Last time we discussed how God took our place on the cross and reconciled our sin debt. He did not cover it up but took it away completely. It was nothing we did. It was all him. If you missed it. You can access it here: Christ Reconciled Our Sin Problem.

Did we gain anything else by this gracious act of our Messiah? Oh yes: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way (Ep 1:18-23, NIV).

Did you catch that? Paul is telling us that we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead within us. What is within us with this power? The Holy Spirit.

Paul goes on to say: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ep 2:4-10, NIV)).

His Holy Spirit will now be able to do great things through us because of what Christ has done for us on the cross. This is likely why Paul talks to us about the armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6. Let’s examine this armor:

We have the Helmet of Salvation: If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Ro 10:9, NIV). This is by the spoken word and accomplish by Christ.

We have the Breastplate of Righteousness: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has been for us wisdom from God—that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1Co 1:30, NIV). This is by words of wisdom from Christ.

We have the Belt of Truth: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me (Jn 14:6, NIV). This comes from Christ who is the Word of God.

We have the Feet of Gospel of Peace: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (Jn 14:27, NIV). The words of Christ give us peace.

We have the Shield of Faith: Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer [author] and perfecter of faith (Hb 12:2a, NIV). Christ and his words give us the faith upon which we believe.

We have the Sword of the Spirit: Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ep 6:17, NIV). Paul then tells us to Pray in the Spirit.

This passage in Ephesians 6 is often used to portray the armor as a defense against Satan and his “fiery darts” as Paul stated when he talked about the Shield of Faith. While true, these verses seem to indicate that the main reason for the armor is one for offense more than it is for defense. These are all action verses and show that each piece is a representative of Jesus Christ and of the power of the spoken word.

So, if we are donning the armor, this means we as the warrior are within Christ. And if we were to look at ourselves in a mirror, we would see him and not ourselves because we are in him, and he is in us. This is just as he prayed with his disciples: that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me (Jn 17:21, NIV).

No wonder James said: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (Ja 5:16b, NIV). The spoken word is very powerful when spoken through inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Proverbs also tells us: The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who live it will eat its fruit (Pr 18:21, NIV). This seems to imply we need to be living within the armor of God for our words to be effective. Paul also tells us: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold (2Co 3:12, NIV). Speaking through inspiration of the Holy Spirit allows us to speak boldly for the Lord. And, again, in Proverbs we understand the following: The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion (Pr 28:1, NIV). We can be bold as a lion because the Lion of Judah dwells within us. This helps us to see how powerful our words are and that they should be under the control of the Holy Spirit.

We are commissioned as Paul tells us: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (Ep 6:10, NIV). If we live within Christ by donning his armor, then we can be strong in him and work through his power which he has bestowed to us as Paul tells us: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2Co 10:4, NIV). Our words, if operated under the control of the Holy Spirit, can destroy strongholds. So, our words can be very powerful.

We have the same blessing as Paul gave the church at Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ro 15:13, NIV). Our hope is a tangible hope because it is secured in the promise of Jesus Christ and in the power given to us by the Holy Spirit. If we pray with the words of Christ (Scripture) and pray as the Holy Spirit urges us to pray, then we will be powerful and we will be effective.

Isn’t God awesome?! He has paved the way for us to have a hopeful, eternal future with him. And, he has given us his Holy Spirit so we can have the same power he utilized which can make us strong and effective, accomplishing great things for him. All we need to do is be yielded to him and his Spirit. Praise God!

Are you ready for your future—both now and in the world to come? You can be. Just reach out to him and he will never fail you.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Last time, we ended by asking if we really understood the sacrifice Christ made for us because of our sin problem. Today, let’s look at this more closely.

The apostle Paul tells us: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2Co 5:21, NIV). What does that really mean? It means our past, present, and future sin was placed on Christ. All sin ever committed by anyone. Now, that’s quite the burden, isn’t it?

This also raises several questions we need to ask ourselves and to address:

•            What happened to that sin which Christ bore for us?

I know Christ bore the sin for us on the cross and paid the consequence of sin, i.e., death. Yet what happened to the sin itself? Is sin tangible that it must be placed somewhere? Did it just dissipate, or did something have to be done with it? I sort of look at this like someone paying an innumerable number of traffic tickets for someone. They are free to now go and drive again, but the tickets still exist, even though paid, right? They must be thrown away, filed, burned, or something to that effect.

•            Where did Christ’s spirit go when his physical body was dead?

We know he did not go to heaven because he later told Mary Magdalene he had not yet ascended to his Father (Jn 20:17). It’s very likely his spirit did not stay in the tomb. That would be akin to soul sleep which the Bible does not seem to support as it alludes to both the righteous (Gn 37:35) as well as the wicked (Ps 9:17) going to Sheol.

