Borne On Eagles' Wings

In the last post about the Revelation we considered Satan's fall from heaven and his fearful work of dragging as many as possible with him to his destiny, the bottomless pit, the abyss. The woman, the symbol for the church of all ages, will be protected, however. Listen.

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. - Rev 12:13-18 ESV

Given the two wings of the great eagle? When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land, the LORD spoke these words through the prophet Moses:

. . . while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." - Exo 19:3-6 ESV

Later, the prophet Isaiah writes,

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. - Isa 40:28-31 ESV 

This then is the wondrous promise to us who are in Christ, who are the offspring of the woman, the church. Yes, Satan will make war on us. He will kill us and our families. He will do everything possible to tempt us to sin and give up in despair. But the everlasting God, the Creator of the far stretches of the earth, will give us power. He will fill us with His Spirit. He will nourish and feed us with His all-powerful Word. As we "wait for the LORD," as we put our faith and trust in Him, we will not be disappointed. We will rise above the fray and fly from the conflict in victory. We will remain firm in our faith and—in the words of Luther's great hymn—

"And take they our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife, Let these all be gone, They yet have nothing won. The Kingdom ours remaineth." 

The battle is real. The devil is real. The temptations and trials are real. But so is the victory. Hold to the testimony of Jesus! His great work of self-sacrifice upon Calvary's cross bears witness about Him. He is the one sent by the heavenly Father to be both the High Priest and the final sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 3:16; 5:36-37). And the Father has accepted that sacrifice as the full and final payment for the sins of all mankind.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Heb 10:11-25 ESV

Let this Word of God comfort and strengthen us in all times of testing. And then let us walk with patience and in faith, for the devil's time is limited and the day of his judgment draws near.

Hell Is Your Choice!

The Apostle Paul quickly learned that the questions about Christ's return would not go away in Thessalonica despite what he wrote and what I quoted in my previous blog. This busy metropolitan city with its intersecting roads to the rest of the Roman world had many intersecting ideas and thoughts rushing back and forth. And among those were some troubling thoughts about the return of Christ. Besides all that the church there was being persecuted. So Paul begins his response to all this troubling news like this:

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2Th 1:1-12 ESV

As you can see, Paul did indeed have the return of Christ and the terrible Day of the Lord in mind. Destruction in the form of flaming fire is on the way. God will visit His vengeance on those who do not know Him nor obey—in the sense of pay attention to—the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be dealt with. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction! That's a strange phrase, because we usually think of destruction as something that happens and the person is gone, dead, destroyed.
But Paul says they will suffer and keep on suffering God's δίκη (dē'-kā), God's justice. The sentence will be carried out. That sentence, he writes, will be destruction, but not extinction. Everything that Christ's enemies trust in, everything they dream about, all peace and security, all their riches and power—everything will be wiped out and they themselves will be separated forever from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. They will eternally know nothing but despair, guilt, fear, anxiety and loneliness. As Paul wrote in his first letter,

. . . sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. - 1Th 5:3 ESV

But forever? Why? How can it be? That is a most difficult concept to take hold of. Men usually couch it in terms of the Lord Jesus being too vindictive. Won't his anger ever be satisfied? Will he forever demand punishment, justice—destruction!? But that's the exact opposite of what the Scriptures reveal. How dare you or I make such a mockery of our Lord's mercy and love? How dare we forget that Jesus became our High Priest and made Himself the one final sacrifice for the sins of all men (Hebrews 7:27; 9:11-14, 27-28)? How dare we not hear His loud cry for all humanity upon the cross, 

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Mat 27:46 ESV

He stands before the world of men of all ages with his scarred hands held out. He longs to give forgiveness, but so many are like Jerusalem. He looks down upon them with tears in His eyes.

 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! - Luk 13:34 ESV

But like ancient Pharaoh and Jerusalem's Sanhedrin their hearts are hard, their eyes are darkened and they are not willing! Hell is their choice. The Lord cannot and will not deprive them of the freedom to choose their own destruction.

So it stands for each one of us. Make your choice! If you want hell, then that is what you will receive.

Christ—Once For All

Many Jews—and Christians—long for the rebuilding and restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem. Some even believe that the Ark of the Covenant is hidden somewhere deep underneath the mount of the original temple. Within the original temple (and the earlier Tabernacle / Tent) were two holy areas, accessible only by the priests. The first section held the lamp stand and the table for the bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:23-30). It was called the Holy Place.

The Holy Place was divided from a second section by a massive curtain. Behind that curtain was the Most Holy Place. In it was the golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark were the golden urn containing some of the original manna from the wilderness journey, Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant—all very ancient and very sacred (Exd 25:10-21; Exd 26:33; Exd 37:1-5; Exd 39:35; Exd 40:3,20,21). But all part of the past. We do not expect the temple ever to be rebuilt. 

The writer to the Hebrews says that all that went on in the Temple, the sacrifices and rituals in the courtyard and in the two holy places dealt only with food, drink and various bodily washings, plus the blood of goats, calves and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer. All that did nothing to cleanse hearts and souls. What does? That is the prime question of chapter 9. What truly brings the forgiveness of sins? What is better? The answer: Jesus Christ!

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. - Hebrews 9:24-26 ESV

What is this end of the ages? The word end actually refers to completion or consummation. This is what the former ages pointed to, what they were leading up to. The time of the Temple and all the sacrifices, washings and drinks is over. They were the shadows. Christ is the Body. They were symbolic. Christ is the fulfillment. His coming is the once for all event that has brought all the rest to its completion.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hbr 9:27-28 ESV

Once for all. It is over and complete. All that the earlier system pointed toward has now been fulfilled. Christ came. He finished the work. By raising Jesus from the dead the Father has announced His acceptance of the sacrifice of His Son with whom He is well pleased. Jesus will now appear a second time to save all of us who eagerly await Him. To Him be all glory and praise!  

A New Covenant In Christ

In our study of Hebrews chapter 8 we are back to a discussion of covenants. The writer speaks about the old and the new covenants. The old had its faults and is now obsolete and ready to vanish. The new is up to date and filled with life and hope. Long ago, in the days of Israel's captivity in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah wrote about it (Hebrews 8:8-12). Listen to his exciting words:

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: 

• I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. 
• And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
• And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV

We who live under the blessing and lordship of Jesus Christ see the promises of that new covenant fulfilled in our midst. What are those blessings? Let us add them up one by one.

1. Our High Priest is seated at God's right hand (Hebrews 8:1). No longer does any priest have to kill animals, sprinkle blood or spread out sacrifices on an altar. That work was but an example of what was to come. The final sacrifice has been made. Our High Priest sits now at the Father's right hand, pleading for us on the basis of His one final sacrifice. 
2. Our High Priest ministers on our behalf in the true tent pitched by the LORD, not by man (Hebrews 8:2-3). His public ministry (ministry is our word liturgy) is to plead for mercy on our behalf. The basis for His plea is the fact that He has offered His life, shed His infinitely precious blood for us. All that previous priests could offer was the blood of animals. These sacrifices did not in truth pay for the debts we incur by our sinning. They could not. They were but shadows or examples and copies of what was to come (Hebrews 8:4-5).
3. Our High Priest is our only Mediator (Hebrews 8:6). A mediator is one who intervenes between two. He is the go-between, the one who is able to restore peace and friendship between two parties. Moses previously was one such. He was the one who brought God's commands to the Children of Israel, the one who acted as their mediator with God. This is what Christ and Christ alone is for all men. Through Him we are privileged and able to come into the presence of God Himself. This is what the Apostle wrote in his letter to young pastor Timothy: "For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Tim. 2:5 - ESV

There was no such High Priest in the Old Covenant. They had no such high priest in the heavenly places. All they had were earthly priests ministering in a tent or temple made with human hands, mere copies of the true heavenly temple. This was the fault or defect of the first covenant. The houses of Israel and Judah needed a new covenant.

But what exactly is a covenant? There are many examples of covenants in the Old Testament writings. For instance, Abraham made a covenant between himself and Abimelech the Philistine at Beersheba to settle the dispute between them about water. The oath between them was sealed by seven ewe lambs that Abraham gave to Abimelech. Therefore that place was called Beersheba (the well of seven in Hebrew) - Gen. 21:22-32.

Covenants were not always between equals, however. Yet they were binding and taken most seriously. So there was a covenant between the LORD God and the people of Israel, not a covenant between equals, but between the greater and the lesser, similar to the treaties imposed by a great king upon one of his vassal kings who owed him homage and obedience. Israel accepted such a covenant when she escaped slavery in Egypt. The people of Israel promised to have no other gods and to obey the LORD. The Mosaic law and the sacrificial system and all these entailed were part of that covenant. But Israel did not keep her covenant with the LORD. She broke it. She turned to other gods. She disobeyed God's laws. The old covenant was a failure.

In view of all this the prophet Jeremiah, as spokesman for the LORD, promised a new covenant. In this new covenant the LORD would write His law on the hearts of God's people, within them. They would truly know Him. And their sins and iniquities would be forgiven. We will explore next time what that implies for us who have put our faith and trust in Christ.

