The LORD covered all their sin (Psalm 85:2-3)

The cross of Christ looms over the entire Bible. Ever since the fall, when Adam’s sin plunged man into sin and condemnation and death (Romans 5:12-19), the cross has been required. Man has fallen into sin, and now only the sacrificial death of the sinless Son of God can pay the price of our redemption.

THE MYSTERY OF FORGIVENESS

            But for God’s people living before the incarnation of Jesus the Messiah and before the cross, God’s means of forgiveness was a mystery. Oh yes, it was evident that the LORD did forgive sin, but what was the basis for that forgiveness?

  • Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” But how is that possible? How can my scarlet sins become white as snow?
  • Psalm 103:12 declares, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He (the LORD) remove our transgressions from us.” For whom does the LORD do this? How can I be one of the ones for whom the LORD removes transgressions?
  • Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Who is the “us” and the “our” in this verse? How do I become a part of that group?
  • In fact, this mystery of forgiveness could call into question the justice of God. In Ezekiel 18:4, the prophet, speaking by the word of the LORD, says, “The soul who sins shall die.” That seems very clear, but then we read just a few verses later that if a wicked person turns from their sins, none of his transgressions will be remembered (18:21-23). Wait a minute! How did this sinner who should die get forgiven? Is it right for God to forgive great iniquity? How can God forgive ANY iniquity and remain just? How can God threaten to punish sin but then also not remember sin? What is the basis for His judgment or His forgiveness?
  • In 2 Samuel 12, after the prophet Nathan has confronted King David about his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and his sin of arranging for the murder of Uriah, David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD (12:13a).” Now the Law required stoning to death with stones both for the sin of adultery and for the sin of murder. Yet the Scripture in 2 Samuel 12:13b says, “And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” Wait a minute again! That cannot be right. How can the LORD put away David’s two huge sins and still be a just Judge? If God’s Law requires stoning for a sin, how can David be acquitted after just voicing a simple confession?
  • And so, the cross as the means of God’s forgiveness of sins remained hidden from the Old Testament saints, even though the effects of the cross were scattered throughout the Scriptures. We come, then, to our study text, Psalm 85:2-3, which talks about forgiveness of sin and removal of wrath.

YOU COVERED ALL THEIR SIN – PSALM 85:2-3

You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin.

You withdrew all Your wrath; You turned from Your hot anger.

            We will go through these short verses carefully and see how the cross answers the questions we have been asking, even though it had not been revealed to the psalmist and still lay centuries in the future.

  • You forgave the iniquity of Your people. From the Old Testament Law, we can see that every Iniquity “received a just retribution (Hebrews 2:2).” That means that iniquity requires punishment or an atoning sacrifice. To be forgiven, there must be some recompense or some atonement that removes the offense. So, the cross is implied here as the hidden means of atonement. Also note that all iniquity is forgiven. (It makes no sense grammatically or practically for the LORD to forgive some sins, for even one unforgiven sin is enough to condemn.)
  • You forgave the iniquity of Your people. A critical question is, “Who are ‘Your people’?” Theologically we know that forgiveness is specific. It applies to specific people when specific conditions are met. Here we see that the LORD forgave the iniquity of His people and it necessarily follows that He forgave no others. Since the only forgiven people are His people, it is incumbent on us to be part of His people or to become part of His people. From the Scriptures, we know that we become His people by faith (Hebrews 11) and that we are justified by faith (Galatians 2:16; etc.).
  • You covered all their sin. From the first half of this verse, we can see that this also applies only to the LORD’s people. When the LORD covers sin, He does so that it will be hidden from sight. David writes, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).” Since sin is an offense against the LORD (Psalm 51:4), and since the LORD is the supreme Judge, when He covers sin, that sin has been forgiven and forgotten. Since the cross punished all the sin of all of the LORD’s people, then the LORD can justly cover it.
  • You withdrew all Your wrath; You turned from Your hot anger. Sin is an offense against the Holy One, against the LORD our God, and the Lord responds to sin with wrath. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” At the end of the age, Jesus Christ will return to “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty (Revelation 19:15).” There must be some means whereby the LORD’s people can turn away the Lord’s wrath. But again, we find that the cross of Christ is the answer. For “Christ Jesus is whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith (Romans 3:25).” “Propitiation” is a theological word that here means to quench the wrath. By His death on the cross, Jesus has not only paid for our sins, but He has also satisfied the wrath of God that our sins provoked.

REFLECTIONS

            Think of the greatness of the cross. All are in need of its benefits, because all have sinned, but all are also able to receive its benefits by faith. There is no ethnic or financial or social or physical barrier in your way. All are welcome to bow at the cross. The power of the cross extends into the future until the last of God’s elect comes to faith in Jesus, and it goes backward into the past, applying Jesus’ redeeming blood to all of the Lord’s people since the Garden of Eden. All who will ever be forgiven of sin are forgiven because of the cross.

            And what about those who are not the Lord’s people? What will become of them? A review of the verses just studied will answer the question. Their sins remain unforgiven and uncovered. The wrath that has been provoked by each one of their transgressions remains as furious as ever, and the hot anger of the Lord is still poured out on them. Those who are not the Lord’s people must turn from their sins and trust Christ for their salvation. “For there is salvation in no other name; for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).”

