The Resurrections - Part 3

“Rabbi Joseph the son of Levi objects that it is written in one place, ‘Behold one like the son of man comes with the clouds of heaven,’ but in another place it is written ‘lowly and riding upon an ass.” The solution is, if they be righteous he shall come with the clouds of heaven, but if they not be righteous he shall come lowly riding upon an ass.” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a).

Scripture is filled with seemingly contradictory statements that are true, but difficult to reconcile in advance of their fulfillment. Two of those statements were reconciled by the Sages in a manner documented by the Talmud. The believer is faced with similar difficulty when reconciling prophecies surrounding the return of Christ. Believers tend to focus on the resurrection described by Paul when the dead and living in Christ are caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, (1 Thes 4:17). THE END, or so many believers have held for centuries. However, THE END of our understanding does not come until much later in scripture (1Cor 15:24), at the conclusion of the Christ’s earthly reign.

We are told that Jesus will bring “those who have fallen asleep in him,” (1 Thes 4:14). In another place we are told “the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones,” (Jude 14). Believers are said to be gathered “together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thes 4:17). Yet, Zechariah has written, “The LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two,” (Zech 14:4). So how are believers caught up to meet the Lord in the air, while at the same time, the Lord is coming to stand on the Mount of Olives? Are these events simultaneous or do they speak of separate events like the coming of Jesus on a donkey and his coming in the clouds?

Scripture tell us that the resurrection of the two witnesses will be seen by the entire world, (Rev 11:12). “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him,” (Rev 1:7)(Zech 12:10). Two responses to the appearing of Christ are recorded by John, some “gave glory to the God of heaven,” while “the nations were angry,” (Zech 11:18). The Lord Jesus will appear “to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him,” (Heb 9:28). What about the people who did not believe before, but come to believe in Jesus because of His appearing?

The resurrection of the two witnesses (Rev 11:12), occurs in scripture just prior to the declaration of Christ as King, (Rev 11:15). In the account of Jude, Zechariah, and John (Rev 19:11-15), Jesus will return as King to conquer and judge the inhabitants of the earth. It is possible that all these events are simultaneous. Believers may be resurrected and gathered to meet Jesus in the air and immediately return with Christ and His angels to earth. Paul connects these events in his letter to the Church in Thessalonica.

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus…on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2 Thes 1:7-10)

However, the position that all these events occur simultaneously would seem to preclude the response of the nation to the appearing of Jesus.

“I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great,” (Zech 12:10).

Further, an immediate return by Jesus to earth after the catching up of the saints would allow no time after the removal of the restrainer for the man of lawlessness to display his false miracles to deceive those who are perishing, (2 Thes 2:6-12)(Rev 13:13-18). Finally, the nation of Israel comes to believe when “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days,” (Rev 12:5-6). The believing nation is not resurrected at this time, only the child (Jesus) is snatched up to the throne of God. The nation is given the responsibility to exist as God’s witness for the last 42 months (1,260 days), after the resurrection of the Church.

The appearance of the nation of Israel and the understanding that the LORD still has a separate plan for the nation apart from grafted in Gentiles can bring great clarity to the understanding of the resurrection accounts. Saints will be resurrected to meet the LORD in the air removing the force that currently restraints the anti-Christ. Men and woman will subsequently become believers from witnessing the appearing of Jesus. Some of these believers will escape into the wilderness, while many will be martyred for their refusal to worship the Beast and receive the mark of his ownership. The Lord will then return again to the earth.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (Rev 19:11-15)

The resurrection at the beginning of Christ’s earthly reign is for “the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years,” (Rev 20:4). Since this verse is limited to “those who had been beheaded,” it is reasonable to understand this verse as referring to those who came through the last three and one-half years of the tribulation. Otherwise, the verse must be read symbolically since few believers are literally “beheaded.” Although this resurrection of these saints would be the third distinct resurrection, scripture combines all three, calling them the “first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection,” (Rev 20:5-6). One final resurrection remains.


THE FINAL RESURRECTION: JUDGMENT AND THE END OF THE AGE

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt,” (Dan 12:2)

“Do not be amazed at this, a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,” (John 5:28-29).

The Bible is clear, not only will the righteous be resurrected, but also the unrighteous. According to John, one final resurrection will occur after the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth is ended, (Rev 20:5). We are also told,

“The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.” (Rev 20:13)

The Sages offered the following parable to illustrate the need for a physical resurrection of all men and women.

“A blind man and a lame man both desired to raid a certain orchard, but their physical limitations precluded this. The lame man met the blind man and they formed a partnership. The blind man took the lame man upon his back, and the lame man directed him to the orchard. They then shared the fruits of their ‘labors’.

When they were caught by the owner of the orchard, the lame man protested that he himself could not have plundered the orchard. The blind man defended himself in the same manner. The owner then took the lame man, set him upon the blind man and administered punishment to them together (Sanhedrin 91b).” (Artscroll – Daniel, page 321)

The sins committed in the flesh will be judged in the flesh, otherwise the spirit of men will say to God, “How can you judge me for the sins committed by the flesh when I am not flesh, but spirit.” The flesh of a man will likewise say, “How can I be judged when it was the spirit within me that directed my actions?” Paul said it this way, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad,” (2 Cor 5:10). For this reason, the resurrection precedes the judgment, as John has written,

“I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it…And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books,” (Rev 20:11-12).

In order to subject all created things to Christ (1 Cor 15:25), it is necessary for every man and woman to be resurrected so “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Phil 2:10-11). Only in the flesh can the knees of mankind bow and the tongues confess.

At the time of the great white throne judgement, the earth will be destroyed as, “Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them,” (Rev 20:12). “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire,” (Rev 20:14), as it is written, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death,” (1 Cor 15:26). How is death destroyed, by resurrecting all men and women, just as Jesus destroyed death by His resurrection, (2 Tim 1:10)(Rev 1:18).

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory,” (1 Cor 15:54).

“But someone may ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” (1 Cor 15:35)

The Sages also wondered if the resurrected body will be clothed or naked? The Sages concluded, “The answer is; ‘As man goes (into the grave) clothed, so he will return clothed. This may be learnt from the example of Samuel whom Saul beheld. He asked the witch of Endor, “What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up and he is covered with a robe,” (1 Sam 28:14)(Gen. R 95.1). In a like manner, those who come out of the great tribulation are seen wearing white robes and holding palm branches, which is what is done during the Feast of Tabernacles.

“One of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’ 14 I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’" (Rev 7:13-17)

Scott

The Resurrections - Part 2

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
(1 Thes 4:16-18)

The next resurrection believers anticipate will occur when “the LORD Himself will descend from heaven” for “all who have longed for his appearing,” (2 Tim 4:8), who “eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed,” (1 Cor 1:7)(Phil 3:20)(Titus 2:13), “to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him,” (Heb 9:28). The next resurrection will include all believers, both the dead and living, who have existed up to that time in history, excepting those resurrected along with Christ, (Matt 27:52-53). Maimonides taught that, while belief in the Messiah is essential, a longing desire for His return is also required, as John has written, “Come, Lord Jesus,” (Rev 22:20).

Scholars generally accept that the resurrection of the saints will occur during the seven-year period of end time events identified as the final week of Daniel’s seventy week prophecy. The angel Gabriel told Daniel, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city…he will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate,” (Dan 9:24-27).

The Bible further subdivides this seven year period into separate three and one-half year periods. The first is marked by temple sacrifice and worship of the true God, which is immediately followed by apostasy and the revealing of “the man of lawlessness,” (2 Thes 2:3). The latter three and one-half years is a time of great persecution for Israel, commonly referred to as the “birth pains of the Messiah” (Micah 5:3-4), and the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:5-7). The book of Daniel concludes by saying, “There will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time…From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” (Dan 12:1&11-12).

Pre-Tribulation Resurrection: There are three traditional positions relating to the resurrection of the saints during this seven year (one week) covenant and I will do great injustice to all three in my brief description. The first school of thought, often referred to as the “pre-tribulation rapture,” holds that believers will be resurrected at the beginning of the seven year period. Believers will remain with Christ and then return with Him to earth at the end of the tribulation period. The pattern for this event is the one week biblical weddings typified by Jacob. In this way, believers will be kept from “the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world,” (Rev 3:10), fulfilling the many similar promises given in scripture, (1 Thes 1:10).

The belief in an early resurrection is attractive because believers will not have to experience any of the judgments in the Book of Revelations. However, the “hour” referred to in the third chapter should be seen as the “the hour of his (God) judgment” (Rev 14:7), the same “one hour” that the ten kings receive their authority to reign with the beast, (Rev 17:12). This hour occurs during the last three and one-half years when the seven bowls of judgment are poured out on the earth. The many promises in scripture to protect believers do not require that believers be removed from the earth. During the days when the LORD poured out His ten plagues on Egypt, He did not remove Israel from the land, but providentially protected them in Goshen. It is not before the coming tribulation, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days…He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEYWILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other,” (Matt 24:29-31).

Post Tribulation Resurrection: Another school of thought, often referred to as the “post tribulation rapture,” holds that believers are destined to endure the tribulations in the Book of Revelations and will be resurrected at the end of these tribulations, (Matt 24:24-31). During the last half of the seven year covenant period, the Beast is given authority to rule over the earth, (Rev 13:5). This final forty-two month period is referred to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), who will be given power to “trample on the holy city for 42 months,” (Rev 11:2). The leader of the Gentile nations, the Beast (anti-Christ), will be “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them,” (Rev 13:7)(Dan 7:21) “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God,” (2 Thes 2:4).

Many saints who refuse to worship the Beast will be persecuted and killed by the sword. “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them,’” (Rev 14:12-13)(Rev 13:10). As I understand, the Church of Christ holds that the majority of tribulations written about in the gospel accounts, the epistles and the Book of Revelations, have already occurred. However, if they have occurred, who were the two witnesses of Revelations (11th chapter) and why did the resurrection and judgment not immediately follow the tribulation?

The martyring of many saints would seem to run contrary to the promises to keep the saints from “the hour of testing,” (Rev 3:10). Further, Paul tells us that “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed,” (2 Thes 2:7-8). In scripture, it is God who protects and delivers the saints from the “evil one,” (John 17:11)(2 Thes 3:3)(Rev 12:6). For this reason, the “he who now restrains” is commonly understood to be either the Holy Spirit or the body of the Church where the Holy Spirit dwells. At some point in God’s plan to judge the world, the Spirit will be removed, following the pattern of Sodom and Gomorrah where the righteous were removed, so that judgment of the world can be completed. The promises relating to the Spirit make it impossible to remove the Spirit without also removing believers who have been sealed by the Spirit. In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13), it is the five who were ready, who have oil (the Spirit), who leave with the bridegroom when he appeared. Those without oil (the Spirit) remain despite their plea to, “Open the door for us!” (Matt 15:11).

Mid-Tribulation Resurrection: The 11th chapter in the Book of Revelations contains many elements of the resurrection found elsewhere in scripture. Central to the 11th chapter are the two witnesses, who prophesy “for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth,” (Rev 11:3). This time period appears to mark the first half of the seven year covenant foretold by Daniel (Dan 9:27) and will fulfill the words of Jesus, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things,” (Matt 17:11). As in the first coming of Jesus, many will not heed the words of Elijah and in the over the last 42 months (Dan 12:11), the holy city will be trampled upon by the Gentiles (Rev 11:2)(Dan 9:27). The first 42 months and the last 42 months are separated a significant event, the death and resurrection of the two witnesses. The resurrection of the two witnesses contains a number of elements that are also associated with the larger resurrection of the saints.

The Loud Call and The Trumpet Blast:

“Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed…Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign for ever and ever.’” (Rev 11:12-15).

The resurrection of the two witnesses is accompanied by “a loud voice from heaven” and the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet, reminding us of Paul’s resurrection account, “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God,” (1 Thes 4:16). Although some believers hold to an earlier resurrection, Paul’s statement that, “the dead in Christ will rise first,” would seem to preclude a resurrection prior to the two witnesses.

The loud voice from heaven is heard to say, “Come up here.” At the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus “called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:43). People have speculated that Jesus used the name of Lazarus to preclude a broader resurrection. Jesus told his disciples, “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,” (John 5:28-29). All people will hear the voice of Jesus, but those who hear the voice of Jesus in this life will live, (John 5:25). In scripture, when Jesus calls out to an individual, “Come,” they are compelled to respond, (Matt 4:19-20)(Matt 14:28-29).

The voice from heaven is immediately followed by a trumpet blast (Rev 11:15), which is the seventh and “last trumpet,” identified by Paul as the trumpet of the resurrection, (1 Cor 15:52). The two witnesses are gathered into “the cloud,” just as all the saints “will be caught up together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thess 4:17). Coming in the clouds is a consistent theme throughout scripture (Dan 7:13)(Matt 24:30)(Mark 13:26-27)(Matt 26:64).

Earthquakes: Two earthquakes are associated with the resurrection of the witnesses in the 13th and 19th verses of the 11th chapter. Earthquakes in scripture are associated with the arriving and departing of the Lord, as the Psalmist has written, “The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Sinai itself at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” (Psa 68:8). Sinai was said to shake at the LORD’s descending, (Heb 12:26). The great earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Zech 14:5), is associated in Hebraic tradition with Ezekiel’s vision of the LORD leaving the temple, (Ezek 10:1-22). The earth shook at the time of the crucifixion (Matt 27:54), when the tomb was opened, and when Christ first ascended to the father, (Matt 28:2)(John 20:17). We would expect the return of Jesus to be accompanied by one of more earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude, “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’” (Heb 12:26)(Zech 14:4).

The Elements of the Fall Feasts: Believers who view scripture from a Hebraic perspective generally hold that the return of Christ will occur during the fall Feasts of Trumpets (Rosh HaShannah), The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Tabernacles (Sukkot). In the 11th chapter of the Book of Revelations, we are given a number of evidences to demonstrate that these events occur during the time of the fall Feasts. The blowing of the seventh trumpet would be appropriate on the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, the Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year (the first day of Tishrei), the date when the kings of Israel were crowned. Immediately following the seventh trumpet, loud voices in heaven proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15). At this time, “You (Jesus) have taken your great power and have begun to reign,” (Rev 11:17).

The ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are referred to as “The Days of Awe,” a time when heaven is open to receive the repentant prayers of the saints. On the Day of Atonement, the books are closed and the judgment of God is rendered. John records “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant,” (Rev 11:19). John’s words indicate the time of year and tell us that even during these future days of tribulation, God will remain open to the repentant prayers of the nations prior to rendering judgment. How do the nations respond? “The nations were angry,” (Rev 11:18), so God will judge the nations “destroying those who destroy the earth…And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm,” (Rev 11:18-19).

The Day of Atonement is the time for “judging the dead, and for rewarding your servant the prophets and your saints and those who reverence you name both small and great,” (Rev 11:18). Believers often forget that there is a time for judging and rewarding the saints. As Peter warned believers, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet 4:17). After this judgment, we will enter into the eternal rest of God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts believers to, “make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience,” (Heb 4:11).

The Mystery of God Will be Accomplished: When Jesus is revealed to the world, “in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets,” (Rev 10:7). Scripture contains a number of mysteries, but “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and shares together in the promise in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 3:6). The removal of the believing Church results in the removal of the Holy Spirit, which now holds back the secret power of the lawless one, (2 Thess 2:8). The Spirit’s removal allows Satan to display “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders (to deceive) those who are perishing,” (2 Thess 2:9-10), and the LORD to pour out His judgments.

From this point forward, the Book of Revelations focuses on the final plagues of the great tribulation and the redemption of the nation of Israel, who is depicted as “a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head,” (Rev 12:1). The two earthquakes in the 11th chapter are followed by the flight of the woman (Israel) into the desert (Rev 12:8). The flight of the woman may fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah,

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zech 14:4-5)

The LORD will deliver and protect the nation of Israel in the wilderness from the increasingly devastating plagues that will come upon the earth and the persecution of the Dragon who has fallen from heaven, (Rev 12:6-9). Beginning with the third plague on Egypt, the magicians of Egypt were unable to reproduce miracles concluding, “This is the finger of God,” (Ex 8:19). Beginning with the forth plague, the LORD made “a distinction between my people (Israel) and your people (Egypt)” (Ex 8:23), so that Israel was protected in Goshen. This pattern will be repeated in Revelations. After the resurrection of the saints, during the 42 months of the anti-Christ, the LORD will providentially protect and provide for the remnant of His people in the wilderness over “1260 days” (Rev 12:6), the last three and one-half years of the final tribulation.

Scott

The Resurrections - Part 1

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. (1 Cor 15:15-18)

From the Torah flow the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that are foundational to the Christian faith. Yet, the principle of the resurrection is somewhat veiled in the first five books of the Bible. It was the prophets who brought clarity to the resurrection by writing, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt,” (Dan 12:2), and “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” (Isa 20:19)(Isa 26:19). For those people who did not hold the word of the prophets as inspired, there was no resurrection at all in the Pentateuch of Moses. Among these were the Samaritans and the Sadducees “who taught that the soul became extinct when the body died and death was the final end of the human being,” (Everyman’s Talmud, page 357).

The Pharisees saw the prophets as inspired by God and said, “Woe to the guilty one (the Sadducees) who declare that the dead will not live; since those who were not in existence come to life, how much more will they who have lived come to life again!” (Sanh 91a). Since the Pharisees believed that all truth had its origin in the Torah, they searched out the Torah for proof of the resurrection.

“Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD,” (Lev 18:5)(Gal 3:12). The Pharisees reasoned that since it is necessary for a man to be alive in order to obey the commandments, the phrase “live by them” must be referring to eternal life. The Sages then saw the Torah as the source of eternal life, “Great is the Torah for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and the world to come,” (m.Avot 6:7). Building on the concept of the Sages, Jesus said the Jews in Jerusalem during one of the feasts, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me,” (John 5:39).

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.” (Deut 32:39). The sequence “put to death and bring to life” goes against the natural order were life is first created and then death follows. Because the order was reversed by the LORD, the Pharisees reasoned that the LORD was telling His people that life can come after death. A similar line of reasoning is employed by the Sages in reference to the writings of Solomon. “What is the connection between ‘the grave’ and ‘the barren womb’? (Psa 30:15-16) The intention is to tell you that as the womb receives and yields up, so the grave receives and yields up,” (Everyman’s Talmud, page 360).

“Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Deut 11:8-9). The Pharisees observed that it was not “their descendants,” but “to them (the forefathers)” that the LORD swore to give the land. Since the promise was perpetual, the Sages reasoned that the Patriarchs must be perpetual. The same reckoning was used by Jesus to demonstrate the resurrection to the Sadducees, “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matt 22:31-32)

The principle of the resurrection became fundamental to the theology of the Pharisaic Jew by the turn of the first century, “Since a person repudiated belief in the Resurrection of the dead, he will have no share in the Resurrection,” (Sanh. 90a). From the previous statement, we understand why the topic was passionately debated in the apostolic text. Maimonides, the Jewish scholar who wrote 1000 years after Jesus, established thirteen principles of faith. He established these principles to demonstrate that the physical lineage was insufficient by itself, but Jews must also hold certain fundamental beliefs to enter the world to come. Among the principles that Maimonides defined,

“I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.”

Without the resurrection, both the faith of the Jew and the faith of the believer in Jesus Christ is useless, (1 Cor 15:14). The resurrection demonstrated that Jesus was the Son of God (Rom 1:4), provided evidence that believers will also be raised (1 Cor 6:14), and provided proof that God has appointed a day when He will judge the world, (Acts 17:31). For if the dead are not raised, then this life alone holds both the rewards and punishments merited for actions.


THE FIRST RESURRECTION: A SIGN OF THE KINGDOM

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. (1 Cor 15:20-24)


The apostle Paul provided this sequence for the resurrections of the dead:

(1) Christ, the firstfruits;
(2) then when he comes, those who belong to him,
(3) Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death,” (1 Cor 15:23-26)

The initial resurrection occurred three days after Passover, when Jesus Christ arose as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (1 Cor 15:20). The next resurrection will occur at the return of Christ, “when he comes.” The final resurrection is part of “the end,” the “summing up” (Eph 1:1), when all things will be placed in subjection Messiah (1 Cor 15:25-28). This resurrection will not occur until the conclusion of the Messiah’s reign on earth. John spoke of this resurrection when he said, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed,” (Rev 20:5).

In Rabbinic thought, the Kingdom of God is the transitional period between the present world and “olam haba,” the world to come, (Heb 2:5). As such, signs of the world to come should mark the beginning of the Kingdom and increase in magnitude as the fullness of the Kingdom is manifested. A certain and sure sign of the Kingdom is the resurrection of the dead. After all, how can the Saints who are asleep “reign with him (Christ) for a thousand years” (Rev 20:6), and live in the world to come if they are not first resurrected from the dead? Paul spoke of the coming resurrection in this manner.

“Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body,” (Phil 3:20-21).

According to Paul, the power of the kingdom is “the power that enables him (Christ) to bring everything under his control.” The power of the kingdom “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Jesus once told his disciples, “"Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power ." (Mark 9:1). Believers often debate when the disciples saw the kingdom. Did the disciples see it at the transfiguration or was it John who saw the kingdom in his Revelation vision?

The answer is much simpler as are many of the truths of God. To not taste death is to experience the kingdom and to see the resurrected Jesus is to witness the power of the kingdom. The power of the kingdom is manifested in the resurrection, as Jesus was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead,” (Rom 1:4). I am increasingly convinced that every miracle performed by Jesus during His ministry was given to demonstrate that the Kingdom of God was at hand. The above statement of Jesus to the disciples becomes a type of word association, “some…will…see the kingdom of God” as “not tast(ing) death.” I admit this midrash might be a bit of a stretch. Yet, Jesus came to “preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43), supported by miracles that testified to the kingdom.

"Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.” (Matt 11:4-5).

The resurrection of Lazarus near the end of Christ’s earthly ministry caused many Jews to believe and the Sadducees to seek an opportunity to kill Jesus. Jews held an expectation that the resurrection of the saints would accompany the appearing of the Messiah. For this reason, Matthew wrote to his Jewish audience, “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matt 27:52-53).

Rich, thanks for the inspiration. Scott

Myriads of Believers

It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 14-15)

Do you ever feel like you were caught looking at the pitch? I did as I got home and reflected on our reading of Jude Wednesday night. I should have taken the opportunity to make a point that David Biven expressed when we saw him over a year ago. Wednesday night was a lost opportunity so I will be content to express myself on the Dusty Disciples.

According to Jude, Enoch tells us that the LORD is coming with “many thousands of His holy ones.” The term “many thousands” comes from the Greek word “murias (myriads),” Just like our numbering system, the Greek numbering system is built on multiples of tens “deka” (Matt 20:24), hundreds “kosioi“ (Acts 23:23), thousands “chilias” (Rev 5:11), and ten thousands “murias, sometimes translated as myriads” (Jude 14)(Rev 5:11). When a specific number is required, a prefix in placed in front such as “dia kosioi,” two hundred (Acts 23:23), “tris chilios” three thousand (Acts 2:41), “eikosi chilios” twenty thousand (Luke 14:31), “pente chilios” fifty thousand (Acts 19:19), etc.

Murios is the largest number in Greek and is understood as a multiple of ten thousand, generally at least twenty thousand. The number is rendered as follows in the various translations of Jude 14?

“The Lord is coming with thousands upon thousand of his holy ones,” (NIV)
“The Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,” (NASU)
“Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,” (KJV)
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,” (ESV)

The KJV and ESV rendering of murias as “ten thousands” is probably the best translation since murias is a multiple of ten thousand and could also be understood as “tens of thousands.” The implied number is a minimum of twenty thousand, but could be significantly higher, such as fifty to hundred thousand. For example, if a person says that they have a number of tens in their wallet, they usually mean at least four, otherwise they would say, “I have a couple tens or several tens.” The Psalmist provides the following definition of myriad (murias), “The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands,” (Psa 68:17, NASB). That definition gives the NIV translation some merit. (Teresa, you can still hang on to your NIV for a while.) In short, some indefinite multiple of ten thousand is being stated by Jude. No matter how high the number, it represents only a very small fraction of the “myriads of myriads” of angels that surround the throne of Lamb in John’s vision, (Rev5:11). So why so much emphasis in this artilce on the specific number of angels?

“They said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands(murias) there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law.” (Acts 21:20, ESV)

Murias is the underlying Greek word used by Luke for James' description of the number of believing Jews in Jerusalem. The ESV and KJV elected to translate the word as “ten thousands” in reference to the angels coming with Jesus, but only “many thousands” in reference to the believing Jews. That may not seem significant to some readers, but it is to me. Ten to twenty thousand could constitute “many thousands,” while “ten thousands” is a minimum of twenty, but is more likely to be forty to fifty thousand or more.

Believers sometimes ask why more Jews did not believe in Jesus. According to James, tens of thousands of Jews believed in Jerusalem alone. In the first century, the population of Jerusalem probably did not exceed 100,000 people. The population probably swelled to twice that number during the feasts and is reported to have reached over 500,000 during the Roman siege. Therefore, there is evidence from the statement of James that a quarter to half of the Jews living in Jerusalem believed in Jesus as the Messiah. This argument flies in the face of conventional wisdom which states that the Jews as a whole rejected Jesus. I think that is one reason why the ESV and KJV play down the number of believers in the statement of James.

If 50,000 believers lived in Jerusalem, it must have been quite a service on the Temple Mount each Shabbat. No wonder James was concerned about the effect Paul would have on the assembly in Jerusalem when he came to the city. What a shock it must have been when all these people were driven from assembling at the Temple Mount after the death of James in 62 AD. Even through this tragic event, many believers still remained in Jerusalem until sometime during the Jewish revolt (66-70 AD).

Yeshua warned believers “when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city,” (Luke 21:20). According to Eusebius, these Jewish believers did leave Jerusalem when the Roman army temporarily pulled back from the city in 69 AD after the death of Nero, as the LORD provided a way of escape.

Scott

LORD and Master

Often individuals who met Jesus are said to address him as “Lord.” The New Testament Greek word is “Kurios,” and is sometimes translated as “Sir,” such as “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet,” (John 4:19) and “Sir, come down before my child dies,” (John 4:49). Kurios is also translated as "Master," a term frequently used by Peter, “Master, it is good for us to be here,” (Luke 9:33). In ancient Greece, kurios was applied to the master of a woman since women were not considered citizens in Greek society. So why do the English translators most often render the term as “Lord?”

In the Hebrew text, the most holy name of God is spelled YHWH. The Name is translated into English using all capital letters as “LORD.” When the Name was translated into the Greek Septuagint around 130 BC, the Hebrew authors chose the word “Kurios” for “LORD.” Since the New Testament Kurios was not YHVH, the King James translators rendered Kurios as “LORD” in only four passages: Matt 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, and Acts 2:34. The NASU translators were a little better translating Kurios as LORD when the passage is a direct quotation from the Hebrew text. Unfortunately, the NASU translated every letter of every word of the quotation in capital letters elevating the common words to the level of the most Holy Name and presenting the quotations as superior to New Testament scripture.

Further, the NASU translators failed to render Kurios as LORD where passages allow for this translation, as in “the angel of the Lord,” (Matt 2:19) and ”I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” (Matt 11:25). The NIV translators were no better. They consistently translated Kurios as “Lord” and I have not found an example in the NIV where the word is rendered as LORD. Even direct quotations from the Old Testament, referring to both the Father and the Son, do not make the appropriate distinction, as in, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” (Matt 22:44). This is perplexing since the original passage in the NIV reads, “The LORD says to my Lord,” (Psa 110:1). Why was this passage not rendered in the New Testament as it is written in the Old Testament?

At best, the English translators are inconsistent in their rendering of Kurios. At worst, the translators are deliberately allowing their theological bias to affect their rending of scripture. Translating Kurios as “Lord” for both the Father and Son introduces a level of uncertainly into scripture and violates the pattern of Jesus who made a distinction between the Father and the Son, (Luke 18:19). A better rendering of Matthew 22:44 would be, “The LORD said to my Master…” At least the King James Version made an attempt to distinguish between the Father and Son by translating the passage as, “The LORD said unto my Lord.”

Always translating Kurios as “Lord,” making no distinction in the New Testament between the Father and Son, may be a veiled attempt by the translators to increase the reader’s perception of the diety of Jesus. However, the student of the Bible needs no such validation. He already appreciates that the balance of scripture is sufficient on its own merit to establish the relationship of Jesus and the LORD.

Are you sufficiently confused? It is not surprising and you are not alone. In passages that refer to God the Father, Kurios would be best rendered as “LORD,” while in references to Jesus, Kurios would be better rendered “Master,” as in “ Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets,” (Luke 5:5). Each reader should understand this distinction to show ourselves “approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth,” (2 Tim 2:15).

Scott

The Spirit of God

Consider this to be Part II on the Prophets, with emphasis on the gift of the Spirit. I wanted to capture some of the thoughts from a recent lesson. You will see some duplication with the previous article. Here goes...

The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Num 11:16-17)

It is unclear from scripture when it happened. It may have occurred at the burning bush or maybe during his 40 days with the LORD on Mount Sinai. At one of these encounters, the LORD placed His Spirit on Moses. The Spirit was present at creation and had interacted with mankind since that time, but Moses is apparently the first person in scripture to receive the Spirit from the LORD in this manner. The giving of the Spirit follows the failure of the people to come forward at Mount Sinai and have fellowship with the LORD. The original plan of the LORD had been to speak directly with the people,

“’I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you’…And then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people,’” (Ex 19:9-11)

The people consecrated themselves and on the morning of the third day the LORD descended down on to Mount Sinai. However,

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’” (Ex 20:18-20).

The writer of Hebrews recounts the story in this way,

“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.’ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’" (Heb 12:18-21)

Although Moses encouraged the people to approach the mountain, the people would not come forward to have fellowship with the LORD. The responsibility then fell on Moses to be the representative of the people before the LORD and to communicate to the people the words of the LORD.

“At that time I (Moses) stood between the LORD and you (Israel) to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.” (Deut 5:5).

Since the people would not approach the mountain to receive the word of the LORD, the LORD told Moses, “Go, tell them (Israel) to return to their tents. But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess”. (Deut 5:30-31). The failure of the people to establish a personal relationship with the LORD, established Moses as the mediator between the LORD and the people. The people then came to believe in Moses as the representative of God, as it is written, “they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses,” (Ex 14:31). Following the pattern first established by Moses (Deut 18:15), believers are called to “believe in God, believe also in Me (Jesus),” (John 14:1).

What God intended to speak and write on the hearts of each Israelite at Mount Sinai became written on tables of stone delivered to Moses. This arrangement fell short of God’s original plan for the people, a plan that would be delayed until the words spoken by Jeremiah are completely fulfilled.

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, form the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer 331:34).

THE PROLIFERATION OF THE SPIRIT THROUGH HISTORY

When Moses became weary from leading the people, the LORD told him to gather seventy elders of Israel and bring them to the Tent of Meeting to stand before the LORD. The LORD then came down and took from the Spirit that was on Moses and placed the Spirit on each of the seventy individuals. The Bible further tells us that two individuals of the seventy, Eldad and Medad, did not come to the gathering at the Tent of Meeting, but remained in the camp. Traditional commentary suggests that these individuals were too humble to feel worthy of the Spirit being placed on them. Although we do not know if this was the specific reason for their absence, righteousness flowing from humility was the primary prerequisite to qualify an individual for receiving the Spirit.

“Yet, the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp…Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’ But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit on them!’” (Num 11:26-29)

Paul would make a similar statement to the church at Corinth. “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy,” (1 Cor 14:1).

The distributing of the Spirit from Moses to the seventy elders was seen as the lighting of seventy candles from the flame of Moses. The other seventy received the Spirit, but the act did not diminish the Spirit that was on Moses. Through the action of the LORD, seventy-one individuals were now endowed with the Spirit. Although many believers hold to an opinion that the Spirit was only given after the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, scripture tells us that the same Spirit in believers was the Spirit placed on the seventy-one men of Israel. The apostle Paul tells us that the people of Israel were…

“all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:2-4)

Peter confirms this fact by telling us that the prophets “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Pet 1:21), which is the “Spirit of Christ,” (1 Pet 1:11).

Near the conclusion of his life, Moses would place his hand on Joshua and the son of Nun was “filled with the spirit of wisdom,” (Deut 34:9). The seventy would also lay their hands on righteous individuals who would follow in their footsteps. In this way, the LORD provided an unbroken chain of men and woman who received the Spirit to speak the word of the LORD to the nation of Israel from the time of Moses (1300 BC) until the Babylonian exile (600 BC). Just prior to the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel was given a vision of the glory of the LORD leaving the temple (Ezek 10:18). The vision of Ezekiel is understood to mark the beginning of the end of the prophetic word for the nation of Israel. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the minor prophets concluding with Malichi, all speak during the period just prior to or during the time of the Babylonian exile. As a consequence, these prophets are not only given the word for their generation, but also the word for the generations of Israel yet to come.

THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT FOR RECEIVING THE SPIRIT

The gift of the Spirit was not arbitrarily conveyed by God upon men, but was the crowning of an individual who had obtained an exceptionally high level of spiritual growth. To receive the Spirit, a prophet had to achieve and maintain an extremely high level of righteousness and few people ever reached this objective. It is no coincidence that Moses, the first man on whom the Spirit was placed, was also the most humble man on the face of the earth, (Num 12:3), a characteristic also found in Jesus, (Matt 11:29). This level of spiritual growth often required many years to achieve. Moses was over eighty years old when the Spirit was placed upon him. The process was loosely defined in the Hebraic traditions of the Talmud as follows:

“Zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness to ritual purity, ritual purity to self-control, self-control to holiness, holiness to humility, humility to fear of sin, fear of sin to saintliness, and saintliness to the Holy Spirit.” (Sot. IX:15) (Everyman’s Talmud, “Revelation,”T page 121)

The standard of righteousness did not change at the beginning of the first century AD. Men and women were still required to achieve a high level of personal righteousness before the gift of the Spirit would come upon them. At the beginning of the New Testament, Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesized at the birth of John (Luke 1:67-79), and Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit upon hearing the greeting of Mary, (Luke 1:41). Luke records that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon (Luke 2:25), who was moved by the Spirit to prophesize over the Christ child (Luke 2:34-35). The Holy Spirit also came upon Mary (Luke 1:35) at the pronouncement of the angel Gabriel. The knowledge that these individuals received the Spirit tells us a great deal about their personal character, a fact further substantiated by Luke.

Zechariah and Elizabeth: “Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.” (Luke 1:6)
•Simeon: “There was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.” (Luke 2:25)
•Joseph and Mary: They did everything required by the Law of the Lord (Luke 2:39)

Later, the Lord chose the Apostle Paul, in part, based on his standard of personal righteousness, “as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless,” (Phil 3:5).

The sequence in the baptism of Jesus further supports this principle. Although Jesus was sinless, his baptism was required “to fulfill all righteousness,” (Matt 3:15). The statement of Jesus is puzzling and it is unclear what righteousness the act of baptism fulfilled. Jesus may have been setting an example for future believers, John may have been anointing Jesus as king like David had been by Samuel, or Jesus may have been preparing for his role as our High Priest since all priests were required to be baptized before entering the temple to offer sacrifice. Whatever the specific reason, the act fulfilled all righteousness.

Immediately after being baptized, the heavens were opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting upon Jesus demonstrating that “all righteousness” had been achieved. John testified to this event by saying, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him,” (John 1:32). Two addition aspects of Jesus’ baptism should be noted. First, the Spirit came down from heaven and “descended on him (Jesus),” (Luke 3:21), which typified the pattern of Moses and all the prophets that followed.

Second, John tells us that he saw the Spirit “remain on him (Jesus).” In the Hebrew text, the external dwelling of the Spirit “upon” individuals is somewhat analogous to a coat that can be put on or taken off an individual. The continued dwelling of the Spirit on any individual required that a continuous state of righteousness be maintained by the individual. If an individual failed to maintain the necessary state of righteousness, the Spirit would depart, as happened in the case of Saul (1 Sam 16:14). David was also concerned about the Spirit leaving after his sin with Bathsheba, as he cried out to the LORD, “do not take Your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psa 51:11). The fact that the Holy Spirit would “remain” on Jesus is a testimony to the complete righteousness of his life.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE BELIEVER THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

In the past, I wondered if this statement indicated some type of cosmic anomaly that prevented Jesus from being on the earth after the Spirit had been poured out on mankind. Otherwise, why was it necessary for Jesus to go away or else the helper would not come? My error was to focus on the going away and not the redemptive act that proceeded the departure of Jesus. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus had been present in the temple on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles when the priest pours water onto the altar requesting rain for the land (Zech 14:16-17). Jesus used this opportunity to proclaim to the people in a loud voice,

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)

John makes it clear that it was not the departure of Jesus, but the glorification of Jesus that made the coming of the Spirit possible. The standard of righteousness required for the dwelling of the Spirit had not changed. For the Spirit to be poured out on the day of Pentecost, it was first necessary for individuals to become righteous. Without righteousness, the Spirit cannot come to dwell upon an individual. Believers became righteous, not because of their own merit, but because of the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, as it is written,

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21)

After the redemptive work of Jesus, men and woman became eligible to receive the Spirit, not because of their own righteousness, but because they received righteousness by trusting in the one who is righteous. In this way, Gentiles have access to the promises given to Abraham through faith.

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal 3:14)

Believers have been given an incredible gift, the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God. Up until the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, men and women spent their entire life striving under their own ability to achieve a level of righteousness necessary to receive the Spirit. A few achieved the necessary level of righteousness, but only after many years and then there was no certainty that the Spirit would remain. The dwelling of the Spirit could still be lost if a person’s righteousness faltered.

Up until the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, the Spirit was primarily said to dwell “upon” an individual. After the cross, the Spirit is primarily said to dwell “within” an individual, (Rom 8:9)(1 Cor 3:16). The distinction is important because it establishes a greater permanency of the Spirit in a believer’s life than was possible before the cross. Dwelling “upon” a person was somewhat analogous to an article of clothing that could be put on or taken off. After the cross, the Spirit is seen as indwelling a person like the heart or liver, which cannot easily be removed.

The indwelling of the Spirit is difficult, if not impossible, when the indwelling relies on the personal righteousness of the individual apart from Christ. With a profession of faith that comes from trusting in Jesus, the righteousness of a believer no longer depends on personal merit, but on the one whose righteousness will never fail. The Spirit then becomes a deposit “guaranteeing what is to come,” (2 Cor 1:22), that is, “guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession,” (Eph 1:14). Since the righteousness of Jesus will never fail, the Spirit will never depart, provided a believer’s faith in Jesus remains steadfast.

THE HELPER ENABLES US TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” (Ezek 36:27)

Before the cross, the Spirit was given to individuals who had demonstrated a righteous life in obedience to the commandments. After the cross, the Spirit is given to enable believers to walk in obedience to the commandments of God. Before the cross, the ability of an individual to live a righteous life was based entirely on the individual. After the cross, an individual is still called to a walk of obedience, but is given a “Helper,” (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7), like Adam (Gen 2:20), to enable the believer to “walk as Jesus did,” (1 John 2:6). Like the wife of our youth, the individual should cleave to the Spirit, and not grieve the Spirit (Eph 4:30), less our prayers be hindered, (1 Pet 3:7). In the words of Paul, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Gal 5:16)

In the words of Peter, believers have been granted “His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature,” (2 Pet 1:4). Through the promises of God we have been granted the gift of the Spirit in order to act in a manner that Peter defines in the verses that immediately follow.

Now for this very reason, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your .knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom will be abundantly supplied to you. (2 Peter 1:5-8 & 11)

The Bible has an extensive list of how the Spirit enables us in our walk in obedience to the will of the LORD. Among His many roles, the Spirit:

•Convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and of the coming judgment (John 16:8-11)
•Searches the depths of God (1 Cor 2:10)
•Informs believers of things freely given to us by God (1 Cor 2:12)
•Intercedes for believers in prayer (Rom 8:26)
•Directs the steps of believers (Acts 8:29)(Acts 9:17)(Acts 10:19)
•Reveals future events (1 Tim 4:1)(Rev 1:10)
•Is a witness to the salvation of the believer (Rom 8:16)

The Spirit is said to be “the Spirit of truth” who…

Will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:13-15)

In Scripture, the “truth” is analogous to the word of God, as it is written,
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth,” (John 17:17)
“He brought us forth by the word of truth,” (James 1:18)
“Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov 1:23)

Paul defined the source of scripture as “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” (2 Tim 3:16-17). In scripture, the breath of God is associated with the Spirit of God (John 20:22) and with the life sustaining spirit in man that comes from God, (Gen 2:7). Spirit, wind, and breath, all derive from the same Hebrew root word, “ruach.” Therefore, the statement of Paul could loosely be translated as “All Scripture is God Spirit.”

In the New Testament, the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which is traditionally the same day that Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the original Ten Commandments, the word of God. When the Bible proclaims that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23), the Bible understands this worship to be in accordance with the word of God enabled by the Spirit.

Although most believers want to focus on the more glamorous gifts of the Spirit, such as healing, a primary role of the Spirit is to communicate the word of God to the believer. He did this first through the prophets and now through the word contained in the Bible. In this role, the Spirit never seeks to glorify Himself, but to bring glory to Jesus Christ by taking what Jesus said and making those words known to the believer, (John 16:14-15). In effect, the Spirit is acting after the pattern established by the LORD who took from Moses and distributed the Spirit upon the seventy elders of Israel. In a similar manner, the Spirit takes from Jesus and makes it known to believers.


THE MEASURES OF THE SPIRIT

He gave to the wind its weight, (Job 28:25)

Since the words for wind and Spirit can be interchanged, the Old Testament commentators often understood this passage in Job to say, “He gave the Spirit by measure.” In other words, not every individual received the same measure of the Spirit. The quintessential example is the request of Elisha to receive a double portion of the Spirit that was on Elijah, (2 Kings 2:9). The statement of Elisha implies that differing measures of the Spirit are possible and since Elisha saw Elijah when he was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, we understand that the request of Elisha was granted.

In relationship to Jesus, the Scripture tells us,

"For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34)

Again, the scripture implies that the Spirit is given in measure, but in relation to Jesus, the Spirit was given “without measure.” Often, believers hold to a position that the source of Jesus’ miracles and teachings came from the “God portion” of His being. However, the apostle Paul tells us of Jesus…

Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:6-9)

By saying that Jesus “emptied Himself,” Paul understands that the source of Jesus’ miracles and the teachings He delivered did not originate from the “God portion” of His being. Jesus emptied Himself of this aspect of His nature when He humbled Himself by becoming a man. If Jesus elected to not rely on His God nature, what became the source of His power to minister and perform miracles? When Isaiah prophesized of the coming of the Messiah he said,

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isa 11:2)

Luke confirms the promises of Isaiah as he wrote,

about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. (Acts 1:1-2)

The knowledge that Jesus accomplished His work on the earth through the Spirit becomes empowering to the believer because we also have access to the same Spirit through the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. Yes, we are just human, but “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,” (James 5:17). These words of James are intended communicate that each believer has access to the same power as Elijah and is capable of accomplishing works after the pattern of Elijah. So why don’t we?

The ability of any believer to perform the works of God is proportional to the “power” of the Spirit within the believer. In the words of Paul, Christ Jesus “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,” (Eph 3:20). The power that works within us is the Spirit and the works that Jesus can perform through the believer are directly related to the power of the Spirit within the believer. When we “grieve” the Spirit (Eph 4:30), we diminish the ability of the Spirit to work through us. However, when a believer is “filled with the Spirit,” (Eph 5:18), then Jesus is able to do above and beyond all that we ask for or even consider.

Grieving of the Spirit is caused by, among other acts, “unwholesome talk…bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice,” (Eph 4.29&31). If grieving the Spirit is possible through the actions of a believer, it would follow that a greater filling of the Spirit is also possible through the actions of the believer. The filling of the Spirit becomes possible through increasing obedience to the commandments of God.

In the parable of the talents, it is the disobedient servant who only received a single talent in the beginning. Is it just a coincidence that the man who was faithless received the fewest talents to work with or is it a pattern we should appreciate? The servant who received five talents and the servant who received two talents were rewarded for their faithfulness with a doubling of their talents. In addition, the single talent from the faithless servant was given to the one who already had ten talents. “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away,” (Matt 25:29).

The more righteous our actions, the greater the measure of the Spirit that will be entrusted to us following the principle,

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much,” (Luke 16:10).

Every believer has the ability to increase the measure of the Spirit working in their life through faithfulness demonstrated by obedience to the commandments. Just as there was a path to receive the Spirit in the Old Testament, there is a path to a greater fullness of the Spirit in the New Testament. In the words of Peter,

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16)

The believer is made holy through the precious and atoning blood of Jesus Christ. The believer is then called to live a life reflective of holiness. This life becomes possible because we have been given the Spirit of truth, a helper to aid us in our walk to become more like Christ.

Scott

The Coming of The Prophets

The appearing of the prophets became necessary when the people of Israel failed to approach the mountain and have direct fellowship with the LORD at Mount Sinai. The ultimately fulfillment of the LORD’S plan was delayed by the failure of the people (Heb 8:7) until a future time spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, (Jer 31:31-34). As close as the prophets came to know the LORD, no subsequent Old Testament prophet achieved the same relationship with the LORD as Moses, (Num 12:6-8).

The prophets who followed Moses did not speak with the LORD in the same manner as Moses, “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend,” (Ex 33:11). As a result, the responsibility of these prophets was to reiterate, magnify, and clarify the words given by Moses (2 Pet 3:2), but the prophets were not given the authority to add or subtract from the original words. Moses cautioned those who followed him by saying, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you,” (Deut 4:2, 12:32). A similar warning was spoken by Solomon who said, “Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar,” (Prov 30:6).

The apostle John offered this warning in the Book of Revelations, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book,” (Rev 22:18-19). Although John’s warning appears specific to the Book of Revelations, this principle remains true from the time of Moses. In the words of Solomon, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun,” (Eccl 1:9).

Only once in scripture does Jesus refer to a commandment as new when he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another,” (John 13:34). Yet, this commandment is simply a variation of the original commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev 19:18). Jesus identified the two greatest commandments as “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37)(Deut 6:5) and “Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt 22:39)(Lev 19:18). These commandments were not new when Jesus spoke them, but originate in the teachings of Moses, as it is written, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” (Matt 22:40). Therefore, it follows that the words of the prophets and the words of the apostles, given as the believer’s foundation (Eph 2:20), are build on the original revelation from the LORD spoken at Mount Sinai. Otherwise, the prophets and apostles would be found to violate the words of the LORD given through Moses (Deut 4:2, 12:32).

THE ROLE OF THE PROPHETS

The responsibility of the prophets is reinforced at the beginning of the first book of prophecy where Joshua told the people, “ Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful where ever you go,” (Josh 1:7). The last book of prophecy concludes with a similar statement from Malichi, “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel,” (Mal 4:4). The beginning and ending of the prophetic books are seen to frame the purpose of the prophets; to reinforce the teachings of Moses.

The apostles tell us that the role of the prophets was to search “intently and with the greatest care” (1 Pet 1:10), to uncover the deep mysteries that were already contained in the teachings of Moses, but “hidden for ages and generations,” (Col 1:26)(Rom 16:25). Jesus likened this process to “the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old,” (Matt 13:52). In this statement of Jesus, the new treasures come from the same house as the old treasures. Further, Jesus validates the continuing importance of Moses’ words by saying, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matt 5:18).

For most believers, the idea that the apostolic text is given to magnify and clarify the words of Moses is a foreign concept. After all, where do we find many of the principles of our faith revealed in the words of Moses? For example, where is the concept of the resurrection of the dead revealed by Moses? Jesus faced this question from the Sadducees who limited the inspired word to the original five books of Moses and saw no evidence of the resurrection. The Pharisees did believe in the resurrection, but found their strongest evidences in the prophetic statements of the prophets, such as Daniel, who said, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt,” (Dan 12:2).

To demonstrate their disbelief in the resurrection, the Sadducees developed the story of a woman who had seven husbands over the course of her life. They used this story to pose a question to Jesus, “At the resurrection whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” (Matt 22:28). First, it is important to note that the response of Jesus does not come from the prophets, but from the Torah to demonstrate that the concept of the resurrection existed in the original writings of Moses. “Have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matt 22:31-32). Second, Jesus uses the opportunity to validate another concept in the Torah that gains clarity in the prophets; the existence of angels, (Matt 22:30). Although the concepts of angels and the resurrection of the dead gain significant clarity in the prophets, Jesus demonstrated that the original concepts exist in the Torah. As it turns out, Daniel was only magnifying what already was communicated by Moses.

THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PROPHET

According to Hebraic tradition, there were twice as many prophets as Israelites who left Egypt or over a million prophets in the 800 years from the time of Moses until the end of the first temple period. This number probably represented less than one percent of the Israelites who lived during this period. Most of these remained unnamed in scripture like the seven thousand in the days of Elijah who had “not bowed the knee to Baal,” (1 Kings 19:18)(Rom 11:4). Of all the prophets who prophesized, the Jewish text only records the words of forty-eight men and seven women. The words of these individuals have been preserved because they spoke to future generations, in addition to their own. The forty-eight included the patriarchs and other outstanding personalities in the Bible. The seven prophetesses are Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Ester.

The term “prophet” comes from the Hebrew word “navi,” which means “one who speaks on behalf or before God.” The earlier prophets were often called “seers,” (1 Sam 9:19), because they were granted a deeper insight which enabled them to provide spiritual and practical guidance to the people. When Saul lost his donkeys, he went to Samuel for assistance because Samuel was a “seer,” (1 Sam 9:19). Samuel told Saul, “As for the donkey you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found,” (1 Sam 19:20). Saul came to Samuel because prophets assisted people in their everyday lives. In the case of Saul, God used the lost donkeys to send him to Samuel (1 Sam 9:16), so Samuel could anoint Saul as king.

Prophecy was not a gift arbitrarily conveyed by God upon men, but the crowning of an individual who had obtained an exceptionally high level of spiritual growth. The priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, were both given the gift of prophecy because they were “upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly,” (Luke 1:6). The man Simeon was able to prophesy over the Christ child on the eight day after his birth because Simeon was “righteous and devout,” (Luke 2:25). In a similar manner, Anna also was able to prophesy over the child because she “worshipped night and day, fasting and praying,” (Luke 2:37). Consistent with these examples, Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus, not because Paul persecuted the church, many people did, but because Paul was found to be righteous and “faultless” on the basis of the Law (Phil 3:5).

The gift of prophecy is only possible through a person who has received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, (1 Pet 1:11)(2 Pet 1:21). Moses became a prophet (Deut 18:18) through the power of the Spirit of God that rested on him (Num 11:17). In a similar manner, the word of God came through Jesus because the Spirit of God (Act 1:2) descended on him when he was baptized by John (Matt 3:16-17). The LORD took part of the Spirit that rested on Moses and placed the Spirit on seventy of Israel’s elders who were known to be leaders and officials among the people (Num 11:16-17). This transmission was understood to be analogous to the lighting of one candle by another. The flame of the first is not diminished by the lighting of the second candle. Following this pattern, the Spirit of God was transmitted without degradation from one righteous person to another, and from one generation to another through the generation of those who witnessed the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:26).

To receive the anointing of the Spirit in the Jewish text, a person had to achieve a level of righteousness that far exceeded that of the average Israelite. The understood process is quoted in Everyman’s Talmud as follows:

“Zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness to ritual purity, ritual purity to self-control, self-control to holiness, holiness to humility, humility to fear of sin, fear of sin to saintliness, and saintliness to the Holy Spirit.” (Sot. IX:15) (Everyman’s Talmud, “Revelation,”T page 121)

The process outlined in the Talmud closely follows the words given by Peter to make our “calling and election sure,” (2 Pet 1:10).

Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness , 7 and in your godliness , brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:5-8)

What level of righteousness is required to receive the gift of prophecy? The righteousness of the prophets is reflected in the life of the earliest prophet to have his words recorded in scripture, Enoch (Jude 12). In addition to the words recorded by Jude, Enoch named his son Methuselah, which translates, “when he dies it will come.” The “it” was the flood that came in the same year Methuselah died. As a testimony to the righteousness of Enoch, the Bible tells us that “Enoch walked with God: then he was no more, because God took him away,” (Gen 5:23). Enoch, along with the prophet Elijah, are the only two individuals in scripture who were translated directly into the presence of the LORD without experiencing death.

Paul instructed believers to specifically desire the gift of prophecy. “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy,” (1 Cor 14:1). In addition to the benefits of strengthening, encouraging, and comforting, (1 Cor 14:3), the gift of prophecy obligates the believer to achieve a high level of righteousness following the path described by Peter (2 Pet 1:5-8) and elsewhere in scripture. One of the principle reasons the church lacks prophecy in the present age originates from the deficiency of personal righteousness in most believers. Although we receive righteousness from Jesus, we fail to walk in a manner that is “spotless and blameless,” (2 Pet 3:10), the standard Jesus desires for us.

To achieve the required level of righteousness, prophets tended to be the sons, daughters, or disciples of a prophet (1 Kings 20:35). When a father’s name is mentioned in scripture along with the prophet, tradition holds that the father was also a prophet such as, “Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo,” (Zech 1:1). John the Baptist was the son of Zachariah who prophesized at his birth. Amos stands as an exception to the rule since he “was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Amos 7:14).

Most prophets were disciples of a prophet, a precursor to the pattern of Jesus and his disciples. Elijah and Elisha are the primary example in scripture of this relationship. Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen when “Elijah came up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah,” (1 Kings 19:19-20). The calling and proper response of Elisha are alluded to by the words of Jesus, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” (Luke 9:62). Elisha did not again put his hand to the plow, but left his oxen and remained a disciple until he saw Elijah carried up to heaven by the chariots and horsemen of Israel, (2 Kings 2:12).

The process of elevating a person’s righteousness to the level necessary to receive the prophetic revelation often required many years. For this reason, prophets tended to be older individuals who achieved the necessary level of righteousness over the course of their lives. Moses, the principle prophet of the nation of Israel, was close to eighty years old when he encountered the LORD at the burning bush. This is one of the reasons why “the crowds were amazed” at the teaching of Jesus. At the young age of only thirty years, “He was teaching as one having authority,” (Matt 7:28). The chief priests and the elders did not understand and wanted to know where Jesus had received this authority, (Matt 21:23). At thirty years old, (Luke 3:23), Jesus was simply too young to have achieved such wisdom and spiritual power.

The prophecy of Joel sited by Peter (Acts 2:17) is significant because of the age when people will prophesize.

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions,” (Joel 2:28).

When “young men” see visions and “sons and daughters” prophesy, the normal process to becoming a prophet has been accelerated through a special outpouring of the Spirit.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPHECY

Once the nation entered into the land of Israel, no person came to be a prophet who was born outside the land of Israel. A person born in the land could prophesize outside the land, such as Jonah did for Ninevah and Daniel did in Babylon. However, a person could not be born outside of the land and become a prophet for the nation. Because of this requirement, prophecy greatly diminished for the nation of Israel in the days following the Babylonian captivity as the generation born in Israel passed away. Prior to the exile, Ezekiel witnessed the departure of the Holy Spirit from Israel, (Ezek 10:18-19). The departure of the Spirit was the principle indication that prophecy was coming to an end.

There is a tradition that Jonah fled over the ocean to escape the prophetic utterances of God. Although Jonah understood that God is everywhere, he reasoned that he could avoid the continued calling of the LORD to go to Nineveh if he traveled on the sea since there had been no record of God speaking to prophets at sea. As it turned out, God did not speak to Jonah on the waters. It was Jonah who spoke to God. The LORD heard and delivered the prophet through a whale that spew Jonah onto dry land. Jonah’s concern was proved true; Nineveh did repent and God subsequently judged Israel for their unrepentant heart. Jesus used the story of Nineveh to proclaim the coming judgment on another generation of unrepentant hearts. “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here,” (Luke 11:32).

Even when a prophet was born in the land of Israel, and had achieved a personnel level of righteousness, he might be prevented from prophesying because of the faithlessness of the community. The story of Jesus’ inability to perform miracles in Nazareth is a testimony to this fact, as it is written,

“He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith,” (Matt 13:57).

“To prepare the way for the Lord,” (Matt 3:3), the LORD sent John the Baptist to “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” (Luke 1:17). Without John to prepare the way, the hearts of the people would not have been open to receive the miracles of Jesus and the message of the kingdom.


MAINTAINING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY

It was understood that a prophet could lose the gift of prophecy if he failed to maintain the level of righteousness necessary to sustain the gift. Although the Spirit of God had been given to Saul (1 Sam 11:6), the Spirit departed (1 Sam 16:13), after Saul sinned by not completely destroying the Amalekites as the LORD had commanded, (1 Sam 15:2-3). David cried out to the LORD, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psa 51:11), after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. The apostle Paul warned the believer,

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph 4:30-31).

Although each believer is given the gift of the Spirit, the effective work of the Spirit within us is directly related to the righteousness we maintain in our walk. We are “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” (Eph 3:20). The statement of Paul offers limitless possibilities that are limited when a life is filled by acts of bitterness, rage, anger, and the like outlined by Paul. Further, we can be assured that no person can be a prophet of the Lord if their life does not reflect the righteousness associated with the prophetic gift.

Humility can be considered a subset of the righteousness required of a prophet. Moses was considered to be the greatest prophet of the Jewish people, while at the same time, “The man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth,” (Num 12:3). Following the pattern of Moses, Jesus was “gentle and humble in heart,” (Matt 11:29). As James has written, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble,” (James 4:6).

As a prophet received greater and greater revelations, it probably became increasingly difficult to maintain the proper level of humility. To maintain a level of humility and maintain purity, prophets frequently “went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,” (Heb 11:37). The wearing of these garments also reflected a disassociation of the world by the prophet. It is difficult to maintain a high level of righteousness while constantly living in a sinful world. For this reason, the life of a prophet was often a lonely experience leading Elijah to believe, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too,” (1 Kings 19:10).

The LORD allowed the prophets to be persecuted and mistreated, (Heb 11:37), to demonstrate their faithfulness and to maintain their humility. In the case of Paul, a thorn in the flesh was given, “to keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations,” (2 Cor 12:7). In keeping with his own humility, Paul often referred to himself as “the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God,” (1 Cor 15:9).

THE END OF PROPHECY

There remains some question about the role of prophecy in the present age. We understand from scripture that prophecy continued to exist during the early church (Acts 21:10) and we accept the Book of Revelations as the pinnacle of prophetic utterances. Further, a time is coming when all prophecy will be completed, as Paul has written,

If there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. (1 Cor 13:8-10)

The words of Paul imply that prophecy will be done away with “when the perfect comes,” but what is “the perfect?” The meaning of the phrase “the perfect” has been the subject of debate for centuries. However, if the function of prophecy is to clarify and magnify the Torah, as was stately earlier, then it follows that prophecy will be done away with when men come to possess a perfect understanding of the Torah. This opportunity occurred at Mount Sinai, but the people were afraid to approach the mountain to have a personal relationship with the LORD. Yet the LORD is a God of second chances and Jeremiah prophesized of a future time when the word of God will be taught by the Creator Himself and written on the hearts of men.

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jer 31:33-34)

The initial fulfillment of this prophecy began with the life of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Yet, believers have not reached a complete and perfect understanding of God’s word and we still are asking our brothers and neighbors to help us understand passages in the Bible.

There is a time coming when the Living Word (Torah) will return to the earth at the second appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At that time,

“Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isa 2:3-4).

When the LORD teaches us, we will have no further need of prophecy because the Perfect will be our teacher to lead us into a perfect understanding of the Torah. According to Everyman’s Talmud, “When everybody is obedient to the commandments; there will be no further need for the prophetic exhortations which were only intended for a sinful world and not the era of perfection to be inaugurated by the Messiah,” (Chapter Revelation, page 124).

Does this mean that prophecy can exist before the Perfect comes? Prophecy can and will exist before the return of Jesus. Look no further than the two witnesses in the Book of Revelations who are said to prophesize (Rev 11:6). There also remains the second fulfillment of the words of Joel,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

However, until that day, prophecy will be greatly diminished because of the limited righteousness of individuals called to prophesy and the faithlessness of those to whom the prophecy would be directed.

Scott