During the last post, we were exploring what heaven was like before Christ’s first coming. We discovered that something different happened for Enoch, Moses, and Elijah than for other humans. The Bible seems to imply that these three went to heaven and not to Sheol as did others at that time. Yet, there are some who believe that was not the case. Their argument is based almost entirely on a New Testament verse. Let’s explore that further.

Some quote, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man” (Jn 3:13). Yet, we first must take this verse in its context – Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus how to receive eternal life. Only the one who came from heaven, died, is resurrected, and ascends back to heaven can provide that. This verse is referring to volitionally doing so. Only Jesus had the means and power to do so on his own accord. Enoch, Moses, and Elijah did not volitionally ascend into heaven. God took them. They had no power on their own accord to do so. Therefore, this verse does not preclude these three from also being in heaven. We also do not need to fabricate how these three were placed in another location until God used them again.

Then, there are others who claim Elijah was back on earth after he was supposedly taken to heaven. They refer to a verse in 2nd Chronicles: “Jehoram [son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah] received a letter from Elijah the prophet . . .” (2Ch 21:12). This event occurred after the death of Jehoshaphat, yet Elijah was translated before the death of Jehoshaphat. Is there a rational explanation? I think there is. The word translated ‘letter’ is usually translated ‘writing’ in most other places. Therefore, Jehoram received a writing from Elijah (likely delivered by Elisha or another prophet). This is a simple, yet plausible, explanation and would not be inconsistent with the delivery of prophecy. Elijah made sure it was delivered at the specified time after he was taken away. This would ensure the delivery would have its maximum effect upon the king. Unfortunately, the king was un-phased even with such a prophetic delivery.

It is interesting that we find these three Old Testament individuals also represent how people will enter Christ’s earthly Promised Kingdom once he returns. The following table shows this:

So, what is the purpose of these three individuals receiving such special treatment? It is two-fold. First, these individuals provided hope and a promise to those who lived prior to Christ’s first coming that whoever would put their faith in the coming Messiah would eventually be with him. And second, it showed Old Testament saints, and even us today, the type of people who will be part of the Messiah’s future kingdom.

Why were only Moses & Elijah transfigured with Christ? Jesus would be building his church and his future bride would be composed of those who would be resurrected and those who would be translated.

Does this have anything to do with the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation (Rv 11)? The actions of these two are reminiscent of actions and miracles of Moses and Elijah. Since Moses and Elijah already have glorified bodies, the two witnesses may not be them specifically, but may represent, or be prototypes, of the types of individuals these two witnesses will be.

Okay, let’s summarize. Prior to Christ’s first coming, only the Trinity and angels had access to heaven. None of the righteous (those placing their faith in the coming Messiah), with three exceptions, were in Heaven prior to Christ’s first coming. Enoch, Moses, and Elijah gave hope to Israel they would one day be with their Messiah. These three are prophetic of the type of people who will make up Christ’s future earthly kingdom: those who will be alive at the time of Christ’s second coming (represented by Enoch), those who were part of the Rapture prior to Christ’s second coming (represented by Elijah), and those who will be resurrected either at the Rapture or at the time of Christ’s second coming (represented by Moses). These examples also demonstrate to us today that the Old Testament is proof of the prophecy to be fulfilled in the New Testament. What hasn’t been fulfilled yet will still be fulfilled in our future. We can trust God is faithful to bring to pass what his Word says.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When we think of the word ‘heaven,’ there are three places the Bible describes using the same word. Here are a few examples.

1. First Heaven – Sky. Isaiah spoke of this: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater . . . (Is 55:10).

2. Second Heaven – Outer Space. Moses spoke of this: And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars – all the heavenly array – do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under the heaven (Dt 4:19).

3. Third Heaven – Where God is. Paul spoke of this: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven (2Co 12:2). The psalmist spoke of this: The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne . . . (Ps 11:4). And Solomon spoke of this: But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you . . . (2Ch 6:18).

It’s the third heaven we want to concentrate on for this post. So, who occupies this third heaven? Based upon a previous post, we know that changed over the course of earth’s history. Let’s focus on its occupancy before Christ came to earth the first time. Here are the occupants the Bible speaks of and some of the supporting verses:

1.      First Person of Trinity (God the Father). We find God in the beginning: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gn 1:1). He also revealed himself to the Israelites at Mount Sinai after they were rescued from Egypt: Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire (Ex 19:18a).

2.      Second Person of Trinity (God the Son – Jesus Christ). The Bible tells us he was there with God in the beginning: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image…” (Gn 1:26). Also, after God appeared to the Israelites in the smoke and fire on Mount Sinai, this second person of the Godhead appeared to their leaders: Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank (Ex 24:9-11). I find this awe inspiring because right after God gave the command to stay off the mountain because they were not holy, he met with them to show his grace.

3.      Third Person of Trinity (God the Holy Spirit). Even the Holy Spirit was with God in the beginning: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Gn 1:2). The Holy Spirit was also given to many of the Israelite leaders: Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders (Nu 11:25a).

4.      Angels. The Bible speaks of both righteous angels and unrighteous angels, or demons, who followed Lucifer (also called the devil, the Adversary, or Satan).

Let’s now focus on these angels for a few minutes. The word ‘angel’ simply means ‘messenger.’ It is humans who have genericized what angels look like and what they do. The Bible actually gives us a look into these creatures whom God created. They are not all the same and they do not all have the same occupation or the same rank. Yet, they all are messengers who carry out the will of God:

1.      Cherubim (Ek 1:5-24; 10:1-22) – These are the highest rank of angels with the closest relationship to God, and a major part of God’s moving chariot throne

2.      Seraphim (Is 6:1-7) - They cover the unique presence of God and his throne.

3.      Four Living Beings (Rv 4:6-9) - They exalt God day and night.

4.      Archangel (1Th 4:16; Ju 1:9) - Chief Messenger and ruling angel.

5.      Angels – (Mt 24:36; 25:31; Hb 1:6; Ro 8:38; 1Pt 3:22) - These are messengers who carry out the message God wants delivered.

6.      Satan – (Jb 1:6; Rv 12:10) – Satan himself is an angel, a created being, who is submissive to God. He does not have equal billing or influence. The Bible does state he has access to heaven and to God, at least at certain times. Scriptures also tells us that one day his access will be revoked, and he will no longer be granted such access.

7.      Demons - (Ro 8:38; 1Co 15:24; Ep 1:21, 2:22, 3:10, 6:12; Cl 1:16, 2:10, 15; 1Pt 3:22) – These are under Satan and his authority. They may or may not have access to heaven. They also have ranks and are described as principalities, might, powers, dominions, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, authorities, rulers, and thrones.

The Second Person of the Godhead (who later became known as Jesus Christ) has always been the part of the Trinity who has reached out to humans and revealed attributes of God to them. There are many examples of this, and theologians have termed these Old Testament visits, or pre-incarnate visits, as Christophanies: Adam & Eve (Gn 3:8-9), Abraham (Gn 18:1), Children of Israel (Ex 23:20-21), Moses, Aaron, and elders (Ex 24:9-11), Joshua (Js 5:13-15), and Manoah and his wife (Jd 13:2-23). While this is not an exhaustive list, it does help us see and understand God was in constant communication with humans even before the Holy Spirit was given to all Christians.

There are some other individuals we must consider. There are three humans who the Bible state were taken to heaven before Christ’s first coming. Let’s take a look at them and see what that implies.

Enoch. The Bible states, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Gn 5:24). Later, we read, “by faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hb 11:5). And we find he was a prophet in his day: Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “see, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Ju 1:14). Therefore, Enoch preached of the Messiah coming to set up his earthly kingdom. How he entered heaven is how many will enter Christ’s kingdom. They, too, will not die but still be alive when Christ returns to earth again to set up his kingdom. They will literally, walk into his kingdom.

