a significant role in the birth of Israel! *12

0:00 Intro 0:33 What is an Oracle? 7:52 Everything Ties Into Today's World 12:58 The Birth of Israel 22:03 Count 50 Years 27:26 The Six-Day War Impact 33:59 The Secret of the End Times
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​JOHN 16 – THE DEPARTING JESUS’ FINAL TEACHING

videos  for 
John 16:John 15:12-16:4 – Prepared for Persecution
John 16:5-33 – Prepared for Advantage



A. More on the work of the Holy Spirit.1. (1-4) The reason for Jesus’ warning: certain persecution.


'These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”


a. They will put you out of the synagogues: Jesus warned His disciples of coming opposition because He did not want them to be surprised and stumbled by it. He also did not expect that His disciples would immediately leave the synagogues, or leave them by their own choice. They would be forced out of the synagogues for Jesus’ sake.

i. Stumble: “A skandalethron was not a stumbling-block which might trip you up… It is used of the spring of a trap which might ‘go off’ when you were least expecting it.” (Tasker)

ii. “At the time when the Gospel was written these words had acquired a special relevance from the inclusion in the synagogue prayers of a curse on the Nazarenes, which was intended to ensure that the followers of Jesus could take no part in the service.” (Bruce)

b. The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service: That time quickly came, as the life of Saul of Tarsus before his conversion showed (Acts 8:1-3, 22:3-5, 26:9-11). Since then there have been many who persecute and kill the true followers of Jesus because they think God is pleased.

i. Offers God service: “The word Jesus uses for service is lateria, which is the normal word for the service that a priest rendered at the altar in the Temple of God and is the standard word for religious service.” (Barclay)
ii. In the 20th Century most Christian martyrs were victims of the atheistic, communist state. Historically, this was unusual. Through most of history, most Christian martyrs were targets of those from other religions or even sects within Christendom.

c. When the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them: Jesus did well to forewarn, because it comes as a great shock that a gospel so glorious is hated so passionately. He did not tell His disciples these things at the beginning, but He certainly told them.

i. “During the earlier part of His ministry Jesus had spoken comparatively little to His disciples about the persecution which awaited them, because He had been in their company, and as long as He was with them the world’s hatred must inevitably be drawn to Himself.” (Tasker)

ii. “While He was with them they leant upon Him and could not apprehend a time of weakness and persecution.” (Dods)

2. (5-7) Jesus explains the benefits of His departure.“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

a. None of you asks Me, “Where are You going”: Peter had asked this question earlier (John 13:36) and Thomas asked a similar question (John 14:5). Therefore Jesus must mean not only the words of the question, but the heart of it. Their previous asking was in the sense, what will happen to us when You leave, not in the sense Jesus meant here – what will happen to You when You leave.

i. “A difficulty is posed by His statement that nobody asks, ‘Whither goest thou?’ in the light of Simon Peter’s earlier question, ‘Lord, wither goest thou?’ (John 13:36). But that question had not really indicated a serious inquiry as to Jesus’ destination. Peter was diverted immediately and he made no real attempt to find out where Jesus was going. He had been concerned with the thought of parting with Jesus, not with that of the Master’s destination. He had in mind only the consequences for himself and his fellows.” (Morris)

b. But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart: Jesus excused their lack of interest in His fate, knowing their great sorrow. They had sorrow at the moment, but their future was brighter. The disciples could only see the sorrow of Jesus leaving; but Jesus’ departure was an essential step in their growth as disciples.

c. It is to your advantage that I go away: This had to be difficult for the disciples to believe. When a loved one is near death we often think it is the best to let death take its course. We say, “It will be better for them to go, and to stop the suffering. It is to their advantage to go away.” But when someone we love is near death, we usually don’t think that it is to our advantage that they go. Yet Jesus here said that it wasn’t for His advantage, but to your advantage that I go away.

i. If the disciples really understood what was about to happen, it would be even more difficult for them to believe.


