Randy Green's Blog, page 375

Wow! I Can See God! – Part 3

NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].

Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.

We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].

Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.

The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.

God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.

In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters that cover the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.

Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.

The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.

If you don’t yet have enough to keep you occupied for hours while alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him 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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: Father, Genesis 1, God, Holy Spirit, John 1, knowing God, Revelation, Son, Trinity

Wow! I Can See God! – Part 2

NEWS FLASH!!! Matthew: Volume 7 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].

We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:

water (a liquid)
ice (a solid)
steam (a gas)

The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.

Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.

If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?

God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.

God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).

When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]

This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!

Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait until the morrow for my third heaping helping. Time’s a-gone again. See you tomorrow.

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: Father, Genesis 1, God, Holy Spirit, John 1, knowing God, Revelation, Son, Trinity

Wow! I Can See God! – Part 1

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! Romans: Volume 9 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].

It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.

The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.

The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about those verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.

First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].

In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.

Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.

The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!

Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.

I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: Father, Genesis 1, God, Holy Spirit, John 1, knowing God, Revelation, Son, Trinity

Defensible Divorce? – Part 2

NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense [Ezra 10:18-19].

For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel [Malachi 2:16].

The Israelites were dispatched to Babylon as slaves in exile. It was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Their crime? Spiritual adultery, sleeping with the enemy, worshiping the gods of the heathen peoples around them, with its concomitant religious sex with the female devotees.

From the first chapter of the Bible to the last, the Lord teaches the “doctrine of separation”. It teaches that what is unclean makes what is clean to become unclean, and what is profane defiles what is holy so that the holy becomes profane too. Ergo, the people of the Lord (the holy) must not forge binding ties with the people of the devil (the profane). This is especially true of marriage ties.

Consequently, when the Lord insisted His kids in Ezra’s day divorce their heathen wives, two sins were involved. One was the violation of His Law, the other divorce. Separation was mandatory, which compelled the divorce. God’s kids had no right to marry heathen women to begin with. That had to be set right, which required the divorce.

So the Lord didn’t change His mind and suddenly “like” divorce. He ALWAYS HATES divorce. But it is non-negotiable that the Lord’s kids cannot have binding ties with the devil’s kids, so divorce was a necessary evil to set aright the wrong of intermarriage with unbelievers, a worse evil.

In Malachi’s day the situation was very different. Many Jews were divorcing their Jewish wives in order to marry heathen women! Even a blind man can see the difference between Malachi’s situation and Ezra’s. Let’s itemize it for clarity.

God’s kids can marry only God’s kids
God’s kids cannot marry the devil’s kids
God’s kids divorcing the devil’s kids makes right the wrong of marrying the devil’s kids
God’s kids divorcing God’s kids makes wrong what was right

Now remember the context, please. This applied to the Israelites in Old Testament Israel under the Law of Moses. It was the Law of the land, their legal code. It was never given to the Gentiles or the Church. (That’s us.)

What is applicable to the Christian is the “doctrine of separation” (cf., 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Christians are not to marry unbelievers. However, if a Christian is wrongly married to an unbeliever, and if that unbeliever doesn’t prevent the Christian from practicing his/her faith, then the Christian is to remain in the marriage (cf., 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

So it is, you see, that apparent contradictions in the Bible are just that, apparent! They are contradictions in appearance only, not in reality. We must always read the Bible in context, dear friends. God does hate divorce. He established marriage as the foundational institution of society.

Contrariwise, the devil loves divorce. He wants to destroy society and render futile everything God builds. This serves as an indisputable symptom in diagnosing whether I am walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. Do I approve of divorce, or do I hate divorce?

Divorce is pandemic in today’s society. This should tell us what type of society we live in. I’ll give you a hint: the word christ is in it, but the word is preceded by a prefix spelled a-n-t-i. We must choose sides, and not in word only but also in deed. What say ye?

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: context, divorce, Ezra 10, Malachi 2, separation

Defensible Divorce? – Part 1

NEWS FLASH!!! Matthew: Volume 7 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense [Ezra 10:18-19].

For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel [Malachi 2:16].

“Hey, looky at that! There’s a right proper contradiction in the Bible for you. I just proved the Bible has errors in it. So take that, God!”

Such is the blather of the run-of-the-mill atheist and skeptic. Suchlike fellows just refuse to bow the knee to the God of the universe. So they sniff out all the recesses in Scripture, in search of the lost error. They are determined to find it, so guess what? They find it!

Uh, not so fast my dear sir. With what contradiction are you regaling us, at this Bible bash you’re throwing for all your birds of a feather? I don’t see any contradiction.

“Well, then you can’t read, you bozo!” blusters our supercilious snob. “Just read the two quotations at the beginning of this study, and you can’t miss it. God ordered the Jews of Ezra’s day to divorce their wives, but in Malachi’s day He got mad at them for doing just that! He went so far as to thunder, ‘I hate divorce!’ So there.”

And then our self-styled savant parks his haunches on a comfy recliner, face glowing with pride and every pore oozing with conceit, self-satisfied that he has the last word. He is the man! He sits on God’s throne, now that he’s disenfranchised God.

Oh hum. Yawn. Zzzzzzzz. I still don’t see the supposed contradictions, you vain man. But not to worry. I have just the medicine you need for what ails you. It’s Rule #1 for Bible study, sir. It states, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Chew on it overnight and call me in the morning. Once the medicine runs its course, your eyesight will be sharp enough to see your blunder.

Let’s put the situation in Ezra’s day into context, shall we? The Israelites incessantly sinned against the Lord and refused to repent, so finally He sent them into exile in Babylon. Their crime? They worshiped the gods of the pagan peoples around them. This was spiritual adultery because they belonged to the Lord.

After the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Medes and Persians, the Israelites were permitted to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. During this period many of the Jews married some of the pagan women in the land. The Law of Moses specifically forbade this. It was the cause of so much of the idolatry which put them into Babylonian exile in the first place. If we don’t learn from history, we’re bound to repeat it.

We must take our rest at this roadside arbor and be refreshed by time alone with the Lord Jesus. Tomorrow we will bring this topic to a proper conclusion.

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: context, divorce, Ezra 10, Malachi 2, separation

Oohs and Aahs – Part 2

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! Romans: Volume 9 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].

Yesterday we gave the background information to our text. Now let’s get to the point of the text, shall we? We now come to the two verses we quoted as a kick-off to this study.

On Mount Horeb Elijah threw himself a pity party and invited the Lord. The main course was an Elijah specialty named The Grouse Gourmet. Seems Elijah thought he had done so much good for the Lord, but the Lord didn’t appreciate him. Why, he alone in all Israel still served the Lord…at least according to old Elijah.

As a suitable payment for his services, Elijah wanted to see the Lord in person. And that is where the two quoted verses come in. Notice the contrast. On the one hand Elijah experienced:

a great and strong wind…rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
after the wind an earthquake
after the earthquake a fire

In contrast to all that Elijah lastly experienced a sound of a gentle blowing. To put this contrast into context, remember what Elijah had just gone through before fleeing from Jezebel. All by himself he performed a most impressive mighty miracle against 850 opponents. In fact Elijah’s ministry from the Lord was one of performing mighty miracles, awesome deeds, eye-opening feats.

Atop Mount Horeb the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire” were meant to impress Elijah, just as his mighty miracles impressed others. Elijah saw God in terms of mighty miracles, you see. He was dumbfounded because the Lord didn’t perform mighty miracles on his behalf against Jezebel. Apart from mighty miracles Elijah couldn’t get a handle on the Lord.

Ah, but after the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire”, on each occasion we are told that the Lord was not in those mighty miracles. The Lord did perform the mighty miracles, to be sure. But the mighty miracles were not the Lord.

This is a serious problem in some Christian circles today. Some Christians are so busy wanting to see the sign gifts (e.g., tongues, miracles, healings), that they lose sight of the Lord. It saddens me to see some Christians exude so much enthusiasm and gullible excitement, believing they are honored by the Holy Spirit with the sign gifts.

Their church is alive, you see, while those who don’t focus on tongues and miracles and healings are filled with half-dead, hybrid Christians, most certainly inferior to them, the present-day “super apostles”. They are like Elijah on Mount Horeb. They can only envision God in terms of outward, flamboyant power.

But this is precisely the stuff from which the Lord wanted to wean Elijah. After all the outward powerful signs were over, the Lord finally met with Elijah personally. He revealed Himself as a sound of a gentle blowing.

The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful. He can manifest more power than any man can even imagine. But He wants to have a personal relationship with us, not frighten us into submission by impersonal force!

When we interact favorably with others, we communicate in a still, small voice. We talk kindly and respectfully. We respect the other person’s feelings, not try to intimidate him.

It is the same with the Lord Jesus and our personal relationship with Him. He wants to visit with us in the garden in the cool of the day. When He does He speaks softly and gently, so we can enjoy His company and come to know Him all the better. What He has to say is spoken in intelligible words we can understand, and those words come from His written Word.

Let’s take this under advisement in our quite time with the Lord now. We can learn a lot from Him, if we truly want to. He even makes it fun. Let’s go. I’ll race you to Him.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Kings 19, Bible, Faith, miracles, Word of God

Oohs and Aahs – Part 1

NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].

Elijah was the Lord’s Numero Uno prophet in northern Israel under the divided kingdom. During his day Israel was in a bad way, which is why the Lord used Elijah to perform fantastic feats of nature (i.e., miracles). The king of Israel was the no-account scoundrel Ahab, who married none other than Jezebel, princess of Sidon—you know, the Jezebel of byword notoriety.

Well, the Sidonians worshiped Baal. So it surprised no one when Jezebel brought Baal worship to northern Israel, after marrying King Ahab. That just didn’t sit right with the Lord. He alone is the true God and idols are merely the work of men’s hands. The practice of idolatry was a cardinal sin, and the worship of Baal was doubly so.

So the Lord sent Elijah into combat atop Mount Carmel. Elijah stood on one side, 450 prophets of Baal on the other plus another 400 prophets of Asherah. In reality the Lord stood on one side and some vain idols on the other. It was a foregone conclusion: the Lord won! All 850 false prophets were tossed off the mountain head first.

When Ahab returned to Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, he reported to her all that had transpired on Mount Carmel. Enraged, Jezebel sent an email to Elijah, threatening to do to him what he had done to her false prophets. And she swore to accomplish the feat before day’s end.

We should think that big bad prophet Elijah, the macho man, would have taken wicked old Jezebel’s threat with a grain of salt. After all, he just faced down 850 men, so what was a puny little woman, huh?

Alas, but it was not to be so. Elijah beat a fast retreat to Mount Horeb—you know, Mount Horeb as in Mount Sinai on the far southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. Consider that Mount Carmel was in northern Israel, all the way north as far as the Sea of Galilee but near the Mediterranean Coast.

To get to Mount Horeb from Mount Carmel, Elijah had to go south all the way to Judah, then keep going to the southern border of Judah, enter the Sinai Peninsula, and then cross practically the entire peninsula! Not only did Elijah flee out of Jezebel’s jurisdiction, but he fled out of all Hebrew territory. As if this wasn’t far enough away, he then continued across an entire peninsula too! Methinks that, when it came to women, Elijah was a scaredy-cat!

Oops! Time’s up. We’ll have to finish this topic tomorrow. See you then, and don’t forget to visit with Jesus before going to bed.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Kings 19, Bible, Faith, miracles, Word of God

Long Live the King! – Part 2

NEWS FLASH!!! Matthew: Volume 7 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes [Judges 17:6; 21:25].

We concluded our last study by noting that the Lord led His people, the Israelites, out of Egypt and to the Promised Land in visible appearance as the Shekinah cloud of glory. The Shekinah no longer appeared atop the ark of the covenant, once the Israelites came to the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. Thenceforth King YHWH’s subjects were to be governed by means of His Law.

The period of the Judges began at the death of Joshua bin Nun and all the second generation of Israelites who conquered the land under Joshua. A new generation came on the scene and didn’t place much stock in Torah (i.e., the Law of Moses). That explains what happened to the King YHWH’s Law.

Why didn’t the second generation rear their kids to fear the Lord and love His Law? Why did the second generation leave their kids to their own devices, to determine for themselves what they wanted to believe and do? That, dear people, goes to the heart of the matter. That was the deciding factor.

In today’s antichrist society, there is no king in the good ol’ USA. The Bible has been lost in the Temple somewhere, while the citizens are out and about, worshiping the gods of the shopping malls and restaurants. This behavior defines what is right in our own eyes today.

If we take a time-telescope and look backward at prior generations, we can trace a downward spiral from one generation to the next to the next. The founders of our country were much more committed to the Word of God. They left the old world to get away from state churches. They longed to read the Word of God and decide for themselves what it says and what the Lord wants from each person.

Gradually from generation to generation, each new generation accepted the doctrines of men instead of reading their own Bibles. It wasn’t long before the Bible was lost in the church building someplace, and doctrinal statements and denominational dogma about the Bible sufficed for knowing King Jesus.

Trouble was, this isn’t knowing King Jesus! It amounts to knowing some man’s ideas about King Jesus. Does anyone really think the Lord went through so much effort over the past two millennia to commit His Word to writing, and then to preserve it from adulteration through thick and thin, only to have it replaced by man’s ideas? Perish the thought! That is blasphemous, dear soul!

If we truly want to know the Lord Jesus personally, and want the same for our spouses and children and extended family, nothing can substitute for daily time alone with King Jesus and His authoritative Word.

We must commit to a regimen of quiet time each day, both we and our spouses and our kids. We must spiritually discipline ourselves to keep our scheduled time with the Lord Jesus each day. If we put Him first, everything else that matters will fall into place. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all else will be added unto you.

What say ye? Will you be one of those who does what seems right in your own eyes? Or will you be a loyal subject of King Jesus by learning His Word and obeying it?

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: discipleship, Judges 17, Judges 21, King Jesus, King YHWH, Law of Moses, sola scriptura, Word of God

Long Live the King! – Part 1

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! Romans: Volume 9 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes [Judges 17:6; 21:25].

We have two constructs expressed in those words, words which appear twice in the Book of Judges. Let’s enumerate them.

there was no king in Israel
every man did what was right in his own eyes

A king is a central authority. A king makes the laws for his kingdom, enforces his laws, and judges the lawbreakers. He determines what is right and what is wrong.

The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by marching into Egypt and whupping Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The mighty King of kings put the puny king of Egypt in his place.

Then the Lord marched the Israelites out of Egypt in martial array (cf., Exodus 13:18). The Lord was King YHWH and the Israelites were King YHWH’s subjects, you see. The Lord brought His subjects into His land, the Promised Land, defeated the denizens of the land, and bequeathed the land to His people.

The Lord was King of His land, the new citizens were His subjects, and He laid down the Law as the legal code to govern His subjects. The Lord was King, and the Law expressed His Word for His people. They were not free to do whatever they pleased. In fact they were micromanaged, so to speak, in every facet of living.

This brings us to the second construct contained in the quoted text with which we began this study: every man did what was right in his own eyes. They did this because there was no king in Israel. Without a king, without a central authority, each person had his own opinion of what should be done. So everyone was off somewhere or other doing whatever pleased him.

If the Lord was King of Israel, and if His Law defined every aspect of living in minute detail, that left no room for anyone to do what was right in his own eyes. This brings us face-to-face with a conundrum, dear friends.

what happened to King YHWH?
what happened to His Law?

King YHWH, the Lord, led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the desert in visible appearance as the Shekinah cloud of glory. When the Israelites came to the Jordan to cross to the west bank (i.e., Canaan), the Shekinah cloud ceased to appear.

Thenceforth the ark of the covenant became the visible symbol of the Lord’s presence. It symbolized the throne of King YHWH, but there was nothing visible atop the ark any longer. King YHWH no longer led His people visibly. In the Promised Land He led them by means of His Law.

Let us draw this study to a close. The hour is late. The night is falling. We must needs meet with the Lord Jesus before we fall asleep.

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/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: discipleship, Judges 17, Judges 21, King Jesus, King YHWH, Law of Moses, sola scriptura, Word of God

One of My Favorite Days

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Not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption [Hebrews 9:12].

In the Old Testament the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths. The holidays of Israel are no exception to this. The high priest was a type of Jesus, our great High Priest. The other priests were types of the Christian.

The tabernacle/tent of meeting was a type of heaven, or rather a type of a meeting place between heaven and earth. It was broken down into two compartments. The outer one went by the name the holy place and symbolized man’s meeting place with the Lord. The inner compartment bore the name the most holy place and represented heaven, the abode of God. The one tent of meeting was divided in half by a veil, thus forming the two compartments.

The holy place was where the priests entered daily to trim the menorah and burn incense on the golden incense altar. No one was allowed to enter the most holy place because sin separated man from God and the Lord dwelt inside the most holy place. He appeared in the form of the Shekinah cloud of glory, perched atop the mercy seat which covered the Ark of the Covenant.

There was one exception to this interdiction from entering the most holy place, however. Once a year on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) the high priest, dressed in his sumptuous regalia, took the blood of the sin offerings inside the most holy place. Inside he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat. When he came out alive, it signified that the Lord accepted the blood covering over Israel’s sins for another year.

The holidays of Israel followed a yearly cycle, just as our holidays do today. They taught Israel’s history from the time of the exodus out of Egypt to the end of the Millennium. Thus each year represented the fulfillment of Israel’s history. This means that on Yom Kippur, when the high priest entered the most holy place to sprinkle the blood of the sin offering, it symbolized that he did so once and only once. He did so every year, yes, but each year represented all of Israel’s history.

Now recall who the high priest and the other priests typified. And don’t forget what the holy place and most holy place typified. Do you recognize what is symbolized by Yom Kippur?

Jesus Christ is both the high priest and the sin offering. He died on the cross (symbolized by the bronze altar) for man’s sins, was buried, and three days later He rose out of death and ascended into heaven. As our High Priest He entered heaven and sprinkled His blood on the throne of God. He did this once-for-all (symbolized by the Yom Kippur holiday occurring only once in the year).

We as priests minister before Him by offering up prayers. This was symbolized by Israel’s priests entering the holy place to minister to the Lord at the golden incense altar. We also see by the light of the Lord, symbolized by the 7-branch menorah in the holy place. We also feed upon the sinless body of our Lord, symbolized by the unleavened bread of the presence on the golden table in the holy place.

In all of this we minister in the holy place outside of heaven (i.e., the most holy place), while only our great High Priest Himself enters into heaven, and that only once. I state this in the context of Yom Kippur, not in any other context. Jesus enters heaven more than once, but not to sprinkle His blood as payment for the penalty of our sins.

Now that Jesus has entered heaven and sprinkled His blood there, man is no longer shut out of the Lord’s presence. We who are born again have ready access to the throne of grace, where we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. No temptation is more than we can handle because the Lord provides us a means of escape. We find it at the throne of grace in heaven, where we are most welcome.

This is indeed marvelous spiritual truth, dear friends. I can’t contain myself. I must needs hie off to the prayer closet and avail myself of my Savior’s presence. I want to sit at His feet at the throne of grace a while, while He teaches me His Word. Care to join in?

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Filed under: Church Age Tagged: Day of Atonement, Hebrews 9, high priest, holy place, Levitical priests, Leviticus 23, most holy place, sin offering, Yom Kippur