Moses. God told the children of Israel their promised coming Messiah would be recognizable because he would come as a prophet like Moses: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him” (Dt 18:15). When Moses died, God, himself buried him: “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). Yet, Moses did not stay buried. We read of this unusual event in Jude: “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘the Lord rebuke you’” (Ju 1:9)! The reason we believe he did not stay dead is because he appeared with Christ and three of his disciples: “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus” (Lk 9:30-31). Therefore, the disputed body may have been over Moses’ glorified body. If Moses was resurrected, Satan may have argued over Moses not staying in Sheol. Christ had not yet come and defeated death and Sheol, so Satan may have argued this was premature of God to raise Moses at this time. This would be consistent with the similarity between Moses and Jesus.

Elijah. He was another that did not face death in this life: “As they 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). This was a testimony to the message Elijah had constantly wanted his people to realize and understand about God: God is alive, and they can put their trust in him. Recall what he told the Israelites: “Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him’” (1Ki 18:21). This became a promise to Israel in that they would one day be with God if they remained faithful to their belief in their Messiah. Elijah also appeared along with Moses to Christ and three of his disciples: “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus” (Lk 9:30-31).

There are some controversies around what I just presented. Next time, we’ll explore this further and see what the likely purpose of why these three individuals received special treatment. It may not be what you expect. Stay turned and find out. Until then, God bless.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

I must admit I did not know of these holidays when I wrote about Sukkot; however, I feel they are worth reviewing.

Shemini Atzeret literally means "assembly of the eighth." In Leviticus (Lv 23:33-43), Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, is mentioned to be seven days in length with the eighth day being a "sacred assembly" where the people gather, offer sacrifices and are not allowed to do any work. This is considered a closing ceremony (Lv 23:36). In Deuteronomy (Dt 16:13-17), this eighth day is not mentioned which indicates that this eighth day has other significance than the agricultural aspects of Sukkot.

We saw in a previous post that Sukkot is prophetic to the millennial reign of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Therefore, this eighth day is prophetic of something that is to come after—i.e., the eternal rest (the reason for no work to be done) in the eternal heaven. We also saw in a previous post that this eighth day is prophetically tied to the year of Jubilee.

It is likely because this eighth day was debated of whether it was part of the official holiday of Sukkot that it was made into a holiday of its own: Shemini Atzeret—the assembly of the eighth. It in no way detracts from its prophetic meaning but rather highlights it since it is set apart from Sukkot itself.

Simchat Torah means "rejoicing in the Torah." There are weekly Torah readings starting from Genesis chapter 1 to Deuteronomy chapter 34. On this day, the day after Shemini Atzeret, the last passage in Deuteronomy is read and then Genesis chapter 1 is read to indicate that the Torah is a circle and never ends.

This holiday also supports the scriptural teaching that Sukkot is the last feast of the Jewish calendar that was given to Israel by God: Passover starting the cycle in the first month and Sukkot ending the cycle in the seventh month (Lv 23). Other holidays have been instituted since that time but does not change this cycle.

This also helps us to understand that "Jewish New Year" or Rosh Hashanah on Tishri 1 is not the start of a new year since it is the beginning of the seventh month. This day was originally known as Feast of Trumpets. It is representative of God remembering His covenant with Israel as a nation. Therefore, the nation has be renewed in God's sight as His covenant with them still stands. This seems to be the idea as the year of Jubilee began in the seventh month (Lv 25:9) as did the beginning of a king's reign in Jerusalem. Therefore, although not specifically mentioned in scripture, these holidays do have a scriptural connection.

For additional information, see Judaism 101.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When I say between Sukkot and Jubilee, I mean what occurs between the juncture of their prophetic fulfillment: between the Millennium and the Eternal State. There are only a couple of scriptures that describe this juncture. Because the number of verses are few, many seem to imply that the juncture is quick. However, I am not so sure that is the case. Let's look at these scriptures more closely. The first is probably the more familiar. In Revelation we find the following: "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rv 20:7-10).

We see here that Satan will go out and deceive the nations when he is released from the Abyss and allowed back on the earth. This would seem to imply that the deceit he wields will take time. Of course, many may be willing to be persuaded more than others, but when we see the number of people who are persuaded to be on Satan's side (like the sand on the seashore), then it would likely take a good amount of time to accumulate that number of people. It could take many years or even many decades.

The second scripture is found in Micah chapter 5. This is probably less well known and many have tried to make it fit into other prophecy, but it still seems to stand alone. Some of you may be familiar with verse 2 which predicts the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and we know that Jesus Christ was born there as prophesied (Lk 2). However, this chapter is very wide in scope. This coming Messiah is a ruler who will rule when Israel and Judah are recombined as a nation (v3) and he will rule over the entire earth in peace (v4-5). This undoubtedly speaks of Christ's Millennial reign. Verse 5 then transitions from a period of peace to a period of strife. While Assyria did invade Israel and take the northern tribes captive in 722 BC, the events in this chapter of Micah do not fit any scenarios of Assyria invading Israel and Israel never ruled Assyria. Therefore, these verses seem to point to the Messiah taking back the land over which Satan had gained control.

We know that during the Millennium, both Assyria and Egypt which had been adversaries against Israel for ages, become ruled by the Messiah and he calls them his people (Is 19:23-25). It seems that once Satan is released from the Abyss he likely sets up shop back in Babylon again—his  first place of rule led by Nimrod (Gn 10:8-12, 11:1-9; Mi 5:6). From here he campaigns throughout the whole earth to get recruits and is apparently very successful.

So why would God allow such to happen? After all, the people who are rejecting him came out of the Millennium under his rule. While scripture teaches that Christ will rule with an iron scepter (Ps 2:9; Rv 2:27, 12:5, 19:15) meaning any insurrection will be taken care of immediately (Is 65:20). However, there will be those who do not rebel openly, and these are the ones to whom Satan will appeal. It is hard to imagine such a thing where people will be born into an almost perfect state and not be appreciative. However, I think there are a couple of reasons for Christ to allow this to happen. First, God has always allowed people to have freedom of choice—even to their own detriment. He wants only those who are truly devoted to him to enter a state where they will live forever. Second, this gives everyone proof that their rebellion cannot be blamed on Satan as they had this built-up animosity against the Messiah during his rule when Satan was not present. Satan only capitalizes on their discord and is able to deceive them with, again, half-truths just like he has always done. This is a word of wisdom for us today. We, too, cannot use the excuse, "the devil made me do it." He certainly supplies the temptation, but not the desire. We need to pray to have the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16).

Needless to say, Christ is victorious as noted in Revelation (Rv 20:9). All those who are opposed to our Messiah are forever removed and only those devoted to him enter into the Eternal State. The time of ultimate peace will have arrived, and we will be forever with the Lord. We don't have time to go into how wonderful the Eternal State will be, but it will not be boring! We will save that for another time. It is also the subject in my book series, The Stele Prophecy Pentalogy. Please check out these books which will give you a fictional, but likely pretty accurate, depiction of what you can expect. After all, Paul tells us it will be greater than we can even imagine (1Co 2:9). So, come and imagine with me, and realize it will be even greater!

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Well, we have looked at the three Fall Jewish holidays, so is that the end?  Actually, there is more! It always amazes me how multifaceted God is. When God gave the requirement for all the feasts/holidays, he first mentioned the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week and called it a Sabbath of rest: Shabbat Shabbaton (Lv 23:3). This is a special emphasis on this particular Sabbath—like saying "ultimate Sabbath." But what is the context of this verse and why is it a prelude to the other feasts? It is a tie back to God's original creation because God "worked" for six days and then rested (or was satisfied, to be more exact) on the seventh day. Therefore, the weekly Sabbath was to remind the Israelites of God's work of creation—a perfect world of rest. As the feasts pointed to a future time for Israel, this Sabbath pointed to a future state of rest and was therefore given the special name of Sabbath of Rest.

But this is not the only day with this special title. It is mentioned on the Day of Atonement (Lv 23:32) and the year of Jubilee (Lv 25:4), each of these were called Sabbath of Rest. Then there is also the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. While not called a Sabbath of Rest, it is a Sabbath after the "feast unto the Lord seven days." Therefore, it points to something after. It becomes clear when we look at the prophetic nature of these feasts and their connection to creation. The weekly Sabbath looked back to God's original creation. The Day of Atonement points to Christ's second coming which is the beginning of a renewed Israel and renewed earth. The Feast of Tabernacles points to the Millennium and so the Sabbath of the eighth day points to something following the Millennium which is the final rest and is then linked to Jubilee which is the final Sabbath of Rest which points to the Eternal State where we will be with the Lord forever.

So what was Jubilee? This was a period of seven Sabbaths of years and thereby occurred every 50 years. The Israelites were to observe a Sabbath year every seven years where the land would be left idle so it could "rest” and replenish itself with nutrients. The people were to depend upon the Lord to increase the bounty of their crops the sixth year to carry them through the Sabbath year and to the time of next harvest (Lv 25:2-7). This was a time of faith and dependence upon God for them. However, Scripture never records that Israel ever kept the Sabbath year for the land; their 70-year captivity into Babylon was given because they had not kept this Sabbath for the land (2Ch 36:21).

After keeping seven Sabbath years came the year of Jubilee—the 50th year (Lv 25). What occurred during this year? Things were to return to their original state: land that had been sold would go back to its original owner or family; those sold into servitude would be released, and all debts would be cancelled. It was like pressing a reset button. It was a cause of much celebration! It pointed to the final state of rest that would occur when their Messiah would come. The weekly Sabbath pointed to the original state of God's perfect creation and rest, and Jubilee pointed to the final state of God's perfect creation and rest (Hb 4:9). We have perfect bookends. Jubilee is the End of the Beginning [1].

This then is another cause to separate the Millennium from the Eternal State as that is how the feasts were arranged. Also, each of these fulfills the ultimate plan of two original purposes declared by God. God placed Adam and Eve in the original garden to have dominion of it, but they failed. The Eternal State is the re-creation of that and the fulfillment of what God had originally intended. Can you imagine how thrilled Adam and Eve will be to see this wonderful state again from which they originally inhabited—only better! What about the Millennium? If we look back in Exodus, we see that God had originally established Israel to be a kingdom of priests for the world (Ex 19:6). Although Aaron, his sons, and the Levites were priests for the nation of Israel, the nation of Israel itself was to be the priests, the Ambassadors of their God, to the rest of the world. The blessings God promised to Israel if they were obedient (Dt 28) would be a drawing card to all other nations to bring them to God. That also did not occur as originally designed; the Millennium will be the fulfillment of Israel being the priests to the entire world and will lead the world in praise to God (Zc 8:20-23). This is also why we can see the Millennial temple to which God showed Ezekiel (Ek 40-48) being a literal temple that will be in existence during the Millennium—for cleansing of all implements for holy service and a memorial to the atonement (cleansing) act of Christ for all the world to understand and visually see and comprehend.

It is also an interesting fact that although the physical year started in the first month (Nissan) which contained Passover, but the year of Jubilee started on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri): the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur (Lv 25:9). This again points to why this was a Sabbath of rest (Shabbat Shabbaton) because it started the year of Jubilee and pointed toward the beginning of the future state when Israel will once again become a holy nation. As a side bar, this is likely the reason the kings of Judah began their reign starting in Tishri rather than in Nissan. They were looking to the future reign of their King of kings.

We have one more session to go on this topic. I have often heard many pastors say that we will just go from the Millennium where all is joy to the Eternal State, going from happiness to eternal bliss. However, I find that is not really the case. There is a lot of disturbance during this transition period. We will look at that next time. I hope you will join me.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington IN: CrossBooks, 2009)

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Let's first address the somewhat provocative statement I made at the end of my post last time. How do these Jewish feasts relate to salvation? The answer is 'faith.' Just as our salvation relies on our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, so it was for the Israelites. How it that? Well, we look back on what Christ, the Messiah, did for us whereas the Israelites looked forward to what their coming Messiah would do for them.

Let's see how the logic went for them and see if this is the same logic for us today. To be in a right relationship with God, each individual Israelite knew that they had no real merit on their own to stand before a holy God. After all, these Israelites who were alive when God first presented these feasts to them, saw God on Mt. Sinai. They saw the smoke and fire and felt the violent earthquake of the mountain that tried to accommodate God's presence—and they were terrified (Ex 19:16). No one present that day had the slightest inkling that they were able to stand before this holy God. So, here comes the seventh month in which is the Day of Atonement. Will God accept them? By what means could they be sinless before him? They had no chance. But wait, before the Day of Atonement was the Feast of Trumpets! Yes, that is their only hope: they would ask God to remember his covenant with them and to keep his promise of love and protection. If God remembered his covenant before he proclaims his judgment, then they stood a chance. On the Day of Atonement, a blood sacrifice was made on their behalf and was accepted by God. They were then at peace with God for another year. They could then truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because God had accepted them and desires fellowship with them. Although the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement were solemn occasions, the Feast of Tabernacles was truly a joyous one. They had been accepted by God! They now had fellowship with God! They had good reason to celebrate. As we saw earlier, the Israelites looked forward to the One who would come to be the ultimate sacrifice for their sin—the One to whom the blood of atonement pointed. This they accepted by faith. It was their faith, not the actual ritual, that saved them. The ritual pointed to the One to come and their part in the ritual pointed to the sincerity of their heart. That is what God was looking for within each and every individual.

Does that not sound similar to what we experience today? We must realize we cannot stand before God in our present condition. We have no hope in our present state and cannot earn God's favor no matter how good we think we are or try to be. It is just not possible. Why? Because God is perfection and anything that does not meet this minimum standard (i.e., perfection) is unacceptable. Well that is a high bar, isn’t it? Yes, it is very high because God is the ultimate and expects no less. So what is our only hope? Our only hope is to put our faith in God's new covenant which Jesus Christ has established through his death on the cross for us. By faith, we accept the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross for our sins, and trust in that, and that alone, for our salvation. That is the only price God can accept, and does accept, to allow anyone into his presence. Again, it our faith, and not any ritual, that saves us. That is what God is still looking for within each and every individual.

Doesn't that point to a God who is consistent and does not change (Ml 3:6)? Many think the Old and New Testaments are not connected, but they are intricately connected and flow quite well together. Would we expect any less from a God who does not change? Salvation has always been and will always be consistent: faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah of us all.

I will save the next piece for next time. We saw that the Feast of Tabernacles was a very joyous feast and why. That is very consistent with the prophetic nature of this feast—the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Who could deny that it will be a most joyous time? However, there is something that comes after the Millennium and there is a connection to what God originally instituted with the Israelites. It is this that we will discover at our next time together. Until then, God bless!

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Today we will talk about the last Fall Jewish Holiday, Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot). While this is not the last Jewish holiday in our calendar, it was the last yearly holiday/feast that God provided to the Israelites when they left Egypt (Lv 23:34-44). It started 5 days after Day of Atonement on the 15th of Tishri (the 7th month of the Jewish calendar) and lasted for 8 days. A Sabbath (day of rest) was held on the first day and last day but this last day was different and denoted as a 'finale.'  Today this eighth day is celebrated as Shemini Atzeret. This feast required that the people build booths made from palm branches, from thick trees, and from willows (Lv 23:40). The booths were burned before the end of the 8th day. The booths reminded the Israelites not only of their lack of permanent dwellings during their time in the wilderness but also emphasized their precarious existence during those years.[1] However, the materials of these booths were not those commonly associated with a desert but materials they would more likely find in their Promised Land. Therefore, although a reminder of where they had been it was also a reminder of their future hope as well.

John speaks of this feast (Jn 7). The day would begin with sacrifices followed by a festive meal and a study of the Law. Near evening, the priests would then go down to the pool of Siloam and bring back two golden pint pictures full of water. The people would stand along the way raising willow branches (lulavs) to form a canopy as the priests progressed back toward the temple. As the priests entered the Water Gate, trumpets would blast. The evening sacrifices were made and to climax the event the priests would pour the water into one silver basin (symbolizing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit) and would pour wine into the other silver basin. The temple orchestra would then play the Hallel (Ps 113-118). The people would wave their lulavs and recite certain parts of the scripture with the choir. After dark, there would be four golden candelabras to light the occasion. All the actions and songs of this ceremony focused on the coming of their Messiah and the peace he would bring. It was during this water ceremony that Jesus stood up and spoke the words, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (Jn 7:37-38). Here Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. This offer proclaimed by Jesus Christ linked the Messiah's coming, i.e., his literal kingdom, and the coming peace and spiritual healing with the Feast of Tabernacles.[1] Therefore, this feast has future significance for us.