· To your advantage that Jesus is arrested?
· To your advantage that Jesus’ ministry of teaching and miracles is stopped?
· To your advantage that Jesus is beaten?
· To your advantage that Jesus is mocked?
· To your advantage that Jesus is sentenced for execution?
· To your advantage that Jesus is nailed to a cross?
· To your advantage that Jesus dies in the company of notorious criminals?
· To your advantage that His lifeless body is laid in a cold grave?


d. Nevertheless: This word meant a challenge to their sorrow and even their unbelief. Nevertheless is one of the great words of the Bible, meaning despite all of that. Jesus knew they were filled with sorrow because of what He told them. But, despite all of that He wanted them to know that it was to their advantage.

i. “It is expedient for you, implies that the dispensation of the Spirit is a more blessed manifestation of God than was even the bodily presence of the risen Saviour.” (Alford)

e. I tell you the truth: Jesus didn’t say this because He lied most of the time. He said this because He wanted them to make a concerted effort to trust Him at this point. Jesus knew this was difficult to believe.

f. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you: Jesus had a plan, but they couldn’t understand it. With 2,000 years of hindsight we see that when Jesus went away He then sent the Spirit of God, which had and has a broader and more effective ministry in the entire world.

i. “The withdrawal of the bodily presence of Christ was the essential condition of His universal spiritual presence.” (Dods)

g. I will send Him to you: Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples when He departed. This is what would make it to their advantage that He departed from them. Jesus meant that the presence and work of the Holy Spirit would actually be better for believers than the physical, bodily presence of Jesus.

i. It was better because Jesus could be with every believer all the time. Jesus promised, For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). That was not a promise He could keep after flesh, but only after the Spirit. He had to go away for that promise to be made true. If Jesus were present bodily on this earth, there would be some Christians who would be overjoyed – those in His immediate presence. But for most Christians, they would have the overwhelming sense that Jesus was not with them. Truly, it was all to your advantage.

ii. It was better because now we can understand Jesus better. If Jesus were present bodily on this earth, there would be no end to His words for us. We wouldn’t have a Bible; we would have the library of congress. Secretaries would follow Him constantly to record His every word. It would all be written down and preserved. We would have all of it, and the mass of it would be just plain unmanageable. Truly, it was all to your advantage.

iii. It was better because now we can have a more trusting relationship with God. If Jesus were present bodily on this earth, there would be a great challenge to our walk of faith. Paul said, Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16) God wants us to walk by faith, and not by sight, and if Jesus were here bodily, there would be great temptation to walk by sight, and not by faith. Truly, it was all to your advantage.

iv. It was better because Jesus’ work is better understood as He is enthroned in the heavens. If Jesus were present bodily on this earth, it would be confusing to us. Jesus does not continue to suffer; He finished His work on the cross. Yet it might be difficult for us to see a Savior who never suffered when we are in distress; it might make us think that Jesus was unsympathetic. God didn’t want us to struggle with this dilemma, so Jesus is no longer bodily on this earth. He is enthroned in the heavens. Truly, it was all to your advantage.

v. Before Jesus left the disciples were confused, thick headed, afraid, selfish and self-centered. After Jesus left and after the Helper had come they were wise, surrendered, bold, and giving. Truly, it was to your advantage that Jesus left.

3. (8-11) The work of the Holy Spirit in the world.“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

a. He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Sin is the truth about man, righteousness is the truth about God, judgment is the inevitable combination of these two truths.

i. “Each man’s conscience has some glimmering of light on each of these; some consciousness of guilt, some sense of right, some power of judgment of what is transitory and worthless; but all these are unreal and unpractical, till the convicting work of the Spirit has wrought in him.” (Alford)

b. He will convict: The ancient Greek work translated convict has a broader range of meaning than simply our word convict, especially as it is understood in a legal sense. It also carries the ideas to expose, to refute, and to convince (Bruce). This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and in individual hearts; to convince and convict of these truths.

i. He will convict: “Or undeceive the world, by refuting those odd conceits and erroneous opinions, that men had before drunk in, and were possessed of.” (Trapp)

ii. It is a serious thing to resist and reject this work of the Holy Spirit, which is especially prominent and powerful in seasons of great spiritual advance (sometimes called revival or spiritual awakening).

iii. Before the convicting work of the Holy Spirit one may say, I make a lot of mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. After the convicting work of the Holy Spirit one may say, I’m a lost rebel, fighting against God and His law – I must rely on Jesus to get right with God.

iv. “The Spirit does not merely accuse men of sin, he brings to them an inescapable sense of guilt so that they realize their shame and helplessness before God.” (Tenney)

v. “The Spirit is the ‘advocate’ or helper of those who believe in Jesus, their counsel for the defence. But in relation to unbelievers, to the godless world, he acts as counsel for the prosecution.” (Bruce) It’s important to have the Spirit of God to defend rather than to convict.

