Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "romans-12"
Sweet and Sour Sauce Bible – Part 1
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” [Revelation 10:10-11]
There is this silly old TV commercial I always got a kick out of. These three brothers are the center of attention. Two of them appear to be elementary school age, while the third is pre-school age. Well, the two older ones hang together, while the little tyke is kind of off on his own, too young to fit in with his older siblings.
As is common once kids get out of the house, their eyes open up to the world outside the home. They see other kids and feed off of each other’s idiosyncrasies. They develop their own likes and dislikes and start in with the individualistic behaviors.
In that vein the two older kids are finicky about the family meals. The commercial shows them apprehensive about some newfangled cereal mom brought home. Since mom wants them to eat it, you see, they automatically dig in the heels. After all, they’re big kids now. They have their own likes! It didn’t help any that mom insisted the cereal was healthy either.
Anyway, in the commercial the two older siblings have to figure out what to make of this new cereal named “Life”. They bounce some ideas off each other and finally glance at the youngest sibling. He’s too young to be finicky yet. He’ll try anything! The oldest brother tells his buddy brother, “I know. Let’s give it to Mikey. He eats anything!”
I get a kick out of it, but that’s just me. I think part of the reason I enjoy the commercial is because I’ve always been the exact opposite. I’m a meat and potatoes guy. The most ethnic dish I ever eat is pizza, and only sausage pizza will do. All other kinds are not real pizza, if you ask me.
So no, I’m not Mikey by any stretch of the imagination. I won’t try anything, and I’m quite content not to. I am not at all hard to please, unlike some folks I know. If they don’t have a different type of food daily, they think they’re being abused! Me, I can eat sausage pizza everyday and think I died and went to heaven! But that’s just me.
My kids are not meat and potato people. They are those weirdo types who need something different all the time. They are Mikeys. Give it to ‘em: they’ll eat anything!
This is an excellent time to pause and ponder the Bible text quoted to kick off this study. John was told to eat, and I’ve descanted on eating a bit today. Do you see the connection yet? We’ll pursue the topic on the morrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
There is this silly old TV commercial I always got a kick out of. These three brothers are the center of attention. Two of them appear to be elementary school age, while the third is pre-school age. Well, the two older ones hang together, while the little tyke is kind of off on his own, too young to fit in with his older siblings.
As is common once kids get out of the house, their eyes open up to the world outside the home. They see other kids and feed off of each other’s idiosyncrasies. They develop their own likes and dislikes and start in with the individualistic behaviors.
In that vein the two older kids are finicky about the family meals. The commercial shows them apprehensive about some newfangled cereal mom brought home. Since mom wants them to eat it, you see, they automatically dig in the heels. After all, they’re big kids now. They have their own likes! It didn’t help any that mom insisted the cereal was healthy either.
Anyway, in the commercial the two older siblings have to figure out what to make of this new cereal named “Life”. They bounce some ideas off each other and finally glance at the youngest sibling. He’s too young to be finicky yet. He’ll try anything! The oldest brother tells his buddy brother, “I know. Let’s give it to Mikey. He eats anything!”
I get a kick out of it, but that’s just me. I think part of the reason I enjoy the commercial is because I’ve always been the exact opposite. I’m a meat and potatoes guy. The most ethnic dish I ever eat is pizza, and only sausage pizza will do. All other kinds are not real pizza, if you ask me.
So no, I’m not Mikey by any stretch of the imagination. I won’t try anything, and I’m quite content not to. I am not at all hard to please, unlike some folks I know. If they don’t have a different type of food daily, they think they’re being abused! Me, I can eat sausage pizza everyday and think I died and went to heaven! But that’s just me.
My kids are not meat and potato people. They are those weirdo types who need something different all the time. They are Mikeys. Give it to ‘em: they’ll eat anything!
This is an excellent time to pause and ponder the Bible text quoted to kick off this study. John was told to eat, and I’ve descanted on eating a bit today. Do you see the connection yet? We’ll pursue the topic on the morrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Sweet and Sour Sauce Bible – Part 2
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” [Revelation 10:10-11]
We paused the last lesson by noting the distinction between Mikeys who eat anything and Randys who are persnickety with their menus. The Mikeys got their attention. Now the Randys get theirs.
One thing they like which I cannot stomach is sweet and sour sauce. I know, the stuff is so common nowadays, that it seems preposterous to many of you for me to identify it as something strange. But meat and potatoes it ain’t (pardon my French).