Jewish tradition teaches that God's coming presence to the Israelites of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night occurred on the 15th of Tishri. God came to tabernacle with them. Is there a future day when God plans to tabernacle with His people? The Bible speaks of a literal reign by Jesus Christ for 1,000 years. This seems to be to the future state this feast/holiday points toward. This makes sense from a chronological perspective: Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah; beginning of Tribulation Period); Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur; Christ's second coming where nationally Israel accepts Christ as their Messiah and God forgives their sin); Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot; Christ sets up his literal reign with his people and 'tabernacles' with them).

I know that the idea of a Millennial Kingdom and reign is somewhat controversial in Christian circles. However, I think the Feast of Tabernacles is one strong argument that the Millennium will be a literal event and that it will occur after the Tribulation Period. I think there are two other strong arguments for this event to be literal. One is that this promise of God dwelling with his people was a theme of most of the prophets (both major prophets and minor prophets). This promise was also given after a pronouncement of doom and/or destruction. It was given as hope to the Israelites even in the midst of God's pronouncement of punishment. Therefore, it cannot be metaphorical because only a promise of literal fulfillment can produce hope. If something is metaphorical, it cannot elicit expectant hope. Secondly, with the Millennium being literal, it prevents one from having to make a significant amount of scripture metaphorical: the description of the Millennial temple by Ezekiel (Ek 40-48), most of the prophets and the reference to its occurrence in Revelation (Rv 20:3). It being literal makes all these scriptures and Jewish ceremony come alive, be cohesive, and is able to elicit the same hope in us today. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior (you trust in his act of dying for your sins on the cross as payment for your sins so that your reliance of going to Heaven is only through his act and not on your own merit), then you, too, have this hope. It is a literal hope that can spur one own to great things in this current life.

Next time we will see how these feasts tie well into the gospel story and our salvation as well as how another event God asked the Jews to remember guides us into a prophecy of the ultimate state with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you join me.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington IN: CrossBooks, 2009)

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Let's now move on to Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This holiday is 9 days after Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) on 10th day of Tishri (the 7th month of Jewish calendar - usually around September of our calendar). It is a very solemn holiday because it is the day atonement is sought (Lv 16). From the days of the Tabernacle until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, this was the day that the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to make atonement before God with blood. Before Judah was taken captive by Babylon in 586 BC, the Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant on top of which was the Mercy Seat (also called Atonement cover). There were two cherubim on the mercy seat, one on each side, and the Shekinah glory of God would appear to the high priest on this day of the year. This was the only day of the year that the high priest, or anyone, would enter the Holy of Holies. The high priest would make atonement (cleansing) with blood for his household, all the elements of the tabernacle/temple used for the ceremony, and for all the people. After the exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple, the high priest would enter an empty Holy of Holies where the blood was still offered. Yet, God stated that He was still with them despite this (Hg 2:4-5). After all, God was after the heart of His people and not necessarily just the rituals. Many times God stated he desired their devotion not their sacrifice (Ho 6:6; Jl 2:13; Mi 6:8).

We said previously that these holidays, or feasts, were also prophetic, so what would the Day of Atonement be prophetic toward? The death of Christ on the cross is where he made atonement (cleansing) for all our sins (1Jn 2:2, 4:10). While all these elements of the Day of Atonement point to Christ and his act of atonement on the cross, there is more to the story. As we saw previously, these feasts are memorials for the nation of Israel as well as for individuals. So what would the Day of Atonement mean for the nation of Israel? It occurs after the Feast of Trumpets and we previously saw that feast is prophetic of the beginning of the Tribulation period. So, what event that comes after this event would correspond to the meaning of the Day of Atonement? It would be the second coming of Christ. Zechariah speaks of this (Zc 12:10-13:9). The nation will finally accept Christ as their Messiah and he will forgive their sin. This then sets the stage for the next holiday which we will discuss next time.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In our last post, we discovered Paradise is wherever Jesus Christ, in his glorified state, resides. But there is a little more to it than just that, although that is an important step in understanding Biblical context.

We also found that everyone went to Sheol when they died, but they went to different sections within Sheol depending upon their faith in the coming Messiah. After the Messiah came, died, rose, and ascended, we find those who put their faith in the Messiah who came would now be with him in Heaven when they died. Since the entire Bible is true, then something had to have happened to make both passages of Scripture true. Somehow, the righteous went from being in Sheol to being in the third Heaven. So, how did it happen?

There is no one Scripture reference that tells us what happened, but there are enough pieces of evidence throughout Scripture which we can assemble into a logical scenario of the chain of events. Let’s explore.

Jesus told the thief on the cross he would be with Jesus in paradise that very day (Lk 23:43). We discovered that because Jesus went to Sheol, paradise came to Sheol that day. The long awaited hope all the righteous in Sheol had longed for was now being fulfilled. Joy had come to a non-joyous place. To fulfill Scripture, Jesus was in Sheol for three days (Mt 12:40). By rising from the dead, it showed he now possessed the power over death and Sheol (Rv 1:18). Others had died and been resurrected, but they died again. Jesus Christ rose and never died again. He is the Hope for our eternal future (Ro 6:5).

Jesus rose from the dead early on a Sunday (Mt 28:1, 6). Because of the rush to bury Jesus before Passover ended and the special Sabbath arrived (Lk 23:54), the women who had come to the crucifixion did not get to prepare Jesus’ body properly by Jewish standards (Mt 27:59-60; Lk 23:53). Several women came to anoint his body once the weekly Sabbath was over, when they could again travel to the tomb. Art usually depicts three women coming to the tomb that morning, but there were many other women with them (Lk 24:10). These women find the heavy stone already rolled away from the tomb’s entrance (Mk 16:4). Mary Magdalene gets to the tomb first (Jn 20:1), but goes off on her own in sadness. The other women see the angels who tell them to tell Peter and the other disciples Jesus is alive (Mt 28:6; Mk 16:7; Lk 24:6). The women leave; one group runs to the disciples (Mt 28:8); the others travel with Mary (Mt 28:9), Jesus’ mother, who is likely confused and trying to understand the angelic message.

The disciples did not believe the women, but Peter and John ran to the tomb (Lk 24:11-12; Jn 20:3) to check for themselves. When Mary Magdalene saw Peter and John approaching, she ran to them and told them someone took Jesus’ body (Jn 20:2). Mary Magdalene likely ran back to the tomb with them. Peter and John entered the tomb; Peter left confused; John believed (Jn 20:4-9). Peter and John left; Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb (Jn 20:10-11). Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9; Jn 20:14) but told her he had not yet ascended back to the Father (Jn 20:17). Mary Magdalene went back and told the disciples she had seen Jesus (Jn 20:18). What was this conversation with Mary Magdalene about?

A sin offering was considered most holy (Ex 30:10; Lv 10:17) and was to be used for atonement (Hb 9:7). Christ was now going to present himself to God the Father for the eternal atonement (Hb 9:12) of mankind. Perhaps something like the following occurred.

Jesus returned to Sheol and announced to all those in Sheol who had died and, by faith, had looked forward to his coming, “It is time! Come.” And then they were gone. This part of Sheol was now empty. The barrier dissolved, no longer needed. Jesus transported the righteous from Sheol to heaven with him: i.e., led captivity captive (Ep 4:8-10; Ps 68:18). That is why Paul was able to say that now to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Co 5:8). Christ’s death created a paradigm shift among the living and the dead.