vi. In the great awakening of 1860-61 in Great Britain, a high-ranking army officer described the conviction of sin in his Scottish town: “Those of you who are ease have little conception of how terrifying a sight it is when the Holy Spirit is pleased to open a man’s eyes to see the real state of heart. Men who were thought to be, and who thought themselves to be good, religious people… have been led to search into the foundation upon which they were resting, and have found all rotten, that they were self-satisfied, resting on their own goodness, and not upon Christ. Many turned from open sin to lives of holiness, some weeping for joy for sins forgiven.” (J. Edwin Orr, The Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain)

c. Of sin, because they do not believe in Me: It is unbelief, the rejection of Jesus, which ultimately proves one to be guilty. The Holy Spirit will tell the world of the importance of trusting in, relying on, and clinging to Jesus to avoid this sin.

i. “The essence of sin is unbelief, which is not simply a casual incredulity nor a difference of opinion; rather, it is a total rejection of God’s messenger and message.” (Tenney)

ii. “The basic sin is the sin which puts self at the centre of things and consequently refused to believe in Him.” (Morris)
iii. “A sinner is a sacred thing: the Holy Ghost hath made him so. Your sham sinner is a horrid creature; but a man truly convinced of sin by the Spirit of God is a being to be sought after as a jewel that will adorn the crown of the Redeemer.” (Spurgeon)

d. Of righteousness, because I go to My Father: The ascension of Jesus to heaven demonstrated that He had perfectly fulfilled the Father’s will and had proven Himself righteous – and exposed the lack of righteousness in the world that rejected Him. The Holy Spirit shows the world the righteousness of Jesus and its own unrighteousness.

i. Many people today – even secular people – take the righteousness of Jesus as a given. Yet during His life Jesus was reviled as an imposter, as demon-possessed, as a wicked destroyer of the law, as a glutton, a drunk, and as illegitimate. The Holy Spirit persuades the work of the righteousness of Jesus.
ii. “Whereas righteousness had previously been defined by precepts, it now has been revealed in the incarnate Son, who exemplified it perfectly in all his relationships.” (Tenney)

e. Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged: The judgment of Satan himself means that there will be a final reckoning between God and His rebellious creature. The Holy Spirit warns the world of this coming judgment.
i. Normally conviction is followed by judgment. When the Holy Spirit works, there is an in-between step: the revelation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which can satisfy the judgment for the convicted person.

ii. “The world, the prince of it, is ‘judged’. To adhere to it rather than to Christ is to cling to a doomed cause, a sinking ship.” (Dods)
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4. (12-15) The work of the Holy Spirit among the disciples.“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

a. I still have many things to say to you: Jesus frankly admitted that His own teaching was incomplete, and anticipated the further instruction of the church by the Holy Spirit. This statement of Jesus leads us to anticipate the formation of the New Testament.

i. Here Jesus answered those who say, “I’ll take what Jesus taught, but not what Paul or the others taught.” Paul and the other New Testament writers taught us the many things that Jesus spoke of.

· For example, they didn’t know that some of the customs and commands among the Jews would be fulfilled by the person and work of Jesus, and no longer be binding under the New Covenant.

· For example, they didn’t know that God would bring Gentiles into the New Covenant community as equal partners, without having to first become Jews.
b. He will guide you into all truth: In one sense, this was fulfilled when the New Testament writings, divinely inspired by God, were completed. In another sense the Holy Spirit continues today to personally lead us into truth, but never in opposition to the Scripture, because God’s supremely authoritative revelation is closed with the New Testament.

i. Into all truth: “The Greek means ‘all the truth’, i.e. the specific truth about the Person of Jesus and the significance of what He said and did. The New Testament is permanent evidence that the apostles were guided into truth about this.” (Tasker)

ii. He will tell you things to come: “The promise must therefore refer to the main features of the new Christian dispensation. The Spirit would guide them in that new economy in which they would no longer have the visible example and help and counsel of their Master.” (Dods)

c. He will not speak on His own authority… He will glorify Me… He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you: The Holy Spirit’s ministry is revealing Jesus to us, to bear testimony of Jesus (John 15:26). He uses many different ways and many different gifts to accomplish this, but the purpose is always the same: to reveal Jesus.

