We find the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis chapters 10 and 11. Nimrod rebelled against God and created a kingdom rather than having people spread throughout the world as God had commanded. It is believed that this biblical figure is the same historical figure as Gilgamesh. He and his wife created a new, separate, religion apart from God where they worshipped the stars, the Nephilim, and all the hybrid creatures these fallen angels had made. This was likely the start of all the mythologies of the various cultures we know about today and became the counterfeit to what God established. His wife, Semiramis (Summer-amat) became known as Queen of Heaven and her son as Tammuz, the sun god, as he was touted to be a resurrection of his father, Nimrod, who supposedly had manifested himself in the sun after his death and had impregnated Summer-amat via rays of the sun.

Satan again tried to establish his one-world government through Nimrod (Gilgamesh) and to unite the people through a polytheistic form of worship that was opposed to God. As counter to this, God confused their language so they would have to obey his requirement to spread throughout the world (Gn 11:9). Man had become arrogant and full of pride and wanted to do things their way rather than how God wanted things to be done.

God worked differently this time. He demonstrated himself to be Jehovah Royi, the Lord my Shepherd. He forced the people to separate into various languages and dialects so they would spread throughout the earth as he ordained. Shepherds sometimes must do something drastic to some of his sheep to force them to obey him and prevent the other sheep from following along with the sheep that is disobedient. This is what God had to do in this situation as well. He showed himself to be El Kanna, Jealous God, by limiting how one group of humans could force their will onto the entire population – at least for a time. He wanted their worship and praise and was making every opportunity for them to do that. God was also Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our Peace, as it would be quite some time for mankind to overcome their differences and be able to act globally again. God protected man from Satan’s influence and made Satan have to start over again on his plan. Satan was not as brazen this time as he was previously, but he was certainly not subtle either.

Tune in next time when we will see how God began to work with a group of people to portray his character to the world and how Satan did all he could to prevent that.

Until then, God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We find the story of the Biblical world-wide Flood in Genesis chapters 6-9, and we find the purpose for the Flood in chapter 6, verses 1-10. Certain of Satan’s angels somehow married human women and had children by them (Gn 6:2). The Bible itself is somewhat cryptic of what actually occurred. This could be because the story was well known at the time, so the writer of Genesis (who is believed to be Moses), may not have thought detail was important.

At first glance, this chapter in Genesis sounds as if God is vindictive in his actions, and some have touted this to be the case, saying God was vindictive in the Old Testament, but loving in the New Testament. Yet, that can’t be the case. God states he doesn’t change (Ml 3:6) and that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hb 13:8). Therefore, something else must be going on here. One thing to consider is how words are translated from Hebrew into English. For example, the word translated “regret” in this passage actually means “a big sigh” in Hebrew. Now, if you have children, I’m sure you’ve given a big sigh yourself many times. That didn’t mean you were willing to get rid of your children but were deeply wounded and hurt by some of their decisions. I think that is how God was feeling here. While, granted, his actions were drastic, it would seem something bigger was at play here. We need to understand the why and not just the what. There are extra-Biblical sources, like the Book of Enoch, while not Scripture, which can at least give us a good flavor of what may have been happening during this time of Earth’s history.

The Book of Enoch tells us there may have been 200 angels involved in appearing on Earth and marrying human women. Their offspring became giants, called Nephilim (Gen 6:4). This extra-biblical source also states the height of these Nephilim when fully grown may have been up to 300 cubits (450 ft). That’s quite high: half the height of the Empire State building in New York City! Now, that could be an exaggeration, but this information certainly helps us see the gravity of the situation. With their large size came an extremely ravenous appetite. Mankind could not produce enough to feed them, so they ate birds, beasts, reptiles, and fish to satiate their hunger – including the animals’ blood. This turned the beasts of the earth violent.

Scripture also states these Nephilim became mankind’s heroes, men of renown (Gn 6:4). This would seem to imply they fought with each other, and humans looked up to them for their bravery and skill. The animal kingdom was originally designed to be one of peace and harmony, but Satan had now made it violent between beast of the animal kingdom and between men as well. Bloodshed became common whereas it was not supposed to be that way because God had set the world up to be a peaceful, accommodating place for humans. Satan polluted the creation God had made and turned it violent.

In addition, it seems Satan tried to remake mankind in his own image and changed humans from the way God had made them. He was infusing angel DNA into mankind’s genome. It seems the human genome was being subverted. Apparently only Noah and his family were the only ones left pure in their genome. The word “blameless” used in this passage can also mean “pure.”

The Flood was a way for God to not only bring judgment to the guilty but as a way to preserve humankind as God had made them.

Prior to the Flood, God had revealed himself utilizing three names. The first of these was Elohim. He was the Eternal God, the Creator, the Three-in-One. He was the one who had made everything. He also presented himself as Jehovah (or Yahweh). He was Lord, the Self-Existing One. He was without beginning or end. Uncreated. Omnipresent. Omniscient. Then, he was also Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God. He is the one who keeps his covenants.

Now, God was revealing himself through the manifestation of his characteristics. While these may have been announced in Scripture later, in hindsight we can see these traits being exhibited here as well. He was Jehovah Shaphat, the Lord Our Judge. He did away with all that Satan had made wrong. He wiped from the face of the earth those who had yielded to Satan and let their human genome become contaminated to be more like Satan. Yet, we see God was also El Rakhum, the Merciful God. He protected Noah and his family from judgment and allowed mankind to continue as he designed them. In addition, he presented himself as El Khanun, the Gracious God. He gave the people on the earth 120 years to repent and get ready for what was coming. God could have healed their bodies if they had repented, but, sadly, they did not. He demonstrated himself to be Jehovah Boray, The Lord the Creator. During the Flood, God re-sculpted the Earth through his judgment. The water canopy surrounding the earth collapsed producing a deluge, the waters under the earth broke forth to help produce enough water to cover the face of the entire earth. In addition, the continent(s) were further divided, producing large seas and oceans with mountains and valleys. The earth Noah and his family exited onto from the ark was very different from the earth they left to enter the ark. God also presented himself as El Amen, the Faithful God. He provided a promise which he will never go back on. The promises given to Adam were now given to Noah, and God promised to not destroy the world again by a Flood. The rainbow was given as a symbol for this promise.

In Satan’s first attempt to overthrow God’s efforts and set up his kingdom on the world, we see he was very brazen in his attempt. God was equally brazen in his response to Satan’s efforts so that he could preserve what he had created and given to Adam with a promise for his race to continue and for God to redeem them back to himself. Going forward we’ll see how Satan became less and less brazen in his efforts. Each attempt seemed to become more subtle, but just as deadly.

Join me next time when we’ll see how God showed up at the Tower of Babel. Until then, God bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Perhaps you consider this a strange question because God is always with us, so he always shows up. While true, there are grander times, so to speak, when we expect God to do something on a grand scale. When does he show up to do that?

Let’s look at a few Biblical examples and then see if we can apply what we learn from those.

God first showed up at Creation, right? Do we know when that occurred? The short answer is No, but some people have tried.

Here are five individuals who have attempted to do just that. Of course, there are some assumptions that must be made which many who make such predictions seldom seem to point out. Yet, surprisingly, they all came to the same general conclusion as they used the Bible as their main source of predictability.

James Usher was an Archbishop of the Church of Ireland in the 17th century. He arrived at the date of 4004 BCE for the year of Creation, and this seems to be the date most used by Christian scholars (but typically not Jewish scholars).

Then there is Sir Isaac Newton, English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author, who also lived in the 17th century. He predicted the year of Creation to be very close to that predicted by Usher: 4000 BCE.

Then Johann Kepler, the famous German astronomer who lived in the 16th century, predicted 3992 BCE.

Then there was Venerable Bede who was a monk in Northumbria, Scotland who lived in the 8th century, and who dated Creation to occur in 3953 BCE.

Then there is Yose ben Halafta, a Rabbi in Sepphoris, Israel, in 2nd century who derived the year of Creation to be 3761 BCE, and this is the year the Jewish calendar typically goes by.

Many who try to predict when Christ will return abide by the notion that the six days of creation are symbolic of God working in 1,000-year intervals. They believe each day of creation to be an actual 24-hour day but believe the creation week to be a template for the time for the Earth to exist. This is based upon two scriptures (2Pt 3:8 and Ps 90:4) which state, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” and “a thousand years in your sight are like a day.”

If literal, then Earth will exist for 6000 years and then the Millennial Kingdom will represent the final 1000-year interval because it is symbolic of the Sabbath, a day of rest after Creation was accomplished. This thereby gives the total time of Earth’s existence to be 7000 years to match the creation week.

So, after 4,000 years following Creation, Christ was born, died, and rose again. Then after an additional 2,000 years, Christ will return and set up his earthly kingdom. If we take into account that Christ will return after 6000 years (meaning his second coming), then we have to take away 7 years for the length attributed to the Tribulation Period and then add a year since there is no year 0, to come up with a year of Christ appearing in the sky for the Rapture Event that ranges, based upon the five years for Creation which was just presented, from 1990 CE to 2233 CE – quite the span:

Usher: 6000-4004+1= 1997 – 7 = 1990 CE (a year in the past)

Newton: 6000-4000+1= 2001 – 7 = 1994 CE (a year in the past)

Kepler: 6000-3992+1= 2009 – 7 = 2005 CE (a year in the past)

Bede: 6000-3953+1= 2048 – 7 = 2041 CE (18 years from now)

Halafta: 6000-3761+1= 2240 – 7 = 2233 CE (210 years from now)

This indicates that, while, in general, it looks like they came up with roughly the same year for creation, when looking at more specific details, they are vastly different.

Knowing that the Rapture has not yet occurred, this means three of these dates are already incorrect. Of the remaining two, it means the Rapture could happen from 18 to 210 years from now. What does this mean? Either you believe the first three predictions of Creation were incorrect and the Rapture is close or far away, or it means we cannot go by dates – which the Bible has already told us (Mt 24:36).

Yet, what this can do for us is allow us to put a historical timeline together to help us see when various occurrences happened in history. This allows us to compare what happened in the Bible with other known extra Biblical events. This is very useful for our understanding of our history.

Also, knowing these dates can help us have a better understanding of the order of Biblical events. For example, if we break the timeline into 500-year gaps of time, we can memorize the following:

~4000 BCE– Creation (4004 BCE)

3500 BCE – Jared, father of Enoch (3544 BCE)

3000 BCE – Noah (2948 BCE)

2500 BCE – Shem (2446 BCE)

2000 BCE – Abraham (1996 BCE)

1500 BCE – Moses (1491 BCE)

1000 BCE – David (1060 BCE)

500 BCE – Return from Babylonian Captivity & Dedication of 2nd Temple (516 BCE)

0 – Birth of Christ (2 BCE)

500 CE – Bible Ratified (397 CE – Council of Carthage)

1000 CE – Schism (1054 CE) & Crusades (1095 CE)

1500 CE – Protestant Reformation (1517 CE)

2000 CE – World Economic Forum (1971 CE)

Now let’s look at some of these more specifically and see how God showed up. But before we do that, we need to understand that God didn’t show up and say, “I’m God. Listen to me.” No, he demonstrated various characteristics of himself and presented himself by using many different names to suit the occasion of what was going on at the time. God is multidimensional and has presented himself and his different characteristics over time. In hindsight, we can see that he had these characteristics even before he officially presented or announced a specific characteristic of himself. We want to see how God presented himself differently in each example we are going to go through. We will see that he rarely presents himself the same way twice and adapts how he will reveal himself to the situation at hand.

We now want to go through several examples of how God showed up and presented himself for the occasion. We’ll investigate the first example next time. I hope you join me to see how he showed up during the time of the Biblical Flood. Until then, God bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

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

 Numb.

How else do I describe how I feel?

After three days of tears, nightmares, and incoherent thoughts, I’m surprised I can even do this. After experiencing all I did, I’m still expected to celebrate Pesach, Matzah, and Bikkurim? Impossible. I wasn’t hungry. No one was hungry. It was all perfunctory. It should have had meaning, but, no, it had none. My loss—our loss—is too great.

Feasts are to bring one closer to HaShem. Yet wasn’t I already close to him? He was here. Physical. Tangible. But now? After what happened, my Jewishness failed me. I do not feel “passed over.” I feel like I received a direct hit. When the Pascal shofar blew, he said, “It is finished.” My heart melted at that very moment. I have not recovered.

It’s now just after sunrise on the first day of the week. The Romans never had a knack on timing. Or, maybe they did. Didn’t this act create the greatest suffering for all involved? Not only for him. Oh, most definitely for him. It was hard for me to watch, to bear, to endure. I can’t even imagine how he did. Again, Rome exacted the harshest punishment on us. My Jewishness, rather than helping, hindered. No time to pay my respects to this one who had done so much for me. I owe my very life to him. He brought me from the very depths of Sheol into the light—his light. I owe him more than forcefully having to ignore him at such a critical moment. Rome had no concern for our suffering. They had the crucifixion on Pesach and the day of preparation for Matzah, a day we treat as a special Sabbath. This forced our hand to not care for the body of the one who had taken care of us. Then came the weekly Sabbath. Again, our Jewishness left us in despair and away from performing our desire to honor this one who deserves our honor more than anyone. My respect to this one who gave me more respect than anyone else on earth has been delayed for three days. I am heartbroken, tired, weary, and worn. But this day, I will fulfil my duty, my obligation, my honor.

Other women are with me. No one can be more grieved than Mary, his mother. I know how broken my heart is. I can’t imagine hers. It must be inconsolable. I know mine is. I walk behind the others carrying an armload of spices. I know Joseph had spices and used them, but I need to show honor to him as well. The other women with me feel the same. Yet, I also dread doing this after three days. To add spices, some of the linen will have to be loosened to add them—not to mention the odor of decay. I saw how bloody his body was. The linen Joseph and Nicodemus used will likely be stuck to his body, unyielding to be released from the spots where blood oozed from his body, which were many. So many. I will be strong. I must be strong. I will pay honor to this one who loved me so.

We are all still grieving. Yet, I no longer weep. I can’t weep even though my heart feels like it is broken and seeping. Three days of weeping has exhausted my tears, but not my grief. The grief has only intensified even though my tears have dried up. No one is talking, except for Salome who is trying to comfort mother Mary. She was not only the mother to our Messiah alone, but to us all. She treated all his followers as her children. Indeed, she is most precious. Seeing her heart breaking continues to break mine.

One of the women in front of me stops suddenly and I almost walk into her. “The stone!” she exclaims. “How will we roll the stone away? All the men stayed in the city.”

I place my hand on her shoulder. “We will just convince one of the guards to roll the stone away for us,” I say.

Her eyes widen. “Speak to a Roman! I . . . I can’t.”

“Oh, I can,” I tell her. “I’ve done it before.” My cheeks redden. “Too many times, I’m afraid,” I say in almost a whisper.

As only she can, Mother Mary says, “HaShem will help us.”

Her words suffice everyone, and we continue on. Yet, I really didn’t want to speak to a Roman soldier. Remembrance of their touch I had received before almost put me in a panicked state. Mother’s words calm me. Yes, HaShem will be with us. After all, HaShem would want us to honor this one who honored Him as well.

Talk again subsides and I get lost in my thoughts until, again, I almost run into those in front of me. I look up and gasp. The stone is not just rolled away, but off its track! We all stand there, looking at each other in astonishment.

It then strikes me. The soldiers. They are nowhere to be seen. It is almost like each one of us wait for the other to make the first move. I take a deep breath and step forward. “I’ll investigate,” I say.

I slowly walk toward the tomb. I can feel my heart begin to pound and begin to hear my heartrate in my ears. I force myself to breathe. Once I get to where the stone lay off its track, I lay the spices in my arms down at that spot, stand, and straighten my clothes, biding time, and force my nerves to allow me to enter. The only thing I can think of is that someone stole his body. I can barely fathom such an act. If so, how can I ever show my respects?

I slowly enter. It takes time for my eyes to adjust. Before I even get all the way in, I see his body gone! I gasp as my hand goes to my mouth. But his shroud is still there. The blood stains are undeniable. I stiffen in fear and panic. I cannot force myself to go farther. I turn and run out of the tomb and into the garden.

I know my actions surprise my friends, but I am so overcome, I cannot stop and say anything. I don’t even observe what the other women do. I know they enter, but I become so enwrapped in my own sorrow, it doesn’t even occur to me to think of theirs. Very selfish, I know. But I am so overwhelmed.

I rest my hands on a nearby stone to steady myself. The beauty of this garden is undeniable, but its beauty seems to mock my sorrow. This is supposed to be a place of contemplative remembrance, but now, even that is stolen from me. I see a gardener tending to some of the flowers. He does not seem to notice me, and I am relieved as I just want to be alone. In the distance, I can still see three crosses erect and vacant. A flood of horrific memories flood over me: the jeering crowds, the taunting by the supposedly “righteous” priests, and his blood dripping from his body onto the ground. So many wounds; so much blood. I close my eyes and sob. I still can’t form tears. They are still dried up, but not my sorrow. The event, the timing, his burial—all at inconvenient times that seem to mock me. Now, the ultimate mocking. His body itself is gone so I cannot pay any respect at all. It is almost too much. I sink to my knees. My legs can no longer sustain me.

After a time, I realize that I need to tell the others. Strength comes back to my legs, and I run. My sorrow fuels my strength. Before I get very far, I see Peter and John running toward me. They stop and take my arms.

“Mary,” Peter says. “What did you see?”

I can only shake my head and barely get the words out, “They have taken him. I don’t know where he is.”

Both nod and then run on. I debate to go on or return. I decide to return to see what Peter and John will do. Yet, my running is over. I walk. By the time I arrive back, Peter and John are gone. I also know I must keep my commitment and go into the tomb. I had told Mother Mary I would, so I need to keep my word. I know they, Peter, and John have already entered, but while perfunctory, I must keep my commitment. As I slowly enter, I become overwhelmed with emotion all over again and begin to sob. This time, tears come. Yet, seeing two people dressed in white startles me at first, but their voices are so kind. “Why are you crying?” they ask.

I put my hands over my face and weep. “They have taken him away and I don’t know where.” My mind is so frazzled I don’t even question why two individuals are inside the tomb.

I then hear someone behind me outside the tomb speak. “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

I assume this to be the gardener I had seen before. He evidently finally noticed that I am here. I step out of the tomb. My eyes are so wet with tears now, I can’t really focus. “Please, sir. If you have moved his body, please tell me.”

I then hear him speak my name: “Mary.” My heart stops. It’s him! Even without being able to focus my eyes due to the tears, I know this voice. I would know this voice anywhere. He said my name so many times before. I am so overcome I fall to my knees. I wipe my eyes and reach out my hands. “My Lord,” I say. I see him before me. How is this possible? I don’t know and at this moment, I don’t care. He is here!

“Do not touch me yet,” he says. “Go tell my disciples I am ascending to my Father, their Father and God as well.”

At once I run to do his bidding. I had come to respect and honor him. Rather than anointing his body, I am doing his bidding instead. This is how I honor him: by doing his bidding. Three days of sorrow has turned into joy. Suddenly, the day looks bright and vibrant. My heart is again about to burst, but this time with joy—pure joy. The one I had grown to know and love and who knew and loved me back was with me again. For us again. I can’t wait to tell the others.

Their three days of morning are over.

Resurrection day has come!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Are you, like me, a science fiction buff? I still remember when Star Trek first aired on television. I looked so forward each week for the next episode. Then came Space 1999, then Star Wars, then Dune, and then Battlestar Galactica. Next came the litany of Star Trek and Star Wars movies. Needless to say, I loved them all. There are so many others I could name, but I think I’ve already dated myself. You get the picture though, right?

Of course, I wanted to write a science fiction series. Yet, the question came as to how I would do that when I don’t really believe there are aliens or other occupied worlds because I don’t see that being supported in the Bible. But there is always that inkling in the back of my mind of a what if possibility. One evening when dining with friends, I let that what if hypothesis go forth in my brain and imagination. Our ideas went far and wide and even verged on the ridiculous. Yet, one thing came to light which I agreed with wholeheartedly: if there are aliens and God is the God of the universe, then they, too, would serve the same God as we do.

That became the genesis of my science fiction series the Erabon Prophecy Trilogy. The story is, of course, set into the distant future. In the first book Myeem, an astronaut is flung into the far reaches of the universe due to an interstellar gate accident. He then finds himself on a foreign planet with no hope of getting home. As he tries to understand this new culture, and their anatomical differences being so different from his own, he finds other strange things that shock him. One is that several of their words seem to sound very similar to Hebrew, and second, to his greatest surprise, he is somehow touted to be the prophet these people are expecting to arrive before their deity, Erabon, returns to them.

He then discovers that those in this solar system used to be united on a single planet, but due to a civil war they became divided across six different planets with a moratorium on space travel. Yet, the prophecy indicates that a prophet would come and unite them all once again and usher in the return of Erabon.

Each planet challenges him in many ways and often puts his life in jeopardy. He and the friends he gathers on each planet travel to each subsequent planet to help them know what their deity, Erabon, has left for them and how he wants them all to reunite and usher in his return.

The first book, Myeem is about his experiences on Myeem, a water planet, and on Eremia, a desert planet, where he undergoes several exploits to get individuals on each planet to unite and understand the message their deity, Erabon, has left for them.

The second book, Sharab, is about his travel to Sharab, the fire planet, and to Ramah, the mountainous planet, where he again undergoes many trials to help those individuals unite and understand what Erabon wants from them.

The third, and final book, Qerach, is about he and several of his friends traveling to Qerach, the ice planet, and then to Aphia, the air planet. Again, he must convince those on these planets to also unite so they can prepare themselves for Erabon’s return.

He completes his mission and Erabon does return and sets up a utopian-type planet where they can all live in harmony and unity. The theme of unity through diversity is throughout. While, I feel, this trilogy is a fast-paced, fun-to-read story, there is more to it as well. Just like these followers of Erabon became fractionated, so have the followers of Christ become fractionated as well. Perhaps we need to take a lesson and understand how we can unite in Christ once more like they were in the early church in the book of Acts.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There seems to be so much division in our world today with many trying to find ways to make us all against each other rather than us finding common ground so we can build a relationship with each other. Yet, what does the Bible say about this? You will find that the God of the universe wants a personal relationship with everyone. How amazing is that?

Now the Bible does make distinctions between us as citizens of the world. Yet, it seems to only look at people in two ways: Jews and Gentiles. Is that significant?

It seems this is very significant because while the Bible provides these distinctions, it really is a way for God to provide inclusion rather than exclusion. I did several blog posts on this point of inclusion. We find that God cares for both sets of people. While, yes, he chose Jews as “his chosen people” (Ex 19:5; Dt 14:2), this phrase means something different than most tout. It wasn’t that Jews were more special, but that Jews had a greater responsibility to point the world to their God, Yahweh. You see, God had a plan from the very beginning of the world for inclusion of all people on Earth into His plan.

