The Power In The Blood Of Jesus

 Hebrews 9: 22

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 

This is the defining fact concerning salvation. God gave the blood for the animal to be sacrificed and sprinkle the blood on the sides of the altar, or to be splattered over all the holy items of the Tabernacle, or to be daubed on the thumbs and big toes of the priests, or for everything else that needed to be "cleansed" or set apart for God. 

That includes us. If we are to belong to God, then it must be blood that will qualify us to be forgiven and cleansed and made right with God, to be born into His family. 

All through the Old Testament, almost everything that was to be set aside had to have blood used in some way. But we are looking at our situation today. How are we sanctified, or made holy, or set aside for God? 

Let's look at some of the verses and see how it works.

Hebrews 10: 4

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 

Everyone who brought his personal sacrifice to the priest, following the Law in Leviticus 1, when the animal's blood was sprinkled on the sides of the altar (v. 5), that blood would cover his sins, so that he could be forgiven, but he could not enter Heaven when he died, because his sin was still there, under that blood; so he went to Sheol, the place of the dead.  

That's why Jesus had to come, as both God and Man; to be the eternal Person who could pay our eternal debt in time, and to die a genuine human death in our place. 

Romans 3: 24-25a

(24) Being justified [is] a gift by His grace through the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 

(25) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. 

 

This means that our Redemption, being saved, means that His blood provides the propitiation, hilasmos, "atonement, expiation, propitiation." This is the payment in full of our total debt we owe God for sin. This payment included His death, but it was specifically His blood that was the currency of the payment. 

 

This is repeated several times: 

 

Romans 5: 8-9 

 

(8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

(9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 

 

Ephesians 1: 7

 

In Him we have Redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

 

Ephesians 2: 13

 

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

 

Colossians 1: 13-14 

 

(13) For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, 

(14) in whom we have Redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 

 

Colossians 1: 19-20

 

(19) For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

(20) and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace  through the blood of His Cross. 

 

Hebrews 10: 19-22

 

(19) Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 

(20) by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 

(21) and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, 

(22) let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

 

Here we see that we can only enter by the blood, and that our hearts are sprinkled by the blood shed on the Cross, and only our physical bodies can be washed with water. 

 

Hebrews 13: 12

 

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 

 

Hebrews 13: 20 

 

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord.

 

I John 1: 7 

 

But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

 

Revelation 1: 5b

 

To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.

 

Revelation 5: 9 

 

And they sang a new song, saying, 

Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your own blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 

Revelation 7: 13-14

(13) Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" (14) I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

Revelation 12: 11

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 

All this is to say that Jesus is the Son of God who came to this Earth by being born as a human baby like all the rest of the human race. He came to fulfill all of the Law and the Prophets and Psalms (see Matthew 5: 17, and Luke 24: 44, and others) as the sacrificial Lamb of God. 

He is our personal Sacrifice, as when his blood sprinkled the sides of His altar, the Cross, He was fulfilling the personal sacrifice that was described in Leviticus 1. 

And when His blood was poured out at the foot of the Cross, He fulfilled the sacrifice for the nation to be done when they corporately committed sin (Leviticus 4), to purchase the whole human race. We are all His property, He owns us, so He is our rightful Judge. 

To participate in the group whose hearts and souls are sprinkled with His blood for Salvation, we need to repent and agree that we deserve death, letting Him take that upon Himself in our place, as our Substitute. 

Otherwise, we will be in the other group, by default, under God's wrath. 

John 3: 16-18 says that the whole world can be saved, one by one (whosoever), but whoever will not judge himself as deserving of this execution has already been judged, as a sinner. 

We all have been born in sin, having inherited Adam's damaged DNA, which has become more damaged with every generation. The term "sin" is an archery term, that simply means "missed the mark," missed the bulls eye of perfection. The paycheck for sin is death. So the "sinful flesh" we all live in will one day die, all except Jesus Himself, because He did not have a human father, so He didn't have to die. He chose to die, to take our place, so we wouldn't have to die. 

That's how much God loves us, and how much Jesus loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. John 17: 24 tells us Jesus' wish, His desire, "That they also whom You have given Me be with Me where I am." Jesus not only loves us, but He likes each one of us, and wants us to be with Him forever. This is the "joy" that impelled Him to go through with the whole crucifixion, because He knew there was no other way (Matthew 26: 39, 42 and Mark 14: 35-36) for us to be able to be "with Him," to withstand His full Presence. 

O my Father, thank You for loving us so much, to send Your only begotten Son to go through leaving His glory and coming as one of His own creatures, and being a mere Man, He humbled Himself even further to be painfully executed as the criminal we all are, as our substitute! 

O Father, please show all of Your children who You are and what You have already done for us, that we could never earn or deserve. Open our eyes to see Your reality that all Your earthly pictures represent. Help all those who have been led astray to return to You, knowing the Truth that sets us free from all the sin and error and deception that has gotten hold of so many! 

My Father, use even me to tell others and to help them to realize how You see them, and how You want to lavish upon them all of the benefits and blessings of Your generous abundance! O Father, You want so much good for us, that we cannot even stand to receive even a small portion of what You have for us, until we shed these mortal bodies of flesh to be swallowed up by the new spiritual bodies You have prepared for us. 

Father, let us as Your children share with all the others who are looking for You, even when they don't realize that it is You they're looking for. Help the ones who think they are Christians to come to You in repentance and to be born into Your family. Help us to tell the world how much You love all of us, to give every living person in all the nations an informed choice to accept Your gracious and generous gift. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

Baptism Is A Picture

I will begin this discussion stating that salvation does not come from water Baptism, but by the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary.

 

Hebrews 9: 22 

 

... Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 

 

Tomorrow we will look at the role of blood concerning cleansing and covenants and redemption. 

Today we are looking at Water Baptism as it is a picture God gave us of the spiritual baptism He performs in us at the moment of Salvation.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and not that of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 

(9) not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

(10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we could walk in them. 

 

We are not saved by water baptism, which is a work we do in obedience to His commandment. We are saved by God's grace, which is His free gift, giving us the good that we can never earn or deserve, by our faith, our believing that Jesus took our death that we deserve. Then, when we have been saved, we are to do the works God planned for us to do.

 

I Peter 3: 20-21

 

(20) God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 

(21) And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (NLT)

 

Here Peter says that water is the picture of the spiritual baptism, the immersion into the body of Christ, not the physical water that can remove dirt from the body. We are to act out this picture in response to the clean conscience we have from being washed and cleansed in the blood of Christ, which He proved worked by His Resurrection from the dead.

 

Colossians 2: 11-14

 

(11) And in Him you were all circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 

(12) having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 

(13) When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 

(14) having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the Cross. 

 

Here Paul talks about the spiritual baptism right in the middle of his talk about the spiritual circumcision. Several things happen all at once at the moment of our salvation. This is when we realize we're sinners against God, and we deserve the execution death Jesus suffered; and understand that God loves us so much that He sent His own Son to take our death on the Cross, and we let Him do it, as though we're the only one; that's when God saves us. 

 

Then the blood Jesus splattered on the sides of His altar, the Cross, washes us clean of all sin. Being clean now, God sends His Holy Spirit to live in our spirit, causing it to come alive, and since God the Spirit cannot dwell in the presence of sin, He immediately "circumcises" or cuts the connection between our sinful flesh and the new Life in us, which breaks any addiction, and gives us a new power to choose to do right, instead.

 

Romans 6: 1-7

 

(1) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 

(2) May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 

 

Since the Holy Spirit cut the chains that held us to the sinful urges, we don't need to do those things any more.

 

(3) Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 

(4) Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 

 

Here is the picture water baptism is of the spiritual baptism God affects in us. Because we let Jesus be our substitute in death, it's as if we died; then because He was dead, he was buried, so we are buried under the water. 

 

And as Jesus rose from the grave with new, Resurrection life, so we rise out of the water, giving all our witnesses permission to hold us accountable to living our lives different now from before we were saved.

 

(5) For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 

(6) knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 

(7) for he who has died is freed from sin. 

 

The act of water baptism says that we admit publicly that we have died with Jesus, and just as He rose, so we also will one day be Resurrected as He was; and while we live now, we can forsake all of the unrighteousness of our old life, and instead walk a righteous path, in the power of the Holy Spirit who now lives in us. 

 

Colossians 2: 19 

 

Connected to Christ, the Head of the body. For He holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. (NLT)

 

So the baptism that saves us is not the physical picture we act out, but the act of God in putting us into Christ's body, as He is the Head.

 

Matthew 28: 18-20

 

(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. 

(19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 

(20) "teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 

 

As a final note, when Jesus gave us our marching orders, He said that as we are going, we are to make disciples first, meaning that we are to win them to the Lord in salvation first, then to water baptize them as the first step of obedience to His commandments. Then we are to teach them to know and do all the other things Jesus taught His disciples. 

I understand that some Christian churches are confused at this point, not understanding the distinction between water baptism, a good work that we physically do, and the spiritual baptism, when God immerses us into Christ when we experience Salvation from sin. 

O my Father, You are so wise and good to us to give us so many physical, material, earthly pictures of some of the spiritual, immaterial, eternal Truths so we could have some understanding of who You are and what You are doing in the world and in Your children. We would not be able to conceive of these spiritual realities without these pictures.

My Father, please help Your church leaders, the pastors and teachers, to understand that these pictures are not the realities, but only temporary illustrations of what is real and eternal. Help them to lead their congregations into Your Truth and righteousness, and the realization of who we are in Your eyes as Your children, and what You have planned for us, both now and forevermore. 

O Father send out Your children as Your messengers and missionaries to share Your gracious Gospel of the Kingdom, to recognize our Redeemer, to be rescued from the power sin has over the human race, and the deception of our enemy that draws them away from Your wonderful gifts. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord, the Lord God Almighty, Redeemer and Lawgiver, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

Hope For The Ishmaelites

 Genesis 25: 7-10

The last we hear about Ishmael is when his father Abraham died.

 

(7) These are all the years of Abraham's life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. 

(8) Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. 

(9) Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him 

 

Ishmael came to Abraham's funeral with Isaac, and they didn't quarrel or have any unfriendly words. They came peacefully together, and quietly mourned together. 

 

None of Abraham's other sons came to mourn for their father; Abraham had sent them all away and none of them came for the funeral. Ishmael and Isaac were the only ones who loved him enough to come together to bury him.

in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 

(10) the field which Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. 

 

And they buried him in his own property, the field in the Promised Land that he purchased and bought. The first of the land that was actually owned. 

 

Ishmael lived to the age of one hundred and thirty-seven years, having had twelve sons, and grandsons, and great grandsons; and they all settled in defiance of all his relatives (26: 18). The word for "defiance" or "presence" is paniym, which gives the idea of "turning to face in opposition." This means that Ishmael's family still deliberately defied their relatives in choosing to live where they wanted to dwell.

The fact that Ishmael was able to put aside his animosity toward his brother Isaac to bury their father shows me that it is possible for Arab nations today to be able to come to the negotiation table and come to agreement. 

President Trump has just done this, coming between as a peacemaker, with Israel and not one, but two of her Arab neighbors, coming to sign peace agreements. 

This is something that they have never done before in recent history, and President Trump has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize for this achievement. 

Because he approached them from a completely different direction, they were able to see what they missed before, and this could be a foundation for many other Arab nations to also come to agreement. 

I am watching to see how this will work out, in view of what God has told us will transpire at the end of our human time-line, in Daniel and Revelation. 

O my Father, please show us what You are doing, how You are moving the nations of the world to be in place for the final showdowns You have told us about. Open our eyes to see the truth of what is happening, to discern the times we are in, to recognize if they are the actual fulfillment of Your prophesies or another type as Daniel 11: 36-39 describes Antiochus IV as the type of the anti-type who is the beast of Revelation. 

 

My Father, be with us to strengthen Your children, teach us Your ways, to love one another as You have loved us. Send us out among our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends and acquaintences, and out into our world around us, and into the whole world. Let everyone in all the nations hear how much You love us all, and have sent Your own Son to save each of us. 

 

O Father, please bring all of Your unborn children to the birth into Your own family, and give no one any excuse for turning away from Your gracious and generous gift. 

 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, do come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

Ishmael Today? Part 3

 Genesis 21: 1-21

Here's the part of the story that shows Ishmael's personality. 

(1) Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.  

(2) So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.  

(3) Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.  

(4) Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.  

(5) Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 

(6) Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."  

(7) And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." 

This is Ishmael's family: Abraham his father, and Sarah his step-mother, and Sarah's slave, Hagar, his mother. Now he gets a little brother. This changes the family dynamic.

(8) The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 

Ishmael is not the only child any more, he has a baby brother who is getting all the attention. And Ishmael's not a tiny tot any more, he was 14 when Isaac was born, so he's probably 15 or older by now.

(9) Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 

He has probably resented and been jealous of this new baby, having been deprived by him of the attention he had from his father, Abraham. This hurt comes out now in his teasing and mocking of Isaac at the big party held for him. And Sarah noticed this.

(10) Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac." 

Now Sarah has come to the end of her rope with this slave girl, and demands that Abraham throw her out, along with her son. She is adamant that her legitimate son will be Abraham's heir, not this son of her slave.

(11) The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. 

Abraham loved Ishmael, he'd raised his son since he was born, and didn't want to break up this family unit.

(12) But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. 

God had to tell him that Sarah was right, to do what she said, not only for domestic peace, but also because God wanted Abraham's descendants to go through Isaac, rather than Ishmael.

(13) "And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant."

God knew how much Abraham loved Ishmael, so for his sake He would make Ishmael's descendants into a great people and nations.

(14) So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. 

When Hagar had run away, God told her to go back and submit to Sarah, because she was Sarah's property and didn't have the right to decide to run away. Now, because Sarah had decided to get rid of her, now Abraham will obey God and send her and her son away. 

(15) When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes.  

(16) Then she went an sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, "Do not let me see the boy die." And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. 

But she's just wandering around aimlessly, acting like a victim who can't do anything for herself. She's feeling so sorry for herself, she will just sit there and starve to death!

(17) God heard the lad crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 

Then God called to her again, and asks her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar?" God didn't make her helpless, He just put her where He wanted her to be to have this son. Now he will continue to show her His path for her, because he heard Ishmael crying, too. He doesn't want him to give up, either!

(18) "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him." 

God has already promised Abraham that He would make a great nation of him, and now He's repeating that promise to Hagar, so he needs to perk up and take care of himself, and she is the one to teach him how.

(19) Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink.

God showed her that she was capable and able to take care of herself and her son, and she didn't need to depend on being someone else's property any more. She was free.

(20) God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer.  

(21) He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 

 

God was with Ishmael to guide him, and his mother did her job to finish raising him, and procuring for him a wife when the time came from her own people in Egypt. 

When they were thrown out, and given their freedom, she went south. She was in the wilderness of Beersheba, then went through the wilderness of Zin, to the wilderness of Paran, which was just outside Egypt itself. I think that she didn't take him into Egypt because she had been a slave, and wouldn't be treated well among the society there, so she just made herself a home in the wilderness. Where Ishmael grew up. 

He learned how to make himself a bow and arrows, and taught himself how to use it to survive in the wilderness. 

Then he married the Egyptian girl who agreed to be his wife, and he had twelve sons, who grew up to also have families, and became twelve tribes of people. 

When he left Abraham's family, he knew his father, and he also knew that he'd been rejected, so this left lasting emotional scars that passed on to his sons and grandsons and down the line, all the way to today's Arab peoples who resent that God gave Canaan, Palestine, to the Israelites, the Jews of today, now Israelis. 

These Arabs are still persecuting Isaac, just as their progenitor taught them. Through all the generations that have been born through the thousands of years of time, both of these branches of Abraham have been growing more numerous and the one is still attacking the other, trying to obliterate them from the Earth in their fury. 

There is one more chapter in this story of Ishmael, which can give us some hope. 

O my Father, You are so wise and creative and imaginative. You have already written the whole story of Mankind, from before the beginning to after the end, and You have given it to us in Your written Word. 

We can read about how this story progressed, how personal decisions worked out affecting multiple generations, and learn how the little choices we make each day can grow and either bless or curse many other people down the line. 

My Father, help me, and help all of Your children, to open our eyes to see the wells of provision You have given to us, and to bless others in the blessings You bless us with. Please, Father, grow us up in Christ, give us boldness in using the voice You have given each of us to testify as witnesses of all the wonderful goodness You have done for each of us, to spread Your Gospel of the Kingdom, and how we are to be born into it, to every living person in the world. 

O Father, send us all out as Your messengers and missionaries, into every nation and every people, to deliver them from the hatred and the immoralities and the destructive attitudes that pull people down into misery and sorrow! Help us to share with them how they can be saved from the power of sin and receive Your goodness and Salvation and Redemption, being born into Your own family! 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord, the Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

Why Not Ishmael? Part 2

 Genesis 17:18-21

God came to Abram again when he was 99 years old, and instituted the practice of circumcision for the first time. And He changed Abram's name to Abraham, and Sarai's name to Sarah. And told him that Sarah will bear him a son! 

Abraham laughed at the idea that he and barren Sarah would have a child! 

(18) Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!"

It was laughable that this ancient couple would finally have a child, so Abraham asked if God would consider the son he already had. 

(19) But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 

God said, "No!" He would not make His covenant with the son of a slave woman. He would miraculously bring a legitimate son into the family, and bless Him.

(20) "As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 

God knew that Abraham loved his son Ishmael, so He was willing to bless him, too, because Abraham asked. 

Abraham didn't realize how much trouble and war would result centuries later between these two peoples.

(21) "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year."  

But God was choosing the second son to establish His agreement with, to have the Messiah be born through his bloodline, not the son of the slave. And to give his descendants the land of Canaan to possess. 

So Abraham was circumcised at 99 years old, and Ishmael was already thirteen years old (vs. 24-26). 

God had both of these boys in His grand Plan. They are also an allegory for us today, so many centuries later. Paul writes to the Galatians that: 

Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written,

 "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear;

Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; 

For more numerous are the children of the desolate

Than of the one who has a husband."

And you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise (Galatians 4: 22-28).

When Abraham went in to Hagar, she conceived naturally, because that is what happens. But when Sarah had Isaac, it was totally supernatural, because Sarah was barren, and even had passed the time of childbearing. So God waited to make it clear that it was His doing that she could bear Isaac to Abraham. It was obvious that it was a miracle, and his name Isaac means, "He Laughs!" as many people were laughing at his birth, it was so unusual and comical. These parents should have been great-grandparents at their age, and were just having their first child! 

O my Father, Your grand Plan of the Ages includes every person who ever lived. Each one of us is one tiny thread in Your grand Tapestry of Time. And some of our stories are important for the rest of us to understand. 

My Father, thank You for calling me to faith, and drawing me to the birth into Your family. I know my spiritual birth was just as miraculous as Isaac's birth was; every time You save another, wash them in Jesus' blood and send Your Holy Spirit to live in their spirit, being "born" spiritually, it's another supernatural miracle! 

O Father, You are a promise-keeping God! When You make a covenant with a nation, You are always faithful to keep Your end of the deal, whether or not the human person lives up to his responsibility. So when it's really important for us, You take all the responsibility. 

Father, send out Your children to reach every person who is searching for You. Show us how to share with every living being how much You have already loved us, and have done everything we need. Draw all of Your children into Your family, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable progeny. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

Who is Ishmael? Part 1

 Genesis 16: 1-16

God had promised Abram that He would sire his own heir, and that his descendants would be as uncountable as the stars (Genesis 15: 4-5). 

 

(1) Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.  

(2) So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.  

(3) After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 

 

Since Sarai was barren, the custom and culture was that she could have children by a surrogate, so she wanted to help God by letting Abram impregnate her slave. 

(4) He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. 

(5) And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me." 

(6) But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight." So Sarai treated her harshly and she fled from her presence. 

 

Sarai's plan worked, the slave was pregnant, but then she stopped being a good, submissive slave. Abram didn't take possession of the slave, but left her in Sarai ownership, so she had every right to treat her in whatever way she wanted, to try to shape her up into the obedient slave she used to be. So Hagar ran away instead.

 

(7) Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.  

(8) He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai."  

(9) The the angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority."  

 

The angel of the Lord could have been the Lord Himself appearing in a pre-incarnate form, as He orders her to go back to Sarai and obey her as her owner. Hagar is not free to decide to leave, she is Sarai's property, and the Lord is recognizing this relationship.

 

(10) Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."  

(11) The angel of the Lord said to her further, 

 

"Behold you are with child,

And you will bear a son; 

And you shall call his name Ishmael, 

Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 

(12) He will be a wild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone, 

And everyone's hand will be against him; 

And he will live to the East of all his brothers." 

 

Here we see what kind of man this son of Hagar will be. His name Ishmael gives witness that God has seen the affliction that she has suffered, and he will be a wild donkey of a man, untamable; and unable to get along with others, always fighting. 

This fits a description I heard once from a woman who had escaped Islam, who described her society as, "brother against brother, sons against the father, the family against the clan, the clan against the nation, the nation against the world. No peace anywhere, always fighting."

And Ishmael will give Hagar so many descendants they will be too many to count.

 

(13) Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a God who sees"; for she said, "Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?"  

(14) Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 

The name she called the Lord was, "You See Me, God!" And she was surprised that she was still alive after this close encounter with her Deity. And the location of the well showed that she was on her way back to Egypt. 

The God who saw her affliction sent her back to the same affliction. She was to change her attitude to be treated better.

 

(15) So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

(16) Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

He was still Abram when Ishmael was born of the slave-woman. It would be another thirteen years when God would again speak to him. 

O my Father, You are so good to us, and Your program for Abram (Abraham) was so much more than he would have ever imagined. So I know Your plan for me is no less wonderful. 

My Father, please help me to do the things each day that You planned for me to accomplish, to further Your Kingdom by growing Your family, and growing a little more mature each day.

O Father, send us out into all the world to gather together all of Your family, to bring all the embryos to the birth; and grow up Your children to the full stature of the Son of God as His body. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

Who Is Michael?

There are 5 verses that tell us about Michael. Let's look at them to see who he is. 

Daniel 10: 12-13

(12) Then he (Gabriel) said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 

(13) "But the  prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia."

Michael is one of the chief princes. There is more than one chief prince, who are generals in God's angelic army. Here General Michael comes to defend Gabriel, the messenger angel. He needed help to get through the "kings of Persia" to carry God's message to Daniel. These "kings of Persia" are high-ranking angels who are controlling the government of Persia, and Gabriel was not able to get by them without help. 

This shows us that there are strong spiritual forces who are over the government leaders of the nations of the world. Ephesians 6: 12 says that we also battle against principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness who bring spiritual wickedness into high places. This is who we battle against, in the spiritual realm around us. Powerful forces that strongly influence our government leaders. How much more are we vulnerable to their pressure.

Daniel 10: 21

 

... There is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince. 

 

Gabriel says that Michael is the only one who will defend Israel, God's chosen people. All the other nations are backed by high ranking demons. 

General Michael is the only reliable angelic help Gabriel has, as this angelic general is the spiritual prince over Israel.  

 

Daniel 12: 1

 

Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 

 

General Michael is the great prince who guards the children of Israel. He is the high-ranking holy angel who battles the high-ranking evil angels, and Michael and his angelic army is stronger than the demon general and his infernal army, and is able to rescue everyone whose name is written in the (the Lamb's) book (of life). 

 

Jude 9

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 

 

When Moses died, God buried him in an unmarked and unknown grave (Deuteronomy 34: 5-6) because Joshua, not Moses, was to lead the people into the Promised Land to conquer the inhabitants who were already there and take possession of the land. 

 

But these people of God were still very susceptible to wanting to worship what they can see, and they would have enshrined Moses' coffin and worshiped it. That's why the devil had a dispute with Michael. Michael knows the devil, he knows how evil and deceptive he is, and yet he still did not accuse him, but simply said that was not his to do, but the Lord Himself. 

Evidently, the devil would have promoted Moses' bones, and Michael would have none of it, and wrested the coffin away from him, for the Lord to bury anonymously.

 

Revelation 12: 7-9

 

(7) And there was war in Heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,

(8) and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in Heaven. 

(9) And the dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the Earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 

 

This is the last mention of this angelic hero. General Michael marshals his forces to war with the enemy of God to finally throw him out of God's home. Satan didn't live in Heaven, but he had access to God's throne to accuse us as the legal prosecutor of sinners. Now he is banned completely. 

 

But now he is confined to the earthly realms, where we still live. He and his whole army of demons. And he knows that his time is short. Michael is still the defender of God's people, though, and he hasn't retired. He still will defend Israel, and if we are spiritual Israel, us too. 

 

We are all in a spiritual battle, fighting not against flesh and blood, who are the victims and slaves; but against these principalities and powers and dark rulers of the wickedness in places of high authority. 

 

Our President has been battling them, and he needs us to back him up. We as God's people are to stand up against the evil that is trying to take over our whole society, and use the power we have to vote. This is a spiritual responsibility, as well as a political one. If we don't, then we're just letting the minions of the enemy take over to destroy us. And they will. He comes only to kill, steal and destroy (John 10: 10). 

 

O my Father, please strengthen us in this great war. We know that our Lord Christ wins in the end, but in the meantime, help us in the battles we face. Show us how to love one another as freely and unconditionally as You have loved us. Teach us how to overcome the hatred with love, the darkness with light, to face the enemy boldly and courageously, and having done all, to stand. 

 

My Father, You alone are God, we are not. We desperately need You and Your grace to share with others, even when they are attacking us. Let us leave all the railing accusations to our Lord, and simply stand our ground. 

 

O Father, send us all out to tell every living person in the world that You love them and are not willing for any to perish. Lead each one of Your embryos to the birth in Your family, Father, and grow us all up to maturity that we might gain the full stature of the Son of God as His body. 

 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Who Is The Antichrist?

Who is this guy that is called "The Antichrist"? The man of lawlessness? The son of destruction? How will we be able to recognize him when he comes? Is he coming soon?

John says:

I John 2: 18, 22

 

(18) Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 

 

John says that there are lots of antichrists, because the spirit of antichrist is already busy in the world. 

 

(22) Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 

 

I John 4: 2-3

(2) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 

(3) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 

 

II John 1: 7

 

(7) For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 

 

Jesus had to be God to be the eternal Person who could pay our eternal debt in time. And He had to be a genuine human to die a man's death in place of each of us, as the Lamb of God. 

 
Anyone who denies the deity of Jesus or the humanity of Christ is denying who He is, so is spreading a lie. This is the spirit of antichrist.

Both God's Spirit and the demon spirits are in the world; God's Holy Spirit lives in His children on this Earth, and the demon spirits also try to inhabit and/or oppress people who don't have God's Spirit in them. Satan imitates God, promoting himself as the angel of light he used to be, so his people present themselves also as ministers of light, but teach heresy.

Some teachers in the early church were already teaching theological error that Paul corrected in his epistles. In Thessalonica they were saying that the Lord had already come. And today some theologians are saying the same thing. So Paul said:

II Thessalonians 2: 3-4, 9-12

(3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come (the coming of the Lord) unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

Jesus will not come for His people to set up His Kingdom until after this antichrist is revealed as to who he is.

(4) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 

We will recognize this man of sin as the one who demands worship as though he is God, enthroning himself in God's temple. This will happen in the middle of the 7-year stretch of tribulation and great tribulation described in Daniel and in Revelation.

 

(9) The one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders. 

 

He will be a political head of state who will display great power to perform supernatural signs and fake wonders, to convince people that he is God.

 

(10) and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 

 

He will deceive all the people who have refused to submit to God in repentance and faith, because by that they open themselves up to his seductive lies. 

 

(11) For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 

 

What kind of thing would be a "deluding influence"? An implantable chip? A vaccination with nanobots in it to reprogram all your cells? Who knows what that "mark of the beast" will be, but it will prevent people from having freedom to think and feel the way they want, to freely choose to be saved. 

 

(12) in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

 

Those who have refused God's gracious and generous gift turn instead to wickedness and erotic and worldly pleasures instead. So they will give account.

 

Matthew 24: 15

 

(15) Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand). 

 

Jesus quoted Daniel, and He wants us to understand. So let's see what Daniel says:

 

Daniel 9: 26-27

 

(26) Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 

Daniel says that there will be war until the end.

 

(27) And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, 

 

This is some kind of treaty among Middle Eastern nations including Israel.

 

but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; 

 

This is the middle of the seven-year period, the last "week" of Daniel's "70 weeks". 

and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.

The one who does this will be completely and utterly destroyed. 

Daniel tells us how he gets to this point:

Daniel 11: 30-39

 

(30) ... Will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; 

 

The holy covenant is the promise God gave the children of Israel to give them the land of Canaan. This will enrage him as most of the Arab nations are enraged in their hatred of God's chosen people; but he will not just talk, but will take action against them.

 

so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 

 

Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled these prophesies, but as Jesus quoted Daniel here, Antiochus was only a forerunner to the antichrist to come. He will also partner with and promote those Jews who are willing to do anything for material rewards.

 

(31) Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.

 

The man of sin who is still future will also set up the abomination of desolation, a statue-idol, set up in the temple of God to worship it instead. So there may be a Temple built in Jerusalem for the Tribulation period.

 

(32) By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, 

 

Smooth words have always been one of Satan's enticements. Those who are willing to turn their backs on God's promises for earthly wealth will be turned to more wickedness than the world has seen heretofore.

 

but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. 

 

Only those who recognize their Messiah will have the strength and courage to take action to promote righteousness and godliness in Israel.

 

(33) Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; 

 

People who have been born into God's family and understand more of God's plan for us will be charged with teaching the rest how to connect the dots in His word to recognize what God is doing.

 

yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 

 

Yet there will be many martyrs, persecuted and overcome by the evil ones.

 

(34) Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. 

 

So many people today who consider themselves to be Christians only have a religion, not that relationship with God He wants to have with us as His children, and many of these will join with them; but because they don't have the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom and courage, they will not be able to be faithful when the hammer falls.

 

(35) Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time. 

 

Even some of the godly teachers will be martyred, as the blood of the martyrs waters the fields of God, and their example will embolden others, giving them the courage to fight on. 

 

Now we will see the character of this antichrist:

 

(36) Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. (37) He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers 

 

This man is a megalomaniac, with a god-complex and a boldness against everything else that could be worshiped, as Satan has always wanted to be God. So he must slander and disparage the real God. 

 

or for the desire of women, 

 

This man is so evil that he isn't even attracted to women, but is probably more inclined to sexual pleasure with his own gender. 

nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. 

 

He'll have such a high regard for himself that he thinks he has power over every god.

 

(38) But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. 

 

He worships strength and victorious battles, and is willing to pay a high price for supernatural, demonic help.

 

(39) He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price. 

 

This man is the consummate politician, handing out bribes to everyone who will sell out to his "religion" and worship him and help him in his tyranny over the masses of people all over the world.

O my Father, please help Your children to recognize this man who You have called the man of lawlessness, of sin. Open our eyes to see all that is going on around us in the world that we can have some effect on, or to teach others to be warned of. Let Your word go out over the whole world to every living person, to accomplish what You have sent it to. Send out all of Your children to share our stories, to tell everyone how much You have loved us, and that You want to do for them as You have for us through Your Son. 

My Father, You are so good to us, You have told us ahead of time what to look for, what to anticipate, what to look forward to. You have told us the last chapter, and we win with You! This gives me courage to persevere. Let me get Your word out, let me be Your messenger, Your missionary. Let me tell many of Your spiritually unborn fetuses how they can come to the birth into Your family, and grow up to maturity. 

O Father, grow us all up into the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of the Father, Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, please come soon, Lord Jesus!