•            How did those in Sheol get to Heaven so Paul could say that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord? (2Co 5:8)?

Somehow, the righteous in Sheol had to be removed from there and taken to heaven. The psalmist David seems to state this event would happen (Ps 68:18).

It would seem Jesus went to Sheol on our behalf. He had to pay the price that we were to receive. What was Sheol like?

There are three parts to Sheol:

1.           Tartarus: where angels who birthed the Nephilim were bound (2Pt 2:4)

2.           Unrighteous Sheol: Mankind without faith in coming Messiah (Lk 16:23)

3.         Righteous Sheol: Mankind with faith in coming Messiah (Abraham’s Bosom; Lk 16:22)

The Old Testament doesn’t give a clear distinction of these, but we know Christ told of an unrighteous and righteous side to Sheol (Lk 16:19-31). Since he made Sheol, then it makes sense he would know how it was arranged. Some say this was only a parable. It may have been. But just because the story may have been fictitious, it is likely the details of Sheol (called Hades in the New Testament) would not be fictitious as he knew how Sheol was arranged.

If sin separates us from God, then sin must have been placed in the unrighteous side of Sheol. Peter tells us about Tartarus in 2Pt 2:4, and in 1Pt 3:19-20 seems to indicate that Christ visited there to let them know that their plan to reshape humans into Satan’s image had failed and he has been victorious: Christ made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built (1Pt 3:19-20, NIV).

Paul seems to imply that Christ also entered the Unrighteous side of Sheol: Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Cl 2:15, NIV). Christ disarmed (took back) the dominion Satan had stolen from Adam by triumphing over them by his death on the cross and bringing all the sin to where it was to belong.

As stated earlier, the psalmist also implies that Christ visited the Righteous side of Sheol to take from Sheol those who were held captive there: When you ascended on high, you took many captives (Ps 68:18, NIV). Due to Satan’s dominion over them even though they had faith in their Messiah, they were also in Sheol. While a different part of Sheol, the Old Testament still alludes to this place as foreboding. Christ brought them to heaven after his resurrection when he ascended to his Father to enter into the heavenly Holy of Holies.

So, it seems Christ went to Sheol for three days. He proclaimed to those on the unrighteous side why their fate is sealed. He preached to those on the righteous side what he just did for them and gave them the gift of redemption. He then brought the righteous home to the third heaven. Because of the disarming by Christ to Satan and his kingdom, he can now bestow on those in his Church other gifts for building up his Bride and make her strong and effective.

Christ received back from Satan the power he had stollen from Adam. As we just read, Paul tells us this in Colossians chapter 2: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he had taken it aways, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Cl 2:13-15).

Christ was the only one who could have done this because only he had the power to give up his life and the power to raise himself from the dead: The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my live—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father (Jn 10:17, 18, NIV).

And in Revelation we see what was obtained from this disarming: I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Rv 1:18, NIV).

Christ told Peter that death would no longer have power over his bride, his Church (Mt 16:18). Death would no longer be a separator between him and those who believe in him. This is the reason the apostle Paul could say with certainty that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for those who believe in him. Those who do not believe in him still go to Sheol until the second resurrection (Rv 20).

Isn’t it amazing what Christ saved us from having to experience? Our future will be a bright one! If you haven’t taken that step, it’s available. Just take it—talk to him. He’s waiting to hear your voice and develop a relationship with you. You will never be sorry you did.

Next time, let’s look at what else we gained from what Christ did for us on the cross. Hallelujah! His gifts to us are exceedingly great. Until next time. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Over the last several posts, we have been talking about four strange verses of hope. In case you missed the beginning of this series of posts, you can access it here: Strange Verses of Hope. We then mentioned that Adam rebelled in the Garden and lost out by inadvertently turning his kingdom over to the Adversary, Satan. Despite this, God gave Adam’s descendants hope. Today, I want us to look at this hope.

So, what then was their hope?

The Sacrifices and the Law were given for the hope of what was to come. I know that may sound the opposite of hope because the sacrifices were burdensome and the Law restrictive. But God is not about convenience, but of truth. Let’s look at the five types of sacrifices:

1. Burnt Offerings (Lv 1) – dedication of oneself to God

2. Grain Offering (Lv 2) – offering one’s best to God and recognize God as sustainer

3. Fellowship Offering (Lv 3) – God wants a relationship with his people

4. Sin Offering (Lv 4) – Atonement for one’s sin against God

5. Guilt Offering (Lv 5) – Atonement for one’s sins against one’s fellow man

These had to be repeated continuously and thereby pointed to the One who was to come who would fulfill them all. How do we know they recognized these offerings as the need for one to come?

