Many have thought and been taught that the next event for this generation is the Rapture, or the Receiving of the Bride by Christ. The premise was that the evil in the world would increase more and more, and God would then have the Rapture occur to save his bride.

Some teach the Rapture will occur before the coming Tribulation Period starts. Others teach the Rapture will occur half-way through the Tribulation Period, others teach it will occur three-quarters through the Tribulation Period, and still others state it will not occur until the end of the Tribulation Period, or maybe even not at all.

Those in the pre-tribulation rapture camp point to several Scriptures to support this premise. God states his people will not be part of wrath (1Th 5:9) and what will be coming on the earth (Rv 3:10). They also point to the time of Noah in which the ark which saved Noah and his family from the wrath of the flood as a metaphor of God saving his people from his coming worldwide wrath. They also state that the evil in the world today is not part of God’s wrath as stated in Scripture because that wrath will be much worse than what we are experiencing today.

Those who believe the Rapture will not occur until the Tribulation has started point out the evil in the world as proof that wrath has already started. It seems the main support of this view is that the wrath of God is not the beginning of the Tribulation Period but the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period (Rv 11) and they therefore believe the persecution of the followers of Christ in the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation Period (Dn 7:25) is talking about believers today rather than those who become believers after the Tribulation period starts. In addition, they believe the trumpets mentioned by Paul and John are the same trumpet (1Co 15:52; Rv 11:15) while others believe these are not the same.

Those who believe the Rapture occurs three-quarters through the Tribulation Period state the wrath of the tribulation is broken into three separate phases of wrath: the wrath of Man, the wrath of Satan, and the wrath of God. Christians are protected from the Wrath of God but not from the Wrath of Man and Satan.

Then, there are those who believe the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture are really the same event. The Rapture occurs and then immediately Christ returns to the earth.

Yet, it seems these views are not the case because the idea of the Kingdom Age we mentioned in a previous post has not been considered in any of these views concerning the Rapture. I think all these views will become united if we consider the Kingdom Age (i.e., the end of the Church Age). This shows that the evil we are currently experiencing, even though severe, is not the evil, or God’s wrath, that these current views of the Rapture are defining.

Also, perhaps the confusion around the timing of the Rapture is because we have not taken the Rapture event into its proper context. The groom would show off his bride before taking her to his home. He would not allow her to be crushed if he had the power to prevent it. Granted, evil in this world has increased at an ever-alarming rate and many individuals within the universal Church, Christ’s bride, have suffered. Yet, this is as Christ prophesied (Mt 24: 9-13). Why would he allow such to occur? As Paul stated, Christ wants a bride who is without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish and is holy and blameless (Ep 5:26-27). Is the Church that way currently? No. No, it is not. We have a lot of disunity within the body of Christ. Paul also tells us Christ bride is to be a picture of unity and will bear with each other in love (Ep 4:2-3). So, this is what the Lord is currently doing—making his bride pure. Then, rather than taking her away, he is going to present her to the world as she was originally intended to be. The effect of the Church, his bride, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, will allow the entire world to see and honor his bride. Many in the church will lead scores of others to become part of Christ’s bride.

It is then, and only then, after a large harvest of souls, who also become part of Christ’s beautiful, unified bride, will he then come to receive her—a bride beautiful, without blemish. He will receive his bride from the earth in all her glory, not in her humiliation.

How does this then unite all these views of the Rapture? It shows that there is a definite demarcation between the current evil in the world and the evil that is to come. Therefore, it is after the Kingdom Age at the end of the Church Age where the time of the Wrath of God of earth history will occur. Since all these views of the Rapture are united in stating the Rapture occurs just prior to the coming of God’s Wrath, understanding the time of the intense outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the reign of the Church during this time, it brings the timing of the period of God’s Wrath in each of these Rapture views to be at the same time.

This helps us to see that really understanding God’s Scripture to us really does help to put all our disagreements into their proper context and we become more unified in our doctrinal beliefs. Perhaps us now understanding the aspect some are calling the Kingdom Age, or the end of the Church Age, is God starting to unite his Church so he can work with it and bring it to being his unblemished bride.

Some have stated that Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) represents the Rapture of the Church, but these feasts are prophetic for Israel. However, this feast is not totally devoid from the Church because if this feast is representative of God remembering his covenant with Israel (Ro 11:28-32), then God can’t concentrate on Israel as a nation again until the Church is removed. This accomplishes two things: God can focus on bringing his people back to their homeland during the Tribulation Period (Israel), and he can remove his bride from the coming wrath of the Tribulation period (the Church).

God is so multifaceted, isn’t he? Only he could accomplish so much in such a unique way that glorifies not only himself but us, his bride, as well. What a mighty God we serve!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The idea of the coming Kingdom Age is not absent from the Bible. The coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our time, which some are calling the Kingdom Age, will bring in an unprecedented harvest of souls for the Lord. This was revealed to Daniel (Dn 7:27) and Jesus also spoke of this as well (Mt 24:14). We know he was not talking about the end of time because Jesus then goes on to talk about what will occur after this which we have labeled the Tribulation Period (Mt 24:15-22). Jesus also told his disciples he was conferring a kingdom to them just as God the Father had conferred a kingdom to him (Lk 22:29).

This is likely the kingdom to which both John the Baptist and Jesus himself were speaking of when he first started his ministry. Reason? The Holy Spirit had not yet been given so he asked his disciples to pray for it to come because the Holy Spirit would be able to do more than he himself could do because the Holy Spirit could work within everyone at the same time (Jn 14:12).

Why would there be a coming Kingdom Age and how have so many people missed it? The former is probably easier to explain than the latter. As previously said, both the Church as well as Israel did not fulfill their original calling. This coming Kingdom Age, highlighted by one of the most unprecedented Holy Spirit outpourings in history, is the graciousness of the Lord to allow the Church to fulfill its original mandate: preach the gospel to the whole world (Mt 28:19-20) and to become a united, unblemished, bride for Jesus Christ (Ep 4:13; 5:27).

I see the Church Age divided into four steps:

1.      Early Church: This was when the Holy Spirit was first given and was allowed to work miraculously to reach many who accepted Christ as their Savior and could then go and duplicate what they had seen, heard, and had been given.

2.      Church Decline: Unfortunately, this started not too long after the expansion of the Church throughout the Roman Empire. Greek and Hellenistic thought processes began to infiltrate Biblical interpretation and the Church becoming hierarchical in structure inhibited the working of the Holy Spirit because those in influential seats of power were often not led by the Holy Spirit. Apostles and prophets were suppressed because they showed that individuals had the power of the Holy Spirit to bring others to Christ rather than relying on the Church organization itself to achieve such a feat, and the prophets would preach and reprimand those in clerical power positions which those in power would not want to occur and so would suppress the validity of such individuals.

3.      Church Reformation: This was a reawakening of the Church to many aspects of the Early Church but still with many weights and flaws of the previous hundreds of years by misguided leaders. Satan was quick to jump on this bandwagon to cause doctrinal disputes which split the church into an ever-increasing number of factions. With no belief in prophets to counter the waywardness, it seemed to create more and more factions until, today, there are hundreds of various denominations which cannot get along and which bicker with each other rather than seeing how to unite within Christ.

4.      Kingdom Age: This is a true reawakening of the Church to the Early Church beliefs and practices. So, it is not so much a new thing, but returning to something the Church once was. We will see the Holy Spirit being outpoured in significant ways that will likely jar many who are stuck in church tradition and rites. We will again see many signs and wonders with many being miraculously healed from all sorts of diseases and maladies by the Holy Spirit as a true testament to his power. As in the Early Church, this will lead many to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

This seems to be when the Church will shine for the Holy Spirit will enable believers to impact others with their lives and many will fall under the conviction of the Holy Spirit leading to a tremendous reaping of souls for the Lord. It is unclear how long this time will last, but it seems to come on the heels of much persecution but ends with a time of great glory. Therefore, the rapture event for the Church does not come to rescue believers but to take them out of the world at the peak of their performance so it can have an even greater impact on those who remain.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? We, the church, as the bride of Christ will be received by Christ in our glory and not our humiliation. What a great God we serve!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

It’s no coincidence that the Church had its beginning on Shavuot (Pentecost; Ac 2). Israel became a nation (i.e., became betrothed to God [Yahweh]) fifty-two days after the first Passover (Ex 24:4-8). While Bikkurim (Firstfruit) and Shavuot (Pentecost) were not celebrated as festivals until the Israelites reached their Promised Land (Lv 23:10), the covenant God made with Israel to make them a nation occurred on the same day that Shavuot would normally occur. In the same way, the Church was born or was betrothed to God [Yahweh] on the first Shavuot after Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

The Church did not replace Israel (Ro 11:1-2, 11, 25-29) but the mode of worldwide impact for God was transitioned from a nation to individuals. It was a betrothal because God calls the Church his bride (2Co 11:2; Ep 5:24; Rv 19:7). It is interesting that Shavuot is also known as the First Shofar because the betrothal period is marked by the blowing of a shofar. The sound of the shofar was the very voice of God when Israel was pledged to God at the base of Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18-19; Dt 4:12-13). The sound of a rushing mighty wind, the Holy Spirit himself, occurred when the Church was pledged to God in the upper room in Jerusalem (Ac 2:2) forty days after Christ’s ascension into Heaven (fifty days after his resurrection on Bikkurim, or Firstfruit).

This was the foreshadow (2Co 1:22) of God’s new, more intimate, covenant promised to Israel (Jr 31:31-34). Jesus had fulfilled the previous covenant with Israel (Mt 5:17) and was now making a new blood covenant which would actually forgive sins (Mt 26:28) whereas previously, all the sacrifices just placated sin (Hb 10:1-4).

While the idea of the Church we know of today was alluded to in the Old Testament (e.g. Dt 32:21; Is 65:1), it was not made fully known in how God would use it until God revealed such to the apostle Paul (Ep 3:4-6). The birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ had to first occur before his Church could be established. Why is that? Because the power of sin over humans had to be eliminated (Ro 6:7).

We need to fully understand what Christ did for us on the cross. He became our sin so that we could take on his righteousness (2 Co 5:21). What does that mean? Our past, present, and future sin was placed on Christ; all sin ever committed by anyone. Now, that’s quite the burden. The apostle Paul tells us Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Cl 2:15). This implies that he went to Sheol in our place so that penalty of our sin could be dealt with once and for all. So Christ went to Sheol for three days, proclaimed to those on the unrighteous side why their fate is sealed, and 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 where they are today and why Paul stated to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Co 5:8). Because of the disarming by Christ to Satan and his kingdom, he can now bestow on those in his Church gifts for building up his Bride and make her strong and effective.

Christ received back from Satan the power he had stollen from Adam (Cl 2:13-15; Jn 10:17-18; Rv 1:18). What power had God given to Adam? God gave him dominion over all the earth (Gn 1:28) to rule in God’s authority (Ps 8:6-8). Satan deceived that out of Eve and Adam rebelled against God (Gn 3:1-7) so Satan connived Adam’s kingdom from him (Mt 4:8-9; Jn 14:30) and all born afterward are born into sin, Satan’s kingdom (Ps 58:3, Jn 12:46; Ro 5:12); therefore, we do not have to choose Satan’s kingdom because we are born into it and must make a conscious decision to leave it (Jn 3:17-18).

God’s people, his Church has gained that power back. Paul tells us the power we have received is the same mighty strength God exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms (Ep 1:18-23), and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ep 2:4-10). Therefore, we, God’s Church, have far greater power and authority than we have been led to believe. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you already have this power which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. We can exert more and more of this power as we allow the Holy Spirit to control more and more of us.

The early church was given, and operated, in a five-fold ministry, as some have called it. Paul states that Christ gave the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip his people for works of service so that those who come to Christ may be built up in unity of faith and become mature in the knowledge of Christ (Ep 4:11-13). There is much debate about this verse both from a gift classification perspective and from a gift over time perspective. Paul does use a different conjunction between the first three gifts and the last two gifts. Yet, the conjunctions Paul uses in this verse, (de and kai) while different are still translated as the English conjunction ‘and.’ Yet, just because a different conjunction is used (kai) between the last two does not necessarily mean these are one gift but likely mean they are more connected in character and function than the other three. For example, all pastors are teachers but not all teachers are pastors. This same type of mental gymnastics cannot be done for the other three (apostles, prophets, evangelists). So, in the end, it seems there are still five distinct gifts, but some individuals could be pastors and teachers, while others are teachers but not pastors.

Then, there is the controversy over apostles and prophets being for the early church, but not for today. This, I think, comes down to the definition of these terms. Some state there were only twelve apostles so there were no additional apostles after these individuals. While this is a true statement, this does not necessarily exclude others from being called apostles. For example, the original twelve apostles were also called disciples, but this did not mean Jesus had only twelve disciples. After all, the word ‘apostle’ simply means “an ambassador of the Gospel” usually with miraculous powers.

It seems there were apostles Christ had chosen (Ac 1:2) and then apostles which the churches chose (Ac 14:14; Ro 16:7; 1Co 9:2). Paul also uses the word ‘we’ when he mentioned the term ‘apostles’ in his letter to the Thessalonians (1Th 2:6). He is likely referring to not only himself, but also to Silas and Timothy as well (1Th 1:1). Later, Paul also refers to Andronicus and Junia as apostles, two among many others. Therefore, it seems over time, the term apostle came to be applied to other dedicated individuals for God’s service and not just to the original twelve.

In addition, it seems others were posing to be apostles even though they were not (2Co 11:13). It would seem these individuals, whom he sardonically called “super-apostles” were performing some type of miraculous signs as that was one indication of an apostle (2Co 12:12). Yet, their overall intent was not the advancement of the gospel but their own fame. Yet, if apostles were noted to be only Christ’s original twelve apostles, then these individuals would not have been able to feign being apostles.

The other term to consider is ‘prophet.’ Some claim that once all of Scripture was complete, there was no need for prophets as we now have God’s compete word to follow. While that is true, I’m not sure that settles the issue. After all, prophets were not just to deliver a message that would become Scripture but provide messages from God that warned people about obeying God’s Scripture. Granted, there were many prophets in the Old Testament that became part of our canon of Scripture (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachai) but there were many others who delivered a word of warning from God which did not become part of Scripture, but held true to Scripture (e.g., Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Azariah, Hanani, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Jahaziel, Oded, Huldah, and Uriah). In addition, there were prophets mentioned in the New Testament as well (Silas, Judas [Ac 15:32], Agabus [Ac 21:10], and others [Ac 13:1]). So, just being a prophet does not mean words delivered will become Scripture. Yet, their words will never contradict Scripture.

Yes, we have God’s complete Scripture today, but we have so many different interpretations of Scripture today leading to so many different doctrines based upon the same Scripture. Is this what God would want? Would prophets have prevented such from occurring? Just something to consider.

Also, prophets have always popped up when God’s people have gone astray from following his word. That is why so many were persecuted because they warned people they were not in the right. People get very angry when they are spiritually reprimanded. We also see that throughout Scripture.

While prophets are certainly about the future, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are talking about a future not reported in Scripture. But let’s be honest here, we have so many views of our future, how can we know which are truly correct? Would prophets have prevented that from occurring as well? Again, something we should consider.

In addition, if there are no prophets today, then why does Scripture teach there will be prophets in “the last days” (Jl 2:28-32)? So, we had them, then they went away, and then they’ll return? If so, who determines when we should listen to them again?

Also, if prophets were only for the early church until the canon of Scripture was in place, wouldn’t Scripture have been more explicit about that? At what point is the cutoff for prophets? The canon of Scripture occurred over several hundred years. Also, how do we handle what Paul says about prophecy when he said, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all” (1Th 5:20)? Because if we are no longer listening to prophets, then we are technically treating them with contempt because we are not following them. So, at what point were we allowed to not follow Paul’s advice in this regard? Would this suggest that we should listen to prophecy as long as they do not contradict the Bible itself?

And, if we look at what many prophets are saying today, then many are talking about a Kingdom Age that is upon us, or a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the earth to bring a great revival. Is this something we should listen to or ignore? If this is upon us, why weren’t those of the early church looking for this future for themselves? Wouldn’t Paul have known about this and would have put this in his writings?

I think the short answer is no. Why? Because they were already operating in the idea of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Paul likely expected the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to continue throughout the Church Age, so he would not be expecting it to wane and then come back again. Therefore, his emphasis was on Christ’s return and not another outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

So, what would have caused this decline of the outpouring of the Holy Spirt to get us where we are today? What some have purported, and what is hard to refute, is that the teaching of the spiritual gifts of apostle and prophet no longer being needed is the reason. If these two gifts were meant to be carried farther, what caused their demise? Politics.

Whether we look at Judaism or Christianity, both have not fulfilled their spiritual destiny God had ordained for them because of politics. Not politics itself, per se, but allowing those not led by the Holy Spirit to lead.

As an example, by the time Eli was Israel’s high priest, the people went through the motions of sacrifice, but their hearts were not in it, mainly because his sons were quite corrupt. Likely when the people saw their corruption, they were not as enthusiastic in following the precepts God had required of them. It was at that time God brought Samuel into play. While he was a judge, he was also a prophet by warning the people as to what God required of them.

By the time of Jesus, the high priest position had become a political position and thereby the person being high priest had lost a lot of their concern about following God’s precepts. They were in the position for the power, prestige, and wealth the position provided them. In addition, it led to nationalistic encouragement rather than Scriptural encouragement. This led to the Jews becoming more exclusionary to other nationalities rather than teaching other nations the ways of Yahweh. The letter of the law became more important than the heart of the law.

This is also true of the Church as well. The early church had the spiritual fervor, ever desired to be led by the Holy Spirit. As the church became larger, it became more organized, and over time, became hierarchical. While there is nothing wrong with such organization, it led to those who were not really Christian to hold high positions, ever looking how to increase their power, prestige, and wealth. This led to the Church becoming more political and less spiritual. It would be easy to see how apostles and prophets would be discouraged in such an environment because they would bring stinging remarks that those in prominence were not in keeping with the heart of Scripture. Religious rites became more important than the true leading of the Holy Spirit.

What about you today? What is leading you? Are you more about the letter of Scripture or the heart of Scripture. God has always stated it is better to obey than sacrifice (1Sa 15:22; Ps 40:6; Ho 6:6). Let’s walk in the light of the Holy Spirit and allow him to guide us.

Next, we’ll look at something wonderful that will be coming. I hope you join me for the next post where we will be discussing that.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Scientists have sought for a long time to find a theory that unites gravity and quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics provides a description of atomic and subatomic particles into either zero-dimensional particles or as waves. Gravity, on the other hand, could not be explained in this same manner. The unification between them was sought with the development of different versions of superstring theory which looks at these subatomic particles as one-dimensional strings where their frequency of vibration defines each type of particle. Yet, the inclusion of the graviton or gravitational force was not achieved until the development of M-theory which some have called the Theory of Everything since it is inclusive of the graviton in its theorical predictions.

There were at least five versions of superstring theory before M-theory was conceived and developed. This theory was able to not only combine all the other forms of string theory into its model but also explain the graviton as well as other troublesome quantum areas which these other theories were unable to include.

I present this introduction because I think we can do something similar to the area of theology around the different doctrines of “end-time” prophecy. There was something missing in the five superstring theories that M-theory was able to unite. I think the same holds true for “end-time” prophecy regarding what many call the Rapture – the snatching away of God’s elect at some point in our future just before God’s wrath is poured out upon the Earth. Currently, there are five views of the Rapture as well:

1.      The Rapture will occur just before the seven-year Tribulation Period.

2.      The Rapture will occur half-way through the seven-year Tribulation Period.

3.      The Rapture will occur three-fourths through the seven-year Tribulation Period.

4.      The Rapture will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation Period just before Christ’s Second Coming.

5.      The Rapture will not occur at all.

In understanding end-time prophecy, there are several events we need to consider and be sure our understanding includes all of them in a logical and orderly manner. I have provided a short description of each, but we will go into more detail with each of these in future blog posts.

1.      Church Age: This began forty days after Christ’s ascension on Shavuot (Pentecost) and will last until the beginning of the Tribulation Period. I’ll later show that I think this Age can be divided into four phases.

2.      Kingdom Age: This is actually the fourth part of the Church Age which many have not considered in their discussion of end-time prophecy. Yet, it will likely play a key role in the unification of the various views of the Rapture. A future blog post will discuss this topic more thoroughly.

3.      Rapture: This is the return of Christ in the atmosphere to receive his elect, his bride, his Church (those alive and those who are dead).

4.      Marriage Supper of the Lamb: This is an important future event for the bride of Christ, his Church, to further help us understand important aspects of the Rapture and put events in their proper order.

5.      Tribulation: This is the beginning of hard times on the earth and will lead to the reunification of Judah and Israel.

6.      Great Tribulation: This is when hardships on the earth will be excruciating on those who live on the earth at this time. Understanding the order of the events mentioned here will help to put this one in its proper perspective and we’ll add to this in a future post.

7.      Second Coming of Christ: This is an event not really in controversy, but putting this event in its proper order will help us to better understand it.

8.      Millennial Kingdom: A future post will give more insight into this event and how wonderful it will be.

We will look at each of these in more detail in future blog posts. If we understand the order of these events and what each of these events entail, then I believe it will show how these different views of the coming Rapture will merge into only one view. I’m sure many feel that one must situate themselves into one of these camps defining the Rapture and reject the others. Yet, I believe they are all one and the same. Just as scientists thought they had to choose which of the five versions of superstring theory they believed in and then reject the others, I see the same thinking about the concepts of the Rapture. As scientists came to see their version of superstring theory was actually only one piece of the whole within M-theory, perhaps what many are predicting is coming upon us and the world in the very near future—even at our doorstep—will bring the same unification of our views of the Rapture as M-theory did for superstring theory.

I hope you will join me in this look at what God is going to bring to our world and to us individually as well. I’m always amazed at what God tells us and how he is such a uniting force for us. It is us humans who divide us. It is God and his wisdom who unites us once again.

All praise to God who is all knowing. Let us forever allow his wisdom to guide us.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This is perhaps the only “negative” miracle of Jesus recorded in Scripture. This is found in two of the gospels: Matthew chapter 21, verses 12-27; and Mark chapter 11, verses 1-33.

To understand this miracle, we need to understand what occurred prior to this miracle. Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Why is that? This fulfilled a prophecy of Jesus doing so which we find in Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9.

What were the people saying about Jesus as he entered the city? “Hosanna to the Son of David,” “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

They were quoting from Psalm 118: “LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Ps 118:25-29).

Today, we use the word Hosanna synonymous with Praise. Yet, in Hebrew, the word Hosanna means “save, rescue, savior.” The people were saying and acting out this passage in Psalm 118. They were saying they recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of this scripture and their Messiah to bring in his kingdom for Israel.

So, why did Jesus get angry with the tree and why did he drive out moneychangers?

Fig trees give two fruits: small nodules in Spring on the new shoots just as the leaves are coming in and then figs in the Fall, around September near Rosh HaShanna on the shoots from the previous year.

Here, with the leaves already on the tree, there should have been nodules where the leaves attached to the stem, but there was nothing. So, something was wrong with this tree and would not yield a fig harvest.

Jesus saw this representing what he saw at the temple. The Jewish leaders looked good, but they were pushing out converts, i.e., Gentiles whose only place to worship was the Court of Gentiles.

The temple was designed with separate spaces which takes one closer and closer to God. The high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year where he was to meet with God. Priests could enter the Holy Place which contained specific furniture representing the traits of their coming Messiah and make the sacrifices on the bronze altar outside the temple. Levites could only enter the Court of Priests and aid in preparing the animals for sacrifice. Jewish men could only enter up to the Court of Israel, a space just outside the Court of Priests going all the way around the temple itself. Jewish women could only enter the Court of Women which was a large area on the other side of the Nicanor gate and the steps where the Levites would play musical instruments and sing. This was the area which had large lights which were utilized during certain feasts. Gentiles could only be in the Court of Gentiles which was outside from where any Jew could enter. There was a balustrade beyond which no Gentile could go or be met with sudden death from temple guards.

The Court of Gentiles became packed during festivals. This is where all the vendors set up for sacrifices and money changers sat. According to the historian Josephus, during a Passover week, up to 250,000 lambs would be sacrificed.

Why did Jesus overturn the tables here? This was the only place where Gentiles could worship. They were kept from worshipping due to all the chaos and selling of animals. Their place of worship had been turned into a chaotic marketplace.

Gentiles were some of the most responsive to Jesus. His kingdom was open to both Jews and Gentiles. Here, Gentiles were being excluded.

As Jesus and his disciples returned from the temple, the disciples now noticed the fig tree had withered and they were amazed. This fig tree represented the leaders of Israel, as Scripture refers to Israel as a fig tree, and most notably the Jewish leaders:

“I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them” (Jr 8:13).

Jesus fulfills this scripture. Religious leaders were in the way of the coming kingdom. They thought and acted like God’s salvation was exclusive to them because they followed the Law. Jesus said they look good on the outside, just like the fig tree, but they were not producing fruit. Something was wrong on the inside of them.

Jesus reacted to their myopic view of scripture where they over-interpret some parts but then ignore others. They were ignoring their responsibility to being God’s light to the world.

God had told Abraham his descendants were to affect the whole world: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on earth will be blessed through you” (Gn 12:2-3).

God had told Israel they were to be God’s priests to the entire world: “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6).

God had revealed through the prophet Isaiah that Israel was God’s servant to show God’s glory: “He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor’” (Is 49:3).

Why did Jesus not explain this to the Jewish leaders? He tested their hearts to see if they would listen. They refused, so he did not go further with them. They closed off the community. They focused on their own worship and on each other, never looking outward. This led them to cause all their people to lose the greatest blessing Jesus was offering them.

Are we not like these Jewish leaders today? Today, have we become dead fig trees? As a church, have we become so focused on ourselves that we have forgotten the Great Commission? Jesus is giving the opportunity to be transformed. Others see us and should want to worship God as well because of how they see him working in us.

How did the Jewish leaders miss that Jesus was their promised, long-awaited, Messiah? The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word Mashiach; in Greek, Christos, and means “anointed.”

Hebrew: Yeshua HaMashiach : Jesus the Messiah; Jesus the Anointed One

Greek: Jesus Christ: Jesus the Messiah; Jesus the Anointed One

In the books of the Law, Messiah is noted as a priest:

“Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting” (Lv 4:5).

The word “anointed” is mashiach, from which we get the word messiah. In the Historical Books and Psalms, Messiah is noted as a king:

“David asked him, ‘Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’” (2Sa 1:14).

“These are the last words of David: ‘The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs’” (2Sa 23:1).

“There I will make the horn of David to bud. I have ordained a lamp for my anointed” (Ps 132:17).

Again, the word “anointed” is mashiach, i.e., messiah.

The prophets were anointed by the Holy Spirit:

“The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord” (1Sa 3:19-20).

“Samuel said to them, ‘The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand’” (1Sa 12:5).

This is where the idea that the Messiah will be prophet, priest, and king originates. He came as a prophet (Holy Spirit descended upon him; Jn 1:32), he is currently our High Priest making intercession for us (Hb 8:1-2), and will come back and rule as king (Rv 11:15).

Daniel then paints the Messiah as the Conquering One:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Da 7:13-14).

“Know and understand this: From the time the world goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens’, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him” (Da 9: 25-27).

This led to the teaching of two coming messiahs: one who would come, suffer, and die and then one who would come to conquer.

What was the Messiah expected to do?

“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Is 35:1-10).

“But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead” (Is 26:19).

“In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see” (Is 19:18).

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Is 63:1-3).

According to the Torah, the Messiah will be a male descendant of the Jewish King David, human - he will have a human birth and human parents, a perfect teacher of God’s law, a great political leader - inspirational and a good judge, able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, ruler over humanity - but he will rule with kindness, the bringer of peace to the world, and able to unite humanity. Ultimately, it is believed that the Messiah will establish God’s kingdom on Earth.

The Jewish leaders were focusing so much on the conquering aspects of their Messiah they ignored all his other attributes. They focused on what they wanted from God and did not ask what God wanted from them.

May we not do the same.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We find this miracle recorded in three of the gospels: Matthew chapter 9, verses 20-22; Mark chapter 5, verses 25-34; and Luke chapter 8, verses 42-48.

The woman with the bleeding issue likely had menorrhagia. This is a heavy menstrual flow that is typically defined with these types of symptoms: (1) soaks through one or more sanitary pads or tampons every hour for several consecutive hours (realize this woman had nothing like these products to help, but likely used rags or strips of cloth); (2) heavy bleeding that requires a person to use more than one period product at a time (she would not have had this aid); (3) the need to change pads or tampons in the middle of the night (she would have to continuously wash the strips of cloth she had and continuously reuse them); (4) menstrual flow or bleeding lasting more than a week (hers had lasted for at least 12 years –can you even imagine?!); (5) the passage of blood clots that are the size of a quarter or larger; (6) symptoms of anemia, including fatigue and shortness of breath (how she could maintain a living would be quite difficult); (7) constant lower abdominal and pelvic pain (for her to ensure for so long is a testimony to her fortitude); (8) the inability to perform regular daily activities because of bleeding (this would force her to be labeled unclean).

These symptoms from which she suffered had a huge social stigma for her to bear. She would be considered perpetually unclean requiring her to separate herself from family and all of society, could never go to the temple or synagogue, and likely had to live alone without any physical human contact.

The cause of menorrhagia could be from any number of issues: hormonal imbalance, ovaries that are dysfunctional, fibroids in the uterus, polyps, adenomyosis, cervical cancer, bleeding disorders that are inherited, progesterone hormone deficiency, anovulatory cycles in the first year of attaining menarche. These are difficult issues to deal with in today’s society. It is hard to imagine the hardships she had to go through.

We know very little about her background. At one time she had money, or her family had money as she had seen many physicians to try and get healed. So, at one time, people cared for her. Perhaps over time that dwindled away and she became a social outcast. Was she bitter? Did she still have people who cared? We can only hope she had family who still cared for her. Yet, even if so, there would be no human contact since she would be considered unclean constantly.

How did the woman decide that she would only touch the hem (tzitzit) of his garment? In these passages, the Greek word is krsaspedon, meaning fringe, tassel, border, or hem. The Hebrew word is tzitzit. In Numbers chapter 15 and in Deuteronomy chapter 22, it instructs that tassels, or tzitzit, should be placed on the corners of their garments.

Tzitzit were prepared in a very specific way. Five double knots were placed on each tzitzit tassel. In the spaces between these knots, one of the fringes being longer than the others is coiled around the rest. Seven coils in the first space, eight in the second, eleven in the third, and thirteen in the fourth for a total of 39 coils and has the same numerical value as “HaShem Echad”: God is One.

One could ask, was the woman justified to disobey the Law to get to Jesus? In her mind this was her one and only shot to get cured. If she wasn’t cured, then she may have people angry at her for making them ceremonially unclean, but she likely had that occur so many times before. If she was cured, then she could have a normal life. Some argue that as long as her skin did not touch anyone else’s skin, then no one would become unclean. Yet, in a crowd of this size, such a condition could not be guaranteed.

Was Jesus made impure because the woman touched his clothing? The Law stated this about a sin offering: “Whatever touches any of the flesh [of the sin offering] will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area” (Lv 6:27). Since Jesus was our sin offering, one could argue that he was in no danger to become unclean, but he would be the one to pass cleansing on to the woman rather than she passing uncleanness onto him. In addition, by her touching the tzitzit of Jesus’ garment, there was no danger of making him unclean, even if the previous argument is rejected.

Although many people were touching and jostling Jesus, he knew immediately when this woman touched his tzitzit. Healing went out of him into her. Others wanted what Jesus could give them but did not possess the faith in what Jesus could really give them. This woman had the faith in what Jesus could do for her. What was Jesus’ response? He called her daughter. Can you imagine what an emotional impact that had on her? He did not condemn her for disobeying the Law of Moses by putting others at risk of becoming unclean but had tender compassion for her and praised her for her faith. She got far more from Jesus than what she had ever dreamed of receiving.

What about you? What do you want from him? He only requires faith to achieve something for you that will also be beyond your comprehension: a new life that will transform you forever. How special is that?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There are actually two storms recorded in scripture which Jesus calmed. Yet, there is only one of these storms Jesus rebuked, and only one was involved with Jesus’ walking on the water.

One of the miracles of Jesus calming a storm is found in three of the gospels: Matthew chapter 8, verses 23-27; Mark chapter 4, verses 35-41; and Luke chapter 8, verses 22-25.

This is on the heels of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, which likely lasted for days—about a week. He did not have to physically feed people at this time because there were towns on the northwestern portion of the Sea of Galilee near Mount Eremos. Capernaum was less than 2 miles away. And Gennesaret was about the same distance in the opposite direction.

When Jesus got into the boat, he went to sleep almost immediately. He was likely exhausted, and his body needed rest. The storm did not even wake him. The disciple, on the other hand, were quite concerned for their lives and woke Jesus. It is odd that they woke him but then acted surprised when he calmed the storm. After all, what were they expecting him to do if not calm the storm?

We need to ask, “Who was Christ speaking to when he said, ‘Quiet! Be still!’” The word for “quiet” here means “silence” or “hush.” The word for “be still” here means “to muzzle.” This would imply this storm was caused by Satan and Jesus was rebuking him and his actions. Satan had to immediately comply because he cannot go against a direct command.

There is another instance recorded in Scripture about an instance when Jesus walks on water and calms a storm. This instance is found in three gospels: Matthew chapter 14, verses 22-33; Mark chapter 6, verses 45-52; and John chapter 6, verses 16-24.

This incidence came on the heels of Jesus feeding the 5,000 men as well as women and children by multiplying five small loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed such a crowd and then even have leftovers! After this event, Jesus went to be alone and pray as the disciples left in a boat to head back to the western side of the Sea of Galilee.

When the storm came up, the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water and at first thought he was a spirit, but Jesus assured them who he was. Peter asked to come to him. Jesus agreed. Peter started walking on the water as well, but he got distracted and began to sink. Jesus helped him up and they both got into the boat and the storm immediately calmed.

This time, there was no rebuking of the storm. The storm calmed the moment Jesus stepped into the boat. Perhaps, as we just stated, the first storm was from Satan trying to cast doubt on their faith whereas this storm was an opportunity for them to exercise their faith.

Is there a reason for only Matthew to include Peter walking on the water? Matthew was an eyewitness of the event. Mark got his information from Peter who likely did not want to detract from the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. John was selective in the miracles he presented in showing Jesus as divine.

It seems the feeding of the 5,000 put all the people into a frenzy. Everyone started going all around the lake trying to find Jesus for more food or for healing. It seems Jesus’ teachings were not the main reason people followed him.

What about us? Are we searching for Jesus for what we want him to do for us? Or are we willing to be content and praise him for who he is? Perhaps we, like Jesus’ disciples, all need some self-reflection.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This miracle is found in the following passages: Matthew chapter 8, verses 28-34; Mark chapter 5, verses 1-20; and Luke chapter 8, verses 26-39.

It’s almost funny, but I’m sure Jesus’ disciples did not think so. Jesus had decided to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. His disciples likely thought he was wanting to get to a solitary place away from the crowds for awhile as the other side of the sea was composed mostly of Gentiles rather than Jews and certain areas were rather barren and, thereby, a good place to “get away.” However, things did not go according to plan. On their way, a sudden storm came up and nearly capsized their boat. Jesus, being with them, calmed the storm and allowed them to arrive safely.

So, here they were, tired and dazed from the ordeal only to now be met with two disheveled, deranged, naked men run toward them and yelling at the top of their lungs. I’m sure their eyes were as wide as saucers. I know mine would have been!

These men were madmen. They were not in their right mind, were naked, had cuts all over them, had broken chains around their ankles and wrists, and were yelling at the top of their lungs, had long, mangled hair and long beards for no one could get close to them to help them. Trying to help was risking one’s own life. These men were uncontrollable.

They also had severe personality changes. We know this became the before and after pictures painted in these passages show them to be quite opposite to each other. When possessed, the men would strip off their clothes, yell, cut themselves, and be violent to others. Afterward, they were calm, clothed, and in their right mind.

One of the two stated his name was Legion. A legion of soldiers was typically 6,000 men. It is unclear if this was the name of just one of them or both together. Either way, they each were possessed with more than one demon. Those who have witnessed demon possession tell us that each demon has its own distinct personality and that the individual possessed begins to manifest the distinct personality of the demon by which he is possessed. If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly.

They had anti-social behavior. They lived in solitude away from civilization and that is likely why they lived in the tombs as this would be a place not many would ever visit. They were also hostile to others. No one wanted anything to do with these men.

These two had keen spiritual insight beyond what most humans had for they instantly recognized Jesus and knew him as the Son of God or Son of the Most High. Even many humans did not identify Jesus in this manner. They asked if Jesus had come to torture them before their time. So, these demons who possessed these men knew their ultimate fate.

The demons also gave these men super-human strength. When caught and captured, they would break their chains and then go to solitary places. Hence, this is why they were around the tombs and away from civilization, which fit the characterization of them being anti-social.

These poor men were in a constant state of mental torment. They would shriek like wild animals and act insane. Likely their cutting of themselves with stones may have been partly to try and stop their mental pain using physical pain, or these demons caused these men to hurt themselves just for their own delight and show their control over these poor men. The mental torment by these demons must have been unbearable. No wonder everyone was afraid of these men.

These two possessed men seemed to totally ignore the disciples with Jesus as they directly approached Jesus himself. This was not an act of worship but an affront for him coming into their territory. Their acknowledgement of Jesus was done in a state of yelling and screaming.

It seems this was not a simple exorcism as had been in other instances. These men bowed before Jesus, but they were not worshipping him. It seems Jesus had told them to leave, and this is when they went into a fit for Jesus not to torture them and send them away. In Jewish thinking, demons were assigned to specific geographic areas, so they also asked that they might not be asked to leave the region. There are other scriptural passages that do seem to support this idea. Luke’s account adds that they asked not to be sent to the Abyss where others had been sent previously (2Pt 2:4).

Perhaps these demons were so afraid of Jesus sending them away to the Abyss they proposed an alternative. They knew Jesus would not allow them to enter another human, so they proposed to go into the herd of pigs: 2,000 of them. Of course, this would mean that each pig would be possessed by more than one demon.

Jesus granted their request. Why did the pigs then run headlong off a cliff and into the sea and drown.

1.           As the men, when possessed, were not in their right mind, these pigs were now not in their right mind either.

2.           Each pig had more than one demon inside them which likely caused much confusion.

3.           Pigs can swim, so they normally would not have died just because they jumped into the water. Yet, likely, because demons cause those they possess to harm themselves, this may have been part of that, or the pig became so distraught that it panicked and thereby was not able to think clearly enough to swim.

4.           Jesus likely used this as a topical lesion for those in this area as well as for his disciples as well:

a.           Jews considered pigs unclean, so it would seem natural for an unclean spirit to enter unclean things, or animal in this instance

b.           The Sadducees taught there were no such thing as a spirit, but this scenario totally demonstrated that spirits were absolutely real. While one could argue that the men were just insane (due to chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters), their state after encountering Jesus argues against that supposition because the men became calm while the pigs acted irrationally. Seeing such would have been truly revealing that these spirits were real.

c.           These Gentiles used pigs not only for food but for animal sacrifice to their “gods.” They would not have believed their gods were evil but were their protectors. This demonstrated that whom they served was not looking out for their best because the demons just took away part of their main livelihood.

d.           This forced these Gentiles to decide if their livelihood and their beliefs were more important than the lives and restoration of two of their citizens.

The response of the townsfolk is quite telling. Those who tended the pigs first ran back to town to tell them what happened to the pigs. When the people came to investigate, they then saw the men now completely sane and clothed. Seeing the men like this for some reason made these townsfolk afraid. So apparently this indicated Jesus was even more powerful than these two men had been. Perhaps the townsfolk couldn’t process that fact. To them, a demon-possessed man who had super-human strength should have had the upper hand. Perhaps these two men became demon possessed due to some of their religious rites and rituals.

These townsfolk had rather have a demon-possessed man in their town than Jesus, the one who had rid these men from their spiritual torment. When people are more afraid of what Jesus will do in their lives than what Satan does in the moment, they often push Jesus away.

At least one of these men not only wanted to go with Jesus, but to be with Jesus. Jesus told the man to go back to his townsfolk and tell all he met about what Jesus had done for him. This was just the opposite of what he told many Jews when they were healed.

In Galilee and Judea there were Messianic hopes which would have been quickly fanned into flames if the miracles of Jesus were too widely publicized too quickly. There was no such danger in the Decapolis, Greek cities on the eastern side of the Jordan, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. This is exactly what this man did. He obeyed Jesus.

Spurgeon said of this passage: “He was told to publish what great things the Lord had done for him. He went and published what great things Jesus had done for him. Did he make any mistake? Oh, no! It is but another name for the same Person: for Jesus is the Lord; and when you speak of him as divine, and talk of him in terms fit only for God, you do but speak rightly; for so he deserveth to be praised.”

This passage should help us understand the reality of the influence of Satan in our culture. Our main warfare is not of flesh and blood but of a spiritual realm (Ep 6:12). The occult is real and can entrap people today just as it did to these two poor men. In the beginning we may think we are in control but like these two men showed, ultimately, they will become our master.

This also helps us to see the counterpart to demon possession is the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Ep 5:18). Yet, contrary to demons wanting to torture us, the Holy Spirt wants to impart new life to us, help us become more godly, and have us exhibit the character of God in our lives. As the control of these demons were evident in these men, we should strive to have others see the control of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Which control do you desire? Only one yields true freedom.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Three examples of such a miracle are given in scripture: (1) a person who had just died only minutes before (Mt 9:18-19, 23-26; Mk 5:21-24; 35-43; Lk 8:40-42; 49-56); (2) a person who had been dead for a day or so (Jn 7:11-17); (3) a person who had been dead for over three days (Jn 11:1-57). Think about this as we go through these examples.

Jairus was a ruler in the synagogue at Capernaum. The ruler of the synagogue was the man chosen to care for the physical arrangements of the synagogue services. Today’s equivalent would be the president of the synagogue. They partner with the clergy, oversee the business operations of the synagogue, preside over the governance of the congregation, and serve as the chief financial officer and revenue generator.

This man’s daughter was likely only dead for less than an hour or so because she was sick when Jairus left to get Jesus and had just died when Jesus arrived at his house.

Surely, Jesus knew that the girl had actually died, so why did Jesus say Jairus’ daughter was only asleep? We don’t know for sure. Maybe he was indicating that weeping and mourning for someone who had hope was not necessary. Maybe he was indicating that there is no true death when the Messiah is involved, or her time of death will be so short it will be as if she had been asleep. Maybe he was mocking them for they were insincere in their crying and weeping.

It seems strange, and almost rude, that the mourners laughed at Jesus’ statement. Why did the mourners laugh? These were likely professional mourners. In rabbinic times, funeral processions were led by lamenting female mourners, often professionals. The Mishnah states that "even the poorest in Israel should hire not less than two flutes and one wailing woman" for his wife's funeral. Women also composed elegies that were chanted aloud. Prohibitions against women's voices being heard in public were relaxed for funerary rituals. Therefore, these mourners had no real invested interest in the family. This was just a job to them. Otherwise, they would have been incensed at his statement and not have resorted to laughter.

Why did Jesus tell Jairus and his family not to tell anyone what happened? Maybe he did not want his fame to spread within Israel too quickly as that would overshadow his greater message. Yet, we must realize that keeping such an act silent in such a close-knit group of people would have been nearly impossible.

Why did Jesus only have Peter, James, and John with him when he healed the girl? We don’t know for sure because Scripture doesn’t tell us. Maybe, though, he knew these three would be the leaders of the church after his ascension.

Another example was the raising of a widow’s son. This man was likely dead only a day or so because a body was typically buried as quickly as possible after death because the Jews did not embalm their dead. We don’t know of any necessary reason Jesus would have to go through Nain on his journey from Capernaum. Undoubtedly, he went there to meet this poor widow and decrease her pain. Even if that was not the case, learning she was a widow and no other male sons, this moved him to have compassion on the woman.

She had no husband and now, no son. Typically, the property would go to the next male heir in line. Therefore, she would be dependent upon more distant relatives who may have less of her interest at heart. While during this time, some women did have affluence, this was not typically true of those of agrarian societies with less Roman influence. Even if she was able to own the property, she would not be able to take care of it on her own. And if she sold it, she would have no place to stay. So it was a conundrum. It seems Jesus had a solution to her conundrum that no one would have ever thought possible. Only he could turn sorrow into profound joy.

Next is the resurrection of Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus. Why was Jesus away when his close friend died?

It seems Jesus often stayed with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany when he came to Jerusalem because the distance between the two cities was only about two miles. He had been teaching in Jerusalem and had several disputes with the Jewish leaders. Discussion became so hot they threatened to stone him. He eventually left to go on the other side of Jordan so things could settle down somewhat. Likely, he considered two miles not far enough away for him to be confronted outside Jerusalem.

So, an important question: did Jesus let Lazarus die? Bethany beyond Jordan (also known as Bethabara) was only 15-20 miles away from the Bethany near Jerusalem where Lazarus lived with Martha and Mary, and this distance could be traveled in a day. If it took the men a day to travel and tell Jesus of Lazarus being sick, and then Jesus waiting two days, and then traveling a day to reach Bethany where Martha and Mary were, then it would mean Lazarus died shortly after the men left on their way to tell Jesus. Lazarus was likely buried on the same day of his death as the Jews did not embalm people, and this occurred in the Springtime when decay would start to settle in quickly. Jesus knew Lazarus was dead as soon as the men told him he was sick.

If Jesus knew this, why did he tarry two days before starting his trip to Bethany and arrive on the fourth day after Lazarus died? Jewish mysticism teaches that a deceased person’s spirit remains around the body for up to three days after death before departing. It was well-known in Israel 2,000 years ago that someone deceased could come back to life during this 3-day period but not afterwards.

The other two examples were within this time period. Jesus wanted to show that he was indeed the Lord of Resurrection. After the spirit left the body and even after decay had set in, he could restore one to perfect health.

How much faith did Mary and Martha have? More than some, but less than likely Jesus expected. They didn’t doubt he was the Messiah and could heal. They were just unsure why he did not do it for their brother who was so close to him. Yet, they obeyed his command even though they did not understand it. That is the definition of faith, is it not?

Again, the Jewish leaders’ hearts were only hardened against Jesus for this feat which was clear only someone from God could accomplish. What was Caiaphas, the high priest, really saying when he said the following to his fellow members of the Sanhedrin: “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish?”

Caiaphas was a Sadducee and held the position of high priest for 18 years. Sadducees held the majority seat in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, over which Caiaphas ruled while he served as high priest. In terms of theology, Sadducees denied the afterlife and any existence of the spiritual world (angels, demons, etc.). Because of these things, they were often at odds with Jesus due to His teachings about humility, heaven, and his own deity.

In addition to his role as high priest, Caiaphas came under the direct authority of the Roman governor (he served under two: Quirinus and Gratus). The governor wielded power to appoint a high priest of his choice. This is why Annas worked hard to keep the high priesthood within his family after he was removed from that position. Caiaphas was his son-in-law. The governor could also use self-serving political influence and take custody of the high priest’s sacred vestments.

Caiaphas therefore had an incentive to keep the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, and help squash any and all insurrections of any kind. He was saying they had to have Jesus killed so that Rome would not take vengeance on them or the people as a whole. Therefore, that is why they plotted to have him arrested. His words, while intending to be their plot became the prophecy of why Jesus actually came to earth so he could die and unite all unto himself.

And what of your reaction? Will you be like Martha and Mary who had enough faith to follow Jesus’ instructions even when they did not understand them only to have joy beyond their imagination, or will you be like Caiaphas who saw only a means to and end in using Christ rather than acknowledging and serving him? He’s waiting for your response. Trust me; go for the joy.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

As we mentioned in a previous post, there were three types of miracles the Jewish leaders taught that only the Messiah would be able to do: (1) cast out a mute demon, (2) heal a man born blind, and (3) heal leprosy. We have already seen how he did the first two. In this post, we’ll see how he did the third.

The healing and cleansing from leprosy is found in three of the gospels: Matthew chapter 8, verses 1-4; Mark chapter 1, verses 40-45, and Luke chapter 5, verses 12-16. In these passages, Jesus encounters a man with leprosy who asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus does and tells the man to go to the priest so he could be pronounced clean and then enter back into society.

Then, Luke records another encounter for us in chapter 17, verses 11-19. Here there are ten lepers. They do not approach Jesus, but yell to him from a distance asking for healing. They head to the priest and are healed along the way. One of them returns and falls at Jesus’ feet praising and thanking him.

What about the healing of leprosy was considered so profound? In the Torah, it appears that God alone inflicts leprosy on a person:

“Then the LORD said, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow” (Ex 4:6).

“The LORD replied to Moses, ‘If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.’ So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back” (Nu 12:14-15).

“They confronted King Uzziah and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God.’ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land” (2Ch 28:18-21).

And in the Tanakh, it stated that no person had ever healed an Israelite from leprosy; only God himself had sone so. Because of this, the priest to whom these men presented themselves must have been taken aback to hear their stories of healing by Jesus as it was his belief that only God could heal leprosy. Unfortunately, we don’t have a record of his reaction.

Jesus was the only person who would touch an unclean person and not be afraid of becoming defiled himself. Why? One reason could be because of what the Law said about the sin offering.

“Whatever touches any of the flesh [of the sin offering] will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area.” (Lv 6:27).

Did you catch that? As far as I know, this is the only thing that makes something else holy. Normally, the Law stated that anything unclean would make something it touches unclean. Here, it is just the opposite. That is why they had to be so careful about handling the sin offering. As Jesus was our sin offering, it seems what he touched became clean. In this instance, the leprosy (being an uncleanness of the skin) became whole (cleanness of skin). I find that remarkable.

There are some translations which state Jesus was “indignant”? The NIV is one of the few who translates the word to “indignant” rather than “having compassion.” There has been much debate about this. However, Jesus did have compassion or else he would not have healed. Yet, it may be that he could have become indignant because the man said, “if you will” which implied doubt on the man’s part that Jesus was willing. Jesus responded that of course he was willing and healed the man from his leprosy. If he was indignant, this did not mean he was not also compassionate. Otherwise, the man would not have been healed.

Leprosy was a very devastating disease. It wasn’t just the physical part where a person’s skin literally came off a person. It was that no one would touch a leper. Can you image going for years and years without any human contact or touch. For Jesus to touch him when he was a leper was probably more moving than we can ever imagine.

Why did Jesus give the healed leper a strong warning not to tell anyone except the priest? There are perhaps three important reasons to consider:

1)           Publicity over his healing might hinder Christ’s mission and divert public attention from his message to them. Such publicity is what, at times, forced Jesus away from the more populated areas.

2)           It was important that the priest pronounce the man to have obtained a genuine cure so that there might be no prejudice among the Jews against its being a real miracle. Possibly, if the man did not go at once to the priest without delay, evil-minded men might prejudice the priest and prevent his declaring the healing to be true because it was done by Jesus.

3)           Jesus did not want people focusing on the miracles themselves, but rather on the message he was proclaiming and the death he was going to die.

Why did the one leper come back to Jesus and the others did not? There are likely several reasons, but for this man who was a Samaritan, he had no priest to go to in order to show he was healed. The only place to go to have recognition of his cleansing was the one who had performed the cleansing. It is likely the others were Jewish and would go to the temple to receive their cleansing and be allowed back into society.

This does not excuse them from not returning to be thankful but could be one explanation for why this one man returned: not only because he was thankful, but he had no other person to present himself to for recognition of his cleansing.

So, we have seen Jesus perform three miracles that Jewish tradition stated that only their coming Messiah would be able to do. Yet, the Jewish leaders still did not believe him to be the Messiah. Why? Perhaps we should reverse that question and ask why do we not believe when we have this same level of evidence?

Ponder that and see if you can come to the same realization of who Jesus really is that his man did. What did he do? He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. Jesus is waiting for this moment from you so he can wrap you in his arms just as you are. He is the sin offering. His touch will cleanse you. Are you ready?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This miracle is found in the gospel of John chapter 9, verses 1-41. Jesus and his disciples come across a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples are curious to know if this man or his parents had sinned causing this man to be born this way. Jesus said the answer was neither. This surprised the disciples because they had always been taught that such an incurable infirmity must be due to sin. They had often heard their Jewish leaders say, “there is no death without sin and there is no suffering without iniquity.” Some teachers of the law taught that Scripture taught this. For the parents to be at fault, some Jewish leaders pointed to Exodus 20:5 (for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me) and Ezekiel 18:20 (the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them). Yet, these phrases seem to be taken somewhat out of context to support this tenant. Regarding the unborn having sin, some rabbis thought it possible, while others thought it impossible. It’s not clear how widely held the prenatal sin view was, but apparently it was widely held enough to generate debate among themselves. Some argued that when it was stated about Jacob and Esau that they “struggled together” in the womb (Gn 25:33), it was implying they were trying to kill each other. Again, this seems to be an over interpretation of what the scripture is actually implying. So, it seems the disciples were wanting to understand from Jesus what the true answer to this debate was as they knew Jesus, of all people, would know the answer.

Instead, Jesus said this man was born this way so God could be magnified. Jesus made some mud using his own saliva, placed it on the man’s eyes, and then told him to go and wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam (in the southern part of the city of Jerusalem). The man did so and received his sight.

Jesus also made somewhat of a strange statement: night is coming when no one can work. What did he mean by this? The disciples were learning that they needed to make the most of their opportunities while they had the Light of the World (i.e., Jesus) with them. They needed to pay attention to him, to learn from him, so they could know him and faithfully represent him later. Today, we can’t “work while it is day” in the same way because Jesus is not personally here on earth. Yet, we still have been enlightened by him—he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Like the disciples, we should look to him, and like the disciples were encouraged to do—and like Jesus did—we should also make the most of the opportunities afforded to us. Each opportunity is provided by God for his glory, so we need to consider how we can work while it is still day.

Why did Jesus make mud with his saliva? There was a belief that saliva had healing properties. Maybe Jesus was indicating that healing was in progress to the people around him. Or it may be because the act of creating mud was considered work by the Jewish leaders. Perhaps Jesus is again emphasizing that the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mk 2:27). Doing good is always appropriate for the Sabbath. If the Law allowed them to get a donkey out of the ditch on the Sabbath (Dt 22:4), why not their fellow man who is far more valuable?

Why did Jesus send the man to the Siloam pool? In some respects, it was a word play, for the word Siloam meant “sent” (Jn 9:7). Christ had been sent by God through his authority, and now Christ was sending this man in his authority.

This was the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). The previous seven days, the priests each morning went from the temple to the Pool of Siloam in the southern part of the City of David and gathered water in a golden vessel and brought it to the altar through the Water Gate in the Southern side of the Temple. The water was then poured down the side of the altar to signify the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

On this last day, the ceremony was not done. Yet, Jesus is now sending the blind man to the pool. Rather than the Holy Spirit being brought to the temple, the man is sent to the Holy Spirit for his healing.

Christ had just stated he is working while he is here on Earth. Who would be working when he is gone? The Holy Spirit. Perhaps this was a lesson for the disciples to ponder once he was gone from them.

Jesus did not go with the man to the pool. Who took him? We don’t really know. Maybe he knew his way around, but that’s traveling about a fifth of a mile. Also, Jesus was not there when the man received his sight. The miracle of sight would be its own witness for the man to proclaim to the people.

Why did the people not believe this was the man who had been blind and begged? Those who knew this man knew he had been born blind. They had been taught that one born blind could not be cured. Such a one was in sin and God would not heal such a man steeped in sin before he was even born. This is also why the Pharisees and Jewish leaders grilled him and his parents so. They also could not rectify that one born blind could now see. Rather than rejoicing in the miracle, they did all they could to deny the miracle.

They questioned the man relentlessly but did not believe him. They then questioned his parents and then brought the man back again. Not to understand, but how to discredit. They still tried to make the man feel like a sinner rather than rejoice with him. They said that the man who healed him was a sinner as well. The man quotes back to them scripture that they should know and reveals what they said about Jesus was untrue: “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Pr 15:29). This makes the Jewish leaders mad, and they tell this man that someone steeped in sin from birth has no right to tell the righteous (indicating themselves) they are wrong. They then forcibly excommunicate the man from the temple.

Jesus then meets the man a second time. This miracle affected this man deeply and he was willing to stand up to the Jewish leaders and point out their hypocrisy. He was ready for a true encounter with the Messiah. Jesus reveals himself and the man readily accepts him and worships him. Jesus does not stop him from doing so.

What did Jesus mean when he said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind?” The reference to those who see versus those who are blind is meant to explain this entire incident with the blind beggar and the religious critics. Those who admit their need, and trust in God, are those who will be granted sight—just as the blind man was given both sight and knowledge by Jesus in response to his sincere faith. Those who are arrogant and presume they already know, will be hardened by the presence of Jesus, instead. Despite their knowledge (“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refused to come to me to have life” (Jn 5:39-40)), they allow their own prejudice to blind them (“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2Co 4:4)), making them incapable of understanding what they don't want to understand, anyway (“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (Jn 7:17).).

Jesus' statement here underscores an important principle: God holds people accountable not only for what they know but holds them absolutely accountable for it. Those who come to God in humility, admitting weakness and seeking truth, are met with grace and forgiveness. We see this in this man’s response to his encounter with Jesus:

When Jesus heard that the Jewish leaders had thrown the man out of the temple (i.e., excommunicated him), he found him, and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (Jn 9:35-38).

This is a good example of the fulfillment of Matthew 7:7–8 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Those who think they are wise, who claim to have spiritual sight, will be judged accordingly (“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (Ja 3:1)). This is especially true of those who, like the Pharisees, have knowledge and deliberately choose to ignore it.

Yet, can we today be too quick to judge here? Do we not at times act hypocritical? I think this is a good example for us to really look at our actions and see how they really align with Scripture. “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (Ja 4:17). Truth is necessary even when it is sometimes hard to hear.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This miracle is found in the gospel of Mark chapter 1, verses 21-28, and in the gospel of Luke chapter 4, verses 31-37. Jesus went into the synagogue at Capernaum one Sabbath. A man who was possessed with a demon cried out loudly asking Jesus what he was doing there. Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the man and the demon had to obey. Everyone there were amazed, and Jesus’ notoriety increased greatly.

In the first century, synagogues were run by a chief ruler. This person would often open the service with various recitations, he would have a priest or Levite read a portion of the Torah, a portion from the prophets would be read in Hebrew and interpreted for the common people in attendance, and a sermon was then provided by someone. This was typically by the chief ruler but could also be a visiting rabbi or teacher. It seems Jesus often spoke at a synagogue as the chief rulers would allow him to do so since his fame was spreading throughout the land of Israel.

The word “synagogue” was formed from a combination of two Greek words (“ago” meaning to lead or bring along, and the preposition “sun” meaning together) and came to mean “to gather in, collect, or assemble.” The word synagogue in its earliest usages did not refer to a physical location or a physical building. First, Jewish individuals assembled and then once they began to build structures for their meetings, the word synagogue came to be applied to the building itself.

There were several activities these synagogues provided for their congregation. Activities included the reading and instruction of the law, the Torah, as well as providing hostel services such as lodging, food, and water for strangers.

Scripture indicates Jesus often healed people while he visited synagogues. The controversy of his work there wasn’t about his healing but about him doing so on the Sabbath. Healing on the Sabbath was a sacrilege according to some (Jn 15:1-18). There is one instance when the ruler of the synagogue angrily told the people to return to the synagogue on a day other than the Sabbath to be healed (Lk 13:14).

The same help the synagogue gave to its congregation and to those who were sick or needed help was also provided by the temple in Jerusalem. The temple of Jerusalem and the synagogues scattered throughout the land of Israel both seem to have attracted the needy in their respective communities. This may suggest why the Gospel writers often locate Jesus healing at a synagogue when he was not in Jerusalem, but when he was in Jerusalem, he healed at or near the temple instead of the synagogue. It seems appropriate contextually that Jesus first proclaims his mission to the needy at the synagogue and performs many of his acts of compassions on behalf of the needy at the synagogue — the ancient Jewish community center. He proclaimed at the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown, the following: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:18-21).

So, the synagogues were built as a geographical and symbolic extension of the Jerusalem temple. It allowed Jewish leaders to meet the Jewish people in their own communities more often than when the people visited the Jerusalem temple.

Many people, when they heard Jesus speak, would say he spoke with authority. Why was that? The scribes and Pharisees would quote from various authoritative Jewish scholars when they taught to drive home a point or an interpretation of scripture, like a textbook where references are provided to show that there are other authoritative sources saying the same thing as you or that supports your premise or conclusion. In the Old Testament, prophets had authority because they spoke, “Thus says the Lord.” Jesus spoke from his own authority and would say, “Verily I say unto you.”

Why did Jesus shut the demoniac down so quickly? Jesus did not give dignity to the demon by carrying on a conversation with it or allow it to manifest its nature further. Jesus rebuked the demon almost immediately, commanding it to be silent and to come out of the man. The demon obeyed, but only after one final rebellious act. The demon cast the man to the ground in a way that was so violent, it seemed certain the man would have been seriously injured. Yet in Luke’s account of this, he lets us know that no injury came to the man from this display. Jesus, not the demon, was in total control.

During this time in first century Judaism, exorcisms were not uncommon, but were typically a long, drawn-out process with formulas and protocols to follow, like first getting to know the name of the demon they were dealing with. It was believed that if they knew the name of the demon, the one performing the exorcism could use that name against the demon making it reveal something they could then use to force the demon out of the person. This was one reason the process was so lengthy as often the demon knew their tactics and did not want to relinquish their name to the one trying to exorcise them from the person they inhabited. The one doing the exorcism knew when they were successful when they noticed a quick, definite, and dramatic change in the person’s persona or speech.

Jesus did not do his exorcism in this manner. He cast out the demon in just one short sentence: “Come out of him!”

The brevity of the incident had a profound impact on those who watched. At the word of Jesus, demons obeyed. This demonstrated to the people there that Jesus had great power and authority.

There is another incident of this type where a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus for healing (Mt 12:22-23; Jn 11:14-20). This time, the people asked if Jesus was the Messiah after this miracle of healing but not after the miracle he performed in Capernaum. Why? Normally, a person who was mute all their lives would have to learn how to talk. That was not the case here. The man could talk coherently immediately.

This passage in John lets us know that it was the demon who was preventing the man from speaking. It was this kind of demon against which Judaism's methodology was powerless because he could not speak, so there was no way of establishing communication with this kind of a demon; no way of finding out this demon's name. Likely, this demon was using this thought of a mute demon being beyond help to stay in this man. So, within the framework of Judaism, it was impossible to cast out a dumb demon.

The rabbis taught, however, that when the Messiah came, he would be able to cast out this type of demon. As this was one of the messianic miracles that would prove who the Messiah really was, the audience turned to the leaders and asked them, “Is this him?” In other words, they were asking if Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. After all, Jesus was doing the very things they had been taught from childhood that only the Messiah would be able to do. They never asked this question when Jesus casts out other types of demons. However, when he casts out a dumb demon, they raised the question because they recognized from the teachings of the rabbis that this was a messianic miracle.

There were two other messianic miracles that the Jewish leaders taught that the coming Messiah would be able to perform. One was the healing from leprosy. They taught that only the Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper. The other miracle was healing someone born blind. Healing someone who had gone blind was one thing since it was a matter of restoring what was lost. Yet, one born blind had no history to go back to when that person could see. In the posts to come, we’ll address how Jesus also fulfilled these types of miracles as well.