SDG                 rmb                 10/16/2020

The King brings a sword (Matthew 10:34-39)

            There are some who imagine that Jesus was merely a moral teacher, an innocuous Rabbi who taught His disciples some general principles for peaceful living. This mythological Messiah, however, exists nowhere in history and certainly does not exist in the pages of Scripture. On every page of the gospel record in the New Testament we see Jesus the Messiah as He really is, the incarnate Son of God and the conquering King who has come from heaven to begin bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. With the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the invasion has begun, and King Jesus is the one who is leading the charge.

            The gospel of Matthew is the story of Jesus’ life that most emphasizes His kingly rule. Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s long-awaited King, the one who will reign as the great Son of David. In Matthew 10, Jesus begins to summon His troops, first by calling the Twelve Apostles, and then by describing the battle conditions for the rest of His disciples whom He will call during the gospel age. In the course of His charge to His troops, Jesus lays out for His would-be disciples the conflict they will encounter and the commitment that He demands.

  • “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword (10:34).” There cannot be peace when a war is being waged. As long as Satan remains the god of this age and as long as evil and sin abound, there can be no real peace on earth. Jesus has come to begin the liberation of the captives and of the oppressed (Luke 4:18) and His disciples must understand that this war of liberation will involve conflict and casualties.
  • Enemies will be those of one’s own household (10:35-36). In this spiritual war for souls, the dividing line between Christ and His enemies may cut right through the natural family unit. Jesus is warning His disciples of this in advance so they will not be surprised when it occurs. Throughout the church age, and especially now in our own day as those from false religions come to Christ, Jesus’ words have proven painfully true. In many cases, the first and most painful persecution comes from a believer’s natural family.
  • Those who value any natural relationship more than they love Jesus “are not worthy” of Jesus (10:37). Jesus makes clear that His disciples must love Him above even the most precious natural relationships. (See Luke 14:26-27; 1 Peter 1:8; Matthew 22:36-38.) Jesus the King demands from His disciples’ supreme allegiance to Him, an allegiance that is founded on His goodness and righteousness and faithfulness. This supreme love for Jesus should be manifested in the lives of His disciples. For example, is it evident that you love Jesus more than son or daughter?
  • And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me (10:38).” The meaning of this demand from the King is daunting. During the Roman Empire, the cross was the common instrument of execution. Therefore, for someone to “take his cross” meant that the person was committed to a course of action, even though that course of action meant their death. In light of this, we can see that Jesus is calling His disciples to follow Him to their death. As the cross, once taken up, is not released until death, so the disciple, having committed to Christ, will follow Him until his death. (See Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21.) When the disciple “takes his cross,” he has effectively surrendered his life to Jesus and has made the commitment to follow Jesus no matter where that leads or what that involves. Our cross, then, is the commitment to accept all the rigors of the battle as the cost of following Jesus. And to not take His cross is to render a person not worthy of Jesus, which must mean that person is not saved by Jesus. Daunting words, indeed!
  • “. . . whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (10:39).” Jesus concludes this part of His martial call with a demand for commitment. If you would follow the King, then He demands that you commit your life to Him. There is a choice that every would-be disciple must make: will you lose your life to Jesus, so as to gain an eternal reward, or will you spend your life on anything else and so forfeit all of the Lord’s blessing forever? For those who will join the King in His gospel mission, “the Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).”

SDG                 rmb                 10/14/2020

Living in the present – The Loss of Eden (Romans 5:12)

Several of my posts lately have been on the theme of living fully in the present. Because God is always in the present (He is the great “I AM”), one of the goals of our sanctification and our discipleship is progressively to spend more and more of our time fully engaged in the present. In this article, I wanted to explore what happened to disrupt our ability to dwell peacefully in the present.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived fully in the present because their initial environment was ideal. They lived fully in the present because there was no other option. For them, there was obviously no past to regret and so there were no past sins to incite guilt, because sin had not yet entered the world. And there was no future to fear, because the Garden provided everything Adam and Eve needed, and because the LORD God was there in person, and because there was no death to fear, for death had not entered the world. Thus, Adam and Eve lived fully in the present moment, enjoying the LORD, and enjoying His perfect creation, and enjoying each other.

THE LOSS OF EDEN

But all of that was ruined when sin entered the world, and that has affected us down to the present moment. Now unlike Adam and Eve, we have lost Eden and we live in a hostile environment, with monsters from our past and threats in our future. After man’s disobedience admitted sin into the world, the past now holds memories of guilt and shame and loss, the future now holds the promise of our fearful death, and the present is a constant, existential reminder that we are weak, vulnerable creatures in a hostile world that operates outside of our control.

This is our present reality. It is a reality common to every person on earth. Sin has entered the world and thus paradise has been lost and this creation has been ruined. Whether we grasp this or not, sin has entered the world and, as a consequence we all have a past stained with guilt and shame, and we all have a future dominated by our impending death. Sounds bleak, doesn’t it?

EDEN RESTORED BY THE SECOND ADAM

But there is good news that shatters all the losses of our sin-wrought existence, for now the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, has been sent into the world to restore what the first Adam lost. Because Jesus died on the cross on our behalf and has removed the guilt and shame of our sin, we who believe in Jesus are no longer enslaved to our past. And because Jesus has conquered death by rising victoriously from the grave, we who believe in Jesus need no longer dread the future, for through Jesus, eternity in heaven is guaranteed.

Because of Jesus, I have no guilt in my past and I have no death to fear in my future, so I can live fully in the present, experiencing God’s loving presence with me. Because of Jesus, I can live fully in the present, striving to live joyfully and obediently so that God is glorified by my life. Because of Jesus, I can truly live in this fallen world where Eden has been lost, anticipating when I will be in heaven with the Lord forever.

SDG                 rmb                 10/9/2020

The Eschatology of Isaiah – 27:1 Punish Leviathan, Slay the Dragon

The prophet Isaiah wrote powerful prophecies not only of the events of Jesus the Messiah’s first advent, but also about the events of that day, the final day when the glorified Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the resurrected Lamb of God, returns from heaven on a white horse (Revelation 19:11ff) to judge all the earth.

It is Isaiah’s eschatology that we have been exploring in this series of studies from one brief passage of four verses, Isaiah 26:19-27:1. Here the prophet tells us of things to come at the end of time. As we have seen in the post of December 1 of last year, Isaiah 26:19 told us about the great final resurrection of the dead when the tomb will become a womb and the dust will give birth to those who will sing for joy. A little later in December of 2019, we examined Isaiah 26:20, where the prophet writes about the time of tribulation of God’s people. We recently (October 2, 2020) examined the next verse in the passage in which the prophet tells us about when “the LORD is coming out of His place,” telling of when Jesus returns. This post will be the final one of the four, examining Isaiah 27:1, which tells of the punishing of Leviathan and the killing of the dragon, and seeing how this relates to the events surrounding the return of the Lord Jesus from heaven.

PART 4 – The LORD will punish the serpent and will slay the dragon

“In that day the Lord with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

In the context of this passage that we have studied, in the context of what we can now see as a vision of Christ’s return, the meaning of this verse must be obvious. What to Isaiah the prophet must have been puzzling and mysterious, to us with the New Testament is clear. For Jesus the Messiah has already come to fulfill the prophecies of His first advent and has told us Himself of His imminent return. In the book of Revelation, we read of precisely these events coming to pass at the end of the age, exactly consistent with the other events surrounding the Second Coming of the Lord. Isaiah has already told us of the resurrection of the dead, of the great tribulation that will come upon God’s people, and of the glorious time when the Lord Himself will come from heaven. Now Isaiah tells us what will become of Leviathan the fleeing serpent and the dragon.

  • In that day – What day? This expression, “in that day,” is used throughout the writings of the Old Testament prophets and almost always refers to “the day of the LORD.” So here, Isaiah is making a reference to the day of the LORD, that day when the LORD will return to judge the earth. The prophets describe this as a terrifying day, a day when the unrighteous will find no place to hide and when the LORD will recompense all sin. That is the day tIsaiah intends here.
  • Leviathan the fleeing serpent – Who is Leviathan? Although there are several Old Testament passages that speak of Leviathan, the creature’s exact identity is difficult to determine. The overall impression is that “Leviathan” is a picture of evil, and of threat and destruction. Leviathan is dangerous and foreboding, and his appearance brings with it imminent threat. The background music strikes a minor key. That is certainly the picture here.
  • But notice that Leviathan is no longer the hunter but is the hunted. Leviathan, that creature of chaos and destruction, is fleeing from the LORD’s “hard and great and strong sword.” His imminent doom is certain, for the LORD’s sword never returns to its sheath until it has accomplished its work. The LORD’s sword “will punish Leviathan.” “Punish” describes the reason for the LORD’s sword (to punish for evil), but the effect is the death of Leviathan. The LORD says, “I have created the smith who produces a weapon for its purpose (Isaiah 54:16).” The LORD’s sword is created to kill the LORD’s enemies. When Leviathan is punished, it will certainly be slain.
  • Leviathan is a fleeing serpent and a twisting serpent – Observe carefully the descriptions of Leviathan. Twice he is called a serpent. Now it is time for Bible 101. “Who is the serpent?” This is the one who tempted Eve in the Garden and thus led man into sin. This is the one who is called that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9).” Yes, in this context, Leviathan is another word for the devil and Satan.
  • Leviathan, the serpent, is also the dragon – We know that the Bible is written such that what appears later sheds light on what was written formerly. For example, what was written in the New Testament sheds light on and informs what was written in the Old Testament. Therefore, based on Revelation 12:9, we just confirmed that Leviathan, the serpent, is also the devil, the serpent. Now, from that same verse (Revelation 12:9) we can see that the serpent is the dragon, for it is the dragon who is explicitly identified as the serpent (“the great dragon, that ancient serpent”). It can thus be concluded that Isaiah 27:1 is not about the destruction of two creatures, Leviathan and the dragon, but is actually about the slaying of the one creature, the dragon. And we know from the New Testament that the dragon is a symbol for Satan.
  • OUR CONCLUSION – What we see is that Isaiah 27:1 is prophesying the slaying of Satan on the final day, “in that day,” when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven on the day of His glorious return. And that is exactly what we find described in the book of Revelation. On that day, Jesus returns from heaven on a white horse with a sharp sword in His mouth to strike down the nations. Then “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty (Rev. 19:11, 15).” His final act of judgment will be “the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where (he) will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10).” Isaiah has seen the events of the last day.

SUMMARY OF THE PASSAGE

            In this four-part study, it has been shown that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, who lived 700 years before Jesus the Messiah’s first advent, prophesied the events of Jesus’ Second Coming with great accuracy. As we compare Isaiah 26:19-21 and 27:1 with the prophecies of Jesus’ Second Coming in the New Testament, we see the resurrection of the dead, the testing of God’s people, the great coming of the Lord, and the punishment and destruction of Satan all predicted. To me, there are two applications of this.

  • First, I am again convinced of the Bible’s being breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16), for there is no other explanation for the Bible’s supernatural accuracy.
  • Second, it reminds me that there is a final day coming when all the joys and difficulties of all the ages will come to an end. There is coming a day, perhaps very soon, when Jesus will come from heaven with a shout. Jesus will come on a white horse with a sword to judge the unrighteous without mercy. It reminds me that “the Lord is a warrior (Exodus 15:3)” and that His favor will not be extended forever; there is coming a terrible day of the Lord. It reminds me that I have been promised persecution in this world, but that Jesus has also promised me an eternity with Him in heaven. It reminds me that I am to warn the unrighteous of their need for a Savior.

SDG                 rmb                 10/08/2020

The Blessings of Persecution (Matthew 5:10-16)

SUMMARY:

            In Matthew 5:10-16, Jesus declares that those who are persecuted for righteousness and for His name will be blessed. How is the disciple of Jesus to understand these words or how to live in light of them? Jesus also makes clear that our response to potential persecution is not to shrink back and be silent but is to live a distinct life that boldly displays our identification with Him as salt and light in a rotten and dark world.

RECRUITING METHODS

            When a would-be leader is first developing a following, the leader typically recruits followers by emphasizing the benefits to those who join the team and by ignoring or downplaying the costs or the challenges involved in the leader’s vision or agenda. “Get on board with my campaign,” they say, “and I will make you prosperous and your life good, and it will cost you very little.”

            How odd it is, then, when we hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and hear Him teach about what His disciples can expect if they choose to follow Him. I wonder if you have ever considered the cost of His call and realized how counter-productive should have been His recruiting methods.

CALLED TO EMBRACE PERSECUTION

            For the disciple of Jesus, persecution is part of the job description. It is mentioned right along with hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Persecution is not a hidden clause in the small print, but is in the main body of the contract, near the top, in large print.

            Notice that you should expect persecution “for righteousness’ sake (5:10).” Think about this. Why should a person experience persecution because they strive to live a righteous life? But Jesus said it would be so and it has certainly proven to be the case. “The wicked spies upon the righteous and seeks to kill him (Psalm 37:28).”

            Notice also that you should expect that “others will revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Jesus (5:11).” In other words, because you publicly identify with Jesus, you should expect to be persecuted.

            Some may confuse suffering with persecution, thinking that they are pretty much the same thing. Not so. Suffering is different from persecution. It would be easy to sign up for suffering, because suffering has been guaranteed to all people since the fall of man and the introduction of sin into the world. All people will suffer to some degree. After all, “Man is born for trouble as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7).” Suffering comes upon us despite all we do to avoid it. It is a part of the human condition that almost no one can escape.

            Persecution is not like that. Persecution for righteousness’ sake (5:10) and for Jesus’ sake (5:11) is entered into voluntarily, based on our commitment to Jesus as Lord. Persecution is avoidable. Be like the world in your behavior and be silent about Jesus and you will avoid persecution. Persecution for Jesus’ sake comes upon His disciples because they willingly choose to do those things that could produce persecution. Persecution occurs when those who hate Jesus can identify and harm those who visibly and publicly love Jesus.

            The prospect of persecution is loathsome to the human soul. All humans naturally recoil from the idea of persecution. There is a natural fear and dread that comes with being hated and harmed and possibly imprisoned or killed, simply because you strive to live a holy life and tell people how to go to heaven when they die.

            But despite this natural revulsion from persecution, Jesus calls His followers to expect it and to “Rejoice and be glad” in the midst of it (5:12). Why? Because “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and because “your reward in heaven is great.”

IS THERE A LOOPHOLE?

            Maybe there’s a loophole here for those who want to follow Jesus and get the benefits of being a Christian but who don’t care for the persecution part. Knowing that some will be tempted to reject persecution, Jesus declares that our lives must taste like the salt of the earth (5:13) and that we must live such that our faith in Jesus shines like a city on a hill or like a lamp in the house (5:14-15). This means that, rather than the disciple of Jesus managing persecution, the disciple is to display Jesus in every part of their life so that they maximize the possibility of receiving the blessing of persecution.

            Follow the logic here. First, Jesus declares that I am blessed if I am persecuted for righteousness’ sake (5:10), and I am blessed when others revile me and persecute me and utter all kinds of evil against me falsely on account of Jesus (5:12). Now, if no one knows about my hunger for righteousness and no one knows that I am a disciple of Jesus, those who hate Jesus will never persecute me, and thus, I will never receive the blessings promised to those who are persecuted. But because He wants me to be blessed, Jesus exhorts me to let my righteousness be a tangible saltiness in the world and He encourages me to let my association with Him be a visible light to the world. That way, my persecutors can easily find me and bless me!

            This is not entirely tongue in cheek. The New Testament is full of exhortations and commandments regarding persecution, making it evident that the disciple of Jesus is not to be surprised by hatred and persecution (1 Peter 4:12, etc.), but is to expect it as part of the call. Consider Romans 12:14; 2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:44-48; 10:16-39. J. C. Ryle said, “Persecution, in short, is like the goldsmith’s stamp on real silver and gold – it is one of the marks of a converted man.” Since that is evident from the pages of Scripture, let us boldly tell of Jesus and live in righteousness and embrace whatever persecution may come as a blessing from the Lord.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

  • Based on how I am living, how quickly could those who hate Jesus find me if they came to persecute someone? (The point of the question is to consider how I am living in light of Matthew 5:10-12. Do I believe Jesus that I am blessed if I am persecuted for His name’s sake? Is that evident in my life?)
  • Have you ever been persecuted for righteousness’ sake or for the name of Jesus?

SDG                 rmb                  10/05/2020

The Eschatology of Isaiah – 26:21 The Coming of the LORD

The prophet Isaiah wrote powerful prophecies not only of the events of Jesus the Messiah’s first advent, but also about the events of that day, the final day when the glorified Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the resurrected Lamb of God, returns from heaven on a white horse (Revelation 19:11ff) to judge all the earth.

It is Isaiah’s eschatology that we have been exploring in this series of studies, from one brief passage of four verses, Isaiah 26:19-27:1. Here the prophet tells us of things to come at the end of time. As we have seen in the post of December 1 of last year, Isaiah 26:19 told us about the great final resurrection of the dead when the tomb will become a womb and the dust will give birth to those who will sing for joy. A little later, in late December of 2019, we examined Isaiah 26:20, where the prophet writes about the time of tribulation of God’s people. Now, about nine months later, I want to examine the next verse in the passage in which the prophet tells us about when “the LORD is coming out of His place.”

PART 3 – The LORD is coming out of His place – 26:21

“For behold, the LORD is coming out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no more cover the slain.”

There are definitely passages in the prophecy of Isaiah that are difficult to understand, but this is not one of them. Just to state the obvious, there will be a time in the future when “the LORD (YHWH) is coming out of His place.” For anyone familiar with the passages in the New Testament that talk about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the meaning of this phrase is clear. Isaiah is prophesying the return of the risen Christ at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead (confirm from Matt. 24:30-31; 25:31; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; 2 Thess. 1:7-8; 2 Tim. 4:1-2; Titus 2:13; 1 Peter ; 1 John 3: ; Revelation 19:11-21; etc.) Revelation 19:11ff, for example, is virtually identical to Isaiah’s prophecy and will be used as a comparison in the exegesis below.

            Phrase by phrase, the passage in Isaiah 26:21 says:

  • The LORD is coming out of His place. The Bible confirms that, in this instance at least, “the LORD (YHWH)” is Jesus, and that He will be coming “out of His place.” “His place” is heaven. This is exactly what Rev. 19:11 says as heaven opens, and a white horse appears and seated on the horse is the one called Faithful and True.
  • To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. When Jesus returns to earth from heaven at the end of the age, He is coming to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). As Isaiah says in other words, He is coming to punish the unrighteous for their iniquity. Now is the favorable year of the LORD (Isaiah 61:2) when the gospel is proclaimed and men and women can repent and believe the gospel and be saved from the wrath to come. But when Jesus returns and is “revealed from heaven in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance (2 Thess. 1:7-8);” when “He judges and makes war,” “strikes down the nations,” and “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty (Rev. 19:11, 15),” there will be no more repentance, but only punishment and recompense.
  • The earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no more cover the slain. Without going through this phrase word by word, the meaning of this phrase is that, when the Lord returns in judgment at the end of the age, there will be no sin that will not be exposed to the light of God’s holiness and there will be no iniquity that will not receive the full fury of God’s judgment. In this age it can seem that the unrighteous prosper and seem to get away with murder (see Psalm 73, for example). While God’s judgment is delayed, people can believe that sin is not a big deal and that, because punishment is delayed, punishment for sin will never occur. But there is no sin that God does not see and record (Revelation 20:12-13 – “and the books were opened”). Every sin matters to God, because every sin of His people required the death of His Son on the cross, and because every sin of the unrighteous requires eternal punishment. So, there is no sin that escapes His notice. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, for all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13).”
  • Because the Lord will return to bring wrath on the unrighteous, now is the day to repent and trust in Christ (2 Cor. 6:1-2). When Isaiah wrote his prophecy about the coming of the LORD in judgment, there were yet 700 years before the First Advent of the Lord Jesus. When Isaiah wrote his prophecy, there were no miracles of Jesus, there were no apostles, there was no perfect Man who fulfilled the Law, there was no cross, and there was no empty tomb, There was no gospel to proclaim that allows sinners to be saved. There was no New Testament which clearly tells of the coming judgment and of the return of the glorious Lord Jesus, and that warns men and women to repent before the time to repent is gone. But we have no such ignorance, and now the time is short. Soon, and very soon, the LORD is coming out of His place to judge. “Behold, NOW is the favorable time; behold NOW is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).”

What we have seen so far in our reading of Isaiah 26:19-21 is that, even though Isaiah wrote at least 700 years before the New Testament was written, his prophecies about the events of the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah are entirely consistent with the prophecies of the New Testament. This is yet another confirmation of the “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) nature of the entire Bible, and evidence that the same God who inspired Isaiah in his writings is also the God who inspired the New Testament authors. This should increase still more our confidence in the Scriptures and should persuade us that, when we handle the Bible, we are indeed handling the word of God.

The next post in this series will look at Isaiah 27:1 which will tell us more about the events surrounding the return of Jesus.

SDG                       rmb                        10/02/2020

Living in the present with Joseph (Genesis 50:19-20)

My last post was about living in the present moment so that we can maximize our enjoyment of the Lord and can give ourselves away for the blessing of others. If I am dwelling in the past and lamenting things that cannot be changed, or if I am fearing the future and fixating on the threats that might come, then I am not living in the present. And the present is the only place where I can live and be faithful to my calling (Ephesians 4:1) and accomplish the works the Lord has given me to do (Ephesians 2:10).

In this post I wanted to further explore this idea of living in the present by looking at some biblical pictures of this and asking, “So, what do I do with my past? How do I handle thoughts and feelings about my past? Do I just pretend those things never happened?”

TWO ASPECTS OF THE PAST: MY OWN SINS AND THOSE OF OTHERS

It occurs to me that there are two aspects of our past that can prevent us from living fully in the present. First, there are my own sins and failures. There are the things that I have said and done in violation and rebellion against God’s moral Law and have thus wounded others, and these things now bring me the pain of shame and guilt and regret. How can I ever remove these black marks from my past when the sins are committed, and the words are said and cannot be taken back and are etched in history’s stone? Who will set me free from this guilt and shame (Romans 7:24)? The good news of Jesus Christ answers this question, because most of what the Bible has to say about our past and about how we are to deal with our past is focused on this aspect of our past. The Bible declares that, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool (Isaiah 1:18).” The Bible proclaims that, because the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary’s cross, your sins can be forgiven and your guilt and shame can be removed if you will place your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. The gospel, and only the gospel, offers forgiveness, full and free, from all your sins and failures (John 8:36).  

But the second aspect of our past that can prevent us from living in the present is the things that have been done to us by others. This second aspect has to do with dealing with how others have wounded and harmed us. People can often be thoughtless, and they can be intentionally cruel, and they can inflict deep and long-lasting damage to us. But regardless of who or how the damage is done, we are the ones who must mend and forgive and untangle and resolve and defang these deep pains from our past. These kinds of wounds can stay with us a long time and can leave us trapped in the wreckage of the past. How do we deal with this part of our past? How are we able to bury these specters from the past so that we can live and flourish in the present?

JOSEPH RECEIVED CRUEL AND EVIL TREATMENT, AND YET . . .

            Joseph was the favorite son of his father, Jacob. Then one day, while obeying his father’s instructions to find his ten older brothers (Genesis 37), his brothers conspired together to strip off his special coat and to throw him into a pit to die. Before they could kill Joseph, however, some slave traders come along, and the ten older brothers decide to sell Joseph to the slave traders heading to Egypt. When Joseph is gone, they dip his robe into goat’s blood and tell his father that he is dead. Meanwhile, as a slave in Egypt, Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into an Egyptian prison. Here is a man who should have been trapped by his past and by the evil that was done to him by others. Here is a man whose major hope for the future would be to get out of prison so he can take revenge on his brothers.

            But that is not what we find. Through God’s providence and God’s plan, Joseph is dramatically promoted from prison to the palace and is made second in charge to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And what does he do with the pain of his past?

MANASSEH AND EPHRAIM

            Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife and through her, Joseph has two sons. He names the firstborn Manasseh, for “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house (Genesis 41:51).” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction (41:52).” Joseph is able to break free of the poison of his past because he focuses on what God is doing, and he focuses on God’s goodness. It is as if he says, “Yes, people can be cruel and evil, but God is good and I will rejoice in Him and I will trust Him to run His universe as He sees fit.” Joseph could have remained trapped in the past, bitter and vengeful and blaming others for his pain, but he chooses instead to trust the Lord and to live in the present and to do today what God has commanded him to do today.

RECONCILES WITH HIS BROTHERS

            What will Joseph do with his feelings toward his brothers? How can he ignore the hateful evil that they did to him, throwing their own brother in a pit and then selling him off to slave traders? But even in this Joseph will not be a slave to his past. He will not be trapped in the pit of self-pity or in the chains of revenge. Instead, when he finally confronts his brothers, the men who robbed him of his home and of the peacefulness of his youth, he says, “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).” Joseph knows the God is the one who used the evil deeds of his brothers to preserve life in Egypt. God is the one in control. and God is good. God has made Joseph lord of all Egypt (45:9). Joseph focuses on God and is thus able to escape the slavery to his past. So, Joseph chooses to forgive his brothers and not to hold them under his judgment, and thus is able to live and love in the present. At the end of this scene, Joseph “kissed his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him (45:15).”

CONFESSION OF SIN AND FORGIVENESS AT LAST

            Joseph has been freed from his past, and he has forgiven his brothers’ sins against him, but because his brothers have never admitted (confessed) their evil to Joseph and have never asked for his forgiveness, they remained trapped in the past. They remain fearful that Joseph may some day remember the evil that they have done to him and may take revenge. But finally, the brothers, too, are set free from the evil that they did to Joseph. “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong (Genesis 50:17).” Joseph responds to their request for forgiveness by weeping, as all the evil of the past and its pain finally rolls away, and he says, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to preserve many people alive (Genesis 50:19-20).”

FORGETTING THE PAST SO WE CAN FULLY LIVE IN THE PRESENT

            By fixing his focus on God, and not on the evil deeds of men, Joseph is able to move past his past, so that he can fully live in the present. The Lord has given him the ability to forgive his brothers so he can forget their cruelty to him. He thus forgets what lies behind, so that he can be free to embrace what lies ahead (Philippians 3:12-14). When we focus on the Lord and His goodness, we remove from our past the power to enslave us and we can joyfully live in the present.

SDG                 rmb                  10/1/2020

Ever in the present (Exodus 3:14-15)

The LORD, the one true and living God, is eternally in the present. That is what the Bible teaches and what the LORD declares about Himself. All events take place in the present for the LORD because He exists beyond time. He is aware of time, for He is the One who created time, but He is not bound by time, so He does not live within time.

I AM WHO I AM

In Exodus 3:14, when Moses asked His name, God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say to the people, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Then God told Moses that His name was “the LORD.” The word that we have in Hebrew for God’s name is “YHWH,” which is connected with the Hebrew verb “to be.” The point is that even God’s name declares that God is always in the present. He did not say, “I WAS,” or even “I WILL BE,” but He proclaimed “I AM.” For God, all the events of His universe occur in the present. “I AM WHO I AM.”

JESUS IS THE ETERNALLY PRESENT ONE

In John 8, when Jesus was being challenged about His identity and about His claims to deity, He said to the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58).” The Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus because they understood that Jesus was claiming to be YHWH. Jesus was claiming to be the ever-present One for whom everything is in the present. Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was, I was.” That would not have angered the Jews, but it may have confused them. Ah, but when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” there was no question what Jesus was claiming. Jesus was claiming to be YHWH, the great “I AM.”

JESUS MODELED FOR US WHAT IE MEANS TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT

In Jesus, we see the unique combination of eternal deity entering time and space and intentionally being subject to the ravages of time and even subject to the experience of death. While Jesus lived on this earth, He had a mission to accomplish (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19 – and parallels; also John 17:4), which involved Him being delivered over to evil men who hated Him and then being crucified on a Roman cross. Jesus understood in the fullest possible terms exactly what His mission required, and yet at no point in His ministry does He dwell on the cross. Instead, Jesus remains always in the present moment.

For example, in Mark 10:32, “they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed.” The crowds are going up to Jerusalem so that Jesus can be arrested and crucified. There is no one who is more aware of what is shortly to take place than Jesus. He knows every lash from the whips, and He knows the spit that will drip down His face, and He knows the blows He will feel. He knows the mocking He will endure. He knows the nails that will rip into His flesh. He knows that, as He bears all the sins of His people, He will be abandoned by His Father. He knows the words that He is to say from the cross to fulfill the prophecies of His crucifixion. He knows all this perfectly. But now is not the time for that. Now is the time to walk up the mountain to Jerusalem, so He walks on ahead of the crowd. Now is the time to stop and have mercy on Bartimaeus, and to give him back his sight. Now is the time to call Zacchaeus down from the sycamore tree so He can go to be a guest in his house. Now is the time to ride the colt into Jerusalem. Now is the time to baffle the religious leaders with parables, and to tell His disciples about His return, and to have a final supper with His apostles. In all these events, Jesus is fully in the moment, fully present, completely trusting what is to happen in the future into the hands of His Father. Even though the horrors of the cross drew steadily closer, Jesus remained in the present moment, perfectly obeying the Father’s every commandment.

As in everything He does, here also Jesus, as the perfect Man, models for us how we are to live for the glory of God in this fallen world. Jesus lives in the present moment and entrusts His future into the hands of His Father. Just so, we are also to strive to live in the present moment and entrust our future into the hands of the Father.

HOW THE DISCIPLE IS TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT

            PRINCIPLE/THEORY: The more we live in the present, the more we live like the Lord. This is based on the idea that because Jesus lived in the present, He has shown us that we are to live in the present. This keeps us in the middle of the “trust zone.”

            When I am dwelling in the past, I am often dwelling in the place of sin and shame and failure that cannot be changed. While there can certainly be pleasant memories from the past, most often if we are living in the past we are living with regret or with guilt that holds us prisoner and that robs us of present peace and contentment and joy.

            On the other hand, when I am living in the future, I am living in a place that does not exist and I am distracted from giving my energy and my attention to what is here and now. More than that, because we live in a fallen world, the future often evokes fear and dread. Often our future skies are full of dark clouds and whirling tornadoes as threats of loss loom large.

            So, how am I to live in the present, in the so-called “trust zone” with Jesus, when I am haunted by my past and frightened of the future?

THE ANSWER IS THE GOSPEL

            The answer is that I am to believe in the Lord Jesus and trust Him.

            What do I do to forget the past and to stop dwelling on the sorrows and wounds of the past? Practically, I will rest in the Lord and trust Him with my past, knowing that He has sovereignly ordained all the events of my past for His perfect purposes to produce the man He wants me to become. I will forget what lies behind (in the past), and strain forward to what lies ahead (in the present) and press on toward the goal (Philippians 3:13-14).

            How can I overcome my fears and doubts about the future, especially in our present time when there are threats on all sides? Practically, I will trust the Lord with my future, because the Lord has declared that there will never be a time in the future when He will not be with me (“I will never leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:5).”) “The LORD is with me like a dread Champion (Jeremiah 20:11).” “If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?”

CHRIST HAS FREED ME FROM SINS IN THE PAST AND FEAR OF DEATH IN THE FUTURE

            But the ultimate answer is that I will live in the present, secure in the fact that Christ’s death on the cross has erased the sins of my past and His resurrection has removed the threat of death in the future. (John 11:25-26; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55; Hebrews 2:14-15) This glorious reality allows me to live in the present, in the middle of the “trust zone” with Jesus. SDG                 rmb                 9/24/2020

Two biblical studies: Daniel’s Seventy Weeks and Yom Kippur in Leviticus 16

I am doing a lot of reading and studying in the end-times passages in the Scriptures, and have been digging deep into chapters 7-12 of Daniel lately. I have always enjoyed the narrative stories in Daniel 1-6 with their heroes and the amazing ways the Lord rescued and promoted His brave and faithful servants in Babylon, but I have thus far been reluctant to plunge into Daniel’s visions and prophecies in the second half of the book. But now, since I have more time available for study, I have rolled up my sleeves and drilled down. The latest fruit of that “drilling” is a thorough study of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24-27. My study can be accessed by the link below. Please read it and let me know your thoughts. rmb 9/22/2020

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/roysreflections.com/1721

Since the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur, is approaching (it will be here on September 27 this year), I decided to take a long look at Leviticus 16, where the Bible records the LORD’s commands regarding this most serious of days, to discover what riches I might find there. It turns out that this passage is rich with symbolism and heavy with foreshadows. I wanted especially to help my Jewish friends answer the question, “Since this ceremony can no longer be practiced as the LORD commanded it to be done, how do we atone for our sins?” In the article that I wrote (see the link below), I describe what I believe is the answer. Check it out and see if you agree with me. SDG rmb 9/22/2020

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/roysreflections.com/1709

Of Rewards and Wages – What do we receive? (1 Cor. 3:5-8)

Will some believers have a greater reward in heaven than others? Will Apollos receive a lesser reward than Paul because he did not write thirteen New Testament epistles? (Apollos only wrote “Hebrews!”) Will Amos have a smaller crown than Elijah because Amos never called down fire from heaven? Or will Elijah have a smaller crown than Amos because Elijah never wrote an Old Testament book? Does the Bible have anything to say about this?

As I was reading through 1 Corinthians, I came to the passage in chapter 3 where Paul talks about servants (3:5) and about wages (3:8).

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. – 1 Corinthians 3:5-8 ESV

As I considered this passage. I began to think about rewards and crowns and whether each believer receives the same reward to their work or if those who produced more results received a greater reward. So, I decided to explore this question from the Scriptures.

  • The case for, “We will all receive the same reward.”
    • Matthew 20:1-16. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, every laborer receives a denarius as a reward. Whether they endured the sun the entire day or they came out to the vineyard during the last hour, they all received the same reward of a denarius.
    • Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not with Him graciously give us all things?” The verse teaches that God will give US all things. If we all receive all things, do we not all receive the same reward?
    • 2 Timothy 4:8. We will ALL receive the crown of righteousness, not just Paul, even though Paul accomplished much more than us for the kingdom.
    • Ephesians 2:10. If God has determined beforehand the extent of my good works, would it be fair that I receive a lesser reward because God determined that I would do lesser works than another?
    • Parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Before the master went on his journey, he gave out talents to his servants, “to each according to his ability (25:15).” Then, when the master returned from his journey, he gave the servant who had gained TWO MORE TALENTS exactly the same reward that he gave the servant who had gained FIVE MORE TALENTS. “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” EXACTLY the same reward for different faithful results.
  • The case for, “We receive greater or lesser rewards based on the fruits of our labors for the Kingdom in this life.”
    • The parable of the minas in Luke 19:12-27. While this parable is similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 (above), the rewards given to the servants for their labors are different. The servant whose mina made ten minas more was given authority over ten cities, while the one whose mina had made five minas was given authority over five cities. This indicates that rewards are commensurate with accomplishment and that all do not receive the same reward.
    • 1 Corinthians 3:13-15. These verses reveal different rewards for those who are involved in the building of the church (pastors, church-planters, elders, possibly evangelists).

13 Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

The one who built the church foolishly will “suffer loss,” but will himself be saved, but the “wise master builder (3:10)” will receive a reward (3:14). Thus, there are different rewards for different achievements.

THE THIRD OPTION

But I think that there is a third option that is better than either of the two already proposed. I think that, while we are here on this earth, our focus is not on increasing our personal heavenly reward but is on encouraging one another to faithfully carry out the works God has given us to do. Thus, we are increasing the glory that God receives as a result of our proclamation of the gospel and declaration of His glory to the nations.

  • Hebrews 10:24-25. “And let consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Clearly, the goal is not to compare future rewards, but is to encourage each other as we walk toward heaven.
  • Ephesians 4:16. “The whole body is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow.” Again, we see that each part is important to the functioning of the whole body. So, “every joint” is important, and it is important for each part to “work properly.” So, each part of the body is to encourage every other part to function “properly.”
  • Romans 12:3-8. While spiritual gifts are distributed differently, each believer is to be a faithful steward of their gifts for the glory of God.

In heaven, there may indeed be different rewards based on the results of our kingdom labors on this earth, but, if that is the case, each saint in heaven will be perfectly content with their own reward and will rejoice with other saints over the rewards the Lord has given them.

SDG                 rmb                 9/21/2020