Bible Study Seattle

“Honor Christ by submitting to each other.”  Ephesians 5:21

To modern ears, this sounds like, “everyone submit to everyone else with no particular distinction.”  It sounds like old can submit to young, husbands can submit to wives, parents can submit to kids; a little like the lyrics to the love child days: “Let everyone love one another right now…”

But this is not the intention.  The proof is in the following 12 verses.  A more accurate rendition to modern ears might be, “Honor Christ by submitting as you ought in your particular relationships.”  Verses 22-33 spell out what that looks like with bosses/employees, children/parents, husbands/wives, etc.  There is order in relationships, and not everyone is equal.  This is for our own good.  But Satan wants to upset the apple cart with the same lie that he used on Eve:  “If everyone just ‘loves’ one another you’ll be more free!  Don’t let that killjoy God enslave you saying you have to submit to your husband!  Be free!  Don’t let a man tell you what to do.  Get your own career; you can have it all!”  If only more churches would talk about these truths and Satan’s lies.

How is it that a person becomes part of Jesus’ priesthood?  The Aaronic priesthood was composed of Aaron and his sons and their descendants.  It appears that Jesus’ priesthood, or the Melchizedek priesthood started with the selection of Jesus as high priest, and the twelve apostles as under priests.  From there, the great commission netted many more priests.  Many think the total will eventually number 144,000, some think more.  What role does the next life have regarding priesthood?  Will the priests be involved in killing the wicked?

One of the most amazing things is how God reveals his truth.  Instead of giving us a prophecy or a ten page book that says, “I’m going to do X, Y, Z, then Q, ”  he gives us a book written over 4,000+ years that’s more than a thousand pages long.  That way, he can hide the truth in plain sight.  How many people have read the whole bible?  How many have read it enough times to see the interconnections?  How many can see past the logical inconsistencies of denominational creeds?  Even the apostles were surprised at what transpired in their day.  Will it be any different in ours?  Even the bible is vague enough that no one will know the whole truth ahead of time.  Yet it is specific enough that when things happen, the prophecies become obvious.

In order to fulfill prophecy, Jesus had to march into Jerusalem on Nisan 10th (the passover lamb was selected and inspected on the 10th) and be crucified Nisan 14th (the lamb was cooked at the end of the 14th and eaten so that the blood could be on the door frames the night of the 15th).  Three days and nights in the tomb brings us to a resurrection on Nisan 17th.  Whether the 17th was the first day of the week, or toward the end of the Sabbath, we don’t know.  Perhaps the uncertainty is by design.  Does the resurrection happen on the seventh day or the eighth?  This is a very interesting question.  We probably can’t know until it happens.  There will probably be a few surprises along the way!  This has implications for our current time as we are already in the beginning of the seventh millennium since Adam’s fall.

“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says YHWH.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”  Isaiah 66:23-24

This is after the great battle of God, referred to in Revelation:

“Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her.”  Revelation 18:8

The saints rejoice:

“And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goes up for ever and ever.”  Revelation 19:3

Forever and ever is not a good translation.  For ages and ages is better.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”  Psalm 100:4

How many of us is happy when we go to court?!  Yet we are to be happy going to the Lord’s court.  We can expect much better service and treatment than modern courtrooms!  No crazy fees to pay, and perfect, supernatural justice.  King Solomon saw this injustice in his day:

“I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!”  Eccesiastes 3:16   The superiority of YHWH’s courts was expressed 3,000 years ago:

“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”  Psalm 84:10

Most of the psalms were written by David, and he was a king!  He certainly knew a thing or two about courts and laws.  Many millions upon millions will go up to YHWH’s courts in Jerusalem in the future.  If they repent and forgive, they will be allowed to eat from the trees of life:

“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”  Ezekiel 47:12

“It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.”  Revelation 22:2

Are there any biblical principles to chores?  Yes.  I read a great piece the other day from thecolemines.com about a mom’s attitude toward chores:

“But as I got older and especially after I was grown and had moved out of my parent’s house, my mom shared with me her philosophy on not giving us chores.  And honestly, it was so sweet and heartfelt that as a mom, I can’t help but feel the exact same way.

She told me – “Hillary, the reason I have never given you chores is that, from where I sit, your job as a child is to BE a child.  To enjoy the simple things.  To play.  To laugh.  To have fun.  To enjoy this carefree state for as long as you can.  To focus on school and extracurriculars.  To find a hobby you love.  To encourage your passions in life.  To own the responsibility the world will throw at you even from a young age.  But not to throw more at you by creating mundane lists of things you need to “do” at home.”

Isn’t that awesome?  She let me and my sisters just BE and enjoy our youth.  She knew that there would be plenty of time for making beds, and setting tables, and washing clothes.”

She goes on to say that her kids ended up being great at doing chores.  Yet other moms have elaborate lists and incentives to goad on the children.  Why did the mom  in this article end up with such great kids?  Attitude!  Not technique.  If parents’ attitude toward chores is positive, the kids will pick that up.  If mom is trying to share her horrible burden, the kids will think its a horrible burden too.

“She finds wool and flax
    and busily spins it.
She is like a merchant’s ship,
    bringing her food from afar.
She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.”  Proverbs 31:13-15

The good wife is eager to do whatever chores she finds to do.  And in this modern age, chores can be simplified to an amazing degree.

One of my favorite passages is a little mysterious:

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him

Nightmares are somewhat common in children.  This author remembers an authority saying that nightmares decline after age seven.  (I couldn’t find a reference quickly).  If that’s true, it may be another way YHWH communicates his plan.  After seven days (thousand years), sin and death should be massively reduced.

Was the transfiguration a prophecy?

“Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.  As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.  Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”  The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”  And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”

Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready,”  Matthew 17:1-11

There’s a very heavy hint that this probably took place immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles.  Tabernacles starts five days after the Day of Atonement, which also doubles as the start of the Jubilee.  This author thinks that this scene of heavenly transformation is a foretaste of our heavenly condition in the Jubilee that starts just past half way through the Millennial reign of Christ.