i. One may speak of dream, visions, experiences, revelations and say they came from the Holy Spirit, but many of those supposed revelations of the Spirit say nothing or almost nothing about Jesus Himself.

ii. “This verse is decisive against all additions and pretended revelations subsequent to and besides Christ; it is being the work of the Spirit to testify and to declare the THINGS OF CHRIST; not any thing new and beyond Him.” (Alford)

iii. All things that the Father has are Mine: “If Christ had not been equal to God, could he have said this without blasphemy?” (Clarke)

B. Jesus prepares the disciples for His coming challenge on the cross.1. (16-18) Jesus tells them of His immediate, brief departure.“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”

a. A little while, and you will not see Me: The disciples didn’t understand that the arrest of Jesus was only an hour or two away, and then His crucifixion would follow. Yet because He must go to the Father, they would seeHim again as He rose from the dead.

i. You will not see Me: “During the interval between His death and resurrection the disciples lost their faith and spiritual vision, and no more beheld Him than did the world.” (Trench)

ii. You will see Me: “‘And again a little while shall elapse, and then ye-shall-seeMe (ὄψεσθέμε), i.e. with bodily eyes.’ When the short interval between His death and resurrection had elapsed, then they should see Him with their bodily eyes.” (Trench)

b. We do not know what He is saying: The disciples were both troubled and confused. They probably thought Jesus spoke with unnecessary mystery about where He was going and what He would do. They didn’t understand what He meant about not seeing Him and then seeing Him.

i. We do not know what He is saying: “A different word is used here in the Greek for saith from that used in the first part of the verse. Hence, RSV, rightly, ‘we do not know what he means’.” (Tasker)

ii. “The use of the imperfect tense in ‘kept asking’ [they said] (elegon) shows that they must have held a consultation among themselves about it and that the discourse did not proceed as an uninterrupted lecture.” (Tenney)
iii. “Where for us, all is clear, for them all was mysterious. If Jesus wishes to found the Messianic kingdom, why go away? If He does not wish it, why return?” (Godet, cited in Morris)

2. (19-22) Jesus explains of coming sorrow being turned into joy.  Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”

a. Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him: Jesus understood that the disciples wanted more clarity; but He also knew that they needed more than information. They needed their hearts and minds prepared to endure the coming crisis.

i. “Jesus, perceiving their embarrassment, and that they wished to interrogate Him, said to them: ‘Are you inquiring among yourselves?’” (Dods)
b. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy: Jesus knew they would be plunged into deep and dark sorrow in the next few hours. He also knew that God would, by His power and grace, turn their sorrow into joy.

i. The words, you will be sorrowful were certainly true.
· Sorrowful at the loss of relationship.
· Sorrowful at the humiliation of their Master and Messiah.
· Sorrowful at the seeming victory of His enemies.
· Sorrowful because all they hoped for was taken away.

ii. The crucifixion and all that went with it was not a bump in the road on the way to fulfilling God’s plan, as if it were an obstacle to overcome. It was the way the plan would be fulfilled. That sorrow would turn into joy.

iii. God’s work was not to replace their sorrow with joy, but to turn sorrow into joy, as He often does in our lives. The sorrow would be directly connected to their coming joy, even as the sorrow of a woman in childbirth is directly connected to her joy that her child has been born into the world.

iv. “It is most remarkable and instructive that the apostles do not appear in their sermons or epistles to have spoken of the death of our Lord with any kind of regret. The gospels mention their distress during the actual occurrence of the crucifixion, but after the resurrection, and especially after Pentecost, we hear of no such grief.” (Spurgeon)

c. I will see you again and your heart will rejoice: They didn’t fully understand the separation, so they could not fully understand the joy of the coming reunion. Yet when it happened, no one could deny their joy-filled testimony of the resurrection. It was testimony so sure that they endured death because of it. It was joy no one will take from you.

i. Your joy no one will take from you: “Our Lord’s meaning appears to have been this: that his resurrection should be so completely demonstrated to them, that they should never have a doubt concerning it; and consequently that their joy should be great and permanent.” (Clarke)

ii. “That he should suffer was cause for grief, but that he has now suffered all is equal cause for joy. When a champion returns from the wars bearing the scars of conflict by which he gained his honors, does anyone lament over his campaigns?” (Spurgeon)

3. (23-27) Jesus promises greater joy regarding their coming access to God after Jesus’ departure.“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”

a. In that day you will ask Me nothing: Jesus probably meant that they would be so overcome with joy and relief at the resurrection that they would be speechless when it came to making requests of Jesus. Yet the pathway to audience with God and answered prayer was more open, not more closed.