My book Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline? covers this topic and helps you to see that the Bible has a plot just like any other book. Really? you may be asking. There’s a plot? Yes, there really is. But there is a lot of “stuff” in there you may be thinking. And, yes. Yes, there is. But isn’t there “stuff” in your life also? What does this “stuff” do? It distracts us from what is truly important. We often need to look through the “stuff” to find the truly important things in life. So, if you get to “stuff” in your reading and that bogs you down, just plow through because something amazing is on the other side of it.

You will find that the Bible is really a unique book. It has mystery, intrigue, subterfuge, action, adventure, and peril. You can even find what almost seems like science fiction. It presents a plan that incorporates all these elements into a timeline that, although Jewish in nature, incorporates everyone on Earth into it. You see, God is way more inclusive than most give him credit. So, give the book a try. It’s a little more scholarly than my other books, but is written in a very conversational style, so you will find it easy to read. You may just find something about God and the Bible that will reveal a fact you likely haven’t yet realized. So, give it a try and read what a great future can await you.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When you have something good, you want to pass it on, right? That’s how God feels. As we saw in the previous post, God wanted Israel to be separate from the world but not exclude the world: i.e., he wanted Israel to pass it on. Israel was to be the example for all to follow. To demonstrate this to them, he gave them an example immediately after they entered the Promised Land.

Before they entered the land of Canaan, Joshua had two spies go into Jericho and check things out (Js 2:1). A woman by the name of Rahab hid them at one point to help ensure they were not found out (Js 2:4). These spies reported back to Joshua that the people of Jericho feared the Israelites and now was the appropriate time to take the land as their own (Js 2:24).

The people of Israel first had to cross the Jordan River. Joshua used this as a faith-building exercise. If God could get them safely across the river which was swollen due to the Spring rains, then surely he could deliver Jericho into their hands (Js 3:10). As soon as the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant touched the water of the river, it parted, and everyone entered Canaan on dry land (Js 3:13-17). After crossing the river, they all encamped at Gilgal (Js 3:19), approximately ten miles from Jericho. When the people of Canaan heard how God parted the Jordan River for them to cross, they all feared the Israelites (Js 5:1). This gave Joshua the opportunity to stop and renew their covenant with God by having all the males circumcised (Js 5:2-9). This was around the tenth day of the first month.

On the fourteenth day of the first month, they held Pesach (Passover; Js 5:10). The next day (Matzah or Feast of Unleavened Bread), they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from their new land (Js 5:11). The next day, the manna which God had fed them for forty years ceased and they ate the produce from their new land (Js 5:12). This would have represented their first Bikkurim (or Feast of Firstfruit). Joshua then had to let the men completely heal, get them battle ready, and have all the people travel the ten miles to Jericho. It is likely it would have taken the men approximately two weeks to recover from the pain and soreness of their circumcision. Then it is likely it would have taken about a month to group and train the men to prepare for battle and go over battle strategy.

While it is true they expected God to fight their battle for them as he had said (Js 6:2), I’m sure Joshua wanted to have a regimen of fighting men that would be under his strict authority—just in case. Then, it is likely it would have taken a few days to get all the people—close to two million of them—to travel the ten miles, get camped and ready for what God was going to do for them. They then marched around the city once a day for seven days and then seven times on the seventh day (Js 6:4, 12-15). Adding up all this time of preparation, it is not hard to imagine it took them approximately 50 days after their first Bikkurim until the walls of Jericho fell. That would place this time of the conquering of Jericho around Shavuot (Pentecost). As we stated previously, this is the feast of inclusion and that is what happened here.

Once the walls fell on the seventh day of their marching, the Israelites took the city and killed everyone in the city, except for Rahab and her household (Js 6:17, 21-22). Rahab and her family were spared just as the spies had stated. Therefore, Rahab who was a Canaanite, a Gentile, was allowed to live as an Israelite. She married Salmon who was of the tribe of Judah. She and Salmon had a son named Boaz (Mt 1:5) who also became an instrument of inclusion which God used to show this pattern of inclusion again. We’ll discuss that next time.

Don’t you find it interesting that this story in the Bible, which became a most notorious story of all the Biblical stories, fell on Shavuot which God had instituted as a feast to represent inclusion and a feast where paradigm shifts occurred? God doesn’t shove it in their faces and say, “Look, I’m showing you what this feast is about.” No, he lets the realization of what he is doing seep in subtly. Not everyone would get it, but those who paid attention would. While others were screaming, we are God’s chosen people, keep others at bay, God was saying, no, see, I’m giving you examples for you to follow. Follow my lead and be the example, the banner, the ambassador I want you to be for the world. God is still the God of Inclusion. Are you acting that way or are you also trying to keep others at bay. Your future is sure and that is all that matters. But is it supposed to be that way? What if others before you did that? Would you have a relationship with God now if they had that same attitude. God was saying to the Israelites to pass on what he had taught them. He’s still saying the same thing today.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Many people want to believe in God and heaven but have a difficult time believing there is a devil and a hell. My series of four books, The Adversary Chronicles, deals with this topic. It takes several Bible stories and gives the reader a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak. The biblical stories are told from the perspective of the archangel Mikael. We often read Bible stories like they are just that: stories. We often don’t really see the spiritual side and spiritual significance of what occurred behind the scenes of these biblical stories. My desire was to take the reader behind the scenes and let them see through spiritual eyes. The goal is to give the reader a new and renewed perspective of biblical stories they may have heard many times, but likely not in this way.

The first book of the series, whose title, Rebellion in the Stones of Fire, is a reference to Ezekiel 28:14: “you who walked among the fiery stones.” It covers Lucifer’s rebellion, God’s creation of Adam and Eve, as well as the time of Noah with the Nephilim and the Flood from the archangel Mikael’s point of view. These are stories most Christians have heard, but likely not in the way the book presents them. I think this novel will help people have a new and unique perspective of the God we serve.

The second book of this series, The Holy Grail of Babylon, is presented in a very unique way. While it is based upon the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, it is presented in the backdrop of a very science fiction storyline. I think many will be surprised by the story presented. The storyline is definitely fiction but fits into the story of Nimrod (which some have identified as Gilgamesh) and what his plan was for humanity as he was under the direction of the Adversary, Satan.

The next book, The Defining Curse, tells of the curse the prophet Jeremiah declared on the Judean king Jehoiachin and what that meant for the prophecy of the coming Jewish Messiah. It presents a scenario of what the prophet Daniel likely did not only for Jehoiachin and his family as well as for the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s proposed actions also explain many parts of the Christmas story regarding the Magi and who they were and why they traveled to Bethlehem. This story has a tremendous spiritual significance to it.

The fourth book, The Luciferian Plague, is not necessarily a biblical story as it is about modern times, but the spiritual aspect of the story is still there and ties it to the other biblically based stories. We are up against spiritual forces today just as much as people were in biblical times. This story helps to emphasize the scripture Ephesian 6:12 which states we do not struggle against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil. Yet, it is presented in a redeeming way.

All of these stories were written to help readers have a better appreciation and understanding of God and his love for them. I trust these stories will accomplish this for you.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Everyone wants to feel included, don’t they? Don’t you? Remember those elementary school games where sides were chosen. One by one the teams were formed. Always the best athletic ones were chosen first. The rest of us were chosen last. Even worse was when there was an odd number and the captains had to decide who would take the last one. That one had to hear the reasons why he shouldn’t be on each team and then one reluctantly allows this, now deflated and ego-broken soul, on their team. Those were the good ole days, right?

Did things really get better as you got older? Sometimes. But, often, the ways of exclusion get subtler and more sophisticated, but the exclusion was still there and still hurt just as much. Why is this? And why does it bleed into every area of one’s life, including religion?

Yet, this was not God’s plan. Believe it or not, God had a plan of inclusion from the very beginning. Does that surprise you? Maybe your thinking about Israel being God’s chosen people. That sounds exclusionary, doesn’t it? Yet, it isn’t. Or, rather, wasn’t supposed to be that way. Let’s discuss these steps of inclusion that God wanted from the beginning.

As you’ve noticed, if you have read many of my posts, a lot of them center around the Jewish feasts. Why is that? Because they are the secret to God’s word and gives us an insight into God’s heart. This time, we’re focusing on Shavuot. This occurred fifty days after Bikkurim, or the feast of Firstfruit. In the land of Israel, this was around the time of the wheat harvest. Yet, the very first Shavuot occurred out in the desert, around Mt. Sinai. Why? Because it set the whole stage of not only what God wanted to do for Israel, but with Israel as well.

How do we know this was the first Shavuot? Recall that the first Pesach (Passover) occurred as the children of Israel made a mass exodus from Egypt. Here is the order of events over the next fifty days:

—  Left Egypt: 15th day of 1st month (Nu 33:3 – 1st day of Unleavened Bread)

—  Day 1: 16th day of 1st month (First Fruit)

—  Day 46: Arrived at Sinai 1st day of 3rd month (Ex 19:1)

—  Days 46-47: 2 days of consecration of people (Ex 19:10-11)

—  Day 48: God appeared as thunder, lightning, smoke and fire on the mountain, the mountain shook, and God spoke in thunder (Ex 19:16-20). God called Moses up to the mountain, gave him the 10 commandments and other laws; Aaron, his sons and 70 elders of Israel also on mountain worshipped at a distance (Ex 19:20 – 24:3)

—  Day 49: Moses wrote down all the words God had given him (Ex 24:4)

—  Day 50: Moses read the Book of the Covenant to them, they agreed to it and Moses offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, consecrated the people with “the blood of the covenant.” Moses, Aaron, his sons, and 70 elders of Israel ate with God (likely the Pre-Incarnate Christ) (Ex 24: 4-11)

What’s that you say? Starting to sound exclusionary? Before any agency can help everyone, it must be set up by a select few. This is sort of what was happening here. Yes, God did call them his “chosen people” (Ex 19:5). But, we need to understand why he said that. This was not a statement of exclusion, but a statement of responsibility. They were chosen to be priests to the world (Ex 19:6). That is, they were to be the standard for all other nations to follow. They had been created as a nation here at Mt. Sinai to be the model for other to follow. Starting to sound more inclusionary? Let’s not forget that inclusion does not come without requirements, consequences, and change, but it also comes with many blessings and rewards.

So, this is why Israel was created. Israel was the standard, the banner of God to the world. This was the first step of God’s inclusion for everyone. Did it work? Well, it could have. It could have been glorious. But, no, it failed. Why? Pride. Pride is always exclusionary and never inclusionary. The words “chosen people” became a battle cry rather than an invitation. Consequences occurred.

Yet, God did not give up. He continued to use Shavuot as an example of inclusion. We’ll look at one of those examples next time. Let’s remember that just because God expects change, he is not being exclusionary, but is offering a way of inclusion into something he has for us that will be even more glorious. And that requires faith. Faith is the key. Faith is the pride destroyer.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Many people want to understand what happens in the future—especially their future. Believe it or not, the Bible gives us some pretty good clues as to what will occur. It doesn’t necessary give us the ‘when’ but does give us some of the ‘how.’ Interested?

I know there is a lot of controversy about how we get to Christ’s second coming, but I think the Bible is somewhat clear to many of the details of his reign. Yet, there are some things that seem to confuse, like the differences between the reigning Messiah, the identity of the Prince mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, and the future reign of king David which God promised to him during his earthly reign. Are these three different individuals? This is one of the reasons I wrote my series Stele Prophecy Pentalogy.

Although the series of five books are fiction from a storyline perspective, I feel they are really grounded in Scripture. The series provides a rationale as to how these three individuals I mentioned above are distinct in identity and purpose.

The first book of the series, Mercy of the Iron Scepter, starts out toward the end of Christ’s reign and goes on through the release of Satan back into the world. While we read of such in the book of Revelation, it seems almost too sensational to really be true. Yet, I present a scenario that shows how possible it is that all could happen as stated without having to subtract anything the Bible reveals, or any details provided. The book also shows how faith will still be needed to accept the Messiah as the hope for their future (just as we must do today). Although we get the Holy Spirit to guide as once we place our faith in him, my book reveals that this conduit of the Holy Spirit to our spirit will then become much more direct and profound. Our experience today is only a deposit of what we can expect once we are in Christ’s earthly kingdom (2Co 1:22). The next four books are prequels to this first book

The second book of the series, Promised Kingdom (and first prequel to Mercy of the Iron Scepter), tells how Christ’s Promised Kingdom comes about. The trigger is when the Messiah comes for his bride, the Church, which sets the stage for the Tribulation Period which brings all sorts of atrocities on this earth. While these atrocities affect everyone, it is mainly geared to drive all Israelites and Jews back to Israel since they are today living in almost every country of the world. This is the prophetic meaning to the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) as it was originally designed to remind God to remember his covenant with the nation of Israel. The reason for this is that the day of judgment (Yom Kippur) is fast approaching. The Israelites knew they had no righteous standing before a holy God except for the covenant he had made with them with Abraham and with them on Mount Sinai.

The third book of the series, Hope Renewed, is about the beginning of the Promised Kingdom and why sacrifices become a major part of this time of our future history. The storyline is about a priest, Ya’akov, who comes of age and must make a decision whether he will serve the Messiah is the capacity of the first priest born into the Messiah’s Promised Kingdom. He must decide if the destiny that the Messiah has ordained for him is what he believes is best for him. Ya’akov must go through the same mental journey that each of us must face: do we believe God has the best in store for us or do we believe our life is lacking something he has not provided for us.

The next book, Darkness in the Light, occurs about five hundred years later into the Promised Kingdom. This book deals with the Prince who Ezekiel mentions in his prophetic book. This individual is to lead the world into how to worship the Messiah. The story evolves into a love story between the Prince’s daughter, Me’ira, and someone not of royal birth. Both the Prince and Me’ira have tough decisions to make. Sometimes happiness doesn’t occur without heartache being involved in the process. This story will help readers understand who the Prince is in comparison to the Messiah and to King David. This story also helps us see that our Messiah cares for everyone equally.

The final book in this series, Iron in the Scepter, occurs just before the beginning of Mercy of the Iron Scepter. It tells of the story of Janet, one of the characters introduced in the first book, and helps readers understand the choices she made to cause her to be in the place we find her in the first book. She, like we, are the consequence of our choices and our view and acceptance of the Messiah. The Adversary uses our pride as a weapon against us. Some people lose that war while others can see the truth Scripture is trying to tell us. Janet’s journey is the journey of all of us. See if you can see glimpses of yourself in this story.

I hope you enjoy the Stele Prophecy Pentalogy. Hopefully, it will provide some clarity to what Scripture is telling us about this time of our future and its chronology. Plus, I feel the series provides some exciting, fast-paced stories for your enjoyment. I think you will find that these characters, even though they live in a time we all long for, are still people and must make many of the decisions that we today also must make. It’s still a story of decision and how our loving God wishes the best for us and encourages us to make the right decisions for our lives.

Even as the author, I still find these stories amazing and helpful as they remind me that we serve a loving God, and we will be able to serve him for all eternity. Isn’t that a hope to hold onto?

May God bless you richly.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Have you ever made plans to go somewhere, and even though you heard about it, everything you had heard paled in comparison to what you actually observed once you arrived? This was Ezekiel’s plight—and will be our future plight. When something is beyond words, you don’t want to miss out on it.

We’ve already talked a lot about what Ezekiel saw. Yet, the wonders seem to go on and on. We discussed the temple complex and how large it is (about three football fields square). Yet, that is set in a complex that is roughly 8 miles square! This is called the Holy Portion which is further divided into three rectangles. The top rectangle, a little more than 3 miles by 8 miles, is for the Levites. These are those individuals who help in all aspects of temple worship, except for offering sacrifices. The same size rectangle below this one, and in which the temple is located, is for the priests. These are those individuals who are allowed to offer sacrifices at the temple. Although these sections of land are devoted to the priests and Levites, this doesn’t mean it will be devoid of others, and businesses and restaurants. These will be very busy places as people from around the world will come here to offer sacrifices and see their King.

The rectangle below these two, a little over 1.5 miles by 8 miles, completing the larger square, is where the city of Jerusalem will be located. It will be a square in the center of this rectangle with farming to support the city population occurring on both sides. This is likely where king David and the Prince will reside.

As already stated, a stream will flow out from the Holy of Holies of the temple and flow east. This stream becomes deeper and deeper every one-third mile and turns into a river. Some have denoted this as “the Ezekiel River” since this was part of the vision God gave to Ezekiel. Along both sides of this river is a grove of trees. At some point, the river flows over the escarpment which has plunged the city to be high above the surrounding land. Once the river goes over the escarpment, it flows between the two Mounts of Olive (which split in two at the Messiah’s return), and then flows into the Jordan River in the distance and into what is today called the Dead Sea. Yet, this sea will now team with live fish and fresh water.

On both sides of this larger square where the priests, Levites, city of Jerusalem, and temple reside is more farmland which will be owned by the Prince. From the Prince’s fields will come the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offering for festivals, new moon celebrations, and Sabbaths. In addition, those who live within the land of Israel will, in essence, tithe to the Prince of their abundance. They will donate approximately 15% of their wheat and barley, approximately 1% of their olive oil, and 0.5 percent of their sheep. The Prince will use these for fellowship offerings and grain offerings for the people.

This Holy Portion is the inheritance for the Prince and his children. Above and below this Holy Portion is the inheritance given to each of the tribes of Israel. This Holy Portion will lie between the inheritance given to Judah and Benjamin.

So, as you can see, God gave Ezekiel an overwhelming vision—something both he, and even we today, can look forward to. Ezekiel was concerned about his people and their beloved temple and if both would be lost to them forever. God gave Ezekiel an emphatic ‘no’! Not only would it return but be so much grander than anyone could ever imagine. I’m sure Ezekiel was blown away. I’m sure he was overcome with joy in how exceedingly generous God is with us despite our selfishness. We may lose heart and faith, but God is always faithful and never forgets his promises. So, come on and join in his promises. Our future is a grand one: a future beyond our imagination. Don’t you want to experience that? Of course, you do. It only takes a little faith and for you to admit your future cannot be on your on merit, but only through the merit of the one who will give us all we want and more—beyond our imagination!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Of all the remarkable things in the book of Ezekiel, probably the term “Prince” has to be one of the more interesting and controversial. Let’s take a look at this.

Who is this Prince? Some have stated it is referring to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, himself. Others say it is the Old Testament King David now serving as the Messiah’s, the King of kings’, viceroy. Others have proposed someone else entirely. So, why the confusion? For one, these passages of scripture are not very specific. Secondly, we expect certain things based upon what other scriptures tell us, and we try to make it all fit. But, should we? I think if we take a step back, we can put some of the clues given in Ezekiel with these other passages of scripture about God’s promises to David and formulate a scenario which makes it all fit seamlessly without having to put a round peg in a square hole, so to speak.

I think it is fairly easy to eliminate the first assertion above, that this Prince could be Jesus Christ. After all, if Jesus is the King of kings and has his throne in the Holy of Holies, and is the object of everyone’s worship, then this could not be Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King of kings. After all, this Prince is the one leading everyone in worship of the King of kings (Ek 45:17, 22). Therefore, it would make sense it would be someone different from him.

What about this Prince being King David? I think the confusion for this comes in because of the passage in Ezekiel which states, “I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken” (Ek 34:24). I think the term “prince” in this passage is showing the hierarchy in David’s relationship with God, the ultimate ruler. He will be of authority, but not ultimate authority. In addition, although subtle, there is no definite article with the use of this term “prince.” Therefore, I think this gives additional credence that this is a term of hierarchy than position. In addition, the Prince will be mortal and have children (Ek 46:16-17). David will be part of the first resurrection, have a glorified body, and will not marry and have children (Mt 22:30).

David, will, however, also be a king and rule over Israel (Ek 27:24). If Jesus Christ is to be the King of kings during this time, this would imply there will be many kings and Jesus will be the King over all other kings (Rv 19:16). There will be many nations during Christ’s kingdom (Is 62:2; Zc 14:16; Rv 20:3). So, just as there will be other kings over other territories, David will be the king over Israel during this time (Ek 37:24).

So, if Christ is the King of kings, and David is one of the many kings who will reign under the direction of Christ in his Kingdom, who is this Prince? From passages in Ezekiel, it suggests that this Prince will lead the people of the world in the worship of the Messiah, the King of kings, Jesus Christ. He will offer sacrifice for himself and for the people (Ek 45:22), he will be able to have children (Ek 46:17-18), and he will receive an inheritance of land like the tribes of Israel (Ek 45:7.18). From these passages, we gather this Prince is an Israelite and is mortal, as he will not have a glorified body. That would mean he had to come out of the Tribulation as a believer. This would give him a unique perspective for the people as he would understand the horrors of the world prior to Christ establishing his Kingdom, understand the importance of the people’s need to accept their King as the hope for their future, and will understand the importance of the sacrifices and what they mean for the people, and be able to teach them these things.

Because he came out of the Tribulation as a mortal, it would mean God had this plan for this one before Christ’s Kingdom was ever set up. That would at least suggest this one may have been one of the 144,000 prophets (Rv 7:4) who evangelize the world during the Tribulation as their lives would be protected (Rv 7:2-4) and would be assured to survive into the Promised Kingdom. This is not a guarantee of this, but, I think, is suggestive. Therefore, it would be plausible this one who becomes the Prince is from the tribe of Judah, where Jerusalem is located, and is one of these prophets the Lord raises up to evangelize the world before his return.

So, here is the hierarchy: Christ sets up his Promised Kingdom and reigns as the King of kings in Jerusalem. David reigns in his glorified state as the king of Israel during this time, just as other glorified ones will reign as king of other nations at this time. The Prince, non-glorified, will also live in Jerusalem, as he is an Israelite who will lead the people of the world in the worship of the King of kings and help the people of the world realize that Christ is not only their King, but also their Savior and their future hope for eternal life. While one-thousand years is a long time, it is still finite. Those born during this time must still chose Christ as their Savior and their hope, just as we do today, and this Prince will be instrumental in helping them see this need for their eternal future.

It’s interesting that God always seems to manifest and work in a triune manner. He is Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the city of Jerusalem becomes three sections during his Kingdom (Rv 16:19), and the spiritual authority is also triune: Christ, the King of kings is the object of worship, David is the king of Israel, the nation leading the other nations in the worship of Christ, and the Prince is the one who can identify with the mortals of this time and lead them in the specific worship of Christ, their King, and their Messiah.

What about you? Are you going to be around to be part of all of this and witness it first-hand? Do you want to? Then take a note from Ezekiel and yield to this One who is now and forever the King of kings, the Messiah, and the Hope of your eternal future.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens