Now it was the Feast of Dedication in
Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's
porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep
us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them,
"I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's
name, they bear witness of Me. "But you do not believe, because you are
not of My sheep, as I said to you. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. "My Father,
who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch
[them] out of My Father's hand. "I and [My] Father are one."
John 10:22-30 NKJV
A question many of us have heard asked at this time of year is “what
are you thankful for’? As believers, I am sure we all share
the thankfulness of knowing our salvation is guaranteed by the sacrifice of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but we also have many other promises from Him to
be thankful for as well. I personally,
am extremely thankful for the promise of deliverance from the evil which is to
come upon this earth, the beginnings of which we can see all around us, by the
rapture of the Church which will occur when Jesus returns in the air to take us
home to be with Him forever.
As I watched along with you the violence of the past ten days or so, I
was reminded again of the promise to deliver us, and wondered as most of us do,
“how long O Lord? It was then that God reminded me of something I learned a few
years ago while studying the Feasts of Israel. There is an old Jewish saying
that I have read many times over the years which says simply that “coincidence
isn’t kosher”. I don’t recall when I
first read that, but it is something that I have always remembered when I study
the Word because of my personal belief that God intended every word, and even
the very punctuation to be placed exactly where we find it. I believe this is exactly what Jesus was
referring to when He made the following statement to the disciples in what we
know as the Sermon on the Mount.
“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass
away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is
fulfilled. Matthew 5:18 NKJV
It is because of this that I have
become very sensitive to the structure of God’s Word as well as the content,
and one of the things I habitually do is look to see where and when certain
words are repeated in scripture and how they are used in order to better
understand the meaning of what I am reading.
I recall as a parent using certain words, and often repeating them at
times, when I wanted to make a point to my children in the hope that they would
remember whatever it was that I was trying to convey. I believe God has done the same thing in His
Word to us, which is why I always take a closer look when I find certain words
which are repeated.
Hanukkah, or the Feast of
Dedication, is considered to be one of the minor holidays in Israel, and is not
one of the seven major feasts instituted by God in the Old Testament. Yet we do find it mentioned in the New
Testament in this passage from John, and when we read these verses we find that
it plays a rather important part in the life of our Lord. I have always found it curious that throughout
His early ministry, Jesus seemed to go out of His way to avoid stating
specifically that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. It almost seemed as if He was waiting for a
particular, appointed time to do it, and on this particular day, the Feast
of Dedication, we find that Jesus was asked this very question as He walked in
the temple.
Since
Jesus answered this question the way He did, this was obviously the day He was
waiting for. Yet it is not the fact that Jesus answered the question plainly
and unequivocally that caught my attention, but rather His use of a particular
word in His answer which I find not only interesting, but rather intriguing
considering we know He chose His words carefully and deliberately. You see, twice in this passage Jesus uses the
word “snatch” when referring to His “sheep”.
Now as I have said, repeating a word always gets my attention so I first
of all wanted to look closer at the original Greek, and also look to see if it
is used elsewhere in the Word and the context in which it is used.
When I did this, no surprise, I
again was reminded why studying the Word is so much fun to me. The word for “snatch” that Jesus uses here is
harpazo, meaning to seize, carry off by force, to claim for oneself eagerly, to snatch
out or away. I’m also sure most of
you recognize this as the very same word used by Paul in Thessalonians to
refer to the rapture of the Church. The
word rapture simply comes from the Latin translation of harpazo, and this is the event that we as believers are all looking
forward to with great anticipation.
For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1
Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV
Obviously my first thought was that
this is not a coincidence, but rather an intentional use of the same word. Unfortunately though, the next step is to try
and come up with an explanation as to why?
This is where most of us could probably come up with our own, and
probably very different explanations.
Many have speculated in the past, however, that Hanukkah would be a
perfect time for the rapture of the Church for many different reasons. Of course, although I might agree, I also
firmly believe that the rapture could occur on any given day and is not
restricted to any of the Jewish holidays.
Yet the use of the word harpazo
on Hanukkah by our Lord, certainly gives one pause for thought. Is God, through His Word trying to give us a
clue as to when He will send Jesus for His bride?
As we watch the world seemingly descend
into darkness, the conclusion that the rapture must be near is virtually
inescapable. How wonderful it would be
for the Church to go home during this season of thankfulness and celebration of
the birth of our Savior. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, and as we give
thanks for all that we have, may we all remember to give thanks to God for His
gift of salvation to us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have never made the decision to accept
that free gift I encourage you to do so today.
Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that
Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to
Him. You can do that right now by
praying a prayer just like this one;
"Dear
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I
turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my
personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV
Keep watching.