The OT Sacrificial System, A Pattern of What Was To Come

Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples on the very night that he was betrayed by Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples. The Gospel of John records one stirring event that night that has been imitated again and again by Christian communities as they remember and celebrate the Lord's Supper  in Holy Week. Jesus laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wrapped around Him. This was, of course, the lowly task of a servant in the household of a great lord and certainly not the work of the Messianic King—or at least so the disciples thought.

Peter objected to what Jesus was doing, saying, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.". . . And then he went on to explain, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. - John 13:8,13-16 ESV

The writer of Hebrews 8 uses this same word, example (hypodeigmä in Greek), to describe the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. He also calls it but a shadow (skia in Greek) of the heavenly things. God had given Moses specific instruction to make everything according to the pattern (typos in Greek) given to him. The tent had to be just so in size with a specific number of rooms. In each room certain specific objects were to be fashioned and placed. The high priest, in turn, was to be dressed in specific clothing and he had detailed instructions about how and when to carry out his duties.

The ministry or service that the high priest performed, says Hebrews, was not what goes on in heaven before God. All these rituals and sacrifices were but copies or shadows of what was to come when Christ, the true promised Messiah, came. They pointed forward to the substance or the living body and ministry of Christ (Col. 2:17). The entire law, Hebrews will go on to say, was but a shadow of the good things to come. It was not the true form (icon in Greek). 

In the next chapter he will use yet one more word to describe the various gifts and bloody sacrifices offered by the high priest for himself and the worshippers. He calls them all a parable ( parabolē in Greek) for that particular time, a period that came to an end when Christ, the true High Priest, fulfilled his duties upon the cross (John 19:30). 

So Hebrews practically exhausts the Greek language in order to point out that the whole sacrificial system, with the Tabernacle and later the Temple, the high priest and his helpers, the thousands of sacrifices of bulls, sheep and goats and all the various rituals—the entire system— was not and never was intended to be anything other than a . . . 

• shadow
• example
• copy
• pattern and
• parable

. . . of what was to come and what Christ completed once and for all in the presence of God, in the heavenly places. Watch how again and again the writer makes that point. In the words of Christ, "It is finished!" No more sacrifices, no more blood and no more death. It is over. The debts are paid. And what a comfort it is for all of us who put our faith and trust in Jesus, our true High Priest. 

Do Not Go Beyond God's Revelation About Jesus

We are discussing the very difficult chapter 7 of Hebrews. Our focus during the past two postings has been upon the writer's comparison of King Melchizedek to Christ.

He (Melchizedek) is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. - Hebrews 7:3 ESV (cf. Gen. 14:18-20)

Melchizedek is not a descendant or child of Abraham. Yet he receives "a tenth of the spoils" from Abraham (Hebrews 7:4). In a sense, you might say that the priestly clan of Levi and his sons were present when Abraham gave Melchizedek those tithes. They were, after all, descendants of Abraham inasmuch as they were one of the 12 tribes descended from Abraham's grandson Israel (Jacob). Consequently it is also proper to say that the priests (Levites) were inferior in rank to Melchizedek since they paid tithes through Abraham (Hebrews 7:6-10).

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. - Hbr 7:9-10 ESV 

It follows then that Melchizedek who was both priest and king is superior in rank to Levi. This is why Christ is correctly compared to Melchizedek. Christ is also both priest and king, but descended from the tribe of Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing having to do with priests. So in King David's words,

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." - Psa 110:4 ESV

Now if you have hung with me this far—and with this letter to the Hebrews—you know that we must settle the question of Jesus' humanity. We've already recognized that He is and was the holy Son of God from all eternity, begotten (not created) before all created things. By Him and from Him all things were created.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. - Jhn 1:1-3 ESV

But He is also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary.  He must be fully and completely human (descended from Adam) if He is to stand under God's judgment upon Adam and his progeny.

For as in Adam all die . . . - 1Cr 15:22 ESV 

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- - Rom 5:12 ESV

So the huge and seemingly impossible challenge: how can the Christ who is the holy Son of God from all eternity be also the Son of Man who will die our death and not inherit the sinful nature of His human father Adam?

Answer: the Virgin Birth !

And here is where where some attempt to explain Jesus' ancestry by resorting to our current understanding of the creation of a human. They speak about cell mitosis and meiosis, the 23 pairs of chromosomes that are needed for new human life, the development of human blood, etc. They go on to explain that Jesus inherited Adam's nature, but not his sinfulness. This, they say, is because

. . . the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. - Lev 17:11 NIV

But that single Bible verse does not speak about Adam's sinful nature. Any attempt to make it say that is an example of reading things into a text.  I am very leery of this sort of thing and you should be as well, because such a use of God's Word goes far beyond what the Word has revealed about the mystery of the Incarnation. The Apostle teaches us humility as he writes,

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. - 1Ti 3:16 NIV

The primary points to be remembered:

• In Christ God has appeared in human flesh
• Christ's incarnation was accomplished through the Virgin Mary
• Whether Mary remained a Virgin is an open question, despite the view of the Roman Catholic church and others that she remained a Virgin even in giving birth to Jesus
• Jesus was of Adam's race according to the flesh (see especially his lineage in Luke 3:23-38 and Matt. 1:1-17)
• Though Jesus was born of the "Seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3), he did not inherit Adam's sinful nature

Beyond this we must not go. You may harbor private opinions and conclusions, but we must not attempt to make God reveal details about Jesus' birth that He has chosen to keep to Himself. Questions of when Jesus' human spirit or soul were created will also remain a mystery that is not revealed. The question about when or how any human soul is created is another question that has long been argued and tossed about. I'm not going to open it up here either. 

For now let us concentrate upon the primary facts lifted up by Hebrews 7. Jesus is our permanent and eternal priest. He is holy, blameless and pure, exalted above the heavens. He sacrificed Himself for our sins, once for all mankind. It is finished.We have a Great High Priest who pleads for all of us sinners before the judgment throne of God. In Him we are forgiven and secure. To Him be all glory. 

More on this as we go further into this wondrous letter. 

Christ's Personal, Experiential Knowledge

How did he do it? How did Jesus live with the knowledge that his entire life was to lead up to the horrific agony of he cross? How did he endure, knowing that this was the reason for his entering this world? How was he able to go on, knowing that he was to carry the burden of ALL mankind's sins? How did he do it?

Jesus knew the Scriptures that described in vivid detail what was to happen to the Messiah, the promised Anointed One, the King. He had memorized those Scriptures. Read yourself these example listed below and ask yourself how he could persist, knowing that this was his destiny.

• Psalm 22:1-21 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 
• Psalm 41:5-9 - Even my close friend has lifted his heel against me
• Psalm 69:1-36 - More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause
• Isaiah 53:1-12 - He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities

Now put yourself in his place. Consider what it would do to you if you knew that hundreds, no thousands upon thousands, hated you. Think about being forsaken and betrayed by your closest friends. Think not merely upon the physical pain of death upon a Roman cross after being beat within a half-inch of your life. That is bad enough, but it is hardly worth mentioning compared to the torture, the spiritual, heart-felt soul-agony of all that pain even while you know with absolute certainty that you are unjustly abhorred, hated, rejected and beaten in anger and outrage—all of it, not because you deserve it, but because you have chosen to put yourself there in place of others. They deserve this. You do not. They ought to be rejected and forsaken both by men and by God Himself, not you. 

This is the unthinkable agony of the Christ, the Messiah. He was tortured beyond any man's ability to describe. Yet this was the path Jesus freely chose because he revered and loved his Father in heaven. The Father said there was no other way for men to be saved.  From birth men disobey, they disobey in the same way that the first man and woman disobeyed. They are born in sin. And they keep on disobeying every day afterwards. They cannot possibly keep God's commands. Even as Adam's disobedience in the Garden made all men sinners, so now the second Adam's obedience makes many righteous, writes the Apostle Paul. 

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. - Rom 5:17-19 ESV

This is the obedience that the Hebrews letter describes as it points to all that Jesus endured throughout his life and ultimately upon the cross of Calvary.

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:7-10 ESV

 Jesus' learning was not mere information learning. It was experiential learning. He knew from his study of Scripture what was to happen to him. He had that information. But then he did what the prophecies foretold. He went to the cross and through the agony of it all. It became his experience. It happened to him. It became personal. It now belonged to him and to no other. It was like a woman bearing a child. Only she who has gone through it truly knows what that means (John 16:21-22). So Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.

And he did it all the way! My son became like Jesus when he learned to ride his bike. "I did it, Dad," he said. "I learned how to balance and pedal. I rode my bike all by myself." So Jesus completed our salvation. He finished it. He completed it. He did the deed. It is done, over, and now fully available for all. So he cried out upon the cross in victory, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). That's what Hebrews points to.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:8-10 ESV

I know. If you have read this far it may be most difficult to understand. But pray about it, because this is the most important thing you will ever know. Your eternal life depends upon this good news. More about this next time.

It All Depends On Jesus' Resurrection

I notice a strange and awesome thing as I continue to read the letter to the Hebrews. The writer looks at the Old Testament Scriptures as if they are a record of God the Father having a conversation with His Son. In other words, he seriously believes that God is speaking through these words and has been from the time they were first written. This is not at all how many view the O.T. Bible in our day. Listen to what the writer says about Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." - Hebrews 5:5-6 ESV

That first quote is from David's psalm.