i. Until now you have asked nothing in My name: “Ye have not as yet considered me the great Mediatorbetween God and man; but this is one of the truths which shall be more fully revealed to you by the Holy Spirit.” (Clarke)

b. Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you: Because of Jesus’ great work, disciples have unlimited, undeniable access to God through Him. The disciples had yet to really pray in the name of Jesus, but He would teach them.

i. “The meaning is that the atoning death of Jesus will revolutionize the whole situation. On the basis of the Son’s atoning work men will approach God and know the answers to their prayers.” (Morris)

c. But I will tell you plainly about the Father: The disciples should trust that in this time of restored joy and open access to Jesus, they would know the Father Himself, and know about Him more than ever.

i. Figurative language: “Used here to cover the cryptic expression ‘a little while’ and the metaphor of childbirth used in verse 21.” (Tasker)
d. For the Father Himself loves you: Jesus makes it clear that the Son did not need to persuade an angry Father to be gracious; but His work would provide a righteous basis for God’s graciousness.

i. “Here Jesus is saying: ‘You can go to God, because he loves you,’ and he is saying that before the Cross. He did not die to change God into love; he died to tell us that God is love. He came, not because God so hated the world, but because he so loved the world. Jesus brought to men the love of God.” (Barclay)

ii. “The reason that Christ will not intercede for them is now given. There will be no need. The Father Himselfloves them. He does not need to be persuaded to be gracious. In this case the ground of acceptance is the relationship in which they stand to Jesus.” (Morris)

e. Because you have loved Me: The Father did not love the disciples on the basis of their love for Jesus, but their love for Jesus was evidence of the Father’s love for them.

i. A pulse doesn’t make the heart pump, but it is evidence of it. Our love for God doesn’t make Him love us, but it is evidence that He loves us.

4. (28-32) The disciples proclaim their faith; Jesus places it in perspective.“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”

a. I came forth from the Father: Jesus repeated themes from previously in this great talk with His disciples, telling them again about His departure from this world and unto His Father. John 16:28 is a remarkable summary of the work of Jesus.

· I have come forth from the Father: Jesus is God, having existed in heaven’s glory and goodness before He ever came to the earth.

· And have come into the world: Jesus was born as a man, having added humanity to deity.

· Again I leave the world: Jesus would die.

· And go to My Father: Jesus would rise from the dead and ascend to heaven.
i. “In those sentences we have a declaration of the whole redemptive progress of the Son of God. From the Father into the world; from the world unto the Father.” (Morgan)

ii. “Here is the sum of the Christian Faith in four fundamental propositions, which, with their several why and how and result, form the whole body of Christian verity.” (Trench)

b. Now we are sure that You know all things: The summary statement in the previous sentence made the disciples feel that now they understood. They seem to have been sincere, but more confident in their faith than they should have been.

i. “They declared that their belief in the Divinity of His mission was confirmed. They were perfectly sincere. They felt that they had at last passed beyond the region where it would be possible to doubt. How much better He knew them than they knew themselves!” (Morgan)

c. Do you now believe… You will be scattered: Jesus did not doubt the belief of the disciples, but warned them that their faith would be shaken before it was finally settled upon Him. They would find it much easier to believe on Him in the upper room than in the Garden of Gethsemane, where they would all flee each to his own, and would leave Jesus alone.

i. This wasn’t to make an I told you so moment. “The very fact that He had known and had foretold the course of events, would be something to hold on to, and the memory of it would help them back again to faith.” (Morgan)

ii. “The words Do you now believe? can also be taken as a statement. This is preferable, as it brings out better the emphasis laid upon now in the original. ‘You do now believe, but your belief will soon be shaken.’” (Tasker)

iii. “Jesus read their hearts better than they knew. Not only could he answer their unspoken questions: he could assess the strength of their belief in him. It was sincere and genuine, bound up with their love for him, but it was about to be exposed to a test such as they had not imagined.” (Bruce)

d. You will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone: The crisis would come soon, and when it did the disciples would think, every man for himself and abandon Jesus alone.

