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Category Archives: Christology (The study of Jesus Christ)

The word “Christology” comes from the two Greek words: Christos – meaning “anointed one,” and logos – meaning “study.” Christology is essentially the study of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ in Every Book of the Bible by James Hayes

09 May

Bible opened image

In Genesis He is the Seed of the woman

In Exodus He is the Lamb slain for sinners

In Leviticus He is our High Priest

In Numbers He is the Star of Jacob 

In Deuteronomy the Prophet like unto Moses and the Great Rock

In Joshua the Captain of the Lord of Hosts

In Judges the Messenger of Jehovah

In Ruth our Kinsman Redeemer and Faithful Bridegroom

In 1 Samuel He is seen as the Great Judge

In 2 Samuel He is the Princely King

In 1 Kings He is seen as David’s choice

In 2 Kings He is seen as the Holiest of all

In 1 Chronicles as the King by birth

In 2 Chronicles as King by judgment

In Ezra He is seen as Lord of heaven and earth

In Nehemiah He is the Builder

In Esther He is our Mordecai

In Job He is our Daysman and our returning Redeemer

In Psalms He is the Son of God and the Good Shepherd

In Proverbs He is our Wisdom

In Ecclesiastes He is the One Above the Sun

In the Song of Solomon He is the Great Church Lover, the One Altogether Lovely, and the Chieftest of Ten Thousand

In Isaiah He is the Suffering and Glorified Servant

In Jeremiah He is the Lord Our Righteousness

In Lamentations He is the Man of Sorrows

In Ezekiel He is the Glorious God

In Daniel He is the Smithing Stone and the Messiah

In Hosea He is the Risen Son of God

In Joel He is the Out-Pourer of the Spirit

In Amos He is the Eternal Christ

In Obadiah He is the Forgiving Christ

In Jonah He is the Risen Prophet

In Micah He is the Bethlehemite

In Nahum He is the Bringer of Good Tidings

In Habakkuk He is the Lord in His Holy Temple

In Zephaniah He is the Merciful Christ

In Haggai He is the Desire of All Nations

In Zechariah He is the Branch

In Malachi He is the Son of Righteousness with Healing in His Wings

In Matthew He is the King of the Jews

In Mark He is the Servant

In Luke He is the Perfect Son of Man

In John He is the Son of God

In Acts He is the Ascended Lord

In Romans He is the Lord Our Righteousness

In 1 Corinthians He is Our Resurrection

In 2 Corinthians He is Our Comforter

In Galatians He is the End of the Law

In Ephesians He is the Head of the Church

In Philippians He is the Supplier of Every Need

In Colossians He is the Fullness of the Godhead

In 1 Thessalonians He comes for His Church

In 2 Thessalonians He comes with His Church

In 1 Timothy He is the Mediator

In 2 Timothy He is Bestower of Crowns

In Titus our Great God and Savior

In Philemon He is the Prayer of Crowns

In Hebrews He is the Rest of the Faith and Fulfiller of Types

In James He is the Lord Drawing Nigh

In 1 Peter He is the Vicarious Sufferer

In 2 Peter He is the Lord of Glory

In 1 John He is the Way

In 2 John He is the Truth

In 3 John He is the Life

In Jude He is our Security

In Revelation He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, the Bright and Morning Star, the King of Kings and  Lord of Lords

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2013 in Christology (The study of Jesus Christ)

 

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The 7 Major Bodily Resurrections in the Bible

29 Dec

Jesus' empty tomb and resurrection image

(1) The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (Matt. 28:1–7)

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:1–7)

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words (Luke 24:1–8)

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; (John 20:1–8)

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it… and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses… And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all… but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear…explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” (Acts 2:24; 3:15; 4:33; 10:40; 17:3)

and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord… who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification… because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 1:4; 4:25; 10:9)

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Cor. 15:3-9)

That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:20)

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thess. 4:14)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18).

(2) The token resurrection of some saints at the time of the resurrection of Christ

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:50–54).

(3) The resurrection at the rapture

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

 

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:51–58)

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:14–17).

(4) The resurrection of the two witnesses

And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Rev. 11:3–13).

(5) The resurrection of the Old Testament saints

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain. (Isa. 26:19–21)

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezek. 37:12–14)

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan. 12:1–3).

(6) The resurrection of the tribulation saints

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4–6).

(7) The resurrection of the wicked dead

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11–15).

Scriptures taken from ESV. Major Headings adapted from: Walvoord, John F. (2011-09-01). Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times (p. 452). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

 
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Posted by on December 29, 2012 in Christian Testimonies, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Exegetical Studies, Gospel Presentations, New Testament Studies

 

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For God So Loved the World by R. Scott Clark

27 Dec

For God So Loved the World by R. Scott Clark

Earth from space

 John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him, should not perish but have eternal life.”

To many, the topics of common grace and atonement would seem to be mutually exclusive, as if we should either hold to common grace or to definite atonement, but not to both. There are, however, good biblical and theological reasons for holding both the Reformed doctrines of common grace and definite atonement.

By common grace I do not mean that God has endowed all humans with a universal gift whereby, if they will, they may do what is necessary to obtain salvation. Rather, using the formula adopted by the Christian Reformed Churches in 1924, “common grace” means three things: First, God has a sort of general benevolence toward humanity that is not saving; second, God providentially restrains evil; third, unregenerate persons are able to do “civic” but not “saving” good. In short, it is really a way of speaking about what we traditionally have called “providence.”

By atonement, we mean that Christ lived and died as the substitute for His people, putting away their sin and turning away God’s wrath from them, that is, all those whom God chose, in Christ, from eternity out of pure grace.

Creation and Redemption

How do we reconcile the notion of a limited, personal, substitutionary atonement with a universal non-saving favor? If God is favorably inclined toward all, how can one say that Christ did not die for them? And if Christ did not die for all, how can God be favorable toward them in any way?

We say this because creation and redemption are distinct. In creation, God made all that is. In His providence, He sustains and orders all that He made. In redemption, however, He saves His elect image bearers from sin and judgment. Redemption presupposes creation, since there must be a creation (that is, humans) for whom Christ died and whom He redeemed.

God’s Saving Favor in Christ

When Christ said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), He was not speaking of His providential gifts to His creatures but about His saving work for His people.

The term world here is synonymous with the word sinners. In view is not the extent of the atonement, but the degree of God’s love and the quality of those for whom Christ died. How much did God love us? He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. What sort of people did He love? He loved the “world,” or those who, because of their sin and sinfulness, are opposed to God (John 1:10; 15:18; 17:14). This is how John 3:19 defines “world.” The light has come to the “world,” but men loved darkness rather than light.

The difference between creation and redemption is evident in the way Scripture describes God’s general favor and the way it speaks of the atonement. The atonement is for particular persons. Christ died “for us” (Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3). The Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, whom He knows (John 10:14–16).

In contrast, regarding God’s general providence, Jesus taught that the Father “makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). Common grace is general and benefits all people, but the same is not true of the atonement.

The Nature of the Atonement

Just as there are two parts to common grace (creation and providence) so there are two parts to the atonement, expiation and propitiation. To expiate means to cover sins, which Jesus accomplished in His obedience and death (Heb. 9:22). By His obedience and death, Jesus also turned away God’s wrath from all His people. This is propitiation.

Moses’ intercession for Israel (Ex. 32) is a good illustration of propitiation. Having come down from the mountain, Moses said upon seeing their sins, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make propitiation for your sin.” This turning away of God’s wrath from His people becomes even clearer later (vv.14–16) when Moses prayed and Yahweh, “appeased,” became favorable towards His people. All that Moses illustrated, Christ fulfilled in His obedience and death.

In Luke18:9–14, the Pharisee congratulated himself for his righteousness. The tax-collector, however, cried out to God saying, “God be propitious to me, I am a sinner.” The apostle Paul spoke clearly about Christ’s propitiating work in Romans 3:25–26: “God presented Him [Jesus] as the place of propitiation, through faith in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins committed beforehand in the forbearance of God, for a demonstration of His righteousness now in this season in order that He might be righteous, and the one declaring righteous him who has faith in Jesus.”

In this passage, Paul is explaining how we are declared righteous by God. (vv. 21–22). In the past, God “overlooked” the sins of the Israelites. It was not that He did not “see” them in His omniscience, or that He is morally sloppy, but He suspended execution of His justice in view of the coming of Christ. In other words, His general providence served His plan of definite atonement.

Paul says that now, in Christ’s death, God’s justice is demonstrated and satisfied by Christ’s becoming our place of propitiation (see Heb. 9:5). In His death as our sin-bearer (2 Cor. 5:21), Jesus has become our propitiation and the place and means of propitiation, that we might become “the righteousness of God.”

When He died, Jesus actually accomplished expiation and propitiation for sins, but for whom? If Jesus propitiated God for the sins of all, then all are saved. Clearly, however, not all are saved. This is because it was never our Savior’s intention to propitiate God’s wrath for everyone who ever lived. Rather, it was His intention to redeem all of His people completely.

Difficult Passages

What then do we do with passages such as 1 John 2:2: “He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world”? It is good to remember the context of this verse. John is encouraging Christians to obedience based on Christ’s atoning work for believers. In context, it makes little sense to read this passage to mean “Christ turned away God’s wrath for all who ever lived.” In this context it makes more sense to read “world” in a qualitative sense (sinners) or to mean “many more folk beyond Asia Minor.”

We have a similar case in 2 Corinthians 5:15 where Scripture says that Christ died “for all.” If we stopped there, we might conclude that the Arminians are correct, but if we continue, we see that Scripture says Christ died so that the Christians “might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (emphasis added). The “all” of the first part of verse 15 is qualified by the second clause, “for their sake,” to refer to believers who are united to Christ. What seemed at first glance like a universalistic passage actually teaches definite atonement.

The usefulness of the doctrine of common grace for our understanding of the atonement becomes clearer in 1 Timothy 4:10 where Paul wrote, “For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe” (ASV).

Critics ask how we can continue to hold to a definite atonement in the face of such language. The answer is that Paul was not speaking of the atonement here. The Greek noun for “Savior” here is soter. As my colleague Steven M. Baugh has pointed out, in Ephesus there was a statue dedicated to Caesar that proclaimed him a “god” and “the universal soter of the life of men,” referring to Caesar’s gifts to the city. Against this background, Paul is best read to say, “It is not some presumptuous king who is the provider for humanity, but the living God is the provider, and especially to those who believe.” Here, general providence illumines particular grace.

In His providence, God gives many wonderful gifts to humanity. We rejoice in the colors of autumn and the joy of music. These gifts are good in themselves, but they are universal and distinct from His particular gift of redemption in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). All humans know God as Creator and Judge (Rom. 1:18–21), but believers know Him as Redeemer. We know that in His love, He sent His Son not merely to make salvation possible, since in that case none would be saved. Rather, Jesus came to earn it for us (Phil. 2:8) by turning away God’s wrath so that, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

About the Author: Dr. R. Scott Clark is associate professor of historical and systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California and the associate pastor of Oceanside United Reformed Church in Oceanside, California.

Tabletalk Magazine Issue November 1st, 2004. © Tabletalk magazine 
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Posted by on December 27, 2012 in Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Soteriology (The Study of Salvation and the Gospel)

 

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“Aslan and Jesus” Louis A. Markos with C.S. Lewis

25 Dec

Aslan and Narnia

Aslan

 

As an English professor, I have spent the last two decades guiding college students through the great books of the western intellectual tradition.   And yet, though I have taught (and loved) the works of Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Dickens, I do not hesitate to assert that Aslan is one of the supreme characters in all of literature.   Though many readers assume that Aslan, the lion king of Narnia who dies and rises again, is an allegory for Christ, Lewis himself disagreed.

According to his creator, Aslan is not an allegory for Christ but the Christ of Narnia.   The distinction is vital.   Were Aslan only an allegory, a mere stand-in for the hero of the gospels, he would not engage the reader as he does.   In fact, as Lewis explained, Aslan is what the Second Person of the Trinity (God the Son) might have been like had he been incarnated in a magical world of talking animals and living trees.   As such, Aslan takes on a force and a reality that speaks to us through the pages of the Chronicles of Narnia.

In Aslan, we experience all the mighty paradoxes of the Incarnate Son: he is powerful yet gentle, filled with righteous anger yet rich with compassion; he inspires awe and even terror (for he is not a tame lion), yet he is as beautiful as he is good; The modern world has ripped apart the Old and New Testament, leaving us with two seemingly irreconcilable deities:

an angry, wrathful Yahweh who cannot be approached, and a meek and mild Jesus who is too timid to defend his followers from evil. Aslan allows us to reintegrate—not just intellectually and theologically, but emotionally and viscerally as well—the two sides of the Triune God who calls out to us on every page of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

Every time a character comes into the presence of Aslan, he learns, to his great surprise, that something can be both terrible and beautiful, that it can provoke, simultaneously, feelings of fear and joy. Borrowing a word from Rudolph Otto, Lewis referred to this dual feeling as the numinous. The numinous is what Isaiah and John felt when they were carried, trembling and awe-struck, into the throne room of God, and heard the four-faced cherubim cry out “holy, holy, holy!”   It is what Moses felt as he stood before the Burning Bush, or Jacob when he wrestled all night with God, or Job when Jehovah spoke to him from the whirlwind, or David when he was convicted of his sin with Bathsheba and experienced (all at once) the wrathful judgment and infinite mercy of the Holy One of Israel.

Our age has lost its sense of the numinous, for it has lost its sense of the sacred.   Through the character of Aslan, Lewis not only instructs us in the nature of the numinous, but trains us how to react when we are in its presence.   When we finish the Chronicles, we may not be able to define the numinous, but we know we have felt it: each and every time Aslan appears on the page.

Jesus

No person has ever had a greater impact on the history of the world, and yet no person has been the focal point of more controversy and strife.   No person has ever been worshipped with such devotion or manipulated with such selfish ingenuity.   For well over a century, an ever-changing band of biblical “scholars” (some of them genuine, but most of them self-appointed) have organized themselves under the rubric of the Jesus Seminar and have taken as their goal the grail-like search for the “historical Jesus.”   Sadly, though the majority of their findings are based on their readings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (with an occasional gnostic gospel thrown in),

most members of the Jesus Seminar refuse to treat the canonical gospels with the respect they deserve.   And that despite the growing number of historians and textual critics who have judged the gospels to be reliable historical documents based on eyewitness accounts that corroborate, rather than duplicate, one another.

Though C. S. Lewis was not a trained biblical scholar, he was an expert reader of literature with a fine eye for the distinctions between genres.   Long before modern scholarship confirmed the historical accuracy of the gospels, Lewis had already explained to his readers that the Jesus of the gospels and the “historical Jesus” of revisionist scholarship were one and the same.

Anyone who reads the gospels alongside other ancient texts will immediately see the difference.   There is nothing legendary about the gospels.   They are, Lewis asserts, sober biographies grounded in real, down-to-earth details— the kind of details that do not appear in literature until the 19th century.   As for Jesus himself, he emerges from the gospels with a concrete
As for Jesus himself, he emerges from the gospels with a concrete reality that surpasses all other figures in the ancient world (only Socrates comes close).   When we read the gospels, we know Jesus in a way we do not know anyone else before the modern period.

As for the claims Jesus makes in the gospels, Lewis, in what is perhaps his best known apologetical argument, defuses all those critics who would treat Jesus as a good teacher or prophet and nothing more.   In Mere Christianity (II. 3), Lewis gives the lie to this attempt to domesticate and defang the historical Jesus of the gospels.

Again and again, Lewis reminds us, Jesus makes incredible claims about himself: he is the Way, the Truth and the Life; he is the Resurrection and the Life; he is one with the Father; he has the authority to forgive sins; he calls on people to follow him (and not just his teachings); he takes upon himself the power to reinterpret the Law.

A person who made these claims and was not the Son of God would not be a prophet or even a good man. He would either be a deceiver on a grand scale or a certifiable maniac. Yet the overwhelming consensus of the gospels and of those who knew Jesus rule out the possibility that he was either a liar or a lunatic. Once these two options are eliminated, however, we are left with only one possibility: that he was who he claimed to be.

And that is why Lewis concludes that we can shut Jesus up as a lunatic, kill him as a devil, or fall at his feet in worship—but “let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Articles adapted from Markos, Louis A. (2012-10-01). A To Z With C. S. Lewis (Kindle Locations 74-79 & 377-379).  . Kindle Edition.

 
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Posted by on December 25, 2012 in Book Excerpts, C.S. Lewis, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Current Issues, Illustrations for Teachers/Preachers, Worldview

 

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Why the Incarnation of Jesus Was Necessary by Dr. Gordon Wenham

25 Dec

Christmas Incarnation

 

The Blood of the Lamb of God by Gordon Wenham

 

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins,” says the epistle to the Hebrews (9:22). Most of that epistle is taken up with showing how Christ fulfilled the hopes and aspirations of the Old Testament, especially in regard to the sacrificial system of ancient Israel. But for modern readers who have never seen a sacrifice and do not think in Old Testament categories, this is all double Dutch: What has the killing of animals to do with the forgiveness of sins?

It is explained at length in the book of Leviticus, which begins with a long section setting out just how to offer the different kinds of sacrifice and what each achieves (chap. 1–7). However, we need to start further back than this to understand Leviticus and the basic notion of sacrifice.

Genesis 18 tells how Abraham was visited one day by three men. He had no idea who they were, but being a very hospitable man, Abraham laid on a splendid feast for them. His wife Sarah made a pile of fresh bread, while he offered a tender young calf, which his servants killed and cooked for the visitors. We are not told that he gave them wine, but, doubtless where that was available, it too would be served to important guests. Subsequently Abraham discovered who his visitors were — the Lord and two angels!

Though this episode is not seen as a sacrifice, it does give us an insight into the basic dynamics of sacrifice. At a sacrifice, God is the most important guest: His presence is honored by offering Him those items — meat, bread, and wine — that were served only on very special occasions. Meat eating was a rare luxury in Old Testament times, and doubtless wine was reserved for big occasions too.

Israel’s ancient neighbors saw sacrifices as meals for the gods, but the Old Testament indignantly rejects this idea. It is God who provides food for man (Gen. 1:29), not the other way around. Psalm 50:10, 12 puts it well:

Every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills… .

If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and its fullness are mine.

So what was the point of these massive feasts in front of the tabernacle and later in the temple precincts? The first sacrifices in the Bible are those offered by Cain and Abel. These are mentioned straight after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, where they had enjoyed walking with God in the cool of the day. Excluded from the garden, they were deprived of this privilege of intimacy with God. So one motive for sacrifice suggested by this story is that sacrifice allows man to renew fellowship with God.

But it must be offered in the right spirit. Cain offered only some of the fruit of the ground, whereas Abel “brought of the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions” (Gen. 4:4), that is, the very best bits of his most valued animals. God accepted the latter but not the former. Here we realize one of the most important features of sacrifice: the animals must be young and healthy, not decrepit and elderly. The Passover lamb had to be without blemish and one year old. Repeatedly, the sacrificial laws in Leviticus insist that the animals involved must be “without blemish.” The Cain and Abel story shows what will happen if this is ignored: “they will not be accepted” (Lev. 22:25; see also 19:7; 22:20).

After the fall, an avalanche of sin, especially murder and violence, engulfed the world. God complains that sin is built into man: “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). “The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence” (6:11). So God sent the flood to wipe out sinful humanity and start afresh with Noah, the one man “who was righteous, blameless in his generation” (6:9).

When Noah eventually emerged from the ark, his first act was to build an altar and offer sacrifice. One might suppose that this was just an act of thanksgiving for being saved from destruction himself, but the text indicates it achieved much more. “When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth’” (8:21). In other words, though man’s evil character has not been changed (see 6:9), God’s attitude to human sin has: He will never again punish the world with a flood. Why? Because of the pleasing aroma of the sacrifices offered by Noah (8:21). Sacrifice according to Genesis 8 thus cools God’s anger at human sin. That animal sacrifices produce a pleasing aroma for God is a frequent refrain in Leviticus 1–7.

But why is animal sacrifice so effective in appeasing God’s wrath? The account of Abraham’s offering of Isaac gives some insight into this. Genesis 22 tells how God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his most precious possession, namely, his only son Isaac. Abraham did not know that this was a test — for him it was deadly earnest. So at the last minute, just as Abraham was about to cut Isaac’s throat, the angel of the Lord told him to stop: “for now I know that you fear God” (22:12). Then Abraham looked up, saw a ram, and offered it up instead of Isaac.

This story shows that if someone is ready to obey God totally, God will accept an animal instead of the worshiper. Isaac was Abraham’s future, and Abraham was willing to give him to God, yet God was satisfied with a ram. Here the doctrine of substitutionary atonement is illustrated for us. It is even clearer in the laws in Leviticus, where an essential feature of every sacrifice is the placing of the worshiper’s hand on the animal’s head. This action declares that the animal is taking the place of the worshiper. The worshiper is giving himself entirely to God by identifying himself with the animal; the animal is dying instead of the worshiper.

In Leviticus 1–7, four different types of animal sacrifice are discussed. The emphasis in these chapters is on how to carry out the different types of sacrifice. We must now focus on the features that distinguish one type of sacrifice from another. The burnt offering (Lev. 1) was unique in that it was the only sacrifice in which the entire animal was burnt on the altar. In this, the total consecration of the worshiper to the service of God was represented. At the same time, it made atonement (Lev. 1:4) for the worshiper. “Make atonement” is more exactly “pay a ransom,” a phrase used elsewhere in the Law, where an offender who might otherwise face the death penalty was let off by the payment of damages (for example, Ex. 21:30).

The peace offering (Lev. 3) was probably the most popular of Old Testament sacrifices, as it was the only one in which the worshiper who donated the animal had a share of the meat (usually, only the priests ate the sacrificial meat). The peace offering could be offered spontaneously as an act of thanksgiving to God, but it might be offered when you made a vow asking for God to do something for you, or when that prayer was answered.

The sin offering (Lev. 4) was peculiar in that some of the animal’s blood was smeared on the altar or sprinkled inside the tabernacle or temple. This blood cleansed the tabernacle from the pollution of sin. Sin does not just make one guilty before God or make Him angry, it also makes places and people unclean and thus unfit for God to dwell in. By smearing blood on the altar or sprinkling the interior of the temple with blood, these objects were cleansed of pollution. At the same time, the sinner who had caused the pollution by his misdeeds was forgiven his sins and cleansed from its pollution. This cleansing made it possible for God to re-enter the temple and indwell the believer.

Finally, there was the guilt offering (Lev. 5:14–6:7), which expressed the idea that certain deeds put us in God’s debt. These sins can only be atoned for by the sacrifice of an expensive ram. Though discussed relatively briefly in Leviticus, the sacrifice is of great importance in Isaiah 53, where the suffering servant is called the guilt offering (v. 10; see the ESV, “offering for sin”), who suffers for our transgressions (vv. 5–6). As this chapter describes most fully the atoning role of Christ, it is central to the New Testament’s understanding of Christ’s death.

The imagery of sacrifice in general pervades the New Testament’s interpretation of the cross. When John the Baptist said “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), he was most likely seeing Christ as the perfect Passover lamb, an image that Paul also uses when he speaks of “Christ, our Passover lamb” (1 Cor. 5:7). He is also seen as the supreme burnt offering, a sacrifice superior to Isaac, an idea alluded to in such well-known passages as John 3:16 and Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.” Mark 10:45 describes the Son of Man as the ultimate servant, who gave “his life as a ransom for many.” 1 John 1:7 takes up the imagery of the sin offering when he says that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” For the epistle to the Hebrews Jesus is the supreme High Priest, who through His death achieves all the goals to which the Old Testament sacrificial system pointed (see Heb. 9:1–14).