We find this verse in the Gospel of John: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29). Not only John, but many Jews understood the purpose of the sacrifices and their prophetic meaning. The nation and the people had been waiting for this moment. John the Baptist was announcing that their wait was over!

Not only the people, but the Jewish leaders were waiting as well. But if they were waiting, then why did they reject Jesus as their coming Messiah? For one, he did not fit their preconceived idea of their coming Messiah. They believe their messiah could come and free them from all oppression, especially Roman oppression, set up a kingdom, and make Israel the pinnacle of kingdoms on this earth. But instead of doing this, Jesus criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees for their teachings which were leading Israel astray from the intension and purpose of the Law God had given. Rather than asking questions to clarify, they dug deep into their resistance. Sometimes, it is easier to believe in something knowing it will not come true in your lifetime. When it is fulfilled in your lifetime, you may have to make changes and realize that the way God is working is not how you thought he would work. These Jewish leaders fell into this trap. Unfortunately, they were not willing so realize God may be working differently than they had thought.

Now, let’s concentrate on what John meant when he said, “Lamb of God.” It means Christ became the ultimate sacrifice for their atonement. We need to understand the Hebrew and Greek words for atonement and what these words meant:

Old Testament: kipur (to cover)—This means the sacrifices did not take away their sin but just covered their sin for a time until they could be dealt with properly. They were taken out of view, but not taken away. These sacrifices and duties of the priests were symbolic of how their sins would be taken away sometime in the future, but these activities did not do that for them then and was the reason they had to be repeatedly performed.

As an example, I can give an incident from my childhood. Growing up, I hated green peas. While I love them now, I certainly did not then. One evening at dinner, my mother insisted that I had to finish eating my peas before I could get up from the dining table. Such a conundrum. What do I do? Well, it so happened that we also had mash potatoes that evening as well. I’m not sure why I didn’t eat all of them, as I loved mash potatoes, but it proved fortuitous for me that evening. I decided I would hide my peas under the mash potatoes. When my mother wasn’t looking, I would push a few peas under the potatoes. I couldn’t do them all at once, right? Can’t afford a suspicious mother. LOL. Well, when they were all under the mash potatoes, Mother let me get up from the table. Now, I had not complied with my mother’s demand, but they were no longer visible and thereby I was allowed to get up from the table. Now, I’m sure she discovered them when she cleaned the plate. But that is how kipur worked. The sins were just hidden but not taken away.

Now, sometimes, my father would eat my peas. This took care of the situation completely. They were not on my plate. They were gone. Not that I took care of them myself, but the problem was taken care of by my father. This is similar to the word used for atonement in the New Testament.

New Testament: katallage (to reconcile)

The writer of Hebrews gives us more information about this: He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption (Hb 9:12, NIV). And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hb 10:10, NIV).

As my father did for me, Jesus did for all of us. His actions solved the sin debt for us—not just hiding the problem, but reconciling the problem—making it no longer a problem at all.

But do we fully understand this sacrifice Christ made for us?

This is what I would like for us to explore further next time. It may amaze you to know the extent and length Jesus did for us so that we don’t have to face the judgment and consequence of our sin debt. It was truly not an act of cover up, but an act of reconciliation for which we should all be entirely grateful.

Come join me next time. Until then. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In our last post, we talked about how Elijah and Moses are archetypes of those who will enter Christ’s future Promised Kingdom. If you haven’t read it, you can access it here: The Hope Given Us Through Moses.

In that post, I raised two important questions: (1) Why are these examples important? and (2) Why were these acts achievable by these and not by others?

While I guess there are many proposed answers one could give, I think there are four that we should consider so we can understand this better.

1.      God had to overcome what mankind thought was the natural order of things.

Experience is not always the test of how things are supposed to be. People were living under a system they did not know was not the intended system for them. They had come to accept the world system for how they experienced it.

2.      But the world was not as it was supposed to be. Something changed.

Mankind was now operating under Satan’s rule and not under Adam’s. God had originally offered Adam a theocracy: an earthly rule with God leading Adam in his rule. Why was that not what was being experienced?

3.       God had to get mankind’s attention.

God needed to provide examples for mankind to ponder so they would recognize how their proper relationship was to be with Him. When things go against the norm, it makes one pause and ponder. Was it just a fluke, an abnormality, or is there something greater, something deeper, to consider?

4.      They reveal that the power of God is needed to restore what was lost.

These examples match with other scriptures to what God had planned for mankind’s future. As stated previously, these were examples of hope and as time went on, God provided more Scripture that further supported and substantiated what he had demonstrated through these examples.

