Archive for April, 2014

Resurrection for All, Part 2

Posted in Gospel, Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 26, 2014 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

The text makes it very clear. These people are dead. The Hebrew word for dead in this case is muwth. It means to die (as a penalty), to be put to death, or to die prematurely (by neglect of wise moral conduct). Humanity was originally created to be eternal. We are reminded death is a result of sinful choices. The body is a corpse, a carcass. The executed are buried and taking a dirt nap.

But as the pattern of Scripture, the dead are called and commanded. The Hebrew grammar states these dead bodies are caused to wake up. Something, God, has acted on the dead bodies to cause them to awaken. Their response to being resurrected is an intensive, crying yell for joy according to the original grammar. This seems to be a plausible response if you had been dead for years.

Again, the text confirms the original point. These people were dead. The Hebrew word for departed spirits is rapha’. Per Strong’s Concordance, rapha’ means spirit or ghost of the dead. Body and spirit have been reunited.

There are cultural implications regarding dust to the Jew. God created from Adam from dust. Adam returned to the dust as a result of sin/death. Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Dust is associated with death. Psalm 22:15b…And You lay me in the dust of death. Dust is the fate of humans and animals as noted in Ecclesiastes 3:20 Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.

Whereas dust is associated with death, dew is associated with life. Dew is a symbol of fertility and life (NET Bible). The context of the verses is nation Israel and their dead. This verse says Israel’s dead will be a symbol of life and rebirth to the world. After approximately 2,000 years of being exiled from their land and dead as a nation, this has literally come to pass. In 1948, Israel became a nation again, a resurrected country. See Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones, for more detail. In the future of April 2014, there will be multiple resurrections of the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates mastery over death and sin. Isaiah 25:18 He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

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Resurrection For All, Part 1

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2014 by paulthepoke

Resurrection Sunday, April 20, 2014

Some would say the idea of a “resurrection” is only noted in the New Testament. Resurrection is not a New Testament only concept. There are many examples of the idea of resurrection in the Old Testament. Resurrection events are promised and noted from the arguably the oldest book of the Bible, Job, to the end of the Bible in the Book of Revelation. We will all be resurrected one way or another. At issue is the eternal destination of our individual resurrected body.

Job 14:13-15 “Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, that You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, that You would set a limit for me and remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.”

Job is aware of the concept of resurrection and being brought back to life. He is pleading with God. Will I live again? Job expresses awareness of his bodily change to come. Job knows that God will call before this change.

Job 19:25-27a “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”

The Hebrew word for “Redeemer” is ga’al. This is the same word used in the Book of Ruth of Boaz who is the kinsman-redeemer. A kinsman-redeemer will pay off one’s debts, defend the family, avenge a killing, and marry the widow of the deceased (definition of kinsman redeemer provided by NET Bible). Job knows his debt for sin will be taken care of. Job knows his Redeemer will avenge the killing of his family members and defend him. Job knows he is going to physically die. Job 42:17 verifies he died. And Job died, an old man and full of days. But, he knows he will be resurrected to see his Redeemer with his restored body. His flesh and his eyes will be renewed. The Redeemer lives. This verse reveals the timing of the resurrection…at the last.

Who is our kinsman-redeemer? Jesus. Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Acts 17:31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

God the Father will judge the world through His Son Jesus. Based on what, the fact of the resurrection.

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Rebuilding Nation Israel

Posted in Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , on April 13, 2014 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 11:10-12 Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Here is a peak into the future. The reference to nations is those who are not Israel. The peoples of the world will enquire and seek in care towards a person who is a direct descendant of Jesse. David is the son of Jesse. Revelation 5:5 and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”  Jesus is the person who has this lineage. Jesus will be lifted up as a standard or banner according to the Hebrew grammar. In Him, people will find security, peace, and quiet.

The text goes on to state, the people of Israel will be recovered. The word for “recover” is the Hebrew word qanah. Per Strong’s Concordance, it means to get, acquire, create, buy, or possess. The Root will buy or possess Israel. As believers in Jesus, Christ has redeemed us with His blood on the cross. I Corinthians 7:22-23 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

The Lord will retrieve His Jewish people to their land a second time. Some would argue this process has begun and is taking place today, April 2014. Jewish people from around the world are returning to their home land of Israel. The believing remnant will come from Assyria (modern day Syria and northern Iraq), Egypt, Pathros (modern day southern or Upper Egypt), Cush (modern day Ethiopia), Elam (modern day southwest Iran), Shinar (modern day Iraq), and Hamath (modern day upper Syria). Modern day country information provided by New Unger’s Bible Dictionary.

Nation Israel will be reassembled from Jews throughout the world. Israel will be the standard to the world with Jesus as its leader.

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Jesus, I Am…

Posted in Gospel with tags , , , on April 6, 2014 by paulthepoke

Jesus’ “I am” statements during his arrest in John 18:5, 6, 8, shed light into multiple facets of who He is. First, it is His identity. The Romans, officers from the chief priest, and Pharisees were seeking Jesus, the Nazarene. Jesus answered them twice, “I am.”
Second, His omnipotence is on display. With those two words, the arresting crowd drew back and fell to the ground. This is a small example of what His speech is capable of. His speech also raised the dead (Lazarus) and He spoke the creation into existence (Genesis, Colossians 1:16).
Jesus’ sovereignty is demonstrated during the arrest. Scripture was fulfilled in that His apostles were protected and not one of them was lost. Jesus was in control to the point that He allowed Himself to be arrested. Jesus had the power to resist and avoid arrest. In this setting, He caused the pursuing crowd to fall to the ground by the words of His mouth. Jesus informs the crowd He could call on God the Father for twelve plus legions of angels for His protection (Matthew 26:53). Escaping arrest would not have been a problem. Jesus overcame Peter’s disobedience and subsequent knife attack to the right ear of Malchus. Peter’s violence was halted by Christ’s words (Luke 22:51); and the mob’s potential response was stopped with the healing of Malchus’ ear. Jesus states these circumstances are His cup to drink (John 18:11). There is little doubt He is in control of the events.
Lastly, the statement “I am” is a direct link to the deity of Christ. When Moses asked God His name, God responded “I am” (Exodus 3:14). Throughout the Old Testament God would describe His characteristics to the Jewish people, “I am …”
Jesus came along and filled in the blanks. His “I am” statements in the Gospel of John point to His deity. The response Jesus gives to the high priest when asked directly, “are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One,” (Mark 14:61). “I AM.”

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