Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes out of it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it: I the Lord have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You and appoint You for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:5–9 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
As we continue in Isaiah 42, we see this Elect Servant of God is indeed called to a specific purpose. That is Biblical election. It isn’t being elect to salvation, but to a purpose.
Perhaps as you’ve read Romans 9, you miss what is taught. Paul introduces the chapter outlining the service Israel was appointed to do for God.
to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is over all, God forever blessed. Amen.
Romans 9:5 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
It is this exclusive calling given to Israel. But with Isaiah’s prophecy, we can see that this calling is also to an Individual, One we know as Jesus Christ. One of the names applied to Jesus is Israel. As He fulfills the purposes of their calling.
As the One does the calling, we see God establish His “bona fides,” which is His right to elect. He does that in a specific way, which will be demonstrated in the next post on this subject.
God then promises to be the One to uphold and establish this Servant. He appoints unique characteristics and abilities to this Servant to help us identify Him. He would be the covenant of the people and to open blind eyes.
God then calls our attention back to Who He is. In the midst of that, He also gives us another way to identify this unique Servant. It is how John identifies this Servant.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
We saw His glory; that is God’s glory… given to another. John is establishing this Servant as God Himself.
Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one, in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. He shall not cry out, nor lift up his voice, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench; he shall bring forth justice faithfully. He shall not be disheartened nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for his law.
Isaiah 42:1-4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
Jesus was steadfast in His elect purpose. Continuing from the previous post in Jesus’ purposeful encounter with that Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, this is what He told her.
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
John 4:34 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
Jesus set forth at His task. It was to do as the Father has purposed. The Holy Spirit was placed upon Him, and He presses forward just as the text says, to bring forth justice faithfully.
“Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death into life. Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this. For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, I judge. My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 5:24–30 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
Just as He faithfully spoke of the same need to that Samaritan woman. And in the above passage, He spoke plainly to those who would intend to harm Him. He wasn’t disheartened. He addresses their need to believe even in the midst of their desire to kill Him. He also explains that there is a time constraint to this mercy. Judgment is coming, yet now there is a way of Escape.
In one of my favorite portions of Scripture, Jesus is ministering to the folks who followed Him after He fed them from a young boy’s lunch. They were looking to see more of the miracles, and they wanted the satisfaction of their physical and temporal needs. Jesus patiently explained to them a greater spiritual need.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. But I told you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:35–40 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
“I am the Bread of Life,” He said. It would cure the hunger that they had.
He further expounds on what was told to the Samaritan woman; He gives water that quenches thirst for good. Jesus is using physical needs to point to the related spiritual need.
We also see that He speaks of raising the dead in the passage from John 5. Some are raised to the resurrection of life and others to the resurrection of judgment. He is pointing to the truth of the Father giving Him all things. He is telling them He loses none that come to Him. It doesn’t mean that all will be saved from the resurrection of judgment. But that He loses none of whom He’s been given authority to raise up, which is all. Those that believe will be given eternal life.
The important part is that He is set to do His Father’s work diligently.
“He shall not be disheartened nor be discouraged,”
I will just leave the rest to Mark’s description of the end. In it, we see Jesus to be a bit tentative in His last night before the Cross. He goes away to pray three times; we see His resolve. Even here, we see Him not delay or be discouraged.
They came to a place which was named Gethsemane. And He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter and James and John with Him and began to be greatly distressed and very troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply sorrowful unto death. Remain here and keep watch.” He went a little farther and fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” Then He came and found them sleeping and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not keep watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again He went away and prayed the same words. When He returned, He again found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him. When He returned a third time, He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go. Look! He who betrays Me is at hand.”
Mark 14:32–42 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
In the same way, in doing our Father’s bidding, ought we not be disheartened or discouraged?
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Romans 8:18–21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
This is one of my favorite portions of Scripture, if for only one reason: Paul understood clearly that the creation was in bondage to entropy.
Entropy is the tendency of all things to progress toward chaos and futility. It is how the universe will end. No more work can be done.
When work is done, there is an exchange of energy, but some is always lost. It’s a game that cannot be won. Eventually, enough work will be done to use up all of the energy in our universe. The work we do as a creation ends in futility.
It’s the law.
Entropy is the second law of thermodynamics.
Yet it wasn’t discovered by scientists until after the invention of the steam engine. Physicists were puzzled by the inefficiencies of steam power and sought to discover the answer. In their endeavors, the heat loss was discovered and explained. This was around the middle of the 19th century.
But here is Paul, writing hundreds of years before then…And them. He is telling us plainly that everything was subject to futility. It’s real. Creation was placed under bondage. Paul knew, but humans didn’t until relatively recently.
Yet creation is waiting to be set free.
How about you?
You might ask me why I would ask something like that. You work hard. You work to achieve things, to further yourself, to do better than your parents. The end of such labors is a modest grave. All of us die.
It is said that the good that men do often lives after them. For how long?
See, we humans are also in bondage to that futility. We can work out, eat right… Give our bodies optimum nutrition. We can even attempt to avoid disease. We can do good things. But we still will die. We leave a fleeting imprint on this world, and then we are taken from it.
It all sounds futile because it is.
You, too, can be set free.
That hope!
that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Romans 8:21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
Paul is speaking of the time yet to come when the entire creation is released from its bondage. Paul calls that release “the glorious freedom of the children of God.” That is for us believers who will return to this earth and reign with Jesus. These are those children of God.
If you want to be a part of that, and beat the cycle of futility, it’s easy. You can be a child of God.
Acknowledge that God is right. You need help. You need rescue from the futility.
Believe that Jesus is Who He said He was and did what He did… Died to reconcile God to men and rose again, ascending to the Father, making it possible for you and me to be reconciled to God.
Confess that belief out loud… That Jesus is the Lord God and that He rose from the dead. That you are a sinner and need your sins forgiven.
In those days men will seek death but will not find it. They will desire to die, but death will elude them.
Revelation 9:6 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Revelation 13:16-17 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
The smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever. They have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name.
Revelation 14:11 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
These texts allude to some interesting thoughts if one pays attention to avant-garde research in science.
Since the beginning, the shining one (the serpent, what many scoffers call the talking snake) has seduced humanity with a lie: ‘You shall be as gods.’ What is called the science of evolution furthers the lie that life evolves upward, and that men are evolving to be better. The occultists and pagans would agree with the sentiments found there. Many of the world’s religions would also agree.
The coming mark the writer of Revelation warns of may be many things. It will probably be an outward mark of allegiance to a man. It will also be necessary to participate in the economy that comes. These things we know from the text, but these ideas could be cursory to what it may also be. When the apostle John speaks of the ‘mark,’ he addresses the dire spiritual implications that befall those who choose to take it. Reading Revelation clearly, one can also see those who take the mark of the beast are no longer able to be saved. Can we infer that this mark alters humans in such a way that they are no longer human?
I think so. Salvation is graciously offered to humans. It is provided by the finished work of a Human Being that lived around 2,000 years ago. His name is Jesus. He lived as a man. He also died as a man, but not a death that was the result of His own sin. He died for the penalty of the sin of all (1 John 2:1-2.) He also rose again, defeating death and nullifying its sting, which is eternal separation from God. Salvation is only made available by humans, as another human graciously gave of His own blood for that purpose.
Back to the mark.
The first citation above indicates that death will elude those who take the mark. I have glossed over that many times. Given recent advancements in science that include genetic programming and manipulation, it may help us to examine what that may entail.
It is possible (and somewhat common practice) to snip a portion of DNA from one organism and insert it into another. It is not necessary that the organisms be related in the way we think of that idea. This practice is called a genetic modification. (The resulting organisms fit the definition of chimeras.) Gene therapy is a burgeoning new world of genetic modification that finds new therapies in the field of medicine. The dream of many in the fields of such biotechnologies is to extend the length and quality of human life. Genetic engineering is exploring novel ways of achieving this.
There is also another branch of science that would work inside the body, modifying it in real-time. This field of exploration is nanotechnology. This involves placing tiny machines inside our bodies to perform specific functions. It can also include a way of modifying existing cells to operate like customized machines that can be manipulated to perform specialized tasks; think it like programming tiny computers for a certain task. The goal is to use these machines inside of our bodies to augment us.
It is conceivable that this coming mark could offer some of these technologies. Perhaps it will be introduced not just as a way to buy and sell or show allegiance… But it may include some way to combat the effects of aging and disease. In a way, it would be effective at delaying or even preventing death. In essence, it would alter humans to become like gods. It sounds too good to be true. The faint stench of sulfur seems to surround the idea. It is the ultimate deception culminating from that first one… The lie from the serpent: ‘you shall be as gods.’ Like his intent, then, the inference would be made that God is keeping something from us… Immortality.
Look further at the linked image below. You see the alleged seven Kundalini Chakras overlaid on the Caduceus. The intertwined serpents around that center rod is a modern symbol used to signify a field of medical science. The winged image on top of it is the winged-sun disk. (These symbols can be researched further if you like.) I want to draw attention to those intertwined serpents; note the double-helix design. It brings to mind the modern depictions of the construction of the DNA strand.
The long pursuit of humans who are beguiled by the lie… Is to be like gods. The scientific mantra is that humans are evolving to be better suited for their environs. There are some who even want to further this evolution in a self-directed fashion. It used to be called eugenics, but for the sinister implications of that word, it is no longer used… Though the ideas behind it are alive and well.
As the deception is ever increasing, the serpent subtly alters what God says and does in his mimicry of the Most High. That is, he copies what God has already done in his own sinister ways. This is about the shining one wanting to make humans after his image, and creation after his will. The coming deception seems to be based on the very first one: you shall be as gods. Maybe this mark will offer an alteration in humans, or better said, an augmentation that makes the ones having it substantially more impervious to death.
Could it be that those who take that mark, which may include technologies designed to augment humanity, become altered in their DNA… That is, ultimately making them different than humans?
The Bible clearly states those who take the mark shall not be saved. In other words, they are not eligible for the blood propitiation offered freely to all by Jesus.
Some others offer even more speculation… That a ‘third strand’ of DNA can be added in the middle of the double helix. Look again at the Staff of Caduceus. Look at what is hidden in plain sight. Also consider the Kundalini pursuit of enlightenment that is superimposed upon it. Everything is spiraling upward toward god. In this case, god would be the sun god signified by the winged sun disk.
It’s something to think about. Either way… Don’t fall for the age-old lie.