So, if the world was not as it was to be, what caused it to change? For that, we need to go back to the beginning. In Genesis chapter 3, we find that Adam disobeyed God. Yet, the implication is that the act was more than just disobedience. Scripture tells us Adam actually rebelled against God. How do we know this? Consider these two verses:

As at Adam, they [Israel] have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there (Ho 6:7, NIV). God was saying Israel had rebelled against him just as Adam had rebelled.

And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner (1Ti 2:14). Some say this puts the responsibility of mankind’s consequences on Eve, but actually, Paul is implying just the opposite. He is saying Eve was deceived but Adam was not. He was there and did not stop her. He was in rebellion.

What was the consequence of rebellion brought onto the kingdom Adam was to receive? It seems mankind lost its dominion and power to Satan because Adam turned his dominion over to Satan by his act of rebellion. How do we know this? Consider the following Scripture references:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only,’” (Mt 4:8-10, NIV). Christ did not tell Satan he did not have that authority. If he did not have that authority, it is very likely Christ would have called him out on that fact. So, for Christ not to do that, it means Satan really had the authority to offer this to Christ.

In addition, if Satan did not have this authority, then this would not have been a temptation to Christ. Satan was telling Christ he did not need to go to the cross and suffer so horrifically. He had the solution: he would give these earthly kingdoms to Christ and he could rule right then and there. Would that have been something to ponder? No suffering but still get an earthly kingdom. Christ did not even ponder this offer because it would mean utter ruin as Christ, the second person of the Godhead, would be subservient to Satan, a created being! No, that would never have worked and achieved what Christ came to accomplish. So, Christ’s answer was appropriate. Satan would not get worshipped. Christ is the one whom Satan should worship.

We then have this somewhat strange conversation in Job chapter 1: Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied, ”Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has in in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord (Jb 1:8-19, NIV).

It was only God’s hedge of protection that prevented Satan from doing as he pleased. What did Satan now have the power to do?

1.           Satan had the Sabeans attack and steal Job’s donkeys and oxen.

2.           Satan had fires destroy Job’s sheep and servants.

3.           Satan had the Chaldeans steal Job’s camels and kill his servants.

4.           Satan had a mighty wind collapse the house on Job’s sons and daughters where they were banqueting together.

This would indicate that Satan had the power to kill and destroy like any monarch of a kingdom would have the power to do. This lets us know Adam gave up quite a lot by his act of rebellion.

So, was all hope now gone? Oh, no. Of course not. That is not how God is or how he operates. In the midst of gloom, he always provides hope. Join me next week when we will see what amazing hope God provided. Until then. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We have been talking about the hope that God gave to both Old Testament and New Testament believers through four strange verses. We have covered Enoch, the Ark of Noah, and Elijah. Today, I want us to take a look at Moses.

Before we get to Moses, though, we need to first go back to the beginning. Genesis tells us: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Gn 1:26-28, NIV).

Mankind is not like any other creature, is above and over all creatures on this earth, and has dominion over the animal and plant kingdoms yet with a responsibility to take care of and nurture these kingdoms. Humans are stewards of them but not equal with them.

In addition, as God is triune, so are we: body, soul, and spirit.

Body: our physical makeup

Soul: that which makes us as we are – our personality

Spirit: that which connects us with God on a spiritual level

Our body decays when we die, but that is not the end to our body. If that was not the case, then Christ would not need to return for his bride and bring those who have died back to receive their body and then glorify it. Paul tells us: For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (1Th 4:16, NIV).

He also tells us: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable, it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man (1Co 15:20, 42-44, 49, NIV).

So, somehow, our body is fused with our spiritual body for us to become glorified for our eternal existence. This then ties us back to our puzzling verses about Moses: And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is (Dt 34:5, 6, NIV).

And the verse we read before: But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Ju 9, NIV)

This begs the question: why did Satan argue with God over the body of Moses?

Some say God buried him so a shrine could not be erected and worshiped. That may well be true as mankind has fallen too often worshipping shrines. Yet, this verse seems to imply more. The dispute was likely over God resurrecting Moses, and Satan claiming he had to remain in Sheol. Why do I say that? As we have already shown, the physical body is needed for glorification. Also, remember what Moses was symbolic of. Here are two verses to remind us:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him (Dt 18:15, NIV).

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel (Dt 34:10-12, NIV).

The following were characteristics of Moses: Deliverer / Lawgiver / Prophet / Mediator / Performed signs & Miracles. Christ also did these same things but by his own power. Moses was therefore a type of Christ in life and in death. He is an archetype of all those who will enter Christ’s kingdom after they have died and have been resurrected into their glorified bodies.

Let’s not forget what Solomon told us: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ec 1:9).

Paul also tells us in 1Co 10:14 that the happenings in the Old Testament are examples and warnings for us. While Moses’ resurrection is not equal with that of Christ by any means, it is an archetype for us to consider and ponder.

Why was Moses needed to be glorified before the death of Christ? Well, we find this verse in Matthew’s gospel: There he [Jesus] was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus (Mt 17:2, 3, NIV).

Jesus likely met with only Moses and Elijah (and not Enoch) on the Mount of Transfiguration because his death is what would usher in his Church, his Bride, of whom they both represented:

Moses: those who died and will be resurrected and glorified and then enter his Promised Kingdom.

Elijah: those who will be translated and glorified and then enter his Promised Kingdom.

This then raises two important questions: (1) Why are these examples important? and (2) Why were these acts achievable by these and not by others?

We will explore the answers to these questions next time. I hope you join me for an understanding of these very important questions. Until next time. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Elijah was a prophet for about 35 years during the reign of the wicked kings Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram of Israel, and we have most of what he did in the books of first and second Kings. He prophesied a drought in their land which lasted for three years, confronted the priests of Baal and destroyed them, prayed and the rain returned, prophesied accurately the deaths of both Ahab and his wife Jezebel, as well as the accurate death of their son, and later king, Azariah.

In addition, Elijah was translated to heaven without dying by being taking to heaven in a chariot of fire in a whirlwind (2Ki 2:11). This was not by his own will, but by the aid of God. Elijah was translated by God even when God’s work in Israel was not complete and at the height of his ministry. If his ministry lasted for 35 years as stated above, this would likely have made him about 65 or 70 years of age at this time. This event parallels the future time when our work (i.e., that of the Church) will be complete even though God’s work on this earth is not.

Elijah serves as an archetype of how God will provide a way from future judgment for his followers from the Tribulation via the Receiving of his Bride, the Church (also called the Rapture, meaning “caught up”) for those alive at his coming.

Paul tells us of this: We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them [the dead in Christ] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1Th 4:17, NIV).

These are those who will become part of his future Promised Kingdom in which they will receive glorified bodies without having to experience physical death. Paul describes this as being changed in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52).

Isn’t it wonderful how God has thought of everything and every contingency for us? We can always rest in his faithfulness (La 3:23).

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In our last post, I talked about four strange versus of hope. In that post, we looked at what the Bible said about Enoch. Today, I want us to look at what God did for Noah: I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you (Gn 6:17, 18, NIV).

God provided a way for Noah and his family to escape the consequence of his flood judgment. Yet, this was not a type of judgment like we think. It was actually him expressing his love for mankind, his creation. Satan was trying to reshape mankind into his image rather than remaining in God’s image. Genesis chapter 6 alludes to this with how the Nephilim were created and infiltrated the human genome. Only Noah and his family maintained a pure genome during this time (Gn 6:9). Without God instituting the flood, humankind would have ceased to exist. God was not going to allow that.

However, God did not judge quickly. He gave time for repentance. He could have restored them into perfect health if they had believed. Yet, they did not repent despite Noah speaking to them to do so for 120 years (Gn 6:3). God started over with Noah because of his faithfulness to him.

So the ark Noah built is an archetype of how God will provide a way from future judgment via the Receiving of his Bride, the Church (also called the Rapture [caught up], 1Th 4:16, 17.). Even this future judgment is not a normal judgment as its main purpose is to drive Jews and Israelites back to their homeland (Jr 23:3).

There are two individuals that fit into this archetype of the ark. These are Moses and Elijah. These we will discuss next time. I hope you join me. Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun (Ec 1:9), and Paul tells us that what things occurred in the Old Testament were for examples and warnings to us (1Co 10:11).

God is so great by giving us examples of hope that can increase our faith and increase our hope because we know what he tells us will come to pass. So, be encouraged. We have a wonderful future to look forward to if we trust in him. I hope you have. If not, there is no time like the present. Until next time. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The Bible contains many non-straight-forward passages. I would like for us to look at four of these and see what we can glean from them. All passages in this post are from the New International Version of the Bible.

So what are these verses?

1.      Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (Gn 5:24).

2.      I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you (Gn 6:17, 18).

3.      As they [Elijah and Elisha] were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2Ki 2:11).

4.      But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Ju 9)

While these seem diverse, there is, I think, a common denominator to them. What do they have in common?

Hope.

These actions of God provided hope to Old Testament saints because if their hope was in their coming Messiah then Sheol would not be their final destiny. Also, these actions of God also provide hope to New Testament saints because, as believers, our ultimate destiny will be with Christ in glorified bodies.

Let’s investigate and see how this is the case.

Part of what I will say here has been provided in another post: What was Special about Enoch, Moses, and Elijah? Yet, the point being made there is somewhat different.

In that post, I stated that perhaps these individuals (Enoch, Elijah, and Moses) were given as archetypes of who will become part of Christ’s future Promised Kingdom. Let’s review some of the previous points made and add some additional information.

We’ll look at each of these individually. The first to look at in this post is Enoch.

The book of Jude tells us Enoch was a prophet in an evil society and prophesied about how God would one day come and judge them for their wickedness (Ju 14, 15). Yet, he remained pure to God despite this evil corruption around him and God rewarded him by taking him (Gn 5:22).

While Scripture does not explicitly say he was taken to heaven rather than to Sheol, the Hebrew words used in these verses seem to imply that God himself received Enoch – therefore, he likely did not go to Sheol but was taken to heaven. As a corollary, say you went to the school where your child attended and decided to retrieve him or her as a surprise. Would it make sense for you to then take him or her to a place he or she would have no contact with you? That would be counterproductive to why you took them out of school in the first place, wouldn’t it?

Others say this act would contradict scripture which states only Christ ascended to heaven (Jn 3:13). To ascend implies volitional will and ability. Enoch did not ascend on his own but was taken by God himself. So, this incident does not violate other scriptures.

It would then seem that Enoch could be an archetype representing how saints who survive the Tribulation will be received by Christ into his Promised Kingdom without having to die.

Enoch was received by God during a period when Satan tried to establish his rule on earth by remaking mankind in his image (Gn 6:1-9). Also, while not scripture, the apocryphal book, Book of Enoch, adds additional details to this aspect of what these Genesis scriptures allude toward. This act of Satan and his angels parallels the future time when he will again attempt the same during the Tribulation Period and try to set up his own earthly kingdom.

I have previously posted that the first Fall feast, Rosh Hashanah or Feast of Trumpets, represents God remembering his covenant with Israel: Fall Jewish Holidays - Part 1: Rosh Hashanah. Its prophetic fulfillment will occur sometime after the Receiving of Christ’s Bride, the Church (also called the Rapture, meaning “caught up”; 1Th 4:16, 17) at which time the restraining power of the Holy Spirit (Gn 6:3) is removed (2Th 2:7). That means Satan and his demons will have more authority to do as they please, but it doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit will not still draw people to Christ (Rv 7:14).

God’s action with Enoch helped those in Old Testament times reason that Sheol, the place everyone went when they died, would not have to be their final resting place. It gives us hope today that God has a plan for us which will lead to the ultimate victory of us being with him forever. Now, that’s a great hope, isn’t it. Are you preparing for it? It will be here sooner than you think.

Next time, we’ll continue with the other examples. Stay turned.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Have you noticed in reading Scripture that when God prophesies so much destruction, he incorporates hope and a positive outcome in the end? Ever wonder why? Before we answer this question, let’s look at two of the stranger chapters in the Bible: Ezekiel 38 & 39.

Yet, it’s only strange when we take it out of context. Many biblical scholars discuss this chapter as it relates to future “end time” events. While, that is likely true, it doesn’t “just appear” out of the blue. If you recall what we discussed in the previous post, God had just prophesied much prosperity to Israel. Here, God is backtracking a little to show how they will get to that point, and how he will protect them and ensure them of the future he just promised them.

So, what did God say would happen?

God gives Ezekiel a prophecy of a future time when a league of nations led by a ruler whom he calls Gog, will come against the unified nation of Israel (Ek 38:2). Gog lives in the land of Magog, which seems to be a territory between and above the Caspian and Black Seas. Gog is also called the Prince of Meshech and Tubal, which are likely parts of southern Russia and Georgia. It seems Ezekiel is stating that Gog will form an alliance with Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), Put (Libya), and Gomer and Togarmah (northern Turkey and Armenia). Opposing these will be Sheba and Dedan (Arabia), and Tarshish (Western Europe).

Let’s take a pause here. Where did all these strange names originate? We can final almost all of them in the genealogy of Noah (Gn 10), who had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Gomer, Magog, Tubal, and Meshech were sons of Japheth. Togarmah and Tarshish were both grandsons of Japheth through Gomer and Javan, respectively. Persia included both Medes (descendants of Madai, son of Japheth) and Elam (son of Shem). Sheba and Dedan were great grandsons of Ham through his son Cush. Therefore, by following the genetic clues of how the population expanded, we get the likely locations of today’s nations from these ancient people. And, believe it or not, it all seems to fit into today’s scenario.

Ezekiel states that Israel will be attacked from the north, south, and east. Those attacking will have a four-fold agenda (Ek 38:11-12): (1) to obtain the wealth of Israel; (2) to control the Middle East; (3) to destroy Israel; and (4) to challenge the authority of the Antichrist. This attack likely occurs in the early reign of the Antichrist after he negotiates a treaty with Israel. It’s likely not later in his rule, because half-way through the Tribulation, the Antichrist himself turns against Israel. When this attack occurs against Israel, the Antichrist, Sheba and Dedan (southern Arabia), and Tarshish (western Europe) will be against the invasion.

It is interesting to note that scripture suggests that this Antichrist will have a ten-territorial kingdom and he will then take over three of them and rule them himself. I bring this up here because it seems to tie very well into what Ezekiel is prophesying here. It seems our United Nations has already had discussions of how to divide our world into ten socio-economic regions. Therefore, without too much imagination, one could envision how such a one could take advantage of this previous work to divide the world into such areas and set up someone to rule these areas under his ultimate control. It is also interesting that the nations mentioned here in Ezekiel all originate from three of the identified territories. So, it would seem very likely that the invasion mentioned here in Ezekiel is the reason these three territories then go under his direct rule (Dn 7:24) as he would have to depose these three leaders of these territories to make himself appear to be a man of peace, even though he is not. Why would he have to do this? Let’s follow on in Ezekiel.

Ezekiel prophesies that God will use several natural disasters to hinder these nations from invading Israel (Ek 38:19-22): (1) a great earthquake; (2) infighting among the troops of these nations doing the invading; (3) disease; and (4) torrential rain, hailstones, and fire with burning sulfur. He then prophesies of four key events as an outcome of the demise of these nations (Ek 39:4-29): (1) birds and beasts are called to gorge on the dead bodies; (2) burying of the dead takes seven months to complete; (3) the weapons left from the invasion of the dead army provide enough fuel to last seven years; and (4) blessings, restoration, and salvation is provided to Israel.

Although it is God Himself who actually saves Israel (Ek 38:21-23), the Antichrist will likely claim credit and get further respect from the other nations of the world who will then see him as one dedicated to peace. This will endear their devotion to him even more. In addition, this information also supports the invasion occurring very early in his reign since the weapons become fuel for seven years and the whole Tribulation period will last for seven years.

We can now go back to the first question asked in this post. God provides hope when he provides doom because he is after the hearts of people and nations. He is showing that his ultimate plan will prevail despite our suffering and what he has to do to get our attention. Through these prophecies, he has given us knowledge, choice, and hope. He gives us the knowledge to see what will be coming, the choice to decide if we are going to believe it and change our perspective, and he gives us hope so that if we do the first two, we will have a blessed future. Don’t you want a blessed future? It’s just a matter of faith. It has always been a matter of faith: in Ezekiel’s time as well as in ours. What do you say? Are you willing to learn from what has been given to us in scripture, choose to believe and put your faith in the only one who has paid our debt of sin to provide us a wonderful future, and receive the hope that is then tangible and so real it is almost palpable? Are you ready?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

So far, we have seen the seriousness of sin and how all sin has a commonality. Yet, that leaves us feeling rather hopeless. So, where is the hope through all of this? Let’s see what Scripture tells us.

God told Israel the following: “Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins” (Ps 130:7-8). He also stated, “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed” (Ml 3:6). God made many promises to Israel. Malachi states that God is not taking revenge because God keeps his promises. God is faithful-even if we are not.

This theme continues into the New Testament: “And he [Christ] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2Co 5:15). Our allegiance is only in one of two places. While we may still struggle after becoming a Christian, our allegiance must change to be toward Christ and to please him.

Is this starting to sound very complicated? Coming to God should be easy. We make it complicated. Because of our way of looking at sin, we feel we need to “do better” before we come to God, someone who is perfect. Yet, God says, “No.” We come as we are. We believe we are a sinner. We believe Christ came into this world and paid the penalty for all sin—our sin. We trust in Him for our eternal future and no longer in ourselves—our “goodness”, or what we can do. Because we can never achieve perfection—His requirement—we can only depend upon Him and not ourselves.

Yet, becoming a Christian does not change the struggle within us. It does give us the ability and the courage to win against that struggle, along with a guarantee of a blessed future. The difficulty comes from our unwillingness to let go, our unwillingness to really see sin for what sin truly is, our unwillingness to accept and see sin as God has defined it. It goes back to what we stated before. Our “sin” is not as bad as someone else’s. We see their sin as worse because we don’t have an issue with it. If we have an issue, then it can’t be that bad or else we wouldn’t have a problem with it.

Our reasoning becomes flawed. For example, if we are living with someone, but someone else commits adultery, we think their sin is worse. After all, they had already made a commitment with something and broke that trust. I’m just “trying it out” to see if I want to make a commitment. Therefore, if I bail, it’s not so bad. After all, I never married so I don’t have to feel guilty about not making that commitment. Yet, from God’s perspective, one sin is just as black as another. It all starts from the heart willing to be disobedient. The heart comes first and the deed second.

Another problem is that we haven’t really stopped to understand God and his character. We say God is holy, but there are two aspects to being holy. One is what we traditionally think of as being pure and righteous. However, the other part is that He is set apart, He is unique, one of a kind. He is Three-in-One. Why is He like this? Well, for one, it makes Him the perfect relationship builder. The parts that we have come to know as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are part of God the Father as a whole. The Gospel of John states in John 1 that “the Word became flesh.” In other words, the part of God who communicates to man became man. This is the part of the Trinity which has always communicated God’s will to mankind. In the Old Testament, we call this the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, the Messiah, the One who was to come. Therefore, this pre-incarnate form of God is most likely the one who walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

Just as Christ communicated physically with mankind, the Holy Spirit communicates spiritually with mankind. In the Old Testament, this was on an as-needed basis. However, today, God has promised that all who accept Him are indwelled with the Holy Spirit so we can have that communication always. Therefore, the Trinity is the most efficient relationship builder ever. No wonder God designed mankind to be relational beings; God Himself is a relational being.

But more than that, it allows him to be pure love and pure justice and still reside in one being. Our salvation is dependent upon God being Trinity. It could not have happened any other way. God had to remain 100% God while becoming 100% human. God being Trinity allowed that.

I know the concept of Trinity is a hard concept but hold that thought and we’ll explore it further next time. Not only is it the source of our hope, but the concept is also so important God put the concept in the very heart of nature itself. I hope you join us next time to further explore. What an awesome God we serve!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We mentioned in our last post that most times God presented a prophecy of hope to the very same nations about which he prophesied a prophecy of doom. When the Old Testament prophets prophesied about future events they were not necessarily concerned about the chronology of those events. Their main message was to help the people understand the seriousness of the coming destruction and captivity God had prophesied and encourage the people to repent.

The prophecy of future prosperity was a message of hope and an answer to the concerns the various prophets had at the time as well as to help the faithful have and maintain their hope. For example, God showed Ezekiel His presence leaving the temple in Jerusalem (Ek 10-11) because He was going to remove His protection and allow the city to be conquered by the Babylonians. Of course, Ezekiel would be concerned and wonder if God’s presence would remain removed forever. So, God revealed to Ezekiel His presence would one day return and He helped Ezekiel to know that by the specifics which were provided (Ek 43:1-12). The point of this vision to Ezekiel was not to put it into a historical timeline; it was to provide the answer to his questions and to provide the hope he needed to hear.

The earth will always have nations, so many of these prophecies in the Old Testament will continue or be realized even in our future. Once Christ returns the second time to earth and sets up His Theocracy, the earth will still be divided into many nations (Rv 20:3). However, nations will no longer serve themselves but serve the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Although Israel has suffered much ridicule and abuse over the centuries, she will then be the one nation which all other nations will revere (Is 60:14-15). Many of the nations mentioned earlier which have received God’s judgment will now seek to come to Jerusalem to worship the Messiah, now their King (Is 11:10-16). Members of these nations will help to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, but the gates will never need to be shut again (Is 60:3-16).

God’s promises are not bound by time. One day, God will restore the tribes of Jacob and they will be a light to the Gentiles (Is 42:6, 49:6). The mission which God gave the children of Israel at Sinai to be priests to the nations (Ex 19:6) will come to fruition. Israel will be the one to proclaim to all the nations how to worship their God. They will be known as priests and ministers to all the nations (Is 61:3) and those who proclaim the glory of God (Is 66:19). The members of all the nations, as well as the rulers of these nations, will revere every Israelite (Is 62:12). Members of nations will be eager to worship the King and will even carry children of Israelites in their arms and on their shoulders with reverence and joy so they can travel with them to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (Is 49:22-23).

These prophecies still have meaning for us today just as they will for our future. It is a constant reminder to us that God’s word is truth. What God says will come to pass because time is irrelevant to the fulfillment of these prophecies. At the end of God’s longsuffering comes justice (usually interpreted as wrath). Our current age will end with the Tribulation. It’s a matter of when and not if.

We have seen God has a plan for nations. The Bible speaks of those nations in the Middle East because they are the most associated with Israel. Yet, it has always been true that nations who bless Israel are blessed and those who curse Israel are cursed.

We have also seen God has a plan for individuals. An individual‘s response to God trumps God’s plan for a nation. We have seen many examples of this in scripture which have been presented here and in previous posts. God’s words of doom always come with a word of hope. Our hope today is in Jesus Christ who will save us from God’s wrath to come. Aren’t you glad we have a God who plans for us like that?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens