In the previous post, we learned that the Israelites rebelled against God once again because they felt they were going back into the wilderness rather than toward their Promised Land. Because of their rebellion, God sent poisonous snakes among them. It is likely this was somewhat symbolic of the winged serpent god Wadjet that many Egyptians worshipped.

In Egypt, the snake (asp or cobra) was considered a protector of Pharaoh and was often depicted with wings. It is interesting that God was demonstrating to the Israelites that wanting to go back to Egypt is what is deadly to them. Their only hope was to trust in God (their new way, their deliverance) – not Egypt (their old way, their slavery).

But are we not the same? We desire our sin, the thing that enslaves us.

God is making a symbolic statement here. Going back to Egypt, or their old ways, is death. Going forward with God is life.

There is other symbolism here as well. In the Hebrew text, it states that God sent fiery (seraph) serpents. In Hebrew, the word “seraph” means “burning.” This could mean the snakes were very poisonous and their bite extremely painful. Or it could mean they were copper in color. Or it could reference what were known as “flying” serpents as the word seraph is also used for certain angels near God’s throne who have six wings (Is 6:2). Some believe the hood of the cobra could be what is representative of wings in this reference.

There are two types of snakes that may fit the Biblical description of these snakes which would live in this area. One is the Painted Carpet Viper. Its venom is both cytotoxic (meaning it causes tissue necrosis) and hemotoxic (meaning it interferes with the body’s ability to clot). Therefore, it causes a slow painful death, if untreated. It comes in various colors, but can be in an off-red, copper-like, color. The other is the Arabian Cobra. Its venom is neurotoxic which will cause paralysis and death. It also has a hood like other cobras and could be the reason for saying it has “wings.”

Another analogy can also be drawn here: Seraph angels are near God’s throne and have been described as protectors and purifiers. Therefore, this could also be symbolic of God’s name and character being defended.

The making of such an object took time. We’ll explore that aspect next time.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There are many paradoxes in the Bible. We quote such phrases as “Whoever finds their life will lose it” (Mt 10:32); “The greatest among you will be your servant (Mt 23:11); and “When I am weak then I am strong” (2Co 12:10) as paradoxical statements. I think God has them there for people to dig out their meaning so they can understand what God is truly trying to say. There are also event paradoxes. One of these is the snake on a pole that Moses raised for the people to look upon who had been bitten by poisonous snakes. Hezekiah called this serpent Nehushtan.

This event is referenced only three times in the Bible:

1. Numbers – poisonous snakes were sent as a punishment for Israel’s rebellion.

2. 2 Kings – King Hezekiah destroys the snake on a pole (he called it Nehushtan).

3. John – Jesus references the snake on a pole when he told Nicodemus about his crucifixion that would occur.

What is the significance of Nehushtan? Let’s look at this further.

As stated, the first usage is found in the book of Numbers:

“They [the children of Israel] traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’’

“Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people.

“The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived” (Nu 21:4-9).

When did this event occur? The Children of Israel had made it to Kadesh Barnea, the closest point to the Promised Land they had achieved so far. They were here for about 38 years (although some believe God led them to other places during this time) until all those above 20 years of age died out because of their unbelief that God could lead them into Canaan victorious no matter the size of their enemy. Ten of the spies Moses had sent into Canaan did not support Joshua and Caleb who stated that despite the size of the men they met during their scouting mission, God would be with them and help Israel defeat them. The people believed the ten rather than the two and rebelled against Moses, and, ultimately, against God. God deemed that the current generation would die out before Israel as a nation could enter their Promised Land (Nu 14:22-23).

So when God told Moses it was time for them to move, it was the children and grandchildren of those who first arrived here who heard this announcement. When God told them to move, Moses asked the king of Edom to let them pass through their land, but he refused to have them enter the territory of Edom. Because Edom, a country descending from Esau (the brother of Jacob (Israel)), was their ancestry uncle, God said they could not harm any of the Edomites. Therefore, Moses had the people travel back toward the Red Sea so they could travel around the land of Edom.

This angered many of the people and they began to complain. They had been waiting for this command for 38 years. Now, they evidently felt they were going back into more hardships rather than progressing toward their goal. While we could possibly understand their frustration, their complaint was actually false and blasphemous. What did they say that was so severe?

There are two main parts to their complaint. The first part of their complaint was, “There is no bread! There is no water!” This complaint was an exaggeration. When people get mad and angry, this is what they resort to even without thinking about it. They exaggerate their condition and make it sound worse than it really is. If they had really thought about what they were saying, they would have realized this is not a true statement because God had supplied their needs before. They were complaining rather than asking God for what they desired.

Their history was replete with miracles God had done for them, or rather, their parents and grandparents. God had made bitter water fresh for their parents and grandparents (Ex 15:23-25); God had provided quail for their parents and grandparents to eat (Ex 16:13); God had provided water for their parents and grandparents to drink (Ex 17:1-7). They could have asked again rather than complain. Yet, these were miracles of their parents and grandparents. Maybe they didn’t believe God would do the same for them.

Are we not the same? We read of all these miracles in the Bible and yet don’t believe God will do the same for us. He tells us he is a God who never changes (Ml 3:6). Perhaps we have some self-exploring to do as well.

What they were really saying was that they wished they were back in Egypt because they were fed there. Yet, how they quickly forgot about all the hardships. These were people who had never lived in Egypt. They had only heard what their parents had said. Perhaps their parents told them of their desires for what was good back in Egypt and did not focus on all the hardships that God delivered them from. They were now speaking foolishly because there is no way they would want all the hardships their parents had to endure just to get a meal.

Their second major complaint was, “We detest this miserable food!’’ Maybe what they really meant was that they desired variety. Would God have granted that if they had asked? But rather than ask, they complained—again. And complained vehemently. This was even more egregious than the first complaint. Why? Because it was blasphemous.

The manna God provided for them was prophetic and represented the one who would come from heaven and supply all needs – Jesus Christ, himself. Manna brought life to the Israelites just as Christ would bring life to all those who follow him. This is what Jesus told those to whom he ministered. After he fed them, they asked for a sign and compared what Jesus did for them to what Moses had done for the children of Israel in the wilderness.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (Jn 6:32-35)

The punishment for their rebellion was that God sent poisonous snakes.

Next time, we’ll look at this further.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Have you ever tried to convince someone of a fact you knew to be true, but they just would not accept what you said and kept making excuses as to why it could not be as you told them? Perhaps someone famous is in town and you want your friend to go with you to meet them, but they keep insisting that person is not here and continually tells you why that person could not be who you claim him/her to be. They never get to experience the joy of meeting that special someone with you that you had hoped for. Well, Jesus had the same problem when he was here on the Earth.

Awhile back, we discussed there were three miracles Christ performed which proved himself to be the promised Messiah that Old Testament prophets had predicted would one day come (Jesus Drives out an Evil Spirit): healing a person blind from birth, healing a Jewish leper, and healing a mute who was demon possessed. Yet, Jesus did all three of these things (Jn 9:1-6; Mk 1:40-44, Lk 5:12-14; Mt 9:32-35), yet the Jewish leaders still did not believe Jesus to be their Messiah. To give these Jewish leaders the benefit of the doubt, two of these were brought to them by hearsay so they had to believe the witnesses to be credible. Yet, one of these would involve a temple priest and he would, or should, have to at least question Jesus’ validity of being their Messiah. What do I mean by saying this?

Moses gave the cleansing rituals for what one who had been cleansed from leprosy (i.e., some type of a skin disease) was to do (Lv 14:1-7; 33-53). When the temple was constructed, four chambers within the four corners of the Court of Women were built: Nazarite Chamber, Chamber of Wood, Chamber of Oils, and Chamber of Lepers. Those who were cured from leprosy would take their required offerings to the priest on the eighth day of their purification ritual, immerse in the mikveh within the Chamber of Lepers and then go to the Nikanor Gate (the gate between the Court of Women and the Inner Court) where a priest would pronounce him or her clean and be anointed with the blood from the sacrifices provided earlier.

This is all well and good, but it seems that there was never a recording of any Jew being healed from leprosy since the time of Moses. Therefore, it became a saying that only the coming Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper. So, shouldn’t the priest that day have been totally shocked that this man was coming to receive a pronouncement of being cleansed after having been a leper? There should have been a big stir among all the temple priests that day. After all, something that had not happened in several centuries had just occurred. Wasn’t that worth a stir?

So why didn’t it? I guess we will never know for sure, but we can speculate. The Jewish leaders had already had some falling out moments with Jesus. Rather than praising them for their meticulous keeping of all the tedious commands the Law required, Jesus criticized them because they did not really care about the people (Lk 11:42). They cared about keeping the letter of the Law, but not the overarching theme of how the Law should lead the people to God. They used it to brag and show how the “common” people were not as good as they were in keeping the Law. Because of this, Jesus reprimanded them. Jesus’ harsh words hurt their pride and angered them. According to them, if Jesus was the Messiah who was proclaimed by all the prophets, he should care about the Law and be raising them up as pristine examples of how to keep the Law, and invite them into his kingdom he was to now set up. Therefore, it is my suspicion that when the once-leper told the priest it was Jesus of Nazareth who healed him from his leprosy, this priest likely totally dismissed what the man said and likely didn’t even accept that the man had leprosy in the first place or was cured by happenstance somehow. Or, as was done on other occasions, just told the man to be grateful he had somehow been healed and give glory to God because the man Jesus was no Messiah.