Finally, we should note that the death of Christ does not exhaust the significance of the sacrificial system for the Christian. We too are expected to walk in Christ’s footsteps and share His suffering (1 Peter 2:21–24). So we too are encouraged “to present our bodies as a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1). Paul, anticipating his own death, compared it to being “poured out as a drink offering,” that is, like the wine that was poured over the altar with every animal sacrifice (see also Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6). In this way the old modes of worship should still inspire our consecration today.

 

About the Author: Dr. Gordon Wenham is senior professor of Old Testament at the University of Gloucestershire, England, and he served on the translation oversight committee for the English Standard Version Bible.

Article Information: From Tabletalk Magazine, September 1, 2005. © Tabletalk magazine 
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Posted by on December 25, 2012 in Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Exegetical Studies, Gospel Presentations, New Testament Studies, Old Testament Studies, Theology Proper (The Study of God)

 

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Jesus: Our Perfect High Priest by Nancy Guthrie

23 Dec

 

OYBODJITOT Guthrie 

None of Israel’s high priests ever lived up to what God intended for those he set apart to serve him in his Temple. Aaron sinned by leading the people in false worship. His sons sinned by offering unholy fire on God’s altar. Eli sinned by failing to discipline his sons who were such wicked priests that God struck them both down on the same day. Eventually the priesthood broke down altogether, so that the Old Testament ends with this warning: “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 2: 7-8)

While the priesthood was responsible for its sinful failure, it was never meant to last forever, but rather to prepare God’s people for the perfect Priest God would send. Jesus came, not to fit into the earthly system of priestly ministry, but to fulfill and put an end to that human priesthood, and to orient our attention to his ministry on our behalf in heaven. As our perfect High Priest, Jesus ministers in a superior place— not in the Temple, but in heaven itself. “For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9: 24).

Jesus ministers to us with superior righteousness— not external, like a holy set of clothes, but intrinsic to his own holy person. “He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin” (Hebrews 7:26).

Jesus ministers to us with superior sympathy— he “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus ministers to us with superior longevity— “There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever” (Hebrews 7: 23-24).

And Jesus ministers to us, offering a superior sacrifice— not by the repeated sacrifices of animals, but with the once-for-all sacrifice of himself. “With his own blood— not the blood of goats and calves— he entered the Most Holy

Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever” (Hebrews 9:12).

Prayer: Jesus, my merciful and faithful High Priest, you are the kind of priest I need because you are holy and blameless, unstained by sin.

Article adapted from the FABULOUS RESOURCE by Nancy Guthrie (2012-10-08). The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament (Kindle Locations 7946-7965). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Guthrie Nancy image

About Nancy Guthrie (In Her Own Words):

“God has been preparing me my whole life for teaching his Word,” says Nancy Guthrie. “He has blessed me with so many sound Bible teachers to sit under–from my days as a college student in Bible classes, to terrific Bible Study Fellowship leaders, gifted pastors — as well as several teachers like Tim Keller and John Piper that I listen to almost daily on my ipod.”

Nancy’s life experience–dealing with the loss of two of her children–has significantly affected her teaching substance and style. “I’ve had to dig into God’s Word in search of answers to hard questions about how he works, and I and that my listeners usually have the same struggles and questions. And while I openly share the deep hurts in my life, I also like to laugh. People who hear me teach say that I’m very real, and that is certainly what I want to be.” “To me, God’s Word is a treasure to be mined,” Nancy says. “The deeper I go in it, the more I see its wisdom, the more it authenticates itself, the more it reveals to me the amazing mystery of God.”

Nancy is the author of six books including Holding on to Hope, The One Year Book of Hope, Hoping for Something Better, Dinner Table Devotions, Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow, and When Your Family’s Lost a Loved One (co-written with her husband, David). She is also the editor of several anthologies published by Crossway, collections of great writing by noted classic and contemporary Bible teachers and theologians including Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, Be Still My Soul, and O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.

She is currently working on another book for Tyndale’s One Year line that will be One Year of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament.

Nancy and her husband David live in Nashville, Tennessee while their son, Matt is off to Western Kentucky University.In addition to teaching opportunities at her church, Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Nancy speaks regularly at conferences and events around the country such as the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries Conference, The Brooklyn Tabernacle, Second Baptist Church of Houston, Taylor University, Covenant College, and in countries including Scotland and Colombia.

 
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Posted by on December 23, 2012 in Book Excerpts, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Evangelism Helps, New Testament Studies, Old Testament Studies

 

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WHY THE INCARNATION? GOD SENT HIS SON, TO SAVE US by J.I. Packer

15 Dec

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:14

CT Packer

Trinity and Incarnation belong together. The doctrine of the Trinity declares that the man Jesus is truly divine; that of the Incarnation declares that the divine Jesus is truly human. Together they proclaim the full reality of the Savior whom the New Testament sets forth, the Son who came from the Father’s side at the Father’s will to become the sinner’s substitute on the cross (Matt. 20:28; 26:36-46; John 1:29; 3:13-17; Rom. 5:8; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; 8:9; Phil. 2:5-8).

The moment of truth regarding the doctrine of the Trinity came at the Council of Nicaea (A.D.325), when the church countered the Arian idea that Jesus was God’s first and noblest creature by affirming that he was of the same “substance” or “essence” (i.e., the same existing entity) as the Father. Thus there is one God, not two; the distinction between Father and Son is within the divine unity, and the Son is God in the same sense as the Father is. In saying that Son and Father are “of one substance,” and that the Son is “begotten” (echoing “only-begotten,” John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18, and NIV text notes) but “not made,” the Nicene Creed unequivocally recognized the deity of the man from Galilee.

A crucial event for the church’s confession of the doctrine of the Incarnation came at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D.451), when the church countered both the Nestorian idea that Jesus was two personalities—the Son of God and a man—under one skin, and the Eutychian idea that Jesus’ divinity had swallowed up his humanity. Rejecting both, the council affirmed that Jesus is one divine-human person in two natures (i.e., with two sets of capacities for experience, expression, reaction, and action); and that the two natures are united in his personal being without mixture, confusion, separation, or division; and that each nature retained its own attributes. In other words, all the qualities and powers that are in us, as well as all the qualities and powers that are in God, were, are, and ever will be really and distinguishably present in the one person of the man from Galilee. Thus the Chalcedonian formula affirms the full humanity of the Lord from heaven in categorical terms.

The Incarnation, this mysterious miracle at the heart of historic Christianity, is central in the New Testament witness. That Jews should ever have come to such a belief is amazing. Eight of the nine New Testament writers, like Jesus’ original disciples, were Jews, drilled in the Jewish axiom that there is only one God and that no human is divine. They all teach, however, that Jesus is God’s Messiah, the Spirit-anointed son of David promised in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa. 11:1-5; Christos, “Christ,” is Greek for Messiah). They all present him in a threefold role as teacher, sin-bearer, and ruler—prophet, priest, and king. And in other words, they all insist that Jesus the Messiah should be personally worshiped and trusted—which is to say that he is God no less than he is man. Observe how the four most masterful New Testament theologians (John, Paul, the writer of Hebrews, and Peter) speak to this.

John’s Gospel frames its eyewitness narratives (John 1:14; 19:35; 21:24) with the declarations of its prologue (1:1-18): that Jesus is the eternal divine Logos (Word), agent of Creation and source of all life and light (vv. 1-5, 9), who through becoming “flesh” was revealed as Son of God and source of grace and truth, indeed as “God the only begotten” (vv. 14, 18; NIV text notes). The Gospel is punctuated with “I am” statements that have special significance because I am (Greek: ego eimi) was used to render God’s name in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14; whenever John reports Jesus as saying ego eimi, a claim to deity is implicit. Examples of this are John 8:28, 58, and the seven declarations of his grace as (a) the Bread of Life, giving spiritual food (6:35, 48, 51); (b) the Light of the World, banishing darkness (8:12; 9:5); (c) the gate for the sheep, giving access to God (10:7, 9); (d) the Good Shepherd, protecting from peril (10:11, 14); (e) the Resurrection and Life, overcoming our death (11:25); (f) the Way, Truth, and Life, guiding to fellowship with the Father (14:6); (g) the true Vine, nurturing for fruitfulness (15:1, 5). Climactically, Thomas worships Jesus as “my Lord and my God” (20:28). Jesus then pronounces a blessing on all who share Thomas’s faith and John urges his readers to join their number (20:29-31).

Paul quotes from what seems to be a hymn that declares Jesus’ personal deity (Phil. 2:6); states that “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9; cf. 1:19); hails Jesus the Son as the Father’s image and as his agent in creating and upholding everything (Col. 1:15-17); declares him to be “Lord” (a title of kingship, with divine overtones), to whom one must pray for salvation according to the injunction to call on Yahweh in Joel 2:32 (Rom. 10:9-13); calls him “God over all” (Rom. 9:5) and “God and Savior” (Titus 2:13); and prays to him personally (2 Cor. 12:8-9), looking to him as a source of divine grace (2 Cor. 13:14). The testimony is explicit: faith in Jesus’ deity is basic to Paul’s theology and religion.

The writer to the Hebrews, purporting to expound the perfection of Christ’s high priesthood, starts by declaring the full deity and consequent unique dignity of the Son of God (Heb. 1:3, 6, 8-12), whose full humanity he then celebrates in chapter 2. The perfection, and indeed the very possibility, of the high priesthood that he describes Christ as fulfilling depends on the conjunction of an endless, unfailing divine life with a full human experience of temptation, pressure, and pain (Heb. 2:14-17; 4:14-5:2; 7:13-28; 12:2-3).

Not less significant is Peter’s use of Isaiah 8:12-13 (1 Pet. 3:14). He cites the Greek (Septuagint) version, urging the churches not to fear what others fear but to set apart the Lord as holy. But where the Septuagint text of Isaiah says, “Set apart the Lord himself,” Peter writes, “Set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Pet. 3:15). Peter would give the adoring fear due to the Almighty to Jesus of Nazareth, his Master and Lord.

The New Testament forbids worship of angels (Col. 2:18; Rev. 22:8-9) but commands worship of Jesus and focuses consistently on the divine-human Savior and Lord as the proper object of faith, hope, and love here and now. Religion that lacks these emphases is not Christianity. Let there be no mistake about that!

From: Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2012 in Book Excerpts, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Church History, J.I. Packer, Soteriology (The Study of Salvation and the Gospel), Theology Proper (The Study of God), Uncategorized

 

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Dr. Darrell L. Bock on 12 Key Events in the Life of Jesus

11 Nov

Who Is Jesus By The Rules? Pointing to the Rule that Matters

It is a unique story that has captivated many over many centuries: Jesus, born on the edge of a large empire in a small village that was far from the center of world activity. In a handful of months his ministry generated a movement that grew to become one of the great expressions of faith and spirituality the globe has seen. That story has been investigated, critiqued, and deconstructed over the centuries; it has led to praise and inspired many, transforming the direction of their lives. Many things have been done in his name— good, bad, and ugly. It all started right here with the events surrounding his life.

Usually when Jesus is handled by the rules, much of what is said and written about him is cast aside, like chaff being shed from the wheat. We have examined why this is the case and have challenged whether this story deserves to be so completely deconstructed. We have taken a different path, but have argued for it using the same corroborative rules others use in studying Jesus. Those rules of historical Jesus study have been applied to twelve significant events or themes. We have examined the reason these accounts can be trusted, as well as the objections raised against them. These are not the only twelve events we could discuss to get at who Jesus was and what he did, but they do constitute central events that together tell a coherent story. We have explored what discussion of the historical Jesus entails and why it is controversial. We have weighed those opinions and attempted to place Jesus in his historical context. Out of that study we can see a unified portrait of a figure claiming to bring with him a fresh reflection of God’s presence. In what he did and said, Jesus presented the promised rule of God and placed himself at the center of its arrival. In those acts, there was a consistent claim of authority displayed that gave all pause— some in embrace, others in rejection. There was no place for a kind of middle ground. Either Jesus brought the kind of era he proclaimed, or he did not.

The twelve events we have studied together tell us a lot about Jesus. The first three events set the table for what Jesus was bringing.

Event 1: Jesus affirmed the ministry of John the Baptist and the claim that the new era of God was approaching, which also brought with it an accountability before God that required a response.

Event 2: He collected twelve key followers around him, symbolizing the restoration of a promise for a community with a rich history of involvement with God.

Event 3: He associated with sinners to demonstrate a place for forgiveness in helping people to find their way back to God. Controversy followed him, because the actions he performed reflected great, unusual claims. What Jesus offered was new and challenged the way things were being done. Jesus was more than a prophet or religious teacher. His claims went beyond simply pointing the way to God. His claims involved a personal level of authority through which God was revealing himself.

Event 4: In claiming to be Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus showed how pausing for a day of sacred reflection was never meant to prevent one from showing mercy or meeting daily needs.

Event 5: By casting out demons, Jesus showed that his message was about more than the politics of Rome. Jesus challenged and faced off against forces that sought to rip out our humanity from within.

Event 6: In accepting with caution Peter’s declaration that he was the Christ (or Messiah), Jesus began to teach that the kingdom he would bring was different than the anticipated raw display of power his disciples had expected. It involved suffering for him and for those who followed his path.

Confirming this different kind of kingdom, in event 7 Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. There in the central city of his faith he issued a challenge that would lead to his death. This was a kingdom that would not force itself on people. It would just be what it was, walking with faithfulness in the direction that had been set.

Event 8: However, this kingdom is not timid. In the temple action, Jesus affirmed an authority over sacred space and reminded people that life is about more than participation in a bazaar.

Event 9: Sitting at a table with his followers at a final meal, he completed the salvation story of his people. He transformed the deliverance of Passover into a story of how God would use him to deliver. His death would become the opportunity to bring anyone into a fresh connection with God who sought the forgiveness he offered as a sacrifice.

Event 10: Before the Jewish leaders, he predicted a vindication that would exalt him into God’s presence, sharing directly in the divine rule. That testimony sealed his short-term fate and led him to Pilate.

Event 11: There the Roman ruler, using the power of his mighty state, put Jesus to death for sedition. Pilate executed Jesus for claiming to be a king Rome had not appointed. That painful crucifixion was supposed to be the end of the story.

Event 12: However, what Jesus had promised, the empty tomb delivered. Women, who had no business being witnesses, discovered that the dead body they had gone to anoint was gone. Risen and alive, the one who stood at the center of God’s kingdom was vindicated. His claims of kingship, heavenly rooted authority, and God’s kingdom stood firm. Life triumphed over death. The disciples’ grief became conviction. The offer of life had found in him a fresh central focal point— forever. The disciples taught what Jesus had preached. They proclaimed the new promise of God. They shared that life had come in the message and person of Jesus. Resurrection not only meant new life for Jesus, but the offer of new life to the world.

These twelve events belong together. They tell us of a figure who mixed authority and humility. They reveal a power that invites and inspires. They affirm to us that the Jesus of history links to and discloses the Christ of faith. Jesus Christ was sent to reveal the living God and point us into the way of life. That is who Jesus was— and is.

The bridge we discussed in the introduction to this book can be crossed. To cross it leads not only to the historical Jesus but to the cross and the Christ. That bridge points to the anointed one of God who sits at the hub of God’s promise, ready to deliver on God’s promise of forgiveness, enablement, and life to those who seek it. That link takes us into something whose reach extends into heaven. To bring us to this opportunity for life, his followers tell of the events faithfully in every sense of that word. Through these events, Jesus’ followers answer the question Who is Jesus? Our culture has an array of answers and questions about this question, as we have seen. But, as we have also seen, the answer of his followers points to his authority and uniqueness. Using the rules to examine who Jesus is points to the one question that matters: How should we relate to the God Jesus so authoritatively discloses? The disciples told the story this way, because the message about God, Jesus, and us is so life-changing. It is something we can see powerfully only after we link the Jesus of history with the Christ of faith.

About Dr. Darrell L. Bock:

Darrell L. Bock is a New Testament scholar and research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, United States. Bock received his PhD from Scotland’s University of Aberdeen. His works include the monograph “Blasphemy and Exaltation” in the collection Judaism and the Final Examination of Jesus, and volumes on Luke in both the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament and the IVP New Testament Commentary Series. Bock is a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He serves as a corresponding editor for Christianity Today, and he has published articles in the Los Angeles Times and The Dallas Morning News.

Darrell L. Bock. Who Is Jesus? Published originally by Simon & Schuster, Inc. and most recently by Howard Books in 2012. The article above was adapted from the Conclusion of the book.

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2012 in Book Excerpts, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), New Testament Studies

 

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It’s Friday, But Sunday is Coming! By Dr. David P. Craig

12 Oct

“Thank God for Sunday!”

I think the first time I ever heard the phrase, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is Coming!” was from a message that Tony Campolo delivered in Chapel in the mid 1980′s at Multnomah School of the Bible (Now called Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon).

Yesterday, I had a “procedure” a nicer and more sweet sounding term than “surgery” at a hospital in Irvine, CA. I was recently diagnosed with Cancer – Squamous Cell Carcinoma – that started on the back of my tongue and has resulted in a huge mass the size of a lemon in my neck.

I had a “G-tube” inserted in my stomach because doctors and former patients I’ve consulted with say that weeks 3-6 of radiation and chemotherapy will be “brutal” – my throat will hurt “200 times worse than strep throat” (Doctor’s exact words). Also, that I will not be able to eat or drink anything orally during that time because of the pain. I recently talked with a friend of a friend who had the exact same cancer two years ago (and by God’s grace is cancer free now), and he lost 80 pounds during treatment and had the G-tube “procedure” in a weakened state mid-way through treatment. His advice was “get the G-tube NOW!”

So yesterday – with a tube in my nose that went to my stomach and feeling like I was battling in a kick boxing match with Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan I was thinking of the aforementioned phrase by Tony Campolo, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”

During surgery – I was awake during the “procedure” and in a lot of pain – I tried quoting Bible verses and singing hymns (I can never remember the new songs – only classics like “And Can It Be; “How Great Thou Art”; and “Amazing Grace”); and trying to take my focus off of the pain. Quoting verses or hymns just didn’t seem to work – I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the pain.

So the Holy Spirit  began take my focus off of my pain and on to Jesus – what He did for me on the cross 2000 years ago. I visualized the torture He endured – the lashes; the insults; the crown of thorns; suffocating; the blood, sweat, and tears. Ultimately being unrecognizable, forsaken, and dying for my sins. He was perfect and never did anything wrong – and yet He volunteered to endure more torture than I could imagine. I endured what seemed like torture for 45 minutes – and now its done. I didn’t accomplish any atoning work for anyone. Yet His righteousness was imputed to me, and His voluntary sacrifice in payment for my sin were absolutely necessary to make me right with a Holy and perfect God.

Jesus was crucified on a Friday, but rose again on Sunday. I can’t even come close to comparing my “torture” with His. However, I do have a deeper appreciation for what He endured in His 33 years on earth: facing temptation without sinning; completely obeying God the Father in every way; and becoming the “Lamb that was slain” so that He could be my Savior and Lord.

I don’t know what will become of my cancer, I hope and pray that God will take it away. One thing I do know, is that He has already wiped away my sin, and that everything He allows is for my good and ultimately for the Glory of His Son.  I hope and pray that God will use my cancer for the furtherance of the glorious Gospel. However, I know that even if I’m silent the rocks will cry out of His glorious works. I know that I am weak and frail and but a mere sinful vessel. I also know that Jesus was weak, suffered, and died in my place, and rose from the dead on Sunday. He is so strong that no one and nothing can defeat Him. Today is Friday. But Sunday is coming! Last time He came as a humble servant. Next time He comes as King!

Today may be a tough day for you my friend. But remember that anyone who comes to Him will not be cast away. Our confession of sin in exchange for His righteousness. We can never earn our salvation – but Jesus has earned the right to be trusted and believed in unto salvation. “The righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.”

Today, I’m doing better, but will continue down a rough road with radiation and chemotherapy ahead. However, I am grateful that because of the righteous life, death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that no matter how many “Friday’s” I will have in this trial – that because of Jesus finished work on the cross, my future hope is that “Sunday is coming!”

Some Scriptures God The Holy Spirit Used To Comfort Me in my Pain:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” – Psalm 22:1

“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. - Isaiah 53:2-7

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. - Isaiah 53:10-12

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:14-16

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. – 1 Peter 2:21-25

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. – 1 Peter 3:17-18

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed…Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name [the name of Christ]. - 1 Peter 4:12-13, 16

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. – 1 Peter 4:1-2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:56-58

 
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Posted by on October 12, 2012 in Attitude, Cancer, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), David P. Craig, Devotions, Encouragement, Gospel Presentations, Pastoral Resources, Suffering

 

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Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer on The Literal Millennial Kingdom Reign of Christ on Earth

27 Sep

“The King Reins in His Kingdom” 

The messianic Kingdom on earth is a vindication of God’s creative activity…. The triumph of God over the satanic dominion of this planet is necessary for the glory of God. If there were no messianic age, if God simply picked up the redeemed remnant and took them to heaven, then we would have to conclude that God was unable to complete what he began. —William S. LaSor

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. – Isaiah 2:4

When we pray “Thy kingdom come,” what are we praying for? What did Jesus have in mind when He asked us to pray for His coming kingdom, and how would we recognize this kingdom if it were to appear? And what would our role be in it?

The idea of utopia exists in every human heart. Every generation has looked forward to an idyllic time when men and women live in peace and prosperity. This has been the goal of every civilization, every political philosophy, and every sincere Christian. Thomas More invented the word utopia in 1516 when he wrote a book by that title, but the vision of a time of harmony and freedom was in existence long before then.

The Bible describes a future utopia, but one very different from worldly descriptions that have come to us throughout history. The biblical vision includes the intervention of God, namely, the coming of Christ to earth to personally establish His kingdom. History has proven conclusively that man cannot bring in any form of utopia because sin permeates human nature. Selfishness, dishonesty, and distrust make the possibility of any such a golden age impossible. But when Jesus returns, the King of Kings will do what man cannot. And, incredibly, we as believers will be given a part to play in this new world order.

Thankfully, God will complete what He began. The devil will not have the last word on this planet. The very place where Satan was given authority to rule will eventually be ruled by Jesus Christ. God subjected the rule of this world to Adam who dropped the scepter, and God let Satan pick it up.

And so, the second Adam—that is, Jesus—will reverse this sequence of events and claim the title to rule in triumph. “You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet” (Hebrews 2:7–8). In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him. Yet at present we do not see everything “subject to him” (v. 8). Yes, eventually all things will again be subject to man, specifically the one man named Jesus. Where Satan won a victory, Jesus will triumph.

 OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS OF THE COMING KINGDOM

The prediction of a coming kingdom on earth ruled by Christ was clearly revealed to David. God gave him this startling revelation saying that he would have a son who would build a temple, and who would be disciplined when he did evil. But there was much more to this prediction: “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7: 12–13). Solomon fulfilled the first part of that verse, but most assuredly, the throne of his kingdom was not established forever. That word house means “genealogy” and the word kingdom means “territory” in Israel where David ruled.

Has this promise ever been fulfilled? I think not. David certainly did not rule “forever.” God was speaking about a kingdom that would transcend David’s and Solomon’s era, and He predicted a coming king who would rule forever.

As further proof that this promise was not fulfilled in Old Testament times, we are again reminded that the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31–33). Has Jesus ever ruled over the house of David and over the tribe of Jacob? Certainly we must agree He has never ruled from Jerusalem and the territory over which David ruled. Clearly, this is a reference to the coming kingdom age.

In the Old Testament prophets there are many chapters devoted to the idea of a utopia where God’s special king rules, and we have descriptions of a kingdom, the likes of which we have never seen. For example, Isaiah 2:2–4 says:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

If you visit the United Nations building in New York and then walk cross the street to the plaza, you will see a wall with an inscription of only the last half of verse 4, which reads, “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Why wasn’t the first part of the verse included in this inscription? Obviously, it is because the first part of the verse predicts that Messiah shall usher in this rule (judge) and bring peace to the nations. The point to be made is that the United Nations thinks it can accomplish the heady goal of peace without Christ’s intervention and help.

Tellingly, on the wall there is no chapter and verse given for this quotation, but under it is simply the name Isaiah. The wall itself is called the “Isaiah Wall,” but there is no hint that his prophecy necessitates the coming of Messiah in order for it to be fulfilled. Quite possibly the architects did not give the reference in Isaiah, lest someone look it up in the Bible and discover that it was a Messianic passage! The United Nations may be doing many good things, but trust me, their agenda does not include establishing peace on earth under the authority of Jesus! Let’s consider another similar prediction of Isaiah:

And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (11:3–6)

The phrases, “the wolf will live with the lamb” and the “leopard will lie down with the goat” remind us that we are not yet in the era of the millennial kingdom. Today if a wolf were to lie down with the lamb, when the wolf got up we would discover that the lamb is missing! Isaiah is speaking about the rule of Jesus on earth in the coming kingdom. Peace will come—but only Christ can bring it to earth.

 WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT?

Who will qualify to enter into this kingdom? All those who pass the test at “The judgment of the nations” discussed by Jesus in Matthew 25. To quote the words of Jesus, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (vv. 31–33).

We should note in passing that this text is further proof of the pretribulation rapture of the church. If the rapture and the glorious appearing happened simultaneously, there would be no need to have a judgment of the “sheep and the goats.” That separation would have already occurred when all believers were caught up into the clouds to meet King Jesus. The only plausible explanation is that there is a period of time between the rapture and the glorious return when people do come to trust in Messiah Jesus. Thus this judgment does not take place at the rapture, but rather it takes place after the tribulation just before the millennium.

The imagery of sheep and goats would have been familiar to the first-century listeners. Sheep and goats, I’m told, don’t get along well. Sheep are usually quite docile whereas goats are very unruly, so in this context, the sheep enter the kingdom and the goats are cast out. Jesus explains the terms of the judgment: Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)

Has Jesus changed the terms of salvation? Is He now teaching that we are saved by our deeds of kindness to the poor and those who are imprisoned? After all, He commends those who fed the hungry and visited the oppressed in prison and invites these to enter the kingdom, whereas those who neglected these good works go into everlasting destruction. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (v. 41).

There is a better explanation for these verses than to say that deeds of kindness save us. Remember that during the tribulation period the faithful do not take the mark of the beast, whether Jew or Gentile. These people will endure persecution; they will be jailed, and many killed. The Jews especially

The Jews especially will be targeted for persecution and martyrdom. The righteous Gentiles will want to support their fellow brethren, the Jews, and will do whatever is needed to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people. These Gentiles will have proved their loyalty to Christ by the way they treated His “brothers” (v. 40). Their sacrificial kindness is not the root of their faith, but the fruit of their faith.

The bottom line is that only believers will enter into the kingdom that is about to be established. Both Jews and Gentiles who refused the mark of the beast will be found worthy to enter the kingdom and hear words of welcome from Jesus. As for the others, “They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (v. 46).

 WHAT WILL WE FIND IN THE KINGDOM?

What are some of the characteristics of this kingdom? One of them is most assuredly that Jesus rules. “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6). During this kingdom age the curse will be partially lifted, but not totally. “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed” (Isaiah 65:20). The point is that if you die at the age of a hundred in the kingdom, you’re dying young; whereas today to die at the age of a hundred is to die very old. In the kingdom there will be health and longevity, but death itself will not be avoided. These predictions do not depict heaven as some interpreters allege. In heaven all people will have eternal, indestructible bodies that will not die; whereas in the kingdom, people live in natural bodies and die.

At Christmas one of our favorite carols is “Joy to the World.” Most of us only know the first stanza, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King.” But when you read through stanzas two through four, you find a beautiful description of the millennial reign of Jesus. The third stanza reads, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.” Verse four includes, “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonder of His love.”

Today Jesus is not making the nations “prove” anything. Look carefully at a crop growing in a field and you will see plenty of weeds; perhaps even thorns will be infesting the ground. Read the newspapers and you will soon discover that no one is ruling the world with “truth and grace.”

So when we sing this carol, we should realize that the author, Isaac Watts, was not only thinking about the first coming of Jesus in Bethlehem but also His second coming when He will redeem the earth.

 SATAN IS THROWN INTO THE ABYSS

Read this critical passage that sheds additional light on the nature and length of the kingdom reign. Note especially the binding of Satan and the time frame:

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time (Revelation 20:1–3).

Satan is thrown into the Abyss, a holding place for evil spirits which for now will include Satan. Recall that demons asked Jesus to not cast them into the abyss. The lake of fire still awaits these evil creatures; for now they are being held for judgment. In being confined here, Satan is not yet being punished, but he is simply prevented from deceiving the nations. As the millennial kingdom is about to begin, Jesus in effect says to an angel, “I have a job for you to do. I’m going to empower you so that you can bind Satan with a chain and throw him into the pit.” The chain is probably symbolic, but the point is that this angel has the key (authority) to open the Abyss and throw the devil into this bottomless pit. All that the angel has to do is say, “Satan, I am under God’s authority. Come over here. We have a place for you. You’re going to be incarcerated for a thousand years. Get into the pit right now!” We salute the absolute authority of Jesus and His angels over Satan! An unnamed angel, acting under divine authority can bind the evil one and put him away for a thousand years! So much for his vaunted pride and power.

Six times in this chapter we read the phrase “a thousand years.” Have you ever wondered where the idea arose that the kingdom is going to last a thousand years? It is based on this chapter which repeatedly mentions this length of time—hence the term millennium (meaning a thousand years). And if you believe as I do that Jesus will return in glory before the millennium, you are a premillennialist. There is another popular view called amillennialism, which teaches there will be no millennial reign as such. These Bible teachers tend to spiritualize the Old Testament promises regarding the kingdom and believe that the church (not Israel) will inherit these promises. They assume that the “throne of David” is actually Jesus ruling in heaven rather than on earth. Certainly David would have never understood God’s promise in that way. And when the angel said to Mary that her son would inherit the throne of his father David, and “reign over the house of Jacob forever” she certainly could never have imagined that this was to be fulfilled in heaven and not on earth.

 BELIEVERS RULE WITH CHRIST

During this millennium, Satan is bound and believers rule with Christ: “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge” (v. 4). Who will rule with Jesus in the millennial kingdom? I believe there will be four different categories of people.

First, there will be the Old Testament saints. Daniel predicted that His holy ones were going to be ruling with him (7:27). This will include Abraham, Moses, David, and a whole host of other unnamed people saved in ancient times who will join in the rule with Christ during the millennial kingdom. I expect that Enoch who walked with God before the flood will also be raised to enter the kingdom.

Second, the apostles certainly will be ruling with Jesus. He gave them this special promise: “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’” (Matthew 19:28). We know that the eleven apostles will certainly rule with Christ.

And, lest you think we will be left out, the good news is that all present believers will also rule with Jesus. Paul writes, “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). Jesus said to the churches of the book of Revelation, “He who overcomes, to him I shall grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne.” It also says in Revelation 5:10 that “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” We will be sitting with Jesus and carrying out the responsibilities that He gives us.

Finally, there is a fourth category: those believers who accepted Christ during the tribulation period and then either died a natural death or were martyred for their faith—these will be resurrected to reign with Christ. “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God…. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years…. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:4–5). So, these saints join the others who will reign with Christ in the kingdom.

A point of clarification: When you read the above passage, just note that the word this in the phrase, “this is the first resurrection” actually refers back to the martyrs in verse 4 and does not include the dead who will be raised after the millennium to face judgment. In other words, the phrase, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended” (v. 5) is actually a parenthesis.

So, in John’s mind, there are basically two resurrections. All those who participate in the “first resurrection” are believers: these include Jesus who was the first to be raised, then also the saints who were raised at the rapture, and now we can add to these those who died as martyrs in the tribulation period. And at some later period, there no doubt will be a resurrection of those who die in the millennium as believers. Obviously, the “first resurrection” is not just a one-time event but includes several resurrections. No wonder he writes “blessed and holy are those who have participated in the first resurrection.”

The “second resurrection” is the resurrection of the unrighteous, those who will appear at the great white throne judgment. “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended” (v. 5). These belong to the second resurrection, that is, the resurrection of those who will experience the “second death.” The bottom line is that at one time or another all who die will be raised, either to everlasting life or everlasting damnation. All human beings will be eternal beings; all will have indestructible bodies, either enjoying eternal bliss or suffering eternal damnation.

Are you troubled when you realize that in the millennial kingdom, those who have their eternal/resurrected bodies will be ruling over people who still have their earthly bodies? This interaction between the two kinds of people should not trouble us. After His resurrection, Jesus was able to interact with His disciples, and although in a glorified body, He ate fish with them (Luke 24:40–43; John 21:11–13). So, while it is difficult for us to imagine what life will be like in an entirely different sphere, we can trust the promises of God. We will rule with Christ in the kingdom and apparently intermingle with those who still struggle with the challenges of an earthly existence.

THERE IS A FINAL REBELLION

Incredibly, at the end of the millennium, Satan is released and foments a rebellion against God. “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle” (Revelation 20:7–8). Gog and Magog are sometimes used generally to refer to nations that are rebellious against God.

How could this rebellion happen in a peaceful environment under the leadership of Christ? Does this mean that believers can lose their eternal salvation and end in rebellion against Christ? A better explanation is that these people, the “sheep” who enter the millennial kingdom in their earthly bodies, will have children, and those children will grow up and some of them will trust King Jesus and others won’t. Given their sin nature, they will be given the opportunity to express their opposition to Christ. This brief rebellion will be the final proof that human nature, even with Satan bound, will express itself in self-will and sustained rebellion. We don’t need the devil to help us do evil, though he is glad to oblige.

As a contingent of rebels in this final battle arrives near the city of Jerusalem, God ends their foolishness by sending fire from heaven to destroy His enemies. Satan is then thrown into the lake of fire where the Beast and the false prophet already are, and “they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (v. 10). Never again will there be a rebellion on Planet Earth. The millennial kingdom is coming to an end, and a new era is about to begin.

 THE KINGDOM BECOMES ETERNAL

What next? With the era of the millennium now over, Paul tells us what happens: “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power” (1 Cointhians 15:24). In eternity past, God the Father in effect saidto God the Son, “I’m going to give You a people to redeem.” These are referred to as the elect; Jesus referred to them as “those you have given me.” (See His repeated use of this phrase in John 17.) Jesus then comes and redeems His people by dying for them; He wins a massive victory over Satan, proving His superiority over all rivals. And, having completed His mission, and with all enemies now under His feet, He now triumphantly submits the kingdom to God the Father. And what does the Father do? Apparently the Father, deeply gratified by the Son’s obedience, returns the kingdom back to the Son, because we are told that Jesus will rule forever and ever, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Perhaps it is better to say that God the Father and God the Son will share the eternal throne in Trinitarian glory and splendor. And we will be invited to join them and participate in this unimaginable honor. And to think, at this point in our experience, eternity will hardly have begun.

 STRENGTH FOR TOMORROW

It is easy for us to read about the millennial kingdom, but it is quite different for us to grasp its reality. And, how can these truths transform us today? All of the Bible is relevant for us, and this is no exception. We must prepare for our distant future with the same diligence with which we plan for retirement, only more so.

First, let us remember what we learned about rewards. If we are faithful, we will be generously rewarded with a more honorable position in the kingdom. In a parable (Luke 19:11–27), Jesus indicated that there were differences of levels of faithfulness and therefore different levels of reward. In summary, after giving each servant a mina (about three month’s wages), the king returned for an accounting: “The first one came and said, ‘Sir your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ the master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge often cities’” (vv. 16–17).

Then as the parable continues, the man whose mina made five more was put in charge of five cities. But the unfaithful servant, who hid his mina and refused to invest it, had his taken away from him and it was given to the servant whose mina had made ten minas. “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! … Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas” (vv. 22, 24). The point is that if you are faithful in this life you will be rewarded with special honors in the next. To live for one’s self after Jesus has given His life for us is an insult to our Savior that will not go unnoticed.

Don’t take it for granted that in the kingdom and the eternity that follows you will have the same honors as everyone else. The way we live in this life affects our position in the kingdom and, for that matter, all of eternity. Let us repent of our lack of passion in serving Christ. A victor at an ancient Greek Olympic game is said to have been asked, “Spartan, what will you gain by this victory?” He replied, “Sir, I shall have the honor to fight on the front line for my king.” That determination should be ours as we fight for the King of Kings.

There is a second lesson, and that is the incorrigible nature of evil. A thousand years of incarceration do not change Satan’s nature. He will come out of the Abyss just as evil and with just as much intent to fight against God as he had before he enters. He was probably even more enraged, because an evil being (or, for that matter, an evil person) doesn’t change simply because he/she has been defeated. Hell is perfectly just for Satan who both will not and cannot repent of his rebellion against God. And those individuals who harden their own hearts and follow him will receive the same fate.

We’ve also seen that the children of human beings, though living under the authority of Jesus, will also rebel. In effect they will say, “Who is Jesus to rule over us? Yes, we took that field trip to Jerusalem. We saw that He is reigning there, and we see His far-reaching authority, but why should He be the one to choose what mansion we get to live in? We don’t want Him to reign over us. We’d rather be free in hell than servants in the millennium!”

Think about this: As indicated, some of the children who grow up in the millennial kingdom will be “gospel hardened,” as the saying goes. Living under the rule of Jesus, they will have heard it all and seen it all. They will reject His offer of eternal life in favor of their own rebellious ways. We must beware that we are not like them. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:7–8, 12).

Things are not always what they appear to be. Satan, freed from his abyss, anxious to fight against Jesus one more time, will receive a whiff of satisfaction when he is released and foments a last rebellion against God. He will try to recruit as many as he can to join him in this last revolt against Jesus. But he and his accomplices will be defeated by Jesus using simply “the breath of his mouth.” One breath and it will all be over. Let us never forget that time is short and eternity is long.

 About the Author:

Since 1980, Erwin W. Lutzer has served as senior pastor of the world-famous Moody Church in Chicago, where he provides leadership to Chicago pastors. Dr. Lutzer earned his B.Th. from Winnipeg Bible College, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, an M.A. in philosophy from Loyola University, an LL.D. from Simon Greenleaf School of Law, and a D.D. from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.

Dr. Lutzer is a featured radio speaker on the Moody Broadcasting Network and the author of numerous books, including 10 Lies About God: And the Truths That Shatter Deception; The Vanishing Power of Death, Cries from the Cross, the best-selling One Minute Before You Die and Hitler’s Cross, which received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (EPCA) Gold Medallion Book Award. He speaks both nationally and internationally at Bible conferences and tours and has led tours of the cities of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. The article above was adapted from the excellent and practical book on the End Times and Prophecy in Erwin W. Lutzer with Dillon Burroughs. The King is Coming: Preparing to Meet Jesus. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 2012 (Chapter 8).

 
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Posted by on September 27, 2012 in Angelology (The Study of Angels), Book Excerpts, Christology (The study of Jesus Christ), Dispensationalism, Erwin W. Lutzer, Eschatology (The Study of Last Things), Exegetical Studies, Israel and Prophecy, New Testament Studies, Old Testament Studies

 

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