Tag: John 10

Doing Church in the Last Times

On By TimIn 1 Timothy 04, Church, Last DaysLeave a comment

Now the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith and pay attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and not to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:1–5

Paul reveals this message is explicitly given by the Holy Spirit, so that there is no question about its veracity. He never reveals how he received the message.

Paul left prophetic clues. These clues were for the last times. Times here is plural, and that is precision that reveals these are both present concerns for Timothy, and yet future ones to come. Even in Timothy’s time, some were already departing from the faith. The departure comes by seduction and lies, and is spiritual in nature.

The seducing doctrines come from those who speak lies in hypocrisy. Devils do that. But some men do that, too. Let me ask you… Do you believe what your teachers teach you, even if it is vaguely Biblical?

I am going to tell you that there are a plethora of seminary graduates who don’t believe what they teach. Some are up front about it. Others hide it. (Here is an example.)

If you read through that person’s testimony, the words of Paul come to life. There are some of these in churches today. If they do not believe, who knows what lies they are speaking in that hypocrisy. They pretend for a paycheck. Jesus had a word to describe these hirelings.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. But he who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.

John 10:11–13

I do not believe there is such a thing as an ex-Christian or former Christian. Jesus is clear, these were never ever believers. Yet some of them get into seminaries. In the experience of the seminary, one would think these would eventually become believers. But the Word of God has a dual purpose.

“Jesus cried out, “He who believes in Me believes not only in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 45 He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 *I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.
If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him. The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. I know that His command is eternal life. Therefore what I say, I say as the Father tells me.”

John 12:44–50

It would be appropriate to describe the one who does not believe, even though they put in the time and money going through seminary, as having a seared conscience. I would think that such people would have a difficult time discerning truth and, therefore, what is moral.

The forbidding to marry is not too hard to discern today. There is no indication of who forbids people from marrying, but marriage has become quite broadened. Many young folks prefer the hook-up culture for fun. They also selfishly pursue a career before the entertainment of marriage. Isn’t that like forbidding it?

That is a cultural practice. But there are major Christian traditions that forbid marriage for pastors. Both Catholicism and the Orthodox church forbid clergy to marry. The clergy in those traditions are most often seminarians. Given this text, I think that ought to be a glaring indicator of concern.

That abstinence from certain foods is easy. Check out this blog post from The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. Look at the attempt to use the Ten Commandments to teach Christians not to eat meat. Some of you might think… What’s wrong with that?

Well, God established certain things to be eaten and received with thanksgiving.

Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. I give you everything, just as I gave you the green plant.

Genesis 9:3

Whatever we eat is sanctified by giving thanks. It is not to be refused.

Paul was a doctrine guy. He warned of the false doctrines that had already crept into the body during his time. The hint would be that it would get worse. With that, the descriptions of hypocrisy, seared conscience, and forbidding of things would be the hallmarks of the unbelievers that would creep into the church as teachers. One that he expands upon in his second epistle. He gives explicit words to discern the last days.

Know this: In the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people.

2 Timothy 3:1–5

People will be lovers of themselves. Is not that evident in the culture today? I mean, people wait to satisfy their own desires before marrying. They pursue me-time. Concerns of others come after I take care of myself. Yes, it is hard not to get caught up in the zeitgeist. People pursue lofty careers. They boast of their pursuits with letters appended to their names. Social media is the place for most to boast.

This pride leads to blasphemy. It denies God. Don’t get me started on how the kids these days do not honor their parents, and it happens in Christian circles. I get it. Parent wounds are often the most difficult to reconcile. Without attempting to heal these with the Holy Spirit, they often become those entry points, the topos, the Bible says that the enemy exploits.

To see the unthankful, unholy, those with no natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of good, traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure… Just pick a protest today. Listen to the words, watch the actions. It is plain. They tend to exploit godliness as to why they are protesting. Some have no clue why they are protesting, but claim some spirituality. These have no real clue Who He is or what He is like.

Our current culture indicates we are in the last days now. Paul does not stop with his lessons to Timothy about the last times, and especially the last days.

For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to myths.

2 Timothy 4:3–4

People won’t endure sound doctrine. That means that churches correct the way they reach the culture. In the last decades, seeker sensitivity was the term. It has become so ubiquitous that old-school pastors are fired and replaced with a younger, often more culturally sensitive type. These may not necessarily be seminarians. Nevertheless, the goal is to have teachings that cater to the desires of the people. I mean, nobody wants to be offended, so bend the truth a bit to make it palatable. What is the inevitable end of such?

They turn away from truth toward myths. I know this is hard to read. But what does one do?

I consider the seven epistles Jesus dictated to John as a panorama of church ages. That is, each letter typifies the style of church that would be prevalent as time progresses. There is a natural division in the epistles; the first three are for the early church. Those types of churches really are not typical in modern times. That division happens at the epistles to Thyatira. There are clues, such as the specific mention of an end-times indicator, the great tribulation.

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like fine brass, says these things: I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and that your last works are more than the first.
“But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, but she did not repent. Look! I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will put her children to death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the hearts and minds. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known what some call the ‘depths of Satan,’ I will put on you no other burden. But hold firmly what you have until I come.
“To him who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
He ‘shall rule them with a rod of iron; like the vessels of a potter they shall be broken in pieces’— even as I myself have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 2:18–28

The second indicator is the change in placement of a certain phrase.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 2:29

This becomes the final exhortation Jesus gives to those caught up in that type of church. Coupled together, these indicate a change. To those who do not hold to the teaching in that church, they are not told to leave but to keep His word.

Likewise with Sardis… To those there, be watchful. That is, so you do not miss Him before the great tribulation. The final exhortation is again to those who hear. To Philadelphia, which is the great missionary church that won souls, He expresses the imminence of His coming. Again, no instruction to leave, but an exhortation to those who hear.

It follows that the same is given to Laeodicia. The Greek word Laeodicia means justice to the people. I am certain that with Paul’s description of what a typical last days church may appear, justice to the people is a succinct phrase. It almost seems as if this type of church is mostly concerned with what we call social justice. Everyone is seeking to have their own grievances addressed at the behest of others.

“To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says these things: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, and have stored up goods, and have need of nothing,’ yet do not realize that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be dressed, that the shame of your nakedness may not appear, and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

Revelation 3:14–18

As dire as it may seem for those in this church. All is not lost. It is clear that many in this church do not believe; they are encouraged to become believers. Jesus loves these people, too.

“Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:19–20

He appeals to the individuals there who find themselves unbelieving. He is waiting. The appeal is urgent. He is right at the door. They are told to exercise faith and open the door. A doorknob opens a door, but it will not work unless one believes it will and operates it. The application is the same here.

And for the believer…

“To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Revelation 3:21–22

There is no instruction to go find another church. In the silence, we find instruction. It is to remain and love the people that Jesus loves in hopes that some come to their senses.

One God, the Truth That Is Foolish to Deny

On 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 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!

Paneas and the Cross

On By TimIn Matthew 16, ResurrectionLeave a comment

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men.”

Matthew 16:23

There is more to be said in that last phrase you are not mindful of the things that are of God. Jesus was foretelling things that would soon take place. This is not the first time He spoke of this. Remember what Jesus said about Himself.

The Things of God

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but may have eternal life.

John 3:14–15

Jesus was speaking of this account from the Torah.

So the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many children of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, and He will take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and put it on a pole, and it will be, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, will live.” Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent he lived.

Numbers 21:6–9

In that account, the Israelites had begun to complain and murmur against God’s provision. They refused to enter His rest (the Promised Land) and were remanded to wander in the wilderness of that sin. The circumstances of their present condition were of their own doing. Yet even in the midst of that wandering, God provided for their needs with manna from heaven.

God sent serpents to remind them of their precarious condition. They turned to God through Moses. Moses was instructed to make a likeness of the serpent from bronze, put it on a pole, and lift it up. Any who by faith, looked at the serpent to be healed of the poison would be cured and live. I can think that some in that multitude have thought that silly scheme and they perished. But to those who believed the declaration, they looked and lived.

It would be just like that for Jesus.

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

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

1 Corinthians 15:56

Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death has spread to all men, because all have sinned.

Romans 5:12

Just as the sting of the poisonous serpent would bring certain death, we know that we have an appointment with death by the sting of sin. The serpent was the source of the sting that brought death to the Israelis in the wilderness. Mortality in humanity that came as a result of the serpent was the source of the sting that brought death to all men.

Moses made an effigy of the serpent, he did not put a real serpent on that pole. In like manner, the same would happen to Jesus. It is not that Jesus was not a real human. On the cross, the Bible tells us that Jesus became sin for us. He was like us in death.

The precision in these foreshadows is breathtaking. I am not saying Jesus was not human, or that something magic happened. His death is real. And His death satisfied the justice due for sins. He unabashedly spoke of His death.

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

He also hinted at something more than just His death, but that was something most could not comprehend. We must also consider all the words of Jesus. Peter was not mindful of the things that are of God. Namely that Jesus would give His life and take it back up again to prolong His days.

Lifted Up

Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I received this command from My Father.”

John 10:17–18

This idea of being lifted up is also connected to what comes after His death. It is the destruction of the Gates of Hell. Resurrection would prolong His days, and then He would be received into heaven. That is, He is lifted up from this Earth. As His physical human advent on this planet careened to the culmination of the plan, death was not the end.

“Now My soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? Instead, for this reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Jesus answered, “This voice came not for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.” He said this to signify by what kind of death He would die.
The crowd answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. Why do You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

John 12:27–34

Thankfully, we do not just look to a dead Christ on the cross to live. The cross is empty because He lives. We look to the living Jesus in glory. He signifies the hope that we have. He signifies our own resurrection. He takes the sting from death.

Any that would want to live, that is escape perdition, need only believe and put action to that faith by looking to Jesus for salvation.

Real Life After Death

Jesus spoke consistently of His death. It was also fitting in this location at the Grotto of Pan. He also spoke consistently of more to come after His death. It was His mission to die and experience death for everyone, believer or not. Through that death, He would bring many to glory. Any that would want it can have it.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels to suffer death, crowned with glory and honor, so that He, by the grace of God, should experience death for everyone.
For it was fitting for Him, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 2:9–10