Why Did He Leave Us?

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; …”   John 16:7  NKJV

How do you define the word “advantage”?  When I think of it, what comes to my mind is anything that will help me be successful in whatever it is I am trying to accomplish.  I think at some point in time, just about everyone has found themselves in a situation where they considered how they might gain an advantage, be it in sports or some other competition against an opponent or even in the workplace because of a desire for advancement.  In whatever situation we find ourselves, it’s a natural desire to want an advantage that will help us succeed.

With that in mind, I like how Jesus chose to use this word in His explanation for leaving the disciples at His ascension.  It seems perfectly understandable that the disciples would be taken by surprise to find that after witnessing the resurrection, and spending the last forty days with Jesus, that He was going to leave them.  I believe, too, that they had come to depend on His presence with them for their strength, confidence, and the teaching He provided.  It was with this in mind that Jesus uses the word advantage to explain to the disciples and to us as well, the benefits available to us because He ascended to Heaven.

We received the Holy Spirit. 

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”   John 16:7  NKJV

Have you ever asked someone for help?  Why?  Have you noticed that two is better than one?  At some point in time we have all needed help for something, and I’m sure at the time we were all grateful for that help.  We discover along with the disciples at Pentecost that Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit in this passage, yet I like the fact that rather than telling us “who” He was sending, He chose to use the term “Helper as a way to alleviate the disciples concern about being left alone.  In the Greek, the word is “parakletos” which can be translated helper, comforter, advocate, defender, and intercessor among others.  In other words, it’s much more of an advantage than most of us probably realize.  Not only do we receive the living presence of God in our lives, Jesus is performing other duties for us as well.

 Accessibility to the Throne

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all [points] tempted as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16  NKJV

Ever watch a movie where a subject is taken before the throne of the King or ruler of a particular realm?  Notice the fear and trembling as they realize the King has the power and right to administer any punishment he may desire?  I often think that would certainly be my reaction if I were to be summoned to appear in front of God’s throne, yet look closely at what this passage says.  First of all we need not be summoned; rather we can go before Him at any time when we need help.  In fact, because Jesus was tempted as we were, and is acting on our behalf as our High Priest, we can go boldly to His presence and there find grace and mercy from someone who can sympathize with what we are going through.

Intercession

“Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? [It is] God who justifies.  Who [is] he who condemns? [It is] Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”  Romans 8:33-34  NKJV

Although I may not have understood it at the time, I certainly remember the first instance of intervention on behalf of another.  Like many, conflicts arise at an early age most often on the playground at school.  I recall vividly one of the first because it involved family and not friends.  At recess one day I saw a notorious bully picking on my older brother and pushing him around.  Understanding my physical limitations in relation to someone older and bigger than myself, I picked up an equalizer, (a baseball bat) and ran to help my brother.  I can still remember the look in the eyes of the boy picking on my brother when he saw me coming!  Needless to say I “interceded” on behalf of my brother.

Can you imagine what goes through the mind of Satan as he approaches the throne to accuse us and Jesus slowly stands up and gets between Satan and the throne?  How frustrating it must be to try and accuse us for whatever sin we may have committed, however we may have stumbled, and to have Jesus tell Satan that it doesn’t matter because He has already paid the price by His death and we are covered by His blood?  Every single time, whenever we try and fail, we can find strength in the knowledge that it is Jesus who justifies us, and because of that fact there is no condemnation for sin.

Salvation

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 2:4-7  NKJV

The greatest benefit of all, of course, is that Jesus by His death and resurrection has made it possible for us to spend eternity in Heaven with God the Father.  Notice in this passage the phrase “in the ages to come”.  I don’t think we can ever wrap our minds around the concept of eternity, or come to an appreciation of just how long that is.  Yet I think here we are told that we will never go a day in Heaven without understanding and being reminded that it is by His grace and kindness that we are even there at all.  It is God’s love towards us that provided the means necessary for us to spend eternity with Him.  If only we are willing to ask.

If you have never made the decision to accept the sacrifice Jesus has made for you I encourage you to do it right now.  Simply pray this simple prayer or put it in your own words, but do it now and begin to enjoy the benefits of being a child of God and having the advantage of Jesus standing with you.

Jesus I know I am a sinner and have broken your commandments and sinned against you. I believe you died and rose again for me as a sacrifice for my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart so that I can begin to live for you. Amen.

Keep watching.

The Clues Surrounding Us

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”         Luke 24:13-17  NKJV

Have you ever taken a road trip with small children and heard those famous words, “are we there yet”? I remember well taking our first vacation with my children driving over a thousand miles to visit my parents and hearing that phrase for most of the trip. So I used that opportunity to teach my daughters how to watch for the road signs to help answer that question, and it didn't take long for them to concentrate on watching for the signs rather than asking me how much farther we had to go.  Of course, considering that they couldn’t yet read, every time there was a sign they asked me if it was the one we were looking for, so I am not sure I helped myself with that bit of advice.

As a believer who is committed to follow Jesus’ commandment to watch, I can assure you we are living in what many consider to be the “times of the signs”.  It is obvious that so much of what the Bible tells us will happen as we approach the end is coming to pass in our lifetimes.  The excitement over our imminent departure for our heavenly home is rampant in the body and justifiably so, yet this excitement  can also lead to disappointment when something is declared to be a major event yet passes with a whimper and not a shout.  As I thought about this, and as some of you have shared your disappointments with me, my thoughts went to this passage and the obvious distress these two disciples were experiencing.  So much so that Jesus Himself decided to walk with them and provide the answers they were looking for.  What Jesus did for them, He can do for us as well.

“What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”   Have you told God why you are sad?  Jesus knew exactly what they were experiencing but He asked the question anyway.  Verbalizing our disappointment is the first step to discovering what answers God has for us in His Word, and how we can cope with what we are feeling.  Although He already knows our hearts, talk to Him and share your feelings and questions with Him and let the Spirit lead you to the answers you seek.                    

  

Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, “and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. “Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. “When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”          Luke 24:18-24  NKJV

“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”  They had seen the signs, observed the miracles, heard the teaching, and most of all believed the prophecy of the coming Messiah, but were disappointed when nothing happened.  Or did it?  Was their problem a lack of knowledge, an inability to observe, or was it simply a misunderstanding of what it all meant?  It would appear that Jesus understood exactly what their problem was and He goes straight to the heart of the matter with His response.

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.                    Luke 24:25-27  NKJV

The word for foolish is the Greek word anóētos which is translated to mean; unintelligent; by implication, sensual:—fool(-ish), unwise.  At first glance it might seem a rather harsh response by our Lord to call these disciples foolish, but as I read what not only Jesus said, but what He did it began to make sense to me.  “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”   How I would have loved to hear this entire conversation.  Can you imagine listening to a Bible study given by Jesus on all the prophecies of the Old Testament which probably lasted at least half of a day?  Yet the point I see here is that Jesus immediately explained what was happening in the present by returning to the prophecies of old.

The disciples were so excited by the appearance of Jesus that they focused on certain prophecies of a coming King while forgetting others which predicted His death and resurrection.  It certainly seems to me that what has been happening in the past few years is simply people trying to interpret or place importance on signs without consideration of the old prophecies which tell us exactly what to watch for and what they mean.  I think it could best be said that instead of looking so much for the new, we should rather be studying the old.  That is what Jesus did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and I believe it would benefit us as a body to do the same.  What Jesus did for the disciples could easily be described as giving them a new application of the old revelation.  He explained to them how their interpretation of the old was in error, and showed them how He had fulfilled those prophecies.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.                                         2 Timothy 4:3-4  NKJV

The Greek word for itching is knēthō, which means simply; desirous of hearing something pleasant. When it comes to the rapture of the Church and the end of all things, I am no different than anyone else when it comes to wanting to hear encouraging words about how close it might be.  Yet whatever importance some might place on current signs and wonders, they must, as Jesus showed us, be examined in light of the prophecies of old.  The closer we get to where we are going, the more there will be to see.  Watch for the signs, but examine everything by the light of prophecies already given in order not to take a wrong turn and be disappointed as these disciples were.

In the past, there were always a few who ventured to predict we were living in the end times. Today, however, the number of knowledgeable, educated,  and most certainly divinely inspired teachers are claiming exactly that has skyrocketed to almost universal agreement.  So much has and is happening that the Word of God has told us to watch for that it almost seems incomprehensible to me that some still doubt.  As we approach the birthday of the Church at Pentecost, and also seeing the events occurring in the Middle East, I can't help but believe we are truly living on borrowed time.

Keep watching.

God's Timeout

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.               Acts 2:1-2  NKJV

A question I am often asked about the rapture of the Church is one you probably have thought of yourself, and that is do I have any idea of when it might occur?  I would hope that from my articles it would be apparent, but to state plainly, I believe that it could happen at any time without any warning.  That belief is called the doctrine of imminence, to which I agree and also subscribe to fully.  Yet that does not mean that there are not particular days on God’s calendar that seem to lend themselves to that event.  There are many which would seem to be clues or appropriate times because of other events which have occurred on the same day in the past. The Feast of Pentecost is one of those days, and it seems I post this article on a semi-regular basis simply for the reasons we have just described.  I hope you enjoy it and that it might encourage and motivate you to watch as I do.

Most of us are familiar with what a "timeout" call is. In most sporting events, the ability to stop or freeze the clock for a period of time is called a "timeout". Of course, it follows that when the timeout is over and the clock starts again, it starts exactly where it stopped when the timeout was called. So what does this have to do with a study in eschatology? Well, most Bible scholars agree that Israel could be called God's clock, since God did in fact tell Israel through the prophet Daniel that they had only a specific period of time for their history to unfold. This is what is known as the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel. It is also acknowledged that God's clock stopped at the end of sixty-nine weeks to allow the beginning of what is known as the Church Age, or the period in history where believers in Jesus as the Messiah would build His church, and end with an event known as the rapture. So the question is, exactly when did that happen, and does it have any significance in our study of the end times according to the scriptures?

There are many reasons why this particular feast is considered to be very important to believers today. First of all, if you read about the birth of the church in the book of Acts, chapter two, you find that it occurred on the Feast of Pentecost, exactly fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits when Jesus rose from the dead. Many believers consider this day to be the birthday of the Church as we know it. This was the day that God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those who chose to believe in Jesus, providing believers with "power" as described by Jesus himself in Acts 1:8. This is also the day, according to most all biblical scholars, that God's clock with Israel stopped, or for the sake of this blog, He called a timeout. Is this important? Maybe we can answer that with an examination of some of the events, and traditions, associated with the Feast of Pentecost.

One of the greatest love stories to be found in the Bible is the Book of Ruth. It is a story of how a gentile, (non-Jew), was "redeemed", or bought with a price, by a "kinsman" or relative (who was a Jew) according to Jewish law, and then becomes the bride of her redeemer. This story takes place in Bethlehem, (curious), the events transpire during the fifty days between the barley and wheat harvest, (interesting), and the redeemer takes his bride at the end of that time, or at the Feast of Pentecost. This feast is known by other names, one of which is the Festival of Reaping, or Ḥag ha-Katsir, and celebrates the end of the grain harvest in Israel. It is the tradition of the Jews to read the book of Ruth on Pentecost every year, much as we read about Jesus birth at Christmas, and His resurrection at Easter.

Another rabbinical tradition is that Enoch was born on Pentecost, or the 6th of Sivan as it occurs on the Jewish calendar. Enoch is an interesting individual considering that he was the first prophet in the Bible, and his first prophecy was of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Jude 14-15). Even more interesting is that the Bible tells us he did not die, but was "taken" by God (raptured) (Genesis 5:24). Also intriguing is the fact that it is a Jewish tradition that he was taken on his birthday, or Pentecost.

In the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 verse 16, the apostle Paul tells us that the "trump of God" will sound at the rapture of the Church. This term "trump of God" only appears twice in the Bible; at the rapture and in the book of Exodus, chapter 19, verse 13, where God gives the Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai. By now it should come as no surprise that if you read from the beginning of the chapter you find the events at Mt. Sinai also occurred during Pentecost.

Now strange as it may sound, I'm going to venture away from the Bible for my last point, and share something with you written by Josephus, who many of you may recognize as a person who lived at the time of Christ, and was commissioned by the Romans to write a history of the Jews. His works have long been acknowledged to be not only very complete, but proven time and again to be historically accurate. The following quotation is from one of his works and refers to something that was reported to have occurred during the Feast of Pentecost.

Josephus, "Wars of the Jews" VI. V. 3 (emphasis mine)

Thus there was a star (20) resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, (21) [Nisan,] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour.

"This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it. At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner (22) [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night (i.e., MIDNIGHT). Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them.

"Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call PENTECOST, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, THEY FELT A QUAKING, AND HEARD A GREAT NOISE, AND AFTER THAT THEY HEARD A SOUND AS OF A GREAT MULTITUDE, SAYING, "LET US REMOVE HENCE." (end quote)

Pentecost is just a little over a month away, occurring on the eighth of June.  Many believe that God's clock with Israel is going to start exactly where it left off, on the Feast of Pentecost. As we have seen, there are more than a few references to a "rapture" type event associated with the Feast of Pentecost. Will the Church be raptured on its birthday? Of course, no one knows for certain and I certainly can't say for sure but I hope I'm not the only one who finds it more than curious that there seem to be so many events common to this particular day of the year. Jesus commanded us to watch for His return, and I for one think it very important to take Him at His word. I'm watching every day, and I hope the words I share with you in these pages encourage you to watch as well.

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