"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. - Psa 2:6-7 ESV 

The Apostle Paul referred to that psalm in his sermon to the Jewish synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia, a city on the Mediterranean coast in the southwestern part of modern Turkey (Acts 13:16-41). In his sermon he points out that Jesus was the direct descendant of King David. The promise spoken to David about a King on Mt. Zion or Jerusalem has now been fulfilled. David was not that king. He lived for a time and died. Who then is the Son who would be the permanent king on Zion, God's holy hill? Who is the promised Anointed One (Messiah)? Answer: Jesus! This has been confirmed by Jesus' resurrection from the dead. That too was promised in Psalm 16, also written by David, but ultimately not about David. It was rather about David's greater Son, Jesus. It did not refer to David, because David died and his body did see corruption. But Jesus' body did not see corruption.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. - Psa 16:10 ESV

Jesus lives! His resurrection was confirmed by hundreds and hundreds (1 Cor. 15:3-8). Paul himself saw and spoke with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19 and retold in Acts 22:6-21 and 26:12-18). This Jesus is indeed the promised Christ and the Son begotten by the Father before the creation of all things. The Nicene creed puts it this way:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him, Paul continues, comes freedom and forgiveness of sins. This freedom is not possible by keeping the law of Moses. It is only possible by putting your trust and faith in Jesus. He is the great  eternal high priest who pleads forever before the Father's throne on behalf of those who put their faith and hope in him. He is both the priest and the sacrifice offered upon the cross, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 

That too was promised in another of the psalms of David that speak about the Messiah who rules from Mt. Zion forever as both king and priest.

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." - Psa 110:4 ESV

Melchizedek was the strange king to whom Abraham gave gifts after he returned from rescuing his nephew Lot. The Hebrews letter will discuss this further in chapters 6 and 7, 

The wonder of all these quotes from the psalms is that they were and are fulfilled in Jesus. The truth of this statement is Jesus' return from the dead, his resurrection. This is what we Christians celebrate each Sunday. On the first day of the week we recall that Christ is risen. If he is not risen then everything we believe and all that we proclaim is empty and meaningless. Then there is no forgiveness and no hope of our own resurrection. Then the Scriptures are not true. In one of his letters to Corinth Paul puts it like this. 

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. - 1Cor 15:12-19 ESV

No other religion, no other religious system, no one else can make these outrageous claims and back them up. Only Jesus died and rose again. Only Jesus' body saw no corruption. Only Jesus is the eternal high priest. We'll have much more to say about this as we continue our study of this wonderful epistle. And as we do, we'll affirm again and again that Christ is risen indeed!

My Birthday Gift To You

Last Sunday I heard a sermon that touched me deeply. The Pastor spoke about how we all like to compare ourselves to others. They have this, but I don't. They are recognized and praised, but I am not. Or the other way around. I'm so very happy that I have this or that I am better than him. And so forth. Yes, I realized, this is indeed how I am. I'm forever comparing myself to someone else, someone who is better than me, who has what I want and so forth.

At that point he changed gears and asked all of us hearers to turn to Psalm 139.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. ... 

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! - Psa 139:1-2, 11-17 ESV

My LORD Jesus knows everything about me. He knows how my pride-filled heart urges me to be jealous of others or to boast about how wonderful I am in comparison to them. He knows how I love to make myself out to be what I am not or how I beat myself down because I am not applauded as this one or that one is. . . He knows my sin and my sinful nature.

And yet He loves me, forgives me and has formed all these days for me, days in which I may receive His forgiveness and mercy, days in which I may praise and thank Him, days in which I may serve others in His name. He had this all worked out long before I was formed in my mother's womb, when as yet there was not a single day in which I lived.

All this is so precious, so wonderful, so vast. And it comes to me from the living and active Word of God. This is the Word that gets to the very bottom of my being, dividing even my soul from my spirit, just as if I were slicing up a side of beef or pork for a meal. My God discerns every thought and intention in my heart, knows them better than I do. Not a single one of my thoughts is hidden from Him. I stand naked and exposed before Him. . . and yet He loves me. This is what Jesus has come to reveal to me. This is what the Hebrews letter tells me—and you as well (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hbr 4:14-15 ESV

Jesus, my high priest, understands me. He knows my weakness. He knows how I fall into the temptation to boast one day and then the next fall head-long into the ditch of despair and doubt. He sympathizes with me. He can relate, because He too faced these temptations, along with all other kinds. But He did not sin. Instead He assumed responsibility for my sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hbr 4:16 ESV 

Because Jesus has identified with me, because He understands what I'm going through, I can draw near to Him unafraid. He is praying for me. He is pleading my case before His Father. He is asking the Father to forgive and bless me—all because of His perfect obedience and His suffering and dying upon the cross for my sake. So He is always there with His undeserved yet complete grace. In my time of need I always have Him.

As I said, I needed to hear that last Sunday. I want you to know about it today. Today is my birth-day. And on this day I want this good news to give you new birth, new life, a new beginning. It is my birthday gift to you—in the name of Jesus.

Not What, But Who Unites Us Christians

We Christians talk a good talk, but in reality we don't walk a good walk. We say we believe that Christ is in charge of God's entire house. He is the Son of God after all. In other words, He is the Groom and the church is His bride. He is also the Head and we believers are His body. That makes us all members of the same body. And so, we are members one of the other. It means we are brothers and sisters, members of the same family. Right?

Sounds good, but . . . there are such little matters as race, ethnicity, nationality, language, tradition, culture, sex, education and generation that keep getting in the way. And they are often not little matters. Consider those matters that separate and divide us.

• I'm white, but you're black (race)
• I'm German, but you're French (ethnicity)
• I speak English, but you speak Spanish (language)
• I'm American, but you're Chinese (nationality)
• I prefer classical European style music, but you only relate to African (culture)
• I have had the privilege of a post-graduate education, but you can barely read (education)
• I was born before World War II, but you were born at the end of the 20th century (generation)

How shall we overcome these differences? Is it even possible? Listen to the writer to the Hebrews. He uses the Greek word oikos (translated as "house" in English) to refer to the household of God. With this word he refers to that great host of mankind rescued from slavery to sin and death by the work of Christ. The previous chapter ends by emphasizing that Christ is the high priest who offered himself as the all atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. That's why he is able to help all who are enslaved by the fear of death.

THEREFORE, holy brothers (or brothers and sisters), you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. - Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV

What brings us together? The answer is not what, but WHO! What we share, says the writer, is our heavenly calling. When we get down to the bottom of it, we are all human, descendants of Adam and Eve. And Jesus united Himself to all of us when He was born of the Virgin Mary by the wondrous working of the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus who binds us into one body. It is Jesus who makes us members of one another. It is Jesus who has made Himself one with those of us who are black, brown, tan, white, yellow, red, with eyes and hair and complexions of all colors. It is Jesus who is Chinese, Malaysian, Russian, Swedish, Mexican, American and every other nationality. Jesus speaks to and in every culture. He puts the children on His lap and humbles the most highly educated with the mysteries and wonders of His creation.

And Jesus did it by doing for us all what we cannot and never shall be able to do for ourselves. He earned for us forgiveness and absolution for all our sins. He is the "builder of a house" with far more honor than the house itself, as the Hebrews writer says.

If you are interested in the so-called ecumenical movement I commend you. We Christians must be ready to acknowledge that we are members of the same household, brothers and sisters one of the other. BUT, please, please, let us not forget what unites us. As I noted above, it is not what, but WHO! Who is Jesus? What did He do upon Calvary's cross? What does that mean for you, for me? What is it that we share because Jesus? Blind Helen Howarth Lemmel put it beautifully when she wrote,

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

• O soul, are you weary and troubled?
  No light in the darkness you see?
  There’s light for a look at the Savior,
  And life more abundant and free.

Chorus: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

• Through death into life everlasting
  He passed, and we follow Him there;
  O’er us sin no more hath dominion
  For more than conqu’rors we are! - Chorus

• His Word shall not fail you, He promised;
  Believe Him and all will be well;
  Then go to a world that is dying,
  His perfect salvation to tell! - Chorus

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/645#ixzz2fky20JIJ

The Way Of Escape From The Temptation To Despair

Sometimes we forget that Jesus is and always will be fully and completely human. This is, after all, the meaning of His Incarnation. It is what we confess in the Nicene Creed, for instance:

. . . by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

He remained a man after His resurrection and ascension. He is still a man and ever will be into all eternity. This is why the Hebrews says,

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. - Hebrews 2:14-18 ESV 

He had to be made like his brothers in every respect . . . Do you catch the implications of that? In every respect  or in all things he is like you, like me. He shares our flesh and blood. When he met his disciples after his resurrection they doubted this fact. They couldn't believe their eyes. To Thomas he said,

"Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." - John 20:27 ESV

By the seashore in Galilee he ate breakfast with them.

Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. - John 21:12-14 ESV

He is no angel. He is human, a man. This is why he is our "merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God." Only a man could offer himself for other men. Only a man could "make propitiation for the sins of the people." I wrote about that strange word propitiation a while back.  Essentially it says that he made complete payment for the debts we owe by offering himself as the sacrifice for us all upon the cross of Calvary. We'll have occasion to come back to that word later in our study of this marvelous epistle. For now let it suffice to know that in every respect Jesus has and is one with us as our merciful and faithful high priest. He is both priest and sacrifice. We'll also come back to that again and again in this study.

In this great work Jesus was tempted to give in. So great was the burden that he nearly collapsed under the weight of it all. Luke writes about his agony and suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And when he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." 

And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. - Luk 22:40-44 ESV 

He understands what it means to feel like giving up. He knows the temptation to despair and hopelessness. He sympathizes with all of us who are asked to assume grave responsibility for others. He fully comprehends what suffering, pain, sorrow and anguish are all about. And because he does, because he's been there, he is able to be with us when we are tempted to throw in the towel. He promises that he'll never ask of us more than we can bear. Through his apostle he says to us,

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1Cor 10:13 ESV

In Christ you are forgiven. In Christ you have hope of life eternal and the resurrection from the dead. And from Christ you have his promise of a way of escape. In the power of those promises you will endure. You will endure.

The Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit

We've been speaking about praying to the LORD for forgiveness and promising to do the same toward those indebted to us. But is there ever an instance when we must not forgive? Is there any such command in Sacred Scripture? Is there any sin God will not forgive? Listen.

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. - Mat 12:31-32 ESV

What is this blasphemy against the Spirit?

A man with a withered hand came to a Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. For unknown reasons his hand was not getting blood to it. Was it gangrene? We don't know. What we do know is that the man desperately wanted to be healed and believed Jesus could do it. But it was the Sabbath and on the Sabbath all true children of Abraham could do no work. And healing a man was work.

Already the Pharisees had condemned Jesus for allowing his disciples to pluck grain heads and eat them. Jesus responded that about a thousand years before King David was given the bread of the Presence or Show-bread (Exod. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9) by a priest. That sacred bread was to be eaten only by the priests (Exod. 28:32-33). David and his men were fleeing for their lives and in great need of food. So the priest gave them this holy bread, breaking all the rules about it.

Moreover the priests always worked on the Sabbath. In the temple on the Sabbath they had to offer lambs, flour and oil as well as other offerings. And that was surely work. Thus they desecrated the Sabbath and yet were guiltless in God's eyes.

Beyond that, something greater than the temple stood before their eyes. Jesus, the Son of Man to whom the eternal day of rest pointed, the Lord of the Sabbath, stood before them, but they did not see him. They saw only a false prophet. Yet this same Jesus, the true high priest, was to enter into the very presence of God, offering himself as the one, final sacrifice. And so true rest from the guilt of sin and the punishment of death would now be available to all who will receive it in faith.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV (consider the entire chapter)

With that response Jesus entered the Synagogue where he was confronted by the man with that withered hand. And the Pharisees were waiting. "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" they demanded.

Jesus responded by pointing out that they fed and rescued their sheep on the Sabbath. "Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!" And with that he restored the man's hand to full health.

This brought a firestorm of anger and hatred from the Pharisees. Jesus had to go. They conspired together on how to kill him. But they could not stop him—yet. He kept right on healing still others, even healing a blind and mute man oppressed by a demon. These further deeds caused them to accuse Jesus of being in the service of Satan himself. All this was, of course, blasphemy. This is why Jesus said what he did.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. - Mat 12:30-32 ESV

From this we conclude that some may—for a time—mock Jesus and be forgiven. But finally, if they reject what the Spirit has spoken in God's Word about Jesus as our High Priest, they commit blasphemy. Jesus has presented the one, final sacrifice for sin. The Spirit calls to us in that Good Word, inviting all to accept Jesus' sacrifice and so be eternally rescued from judgment and death. Turn your back upon that Gospel, join the Pharisees to pronounce Jesus as a servant of Satan, blaspheme the very Spirit of God, and you will not and cannot be forgiven. This is the unforgivable sin!

So humbly and with deepest gratitude we pray, "Our Father in heaven, forgive us our debts for the sake of Jesus, even as we promise to forgive those who are indebted to us."

The Christmas Priesthood Of Believers

We continue our meditation upon the Scriptures that speak about the birth and early life of our Lord Jesus.

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." - Luke 2:22-24 ESV

According to Jewish law, the firstborn male child belonged to God (Exod 13:2-18), and the parents had to "buy him back" on the 40th day after his birth by offering a sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24) in the temple (thus the "presentation" of the child).

Luke refers to the story of the Exodus when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. During the tenth plague the LORD passed over the Israelites when he killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians. From that time onward all the firstborn were to be set aside for the LORD. 

The verb to pass over is also a commentary on the pagan practice of child sacrifice. Pagans of the ancient Near East would take a child and pass him over or through the fire as a child sacrifice. The LORD forbad such barbarism. 

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer - Deut 18:10 ESV (cf. 2 Kings 16:3)

Rather than child sacrifice the LORD wanted the firstborn to be set apart and devoted to His service as the priests of God. The Israelites were not to pass over their first offspring in the fire to death, but they were to pass them over to God to life. As the LORD passed over the Israelites during the plague, so now they were to pass their first offspring over to Him as priests who would teach, judge and offer sacrifices on behalf of all of Israel. In fact, the LORD wanted all of Israel to be a kingdom of priests. He declared: 

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." - Exod 19:4-6 ESV

However, Israel forfeited her priesthood when the people were unfaithful to the covenant and fell into idolatry by worshipping the golden calf (Exod 32:1-6).  Because of this great sin, they broke covenant with the LORD and lost the privilege of being His firstborn priesthood. They failed to reflect the LORD's holy character. So instead He chose the Levites who rose up on that day to stand on the LORD's side.

. . . then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'" And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, "Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day." - Exod 32:26-29 ESV

From that day forward the tribe of Levi served as the priests. The law about the firstborn remained, however, as a reminder of the LORD's intention that the whole nation was to be set aside for the LORD's service. As noted above, parents could "buy the firstborn back" on the 40th day after his birth with a pair of turtledoves or young pigeons.

The New Testament picks this up, pointing out that Jesus Christ is the pre-eminent firstborn. 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. - Col 1:13-18 ESV

We who are reborn into Christ, we who are the members of His body, are now the restored priesthood. We are set aside (the meaning of the word holy) for the LORD. We are priests who serve in a living temple whose cornerstone is Christ. So the Apostle Peter writes:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. - 1Pet 2:4-10 ESV

This then is how we celebrate Christmas and every day of the year. Set aside, made holy in Christ, our entire lives are devoted to Him. We are the priesthood of believers. 

So, What Is Your View Of History?

Those of you uninterested in history—how many that includes—may wonder why I seem to be preoccupied with it. When hearing about my latest and soon to be published novel, they ask, "Is it a historical novel?" And my answer is yes or at least so it seems. It is historical fiction, that is fiction related to events that really happened. 


So is that what the Bible is, fiction based upon events that really happened? For many it seems so, especially when they come across a couple phrases from the Bible passage I've been pondering this week—Hebrews 9:24-28—"he (Christ) has appeared once for all . . . Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people."


That once-for-all idea has a ton of historical controversy behind it. Who ever came up with this idea that a young Jew was God and that by dying on a Roman cross he could atone for the sins of every human being who has ever lived and breathed upon this planet from the beginning of time until now and on into the endless future? Preposterous! Unless this man Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Son of God, "very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father"  (Nicene Creed).

Here's an alternate view of history from the novel, one fervently held by many Germans, even before the rise of Nazism. My protagonist, Albert, is talking with the vivacious Hulda Schwarz, priestess of the goddess Freya.


“Albert, Albert, you have so much to learn."


She spoke with what seemed greater intensity as the pitch of her voice rose. “For centuries before your bumbling Italian stumbled upon the North American continent, the great Vikings navigated back and forth from Scandinavia.They cruised the Great Lakes to explore this place, your so-called Indians called Minnesota, the land of sky blue waters. The Vikings had villages here. Their runes prove it. Have you never heard about a stone discovered here in Minnesota over thirty years ago with powerful runes written upon it?"


Al stared at her, “What are these fairy tales?”


“Before the great Vikings, even for thousands and thousands of years before the birth of Christ, we Aryans ruled these lands. Albert, all the way to the South American continent. We were the Aztecs and the Maya. We Aryans also ruled the islands of the Mediterranean Sea and established great kingdoms from Crete to Egypt and Ethiopia. Our power reached out to India and beyond, even to the lands of the Chinese.”


“But, but how can this be, Fraulein? No one ever spoke about this to me. Are, are you certain this is true?”


His mumbling and fumbling made him feel like a fool. Did she have access to some hidden knowledge or was she a raving lunatic?


Hulda smiled as she turned to Al. “You have so much to learn, Albert, so much. Be patient. You are on the right track and Woden smiles upon you!”


“Woden?”


Hulda sighed and seemed to let out a long, almost exasperated breath. “I, too, must be patient. I know it, but I forget. You have been taught empty myths about the Jewish god. You have probably been taught that the Jesus, the Jew of Nazareth, was a god! In time you will learn the truth and give your allegiance to the true gods, the gods of the North, the Aryan gods!”


“Perhaps, but who is this Woden you speak about?”


“Woden—some call him Odin—is the Father of us all, Albert.”


Her words came out slow, quiet reverently. She bowed her head and gazed again out the window. It seemed to Al as if she was worshiping this Woden person right in front of him.


Turning back to him, she continued. “Albert, Woden is the All-Father, the ruler of all spirits. He is the First One, the Creator. In him lives all knowledge and wisdom. To him we sing our songs, for all comes from him.” 


What is your view of history?