So, the Jewish leaders really had no excuse in not knowing that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. He had fulfilled all their teachings about what a coming Messiah would do. What he did not do while he was with them was set up an earthly kingdom and they used this fact to justify their unbelief (Jn 10:22-42). If they had asked questions, they would have come to learn that Jesus first had to overcome their spiritual needs before he could overcome their physical needs.

So, what was the outcome of their unbelief? They missed out on one of the greatest blessings that could have been theirs. And they kept other Israelites from enjoying that same blessing. Their whole life, they had taught about a Messiah who was prophesied to come to Israel and believed a Messiah would come but missed it completely when he finally did arrive—mainly because of two things. First, Jesus did not meet their expectation of what a Messiah would look like, do, and accomplish. Second, they let their pride and hurt feelings get in the way of them objectively looking at what Jesus said and did. They asked no questions. They just condemned.

Today, the Christian community has become polarized, and we seem to be on the verge of the same problem that these Jewish leaders had. We think we know the next steps God is going to take on this Earth. Some adamantly say the time of the Rapture is upon us (1Th 4:16-18). The world is so bad, there is nothing else that can save us expect Christ coming for his bride. Others say that the Holy Spirit is going to sweep across the Earth like a flood (Hk 2:14) and will achieve the greatest harvest since the Church was founded back in the book of Acts. Many are quite adamant in this regard as well. Each side has scripture to back them up. So, who is right? The Jewish leaders had Scripture to back up why they did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, not realizing that their reservation of doing so was really about what the Messiah would do at another time in history. Their minds and hearts were not open for God to instruct about this so he could use them in their day and time.

So, what is the solution? Let God be God. Prepare for the possibility of either scenario to occur. Plus, neither of these events may happen or occur exactly as we think they will. These New Testament Jewish leaders certainly thought they had it all figured out. After all, they had been studying their Scriptures their entire lives. They couldn’t conceive God coming any other way except how they envisioned it in their minds. Yet, they totally missed it. They let tradition override God’s actual plan. Let’s not be the same way.

Could the Rapture be upon us? Certainly. Yet, could God also send the Holy Spirit to cleanse his bride to make her purer and bring in a harvest of souls to expand the number to be part of his bride? Certainly, and it would be within his character to do so.

No matter which scenario God performs will still be awesome. Let’s be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit during this time. Let’s not be so adamant about our future that we don’t allow God to use us in what he has prescribed for our time. Let’s press into his Word and press into Him so we can have an open heart and open mind focused on Him. Then, we can be part of something amazing that God is going to do. We are definitely on the cusp of something. Something wonderful. Let’s be sure we’re ready. God bless.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot has started. We talked about this holiday in the last couple of posts and what it signifies and how it has become different from the Christian holiday Pentecost even though, originally, they were one and the same.

Those Jews today who celebrate this holiday recognize it as the day God gave their Torah to them, so the Ten Commandments are read and/or recited. In many synagogues, the Book of Ruth is also read. We talked before that this is one example of inclusion which this feast commemorates. Yet, many today do not see this same connection to the reading of this book. Most eat dairy products on this holiday, yet most have no idea how this custom came into being.

God gave the Israelites seven feasts to commemorate: Passover (Pesach). Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah), Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim), Pentecost or Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). There are several noted historical events that have occurred on these days over history. In the last several posts, we talked about those regarding Shavuot or Pentecost. Yet, there is also an ultimate fulfillment of each of these feasts:

Passover (Pesach): Christ was crucified

Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah): Christ was in the tomb (until Firstfruit)

Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim): Christ rose from the dead

Pentecost or Feast of Weeks (Shavuot): God gave the Holy Spirit to those who accept Christ as their future hope

Each of these occurred in our past (Jn 19:31, 1Co 15:20, Ac 2) and we can see a similar pattern for the other three to be fulfilled in our future.

Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah): The beginning of the Tribulation Period (God remembers his covenant with Israel; Da 9:27)

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur): God returns and forgives Israel (Zc 12:10, 13:1)

Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot): God now dwells with his people and reigns as King of kings over the whole Earth (Zc 14:16).

While these scriptures are not confirmatory in and of themselves, when you combine them with the intent God set forth for these feasts, they are definitely supportive (An Appointment with God). Yet some of these feasts do not continue once Christ returns. Why is this? Because their ultimate fulfillment is no longer needed. Let’s investigate this further.

Three of these holidays will not be celebrated once Christ returns because their purpose has been fulfilled: the Holy Spirit has been given permanently (Shavuot), Christ remembered his covenant with Israel and the Tribulation is now a thing of the past (Rosh Hashanah), and Christ has returned with forgiveness for Israel (Yom Kippur).

What about the other four? Well, their work is still continuing and will therefore be celebrated during Christ’s reign:

Passover (Pesach), Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah), and Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim) represent Christ’s sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, respectively. Because people will be born during this time of Earth’s history, it is important for them to understand the payment Christ did for them, so these holidays are still important. And what about Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)? Well, God will be residing among us reigning as King of kings, so it is important that we recognize this holiday and celebrate it enthusiastically. Actually, God will require this feast to be celebrated (Zc 14:16). Without Christ, we would not have such a wonderful life to embrace and live.

God is truly a magnificent God, isn’t he?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Last post, we talked about how Shavuot and Pentecost were the same holiday but became different due to some antisemitism that began to occur in the 2nd century church. Yet, the theme of the two has remained the same, even though how they are celebrated does not necessarily include this theme. Sound confusing? Let me explain.

When I first began talking about Shavuot some time ago, I mentioned that this Jewish holiday had a pattern of inclusion (A Pattern of Inclusion), and it seemed that this was the theme of his holiday (A Pattern of Inclusion) and that God wanted the Israelites to pick up on this theme (Pass It On). This was demonstrated by several events that occurred which dealt with the theme of inclusion: the giving of the Law to the Israelites (Ex 19-24), the incorporation of Rahab into the nation of Israel (Js 6), the incorporation of Ruth into the nation of Israel (book of Ruth), the birth of Christ (Lk 2) (Shavuot), and the ultimate inclusion of God giving the Holy Spirit (Ac 2) (Ultimate Inclusion).

We also discussed that this feast was also about paradigm shifts (Shavuot for Gentiles?). For example, the giving of the Law to the Israelites meant God went from dealing with individual patriarchs to a nation to be his representative to the world (Ex 19:6), the birth of Christ was a paradigm shift from God using a nation to God using individuals to reach the world (2Co 5:20), and he has empowered us to do so through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2).

Unfortunately, both Jews and Christians have lost sight of these themes. We have become exclusionary rather than inclusionary. Most Jews today celebrate this holiday as an agricultural holiday, if they celebrate it at all. While it is true that this had always been an agricultural holiday ever since its institution by God to the Israelites (Lv 23:15-21; Dt 16:9-12), it was also about caring for the needs of others (Lv 23:22) as well as recognition and thanks to God for the blessings he bestows. As stated above, this seemed to also be about the inclusion of others because of the important happenings that God had occur on this special holiday.

Christians today, if they do celebrate Pentecost, have lost all ties to it being anything agricultural as a way to recognize that all comes from God to them. While they do celebrate God sending his Holy Spirit and it marking the beginning of his ecclesia, his Church, I am not sure that anyone recognizes that the church was originally only composed of Jews. We Gentiles were only brought in because many of these Jews shared the gospel message to their Gentile neighbors.

Unfortunately, what was started as a means of inclusion has become a wall of separation between Jew and Gentile. This is unfortunate. We need to go back to our roots and really understand our history so we can see God is a uniter and we are the ones who create the division which God does not desire at all. May we ever seek to untie all, both Jew and Gentile, under God’s umbrella of inclusion though Jesus Christ.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Shavuot is one of the three Jewish feasts that were regarded as pilgrim festivals requiring all male Israelites to celebrate it at the temple in Jerusalem (Ex 23:14-17). Because of the unique timing of this festival, it went by other names as well: Feast of Weeks because it was to be 7 weeks after the Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim), and Pentecost because it was actually 50 days after Bikkurim. And, because the timing of Bikkurim is tied to Passover (Pesach) (Lv 23:11), Shavuot is therefore also tied to Passover in its timing as well (Lv 23:15).

So, if that is the case, then why did the Christian celebration of Pentecost become different from the Jewish celebration of Shavuot. Today, one would think they were two totally separate events. Technically, I guess they have become two separate celebrations, but that is rather unfortunate. So, what happened? How did this separation occur from something that was at one time united?

In Leviticus, we learn that the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) started the day after Passover (Pesach), lasted for seven days with the Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim) within this week of celebration of Matzah. Over time, because of their juxtaposition, each of these three feasts became part of a single celebration. In the gospels, we learn that Jesus Christ was crucified on Passover, was in the tomb on first day of Matzah, and rose on Bikkurim. The early Church then began to celebrate Christ’s crucifixion on Passover, or the 14th day of Nissan. This meant that it was on a different day each year on the Gregorian calendar (even though it was the same day each year on the Jewish calendar).

Over time, as the church became more hierarchical in nature and more predominantly Gentile in composition, there were some prominent church leaders who began to teach that Christians should separate themselves from those of the Jewish faith because Jews were the ones who rejected Jesus Christ and had him crucified. While it hard to really defend such a belief, this is what many taught at this time of church history.

At the same time, the Emperor Constatine declared Christianity as the national religion. What this did was demand that all should become part of the church. To accommodate this, the church began to “Christianize” many of the pagan holidays in order to more effectively incorporate people of other religions into the church. The pagan holiday Easter, which, in a loose way, celebrated Spring, life, birth, and renewal was used as a way to merge this festival with Christ’s resurrection (which technically occurred on the Jewish festival Bikkurim). This caused a split among many worshippers as some churches adopted this new “Christian” holiday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection and others kept to the traditional Jewish holiday of Passover when Christ was crucified. These Christians who celebrated Passover were known as Quarterdecimans (as quarta decima, in Latin, means fourteen).

This split of how Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection were celebrated continued for about twelve years until the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) where the church leaders agreed that the official church celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection would be celebrated on Easter each year rather than on the Jewish Passover. Easter was decreed to be the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. This meant Easter could occur as early as March 22nd or as late as April 25th on the Gregorian calendar, depending upon when this full moon occurred. This forever separated the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection from Passover.

Then, the church decided that their version of Pentecost would be fifty days after Easter. This was a play off how the Jews determined Shavuot from Bikkurim. This was convenient in one way, because it always made Pentecost on a Sunday whereas the Jewish Pentecost (Shavuot) would be fifty days after Firstfruit (Bikkurim) which could be any day of the week. Because Passover and Easter were now technically separated, the worship of Pentecost and Shavuot could be nowhere near each other on the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Jewish holiday Shavuot in 2024 will occur on June 12th (starting sundown on June 11th), the Christian holiday Pentecost occurred on Sunday, May 19th. In addition, the focus of the two holidays is not the same any longer.

This is the topic of what we will discuss next time. I hope you will join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Because the Jewish leaders had preconceived ideas about Jesus, this incident of Jesus fulfilling prophecy as recorded in Zechariah made them buckle down on their animosity toward Jesus rather than accepting him. Jesus knew what their decision would be but wanted to give them the ability to make a choice.

The Jewish leaders conspired and plotted how they could get Jesus killed without the people revolting. When Judas approached them, they saw their opening for how to accomplish their plot. They put plans into place to ensure Jesus’ death would occur and turned the heart of the people against Jesus as well.

The Jewish leaders wanted to preserve the peace with Rome at the expense of Jesus. Yet, war rather than peace still occurred. They did away with the one person who could have brought them ultimate peace.

The peace with Rome the Jewish leaders tried to keep by sacrificing Jesus was a peace that did not prevail at all. High priest Caiaphas said, “It is better for you that one man dies for the people than that the whole nation perish” (Jn 11:50). He said he was given this prophecy from God, but it seems he totally misapplied the meaning of it and interpreted it from his own bias rather than understanding it’s true meaning. Despite their actions, their nation still perished a little less than forty years later. Josephus, the Jewish historian, stated of what occurred in 70 AD: “[Roman soldiers] made the whole city run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men’s blood” (Josephus, The War of the Jews, Book 6, 406).

Today, we can also be like the Jewish leaders and let pride rob us of the peace we can have. Or, we can accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us so we can have his peace which surpasses all understanding: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 5:1). We can repent of our sins, realizing that we can do nothing about our sin problem on our own. John tells us, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn 2:2). We can accept the payment Christ did for us realizing that only he was able to pay our sin debt. Paul tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ro 6:23). Nothing we do can satisfy our sin debt. Paul also tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Ro 3:23). Yet, once we accept him, we cannot be taken from him. Jesus said, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (Jn 10:29). Our decision takes a conscious effort—never forced upon us, and it has eternal consequences.

So, it’s all about choice. God has given us choice. But with choice comes responsibility—and consequences. We can choose to have calm in light of life’s chaos. This will lead to an eternity of peace. Or, we can choose to make our own way through life’s chaos and end up with eternal regret. Which is the wisest decision? The wisest decision is to choose what Joshua chose: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Js 24:15).

I trust you will choose the same.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Leading up to this time of Jesus fulfilling prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (Zc 9:9), Jesus used miracles to show his authority and divine nature. The people needed to know that he fit the prophet’s description of their Messiah. He also limited who could tell others of their miracle to control the spread about him. He knew most had a picture of a conquering Messiah, and he wanted to avoid an uprising that would get Rome’s attention. He needed to get his message across before people would ignore his message and go with their desire. Jesus used parables to weed out those who truly sought him versus those who only wanted to use him for their gain. He knew many people just wanted what he could do for them physically. He was looking for those who were spiritually hungry.

Jesus tried to get the Jewish leaders to understand the error of their ways. They were leading the people astray and needed correction. Yet, they thought too highly of themselves to take Jesus’ words as anything but insulting.

Now, Jesus was ready to force everyone to accept or reject him by choosing Nisan 10th when Passover lambs were selected. This was one of his most brazen statements of himself being their Messiah. The Jewish leaders would not be able to put their decision off any longer.

He was also forcing Satan’s hand as well. Satan had to decide if the death of Jesus would be his best option to cause Jesus’ failure as the Messiah. He evidently believed that to be the case because he made the Jewish leaders more determined to kill him and caused Judas to turn against Jesus.

Once reaching Jerusalem, the people were curious as to who was entering the city in such a fashion with all the commotion and fanfare. Jesus attracted a large crowd which the Jewish leaders did not like.

Greek Jewish proselytes came to see him (Jn 12:20-22), and Jesus announced his soon-coming death. The Father announced his approval audibly (Jn 12:28). Many in attendance thought an angel had spoken to him. Maybe because the Gentiles were present, but he responded very differently now than with previous interruptions by Gentiles. Jesus was now very clear he was for both Jews and Gentiles: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn 12:32).

Many responded that the Messiah would be with them forever once he came so what did Jesus mean by his words. Jesus reemphasized his words which likely confused many in the crowd causing them to disperse. He then went to the temple. He looked around—unhappy at what he saw—but the hour was late, so he left and went back to Bethany (Mk 11:11). So, his entry was anti-climactic—at least for that day.

The next day, when Jesus entered the temple, he overturned the tables on the moneychangers and chased them and the animals from the Court of Gentiles (Mt 21:12-13; Mk 11:15-17). He quoted Isaiah 46:7 stating that the temple was to be a house of prayer, but they had made it a den of thieves. The merchants were overcharging for the animals for sacrifice and the priests, especially the house of Annas, got a cut of their profits.

That day, blind men came to him for healing, and Jesus healed them (Mt 21:14). This excited many of the people again. Even the children joined the praise saying, “Hosanna to the son of David” (Mt 21:15). The Jewish leaders were angry with Jesus but were afraid to do anything because of the people who were praising and supporting him. Jesus left before the leaders could devise a plan to do anything that day. Yet, this fortified their stance that they had to get rid of him.

As we can see, Jesus controlled everything around this event. Even though the Jewish leaders, and even Satan, wanted him gone, they were not the ones in control even though they thought they were. Next time, we’ll talk about this aspect and what this event meant for the Jews of that day and what it means for us today.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Last time we talked about how Jesus forced the Jewish leaders into a final decision. Today, we’ll see how he did the same to Satan as well.

Satan had to decide if he was for Jesus’ death or not. He, just like the Jewish leaders, had to figure out Old Testament Scripture and how it related to Jesus. One of the reasons the Jewish leaders did not accept Jesus was because he did not fulfill everything the Scriptures stated about the coming Messiah. Also, they felt the Messiah, when he came, would be praising them for their faithful following of the Torah and all the Jewish laws they kept. This is something Jesus did not do, and they could not forgive him for that and even believed him to be insulting them. They considered Jesus’ correction insulting because they believed themselves to be the learned ones. Not some self-proclaimed rabbi from Nazareth. Satan had to contemplate the same.

Would Jesus’ death prevent him from setting up his kingdom? This is likely the question Satan had to ask himself. Therefore, Satan had a dilemma. Did he or did he not want to encourage Jesus’ demise? He first had to figure out how human Jesus really was. Hence, the temptation in the wilderness.

Satan knew Jesus wanted a kingdom but found Jesus was unwilling to compromise as to how he would achieve it. After all, he offered something most humans would jump at: a way to obtain the kingdom they desired without having to suffer for it. Yet, Satan, as did the Jewish leaders, did not understand the order of kingdoms Christ had to overcome. In order to establish an everlasting peace, Jesus first had to take back the spiritual kingdom Adam had lost; then he would set up the physical kingdom on the earth.

Jesus said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only,’” quoting from Dt 6:14: “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” Jesus was saying serval things here. He called Lucifer his adversary (which is what the word ‘Satan’ means), and he was saying that Lucifer should be worshipping him because he was higher than Lucifer in rank, so what Lucifer wanted was never going to happen. The Creator can never worship the created. Jesus was unlike other humans who Satan was able to tempt more successfully.

So, what kind of kingdom was Jesus wanting to set up? Because of Adam’s rebellion, he lost the theocratic kingdom he was to set up on the Earth. Lucifer, the Adversary (Satan), usurped Adam’s kingdom from him. So, the kingdom was set up under Satan and not under God. Can you deny that the kingdoms of this world are more Satanic than they are godly? So, first, Christ had to take back the control Satan had on mankind before he could set up an Earthly kingdom. Therefore, his death was necessary so people could transfer from Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom (Jn 3:18). Christ could not set up a physical kingdom until his followers were part of his kingdom. Neither the Jewish leaders nor Satan himself likely understood this at this time.

What actually constitutes a kingdom? Three things: a ruler, land, and subjects. Jesus as the Messiah would be the king of such a kingdom. Yet, Satan currently had rights to the land (the Earth). Satan owned the earth like we own our home. The mortgage company really owns our home, but we have legal rights to claim it as ours even though the ultimate ownership is not ours until all debt is paid. Also, at this time, Christ had no subjects except for angels and perhaps Enoch, Moses, and Elijah (each of these were likely in heaven and not Sheol [see Strange Verses of Hope]). So, before anything else, Jesus had to obtain his citizenry.

So, the question now becomes, how would Jesus obtain citizens for his kingdom? Those in Sheol were not yet his even though they had put their faith into his coming. Some say Satan did not own Sheol or even go there. Yet, Scripture states that Sheol is tied to the Earth. So, why were all those who died in Sheol? It was because of sin. Adam had sinned and it passed to all who came after him (Ro 5:12). In order for Jesus to get those who had trusted in his coming out of Sheol, he had to ransom them. He had to place their sins on himself (1Jn 2:2), take them to Sheol to show their ransom as paid then take those who trusted in his coming to heaven (Ps 68:18). Then, going forward, all those who trust in him will be with him when they die (2Co 5:8).

In other words, he conquered the power that death and Sheol had over those who believed in him, and he now holds the keys to both (Rv 1:18). His first coming was about obtaining the citizens for his kingdom. His second coming will be about obtaining the land, the Earth, for his kingdom by destroying the power Satan has over the Earth. Then, he will reign over the entire Earth and all will then be part of his kingdom, just as he had intended it to be from the beginning.

Satan wanted Jesus to fail at being the Messiah and worked through whomever he could. The demon possessed tried to announce Jesus as the Messiah (Mk 3:11; Lk 4:41) as that would get the people riled up about a Messiah who would deliver them from Rome. Jesus denied them from speaking such. Satan also convinced the Jewish leaders Jesus was not their Messiah and used their pride against them. He even tried to turn some of Jesus’ disciples against him. While he was unsuccessful with Peter, he was successful with Judas (Lk 22:3; Jn 13:27).

Satan didn’t know Jesus’ plan but had to figure it out just like the Jewish leaders had to do. He guessed wrong, just as they did. He likely felt Jesus’ death would be the ultimate way to make him unsuccessful as the Messiah. Satan was wrong, and like the Jewish leaders, focused on the physical rather than the spiritual. Christ’s death made the ultimate way for people to be transferred from Satan’s kingdom into Christ’s kingdom.

So many of us are quick to judge based upon limited data. Let’s be those who look more deeply and see the heart of Jesus and what Scripture really says about him. Then, you can see clearly that he is for you and has done everything possible for you to have a wonderful future. You just have to accept it. Why not today?

Next time, we’ll look at what occurred once Jesus got to the temple. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The narrative about the event of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey to fulfill prophecy was controlled by none other than Jesus Christ himself. He was the one who orchestrated all of this. Why did he? And was it to only fulfill prophecy?

While prophecy fulfillment is an important reason, I think there are additional important reasons as well. He was forcing the Jewish leaders to a final decision. Jesus had tried to get the Jewish leaders to understand that his miracles were evidence of him being their Messiah, just as Isaiah prophesied: “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” (Is 35:5-6).

Isaiah spoke of a future time when sickness would be no more, and people would live a long time. Jesus’ miracles confirmed that he could cure the sick and keep people form dying. The Jewish leaders had to decide if they were going to overcome their pride and accept Jesus for who he claimed to be.

Jesus wasn’t against the Jewish leaders, even though he spoke harshly to them. He just wanted them to be who they claimed to be. After all he told the people, “So you must be careful to do everything they [i.e., teachers of the Law and the Pharisees] tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:3).

Jesus now enacted a prophecy all Jews, and especially the Jewish leaders, would be extremely familiar with. The question was, were they now going to accept Jesus as the fulfillment of that prophecy as the people were currently doing?

As mentioned previously, Jesus likely entered the Sheep Gate with many of the pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover with their lambs as he was presenting himself as the paschal lamb they had been waiting for since the time of Moses. This was the 10th of Nisan, the time that lambs for Passover were set aside and evaluated before offered and verified fit for Passover sacrifice (Ex 12:3-7).

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to stop the people from praising him for two important reasons, or at least important to these Jewish leaders: (1) This Hallel psalm the crowd was quoting from was about the Messiah, which they did not believe Jesus to be, and (2) This Hallel psalm was the one they quoted when they took the paschal lamb to the temple for sacrifice; so, according to them, this was not the right time for the psalm to be quoted. They, as always, looked at the prophecy without considering how and when it would be fulfilled.

Both of these reasons indicated Jesus was the Messiah and the people’s national paschal lamb. The Jewish leaders asked Jesus to stop the people from quoting from this Hallel psalm, but Jesus replied that if they stopped, the very stones would take up their cry. Jesus being the Messiah was not just for the people but for the Earth as well. Paul tells us in Romans, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Ro 8:22). The Earth itself is also waiting for the reign of the King of kings.

There is another important reason Jesus rode into Jerusalem. He was also fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy. We’ll get into that reason next time. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In Genesis, Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) gave a prophecy to Judah which said, in part, “[Judah] will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk” (Gn 49:8-12).

Judah’s blessing has always been believed to be a Messianic prophecy. It indicates he is of perfection and his blood will somehow be important. Donkeys represent peace and the vine prosperity.

It seems the prophet Zechariah picked up on this theme from Genesis as he spoke of a coming king: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zc 9:9).

The verse before this one speaks of the One to come to be a victorious warrior, but he would have Israel reign in peace. This is reminiscent of King Solomon (1Ki 1:32-40). His father, King David, had been the warrior king and conquered many nations and incorporated them into Israel. Solomon became a king of peace. When he was inaugurated, he was placed on David’s mule and paraded throughout Jerusalem so that all would know he was the succeeding king and that he was about peace and not war.

The mule is different from a donkey. The mule has a mare, a female horse, for a mother and a donkey for a father. Solomon riding on David’s mule indicated he was the current king’s choice for who would be the next king, and the animal he rode being a mule indicated the kingdom was going from a nation at war (the mare) to a nation at peace (the mule).

Jesus told two of his disciples: “Go to the village [Bethphage] ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me” (Mt 21:2). When the disciples were questioned as to what they were doing, they simply stated that the Lord had need of them and those questioning let the disciples take them.

Jesus had the colt and its mother brought to him because some believed the passages in Genesis and Zechariah spoke of two separate animals. This ensured no one could claim the prophecy was not fulfilled. It is also likely that the colt’s mother being present helped the animal to remain calm when amid the throng of people around it.

Scripture states that Jesus rode on the colt of the donkey which had never been ridden. Normally, without being trained, a donkey would never allow a human to ride it. Yet, Jesus had no problem in riding on the donkey colt. Jesus was indicating two things by doing this. One, he was indicating his kingdom. Solomon rode on David’s mule to indicate he was now the reigning king of David’s kingdom. Jesus is riding on a donkey which had never been ridden indicating that his kingdom is not of this world for no one in the world could ride a donkey of this type without issue. Second, he, like Solomon, would be a king of peace, and the donkey indicated how he would bring about that peace.

It is interesting that all donkeys bear a dorsal cross on their backs. This likely explains, at least in part, why Jesus rode on a donkey to indicate how he was going to bring peace. Solomon rode on a mule which does not have this cross. He was going to bring peace based upon his father David’s previous work by bringing other nations under the umbrella of Israel. Jesus was going to bring peace based upon his Father’s work as well. His death would bring those currently under Satan’s kingdom under the umbrella of peace of his spiritual kingdom.

Note that here at Jesus’ first coming, Jesus is riding on a donkey to indicate the peace he offers. Yet, when he returns to this earth, he will be riding on a horse, as Revelation 19:11 states: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” As noted, the horse is a symbol of war because Jesus will defeat Satan and take the Earth which will null and void any rights Satan currently has to it.

I think this can be a lesson for us today as well. Scripture will always be fulfilled just as biblical prophecy indicates. Yet, it is us humans who use our imagination as to how God will accomplish his prophecy but it is rarely how God fulfills his word. His fulfilment is always more profound and impactful than we can ever imagine. So, we should know our Scripture and know what God is going to do, but we should let God be God and follow his lead when he fulfills Scripture before our eyes. We don’t want to miss it as the Jewish leaders did in this case we just mentioned. Let’s be watchful, vigilant, and be open to God’s leading.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The path that Jesus took to get to Jerusalem had him traveling from Bethany to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and then took a route into Jerusalem likely going through the Sheep Gate. Which gate he entered is not recorded in Scripture, but there is a logical and spiritual reason for thinking he entered through this particular gate. Of course, the other route he could have taken was through the Eastern Gate. It would have been more direct but likely not the route most of the pilgrims took if they had a lamb for Passover with them as they would need to have the lamb inspected by the priests to ensure it was without blemish to offer as their paschal lamb, and they would need to enter through the Sheep Gate to have this inspection done by the priests.

Now for a few more details of Jesus’ trip from Bethany to Jerusalem and its temple. Jesus and his disciple arrive at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany six days before Passover. Lazarus had been raised from the dead only a few months earlier. That evening, a feast is held at Lazarus’ house. Many heard that Jesus was there and came to see both him as well as Lazarus. This also upset the Jewish leaders that so many people were accepting Christ because of Lazarus being raised form the dead.

Mary, Lazarus’ sister, anoints Jesus’ feet as a testament of her understanding that Jesus was going to soon die (Jn 12:3-7). She seemed to have understood Jesus’ message better than many of his other disciples as the others still didn’t understand that in just a few days, he would be put to death. Jesus and his disciples stay with Lazarus through Sabbath. [As a side note, this same thing occurred two days before Passover in Bethany at the house of a former leper named Simon (Mt 26:1-6). The woman, this time anointing Jesus’ head, isn’t named. Could it have been the event as presented in the gospel of John? Possibly, but the days and locations are different. It had to have been a woman close to Jesus to understand what was going to happen to him as even his disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying about his death.]

The next day was Nassan 10th, likely a Sunday. Jesus and his disciples travel from Bethany to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and likely join hundreds of others traveling to Jerusalem to get ready for Passover.

Jesus tells two of his disciples to go into Bethphage and retrieve a donkey and its colt (Mt 21:1-3). The colt had never been ridden on, but the colt remained calm for Jesus to ride him. This in itself was a miracle.

The disciples and the pilgrims put their cloaks on the animal for Jesus to sit on and spread them on the ground for the donkey carrying Jesus to walk on. Others gathered palm branches and began waving them and praising Jesus (Mt 21:8-9). They did this all the way to Jerusalem. The Old Testament records this practice of anointed kings. We have such a practice done for Jehu when he was announced as the new king of Israel (2Ki 9:12-13).

Many of the pilgrims quoted parts of Psalm 118 during their praising of Jesus which is a Messianic psalm, especially verses 25 and 26 which states, “Lord, save us! [Hosanna] Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” When the people sang, “Hosanna,” they were saying, “Lord save us.” It is clear they were singing that Jesus was their Messiah. Yet, when they said, “save us,” they were implying a physical saving and not the spiritual saving that Jesus had in mind.

When on the Mount of Olives, Jesus pauses and weeps over Jerusalem knowing the outcome, his rejection, and the destruction that Jerusalem would face in less than forty years (Lk 19:41-44).

Because many of the pilgrims likely had lambs with them for their Passover sacrifice, they probably entered Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate rather than through the more direct Eastern Gate as their lambs would need to be inspected by the priests at the temple and would need to enter through the Sheep Gate for this to occur.

Don’t you find it interesting that Jesus chose Nisan 10th to ride into Jerusalem? He was proclaiming not only to be their Messiah but the Promised One: the One promised to Eve (Gn 3:15), the prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15), the pascal lamb that had been prophesied ever since the time of Moses (Is 53). He was the fulfillment of the sacrifices that had been offered all these years. Now it was time for the Jewish leaders to inspect and see if they would take him as their Messiah and Passover Lamb from God.

Have you thought about Jesus Christ in this way? He did all of this not only for the Jews of his day but for the entire world. One of the things he said while at the temple was, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn 12:32). Did you get that? His death was for everyone on the earth: past, present, and future. Think about that and give him the praise he deserves.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey colt, it would look like a triumphal entry based upon all the pageantry that went on. Yet, this question in the title of this post is somewhat of a tricky question, as it requires one to know from whose perspective one is looking.

From Jesus’ perspective, he accomplished exactly what he wanted to have accomplished. Yet, for the disciples and the people’s point of view, the prophecy of the event was not fully realized in their eyes as they had expected. And, for the Pharisees and Jewish leaders, they considered the event an absolute debacle.

Maybe getting some additional background would be helpful at this point. The current time is early Spring. Back in the winter, Jesus was teaching at the temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication (which today is called Hannukah). He claimed his divinity, and this angered the Jewish leaders so much that they actually tried to have Jesus stoned right then and there. Jesus escapes and heads to Bethany across the Jordan River with his disciples (this town is also known as Bethabara to distinguish it from the Bethany at the base of the Mount of Olives). This is also the place where John the Baptist taught and baptized, as well as the place where Jesus received the message that his friend Lazarus had died.

Jesus remained in this area for four additional days and then headed back across the Jordan River to Bethany with his disciples and raised Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11:38-44). As a result of this, many flock to Bethany to see Lazarus and hear his testimony. The Jewish leaders now want to kill both Jesus and Lazarus because many were now believing in Jesus because of Lazarus’ account of how Jesus brought him back to life (Jn 12:10).

Jesus and his disciples travel up to Ephraim, north of Jerusalem but still within Judea, to be away from all the commotion (Jn 11:54). They remain here until early Spring when Jesus decides to travel throughout Perea and then recrosses the Jordan River into Jericho where he performs several miracles. From there, he and his disciples once again enter Bethany and the home of Lazarus six days before Passover (Jn 12:1). Yet, there is an almost tangible buzz among all the people of the area wondering if Jesus will come back to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Some want to see Jesus do more miracles, some want to see the sparks fly between Jesus and the Pharisees, and others want to hear Jesus speak to them again as they know his words are truth and so much different from how their Jewish leaders speak. Because of all of this, there were likely more in attendance for this Passover than previous ones.

Next time, we’ll go over the actual events that occurred on the day Christ enters Jerusalem. Please join us.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter Sunday, so we celebrated it a little over two weeks ago. Yet, the historical Palm Sunday, or as some call it, The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, was four days before Passover. And, technically, Christ did not rise on Easter but on Firstfruit, or Bikkurim (Easter vs Firstfruit). This year, Passover is not until April 22nd. This would then mean the first day of Unleavened Bread (or Matzah) is April 23rd, and Firstfruit (or Bikkurim) is April 24th. So, this year, the Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection was three weeks earlier than the historical occurrence. It was in 325 AD that The Council of Nicaea decreed Easter to be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21), which means Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This decree then separated the historical occurrence of Christ’s resurrection from the celebrated date.

But how did Palm Sunday get its name? It comes from the Biblical account found in John 12:12-13 which says, “The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival [i.e., Passover] heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’, ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’” [italics mine]

If we look at the word “hosanna” further, we find that in Hebrew it is a compound word meaning “Please, Save Us!” It is thought to be an actual plea for help. Yet, it became an expression of adoration and praise for salvation. The Messiah was the one who could achieve this plea for salvation. The one to come in the name of the Lord was the Messiah. The people also knew that the coming Messiah was supposed to also reign as their king. So, in essence, they were saying that Jesus was coming to save them as their Messiah, and he would now reign as their king. Therefore, it was a very jubilant display for all to see as coats and cloaks were placed in front of Jesus’ donkey, and the people waived palm branches in joyous anticipation of what Jesus would do once he reached Jerusalem. Yet, their idea of salvation was a physical saving whereas Jesus’ idea of salvation at this time was a spiritual one.

We don’t always think about palm trees being associated with places like Jerusalem. Yet, palm trees are an important part of the Jerusalem landscape. Their prevalence today may not be as great as they were in the first century due to all the destruction and construction that has occurred there over the centuries. Yet, there are three main types of palms in this geographic area: date palm (elongated branches with many thin elongated leaves), sable palm (leaves more in a fan shape), and pygmy date palm (also with elongated branches with fewer thin elongated leaves). Any or all of these could have been used by the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They are more abundant in valleys and their fruit much tastier than in the mountainous regions. With so many people flocking to Jerusalem at this time, as Passover was one of the required feasts where physical presence was commanded, and many others going out of Jerusalem to meet those coming in to join in their celebration, it likely looked like palm trees were walking down the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem. What a sight, indeed!

Over the next several posts, I want us to think about eight questions concerning this event: (1) Was it a triumphal entry? (2) What occurred during the event? (3) What prophecies were fulfilled? (4) Who controlled the narrative of this event? (5) What led up to this event? (6) What happened after the event? (7) What did this mean for the Jews of the day? and (8) What does this mean for us today?

I hope you join me as we discover something quite profound as to why Jesus did what he did at this time and did not fulfill what the people were expecting of him once he reached Jerusalem.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

This is a dramatic reading on the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of the Apostle John.

It strikes me as odd realizing it’s been a year since the Shavuot after our Messiah’s crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. Some call the holiday Pentecost because it comes fifty days after Bikkurim or Firstfruit, the day our Messiah rose from the dead. It’s really beyond my comprehension how the Holy Spirit has added so many people to his church. Actually, now that I think about it, Jesus did say that one day we would be able to do more than he ever did. I remember thinking at the time, that was a bold and impossible statement. Yet, his Holy Spirit has really done that as it helps us convey to others that Jesus is the answer to what they are searching for.

I think back to how this all started for me. I was a mere fisherman. No one really important. Although, my father Zebedee having his own fleet of fishing vessels made me think I was important. Boy, did I have a lot to learn. Yet, Jesus called me to follow him, and he said he would make me a fisher of men. And, I guess, that is what he has done. Of course, my start was not so profound. I have always been passionate, but unfortunately, that passion was not always bridled very well. Thus, I was labeled a Son of Thunder. On the flipside, many also implied I was his beloved disciple. Yet, that, too, was not how it had always been. In the beginning, Jesus would tell me, “I love you, John, but . . .” These words would cut me to the core because what he was really telling me was that I had made another blunder.

Yet, over time, I took his words to heart, even though they were quite painful at the moment he spoke them. I tried desperately to do things differently and to bridle my passion and make it positive and not explosive. I remember the first time he cusp my neck with his hand and gave my cheek a peck, but now, his words were, “I love you, John” without that dreaded “but.” I can’t tell you how my heart soared, and that experience even made me long to become more diligent. I often woke early from my slumber and deeply pondered the meaning of his words as I lay there and listened to the birds starting their day.

Although I didn’t always understand his stories, I knew there was more to them than just the obvious. Yet, even when I understood, or thought I understood these stories, that did not prepare me for what was soon to come. Even though what occurred was foretold, that was not what we had been taught about how the coming Messiah would act or would do. Now, I definitely knew Jesus was our promised Messiah, but I guess I imposed what I was taught about the coming Messiah on him rather than really listening and understanding what he was trying to tell us about what he was going to do and what would happen to him. Dying was nowhere in our thoughts about what was going to happen to him. We never focused on those things in the prophetic Scriptures. Our Messiah was going to be a conquering Messiah and would become our king. This is what we wanted for Jesus. But that is not what happened.

His dying on the cross is still so vivid in my memory. I don’t think this memory will ever fade. His crown of thorns caused blood to trickle down his cheeks and chin and then onto his chest. It was so heart wrenching to watch. I can’t even explain the blood. There was just so much of it. I don’t think anyone could have endured so much agony as he did if they were merely human. If he had not been our Messiah, being both divine and human, he would not have even made it to the cross before he would have expired. To put it mildly, he was a bloody mess.

Mary, his mother, who had always treated me as a son, stood beside me with tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to ignore all those who were hurling jeers and insults at him. Yet, it was almost impossible to ignore. Grief is a strange thing though as that memory is not as vivid as just seeing him suffer. What else is vivid is the darkness that descended upon this scene before us. It was almost like nature had joined in our suffering and sorrow and was now displaying our inward emotions for all to see.

Mary clung to me as if her very strength depended on me supplying it. I think that was the only way she made it through this awful ordeal. I can’t tell you how horrific it was to stand there unnerved as we looked up at him slowly dying before us. Through pained eyes, he looked at me and said, “Behold, your mother.” I almost gasped as this statement revealed he was thinking about her during the very last moments of his life. I nodded. Of course, I would do anything he asked of me. Yet, she was like a mother to me already, so it was not a burdensome request. Mary seemed to lose it, though, and she clung to me even more tightly as she lost almost all her strength understanding the finality of Jesus’ words.

I then saw one of the guards put something on a sponge and put it to his mouth. I thought it a hint of compassion as he was giving Jesus something to relieve his thirst. Maybe he was, but I soon realized it was more likely a playful distraction for the guards as they argued over who would do the deed. He then uttered, “It is finished.” As he uttered these words, he looked at me, his eyes so piercing, without even a blink. His expression turned almost serene, but I felt the obscenity of the event as I saw the spark in his eyes slowly go dim.

He was gone! How could this be? His work couldn’t be over. In whom would I now confide? I saw his head fall to his chest which caused more blood to spatter and cascade down from his cheek. His body was now just a shell. His words to Nicodemus later came to mind. He was now like that brass serpent Moses placed on a pole. Yet, the significance of this didn’t really register quite yet. Also, it was not until much later that I realized his Spirit was accomplishing the victory for us our souls needed. For now, it was just heartache. Mary hugged me tightly, still sobbing. Our senses were assaulted again as one of the guards rammed his spear into Jesus’ side with an upward thrust. Mary shrieked as the act startled her so. I wrapped my arms around her and buried her face into my chest as I didn’t want her to see the blood and water that gushed from the puncture wound now visible in his side. If I didn’t know he had already died, there was now no question as to his death.

Both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two prominent members of the Jewish Sanhedrin and evidently secret disciples of his came forward and took his body down and placed him in a nearby tomb. This surprised me that they would be so bold now and do this. I was impressed that they were so gentle with his body. I knew Nicodemus had talked to the Messiah, but I never saw him at any of our gatherings. I did see Joseph occasionally when Jesus talked, but I had no idea he had now believed in Jesus. Most of the Jewish leaders didn’t. I was glad these two had finally gotten their courage to act. But it seemed a little too late to me. The tomb lay in a quaint place that had been made into a beautiful garden for someone of wealth. Quite fitting, I thought. Just then, we heard the shofar at the temple being blown announcing the Passover lamb had just been slain. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this symbolized a double vignette of offerings. Both the national pascal lamb and the true Passover Lamb of God were sacrificed. At this time, I had no understanding that this was all part of his plan for us, for the world, and of all we would gain eternally from his death. It’s not that he had not said or implied such, it’s just that my brain was not willing to go there while he was alive.

I, along with the other disciples, sequestered ourselves away. We were scared and really had no idea what to do or what to believe. Our minds were in such turmoil. Many of the women wanted to go back to the tomb and do their own anointing of Jesus’ body. Some of us tried to discourage them from doing so, but they were determined to show their devotion to him. Yet, it was three days after his crucifixion before they were able to do so due to the first day of Matzah, or Unleavened Bread, being a special Sabbath and then followed by the weekly Sabbath. None of us men went with them. We believed that if any of the soldiers guarding his tomb saw us, we would get arrested. Yet, the women could likely cajole the soldiers to let them into the tomb for a short time.

Not long after the women had left us, the door suddenly burst open. We all flinched and looked for a way to escape as we thought Roman soldiers had somehow found us. A couple of the women had returned and were beside themselves. “He’s alive!” they shouted. “We should not have doubted.” We all sat or stood dumbfounded. I was one of the first to leave and check this out. Peter was not far behind. I ran with all my might. Although quite a distance to the tomb, I didn’t stop for anything except seeing Mary Magdalene along the way. “I saw him,” she said. “He is risen, not dead. Go and see for yourself.” I rushed off, but her words did not compute in my mind. I could only think that someone must have stolen his body and Mary was confused. The faster I ran, the more livid I became that someone would steal our Master’s body like this. There had to be a way to make them pay for such cruelty. Yet, when I arrived, I first didn’t go in, but Peter did. When he came out, I went in as my anger had subsided and I became curious as Peter looked perplexed. My eyes grew wide upon seeing the facecloth folded neatly and set apart from the other linen. This meant his body was not taken in haste or inhumanely. Someone had taken a conscious effort to fold this linen. My heart leapt within me. Could it really be true? Was Mary not confused after all? Was he actually alive? I began to believe it. Our Master was alive!

Peter and I and the women all went back to the others. Everyone was in an uproar disputing what we had seen. Some believed and others were skeptical. Suddenly, with the door locked, Jesus stood among us. At first, we all jumped back. I was one of the first to step forward. He came up to me, gave me a hug, and said as he had done many times before, “John, I love you.” My eyes filled with tears as his hug calmed my doubts and fears. Then, all the others flocked to him and began to embrace him as well.

Unfortunately, he was with us for only forty days when he took us to the Mount of Olives, and we saw his ascension. I have to say, we were so unprepared for comprehending his instructions to us of, “Stay in Jerusalem.” Before we knew what was happening, he rose out of our sight and into the clouds. While angels did appear and tell us not to be flustered because, one day, he would return to us just as we saw him leave, their words only added to our tension and confusion as we had a hard time processing all of this.

Yet, in ten days, things became so much clearer as the Holy Spirit descended upon us in a mighty way on that Shavuot, or as some call it, Pentecost. I have no words to really tell you how I felt. Yet, the Holy Spirit gave us calmness and a boldness which I had never experienced before. Words to say just came to us. We apparently spoke in other languages, but all we knew was we were speaking words God gave us to say.

His plan for us is now so much clearer. We are to build his kingdom until he returns. Then all the prophecies that he did not complete when he was with us will be fulfilled when he returns because he is always true to his word and his word will never return to him void. All that he says or has said will come true. I continue to be a fisherman of souls and can only share what my Messiah shared with me. The answer to what each person is truly seeking for themselves is to respond and allow Christ to give them their own Pentecost just as he did for me and so many others.

And what about you? Are you willing to join us and be one of his disciples too? Have you had your Pentecost? All you have to do is do what I did. Accept his sacrifice. It is only through his sacrifice for us, for our sins, that we can now come to him in repentance and accept what he has done for us which we could not do for ourselves. Nothing we do now or even after we accept him is necessary or even effective. It is all through his work and not ours. Then the Holy Spirit comes and dwells with you and helps you to become more like him. Today can be your Pentecost. I had mine. Why not have yours today?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In my last post, we talked about the belief biases that many of the Jewish religious sects had and how those caused them to miss recognizing Jesus as the Messiah to which Scripture pointed. Also, their disunity in their beliefs caused them to double down on their biases which caused them to become blinded toward what God was doing in their very midst. Is that true today as well?

I would advocate that this is true to a large extent. Some of this disunity was addressed in a previous post (Rapture-Receiving of the Bride). We have so many different denominations today and it seems there is much more controversy between many of these denominations than between Christian and non-Christian circles. What has this disunity led to? I think almost the same as it led to almost two thousand years ago. Back then they could not unite on what to expect from a coming Messiah and thereby missed him completely when he was right in their midst. Today, we have so much disunity about what to expect next from God that I’m afraid many of us may miss what God is going to do in our midst as well. There is so much dispute today about whether the next event will be a great revival or Christ returning for his bride. Rather than searching scripture to see the argument of each side, each side just buckles down on their emphatic belief that the other side is wrong.

Let’s not do that. Christ fulfilled Scripture at his first coming, but all sides missed it. God did not “perform” as they expected. Rather than searching the scriptures to see if any of it could be true, they totally rejected everything Jesus said. It seems the “prophetic” side of Christendom believes that God is going to flood the Earth with his Spirit which will lead to one of the greatest revivals of all time. The “conservative” side of Christendom says that the next event is the Rapture and that is the only hope Christians have before the world totally collapses.

Both sides have Scripture to back up their beliefs. Well, the Pharisees and Sadducees had scripture to back up their beliefs about the Messiah as well. Yet, that did not work out well for them. Therefore, we should at least be cautious about being adamant in our stance of what God will do next.

Now, I’m certainly not advocating that we ignore what Scripture says about what he will do next. Yet, shouldn’t the fact that Christians are not in unison indicate that something is amiss? If we are searching for truth, the Bible, which is the true source of all truth, can’t provide two events as the answer to the truth we are looking for. Who’s right, then?

Maybe we’re confusing some scripture of one event as part of that of another event. I mean, the Pharisees seemed to have done that. They were looking for Jesus, if he was the Messiah, to fulfill all the Messianic prophecies. They didn’t realize he was going to fulfill part then and part later. That scenario never occurred to them. Are we perhaps not doing the same? I refer you to an earlier blog about part of this (An M-Theory to End-Time Prophecy). God always reveals what he is going to do in Scripture, but the way he fulfills it is often very different than we expect. Let’s be ready for the unexpected and thereby drop our shields and flaming arrows against our fellow Christians. Now, of course, if a teaching is not Biblical, then it should be rejected. But can’t we look at all Scripture and see if perhaps God is going to do something unexpected? After all, that’s what Jesus did, didn’t he? So he already has that modus operandi. At the very least, why not prepare for either event to come? Either one would be a glorious event to be a part of. Wouldn’t it?

Now, there are some strange verses that don’t exactly fit with a coming Rapture. We have tried to make those refer to his Millennial reign, but if we look at them closely, we find they don’t exactly fit into that future time. I talked about this in a previous post (Kingdom Age). My point here is that all denominations have likely missed the mark to some degree. Perhaps those denominations with a Pentecostal bent have sort of idolized the experiences the Holy Spirit brings and made them greater than the work Christ himself did for us. That is a problem. And perhaps the more conservative denominations have gone too far the other way to ensure they do not make that mistake that they don’t allow the Holy Spirit to work as mightily as he could otherwise. That is also a problem.

Let’s pray that God will provide unity to his Church. When Paul was talking about unity and wanting to present a virgin bride to Christ, i.e., the Church, he was not just talking about one physical church body. He was referring to the universal Church. He wanted all Christians to be in unity. While, as humans, unity about everything may not be realistic, but we should become united around Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his death on the cross for our sins, and his resurrection which gives us hope of our future resurrection. Then, can’t we pray for revival and simultaneously prepare ourselves for his return? If he does send his Spirit again for a grand revival, then we’ll be prepared for him to use us for such an event. If he instead returns for his bride, then he can retrieve a bride who is more united in him, being more pure and more ready to be received by him.

We all need more of God, a balance with each member of his Trinity. We need to recognize that God, the Almighty, oversees all. Even if we think we know what he is going to do, we should allow him to implement his actions in whatever way he chooses, and not think we know how he is going to act. But we should be ready to respond with him in whatever way he acts. We need to recognize that Jesus Christ is the one we should focus on because it is his actions that have saved us and made us equipped to be with him forever. Our role now is to help others recognize this important feat he has done on their behalf. We need to recognize that the Holy Spirit is the one who provides the power we need to implement all that Christ has for us to do. Far too few of us allow him to work though us without us impeding him.

We know that something wonderful is just around the corner. Let’s not argue about what that is, but let’s get ready for God to do whatever he desires to do and be sure that we are ready to be used by him. The apostles never knew what Jesus was going to do, even when he told them, but they went along with him regardless of what they thought about his actions as they knew they could trust him because he was their Messiah. Let’s do the same.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We seem to give the Pharisees and Sadducees a bad wrap when it comes to their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Let’s see if we can understand what they believed and why. There were not only Pharisees and Sadducees but also Essenes, Hellenists, and Zealots. There were likely even additional groups that would be somewhat like these with some differences. So, what were the differences between these groups? Well, it gets even more complicated because there were graded beliefs within these groups. My purpose here is not to provide all similarities and differences between the beliefs of these groups but help us to see how each of these groups could have believed Jesus not to be their Messiah.

In general, the Pharisees believed in most of the Old Testament scriptures that we have in our Bible today plus the Oral Law of Moses. Yet, even here, there was a division between the Pharisees. You have those who were more liberal in their interpretation of Scripture and those who were stricter and more conservative in their interpretations. In general, they believed in angels, the resurrection of the dead, and in a coming Messiah. Most believed their coming Messiah would be someone with military clout and rid them from all oppressors (especially the Romans), return them to how things used to be before they were oppressed, and that Israel would be the head of a Kingdom of Peace with the Messiah as their crowned king. They believed the coming Messiah would uphold all the Jewish laws and customs and they would be prominent in his kingdom because this is what they tried to be: a devout Jew keeping all the laws prescribed in the Torah (the books of Moses, which are the first five books of our Bible) as well as those taught in the oral traditions as they believed they were also presented by Moses. While they tolerated Rome, they did not like Rome interfering in their lives. While they had less prominence in the Sanhedrin, that is, the Jewish Supreme Court, so to speak, they were quite influential because they typically had the backing of the common people.

The Sadducees, on the other hand, only believed in what was in the Torah. This led them to not really believe in angels, or a resurrection of the dead, or even in a coming Messiah (they were sad, you see). They were more aristocratic and kept more to the temple than with the common people. The high priest was typically always a Sadducee and they had ingratiated themselves with Rome to maintain their prestige and influence.

The Essenes had migrated out of the city of Jerusalem, with many being at Qumran, because they believed both the Pharisees and Sadducees were corrupt. They devoted themselves to the study of the Scriptures and their meanings. From their study, they believed there could be two possible Messiahs: one who would be more spiritual helping Israel to lead a spiritual kingdom and one who would be earthlier and free Israel from all oppressors setting up an earthly kingdom with Israel as its center.

The Zealots were all about freeing Israel from Roman oppression. They were looking for a Messiah who would do just that. For them, the spiritual aspects were not as important as being free from Roman oppression.

The Hellenists Jews were those who had adopted Greek influences: both its language and practices. Many had been raised outside Judea and had returned, bringing their Greek culture with them. Many found the two worlds a compatible lifestyle. They were likely more like the Sadducees and did not necessarily believe in a coming Messiah. This may be another reason that Sadducees were able to blend into the upper echelons of Greek and Roman society.

So, Jesus disrupted each of these groups’ thoughts about the Messiah they expected. To the Sadducees and Hellenists, Jesus was just a nuisance because he stirred up people and created crowds which made Roman officials nervous that a rebellion would be forming. This then made the Sadducees anxious because if the Roman officials were nervous, then these officials would hold them responsible for this uproar of the people and their sphere of influence could be taken away from them.

Jesus was a threat to the Pharisees as well. He did not fit into their ideal mold of a Messiah. They believed the Messiah would keep all the Laws of Moses and because they did that to the max, they were expecting to be praised for their efforts and not ridiculed for them. What Jesus tried to get them to realize was that if their hearts were pure, then their actions would be pure. God is concerned with not only what they did, but why they did what they did. Jesus often referred to the ancient prophets’ teaching as he told them what they did should not be undone, but they should not ignore the greater edict of God where they were to show mercy and kindness. They were to be teachers and not just moral examples without any compassion for the people.

Jesus didn’t really fit into the Essenes’ or Zealots’ view of a coming Messiah either. While Jesus claimed to be divine, he did not teach the kingdom the Essenes were expecting. He also did not become a military presence which irritated the Zealots. Therefore, Jesus was not fitting into any views these groups expected a Messiah to be like.

Yet, if the members of any of these groups truly listened to Jesus, his claims, and spent time with him asking him questions and truly listened to his responses, they would have understood who he really was. The way Pharisees and Sadducees taught was first to study the writings of prominent Jewish leaders and then go to the Scriptures themselves. This led to a promulgation of what was taught before and not necessarily fresh or illuminating ideas. Many scriptures were emphasized while others were not focused on which led to a narrative of what prior teachers had taught, and not necessarily what Scripture itself taught.

Jesus wanted to get the members of these groups to understand the meanings and intent behind the laws they taught and not have them follow rituals for rituals sake. It was not their actions which made them righteous but their faith. The intent of what they did was more important because if the intent was right then the correct action would come automatically. Yet, because Jesus did not act as they expected, they dismissed him rather than trying to understand what he was actually telling them.

No one ever asked Jesus where he was born. Again, they heard he was from Nazareth and dismissed him immediately because they knew Scripture stated the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Plus, of course, there was a geographical bias. Those who lived in the area around Jerusalem were considered better than the country bumkins who lived in the north around Galilee.

Jesus performed miracles, signs, and wonders to get the people’s attention so they would listen to him. Yet, the Jewish leaders, rather than understanding that Jesus was showing them he was the Messiah who could bring in the kingdom they were expecting (the reign of the Messiah with the earth being fruitful and plentiful, and all its inhabitants being healthy and free from disease), tried to discredit him and prove he was false because Jesus did not fit into the Messiah-mold they expected of such a one. Jesus did not have a commanding presence physically, was not military minded, was not from the right geographical region, and did not revere the Jewish leaders and praise them for being so good at keeping all the nuances of the Law. This bias against him led them to make ridiculous claims as to how he could do what the people said he did (e.g., casting out demons with the authority of the prince of demons). They became so agitated against Jesus that they could only think of one thing that would solve their dilemma: death.

These religious biases led the Jewish leaders to miss the coming of their Messiah. Yet, have we become so much more enlightened than they? In many ways it seems that the religious biases of these groups are still alive and well today. Next time we’ll go into this in more detail and see if we have gotten better within the two thousand years that have passed.

For many of you, I’m sure the last several posts have been like being on a roller coaster. It has been new, somewhat exhilarating, yet riddled with much caution. I get you. I was there for a long time. Let me get a little personal and show how the Lord has led me here.

In 2019 my son, only 28, died from cholangiocarcinoma. This is somewhat of a rare autoimmune disease where the body attacks one’s own bile ducts. By the time it was discovered, the tumor had already spread beyond the liver itself. Therefore, surgery, the only sure form of treatment, was no longer possible. He quickly went from working full time, to being in the hospital, to being placed in hospice, to entering eternity. While we knew he was in heaven as he had accepted Christ as his Savior, it was still devastating to live through. My wife went through a type of crisis wanting to really understand for sure that our son was where we knew Scripture stated he now dwelt. It wasn’t a crisis of hope or not believing, but one of reassurance. She read books about the experiences of those who had died and came back to life as well as listened to several prophets, one being one who claimed to have been in heaven many times.

I, of course, was extremely skeptical, but knew I needed to listen as I wanted to be supportive of my wife and at the same time ensure she was not getting trapped into anything contrary to Scripture. There were several of these “prophets” who seemed to refer to scripture with their claims. So, I had to reconsider some of the things I had thought my entire life. During this time came the lockdowns, the mandates, and the chaos. This made me rethink what I had been taught about many aspects of end-time prophecy. The more I read Daniel chapter 7, the more I felt we were living through the very pages of Scripture as I read and reread them.

I then began to hear about another outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was coming which we should prepare for. I then learned how our country turned from a Republic to a Corporation in 1871 and how our enemy, Satan, had been scheming for way longer than I ever realized to rebuild our world into his image. But I knew that prophecy, if from God, always had a message of hope within its message of doom. That’s where Daniel 7 first came into play for me. I saw the message of hope there. The kingdoms of the world would be turned over to the holy ones, i.e., the followers of Christ. I then began to see all the other scriptures that supported this and are the ones we have covered over the last several posts. I encourage you to go back and review those.

So, the bottom line is that it seems we are on the verge of God doing something wonderful—bringing about the biggest revival the world has ever experienced. Does this excite you? Are you ready for something like that? But we also have a responsibility. Paul gave that to us. He said, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Tt 2:11-12). I grant you; this is easier said than done. We live in a world where feelings have been equated with truth. But if we follow what Paul has said, what is the outcome? “The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Tt 2:13-14). Again, the prophet Habakkuk tells us, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hk 2:14). Can you imagine it? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will make Acts 2 look small and insignificant in comparison. Buckle up. It’s coming. I hope you’ll be ready.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In the last few posts, we have talked about how the Old Testament references the Earth being filled with the Holy Spirit again, post Acts chapter 2. This time, we want to see if the New Testament also supports such a claim.

The account in Acts was a localized outpouring of the Holy Spirit but then spread quickly and widely due to the evangelism of those who accepted Christ as their Savior and then received God’s Spirit. We found out in the book of Habakkuk that the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be far more reaching and be like a flood over the Earth. Is such a thing possible? And is there other proof of this event occurring?

First, I think we need to look at how the differences between Christ’s first and second comings were ascertained. Prior to Christ coming the first time, there was much confusion to which Scriptures pointed to his first coming and which to his second coming. After all, much of the religious leader’s resistance to Jesus being the Messiah was that he was not fulfilling all the prophesied claims of the coming Messiah, which, today, we realize will be fulfilled at his second coming.

But, are there any doctrines today that even teach of such an outpouring. Once we get the Holy Spirit, we have him, and he is with us forever. While I can’t say there are no denominations today that teach otherwise, I do know there are many prophets today who are teaching about a greater outpouring coming and do bring in scripture to support their claim. Let’s see what they say about this claim in the New Testament.

One such claim is the gospel message that Jesus taught when he first began his ministry. He taught, as did John the Baptist, to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 3:2; 4:17). To which kingdom were they referring? I was always taught he was referring to Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, but John seems to indicate something else. John told the Jewish leaders that he baptized with water for repentance, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11). Christ was not going to fulfill his kingship at this time because that would limit who all would have a chance to accept him.

It seems Jesus’ ministry was a transformative ministry to prepare people for the coming filling of the Holy Spirit. This would give them the power to also become transformative in the lives of others (Jn 14:12-14). Paul explained this further stating that by what Jesus did on the cross was more significant than we could even imagine. The power of the Holy Spirit which allowed Christ to be raised from the dead also dwells in us (Ep 1:20-21) and will allow all the miracles that Jesus performed to also be performed by those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them (Jn 14:12-14).

So, what happened? That doesn’t seem to be happening today. Well, it did happen in the beginning. Likely Paul felt he was living in this time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit because he observed God working many signs and wonders which served as a testament to the power of God and led many to believe in Christ.

Yet, it seems over time, the church became hierarchical and then those in elite positions did not have the Holy Spirit but coveted power and wealth over the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. While accepting Christ as one’s Savior was still taught, the power of the Holy Spirit was not. We discussed some of this previously (Kingdom Age). Christianity became societal transformative and not spiritually transformative. People became good and moral but not necessarily transformative with the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

Over time, this led the church to become more and more inept and allow the enemy, Satan, to develop a stronghold that became stronger and stronger. Our enemy has been patient and we have seen how he has ravaged our societies over the last several years. We also discussed this aspect earlier (Will God Show Up Today?).

Just as Israel missed its charge of being priests to the world (Ex 19:5-6), the church has missed its charge to be transformative in the lives of others via the Holy Spirit. Israel will fulfill its charge in the coming Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Kingdom of Priests). It seems that the church will fulfill its charge of the Great Commission when the Holy Spirit’s outpouring comes over the Earth like a flood. A great time to be alive, for sure.

The book of Titus was written later in Paul’s ministry. I think due to the infiltration of false teachers within the church, he likely concluded that they were not living in the time when the Spirit of God would become like a flood over the Earth as Habakkuk had prophesied. He told Titus to teach what Jesus had taught them until God’s glory has manifested itself to purify a people for his very own (Tt 2:11-14).

Maybe this has been a lot for you to understand and process. After all, it is not what many of us have been taught in regard to our future. Me included. Stay with me and I’ll try and summarize next time. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Some prophets today are claiming that a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit is upon us. Let’s explore that and see if there are scriptures that would support such a claim. We looked at the passage in Daniel chapter 7 last time but now want to see if there are other passages that support God doing such a work.

This time I would like to explore a passage that is often quoted, but typically without context. Joel 2:27-28 says, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

What is meant by “and afterward”? It seems, based on the verses prior to these, that a type of restitution has occurred. Today’s prophets have also mentioned this aspect that is also coming in which everything that has been stolen from us by certain privileged elites of this world will be coming back to us. Then, it seems God will pour out his spirit again in large measure and many will prophesy and have visions of what God has planned for us during this time. We can know this is not referring to the Millennial Age because the verses after these seem to be talking about that aspect of our future. This time is very near for us. That’s rather exciting, isn’t it?

We can also know that this is not talking about the Millennial Age because Peter quoted these verses after the Holy Spirit was given in Acts chapter 2. Certainly, he did not see this time as being after Christ returns, but before. He even believed it was at least partially fulfilled during his lifetime as the Holy Spirit came upon them (Ac 2:16-21).

The prophet Habakkuk speaks of the intensity of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hk 2:14). He states that this is for “an appointed time” and even though “it lingers,” it will come to pass. It seems the world has been waiting and, according to the prophets, the time is nigh.

Many have grown weary because of all that has transpired over the last few years and the moral decay that has occurred worldwide. They believe the only answer is the return of Jesus Christ to receive his bride. Yet, many prophets today say this is not the Lord’s answer to our current problem. The answer is a return to the power the early Church possessed through the Holy Spirit. God will once again bless us with the empowerment of his Spirit.

But why would he not come for his bride now rather than empowering her? Think about it. Would a bridegroom want to come and receive an battered and torn bride who is all but lifeless? That is not the dream of a bridegroom for his bride, is it? A bridegroom wants a bride who is fresh and eager for his coming and ready to receive him with open arms. He wants her to run into his arms because of love and adoration, not out of desperation and heartbreak. I think Paul summed it up nicely: “I am jealous for you [the church] with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2Co 11:2).

If the prophets are right, then the church will once again become pure and powerful in the Spirit and reunited in Christ with an expectancy as we fulfill the great commission with which we have been charged (Mt 28:18-20).

Now, if such a great event is indeed upon us, wouldn’t there be at least clues in the New Testament as well. I think there are. We’ll explore that next time. Join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens