Old Covenant or New Covenant... how about Same Covenant

This Easter one story that was highlighted in scripture to me was in the book of John chapter 20 and verse 12 we read, "...and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying."

What she would have seen would have been very familiar to her.  As she gazed upon these 2 angels and the way that they sat it may have look something like this photo to the left.  She would have known what this was.

Imagine this.  An angel at the left and at the right (at the head and the foot where He had laid).  And in between the angels the  blood stain of the Lamb of GOD.  The stain from the blood that would cover the sins of the world.  The blood stain that would move GOD to "pass over" us and forgive and move in mercy.  Amazing!  There in between those angles GOD's mercy seen as revealed in His poured out blood.  She would have noticed... The Arc.


 



The Arc of the Covenant (pictured right).  Notice the angles on each side of the arc?  Look like John 20:12.

And what about in between the Angels?  The Mercy Seat of GOD.  This is where once a year the Priest would sprinkle blood between the angles on the Mercy Seat as a symbol of GOD's blood covering on the Day of Atonement.  

 On that day, the high priest was to perform  rituals to atone for the sins of the people. Described in Leviticus 16:1-34 .   

On top of the ark was a lid called the mercy seat on which rested the cloud or visible manifestation (via smoke or fire) of GOD.  Here GOD was seated, and from this place He would give mercy to man when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled there as symbol of the blood covering what laid inside The Arc.

What was inside the arc?  3 items:

1. Aaron's Budding Rod which would represent mankind;s rejection of God's chosen leadership
2. The 10 Commandments which were broken represents mankind's rejection of God's law.
3. The Manna would represent mankind's rejection of God's provision.

So God's own blood as through Himself in the person of Jesus COVERED and made ATONEMENT for our selfish ways (rejecting God's laws, rejecting His provision and rejecting His leadership), as did the sprinkling of the blood on the Day of Atonement.  

Old Covenant (symbolically) and New Covenant (physically) being the Same Covenant.

Amazing!  Reflecting on this gives me shivers... The New Covenant as brought by GOD though Jesus.  No more ritual.  No more Temple... we are His Temple.  And we are the place where the GOD of the universe dwells.  In our hearts through the New Covenant.
 
What a beautiful picture of what GOD did for sacrificing Himself as the Atonement for sins and covering them,

Thank you Jesus for what you did!

Hope this helps...
Ezra



 

You know where ancient Jericho currently is... who cares?

A few months back I was listening to a sermon and was challenged.  In Revelation 2:5 it says,  "Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first..."

The part that really stuck out to me was "do the deeds you did at first".  I started asking myself... "When I first surrendered my heart to Jesus on October 27th 1993 what were the things I used to do?" I started going though a list and I discovered that I had stopped doing certain things (in my "22 years as a Believer I passed it off as "I am maturing" and do not have to do the things I used to do).  That's WRONG!

One of the main areas was the "revelatory" reading of His Word.  I used to sit down and read the Word and get revelation ALL THE TIME!  God speaking to me about Flesh and Blood (John 6) or the vine that grew over Jonah etc...  Bible reading had turned into a historic journey over the years... and I was trying to see "in context" what Jesus said and where He was in time and space.  This is NOT WRONG... BUT for me it was killing my reading and I believe it is only seeing His Word 2 dimensionally when there are 500 dimensions to it : )

That was a fun way for me to read but I was missing out on a larger aspect of His Word... His Living and Active and Growing Word. 
It was no longer about how the Word of God can change me.  It was about the knowledge I received.  It is not enough that we know about the Bible... even the demons know (James 2:19, " You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.")  Or that we know who Paul wrote to and that there may be other letters from the Corinthians.  What the biggest deal is, is "AM I CHANGING AS A RESULT OF READING HIS WORD?"  Am I becoming more like Jesus?  Am I applying the Galatians passage about the fruits of the Spirit?  Am I applying the Sermon on the Mount?  Am I preferring my brother and loving my neighbor and caring for the widow and being hospitable?  This is the key.  This is the reason we have His Word. To be doers of the Word not just hearers like it says in  James 1:22, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.".


God gave us His word so that we would be more like Him.  That we can see Him revealed in His Word.  So we could see His plan of redemption and salvation.  So that we could see how He has operated through history.  Not so that I can impress you with where ancient Jericho currently stands.  Who cares.

When we drift from the Word He has given us and make it to be a text/history book I think we miss out on a lot.   The drift can happen subtly.  We begin to read other books on subjects we love.  Or on ministry areas we love.  I love the Muslim world so I read and read and read about Islam and the cultures.  I have to ask myself periodically, "Ezra are you reading more about Islam than you are in my His Word?"  Or am I reading more from famous authors/preachers and theologians than I am spending time in His Word? 

Or how about how we often let our culture and current event dictate to us what Gods Word says (that is a blog for another day)?  Read the Bible... you will see how we ought to behave (1 John 2:26, 1 Tim 3:15, 2 Tim 2:24) and what is sin and what is not sin.  Read the Bible we will see.  Many of us do not bother.  I have asked students in many different states and nations how long does it take to read the Bible?  Some have said "Years"!  In actuality we can read from Genesis to Revelation in 72 hours.  We can do this.  We can take time to hear what He has to say through this supernatural, unequaled, wonderful, easy to read, accurate, unadulterated, inspired and infallible Book.  The Enemy has tried to deceive us into thinking we cannot understand this book... or that it takes too ling.  Stop that lie!

Its OK that I read other authors and indulge in current events and ministry focuses, but ask yourself, "Whens the last time God gave ME revelation from His word... and not revelation from some author?"

So in conclusion:  I am not saying studying the Scripture from a historical context is bad, it was not helping me.  We must read it both ways.  Also, am I spending as much time in Gods Word as I am in my area of interest?  This is important.

Hope this helps.

Creating Possibilities and Options With God

I was reading today in Genesis and in chapter 2 a verse really struck me.  In verse 19 it says this,
Genesis 2:19
“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.” NASB

The part of the verse that really stood out was this phrase, “…and brought them to the man to see what he would call them.”

It appears in scripture that God lets the man name the animals what ever he pleased and whatever the man named them God said, “OK. that's a turtle (or whatever it was in that language)”.  As God let Adam do this He observed like a loving Father and listened to what His friend Adam named the animals (and notice in scripture there is total freedom. God doesn't correct or instruct or micro manage.  He just simply waits to see what the man will do, “…to see what he would call them…”).  I get a picture of God getting great joy out of watching this and being utterly amused and amazed at what names Adam comes up with.   Sometimes being deeply impressed with what just came out of His “creations” mouth.  He may have just simply enjoyed hearing what His friend was coming up with.   Of course God could have named all the animals but I truly think this was a beautiful picture of what God wants to do with us.  How He wants to be in communion with us.  To be in unity and with us.

As a parent have you ever been astonished or marveled at what your kids just said?  Sometimes it may be hilarious or sometimes very very mature for their age or sometimes… very horrific!  The point is, on a human level we can be amazed or astonished (i.e. surprised) by what our kids come up with.  Why can’t God be amazed by what comes out of our mouths?  In the New Testament we see Jesus (God incarnate) being “astonished” at their lack of faith in Mark 6:6 (and Luke 7:9).  The word “astonished” in the Greek is θαυμάζω (thou ma zo) means to marvel.  “Marvel”, according to Merriem-Webster means “be filled with wonder or astonishment.”  "Wonder",  according to Merriem-Webster means “a feeling of surprise…”  So Jesus Himself was “surprised”.  Which would lead me to think that as Adam named things God “marveled” or was “surprised" to see what His friend was naming them. 

I believe He wants us to create with Him as detailed in this passage (Genesis 2:19).  Adam heard the voice of God (first he listened to Gods voice) and in obedience the next part was naming the animals (second he took action).  Adam heard Gods command, “Name the animals” (this is not actually a “command” recorded in scripture but rather implied in the scripture), and he responded with obedience.  This is the lesson.  As we are obedient to the call of God and His voice and directions we will make decisions and open up possibility's and options that may not ever have existed unless I am obedient to follow His voice and directions.  Your choice matters.  Your words count!

I was speaking to my daughters about this the other night and our oldest says, “So my obedience and choice could actually effect the history of the world?”  And I responded with a very quick, “Yes!”.  This is how important our obedience and desire to hear His voice is.  The future of our family, city, nation etc… could hang in the balance.  This shouldn’t bring fear it should bring excitement!  It should get us to think that our prayers, evangelism and intercession have influence and can make a HUGE difference in the world.  It can alter history!  You are a history maker with God!  Live like it and talk like it!

Hope this helps!

Pastor Mark... You're Fired!

I have been meaning to write this for several weeks now and am finally getting around to it.  I wanted to share about some thoughts regarding the recent decision to remove Pastor Mark Driscoll from the pulpit at Mars Hill in Seattle.

In my opinion this decision should not surprise Pastor Mark at all.  After all he has associated himself with and has created group(s) that have been the “self proclaimed watchdogs” of the Gospel.  And now those groups have turned on him.  No surprise.  I believe that Pastor Mark lived by the sword therefore he died by it as well.

One thing I want to make clear is this.  I am not a Pastor Mark “fan” (meaning I do not follow him or read his stuff), but I do believe he is a minister of the Gospel and a solid believer in Jesus Christ.  Therefore I support him.  The way Mark is going to preach in Seattle (one of the most spiritually dark areas of this country) is going to be radically different that the way it is preached in Southern Georgia, or greater Dallas or the Northeast, etc… 

He brought the Gospel in a loud and powerful (sometimes offensive) way to throngs of people who may have needed to hear it in a “different” way.  Obviously… we must all be walking in the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS…) so I am not making excuses for his brashness, but I will say he proclaimed the Gospel and that is key.

Just like Paul said in Philippians 1:15-18, “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.  The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”

Paul rejoiced that the Gospel was being preached.  He was wise enough to overlook motives, methods and preferences.  I see no area in Marks preaching that would account for him being removed.  He is a hard headed man and difficult I’m sure but I would argue that the Apostles Peter and Paul would be “labeled” that as well.  Maybe we would have removed those 2 from the pulpit as well if we were around then?

The way one of our Christian bookstores have dealt with the matter is un-honoring as well.
Romans 12:10, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”  They have removed all his books from the store.  ALL OF THEM.  When INDEED there is much more damaging theology and dangerous “gospels” being preached out there in the same bookstores.  I find this a bit disturbing. 

The Church reacted to Rob Bell like this a few years ago.  Its amazing that we can love these guys so much one day and all they say yet the next day when they say something that the masses don’t agree with we want to burn them at the stake and burn all of their previous writings. A familiar story in Church History.

As we move forward from this I want to learn from it.  I may not agree with all the different views out there, ranging from baptism, foreknowledge, prophecy, evangelism, discipleship, leadership, men and women etc… Or the way it gets communicated or even the delivery method.  I will say though that I am very pleased that Jesus Christ and His Resurrection and He being the only way back to God is being proclaimed from the mouths of these people.  And in that I rejoice. 

How about you?

The New Testament is Corrupt!

Over the years I have been asked about the Bible (in particular the New Testament).  As a Bible teacher I encounter people on planes, airports or on the streets that I speak with regarding my faith in Jesus Christ.  And this is one of the most common questions, “The Bible has been changed (and specifically the New Testament).”

This always interest me because most people are just regurgitating something they heard a professor say or some other “religious leader” that thinks the NT has been corrupted.  Or read some “convincing article” on the internet that has lead them astray.

The fact of the matter is that the NT is accurate and has NEVER been changed.  It was not written hundreds of years after Christ.

The NT can compete up with any given classical piece of ancient literature (and actually has much more validity than many pieces of ancient literature COMBINED).

Look at these ancient writings.  Look at the date “Recorded” to “Dates of mss (manuscripts)” and “time span”.  The NT easily, by itself can stand against criticism.  The numbers speak for themselves.

 

It bothers me that universities will take a document written by Aristotle and see that there’s a1400 year time gap (time span) between the time it was written (recorded) and the earliest date of the manuscript (date of mss) and only have 40 copies and call writings like this 100% accurate.  When the New Testament has a 5-30 time gap and we have 5700 manuscripts that DO NOT contradict themselves.  The NT has greater historical validity and accuracy than any of Aristotle’s writings… combined!

Another question I would ask is, “The NT has been changed…really?  When and where?”  If there was any time in history that the NT was changed don’t you think that we could point back to it and say, “Right here.  Here is when it was changed.”  Don’t you hank that there would have been a huge roar in the early church?  And where are these “other documents”?  We do not seem to have any writing that are different from the NT.  We do have some i.e… the Gospel of Barnabas or the Gospel of Thomas or Judas.  All of these have been proven to be be forgeries. 

From bible.org, “How Accurate is the Bible?”
“The New Testament can be regarded as 99.5 percent pure, and the correct readings for the remaining 0.5 percent can often be ascertained with a fair degree of probability by the practice of textual criticism.  Some of these variant readings crept into the manuscripts because of visual errors in copying or because of auditory errors when a group of scribes copied manuscripts that were read aloud. Other errors resulted from faulty writing, memory, and judgment, and still others from well-meaning scribes who thought they were correcting the text. Nevertheless, only a small number of these differences affect the sense of the passages, and only a fraction of these have any real consequences. Furthermore, no variant readings are significant enough to call into question any of the doctrines of the New Testament.”

So next time someone asks you “How do you know the NT wasn't just made up and or changed?”  Just tell them because it makes no logical sense for one.  Secondly there is not one single shred of (good or reliable) evidence that is has been. 

Hope this helps.