Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2

This weekend we remember the day that the apostles were together, for celebrating Shavu’ot (weeks), or Feast of Weeks in commemoration of the Spring harvest and the giving of the Law unto Moses at Mt. Sinai. They were hiding afraid all together in one place because they were afraid for what the people might do against the followers of Christ Jesus now he was not there any more.

The Pentecost Mosaic, in the center is the dove of the Holy Spirit with the twelve apostles below. This is one of the oldest mosaics in the church dating from 1125 AD. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They knew how much Jeshua (Jesus) did find the Torah so important that it should be taken as the most important book to follow. And now at the Feast of Weeks they were there together to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses and to read together those Holy Writings.

Pentecost recognizes the writing of the Law upon our hearts as it is written:

But this shall be thecovenant that I will cut with the houseof Israel: After those days, declares Yahweh, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. (HBRV Jer 31:33)

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. they new that those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires and are victims of those desires but also of those ideas and connections with the world (Romans 8:5-6). As such the disciples were still too connected with the world and not yet liberated by the Power of God, the Holy Spirit.

This was soon to be changed by the promise of the prophet Jeshua becoming reality. In his name the grace of God’s Power came over them and gave them incredible forces to reach people and to bring them to the only One God Jehovah in the name of Christ. Gods Law was totally placed in the hearts of the disciples and them was given the power to come out for it.

*

1 And in the fulfilling of the day of Shavuot, they were all with one mind
in the same place.
2 And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven, as a groaning spirit along by a violent wind!
And it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed, and it sat on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave ability to them to speak.

5 And Jews were living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation of those under the heaven.
6 And when that sound occurred, all the people gathered and were perplexed because they were hearing each man among them who were speaking in their own language.
7 And all were amazed and marveled, saying to one another,
Behold, we can’t grasp this, are not all these, those speaking, Galileans?
8 And how do we hear each in our own language in which we were born,
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those living in Mesopotamia, both Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the regions of Libya over against Cyrene, and the temporarily residing Romans, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians; in our own languages we hear them speaking the great wonders of Yahweh?

12 And all were amazed and puzzled, saying to one another, What could this be?
13 But ridiculing, others said, They are full of sweet wine.
14 But standing up with the Eleven, Peter lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, Men, Jews, and all those living in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words:
15 For these are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which has been spoken by the prophet Joel, 17 “And it shall be” in the last days, Yahweh says, “I will pour from My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;” “and your young men shall see visions,” “and your old men shall dream dreams;” 18 “and also I will pour out My Spirit on My servants and hand maids in those days,” and they shall prophesy.
19 “And I will give wonders in the heaven above,” and miraculous signs “on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the “coming of the great and glorious day of Yahweh.”
21 “And it shall be that everyone who shall call on the name of Yahweh will be saved.” (Joel 2:28-32)

22 Men, Sons of Israel, hear these words: Yahshua the Nazarene, a Man from Elohim, having been approved among you by works of power and wonders and miraculous signs, which Yahweh did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, 23 This man, who was set apart was for this, by the foreknowledge and will of Elohim, you delivered into the
hands of the wicked and you crucified and killed.
24 But Yahweh loosed the cords of Sheol and raised Him because it was not possible that He be held in Sheol.
25 For David said as to Him, “I always foresaw my Adonai before Me, because He is at My right hand, that I not be moved.
26 For this reason My heart rejoiced, and My tongue was glad; and My flesh also will dwell on hope, 27 because You will not leave My soul in Sheol, nor will You give Your pious one  to see corruption. 28 You have revealed the road of life to me. You will fill me with gladness with your presence. (Psalm 16:8-11)

29 Men, brothers, let me speak boldly with you to say to you as to the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us until this day.
30 For he was a prophet, and he had known that oaths that Elohim had sworn to him, that Of the fruit of your loins I shall establish a king upon your throne (Psalm 132:11)
31 foreseeing, he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, “that His soul was not left in sheol, nor did His corpse see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10)
32 This Yahshua, Yahweh raised up, of which we all are witnesses. 33 Then being exalted to the right of Yahweh, and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He
poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 For David did not ascend into Heaven, but he says, “Yahweh said to my Adonai, Sit at My right hand 35 until I place those who are enemies to You as a footstool for Your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
36 Then assuredly, let all the house of Israel acknowledge that Yahweh made known this same Yahshua whom you crucified, He is both Yahweh and Messiah.
37 And hearing, they were touched in the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men, our brothers, What shall we do?
38 And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each of you in the name of the Yahshua Yahweh for the forgiveness of sins, that you may receive the gift of the Spirit of Holiness.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Master our Elohim shall call.
40 And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.

41 And some of them readily received his words and believed and were baptized. And there were added in that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they were continuing steadfastly in the doctrine of the apostles, and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came to every soul, and signs and many mighty deeds occurred by the hands of the Apostles in Jerusalem.

44 And all the believers were echad and had all things common.
45 And they sold possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
46 And continuing steadfastly with one mind day by day in the sanctuary, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food in gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 they were praising Yahweh while finding favor before all the people. And everyday our Master would add to those who lived among the congregation.

*

Preceding: Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1

+++

Related articles from like mined people:

1. Pope Francis I on the Holy Spirit
2. Montanus considered himself to be the Paraclete: Sancta Claus is not God
3. Every Christian should take care to die to the Torah, so that he can live for YHVH/JHWH the Elohim Jehovah God. Sin in us should be crucified with the Messiah. > Breathing to teach
4. A Great Gift commemorated
   That night he stressed that they had to be in union with him and his Father like he was with his Father, so that the world could be convinced that Jehovah God had sent him who was taking the bread of life.
5. Manifests for believers #5 Christian Union
   Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into {Or in; also in verse 15} the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NIV) asked Paul already at the torn municipality of Corinth.
   +
   Jesus also warned us to be careful not to follow the will of men but the Will of God. And that is what we should carry in our hearts and should try to do. God did not give any dogma‘s. Those were given by human institutions. We should be aware that we should not be members of a Church of men, but of a Church of Christ as some want to call it, or better of a Church of God.
   
6. Our hope– The anchor of the soul
   The hope of the Gospel is absolutely certain for two reasons: the first is that God always keeps His promises. The second is that God swore with an oath to fulfil the promises – he swore by Himself because there is none greater than Him.
   +
   When we consider God’s promises, we think of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle says (2 Corinthians 1: 20) “All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” The letter to the Hebrews we are reading says much about Jesus, who is the heir of all things, spoken of in the Prophets, the express image of God, exalted now at God’s right hand, to be a faithful high priest, a Mediator. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Not from everlasting to everlasting, like God, as many who claim to be his followers say: that is one of the false doctrines which we are warned against in this letter).
7. Timely Growth
   We all have ways we can grow; matzah is there to flatten us out and remind us that this growth might not fit neatly into our schedule.  Which is why I am excited, because after spring comes summer and with summer comes … camp a time for growth for so many of our children!
8. Is it wise to annul the Pentecostweekend
   There are the Christians with Pentecost, the first and second communions and the sacrament of conformation by the Roman Catholics, special Biblestudy weekends by Biblestudents and protestant groups as well as by many Jewish groups who also celebrate the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire Israelite nation assembled at Mount Sinai. For several protestants and Jews the weekend is used to commemorate the first harvested fruits. Shavuot, Shavuos  or Shabhuʿoth as the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost is also called, was in the old times the commemoration of the first day on which individuals could bring the Bikkurim (first fruits) to the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3).

