Bible Study Seattle

Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.”  Matthew 18:21-22

Wow!  That sounds exhausting!  And why seventy times seven?  Why not eighty times eight?

Was Jesus referring to himself?  There was a prophecy from Daniel: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem [Cyrus’ decree] until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It [the Second Temple] will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.  After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One [Jesus] will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler [Romans] who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood:  War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He [Jesus] will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’  In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering [the Crucifixion]. And at the temple he [not Jesus] will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  Daniel 9:24-27

Jesus preached this seventy times seven forgiveness during his public ministry, in the first half of that last ‘seven’ that was decreed for the Jewish people.  After seventy times seven years, God would cast off his favor from his people Israel, and send his calling to the Gentiles.  All forgiveness of sins was accomplished in seventy times seven years (490 years) from the going forth of Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the Jewish Temple.  This period was exactly 455BC to 36AD – the conversion of Cornelius (a gentile).

Jesus preached forgiveness a lot.  Why?  Just so Christians will be nice?  No, there’s more to it than that.  In fact, this is where work comes together with faith.  Jesus said:

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  Matthew 6:14-15

Ouch!  If the Father does not forgive our sins, we will die!  So it is not merely enough to have saving faith in Jesus.  We must also ‘work’ to reconcile with our neighbors if we want eternal life.

Forgiveness is often difficult in this life because repentance may not be possible if the transgressor is absent.  This will not be a problem in the resurrection, when everyone will be alive and available to make amends with their enemies.  If they will not, they will die for a second time with no excuse.

God makes a deal:  Forgive your enemies and repent of your sins, and you may eat from the trees of life forever.  Refuse forgiveness and repentance: no trees of life.  Simple.  Yet the bible tells us that some will refuse to forgive or repent.  “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  They will die their second death.  God’s justice is above ours.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

Imagine being able to stay 29 forever.  There are two scriptures that suggest this:

“Yet if there is an angel at their side,
a messenger, one out of a thousand,
sent to tell them how to be upright,
²⁴ and he is gracious to that person and says to God,
‘Spare them from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom for them —
²⁵ let their flesh be renewed like a child’s;
let them be restored as in the days of their youth’ —
²⁶ then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,
they will see God’s face and shout for joy;
he will restore them to full well-being. ”   Job 33:23-26

“¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”    Psalm 103:1-5

This is what awaits us in Christ’s Millennium!

“But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”  Daniel 12:4

Clearly knowledge has increased since the invention of the printing press in 1440.  And there has been acceleration.  Social movements that toke a century to unfold with the printing press now take maybe a year thanks to the internet.  For over five hundred years the cost of books has dropped until today they’re almost free.  In 1844 the telegraph was invented, a very curious year from a bible standpoint.  The telephone and lightbulb came on in 1876, another curious year compared to prophecy.  1844 was about the peak of the Miller movement in America that expected the second coming of Christ.  They were wrong, but actually they were right about some things.  It was a cleansing and refining experience for the church.  In the late 1800s, radio was added.  All these inventions aided in the expansion of knowledge.  TV came on in the 1930s.  Then satellite technology came in in the 1960s.  Cell phones came in the 1980s.  And the internet became a public medium starting about 1994.  Its growth has been phenominal.  Only 16 millions users were counted in 1995.  By 2000, it was 300 million.  In 2005, a billion.  2010 saw 2 billion.  By 2020, it is projected that 5 billion will be on the internet.  By 2028, could all adults worldwide have internet access?  That’s another interesting year by prophecy.

The first modern settlement in Israel was the Petah Tikvah settlement in 1878.  One of the Rothschilds gave money to help Jews move back to Israel.  The story of Noah tells about water (truth symbolically) rising for 150 days.  Prophecy usually uses a day for a year.  2028 is 150 years after 1878.  Could the truth reach its maximum before the general resurrection in 2028?  What effect would this have on Satan?  (I’m not suggesting evil will be gone in 2028.)  This also coincides with the dating of the Pit in the Great Pyramid.  It’s also the point of the southern face of the granite leaf in the Antichamber.

The tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and Ezekiel’s temple are very similar, yet have interesting differences.  I exclude Herod’s temple as that one is not detailed in the bible.   All three have application to the Israelites on earth and Christians in heaven.

The tabernacle was portable as the Israelites were on their way out of Egypt to the promised land – from death to new life.  It was inaugurated on the first day of the first month; symbolically from Jesus’ crucifixion.  The was a court, a holy room, and the most holy room, all symbolic.  Difference classes of people, priests, levites, and Israelites had different worship duties in different places.  The most sacred was the ark of the covenant, which was covered by two cherubim facing each other.

Solomon’s temple was the permanent version of the tabernacle.  It was built of stone chiseled off site.  It was inaugurated on the first of the seventh month.  It also had a court, a holy room, and the most holy room.  This time the two cherubim over the ark faced out toward the holy room.  The temple was built after David had greatly enlarged the kingdom and the Israelites were settled in the promised land.

Ezekiel’s temple evidently is a future temple that is very similar to Solomon’s temple, yet has even further additions, particularly the alotment of land around the temple.  Oddly, there is no gold covering the walls.  There is a river flowing out from under the temple toward the dead sea – at that point it will become the alive sea with many fishes.  It is showing us what will be operative within three centuries.  The trees of life will line this holy river, and the leaves will be medicine.

One of the great things about prophecy is that no one ever got it 100% right.  Not Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, David, Peter, Paul, and… even Jesus!  Yes, even Jesus couldn’t see the future 100%!  “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”  Matthew 24:36-37

If Jesus did know, but said he didn’t, he’d be a liar, and all Christianity would be a fraud.  So when you see someone say May 21, 2012 is the end of the world, watch out!  They’re a fraud.  Not only do they probably have the date wrong, they probably have the wrong idea about the second coming, just as most did at the first coming.

Jesus will reveal himself to different people at different times and ways just as he did at his first appearance.  First Mary was told by an angel that she would have a special baby conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph was told in a dream.  Then Mary visited her sister Elizabeth who was informed.  Finally the baby was born in a very out of the way place, and angels revealed it to night shift shepherds.  A while later, Magi from the east learned of it.  Then Herod heard and became alarmed.  After Herod died, not much happened for 28 years!  Until Jesus was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist.  Then, gradually Jesus’ public ministry grew until at his death everyone around Jerusalem knew who he was.

Thus it will be at his second earthly visit.  He will first come secretly and very few will find out.  Gradually he will reveal himself to more people.  Sometime in the next century (possibly) he will reveal himself to the entire nation of Israel.  And from there gradually everyone who was ever born will know until, “every knee will bow.”  His first coming lasted 33.5 years.  The second will last 1000 years!

The resurrection is one of the most unbelievable promises of the bible.  Who’s ever seen someone come back from the dead?  How will atheists deal with this?  It’s a crazy belief, but there’s nothing to lose if it’s wrong!  Here are some quotes:

“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.  Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”  Isaiah 26:19

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from my eyes.”  Hosea 13:14

“Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.”  Ezekiel 37:12-13

“Martha said to him, ‘I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’  Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet he will live.'”  John 11:24-25

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.”  John 5:28-29

“Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him.”  Luke 20:37-38

“And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”  Acts 24:14-15

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care  that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42

Mary and Martha were sisters and very close friends with Jesus along with their brother Lazarus.  Evidently Martha decided to take her sister to task for not helping with the dishes.  Even though Jesus is also talking, Martha doesn’t blame Jesus for keeping Mary from what she ‘should’ do.  Jesus gently reproves Martha, that listening to our Saviour is more important than dishes and cooking.  Although hospitality is important, relationships are more important.

“A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

Who is this woman?  Is this not a picture of the church and all God’s faithful people through the centuries?  She is so beautiful on so many levels.  She doesn’t nag, she doesn’t tell her husband what to do, she is noble through and through.  Certainly God desires a woman like this to marry his son Jesus.  She will be ultimately helpful when “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has beenappointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”  Acts 3:20-21  She will help him restore everything.

It has been pointed out that sometimes it is hard for women to relate to Jesus because he was a man.  Jesus was acquainted with grief and sorrows, but how could he relate to the unique trials of women since he was a man?

Now consider this – that all Christians aim to become the bride of Christ.  Isn’t it equally strange that men seek to become spiritual women in heaven?  Although Jesus said we will be like angels in heaven, neither given or giving in marriage, yet the church is called the bride of Christ.  The New Testament has many references to the marriage of the Lamb. 

But we also have to remember that Jesus in his prehuman heavenly state was way beyond what we would consider a man.  He along with the Father created all things.  We will learn more in heaven.