Bible Study Seattle

Jesus did a lot of healing, especially on Sabbaths.  He did not build fancy cathedrals to attract people.  The healing was one unique thing that really got people’s attention.  Imagine the effect today if someone had true healing powers.  They would attract large crowds, and make a lot of doctors jealous and angry.

Why the Sabbath?  Here is a picture, that in the great seventh Day, that thousand year long Sabbath Day, Jesus will heal everybody.  “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.”  Jeremiah 33:6  “…and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east).  Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.  Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”  Ezekiel 47:1,12  “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.  And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.”  Malachi 4:2

It is likely that people will have to go up to Jerusalem to eat from these trees in order not to age.  If some refuse to go, they may fall under curses, and eventually die for the second time, but they will have no excuse.  It is also likely that all who go to Jerusalem will have to make offerings at the temple for reconciliation of friends and enemies before they make partake of the trees.  Who knows?

Imagine being 25 for ever!  “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”  Matthew 4:23  Even the disciples got to heal peole.  “So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.”  Luke 9:6

Jesus is bold in his healing, and won’t be stopped.  “He replied, “Go tell that fox [Herod], ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’”  Luke 13:32  By the third 1,000 year Day, Jesus will finish his goal of healing all sickness.  Death itself will be completely defeated!

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.”  Rev. 22:1-3

That’s GOOD news!!

Why is the story of the Queen of Sheba in the bible?  What can it teach us?

If we allow King Solomon to represent Jesus in some respects, we can see what she represents.

One of the greatest unanswered questions is: Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why is there Evil in our world?  If God is good, how could he allow this?

We cannot answer this satisfactorily now, but we are promised answers in the future.  When Jesus returns from God, his first task is to build the temple.  “‘We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” Mark 14:58  This will be the heavenly temple, the Christ, head and body united.  The three days are 3,000 years.  Note that the Queen of Sheba did not visit King Solomon until after the temple and the royal palace were finished.  Thus it will be that the remnant of the people will not hear of Jesus’ fame until the heavenly temple and royal palace are finished.  The firstborn (the church) must be reborn before the secondborn.  The secondborn are all the people resurrected to earth.  They will hear of Jesus’ fame and riches and seek an audience with him via his representatives in Israel.

“The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem…”  2 Chronicles 9:1  What are these difficult questions?  The very questions about why bad things happened to good people.  They will want concrete answers.  Like why did my aunt come down with that incurrable disease at the age of 10?  Why was my friend abused?  What about the terrors of Pol Pot or the French Revolution?  Jesus will satisfy their curiosity fully.

“She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.  So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her[!]”  2 Chronicles 9:1-2  Thus, “We do know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose.”  Romans 8:28

Then and only then, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.  They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.  All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.”  Isaiah 45:23-24  Every knee will bow!  “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet [Jesus] like me [Moses] from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”  Deuteronomy 18:15  All who will listen will live eternally!

“They came to life and reigned with the Messiah 1,000 years.”  Revelation 20:4  Who?  When?  What happens before these 1,000 years?  Who reigns before the 1,000 years?  What is the purpose of this 1,000 years?

“Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge.”  Rev. 20:1  So the Messiah and his saints are judging for 1,000 years.  Also, Satan is bound.  From these verses we can surmise that this period of time will not have the temptations of Satan.  That’s good!  Also, it’s a very long time for judgment.  Not 24 hours.  Many Christians get the idea that the judgment will be a quick court case with billions of people standing in front of a huge court, receiving sentences in very quick fashion.  Not so!  Individual cases in this judgment may take several centuries!  This is so everyone has a chance to repent and learn the ways of the truth.  God is very merciful.

There are many other details of this 1,000 years which we won’t fully discern until we’re well into it.  The whole bible has scriptures sprinkled through it relating to this period.  God has hidden his truth in plain sight.  It includes the resurrection of the firstborn (Christians) and secondborn, the binding of Satan, the healing of the nations, and more.  At the end there is one last temptation:

“When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.  Their number is like the sand of the sea.  They came up over the surface of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.  Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them.”  Rev. 20:7

Those who take part in this assault will be destroyed with their second death, never to rise again.  Those that remain faithful will have their sins blotted out, and live eternally.

Not Steve Jobs, or employment jobs, but the biblical Job has many fascinating details.  He was a very wealthy and righteous man from the near east who probably lived about the time of Abraham or before.  He had seven sons and three daughters.  He also had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants.

Satan asked to tempt Job thinking his righteousness was only because God prospered Job.  But when Job loses everything but his wife and life, he still doesn’t curse God.

His three friends hear about it and come to comfort him.  They all sit in silence for seven days and seven nights.  Why?  Is this symbolic of the 7,000 years of the seventh day?  Then the conversation starts.  The three friends assume Job sinned, but Job wonders aloud where their sympathy is.  This goes on for some time.

Finally, God answers Job.  Job is awed and sinks back into humility.  But then a funny thing happens.  God reprimands Job’s three friends for not being right.  He commands the three friends to offer seven bulls and seven rams as a burnt offering, then Job will pray for them.  Is this not a picture of the future?  Think of all the people that have severly wronged you.  Some day they will bring sacrifices to atone for their wrongdoings against you, and you must pray for them for reconciliation.  No wonder Jesus commanded us to pray for our enemies!  Many Christians assume that Jesus’ sacrifice wiped away all sin from memory, but not so!  We have our part to play in reconciliation.

After Job prays for his friends, the Lord restores his prosperity and doubles his possessions!  He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.  He also had seven sons and three daughters.

Why the doubling of possessions?  The hebrew firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance.  This is symbolic of the heavenly inheritance as oppossed to the earthly inheritance.  Also, Job had seven new sons and three new daughters.  His ten kids died in the calamity, but he got back ten kids exactly as before.  Is this not symbolic of the resurrection?!  Job is a picture of christians receiving double their original estate, and receiving back their descendants back in resurrection.

The term man cave refers to a space in the house that is the man’s escape.  Remember Genesis 2:15:  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.”

There’s a saying, a home is a man’s castle.  But why would a man want to inhabit only a cave in that castle?

He doesn’t.  He’d prefer to be around his wife, but something goes wrong.  After the fall, God pronounced a curse:  “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

The husband was not supposed to rule his wife; they were to be harmonious partners.  But because of the fall, Eve desires her husband.  That is to say she desires from him what is only possible from God.  The husband fails: he is not God.  But the woman keeps trying to get out of her husband what can’t be had.  This is the origin of nagging.  The wife is not supposed to nag, and the husband is not supposed to rule over her.  Most wives end up using chores or children try get from their husband what they can only get from God – perfect attention, understanding every emotion, etc.  To the husband, it feels like control, and he reacts – sometimes to his man cave, sometimes by ruling her.  Relationships should not be about control, but about peacefully enjoying each other’s company.  Often the wife wants to feel together, so she says, “Honey, can you do X?”  This often feels like control to a man.  If she wants to feel together, why doesn’t she just make pleasant conversation with him?  If chores or kids take center stage in a marriage, there’s a serious problem.

The general consensus is that most marital problems are the man’s fault.  Really?  Where does the bible say that?  Are women so saintly that men have a monopoly on sin?  Many women who have children view their husbands as her helper.  Isn’t that backward?  Surely the man should help with the children and even lead, but the woman should not use the children to become man of the house.

Many scriptures compare Christians to stones.  When you think of stones, you may think of an ordinary pebble.  But there are also precious stones.  Cut well, they can be absolutely dazzling!

Jesus is compared to a stone:  “As you come to him, the living stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him -”  1 Peter 2:4

Christians likewise:  “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood..”  1 Peter 2:5

The 12 Hebrew patriarchs are symbolized by precious stones:  “There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.” Exodus 28:20-22

The foundations of the Eternal City from Heaven is laid with 12 precious stones:  “The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.   The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.”

The stones on this heavenly temple a sort of pyramid, with Jesus as the topstone:  “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”  Psalm 118:22-23

“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”  Ephesians 2:20

In order for a diamond or sapphire to be brilliant, it must be cut and polished.  Then it can really shine.  So it is with us.  Cutting and polishing may not be very pleasant, but it is that shaping that ultimately brings us to our full potential in the kingdom.  Note that diamonds are cut along faultlines.  So it is with us.  God’s disciplines are hardest along our personal faults.

Genesis 17:  “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.  Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.  Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you:   You will be the father of many nations.  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.  Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant   between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.  My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Later, circumcision was expanded to include all people.  “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.  Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.  Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.”  Deuteronomy 10

Circumcision became a stumbling block in the faith of many in the apostles’ day.  The Judaizers were teaching that a person must become a Jew and keep the Law of Moses in order to become a Christian.  Paul strongly denounced this teaching:  “For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Some take this verse out of context:  “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,   Christ will be of no value to you at all.”  Is Paul telling Christians not to be circumcised?  No!  He’s saying that justification cannot be achieved through circumcision.  No one can be justified by observing the law as none are perfect.

Why would God command the Jews to do something that is harmful for Christians?  He doesn’t.  Circumcision is medically advantageous, but it will not get you into heaven.  There are many groups in our day trying to prove that circumcision is medically detrimental.  They publish studies supposedly showing this.  What are their motives?  I suspect Satan is behind this.  He opposes all that God proposes.

One of the greatest joys in life are friends.  They listen, encourage, and empathise.  They even sacrifice their own interests for yours.  “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  John 15:13

Jesus is our greatest friend.  He laid down his life for the whole world, but especially for believers.  “His mouth is sweetness itself;  he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this is my friend,  daughters of Jerusalem.”  Song of songs 5:16

The believers rejoiced while Jesus was with them.  “Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?”  Luke 5:34

Friendship is more valuable than possessions.  “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”  Luke 16:9

Friendship with Jesus is defined.  “You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  John 15:14,15

Many people are enemies because of slander, malice, gossip, etc.  Imagine when there is no more lying and malice.  Friendship will be possible with everyone!

As Moses was leading the new nation of Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, they were instructed not to take horses for their army.  They were to trust the Lord rather than trust strength.  “Appoint a king from your brothers.  You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.  However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses…”  Deuteronomy 17:15

King David rode on mules:  “Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got him up upon his mule, and fled.”  2 Samuel 13:29  “And they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule.”  1 Kings 1:44

King Solomon rode horses:  “Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.”  1 Kings 4:26  “Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”  2 Chronicles 1:14

King Jesus will ride a horse:  “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse!  Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

Heaven and earth have remarkable parallels in the Bible.  Jacob’s ladder:

Genesis 28:12  “And he dreamed. And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”

Isaiah 66:1  “Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest?”

Matthew 6:10  “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.”

Matthew 16:19  “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 18:19  “Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.”

Acts 10:11  “and he [Peter] beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth:”

Revelation 6:13  “and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind.”