From groups with other ideas than us and like-minded brethren:

Related readings on Ascension:

1. “Made Subject to Futility”
2. Mountaintop Experiences
3. Mourning for the Ascension of Christ
4. On Christ’s Ascension
5. The Spirit of God and the Word of God #3

Related readings on Pentecost:

1. EnCampMent on Shavuot
   Shavuot, the holiday commemorating our national memory of the Revelation of the Torah at Sinai. In the words of Rashi, it was there at Sinai that we encamped at the foot of the mountain as “one nation with one heart.”
   
2. Revealing Jewish Camp
   In the Midrash we learn, “There are three ways to acquire Torah, with fire, with water, and with wilderness” (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 1:1). This Midrash could be understood to mean that we acquire Torah through passion (fire), immersion (water), and through a long trek in unknown land (the wilderness). Shavuot coming means that the end of school is close at hand. And with the end of school, the camp season is around the corner. This Midrash seems to be lived out at Jewish camp.
3. Revelation and Sustaining Our Community
   ” Why are we talking about the matter of Shmita at Sinai?” Which is to say that the entire Torah is given at Sinai, why is this Torah portion outlining an ancient technique of creating a sustainable agriculture introduced as the laws that God “spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai”? It seems strange to single this law out. And maybe even more strange in that the Torah was given in Diaspora and this law was only going to be applicable in the Land of Israel.
4. Return To Eden
   In many ways Shmini Atzeret is a completion of the Sukkot holiday. But what is Simchat Torah? When I was young I understood it simply to be the day that we celebrate the completion of the liturgical reading of the Torah. Would it not make more sense to celebrate the reading about the creation of the world on Rosh HaShanah? Of even on Shavuot the time we received the Torah? Why do we start reading the Torah on Simchat Torah?
5. Wheeled Conveyances
   Today is a national holiday in France in honor of Pentecost. I’d heard of Whit Sunday, the English version, but had somehow missed out on Pentecost.
6. Following Jesus: An Amazing Adventure!
   Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, the day Christians traditionally celebrate the birthday of the Church. It was on this day nearly 2000 years ago that Jesus completed his mission on earth with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
7. Binitarians
   “Often our heads become stumbling blocks to our hearts. We cognitively admit that the Holy Spirit is a Person in the triune Godhead, but we live as functional binitarians. Comfortable with Father and Son, we are not quite sure how to interact with the Spirit….” —Dick Brogden
8. Tuning-in to the Holy Spirit
   Today’s readings show us that this event radically transformed the scared disciples into courageous witnesses to the murderous Jews. St. John places emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace to the disciples in Jesus’ words: “Peace be with you.” How can we as Christians become so powerfully transformed that we become transforming witnesses to others and abide in Christ’s own peace? How can we have this powerful transforming experience?
   +
   God’s Spirit is with us from the moment of baptism with the same power that we see in the Pentecost event. But why aren’t we transformed like the disciples on Pentecost? Why aren’t we on fire with the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is with us but we cannot experience His power until we learn how to dispose ourselves properly and tune-in to His frequency. Today’s readings show us ways of tuning-in to the Holy Spirit.
9. Pentecost: So What? Now What?
   After preaching about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit yesterday morning a woman came to speak to me. She told me that she was a missionary to part of Outer Mongolia! Well that got my attention and respect and so I asked her to tell me about the Church where she serves. She told me a lot of things but to be honest I didn’t pay much attention after she told me one statistic because I was so blown away by it. She said that in 1990 there were three known Christians where she served, now there are an estimated 50,000. Even if there has been a miscalculation or overestimate that is still an incredible figure.
   +
   On Ascension Day Jesus didn’t just send his disciples out to join Him in mission, instead he told them to return to Jerusalem and await the promised Holy Spirit. I wonder if Jesus was teaching them this lesson? That they couldn’t do what He had called them to do in their strength and with their own resources, they needed to be filled with and then learn to rely on, the Holy Sprit.
   Well Pentecost has come and gone but its implications face us everyday and never more so than we face something we are called to do that seems so daunting as to be all but impossible. Whenever we feel like that, whenever we feel inadequate or incapable of doing what God has called us to do, we need to hear afresh the choice and invitation the Angel gave Zerubbabel
10. Pope Francis’ Pentecost Homily.
    Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who build, programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort, our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often we follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to abandon ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. We fear that God may force us to strike out on new paths and leave behind our all too narrow, closed and selfish horizons in order to become open to his own. Yet throughout the history of salvation, whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness and change, and demands our complete trust
11. He Still Speaks…
    I was reminded in different ways how this Earth is not our forever home, and that we are all stewards and wanderers here…stopping for just a brief moment next to eternity. (Even though, as another friend pointed out, we will return with Jesus some day, this planet in its current state is not our ultimate home…)
    +
    God still speaks through His Holy Spirit, just as He did on that first Pentecost… He loves us all so much… I hope all my family in Christ had a beautifully blessed Pentecost Sunday. And may this new week include many opportunities for us to hear His voice in the way we’ve been created.
12. Monday in Whitsun-Week.
    Consider that light came into the world through the operation of the Holy Spirit.

Related articles

• Pentecost (learningwithlittlesaints.wordpress.com)
  God chooses and prepares leaders to accomplish His plan.
  +
  Pentecost took place 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension and 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. Pentecost means the fiftieth. Pentecost was a Jewish festival, at that time it was called the Feast of Weeks. Many Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate. Now, Pentecost would be known in the Christian faith as the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. Once they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they were able to preach the Gospel to people and many Christians were baptized. For that reason, Pentecost is also called the birthday of the Church.
• Today’s Bible Reading (acts 2:1-11) (prayers4reparation.wordpress.com)
  All were filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
  Staying in Jerusalem were religious Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered, all excited because each heard them speaking in his own language.
• Pentecost (frstephensmuts.wordpress.com)
  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
• Speak My Language (thoughtfulbeliever.wordpress.com)
  One of the pitfalls that many organizations and leaders encounter is that they forget they have to speak the language of the people.  It is very easy when you are part of organization to fall into using your own lingo and endless number of acronyms.  If another person is part of the organization then they understand completely what you are communicating but if the person is an outsider than the communication falls apart.  The connection is then lost outside the organization so if you are in business, you lose a sell; if you are a nonprofit organization, you lose a potential new member.  There is nothing that is more frustrating than people talking and you cannot understand a word that is being said.
  +
  If we are not speaking in the language of the people, then our message will not be received.  If people do not understand us, then they will become frustrated and ignore us.  After all, don’t we all want others to speak our language?
• Father Callan’s Commentary on Acts 2:1-11 (stjoeofoblog.wordpress.com)
  The days of the Pentecost. The word days is singular in the Greek. Taken in the plural, as in the Vulgate, it means the period of fifty days from the Pasch to Pentecost; in the singular it signifies the fiftieth day after the Pasch, or the day of Pentecost itself. Pentecost means fiftieth (day ) . It was one of the three great feasts which all males among the Jews were obliged to celebrate in Jerusalem. It lasted but one day, on which they offered to God bread made from the grain of the new harvest and some sacrifices. Cf. Ex 23:16; Lev 23:15; Num33:26; Deut 16:9.
• A Rushing Mighty Wind (my-faith-and-fitness.com)
  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  ³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
• Pentecost Preaching (brentkuhlman.wordpress.com)
  This event is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy too.  Joel 2 to be precise.  “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”  And now it’s happening.  So when the last days begin?
  +
  The Holy Spirit is miraculously bestowed – manifested in the power of the wind and fire so that His church and His pastors are equipped and prepared to be a witness to Jesus, the Savior of the world, in word (Acts 2:14-36, 38-40) and deed (Acts 2:42-47).  So that in the preached Gospel, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper the forgiveness or salvation that Jesus won for the world is bestowed to died-for sinners like you and me!  That you believe that not only did Jesus die for the world but that He died For You!
• Acts for today! (livingmoreabundantly4christ.com)
  The Spirit of God was promised to God’s sons and daughters and that promise was first fulfilled on the day of Pentecost! He has not reneged or removed that promise. The Holy Spirit is necessary and available to every follower of Christ today! It is through God’s Spirit that we are wooed to Christ and it is by that same Spirit we will move and operate in our giftings as we serve Him. The same giftings and blessing that those men and women received on the day of Pentecost are the same giftings and blessing that we can receive today!

Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1

Preceding article: Hebraic Roots Bible Matthew Chapter 28

*

1 Indeed, O Theophilus, I made the first report concerning all things which Yahshua began both to do and to teach, 2 until the day He was taken up, having given directions to the apostles whom He elected, through the Holy Spirit, 3 Those who also to whom He revealed Himself while alive after He had suffered. With numerous signs for forty days He was being seen by them, and He spoke concerning the Kingdom of Yahweh.

4 And while He ate bread with them, He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, “which you heard of Me; 5 for John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days after.”

6 Then, indeed, coming together they questioned Him, saying, Master, do You restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?
7 And He said to them, It is not yours to know times or seasons which the Father placed in His own authority; 8 But when the Spirit of Holiness comes upon you, you will receive the
power, and you will be witnesses of Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
9 And saying these things, as they looked on, He was taken up in a cloud and He was hidden from their sight.
10 And as they were intently looking into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood by them, 11 who also said, Men, Galileans, why do you stand looking up to the heaven? This Yahshua who was taken up from you to heaven, likewise He will come just as you have seen Him who ascended into heaven.

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount being called Of Olive Grove, which is near Jerusalem, a distance of seven furlongs away. 13 And when they went in, they
went up to the upper room where they were waiting: both Peter and Jacob, and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, Jacob the son of Alpheus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the brother of Jacob. 14 These all were continuing steadfastly in prayer and in supplication with one mind, with the women, and with Mariam the mother
of Yahshua, and with His brothers.

15 And in these days, standing up in the middle of the disciples, (and the number of names together being about a hundred and twenty), Peter said, 16 Men, brothers, it was  necessary for this Scripture to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke before through David’s mouth concerning Judas, the one having become guide to those seizing Yahshua; 17 for he was numbered with us, and obtained a portion of this ministry. 18 This is he who obtained a field for himself from the reward of sin and fell upon his face on the ground and burst from his middle and poured out all his insides. 19 And it became known to all those living in Jerusalem, so as that field to be called in their own dialect, Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood. 20 Let his dwelling be desolate, and let not one be a dweller in it, and let another take his office. (Psalm 69:25; Psalm 109:8) 21 Therefore, it is right that men being together with us all the time in which the Master Yahshua came in and went out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when He was taken from us, one of these to  become a witness of His resurrection with us.

23 And they set out two: Joseph, he being called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And having prayed, they said, You, Master, knower of all hearts, show which one You chose from these two, 25 That he may receive a portion of the ministry and apostleship, from which Judas departed, that he might go to in his place.
26 And they gave their lots. And the lot fell on Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

*

 

 

Next: Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2

Aceldama (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

+++

Related articles

• Our Daily Bread – To Be Continued May 19, 2013 (arielgonzalaz91.wordpress.com)

  The fifth book of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, records the beginnings of the Christian church under the leadership of the people Jesus had appointed. Some scholars have suggested that this book could also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit’s power supplied courage for the apostles in the face of every hardship.

  Just before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He told the ones He had chosen: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). With those words, one chapter in the story of God’s work on earth ended, and a new one began. We are a part of that ongoing story.

• Acts for today! (livingmoreabundantly4christ.com)
  The Spirit of God was promised to God’s sons and daughters and that promise was first fulfilled on the day of Pentecost! He has not reneged or removed that promise. The Holy Spirit is necessary and available to every follower of Christ today! It is through God’s Spirit that we are wooed to Christ and it is by that same Spirit we will move and operate in our giftings as we serve Him. The same giftings and blessing that those men and women received on the day of Pentecost are the same giftings and blessing that we can receive today!
• The Miracle of Words (christinesunderland.com)
  The Holy Spirit, promised by Christ when he ascended to Heaven, gave them the power of miraculous words, of expressing the news of God’s coming among men to those who spoke in other languages. This was a practical gift. As a reversal of the dispersion in Babel centuries earlier, here in Jerusalem, the people are brought together.

  How does God bring us together? How do we share, console, encourage, love? Through words. Through action and touch, to be sure, but through words, a divine and miraculous form of action and touch.

• Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle (catholicglasses.com)
  “I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”
  +
  Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said, “My brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. Judas was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry.
• Pentecost (learningwithlittlesaints.wordpress.com)
  At the Last Supper, Jesus promised to send His Apostles the Holy Spirit to be with them forever. He said that the Holy Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of what Jesus had taught them. Jesus said that He must go so that the Holy Spirit would come. John 14:15-17 NIV
• Pentecost In Art: Paintings, Stained Glass Windows, Frescoes And More (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
  slideshow
  +
  Pentecost, the Greek word for ‘Shavout’ is an ancient feast in Israel that celebrates the harvest and giving of the Torah on Sinai. In the Christian liturgical calendar, Pentecost, observed 50 days after Easter Sunday, marks the end of the Easter season and celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other disciples of Jesus.
• Do You Speak in Tongues? (eternalchrist.wordpress.com)
  What would you say if we told you that speaking in tongues was necessary for your eternal salvation? Many of you would be trembling in fear because you have never spoken in tongues. Yet there are members of the Pentecostal church who insist that you are not sealed by the Spirit of God unless you speak in tongues. In other words, speaking in tongues is the outward sign of your redemption and salvation.
  +
  There were three major feasts that the nation of Israel had to celebrate: Pesach (Passover), or Unleavened Bread; Shavu’ot, or Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks, or Feast of Harvest); and Booths (also known as the Feast of Tabernacle, or Ingathering).
• Come, Holy Spirit! Confirmation+Pentecost Double Take (virtuebyforce.wordpress.com)
  There isn’t a single person who could honestly tell you that they haven’t struggled with doubts, a single person that could tell you they haven’t sinned, and fallen away, and had to come back.
  +
  It would be crazy for us to try to live this faith of ours without the promised Spirit that Jesus assures us will come; our Advocate, who will stand by our side, who will be with us; no, not just with us, but within us to assist us along the way. [...]
• Bishop MacEvilly’s Commentary on Acts 2:14-21 (stjoeofoblog.wordpress.com)
  Act 2:21  And it shalt come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

  “Whosoever,” be he Jew or Gentile, “shall call upon,” &c., embracing the Christian religion—“shall be saved” from ruin here. If it refers to the siege of Jerusalem, it was literally fulfilled in the case of the Christians, who by Divine admonition, fled to Pella, beyond the Jordan before the final destruction of Jerusalem (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. Lib. iii. c. 5).

• Pentecost Sunday 2013 (auniversallove.wordpress.com)
  While those on whom the Spirit had descended were speaking in many languages, the Apostle Peter stood up with the eleven and proclaimed to the crowd that this event was the fulfillment of the prophecy
  +
  Not knowing that Jesus Christ’s death would lead to His spirit within them, the Disciples could not understand even throughout all of His teachings and parables. Not until the Holy Spirit entered their bodies, were they really able to understand and grasp the true meaning of their salvation.

Glory of God appearing in our character

The Face of Moses and Law on Tablets of stone

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Law on stone tablets, his face shone. (Exodus 34)  The apostle refers to that in his letter to the Corinthians.

“Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,” (2 Corinthians 3:7 NIV)

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20) and we had condemnation but Jesus spread the Good News and brought the ministry of righteousness and therefore exceeds in glory. [Galatians 3:10] Believing in the death of Christ accepting that this dead man was taken out of the gave by his Father, we have the epistle of Christ, ministered by the apostles, not having been written with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, the Father of Christ Jesus [2 Corinthians 3:3 ] but also our Father to whom we can come up thanks to Jesus his offering and his will to communicate in our name with his Father. Jehovah God allowed Jesus to mediate on our behalf.

With the death of Christ Jehovah accepted Jeshua’s offering and that old system of law etched in stone was led to death. Today we should not have our ‘law of God‘ on tablets of stone, but in fleshly tablets of our heart. Like Moses his face shone with the glory of God so also did Jesus his face shone with even more glory.

Flames in heart and soul

After Jesus had gone away from this earth, taken up in the sky by his Father, God gave the disciples of Jesus His Power, the Holy Spirit, who came down on them in the room where they had hid themselves, afraid for the persecutors of the followers of Jesus. By receiving the Holy Spirit those men got the glory from God to speak in Jesus his name but also to speak in God His name. Before the Holy Spirit came over them they where like buried in that room. They had died in the fear for men who were against Jesus Christ.

Are you afraid for those who do not like it that you speak with admiration for Jesus? Are you afraid to show your reverence for the son of God, daring to tell the world that it was a man of flesh and blood who was willing to give his life because he believed in the Creator of heaven and earth in which you believe too? In admiration for Christ Jesus we should go out into the world and spread the Gospel of liberation brought by a man who proofed he could be faithful to the One and Only God.

The apostles got the Holy Spirit over them, but we when we became baptised also got the Power of God in us. We should feel that force, and it should give us also the power it gave those first Christians to tell others the Truth. Shouldn’t we expect also far greater glory when the Holy Spirit is giving life to us? If the old or first covenant, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new covenant, which makes us right with God! We believe in that sanctification by the blood of Christ. God is a Spirit who has no flesh and no blood and can not be seen by man, but Jesus was a real human being who shared lots of his time with the underdogs of the community who could see and touch him. He was not afraid to be considered part of the mad ones or the ones to be avoided. The oppressed and poor listened to his voice which brought a message of love and peace, telling them about a better world where we can be part of it.

Showing divine character

In everything Jesus did he showed a divine character. He showed the love of his Father. He showed others how his father was prepared to take them all up in His Kingdom when they where willing to follow the words of Christ and changing their character as well. We too have to work at our character and blend it in with the Law of Christ and with the Law of God.

We know now that that first glory by Moses was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new covenant. So if the old covenant, which has been set aside, was full of glory, then the new covenant, which remains forever, has far greater glory.

“7 If, however, the administration of death, written with letters and engraved on stones, began in glory, so that the children of Israel could not gaze steadily on the face of Moses, because of the glory of his face–a glory even then fading– 8 how much more shall the ministry of the Spirit abide in glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, far more is the ministry of righteousness radiant in glory. 10 Indeed that which once was glorious has lost its glory, because of the glory which surpasses it. 11 For if that which was fading came in glory, far more will that which ever abides be glorious.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11 MONTNT)

It’s because in the presentation of Jesus as an ransom offering for all, the wisdom, love, justice, mercy, goodness, and the faithfulness of God are displayed in all that God has done. He displays His glory in the ‘Cross’.

Becoming part of the Forgiven much

When we accept the death of Christ as a peace offering we also may be part of the people called ‘the forgiven much’.  In that understanding we should also be willing to take on the armour of Christ and be willing to become like him. It shall demand of us to work on our attitude and to rebuild our character. We shall to be prepared to learn from the Word of God and intensify our Bible Study. When we understand that, we will love much and will serve much, and worship much, and adore Him, out of a heart of devotion and not just do it because we’re Christians’ and we’re meant to do that kind of thing.

In the resurrection  of Christ Jesus we can see the acceptance of God and we can find that kind of hope to excite us. When we listen carefully to all those prophesies in the Old Testament and compare them with the writings of the New Testament, we can come to the understanding that those books complement each other and can give us all reason for nothing to hold us back.  In the glory of the dead Christ taken up into the realm of God we are giving the hope of the resurrection and should  have nothing to hide any more. Everything can come out in the open with us.

“12  Therefore, cherishing such a hope, I use great freedom of speech. 13 I do not do as Moses did, who used to cover his face with a veil to keep the children of Israel from beholding the passing of a fading glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:12-13 MONTNT)

Being transformed

The apostles were “being transformed” into the likeness “with ever-increasing glory.”  Even more than that, back in the days of Moses it was an outward and a physical reflection, whereas this glory the Holy Spirit creates in us is an inward spiritual transformation. At the time of of Jesus’ Transfiguration the disciples looked on with utter amazement at what was happening to Jesus. Peter really didn’t know what to say other than to want to stay there. The glory of God was shining right through him. It defied description. God has a transfiguration to accomplish in us so that we are changed into the same image. All creatures are made in the image of God, but they have to shine by becoming part of God His World and not by being part of the unbelieving world.

Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, humans can’t see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there’s nothing there.  Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! It is up to us to recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiselled stone.  All those illustrations, crosses with a Jesus on it, sculptures presenting holy figures or even presenting God, are an abomination to the Most High and going in against His Commandments not to make any statue to worship in front.

Radiant with the very glory of God

We should not need any figures or images to bring us an idea of a Godhead or to show us the Glory of God. The Glory of God should shine in our heart. It is that glory which should get our heart beating even faster, bringing it ‘on fire’.  Our character should be made by the feeling of the presence of God. Yes He is personally present, a living Spirit. This Eternal God should bring new life in us bringing awareness in us that, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it!  All of us! By the blood of Christ everything became whitewashed and all the borders and fences between us and God were taken away. This liberation should make our faces shining with the brightness of Jesus his face. And so we should also become transfigured much like the Messiah.

From our baptism onwards, we should enter into a new word of grace and glory in which our lives gradually will becoming brighter and more beautiful as Jesus enters our lives and we become like him.

 “15 Yes, to this very day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts; 16 but when their heart turns to our Lord the veil is stripped away. 17 (The Lord means the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord abides there is freedom.) 18 And we all, with unveiled faces, reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are ourselves continually being transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as by the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-18 MONTNT)

It’s the sole prerogative of God the Holy Spirit to transform our characters that they might be radiant with the very glory of God. The Holy Spirit shall work from the inside out to change us into the image of the Lord Jesus, so that he may be glorified through us.  The Spirit of the living God has all the power to renew us and to make us ‘anew’.  We do a real injustice to God’s greatness and majesty when we limit His power, and the possibilities of His power, in our own minds. One of the great things about being in Christian ministry is seeing God’s power by the Holy Spirit taking broken and spoiled people and making them into new people. It’s fantastic to see how God etches into their lives something of the glory and beauty of Jesus. This is what gives us the strength to go on.

When the glory of God begins to appear through a person, it shall make that person more human, not less human. There’s a fire in the glory of God that not only burns but also warms and draws people into God’s love. And it’s this way that people are set free to be truly human and truly natural. We can never be all that we’re meant to be until God’s spirit begins his work in us.

It is by sharing the glory of Christ, wanting to have a shining face, expressing the love for God, love for the Word of God and the love for the whole creation that we can build up a community of people wanting to follow the master teacher Jesus, and as such becoming true Christians.

+

Preceding article: In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification

++

Read also:

1. Greatest single cause of atheism
   The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is
   christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
   and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.
   That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
   
2. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
3. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
4. Creator and Blogger God 2 Image and likeness
5. The Law of Christ: Law of Love
6. Ransom for all
7. Golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters obedience
8. A learning process for each of us
9. Faith a commitment to the promises of Christ and to to the demands of Christ
10. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
11. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace
12. How we think shows through in how we act
13. Followers with deepening
14. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
15. Raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair
16. Abhor evil. Adhere to goodness
17. Our attitude at a difficult task
18. Spread love everywhere you go
19. Ask Grace to go forward
20. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
21. We all are changed into the same image from glory to glory
22. Life in gratitude opens glory of God
23. Invitation to all who believe

+++

Related articles

• Easter 6 – “The Church” (Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27) (revtucher.com)
  You and I have been made a part of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit. We are brought in through faith and made clean by the blood of the Lamb. We share in the life of Christ and His glory. Notice what John says here: it is the glory of God. He doesn’t say that it is the glory of the people. There is a reason for that: the people of the Church are sinful. It is by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that the Church reflects the glory of God because we have been clothed with Christ’s righteousness. In other words, it’s not by our doing but by Christ’s doing. That is the way it should be and the way that it has to be.
• Past, Present and Future of Salvation, Today’s Study of Romans 5 (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
  we boast in the hope of the glory of God. We enter grace, or forgiveness, by faith in what Christ did. And when Paul says that we stand in grace, he implies that this is a state in which we can remain. Because of God’s grace, based on what Christ did in the past, we rejoice in the hope that this gives us for the future the hope of sharing in the glory of God. This hope is not just a “wishful thought”.. it is confidence based on what God has done for us…
• May 1: Does Your Life Bring Glory to God? (evcthoughtoftheday.com)
  Paul is telling the church at Philippi that their life should be filled with the fruit – the good works, the character, and the attitudes produced by Christ as a result of their salvation – such that their lives become a billboard for God that causes people to give glory to Him.
• Father’s Glory (wrob77.wordpress.com)
  The Greek word for glory is Doxa, where we get our word doxology, and it has all the meaning of Kabod but includes a greater sense of perfection and display of power.
• God’s Passion for His Glory (pjcockrell.wordpress.com)
  Isaiah 43:6-7: God says, “bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
• Rite of Confirmation – “Public Confession” (John 16:12-22) (revtucher.com)
  The Holy Spirit comes to glorify Jesus by introducing Him to people as the crucified and risen Christ. That is what He comes to do for the disciples and that is what He comes to do for us. The Holy Spirit comes to introduce us to what the truth is about: Jesus. The disciples weren’t prepared for all Jesus has to say, as He tells them, for they were too worked up over Jesus’ impending departure. But He wasn’t going to leave them empty-handed. He leaves them the Holy Spirit who will testify of Him and what He has done.
• Love. Chapter One. (rebellredarts.com)
  Everything is for the glorification of God. Everthing that  we do here on this earth has a purpose. The purpose is the glorification of God. Our work is his work.  Eternal life is knowing God , says Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his Dad that he gave glory to him by finishing the work that he gave him to do. God gives us all work while we are to accomplish, to finish. one day we will all  get to experience this awesome day.

In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification

The God Creator the Most High His son

Jehovah God, the Most High, who never lies, had told the people who stood around Jesus that they could see God His beloved son.

“16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16-17 NIV)

That son of David and son of God had now given himself as a sacrifice to the Elohim. The Nazarene man has always tried to do only the Will of the Father in the heaven. Jesus was never interested to do his own will, but only wanted to please his Father. Like David he had in mind only to do God His Will, even in the hour of his death.

“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”” (Psalms 40:8 NIV)

“”Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”” (Luke 22:42 NIV)

The one who served God His purpose

Like when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, Jesus fell asleep and was buried. But now a miracle happened. The only begotten son of God  was not laid to rest to stay there in the underground (the sheol or hell) He only stayed there in the darkness for three days. Then God took him out of the dead and let him walk again on this earth to meet his friends again and to show them that he was risen. He proofed them that his Father had not let his body to body to decay.

Icon of Jesus being led to Golgotha, 16th century, Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The blood poured out on the altar of the stake on Golgotha brought the ransom offer of the Lamb of God. By walking around on this earth again Jesus showed the apostles that his Father had accepted his offering and taken him under his alms. Now he could convince them, also by the Power of God, the Holy Spirit which came over the apostles, that he was the Messiah by whom people could come free — free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

Jesus in his lifetime had always said he could do nothing without his Father, who is greater than him and that the Father could be glorified in the works he did. Never did Jesus take the glory himself, but it was his father who glorified him and made him higher than he was before.

 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18 NIV)

“And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27 NIV)

“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV)

“”You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28 NIV)

“So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”” (Hebrews 5:5 NIV)

“5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV)

United by bloodshed

Jesus thought of everything, provided for everything the apostles could possibly need, letting his disciples in on the plans he took such delight in making, trying to give them insight in the Torah. All the time he tried to make the Words of his Father clear, so that the people could fully understand the Holy Scriptures and could find the God of heaven and earth. It was this Jehovah God who set it all out before the apostles in Christ. In this son of God, the Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus) who was brought to death on the wooden stake, his friends now became united to understand the long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It’s in Christ that they found out who they were and what they were living for. Long before they first heard of Christ and got their hopes up, he had his eye on them, had designs on them for glorious living. We also may believe that God His Plan for the world is also part of us in Christ. Part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free — signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first instalment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

“7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:7-14 NIV)

Our chief end

We in Christ have become freed from our sins, have redemption and be part of God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. But than we may ask “What is it that God really wants for us more than anything else? What is He really after for us?”

The Scottish catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God.”  Is that according to you also the top goal of living.  For sure God created the universe to be part of One Great Unit in Unison with His wishes.  We should strive to come in unison with the Creator of heaven and earth. That’s the great business of our lives.

God is displaying His glory in His Creation. And in the created order of the universe, what’s the universe doing? “The heavens declare the glory of God; the earth is full of his glory,” says Isaiah.

When God made man, what was his purpose? He made man in His image to bear His likeness and Hebrews tells us that we are crowned with glory.

Faithful to the Father

Jesus, the son of God in his life, always tried to follow the Will of his Father. For him that was very important, not to say the most important thing in his life. Jesus always said to others he could do nothing without his Father. Without God no man can do anything. Jesus also spoke of glorifying God’s name and finishing the work He had for him to do. He also spoke of God being glorified through His death.

God created the world like a theatre in which to display His Glory. He has sent His Son in order that we may see something of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ – He is now working by the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of His people that they may be changed into the image of His glory.

Jesus prayed immediately before His death, “Father glorify your Son.”

God who can not die, nor be seen by a living soul or that one would die, found a man who was willing to offer himself for all the other people. Jesus did not mind to have his blood streamed down onto the ground.

Glory and heaviness of action

The original meaning of the word ‘Glory’ in the Bible is really ‘weight’. That’s weight in the sense of the ‘heaviness’ of something.  In Jesus his case it meant the heaviness of his action. It was incredible that he, as an ordinary human from a workers family, wanted to present himself as a worker for God, going to many places preaching the Gospel.  God can not be tempted but Jesus was many times, and it was not always easy for him to make the right choice. Sometimes he had to worry his earthly parents or to ask a lot of his mother Mary (Miriam) He had to show them his good character. He also proofed to God and the adversaries of God that it is possible for man to be faithful to God.

The ‘Glory’ Christ Jesus got is the sign of what he is worth. Those people who take Jesus for God ridicule in a certain way his offering. Because God knows everything, is eternal, can not be tempted and can not die.  When Jesus would have been or would be God, than this God would not always have told the truth, because He spoke about His son and did not say “that is me” or “this is me” and the son said about his Father that He is bigger and he can not do anything about Him. Jesus, in case he was God would have not only faked his death but would also have brought a charade of doing like he was asking the Father in heaven to do something he could not do. God can do everything and knows everything, though Jesus told the people he even did not know when he would come back to the world.

A build up of character

God His character is the most Holy and righteous; It is not a misleading Spirit. Christ Jesus is also not a misleading person. He could have sinned (God does not sin). Jesus did not sin and proofed in that way his faithfulness to the Laws of his Father, never going in against the Will of his Father.

The Glory of both is implicated with their character. In other words, the glory of God is the display of His worth, of His character. Also the manner of behavement of Christ Jesus, following the Will of his Father even bringing him into death shows us how strong this man has been. This is why we see the glory of God as supremely displayed in the ‘Cross of Jesus’, Jeshua finding death on the stake.

John Calvin made this point: “Nowhere in the universe does God display His glory more fully than in the Cross of Christ.”

It’s because there at the torture stake and by the resurrection of His son, the wisdom, love, justice, mercy, goodness and faithfulness of God are on show in all that God has done.
It makes us who believe part of the people called ‘the forgiven much’. When we understand that, we will love much and will serve much, and worship much, and adore Him, out of a heart of devotion and not just do it because we are Christians and we’re meant to do that kind of thing.

As Paul writes in Second Corinthians 3:18:

“but we all, with [our] face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the lord spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 MKJV)

A reliable witness to God His power and His ways

Isaiah in his 24st chapter verse 20 wrote “the earth staggers like a drunken man … its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls ….” We see this as a fitting description of how our world is staggering today. Its transgression of the ways of God are causing it to fall apart. Let us not “put off” developing the faith and the patience and the earnestness, and a sense of “full assurance” – for, said Jesus, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” [Mark 13:13] and will then be ready to inherit the wonder of what God has promised.

God had promised a Messiah and a Land for His people. In Jesus we should recognise this ‘Christos’ or Man of Salvation, the Christ. The apostle Paul was a devote Jew who knew the Torah very well. He only believed in One God, like Jesus also believed in that One and Only God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. In his letters to the Hebrews Paul clearly explains that the reality of Jesus as a Son. The apostles like Jesus did believe that the Scriptures also teaches that the heavens declare the glory of God and are a reliable witness to His power and his ways.

The Bible also appeals to us to carefully consider the evidence of God’s creations and what it tells us about God, and that it is a reliable source of knowledge.

When we do not want to accept the Words like they are written down, telling us who is who, we are not only ignoring the Truth, but we are minimising all the actions that took place. In case we do not accept Jesus his position we ignore the words of the prophets who lived before him and are not taking God His Words at heart when He talks about His beloved son. When we take Jesus to be God we do not want to believe a man could do such wonders by the Power of God, or we do not want to accept that God would give such Powers to a man of flesh and blood. By taking Jesus as God or by not accepting the written words ‘black on white’ of the printed Scriptures, in your ignorance of the Truth, you despise the evidence and so reject the knowledge of God that the heavens reveal night after night.

How much glory to the one who gave his life

God can not die but Jesus really did die.

Jesus gave his life for us, how motivated are we to accept what this man really did and to serve him as a result? Recall how Paul expresses it at the end of Romans 5, “…as sin reigned in death (before he/we knew Christ) grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 5:21]

Let us see and understand the verse of dire warning in the letter to the Hebrews. After writing of the punishment of sinners under the Law of Moses the question is put, “How much worse punishment, do you think will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the spirit of grace?” [Hebrews 10:29] May we so live that we are among the “vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us whom he has called …” [Romans 9:23-24] In the Scriptures we ‘hear’ him calling! Are you listening properly?

Are we willing to recognise the elements which show us the Grace of God in Christ? And are we willing to accept the position of Christ, who is seethed next to his Father, to be a mediator between God and man? Or do you prefer to think it is Jesus himself who has taken up the throne and the position of God?

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9 NIV)

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—” (Hebrews 2:14 NIV)

“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV)

“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12 NIV)

“In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you” (1 Timothy 6:13 NIV)

“”You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”” (John 18:37 NIV)

“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12 NIV)

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”” (Acts 10:43 NIV)

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5 NIV)

“Now I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3 NIV)

“When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28 NIV)

“who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:22 NIV)

“20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,” (Ephesians 1:20-22 NIV)

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” (Philippians 2:9 NIV)

“22 Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.” (John 5:22-23 NIV)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)

“to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24 NIV)

Coming to Jesus giving him the honour due to him

Are you wiling to accept that Jesus gave his life for you? Are you willing to come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. We should recognise his position and not take it lightly.  When we make him not just a god but the God, Creator of all things, we do not accept that a man could proof to be faithful to God. Then we also do not believe Jesus is the Mediator of the covenant God made with His people. A mediator is namely a person who mediates between two parties, in this case God and the human beings.

God is an eternal Spirit, meaning that he had no beginning and no end. Jesus had a beginning when he was placed in the womb of the virgin Myriam (Miriam/Mary/Maria) God can not be tempted, but after many temptation Jesus had to endure he found an end to his life like it was ‘murder’, unlike Abel’s — a homicide that cried out for vengeance — which became a proclamation of grace.

Child Jesus with the virgin Mary, with the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove) and God the Father, with child john the Baptist and saint Elizabeth on the right (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

God is the Most High of all but Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place. And therefore should receive our full recognition and the glory due to him.

The Saviour being of flesh and blood gave way to rescue us by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Adversary‘s hold on death.  [Hebrews 2:14]

Now we can trust God and his son who came before God as high priest to get rid of our sins. As God rewarded him extravagantly, we also should give Jesus the best of everything, the highest honours, because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. Jesus took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep and we should be grateful for that and give him praise for doing so.

We should be fully aware that  salvation comes no other way, because no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one, the man Jesus, son of God, who was promised many years beforehand. But the world had to wait such a long time, not because God was so much enjoying the suffering of the people, but because it took such a long time before there was at last a man who could proof to the world, to the many adversaries of God (in many Bibles translated with the word ‘Satan‘ or ‘devil‘) that it was really possible that a man could honour and love his Creator so much that he always preferred and did do the will of this Creator, the Only One God.

Not alone in our believes and glorification

Salvation belongs to Jehovah God. He allowed His son to be the human Saviour by bringing his life to an end at the stake, liberating the world form the spell of death.

Perhaps you may say there are not many people who take it for granted that Jesus was the son of God who died for our sins. Not many did want to testify of the wonders the Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus) did.  But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets and is clearly written down in the Book of Books, the Bible, which we consider the word of God.

It is that Word of God we want to follow and not the dogma‘s or certain teachings people just have to accept, because they are to difficult to understand. God is a God of order and clarity. He wanted all people to find Him and to love Him. He did not reserve the knowledge of Him only to very special educated people. No, everybody should be able to find out who God really is and to whom Glory is due.

Jehovah, God, was asked by Jesus to  glorify him with His very own splendour. God has a Plan and He foresaw the Messiah already from the beginning of the world. In the Garden of Eden when the first man went against God, Jehovah provided a solution to save all those who would come after Adam and Eve, so that the World of God could become a nice Creation into the end, a Kingdom of God, full of peace and tranquillity.

There in that Kingdom of God, the son of God, Jesus may have the glory and very splendour in the presence of the Most High Elohim, who has given him the authority to judge over us and to be king on this earth until Jesus Christ, having the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies,  shall have brought everything and everyone finally under God’s rule. Then Jesus, the Son of God, will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending! (1 Corinthians 15:28 )

Therefore let us accept the son of man Jesus (Jeshua) as the son of God,  the Father who handed over to the Son all authority to judge,  so that the Son will be honoured equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonours the Son, dishonours the Father, for it was the Father’s decision to put the Son in the place of honour. [John 5:22-23]

+

Please do find also to read:

1. Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High
2. God about His name “יהוה“
3. God of gods
4. Pure Words and Testimonies full of Breath of the Most High
5. The radiance of God’s glory and the counsellor
6. Fearing the right person
7. History of the acceptance of a three-in-one God
8. Heed of the Saviour
9. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
10. Grace and beloved by God
11. A promise given in the Garden of Eden
12. About a man who changed history of humankind
13. Reasons that Jesus was not God
14. Jesus begotten Son of God #12 Son of God
15. Jesus begotten Son of God #15 Son of God Originating in Mary
16. Jesus begotten Son of God #16 Prophet to be heard
17. Jesus begotten Son of God #18 Believing in inhuman or human person
18. Jesus and his God
19. On the Nature of Christ
20. Clean Flesh #2 Purity of Jesus
21. Jesus spitting image of his father
22. Why did Christ not reveal the exact time of his second coming?
23. Christ having glory
24. One God the Father, a compendium of essays
25. Wishing to do the will of God
26. How is it that Christ pleased God so perfectly?
27. The meek one riding on an ass
28. Anointing of Christ as Prophetic Rehearsal of the Burial rites
29. A Messiah to die
30. Jesus memorial
31. No person has greater love than this one who surrendered his soul in behalf of his friends
32. The day Jesus died
33. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
34. The Seed Of The Woman Bruised
35. Ransom for all
36. The redemption of man by Christ Jesus
37. Impaled until death overtook him
38. Jesus three days in hell
39. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead
40. Jesus is risen
41. Why did Christ not reveal the exact time of his second coming?
42. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
43. A Jewish Theocracy
44. Observance of a day to Remember
45. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
46. Through Christ’s death you can be adopted as a child of God
47. The high calling of God in Christ Jesus
48. One Mediator between God and man
49. Festival of Freedom and persecutions
50. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
51. The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
52. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
53. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
54. The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
55. Written to recognise the Promised One
56. A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for
57. A Living Faith #5 Perseverance
58. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
59. God make us holy
60. Growth in character
61. Character is built
62. Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
63. Minimizing the power of God’s Force the Holy Spirit
64. Praise and give thanks to God the Most Highest

+++

 

Related articles

• Love. Chapter One. (rebellredarts.com)
  Everything is for the glorification of God. Everthing that  we do here on this earth has a purpose. The purpose is the glorification of God. Our work is his work.  Eternal life is knowing God , says Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his Dad that he gave glory to him by finishing the work that he gave him to do. God gives us all work while we are to accomplish, to finish. one day we will all  get to experience this awesome day.
  +
  Jesus gives us Glory, the same Glory that God gave him. Why? so that people will believe. So that they will see the Love of God and having seen it, want it for themselves! His whole purpose is Love, and Unity in Love and.. God is Love. Love + Unity = Gods Plan. Jesus wanted everyone to know . Love.
• Press on towards the goal – Jesus! (thesavingfaith.wordpress.com)
• Christian Truth (pilgrimpassing.com)
  Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, and others taught a way to God, some truth about God, and gave instructions on how to live life. These religions did not originally claim to be exclusively true, just better than competing brands. Christianity, however, is unique. It claims “revelation” truth: that God has once and for all “expressed Himself”. Jesus Christ is what God wanted to say.
• One Way Only: Off The Grid Columnist Bill Heid Argues One Way to Salvation in Latest Article (prweb.com)
  In his most recent article, No Other River, No Other Stream, Off The Grid News columnist Bill Heid discusses God’s grace and the ways in which He gives it. Though many say that truth is relative and that any religion can provide a way to salvation, Heid argues that salvation comes from God alone through the means He has prescribed.
  +
  Just as Naaman had to follow God’s instructions to be healed, so must people today follow the path of salvation God laid out through His Son Jesus. Grace and salvation are free gifts from God
• Does your life put Christ in a place of honor? (clydestyle.org)
  We honor judges, politicians, clergy, successful businessman and public officials all because of the service they give. We honor fathers and mothers mostly because the bible tells us so and we even honor our spouses — sometimes whether they deserve it or not. Teachers are honored, seniors are honored and even a person who has done a good deed can get our honor.
  +
  We know that Christ died, “while we were sinners” and “while we were without strength”. His death, burial and resurrection which are the very facts of his gospel had a profound effect on our place of honor on judgement day.

  You see, his death (shedding of his blood) cleansed our sins and made reconciliation possible. For now God can begin a new relationship with us because of that death. His burial was just as important as it serves as the launch pad for resurrection. You have to have a death and burial or else there is no need for a resurrection. Baptism serves as our burial (launch pad) today as anyone who believes on Jesus and is baptized shall receive a resurrection.
  +

  Showing Others Sincere Appreciation
  Jesus always uplifted the downtrodden. The King of Kings consistently sought the lost and the rejected by society. Matthew was a despised tax collector. Most of the disciples were untrained fishermen. Thomas was a glass-is-half-empty skeptic. James and John were driven by ambition. Despite their weaknesses, Jesus chose them to be the ones who would bring the Good News of the Gospel to the Jewish people and the nations. What an honor!

• When we look at the Verse For Today ,John 3:16 (savedbygraceblogdotcom.wordpress.com) we should always remember and be thankful that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. Today there are still many who do not want to accept it that it was God His son who expressed the love of his Father.  That he so loved His Creation He wanted to be restored to the beginning and therefore gave his Son to become the first of the reborn new generation, the new creation. The Son did not come to appease the Father‘s wrath, but to fulfill the wishes of his Father and our Father, the Only One God, Creator of heaven and earth. Those who want to make a god of Christ Jesus do not respect the words of Jesus nor of His Father who said “this is my beloved son”.

Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Matthew Chapter 28

Angelico, Fra Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb Fresco, 189 x 164 cm Convento di San Marco, Florence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

*

1 In the evening of the Shabbat, {Around havdalah, or 6PM} as it was the dusk, towards the first of the week, {Strong’s Greek # 4521 can mean a full 7-day week. Thus mia sabbaton in this case means “one week,” (meaning “full,” not “partial”) or one of the full weeks during the omer count. It can also mean one of the weekly Shabbats. Putting the two meanings together, we get the following timing for His resurrection: After Shabbat at around 6-7PM, being officially on the first of the week, at the end of the first weekly Shabbat of the seven weekly Shabbats, in between firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks. In other evangels, the term mia sabbaton only means one of the weekly Shabbats.} came Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam to see the tomb.

2 And, see, there was a great earthquake: for the heavenly malach of the Master vuvh (יהוה ){a messenger of the Master יהוה Jehovah} descended from the shamayim { heaven}, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and His clothing white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the guards did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the heavenly malach answered and said to the women, Fear not: for I know that you seek יהושע {Jeshua}, who was impaled.
6 He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come; see the place where the Master יהושע {Jeshua} lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell His talmidim that He is risen from the dead; and, see, He goes before you into Galil; there shall you see Him: see, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great simcha; and did run to bring His talmidim word.
9 And as they went to tell His talmidim, see, יהושע {Jeshua} met them, saying, Greetings. May The Name {Shem Tov reference. Of His Father YHWH} deliver you. {Fascinating insight to what was truly said.} And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him.

10 Then said יהושע {Jeshua} to them, Be not afraid: go tell My Yisraelite brothers that they go into Galil, and there shall they see Me.

11 Now when they were going, see, some of the guards came into the city, and showed the main Kohanim all the things that were done.
12 And when they were assembled with the zechanim, and had taken counsel, they gave large money to the horsemen soldiers, {Shem Tov reference}

13 Saying, Say that, His talmidim came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.
14 And if this comes to the governor’s attention, we will persuade him, and protect you.
15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported in secret {Shem Tov reference} among the Yahudim until this day.
16 Then the eleven talmidim went away into Galil, into a mountain where יהושע {Jeshua} had appointed them.
17 And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him: but some still doubted.

18 And יהושע {Jeshua} came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to Me in the shamayim and in the earth.
19 Go therefore, and make talmidim of all nations, {All latter-day Yisraelite nations.} doing mikvah upon them in My Name: {The original reading almost without question did not have the later Trinitarian addition.}
20 Teaching them to shomer all things, which I have commanded you: {Torah.} and, see, I am with you always, even to to the end of the olam hazeh.
Amein.

+
He Has Risen Indeed!

*

Preceding:

Death of Christ on the day of preparation

Hebraic Roots Bible Matthew Chapter 27

Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Matthew Chapter 27

After the Sabbath after Passover, the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Biblestudents note verse 19:

Making talmidim of all nations = making taught ones of all the nations = preach everywhere to make pupils (and followers of Christ)

Doing mikvah upon them = immersing them in my Name = bringing them fully under water in the name of Christ Jesus {For those who can hear and get in contact with preachers of the truth, Baptism into the death of Christ is essential to salvation: Markus 16:15-16.}

The Resurrection of Christ (Kinnaird Resurrection) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

+++

Related articles

• Which Story Do You Believe? (resources.wcrossing.org)
  Matthew goes to great lengths throughout this letter to communicate that this piece of literature is expressly nonfiction.
  +
  Matthew (as well as all of the other Gospel writers) intentionally wrote this account in the form of a biographical narrative. In other words, as soon as anyone in the original audience began reading, they would immediately recognize that they were holding something more like The New York Times than The Hunger Games in their hands.
• The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (inspirationalchristiansfortoday.com)
  Jesus went through torture beyond any of our imaginations. He went through personal humiliation, physical pain, and spiritual anguish. The worst of all was probably the suffering that came in verse 46. He experienced separation from God. That is the ultimate consequence of sin. Separation. Spiritual death.
• Some great Easter quotes: He Is RISEN! He is Risen indeed! (mww1954.wordpress.com)
  If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
  - Timothy Keller
• OT Interpretation: The Myths We Just Know (christthetruth.wordpress.com)
  Jesus (and later the apostles) never countenanced any other true reading of the OT. God’s word has always held forth a theology of the cross. And the faithful among those 1st century Israelites (like Simeon and Anna) grasped this.
• Easter Sunrise – “Death Vanquished” (John 20:1-18) (revtucher.com)
  Death always feels wrong. Something inside does not accept that we will not hear that voice, see that face, touch that hand, experience that laughter ever again. The grief counselors can talk until they are blue in the face about how death is simply a part of life and how we must accept it as inevitable and natural. But we never do.
• Without Hindsight: A New Eye on Easter: Kingdom Come? Which Kingdom? (bloodofinnocents.wordpress.com)
  The disciples had been brought up with much the same hopes and expectations of God’s kingdom as most of their countrymen. Israel, they had been taught since childhood, was God’s kingdom. At least until they had met Jeshua they too had probably shared much of the popular vision of messiah. They too may have been expecting someone who looked like their perception of an ancient prophet (perhaps Elijah, since another tradition from the Bible suggested he would return in person) from scripture.
• Acts, Chapter thirteen Part four, Gentile who worship God, Acts 13:16 (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
  Paul’s proclamation to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch is that God has brought forth the Saviour-Deliverer from David’s line, and it is Jesus………
• 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception (belgianbiblestudents.wordpress.com)
  The day Jesus (the Nazarene Jeshua) was led from Caiaphas into the Praetorium the Jewish priests didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover (Pesach/Pessah).
• Easter without Hindsight: Mary, the trainee rabbi? (bloodofinnocents.wordpress.com)
  Many in Jerusalem alongside Jeshua did grasp what he was about. The gospel writer John, for example, says (John 12:11) that ‘many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him’.
• Count Down From Pesach to Shavuot: The Process of Salvation (from Decision to Discipleship) (Part 3: Shavuot) (paradoxparables.justparadox.com)
  Part 1 is here. Please read Part 1 and Part 2 before reading Part 3, please try to follow this series in order as they are building upon each other, line upon line, precept upon precept. if you read them out of order it can become confusing. The final phase needs to be restored to our movement, that one becomes fully trained in the Holy trainings of Torah and goes on to the fullness of receiving the Ruach (Spirit of the Law) and the Torah (Letter of the Law). This is the next phase of Restoration. Theologically some are opposed, experientially others are opposed. In my recent article on Revolution, Reform or Restoration I was address this issue