יום הכיפורים
Yom HaKipurim Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement is still celebrated by Jews today. It is their most important holiday. It comes on the tenth day of the first month. So it is ten days after their New Year (from the rabbinic tradition not given to Moses and not the technical Jewish New Year), Rosh Hashanah. Thus, it comes at a good time for them to practice self-evaluation and repentance at the "beginning of the year." It is referred to as Shabbat Shabbaton, “Sabbath of Solemn Rest” or “Sabbath of Sabbaths.” Old Testament Scriptures Leviticus 16:2-6 the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Leviticus 16:20-22 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:29-34 He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins. Procedures For The High Priest To Follow A. Do NOT come at any time into the Holy Place. (16:2). Even the high priest did not have free access to the Holy of Holies, which represented the presence of God. The high priest, like all of the people, was a sinner. And God is absolutely holy. Because of that, there was a separation. “Your iniquities have created a separation between you and God.”(Isaiah 59:2). The veil, which separated the rest of the tabernacle from the holy of holies, was a visible symbol of the gap between God and man. God was so serious about the methods used to worship Him, when two of Aaron’s sons used their own ways to approach God, they were killed. Therefore, unrighteous man can only approach a holy God through the way that He has prescribed. The high priest could only come in to the holy of holies once per year on the day of atonement. And very specific procedures were given for him to follow before he was allowed to approach God. This day, and the procedures to follow are as we will see a picture of the gospel message. Sinful man cannot approach God through his good deeds, devices, or methods. There is a wall separating us from Him that can only be bridged through His mercy. (And it was the mercy seat that the high priest approached.) B. Wear holy linen garments (16:4) – To signify the solemnity of this even the high priest had special garments to wear. It was a solemn and serious thing to approach a holy God. The high priest could not roll out of bed in the morning and just casually or sloppily enter into God’s presence. He had to ready himself. He had to wear the garments approved by God. This showed that he respected God’s commands and his own role in representing God’s people as a mediator. Jesus would later tell a parable, teaching His followers that you cannot attend the wedding feast wearing your own clothes. We cannot approach God by our own efforts, but only by what He provides us. The “holy garments” are an outward picture of that reality. C. Bath – “He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.” (Leviticus 16:4) Before the high priest could even put on the clothes, he had to first bathe. The physical bath would remove outer dirt and impurities, things unfit to take into God’s presence. That reminds us that a person has to be clean and pure in order to approach God. The outer washing is a picture of that spiritual transaction that has to take as we must be consecrated and cleansed to come in to God’s presence. 1 Peter 3:21 – Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That is a reminder that sanctification is an ongoing process. D. Aaron (and future high priests) first offered a bull offering for himself and his family (16:6) – The high priests themselves were sinners. So how could they be representatives of the people and come before the Lord as their mediator? Their own sins had to be dealt with first. So before Aaron could even come into God’s presence or offer a sacrifice for the people, he had to offer one for himself and his own family. E. Two goats (16:7-10) – Next the high priest would take two goats and bring them to the entrance of the tabernacle. Lots would be cast. One would be chosen for the sacrifice. The other would be chosen as the scapegoat. After the other sacrifices were made, the priest would lay his hands on the scapegoat, and confess the sins of Israel, ritually removing them from Israel and putting them onto the innocent animal. That animal would then be sent into the wilderness away from the Israelite camp. It was another physical picture of the spiritual reality taught in Psalm 113:12, ” As far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Their sins were symbolically imputed to the animal who took the suffering for them.
F. Censer with coals from the altar and two handfuls of sweet incense – The high priest was to offer up incense before the Lord INSIDE the veil. The text says, “so that he does not die.” The incense cloud would cover the mercy seat and God would show mercy. Incense often represents prayers in the Bible. And we are reminded from this that Jesus as our high priest also offers intercession for us that we may receive mercy from God. (Romans 8:34) G. Sprinkle blood from the bull offering – In the next step, the priest would take some of the blood of the bull sacrifice and sprinkle it on the mercy seat that is on top of the Ark of the Covenant. The bull’s blood was offered for the high priest and his own family. Only after first receiving forgiveness could he represent the people. He would sprinkle the blood seven times. Seven represented the number of perfection or completeness. So it reminds us that God’s forgiveness is complete. Those whom He cleans, are completely clean. H. The second goat of the sin offering (16:14-16) – After the high priest was cleansed, he would then offer the goat sacrifice for the people, following the same ritual of sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat seven times ” Leviticus 16:17 – “has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.” After sprinkling the mercy seat, he would then go back outside the tabernacle and sprinkle the horns on the altar. Something interesting I noticed is that not only did the people need atoning for. The altar itself, the holy place, and even the tabernacle needed atoning for. ” Leviticus 16:20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar.” That is very revealing. There is nothing holy apart from God Himself. The most beautiful and holy-looking things themselves were unclean.
Atonement meaning –
What word does the sacrificial system bring to your mind? For me, it is TEDIOUS. We have only covered a few of the many regulations of this ONE DAY per year. Rules for bathing. Rules for how to wear clothes. Rules for animals. Rules for sacrifices. Rules for the tabernacle. Rules for going in to the holy place. Rules for sprinkling. And many rules aren’t even mentioned here. Rules for the exact composition of ingredients of the incense. Rules for the exact dimensions and materials for the veil and tent. Also, there had to be atonement for so many people, atonement for the high priest first, atonement for the altar, atonement for the tent, atonement for the holy place (atonement for the things used to bring atonement to others)! This specific ritual had to be done every year, over and over and over and over again. And that is only one day per year. The rest of the year was filled with other sacrifices, repeated again and again and again. Praise God we can read and study this and understand God’s plan. But brothers and sisters, we also praise God that we are not under this anymore. Why? Jesus. All of this was designed to point us to Christ. Symbolism and Pointing to Christ in the NT Hebrews is like the New Testament Leviticus. The writer shows us how God used these Old Testament rituals, which were temporary, to point us to something far greater, which is permanent. Hebrews 9:11-15; But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:25-26 – Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 10:11-12 – And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. If you have studied Hebrews before, you probably are aware of the theme. The writer’s thesis is simple: Jesus is superior. He goes through many different things and proves that Jesus is superior to them all. Jesus is superior to the angels. Jesus is superior to Moses. He is superior to the priests. He is superior to Old Testament leaders. His sacrifice is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices. His covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. Jesus is far greater than everything else that has come before (or will come after). Those things, however, serve their purpose. What is their purpose? The lead us to Christ. By being compared to Christ, they reveal to us how glorious He is. Think about it this way. If the Old Testament sacrificial system was never established, people would not be aware of how serious their sins are. Nor would they have the same level of gratitude for and awe of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice. These things very existence glorify Jesus who outshines them. Jesus could do in one man and in one moment what thousands of men and millions of sacrifices could not accomplish in hundreds of years. When you look specifically at the tabernacle and the Day of Atonement, you see that Jesus is everything. Jesus provides us with the garments to wear, giving us white robes. Jesus’ blood purifies us from our sin. Jesus is the high priest coming into God’s presence and offering a sacrifice on our behalf. And He Himself is that perfect sacrifice. He is the one who tears down the veil. He is the altar. He is the lampstand. He is our intercessor. He is our mediator. He represents us to God as our advocate. And He reveals God to us. There are a couple of differences though between Jesus’ sacrifice and the Day of Atonement. Jesus did not need to purify Himself or offer sacrifices for Himself as Aaron did. He was already perfectly holy. Therefore, He is a better mediator. Also, His sacrifice is better. Once was enough. His blood is absolutely perfect and infinitely valuable. So one sacrifice for all time is sufficient. It never needs to be repeated. Also, He can go into the Holy of Holies at any time because He Himself is holy. He is better than the scapegoat, because the scapegoat only took the people’s sins away (and that symbolically and for a short amount of time). Jesus’ actually imputes His righteousness to us. So not only can He can in to the Holy of Holies at any time, but those in Him can too. We can boldly approach God’s throne of grace directly at any time as His children because of Christ’s work for us. What the people would do? Leviticus 23:26-32 – And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.” We have looked at the priest’s role, I want to briefly look at what the people would do on this day.
Baptism is a symbol of spiritual cleansing, or purification. How often do you need to clean your house, is once enough? Many often turn comprehensive cleaning into a yearly ritual, “spring cleaning.” If at no other time, once a year the whole house is scoured into shape. There’s a difference between tidying and cleaning. Tidying involves putting shoes on racks, clothes into drawers, books on shelves, and toys in bins. Cleaning requires vacuuming, mopping, spraying, wiping, scrubbing, and magic-erasing. To my eyes, at least, tidying makes a more immediate, obvious difference. But cleaning reaches deeper, and its effects last longer. Did you know that in the law God gave Israel through Moses, God himself instructed the people to clean his house once a year? Leviticus 16: Purging God’s People and Place; Leviticus 16 is a familiar passage, but we often miss this aspect of it. In the instructions this chapter gives for what is often called the Day of Atonement—or Yom Kippur—God appoints cleansing not only for the people, but also for his tabernacle. Why did God’s house need cleaning? At the literary center of Leviticus 16, and at the center of the actions it prescribes for this day, is a sin offering brought into the Holy of Holies, the innermost room of the tabernacle, God’s portable dwelling with his people (Lev. 16:15–19). This was the only time when anyone was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, and only the high priest was granted entry (cf. Heb. 9:6–7). The high priest was instructed to kill the goat of the sin offering, collect its blood in a bowl, enter the Holy of Holies, and sprinkle the blood over and in front of the mercy seat (Lev. 16:15). To what effect? “Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins.” And what happens to the innermost room happens to the whole: “And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses” (Lev. 16:16). Leviticus 16 teaches us sin not only burdens us with guilt, it also stains us and whatever we touch. Sin makes us both unclean and transmitters of uncleanness. Through the tabernacle, God dwelt with the Israelites in a special way. But their sin came between them and God. The people’s sin dirtied God’s house. It threatened to push away the God who graciously chose to dwell with them (Ex. 29:45–46; Lev. 26:11–12). Leviticus 16 teaches us sin not only burdens us with guilt, it also stains us and stains whatever we touch. So, this divinely appointed yearly cleaning of God’s had two effects: the Day of Atonement purged God’s people and his place. We see both in Leviticus 16:33: “He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.” Jesus’s Offering in Hebrews: But sin’s problems go even deeper than what Leviticus 16 tells us. Israel’s sins eventually piled up to such an extent that, as the Lord warned in advance, the land “vomited” them out (Lev. 18:24–25). Ultimately, the sins that Israel committed drove the Lord far from his sanctuary (Ezek. 8:6). In judgment, God’s glory departed from his sanctuary (Ezek. 10:1–22). And though God restored his people and enabled them to rebuild their temple, the underlying condition of sin persisted. Persisted, that is, until Jesus came to deliver us. As Hebrews tells us, the fact that the Day of Atonement had to be repeated yearly signals that it wasn’t a final solution to sin: “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near” (Heb. 10:1). But that is just what Jesus came to do. The fact that the Day of Atonement had to be repeated yearly signals that it was not a final solution to sin. On the cross, Jesus gave his life for ours, paying the price we deserved for our sins. Echoing Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22 reminds us, “[W]ithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In his death, Jesus “bore the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28). And then, on the third day, he rose from the dead, thereby obtaining “the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). Jesus then did what the high priest on Yom Kippur only foreshadowed: he entered God’s Holy of Holies in heaven, and presented himself there to the Father as the perfect, sufficient, once-for-all sacrifice. Only in light of what we’ve seen in Leviticus 16 do passages like the following make sense: Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor did he enter to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. (Heb. 9:24–26; cf. 9:11–12) By entering God’s dwelling in heaven and presenting himself to God, Jesus perfectly purged God’s people and his place. On the cross, Jesus was slain as the spotless victim whose blood purchases our eternal life (Heb. 9:22, 28; cf. 9:15; 13:20). After rising again, he was appointed high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:7–10; 7:11–28). Then, after ascending to heaven (Heb. 4:14; 7:26), Jesus offered himself, his body, his blood, by presenting himself alive to God in the throne room of God’s heavenly tabernacle (Heb. 7:27; 8:1–5; 9:11–14, 23–28; 10:10–14; 12:24). In addition to cleansing God’s dwelling in heaven, Jesus’s heavenly offering obtained for us perfection (Heb. 10:14), redemption (Heb. 9:12), forgiveness (Heb. 10:18), and unhindered access to God forever (Heb. 4:16, 10:19–20). Deepest Deep Clean: Parts of this reading of Hebrews might be new to you. Many Christians have understood Hebrews to locate Jesus’s offering exclusively on the cross. But a deeper understanding of Leviticus 16 can help us understand the book of Hebrews better, too. The high point of the Day of Atonement was what the high priest did in the Holy of Holies. Hebrews itself tells us this when it reminds us that only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, “and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people” (Heb. 9:7). Where and when did the high priest make his offering? When he entered God’s earthly inner sanctum. Where and when did Christ make his offering? When he entered God’s heavenly inner sanctum, after rising from the dead and ascending to heaven. This in no way downplays or diminishes the cross, since the cross is where Jesus gave his life for ours, defeated death, bore the curse of the old covenant, and inaugurated the new (Heb. 2:9, 14–15; 9:15–17; 13:20). By presenting himself alive to God in heaven, Christ presented to the Father what his death on earth accomplished. In heaven, Christ offered to God what he achieved on the cross. This is the cleansing we need far more than any spring cleaning. And it’s the deepest deep clean that can never—and need never—be Lessons Every part of the Bible is useful and rich, even Leviticus! There is great value in studying the Old Testament sacrificial system and feasts (below), but we do not have to go back to the Old Testament law. The rules for this festival and the others we have studied are found in Leviticus. Leviticus gives us the Old Testament law. If you are under the obligation to observe the feasts, then you are under obligation to obey the whole law. We are not. We are under Christ. We are free of this tedious system, which was never intended to be permanent, but which always was intended to point us to something better, that is Christ. Having said that, there is great value in studying this and the other feasts. What?
How to celebrate the Day of Atonement today? A. We don’t need to keep the day of atonement the same way they did in the Old Testament. And in fact, it would be impossible for us to do so since there is no temple or sacrificial system in place today. That was something that had to be repeated over and over every year in order to provide a temporary cover for sins. God designed it to point to something far greater, far more superior. Christ. B. We should remember Christ’s sacrifice every day. We celebrate this all the time because there is nothing more important. C. We should also have times of repentance and self-denial (fasting.) We should do that regularly as a lifestyle. And we should also have times when we set aside to do it. That is one benefit of having a set day for everyone to practice repentance and self-evaluation together. At the same time, all doing it together can become legalistic and less personal. So today, we need to make time to repent on a regular basis. D. We should regularly confess our sins and seek forgiveness. It is an amazing privilege that cleansing is available to us so we should not take it for granted. Today we have seen some of the background for the Day of Atonement. And we have seen that this festival points us squarely to Christ who is superior in every way. If I could leave you with one thing- it is this: I hope you will be in complete awe of Jesus. Prayer Points
Revelation 3:1 says,
The word of him who has the seven spirits of God and seven stars ❤️ https://jewishunpacked.com/how-to-celebrate-rosh-hashanah/ 'We are coming up to the Feast of Trumpets on Sunday evening... Israelis are wishing each other "happy holidays" and getting ready to eat lots of sweet food, and hear the sound of the shofar. It's a time to look back and take stock, to remember our covenant with God and prepare our hearts for the high holidays. Why not spend time this weekend thinking back over your own walk with God, and how it all started... and praying into all that's to come!" One of the “appointed feasts of the LORD” given to Israel in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is known today as Rosh Hashanah, literally “Head of the Year.” We read about Rosh Hashanah in the Torah, the Jewish Law found in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD’” (Leviticus 23:23–25). Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year, is also known as Yom Teruah or the Day of Trumpets. The word teruah means “to shout or make a noise,” so this holiday is marked by the blowing of the shofar or ram’s horn in Jewish synagogues around the world. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri on the Jewish calendar, which usually corresponds to September or October. It always falls on the seventh new moon of the Jewish year. After the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, even though this feast day falls on the seventh month of the Jewish religious calendar, it began to be called Rosh Hashanah and became the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar. Rosh Hashanah begins a ten-day period leading up to the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. These ten days are called the yomim nora’im or Days of Awe in modern Judaism. The sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a wake-up blast and a sobering reminder that the time is near for the Day of Atonement. It is a call to teshuvah, which is repentance and turning back to the LORD. These ten days are ones of great introspection, heart-searching and self-examination. The sound of the shofar for the Jew was, and still continues to be, a call to examine one’s life, to make amends with all those one may have wronged in the previous year, and to ask forgiveness for any vows one may have broken. So the primary theme of Rosh Hashanah is one of repentance. During Rosh Hashanah a common greeting/blessing is “May your name be inscribed”—a wish for one’s name to be written in the book of life. Jewish people enjoy sweets on Rosh Hashanah: treats made with apples, honey, raisins, figs, and pomegranates. Eating sweet things symbolizes the desire for a “sweet” year; also included is the idea that the enjoyment of sweet things can help counter the sorrow associated with repentance. In the eating of pomegranates, some Rosh Hashanah celebrants express the wish that their good deeds will be as numerous as the seeds of the pomegranate. Others eat portions of the head of a fish or a sheep, symbolizing the desire to be “the head, not the tail” (see Deuteronomy 28:13). According to rabbinic tradition, on Rosh Hashanah the destiny of the righteous are sealed. The righteous are written into the Book of Life, These are given the ten days until Yom Kippur to exercise repentance and self-examination and then seal their fate. Then, on the Day of Atonement, everyone has his or her name inscribed into one of the two books. Like all of the Lord’s appointed days in the Hebrew Bible, Rosh Hashanah points Christians to an even greater reality. If you've placed your faith in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, you appreciate the true meaning of the call to repentance and of turning our hearts toward God of Israel. God's Word, the logos, warns of the Day of Judgment, which is yet to come, (Revelation 20:15). For those who have placed their trust in the atoning work of Jesus through His life, death, burial, and resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:21), their names are already written into the Lamb’s Book of Life. And now, even we believers in Jesus listen for that trumpet call, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18). A parallel reference is 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, This is the same "trumpet of God" mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Paul further states in 1 Corinthians 15:51 that God will also change believers who are still living at the time into spirit. So the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the saints occur in the same time period. What is the significance of the trumpet of which Paul wrote? The book of Revelation tells of seven trumpets sounded by seven angelic beings at the end of the age (the first six coming in chapters 8-9). The drama builds through each event announced by a trumpet blast until the seventh and final angel sounds in Revelation 11. His announcement is the finale, the last and greatest event: The return of Jesus Christ to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth. "Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!'" (Revelation 11:15) This trumpet announces the coming of divine wrath and the time of rewarding God's servants (Revelation 11:18). And combined with the other verses, it's clear that Jesus descends at the blowing of this seventh trumpet-- and that this is when the saints are caught up to Him- -whether that is a spiritual or physical resurrections isn't clear- When does this occur in the timeline of end-time events? In a prophecy Jesus gave, He referred to a desecration in Jerusalem-- the abomination of desolation-- to come before the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15-22). (Daniel 12:11-13), Jesus continued in Matthew 24:29: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." He said that all nations on earth would see the sign of His coming and would mourn. Then He stated that they would see Him coming with power and glory and that He would send His angels to gather His resurrected followers with a great sound of a trumpet (Matthew 24:30-31). Compare this with Revelation 6, where we find a time of terrible final martyrdom (Revelation 6:9-11). This is followed by the heavenly signs Jesus was referring to and the people of the earth lamenting (Revelation 6:12-17). Notice the conclusion of the lament: "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" This corresponds to Joel 2:31, where we are told that "the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." That means that, in the book of Revelation, the trumpets blown after the heavenly signs represent the time of the Day of the Lord. -The seventh trumpet- comes at the end of this year-long Day of the Lord-- at the end of the 3 1⁄2-year period of end-time calamity. The dead in Christ are raised and living believers are changed and made immortal at this point in time. They cannot have been taken up into glory before the tribulation period. Scripture doesn't allow for a rapture of the saints to heaven for an interim of several years! Whether this is a physical or spiritual resurrections is yet to be seen. Revelation Will be a time of continuing unveiling, increasing revelation that better aligns with the book as it unfolds in real-time -Protection for the saints- We see that believers aren't taken off the earth during the Great Tribulation. But God will protect believers during this time of severe distress. The most specific reference to the protection that God promises for His people at the end of the age is in Revelation 12. Revelation 12:14 says, "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent." The times here denote years—one (time) plus two (times) plus one half (half a time), equaling 3 1⁄2 years, the period of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. And note that the protection is not in heaven but in the wilderness, or the desert as it's often translated. It's on the earth, not in heaven. The context tells us that at least part of God's people will suffer persecution while God protects the rest of the faithful: "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). It is possible that the result of this persecution will be martyrdom. The Bible records many ways by which God protected His people in the past, but does not reveal specifically how, where or when-- or even all of the "who"—He will protect in the end. However, we can have confidence that He will reveal what we need to know at the essential time. In the meantime, our focus must be on the spiritual preparation for Christ's return and the establishment of the Kingdom (Matthew 24:38-51). 1 Kings 18:20-40 contains one of the most memorable Elijah narratives The great prophet of Yhwh summons the prophets of Baal and Asherah (well known deities in Syria-Palestine) at Mount Carmel for a contest of the gods. At stake is Israel’s allegiance to Yhwh- the living God alive in spirit, embodied in his people 'How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” and finally whether Israel will heed the first commandment: “You shall have no other God’s before me” (Exodus 20:3). Elijah begins with an accusatory question addressed to the people: "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). The people’s unwillingness to choose is exemplified by their lack of a response (v. 21). But for the prophet Elijah, indecision is not religiously neutral ground. They cannot worship both Baal and Yhwh, for to trust the former is to reject the latter. Indecision is not neutral ground. This point is underscored by Elijah’s reference to “limping” (cf. 2 Samuel 4:4). According to him, their indecision is not morally neutral ground; in fact, their unwillingness to choose actually results in self-inflicted injury. Needless to say, while the people aren’t up for choosing between Baal and Yhwh, they are most certainly up for a battle of the gods (1 Kings 18:22-24). Elijah proposes a contest by fire. He calls for two bulls, cut in pieces, laid on wood. The prophets would then “call on the name of” their respective gods. The God who “answers by fire is indeed God” (v. 24). As 1 Kings 18:24 suggests, what Elijah is proposing is about much more than mere pyrotechnics. In fact, this narrative isn’t fundamentally a power contest At All! At stake -is which- God answers prayer. In other words, whom could the people truly trust with their petitions? Which of the two deities would actually deliver on promises? And the narrative makes abundantly clear that there can be only one answer to these questions. The prophets of Baal do all they can to gain their god’s attention, even to the point of inflicting harm on themselves. They “called on the name of Baal from morning until noon” (1 Kings 18:26), “they cried aloud” (v. 28), they even “cut themselves with swords and lances,” and “they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation” (v. 29). The narrator leaves absolutely no room for doubt about the status of Baal: "there was no voice, no answer, and no response” (v. 29). Elijah loses no time in mocking his opponents: “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened” (v. 27). The name of Baal is finally useless, and trust in him is shown to be misplaced. A similar story is found in Bel and the Dragon, one of the “apocryphal” additions to Daniel. In this story, Daniel proposes a contest, to see if Bel (a title of the Babylonian deity, Marduk) will actually consume the offerings left to him by the priests. Not only does Bel not show any appetite for his meal, Daniel proves that the priests and their families actually eat the meal. After the priests left their offering and the doors of the temple were sealed, Daniel coated the floor of the temple with ashes. In the morning, after opening the sealed temple, the footprints of the priests and their families were found in the temple. Bel, like Marduk, was shown to be no god at all. Polemics against the non-existence of foreign deities was common in late Israelite literature (cf. Isaiah 44:9-20; 45:20-25; 46:1-7). But Elijah approaches prayer in an entirely different manner to the prophets of Baal. He repairs the altar to Yhwh (1 Kings 18:30), and in a way that brings to mind God’s promises to Israel: “Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord” (vv. 31-32). In a strong allusion to Jacob’s own contest with a “man,” Elijah points to the moment when “Israel” received its name (Genesis 32:29). Elijah, like Jacob, was also engaged in a deadly contest. What gives Elijah prayerful access to the one true God is God’s -Name- and God’s promises. By these alone does Elijah prevail over the prophets of Baal, who have no ground for their hope. What the false prophets find is a god who is hidden, out of sight and out of earshot. The account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is recorded in 1 Kings 18. After Israel had gone more than three years without rain as a judgment for their idolatry, the prophet Elijah confronts the evil king Ahab and challenges him to a spiritual showdown. The king was to have all Israel gather at Mt. Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of the false god Baal and the 400 prophets of the false goddess Asherah (verse 19). On Mt. Carmel, Elijah said to the people of Israel, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). The people remained noncommittal at that point. Elijah then challenged the prophets of Baal to prepare a bull as an offering for their god—Elijah would do the same—with this catch: they could light no fire on their altar. The God who answered with fire from the sky would be considered the true God (verses 22–25). The people agreed that this was a good plan, and the prophets of Baal went first. The pagan prophets cried out and danced around their altar from morning till noon with no answer from Baal. Elijah began to mock them, saying, "Shout louder! . . . Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27). So the prophets of Baal “shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:28–29). Despite hours of effort, nothing happened. The historian’s comment hints at the emptiness of Baal-worship: "There was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention” (verse 29). Elijah then called the people to him as he repaired the altar of the Lord. He used twelve stones and dug a trench around the altar. He then placed wood on the altar and laid the cut pieces of the bull on it. Elijah then had the people douse the altar with twelve large jars of water. The water soaked the sacrifice and the wood and filled the trench (1 Kings 18:30–35). Once the sacrifice was ready, Elijah prayed, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36–37). Then God did what Baal could never do: the fire of the LORD fell from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, “and also licked up the water in the trench” (verse 38). The people of Israel bowed down and declared the Lord as God (verse 39). Elijah then commanded the people to put the prophets of Baal to death, in keeping with God’s command in Exodus 22:20. Following this event, the Lord finally ended the drought and sent rain upon the land (1 Kings 18:45). The miraculous event of fire from heaven was an answer to the prayer of Elijah. God was seeking to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself. He used a time of drought to get their attention and then, through His prophet, performed a dramatic miracle right before their eyes. No one who witnessed that event doubted that the Lord was God and that Baal was a powerless wannabe. The repentance of the Israelites was soon followed by God’s provision of rain. James teaches us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16), and he uses Elijah’s prayer life as a case in point: “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:17–18). 1 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section comprising 1 Kings 16:15 to 2 Kings 8:29 which documents the period of Omri's dynasty. The focus of this chapter is the activity of prophet Elijah during the reign of king Ahab in the northern kingdom. Elijah and Obadiah (18:1–16) The main theme of the narrative is drought and rain. As the land of Israel including the king suffered under the drought, YHWH sent for Elijah to bring about the crisis and then the solution to the conflict between the worship of two deities. Before Elijah faced Ahab, one (God-fearing) minister, named Obadiah (meaning: 'servant of YHWH') became an intermediate. Obadiah was also the one helping to hide YHWH's servants during a purge of prophets by queen Jezebel(apparently the reason of Elijah's journey to the river of Kerith into the foreign territory of Phoenicia in Zarephath), so when Elijah unexpectedly standing before him, Obadiah fell to the ground in fear and respect. Similar miraculous transport of God's prophets is noted in Ezekiel 3:14, 11:1, cf. 2 Kings 2:11. After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
.As soon as Ahab met Elijah, he tried to hold the prophet responsible for the calamity befallen Israel, calling Elijah 'the troubler of Israel' (verse 17; cf. Joshua 6:18; 7:25 concerning Achan, whose sin brought God's judgment on Israel) .[9] Elijah immediately threw the accusation back at Ahab for the apostasy sin of him and his father's house forsaking YHWH and following the Baals.[9][13] In Joshua 7, the identity of the true 'troubler of Israel' was revealed in public before "all Israel", so in this case, Elijah wanted "all Israel" to gather on Mount Carmel, a place near to the Phoenician border, to resolve the matter. The people of Israel at this point seemed not to hold YHWH monotheism anymore as they didn't react to the choice Elijah offering at all: 'YHWH or Baal' alone, but they agreed to witness the competition (while the prophets of Baal didn't reply to the challenge). A miracle must bring truth to light, and it was quickly revealed that the Baals are incapable of doing this, even after their priests performing the whole cultic and ritual activities of Baalistic religion (as reliably reported in this narrative: the 'prayer, rhythmic movements, and self-mortification building up to ecstasy', verses 26–29). This violent cultic frenzy of Baalistic activities with 'swords and lances' (=spears) was attested by an Egyptian traveller "Wen-Amon" or "Wenamun", who around 1100 BCE witnessed it in Byblos, a Phoenician coastal city north of Jezebel's hometown of Sidon. By contrast, YHWH-religion only requires the spoken word (prayer) to immediately produce miracles. The people who saw the demonstration of divine power quickly turned to YHWH's side with a call of faith, 'The LORD indeed is God', which unmistakably recalls Elijah's name ('my God is YHWH'), so the personal conviction of Elijah then became that of the people of Israel. Elijah answered; "Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/who-are-the-144000-in-revelation-14-bible-meaning-and-verses.html In Revelation 14, we meet 144,000 people, who “had the name of Jesus and the Father on their foreheads.” And this is an interesting picture here. Who are these 144,000 people? What Does the Number 144,000 Mean? Well, one thing that's helpful to remember in Revelation, is that numbers mean things, sometimes in a different way than they do in historical narratives because Revelation is an “apocalyptic work” that shows this thing by pictures. It seems to represent all of God's people, from the Old Testament and the New Testament. The 12 Tribes of Israel… times the 12 apostles and those that they represent… times a very great number: 1,000. And so 12 x 12 x 1,000 is 144,000. And these are marked with the Seal of God on their foreheads. This shows us that they bow to the Lamb and to His Father, and we can contrast this with the Mark of the Beast that appears on those who do not belong to the Lamb. And so instead of being sealed, they merely have the Mark of the Beast, which indicates being owned not by the Lamb, but by the Beast. And that they follow his ways. And so there's a contrast between the 144,000 in Revelation 14 and those who are sealed with the Name of the Lamb and His Father and those that do not have that” seal” on them. The Lamb and the 144,000 (Revelation 14:1-5) "Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. The Messages of the Three Angels (Revelation 14:5-13) "Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" Elijah brings rain (18:41–46) The triumph of Elijah on Mount Carmel seems to make king Ahab even listen to Elijah's word, that the king should eat and drink while expecting the rain to come soon. The return of the rains is another triumph for Elijah, who called for rain seven times (verses 42–44) and as the rain started to pour, Elijah had the 'hand of the LORD' grasping him so he could run ahead of the royal chariots for more than 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Carmel to Jezreel. Thus, the opening conflict of 16:32–33 and 17:1 is resolved by proving YHWH to be the only effective God. Verse 46; And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
In 1 Kings 22:19-23,
there is a troubling passage in which we are told that God used a lying spirit to deceive Ahab. Does God really use evil, lying spirits to do His bidding? Why would God do such a thing? To find the answer to this question, we need to learn a little background about King Ahab, and also understand something about the sovereignty of God. King Ahab was the son of Omri, and he reigned over Israel in Samaria for 22 years (1 Kings 16:29). Continuing the example of his father, Ahab did evil in the sight of God by worshiping Baal and “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Ahab again and again proved he was bent on evil, evidenced by his continued refusal to listen to the prophet Elijah’s warnings . Ahab accused Elijah of troubling Israel by the drought, but Elijah declared that it was Ahab’s own sin that caused the troubles for the nation (1 Kings 18:18). Since Ahab had declared war on God by killing His prophets God then brought the war to Ahab in the form of a contest (1 Kings 18:19-40) between the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal on one side, and Elijah on the other. When God miraculously verified Elijah’s status as His true prophet, Ahab should have repented, but he remained in his sinful rebellion, fueled by the wicked anger of his wife, Jezebel. In many subsequent incidents, God again showed His power and mercy to Ahab, but the king refused to submit and obey Him. Finally Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, came to visit him and Ahab persuaded him to join in battle to take Ramoth-Gilead from the Syrians. Wisely, Jehoshaphat insisted that they seek God’s will in the matter, so Ahab brought 400 false prophets together, who all assured him that God would give them victory (1 Kings 22:6). Jehoshaphat recognized their falsehood and asked whether a true prophet of God could be summoned. Ahab acknowledged that Micaiah was a true prophet, but he hated him, because “he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad” (1 Kings 22:8). Micaiah was brought before the kings and delivered God’s final warning to Ahab. He said that if they went to war, they would be defeated and left without a king. Ahab replied, “didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” (1 Kings 22:18). Ahab was again rejecting the clear warning from God, and choosing a path of wicked rebellion. In response to Ahab’s constant choice of sin, God revealed some of the inner workings of the spiritual world. God had already pronounced a death sentence upon Ahab (1 Kings 20:42, 21:19), but had given him opportunity to repent of his wickedness. With this final rejection of God’s counsel, God determined to carry out the death sentence. Since Ahab continued to prefer the lies of his false prophets over the truth given by God’s prophets, God chose to use the false prophets to carry out His plan. When God asked for volunteers to “entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there” (1 Kings 22:20), a spirit (fallen angel/demon) said he would be a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets. God gave the spirit permission to proceed, and Ahab received the message he desired. God chose to use a lying spirit because Ahab rejected God’s rebukes and warnings -all through his life- and the cup of God’s wrath was full. Since God is sovereign over all of creation, He is not restricted in what or whom He can use to accomplish His holy purposes. All of creation is under His authority, and He chooses to use people and spirits, both good and evil, to bring His divine plans to pass and bring glory to Himself. “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’" (Daniel 4:35). In the case of Ahab, God chose to using a lying spirit to accomplish His perfect and righteous plan (Psalm 18:30). The lying spirit will receive its punishment just as Ahab did, and those who repent of their sins will receive forgiveness just like Ahab could have. The real question is, “Will I respond to God’s warnings with faith and obedience, or will reject His counsel and be rejected by Him?” Earlier in the epistle, Paul speaks of the “good conscience” as opposed to the seared conscience. “Advancing God’s work,” he says, comes by faith, and love “comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:4–5). A good conscience has the capability to tell right from wrong and is free from guilt. A person with a good conscience maintains his integrity. He enjoys fellowship with those who "walk in the light, as [Jesus] is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The lies of the devil are anathema to the one with a good conscience. Rather than follow the lies of apostates, he will “fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18–19). The New Testament concept of conscience is more individual in nature and involves three major truths. First, conscience is a God-given capacity for human beings to exercise self-evaluation. Paul refers several times to his own conscience being “good” or “clear” (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 1 Corinthians 4:4). Paul examined his own words and deeds and found them to be in accordance with his morals and value system, which were, of course, based on God’s standards. His conscience verified the integrity of his heart. Second, the New Testament portrays the conscience as a witness to something. Paul says the Gentiles have consciences that bear witness to the presence of the law of God written on their hearts, even though they did not have the Mosaic Law (Romans 2:14-15). He also appeals to his own conscience as a witness that he speaks the truth (Romans 9:1) and that he has conducted himself in holiness and sincerity in his dealings with men (2 Corinthians 1:12). He also says that his conscience tells him his actions are apparent to both God and the witness of other men’s consciences (2 Corinthians 5:11). Third, the conscience is a servant of the individual’s value system. An immature or weak value system produces a weak conscience, while a fully informed value system produces a strong sense of right and wrong. In the Christian life, one’s conscience can be driven by an inadequate understanding of scriptural truths and can produce feelings of guilt and shame disproportionate to the issues at hand. Maturing in the faith strengthens the conscience. This last function of the conscience is what Paul addresses in his instructions regarding eating food sacrificed to idols. He makes the case that, since idols are not real gods, it makes no difference if food has been sacrificed to them or not. But some in the Corinthian church were weak in their understanding and believed that such gods really existed. These immature believers were horrified at the thought of eating food sacrificed to the gods, because their consciences were informed by erroneous prejudices and superstitious views. Therefore, Paul encourages those more mature in their understanding not to exercise their freedom to eat if it would cause the consciences of their weaker brothers to condemn their actions. The lesson here is that, if our consciences are clear because of mature faith and understanding, we are not to cause those with weaker consciences to stumble by exercising the freedom that comes with a stronger conscience. The word of God tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin (John 16:8). To help us understand what the conviction of sin is, we can look at what it is not. First, it is not simply a guilty conscience or even shame over sin. Such feelings are naturally experienced by almost everyone. But this is not true conviction of sin. Second, conviction of sin is not a sense of trepidation or a foreboding of divine punishment. These feelings, too, are commonly experienced in the hearts and minds of sinners. But, again, true conviction of sin is something different. Third, conviction of sin is not merely knowledge of right and wrong; it is not an assent to Scripture’s teaching about sin. Many people read the Bible and are fully aware that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). They may know that “no immoral, impure or greedy person . . . has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Ephesians 5:5). They may even agree that “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). Yet, for all their knowledge, they continue to live in sin. They understand the consequences, but they’re far from being convicted of their sins. The truth is, if we experience nothing more than a pang of conscience, anxiety at the thought of judgment, or an academic awareness of hell, then we have never truly known the conviction of sin. So, what is real conviction, the kind the Bible speaks of? The word convict is a translation of the Greek word elencho, which means “to convince someone of the truth; to reprove; to accuse, refute, or cross-examine a witness.” The Holy Spirit acts as a prosecuting attorney who exposes evil, reproves evildoers, and convinces people that they need a Savior. To be convicted is to feel the sheer loathsomeness of sin. This happens when we’ve seen God’s beauty, His purity and holiness, and when we recognize that sin cannot dwell with Him (Psalm 5:4). When Isaiah stood in the presence of God, he was immediately overwhelmed by his own sinfulness: "Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips . . . and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). To be convicted is to experience an utter dreadfulness of sin. Our attitude toward sin becomes that of Joseph who fled temptation, crying out, “How could I do this great evil and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). We are convicted when we become mindful of how much our sin dishonors God. When David was convicted by the Holy Spirit, he cried out, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). David saw his sin primarily as an affront to a holy God. We are convicted when we become intensely aware of the wrath it exposes to our souls (Romans 1:18; Romans 2:5). When the Philippian jailer fell at the apostles’ feet and cried, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” he was under conviction (Acts 16:30). He was certain that, without a Savior, he would die. When the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin, He represents the righteous judgment of God (Hebrews 4:12). There is no appeal of this verdict. The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of sin, but He also brings them to repentance (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:5). The Holy Spirit brings to light our relationship to God. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and opens our hearts to receive His grace (Ephesians 2:8). We praise the Lord for the conviction of sin. Without it, there could be no salvation. No one is saved apart from the Spirit’s convicting and regenerating work in the heart. The Bible teaches that all people are by nature rebels against God and hostile to Jesus Christ. They are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Part of that “draw” to Jesus is the conviction of sin. Psalm 89:5–7 says, “The heavens praise your wonders, LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.” These verses present a divine council: heavenly beings referred to as “the council of the holy ones.” Psalm 82:1 also indicates that “God has taken his place in the divine council” (Psalm 82:1, ESV) The “divine council” is also called the “great assembly” (NIV), “heaven’s court” (NLT), and “His own congregation” (NASB). This divine council could also be referenced in Nehemiah 9:6, which says, “You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (NKJV). The “host” of the “heaven of heavens” are most likely angelic beings. God is the Lord of hosts (Psalm 24:10; Isaiah 44:6). The God who presides in the heavenly council is sovereign over all, including the spiritual beings in His divine council. Other passages of Scripture describe scenes that could be interpreted as a meeting of the divine council. In Job 1:6, a conclave is held in heaven: “One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord.” In 1 Kings 22:19, the prophet Micaiah relates a vision: “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.” Micaiah goes on to describe how the spiritual beings there suggested various means of accomplishing God’s will, and God chose one spirit to carry out the task. In Daniel 4:17, the angels present a decision made by the divine council: “This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men” (NKJV). The divine council was in God’s presence and was given the task of deciding Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment and communicating the verdict to Daniel in a dream. l God does not need a divine council to give Him ideas or to approve His decisions. He is the omniscient God Almighty. In His wisdom, God has created a divine council to stand in His presence and graciously allows them to participate in various judgments and decrees. It is a wonder that God allows created beings to be privy to His ways and even have input in His plan. The divine council is privileged to participate in God’s plans, and, to an extent, so are we: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). And God chooses to use us as ministers of reconciliation in the sharing of the gospel: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18–19; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:18). Revelation 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” ' book of Revelation is a book of prophecy given by Jesus Christ The term revelation refers to a revealing or the making known of something that was previously unknown. Revelation is like pulling back a veil to show what’s behind it or unwrapping a present to see what’s inside. What is prophecy, then? Simply put, prophecy is communication from God to mankind. Some prophecy can be speaking of future events, and other prophecy might not be. Prophets were utilized as a mouthpiece for God-- they listened to God and then conveyed God’s message to the masses. Some examples of prophets are Elijah, Isaiah, Moses, and Jonah. In the context of Revelation 19:10, John has seen the fall of the evil world system called Babylon the Great (Revelation 18). A great multitude in heaven is celebrating and singing praise to God because of that judgment (Revelation 19:1–3) and because it is now time for the wedding supper of the Lamb (verses 6–8). An angel says to John, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9). At this proclamation, John falls to worship at the feet of the angel who is communicating this prophecy, but the angel insists John rise to his feet, for he is but “a fellow servant” (Revelation 19:10; cf. Colossians 2:18). In response to John’s wrongful worship, the angel says, “See that you do not do that! . . . Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10, NKJV). It is critical to understand that this statement is a response to John’s intention to worship the angel. Because of the construction of the clause in the original language (Greek), there are three common understandings of the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy: Following the angel’s command to John, we ought to worship God alone. We are to worship not the purveyor of the message but the Source of the message. (cf. John 17:3; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15; 1 Samuel 7:4). The name Faithful and True expresses the total trustworthiness, reliability, and constancy of Jesus Christ. The title reveals His character and makes known His words and works. In Revelation 19:11, John sees a vision of Jesus as the exalted King of kings leaving heaven to return to earth: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” This picture of Christ’s second coming at the end of the age shows Jesus no longer as the peaceful, humble servant riding on a lowly donkey (John 12:12–15). Now He is the victorious King, charging forth like a conquering war general, leading His troops into battle (Revelation 19:14). In this vivid portrayal, John identifies Jesus by four different titles, beginning with Faithful and True. It is the first and only time this name of Jesus appears in Scripture. The second title is unknown to us (Revelation 19:12); the third is the Word of God (verse 13); the fourth is King of kings and Lord of lords (verse 16). The word for “Faithful” in the original language means “characterized by steadfast affection or allegiance,” and the word translated “True” means “truthful or characterized by expressing the truth.” The nature of Jesus Christ—His whole being—exudes faithfulness and truth. Earlier, in Revelation 3:14, Jesus called Himself the “faithful and true witness” in His letter to the church in Laodicea. Faithful and True is who Jesus Christ is. In His first coming to earth, Jesus proved Himself to be faithful to the mission and will of God His Father: “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4; see also John 5:30; Hebrews 3:6; Luke 4:43). Never once did the Lord give in to the temptation to sin (Hebrews 4:15–16), from the time Satan tempted Him in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13) until His death on the cross (Matthew 16:21–23; 26:36–44; Mark 8:31–33; 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46). From the day Isaiah foretold His coming, Christ’s faithfulness was known (Isaiah 11:5; 42:3). As a young man (Luke 2:49) and throughout His ministry, Jesus was a faithful and obedient servant to His Father God (John 4:34; 6:38; 8:29; 12:27; 14:31). Jesus is consistently the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Others will wear out, change, or perish, but Jesus Christ remains the same for all eternity (Hebrews 1:11–12). Jesus, who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” is the very embodiment of truth (John 14:6). He came from His Father “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). And His promise of eternal life is true: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24, ESV; see also John 6:47). Because of the fidelity inherent in His character, Jesus is faithful toward His followers in every circumstance. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself,” declares 2 Timothy 2:13 see also Matthew 28:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Hebrews 10:23 Faithful and True is a fitting title for Jesus Christ our King, and He calls His followers to emulate His faithfulness and truth (Revelation 14:12; Hebrews 10:23). The entire book of Revelation conveys a message to the church of Jesus Christ to be faithful and true, just as He is Faithful and True. In Revelation 19:11, when John sees the gates of heaven open, the One who has been Faithful and True from ages past appears at the end of time to wage His final battle. Jesus Christ comes with justice to judge and wage war, and He will triumph over the enemies of God! The outcome is sure because He is Faithful and True. He will do what He has promised to do. He shall defeat the devil once and for all. He will destroy the power of death, wiping away every sorrow, tear, and pain from the hearts of His devoted followers (Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 15:54; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14). https://youtu.be/YPWHJC7PyYY Typically, when someone is thinking of the “lion and the lamb,” Isaiah 11:6 is in mind due to it often being misquoted, “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together.” The true “Lion and the Lamb” passage is Revelation 5:5–6. The Lion and the Lamb both refer to Jesus Christ. He is both the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb who was slain. The Lion and the Lamb are descriptions of two aspects of the nature of Christ. As the Lion of Judah, He fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 49:9 and is the Messiah who would come from the tribe of Judah. As the Lamb of God, He is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. The scene of Revelation 4—5 is the heavenly throne room. After receiving the command to write to the seven churches in Asia Minor, John is “caught up in the spirit” to the throne room in heaven where he is to receive a series of visions that culminate in the ultimate victory of Christ at the end of the age. Revelation 4 shows us the endless praise that God receives from the angels and the 24 elders. Chapter 5 begins with John noticing that there is a scroll in the “right hand of him who was seated on the throne.” The scroll has writing on the inside and is sealed with seven seals. After giving us a description of the scroll, an angel proclaims with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” John begins to despair when no one comes forth to answer the angel’s challenge. One of the 24 elders encourages John to “weep no more,” and points out that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has come to take and open the scroll. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is obviously a reference to Christ. The image of the lion is meant to convey kingship. Jesus is worthy to receive and open the scroll because he is the King of God’s people. Back in Genesis 49:9, when Jacob was blessing his sons, Judah is referred to as a “lion’s cub,” and in verse 10 we learn that the “scepter shall not depart from Judah.” The scepter is a symbol of lordship and power. This was a prophecy that in Israel the kingly line would be descended from Judah. That prophecy was fulfilled when David succeeded to the throne after the death of King Saul (2 Samuel). David was descended from the line of Judah, and his descendants were the kings in Israel/Judah until the time of the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC. This imagery of kingship is further enhanced when Jesus is described as the “root of David.” This harkens us back to the words of Isaiah the prophet: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. . . . In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:1, 10). As the root of David, Jesus is not only being identified as a descendant of David, but also the source or “root” of David’s kingly power. Why is Jesus worthy to open the scroll? He is worthy because He “has conquered.” We know that, when Jesus returns, He will conquer all of God’s enemies, as graphically described in Revelation 19. However, more importantly, Jesus is worthy because He has conquered sin and death at the cross. The cross was the ultimate victory of God over the forces of sin and evil. The events that occur at the return of Christ are the “mop-up” job to finish what was started at the cross. Because Jesus secured the ultimate victory at Calvary, He is worthy to receive and open the scroll, which contains the righteous judgment of God. Christ’s victory at the cross is symbolized by his appearance as a “Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Prior to the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were commanded by God to take an unblemished lamb, slay it, and smear its blood on the doorposts of their homes (Exodus 12:1–7). The blood of the slain lamb would set apart the people of Israel from the people of Egypt when the death angel came during the night to slay the firstborn of the land. Those who had the blood of the lamb would be spared. Fast forward to the days of John the Baptist. When he sees Jesus approaching him, he declares to all present, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus is the ultimate “Passover lamb” who saves His people from eternal death. So when Jesus is referred to as the Lion and the Lamb, we are to see Him as not only the conquering King who will slay the enemies of God at His return, but also as the sacrificial Lamb who took away the reproach of sin from His people so they may share in His ultimate victory. When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. In order to understand who Christ was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). In fact, the whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10). The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices. With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood, protecting us from the angel of (spiritual) death. Another important sacrifice involving lambs was the daily sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-42). These daily sacrifices, like all others, were simply to point people towards the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In fact, the time of Jesus’ death on the cross corresponds to the time the evening sacrifice was being made in the temple. The Jews at that time would have also been familiar with the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, who foretold the coming of One who would be brought “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 11:19; Isaiah 53:7) and whose sufferings and sacrifice would provide redemption for Israel. Of course, that person was none other than Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God.” While the idea of a sacrificial system might seem strange to us today, the concept of payment or restitution is still one we can easily understand. We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that our sin separates us from God. We also know the Bible teaches we are all sinners and none of us is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him. Therefore, the only hope we can have is if He provides a way for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is what He did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him. It is through His death on the cross as God’s perfect sacrifice for sin and His resurrection three days later that we can now have eternal life if we believe in Him. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sin is part of the glorious good news of the gospel that is so clearly declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” The Lion of the tribe of Judah is a symbol found in Genesis and Revelation. In Genesis, Jacob blesses his son Judah, referring to him and his future tribe as a lion’s cub and a lion (Genesis 49:9). In Revelation, this symbol is seen again when the Lion of the tribe of Judah is declared to have triumphed and is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals (Revelation 5:5). Jesus is the One who is worthy to open the scroll (see John 5:22). Therefore, Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
In Genesis, as Jacob blesses his children, he promises Judah that his brothers will praise him and that they will bow down to him. Jacob also tells Judah, “You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?” (Genesis 49:9). Jacob says that in the future the scepter and ruler’s staff will not depart from Judah “until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be His” (Genesis 49:10). This messianic prophecy points forward to the second coming of the Lord Jesus, the descendant of Judah who will rule the earth (Revelation 19:11–16). Based on Jacob’s blessing, the lion is a symbol of the tribe of Judah, which is known as the kingly tribe (King David was of the tribe of Judah). Lions symbolize power, fierceness, and majesty. Lions are the king of the beasts, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah is the king of everything. In the Old Testament, God is sometimes described as being like a lion. In Isaiah 31:4, just “as a lion growls, a great lion over its prey—and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts . . . so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.” The Lord is not afraid of His enemies. He protects His people and does not allow them to be conquered. In Hosea, God is angry at Israel because they became proud and forgot Him. God says, “I will be like a lion to them. . . . like a lion I will devour them. . . . You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper” (Hosea 13:7–8). It is better to experience the help and protection of the Lion than to deny His kingship and face His fierceness. In Revelation 5, Jesus is the long-awaited Lion of the tribe of Judah. John weeps because no one was found worthy to open the scroll of God’s judgment or even to look inside it. Then one of the elders says to John, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:4–5). Both of the genealogies in Matthew and Luke record that Jesus is a descendant of the tribe of Judah. When Jesus is revealed as the promised Lion of the tribe of Judah, it reveals His deity. He is the true king and the One to whom belongs the long-awaited obedience of nations. Yet it is not His fierceness or the force of His power that makes Him worthy. The Lion has triumphed because He became a Lamb (Revelation 5:6–10; cf. John 1:29). Jesus Christ is worthy because He lived a perfect, sinless life and in shedding His blood defeated sin and death. His death and resurrection have resulted in a protection for His people and an eternal kingdom that will honor and worship God. Ruling this kingdom will be Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Isaiah’s ministry spanned fifty years as he prophesied and addressed the sins of the people during the reign of four different kings. As a messenger of God’s covenant, one of Isaiah’s primary roles was to remind the people what God expected of them. The book has a coherent structure, which can be divided into two parts, but written by one author. The first half, chapters 1-39, focuses on God’s judgment of His people, while the second half, chapters 40-66, focuses on the salvation of God’s people. Another key difference is the first half deals more with the Assyrian crisis while the second half deals with the Babylonian crisis and resulting exile. Despite these calamities, an overarching theme throughout the book of Isaiah is God’s special relationship with the nation of Israel and the unfortunate need of judgment and exile to bring about the future restoration of God’s people.
GOD’S JUDGMENT AND SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE Michael Wilkins explains, “The people of Israel understood that God was using them as a people to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah; however, the problem was Israel, as a nation, had failed in its mission and as a result had become a blind and deaf servant”[1] (Isaiah 42:18-25). God can use anyone and anything to accomplish His plan and during the first part of Isaiah, He uses the Assyrian army to confront the people’s sinfulness and bring about judgment and salvation. “Assyria was the rod of Yahweh’s anger and the staff in their hands was His fury” (Isaiah 10:5). In the second half of Isaiah, it would be the Babylon Empire that the Lord would use to pronounce judgment on Israel, but even before the exile took place in 586 B.C., the Lord planned to use Cyrus, the Persian king to allow the people to return home. As J. J. M. Roberts asserts, “Israel’s current predicament was due to the sins of her people (Isaiah 42:24-25). Their plight was well deserved, their coming salvation was due simply to Yahweh’s graciousness, and the appropriate response was to return to Yahweh in trust and confidence”[2] (Isaiah 43:22-44:2). Ultimately, the hope and salvation of Israel would only come through their suffering, judgment, and exile. RESTORATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM Barry Webb explains, “The transformation of Zion is both the literary link and formal key that helps us understand the message of Isaiah.”[3]In chapter one, Zion, the unfaithful prostitute is reduced, but in chapter two, Zion, Yahweh’s bride is exalted and taken back, following the divorce/exile. This dichotomy is a powerful reminder of God’s grace and the comparison being made is how old Jerusalem was equated with God’s judgment while the New Jerusalem was going to be a place of God’s blessing and a place where God establishes His kingdom forever. Roberts explains, “Isaiah’s transformation of the royal ideology and the Zion tradition became the wellspring from which the later messianic expectations and the hopes for a New Jerusalem [and] the conception of a heavenly Jerusalem and a transhistorical view of salvation that includes even the ultimate victory over death [arose].”[4] After the purge, John Watts shows, “The important thing about Zion is her reputation as Yahweh’s dwelling. It is Yahweh’s house, the temple, which stands out, because He is present and active there.”[5] This is reminiscent of Isaiah’s vision again, as the glory of the Lord filled the temple. His holiness is overwhelming, as the seraphim are depicted covering their face and feet, calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Watts adds, “Yahweh’s presence in the temple lifts its importance to supremacy and this has nothing to do with Israel or Judah, their kings or leaders. Purely because Yahweh is there, Zion attracts the other nations.”[6] Then the imagery of beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks is profound. Here, Geoffrey Grogan explains, “The issues that set nations against one another do not disappear automatically but are settled by the supreme Judge, whose decisions are accepted. Thus there is no uneasy calm but peace based on righteousness.”[7] The coming kingdom of God and the future restoration of Israel are dominant themes. Gary Yates states, “God is going to bring the people back to their homeland; there is going to be the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty, through the Messiah; the temple will be rebuilt; and as the nations see how God blesses Israel, they will come to the Promise Land to worship God.”[8] Sin still had consequences, so as the children of Israel return home from the Babylonian exile, they find themselves impoverished and living under foreign oppression. It is here, Yates asserts, “If the return from exile is all there is, then Isaiah’s prophecies and promises are a disappointment at best and they are an outright failure at worst.”[9] Ultimately, the full restoration will not occur until they have fully returned to the Lord (Isaiah 56:1-7). The new heavens and new earth referenced in Isaiah 65 and the New Testament, (Hebrews 12:22-24) says the blessings and presence of God are being enjoyed now, but in the future there will come a time where God completely reverses the effects of the fall. This means death, violence, and wickedness will be replaced with life, love, and harmony and Isaiah recognized, as he looked to the future kingdom, some of these promises and blessings are being enjoyed now, but some are still yet to come. LORD AS KING AND HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL Roberts states, “If there is any one concept central to the whole book of Isaiah, it is the vision of Yahweh as the Holy One of Israel [and] Isaiah’s vision… left a lasting impression on the prophet’s ministry.”[10] Isaiah’s vision in chapter six is profound as the glory of the Lord filled the temple and this encounter would shape his entire ministry and message. Isaiah desperately wanted the nation of Israel to have a similar experience and encounter, so that they too would find themselves undone by their sinful lives. Unfortunately, Israel had to learn the hard way, despite God’s sincere desire to enter into a relationship with His people. Instead of pouring out blessings, as a result of righteous behavior, the Lord would use the exile to purge all the unholy traits from the people. God is the one the people should have put their trust in exclusively, but the people, instead, chose to rely on political and military alliances for protection. The main issue throughout Isaiah was Israel’s failure to deal with its own spiritual apostasy and no alliance made with any other nation could protect them from the Lord’s wrath. The holiness of the Lord demanded a proper response from His children, but as Roberts explains, “If Israel refused to look to Yahweh, to trust in the quiet waters of Shiloah, God would send the raging waters of Assyria against them to reveal the vanity of their trust in human power”[11] (Isaiah 8:5-8). LORD OVER ALL NATIONS Roberts further illustrates how, “Before Yahweh would fight for Zion; He would fight against her (Isaiah 31:4-5). Jerusalem would be humbled and humiliated, but in the hour of her desperation, when Yahweh had cleansed her in the fiery judgment, God would intervene to save her from her arrogant enemies (Isaiah 31:4-5). Then Jerusalem would be exalted and glorified.”[12] While God used Assyria and Babylon as tools to purge Judah and Israel of sin, the very nations used by God would face judgment themselves because they failed to recognize Yahweh as Lord over all. When reading Isaiah 45, part of which focused on the fact that God is the one who “Forms light and creates darkness, the one who makes peace and creates calamity. I am the One who does these things.” This portion of Scripture is amazing, especially considering most people do not normally think that God has anything to do with the darkness. In fact, most people define darkness as the absence of light, so Isaiah is making a profound assertion here that God declares that He is even in the dark chaos of the world, and for this reason, followers can have peace, even in the darkness, because He is Lord over all. John Oswalt explains, “What Isaiah asserts is that God, as creator, is ultimately responsible for everything in nature, from light to dark, and for everything in history, from good fortune to misfortune. No other beings or forces are responsible for anything.”[13] Even in darkness and chaos, God is with every true follower, and the darkness will eventually give way to the light of day. “For the light has shone already into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it” (John 1:5). FUTURE MESSIAH AND SUFFERING SERVANT Instead of leading the people of other nations to Yahweh, the people of Israel often did the exact opposite by worshipping the false gods of other nations. In the midst of this apostasy, Isaiah promises that God would provide a solution to the problem, which was the raising up of an individual Servant who would restore the national servant, the nation of Israel. Richard Averbeck explains, “The Lord’s concern for the nations, not just Israel, is declared in the larger context in Isaiah 49:6-7; 56:6-7 and now the same sacrificial redemption and restoration applies to them as well.”[14] This means the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 brought redemption and restoration, as Averbeck says, “To the Jew first, but also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Roberts further explains, “The plan of salvation, centered in the vicarious death of Jesus Christ is dependent on [Second] Isaiah’s portrayal of the Suffering Servant, and the NT emphasis on the receptions of that salvation through faith picks up and continues the Isaianic demand for faith.”[15] In light of the entire canon of Scripture, God still has a plan for the nation of Israel and while they were spiritually blind to the Suffering Servant’s arrival, Isaiah 61:1-3 indicates the first coming of Jesus began the restoration of Israel and the second coming will finish it. Jesus quoted these words in Luke 4:18-19 and as He read to the people in the synagogue, He stopped in the middle of 61:2 after the words, “The time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Rolling up the scroll, He said, “The Scripture you have just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” (Luke 4:21). While the world is now under God’s favor; His wrath is yet to come.[16] Robert Hughes and J. Carl Laney explain how Isaiah 61:1, “Revealed that the Messiah, who ministered salvation at His first coming, will also minister comfort for redeemed Israel at His second coming.”[17] By His death and resurrection, Jesus instituted and inaugurated a new phase of God’s kingdom, some of which is now, and some of which is still to come, when Christ returns. While this student does not agree with Roger’s conclusion on the matter of multiple authors of Isaiah, nonetheless, Rogers does offer considerable insight on the overarching themes in the book that bears his name. Upon reading Isaiah, there is no denying the special relationship God had and still has with His children, but while they were supposed to be a light and witness for God, they fell victim to greed and apostasy. God wanted the best for them, yet the nations of Judah and Israel chose to find their own versions of “God’s best” outside of God’s will. As a parent punishes a child, Yahweh too is forced to pronounce judgment before He is able to provide salvation. This salvation ultimately finds its initial fulfillment in the arrival of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, but even then, as Isaiah prophesied, “He would be despised and rejected by man” (Isaiah 53:3). The words written by the eighth century prophet are just as relevant today and much can be applied to nations, like America, by heeding what was revealed in the woe oracles against foreign nations. These declarations can directly be traced back to the Abrahamic Covenant, which God made with man and are unconditional promises by God. Christ is coming back, a future kingdom will be established forever, and the Lord will rule over all, as every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10). In addition to Isaiah having multiple dominant themes, it also is the only Old Testament book to predict the virgin birth of Christ (7:14), the ministry of John the Baptist (40:3-5), and contains one the Old Testament’s clearest statements on the Trinity (48:16). Next to Deuteronomy, Isaiah presents the most detailed information on the person and work of God and also the Messiah’s role as both sacrificial lamb and ruling lion. Christ was obedient and empowered by the Father and He will return one day as the anointed one of the Lord and victorious warrior (63:1-6). “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24)… This is the Lord’s Day… This is Easter Sunday… This is Resurrection Day… This is a glorious day… Every Sunday we gather in celebration of the truths that it is finished—Jesus has paid it all, and that He is risen—and because He lives so will we… And all of this hinges on what happened on this weekend all those years ago… Don Carson has said that, “The entire Bible pivots on one weekend in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.” And if that’s true of the Bible how much more so of our lives? Friends, the gospel is the most important message in existence… It defines our lives as Christians and it’s where true life is found… And at the heart of the gospel is this weekend… On this weekend, roughly 2,000 years ago Christ was crucified; and then on the third day, on the Sunday after His death, up from the grave He rose… He got up from the grave, He defeated death, He defeated sin, and He satisfied God’s wrath for His people… But over 700 years before the cross of Christ, Isaiah laid out what happened perfectly… Jesus Himself said in Luke 22:37, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” There He was speaking of Isaiah 53; and in Isaiah 53 we find an amazing picture of the gospel… Charles Spurgeon called this chapter, “the Bible in miniature, the Gospel at its essence…” And so, today we’re going to look at this gospel message, we’re going to look at Good Friday and Easter through the lens of Isaiah 53… And given the critical nature of the gospel, regardless of how familiar you may think you are with this message, you would do well to give it your upmost attention this morning… Because again, if the Bible pivots on this, how much more so our lives? So let’s dive in… Isaiah 53- Our text begins in verse 1 with the questions, “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Well the answer to the first question seems to be no one, and the answer to the second question is first Israel and then the world… Isaiah says, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?…” Us being the prophets of Israel; those who faithfully proclaimed God’s Word… And then he speaks of the arm of the Lord. And what’s typically meant by the arm of the Lord in God’s Word is the power of God in action… And in this context the power of God in action is Jesus, the Suffering Servant Himself… And we can see this as the text shifts from speaking of the arm of the Lord to speaking of a person… In verse 2 we read, “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” So, notice that the arm of the Lord is now referred to as a He. And in light of the whole of Scripture this makes sense… The gospel is the good news about the person and work of Jesus Christ; who He is and what He has done and will do… And in Romans 1:16 we’re told that the gospel, “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Or we could say to Israel and to the world… And that’s exactly what we’re being told here… The power of God in action, the power of God for salvation is revealed in a person, in a servant, in the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, in Jesus… In Isaiah 52:13, just before this we’re told that the one Isaiah 53 speaks of is indeed a servant. God’s Word says, “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” And we refer to Isaiah 53 as the Suffering Servant passage, because it tells us how this Servant of God suffered for the sins of man; it tells us how Jesus conquered through death… Now, outside of the grace of God no one believes this message… Even Israel who saw Jesus face to face didn’t see Him for who He was; that’s in part because they weren’t looking for a suffering servant, but a conquering hero; but also, Isaiah says, they didn’t see Jesus rightly because, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” Jesus looked like an average Palestinian Jew… He didn’t look special or attractive… He didn’t have blond hair and blue eyes… And He certainly didn’t look like what they were looking for in a King… So in verse 3 Isaiah tells us, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” But, Jesus was and is the King of the universe. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). He is the, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16)… We owe Him our allegiance. We were created for Him… We owe Him our esteem… To esteem is to regard highly or favorably, with proper respect and admiration… But Isaiah says that we despised Him and esteemed Him not… We were created to delight in Him and esteem Him, but in our sin we despise Him and esteem Him not… This was true of Israel and the world by and large… And that’s because it’s true of everyone in their sin… In the flesh we are unable to see the beauty and majesty of Jesus… His beauty can only be seen by faith… In verse 2 it says that after coming to this world Jesus grew up before God… He was always before God’s eyes; but the eyes of man never rightly looked upon Him, at least not without a work of grace… Jesus has always been in perfect communion with God the Father and God the Spirit… Our triune God is holy, perfect, and good, and has always existed in perfect joy in and of Himself. And even after Jesus left heaven and came to earth to save sinners, before going to the cross God always looked upon Him in love and joy… But He was despised and rejected by men… He was not rightly esteemed… And this is the heart of what sin is: rejecting God, not esteeming Him rightly; and regardless of what we think, if we don’t esteem God rightly we despise Him because we belittle Him and seek to put ourselves in His place… This is what mankind has been doing since Adam and Eve, but this is especially what happened when Jesus came to earth… In verse 4 we read, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” In other words, He took on our sorrows and sufferings, yet the world thought He was being punished by God for His disobedience… The Jewish leaders accused Him of sinning against God and had Him sentenced to death. And notice that Isaiah says, “we esteemed him stricken…” In other words he’s including himself with those who would have Jesus crucified… He did that 700 years before it happened… And understand, we should write ourselves into that as well, even 2,000 years after it happened… Sure we’d like to think that we would do better, but we wouldn’t… As that old hymn asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Friends, we were there, because we are no different than they in our flesh… We would have shouted crucify Him because we would have thought Him guilty… And as we watched Him suffer we would’ve thought He was getting what He deserved for His sin… Oh, but it wasn’t His sin that He suffered and died for, but ours… In verse 5 we read, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” They esteem Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted; they thought He was being punished by God for His sin, and we would’ve too… But, in actuality, God in the flesh was being punished for our sin… It was our griefs, our sorrows, our transgressions, our iniquities… And notice the language here; again, this was written 700 years before the cross, yet God’s Word says, “he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . . . . he was pierced . . . . he was crushed…” This is what is known as prophetic perfects… In other words, God has said it, so it is as good as done… That’s why the Bible speaks of Jesus as the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world… In other words, God’s plan before He created the world was to save the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel is not plan B… There are no plan Bs with God… The cross was the plan before creation, so Isaiah can say with confidence that Jesus will be pierced, crushed, chastised, and wounded for our salvation… He can write as if it was already done, because it was already as good as done… And as we look back at the cross, we look back knowing that all of this did indeed happen, that it is finished… God made good on His Word, as He always does… Jesus was pierced for our transgressions by three nails and one spear… His chastisement brought us peace… The idea behind chastisement here is corporal punishment… And that’s what happened… Jesus was tried, He was flogged and beaten, and then He was crucified… It was corporal punishment inflicted upon Him as though He had committed a crime… But it wasn’t He who committed the crime, but us… So He took our punishment… He was wounded for us… He had a crown of thorns beaten into His head, His beard ripped from His face… Pierced, chastised, wounded… Oh but worst of all, He was crushed for our iniquities… In verse 10 Isaiah elaborates on this a bit, saying, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief…” Jesus wasn’t crushed by the beatings, by the nails, by the cross, or by the spear; He was crushed by the wrath of almighty God… Verse 6 helps us understand this; it says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This is the Old Testament language of atonement and of sacrificial lambs… And that’s exactly what Jesus is… He’s the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, because it was laid on Him… “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way…” And basically what that means is what Romans 3:23 says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We have turned to our own way instead of God’s way… We have sought to live for ourselves instead of God’s glory… We have despised Him and esteemed Him not… As I said earlier, we were created to delight in Jesus and esteem Him, but in our sin we despise Him and esteem Him not, we turn to our own way… And why do we do that? Because we think we know better than God… We think our way is better than God’s way… That’s essentially what sin is, and that’s always what sin promises. Our sin tells us that there is more joy to be had in sin, there is more pleasure to be found in doing things our way, in going after the desires of our flesh, than there is to be found in Christ… Sin says, “Just come with me… Go here, do this, look at that, try this… Follow me into the darkness, for there’s joy in the night…” And indeed there may be some pleasure in the night… But there is always sorrow in the morning… But with God, in following Jesus, as Psalm 30:5 tells us, sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning… Our way leads to destruction, God’s way leads to eternal life… Our way leads to ruin, following Jesus who is the life, the truth, and the way leads to eternal joy… From what may seem like the smallest sin, to the greatest—every sin is an offense against the infinitely perfect, just, good God of the universe… Every sin offends His infinite glory… Therefore every sin is an infinite offense, and deserves infinite wrath, infinite punishment… But God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)… And when He took on our sin, He took on the punishment for our sin: the infinite righteous wrath of God, in all of its fury… We have committed a crime against God; and the punishment for that crime is infinite wrath… But Jesus took that wrath on Himself, and it crushed Him… It was the Lord who crushed Him… As bad as the cross and all that sinful man did to Him was, it does not compare to the wrath and fury of almighty God that was poured out upon Him… And it was God’s will that this happen… It was the will of the Lord to crush Him this way… Peter says the same thing when he’s preaching to the Jews in Acts 2:23. He says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (the will of God), you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Jesus was delivered up, He was crucified, and He was crushed according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God… This was God’s plan A, and there is no plan B… And though it was the hands of lawless men that crucified and killed Him, it was God, it was God’s wrath that crushed Him. In verse 7 and 8 we read, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?” Isaiah is saying that Jesus went to the cross willingly, and on that cross He was cut off and stricken for the transgression of the people of God… Now, those who were doing this didn’t realize what all was happening; that’s why Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)… As they hung Him there on that cross He was cut off from God and soon cut of from life. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” . . . . But that was the point. In hanging on the tree, on the cross, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13)… He was cut off and cursed… For the first time ever, He was cut off from God’s loving presence and He was under God’s wrath… He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And then with the fury of a hundred billion Niagara Falls, God’s wrath poured out upon Him until it was completely satisfied. Because Jesus is God the Son, because He is the infinite God of the universe in the flesh, He was able to satisfy God’s infinite wrath in a few hours on the cross… He took the cup of God’s wrath and drank it down to the dregs, and proclaimed, “It is finished…” Imagine a man standing at the bottom of Niagara Falls, under all its force and water pressure, and yet not only be able to take it, but to drink it until there was no water left… That’s essentially what Jesus did with God’s wrath… It was a spiritual reality that wasn’t visible to those around Him, but it was far more intense and real than the nails holding Him to the cross… And He suffered under it until it was satisfied… In verse 11 we’re told that, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Jesus is God… He had knowledge of all that was going to happen… It wasn’t forced upon Him… No one take’s His life; He Himself says, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). “[F]or the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2)… You see it wasn’t nails, or even our sin that held Jesus to the cross, but love… His love for the Father and His love for His people… He was a willing and joyful Savior… And He was the only suitable Savior… Verse 9 says, after He died, “they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” He had done nothing wrong, and He said nothing wrong. He was perfect in Word and deed. He had total moral purity… He was the perfect man… And that made Him a suitable sacrifice for the sins of man… As the perfect man He could stand in the place of men as our representative… As verse 10 says, his soul could make an offering for guilt… And notice that legal language… The language of guilt, the language of chastisement, the language of transgression… And these are between us and God… In our sin we are guilty before God, we deserve the wrath of God, we have transgressed against God… Understand then, that the cross of Christ first and foremost saves us from God… But, it had to be the perfect sacrifice to save us from God… It had to be the perfect man, and the perfect God… The perfect man being a suitable substitute, and the perfect God being a sufficient sacrifice; and that’s who Jesus is… He’s 100% man and 100% God… A few weeks ago my family and I went to the zoo… At one point we stopped to buy a drink, and while we were in line I noticed this little girl—maybe 2 or 3 years old—come up and snatch a bag of popcorn… Her mother quickly got it from her and took it back, so it was no big deal; but it could have been… For instance, let’s say I’m in line and a young boy—about 10 years old or so—tries to buy popcorn, but when he goes to pay for it he realizes that he’s a dollar short. Now, I could offer him a dollar and cover the cost no problem. The clerk would take the money, and the boy would take the popcorn. All parties would be happy with the transaction… That’s suitable.. It’s no problem… But let’s say it went down different, and this time he just does what that little girl did, but he keeps running. He takes the popcorn and takes off… The clerk goes after him screaming, “Thief!” But when he gets around the corner this boy runs into a police officer. Now I could offer to pay for the popcorn completely, but that might not get him off the hook. At this point he’s done something both morally and legally wrong; he’s broken the law. And so a few bucks for popcorn isn’t going to cover his offense. The officer and the clerk do not have to accept my money, they don’t have to set this boy free, because it’s about more than a debt, it’s also about justice… Well friends, that’s how it is with us… Our offense against God is both moral and legal; and it’s an infinite offense… So, it couldn’t just be anyone who paid the price for our sin… Just because someone tries to pay the price for our sin doesn’t mean that they did… Just because someone sets out to satisfy the wrath of God due His people, doesn’t mean they did… But we know for sure that Christ did indeed pay the price, that He is indeed the perfect sacrifice, that He did indeed satisfy the wrath of God… That He was both a suitable and sufficient Savior… How do we know this? Well look at the rest of our text… In the rest of verse 10 it says, “he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” And then in verse 12 it says, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” Did you catch all of that? Jesus poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors… He was nailed to our cross and hung there in our place beside two thieves… And there He poured Himself out to the death as God poured out His wrath until it was satisfied… That’s when Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” But He didn’t cry out, “I am finished…” It is finished, not Jesus… Jesus’s days are prolonged, He shall see His offspring, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand… God’s Word says, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong…” Do you see what He’s saying there? That’s the language of a victor, of a conquering hero enjoying the spoils of His victory… Verse 12 says He died with the transgressors, but it follows that with the word “yet”… Yet He bore the sin of many… In other words, what happened at the cross was what theologians call penal substitutionary atonement: the guiltless dies to save the guilty… In our place condemned He hung on our cross taking the wrath due us until it was completely satisfied… And we know that it was indeed satisfied because it says after dying He’s now a victor, and He makes intercession for sinners… This is priestly language… The author of Hebrews refers to this when he says, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:23-25)… So do you see? Do you see how we know that Jesus did indeed satisfy the wrath of God for all who will turn from their sin and trust in Him? Because He is alive! He’s a victor! He’s a conqueror! He was a suitable, successful sacrifice… Jesus wrote a check with His life and death… He signed that check by taking on God’s wrath on the cross… And we can see that the check cleared because on the Sunday after Good Friday Jesus got up from the grave! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!!! His blood was the payment and His life was the cost… And because He is the perfect God man there was sufficient funds in the bank to cover the check He wrote on the cross… He paid it all! As we sing, “Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free; for God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me…” And we know He’s satisfied because Jesus is alive! We know His death was not in vain because death could not hold Him! The resurrection was God declaring to the world that Jesus did not die in vain and that He is indeed the Son of God, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and the conquering Lion of Judah! And now He always lives to make intercession for His people… As we read earlier, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:33-34)… Jesus is alive!!! Rising He justified, freely forever, all who will turn from their sin and trust in Him… Remember, verse 6 told us that all we like sheep have gone astray; every one of us has turned to His own way… In our flesh we have despised Jesus and esteemed Him not… That’s the great sin that is behind all of our sin… So to turn from our sin means that we turn from our way to God’s way… And God’s design for our lives is to delight in Jesus, not despise Him; and to die to ourselves and esteem Him… We owe Him our esteem… Again, to esteem is to regard highly or favorably, with proper respect and admiration… In other words, it’s to magnify, to glorify… That’s why we exist: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever; and Jesus is God… He proved Himself to be the true Son of God when He got up from the grave!!! So how do we esteem Jesus? We trust that it is finished! That Jesus did everything necessary to save us from our sin, to save us from death, to save us from God and His righteous wrath… Peter elaborates on this in 1 Peter 2:24-25 saying, “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” By His wounds we are healed… Healed from what? From the disease of sin, that’s what… Jesus’ death frees us from slavery to sin. His victory over sin gives us victory over sin… On the cross He purchased the redemption of all who will turn from their sin, trust Him, and follow Him… By His grace He gives those for whom He died eyes to see His beauty, so that we might see and know that He is the way, that He is better than anything this world could offer us or take away from us… And in that moment, we are healed… But, because He conquered the grave when He rose from the dead, we will be healed from sin and all of its effects, including death… We will have eternal resurrection life with Jesus… Because He lives so will we… If, we return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls… If we esteem Him… Jesus has already paid it all… The check has cleared, for He is risen… What we must decide is whether we will go our own way, or His… Our way is foolishness… Sin never makes good on its promises, but God always does… And I hope you’ve caught what God has been doing in His Word this morning, what He’s been doing in speaking of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and the promises attached to them… He’s been wooing you… Sinclair Ferguson points this out, saying, “When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than he loves his Son! We cannot measure such love by any other standard. He is saying to us: I love you this much. The cross is the heart of the gospel. It makes the gospel good news: Christ died for us. He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat. He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that he love us.” And if we are persuaded of that, we will love Him. And if we love Him we will trust Him, we will follow Him, we will esteem Him… He is the risen Lord, and He deserves nothing less…
MINISTERING COMFORT & REDEMPTION FROM OUR SUFFERING “The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those Who plucked out the beard. I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.” Here, in this third Servant Song, we have the Suffering Servant acquiring, by means of His suffering and obedience, the wisdom and authority He will use to help others. Is this a mere substitutionary transaction, meant only for the Messiah to suffer? Many argue that Jesus suffers so that we won’t have to and, redemptively, as far as His atonement for our sins, this is true. But wisdom and context dictate that we interpret this deep call to an obedience suffering correctly for its application in our own lives. Are we merely saved by the Messiah, or are we called to be transformed into His Image and to exhibit and extend His character? Jesus “learned obedience through the things He suffered.”[2] He brings many sons and daughters to glory by way of His obedient suffering. Can we bring others into a place of healing by following in His footsteps? Couldn’t He just suffer a few hours at the end of His journey and be done with it? Transactionally this idea is as neat as a pin but definitely falls short of the intercessory depths that truly transform. How will we enter into our role as priests and intercessors unless we know what it is like to experience all that is needed to bring forth a wise word and the comfort and salvation of God in due season? How can redemptive wisdom come forth unless it is embodied in a real heart that has freely chosen to obey God no matter what? How can I speak for God unless I know and feel the heart of God? Wisdom comes from knowing the heart of God, not from a sharp intellect or a learned philosophy. Wisdom grows out of obedience, and here, in this passage, it comes through the obedience of the Suffering Servant: obedience that truly cost Him everything. Thus, godly wisdom is often, or perhaps only, learned incarnationally through deep suffering. This deep travail forms, within God's people, a heavenly perspective. Jesus had to set His face like flint to accomplish the destiny God had for Him. Refusing to suffer would have cost Him the victory of His earthly race and His ability to inherit His people—not only to purchase our salvation but the right to lead us as the righteously Suffering Servant. If Jesus had to be determinedly all-in, should I expect an easier path? One of the purposes of wisdom is to help people who are weary and don’t know what to do. My suffering can and should serve a redemptive purpose as I learn to maneuver through a broken world, ministering to a confused and markedly unwise world. In the End Times, the Maskilim (those who are wise) serve an important purpose: they have studied and prepared ahead of time so they can interpret and explain what is unfolding at the end of history. What is interesting about them is that though they are wise, they still have need of further character purging and refinement.[4] By their interaction with duplicitous characters, their imperfections come to the surface to be perfected. This “wisdom gaining” is not for the faint of heart. Picture the life of Jesus, His wisdom journey starting with the Lord whispering to Him morning by morning, but as He goes farther on His journey, He hears harder things and continues to obediently follow God into the depths. Consider this: He gave his back to those who struck Him, and He gave his cheeks to those who plucked out his beard. He did not hide his face from shame and spitting. He had agreed to go the whole length of the journey in obedience, and it was, indeed, through a “furnace of affliction.” Once I commit to the path the Lord calls me to I, like the Suffering Servant, am unable to turn back. This is where I learn what it means to persevere in obedience to the point, possibly, of death. Peter says at the end of his life, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials but rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ.”[5] There is no other reliable way to truly know God, no other way to gain wisdom than through a long, unbroken obedience over rough terrain. The world is such that dark forces and human opposition will seek to destroy me if I walk on the holy highway of obedience. I will have to set my face as flint at times to hold to my appointed task. God is the One who leads me, and He leads me into the wars destined for me to engage in. I gain wisdom to win the battle and minister to the wounded, not to avoid difficulty. Suffering, I believe, tempers my desire to self-preserve. I come to realize that I cannot keep myself. “Not by might, nor power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.”[6] The classical devotional authors of the last century urged the people of God toward “absolute surrender.” Today we get the message that absolute surrender will somehow prohibit us from living our “best” life. I am tempted to pursue merely ecstatic feelings apart from paying the price of following the Lamb wherever He goes. Setting my face like flint to follow Him trumps any euphoric feeling that may beckon me. When He leads me into the sea to save me, I should not be surprised that all that is not of Him will be drowned. My baptism tells me that. Our collective call is to be salt and light to a dying world. Worldly wisdom will in no way suffice in order for us to know how to speak a word in due season to him who is weary. We must have the wisdom of God—and that wisdom does not come cheaply. The suffering born of absolute obedience strips me of my own way of thinking and of my reliance on my thinking. In doing so, it makes way for the wisdom born of heaven to come to me. No one gains a testimony worth having by sitting in the backyard eating bonbons and binge-watching reruns. True discipleship costs me everything. What God is after are men and women who understand Him, obey Him, and love Him above all things.[7] Suffering tempers the cockiness from the soul and paradoxically replaces it with the meek but lion-like qualities of the Lamb of God. Those who are not yet sure what that last line means will understand very soon. All His devoted followers shall. Maranatha. Incidents reported in all 50 states, including a dramatic spike during Hamas-Israel conflict; Attacks against synagogues and JCCs increased 61 percent
New York, NY, April 26, 2022 … Antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in the United States in 2021, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). This represents the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979 – an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year. ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, issued today, found that antisemitic incidents reached a high watermark across virtually every category. Attacks against Jewish institutions, including Jewish community centers (JCCs) and synagogues, were up by 61 percent, incidents at K-12 schools increased 106 percent, and incidents on college campuses rose 21 percent. Assaults – considered the most serious incident type because it involves person-on-person physical violence triggered by antisemitic animus – increased 167 percent, jumping to a total of 88 reports in 2021 from 33 in 2020. Incidents of harassment were up 43 percent, and acts of antisemitic vandalism rose 14 percent. A substantial surge was reported during the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas. There was a staggering 148 percent increase in reports of antisemitic incidents that month when compared in May 2020, as tensions were high and hundreds of anti-Israel protests took place in dozens of U.S. cities. As Jewish individuals were violently beaten in the streets from New York to Los Angeles, a total of 387 incidents were reported that month with 297 of the incidents occurring after May 10, the date marking the official start of military action. “While we have always seen a rise in antisemitic activity during periods of increased hostilities between Israel and terrorist groups, the violence we witnessed in America during the conflict last May was shocking,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director. “Jews were being attacked in the streets for no other reason than the fact that they were Jewish, and it seemed as if the working assumption was that if you were Jewish, you were blameworthy for what was happening half a world away.” The May conflict represented only one of several spikes reported throughout the year and, overall, anti-Israel sentiment did not account for the lion’s share of incidents in 2021. In fact, antisemitic acts also spiked in November and December, times when there was no similar triggering factor. Nearly 18 percent of the incidents last year – at least 484 – were attributable to actions by domestic extremists. “When it comes to antisemitic activity in America, you cannot point to any single ideology or belief system, and in many cases, we simply don’t know the motivation,” said Greenblatt. “But we do know that Jews are experiencing more antisemitic incidents than we have in this country in at least 40 years, and that’s a deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures.” Major Findings: In 2021, ADL counted a total of 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the U.S. This represents a 34 percent increase from the 2,026 incidents recorded in 2020 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. The Audit classifies incidents into three categories:
In 2021, there were 525 reported incidents at Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, an increase of 61 percent from 327 in 2020. Of the total, 413 were incidents of harassment, 101 were incidents of vandalism and 11 were assaults. About one-quarter of the harassment incidents (111) were linked to anti-Zionist or anti-Israel sentiments. ADL’s Audit recorded 484 antisemitic incidents attributed to known extremist groups or individuals inspired by extremist ideology. This represents 18 percent of the total number of incidents. White supremacist groups or extremists were responsible for 422 antisemitic propaganda distributions, a 52 percent increase year over year. A total of 345 antisemitic incidents in 2021 involved references to Israel or Zionism, compared to 178 in 2020. Of those, 68 appeared in the form of white supremacist propaganda efforts, which attempt to foment anti-Israel and antisemitic beliefs. A total of 494 incidents were identified through newly established partnerships between ADL and several Jewish organizations, including the Community Security Initiative (CSI), Community Security Service (CSS), Hillel International, Secure Community Network (SCN), Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. This shared reporting represented 18 percent of the total incidents. Even without improved reporting through cooperative partnerships, the 2021 Audit numbers still would have been the highest recorded by ADL, with 2,223 incidents. The ADL Center on Extremism has reflected the complete 2021 data, as well as data from the previous three years, on its H.E.A.T. Map, an interactive online toolthat allows users to geographically chart antisemitic incidents and events nationally and regionally. Israel-Hamas Conflict Stokes Antisemitism in U.S. On May 10, 2021, fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas with heightened tensions and violence in some Israeli cities with large Arab and Jewish populations. As the crisis unfolded, there was a surge of antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish communities and individuals in the U.S. and around the world. Between May 10 and the end of the month, ADL tracked a 141 percent increase in incidents over the same time period in 2020. There were 211 cases of harassment, 71 cases of vandalism and 15 assaults reported across the U.S., and nearly 40 percent of the total incidents that month included explicit references to Israel or Zionism. At least eight of the antisemitic assaults were motivated by anti-Israel or anti-Zionist sentiment. For example, on May 18, patrons at a Los Angeles restaurant were attacked by individuals who arrived in cars carrying Palestinian flags who said, “You should be ashamed of yourselves” after the customers confirmed they were Jewish. The Palestinian supporters pushed one of the victims to the ground and kicked him. Soon after, a brawl erupted, and subsequent news reportsindicated the attackers also hurled anti-Jewish slurs. On May 20, in Manhattan, a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke was attacked by a group of individuals who yelled anti-Jewish and anti-Israel slurs while they punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and beat him. Methodology The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs, as well as vandalism and assault. Compiled using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders, and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff, the Audit provides a regular snapshot of one specific aspect of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. This information assists ADL in developing and enhancing its programs to counter and prevent the spread of antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. The Audit offers a snapshot of one of the ways American Jews encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including public opinion polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as ADL Global 100, Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience, Survey on Jewish Americans’ Experiences with Antisemitism, Murder and Extremism, and the ADL Survey of American Attitudes Toward Jews. Earlier this year, Israel’s Tel Aviv University published “The Antisemitism Worldwide Report 2021.” It reveals that the most serious increases in anti-Semitic activity occurred in the U.S., Canada, the U.K, France, Germany, and Australia. Here in the land of the free, “the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded in both New York and Los Angeles were almost twice that” of 2020. In New York, “Orthodox Jews [have been] assaulted on busy streets in Midtown Manhattan and in quiet neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Swastikas [have been] drawn on a Long Island home and spraypainted onto Wall Street’s Charging Bull statue.” This February in Chicago, there were six dangerous acts of anti-Semitism in one weekend, including a man attacked as he entered a synagogue, swastikas sprayed on the facilities of a Jewish high school, and kosher food stores that had their windows smashed. In May, someone tried to set fire to Portland, Oregon’s Congregation Beth Israel synagogue and scrawled an anti-Semitic insult on an outside wall. The synagogue’s rabbi reported that the vandalism took place “just days after the synagogue observed Yom HaShoah, a Holocaust remembrance day in which the congregation celebrated six local survivors of the Nazi’s attempted extermination of the Jewish race.” Why this rise in acts of vicious, irrational hatred toward the Jewish people? One obvious reason is that the frightened, unsuccessful, and ignorant love to pick on the weak, as do all bullies. Jews are a minority and, like most Americans, don’t expect to be attacked simply for walking along a sidewalk, so they are ripe targets for abuse. Then there are the chronic conspiracy theorists who believe that wealthy Jewish bankers are manipulating everything from global economies to Hollywood movies, all to gain control of the world. As journalist Yair Rosenberg notes, the conspiracy theorists believe that “Jews, who are a tiny, tiny proportion of the world — 0.2% of the world population — actually run everything … They control politics, economics, the government, media. And therefore, they exercise outsized power.” As to Israel, why a tiny country with a land mass slightly larger than the state of New Jersey would so enrage so many of its neighbors is beyond understanding. Especially given the astonishing corruption of the Palestinian regimes and brutal fanaticism of groups like Hamas. Sometimes, anti-Semitism can be abated simply by people talking with one another and realizing their stereotypes about one another are foolish. Or if someone proposes a loony idea about Jews secretly plotting to despoil the central banks of Europe, he can be shown factual and logical evidence as to why this idea is, as noted, loony. However, the persistence of anti-Semitism throughout history speaks to another, deeper issue. There is something underlying these cowardly and/or maniacal beliefs, something as old as Abraham and as recent as the Holocaust. Jesus said that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). Paul the apostle affirmed God’s ongoing love for the Jewish people when he wrote that to Israel “belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Messiah, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:4-5). Should it come as any surprise that the “ancient serpent, the devil” (Revelation 20:2) would want to destroy those God says, “found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the LORD appeared to him from far away.’ I have loved you (Israel) with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you’” (Jeremiah 31:2-3)? Those God loves with a special and enduring love are, unquestionably, targets of Satan’s enduring hate. Remember, the enemy entered Judas so as to motivate him to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3). Why? Because the idea that God would provide a Messiah for His chosen people and a Savior for all mankind was odious to him. Of course, God made a cosmic fool of Satan through the victory of His Son on the cross and in His resurrection. Yet the “ancient serpent” doesn’t quit. While the devil’s doom is sure, his human instruments — perhaps not possessed but certainly influenced by him — keep working to destroy the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Too bad for them. “He who touches you” — the Jewish people — “touches the apple of His eye,” declared the prophet Zechariah (2:8). The witness of history vividly bears this out. Watch films of what had been the cities of Nazi Germany from about 1945 through about 1950. What isn’t rubble is damaged, broken, crushed. America forgets this to its grave peril. It is up to all who follow Jesus to actively repudiate those who demean or, worse, hate the Jewish people. The descendants of those Moses led out of Egypt should have no better friends than those God, in His great kindness, has taken from darkness to light. Their journey is led by a Galilean Jew named Jesus, heir of David’s throne, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, Whom to know is life eternal (John 17:3). |
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