“They’re here! They’re here!” various angles were telling each other. They all scrambled to line the way that led to God’s throne. This was a once in an eternity experience! They were not going to miss it. Jesus led the procession, and behind him, from Abel to the thief on the cross who Christ had promised to be with Him in Paradise just a short time earlier, followed behind Jesus. As Jesus passed, angels genuflected and bowed their heads to show their respect to this One, their Beloved, who had been willing to leave this beautiful, wonderful, home and go to earth to pay the high price God required for mankind’s sin and be willing to be forever changed from spirit to human form. Jesus headed to God’s throne, to the true Most Holy Place (Hb 9:11-12). When the processional reached the throne, Jesus said, “Father, I present myself and the blood I have shed to you as the payment to purchase these here with me who have looked forward, by faith, to this day as we had prophesied even before our creation of mankind.” God replied, “My Son, I accept your sacrifice and your blood as payment for these here and for those who, also by faith, will also become yours. No longer is a sacrifice needed. Your payment satisfies the debt due once and for all.” He then turned His attention to those who accompanied Jesus. “My children, I welcome you. Your faith in your Messiah is rewarded. His blood has covered your sins, and I only see you through Him. You are accepted.” At that, all the angels stood and began to applaud these who had now come to be with them in Heaven, and some of the angels started singing praises to their unique and awesome God.

Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, and God, the first person of the Trinity, continued their conversation. “My Son, go now and finish your work. You have gathered one sheepfold, now is the time to start gathering the second. Go and show the Adversary you have not only paved the way for mankind to overcome their sin, but you have also overcome death itself. Go fulfill our prophecy to Eve that your death is comparable to that of a bruised heel. As a bruise is short-lived, so has been your death. Then the Adversary will know the rest of the prophecy will come to pass. You have served as a prophet, you will now serve all those who trust in your work by faith as their High Priest before Me, and you will one day serve as their King. Our prophecy cannot be thwarted. Go, My Son. I look forward to your return.” At that, as the angles still sang, Jesus was gone.

Jesus next appears to his mother and the other women (Mt 28:9). These women returned to tell the disciples Jesus would meet them in Galilee (Mt 28:10). How could the above have happened between the time of Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene and him appearing to his mother before she got back to the disciples? Well, Heaven seems to be outside of our normal sense of time (2Pt 3:8). Therefore, one can’t correlate our sense of what can get accomplished with what God can accomplish.

Jesus, later in the day, appeared to Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus (Mk 16:12; Lk 24:15), and later appeared to all the disciples (Mt 28:16; Mk 16:14; Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19).

So, the righteous were moved from Sheol to Heaven because of Christ’s payment of atonement for their sins and their faith in him coming to do just that. We now will be with him forever if we accept what he did utilizing that same faith. They looked forward; we look backward. But our faith in Christ is the same. Praise His Name.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There are three Jewish holidays that occur during September of this year (sundown to sundown):

Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year; Feast of Trumpets): Sep 6th - 8th (today usually celebrated for two days instead of one)

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): Sep 15th -16th

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles): Sep 20th – Sep 27th

There are other websites from which a person can get good information, like Judaism 101. However, I would like to address these three holidays and see what it means to Jews as well as to the world in general. The first holiday to talk about is Rosh Hashanah:

So why is Rosh Hashanah called the Jewish New Year? It actually occurs on the first day of the 7th month (Tishri) and so is different from what we Americans think of when we say "New Year." It was first instituted by God shortly after the Jewish Exodus from Egypt and has been denoted as Feast of Trumpets (Lv 23:23-25): "Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated [KJV uses the word 'memorial'] with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire" (NIV). So, if this is a Feast of Memorial, then a memorial of what? Congdon [1] has shown that there were three events in the Bible where the events were around this particular feast:

(1)   dedication of first temple (1Ki 8 & 2 Ch 5)

(2)    restoration of the temple by the exiles returning from Babylon to Jerusalem (Er 3), and

(3)    when Ezra and Nehemiah led the returned exiles in a revival and rededication (Ne 8).

In each of these instances, the people, as a nation, looked back to the Covenant promises that God made to Israel. Therefore, the blowing of the shofar was made to ask God to remember his covenant with them. This would make sense as just 9 days later, the Day of Atonement would occur (10th day of Tishri). An individual cannot be righteous on his own, so an individual's only hope is for God to remember His promises to them. More of that later.

So, if this holiday, or feast, is symbolic of God remembering his covenant with Israel, are there instances in the New Testament of this? Yes, there is—a very significant one. If you recall, Malachi was the last prophet that we have record of that preached God's word to His people. Then came a time that has been knows as the "400 silent years." While there was a lot going on during this time, there was no official word from God, until . . .  the birth of Christ. He was the act of God remembering His covenant with His people. Larson [2] has done some excellent work on showing that the conception of Christ began around the time of Rosh Hashanah in 3 BC. We will have more about this in a future blog post.

These Jewish holidays/feasts are also prophetic in nature. The New Testament revealed that the first four feasts were prophetic:

Passover (also known as Pesach; Nissan 14th; Lv 23:5) - prophetic of Christ's death (1Co 5:7)

Feast of Unleavened Bread (also known as Matzah; Nissan 15th; Lv 23:6-8) - prophetic of Christ's burial (1 Co 15:4)

Feast of Firstfruits (also known as Bikkurim; Nissan 16th; Lv 23:9-14) - prophetic of Christ's resurrection (1Co 15:4)

These are typically celebrated today without demarcation: this year: Mar 27th – Apr 3rd

Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, Pentecost; 50 days after Firstfruits; Lv 23:15-21) - prophetic of gift of Holy Spirit (Ac 2:1-4) - in 2012, this holiday occurred May 16th – 17th

It would therefore be likely that the 3 feasts in the seventh month would also be prophetic. So, when would God remember his covenant with Israel again? When Christ first came, the Jewish leaders rejected him as their Messiah. This instituted what has been noted as the Age of Gentiles, as referred by Paul (Ro 11:25). Although we are saddened that Christ was rejected, we Gentiles should not be too sad because it opened the way for us to be "grafted in" (Ro 11:17). However, this in no way implies that God has rejected His people (Ro 11:26) because God's promises are irrevocable (Ro 11:29; Jr 31:33-37). But if this is the Age of Gentiles, when does God work with the nation of Israel again? Likely when the saved, "grafted-in," Gentiles are taken out of the picture - i.e., the Receiving of His Bride, also called the Rapture, (1Th 4:16-18). Now, I am not saying the Rapture is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets because this event deals with God's present church (saved Jews and Gentiles) and not the nation of Israel. However, this does set up the scenario for God to then remember His covenant and to deal with the nation of Israel once more. The prophet Daniel does state that a covenant will be made with Israel by a coming world ruler (Dn 9:27) which will initiate the worst of times the world has ever experienced, which has been termed the Tribulation. This is likely the future event to which this feast is referring because this will certainly get Israel's attention at that time.

The fate of Israel affects us all. More to follow soon.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington, IN: Crossbooks, 2009)

[2] Larson, Frederick A. “The Star of Bethlehem” (2008) https://bethlehemstar.com/

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The word paradise conjures up images of somewhere peaceful and beautiful, and where no one has a care in the world. But what is the Biblical meaning? Some would say the Garden of Eden, or Heaven, or the Millennium, or maybe the New Jerusalem as part of the New Earth. Well, let’s see how the Bible used the word ‘paradise.’ Surprisingly, it is only used three times:

Lk 23:43 – Jesus answered him, “I tell you [thief on the cross] the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

2Co 12:4 – [Paul] was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.”

Rv 2:7 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

As we first look at these, it would appear three different places are being called paradise. Let’s investigate each one. In a previous post, we saw that prior to Christ’s resurrection, everyone went to Sheol. Was Christ calling the part of Sheol for the righteous, paradise? If that is the case, then this would be the only place in Scripture where Sheol is called Paradise.

King David referred to Sheol differently. Even knowing he would one day go to the portion for the righteous, he referred to it as a place like the following:

•Of captivity

•Where worship at temple cannot occur

•Where joys of life cannot be experienced

Therefore, he did not consider it a place he wanted to go, but a place to be released from.

There was an expectation of future joy after death, but that would occur only after their resurrection. After Babylonian captivity, some Jewish sects did teach of experiencing Gan Eden after death. Yet, most taught this would occur after their resurrection.

Christ would have known the correct time of Gan Eden, or Paradise, so he would not have used it inappropriately.

So, how do we make sense of three different places being called ‘paradise’? Well, what do all these references have in common? It would seem that in all cases, Jesus Christ himself is present. He was in the Garden of Eden; he was in Sheol when the thief on the cross went to Sheol; he is in Heaven today; and we who accept him by faith will be with him in his Millennial Kingdom and in the New Earth. It would seem, then, that paradise is wherever he is. He could tell the thief he would be in Paradise because Christ would be with him in Sheol. This was the only time it could be called Paradise as this was the first time happiness and joy entered there. Christ is today in Heaven, and so it would be correct for Paul to state he went to Paradise. And, in the future, Christ will be a part of the New Heaven and Earth when the Tree of Life will once again be available as John stated in Revelation.

It seems appropriate that Paradise is wherever Christ is. He is the one who brings hope and joy. Paradise is associated with praise, and praise is void without Christ being the subject of it.

Now, if that is the case, how does this play a key role in the transition of Christ’s followers going from being in Sheol after death to being in Heaven in Christ’s presence after death? Stay tuned for our next post.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

I thought we would summarize what we have gone over so far regarding hell before we move on to the more positive side of things.

We first saw several Biblical translations used the world “hell” for four main terms: Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus. Yet, these were not always translated consistently in this manner. The main drawback to this is that it hides some of the subtlety the original writers were trying to convey with these terms. We then explored these terms in more detail.

Sheol was the place described in the Old Testament as the place where all the dead resided. Yet, it seems there were three areas to Sheol: the place where the righteous went, the place where the wicked went, and the place which contained certain rebellious angels. The word “pit” was sometimes used for where the wicked resided. The term “Abyss” or “Tartarus” was used for where these rebellious angels were kept. From these terms, it seemed as if there were three layers with the highest layer being for the righteous (Sheol), the second layer being for the wicked (pit), and the third and deepest layer being for the rebellious angels (Tartarus).

Hades was synonymous to Sheol and was simply the Greek word used for the same place as the Hebrew word Sheol. We also learned that Sheol/Hades is a temporary place. At some point, everyone in Sheol/Hades will be brought out, judged, and then spend eternity somewhere else. Both the wicked and the rebellious angels will be taken from their intermediate abode, judged, and then be cast into Gehenna – also known as the Lake of Fire – a place of eternal punishment.

But what about the righteous in Sheol? When do they come out? Well, that will be in our next post. They were the first to be taken out of Sheol. For us today, that event occurred in our past. The event in the previous paragraph is still in our future. Understanding when the righteous left Sheol helps us understand the seeming discrepancy between the Old Testament and New Testament. The New Testament teaches to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That can’t happen if souls of the righteous today still go to Sheol. Where do they go? And when did that change? Well, come join us next week and find out. I’ll give you a teaser. Maybe paradise is more than you thought it to be.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Tartarus is a term only used once in scripture: “. . . God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to Tartarus, putting them into gloomy dungeons (chains of darkness) to be held for judgment” (2Pt 2:4).

As we stated in previous posts, many translators used the term “hell” here. While that does covey a since of punishment, it doesn’t distinguish this from the other terms that were also translated as “hell.” Since Peter here uses a term not used elsewhere, it would seem he is conveying a message different from any of the other terms that have been translated as hell (i.e., sheol, hades, gehenna). So, what is he trying to convey?

Before we answer that, perhaps we should try to understand this term better. While this is the only place it is mentioned in scripture, this is not the only place it is used in literature. Actually, for those fond of Greek mythology, it is not an unfamiliar term. I’ll try and be brief. In all honesty, Greek mythology gives me a headache trying to keep everything straight. Apparently, in the beginning, Gaea (goddess of the earth) and Uranus (god of the sky) produced twelve Titans. Two of those, Cronus and Rhea, then produced the Olympian gods. There was war between the Titans and the Olympians. The Olympians originally won and Zeus, the chief Olympian god, banished the Titans to Tartarus. Tartarus was an abyss that was described as being  far below Hades as Heaven was above the earth. It seems all was envisioned as a sphere with Heaven being the highest part of the sphere and Tartarus the lowest part with earth in the middle.

So, what does this have to do with what Peter is talking about? Did he believe in Greek mythology? I don’t think so. However, with every myth comes a grain of truth. The Titans, were, well, titans: giants by comparison to everyone else. Does that start to ring a bell? Where do we have giants in the Bible? If we turn back to Genesis, chapter six, we read of the “Nephilim.” These were believed to be giants and were produced by angels who came to the earth and mated with mortal women. While some believe that to be a tall tale, apparently Peter didn’t think so. These angels stepped outside of their designated place appointed by God, and God punished them and sent them to the Abyss. This is what Peter referred to as Tartarus. See the connection? Zeus sent the Titans to Tartarus, the Abyss, just as God did with these angels who caused the chaos on the early earth. Peter was saying that if God did not spare angels for their transgressions, should not the ungodly be worried?

You may have rolled your eyes there. Yet, it was not only Peter who believed this. Other demons believed as well. Recall when Jesus healed the man near the Galilee Sea region who was possessed by legions of demons? What did these demons plead to Jesus about? “And they [the demons] begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss” (Lk 8:31). They had rather go anywhere than to the Abyss. Pigs for them was even better. It seems it was a place no demon wanted to go.

What was Peter’s final conclusion about this? “If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment, while continuing their punishment” (2Pt 2:9). So, unless we feel we are better than angels and have more authority, then Peter is saying we will also be held into account. Hmm, that should give us reason to pause. Thank goodness for a Savior. Wouldn’t you agree?

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Although several Biblical translations used the word “hell” for the term “Gehenna,” let’s see if we can understand why this particular term was used. The term is used 12 times in the New Testament. Each occurrence, but one, was used by Jesus himself. The other instance is found in the book of James.

We saw last time that Jesus used the term ‘Hades’ when he described the fate of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31). Because he also used the term ‘Hades’ in one place and ‘Gehenna’ in another, it is likely this was intentional. This gives us a clue that there is a difference between the two even if some translate both as ‘hell.’ So what message was he trying to get across?

First, we need to understand how this term came about. We need to go back to the book of Joshua to find its first occurrence. We find that the border between Judah and Benjamin was the Valley of Ben Hinnom (Js 15:8), just south of Jerusalem. We don’t really know anything about who Hinnom was or his son, but the term became renowned. This valley also became the place where child sacrifice was practiced by Kings Ahaz (2Ch 28:3) and Manasseh (2Ch 33:6). King Josiah desecrated the place to prevent sacrifices from reoccurring there (1Ki 23:10). Over time, this area became used as a refuse dump and a fire was continuously burning. The Hebrew word for ‘valley’ is ‘gei’ and the Hebrew term Ge-Hinnom when stated in Greek is Gehenna.

When Christ used the term Gehenna, he was admonishing people to avoid being cast into it at all costs and do whatever it would take to avoid it (Mt 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mk 9:43, 45, 47; Lk 12:5). It would seem he used people’s knowledge of the Gehenna of the day as a reference to what God would do at some point in the future.

This is not just a New Testament idea. The prophet Isaiah did present this concept (Is 66:22-14). The context of these verses is when the new heavens and new earth will be created. In Revelation 20, this same context talks about the Great White Throne judgment and those not found written in the Book of Life being cast into the Lake of Fire (Rv 20:11-15). From this, it would seem Gehenna and Lake of Fire are synonymous. Therefore, Christ’s warning about Gehenna is his warning about the final, and eternal, Lake of Fire. These verses also reveal that Hades and Gehenna are not the same as even Hades is cast into Gehenna (Rv 20:14). As stated in a previous post, Hades is an intermediate state. We see here that Gehenna is a final state (Mk 9:48; Is 66:24).

All these scriptures show the Bible has a cohesive message and, therefore, we should pay special attention as it has everlasting relevance for each individual.