As you can see, Jesus Christ was more than a miracle worker. He went beyond expectation to remove any doubt of his authority and his purpose. Yet, as you can see, the Jewish leaders still did not believe. What about you? Do you still doubt even though you have read all he has done for you? More evidence is not what will make you believe. Yielding your will to him and believing him by faith will. Take the step. You’ll be so glad you did.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This miracle is found in the gospel of Luke in chapter 5, verses 1-11. Jesus was speaking to a group of people on the seashore near where Peter and his friends were returning from an all-night toil of trying to catch fish, but they had no success and were returning with no fish whatsoever. Jesus asked Peter if he could take him out a little from the shore so he could speak to the people. He later asked Peter to cast his net for a catch of fish. Peter reluctantly does so, and the number of fish he caught in his nets was so great, the boat nearly sank. This led to Peter recognizing that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah for whom the Jews had been waiting.

Gennesaret is a small plain bordering the west shore of the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Magdala. The plain is about four miles long, running north and south along the seacoast, and up to about two miles wide. The name is also a small town in the area bearing the name Gennesaret. Some sources read “Gennesar.” Therefore, the sea was called by some Sea of Gennesaret rather than Sea of Galilee. The land here is level, rising gently from the level of the Sea of Galilee, which is 650 ft. below the Mediterranean Sea. Hills rise sharply on three sides. The main road from Capernaum to Tiberias runs through this area close to the seashore.

During the time of Christ, this plain was the garden spot of Palestine. The historian Josephus described this area as being beautiful and fertile with a climate ranging from hot to temperate. There were also several streams in this area providing plenty of water for irrigation. There was an abundance of wild trees and flowers, as well as important crops such as grapes, figs, olives, walnuts, rice, wheat, vegetables, and melons. The rabbis often spoke of this plain as “the Garden of God” and a “paradise.”

For Jesus to address large crowds and they hear him, it would suggest that Jesus was below the crowds and the crowds sat along the slope of the hillside. This is also why he often spoke from a boat slightly offshore. Sound waves are reflected off the surface of the water toward the shore because the sound waves are bent down back into the surface of the water and then reflected so the sound wave travels even farther. The sound waves hit the warm air above the lake, the upper part of the sound waves travels faster than the lower part, and so the wave gets bent downward back onto the surface of the water where it's then reflected back into the air--and the process repeats. When the sound waves arrive at the shore, the air at ground level is now warm (and the air above the ground is cooler). This makes the sound waves bend upward--up the hill. Thus, all the people seated or standing on the hillside can clearly hear what Jesus is saying. In addition, this area where Jesus spoke to them was away from the sounds of the nearby towns.

What was the purpose of this miracle? First, it seems likely Jesus knew Simon Peter would be there, so he picked this place not only for the better acoustics but for a specific person as well. Going into the boat also allowed Jesus to not be so pressed by the crowds and allowed him to use the water to help amplify his words for the people to hear better. Jesus also likely knew it would take something monumental to get Peter’s attention. It seems Peter tried to be polite, but he was also tired, so obeying Jesus’ request was irritating to him as he felt Jesus knew nothing about fishing whereas fishing was his specialty. He had toiled all night fishing with zero results. In Peter’s mind, he was likely asking himself what could Jesus possibly contribute to his fishing expertise?

It seems Peter and Andrew were in some type of alliance with Zebedee and his sons James and John. This allowed them to share resources as well as profits and even their debts. Jesus knew this and used this fact to get not only Peter’s attention but that of James and John as well.

While Peter obeyed Jesus’ request, he did not obey with much enthusiasm. Yet, Peter’s obedience brought in a surprise catch—more than Peter could have ever imagined. There were so many fish in their nets that both the boat of Peter and Andrew as well as the boat of James and John could barely contain the quantity of fish without sinking. This definitely got Peter’s attention and broke down his stone exterior and began to reach his heart. The amount of money this catch brought them likely was enough to sustain them for quite some time and allowed Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Jesus without adding undue hardship to their families.

This story is a bookend to the beginning and the end of Jesus’ ministry and to the relationship between Jesus and Peter. We see something similar in John chapter 21, verses 2-15. Peter’s ministry with Jesus started with a net full of fish and Jesus encouraged Peter again after his resurrection to let Peter know his ministry will and should continue. In both instances, the number of fish was indicative of something extraordinary happening. While the nets began to break this first time, the net held the second time, perhaps signaling Jesus was strong enough to care for them as the disciples continued to move forward. Also, this second time, Jesus had bread and fish already cooked for them. This likely caused the disciples to think about the times Jesus fed the multitudes and let them know Jesus could still sustain them and multiply their efforts.

I think Peter was somewhat like Paul in personality and Jesus knew something dramatic was needed to get his attention. Yet, once he had his attention, he was most loyal.

Jesus also knows what makes us tick and creates circumstances to get our attention to let us know he is there for us. Are you looking for these circumstances? Do so, and you will see how great our Lord is to provide for us, sustain us, and multiply our humble efforts. We serve such a great God!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This miracle of Jesus is found in the gospel of John Chapter 4, verses 43-54. Those in Galilee were excited to see Jesus because of what he had done in Jerusalem. What did Jesus do in Jerusalem when he went there for Passover? Let’s follow the progress of the events:

1.                  After leaving Cana, Jesus, his family, and his disciples went to Capernaum and stayed a few days (Jn 2:12).

2.                  Near Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem (Jn 2:13).

3.                  He made a whip of cords, drove out of the temple sheep and oxen, poured out the changers’ money, overthrew their tables, and told those who sold doves to remove them from the premises saying, “Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!” (Jn 2:14-16).

4.                  The Jews asked by what sign he could give to show his authority to do this. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn 2:18-19). They did not understand him (Jn 2:20-22).

5.                  At the Passover Festival, he did many signs (Jn 2:23). We don’t know what he did, but he did not entrust himself to them because they were only interested in what he could do and not who he was (Jn 2:24-25).

6.                  Jesus met with Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-21).

7.                  Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, spent time with his disciples, and baptized (Jn 3:22).

8.                  Some went to John where he was baptizing north of there, and he was happy to hear what Jesus was doing (Jn 3:23-36).

9.                  Jesus heads back to Galilee because the Pharisees had gained an interest in what he was doing compared to what John had done regarding baptizing (Jn 4:1).

10.              Jesus goes through Samaria and meets the woman at the well in Sychar. He stayed there for two days, and many Samaritans believed on Christ without ever having observed a miracle from Jesus (Jn 4:2-42).

11.              He then left to go back to Galilee (Jn 4:43).

The person that meets Jesus with his request is a royal official. The name used for him was basilekos, meaning a nobleman, likely of Herod’s court. This person could have been Jewish or Gentile, yet Jesus’ response to him is what he had said to other Jews. Jesus rebukes him saying, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.” He had just come from the Samaritans who had believed without a miracle. The nobleman was insistent in his request, so Jesus told him to go home because his son lived. This showed the power of Christ’s divine word. He did not need to be present for the healing to take place.

As the nobleman went back toward Capernaum, he found those who had come from his home looking for him because they had news that his son was indeed well. The man discovered his son recovered the very same moment Christ had told him his son was well. The distance from where this man met Jesus to his home was about 16.5 miles—more than a day’s journey. Some have said he was so confident in Jesus’ words that he waited a day to head home. But I don’t think so. He would have been anxious to get back home no matter his belief in Jesus’ words. The distance proves it would take him more than a day for his journey home. Because of the miracle of the nobleman’s son’s healing, the whole household believed in Christ.

It is interesting to note that this time, Jesus did not say not to tell anyone. It could be because Jesus had just returned from Jerusalem and from the temple; his waiting to introduce his purpose to the Jewish leaders was now past.

There are two types of miracles: signs and wonders. Often, a true miracle from God is purposeful, and not an unexplained matter of chance or coincidence.

A sign is a divine intervention to show Divine authority. Water to wine is a sign because of the symbolism that goes with it.

A wonder is something which causes people to marvel, be astounded or even terrified. A wonder is a special manifestation of God's power. The plagues in Egypt are examples of wonders as these had no symbolism except to prove God’s authority and that He is greater than any Egyptian god.

Why did John say this was the second sign (Jn 4:54)? He said it was the second sign in Galilee. As we read earlier, Christ did many signs in Jerusalem. We don’t know what they were, but these signs got the people excited but not necessarily caused them to believe in Jesus as who he said he was.

One of signs of the past which Jesus referred to when he spoke to Nicodemus was the bronze serpent which God had commanded Moses to build and place for the people to look at so they could be healed from the serpents’ deadly bites (Nu 21:9).

Why did Jesus refer to this passage from the past? He told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (Jn 3:14-15). Bronze was used to represent sin and judgment (the reason the altar in front of the tabernacle and temple was made of bronze). The serpent represented the serpents who plagued the Israelites because of their sin. By looking to the bronze serpent, they were symbolically transferring their sin to the serpent on the pole and believing that God would heal them. They were relying upon God for their physical salvation which was also a symbol of their spiritual salvation.

Jesus became that for us. Our sin was transferred to him on the cross. Our belief in what he did for us brings us our spiritual salvation. In Hezekiah’s day (770 years after Moses raised the bronze serpent in the wilderness), the bronze serpent was still around and revered. Yet, people had started worshipping the bronze serpent rather than worship God. They missed the point of the message he had provided them. Are we not doing the same today? We worship the sin rather than the one who can remove the sin for us.

Hezekiah called the bronze serpent Nehushtan – meaning “a thing of bronze” (2Ki 18:4). He reduced it to its literal meaning so that people could see that it was nothing to worship. It was just a piece of brass. The people should worship the one who had the power this bronze serpent was representing. To show their foolishness, Hezekiah broke it into pieces. This did two things: (1) the people could no longer worship it; and (2) this demonstrated that this image had no imbued power. It could have been a great memorial and topical lesson for people, but they revered it rather than the one to whom it was pointing toward. Perhaps this is also symbolic of Christ’s body being broken for us.

This miracle of Jesus also helps us know that distance is not something we need to be concerned with either. Jesus can be just as personable to us as he was then. We may not see him, but he can still do great things for us. Just like this nobleman, it only requires faith. He had the faith to believe in Jesus and what he could do. How about you? You do have that kind of faith? I hope so. It will take you into a relationship you’ve always hoped for. Look to the one who was lifted up for you to bear your sin and pay the sin debt required. No one else could have done that. How will you respond?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We find this very first recorded miracle of Jesus in John Chapter 2, verses 1-12. Just six days prior, John the Baptist sees Jesus and declares him, “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:20). He also sees the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus in the form of a dove (Jn 1:32). The day after he baptizes Jesus, John again declares Jesus “the Lamb of God” and two of his disciples start to follow Jesus (Jn 1:37). Andrew was one of them and he brought his brother, Peter, to meet Jesus (Jn 1:41). The next day, Jesus leaves for Galilee and calls Philip to be a disciple. Philip gets Nathanael (whose hometown is Cana) and brings him to Jesus (Jn 1:43, 45). It is a three-day journey to Cana from where Jesus was baptized (the Jordan River near the Dead Sea).

While everyone is enjoying the festivities of the wedding, Mary, Jesus’ mother, comes to him with a major issue: the wine had run out! Why was this such as issue? Well, wedding feasts were typically a week-long affair. Hospitality was considered obligatory in this day and age of Jewish culture. To not be hospitable would be a strong insult to one’s guests.

It is believed this wedding is of someone related to Mary. Running out of wine would be an insult to their whole family and not just the mother and father of the bride. Therefore, Mary is asking Jesus to save the family an embarrassing situation. At first Jesus is hesitant, but his mother simply tells the servants to do whatever Jesus asks of them.

Jesus notices six stone jars nearby. These were not just ordinary stone jars, but jars used for ritual purification (Jn 2:6). Not just anyone would have such jars at their home. Therefore, it may be that this was a house of a priest. Cana was one of the cities where priests lived and then moved to Jerusalem when it was their time to serve as a priest at the temple in Jerusalem.

What was special about using these particular jars? Water in a stone jar would still be considered “living water.” Jewish law stated that water from a spring or from a cistern for collecting water is considered clean (Lv 11:36).

To go from water in stone jars of purification to wine in stone jars of purification was symbolic of how purification will be transferred from their current ritual purity laws to the blood of Jesus Christ which would purify going forward.

The wine was the best the master of the banquet had ever tasted (Jn 2:9-10). Jesus’ blood is also the best among bloods because only his can purify one from sin. Also, this points to the future wedding supper of the Lamb where all who have been redeemed by Him will be in attendance (Rv 19:9).

As stated, it is thought that this wedding may be of a relative of Mary’s. It would be consistent with this being a priestly family as it is believed that Mary’s mother was a descendant of Levi (the tribe from which the Jewish priests descended). We know that Mary’s aunt married a Levite and had Elizabeth who married Zechariah, a priest (Lk 1:5-7). Their son was John who became John the Baptist.

Some say that Joseph of Arimathea was Mary’s uncle. A couple of things may support this to some degree:

1.           Someone had to be with Jesus for three days at the temple when he was twelve. This could have been Joseph of Arimathea.

2.           The people didn’t seem to know Jesus when he was back in Nazareth, his hometown (Mt 13:55-56). This could be because he had been away with Joseph until he started his ministry.

There were over 7000 priests at the time of Christ. They could trace their lineage back to Aaron, the first High Priest. Only the priests could participate in making sacrifices at the temple. Most lived outside Jerusalem in towns and villages. They were divided into 24 priestly clans (1Ch 24:4; 2Ch 8:14) and would serve one week out of the year: light altar fires, attend to the offerings of incense and unleavened bread, and participate in the killing of the sacrificial animals.

There were over 9000 Levites at the time of Christ. They could trace their lineage back to Levi, the father of Moses and Aaron. These were not the same as the priests and were not from the lineage of Aaron himself. They were also comprised of 24 priestly clans and would serve one week of the year: guards, policemen, doorkeepers, singers, musicians, and servants of the temple. They were forbidden by act of death to enter the holy sanctuary or touch the altar of sacrifice.

The daily temple duties required about 1,000 chief priests, priests, and Levites. On feast days, all 24 courses were required to be in Jerusalem and perform duties at the temple. This meant that on Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), there were approximately 18,000 temple personnel on duty at the temple.

While this was the first miracle we know of that Jesus performed, and a significant one, not too many knew about the miracle. Who did know? Mary, Jesus’ disciples, servants at the wedding, and the mother and father of the bride. It is unknown if they told others or kept this to themselves.

It seems, especially in the early part of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was controlling how quickly his fame would get rolled out to the general public and thereby to the religious leaders. This particular miracle, I’m sure, sealed the faith of his disciples to him.

Jesus did have half-brothers and sisters (Mt 13:55-56). We know his brothers were also at the wedding (Jn 2:12) and then accompanied him to Capernaum where they stayed for a few days. We don’t know if they were told about this particular miracle, because it seems they did not accept Jesus as the Messiah (Jn 7:5) until after his death and resurrection (1Co 15:7). We do know they eventually did as Jesus’ half-brother James became a leader of the church in Jerusalem (Ac 15:13) and wrote the book of James, and another one of his half-brothers, Jude, wrote the book of the same name. This helps us to see that Jesus is patient with us to recognize who he really is, but then empowers us once we turn to him to be effective for him.

We understand this miracle to be his first miracle, but it is quite powerful even though it did not involve other humans. It shows how he can transform something inorganic (like water) into something organic (like wine), how something put into the jars new (water was drawn and placed in the jars) could come out aged (as this was some of the best wine the feast master had ever tasted—and he had tasted a lot of wine!), and at the same time represented how his blood would become the purification for us all. Quite the miracle, isn’t it! And he can do the same for us. Have you let him? If not, he is patiently waiting, just as he did for his brothers. You, too, can be part of his family. A simple step of faith can change everything.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Jesus is known for his miracles. There are at least 42 recorded in scripture, yet even what is recorded pales in the number he actually conducted (Jn 21:25). Of these 42 recorded miracles, Matthew records 64% of them, Mark records 55% of them, Luke records 55% of them, and John records 19% of them. This being the case, it is obvious that many of these were recorded by more than one gospel writer. Yet, each gospel records some unique ones as well.

There are five miracles recorded only by Matthew: 1-healing a sick and demon-possessed man: Mt 4:23-25; 2-healing two blind men: Mt 9:27-31; 3-healing a demon-possessed, mute man: Mt 9:32-34; 4-healing mute, blind, lame, and impaired individuals: Mt15:29-31, and 5-temple tax found in a fish’s mouth: Mt 17:24-27.

There are two recorded only by Mark: 1-healing a deaf and mute man: Mk 7:31-37; and 2-healing a blind man at Bethsaida: Mk 8:22-26.

There are six recorded only by Luke: 1-miraculous catch of fish: Lk 5:1-11; 2-raising a widow’s son from the dead in Nain: Lk 7:11-17; 3-healing a woman who had been crippled for 18 years: Lk 13:10-17; 4-cleansing ten lepers: Lk 17:11-19; 5-healing a man with dropsy on the Sabbath: Lk 14:1-6; and, 6-healing a servant’s ear which was cut off as he is arrested: Lk 22:50-51.

And, there are six recorded only by John: 1-turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana: Jn 2:1-11; 2-healing an official’s son at Capernaum: Jn 4:46-54; 3-healing a man at Bethesda: Jn 5:1-15; 4-healing a man born blind: Jn 9:1-41; 5-raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany: Jn 11:1-45; and 6-another miraculous catch of fish: Jn 21:4-11.

That means 23 were recorded by more than one of the gospel writers. Of the 42 miracles recorded, only one of these were recorded by all four gospels: the feeding of the 5,000 men plus women and children (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17; and Jn 6:1-15). And, finally, of all these recorded miracles of Jesus, only one appears negative in nature: he curses a fig tree, and it withers (Mt 21:18-22; Mk 11:12-14, 20).

So, what was the purpose of Jesus conducting these miracles? After all, it’s not like he healed everyone. So, how did he pick and choose? There are likely several reasons for him doing this. Here are a few thoughts about this topic. You may even think of more than I have.

1.      Jesus preached “the good news of the kingdom of God”(Lk 6:20). Many of the Jewish prophets had taught that the Messiah would bring in an age of wonder where many things would be restored: Isaiah was one such prophet who declared the eyes of the blind would be opened, and the ears of the deaf would be unstopped, the lame would leap like a deer, and the mute tongue would shout for joy (Is 35:5-6). He also declared the dead would live (Is 26:19). Isaiah also stated the Messiah would proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to the captives, and release prisoners from their darkness. So, Jesus was doing all these things to help everyone realize that he was the one to whom Isaiah spoke and he could do all the things the prophets had taught about what their coming Messiah would bring them.

2.      It seemed some people had been born with an infirmity for this very time so Jesus could release them and demonstrate his power to everyone (Jn 9:1-5).

3.      More often than not, Jesus stated it was the person’s faith that had healed them: the woman with a bleeding disorder for 12 years (Mt 9:22; Mk 5:34), two blind men (Mt 9:29), healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Mt 15:28), healing a paralyzed man (Mk 2:5), healing blind Bartimaeus in Jericho (Mk 10:52), healing a Roman Centurion’s servant (Lk 7:9), the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair (Lk 7:50), a leper (Lk 17:19), and others. It seems some healings did not take place because of their lack of faith (Mt 13:58).

4.      Many times, Jesus just had so much compassion for the people he could not help himself but minister to their physical needs as well as to their spiritual needs (Mt 9:36, 14:14, 15:32; 20:34; Mk 6:34, 8:2; Lk 15:20).

Over the next several posts, we will look at several of Jesus’ miracles in more detail and see what we can glean from them. I hope you join me. Until then, God bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In the last several posts, we have looked at examples of how God showed up in a big way. In the last post, I asked whether we expect him to show up for us today. Do you? Are you expecting him to show up in a big way?

Currently there are two main ideas that are currently prominent as to how God will show up for us today:

1.      Rapture (1Th 4:13-18; 1Co 15:51-52; also called Receiving of the Bride): God will come in the sky and receive to himself those who have placed their trust in him, and we will ever be with the Lord. This is the ultimate hope of all believers.

2.      Revival (Da 7:26-27; Mt 24:14; Rv 17): Before that ultimate hope of all believers is realized, God will send a final and most glorious revival which will sweep the whole earth.

Both of these events seem to be recorded in Scripture. Neither are direct, yet neither are they hidden. Yet, some believe in neither, some in one or the other, and others in both. I will not debate the Rapture in this post as the idea of a coming revival is somewhat newer to many than the idea of a Rapture. Let’s see if there is evidence for Revival to come first.

In Daniel Chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision of a statue composed of gold (head), silver (torso), bronze (loins), iron (legs), iron & clay (feet & toes). Then a stone came and crushed the statue to dust. God revealed to Daniel that Babylon represented the head of gold and other kingdoms would come after him. History tells us the silver portion of the statue was the reign of the Medes & Persians, bronze portion was the reign of Greece, and iron portion was the reign of Rome. So far, no kingdom has seemed to represent the iron mingled with clay. Yet, is it possible that iron mingled with clay is actually a representation of today?

Why do I suggest this? There is another vision given to Daniel in Chapter 7 that many biblical scholars say represents the same kingdoms as the vision given to Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, perhaps this is not about the entire statue, but about the feet alone to give more details for Daniel to understand this period of history that would be in his distant future but may be at our doorstep today. Perhaps we are even on its threshold with the door already open.

Why iron and clay? It means such a kingdom is authoritarian in its demands but lacks cohesion and stability to always carry them out.

Daniel was extremely curious about the fourth beast that God revealed to him in his vision in Daniel Chapter 7. Let’s look at part of how God interpreted the fourth beast that Daniel saw: “He gave me this explanation: ‘the fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are then kings who will come from this kingdom. After them, another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set time and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him’” (Dn 7:23-27, NIV).

Now, let’s think about what has been happening in our world over the last three years or so. The World Economic Forum has been very active, acting almost like a government even though it isn’t a government. Despite this fact, this organization has influenced and affected the entire world almost like the empires of old but has done so in a way totally different from any previous empire. One could say it has had a unique influence: almost as if it was higher than governments by utilizing its influence alone through various individuals trained in its philosophies. As this passage of Scripture above indicates, it has indeed crushed the entire world with many of its decisions and forced mandates for a little over 3 years now. It is strong in its claims and mandates (iron) but weak in maintaining complete control of the narrative (clay).

In addition, one of its top advisors, Noah Yuval Harari, has become very brazen and some say, even blasphemous, in his talks. He has given many talks, has several books, and has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It is obvious his philosophy has shaped his view of history and the world at large. He seems to believe all religions are composed of myths without fact and truth. He speaks almost like a prophet would speak. While he seems to point out warnings and potential concerns of the fast rise of Artificial Intelligence, it seems the World Economic Forum and those around the globe who follow their polices are trying to enact the very things he warns about. Some of the things he has said include the following:

“And every technical problem has a technical solution. We don’t need to wait for the Second Coming in order to overcome death” (Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 2018, Harper Perennial, New York, 2018, p. 23).

“Many of the big changes in history were unlikely. If you think for example the rise of Christianity, if you go about the Roman Empire third century then you have so many different religions and cults and philosophies or whatever, you have this esoteric Jewish sect that believes that a Jewish preacher who was crucified by the Romans two hundred years ago is actually the Lord of the Universe and it’s a very tiny esoteric sect. Nobody would imagine that within a couple of decades this sect, Christianity, will take over the Roman Empire. But it happened.” (Chanel 4 News, Ways to Change the World, interview with Yuval Noah Harari, Will artificial intelligence create useless class of people? YouTube video, Oct 20, 2021).

“Biological knowledge multiplied by computing power multiplied by data equals the ability to hack humans. If you know enough biology and have enough computing power and data, you can hack my body and my brain and my life, and you can understand me better than I understand myself. You can know my personality type, my political views, my sexual preferences, my mental weaknesses, my deepest fears and hopes. You know more about me than I know about myself. And you can do that not just to me, but to everyone.” (World Economic Forum, Yuval Noah Harari: How to Survive the 21st Century – Davos 2020, YouTube video, Jan 24, 2020)

“The only thing God managed to create was organic beings, trees, giraffes, and humans. If we succeed, then very soon we will be beyond the God of the Bible" (Excerpt from a talk given by Yuval Noah Harari, Frank: The Voice of Free Speech, Clay Clark, Dec 19, 2022).

“Within the next century or two, we humans are likely to upgrade ourselves into gods and change the most basic principles of the evolution of life. Traditional mythologies depicted gods as powerful beings that could design and create life according to their wishes. In the coming two centuries we will probably learn how to engineer and manufacture various life forms according to our wishes. We will use bioengineering in order to create new kinds of organic beings; we will use direct brain-computer interfaces in order to create cyborgs (beings that combine organic and inorganic parts); and advances in machine learning and AI might even allow us to set in motion the creation of completely inorganic beings. The main products of the future economy will not be food, textiles, and vehicles but rather bodies, brains, and minds” (Our Nonconscious Future, written by Yuval Noah Harari, published in Britannica, 2018).

Yet, we also see he has not just warned about the effects of AI and transhumanism, he has begun to embrace the very things he has warned us about:

“Humans are now hackable animals. The whole idea that humans have this soul or spirit, and have this free will and no one knows what goes on inside me so whatever I choose, whether in the election or whether in the supermarket, this is my free will. That’s over.

“We are really upgrading humans into gods.

“The test of AI is not whether it is perfect, but whether it is better than humans.

“We don’t have any answer in the Bible what to do when humans are no longer useful.

“You need completely new ideologies, completely new religions, and they’re likely to give people visions based on technology and everything the old religions promised: happiness and justice and even eternal life.

“For the first time in history it is possible to completely eliminate privacy. It was just never possible before, and it is possible now. Something fundamental has changed. When dictators always dreamt about completely eliminating privacy, monitoring everybody all the time and knowing everything you do, and not just everything you do but everything you think, and everything you feel. Whether it’s a tyrant in ancient Greece or whether it’s Stalin, they always dreamt about it and never do it because it was technically impossible. Now it’s possible.” (Excerpts from various talks given by Yuval Noah Harari, Thrivetime Show: The Reawakening versus The Great Reset, Rumble video, 2022)

It seems Satan has tried to push up the timeline to bring about his One World Government before it is time for him to do so. Granted, he has tried this before, but he has been preparing this time for at least one-hundred years or more. He has been very subtle this time but is now becoming brazen again. Satan is trying to bring his time on his schedule and prevent this generation from accepting God as their Savior. While he has always tried to do this, this is the first time in history that standing for right is considered wrong and actively suppressed. We have reached a “do or die” moment in current history.

It would be in God’s character to bring a revival for a great harvest of souls before he gives Satan his time. Satan doesn’t want a revival and is doing all he can to ensure that doesn’t happen, but God is the one in control of the timeline.

How should we pray for God to manifest himself today? We should ask him to reveal himself as Jehovah Nigelah, the Lord who Reveals, and pray for God to reveal himself mightily in our time. We need him as El Emet, God of Truth. Let’s pray for his truth to be revealed and reign supreme. Pray for him to come as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who Heals, and pray for God to heal us physically and spiritually so we can live for him. He tells us, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2Ch 7:14). And we should ask him to reveal himself as Elohim, God Eternal, and pray for God to reveal himself as the One True God to all the world.

Through all the examples presented, we have seen how God shows up when things become the darkest– but not necessarily in the way expected. This gives us hope for today because the characteristics of God manifest themselves when mankind has almost given up, and God loves us despite how we often seem to not even love ourselves. Satan has always tried to control the timeline, but God has never allowed him to do so.

I found this motivational saying: If you want something different, you gotta do something different. While this is a good saying to stir up an audience, and there is some biblical truth to it, perhaps the better question to ask is to rephrase it slightly: If you want something different, you gotta be something different. We should ask ourselves: How does God want us to change to accomplish that? And, what is God asking us to do that perhaps we are not doing?

Not only do the unsaved need revival, but the church as a whole also needs a revival. Many, many denominations not only exist, but so many of them are antagonistic to each other. Are we really performing as Paul stated the Bride of Christ should perform? He said in 1st Corinthians, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body . . . (1Co 12:13). And in Philippians, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and of one mind” (Pp 2:2). Are we as the Church really in one Spirit and like-minded?

So, how do we prepare for God to show up for us today? Well, whether you believe it is time for the Rapture or time for a great harvest of souls, our response should be the same: lift our fellow believers up to God in prayer and ask God to empower all his children. Let’s pray within the armor of God, resist the devil, and pray for God’s favor. We know our battle is a spiritual one and we fight such a battle on our knees. We should pray for God’s will to be done and not what we wish to have done and ask for our expectations to match his – and that we will be ready for however he manifests himself. Let our hearts be open to however he desires to work and whatever character of his he wishes to express.

Believe it or not, prayer is the most powerful weapon. Christ used it a lot. And if he needed to pray, then we most definitely need to do so. Let’s all be united in order to allow God’s will to work through each of us so we’ll be ready for him stepping into our world in a mighty way.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

God had not spoken prophetically to Israel for nearly 400 years! Then he showed up in a big way fulfilling many prophetic announcements of his arrival. Was Israel ready? No, not really. It’s hard to realize you are living through fulfilled prophecy. Doing so tests all your preconceived ideas of what it would be like if you were to do so. But now, it’s not a thought process. It’s real. It tests the mettle of your beliefs. We find this awesome time of God becoming human in Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 2.

His coming was on the heels of the Hasmonean Dynasty. Around 168 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire of Persia suppressed the Jews greatly and went so far as to desecrate their temple in Jerusalem, and a priest by the name of Judas Maccabeus initiated a seven-year rebellion which gained momentum very quickly, known as the Maccabean Revolt. During this time, Jerusalem and the temple was regained with the temple being rededicated. This time became known as the celebration of Hanukkah where the amount of oil for the temple menorah was just enough to last a day, but it lasted for eight days giving time for more of the sacred oil to be prepared. After a seven-year battle, Judas was killed in battle and his brother, Jonathan, led the Jews to an eventual defeat of their enemies and was made not only High Priest, but king as well, initiating the Hasmonean Dynasty where the priesthood and kingship were merged for almost twenty-two years. Rivalry between sons for kingship brought Rome into their midst due to these siblings’ thirst for power, and Rome never left. Eventually, Rome took over the position of power and even controlled the power of the high priest by housing the ephod worn by the high priest within the Roman Tower of Antonia built adjacent to the temple.

Various religious sects emerged which diluted the truth of scripture even through the tradition of scripture became even stronger in their culture. While Scripture became a nationalistic symbol of the Jews, it became less about personal belief in God and more about the celebration of tradition surrounding those beliefs. Israel had lost their way both as a nation physically and spiritually. Now, God decided to step in and show the error of their interpretation of scripture as well as reveal to them how they had come to serve the Law rather than having the Law serve them and point them to God.

God revealed himself as El Hakavod, God of Glory. God revealed his glory to mankind through the birth of Jesus Christ just as the ancient prophets had foretold. He was Jehovah Ori, the Lord my Light. Jesus illuminated the way to the proper way to God. He was El Tamim, Perfect God. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for mankind. He was El Nasah, God who Forgives. His action on the cross gives us forgiveness. He was Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. We are declared righteous because of him taking our place. Christ, as our Messiah, restored what Satan took from Adam and gave us power to be the Children of God and joint heirs with Christ.

From this example presented today and all the examples presented in previous posts we have discussed, I think we can conclude that God is predictably unpredictable. He always showed up, and while he presented a side of himself that fit the occasion, he did not typically present himself as people expected or desired. Let’s do a quick recap:

Flood – God was decisive, appeared malicious at first glance, but we find him extremely gracious once we understand what was at stake and what Satan had actually done. We must see the why and not just the what.

Tower of Babel – Here God appears lenient—just the opposite of what we observed from him showing up at the Flood. Here, he let people continue but with new confinements. We see here that God wants the best for us.

Red Sea – God made the Israelites sweat it out to get them to realize their dependence on him. Our battle is not with those we can see but with those forces we can’t see.

Hezekiah – God even let others get destroyed to teach a valuable lesson to those who remained. God let Hezekiah help preserve his people but made him realize only through dependence on him would their victory be assured. Turning to God is not insurance but assurance. Through this example we see the powerful weapon prayer actually is for us.

Birth of Christ – Jesus did not come as the religious leaders had expected their Messiah to come and reveal himself. Jesus taught what they did not expect. He seemed practically anti-Scripture to them because they had applied their own desires to Scripture and not let Scripture formulate their ideas. We need to be on the same page as God and not vice versa.

Today – Do we have an expectation of how God will show up? Do we expect him to show up? Are we willing to be surprised and willing to change and adapt to how he decides to show up? We do not want to be like the Pharisees and miss the blessings that are in store for us.

Join me next time when we take these examples and apply them to our situation today. You may even be surprised at our findings. Please join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, destroyed Samaria in 722 BC and took the northern kingdom of Israel as captives to Assyria. Then, eight years later, Sennacherib attacked Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, and laid siege to all fortified cities, including Jerusalem. We find this in 2Kings chapters 18 and 19.

Hezekiah accomplished several mighty engineering feats to try and prepare for the coming invasion by Assyria. One thing he did was connect the Gihon Spring just outside the city wall in the northern part of Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam in the southern part of Jerusalem by digging an underground pathway through solid rock so the spring could flow within the city. Then, even if surrounded, the people would still have water and thereby preserve life longer for them to try and defend themselves. He also built another wall outside the current one so it would encompass the Gihon Spring, and he reinforced the terraces of the City of David (the southern portion of Jerusalem). He also made weapons and shields.

This achievement by Hezekiah is still observed today: called Hezekiah’s tunnel. It still has water running through it, and one can observe where the two teams of miners met. Hezekiah had one team dig from Siloam north and another dig from Gihon south. Today, there is a plaque where the two teams met. It is amazing how much Hezekiah was able to accomplish without modern technology.

Another play Hezekiah instituted was bribery. This was something kings would often do: either bribe the attacker with monetary gain, or bride another nation to help come defend them from their attacker. Hezekiah had all the silver stored in the temple treasury (300 talents – 11.25 tons, worth about $70.8 MM in today’s value) taken out for part of the bribe and then stripped gold off from the doors of the temple (30 talents – 1.125 tons, worth about $8.4 MM in today’s value) to bribe and ask Sennacherib to leave (for a total value in today’s money of $79.2MM). Yet, Sennacherib did not leave but fortified his efforts.

Hezekiah took the letter he received from Sennacherib and laid it before God at the temple and pled for Jerusalem’s salvation. He also had the prophet Isaiah beseech God as well. Hezekiah realized that all the preparation he had made, which was brilliant, significant, and formidable would not be enough. He realized only God himself could save them. God answered Hezekiah’s prayer in a big way.

That night, 185,000 of Sennacherib’s men were slain (2Ki 19:35). The remaining fled and retreated to Assyria. God accomplished in one night what Hezekiah could not accomplish in months and months of preparation. Because Hezekiah had the faith to depend upon God rather than in all the work he had done to prepare for defense, God intervened in a way Hezekiah could have never conceived.

It seems God always works in ways that are above and beyond our way of thinking. He had a way prepared through our dilemma even though our efforts haven’t been able to conceive of a possible solution. God revealed himself as being Jehovah Nissi, The Lord Our Banner or Victory. God destroyed the power of Sennacherib in one night. He only needed a short time to accomplish complete deliverance for Hezekiah and all of Jerusalem. God became Jehovah Maginenu, the Lord our Defense. He demonstrated that he was on their side and would defend them by his own might. In addition, he was Elohim Aizar, God our Helper. He had led them out of Egypt and proved he would be with them in all situations if they just trusted in him.

God was revealing to Hezekiah how victories are won. God wanted Hezekiah, and all of Jerusalem, to understand that their struggle was not necessarily with man but with powers in the spiritual realm which only God can defeat (Ep 6:12). Prayer was their weapon to overcome these forces, and prayer is still our weapon today to overcome these forces that battle against us.

Are you fighting your battles this way, or are you, like Hezekiah, doing your best to prepare for the fight only to find all your efforts are fruitless? You cannot win. Yet, with Christ, all things are possible (Pp 4:13). Use your most powerful weapon imaginable: go to God in prayer.

Next time, we’ll see God show up in even a bigger and more personable way. Until then. God bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We find this experience in Exodus chapter 14. Only a short time earlier, the Israelites had left Egypt after the ten plagues had devastated the economy and spirit of the Egyptian people. The Egyptians had asked them to leave and even gave the Israelites gold, silver, and precious stones to bribe them to leave and never return. I can image the Israelites were on an all-time high. Just a few days before, they were being oppressed beyond comprehension, and now, almost overnight, they were free! Free! I’m sure they felt like they had to pinch themselves to believe their experience was real. Yesterday, they had been slaves with nothing. Today, they were free with more wealth than they ever dreamed!

After the Israelites left, Pharaoh realized he had just let go the slave force the Egyptian empire had relied upon for centuries. How was the empire now going to function? Despite their hatred for the Israelites, he realized their economy still needed them. So, he and his army went after them. The Israelites were now squeezed between the Egyptian army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. Mountains stood on their right and left. They literally had no place to go. Without God intervening, they would be destroyed, or recaptured and go into an even more severe servitude than they had lived through previously. What the Israelites did not know was that God had forced them into this place where they now had to rely totally on him.

Israel needed to understand God was the Faithful One despite the time they had been in slavery. God needed to show the Israelites they could depend on him for all things and that doubt was the path to destruction, but faith was a path to salvation. Freedom does not come freely but comes with responsibility. God had plans to make them into an ambassador nation to reveal himself to the world (Ex 19:6). Therefore, the Israelites needed to learn how to rely on the Lord for all their needs. He could not only supply their needs but do so in ways they could not ever fathom.

God revealed himself as Jehovah Yishi, the Lord my Salvation. God held the Egyptians at bay at the same time he made a way through the Red Sea for the Israelites. He did something for them that was so extraordinary they could never have conceived of such as act. Never would them being able to escape the Egyptians by walking through the Red Sea on dry ground even be a considered possibility. They were experiencing a God who could save my impossible means. In addition, he showed himself to be Jehovah Ozi, the Lord my Strength. He demonstrated that only he had the power to get the Israelites out of their situation. God had put them in an impossible situation that human actions, thoughts, and abilities were unable to do or conceive. God demonstrated he was Jehovah Mazud, the Lord my Fortress. He had led them out of Egypt and proved he would be with them in all situations if they just trusted in him. If they rested in him, their fortress, they would be protected and safe. God was creating in them a mindset that with him they were safe from all foes and could become a nation to be his influence in the world. Satan has tried to thwart this plan ever since.

Next time, we’ll see how God can accomplish the impossible in hardly any time at all. Give God a day, and one’s world can change drastically. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens