Posted by: biblestudyseattle | September 6, 2013

Two Resurrections

“Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.” Hebrews 11:35

A better resurrection? Doesn’t that imply an inferior resurrection?

Now some see the inferior resurrection as the resurrection of the wicked:
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” John 5:28-29

Most assume that ‘who have done’ refers to actions of the first life. They assume that the judgment is merely a sentencing. They envision multitudes momentarily rising out of hell only to be quickly condemned back to hell. Why bother with the sentencing if they’re already in hell? But we know that court trials first involve a trial and then a verdict. Except in this case the trial will probably last at least one hundred years:

“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” Isaiah 65:20

The firstborn Israelites received a double inheritance:
“But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.” Deuteronomy 21:17
The church is called the firstborn:
“to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” Hebrews 12:23
Heaven is the double portion; earth in the single portion.

Scriptures showing the heavenly and earthly resurrections:
“Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.” Genesis 22:17
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So your offspring and your name will endure.” Isaiah 66:22
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | September 4, 2013

Marriage Trials

Tonight at dinner, my daughter asked if she would come back to life if she died. I said yes. But her mom said, “Your dad thinks differently than me, but I think you’d go to heaven.” Nothing like honoring your husband as spiritual head of the house! Not! You can bet the kids are learning this disrespect. Yet she wants me to back up her dictates.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37-38

It is hard to have a wife who disrespects you. But it’s also hard to have cancer or be politically persecuted. Whatever our lot, we must persevere, knowing that the Lord will repay the persecutors. They will be judged. Maybe Paul right when he said it’s better not to marry.
“But I say to the unmarried, and to the widows: it is good for them if they so continue, even as I.” 1 Corinthians 7:8

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | September 3, 2013

Modern Israel

Modern Israel is a bit of a miracle. What other people have been regathered to their land after 18 centuries? Greece has been regathered, but they do not have as deep a history. In 1878, the first modern settlement began named Petah Tikva. Jews immigrated from Europe while Palestine was under British rule. Israel became a nation in 1948/1949. It has had wars and troubles this whole time. The bible foretells this time in the story of Joseph. The brothers have returned to get food, and they don’t yet recognize Joseph’s help. Joseph (Jesus) will not reveal himself to them until they repent of selling their brother into slavery (or selling Jesus to be crucified). This event is still future. This won’t happen until the bride of Christ is complete. In that day, “And 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.” Zechariah 12:10

Modern Israel has everything to do with prophecy. Some prominent pastors adamantly deny this. The institutional church (Papacy) has been the antichrist and they want to deny this. Hence they have substituted a day for a day interpretation of prophecy instead of a day for a year.

“And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Isaiah 35:8-10

This obviously doesn’t apply to the exiles returning in Ezra/Nehemiah’s time. It is still future to us.

“Remember these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.
I have made you, you are my servant;
Israel, I will not forget you.
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.
Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
you forests and all your trees,
for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
he displays his glory in Israel.” Isaiah 44:21-23

“Those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Isaiah 51:11

“This is what the Lord says:
Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.” Jeremiah 31:7-9

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. “In those days people will no longer say,
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people 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.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘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.” Jeremiah 31:27-34

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | September 2, 2013

Being wrong

Have you ever noticed how everyone in the bible got some prediction wrong? Nobody could see the future 100% John the Baptist is called by Jesus the greatest prophet, yet he thought everything would be wrapped up by one visit of the Messiah. Paul wasn’t sure when Jesus would come back. He seems to say it would be very soon. Yet look at the centuries! Even Jesus didn’t know the future. “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

So in this light, its fun to wonder where we’re wrong. How our assumptions may have lead us astray. I keep wondering where I’m wrong. We will be shown in the future. It’s kind of nice knowing that we don’t have to get everything 100% correct. And it’s humbling knowing that we may be corrected. When the disciples picked Matthias to replace Judas, the Lord did not rebuke them, but merely overlooked it, and supernaturally called Paul instead. God can handle honest mistakes.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | September 1, 2013

Isaiah 22:13

“The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
But see, there is joy and revelry,
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!” Isaiah 22:12-13

How many people do we know who live like this? How many Christians? They assume heaven will be some monotonous eternal vacation of playing harps and bowing to The Lord. Since their concept of heaven is so vague, it is really nothing to look forward to. Hence the attitude – you only live once!

Wrong! Very wrong. Notice how so many of Jesus’ parables say something like, “What shall we say the kingdom of heaven is like…” It then talks about judgment or how someone’s work is magnified. Like this:

“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:14-23

Notice this line – you were faithful with a few things, I will put you charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. That is heaven! Work, purpose, and meaning on a grand scale. Imagine; The Lord might say to you, ‘you have raised your two children well, raise these 1,000 for me’. Or, ‘you have tended to a few sick, tend 1,000 sick for me’. No boring floating and playing harps! Not everyone likes to play the harp anyway. Some women will be so exalted, they will hardly believe it. Women that wished to have children but could not: “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:1

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | August 31, 2013

Self Impaling

At least one of Jesus’ teachings seems to suggest self mutilation:
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” Matthew 18:6-9

Actually Jesus is not recommend that we mutilate ourselves, but he is illustrating the severity of Gehenna (hell), otherwise known as second death. The bible will still be in existence as the whole world is resurrected in the Millennium. Imagine the Pharisees reading about themselves in the bible! There will be no confusion about the choices being offered: eternal life or complete annihilation. Consider:

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:10-12

Something else will endure all the way through the Millennium:

“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt.” Isaiah 19:19-20

This is referring to the Great Pyramid showing the world that God marked out mankind’s history ahead of time.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | August 29, 2013

The First Disciples

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” Mark 1:16-20

This account makes it sound like Jesus was so dramatic that he could randomly walk by people and compel them to drop everything and follow him. More likely, these four were already disciples of John the Baptist, so they already were well acquainted with Jesus (John’s cousin), and following Jesus since John was now in jail.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | August 29, 2013

Restoring a Brother

“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:15-20

Why the link between heaven and earth? This shows how our earthly actions translate into heaven. There will be repentance and forgiveness in heaven. This also illustrates how restoration will take place. Small and private at first, then more and more public only if necessary. The extreme of this is illustrated in many of Jesus’ parables. “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” Matthew 10:26

God will give them every chance to repent, as he did for Pharaoh. The only thing to do after killing all of Egypt’s firstborn was to kill every Egyptian. But God spared the people. Then God let Pharaoh essentially commit suicide, since there was no repentance in him, only obstinance.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | August 29, 2013

The Temptation of Jesus

After Jesus’ baptism:
“Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him.” Mark 1:12-13
Compare this to Nebuchadnezzar:
“At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was executed. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.” Daniel 4:33
Obviously there are major differences between Jesus and Nebuchadnezzar, but notice how they’re both driven out into the wilderness with the wild animals. Both were tested. And both ended faithful. Notice Nebuchadnezzar’s transformation:
“But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and His kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing,
and He does what He wants with the army of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth.
There is no one who can hold back His hand
or say to Him, “What have You done?”
At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and my nobles sought me out, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and even more greatness came to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of heaven, because all His works are true and His ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Daniel 4:34-37

Nebuchadnezzar is symbolic of the world at large at the resurrection:
“so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
of those who are in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | August 27, 2013

The road to Emmaus

“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” Luke 24:13-35

How wonderful this encounter must have been! They were so sad and confused, yet their minds were opened. The better news is that this is going to happen to every one of us! “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:27

Won’t this happen at his second coming? Yes! All the scriptures concerning his second coming will be opened as well. He will be like Solomon. “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:42. “So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.” 1 Kings 10:23
“She came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.” 1 Kings 10:2-3
Nothing was too hard for him to explain! All those questions that seem to have no answer. The world’s answers will be shown to be foolishness. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:19

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