In our next post, we will look at another term that many times gets translated as hell, but the term has a very distinct meaning.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In the last two posts we learned that Sheol (Hebrew) and Hades (Greek) were names for the same place where the souls of the dead resided, were an intermediate state, and were where both the righteous and the wicked would go, but likely to different areas.

Now, we want to see if we can understand why this term was not always translated into English in the same way at each and every occurrence. In our first post, we found that hell and grave were the most common translations with a few also translated as pit, death, and depth. Why was this?

When one looks more closely, it would appear in most cases, the word “grave” was used when referring to the righteous and “hell” was used when referring to the wicked. The purpose here may have been to highlight that the righteous and wicked did not have the same fate. However, this now puts two different Hebrew words translated as “grave” in English. Hebrew has a different word for grave and never interchanged the meaning with Sheol. The grave was always a place in the physical world for the body and never implied a place for the soul. Therefore, clarity in one area created confusion in another.

The term “pit” almost always referred to the place of the wicked and typically implied the wicked were below those of the righteous. This denoted a place of inferiority and a separate and distinct place. This is different from the term “Abyss” which we will get to in a future post.

One of the other controversial spots in scripture has been the story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31). Some claim this was a parable, and we shouldn’t take it as a true story, so the idea of torment in hell should not be taken too literally. Others claim this is the only place in the Bible which supports such a tenet, and we should therefore not link doctrine to this one area. There are others who claim it was true and, therefore, we must believe all aspects of the story. Who’s right?

We need to understand that even the parables Jesus gave were based upon fact with only the story itself being fiction. Places and events were literal and/or possible/believable. The same would be true here. Not all true stories Jesus told had named characters (e.g., Mk 10:17; Lk 14:1), so we shouldn’t quibble over whether it was or was not a parable. Both contained truth. We also saw in the last two posts that the Old Testament was not devoid of punishment of the wicked in Sheol, and did support different places within Sheol for the righteous compared to the wicked. Therefore, this story told by Jesus was supportive, and not against, other scripture.

In this story, Jesus used the Greek term ‘Hades’ which was the same as ‘Sheol’ in the Old Testament. Jesus was describing the same Sheol as the Jews of that day believed in at the time. In addition, Jesus was criticized for many things, but nowhere in scripture did the Jewish leaders of the day mention he had stated anything about the afterlife they did also not believe.

There were other terms mentioned in the New Testament translated as ‘hell.’ One, Gehenna, was one that Jesus himself mentioned many times. This term is totally different from the term ‘Hades’ he used in the passage above. Next time, we’ll investigate this term and see what it implies and why Jesus said so much about it.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In the Old Testament, Sheol is noted as the place where all dead go: both the righteous and the wicked. Before we get deeper into the controversy of why translators did not always translate the world Sheol into the same English word, let’s first get an understanding of what the Old Testament stated about Sheol.

We first need to understand that while all the dead went to Sheol, not everyone went to the same place in Sheol. It seems there was a different place for the righteous versus that for the wicked. There are passages within scripture that mention at least three different sections within Sheol (Dt 32:22; Ps 30:3; Is 14:15; 2Pt 2:4) with the righteous occupying the upper part, the wicked the lower part (sometimes called the “pit”), and some angels occupying another, separate, section of Sheol. We will discuss this latter section in a separate post. In addition, the Talmud supports this belief as well (see ref).

What are some of the characteristics of Sheol? Many Old Testament passages tell what Sheol is not rather than what it actually is. Many passages contrast Sheol to life and hence the term “land of the living” in contrast to the land of the dead – the opposite of each other (Ps27:13; 52:5; 116:9; 142:5; Is 38:11; 53:8; and Ezekiel 26:20; 32:23-27; 32:32). Sheol is a place where activities of physical life are no longer possible: they do not marry, procreate, or carry on business transactions; they cannot attend public worship in the temple and give sacrifices or praise; they cannot eat or drink; they do not have any wisdom or knowledge about what is happening in the land of the living; they are cut off from the living; they have entered a new dimension of reality with its own kind of existence (Ps 6:5, 30:9, 88:10-12, 115:17; Ec 9:5, 10; Is 38:18). It is a place hidden to us and of a different dimension. Some scripture calls it a “shadowy place” or “place of darkness” (Jb 10:21-22; Ps 143:3) and a place of disembodied spirits (Jb 26:5; Ps 88:10; Pv 2:18, 9:18, 21:16; Is 14:9, 26:14, 19). Other scripture tells us Sheol is found “down”, “beneath the earth,” or in “the lower parts of the earth” (Jb 11:8; Is 44:23, 57:9; Ek 26:20; Am 9:2). Since the rebellion of Adam, Satan is the ruler of the earth (Mt 4:8-9) and of death (1Co 15:26). During Old Testament times even the righteous were not in God’s presence after death.

Yet, Sheol was also not a place of inactivity. Ps 115:17 states, “It is not the dead who praise the LORD, those who go down to silence.” Yet, this is not a verse that supports the idea of “soul sleep.” To a Jew, praise involved the temple in Jerusalem, especially in David’s case. There is no temple in Sheol and, therefore, no place to adequately praise God. David was making a statement of contrast between the live, physical world and the dead, spiritual world. We have contrast here – silence of praise, not silence in totality.

Princeton scholar Charles Hodge stated: “That the Jews believed in a conscious life after death is beyond dispute.” There are Biblical examples as well. Jacob expected to see his son Joseph in Sheol and interact with him (Gn 37:35). There are numerous other scriptures that support expectations of interacting with loved ones who had passed on before (Gn 15:15, 25:8, 35;29, 37:35, 49:33; Nu 29:24, 28, 31:2; Dt 32:50, 34:5; 2Sa 12:23). Those in Sheol can converse with each other and can make moral judgments on new arrivals (Is 14:9-20, 44:23; Ek 32:21).

Although there are not many Old Testament passages that directly state torment occurs in Sheol, Old Testament scripture is not exactly silent on this issue either. Some scriptures do allude to the fact that Sheol is a place of God’s continuing judgment. The wicked in the lowest part of Sheol experience the fire of God’s anger (Dt 32:22), experience distress (2Sa 22:6; Ps 18:6, 116:3, 118:5), and may writhe in pain (Jb 26:5). Although no other passages in the Old Testament directly speak of torment in the intermediate state, there are other passages that speak of “everlasting humiliation and contempt” which awaits the wicked after the resurrection (Is 66:24; Dn 12:2). Peter was clear in stating the unrighteous are in torment until their resurrection: . . . the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment, while continuing their punishment (2Pt 2:9).

What about the righteous? While they were certainly not in torment, scripture does not paint it as a place of paradise either. They feared death (Ps 6, 18:4, 55:4, 116:3); yet, still had hope (Ps 73:23-25). They knew they were not abandoned (Jb 26:6) and were not out of God’s reach (Ps 139:8). They knew Sheol was not permanent for them (Ps 16:10, 49:14-15, 86:13). The ascension of Enoch (Gn 5:24) and Elijah (2Ki 2:11) to heaven indicated that the righteous would someday be taken into God’s presence.

So, we now know that Sheol was established as an intermediate state for everyone where activity was still occurring. The wicked and righteous were in separate areas and experienced Sheol differently. Likely the wicked were in a state of some type of torment while the righteous were in a state of peace, but not necessarily paradise. In our next post, let’s see how the translators used various English words to translate Sheol into our present Bible and what that implies.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There probably isn’t a more controversial topic in the Bible than the topic of hell. It seems everyone is okay with heaven being in the Bible but get really upset around the concept of hell. Some say hell is not even mentioned in the Bible, others say it’s there but is not a place of torment, while others say the term is just about one sleeping until that person is resurrected.

Although controversial, I thought we should look at this topic and try to keep an open mind. After all, if it is a true concept then we really need to know about it. If it isn’t true, then we certainly want to be sure of that also. So, why is it such a controversial topic? It seems one of the biggest controversies is nomenclature. Remember the Old Testament is predominantly written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. So, if one only looks at these original languages, the word hell is not there, as the word came from the translation of these original texts into English. In Hebrew, the term is Sheol; in Greek it is Hades.

To me, one of the first questions is, if we are concerned about the English translation not keeping the original word, why are we not upset that the Greek translation did not? Translators try to find words which people will understand or words that convey the original author’s intent. Hades seemed to be a good analogy for Sheol for a Greek society to understand. They’re not exactly the same in meaning but do convey the concept of an underworld where the dead would reside. Both are spiritual places and are therefore “hidden” from those alive. Some claim that is what the definition of Hades means, i.e., hidden. In that case, the word hell may have come from the word hel also meaning “to hide.” It is a term sometimes used to describe how potatoes are stored in an underground shed for the winter (to hell potatoes) or to cover a roof (to hell a roof). Hel was also the Norse god of the underworld just as Hades was the Roman god of the underworld. From this perspective, Hades and Hel have more in common than does Sheol and Hades. Yet, we know from New Testament scripture (Ac 2:27 compared to Ps 16:10) Hades was used interchangeably for Sheol.

The second question is, if Sheol and Hades were to be translated as Hell, why were these terms not always translated as Hell? Is there a terminology issue? There are other terms like Gehenna and Tartarus which were also translated as Hell. Why is that? Is that significant? There are also other terms used that seem similar but were not translated as hell, such as Lake of Fire and Abyss. Are they related? Then, there are terms used in place of Sheol and Hades that were not translated as hell, such as depth, grave, pit, and death. Why?

Is there a reason for these seemingly mistranslations? Was this a bias of the translators or were they trying to be helpful? Let’s see if we can tease this out and make some rational sense of it all. These are the questions I would like for us to explore over the next several posts. I hope you join me.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We have looked at the first two temptations of Christ: the first appealing to physical need and the second appealing to desire. Today we look at the third: the appeal to emotional need. Did Christ have emotional need? Let’s see what Scripture states: “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’” (Mt 4:8-9)

Well, at first glance we see that this is rather strange. Who is Satan that he could even offer such a promise? Could he really grant such a thing? After all, doesn’t God own everything? Yes and no. God created everything—absolutely. And He controls everything—absolutely. But Adam gave something away a long time ago. God offered Adam a theocratic kingdom—one where Adam ruled with God’s authority and control (Gn 1:28). However, because of Adam’s rebellion—yes it was rebellion—Adam relinquished his kingdom to Satan. After all, that is why we are all born into sin—into Satan’s kingdom. He is not called ‘Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air’ for no reason. We are there automatically. We must want to be in God’s kingdom and make that choice. That is why the stakes are so high. That is why Scripture states we are condemned already (Jn 3:17).

Therefore, Satan had the kingdom to offer. Why would Christ want it? That was the plan—to take back the kingdom Adam had relinquished. Satan has always wanted to rule the world and has made several attempts in the past and will do so in the future. However, one of the goals of Christ is to take back that kingdom before this world ends and show that Satan is not the ultimate ruler. That is one of the main purposes for Christ one day to establish his Millennial Kingdom. So, here, we see Satan was willing to give up all of that and ‘help’ Christ out—for a price of course. What was that price? To bow down and worship Satan. Would that be so bad? After all, Christ would not have to go to the cross, would not have to endure all the pain and suffering. And he would obtain the goal of taking back the Kingdom from Satan. But it was not a win-win scenario. There was too much at stake here. What would be ultimately lost? Sin would not be atoned; mankind would remain under Satan’s control; now even the Godhead would be under Satan. Unthinkable!

So what did Christ say? Jesus replied, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Mt 4:10; Dt 6:13). Again, Christ did not ponder the request. Christ knew Satan was the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Satan, of course, always weaves in a few elements of truth to mask the lie. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the lie from the truth. That is why Christ did not ponder, did not try to weigh the pros and cons. He knew Satan’s tactics and knew they were not worth considering. Christ stuck to Scripture; true, undiluted Scripture. We should too. Let’s take notice. We need to take Scripture at its face value and know that it is from God Himself. Let’s not try to reason and make it fit our desires. Let’s do the right thing and make our needs, desires, and emotions fit into what Scripture tells us. Then the same will happen for us as it did for Christ: “Then the devil left him” (Mt 4:11). We can be overcomers just as Christ himself was that day.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We saw in the previous post that the first temptation Satan threw at Christ was around physical need and Christ responded that God’s will comes before His personal need. Now, Satan gets a little craftier: “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up on their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” (Mt 4:5-6; Ps 91:11-12). You may be asking yourself, how is this a temptation? We stated that this second temptation was about desire. What was Christ’s desire? Well, we know that the message Christ would be preaching was the same message as that of John the Baptist: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17). What better way to get everyone’s attention? Remember, Jesus is not yet on the scene and on everyone’s radar. Satan is saying, “Make a grand entrance. That will get everyone’s attention.” Think about it. Here they are on the temple’s pinnacle. At this time of Jewish history, the temple is a remarkably busy place. What would the people do if they saw someone falling but then angels protecting him from hitting the ground? What would you do? Would that grab your attention? That is was Satan was saying: “Dazzle them! That will get their attention. They will then be dying to hear what you have to say.” After all, when you think about it, it does not sound like a bad plan, does it?

But what did Christ say? “Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Mt 4:7; Dt 6:16). Did you catch that? Jesus gave Satan a double whammy. First, Christ said Satan should not even be testing him. Why? Because of the second point: Jesus Christ is Satan’s Lord and God. In other words, “Who are you, Satan, to be giving your Lord and God advice?” Smack. Ouch! Door in the face! Christ was saying God’s way is always best and anyone else’s way—catch that: anyone else’s way—should not be followed. Jesus made up His mind He would follow the way of God the Father. Only His way is the right way. It is just amazing to me how Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter so quickly—and decisively.

What about us? Do we do that? Or are we more like Eve. We ponder the temptation. We weigh it like it has equal merit to what God has already told us. No, Christ discarded it like day-old bread. He wasn’t going to do anything second rate. He was going to do it the right way – the best way. Let’s take notes on this one! But how can we know God’s way? We need to study Scripture. Just because we get quoted Scripture to us does not mean someone is telling us the right thing to do. Jesus knew Satan was taking Scripture out of context. Jesus quoted Scripture to put the conversation back on task. We need to study so we can discern Scripture correctly (2Tm 2:15). Christ gave us the example. Let’s follow.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The first temptation that Satan presented to Jesus was, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Mt 4:3). Was that a real temptation? Well, let me ask you, if you had not eaten for 40 days and nights would that have been a temptation for you? So, as usual Satan takes the cheap shot first. Interesting how he appealed to his human side at the same time as his godly side. Satan appealed to his physical need of hunger but stated that his godly side could satisfy his human need. Of course Christ could have done that. Would that have been wrong? I don’t think the action itself is the real problem. The real problem is the first word: if. Satan is in a very subtle way asking Jesus to prove himself. Satan did not say, “Jesus you are the Son of God. You are able to satisfy your physical need of hunger. You can make these stones become bread.” No, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God…” That is a big difference. One is acting on who Jesus is. The other is proving who Jesus is. Jesus does not have to prove Himself to anyone.

So, what was Jesus’ response? “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4; Dt 8:3). Was this a satisfactory response? Jesus was stating that his physical need is not more important than God’s purpose. Just because Jesus could do something was not enough for Him to fulfill it. Satan was saying, “Use your power to your own advantage. After all, who is going to know?”

Now, do you let your physical needs dictate your obedience? I know when I get really hungry I get irritable and impatient. That is when my guard is down, and I am probably less inclined to focus on how I could be a positive witness. I can become a little rude and get upset with people more easily. If I have just eaten, I am more likely to be more patient with people and a little more understanding. How about you? Does that sound like you as well? But Jesus stayed focused on the purpose God had for Him to accomplish. Feel like you have just been served a piece of humble pie. You can get your piece after I get mine!

Therefore, although a simple question, it hits us all at our very core. This shows how Jesus is to be our model. His response is not the typical response but was the correct response. No wonder we are told that Jesus should be our model. Next time, we will see how the bar is raised but Jesus rises to the challenge.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens