I Laughed Today

On September 23, 2025 By TimIn Jesus, John 15, LoveLeave a comment

This week, someone said, “Jesus would’ve hated Charlie.” It made me giggle a bit. As I’m writing this, it still makes me giggle, but the laughter comes with the sad reality. Some don’t know Jesus.

I know Jesus. I know the Truth. Jesus loved Charlie Kirk. Charlie is with Jesus now.

A statement like this reveals that some don’t know much about the Bible, Who Jesus is, or what Jesus said. They know what others tell them, but have not verified anything.

As for hatred, it’s the world that hates Jesus and His followers. Consider this about hatred, and what it reveals about those who mocked Jesus, who mock Charlie and other Christians.

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world therefore hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My words, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not performed among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now have they seen and hated both My Father and Me. But that the word which is written in their law might be fulfilled, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
John 15:18–25

Because the culture hated Charlie, one thing is certain: Charlie loved Jesus. It is the public reaction that brings out the truth Jesus spoke. They identify themselves.

From the personal testimonies of many close to Charlie Kirk. He was doing exactly what he was called to do by Jesus. He was a living witness to all of us that he was the man we all should be. Bold, loving, courageous, and with complete trust in our Savior. It is clearly demonstrated that Charlie was a servant. And he was not above his Master. Charlie even died a younger man than Jesus did.

It’s no coincidence that he was hated by the world. It is because Jesus is. Charlie is proof of that. As was John the Baptist, who was also taken out at a young age. These all spoke the truth; they unveiled the underlying sins of people to the light. Just like the text above says, if they hadn’t been spoken to, they would not have known sin.

The issue is clear. Evil does not like exposure. Exposure takes the stranglehold of its power away.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the verdict, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that it may be revealed that his deeds have been done in God.”
John 3:17–21

When people came to Charlie, he didn’t set out to expose their evil deeds. He simply wanted to have conversations. In those interactions, he spoke truth to people. Truth, to a student culture that is purposefully implanted with delusion, then sounds offensive. Like Jesus said, had they not been spoken to, they would not have known of their sin. In that way, truth is an equal opportunity offender. It happens to everyone. There are things God says to me that I don’t like. Yet in not being offended and confessing those faults, I’ve learned to trust that He has my best interests at heart. Sometimes, they are ones that I have no conscious clue about.

Watching the plethora of videos of his encounters, it’s clear that truth worked in the consciences of those to whom he spoke. Sometimes, a mind was open and willing. Most often, minds were closed, and the people left clinging to their delusions.

That’s sad.

They think they know Jesus. All they have is that He’s a cool dude who was nice to everyone. That’s very shallow. I wonder if the folks whose tables were turned, or the Pharisees He called white-washed tombs thought He was nice?

Yes, Jesus loves all humans. He also speaks truthfully to them. Love and truth are inseparable.

The soul who sins shall die. I think we all know that inherently. When truth is spoken to any of us, we inevitably know our faults in missing the mark of perfection that God requires. It’s like Paul said about the truth of the law… It made sin alive in him, and he died.

Because many walked away from Turning Point USA events rejecting Jesus, Who is the embodiment of Truth. It brings profound sadness. People don’t want to know the truth. Like the person saying Jesus would’ve hated Charlie. That’s mockery revealing no personal knowledge of Jesus. They don’t know Charlie, and they really hate the Truth he represented.

The real problem is sin. The danger is dying in one’s sins. So, how do we humans deal with this inescapable doom of death?

I will tell you now, if you’ve stumbled upon this post and the words of Jesus have somehow pierced through, showing you were caught up in delusion, that’s a first step. The next is believing in Jesus.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the word of faith that we preach: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:8–10

It is that easy. You can know Jesus today. He’s not dead, but very much alive! This is Who Charlie knew. This is Who I know. Jesus is not relegated to the past… He lives and loves today. He forgives sin, any sin, all sin. He also takes them away forever. Just confess it to Him.

Are you afraid to pray or even approach Him?

Don’t be.

I know the Truth, so how can Jesus hate anyone?

He doesn’t.

I mean this: He died for the sins of the whole world. Think about that. The creation cries out for justice because you and I have sinned. The death of Jesus satisfies that justice once and for all.

Almost 2,000 years ago, He died. His death provided a pardon for sins. You and I have been pardoned effectually and unconditionally. If you’re human, He did that for you.

How is that hate toward Charlie?

Charlie let anyone speak to him. He loved them enough to be truthful, which is exceedingly refreshing in our culture.

Get this, the Bible plainly states… There is no greater love than a man lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus laid down His life for Charlie.

He did that for you.

He did that for me.

I don’t care where you’re at, what you’ve done, or even who you are. I KNOW that for the sheer fact that you’re a human person… Jesus calls you a friend. One that He died to save.

Charlie was His friend. I am His friend. If He died for you, you are His friend; the question I leave to you…

Is He your friend?

If not, fix that right now.

When This is That: A Man is Needed

On August 2, 2025 By TimIn Death, Isaiah 09, Jesus, ResurrectionLeave a comment

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder.
And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (, MEV)
Isaiah 9:6

This text is a portion of Handel’s Messiah. That’s how I have it memorized, complete with the music, and how it Is sung. In the composer’s mind, Wonderful is a standalone name of Jesus Christ. As is Counselor.

I don’t think there is really any argument that this text is referring to Jesus Christ. He is called God’s Son. He is Unique in nature. I think that will become very clear.

There are many who get confused about how God portrays Himself in His Word. Technically, the Word is Him, too. By John 1, that is made clear.

He also says of Himself that there is none like Him. Meaning there is no frame of reference for comparison.

Isaiah 9:6 portrays God, specifically Jesus Christ. Oddly, the Child given, the Son born, He is called Eternal Father. How can the Son of God be the Eternal Father God?

That seems confusing. Buckle up!

This also comes from the Lord of Hosts,
who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Isaiah 28:29

It seems that Isaiah, writing God’s words, is drawing attention with those two words again. The Lord of Hosts is wonderful in counsel. The Lord of Hosts is Jehovah Sabaoth.

If you’re not picking up what God is telling of Himself… Jesus is Jehovah God. He is the Jehovah of Hosts. The One Who commands the armies of Heaven. The One Who goes to war. Of course, the idea that comes to mind may be this:

I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Revelation 19:11–14

There is a whole prophetic panorama to which this is a part. Jesus is prophesied to come as a newborn human baby, the Son given by God. He is obviously highly esteemed even in the Godhead. He is also called the Prince of Peace. This seems to an opposing idea to the Lord of Hosts. The passage in Revelation above speaks of a time of great judgment that comes on the people of the Earth when Jesus returns. He will handily vanquish His enemies, having the evidence clearly presented on His white robe.

There is far more than just this… Yet there is enough given for a foundation toward understanding… Jesus is God. Which brings this around to the age-old supposed gotcha question, “But did Jesus ever say He is God?”

Personally, being familiar with many passages in the Tanakh, understanding the audience He spoke to, and considering the phrases and words He used… It is a resounding “Yes!”

The casual reader may not ever pick that out. So why is that important?

Consider this passage:

Again, Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself? For He said, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ”
He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
They said to Him, “Who are You?
Jesus said to them, “Just who I have been telling you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true. So I tell the world what I heard from Him.”
They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing of Myself. But I speak these things as My Father taught Me. He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
John 8:21–30

Look at that last sentence. What was said in this passage that caused many to get saved?

What does it mean they believed in Him?

Working backwards, some clues can help make it clear. Many then didn’t know that Jesus was speaking of the Father. Who is the God of the Israelis. It is John’s additional contextual clues that demand attention.

It came from a question; the people present wanted to know Who He is. They asked, “Who are you?” This came, even after He had told them exactly Who He is.

“For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” The English is a factual translation. The word He is added to make correct English. What Jesus really said is, “For unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”

Either way, there were some present with Jesus who knew that Jesus was saying to them, unless one believes I am (Jehovah), they die in their sins.

I’m always fascinated by this stuff. I can understand the skepticism and confusion of some in the crowd. Yet not the same consideration is extended to the skeptics of today. It seems to come from the idea of how could Jehovah be a man?

It is hard to consider, even presently. The Bible says that Jesus, Jehovah God, did something unique.

Let this mind be in you all, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
But He emptied Himself,
taking upon Himself the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in the form of a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5–11

This text tries to capture the high-level view, while drilling down into some details that must be considered. I think the many names ascribed to Jesus are from the Father, Who is obviously well-pleased with His Son. He humbled Himself to die. It was not just any death. The text mentions the cross, as death is the ultimate humility.

I have really big and deep thoughts here. Ones that are hard to explain. Suffice it to say, this Jesus suffered the ultimate humility, not just death alone… But a shameful one.

Yes, Jehovah died.

I know how unsettling that thought is! A proper understanding of what death is and is not helps here. Death is not non-existence. Death is what happens to physical human bodies. When Jesus died, He did not cease existing. That is a key foundation to hold.

I think it is one of those really deep things that the God I know suffered the humility of death. He has been there and defeated it.

Yet, He had to die.

Paul writes a long treatise on the greatest victory ever. It is in 1 Corinthians 15. That victory is the resurrection! That one event is the greatest victory, ever, anywhere! He could not have risen again, unless He died first. That can only happen to a physical human body.

It was a war on death itself.

In this mountain the Lord of Hosts shall prepare
for all people a lavish feast,
a feast of aged wines,
choice pieces full of marrow, and refined, aged wines.
He will destroy in this mountain
the covering which is over all peoples,
even the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
and the Lord God will wipe away tears
from all faces;
and the reproach of His people He shall take away
from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken it.
Isaiah 25:6–8

For the reformers who embrace limited atonement, this passage eliminates that idea. The victory is over the thing that affects all peoples and all nations. That thing is death. Who is it that swallows up death for all peoples and all nations for all time?

It is Jehovah of Hosts… Jesus Christ.

As an aside, when I read this passage, there are precise details here that may be missed. It is Jesus Who goes to war. It is the Holy Spirit that ministers to people, wiping away their tears. It is the Father declaring the plan.

Jehovah had to be a Man to conquer God’s enemy… Death. The Bible clearly states that the last enemy to be defeated will be death.

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:26

I find it fitting that there is one prophet who laid this all out beforehand. Knowing Jesus is the Right Hand of Jehovah and that death is the real enemy, this song of Moses and Israel comes to new life. Israel faced certain death, walled in on a beach with Pharaoh’s army quickly approaching. Who is the One Who wars against death?

Jesus.

This is that. When Moses says Jehovah is a man of war, it is true and prophetic, because only a Man can die. And only a Man can wage war on death. Only a Man can defeat death by resurrection. All hail King Jesus!

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for He has triumphed gloriously!
He has thrown the horse and his rider
into the sea!
The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
his chosen captains also
are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.

“Your right hand, O Lord,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of Your excellence,
You overthrow those who rise up against You.
You send out Your wrath;
it consumes them like stubble.
With the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together.
The flowing waters stood upright as a heap;
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

“The enemy said,
‘I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with Your wind,
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.

“In Your mercy You have led
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them by Your strength
to Your holy dwelling.
The peoples have heard and are afraid;
sorrow has taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold of them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
Fear and dread fall upon them;
by the greatness of Your arm
they are as still as a stone,
until Your people pass over, O Lord,
until the people whom You have purchased pass over.
You shall bring them in, and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance,
in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
The Lord will reign
forever and ever.”
Exodus 15:1–18

One God, the Truth That Is Foolish to Deny

On June 17, 2025June 17, 2025 By TimIn 1 Corinthians 08, Jehovah, Jesus, Triune GodLeave a comment

But for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. And there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:6, MEV)

The theology in the New Testament comes from the Tanakh. It is not new theology at all. Consider the verse above as a starting point. Paul is using a profound truth from the Old Testament as It spoke of Jesus Christ. To understand that will require a look under the hood, that is to look at the underlying mechanics of translation from Hebrew to Koine Greek, then finally English.

Paul says God is One, the Father. The Greek word Theos is translated to the English word God. In other words, he is saying Theos is the Father.

Paul goes on to apply the term One to the Lord Jesus Christ. The English word Lord comes from the Greek word Kyrios. That is, there is one Kyrios, not multiple ones… And He is Jesus Christ.

Putting it together, reveals the simple truth. There is one God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, how did this theology come about?

In the time that Jesus walked the Earth and during that first century when the New Testament was written, the Scriptures commonly used by Israelis was a translation called The Septuagint. It is a translation of the Tanakh. The title conveys the idea behind he it came to be, The Translation of the Seventy. It was actually 72 Israeli translators who worked to convert the Hebrew and Aramaic into common (at that time) Koine Greek. The work was done in the third century BC by request of Ptolemy II.

Why is that important?

Paul would have been very familiar with the Septuagint. In fact, many quotes from the Old Testament in the New Testament are from the Septuagint. Paul, like every Israeli, knew the Shema… Shema Yisrael… Literally “Hear, O Israel.” This is found in Deuteronomy.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4b, LES)

That citation is from an English translation of the Septuagint. It uses exactly the same English words as the translation of the Bible that I use. (One caveat when using to Septuagint: chapter and verse divisions won’t match the traditional Old Testament in Bibles today.)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4, MEV)

Referring to the Septuagint’s use of the Koine Greek, connect it to the original Hebrew.

First, in Deuteronomy 6:4, the English phrase The Lord usually indicates that the original Hebrew word translated from is YHWH, the Tetragrammaton. Generally, I use Jehovah for that. The 72 translators used the Koine word Kyrios as the Hebrew YHWH. Kyrios is used twice in that verse.

Next, in the phrase our God, God comes from the Koine word Theos. Theos is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim.

Finally is the word one. It comes from the Koine word heis. That word provides a hint to the reality of what Paul is saying and Jesus said Himself. Heis conveys the idea of a unity of parts. It is a cardinal number. It is translated from the Hebrew word echad, which means one, as in a unity.

Putting it all together reveals a profound truth that is obvious in the New Testament.

The Kyrios is Theos. Kyrios is a unity.

In other words…

Jesus Christ is God the Father. Jesus Christ is the unified One.

That is why Jesus said:

My Father and I are one.” (John 10:30, MEV)

Which leads to another theological truth that is derived from that idea. One that Jesus expounded on in John 10, pointing back to Psalm 82.

God is elohim. One One Elohim is God.

Jesus did clearly say, He is Jehovah God.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24, MEV)

Jesus Christ, Whom You Have Sent

On February 11, 2025September 12, 2025 By TimIn Jehovah, Jesus, John 17Leave a comment

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

This is one text taken from the prayer that Jesus offered to God on the night before He was crucified. The real need for people is to have eternal life. Many use the term being saved, but that term has some baggage. Eternal life is a gift given to believers by God Himself. That gift comes by knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ.

There is a point often debated, “Did Jesus really say He was God?“

Yes. He certainly did.

The idea is clearly laid out in His Own words. As it is said, oftentimes the Pharisees lets us know when He does that. They took up stones to kill Him.

This eternal life is knowing God and Whom He sent… Jesus Christ. Back during Jesus’ ministry, there was one of those episodes where the Pharisees took up stones. It was then that Jesus said:

My Father and I are one.”
John 10:30

The Jewish leaders tell us exactly what Jesus said:

Again the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, claim to be God.”
John 10:31–33

The Pharisees have verified Jesus’ saying He is God. Look back up to the introductory text from John 17. Keeping that in mind, I want to consider other ways that plainly show Jesus as God. To know God is to know Jesus, Whom He sent and it is to have eternal life.

Jesus often used words that echoed those expressed in the Tanakh. I know that might be shocking. Yet Jesus knows the words of the prophets, and He knows the writings of Isaiah.

Listen to Me, O Jacob
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He;
I am the First, and I am the Last.
My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth,
and My right hand has spanned the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand up together.
Assemble, all of you, and listen.
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord has loved him;
he will do His pleasure on Babylon,
and His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
I, even I, have spoken,
and I have called him;
I have brought him,
and his way will prosper.
Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there I am.
And now the Lord God has sent me
and His Spirit.
Isaiah 48:12-16

Already, it may be clear to see some familiar phrases that we know are applied elsewhere to Jesus. I will start with the first, “I am He.” Jesus said that.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:24

In the context of this passage, Jesus is speaking of the Father Whom the Jewish folk know as God. The text is clear, that unless one believes “I am He,” they do not have eternal life. For clarity, those that do not have eternal life will perish in their sins. Jesus is unequivocally saying, that one cannot have eternal life unless that person believes He is God.

The next has many witnesses. Here is the first…

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and “What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
Revelation 1:10–11

While in exile, the apostle John is caught up in a vision where he meets God. God calls Himself Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. Most know that this Person is Jesus Christ.

Part of the reason for this post comes from a conversation over whether Jesus is now God. He is, but the protagonist in the conversation believes Jesus was God and is not now because of His location at the right hand of God. I get that these types of discussions are difficult for our minds to comprehend. God is like no other. That is why, there are none like Him. We have no frame of reference except what He says of Himself. It then becomes important to understand Him as He reveals Himself.

We know Jesus is Alpha and Omega. He offers something else about His identity. These are the key things to remember.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though I were dead. Then He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, though I was dead. Look! I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:17–18

This Person addressing John says, “(T)hough I was dead, Look! I am alive forevermore.” This is an indicator to identity. He identifies Himself again as First and Last. Putting both together with He died and rose again, there is only One Person that matches. It is Jesus.

Which leads to another objection that my protagonist scoffs at. He denies the idea that God has died. Clearly, Jesus as God says He died and lives forevermore.

There is one more witness from Revelation to examine.

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Revelation 22:12–13

Once again, this Person identifies Himself as Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, First and Last. It has already been established Who is speaking. Yet another witness to identity is this One is coming again. We know the One Who returning to Earth again is Jesus Christ!

Back in the passage of Isaiah 48 above, it says I am He, the First and Last. From the context, Jehovah is being spoken of in third person. Yet clearly the One narrating is God. Israelis in the day would know this well. They were very familiar with the Tanakh. Note, when connected from Isaiah to the Gospel of John and then Revelation, the idea coalesces. It is clearly conveyed that when Jesus says “I am He,” He is saying He is God.

But as it is in the Bible, things get a bit blurry…

Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there I am.
And now the Lord God has sent me
and His Spirit.
Isaiah 48:16

This is the same invitation from Jesus in the New Testament. The God of the Tanakh is the same God that Jesus is. And He is this same God that sent Jesus Christ. Keep in mind, the same God that sent Jesus is the First and the Last.

In my mind, it seems there can only be One Who identifies as Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. The phrase leaves no room for others. That’s God and He is Jesus.

Jesus is not-so-secretly declaring that He is Jehovah. That same Jehovah Who sent Him!

This testimony of the Alpha and the Omega in the last book of the Bible connects it to one of those books in the rough middle of It, Isaiah. The text seems to draw the reader to closely examine the beginning. It is there that yet another witness identifies that Jesus is indeed Jehovah God.

All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created.
John 1:3

John testifies that all things were created by Jesus. And God testifies in Isaiah that He spoke very clearly from the beginning. What does that mean?

Well, if all things that were created were created by Jesus… Jesus is not created. Which means He is the One Who created all things. Once again, in my mind that leaves no room for another creator.

Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and his Maker:
Ask Me of things to come
concerning My sons,
and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.
I have made the earth
and created man on it.
I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and I have ordained all their host.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will direct all his ways;
he shall build My city,
and he shall let My captives go,
neither for price nor reward,
says the Lord of Hosts.
Isaiah 45:11-13

Thus says Jehovah, that is the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) translated as Lord. He testifies He has made the Earth. All this was spoken by the Lord of Hosts (Jehovah of Hosts.) That’s the military title of Jesus Christ. He is Jesus, the Son of God, and He is God.

It is like everything is pointing to the beginning. It might just be beneficial to check it out.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

I assume most are familiar with this verse. What many may not know are the not-so-secret things hidden just behind the translation into English. Here is the verse in transliterated Hebrew.

Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz

I tend to be a bit nerdy. I’m no Hebrew scholar. But I’m certain many see the word Elohim. It is well known as one of the names of God.

It is that two-letter word et, which is not translated into any English Bibles. There is much controversy over what the ‘word’ means. I am one that does not think it is a word, but is more of am identifying signature.

See, that two-letter et, in the Hebrew alphabet is also two letters, those being the aleph and the tav. The significance of those two letters is like the signature. It is as if it is literally saying, “In the beginning created God Aleph-Tav.”

The aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The tav is the last letter. Has God spoken not in secret from the beginning?

Yes!

Jesus the Son, is the Creator God. The same Elohim Aleph-Tav Alpha-Omega Who spoke creation to be. The same God Who died and lives forevermore!

His Anger Kindles in a Flash

On January 21, 2025 By TimIn Jesus, Psalm 002Leave a comment

Now then, you kings, be wise;
be admonished, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear;
tremble with trepidation!
Kiss the son, lest He become angry,
and you perish in the way,
for His wrath kindles in a flash.
Blessed are all who seek refuge in Him.
Psalm 2:10–12

I am often fascinated by the idea that the God of the Old Testament is somehow different than Jesus. They are the same God, Jesus testified to the fact that had one known the Father they would have known Him. Here, Psalm 2 provides an interesting glimpse into an intimate conversation between two Persons as God.

I draw your attention to the closing stanza. Specifically to the idea that Jesus’ wrath kindles in a flash. How does that comport to the loving Jesus you know when His anger explodes instantly?

The more important point to weigh… Why would His anger kindle at all?

Could it be that when leaders don’t lead properly, that is pointing people to Jesus, there is trouble afoot?

Clearly, the stanza is addressed to kings and judges, generally the leaders of the people. These are instructed to worship Jesus before He becomes angry. These Psalm implies that there is a limit to the time available. Perhaps it points to when Jesus returns to vanquish His enemies. It is going to be a swift and rather brutal thing. Or it is just a general exhortation that God will not let you ignore Him forever. Nevertheless, it informs us that there is a time limit to His mercy.

Personally, I think there may be a bit more in view. Especially when considering that part of this is quoted in Hebrews.

For to which of the angels did He at any time say:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father”?
Or again,
“I will be a Father to Him,
and He shall be a Son to Me”?
Hebrews 1:5

The Son is Jesus. The text is also speaking of the angels not being like Jesus. When looking back at Psalm 2, those kings and judges may very well include spiritual beings. The next verse in Hebrews 1 seems to point to an indicator of that.

And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
Hebrews 1:6

The desire of God is that all angels worship Him. We know there are some that fell away. The Hebrews passage also cites another Psalm…

All who serve graven images are ashamed,
who boast in worthless idols;
worship Him, all you gods.
Psalm 97:7

In that last line, seeing the word gods, one can assume it is the Hebrew word elohim. Reading it for understanding, “worship Him, all you elohim.”

For some, this may be an introduction to something not considered. That is, the word elohim is not necessarily a name for God. It describes a class of being much like the English word god. When God is capitalized, we know it is the Most High. When not, it is any of the lesser gods. I want you to think elohim are spiritual beings.

There are plenty of resources available on this site and can be found by exploring the tags and categories. But for a deeper explanation, this article serves well enough.

It kind of makes sense that spiritual beings are included and encouraged to remain loyal to the Son. His anger would be kindled to those who do not, and consequently they cannot seek refuge in the Son having no kin relationship to Him.

But, the greater point is that we humans can take refuge in Him. As long as we are breathing, He is a place of safety and comfort no matter what you’ve done and where you are. If you’re running away, the way back to Jesus is easy. Just turn around!

And if you’ve never taken that step to worship Jesus, start now.

The offer will expire.

The Future for Jerusalem

On June 6, 2024June 6, 2024 By TimIn Isaiah 29, Jesus, ProphecyLeave a comment

Isaiah 29:1–4 (ISV): “How terrible it will be for you, Aruel, Aruel, the city where David encamped! Year after year, let your festivals run their cycle. Then I’ll besiege Aruel, and there will be sorrow and mourning; she will become to me like an altar fireplace. Then I’ll encamp against you like David, and I’ll lay siege to you with towers, raise siege works against you, and you will be brought down. You will speak from the ground, and your speech will mumble from the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the ground, and your speech will whisper from the dust.

(I used the ISV here to introduce the text because of the clarity of the ideas as expressed.)

Prophecies are fascinating. Often times we tend look at them incorrectly. That is we see a single fulfillment of them like it’s once and done. I am one that looks at them as patterns.

Isaiah was written to Judah and Jerusalem to warn of invasion. Assyrians were being prepared as the rod of God’s anger. In this portion of text, God is warning of the imminent calamity to come to Jerusalem. I think it has patterns that also reach to contemporary times and beyond.

Jerusalem was to be made like an altar fireplace. That’s where the fire is in the place they burned the sacrifices. If you think that’s kind of dark, it is. Jerusalem was going to fall to the invading Assyrians.

But… What if this particular prophecy seems to have a fulfillment much later as than the times of Isaiah.

When the Romans began to squeeze on revolting Jerusalem in 70AD, the temple was burned to the ground. It became like the place of fire in the altar. Weeks after the temple was burned, the upper city was then besieged and overrun. At that time, Jerusalem fell and Israel ceased to exist.

Furthermore, for almost 2,000 years, Israel was a distant memory of ancient days. It was ghostlike in that way. It was hard to reconcile a future destiny for Israel when it was gone and its inhabitants scattered like dust. Dust brings to mind diaspora. Like dust, Jewish folk spread everywhere. With them came their traditions. But when the temple was destroyed, Judaism changed. Eventually there was nothing passed on that honors God as the law taught. Judaism embraced the Talmud, and became a rabbinic tradition, eviscerating the ordinances of the law with no sacrifices.

Think about that. For almost 2,000 years Judaism lacked the power of God in its teachings. The word used for speech in the passage above can mean the word of God. What they taught was ghostlike without the power of God.

Yet, something else flourished after the destruction of Israel.

Isaiah 29:5a (ISV): “But the hordes of your enemies will become like fine dust, and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff.

Even though Israel was a vestige from the past, her enemies continued to multiply and spread. Fine dust gets everywhere… Even in places where the particles of regular dust don’t go. That flying chaff comes from being lifted into the air by a winnowing fork. It darkens the sun for just a moment in time and then caught by the wind, it is spread far and wide.

Long before the Balfour declaration that created the modern state of Israel… Her enemies still existed. They were widespread. That opposition even invaded the church in the guise of what is known as replacement theology. Opposition to Israel spread like fine dust, into the most unlikely of places.

But then there’s something that is inferred in the text. A new setting is quickly introduced.

Isaiah 29:5b–6 (ISV): Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise, with a windstorm, a tempest, and flames from a devouring fire.

Like lightning flashes, Jesus comes into Jerusalem. He doesn’t seem to be alone as the referenced title indicates. He is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies (Lord of Hosts.) The last thing we read of Jerusalem is its fall. But this speaks to when Jesus comes to their rescue. Unwritten things that can be inferred are Israel once again becomes a nation and Jerusalem is part of Israel.

I would offer speculation of something more, the temple would most likely exist. As like the first invasion and fall, repeated with the Romans, the temple was there. Once again, Jerusalem would be a place that draws the attention of enemies.

And that brings a fourth inference from the third… That because Jesus returns as Victor, He fights against her enemies. So she must be besieged yet again at some future time. A time when Jesus returns. In fact, He spoke of these things.

Let’s look at it from a different perspective.

Zechariah 12:2–5 (MEV): I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling before all the surrounding nations. And when there is a siege against Judah, it is also against Jerusalem. And it will be on that day that I will set Jerusalem as a weighty stone to all the peoples. All who carry it will surely gash themselves, and all the nations of the land will be gathered against it. On that day I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness, but for the house of Judah I will keep My eyes open although I will strike with blindness every horse of the peoples. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, “There is strength for us with those residing in Jerusalem by the Lord of Hosts, their God.”

Jerusalem is going to be the focal point of the world one day.

Zechariah 12:6–9 (MEV): On that day I will set Judah like a fiery pot among wood and as a flaming torch among cut grain. And they will devour to the right and left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will still reside in her place, the place of Jerusalem.
The Lord will deliver the tents of Judah as before, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of those dwelling in Jerusalem will not eclipse Judah. On that day the Lord will defend those residing in Jerusalem; and even the one who stumbles among them will be as David on that day. And the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going out before them. On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who come out against Jerusalem.

There is only one side that is victorious…

Zechariah 12:10 (MEV): And I will pour out on the house of David and over those dwelling in Jerusalem a spirit of favor and supplication so that they look to Me, whom they have pierced through. And they will mourn over him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as a firstborn.

This is the time that is yet future, when the enemies are vanquished. They alas asunder by the Lord of Hosts.

Matthew 24:29–30 (MEV): “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory

The Son of Man and the host of heaven…

Revelation 19:11–15 (MEV): I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty.

Jesus comes to rescue Jerusalem. It’s not difficult to find Bible references of what happened to those enemies. They will be whisked away to certain death.

Matthew 24:28 (MEV): Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Much insight is provided in Luke 17:22-37. It’s needed to decode that phrase. This is when the enemies of Jesus are whisked away to their fate.

But back to Isaiah. He had a fanciful way of describing that.

Isaiah 29:7–8 (ISV): Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel, all that attack her and her fortification and besiege her, will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—as when a hungry man dreams—he eats, but wakes up still hungry; or when a thirsty man dreams—he drinks, but wakes up faint, with his thirst unquenched. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.

The real enemies of Jerusalem become like things in a dream when a person awakes. They’re gone instantly.

It’s the plan of those who would destroy Israel to establish their kingdom and rule over her. That’s the dream they all want to be, annihilate Israel and place her in subservience to their whims. Jesus steps in. All those who would attack her are gone. It’s like their existence was just a dream. What they had planned was so real to them, it satisfied completely. But in reality, it and they came to nothing.

But as it is, the prophecy is given in layers.

Isaiah 29:9–10 (MEV): Be delayed and wait, blind yourselves and be blind. They are drunk, but not with wine. They stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers.

This is speaking to the period after the fall of Jerusalem. Isaiah is chiding the Israelis for blinding themselves. They rejected the Anointed One, which brought a hardening. Because of that rejection, God removed His influences on them. The prophets and seers would no longer understand the things of the Lord.

Isaiah 29:11–12 (MEV): The whole vision will be to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which when they deliver it to one who is learned, saying, “Read this, please,” he shall say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book shall be delivered to him who is not learned, saying, “Read this, please.” And he shall say, “I cannot read.”

This is the reality we see today. Israel has the Torah and the prophets. They read, but don’t understand. Is it any wonder that Isaiah chapter 53 is not ever read in synagogues that they might understand?

It is a self-imposed blindness. And God gives them that desire that they not see. At least until the proper time.

Remember about those inferences above?

I think those are validated in the text. It will become clearer as we move forward.

Isaiah 29:13–14 (MEV): Therefore, the Lord said: Because this people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips,
but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is tradition by the precept of men, therefore I will once again do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.

Even though the people give Him lip service their hearts are far removed from Him. Things will change. God will once again move among this people. The traditions that didn’t honor God will then be forgotten. Just as above in Zechariah 12, the Israelis will again see.

Isaiah 29:15 (MEV): Woe to those who deeply
hide their counsel from the Lord and whose works are done in the dark, and they say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”

What’s done behind closed doors will be made plain to all. The enemies of God cannot hide. There is no way to do that. He sees it all.

Isaiah 29:16 (MEV): Surely you turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the potter’s clay?
Shall what is made say to its maker, “He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

It is futile to mock God. There is no way to do it and win. Those that hate God and refuse to acknowledge Him without fear, will have the tables turned on them.

When that happens, the land that is the inheritance of God will flourish. As will its people.

Isaiah 29:17–21 (MEV): 17 Is it not yet a very little while before Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be counted as a forest? And on that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing,
and the scorner will be consumed, and all who are intent on doing iniquity shall be cut off—those who cause a man to be indicted by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the righteous with meaningless arguments.

This is the Day of the Lord. Most of you would think it’s all about destroying the enemies of God. It is. But that’s a part of it. The better part of that day is the rightful reign and rule of the Anointed One. It comes with the restoration of Jacob. The Earth is now resting with humanity. As the enemies of God and creation are sequestered away.

Isaiah 29:22–24 (MEV): Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they shall sanctify My name and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. Those also who err in spirit shall know the truth,
and those who murmured shall accept instruction.

Israel will no longer stray. They will no longer be blind and unknowing of the things of God. They will listen and receive instruction.

The Red Heifer

On March 29, 2024May 4, 2024 By TimIn Jesus, Numbers 192 Comments

And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
Numbers 19:1

As it is, we cannot begin to understand the significance of a passage without examining the surrounding context. Remember, never read a Bible verse alone.

Moses is given instructions by God for a specific offering. This offering presents some peculiarities. It is the strangeness that emphasizes significance that ought draw our attention. There is something important here to discover. If it is weird, it’s important.

Rebellion

Working backward from Numbers 19 to Chapter 15, Moses gives some additional background detail about what is offered here. The significance of the tithe is also remembered. There is one law for both Israelites and foreigners in the camp.

Remembering the Torah, laws were given for unintentional sins and the remedy for those. For those whose sin is intentional, removal from the camp was the remedy. Then there is the penalty of some sin that requires removal from the camp and immediate execution.

With this basis, things become onerous. I think the response of the people to these will reveal that burden they carry. Understand… The place of sin is outside of the camp and outside the fellowship with the people of God.

As Moses continues to provide some context The institution of tzitzit or the tassels worn by Israelites is detailed. Simply put, these symbolized someone who was under the covenant. (There is a post on the significance of these here: Tassels on Garments.)

As rebellion is, some of the Levites rose up in opposition to Aaron and Moses. They wanted part of what they perceive as the glory of leadership. It seems they wanted the opportunity to lord over people, as they clearly misunderstood the roles of Moses and Aaron. Moses instituted a way to verify whom God had chosen as leaders.

As the rebels chose to participate in the way Moses offered, he then proclaimed judgment on them. They are separated and the ground opened up and swallows them. The rest of the rebellious were consumed by fire.

The next day the people complained about all of the death around them. Remember, they had laws given to them about avoiding dead bodies. The significance of the death around them was caused by deliberate sin.

Moses stands between the rebels and the judgment of God. Before it was stopped by the atonement Aaron provided, the ensuing plague killed 14,700 people. Almost all in the camp would be close to a dead body and in danger of becoming unclean.

Moses then commanded that each leader of the 12 tribes bring a rod on which the name of the tribe was written. These were placed before the Lord. God would signify His choice by the rod budding. Aaron’s rod budded and it brought forth fruit. This rod becomes a testimony to any who would revel in like fashion.

I have provided a summary. Please read the chapters for yourself for details. See what God leads you to find.

Moving forward, the Israelites understood that there was a really big problem. They are now afraid to approach the tent of meeting and to draw near to God. They saw those who approached the Tabernacle before and had died swiftly.

The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we expire, we perish, we all perish. Anyone approaching the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all to perish?”
Numbers 17:12–13

Is there a remedy for death?

This results in a new lesson.

The Red Heifer

And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: Tell the children of Israel that they will bring you a healthy red heifer, which has no blemish, and on which a yoke has never gone, and you will give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will bring it outside the camp, and it will be slaughtered before him.
Numbers 19:2–3

Moses instructs them to bring a healthy red heifer. This is the first time that a sacrifice is specified to not be male. That is something significantly different that beckons our attention. In my opinion, this hints back to the first rebellion recorded. It came by way of Eve. She fell prey to the same rebellious desire, coveting something that was not hers.

For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:5–6

In the way God works, watch as every single detail of sin is undone.

Not only is the sacrifice female, it is to be unblemished. The additional qualification of the color red narrows the availability. This is also the first time that the color of the animal to be sacrificed is specified. Hidden just behind the English the Hebrew word for red. It is adom. It comes from the same Hebrew root word that is the English Adam. And it points to the rebellious nature of Esau whose descendants are called Edom.

The heifer was not to have been yoked. That means, the animal must not have been placed under subjection to anyone or anything. This offering did not have a burden. This conveys the idea that the offering is innocent. The yoke is also a symbol of slavery.

This heifer was given not to Aaron the High Priest, but to his son Eleazar. He was to take it outside of the camp where it was to be offered. As we’ve learned, the place of sin is outside of the camp. It’s also the place where the wages of sin are collected… Death.

What we are encountering is a picture of something significant. God is giving Moses a picture of the remedy for rebellion. With the Hebrew word parah (translated to heifer) we have a nod to offspring (fruitfulness.) Think seed and by cow female seed. The age of the heifer entails that it did not have progeny. (To be honest, this part hurts my brain. I mean, I see the connection, but I also see that it may be contrived. Nevertheless, the ideas are in play just under the surface of what is written.)

Now consider the assent to purity, and one removed to the place of sin. This was a sin offering by the significance of it being out of the camp (Exodus 29:14, Leviticus 4:12.) Yet the high priest did not perform this… His son Eleazar did.

And Eleazar the priest will take from its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood directly before the tent of meeting seven times. Then it will be burned in his sight. Its hide and its flesh and its blood, with her dung, will be burned.
Numbers 19:4–5

For those who have read through the Torah, there is a significant derivation from other sacrifices. This one stands alone, and being in the Book of Numbers provides yet another.

The sin sacrifices spoken of in Exodus 29 and Leviticus 4 were young bulls slaughtered at the entrance to the Tabernacle. In Numbers 19 the red heifer was removed to the place outside the camp and where she was offered. The blood was then sprinkled at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

Another difference with the previously instituted sin sacrifices the priests placed their hands on the head of the sacrifice. From Leviticus 16:21, this is an indicator of imputation. That is placing sins from the person (people) onto the sacrifice. Without that conditional gesture, we clearly see the notion of unconditionality here.

All of this sacrifice was consumed. It was burned whole… Except for the few precious drops of blood sprinkled at the entrance to the way to approach God.

This sacrifice is outside of Leviticus where the rest are given. Leviticus outlines the use of bulls, goats, oxen, sheep, and doves for sacrifice. It provides the methods and uses. These laws never employ the sacrifice of a female. Oddly, no sacrifice was established for intentional sin. And our Israelites knew this.

Other Unique Facts

And the priest will take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet and throw it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
Numbers 19:6

Cedarwood, hyssop, and Scarlett thread have been mentioned before in the Torah. It is in the purifying ritual for a cleansed leper (Leviticus 14:1-32.) This is a significant reminder of what has already been established. These three are used with blood and running water to purify. In contrast with the red heifer ritual, these three are thrown into the fire to be consumed.

As leprosy is symbolic of sin in the Bible, this is yet another indication that the red heifer is to be a sin sacrifice. The ritual for purifying the leper connects to another with some more significance for us, and that is detailed in Leviticus 16 on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In both rituals, there is a dead offering and a live offering. The simplistic deduction from both is that something has to shed blood for the other to be free.

In other words, something had to become sin and then be obliterated. The significance of being free from sin is the release of the live offering.

The Puzzle of the Red Heifer

As mentioned, this sacrifice is one ordained outside of Leviticus. It has intricate connections to the purification of the cleansed leper and atonement. Its placement seems to defy logic. It is radically different from every other sacrifice in the Bible.

Then the priest will wash his clothes, and he will bathe his body in water, and afterward he will come into the camp, and the priest will be unclean until evening. He who burns it will wash his clothes in water, and bathe his body in water, and will be unclean until evening.
Numbers 19:7–8

Encountering this, a question ought to come to mind. How did these men become ritually unclean?

Of course, they came into contact with a dead carcass. I think there is a bit more. With the entirety of this heifer appointed to be consumed in fire, and the fact that the slaughter happened outside the camp, this heifer came to embody rebellion.

A man who is clean will gather the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and it will be guarded for the assembly of the children of Israel for water of purification. It is for purifying from sin. He that gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and it will be for the children of Israel and for the foreigner that lives among them, for an eternal statute.
Numbers 19:9–10

The weirdness continues. These ashes have some importance that would cause them to be guarded well. Just as Jesus in the tomb was guarded well. These ashes must be kept pure. Yet everyone who came into contact with them became unclean. The ashes were for the people of Israel, God’s chosen portion. (Which context demonstrates is a mixed multitude with one law.)

These ashes would be for water of purification. Yet oddly, the person gathering them would then also become ritually unclean.

Waters of Purification

He that touches the dead body of any man will be unclean seven days. He will make himself clean on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean. But if he does not make himself clean on the third day, then the seventh day he will not be clean. Whoever touches the body of any man that is dead and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person will be cut off from Israel. Because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, he will be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
Numbers 19:11–13

Now we get a hint as to what is being accomplished.

This is the law, when a man dies in a tent. Each person who comes into the tent and all that is in the tent will be unclean seven days. Every open vessel which has no covering fastened on it is unclean. Whoever in the field touches one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave will be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:14–16

These ashes would be used to purify the unclean person after such is cleansed.

For an unclean person they will take from the ashes of the burnt sin offering, and running water will be on it in a vessel. A clean person will take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and splash it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the people who were there, and on him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. The clean person will splash on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. And on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and he will be clean at evening.
Numbers 19:17–19

A bit of the ashes of the heifer is mixed with running water, which is another similarity to the purifying ritual for the leper. This mixture is then sprinkled on the unclean objects and persons on the third day. However the person must finish his cleansing by washing himself and his clothing.

But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from among the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him. He is unclean.
Numbers 19:20

With all of the connections here, I must also draw attention to the unconditional parts of this and the conditional parts of it. The unconditional part is that this sacrifice is done once outside the camp, the ashes gathered are to provide a perpetual cleansing. One that did not require assembling the tent of meeting. The entire animal was consumed by fire save a precious few drops of blood that were used to secure the opening of the Tabernacle (or the way to the presence of God.)

The unconditional part is that the presence of God is open to all, and one doesn’t need the Tabernacle. Conditional, one must present themselves for the sprinkling of the water of purification, and then cleanse themselves. The way to the purification is open. They were to not fear approaching God.

The one who does not do the conditional part has no fellowship with God’s people. Sin is outside the camp.

It will be an eternal statute to them.
He that sprinkles the water of purification will wash his clothes, and he that touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. Whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person that touches it will be unclean until evening.
Numbers 19:21–22

Even the person performing the ritual becomes unclean by touching the waters. It is important to understand that all those who come into contact with the heifer become unclean. It is as if this heifer is the embodiment of sin itself. There is a point here that Paul makes. It is also this very thing about the red heifer that points to Jesus.

He Became Sin for Us

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

That red heifer was perfect, no blemishes. She was ruddy and red like men are. She was chaste. She had not been yoked to anything and was sinless.

Yet she was removed from the camp as a detestable thing. She was red like rebellious Edom. She was slaughtered without mercy and not in the presence of the High Priest. In other words, she became detestable.

Jesus is perfect. He is adom. He is chaste. He was not yoked to sin. He was removed from the presence of the people as a detestable thing. He was slaughtered in the absence of the High Priest who sent his minions, the Chief Priests. A sprinkling of His blood secured the way to the presence of the Living God. He rose again on the third day, His old body was consumed and given a new body. He gives living water to any.

The Tenth Heifer

As I write, the significance of the red heifer is in the news. I think the importance of this has now been adequately demonstrated.

The traditions of the red heifer go back to the first offered by Moses. There were eight more throughout the times of Israel. Since the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, no red heifers have been offered.

According to those traditions, there is a tenth heifer to be offered. It is needed for the ashes. The ashes are used to make the water of purification which is then used to purify the temple, the implements, and the priests.

Rabbinical tradition indicates that this tenth and final red heifer would be sacrificed by Messiah Himself. This was first taught by the rabbi Maimonides. To the futurists, we see the significance of not only the future temple but the coming of the Messiah.

It is this rabbinical tradition that came about in the late twelfth century that intrigues me. A tenth heifer, tied to Messiah… Israel is patiently waiting for Him to arrive. How is it that rabbinical tradition that came a millennia after the resurrection of Jesus conjoins the sacrifice of the red heifer with the Messiah?

Jesus IS that tenth red heifer.

This is the picture to the Israelites. There are remedies to unintentional sin. But what of the intentional things we do and how is death remedied?

It was not practical for the wandering Israelites to stop every single time someone sinned or encountered a dead body. Stopping would involve unpacking and setting up the Tabernacle to perform sacrifices. God is connecting the purifying of the leper with the Day of Atonement in a ritual that demonstrates sin is destroyed outside of the camp. There is a way to be purified for anyone who needs it at any time. One had to avail themselves of it.

If that worked for them… How much better do we have it?

But Christ, when He came as a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies so that the flesh is purified, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:11–14

Rest assured, you and I never have to be afraid of approaching God. The way to His presence is unconditionally secured and open to anyone who would avail themselves of it. It is there we are washed with the waters of purification from the Word Himself.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Ephesians 5:25–26

The First Miracle

On January 14, 2024March 5, 2024 By TimIn Jesus, John 02Leave a comment

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing twenty to thirty gallons each.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
Then He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast.”
And they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
John 2:1–10

I assume that all have read this in their Bible. I also assume many have heard it as part of a sermon or teaching. I post it for you as a quick reference and in case someone has not read it.

In the past, I have not paid any real particular attention to it. At least, not until I started reading Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge. This account was used to demonstrate the extravagant generosity of Jesus. I had not even considered that thought in the thinking part of my mind, but I guess it would lurk somewhere in the background. As the Spirit of God would have it, looking deeper into what happened at that wedding He revealed something I had not encountered anywhere else. Come with me and see.

The First Sign

This, the first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
John 2:11

As John recounts in his Gospel what had happened, he closes this punctual account by saying it was the first of Jesus’ signs. This part of the narrative follows the calling of His first disciples. John’s intent is to promote belief in Jesus by telling of His words and the signs He did.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 20:30–31

When reading the Gospel of John, pay close attention to the unfolding revelation. He opens with a testimony of Who Jesus is that parallels and expounds on Genesis 1. Later, we encounter John the Baptizer and his ministry of preparing the world for Jesus. Like Elijah speaking truth, John the Baptizer testifies to the ministry of Jesus, just as the apostle John records.

The Lamb of God

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.”
John 1:29–31

The apostle John is unique in recording the words of John the Baptizer. “Behold the Lamb of God” that takes away sin. In a way, he points to this first sign at Cana, which then points to another sign.

Let’s go back to Cana.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
John 2:1–3

John recounts the first week of the ministry of Jesus. After being baptized and calling the first disciples, his small troupe is invited to a wedding. Already, we ought to pay attention to the timing mentioned. John is writing in retrospect, recording this decades after the events occurred. He has hindsight of the events in Jesus’ life, it is likely that there is something more to the phrase than just the narrative on the third day. It is something to keep in mind.

As we continue with the account, trouble arises when the open bar runs dry. Mary (Jesus’ mother) says that there is no more wine. There is then nothing left with which to continue the celebration.

A Mother Knows

Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:4

This makes me smile. Not just what seems like abrupt language. What did she expect Him to do?

What did she know?

Even more intriguing… How did she know He could help?

I think the Bible helps us to know.

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:32–33

Mary had a special briefing given by a messenger from God. She knew her Son. She knew He is the Anointed One, Son of the Most High. She knew He is forever King. I think she even knew Him as God, having command over material things.

Had He done miracles before this?

We are not given any information on that except for John’s telling us this is the first of His signs. It could be a small attestation when as a preteen, He remained behind at the temple and taught. It is something to consider.

What we can determine is that Mary knew Jesus could readily help in this situation. Jesus affirms this by His response to her. We take Jesus’ response to His mother as somewhat sharp. In the language at the time, it was a respectful address. Jesus is telling her that what concerns her doesn’t concern Him. He continues by letting her know to leave Him alone, His time has not yet come.

My Hour

This is the specific phrase used. It refers to a particular time. This is a reference that leads us to the culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It points us to something future.

As John’s narrative unfolds, Jesus uses this word hour to point to a yet future time. He uses it in speaking with the woman at the well in John 4:21; 23. He uses it again to point to a future time period in John 5:25; 28. (The list continues: John 7:30, 8:20, 12:23; 27, 13:1, 16:32, & 17:1.) John explains the hour:

Now before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
John 13:1

In my opinion, from reading John’s Gospel, the hour refers to the time period that begins around Jesus’ death and stretches to His return to Earth and the Millennial Kingdom. The hour will be marked with resurrection, I would say multiple resurrections. Yet, I digress.

For the purpose of this sign, my hour refers to the cross as the beginning of it. John is exclusive in his extensive writing of the words and actions of Jesus in the period of time leading to the cross.

That Seeming Reluctance

Did you pick up on the reluctance Jesus demonstrated toward His mother?

Do you think it is significant as a parallel in His hour?

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray close by.” He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Wait here, and keep watch with Me.”
He went a little farther, and falling on His face, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:36–39

It is not necessarily the same way, but I think the reluctance to do His mother’s will belies a very human emotional response. That emotion is amplified many times as demonstrated in His hour. In speaking with His Father, He wanted to find a way out. Nevertheless, as the Man, He honored His father by doing what His father wanted, just as He honored His mother’s will.

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
John 2:5

It is these few things that leads me to see some things that I think are hidden signs in this sign.

The Specifics

Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing twenty to thirty gallons each.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
Then He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast.”
And they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
John 2:6–10

Six water pots are filled to the brim. Each can hold a determinate amount of water. I’m not going to go through to the end.

The amount of wine that Jesus made would be the equivalent to 120 to 180 gallons. That is a lot of wine. The master says about the wine, that it is the good stuff and kept until now.

The Sign in the Sign

Consider the specific information given. There are six containers. It is considered by many scholars that six is the number of man. Seven is completion and the number of God, six is just short of that perfection. Humans were made on the sixth day. The number six here points to a human man.

Wine is considered the blood of the grape. Biblically, wine is often a representation of blood. We use the blood of the grape in the Lord’s Supper to remind us of the blood Jesus shed. The wine here ought to also remind us of the shed blood at the cross.

The containers being filled to the brim signify there is no more room for anything else. Think of sufficiency, as the blood of Jesus is sufficient, leaving no room for anything else. More important, had Jesus added something to change the chemical composition of the water, it would easily be detected by overflowing the brim.

Let us consider the quantity mentioned. The amount of wine that Jesus made would be the equivalent of 600 to 900 modern wine bottles. Again, that’s a lot of wine. Especially after the open bar has been emptied out. I don’t think it’s a far stretch to say that the amount of wine Jesus made was far more than sufficient to satisfy all of the guests. Weddings at this time lasted for days, even in the relative austerity the hosts would provide adequate provisions for the length of the celebration.

The wine Jesus made was also considered the best. Like the master of the feast said, the best is usually served first. In this account, the best is saved for last. The best speaks to the efficiency.

The Mediator of the New

This first earthly sign of Jesus was pointing to a future-fulfilling sign. The one when the Lamb of God would have His blood shed for the sins of humanity. It would be a Man. It would be a finite and sufficient amount. None more would be necessary. It would also be an efficient amount to more than satisfy the needs of all. And it would be better than all of the blood of animals shed for sins that came before.

Consider what another writer declares:

Then indeed, the first covenant had ordinances for divine services and an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was made. In the first part of the tabernacle, called the Holy Place, were the candlestick, the table, and the showbread. Behind the second veil was the second part of the tabernacle called the Most Holy Place, which contained the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, containing the golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Concerning these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests would regularly go into the first part, conducting the services of God. But only the high priest went into the second part once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people, committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was signifying through this that the way into the Most Holy Place was not yet revealed, because the first part of the tabernacle was still standing. This is an illustration for the present time, showing that the gifts and sacrifices offered could not perfect the conscience of those who worshipped, since they are concerned only with foods and drinks, ceremonial cleansings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ, when He came as a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies so that the flesh is purified, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:1–14

There is no room for another.

For this reason He is the Mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the sins that were committed under the first covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15

Knowing all of this, one can be assured beyond doubt, that the work of Jesus is sufficient and efficient to cleanse the conscience from sin for any that ask. The way to approach God is no longer veiled to anyone. Jesus’ blood, and only His blood alone, made the Way.

And just like at the wedding, there was no license for the attendees to be drunk. Jesus was not even concerned of that. There was more than enough for each invited guest to enjoy.

Invited Guests

Jesus and His troupe were among the invited guests at the wedding. As with the hosts of the wedding, God invites people to His wedding feast. Where is that invitation?

Jesus spoke to them again by parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, but they would not come.
“Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I have prepared my supper. My oxen and fattened calves are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his business; the rest took his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. When the king heard about it, he was angry. He sent in his army and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city.
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the streets, and invite to the wedding banquet as many as you find.’ So those servants went out into the streets and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not wearing wedding garments. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding garments?’ And he was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:1–14

I make the case that simply by being born of Adam’s race just as Jesus… You, like I am, are invited to the feast. God wanted you in His creation. It follows He wants you in His presence in heaven.

Being an invited guest, you can enter His presence anywhere at anytime. (Really, you’re already there because of that blood Jesus shed. And there is no place anyone can go to escape Him.) Just talk to Him.

He’s listening.

The Divinity of Jesus

On January 8, 2024 By TimIn Jesus, Revelation 01Leave a comment

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to show to His servants things which must soon take place. He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bears record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.
Revelation 1:1–3

I just encountered this recently. In the first line, we are given a glimpse of exactly what it cost Jesus for us. You can see it in that first sentence.

Consider this: I assume that most reading this know that Jesus is God. But have you ever considered the humanity of Jesus?

He is wholly reliant on His Father. Even in glory, He still depends on the Father for everything.

But here it is, God giving a special briefing to Jesus Christ. He then shared it with John. Who then wrote it for us.

He really is like us in every way. He teaches us through His own example of complete reliance on the Father.

Jesus Takes Away the Sins of the World

On February 8, 2023February 24, 2023 By TimIn Jesus, John 01Leave a comment

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.”
John 1:29–31 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

In his Gospel, John first introduces us to John the Baptist. John the Baptist then introduces us to Jesus.

The words that John uttered to and about Jesus reveal the truth. Jesus takes away the sins of the world.

Jesus does not take away some of the sins of the world, nor does He take away the sins of some of the world.

Jesus takes away the sins of the world… From Adam to the end.

Master's Crumbs

Category: Jesus

I Laughed Today

When This is That: A Man is Needed

One God, the Truth That Is Foolish to Deny

Jesus Christ, Whom You Have Sent

His Anger Kindles in a Flash

The Future for Jerusalem

The Red Heifer

Rebellion

The Red Heifer

Other Unique Facts

The Puzzle of the Red Heifer

Waters of Purification

He Became Sin for Us

The Tenth Heifer

The First Miracle

The First Sign

The Lamb of God

A Mother Knows

My Hour

That Seeming Reluctance

The Specifics

The Sign in the Sign

The Mediator of the New

Invited Guests

The Divinity of Jesus

Jesus Takes Away the Sins of the World

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Rebellion

The Red Heifer

Other Unique Facts

The Puzzle of the Red Heifer

Waters of Purification

He Became Sin for Us

The Tenth Heifer

Share this:

The First Sign

The Lamb of God

A Mother Knows

My Hour

That Seeming Reluctance

The Specifics

The Sign in the Sign

The Mediator of the New

Invited Guests

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: