Being Made Visible

I have always been a little bit different from the average believer. I am always questioning how the Word of God is interpreted, how it is explained and taught by others. I just don't automatically accept as spiritual food whatever is taught as if it's good lean meat. I find most of it usually has some bones in it that I have to spit out.

No, I may not know any more than you do. But I base everything I believe … not on what I have heard men teach or preach … but upon what little I know and understand in the Word of God.

So today I want to share my views about … "the return of Jesus" … knowing before hand some people may not agree with my personal opinions. It's not that they can't agree … many just don't want to accept or even consider the facts; they have their minds already made up. A good example of this type of attitude comes from St. Augustine. He was asked once why the Jews as a nation could not believe in Jesus. His answer was … "They could not, because they would not."

I was reading one morning, 1st Corinthians 1:7 in my Amplified Bible trying to refresh myself on the Apostle Paul's instruction for Christian living in a culture with moral conditions that should be considered inferior even by pagan standards. America's culture today is just like the conditions Paul found the Corinthian church in.

The last half of verse 7 is what triggered these thoughts again in my spirit. I've had them many times before … but now I feel the need to put them down on paper.

Paul wrote in verse 7 that we are to … "Wait and watch for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and His … being made visible … to all."

This return or 2nd coming of the Lord has been referred to since 1830 as … "the rapture of the church" … even though the word "rapture" isn’t used in the Bible. How did this phrase become so popular if it’s not scriptural?

A young Scottish woman named Margaret MacDonald had a dream in 1830. Her dream contained all that is taught today about the rapture … meeting the Lord in the air, secrecy, suddenness, invisibility, imminency, and a pre-tribulation separation of believers and unbelievers. The last part is what makes most people want to accept her dream as scriptural. It makes them more comfortable.

She sent a handwritten copy of her dreamed "revelation" to Edward Irving, a controversial minister drawing large crowds to his church in London. Most people thought this "new truth" was something Irving found in the Bible, and being a popular preacher, his views were quickly adopted. His preaching popularized the new theory, and within a few years it became the greatest preaching tool they could use. "Jesus could come back tonight! Are you ready for His return?" For over 1800 years nobody had even heard or thought about … "a secret 2nd coming." Even Jesus never spoke about it!

The word "rapture" comes from the two words "caught up" in 1st Thessalonians 4:17. The Greek word Paul used is "harpazo" which means … to seize, catch away, pluck up or take by force.

Look back again at Paul's words I started with in verse 7. He was saying that Jesus would be … "made visible to all." Paul is instructing the believers in the city of Cornith to … "wait and watch" … for the return of Jesus during their lifetime. Paul expected it at any time. It was obvious to Paul, this return wasn't going to be in secret … His return would be made … visible to all.

So as not to base this thought only from the Amplified Bible, I turned to the standard most versions are compared with … the Kings James Bible. The last half of verse 7 in it reads slightly different … "waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The first thing I noticed was it didn't say anything about being made "visible," so I started looking up the original Greek words found in the K.J.V. The word "coming" in the original means … "disclosure by appearing, to be revealed by coming."

So, would I be wrong if I conclude that Paul, by using the Greek word … "apokalupsis" … translated "coming" in the K.J.V. is saying, Jesus is coming back to be revealed.

But not stopping there, I also looked at the word "waiting" in verse 7 which means … "to fully expect, to look while you wait." So I think one could say that the Amplified version has accurately captured the intent of Paul's words. I would say they mean … "to fully expect Jesus to be revealed to all at His coming."

I suppose one could argue that only those waiting and looking for His return will see Him visibly, so I started looking for more scripture on His returning.

2nd Thessalonians 1:6-10 … "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
When he shall come to be glorified in his saints …"

Some would say this scripture is not speaking of the "rapture" but rather His "revelation" when He comes back to rule for a thousand years. Well, if that is the case … why is Paul telling these believers who are being troubled and afflicted, to rest in the fact that when Jesus is revealed He will take action against those who are causing them distress. Why didn't Paul tell them to wait for the rapture, the secret coming of the Lord instead? When he said "rest with us" why didn't he tell them that they would soon be plucked up, caught away (raptured) out of this trouble?

The teaching today is that unlike the Christians in the coliseums that were torn apart by lions, God is going to protect us from anything bad. We must be special.

Speaking of being plucked up … in Matthew 13:24-30, we have the parable of the wheat and the tares. The wheat represents the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The servants see the tares growing with the wheat and ask if they should be plucked up. The Lord of the harvest says no … "if you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them. Wait for the harvest and I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

The words … "root up" … in Matthew 13:29 is "ekrizoo" which means to pluck up by the roots. What was the meaning of the word used for rapture? (To pluck up or take by force.)

So … if we understand correctly what Jesus is saying in this teaching … when the Lord of the harvest (Jesus) comes to gather His good wheat, He is going to pluck up the tares … FIRST … before He plucks up, catches away or raptures His wheat.

Wait just one minute. I thought the rapture happened first. That's what this young girl's dream showed us back in 1830. So which are we to believe?

Continuing on in 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-5 … "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (the rapture?)
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ (the rapture?) is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except (the following things must happen) there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, (before the rapture) the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"

Some have asked … "Why wasn't Paul more explicit in his teaching about the return of Christ?" I think he just answered that question. Evidently when he was with this church in person, he told them or instructed them about all these things that he believed was about to happen in their lifetime. This is why he said … "Remember, I told you these things" … which is the reason he doesn't go over them again. Remember, this was a letter to them … not us.

Another familiar scripture I want to look at is found in 1st Thessalonians 4:15-18 …

"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up (raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

Again Paul's statement makes me believe he thought he would be alive when Jesus came back. But Paul wasn't through with all his instruction on this matter.

When Paul wrote this letter, he didn't put chapter headings or verse numbers in it. The translators of the Bible put them in for ease of reference to help us find scriptures. So to understand the things he has been writing about, especially the time frame when these things will happen, we need to keep on reading this letter.

1st Thessalonians 5:1-6 … "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that (the rapture?) the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day (the rapture) should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."

Daniel 8:25 … also speaks of this man of sin, the antichrist being in the temple … "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

The question that remains is; when shall … "we which are alive and remain be caught up (raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air?" Paul's answer to this question was, when the world begins to say … "peace and safety." You must decide for yourself if perhaps it is because of the world wide policies of the antichrist that create a false sense of peace?

I would like to believe in the rapture of the church as it is taught today. I want to believe in this young girl's dream instead of scripture … but I don't. Sorry.

I think I will stick with the facts found in the Word of God. I have only presented a small sampling of what's given in God's Word on this subject. There is much more. Look and see for yourself … do not only believe what others have said … including me.

I have been known to be wrong.

But … He will be made visible … to all.

I will close with the following scriptures concerning the return of Jesus.

Acts 1:9-11 … "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (I believe that means … visible.)

Matthew 24:30-31 … "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, (as in 1st Thess. 4:16?) and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (The elect in the N.T. always refer to born again believers.)

John 14:1-3 … "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (Jesus said He was coming back again, meaning one time, not again and again as some teach.)

Revelation 1:7 … "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Jesus comes back in like manner as He went … visible to all.)

It's in the Book!

Unanswered Prayer

If you are like me, then you have experienced more than once the "trying of your faith" waiting on an answer to prayer. If something is trying, it usually refers to something that is hard to endure. Waiting is hard. It runs counter to who we are. We don't want to wait on anything. Waiting for an answer to prayer is even harder.

Maybe patience is the word I'm looking for. You have heard the phrase … "Having the patience of Job." Well, most of us don't have it when it comes to prayer. Why should we need it? After all, who are we talking to when we pray? God, right? So, why should we have to wait? I mean, He's God! If He wanted to, He could zip the answer right back to us with no waiting.

But He seldom does that. Why? Because the trying of your faith … works … patience. It doesn't build patience; it causes you to exercise it. God is patient; no … that's one of His attributes. God is love. God has patience. God is patient with us. He proves it every day as He works with us.

I want to look at a portion of scripture that might help us understand a little better why it seems as though God leaves some of our prayers unanswered.

Could it be that we give up too soon on God?

Daniel 10:12-13 … "And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me …"

In the scripture above there is a practical truth that may be of use to us, and that truth is … the answer to prayer is often delayed … not by any degree of unwillingness on the part of God to answer it; nor by any purpose not to answer it, or even by the intention of trying our faith, but … by the necessary arrangements to bring it about. It may be of such a nature, such as the changing of a man's will, that it cannot be answered all at once.

During the whole three weeks, twenty-one days in which Daniel was in fasting and prayer or as he called it … mourning … which is what fasting and prayer can sometimes feel like; an angel (most likely Gabriel) had been dispatched from Heaven with the answer to his prayer. In fact he was sent … the first day he began to pray … but he had been delayed during all that time by some type of opposition that had met him in Persia.

It required all of the twenty-one days to overcome whatever obstacles existed there in Persia that opposed Gabriel making the arrangements which were necessary to secure the answer to his prayers. Daniel, not knowing that arrangements by God were in progress, or that an angel had already been sent to secure the answer to his prayers, was allowed by God to continue praying for the answer the whole time believing his prayers would eventually be answered.

So, how many arrangements may there be in progress designed for the single purpose of answering our prayers of which we know nothing about. How many people may need to be involved to bring about the answer? What obstacles may be in a process of removal unknown to us; what changes may need to be made or what influences exerted while we pray, including praying right on through many types of discouragements, even to the point of trying our faith and patience?

We may be required to pray for a much longer period of time than Daniel experienced before all the arrangements … according to God's Sovereign Providence … come together for us to receive the answer to our prayers. Depending on what it is, the things to be done may extend far into future months or years. People in government may have to be voted out of office; jobs or addresses may need to be changed.

It requires time to make important changes; to influence the minds of men; to remove obstacles; to put in operation agencies that will secure the thing desired. There may be some obstacle to be overcome. There may be some plan of evil to be hindered. There may be some medical treatment to be used which is not now in existence, and which is to be created.

Prayer is not always just operating in the physical realm. The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 … "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

John Wesley spoke the truth when he said … "The spiritual realm is dark unto us … but we lie open to it."

With Daniel, the opposition of the "Prince of Persia" could not be overcome at once, and it was necessary to bring in the agency of a higher power … that being Michael, the archangel … to effect the change. This could not be done in a moment, a day, or a week, but it took the long delay of three full weeks, twenty-one days before Daniel had an assurance that his prayers would be answered.

So it often happens now.

Take for example … we pray for the salvation of a loved one; yet there may be obstacles to his conversion, unseen by us, which are to be patiently removed, even perhaps by another's influence, before it can be done. Satan may have secured a control over his heart, which, is to be broken gradually, before the prayer will be answered.

We pray for certain laws like abortion to be changed; yet these laws may be so tied to the will of men, that they cannot be done away with quickly. Time may be needed for a change in their hearts.

Did this not happen with the evils of slavery? How many prayed for how long? What about W.W.II? Again, it took time for change. God has given men, even evil men … a free will … to do as they choose.

Of course I must add this disclaimer about the power of the evil one …

Things have changed from Daniel's day, ever since Jesus came and defeated the devil.

The Apostle Paul, speaking about Jesus, wrote this in Colossians 2:15 … "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

The lesson then, which is taught in Daniel, is this. God hears and answers prayer … although the answer to prayer … seems long delayed.

Have patience in prayer and have faith in God, for He will answer.

Something we do not have …

I was listening intently to our Pastor's sermon one Sunday morning not too long ago when all of a sudden one phrase just jumped out at me. He was speaking about Jesus as our High Priest, someone we can go to who knows what we go through, who has felt the same things we feel.

You know, the normal things such as cold, heat, hunger, thirst, pain … all the physical things as well as emotional things like loneliness, or perhaps being misunderstood or mocked and laughed at. Then there are things like people lying about us or making false accusations, even to the point of betrayal by our friends.

I would like to add to the list of things one of my problems … self doubt … but I won't because I really don't think Jesus would have been troubled by anything even close to doubt. He was God … but He was also man … so who knows.

If I let my mind wander off, I end up asking questions like … Did He ever get sick? Did Jesus ever cut Himself working with carpenter tools? When He was a boy, did He ever fall down and scrape His knee and have His blood drip on the ground? And if it did, was that spot on the Earth made pure and holy by that blood? Or was it only later on the cross while He carried the weight of the world's sin in His body that His blood became effectual and healed both spiritually and physically whatever it touched?

Anyway while listening to the sermon; in my spiritual mind I started seeing Jesus as He is today. Hebrews 10:12 states … "But this man, (Jesus) after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God …" to make intercession for us. In fact Hebrews 7:25 declares … "He ever liveth to make intercession for them" … (them) meaning anyone who comes to God for help.

In Hebrews chapter 9, it states that Jesus … "by his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" … and just as Moses did in the earthly tabernacle, Jesus in the heavenly tabernacle that was not made with hands, sprinkled His own blood on the mercy seat.

So now here I am, mentally wandering away from my Pastor's sermon, thinking about Jesus taking His own blood into Heaven where He sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat as full payment for sin … and then later after He ascended into Heaven returned to that very same Mercy Seat and sat down on the right hand of God and now He ever lives to make intercession for us.

I've spoken of this … intercession … hoping you will fully understand the importance of what Jesus is now doing. His on going intercession for us can't be only for sin because the sin question was answered forever with His one sacrifice. So what else can it be?

Let's look at two other verses and try and let scripture interpret scripture.

Hebrews 4:15-16 … "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." K.J.V.

By saying that we … "do not have a high priest that cannot be touched with those same feelings" … means that He is touched. Isn't that right?

The Amplified reads …

"For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]."

So the question that formed in my mind was this. Can Jesus, as our High Priest, our intercessor; can He really be touched in His heart, in His spirit … "with the feeling of our infirmities?" Can that happen unless He has the very same feeling, the very same pain, the very same hurt or whatever it is that we feel? He's not just touched; He makes "contact" with … the feeling.

I don't think this scripture is only talking about … "our sinful infirmities of temptation." I would like to believe, I want to believe that Jesus cares about any and all of my problems in this life, not just sin.

After all, He was the one who said in John 16:33 … "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

In closing, would I be doing the Scripture injustice if I were to conclude that Jesus is not only … "touched" … emotionally affected by our infirmities, but with an intuitive understanding, He actually … "feels" … our hurt, the emotional inner pain that we feel for a loved one when we intercede and pray for them. The type or size of the problem doesn't matter.

Something we do not have … is a High Priest who cannot be touched, unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities.

So … draw near … with every need.

I Miss Him

I woke up today, walked into my bathroom, looked into the mirror and saw a stranger looking back at me. What happened to the man I used to be?

I miss him.

I remember a young man with dark brown curly hair. The guy I saw in my mirror had very little hair on top; what was there no longer was brown … kind of a dirty gray. He also looked old and tired. I remember him a little taller, not much, maybe an inch and a half or so.

Gravity … it must have bent him over some. He also looks and feels a little bit heavier than he used to be. This old guy no longer has the same muscle tone he used to have, he's weaker and a little slower … no, a lot slower these days.

But you know what? I really don't care. You know why? Because … "This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

There's another thing I miss even more than my youth … the faith in God I had as a young believer. Has life stolen it from me?

As a young believer I didn't know there were some things God wouldn't do. It's not that He isn't able; He has the ability. Luke 1:37 … "For with God nothing shall be impossible."

I read in my Bible that Jesus said in John 14:14 … "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." All you had to do was ask. That settled it for me.

I miss that.

Life has taken its toll on me I guess. I'm not even sure if "toll" is the right word to use. I think it is. (It means … value measured by what must be given or done or undergone to obtain something.) In other words … "the cost paid in life."

But have I obtained or given up … faith in God? It has to be one or the other.

I know more about God now than I did in my youth. I still believe … that's not in question. When I was younger I knew most of the answers … or so I thought. As I look into this mirror today, the one truth that hasn't changed over time is this … "Jesus was and still is the answer" … no matter what.

In my youth, I guess you could say I was … "armed and dangerous" … or so I thought. I just believed the Word of God was true. Quote it, say it, claim it and you will receive it ... bless God. But of course that formula didn't always work. I thought God was obligated to answer our prayers. Was that faith or presumption?

But then I learned it wasn't about me or what I wanted. It was about what God wanted for me. I have finally accepted as truth that God and God alone is Sovereign and that He operates His Providence, His loving watch care over us with grace and mercy … as He so chooses.

So what has life taught me as I have walked one step at a time on the path God has set before me? Do you realize that God only lights our path far enough ahead so we can only see the next step. He wants us to take each step … by faith. If we could see down the path farther, there would be times when we wouldn't want to continue on that pathway.

Many times He sends us out into the storm as He did with His disciples for the single purpose of … "putting our faith on trial."

And when that happens, the best advice for us comes from a pretty intelligent man by the name of Solomon who wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6 … "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon himself places life on trial, using this question as a basis … "What does man have left after all of his labor in which he toils under the sun?"

The effect of this trial was the discovery that every effort to be happy ends in nothing. The greater the capacity for enjoyment, the deeper and wider is the experience of disappointment in life. Pleasure does not satisfy and cannot secure happiness in this world.

There is no allusion to the truth that we are dead in sins and offences. The result in the mind of Solomon from the trial of life is this … There is nothing better than to enjoy the things which God has given us; but in the end he says … "the fear of God is the whole duty of man" … and that should be what rules our walk on earth, not the gratifying of our own will.

In Solomon's Proverbs we have practical moral guidance as we walk through life in this world. But in Ecclesiastes, Solomon gives the result of his placing life on trial. The result is that it is … "this world" … that is brought into question … not God.

Am I the same guy I was in my youth? No. I don't need to look into a mirror to know that. Do I really miss him? No, not really. I miss the potential he had and wasted. It takes time to learn; and I'm a slow learner. I thank God for His patience with me.

So, what have I learned from the trials of life? "Pray, trust God and go on."

It doesn't matter if life isn't fair. That should have no bearing on how we walk through life. Many years ago, Peggy … my gift from God to help me through this life … said the following statement to me that has acted as a level, a pivot point, a stake in the rocky ground, a compass to find my direction when I'm lost.

"If it won't change where you spend eternity … then it doesn't really matter."

Three thousand or so years ago another saint of God must have felt the very same way as Peggy does because he wrote …

"Although (which means … even though, in spite of the fact that) the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Blessings to you as you grow older and wiser in the Lord …

Broken

You have heard the expression … "Dust to dust." That's what we came from and that is what we will be in the end. We are just clay, shaped by God our creator, into an earthen vessel, like a pot or a pitcher.

What are pots or pitchers used for? They are designed to hold or carry something; let's say, like water. Water is a good example. It is necessary for life. We drink it, cook with it, bath in it, grow food with it, fish in it, play in it and on and on, etc.

I want to take you back to a day years ago when a man called Jerubbaal, found another use for three hundred empty earthen pots or pitchers. He is better known as Gideon, a farmer's son, and as such was employed in the business of agricultural.

In fact, on the day I am speaking about we find Gideon at home threshing wheat in private, working under an oak tree so as to hide his wheat from the Midianites.

Judges 6:1 … "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." God had allowed the Midianites to conquer Israel and steal not only their crops but livestock as well.

Vs. 11 … "And there came an angel of the LORD …" and sat under that very same oak tree or one near it, if perhaps Gideon was working in a clump of oaks. The word LORD means …"Self Existent One, eternal Jehovah, the Lord."

I believe whenever the (angel of the LORD) appeared, it was always Jesus … "the Word of God" … manifested in bodily form. After Jesus became flesh, born of Mary, the angel of the LORD … never again appears to man.

Observe how the Lord found Gideon … all alone. God often makes Himself known to you when you are alone, out away from the noise and madness of this world. Silence and solitude many times opens the door and creates an opportunity for God to speak not just to us but with us.

Vs. 12 … "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."

Vs. 15 … "And Gideon said unto Him, who me? I am the least in my father's house. I'm not a man of valor, just a farmer." (My translation)

So, here we have this young farmer, doubting himself … just like we do many times … even after the Lord tells him in person, that he is the one chosen by God to free Israel from the Midianites.

Vs. 36-40 … Gideon wants even more assurance then just the word of the Lord (if that is possible) so he asks for a wet wool fleece which God honors; but even that is not proof enough. He now asks God for another fleece … but this time Lord, make it dry. Again God, in His loving patience does what Gideon asks of Him and finally convinces him that it would be by God's hand only and not Gideon's that will cause the Midianites to be defeated in battle.

Gideon has now gathered thirty-two thousand men for his army. But God said it was too many … He didn't need all of them. So Gideon sends home all the men who were fearful. Now he has only ten thousand men left with him.

But God says to Gideon … "No, still too many men."

So God tells Gideon … "Take them down to the water and have them drink. Only those who continue to watch as they lap the water out of their hands will be your army."

Gideon now has only three hundred men left out of the original thirty-two thousand he started with. Okay God says … "That looks about right. With this few men, no one in Israel can boast of their own victory."

Judges 7:16 … "And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers."

Vs. 17 … "And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise."

This reminds me of the Apostle Paul when he wrote in 1st Corinthians 11:1 … "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." In the Amplified Bible it reads this way … "PATTERN YOURSELVES after me, follow my example, as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah)."

Vs. 18-21 … So Gideon, and all the men that were with him stood every man in his place around the enemies camp in the middle night and blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their hands, and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And the enemy ran and fled. (Edited)

So today, what can we learn from the story of Gideon? I have already made the comparison of the clay pitcher with the man that God formed from the clay.

Genesis 2:7 … "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground …"

That's why God named the first man Adam. The word "man" in Hebrew is … "aw-dawm" or Adam … which means red or ruddy, made from red clay dust.

We are a vessel (like that pitcher) and God has made us for a purpose. So, if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour … the Holy Spirit has placed within us a measure of the life that Christ had within Him.

In John 1:4-5 we read … "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness …"

We are vessels … just like the earthen pitchers Gideon and his army used to carry their lamps in. The light needed to rout the enemy with was … hidden in their vessels … but the pitchers had to be broken to expose the light hidden within.

Many times God allows … LIFE … to be the source needed to crack open or break the outer shell so that the light in the heart of our vessel can be exposed to the world. Sorry … but that's the hard truth. Many times He doesn't intervene for reasons only He knows.

But be of good cheer …

Psalm 34:18 … "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Psalm 51:17 … "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

So expose the light of Christ that is within you … or your vessel may need to be "broken" to allow it to properly shine.

Many times God puts our "Faith" on trial. A trial is the act of testing something, trying something to find out about it, an examination process or the act of undergoing testing.

Gideon was tested … are we any different?

The Three Days

I have been asked to give a short discourse on the following question …

"Where was Jesus during the three days His body was in the tomb?"

I feel very inadequate trying to answer this question, so as always I will rely on what little I believe the Word hints at concerning this subject.

The three days … wow. Where do I start? Some question why Jesus made the statement to Mary Magdalene in the Garden when He said to her in …

John 20:17 … "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father …" K.J.V.

The word "touch" in this verse is "haptomia," and in the original Greek means to attach oneself … in other words … to grasp hold of, to hold back, and to restrain from leaving.

The Amplified Bible says it this way … "Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me [do not hold Me], for I have not yet ascended to the Father."

It's not so much (as some teach) that Jesus, had not yet presented Himself to God the Father now that He was purified and set free from all the world's sin that had been placed on Him as He hung on the cross. Some have said that no one was allowed to touch Him because it would have tainted Him in some way before He (for whatever reason) had ascended in bodily form to His Father. I don't believe this was what He was saying to Mary.

I think Jesus was simply saying to her … "I am going to leave, don't try to hold me back, don't try and keep me here." (My translation)

It is just my speculation but I believe Mary Magdalene had a special type of relationship with Jesus. (No, they weren't lovers or married like many have tried to say today.) Jesus had changed her life; they enjoyed being together, laughing, eating, walking, perhaps just sitting on a hillside talking and sharing time together.

In my mind I can see her giving Him hugs, perhaps even brushing His hair away from His eyes, you know, little things that showed her love for Him. If she had been used to touching Him, no doubt she reached for Him out of habit, to hold on to Him again. I think that's why He said what He did to her.

She had seen Him die … but here He was. I have no proof of this, but I believe it was this special relationship He had with her that is the reason she was allowed to be the first one to see Him after His resurrection, even before His disciples.

Of all those who traveled with Him, she may have been the one who had the most complete understanding of His life changing, cleansing power of salvation. It was she who had seven devils cast out of her by this man called Jesus who came into her life. Mark 16:9 … "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils."

Bishop Pearce wrote the following about her …

"Mary Magdalene is commonly thought to have been a prostitute before she came to the knowledge of Christ, and then to have been a remarkable penitent. As such, historians and painters represent her: but neither from this passage, nor from any other of the New Testament, can such a supposition be legitimately drawn. She is here represented as one who had been possessed with seven demons; but Mary Magdalene, by her behavior, and constant attendance on Jesus in his life-time, at his crucifixion, and at his grave, seems to have exceeded all the other women in duty and respect to his person."

Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene was one of the first things that happened at the end of the three days. So, what was He doing during the three days?

The Apostle Paul states in …

Ephesians 4:8-10 … "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)" K.J.V.

I like how the Amplified version reads …

"Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men. [Ps. 68:18.]
[But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth? He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest)."

Okay, simple talk that even I can understand; Jesus became sin on the cross …

2nd Corinthians 5:21 … "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Since Jesus died as a sinner in our place on the cross; (the cross not being the punishment for sin, just the vehicle for death) the punishment for sin was then and still is today … "Hell" and then after judgment … the lake of fire.

Therefore, I believe Jesus paying "the full price for sin" means at death He went into the underworld, ("Hades" in the Greek /"Sheol" in Hebrew) the place of torment, to be punished for our sin. Jesus taught about this in Luke 16:19-31. The example Jesus gives is of Lazarus in Paradise and the rich man in Hell. Both of these places are in the bowels of the earth with a great gulf fixed between them.

It was during the three days His body was in the tomb that the spirit and soul of Jesus went first to the torment side of the underworld, the compartment of Hell. No one knows for sure how long Jesus had to suffer punishment for us … one hour, one day, two days, we just don't know. It wasn't the full three days because Jesus had other things to accomplish for us.

Next, after this unknown period of time in Hades, Jesus crossed over to the Paradise side, called Abraham's bosom where He led to Heaven all those righteous O.T. saints that had been held captive in Paradise against their will instead of where they wanted to be … in Heaven where God was. (The Paradise side is now empty.)

They were not allowed into Heaven because at death their sin was still there; it had not been done away with, it had only been covered by the blood of an animal sacrifice. Jesus hadn't died yet. When Jesus, the true Lamb of God died on the cross, His blood didn't just cover their sin … His blood took all their sin away … allowing them to enter into God's presence in heaven.

Jesus … "led captivity captive" … this phrase is also expressing Christ's conquests and triumph over sin, the world, death, the grave and every spiritual enemy of those who are now His people. This is said to be especially true in light of the fact that Christ has spoiled and triumphed over Satan and his principalities and powers.

Paul is referring to this in Colossians 2:15 when he wrote … "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

The allusion here is to the public triumphs of the Romans, in which captives were led in chains, and exposed, in open view to all.

The writer of Hebrews also tells us some of what Jesus was doing during the three days in question.

Hebrews 9:12 … "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

Hebrews 9:23 … "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."

Just as Moses took the blood of calves and goats and sprinkled both the people, the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry; Jesus took His own blood, the better sacrifice and likewise sprinkled the heavenly things themselves.

By doing so during the three days, Jesus has now secured us for all time from the curse and condemnation of the law and from the wrath to come for those who are not in Christ Jesus.

Christ stands between God and the judgment of the law, and by fulfilling it, covers all the transgressions of the law; and being above it, is able to suppress all its accusations and charges brought against us.

Honestly, it doesn't say when Jesus did these things, but I believe it had to have been done during the three days, while He was operating in the spirit realm before He took up His new glorified body.

I also believe during the three days … that Jesus went to a spiritual prison reserved only for the fallen angels and shared, talked with or as the following verses say, preached to them. But I don't believe it was to give them another chance.

1st Peter 3:19 … "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison …"

2nd Peter 2:4 … "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment …" ( The word hell in this verse is "Tartaros," not Hades; it's a different place than the Hades or Hell we know about.)

Jude 1:6 … "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, (and started operating in the human realm, see Gen. 6:1-4) he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

In truth … the Bible is silent, unclear about what Jesus was doing during the three days His body was in the tomb. One thing I do know though is this … what ever Jesus was doing was enough. He succeeded in securing our salvation.

Revelation 1:18 … "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

I believe He got them during the three days.

No Reputation

Jesus is supposed to be our example … our goal is to be like Him. I don't know if goal is really the right word. A goal is a plan intended to achieve something and when it is achieved you can then terminate your behavior used to achieve it. So if you do, you are then no longer acting like Him.

Of course I don't need to worry about achieving it … I personally believe this goal is out of reach. Why do I say that? Let me explain.

I have always said … the reason Jesus could become a man and be tempted in all points yet without sin … was because He didn't have a father with a fallen sin nature that was handed down from Adam.

Because none of us have or can reach the goal of becoming like Jesus … I started looking around for the reason or really an excuse as to why we can't or maybe don't.

John 3:34 states "… for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."

Ephesians 4:7 … "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."

I felt like the reason Jesus could live as a man without sin was because He had all the gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in His life. God did not limit Him as He has with us, with just a small portion, a measure of the Spirit and grace … He had it all. That gave me that excuse I was looking for.

Jesus was all man … at least He looked like man … Mary gave birth to a child who grew as a man. His earthly body came from Mary; that made Him human … but His Spiritual nature came from God … that's why He was able to fulfill all the Law, yet without sin.

My wife Peggy kept speaking to me over the years about how Jesus … emptied Himself … when He became man. She said … "By doing so He stripped Himself and laid aside all that was God … He left it behind in Heaven" … or did He?

Paul speaking about Jesus writes in Philippians 2:6-8 … "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Paul is explaining just how much Jesus gave up to become flesh. Jesus being one with God and in the form of God … became like men and was born as a human.

"But made himself of no reputation …" This translation by no means conveys the sense of the original meaning. Accordingly the words … no reputation … would make it seem that Jesus consented to be just an average man without any distinction or special honor among men; even that He was willing to be despised and rejected.

The Greek word that was translated into "no reputation" in the K.J.V. is "keno" which literally means … "to make empty, to make void, and to abase." This Greek word "keno" is translated "no reputation" only here in this verse; everywhere else in Scripture it is translated properly as "empty, void or to abase."

These three verses in the Amplified read … "Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God, God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be … retained,
But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant, in that He became like men and was born a human being.
And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!"

I can understand why the translators used "no reputation" instead of "emptiness."

The idea is to show Jesus is now "nothing" in respect to His former rank in Heaven; so they now apply to Him this … "no reputation" … phrase as He lays aside "His equality with God" and becomes … "as nothing" … as He assumes a more humble rank in respect to becoming man.

Since the translators didn't use the words … "to make empty" … that leads me to wonder if they believed Jesus really emptied Himself of all that was God.

Notice the words used …

K.J.V. … "the form of a servant, the likeness of men, found in fashion as a man."
Amplified uses … "to assume, became like men."

Whether we agree or not on how much Jesus emptied Himself … we have to admit something was different about Jesus. He wasn't normal. How could He be?

Think about this …

If He was God in Heaven as the Word, how could He divest Himself of His divine nature … that would be IMPOSSIBLE. He could not … CEASE TO BE GOD … just as God could not cease to be Holy.

It could be conceivable that He might have laid aside for a time, the GLORY of who He was in Heaven, so that the outward signs of His position in Heaven as the Word of God might have been withdrawn for a time.

It is also conceivable that Jesus temporarily ceased exercising the power and authority He held in Heaven while on earth as a man. But the many recorded miracles are proof He could and did operate in that power from time to time while on earth.

Yet all this supposes no change in the divine nature. When the sun is blocked by a cloud or when it sets, there is no real change to its glory or light; the sun itself isn't changed. So it might have been … with the Son of God.

There is much to us which is obscure about Jesus; the Scriptures are nearly silent in regard to the actual change, but the language used does not imply as much that He laid aside His being God, but rather He laid aside all the glory which is involved in the phrase … "being in the form of God" … when He took upon Himself another form … "the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."

How was it that He emptied Himself of all the grace He had in Heaven? Did He not have that grace with Him when He walked in the dust of the earth as a man? Did He not walk showing mercy and love? God is love. Did He not fulfill all the Law? How did He do that if He emptied Himself of all His divine nature? We can't.

John Gill in his commentary states … "His divine nature was not in the least diminished by His human nature, for all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily. Although He took that which He had not before, (flesh) He lost nothing of what He had. The glory of His divine nature was covered and out of sight; and though some rays and beams of it broke out through His works and miracles, yet His glory, as the only begotten of the Father, was beheld only by a few.

The form of God in which He was, was hid from them; He voluntarily subjected himself, He was not thrust down into this low estate by force; but this was Christ's own act and deed. He willingly assented to it, to lay aside as it were His glory for a while, to have it veiled and hid, and be reckoned anything, yea a mere man, and not be God."

Colossians 1:19 & 2:9 … "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell …" and … "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

Paul states that Jesus possessed the "fullness" … whatever it is that makes God, God. Jesus, as man, was not merely God-like, but in the fullest sense, God.

He remained part of the Godhead; there was never a time when He wasn't a part of the Godhead. Yet He conducted Himself … AS IF … He were empty.

With the study of God's Word, God reveals who He is and how He always operates within His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness and patience. Did not Jesus have all these attributes of God while on earth as a man?

We are made in "God's image" … but we aren't God. Jesus was made in … "the likeness of man" … but was He only man?