Tag: Jude 1

The Sons of His Inheritance

On By TimIn Deuteronomy 32, Nephilim, Sons of God3 Comments

Can you show someone Jesus from this?

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

Deuteronomy 32:8–9

This is Moses instructing the Israelis on their history. The history of the Jewish people includes them being chosen and set aside for the Lord by the Lord.

What many do not quite track in this passage… The “children of Israel” did not yet exist when the nations were formed. It helps to understand the background of this text. With that understanding, we gain some surprising insights into what an ancient Israeli might have known.

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words As the people journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

Genesis 11:1–2

Yes, it’s the Tower of Babel event. It is at the time of the first world leader.

They said to each other, “Let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top will reach to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Genesis 11:3–4

Babel means the gate of the gods. (See page 170 here.) Many were not taught the real significance of this particular event. The popular teaching is that the people were trying to reach up to God. But that is not the purpose of the tower.

To understand the tower’s purpose, we need a bit more background. And that comes a few chapters back in Genesis.

When men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair and took as wives any they chose. The Lord said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man, for he is flesh; yet his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 6:1–4

Before the flood, angels came down to men. They took women in exchange for technology. That idea we pick up from the account of Cain’s progeny in the latter part of Genesis 4. It is my thinking that it was the progeny of Cain that commiserated with the fallen angels. That’s another discussion. For the idea at hand, it suffices that Angels came down to men and had progeny called Nephilim.

It didn’t work out well for those angels who did that. Those angels that came down and took women were then locked away.

Likewise, the angels who did not keep to their first domain, but forsook their own dwelling, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

Jude 6

It would seem to follow that the severity of punishment for coming down to take women and create progeny would serve as a deterrent.

Our text in Genesis 6 says this occurred before the flood… And would occur after. I would assert that things also changed after the flood, and it wasn’t so easy for angels to just come down to men as if they were instigating the exchange. The idea wouldn’t be attractive.

Then this tower, or gate of the gods, would be humans asking for the exchange. Humans would be the ones granting permission of rights. Hence the idea of building the gateway.

Concurrent with the incident here, we are introduced to another character important to Babel.

Cush was the father of Nimrod. He became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Even like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Uruk, Akkad, and Kalneh in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, the city Rehoboth Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

Genesis 10:8–12

Nimrod, the first world leader… Became a mighty one. The underlying Hebrew text seems to indicate that he became like those Nephilim of old. The Hebrew also indicates that he wasn’t a mighty hunter of game, but one that assailed other humans.

I would say that the construction of the tower was to provide a place to perform rituals. These rituals would extend rights and permissions from humans to angels.

The tower was also believed to have a bed chamber in it. Almost always, these types of rituals are sexual in nature. It would seem to be the case here, and given the mighty hunter of men, I would also offer that is necessary (meaning a particularly sanguine fluid in human bodies.)

I know it’s macabre. I know it’s dark. But there is a real Hero, a real Man to defeat all of this.

The end purpose of the tower was to call the gods down to commiserate with men. What happened next?

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men built.

Genesis 11:5

Well, the gods don’t come. But the Most High God over all the other gods (see Psalm 82) comes down. It’s like an unexpected plot twist.

The Lord said, “The people are one and they have one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; now nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them.

Genesis 11:6

This text needs no explanation. The ingenuity of humanity is explained. It is a powerful force because humans work together with one language and can do extraordinary things. With one language, what can be imagined can be accomplished.

So what does God do?

Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore the name of it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. From there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Genesis 11:7–9

This is the establishment of the nations as explained by Moses in Deuteronomy 32 above. God gave 70 nations, established their lands, and assigned that as an inheritance. An inheritance to who?

Deuteronomy 32:8 says the children (or sons) of Israel. But Abraham wasn’t even born yet. How can that seeming conundrum be resolved?

Back before Jesus came, the common language was early Greek. Most Israelis at the time would know Greek but not Aramaic or Hebrew. At the behest of Ptolemy II, the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek by 72 Hebrew translators. There were six chosen from each tribe of Israel. That translation is commonly called the Septuagint.

I was always taught that the Septuagint was a post-Jesus forgery. A bit of pursuit in truth revealed that probably is not the case. Many of the quotations of the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament were from the Septuagint. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls also exposes the folly of what I was taught. Besides, the very line a virgin shall conceive comes to us from the Septuagint Greek and not the Tanakh’s original Hebrew.

How does the Septuagint help our conundrum?

With the understanding of the Hebrew translators and the ideas they held from the Tanakh, it came in the translation. Our passage in Deuteronomy 32 is no different.

When the Most High distributed nations as he scattered the descendants of Adam, he set up boundaries for the nations according to the number of the angels of God.

Deuteronomy 32:8, Lexham English Septuagint

Angels of God does also mean sons of God. In other words, God put angels in charge of physical property and humans to populate that property. They were to be stewards… But it is easy to infer that didn’t happen. It is probably the impetus for the plethora of religions. Again, that’s another idea for another time.

The nations were given as inheritance to the sons of God. That is the important thing. It follows that sons inherit their father’s things. In this case, the sons of God inherited the nations from the Father.

For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

Deuteronomy 32:9

There is the 71st nation, Israel. It is allotted as an inheritance to the Lord given by the Most High.

Fathers do not inherit. Sons do. Moses is pointing directly to Jesus.

So, when someone tells you that Jesus never claimed to be God. They are wholly incorrect and do not grasp the weight of Scriptural evidence that undergirds what Jesus says to the Pharisees

Jesus answered them, “Though I bear witness of Myself, My testimony is true. For I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Yet if I do judge, My judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me bears witness of Me.”

John 8:14–18

The Pharisees then pose another question to Jesus. They believe what they know.

Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as He taught in the temple. No one arrested Him, for His hour had not yet come.

John 8:19–20

John adds the commentary that nobody attempted to arrest Jesus. In this exchange, the Pharisees reveal that knew the identity of Jesus. This is evidenced by the addition of the personal pronoun your… “Where is Your Father?”

They knew Who He is, the Son of Inheritance. Tragically, they didn’t know Him or His Father.

Proving a Son of God

On By TimIn Baptism, Resurrection, Romans 01, The Divine CouncilLeave a comment

In our excursion, we have witnessed the Bible identify the stars as angels and angels as messengers and the army of heaven. In that, we also took the time to examine another way angels are identified by their appointed service. These are some of the sons of God. The Bible also tells us that they failed to be faithful in their assigned duties. Surprisingly, the Bible also reveals how God intends to fix that failure forever.

As circular as it may sound, the Bible proves the Bible. What I mean to say is that each of the doctrines one holds from the Bible is proven true by other doctrines. And each of these doctrines proves others to be true. Paul opens his epistle to the Romans with some interesting language that demonstrates this

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Romans 1:1–4

As we’ve focused on angels and their identification in the Tanakh as sons of God, we also see the expansion of what it means to be a son of God. Sons of God are creations of God.

There are sticking points, and one of them is going to be Jesus. Jesus taking on the physical form of humanity shows that something happened that God is God and God is man. That is a work of God defined by how Mary became with child. I don’t know the workings of that, but know that God did it. I’m not saying God created Jesus as a person. Or that God the Son came to be at conception. The Bible describes Jesus as unique. Some translations use the words only begotten Son. I think in the biblical usage of the phrase son of God, Jesus especially fits being born of the seed of David. Only God could do that.

It’s that last phrase I want to examine. Jesus is, “declared to be the Son of God with power … by the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul is saying that the resurrection proves one a son of God. The Tanakh showed us who the sons of God were, what they were tasked to accomplish, and their abject failure.

Our Enemies Are Real

The hybrid progeny of these sons of God spoken of in Genesis 6 decimated the creation. The problem was so bad that only eight humans escaped the judgment. They rode it out above the flood waters with animals personally selected by God. All living things left on the earth were wiped out.

Imagine the scenario from the perspective of the fallen sons of God. They had to watch their own progeny drown in the flood waters. Perhaps that is fanciful speculation. But then, maybe it is not.

Suppose that the souls of those hybrid humans that perished in the flood are the disembodied demons that attack and beset humanity today. This is not my imagination, but it is the work of many scholars, one in particular. (See this article in Christianity Today.)

Those that brought death to humans now watch as their progeny die. Their spirits become disembodied, and without a proper place have no home. Just as Jesus said:

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.”