I like sweets and I like some sour treats—but I don’t want to taste the two flavors together. It ruins the taste! Again, that’s just me. My kids consider it a real treat though. Go figure. It takes all kinds, or so I hear anyway.
I’ll bet you’re wondering what all this talk about sweet and sour sauce has to do with the Bible, aren’t you? Yes you are. I heard you think it. Admit it now. Well, it’s like this. In Revelation 10 we have a case of sweet and sour sauce served with a dish of scroll à la King, only Mikey’s not the guinea pig like in the commercial. The Apostle John is.
The scene is the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus is returning to the earth to lay claim to His inheritance. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). The symbolism in Revelation 10 is graphic indeed.
An angel is standing with one foot on the sea and the other on the land. In his hand is a scroll. The location of his feet is meant to stress that the entire earth is the Lord’s property, both the land and the sea. Hence the angel planted his feet on both surfaces.
The scroll in his hand is meant to serve as a legal will. The Lord’s claim to inherit the earth and all it contains is enclosed in that legal document. The will cannot but be in character with the character of God Himself because God both makes the will and receives its perks.
God’s character is both love and righteousness. His love is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus died on behalf of all mankind, in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins. By doing so God can save men from death, which is the penalty for sin.
Therein lies the love of God. He loves by giving His one and only Son as a sin offering on behalf of mankind. Jesus died our death that we might live His life.
I love the topic “the love of God”! Don’t you? Let’s hie off to spend time alone with Jesus a while. God’s love can be our subject.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We paused the last lesson by noting the distinction between Mikeys who eat anything and Randys who are persnickety with their menus. The Mikeys got their attention. Now the Randys get theirs.
One thing they like which I cannot stomach is sweet and sour sauce. I know, the stuff is so common nowadays, that it seems preposterous to many of you for me to identify it as something strange. But meat and potatoes it ain’t (pardon my French).
I like sweets and I like some sour treats—but I don’t want to taste the two flavors together. It ruins the taste! Again, that’s just me. My kids consider it a real treat though. Go figure. It takes all kinds, or so I hear anyway.
I’ll bet you’re wondering what all this talk about sweet and sour sauce has to do with the Bible, aren’t you? Yes you are. I heard you think it. Admit it now. Well, it’s like this. In Revelation 10 we have a case of sweet and sour sauce served with a dish of scroll à la King, only Mikey’s not the guinea pig like in the commercial. The Apostle John is.
The scene is the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus is returning to the earth to lay claim to His inheritance. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). The symbolism in Revelation 10 is graphic indeed.
An angel is standing with one foot on the sea and the other on the land. In his hand is a scroll. The location of his feet is meant to stress that the entire earth is the Lord’s property, both the land and the sea. Hence the angel planted his feet on both surfaces.
The scroll in his hand is meant to serve as a legal will. The Lord’s claim to inherit the earth and all it contains is enclosed in that legal document. The will cannot but be in character with the character of God Himself because God both makes the will and receives its perks.
God’s character is both love and righteousness. His love is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus died on behalf of all mankind, in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins. By doing so God can save men from death, which is the penalty for sin.
Therein lies the love of God. He loves by giving His one and only Son as a sin offering on behalf of mankind. Jesus died our death that we might live His life.
I love the topic “the love of God”! Don’t you? Let’s hie off to spend time alone with Jesus a while. God’s love can be our subject.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Sweet and Sour Sauce Bible – Part 3
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” [Revelation 10:10-11]
God is love (cf., 1 John 4:8). God demonstrated His love for mankind by giving His one and only Son to die for all mankind. Even while we were yet sinners and hating God, Jesus the Son of God died for me and you. The scroll in the angel’s hand contains expressions of the love of God for mankind. God’s offer of salvation and peace is extended in His Word written in the scroll.
However, the righteousness of God cannot be set aside for the sake of love. Both the love of God and the righteousness of God exist simultaneously. Because of this duality, every human being is not saved. All mankind does not go to heaven.
Only those people who personally accept the Lord Jesus as their sin offering receive eternal life. Until I personally acknowledge to God that I am a sinner and deserve eternal death in the lake of fire, I cannot receive Jesus as my Savior from sin.
If I refuse to accept this position, I snub God’s Word and cast aspersion on the death and resurrection of His Son. God’s righteousness cannot brook such impudence from His creatures. Righteousness demands the truth and goes to war against lies.
This is the essence of the angel with a foot on the sea and another on the land, and holding a scroll in his hand. The scroll is the title deed to the earth. Its contents includes both God’s love and God’s righteousness. From the standpoint of all mankind this entails both sweet and sour, you see.
For those people who recognize the truth of God’s Word, they come as humble suppliants to the throne of God to acknowledge His claims. They bend the knee to the rulership of the Son and receive Him as their Savior from sin and Lord of their lives. The bitterness of judgment and death has passed for us who do so.
For those people who denounce the claims of God and reject His Son Jesus as Lord, they shake the fist in God’s face and deny they need to be saved from sin. They elevate themselves to the throne of God and insist that the earth belongs to them. They know what to do, thank you very much. They need no interference from God or Jesus.
For suchlike folks the scroll contains a bitter pill to swallow. They are staring death in the face and mocking it. They are dangling over the fires of the lake and thinking they are made of asbestos. They have nothing to fear. Why, there is no such thing as hell anyway! The bitterness of judgment and death is fast upon them, and it lasts eternally. This is sour in the extreme, a bitter pill to swallow.
This is not a pleasant topic at all, is it? I don’t like it! But it is the Word of God and God does no wrong. The disease of sin must be eradicated, in order for new heavens and earth to exist wherein righteousness doth dwell.
Let this concept simmer on the back burner overnight. We mustn’t take pleasure in it, but we must receive it as the Word of God if we would be found faithful.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
God is love (cf., 1 John 4:8). God demonstrated His love for mankind by giving His one and only Son to die for all mankind. Even while we were yet sinners and hating God, Jesus the Son of God died for me and you. The scroll in the angel’s hand contains expressions of the love of God for mankind. God’s offer of salvation and peace is extended in His Word written in the scroll.
However, the righteousness of God cannot be set aside for the sake of love. Both the love of God and the righteousness of God exist simultaneously. Because of this duality, every human being is not saved. All mankind does not go to heaven.
Only those people who personally accept the Lord Jesus as their sin offering receive eternal life. Until I personally acknowledge to God that I am a sinner and deserve eternal death in the lake of fire, I cannot receive Jesus as my Savior from sin.
If I refuse to accept this position, I snub God’s Word and cast aspersion on the death and resurrection of His Son. God’s righteousness cannot brook such impudence from His creatures. Righteousness demands the truth and goes to war against lies.
This is the essence of the angel with a foot on the sea and another on the land, and holding a scroll in his hand. The scroll is the title deed to the earth. Its contents includes both God’s love and God’s righteousness. From the standpoint of all mankind this entails both sweet and sour, you see.
For those people who recognize the truth of God’s Word, they come as humble suppliants to the throne of God to acknowledge His claims. They bend the knee to the rulership of the Son and receive Him as their Savior from sin and Lord of their lives. The bitterness of judgment and death has passed for us who do so.
For those people who denounce the claims of God and reject His Son Jesus as Lord, they shake the fist in God’s face and deny they need to be saved from sin. They elevate themselves to the throne of God and insist that the earth belongs to them. They know what to do, thank you very much. They need no interference from God or Jesus.
For suchlike folks the scroll contains a bitter pill to swallow. They are staring death in the face and mocking it. They are dangling over the fires of the lake and thinking they are made of asbestos. They have nothing to fear. Why, there is no such thing as hell anyway! The bitterness of judgment and death is fast upon them, and it lasts eternally. This is sour in the extreme, a bitter pill to swallow.
This is not a pleasant topic at all, is it? I don’t like it! But it is the Word of God and God does no wrong. The disease of sin must be eradicated, in order for new heavens and earth to exist wherein righteousness doth dwell.
Let this concept simmer on the back burner overnight. We mustn’t take pleasure in it, but we must receive it as the Word of God if we would be found faithful.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Sweet and Sour Sauce Bible – Part 4
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” [Revelation 10:10-11]
As Christians we are called to new life. This life begins with justification, but it continues with sanctification. We are to stop being conformed to the world and its thinking. In its place we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This means we are to feed on the Word of God daily, all of it a little each day, while it forms our thinking to that of God Himself.
The Apostle John was a diligent servant of the Lord, as we are to be too. The Lord gave him His Word and told him to proclaim it. The Lord warned John that the Word would be enjoyable in the eating, but not so much in the doing. Still, John remained faithful to His Lord.
The Word of God, you see, contains both sweet and sour, dear friends. When the Apostle John was told to take the scroll and eat it, the symbolism is that he was to feed on the truth of God’s Word. Once he assimilated it into his very being, then he was to go and spread it around to the rest of mankind, to preach it from the rooftops.
John did so in the following chapters of the Book of Revelation. Those chapters contain the sweet promises of God to mankind, and they contain the bitter and sour judgments of God on mankind.
Because of the two classes of people in the world—believers and unbelievers—the Word is both sweet and sour. John would enjoy learning the good Word of God, to be sure. But once he assimilated it into his being and had to follow through with spreading the Word, he would encounter bitterness from the Word. It would turn his stomach sour because it isn’t a pleasant thing to pronounce God’s judgment on sinners…and sinners aren’t exactly appreciative of it either!
Folks, this is spiritual reality. For the spiritual person the Word of God is life itself. He cannot live without it. It brings him such joy and blessing to hear His God speak to him the truths of both time and eternity.
However, some Christians get pleasure out of proclaiming judgment and condemnation on other people. This is a sign of carnality, of pride in the forefront. God desires for all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (cf., 1 Timothy 2:4). God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would rather the wicked turn from their sins and live (cf., Ezekiel 33:11).
Just as it was with the Apostle John in the First Century A.D., so is it with us Christians today. We are given the Word of God to feed on, and we are to assimilate it into our beings. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (cf., Romans 12:2) by means of the Word of God. Then we are to proclaim salvation in Jesus’ name to all mankind. The Word today is what is was back in the day. It is both sweet and sour.
Will we draw back at the sour parts and refrain from obeying the Word of God? Or will our failure be in proclaiming God’s judgments with relish and glee? I have a great idea. Let’s refrain from both of those approaches.
Instead, let’s take the good Word of God to all men, savoring the sweetness of the Word while not withholding the sour and bitter portion of the meal. But let us be sure to feed the sour portion with fear and trepidation, receiving no pleasure from the death of the wicked. May Jesus Christ be praised by our obedience!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
As Christians we are called to new life. This life begins with justification, but it continues with sanctification. We are to stop being conformed to the world and its thinking. In its place we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This means we are to feed on the Word of God daily, all of it a little each day, while it forms our thinking to that of God Himself.
The Apostle John was a diligent servant of the Lord, as we are to be too. The Lord gave him His Word and told him to proclaim it. The Lord warned John that the Word would be enjoyable in the eating, but not so much in the doing. Still, John remained faithful to His Lord.
The Word of God, you see, contains both sweet and sour, dear friends. When the Apostle John was told to take the scroll and eat it, the symbolism is that he was to feed on the truth of God’s Word. Once he assimilated it into his very being, then he was to go and spread it around to the rest of mankind, to preach it from the rooftops.
John did so in the following chapters of the Book of Revelation. Those chapters contain the sweet promises of God to mankind, and they contain the bitter and sour judgments of God on mankind.
Because of the two classes of people in the world—believers and unbelievers—the Word is both sweet and sour. John would enjoy learning the good Word of God, to be sure. But once he assimilated it into his being and had to follow through with spreading the Word, he would encounter bitterness from the Word. It would turn his stomach sour because it isn’t a pleasant thing to pronounce God’s judgment on sinners…and sinners aren’t exactly appreciative of it either!
Folks, this is spiritual reality. For the spiritual person the Word of God is life itself. He cannot live without it. It brings him such joy and blessing to hear His God speak to him the truths of both time and eternity.
However, some Christians get pleasure out of proclaiming judgment and condemnation on other people. This is a sign of carnality, of pride in the forefront. God desires for all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (cf., 1 Timothy 2:4). God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would rather the wicked turn from their sins and live (cf., Ezekiel 33:11).
Just as it was with the Apostle John in the First Century A.D., so is it with us Christians today. We are given the Word of God to feed on, and we are to assimilate it into our beings. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (cf., Romans 12:2) by means of the Word of God. Then we are to proclaim salvation in Jesus’ name to all mankind. The Word today is what is was back in the day. It is both sweet and sour.
Will we draw back at the sour parts and refrain from obeying the Word of God? Or will our failure be in proclaiming God’s judgments with relish and glee? I have a great idea. Let’s refrain from both of those approaches.
Instead, let’s take the good Word of God to all men, savoring the sweetness of the Word while not withholding the sour and bitter portion of the meal. But let us be sure to feed the sour portion with fear and trepidation, receiving no pleasure from the death of the wicked. May Jesus Christ be praised by our obedience!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 1
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 2
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 3
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living the new life that is in us out to the world. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m save because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living the new life that is in us out to the world. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m save because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 4
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saved anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saved anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 5
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. This was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 3 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not for His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. This is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. This was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 3 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not for His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. This is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 1
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
It is dawn in the camp of Israel out in the wilderness. The tent of meeting is prominently constructed in the center of the camp. The wall of curtains around the entire tabernacle worship structure sets apart this area from the day-to-day functions in the rest of the camp.
Around the outside of the wall of curtains are four camps:
1. the priests on the east
2. the Kohathite clan on the south
3. the Gershonite clan on the west
4. the Merarite clan on the north
These four camps encompass the entire tribe of Levi. The Levites are camped in that location according to the precise instructions of the Lord. The Levites, you see, keep the other tribes of Israel from approaching the Lord’s ministry at the bronze altar and inside the tent. The Lord chose the tribe of Levi to be His priests and ministry servants. The other Israelites were excluded by the Lord.
And speaking of the bronze altar, it was located before the doorway to the tent of meeting. Its purpose was to provide an appropriate instrument for the blood offerings which the Israelites presented to the Lord. The priests alone could sprinkle the blood on the altar. The priests alone were permitted to enter the tent to minister inside. These were the Lord’s choices, and His alone.
Well, every morning and evening a whole burnt offering was offered up on the bronze altar. These offerings were Old Testament types of the “living sacrifice” which the Apostle Paul made reference to in Romans 12:1.
But there was one significant difference to the whole burnt offerings of the Old Testament and the living sacrifices of the New. Allow me to portray a whole burnt offering, so that we may better understand this distinct difference.
Normally when an Israelite presented an offering to the Lord, he brought it to the priest at the bronze altar. He then laid his hands on the animal’s head to identify the animal as representing himself. Then the Israelite offerer slit the throat of his substitute sacrifice.
The animal, you see, represented the offerer. It died in his place. Even more, he killed himself vicariously, in acknowledgment that he is sinful and unable to approach the holy Lord. He deserved death for his sins, but he availed himself of this method of approaching the Lord, a method which the Lord Himself authorized.
In the case of the continual burnt offering which we are examining, an individual Israelite didn’t present it to the Lord. The morning and evening whole burnt offerings were on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who was to lay hands on the offering and kill it then? Hmm. Now that’s a toughie.
We’ll stop and ponder the question a bit, as we sit with Jesus a while. Tomorrow we’ll share the answer. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is dawn in the camp of Israel out in the wilderness. The tent of meeting is prominently constructed in the center of the camp. The wall of curtains around the entire tabernacle worship structure sets apart this area from the day-to-day functions in the rest of the camp.
Around the outside of the wall of curtains are four camps:
1. the priests on the east
2. the Kohathite clan on the south
3. the Gershonite clan on the west
4. the Merarite clan on the north
These four camps encompass the entire tribe of Levi. The Levites are camped in that location according to the precise instructions of the Lord. The Levites, you see, keep the other tribes of Israel from approaching the Lord’s ministry at the bronze altar and inside the tent. The Lord chose the tribe of Levi to be His priests and ministry servants. The other Israelites were excluded by the Lord.
And speaking of the bronze altar, it was located before the doorway to the tent of meeting. Its purpose was to provide an appropriate instrument for the blood offerings which the Israelites presented to the Lord. The priests alone could sprinkle the blood on the altar. The priests alone were permitted to enter the tent to minister inside. These were the Lord’s choices, and His alone.
Well, every morning and evening a whole burnt offering was offered up on the bronze altar. These offerings were Old Testament types of the “living sacrifice” which the Apostle Paul made reference to in Romans 12:1.
But there was one significant difference to the whole burnt offerings of the Old Testament and the living sacrifices of the New. Allow me to portray a whole burnt offering, so that we may better understand this distinct difference.
Normally when an Israelite presented an offering to the Lord, he brought it to the priest at the bronze altar. He then laid his hands on the animal’s head to identify the animal as representing himself. Then the Israelite offerer slit the throat of his substitute sacrifice.
The animal, you see, represented the offerer. It died in his place. Even more, he killed himself vicariously, in acknowledgment that he is sinful and unable to approach the holy Lord. He deserved death for his sins, but he availed himself of this method of approaching the Lord, a method which the Lord Himself authorized.
In the case of the continual burnt offering which we are examining, an individual Israelite didn’t present it to the Lord. The morning and evening whole burnt offerings were on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who was to lay hands on the offering and kill it then? Hmm. Now that’s a toughie.
We’ll stop and ponder the question a bit, as we sit with Jesus a while. Tomorrow we’ll share the answer. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
