Why the Blood?

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” I Peter 1:18-19.

As of now we see through a glass darkly, but there is a blessed hope that One Day our Savior will unfold as never before the wonders of His love; of His blood, freely given in our stead. How little of the plan and purpose of God we really have ability to discern. Oh God! When shall we truly have understanding? We speak of and sing of the Christ and His cross; but the more we know, the more we realize that we do not know. May there be handfuls of purpose given that we might glean thereby. Holy Spirit, speak into our ears and our hearts, words which cannot be spoken. We would see Jesus!

Understanding the Scriptures. The Lord takes the heavenly and makes known the earthly, that He might make known the heavenly. This He did by use of many witnesses: through parables, through metaphors, portrayals, similes, illustrations. The heavenly to make known the earthly to make known the heavenly. Did the bread and the cup that Jesus served His disciples magically turn into the literal body and blood of Christ as taught by the Catholics? Of course not! It was representative; it was to bring them to remembrance of the cross; of the blood that flowed forth; of precious, redemptive blood, sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat for our reconciliation unto the God of whom we had transgressed. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without the shedding of blood is no remission” Heb. 9:22.

The Law Declares it! The life of the Flesh is in the Blood. The law declares it? Yes. But almost a millennium before the Ceremonial law was given, God instructed Noah concerning the blood: “But flesh with the life thereof, which is in the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” Gen. 9:4.

“And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” Lev. 17:10-11.

“only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh” Deut.12 23.

The scriptures, on many occasions, give an answer in the midst of the question. Why are we not to drink blood; why is it seemingly an abomination in the sight of God? Verse eleven of Leviticus chapter seventeen which we read earlier gives the answer: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Do not drink blood; it is life. It is Mine! It is consecrated unto Me. It is given for your atonement.

Confounding the Wise. The law said, but I say: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” John 6:53-57.

“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” John 6:60. Truly it is a hard saying; and who can hear it?

How then, does Jesus say, Thou shalt eat my flesh and drink my blood? It is a (seemingly) direct contradiction to the command of the Father. If I eat the flesh, if I drink the blood of Jesus, God will set His face against me! He will cut me off! But Jesus says that whosoever eats His flesh, drinks His blood - hath eternal life; has the hope of resurrection; dwelleth in me, and I in him: and I live by the Father! As I live by the Father, He that eateth me shall live by me.

What did the law say? “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” A vivid picture of the fulfillment of this scripture can be found in Isaiah chapter fifty three!

Given, For Your Atonement. “For by one offering he hath perfected [consecrated, brought to fullness, completed] them that are sanctified” Heb. 10;14. Sanctified, set apart unto the Lord? Consecrated, brought to completeness by the sacrificial offering of the body and blood of Christ? We are consecrated by Him, we are consecrated in Him, we are consecrated for Him, we are consecrated with Him. “And ye are complete in Him, buried with Him, risen with Him, quickened together with Him” Col. 2:10a,12a,13b.

The Lord Illustrates His Saying. “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” Luke 22:19-20.

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. And after the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” I Cor. 11:23-27.

What’s so Important about the Blood?

The Natural Man and the Blood. All are familiar with the basics: food and drink is assimilated or processed by the body. Air, oxygen, is breathed into the lungs. The blood is the carrier of nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Not only does it deposit what is needed by the cells to sustain life, but takes upon itself the condemnation, the waste built up in the cells. The blood takes it away for disposal. The blood passed through the kidneys where the contaminates and wastes are purged. If the kidneys fail the body will eventually die from the poisonous pollution: the cleansing is crucial. The body has a dependence upon the function of its kidneys for purification.

The New Man and the Blood. The new man is totally dependant upon Christ: His blood brings life, nourishment, the breath of life, cleansing. “and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” I John 1:7b. Christ cannot be polluted by the presence of our sin. (It was not embodied within Him; it was laid upon Him.) Christ’s blood cleanses, carries away our sin. Our sin is cast as far as the east is from the west; buried in the depths of the sea; His righteousness, imputed to us.

When Death comes to the Natural Man. The Science of Embalming. Basically two needles, tubes are inserted, one in an artery, the other in a vein. They are hooked up to a machine or pump. Blood is pumped out; embalming fluid is pumped in. We are familiar with the term, the “shedding of blood.” Shedding is the action of another; it is an outside source causing wounds from which blood is no longer contained. If the wounds do not immediately cause the heart to stop pumping, the pulsation of the heart will cause blood to continue to flow. Once the heart ceases to pump, the continual flow of blood ceases. Blood, once without the body, does not keep very long. Unless frozen or refrigerated it will coagulate quickly.

When Death Came to the God/Man. Christ is the Lamb slain [His blood shed] from the foundation of the world. He was wounded [His head, His hands, His feet, His back, His side] for our transgressions. He is the sheep who openeth not His mouth. The lamb whose throat is cut lies in submission. His heart continues to beat; he himself pumps forth his own blood; it is not forcibly drawn from his veins. So it was with our Lord. Though His blood was shed by reason of the wounds, yet He gave Himself a sacrifice; His blood need not be drawn from some outside apparatus; with His own heart pumped He forth His Life’s blood. As previously stated, Blood, once without the body, does not keep very long. Unless frozen or refrigerated it will coagulate quickly. The thought is this: in the offering of sacrifice, the fresh warm blood of the living sacrifice was to be taken by the high priest into the Most Holy Place to be offered on the Mercy Seat. Here’s the picture: Christ is the sacrifice; it is His blood that is to be offered. He is the Great High Priest who is to do the offering. He is the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat upon which His own blood is to be sprinkled. A suffering Saviour, a living sacrifice, Christ, as High Priest, willingly poured out Himself, His own blood. It was not cold, coagulated blood, offered upon the Mercy Seat three days later after His resurrection (as some suppose.) “The Blood will never lose its power” as some sing: Has the eternal Blood sprinkled upon the eternal Mercy Seat long since been coagulated, black, dried up? Or is Life still in the Blood?

Jesus died in our behalf: the wages of sin is death. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, we shall be saved by his life” Rom. 5:8-10. (If we are not justified before God, neither can we be reconciled unto Him.) Before laying down His life Jesus said, It is Finished. Then, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. It is finished? Not if the blood had not been already offered upon the Mercy Seat. Not if Christ was yet to be our propitiation. Not if reconciliation was not already obtained by the offering of blood. The veil of the temple was rent, from top to bottom, signifying that God had done this, signifying that the priesthood of men was officially at an end.

Signifying the “new and living way.” The veil of the temple prior to its rending: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. . .How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God. . .” Heb. 9:8,11,12,14

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. . .” The obvious should be obvious. If God has rent the veil of the temple. . .then the blood of Jesus is already, now upon the Mercy Seat, even before the veil of the temple was rent!.

What was rent? The visible veil of the Jewish temple. Christ Himself is the living Veil! “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated [brought to fullness, completed] for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” Heb. 10:19-20.

This (Christ Himself) is the Veil into the Most Holy Place. It [He] was not rent! How then may we enter the Most Holy throne room of the Most Holy God? It is through the blood. It is by faith. Does the Veil have a door? “I AM the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” John 10:9. The Veil has no visible door; it can only be found, it will only open, one may only gain access, through faith in Christ and the sufficiency of His efficacious offering of blood.

God is making known unto us heavenly things by means of the earthly: namely, the atonement: pictures of blood, of life, of death. Our justification hinges upon the offering of the Blood of the Lamb; of His death, of His burial; of His resurrection; of His acceptance by the Father into the Heavenlies. And that, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” Eph. 1:6.

As the blood is the life of the body, so is the Word to the soul and spirit. It carries with it, the Breath of Life, Nourishment, Cleansing.

The Fire Within

A Wall of Fire Without

　

“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. . .he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. . .Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again” Zec. 2:4b,5,8b,10-12.

Although these scriptures speak of the forthcoming kingdom age, yet this is but a continuation of the mercies and grace of an all consistent, all sufficient God. What greater example of this than that of the three Hebrew sons, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego?

Upon their refusal to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, they were cast into the infamous fiery furnace which was heated upward to seven times above which it was designed. They were cast into the furnace; they fell down. Was it because they were bound; or did they fall in worship to the True God? They would not bow to the image, but they would bow to the Eternal Son of God in worship! Of course, “the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:35,36.

The king, in astonishment said, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” Dan. 3:25. (Well, he almost had it right! The form he saw was the Son of God!)

What a privilege! They fell at His feet in worship, now were they walking with Him - even though they were still in the midst of the fire. Perhaps we should consider following their example?

They were in the fire? Yes! “and they have no hurt” said the king. Why could the fire around them, not hurt them? “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her!” Zec. 2:5. Was the Lord, the glory of Zion, not in the midst of these children of Jerusalem? Was He not a wall of fire round about them, that separated, protected them from the king’s furnace of fire? The Fire within was greater than the fire without!

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” I John 4:3-4.

The Fire within is greater than the fire without!

In his Book of Martyrs (1563), John Foxe tells the story of the tragic events that took place from 1554 to 1556. The bloody Queen Mary Tudor ruled England, and for those committed to biblical Christianity, they were troubled times. Three bishops - Hugh Latimer, Nicolas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer - found themselves charged with heresy and placed on trial in the university church of St. Mary’s. Among the reasons for the trial were their commitment to the belief in the sole sufficiency of Christ’s atoning death for salvation and their refusal to compromise with the Catholic traditions and beliefs of the Queen. Eventually, Latimer and Ridley were punished together, while Cranmer’s trial and martyrdom came later.

According to Foxe, Ridley arrived at the place of execution first. When Latimer arrived, the two embraced, and Ridley called his friend to practice great faith in a terrible time. He said, “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it.” They both knelt and prayed before listening to an exhortation from a preacher calling on them to recant before death.

After the sermon, one of the officials pleaded, “Mr. Riley, if you will revoke your erroneous opinions, you shall not only have liberty so to do, but also your life.” “Not otherwise?” said Ridley.

If you will not do so,” replied the official, “there is no remedy: you must suffer for your deserts.”

“Well.” concluded Ridley, “so long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ and His known truth. God’s will be done in me.”

The blacksmith wrapped a chain of iron around the waists of Ridley and Latimer. When the wood about Ridley’s feet was lit, Latimer said, “Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out.”

As the fire rose, Latimer cried out, “O Father of heaven, receive my soul!” and he died almost immediately. Ridley, however, hung on, with most of his lower body having burned before he passed away. Such faith! Such deep faith in deeply troubled times!

(Used by permission. Oxford Sermons Vol II, Triumphant Faith For Troubled Times, pages 68-69, Dr. Stephen D.C. Corts)

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” II Cor. 2:14. “Yet, not I, but Christ” Gal. 2:20. (Christ Himself is the (sole) object of our faith; likewise its source. Any other ‘faith’ is not faith at all.)

May we say again, The Fire within them was greater than the fire of the governing powers without! There was a Fire, an intense Fire, an Abiding Fire within their bosom. The fire without could burn the body but it could in no wise burn the Fire within! “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” Zec. 2:5.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. . .”

The Angel of the Lord

It should be basic knowledge that Jesus did not first come into existence when He was born of a virgin. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made. . .” John 1:1-3.

“The Lord God made the earth and the heavens” Genesis. 2:4. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” Genesis. 2:7. “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden” vs.8. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree.” vs. 8. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden” vs. 15. “And the Lord God commanded the man. . .thou shalt not eat” vv. 16,17. “And the Lord God said, I will make him [Adam] an help meet for him” vs. 18. “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field. . .and brought them unto Adam” vs. 19. “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. . .made He a woman, and brought her unto the man” vs. 21-22. “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden. . and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God” Genesis 3:8. “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” vs.9. “And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?” vs.13. “And the Lord God said unto the serpent . . .thou art cursed” vs.14. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them” vs.21. “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden” vs. 23.

Lord: Yehovah, (the) self Existent or Eternal, Jehovah. God: Elohiym, gods, in the ordinary sense; the Supreme God. The name ‘Lord God’ therefore, is “the self Existent, Eternal, Supreme God.” Jesus is the Lord God. “I AM the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” Matt.22:32. “Before Abraham was, I AM” John 8:58.

Angel of the Lord is found in sixteen books of the Bible. The question concerning these: are they speaking of an angel of the Lord? or the angel of the Lord? We shall look to those that clearly identify Christ. The angels of the Lord have well served their Creator. Their presence has been known unto men (and sometimes not known): “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” Hebrews 13:2. Angels made appearances many times to give an announcement: (the host of angels to announce to shepherds the birth of the Son of God!) But there were times when God chose to put a personal hand in the affairs of men; those who were His children by faith. .

Any serious student of the Bible, with the Holy Spirit as his Tutor, should be familiar with the terms Theophany and Christophany. These terms speak not of an angel, a celestial creation, but identify with the Angel of the Lord, who is the Divine, Eternal God.

When Ishmael was conceived, there was conflict between Sarah and Hagar; (an on-going conflict which pictures the war between the spirit and the flesh; which lends itself to the conflict that continues in the Middle East, even unto this day.) Hagar fled. “And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water. . .And he said Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou. . .Return to thy mistress. Genesis 16:7-9. “And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for the multitude” vs.10. “And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael. . .And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me:” vs. 11,13-14. “Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi [the well of him that liveth and seeth me] vs.14. “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly?” The “well of Him that liveth and seeth me?” Is this an angel of the Lord who is conferring the words of the Lord God unto Hagar? Or is it the Angel of the Lord Himself, the Voice and the authority of His Father?

The offering of Isaac. His knife drawn, Abraham, in obedience to God, was about to complete faith by works! “And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven. Genesis 22:11. [might an angel have appeared; restraining Abraham’s hand? No, the restraint must be in the obedience of faith: He called out of heaven!] And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time. “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord. . .I will bless thee; will multiply thy seed. . .And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” vs.18. By myself have I sworn? Thou hast obeyed my voice? Is this an angel speaking in behalf of the Lord God? Or is it the Angel of the Lord?

Moses at the burning bush. “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” Exodus 3:2. Acts 7:30-34. (The Angel of the Lord, the Son of God was seen by wicked king Nebuchadnezzar as He appeared in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew children after the king had cast them into the fire.) “Moreover he said, I AM the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. . . And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM” Exodus 3:6,14 Was this an angel, or the Angel of the Lord?

Balaam and his ornery donkey. “And when the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way” Numbers 22:23. She saw the angel of the Lord; Balaam did not. Faith without works is dead. She did not know that her master was going against the will of God, she only saw the angel of the Lord standing before her with sword in hand and sensing that another route would be advisable; she moved three separate times to avoid the angel. Balaam was prevented from continuing his forbidden path. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass! How demeaning! A witness, a testimony of a dumb? animal to a man who lacked faith, who could not see that which is substance, evidence! The Way, the Truth, and the Life will not be seen nor obeyed - without faith!

Gideon, the Lord is with thee. The Lord appeared to commission this faithful servant who thought the Lord was choosing the wrong man. (“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are” I Corinthians 1:27-28.) For a sign that it was the Angel of the Lord who spoke to him, Gideon prepared a meal: a kid, unleavened cakes, broth in a pot. “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. The Lord God Himself received the offering, consumed it with fire” Judges 6:20-21. Was He an angel or a priest? Who could do such a thing, were He not the Angel of the Lord?

Manoah and his wife; the parents of Samson. The news of the forthcoming birth of Samson, a deliverer of Israel, concluded in Manoah doing as Gidgeon; he “took a kid with a meat-offering and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wondrously. . .“when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in in the flame of the altar” Judges 13:19-20. What a beautiful picture! The angel of the Lord, as High Priest, receiving the offering that was offered upon the Rock, consuming it; the sweet-smelling savor ascending to heaven. Christ is the High Priest, He is the sacrifice, the offering: the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! Our acceptance before God? Is it not in the Person of Christ Himself? Now, what angel has double duty? doing the works befitting an angel and fulfilling also the office of Priest? An angel offering a sacrifice unto God? What’s wrong with this picture? Is this not the angel of the Lord?

Zechariah, the tenth vision. “And he [an angel] showed me Joshua, the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. In the presence of the Accuser, the Angel of the Lord called for Joshua’s filthy garments to be removed. “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment” Zechariah 3:4. “Thou shalt also judge my house, and keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by” vs.7. Who was standing by? “Satan standing at his right hand to resist him!” What a kick in the teeth for Satan the Accuser!

Moses meeting with the Lord. Though the term ‘Angel of the Lord’ is not specifically used here, there is irrefutable evidence to support it. “as Moses entered into the tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. . .and the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. . .I know thee by name. . .thou hast found grace in my sight. . .my presence shall go with thee” Exodus 33. “And he [Moses] said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” vs. 18.

“And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him” Ex. 34:30. Shall we say that Moses’ face reflected the face, the glory of the Lord? The countenance of the Lord was as lightning. Matthew 28:3, Daniel 10:6, Revelation 10:1.

Resurrection Day! The harmony of the gospels. As a beginning, let’s review and compare the accounts given in all four.

Matthew’s account of the resurrection. “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre” Matthew 28:1. At the next mention of them, there is an angel present: “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay” vs. 5. It seems that there is a break at this point: that which is recorded in verses two through four occurring earlier: “And behold there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” Matthew 28:2-4.

A great earthquake! Never would these women have set out to go to the tomb to anoint the Lord’s body in the midst of a great earthquake. It must have subsided, stopped, else they would not have felt safe to journey to the sepulchre. The time of the earthquake: after the resurrection, Matthew 27:51-53.

The angel they saw ‘answered’ the perplexed look on their faces: “where is the Lord; why is the stone rolled back?” This angel did as angels are known to do: he announced the “good news” of Christ’s resurrection. His countenance did not appear as lightning, else the women would have been terrified, perhaps in a far more fearful way than did those hardened professional soldiers who shook and became as dead men. (There is no mention as to the whereabouts of these soldiers when the women arrived.) No, in contrast, I’m sure the women were comforted and received assurance from the angel. “And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him” vs. 8-9. They feared for joy. Can it be? Yes! They believed the testimony of the angel: Jesus is risen, as he said!

Mark’s account is as follows: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James had bought sweet spices to anoint the body of the Lord. “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; behold the place where they laid him” Mark 16:4-6.

So far we have an angel seen in Matthew; a young man sitting within the sepulchre on the right side, in Mark’s account. The witness of the angel and the young man are basically the same. Mark’s gospel differs slightly, in that he says that “Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene,” then she went to tell the disciples of the resurrection.

Luke’s account: “they [verse 10 identifies them: “It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them.”] came bringing prepared spices, and certain others with them” Luke 24:1. “And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments” vs.3-4. The testimonies of the two men was as the witness of the angel in Matthew and the young man in Mark: “He is not here; He is risen!”

John’s account. It is some what more involved than the others: Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre; and seeing the stone rolled away ran to tell Peter and John: “They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him” vs. 3. Next we have Peter and John entering the sepulchre and something new is added to the witness. Neither angel nor young man nor two men are to be seen at this time, but the grave clothes that Jesus had been wrapped in, were lying, apparently as though the person of whom they held had just vanished from within them, leaving the shell of grave clothes lying unto themselves. Not only could the grave not hold him; neither could the grave clothes. The ‘loose him and let him go’ as applied to Lazarus did not apply here!

The disciples having departed, Mary was left alone at the sepulchre weeping. “And as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” vs.11-12. These angels asked, Woman why weepest thou? Turning, she beheld another man, who likewise repeated the question just asked by the angels: “Woman, why weepest thou?” Mary did not recognize Jesus until He spoke her name; “Mary.” This time the message was not from an angel, not from a young man, not from two men, but from the Lord Himself. The others had said that the disciples should go before them into Galilee; but His message concerns His ascension into heaven. (“I go to prepare a place for you, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” John 14:2b,3.) The clarification of the Lord: this has not happened yet, “I am not yet ascended to my Father” vs.17.

Now, let us examine the mysterious and perplexing account found in Matthew’s gospel; the part that should be taken separately, set apart from the rest, as it must have happened prior to the other accounts.

“And behold there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. (He sat upon the rock. Is this not a proclamation of Christ’s victory over death?) His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” Matthew 28:3. Cf. Daniel 10:6, Revelation 10:1. What was in the grave? Jesus’ body. Just before He gave up the ghost, He said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Earlier Jesus had said to the thief, To day, shalt thou be with me in Paradise. (That Christ should descend from heaven and roll back the stone from his own grave? Ludicrous! Or is it?) Who rolled back the stone? Was it an angel of the Lord? Was our Lord held captive? Was he hopelessly imprisoned until an angel be dispatched to free Him from the bondage of the grave? Did an angel roll back the stone to allow His release? Did an angel call loudly unto Him, Jesus, come forth? Did an angel say to the women who came to the sepulchre, Release Him and let Him go? The priests and scribes had said: “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross” Matthew 27:42. What would they now say? He raised others from the dead? He himself he cannot raise. If he be the King of Israel let him come up from the grave?

“And behold there was a great earthquake” Matthew 28:2. A parallel account is given in the previous chapter: “The earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” Matthew 27:51-53. Did an angel cause all that? Or was it the work of I AM the Resurrection? The prophesy of Ezekiel, chapter thirty-seven and verses twelve and thirteen: “Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I AM the Lord, when I have opened your graves. O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.” The opening of the graves of saints after the resurrection; a picture/promise of God’s covenant with Israel!

Here in chapter twenty-seven we have the earthquakes, also the resurrection of saints coming out of the grave. When did this happen? After His resurrection. vs.53. Then in chapter twenty-eight we have the women coming to the sepulchre. We are given different views, and they are not necessarily in chronological order! In Matthew twenty eight we have the women coming to the sepulchre. Without notice verses two through four are inserted; then verse five takes up where we left off in verse one. (Scofield’s notes do not mention the Angel rolling back the stone, nor of his countenance being as lightning.)

In Judges chapter sixteen we find this account of Samson: the Gazarites lay in wait to kill Samson. “And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.” What a beautiful picture of the resurrection of Christ! The gates of hell could not prevail: He came forth in victory carrying them as it were, upon His shoulders! “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” I Corinthians 15:54b,55.

“The angel of the Lord descended. . .his countenance was like lightening, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” vs. 2,3. John describes his encounter with the Lord on Patmos: “and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead” Revelation 1:16b,17. Daniel gives this account: a certain man clothed in linen. . .his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire. . .the men that were with me. . . a great quaking fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves” Daniel 10:5-8. Compare scripture with scripture. Are these descriptions not of the same Man? What angelic being ever had a face whose brightness was as lightning?

The Transfiguration and the Resurrection. “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. And was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” Matthew 17:1-2. “behold a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” vs. 5. “And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead” Matthew 17: 9.

What the women saw was the resurrected Son of God. Before that, The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and was reunited with His body in resurrection. After the resurrection He is found sitting upon the stone in His glorified body, no longer identified, as He was previously, The Angel of the Lord. He is once again the God/man, glorified by the Father, as He said.

The key to the matter. What if some One would lay some thing into a vault for safe keeping; close the vault; put it under lock and key (there being only one key.) When he returns he finds the vault is unopened: it cannot be opened save by Him who has the key in His possession. “I AM he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I AM alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” Revelation 1:18. Who is able to upon the vault? Only He who has the key. Who can take up the possession stored in the vault? Only He who holds the key. The angel of the Lord who rolled back the stone; was he an angel? or was He the angel?

“God hath raised him from the dead!” Yes! But also: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” John 10:17-18. His body lay in the tomb. How is He to “take it up?” By rolling back the stone? By resurrecting His own body; by taking up that which He had laid down of His own volition unto Himself? In perfect agreement; the resurrection of Christ and those that are His: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” I Thessalonians 4:14.

“will God bring with Him.” Is God to bring about our resurrection; or is Christ? It is both, of course! Those having gone to sleep in Jesus, will return with him to be united with their bodies: not the old body of the flesh; but new bodies - like unto His glorified body! The Lord has the keys of hell and of death. He alone can unlock the vault; He has the power and the authority to take up that which was laid down in death. . .

Let this be firmly fixed in our minds and hearts” Jesus Christ does not only have authority over Resurrection; He said, “I AM the Resurrection!” Well, at the resurrection the “trump shall sound!” Yes! But the trumpeter is not going to open the graves!

Seeing that which is not seen. “And now O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” John 17:5. This, Jesus prayed before entering Gethsemane. In three days the Father would fulfill that petition. (“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us. . .” Deuteronomy 29:29.) My dear friend, let take off our shoes for we stand upon holy ground.

Consider the Tabernacle in the wilderness and The Most Holy Place. There was certainly no mention of, neither was there found any place for an angel! The High Priest entered by himself into the presence of God to offer the blood upon the Mercy Seat. (He had no angel to pull back the Veil that he might gain entrance, much less enter with him into the Most Holy to aid in the sprinkling of blood!) In fulfillment of the type, when Christ offered His own blood upon the Mercy Seat before the Father - this was executed strictly between Father and Son: no other need apply!

The resurrection of the body of Christ from the dead? For what purpose now, might an angel be employed? Picture this in your mind: God the Father who was present at the birth of His Son is present at His rebirth or resurrection. God hath raised Him from the dead! Acts 3:5, Acts 4:10, Acts 13:30, Romans 10:9, I Corinthians 15:15, Galatians 1:1, Colossians 2:2, I Thessalonians 1:9, I Peter 1:21.

It is now that God would answer the petition made three days before: “And now O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” “Behold the risen, glorified Christ! His countenance was like lightning, and His raiment white as snow.”

My dear friend, this was a private gathering of the Triune Godhead: the pinnacle; the consummation; the sealing and witnessing of the Eternal Covenant. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. What other witnesses are required?

The Angel of the Lord, the Son of Resurrection, had rolled away the stone. One might ask: How did He get out of the sepulchre without first removing the stone? I will answer with yet another question: How did He get out of the grave clothes without disturbing their rest?

“And came and rolled back the stone and sat upon it.” The Rock of Ages, sitting upon the stone of Death and Hell: and making it His Throne! Hallelujah! Death? Where is thy sting? Grave? Where is thy victory?

“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” Romans 1:3-4.

For further study, read “From the Cross to the Resurrection”, “Gleanings Beyond the Resurrection”, “I AM the Resurrection”, The Resurrection, Looking Inside the Tomb.”

www.scripturetruths.net

On Dreaming

Dreaming. It is a common function of our minds. We do it without thinking. It is not done voluntarily, perhaps not even involuntarily. The term is laced throughout much of the scripture. Dreaming must a part of God’s plan and purpose, else it would not have existed.

For a brief definition: Onar is a vision in sleep, in distinction from a waking vision. Enupnion is, lit., what appears in sleep, an ordinary dream. Enupniazo, shall be given up to dreams; translated, shall dream dreams; metaphorically in Jude 8, of being given over to sensuous “dreamings”; “dreamers” and so defiling the flesh. Vine’s Expository Dictionary.

Dreaming. It may be called unconscious; subconscious: Mr. Webster calls it “a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.”

The first mention of dreams in the Old Testament was when Abraham and Sarah went to Gerar. Abimeleck the king took Sarah after they had vowed before the king to be brother and sister. God said to Abimeleck, You’re a dead man! the woman which you have taken is a man’s wife. . .“I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her” Gen. 20:3,6. The first mention of dreams in the New Testament. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream: “fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. . .” Matt. 1:20.

The last mention of dreams in the Old Testament is found in Joel 2:28; also repeated in Acts 2:17: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. . .old men shall dream dreams.” The last mention of dreams is found in Jude 8; (and these dreams are not of the Lord!). “Like wise these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” Needless to say, these ‘dreamers’ run rampant in the world today.

Other well known Old Testament dreams.

Familiar, the scriptures concerning Jacob and his “ladder.” “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I AM the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to the will I give it, and to thy seed;” Gen. 28:12-13. And seven promises followed. Gen. 28:13-15.

In Genesis chapter 37, Joseph dreamed a dream which showed that he should reign over his brethren, for which they hated him and sold him into slavery.

In Genesis chapter 40, we find Joseph in prison with the chief of the butlers, and the chief of the bakers; each having a dream in the night. Joseph said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” and he interpreted their dreams for them.

In chapter 41, Pharaoh dreamed of the famine that should come upon Egypt: seven years of plenty, seven years of famine. He double-dreamed it. “because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” Gen. 41:32b.

In I Samuel chapter 3, :the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee” vs.5. Said Solomon: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad” vs.9.

Interesting, the account given in Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of which he wanted the interpretation: but the memory of it had left him. He wanted his sorcerers to recall the dream that he had forgotten and also give the interpretation. No one could do so. “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision” Dan. 2:19. The Lord revealed to Daniel in a dream, the dream that He, God, had given the king that the king had forgotten along, with the interpretation!

The only other mention of dreams (NT) is found in Matthew: The wise men after coming to worship the Lord Jesus, were “warned of God in a dream not to return to Herod” Matt. 2:12. After that, Joseph received of the Lord three more dreams: to flee to Egypt; to return to Israel; to return to Nazareth. Then in Matthew 27:19, Pilate’s wife “sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with this just man : for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” (Jude 8, we already covered.)

The Lord KNOWS.

Nothing in the past, in the present, or shall be in the future, be it in the realm of time or eternity has ever gone unnoticed or been hidden from the eyes of our Sovereign: “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Job 34:21-22. Also, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous” Psalm 34:15.

The Lord knows our thoughts. “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your heart?” Matt. 9:4. Jesus, a mind reader? Well, He is God! The same is found in Matthew 12:24, in Luke 5:22, in Luke 6:8, Luke 11:17. And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the ’wise’, that they are vain” I Cor. 3:20. “For the Word of God. . .is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart’ Heb. 4:12.

The Lord knows our dreams. Dear friend, this may seem a little far reaching; but the Lord knows our dreams. To deny it is to deny scripture. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” Isa. 26:3. Do our waking thoughts not have some effect on our dreams? If we would dream right, we would do well to think right; to “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness!” We may quickly disregard or forget our dreams, but does our Lord do so? Nebuchadnezzer forgot, but God remembered and passed the dream on to Daniel. “I wouldn’t want anybody to know what I dreamed!” Somebody does. Let us meditate upon the Lord in our waking hours: but let us also say as David, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches” Psalm 63:5-6. What of our dreams? Are they always folly; foolish? Sometimes they just might be profitable! “God does not speak to us in dreams!” Are you sure? Perhaps not to the extent that He spoke to Jacob or Daniel or Joseph. . .“God speaks to us by His Word!” Agreed! But dreams are another story. Don’t completely rule out the unknown because it is unknown: God knows what we do not know.

All About Your House

Written Especially for Small Children

Where do you live? Do you live in a small town? Or in a large city? Or maybe you don’t live in a town at all. Do you live on a farm, where there are cows or chickens? No? But you just might have a dog or a cat, or you could have some goldfish! Why, that’s a part of growing up! Every kid ought to have goldfish! Of course you can’t take them out of the fishbowl and pet them! But they’re lots of fun to watch as they swim around. We’ll talk about them later. Don’t let me forget!
Where do you live? Do you live in a mobile home, or maybe in an apartment? Do you live in a house? Can you name the rooms? Do you have a kitchen? Yes! That’s where you eat! Do you have a den or living room? Is that where you play games and watch T.V.? Do you have a bedroom? Is it your very own? Or do you share it with a brother or sister? Let’s see; what else. Oh, yes! the bathroom! That’s where we wash our hands before eating: where we take our bath! You do like to take a bath, don’t you?
I almost forgot about the goldfish! He lives in your house, too! But he has his own special house. It doesn’t have rooms like the place where you live. He doesn’t have a kitchen, he doesn’t have a living room or den or family room, he doesn’t have a bedroom: why, he doesn’t even have a bathroom where he can wash his fins or take a bath! That’s silly, isn’t it!
What does the goldfish do? He just moves his mouth and his fins and swims and swims.
What happens in the kitchen? Mom gets the food she’s going to fix out of the refrigerator or the cabinet. She gets the pots and pans, plates, bowls, silverware. Finally, dinner is ready and she calls you to the table. “Did you wash your hands? Don’t come to this table ‘til you have washed your hands!” After dinner, plates must be scraped, all the dirty dishes must be washed, and, Oh yes! Somebody has to take out the garbage!
What about the goldfish? He has no kitchen; he doesn’t cook his meals; he doesn’t do dishes. He waits for you to sprinkle some fish food in his bowl. But if he doesn’t eat it all; if there are any leftovers: well he for sure, can’t take out the garbage. And the garbage is not in a trash bag. It’s not just in his kitchen either! It’s in his whole house!
Well, what does the goldfish do? He just moves his mouth - and his fins - and swims and swims.
You hear your Mom call again: “It’s time for your bath!” You do love to take baths, don’t you!? Off come the dirty clothes. Oh, do you know what? She washes your clothes in the washer; she washes the sheets that are on your bed, too. And she washes you - but not in the washing machine - - in the bathtub! You get out of the bathtub and dry off. Mom drains the dirty bathwater out of the tub. She puts your pajamas on and you are ready for bed. You are ready for bed, aren’t you?
But, what about your goldfish? He can’t take his dirty clothes off: his mother doesn' t have a washing machine to wash them: he doesn’t even have a bed, so she can’t wash his sheets! Well, he does have a bed - sort of. Do you know what it is? Its a waterbed!
He doesn’t have a bathtub to bathe in. He can’t get out of his bathwater. Do you know what? He has to live in his bathwater. Poor fish! His little one room house is his kitchen, it is his garbage can; it is his washroom; it is his bathwater!
Your Mom can clean the house; she can sweep the floors, but your little fish can’t sweep; he can’t clean house. His house gets dirtier and dirtier: and, you know what? He can get very sick - even die! We wouldn’t want that to happen! So - somebody has to dump out the old water and put in clean water. That will make him happy and keep him healthy!
One time Jesus was talking to His disciples. He told them that their hearts could get dirty, but He would clean them. Do you know how Jesus can clean a person’s heart? He told them, “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.
If I want to have a clean heart for Jesus to live in, then I need to listen to Bible stories and to my Sunday School teachers and the preacher and other helpers. I need to learn all I can about Jesus and the Bible.
Do you know that you are sort of like the goldfish: your body is like the fishbowl and you are the fish inside. Your heart is like the water, the inside of your house.
What would you feed your fish? Hot dogs or potato chips or pizza? Of course not! He needs the fish food that was made for him to eat. Jesus said that the Bible, His Word, is like bread. It can feed that little fish that lives inside you.
Jesus wants to keep His house clean. He does that by “the washing of water by the Word” Eph.5:26. We are like the fish’s house: the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, are all together. If one is dirty, then they all are dirty. And Jesus can wash us and clean our house with His Word.

On Prayer

How pious and lofty our thoughts can be: We are “praying from the heart!” But the scriptures give warning: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9. We tend to quote this scripture, but do not grasp the answer that follows. In the next verse we read; “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

“You are in our prayers!” “Our prayers are with you!” We are to judge no man, but the fruit of men sometimes provides a silent yet deafening witness as to their true relationship with God - or the lack thereof. You are in our prayers? Our prayers are with you? Do prayers ‘said’ by men contain some special magic by which they can help a needy soul? And what of “The power of prayer?” It is often the topic on television news programming, commentaries, and talk shows. And to what ‘god’ do they pray? The power seems to be relegated to the person praying or to the prayer itself. No god (or God) need be involved. Man becomes as it was declared by the serpent in the Garden: Ye shall be as gods!

The ‘power’ of prayer? It is without any power unless it is offered in Faith: the source and object of Faith must be the true God of heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. If prayer be qualified as prayer (and God Himself knows that which is prayer and what is only “prayer”.) Many will say, I have faith; but their ‘faith’ is in ‘faith’ itself, and not founded and established in the Lord God Jehovah. If our prayer is a prayer of faith then we must be “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” Heb. 12:2. He is Alpha and Omega; prayer is to begin with Him - “Our Father;” and end with Him; “In Jesus’ name.”

The Righteous Pharisees. In the beginning of John chapter eight, the Pharisees came to Jesus: these were ‘missionaries;’ desiring that others might also come to Jesus. “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. . .Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act” vs.3-4. The tables are turned! They are backed into a corner! Said the scribes and Pharisees, “Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father, Then said they unto him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” To which Jesus replied, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” vs. 39,41,44a.

The Praying Pharisees. “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer. . .” Matt. 23: 13-14. Dare we say, there are yet many sons of the Pharisees, sons of Satan in the world today?

The Praying Religionists. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” Matt. 15:8-9. cf. Isa. 29:13. How very current and timely, this scripture: a woeful description of today’s “Christianity,”

But How Am I, a True Christian, To Approach the Throne of Grace? Many are the volumes that have been written on the subject of prayer. We would offer only a few thoughts here on which the reader may (hopefully) choose to meditate. . .

Coming To the Throne of Grace Boldly.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. . .Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” Heb. 4:14,16.

My dear friend, let us put on the royal apparel; the robe of Righteousness: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” Rom. 13:13. Let us stand in the inner court of the King’s House: let us approach the Throne of Grace. “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord” Proverbs 8:34,35. The Lord has held forth the golden sceptre to you - be not afraid to reach out and touch it!

“Boldly is not contrasted with reverently and tremblingly. It means literally ‘saying all,’ with that confidence which begets thorough honesty, frankness, full and open speech. ‘Pour out your heart before Him.’ Come as you are, say what you feel, ask what you need. Confess your sins, your fears, your wandering thoughts and affections. . .We need only understand that we are sinners, and that He is High Priest. The law was given that every mouth may be shut, for we are guilty. The High Priest is given that every mouth may be opened. . .We come in faith as sinners. Then shall we obtain mercy; and we always need mercy, to wash our feet: to restore to us the joy of salvation, to heal our backslidings, and bind up our wounds. . .“We should come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace” (Bagster). Then let us do so, in the full confidence of our acceptance before God in the person of His Beloved. . .Let us ‘come’ constantly, continually.

Exposition of Hebrews, A. W. Pink

Shall we presume to come before the throne, alone? God forbid! Of what value, my prayer, if my parakletos (Comforter) is not along side me? Com fort, with strength. If one is to “come boldly” to the throne of grace, it is imperative that the Spirit of Christ be with him and in him!

Coming to the Throne of Grace Fearfully.

The Fear of the Lord is. . . the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments” Psalm 111:10. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” Proverbs 1:7. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” Heb.12:28. Consider Noah. His obedience was in response to Faith and Fear! “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” Heb. 11:7. Noah by faith, moved with fear, to the building of the ark. It is Faith unto good works, if you please! Where would Noah have been if he had said I believe God, but failed to act in faith? He would have been dead!

It is within the bounds of faith and the (reverential) fear of God that we find deliverance, love, joy, peace, hope, faith, communion, safety; that we live in the Light and not in darkness; that we are no longer bound but free. It is in the fear of the Lord that we walk with the Shepherd; that we are satisfied; that we are led in paths of righteousness; that we find goodness and mercy to be our constant traveling companions.

Coming to the Throne of Grace by the “new and living way.”

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. . .” “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated [brought to fullness, completion] for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” Heb. 10:19-20. “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands. . .Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. . .How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God. . .” Heb. 9:8,11,12,14.

Christ Himself is the living veil! He is the veil into the Most Holy Place. How then may we enter before the throne of the Most Holy God? It is through the blood. It is by faith. Does the Veil have a door? “I AM the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” John 10:9. The Veil has no visible door; it can only be found, it will only open, one may only gain access, through faith in Christ and the trusting the sufficiency of His efficacious offering of blood.

Once inside the Veil; and be assured when we are allowed in, we stand in the Holy of Holies, before the Eternal Omnipotent God. Approach His throne, boldly? At His right hand is our Great High Priest; our advocate/intercessor, with the Father. There is before the host of heaven the ark of the covenant upon which dwells the Mercy Seat; and upon the Mercy Seat, our propitiation, the blood of the Everlasting Covenant. These are a wit-ness, a testimony that we may indeed, by faith, obtain the mercy and grace which we seek!

Having The Right Spirit Unto Prayer.

First, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” James 4:7. The obvious is obvious: one can not effectively resist until he has first submitted!

Second, “draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” But do we not draw nigh unto God as He is drawing us nigh unto Himself?

Third, “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” And how do we do that? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9. (“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” I John 1:8.)

Fourth, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” vs.10. To think oneself capable of lifting himself up and to refuse to come in a spirit of humbleness is utter folly and will not gain entrance to the Throne of Grace!

Fifth, (is this not an extension of verse ten, Humble yourselves): “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness” I John 4:9. How shall we continue to look upon the godlessness and wickedness of our world, of our nation without mourning? ‘In God we trust?’ Is there a remnant remaining that can truly lay claim to that motto?

Right Praying Requires Right Focusing.

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. . .his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick” John 11:1,3. At first glance one would scarcely presume this to be a prayer at all! Yet this is one of the most moving and excellent examples of prayer to be found in all the Bible.

First, He is addressed as “Lord.” As such, His Deity is acknowledged, His authority recognized; He is owned as being worthy of worship; their position being one of expressed humility. Second, it is “Lord, behold” In this may we not sense the burden, the care, the heartache of Mary and Martha? Do they not even now perceive that he is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities?” Third, it is not “Lazarus our brother, is sick;” it is not that Jesus might work in their behalf, though they loved their brother dearly. Fourth, it is not that the Lord might come even though Lazarus loved Him! Fifth, the means is not dictated by which the Lord might work; that He might undertake in Lazarus’ behalf. The prayer does not prescribe any action that Jesus might be persuaded to take on the part of the two sisters. The very center of the petition is directed at the Lord Himself: It is he whom “Thou lovest.” The discerning eye may notice the order: the adverse circumstances are placed at the farthest point: “he. . .is sick.” “Thou lovest” is in between. Regretfully for many believers the order is reversed: we put the circumstances between us and God rather than God between ourselves and the circumstances! The object of prayer is not to be our “Lazarus”; our focus, not upon the circumstances; but upon Christ. The prayer of Faith: Christ will do what He will do, not because Mary and Martha love Lazarus; not even because they love Jesus! How often, child of God, have you faltered in your prayer in behalf of another, feeling somehow that you must “measure up,” that your love for the Lord must excel ere He will hear you? How easily we forget! It is because “God so loved the world,” that He gave. They “reminded” the Lord: “Thou lovest.” The responsibility is now laid upon Him, that He might respond according to His love.

Prayers That God Will Not Hear.

There are conditions where one may not; in fact does not really desire to, ‘come boldly to the throne of grace.’ Without faith, one may not gain entrance through the Veil, because it will not open to the spirit of unbelief!

Ye Ask Amiss. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” James 4:3. Are there not wars and fighting around the world? And these we can expect to continue until the Prince of Peace returns. But James says, From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? James 4:1.

Shall this world and its nations find peace? “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God” I Peter 4:17.

A final thought. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. Is God in the foremost of our thoughts; or in our afterthoughts? Are we in His foremost thoughts; or in His after-thoughts? To this the entire canon of scripture provides for us an unquestionable answer.

Prayer unlocks, appropriates, lays hold on what God has promised.

Prayer turns on the switch that the lamp may draw the power, the current,

from the Source of all power. How shall the light shine without it?

Prayer that reaches beyond the Word of God and the Will of God is not prayer.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” Heb. 12:1.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses reaches far beyond the context of this verse. I do not suggest that one should attempt to read this material in one sitting; perhaps not in two. Our finite minds tend to bunker down after a while - especially when attempting to discover and discern the infinite. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. . .He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” John 16:13a,14.

So Great a Cloud.

Nothing in the past, in the present, or shall be in the future, be it in the realm of time or eternity has ever gone unnoticed or been hidden from the eyes of our Sovereign: “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Job 34:21-22. But the Lord be praised, “He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous” Job 36:7.

So Great a Cloud; The Eternal Witness.

“And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hath laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” Heb.1:10-12.

So Great a Cloud; The law of first mention.

This we find in the account of Noah and the ark. Were there not two clouds? The first was ‘so great a cloud,’ that its waters covered the earth! But the second was a far Greater Cloud, as we shall see.

“And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I will make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. . .And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth” Gen. 9:12-14,16. No less than seven times does God witness His Covenant unto Noah: in verses nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. Cloud is to be seen in four verses; in verse thirteen, twice in verse fourteen, and in verse sixteen. It is the Lord’s cloud, it is His bow, it is His Covenant. In verse 15 it is witnessed, “I will remember my covenant.” In verse 16, it is, “I will remember the everlasting covenant.” The bow and the cloud bore witness to God’s Covenant: first to Himself, and then to his seed; to every living creature. And “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord!!!” ( Not that Noah merited any grace: Noah looked into the eyes of the Lord, and found them to be full of compassion, mercy, Grace! But what of the cloud? Was God or His throne the rainbow in the cloud? Or at least representative or a picture as such?

“and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above it. . .As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” Ezek. 1:26b,28. “and behold a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. . .and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” Rev. 4:2,3. Further ‘witness’ will be given in that which follows.

So Great a cloud; The Wilderness Journey.

“But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” Exodus13:18,21-22. Was there a rainbow in the cloud? Nevertheless, God was in the cloud! And so Great a Cloud of Witness it must have been - A continuing witness unto His people of the continuing Covenant He had made with Noah!

A Cloud of Protection. “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night” Exodus 14:19-20. The Lord, in a pillar of a cloud. . .the Angel of God. . . the pillar of the cloud. . .stood behind them? And how can a cloud be said to stand? The term Theophany comes to mind.

So Great a Cloud. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians” But were they fleeing from the face of Israel - or from the face of God; the Great Cloud of Witness before them?

So Great a Cloud: The glory of God, the Great I AM. “And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I AM the Lord your God” Exodus 16:10-12. Oh, the greatness of the Cloud of Witness! He is the Bread of Life; our portion; our sufficiency!

So Great a Cloud. “ And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. . .And the Lord said unto Moses, go unto the people. . .for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai” Exodus 19:9,10a,11b. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Rom. 10:17. So Great a Cloud of Witness! “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside. . .let us run. . .Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!”

So Great, the Cloud of Witness. “And Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” Exodus 34:4-7.
So Great a Cloud of Witness. “And the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the Holy Place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat” Leviticus 16:2. “And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony” Lev, 16:12-13.

“For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys” Ex.40:38. “And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony” Numbers 9:15. “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen” Acts 7:44.

So Great a Cloud of Witness! “Remember these O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” Isaiah 44:21-22.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses in the New Testament.

The witness of Christ. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. . .To this end was I born, and for this cause came I unto the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” John 18:36a,37.

“To him [Christ] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” Acts 10:43.

So Great a Witness: The Word proclaiming the Word about Himself! “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Christ] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. . .And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” Luke 24:27,32.

The Apostle Paul. “And he [Ananias] said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, [witness?] and shouldest hear the voice [witness?] of his mouth. For thou shalt BE his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard [witnesses?] Acts 22:14-15. (All in brackets mine.)

The Apostle John. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the Light that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” John 1:6-8.

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld [were witnesses of] his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me” John 1:14-15. (John and the other disciples were witnesses of Christ’s glory; Christ Himself was witness to the Father’s glory.)

“There is another that beareth witness of me; I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. . .And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness of me” John 5:32,37.

“But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness of me” John 5:36,37.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have life; and they are they which testify [give witness] of me” John 5:39.

The witness of Christ is challenged. “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go. . .for I AM not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I AM one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me” John 8:13,14,16-18.

The witness of the Spirit and Apostles. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning” John 15:26-27. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33.

The Witness - Gentiles made partakers of salvation through Christ.

“And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them. Men and brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made a choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth [witness?] should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” Acts 15:7-9. (Italics mine)

The Witness Against Unbelieving Gentiles.

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; Which shew the work of the law, written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing them witness, and their thoughts, the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” Rom. 2:14-15.

Three degrees of light are revealed to the children of men:- The light of nature; the light of the law; the light of the gospel.

1. The light of nature. This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged: As many as have sinned without the law shall perish without law; that is the unbelieving Gentiles, who had no other guide but natural conscience. . .they shall be judged, as they sin against, the law of nature, not only as it is in their hearts, corrupted, defaced, and imprisoned in unrighteousness. . . though they had not the written law (Ps.cxlvii.20), they had that which was equivalent, not to the ceremonial, but to the moral law.

They did by nature the things contained in the law. The work of the law is to direct us what to do, and to examine us, what we have done. They had a sense of justice and equity, honour and purity, love and charity; the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, forbade murder, stealing, lying, perjury, &c. Thus they were a law unto themselves.

(2.) The light of the law. This the Jew had, and by this they shall be judged (vs.12): As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. They sinned, not only having the law, but in the midst of so much law, in the face and light of so much pure and clear a law. . .their punishment shall be as their sin is, so much the greater for their having the law. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon.

(3.) The light of the gospel: and according to this those that enjoyed the gospel shall be judged. Matthew Henry’s Commentary, vol. iv, page 376-377.

　

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. . .He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Heb.10:26,28-29. Two or three witness? How about the light of nature (the moral law,) the light of the law, the light of the gospel?

The Witness of the Conscience.

Jesus Himself, being fashioned as a man and being subject to temptation unmistakably had a conscience. Our original parents had a conscience. To Eve, the serpent said, “For God knoweth that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” Gen, 3:5. Well, that much was true: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil” Gen. 3:22. But the difference between our Lord Jesus and other men is that Jesus never sinned! His conscience did not, could not, ever, condemn Him! Neither the Lord God, His law, nor the conscience can ever condemn Righteousness! And we have been imputed and are clothed in the righteousness of Christ on the merits of His eternal love for us, His shed blood; His sinless life, His vicarious sacrifice, His death, His burial, His resurrection; He who sits at the right hand of Majesty: “that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” Heb.2;17.

An Ever-present Witness to the Ungodly.

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of the sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just [Just?] and he doth not resist you.” James 5:1-6.

　

An Inward Witness.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. . .The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” Rom. 8:14,16.

“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us” Heb. 10:15. A witness unto us concerning what? “By the which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . .For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” Heb. 10:10,14. Continuing, the Holy Ghost is a witness unto us of His eternal covenant: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” Heb. 10:16.

The Witness of Faith.

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts:” Heb.11:4. It is faith unto good works. Works without faith is dead; but Faith that sits dormant and idle, that gives no response - wherein is the witness? “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect [complete]? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God” James 2:21-23.

Faith itself is a mighty witness; it is a silver lining upon the cloud of witnesses. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” Heb. 11:13. Faith is substance; faith is evidence; faith gives us sight, faith persuades us of the authenticity, of the sureness of God’s promises; we reach out to embrace them; we confess them. Again, faith wields a mighty testimony, a faithful witness!

(I would encourage you to read carefully and intently chapter 11 of Hebrews; perhaps read [or re-read] Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I would cause you no additional labor on my part at this time.)

So GREAT a Cloud of Witnesses.

“For their are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. . .And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” I John 5:7-11.

This may be the most comprehensive record of witness in all the Bible. It is overwhelming. I dare not touch it. Let the reader stand back in awe and take in all that he can of the wonder of it all: it is as vast as the universe. . .

　

The Blessed Witness of Him Who Will Come.

　

“And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. . .this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” Acts 1:9,11b. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” Rev. 1:5-8.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” James 5:7-8

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” Matt. 24:14.

Actually, witnessing is more than something we do; it is what we are. The Holy Spirit empowers us with Himself, to be witnesses. Not only to the lost - we are witnesses, every day to every one we meet. In divers situations; when we feel down-trodden, at wits end: if we feel forsaken, betrayed - shall our countenance fall? Do we know how to be abased as well as to abound? If we become discouraged then everyone with whom we cross paths is going to be a witness of our witness, be it favorable or otherwise. May they be exhorted or touched by our witness! (Reach out and touch someone). A discouraged Christian is not apt to feel like sharing the gospel with someone else. How shall he offer a cup of cold water if his fountain is not springing up? Ye that are spiritual - help get the needy brother up on his feet. Your witness, both verbally and by the Spirit manifesting Himself in you in a way the downhearted brother can see - he needs to know that you really believe what you're trying to get him to believe.

A good rule of witness: Talk to God about others: talk to others about the Lord Jesus. May we have it burning within our hearts and minds: We are constant witnesses unto Christ. May we likewise be consistent, considerate, conscientious, caring.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses.

All of creation, the Lord God Himself, the Son, the Spirit; all the Old Testament sons of faith, are a great cloud of witnesses. They were followed by the Martin Luthers, the Charles Spurgeons, the Jonathan Edwards. . .such a great cloud of witnesses! We now, are a cloud of witnesses: how great, in quantity or quality only our Lord knows. We are to run the race - it is a relay race. Those before us have passed the baton, as it were, into our hands. WE are now a cloud of witnesses. Though the greatness be not in number, the witness is great, if we are witnesses unto Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator, the God of heaven. It is in His name and for His sake, and not for our name, nor for our glory that we should run diligently. Oh God, we are weak; be our strength. Give us the faith to clutch tightly the baton. God forbid that we should drop it. Help us, that we fail not! Are there not other runners before us, waiting for us to reach them, that we might pass the baton, that they too might run the race that is set before them? Dear one, run diligently - some one is watching you, and you are the best Christian they know.