Matthew 12:43–45

These spirits have no place. They seek places… Bodies… Whether human or not, just to have a place. Remember Legion who asked permission to go into a herd of pigs. Those were unclean animals… And what happened to the herd of pigs?

We don’t mess with these or give them a foothold. These have no hope and tremble.

Really, It’s Resurrection!

It is the resurrection that reunites the body and soul. Paul writes extensively on the resurrection. He cites it as of the utmost importance to a Christian in 1 Corinthians 15. He makes his case plainly and succinctly. It’s the resurrection.

When Paul writes to the Colossians, resurrection is part of a major theme. He likens our life in physical bodies as dead to our old selves and made alive in Christ… As if we are resurrected already. We are dead to the elementary principles; meaning these enemies of ours have no real claim to any believer.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:13–15

That is the freedom every believer now has. The authorities and powers are disarmed. They’ve got nothing.

Do Not Give a Place

They trick us all by deception. And not thinking clearly or knowing any better, we entertain and eventually embrace that deception. In so doing we extend rights and privileges to those enemies of ours. Paul told us how to live.

Do not give place to the devil.

Ephesians 4:27

It’s emphatic. If the Spirit is witnessing to you now of any foothold or right you may have extended to the devil… Renounce it and revoke it. Do it out loud and in Jesus’ name. The enemy has no business with any believer at all. That is the freedom given to humanity at the cross.

Put your focus on Jesus instead of what (or who) besets us.

If you then were raised with Christ, desire those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then you also shall appear with Him in glory.

Colossians 3:1–4

Peter offers us help in like manner that would put us all in the same mind. One that ought to change our behavior.

Finally, be all of one mind, be loving toward one another, be gracious, and be kind. Do not repay evil for evil, or curse for curse, but on the contrary, bless, knowing that to this you are called, so that you may receive a blessing. For “He who would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Who is he who will harm you if you follow that which is good?

1 Peter 3:8–13

Just like Paul, we are given instructions for how to live. It is a likemindedness in the family of God. It is not good enough just to turn away from evil, but with it to pursue doing good. Look closely, Peter says to whom it is God watches and listens. Conversely, God opposes those who do evil things. If you are doing the right things, who will harm you?

Nobody. The enemies have no rights, and God has nothing against those doing right.

But even if you suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. “Do not be afraid of their terror, do not be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and fear.

1 Peter 3:14–15

Even when we do the right things and suffer, the enemy still has no rights. And we do not need to fear them. Peter is speaking about those same principalities and powers of whom Paul spoke. These are fallen angels and demons which our own testimonies expose as powerless.

Have a good conscience so that evildoers who speak evil of you and falsely accuse your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, that you suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit,

1 Peter 3:16–18

You are in great company!

by whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who in times past were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

1 Peter 3:19–20

Woah! What?

Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison, what is that?

Remember Genesis 6… Angels left their domain.

Likewise, the angels who did not keep to their first domain, but forsook their own dwelling, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

Jude 6

The Greek word is oiketerion, Paul used the word in one other place to describe our bodies. It’s in 2 Corinthians 5:2. The lesson is God will destroy the unfaithful. (This is not annihilation.)

But how is it we know that this is speaking of the fallen sons of God and that they are locked away?

Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities in like manner, gave themselves to immorality and went after different flesh, they serve as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude 7

The sin of those sons of God who are chained away is carnally sensual in nature,l; they sought strange or different flesh. It compares to the sin of those infamous cities who sought different forbidden sexual satisfaction.

Saved Through Water

The apostle Peter unites all of these ideas together. He has laid out an apologetic of significance that may confuse some. That is the idea of being saved through water.

Noah and his family were safely saved through the waters of the flood in the Ark. they floated above; while the giants of old perished in the waters. Those giants never came out of the waters alive.

An Important Aspect of Baptism

Figuratively this is like baptism, which also saves us now. It is not washing off the dirt from the body, but a response to God from a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers being made subject to Him.

1 Peter 3:21–22

The word figuratively tells us Peter is going to give us a type or analog. He is not telling us that baptism saves us. He is using it as an example. It is not cleansing sins, per se. But is a response of a good conscience. That response is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Baptism is a picture of death, burial, and resurrection. The antitype is the progeny of watchers that perished in the waters never to be brought out. Baptism says, “Here is another one appointed to resurrection!” It’s a pledge of belief done publicly.

On a deeper level, the ones chained in gloomy darkness watched their children die in the water, helpless to do anything. Now, they watch God’s children come alive out of that very same water, fully noting these are appointed to resurrection!

Not only do the fallen sons of God watch, but the disembodied spirits of their children also watch. When a believer is baptized, it’s like saying aloud, “Here is another one to be raised!”

It’s Proclaiming Resurrection.

Baptism points to resurrection. Resurrection validates the children of God. Baptism points directly to that validation.

Baptism is the portrayal of the epic triumph of the children of God!

In Conclusion

I don’t want to place guilt or shame on anyone, but I have an encouragement. What stops you from getting baptized?

Seriously, if you’ve not yet been baptized in water, I encourage you to get it done. You don’t need it to be saved, but it certainly celebrates Jesus in more ways than we can ever understand. It is certainly active spiritual warfare proclaiming a believer’s triumph through the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection proves the children of God.

The old Divine Council is powerless to affect the affairs of men. They try through deception, yet God’s ultimate plans will succeed. Their efforts are futile.

The members of the new Divine Council are being identified daily by baptism… Wherever in the world it happens.

Be ready for the next post.

Paneas and the Church

On By TimIn Church, Matthew 16Leave a comment

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:15–18

Peter’s declaration is the truth. It is a truth that is revealed to people by the Father. It is the truth that changes the world. It is the truth that changes people.

Blessed are you Simon… I tell you that you are Peter. Putting these two phrases together helps to see the significance. It is here that Jesus gives a new name to Simon. By this very thing, Jesus is once again demonstrating that He is God. We have to refer back to Genesis for the first occurrence.

No longer will your name be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Genesis 17:5

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. It signifies a few things. In Abram’s situation, the Hebrew letter heh, was added. Because the Hebrew letters connote significant meaning, heh conveys the idea of spirit of breath. Abram had that inserted into his name. It becomes a sort of prophecy to God putting His Spirit in believers. In the same way, Sarai’s name was changed.

We also know that there are other places where people’s names have been changed. Daniel has his name changed, as well as his friends’ names when they were assimilated into Babylon.

When Jesus changes Peter’s name, we must think back to these things. That God changes names, Jesus is showing that He is God. The name change show Peter to be assimilated into a new culture. Peter is connected to the promises of God, and like Abraham, he serves God by making Him known to the world. Abraham was an integral part of the promise of God, as was Sarah. And now we see Peter, too in the same way. In that moment, Peter overcame.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.

Revelation 2:17

The believer is granted a new name. One that shows such has been assimilated into a new culture. One that says this one is an integral part of the promises of God.

Of course, Revelation is speaking of a future time. In the present, the moment we believe, each of us is given a new name. We are called Christian. The new name also includes a new identity as a child of God, and joint-heir with Jesus Himself. We are part of a new culture.

You Are Petros

When Jesus gives that name to Peter, and then declares He will build His church, there is a play on words. In the underlying Greek, Peter (Petros) is a name that means stone or pebble.

When Jesus says “on this rock” (ho petra) He is NOT speaking about Peter. Though the words are almost the same, there are differences. One is masculine and the other feminine. In English, this distinction is insignificant at best. But in other languages, the genders of the nouns and the verbs associated with them must match. Peter (stone; Petros; masculine) is not the same as rock (petra; feminine.)

“On this rock” is a reference to bedrock or massive rock formations like the mountain that towered by them. This isn’t a declaration that Peter is the first pope. Nor is it a declaration that Peter is the stand-in for Jesus on Earth.

No. It is on the bedrock truth, that Jesus is the living Son of God and that is the foundation of the church He will build. This Son of God is living as opposed to the disembodied spirits and others remanded to the netherworld.

The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell will not withstand the onslaught of the truth.

In all practical purposes, Jesus is saying the church is not defensive… Waiting for the enemy’s attack. We have the upper hand. Jesus has prevailed. We are the conquerors who take enemy territory. That means we reclaim real ground and help rescue people from fires of perdition.

But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God while you are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which leads to eternal life.

Jude 20–23

Jesus is calling each of us into battle. The idea is to grow to maturity in the faith. The moment you became a believer is when you entered real spiritual warfare. Your testimony in Jesus reminds the fallen of their shame.

Fallen angels and demons have no blood, no life in a body, and no Kinsman Redeemer. Therefore, angels and demons have part in resurrection.

Binding and Loosing

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19

The previous citation in Jude introduced us to the authority and responsibility we have. You’ve probably been taught that these things are only given to leaders. That would be a mistake to continue to think that. I am going to cite another portion of Jesus’ last words before His assumption.

When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.”

John 20:22–23

When Jesus breathed the Spirit on the apostles, it came with great responsibility. A pattern develops, that a believer does exercise the power of binding and loosing. (My stomach just bunches at that thought, I have explored a very similar idea.)

We believers have the authority and ability to save souls!

That means how we treat others for what they do or don’t do to us is heavy with meaning. We can hold anger over a person and bind them. That unforgiving anger can fester. When it does, it means that was given rights. The end result binds the heart that holds resentment. It lives rent-free in the mind.

This idea is sobering. We easily become aware of the striking reality. Each believer can bind or loose. That means whatever we permit will have rights. What we loose, won’t gain foothold. (Tuck that into your mind.)

Then He commanded His disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Matthew 16:20

It may seem odd to us for Jesus to want some secrecy. This is yet another subtle hint that He is indeed God. He is controlling the timing of what must happen. He was not keeping truth or salvation away from anyone, but that the time was not yet right.

Surprisingly, this is not done. Your bibles may have a topical division that seems to end this encounter with that statement. Jesus has more to say on this subject, and we will continue to examine it.

The Warning Shot

On By TimIn Matthew 16, Spiritual Warfare2 Comments

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

Matthew 16:13 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi with His disciples. This passage of text is important for many, yet it is not without controversy. Like much of what we find in the Bible, there is far more that is unwritten than we might take care to discover.

The Temple of Pan. Creative Commons image.

Mount Hermon

Caesarea Phillippi was home to the Temple of Pan. It is called the Temple of Banias today, Arabic for the Temple of Panias. (In Arabic there is no letter P.) This temple is part of Mount Hermon, legendary as the place where angels came down seeking different flesh.

I know that might be unsettling to some, but there are additional resources to help understand. Genesis 6 is the first mention and like the text above… There is much context that the writer assumes is understood by the intended audience. Much of that context has been explained away over centuries of time. Suffice it to say, angels came down and took wives.

When men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair and took as wives any they chose. The LORD said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man, for he is flesh; yet his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 6:1–4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Likewise, the angels who did not keep to their first domain, but forsook their own dwelling, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities in like manner, gave themselves to immorality and went after different flesh, they serve as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude 6–7 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

It is for this reason, that Mount Hermon is the mountain of the gods (As a title, it ought to be capitalized, but I want to emphasize these are the little ‘g’ type gods.) It is the sides of the north (Isaiah 14:13.) It is the base of operation for the enemy. One that goes by many names and has many minions.

The Warning Shot

They said, “Some say that You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Matthew 16:14 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

His disciples answered Him. Jesus wasn’t surprised at their answer. He then addressed them personally.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Matthew 16:15 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

That is the question. Metaphorically, it is a question we must all answer as eternity for each of us hangs on it. Who do you say that I am?

Peter steps up.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:16 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

There it is. That is the warning shot lobbed into enemy territory from inside enemy territory.

Peter states Jesus’ identity out loud.

Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:17–19 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This isn’t about Peter being given a mission. It’s not about Peter starting a church. This isn’t a Catholic thing. Peter wasn’t the only one given the keys to the kingdom. Neither was it the Roman Catholic church. It was to the body of Spirit-baptized believers.

This is Jesus saying in the midst of enemy territory… “I am here. Come and get a piece of Me!” Jesus is picking a fight, and proclaiming that He wins!

Jesus will build His church on the truth that He is indeed the Son of God. He is the Anointed One. He is the Seed of the woman prophesied in Genesis 3:15. This seemingly frail Human is vulnerable, yet the gates of Hell will not prevail in this fight.

The Offensive

The body of Christ is not on the defensive side here. The gates of Hell will not prevail. Gates are primarily a defensive fortification.

Then He commanded His disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Matthew 16:20 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Instructions were given to not share this information. But it is from this moment that Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must suffer, be killed, and then raised up again.

The enemy took the best shot they had. Jesus did go to Jerusalem. Jesus suffered much, He died. He rose again. He told them they emphatically would not prevail, and they tried their best. And failed.

Do not ever forget, that in Jesus we all have the high ground. We Spirit-baptized believers are already victorious. The enemy and his minions have no rightful claim on any of His. They are terrified at the name of Jesus.

I will leave you with these words from Paul.

As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all authority and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore let no one judge you regarding food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or new moon or sabbath days. These are shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase.

Colossians 2:6–19 (MEV) — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The Rapture (Part 4) – How It Will Happen

On By TimIn 1 Thessalonians 04, Rapture1 Comment

The previous post helped us to understand the myriad of ideas people attempt to use to debunk the rapture. Though it was not exhaustive, hopefully, it provided enough of an impetus for your own study. We also discussed some parts of the Olivet Discourse and Jesus’ teaching.

Let’s now explore how it will happen.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I find that verse self-explanatory. It serves to stand by itself. There are other references that may bring some light to what is here.

The first point is the use of familiar military practices. Paul uses these as they would be familiar to Romans who understood the chain of command.

The Lord Himself Will Descend.

First, Jesus leaves His current place. Where is His current place?

To answer that, we are going to use the book of Hebrews. This book speaks to Jesus as being better than the rudiments of the law given to Israel in every way.

God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He was made so much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

Hebrews 1:1–4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Did you catch the location there?

Let’s move forward.

Previously when He said, “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings. You have had no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin,” which are offered in accordance with the law, then He said, “See, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:8–10 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

In speaking about Jesus as High Priest and performing all of His work. The law served as a teacher, instructing in types and shadows yet pointing right to Jesus. It is the old covenant with its sacrifices and offerings that is complete in Jesus. It served its purpose by instruction. Jesus removes it to establish the better way.

But every priest stands daily ministering and repetitively offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He has been waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. For by one offering He has forever perfected those who are sanctified.

Hebrews 10:11–14 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

He offered one sacrifice for sins forever. Then the Bible says something profound… He sat down. The significance of that is important on its own. The work of the High Priest was never finished until then. For our purposes, the location of where Jesus sat down is important. It is at the right hand of the Father. That is where He is.

Jesus announced the fact to those who tried Him.

From now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

Luke 22:69 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This is exactly how Mark closes his Gospel.

After the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

Mark 16:19 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Paul also provides a witness to attest to His ministry now.

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes, who is risen, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Romans 8:34 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

There are some other references. I will leave those for you to discover.

It is an important idea to grasp. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. There is also a significance to Him leaving that place that is revealed earlier. Look at the account of Stephen right before he is stoned. What is the significance of Jesus standing?

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Acts 7:54–56 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jesus is no longer seated. It is thought that Stephen seeing Jesus standing is the precursor to His return.

Personally, it is my belief that Jesus is fulfilling His promise to every believer to come and receive them to Himself. I understand that may be conjecture, but it is the promise with which we began this journey, as discussed earlier.

Jesus is going to leave His current place at the right hand of the Father.

With a Shout.

The Greek word used here is keleuma. It is a summons to carry out a procedure sort of like a battle cry. It is a military term. Paul is using the very familiar practices of the Roman army as a pictorial lesson in the sequence. Jesus, the Lord of Hosts leaves His abode and gives a command. This is much like the commander leaving his tent and shouting a command to a subcommander.

With the Voice of the Archangel.

The sub-commander repeats the command.

The Greek word used here archaggelos (archangel) is used twice in the New Testament. Both times it is preceded by a definitive article denoting the presence of a title. The second occurrence is here, and we are given a name to identify the archangel.

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce upon him a railing judgment. But he said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 9 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Some of Michael’s duties are given to us in Scripture. One of those is as the guardian of Israelis.

“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.

Daniel 12:1 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

It is Michael who serves as the subcommander here.

With the Trumpet Call of God.

This is the Greek salpinx, or trumpet call of God. As continuing the military theme, this word is also used as war trumpet. It is the bugler that transmits the command to the troops with the trumpet.

If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?

1 Corinthians 14:8 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Paul referenced that word elsewhere. This shows the clear sounds a bugler must make to ensure the command is transmitted clearly to be understood. In the context of that verse, Paul is speaking about the use of tongues and the clarity, the idea is the distinction in the sounds made. This trumpet will be clear.

I also want to provide some other references as to what this may be. The first is in Hebrews. It is important and lends itself to our discussion. Hebrews 12 will reference first-born, a term that has significance in the rapture.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and storm, and to the sound of a trumpet and to a voice speaking words, such that those who heard them begged that the word not be spoken to them anymore.

Hebrews 12:18–19 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This references the giving of the law to Israel at Mount Sinai in the Exodus (Exodus 18.) The account tells of how the trumpet sounds became louder and louder. The people feared approaching God. The writer of Hebrews uses this as an antitype to another mountain, Mount Zion. He calls it the city of the Living God, New Jerusalem. Specific language references the innumerable company of angels, and to the church of the firstborn. That is us, Spirit-baptized believers.

In part 2, we discussed the end of the earthly ministry of the church. Revelation 4 was briefly discussed. After Jesus finishes His letters to the seven churches, John is caught up to heaven and the word church is absent from the rest of the book until the very end.

After this I looked. And there was an open door in heaven. The first voice I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit. And there was a throne set in heaven with One sitting on the throne!

Revelation 4:1–2 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

John heard a voice like a trumpet. That is the same Greek word salpinx. Though this was a voice like a trumpet and not just a trumpet call.

The important thing is John heard the command, come up here. Immediately John was in the sprit and in the presence of God. John’s experience serves as a type of Rapture. He is called up and immediately in the presence of the Lord.

The Dead in Christ Will Rise First

This is the concern of the Thessalonians. They knew of the rapture but had questions of those who preceded them in death not benefiting from the rapture.

But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–15 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Those who are asleep in Jesus, rise first. These church saints benefit before the alive believers can benefit.

We Who Are Alive and Remain Shall be Caught up Together with Them in the Clouds to Meet the Lord in the Air.

The Spirit-baptized church saints are caught up together with the previously asleep church saints that are resurrected. We meet the Lord in the air together. Jesus never sets foot on the earth. He comes in the clouds; we meet Him in the clouds.

All of this happens very fast. Just as John was caught up and immediately in the presence of God, so shall the rapture be.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:52 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

As Paul wrote of the rapture in a later epistle, he shows some of the same sequential order. There is a trumpet sound, the dead are resurrected first, then those alive are raised.

Just as previously stated, this event will be as the angels described in Acts 1.

They said, “Men of Galilee, why stand looking toward heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you to heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:11 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Acts 1 gives a description of exactly how Jesus left the saints and would be the model for Him to come in like manner to the saints.

When He had spoken these things, while they looked, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him from their sight.

Acts 1:9 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

We Shall be Forever with the Lord.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven; to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of the righteous ones made perfect; and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant; and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than that of Abel.

Hebrews 12:22–24 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I love that description of who we are in Jesus. It is immovable and forever.

Comfort One Another with These Words.

The Thessalonians were told to comfort one another. They were assured. None of the church saints who preceded them in death would miss out on the rapture. They would all benefit. And the sequence would occur in the blink of an eye.

Concluding Thoughts.

There is a sequential order of the rapture that is revealed. Those alive are changed immediately. But not before those who are dead in Christ. All of these happen because Jesus rose as Firstfruits. Firstfruits that benefit His body, the church.

There is also a sequence of end-times events that are revealed here and elsewhere. It is fitting that we understand the church had a beginning and it will have an end. The rapture fits in as one of the pieces to understanding. The coming Kingdom is a Jewish kingdom that we fit in because of the Messiah Jesus Christ.

But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For He “has put all things under His feet.” But when He says, “all things are put under Him,” it is revealed that He, who has put all things under Him, is the exception. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This serves as a witness to another greater sequence of events. The end of the ministry of the church at the rapture. Yet that is not the end but the seeming beginning of it. The end is yet in the future when He will deliver the Kingdom to God. That doesn’t occur until He reigns. And He reigns until all enemies are under His feet.

Next, we will explore the idea of the mystery of the rapture.