Bible Study Seattle

Jesus will appear to all people together at some point.

“Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 40:5

And yet, Jesus will reveal himself first to the Jews.

“Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.  He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.  Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.”  Genesis 45:1-3

As soon as the antitypical priests and Levites have been completed, this happens.  Some of the world (Egyptians) overhear the commotion, but this particular revealing is for the Jews only.  They will need it.  This will enable them to handle what’s coming.  Namely the resurrection of their brothers and ancestors.  They would not be able to handle what’s next if Jesus didn’t do this.  Just as the brothers couldn’t handle going back to Jacob until they knew who Joseph was.

How could Jesus pick Judas?  The answer is that either Jesus didn’t know the future, or even if he did he obeyed his Father in selecting the twelve disciples.  It was later revealed to him that Judas would betray him.  “Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)  John 6:70-71  Jesus was not all-knowing: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  Matthew 24:36

Jonah was dismayed when the evil people of Nineveh repented of their deeds.

“But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”  Jonah 4:1-2

““Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.  And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.  And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’  But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.  But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’”  Luke 15:25-30

Jonah and the prodigal son (Israel) are offended when the Lord lets sinners off the hook.  Since they have restrained themselves to live a good life, they are offended when revelers get an easy slide.  Why be good if God is so gracious with sinners?  Why not indulge in the good life?  But they forget that there are rewards for living a good life.  Just because some apparently get off easy, they still will have to make up for their deeds.

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”  Exodus 32:1

Since Moses was so long before coming back… Jesus has also been a long time before coming back.  So the people made an idol.  A similar thing happened with Christians.  Since Jesus was so delayed coming back, they made elaborate church organizations, complete with popes who declared themselves the vicar of Christ.  This apostasy reached its height in the twelfth or thirteenth centuries.  The corruption got so bad that eventually reformers called attention to it.

“It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.  He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.”  Exodus 32:19-20

At the height of the commotion, Moses asked who would be willing to put down the insurrection.  The Levites rallied to the cause:

“Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.  He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’”  So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.  Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”  Exodus 32:25-29

Will God call on Christians to kill in an insurrection?  Will this be the case when the Lord comes,

“See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  Jude 1:14-15

““Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”  Revelation 19:17-18

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”. 1 John 4:1

One of the the great things about Christianity is that it invites testing.  Don’t just believe because someone says so, test the scriptures and spirits to see if they are true.  God appreciates those who earnestly seek him and the truth.

“The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.  Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”  Acts 17:10-11

The glorious manifestation epiphaneia seems quite like Moses and the people at Mount Sinai.  This is one instance where all the people saw the glory of the Lord together.  Moses is first called up the mountain for special instructions:

“In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.  When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.  Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel:  ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.  Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!”   Exodus 19:1-8

This opening sequence is reminiscent of Jesus’ first coming.  Jesus’ people or disciples promised to do what he commanded.  Then God sends his holy spirit for more than two days to consecrate the people:

“And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.  The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.  You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.  No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”  So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.  He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”  Exodus 19:8-15

After Jesus first coming and the intervening ministry of the Holy Spirit for more than two ‘days’, the second coming happens:

“So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.  And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.”  Exodus 19:16-17

Notice that it happened on the third day in the morning.  Notice also the very loud trumpet sound.  (Feast of trumpets?)  Then the people come near with Moses (Jesus) going back and forth up the mountain to receive instruction from God.

“Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.  When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.  The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.  Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.  Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.”  Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’”  Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth upon them.”  So Moses went down to the people and told them.”  Exodus 19:18-25

The Lord descending upon the mountain in fire is the Epiphaneia.  It’ll probably be like this:

“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”  Zechariah 14:4

After the epiphaneia comes the Jubilee Millennium where the people are instructed exactly how to live for the Lord.  Ultimately the people will be able to go up the mountain to meet the Lord without dying, but not until all sin has been blotted out.

Strong’s concordance Greek word #2015 is Epiphaneia.  It appears 6 times in the new testament.  It is commonly translated ‘appeared’.  Strong’s definition is:  often used by the Greeks of a glorious manifestation of the gods, and especially of their advent to help.   A comparison of texts reveals the particular meaning:

“that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time.”  1 Timothy 6:14-15  (Notice, ‘at the proper time’.  It was future for the disciples.)

“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.”  2 Thessalonians 2:8

“but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  1 Timothy 1:10  (Past tense?  Clearly death has not yet been abolished.)

“in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”  1 Timothy 4:8  (What day?)

“looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”  Titus 2:13

This particular epiphaneia or appearing did not happen 2000 years ago.  Clearly Paul and the other disciples were looking yet future to this event.  It is spoken of:

“Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 40:5

If we are to keep the commandment until his appearing, it includes not only our present life, but our resurrected life.  For all must be resurrected before his glorious appearing if we are to see it together.  This appearing will happen at the day of Atonement.  It will indeed be a glorious manifestation when Israel desperately needs the help!

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11 All people want to avoid death.  We would prefer to live forever.  But Satan has used this weakness to craft false doctrines and beliefs.  The first instance of this is in Genesis: “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”  Genesis 3:4 Sure enough, Adam & Eve did not die that very day.  Later, this morphed into the false doctrine that only the body dies but not the soul.  Then it was further twisted into the doctrine of eternal torment in hell.  There may be hell, but it’s not eternal!  Later yet, the doctrine was introduced that all eternity is based on the first life alone.  That essentially neutered the correct doctrine of universal ressurection.  Throughout the centuries churches have used the negative motivation, “Believe or burn in hell!”  What an abomination to God!  In more recent times some groups have seen the error of the doctrine of immortality of the soul and hell, but they have fallen back into the trap.  They say that the little flock (the true church) is so faithful as to get immortality upon resurrection.  This can create a pharisaically competitive attitude to fight for inclusion into the 144,000.  But what a minute: “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”  1 Timothy 6:13-16   ‘Who alone’ means only God the Father.  That means Jesus is not immortal (yet)!  Who preaches this??  I have yet to find a group.  Death is the last enemy to be destroyed.  It appears that that is a group effort!  Then death is impossible.  Let us not get too haughty that we’re IT, or that we belong to the only TRuE Christians.  Beware pride!

“Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.  They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock.  She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations.  Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.  He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a ramp against you and raise up a large shield against you.  The blow of his battering rams he will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.  Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.  With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground.  Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water.  So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more.  I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the Lord have spoken,” declares the Lord God.”  Ezekiel 26:1-14

This prophecy started its fulfillment with the Babylonians in 586BC.  The prophecy was not completely fulfilled until the massacre of Sultan Halil in 1291AD.  So this prophecy took more than 1800 years to completely fulfill!  Some things in the bible take time.

The connections in the bible are spectacular and span many centuries.

“And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”  Revelation 11:8

The two witnesses are killed in Jerusalem.  The only other mention of Sodom with Egypt is:

“Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.”.  Genesis 13:10

Why is Jerusalem mystically called Sodom & Egypt?  Maybe here’s a link…

“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”  Luke 17:28-30

We have strong links to Elijah’s ministry.  We have strong links to Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah.  Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem.   “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.  He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”  Malachi 4;5-6