i. “When he did not need their friendship, they were his very good friends. When they could do nothing for him if they tried, they were his faithful followers. But the pinch has come; now might they watch with him one hour, now might they go with him amid the rabble throng, and interpose at least the vote of the minority against the masses; but they are gone.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “There he stands. They have left him alone; but there he is, still standing to his purpose. He has come to save, and he will save. He has come to redeem, and he will redeem. He has come to overcome the world, and he will overcome it.” (Spurgeon)

e. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me: Jesus relied upon His close relationship with God all the way to the cross, and even upon it. In the loneliest moments imaginable, He understood that the Father was with Him.
i. “I remember that passage about Abraham going with Isaac to mount Moriah, where Isaac was to be offered up. It is written, ‘So they went both of them together.’ So did the Eternal Father and his Well- beloved Son when God was about to give up his own Son to death. There was no divided purpose; they went both of them together.” (Spurgeon)

5. (33) The triumphant conclusion to Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples and to all of Jesus’ teaching before the cross.“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

a. These things I have spoken to you: In a moment Jesus would pray for His disciples. Before He did, He summarized the purpose of the long talk He had with those disciples: to bring them peace and the settled assurance of overcomers.

b. That in Me you may have peace: Jesus offered His disciples peace. He made the offer in the most unlikely circumstances. At that very minute, Judas met with Jesus’ enemies to plot His arrest. Jesus knew that He would be arrested, forsaken, rejected, mocked, humiliated, tortured and executed before the next day was over. We think that the disciples should have comforted Him – yet Jesus had peace, and enough to give to others.

i. Jesus did not promise peace; He offered it. He said, “you may have peace.” People may follow Jesus yet deny themselves this peace. We gain the peace Jesus offered by finding it in Him. Jesus said, “that in Me you may have peace.” We won’t find real peace anywhere else other than in Jesus.

ii. Jesus made the way to peace with God: Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

iii. Jesus made the way to peace with others: For Jesus is our peace, who has made the both one and broken down the middle wall of division between us. (Ephesians 2:14)

iv. This word of peace is especially meaningful set in the context of conflict – tribulation and overcome both speak of battles to fight. “He promises a peace which co-exists with tribulation and disturbances, a peace which is realized in and through conflict and struggle.” (Maclaren)

v. This promise was especially powerful for those eleven disciples. “He predicted their desertion in the very saying in which He assured them of the peace He would give them. He loved them for who they were and despite their shortcomings.” (Morris)

c. In the world you will have tribulation: Jesus also made the promise of tribulation. Peace is offered to us, but tribulation is promised. When we become Christians we may bring fewer problems upon ourselves, but we definitely still have them.

i. Understanding this removes a false hope. Struggling Christians often hope for the day when they will laugh at temptation and there will be one effortless victory after another. We are promised struggle as long as we are in this world; yet there is peace in Jesus.

ii. “There is no avoiding it; it is not a paradise, but a purgatory to the saints. It may be compared to the Straits of Magellan, which is said to be a place of that nature, that which way soever a man set his course, he shall be sure to have the wind against him.” (Trapp)

d. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world: Jesus proclaimed the truth of His victory. This was an amazing statement from a man about to be arrested, forsaken, rejected, mocked, tortured and executed. Judas, the religious authorities, Pilate, the crowd, the soldiers or even death and the grave could not overcome Him. Instead, Jesus could truly say, “I have overcome the world.” If it was true then, it’s even truer now.

i. When Jesus wanted to comfort and strengthen His disciples, He spoke of His victory, not directly theirvictory. This wasn’t “cheer up” or “try harder.” Jesus knew that His victory would be theirs.

ii. “He overcame the world in three areas: in His life, in His death, and in His resurrection.” (Boice)

iii. “This statement, spoken as it is in the shadow of the cross, is audacious… He goes to the cross not in fear or in gloom, but as a conqueror.” (Morris)

iv. “He overcame the world when nobody else had overcome it.” (Spurgeon)

v. The thought that Jesus has overcome became precious to John. “Nikeo occurs only here in the Gospel, but twenty-two times in the Johannine Epistles and Apocalypse.” (Dods)

vi. “The world conquers me when it comes between me and God, when it fills my desires, when it absorbs my energies, when it blinds my eyes to the things unseen and eternal.” (Maclaren)
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vii. Knowing that Jesus has overcome the world brings us good cheer. It is the foundation for our peace in Him. We see that Jesus is in control, we see that although He leaves He does not abandon, we see that He loves, and we see that the victory is His. We can be of good cheer indeed.